Kevin Schaefer and Evan Garcia dive into some seriously captivating conversations in the latest episode of the "What's News" series on Systematic Geekology. Kicking things off, they explore "28 Years Later: Bone Temple," a flick that adds a fresh twist to the zombie genre, followed by their take on "Fallout Season 2," which keeps the thrills coming in the post-apocalyptic landscape. The duo doesn't stop there; they also dish on "Wonder Man," a new MCU series that gives a refreshing spin to superhero narratives, and wrap things up with their thoughts on "Stranger Things" Season 5, reflecting on its emotional farewells and character arcs. With a relaxed vibe and plenty of witty banter, Kevin and Evan engage listeners in an honest dialogue about these cultural phenomena, making it clear that there's never a dull moment in the world of geekdom!

Takeaways:

1. Kevin and Evan kick things off by discussing their excitement about pop culture in recent times, emphasizing a fun and engaging tone.
2. The duo dives into the intricacies of '28 Years Later: Bone Temple', praising its fresh storytelling and character depth amidst the zombie genre.
3. Their chat on 'Fallout Season 2' reveals a well-paced narrative that balances humor with serious character arcs, showcasing the show's growth from its first season.
4. Kevin and Evan reflect on the development of 'Wonder Man', highlighting its unique take on superhero narratives and the significance of character-driven storylines.
5. In their discussion about 'Stranger Things Season 5', they express satisfaction with the emotional closure provided for characters while acknowledging some pacing issues in earlier episodes.
6. The episode wraps up with Kevin and Evan sharing their hopes for future seasons and projects, advocating for more creative risks in the MCU and beyond.

Mentioned in this episode:

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A breath of fresh air in the mcu. We are going to be talking about all this and more on another what's News episode. This is systematic ecology.

We are the priest of the geeks. And we have so much to talk about tonight in the culture of pop, in the world of geekdom. So much news. I am Kevin Schaefer, one of your hosts.

I am here with one of my favorite geekologists, Evan Garcia. Evan, how are you tonight?

I'm doing great, man. Glad to be here talking all the what's news with. With what's happening. It's going to be fun. Always going to be, man.

This one's going to be a blast. We were just talking before recording about how it's been a long winter here in North Carolina still, you know, we're still in the middle of that.

It's been ridiculously cold and we've had snowstorms, so we've been home a lot. But the advantage of that is we've been watching a lot of good stuff in the world and we have plenty to talk about tonight.

So, yeah, we're gonna, you know, a little preview. As I alluded to in the intro, we're gonna be talking about Wonder man.

We're gonna be talking about some horror movies I saw recently, The Fallout Season 2.

And we're also, because we haven't really gotten to do a Stranger Things episode yet because things got a little crazy with the holidays, we easily could do an episode. But we do want to share our thoughts on Stranger Things 5 in as concise a manner as we possibly can. So that's a little preview for you.

And hey, if you are joining here, either live or you're listening to this one later. Hey, thank you so much for joining tonight. We're really excited.

And if you want to support, hey, like, subscribe, share, we know every podcast tells you that, but it really does help us out. So please, you know, tell your friends about the show. If you're new here, welcome.

And really, the best way to support us is if you click on the link in the description. You can find out ways to support the show, check out our merch, all that good stuff. So, yeah, but Evan, I'm very excited for tonight, so.

Oh, and also I want to give a shout out to. We have many great Patreon subscribers out there tonight. I want to give a shout out to Austin Nance.

Austin, thanks so much for your support of the show. We really appreciate it.

Well, Evan, before we get into the main topic tonight, let us do our lightning round where we hit on quick things we've been geeking out on lately, so.

Good. Sounds good.

Perfect. Well, Evan, what, what are your picks tonight for your lightning round?

I have two I'll squeeze in here. One is the new Muppet show episode that dropped a couple of days ago, I think, and fantastic. I was smiling the whole time.

I had reminded me of watching it when I was a kid.

For my lightning round, I want to shout out that shrinking is back for season three on Apple tv. One of my absolute favorite shows is a brilliant series. If you've not seen it, definitely check it out. It's a brilliant comedy drama.

Jason Segel, Jessica Williams, Harrison Ford, brilliant ensemble cast. And I'm loving season three so far, especially because Michael J. Fox is in this season and that was a wonderful addition to the cast.

So I'm very excited for that. And then a little gem that I found over the weekend, you know, again, stop being stuck inside with the snowstorm here in North Carolina.

