Category: Podcast

This week, Nick and Alastair face their sins after watching all thirteen episodes of Netflix’s guntastic new adaptation of Marvel’s The Punisher!

But first, they share some recent less hardcore consumption – Alastair’s been watching comparatively lightweight BBC comedy The Detectorists, while Nick’s decided to finally check out Mr Robot.

And then, at last, they get stuck into the punishment (7:56) with a long chat about all the surprising deep themes in this show about a gunwielding vigilante revenge man.

Lastly – two main characters in Punisher are living off the grid, so for the related issue this episode, seemed a good time to ask: is it ever acceptable to fake your own death? (33:51)

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This is it! The fiftieth episode of Moderate Fantasy Violence, and to celebrate reaching this half-centennial megaversary, Nick and Alastair assembled in person and arranged a Q&A with you, the listening public, via our social medias.

But before they can indulge themselves, they need to get through the episode’s scheduled business: a quick talk about some classic culture consumed (namely The Wire and 2001: A Space Odyssey) and reviewing DC superhero team-up film event thingy Justice League (8:27).

That done, at the time of 25:29, our heroes get down to your queries. If you want to zero in even more specifically on a topic, here are all the seven questions answered, with timestamps.

• How can Warner Bros fix the DCEU taking into account getting rid of Affleck and Snyder is a given? – Simon Doig (25:29)
• Is FlArrow (i.e. Flash, Arrow et al) still worth it? Are new series like The Gifted making it irrelevant? – Kirsty (33:12)
• What is your favourite superhero film/TV adaptation of all time? – Julianne Benford (39:12)
• What not-yet-adapted-for-screen property would you like to see adapted? – Julianne Benford again (43:23)
• What was your favourite discovery from the recommendation item on your show? And did any of them cause you to investigate further? – Clive (49:24)
• Can anyone pull off yellow braces? (i.e. What do you think of the new Doctor Who costume?) – Ed (52:55)
• What will the state of the cinematic universes be by MFV #5000? – Oli (56:31)

Phew. And that really is it. Thanks for listening, everyone. See you again for MFV #100, obviously.

Download the podcast directly in mp3 here!

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Subscribe on iTunes! Reviews welcome!

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Subscribe in multiple Android podcast apps here!

After a short break, Nick and Alastair are back on the superhero adaptations this time (and the next couple of times also), with the latest trip to Fake Marvel Asgard!

But before that, they’ve consumed other recent, heavily talked-about media too, namely La Belle Sauvage, the start of The Book of Dust trilogy by Philip Pullman, and Stranger Things 2!

But most important, it’s super-fun super-sequel time with Thor: Ragnarok (7:28), as the God of Thunder takes on the Goddess of Death (and also the Hulk)! And in case you enjoyed that last segment too much, the guys bring you right back down to earth with this fortnight’s side-issue: are we on the verge of Ragnarok? (26:32)

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This fortnight, Nick and Alastair are looking at exciting new space-ship show Star Trek: Discovery!

But first, other recent intake – Nick went on a Baltimore drug scene binge with HBO’s renowned series The Wire and related book The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner-City Neighbourhood, by series producers David Simon and Ed Burns.

Alastair, meanwhile, is here with his annual report back from London Film Festival, covering films such as Tiger Girl, The Final Year and Downsizing – which Nick saw with him, so cue the inevitable mini-review.

Then they finally crack into Star Trek: Discovery (8:22), with talk (and spoilers) spanning the first five episodes. Alastair’s seen loads of the previous Trek shows, Nick barely any – will this affect their judgments?

For the follow-up question this time, prompted by the first f-bomb in Trek history, they ask: are there any franchises that shouldn’t go full adult? (23:40) You may not be surprised to hear that the conversation eventually turns to Batman.

Download the podcast directly in mp3 here!

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This fortnight, much to Alastair’s excitement, it’s time to tackle long-awaited sci-fi sequel Blade Runner 2049!

But first, Nick and Alastair update you on their other cultural consumptions, specifically The Furthest Station, a new Rivers of London novella by Ben Aaronovitch, and the album Exile in the Outer Ring by EMA.

And then, at last, they dig into Blade Runner 2049 (6:30). Can it live up to the original? Should it even try? And how will Nick’s lukewarm reaction to the original Blade Runner in MFV #38 pay off here? (No specific spoilers this time beyond the first few scenes, though some very vague chat about how the ending made us feel.)