I, I, this was very apt for that.

But I discovered an older Stephen King series that I'd never seen before that's on Disney Hulu called aptly, it's Stephen King's Storm of the Century. It was a three episode. Have you seen that? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like, yeah, that was a good, that's it.

This was honestly a little gem that I had not seen before. And it's, it's interesting because I'm a huge Midnight Mass fan. The Mike Flanagan Netflix series and this was a prominent inspiration for that.

It was, this was not unlike a lot of Stephen King works. It was not based on a novel or short story. He wrote it straight for TV as a miniseries and it was excellent.

So I watched that over while being snowed in over the weekend and it was, it was great. Cool. Cool. Yeah.

So, so in the whole theme park world, he a dinoland closed at Animal Kingdom and, and be. And because of that I was like, oh, I'm, I want to look into some history of the park and the land and stuff.

And one thing that, that, that I thought that maybe the, the audience might find a fun fact is that when the, when the Dinoland opened, one of the songs included in the background music was a Stephen Curtis Chapman song called called Dancing with, with with a Dinosaur, which is super interesting because that song is accm song, but it has nothing to do with literal dinosaurs. It's a metaphor for, for like, for like not changing in, in a relationship and stuff like that.

So it is, I thought that was the funniest little piece of information that I've heard in a long time.

Don't you love that?

I. I'm the same way where I love picking up on those obscure bits of like pop culture information that it doesn't bring me any money and it brings it like, you know, and there are probably more things I could store my brain with, but I. I love that stuff that like it. It makes it for interesting conversations like this. I love it. Yeah. Fantastic. Well, Evan, any other lightning round picks for you?

I saw a YouTube video where a guy affixed one of his old classic arcade cabinets. That was pretty fun.

Oh, nice. Okay, cool. Very cool. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I also like, I watched a lot of YouTube as well. Like mainly different movie channels and stuff. But.

But yeah, like, I. I've spotlighted some of those channels. I do maybe throw in the.

The trailer for Daredevil Born and Again season two. That was really good.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. I do want to touch on like when we get to Wonder man, kind of the MCU in general. And I'm actually really stoked for this year, so.

Yeah, that. But. Oh, it looks amazing though. Yeah. Yeah. Awesome. Excellent. Well, let's get into it because I know we got a lot of topics to cover tonight, so I.

Now, Evan, I don't know about you, but general, like January is usually when I see really terrible movies because, like it's the January and February are typically dump months. Like they quote in because it's like it's post Oscar season. It's usually where studios just dump like the Mode, but occasionally there's a gem.

I saw so True Story. I saw the 28 days in school. I forgot when that came out. I think it was really in middle school and we saw it at like, like after school.

It wasn't a club, but it was just a few of us were hanging out with one of. With one of the teachers after school and he put it on. But beyond that, I have not seen the rest the 28 years or this one.

But I would love to, but feel free to spoil it if you want.

Well, I love. First off, I love that you had a middle school teacher show you 28 days later. That's fantastic. That's fantastic. Shout out to that teacher.

They're cool. But yeah, but no It's a. Yeah, that's awesome. Well, and it's interesting because for me, like, I had seen 28 days, like, years ago.

I don't remember exactly when, you know, on DVD or whatever. And I've got the dvd and. And then I rewatched it with. When the first 28 years later came out last year. I did not see 28 weeks later until recently.

That's sort of the. I mean, that one is the only one in this series that's very loosely connected.

It was the only one that Danny Bole and Alex Garland really didn't have much involved in it. And they were. They're credited as executive producers, but neither of them wrote or directed, whereas all of the others they've.

Like Danny Boyle directed the original 28 days later, Alex Garland wrote it. The same was true for 28 years later last summer.

And then the sequel to that, 28 years later, the Bone Temple, was directed by Nia DaCosta, who did the Marvels and the Candyman reboot, which I really like, and then the movie Hedda, which came out, I think last year or the year before. And because they were shooting these ones back to back.

So Alex Garland wrote both of them, but Danny Boyle couldn't take on both because they were being shot simultaneously. And so. So they. They hired NASA to direct this one. And. Yeah, just a little bit of background since you.

I mean, I don't even need to go into heavy spoilers, but just a little setup. Is that. So, obviously, the 28 days later is. I mean, it.

But anyway, you know, over the last quarter century, there have been, you know, a gazillion zombie stories. So the original one is a fairly simple narrative of a guy wakes up in a hospital, you know, 28 days into the zombie apocalypse.

He's very distraught and, you know, he meets up with a group of survivors and they, you know, the real villains of the story are these sadistic humans and. And, you know, that becomes like sort of the central conflict. And so it, you know, it follow. I mean, it's still great, but it.

But it follows kind of a more simple narrative by comparison, 28 years later. It focuses on this island nation that has been quarantined because most of the rest of the world has been. Has found an antidote to the virus.

But, but certain areas have not. And so this civilization has grown up in the wake of the apocalypse. And they've, you know, they kind of resorted to sort of a medieval way of living.

You see images of like medieval Ireland and England. Like if you, you know, you almost get these kind of like Braveheart images that are in. Yeah. That are interspersed like throughout the movie in years.

And it's fascinating. And the main focus of that movie is.

You know, the thing that was interesting is when I went to go see it last summer, I went in not knowing A, that it was part of a planned trilogy and B, that it was going to be a coming of age story actually. So. Because they put Aaron Taylor Johnson as the lead in the trailer.

And while he doesn't play a prominent part, the story of that movie is really about his son, played by Alfie Williams. And you know, he's like 12. He's going out on his first missions with his father to the mainland.

And you know, because in this world you have to grow up sooner and then. And so, you know, his journey to becoming a man happens much sooner.

You know, he's having to learn how to fight zombies, protect his people, do all that at a very young age. And so the, the story follows that. And then he's trying to get a cure for his sick mother and played by Jodie Comer.

And in that movie there is a character Ralph fiennes plays named Dr. Kelson who is kind of this mysterious figure initially and he plays a part in the third act of that film. And you know, we learn he's this kind of like secluded but very good willed doctor.

And that was a fascinating thing too because this is kind of a spoiler but I. For that first movie, but in this series. But like I, I was thinking that, you know, he was gonna be a villain because that's usual trope.

Like, okay, they're gonna like, you know, try to, they're trying to like get to this guy. Oh, it's gonna. I really like that they. Exactly right, exactly.

And I was really happy that they didn't go that route because I love this character and they set him up really well for the sequel. So fast forward to the sequel.

And also at the end of 28 years later, Alfie Williams character meets this very bizarre group of this like, kind of like gang cult, um, that they call themselves the Jimmies. And we are introduced to the boy version of that character played by Jack o' Connell at the very beginning of the movie.

And it's this really bizarre scene at the very end of the movie and you're not really sure if they're there to save this kid or the kid's name is Spike. They're not. You're not sure if they're there to save Spike or if they're going to be, you know, a force of evil.

But when the bone temple starts, we click quickly learn. Yeah, this is a sadistic, horrifying group of, of cultists.

And actually Jack o' Connell's character, the main Jimmy, he's actually inspired by a British cult figure who was like convicted in a series of sex crimes and stuff. And so, so it's a very like, disturbing. Like, is that gear? But, but that's it.

So, but that sets up this movie is it kind of tells two stories involving both the Jimmies and, you know, Spike is now kind of captured and like forced into this group and him trying to survive. And then it's juxtaposed with the continuing narrative of Dr. Kelson because again, we are introduced him to him in 20 years later.

But the role here is expanded on and he's doing experiments and trying to figure out more about the remaining infected and, and what they can do. And there's this big like, they, they. There's this one zombie from the first movie that they bring back here named Samson and it has the.

He has this like biblical, like giant, you know, Persona, the hair, everything. And there, it does a really unique storyline there with him and Dr. Kelson that I really like. So all that to say, I mean, that those are.

That's just the basic narrative setup. But this movie is incredible.

What I love is that, you know, especially coming off a visionary like Danny Boyle, Nia DaCosta really adds her own flair to this world, her own touch and her own. And I mean, she does amazing things from the horror element, but she also creates just like really compelling characters.

And these are two absolutely unhinged performances from Jack o' Connell and Ray Fines. I, I think this is one of Ray Fines best performances of his career.

Lewis, at first I was like, wait a minute, he is in this?

Yeah, yeah, yeah, that would be Daniel Day Lewis, came out of retirement. But yeah, that would be crazy. But, but no, and, and what, but that's what I love about Ray Fiennes here, is that because.