Finally, this fortnight’s related point: are humanoid robots a good idea? (24:28) Which ends up sprawling into a wider chat about whether they’re even plausible and what humanity should probably worry about before we get to that. Deep, man.

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Nick and Alastair’s second swing at the new format, and this time, it’s the turn of Darren Aronofksy’s controversial new horror-allegory film mother!

But first, of course, they consumed other media lately. Specifically, non-gamer Nick has read gonzo games journalism book Embed with Games by Cara Ellison, while Alastair revisits the music of Pink Floyd.

And then it’s right into reviewing mother! (6:04), complete with deep thoughts about auteur directors, biblical allegories and a surprising lack of ‘your mum’ jokes. NOTE ON SPOILERS: there are spoilers in this podcast. It may not outright state what happens at the end of the film, but does heavily imply it.

Finally, this episode’s related talking point: should writers write about writers? (22:46) Nick and Alastair try not to let the fact they’re both aspiring writers colour their opinions too much.

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The all-new Moderate Fantasy Violence format debuts! Every fortnight, Nick and Alastair now review a recent release, then discuss a related topic.

But first, just like the old days, they talk about their recent cultural consumption – Alastair revisits MFV #17’s recommendation and catches up on WW2 superhero comic Uber, while Nick dives into a rare non-fiction book: Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari.

And then it’s time to tackle the latest big-screen adaptation of Stephen King’s classic novel It (8:57), before staring down the big issue of the fortnight: are clowns still scary in 2017? (19:25)

And here, for anyone interested, is a link to the mentioned article ‘Why are we scared of clowns?’ by Chris Brosnahan.

Download the podcast directly in mp3 here!

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Forty-four, forever more! It’s a particularly event-packed episode (including Nick defrosting his freezer mid-episode and a huge chunk of ice falling out), but first, Nick and Alastair discuss a top Amsterdam tourist attraction, Nick finishing the His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman and Alastair’s trip to Worldcon 75 in Helsinki.

Then it’s serious business time with Netflix’s Marvel’s The Defenders (6:52), the long awaited Daredevil/Jessica Jones/Luke Cage/Iron Fist four-way crossover extravaganza. Can The Hand overcome Nick’s past annoyance with them?

Almost as newsworthy – time for a big look at Game of Thrones season seven (24:14) – with full spoilers, just so you’re aware. Following that, a relaxing citybreak to Berlin with new action spy thriller Atomic Blonde (45:00).

And finally: Master of None (57:41), excellent Netflix sitcom and Nick’s recommendation from last time. And keep listening all the way past that for some news about the future of Moderate Fantasy Violence!

Download the podcast directly in mp3 here!

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Forty-three years since our last recording! Alastair’s gone on holiday and Nick’s about to do the same, so they recorded this back around when they did MFV #42. Hope it’s better than nothing. There’s some chat about two novels to start: the original The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood and The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt. Also a short audio clip recorded during the brief Team MFV trip to the Nine Worlds convention.

Our main timeless feature this episode is a double recommendation: first, to vibe with the upcoming Defenders series, Nick suggests Daredevil: Born Again (11:06), the classic tale of one man against bottomless crime noir adversity by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli.

Then Alastair brings one of his all-time favourite films: Withnail & I (30:36), the classic British dark comedy starring Richard E. Grant and Paul McGann.

Download the podcast directly in mp3 here!

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Is this episode the meaning of life? We lead off this week by discussing Netflix zombie-suburbs series Santa Clarita Diet and Kameron Hurley’s epic book of essays The Geek Feminist Revolution.

In bigger, longer segment news: we cover Christopher Nolan’s new war-fight epic Dunkirk (6:26) and the intense psychological horror movie It Comes At Night (24:37). Then we return to the work of Warren Ellis for new Netflix video game adaptation Castlevania (34:48).

And finally, it’s Alastair’s recommendation from last episode: famously future-predicting Channel 4 sitcom Nathan Barley! The Guardian article mentioned during this article can be found here.

And if you want to do our listener survey and potentially win a £20 Amazon voucher, you can still do it at this link!

Download the podcast directly in mp3 here!

Listen on YouTube over a static image here!

Subscribe on iTunes! Reviews welcome!

Listen on Stitcher! Reviews also welcome!

Subscribe in multiple Android podcast apps here!