Yeah, I mean, he's known for of course, like Voldemort and Schindler's List and everything, but he's also done great comedy with like, the grand, the Grand Budapest Hotel, the Wes Anderson film in particular. And I think in this performance, he really combines elements of those two. There is a scene that is.

I don't want to spoil here because I really want people to go see this movie. But let's just say he, he puts on an act here and he puts on a major show and he has an amazing soundtrack accompanying him.

But that's where he really combines his Personas of playing villains and playing over the top comedic characters into one magnificent performance. And I was absolutely hooked. So, yeah, I mean, and here it's just like I really didn't know where the story was going to go next.

I mean, again, it's, it's very the Jimmies are horrible statistic, but juxtaposing it with the Dr. Kelson storyline really kept me hooked. So it didn't feel like another zombie movie of stuff I'd seen before.

It really felt fresh, it felt invigorating and it sets up an interesting thing at the end of the movie for the third, which I won't spoil there. But they, yeah, they have greenlit the third film. Danny Boyle is looking to return to direct for that.

I almost, I mean, I love Danny Boyle, but I, I want to see Nita Costa do it because she just did amazing work here.

It's always good to see when a franchise like this or for different ones, they can switch directors and switch a. Switch creators and it does not completely fall apart, you know, like 100. Yeah, it's always nice to see.

And it was still like, it's still. It's very much a cohesive narrative because, like, Alex Garland still wrote this and you know, him and Danny Boyle were producers.

So like, and I, like. So I actually got to see an early screening of this film that had a Q A, a live stream Q A with Nita Costa and Jack o' Connell afterwards.

And they were talking about, you know, how she came onto the project. And yeah, it's cool because the Alamo Drafthouse does screenings and the Q and A's like that. So it was really cool to see.

But she was talking about how she came on board and kind of what, you know, like either limitations she had what. And really they.

She said that Danny Boyle, now Scarlet, like met with her and you know, I mean, they, they kind of, you know, obviously she had the script and everything, but they gave her kind of like an overview, but they really let her do what she wanted from a directorial standpoint. And, and I really like that.

I mean, they were there kind of to, you know, if there were any questions needed and you know, they wanted to have a overall shared vision, but they really wanted her to let her make the movie. She wanted to. And I really appreciated that because again, she just did amazing sequences. The cinematography is incredible. The music's great. Yeah.

These are just like some of the best performances I've seen in a while. So I could go on and on about this one, but suffice it to say, I loved it.

And I, you know, I. I know with, I think with the snowstorms and it's January, like, you know, general, there's a lot of movie going that get to go down around this time.

So I cannot recommend this one enough. Yeah.

Is this still so in theaters?

Okay, it is. Yeah. So it is because it opened in like mid January. I saw it like, because I. I saw it like the first.

First or second week in January because again, I saw an early screening, but I think it came out like around. I think it was like MLK weekend. So it's been out like just a few weeks of this play.

I mean, there, you know, there's probably like more limited screenings now, but I would definitely go see it on the big screen if you are able to because it is very much a rewarding theatrical experience.

Right on. Right on.

So cool.

Awesome.

Well, and then on that note, I have another horror movie I want to talk about in the track end of. Yeah. Although this is more horror comedy. More comedy I like. Well, I. Evan, do you know anything about this?

I do not. I saw the poster for it at the movies and that's it.

Okay, cool.

So send help is a new film from the great Sam Raimi, the director of the Evil Dead trilogy, Spider man, all that Doctor Strange, Multiverse of Madness, like one of my all time favorites. I actually got to meet Raimi at Galaxycon a couple years ago and it was fantastic. Nicest guy.

So when as soon as I saw this trailer and it said from director Sam Raimi, I'm like, well, I'm there. I don't mean to do anything else, but. But yeah, this is a new. This feels like a return to form. Not that he's ever really straight, but.

If you've ever seen the movie Drag Me to Hell, there's a lot of comparisons there. Yeah, I don't. I don't know if you've seen that one, Evan.

I have not. I have not.

That's a really good one. I highly recommend. But. But, yeah, but send help. So this stars Rachel McAdams and Dylan O'. Brien. Rachel McAdams is this very quirky employee at.

They never say what kind of.

This is one of those, like, movies where it's a corporate environment, but they never actually say what they do, whether it's a marketing company or whatever. But. But it's a. You know, it's a typical corporation.

She's been there a long time and is seeking a promotion, and she was supposed to get one because she had a close relationship with the former CEO and founder.

But that CEO dies, and so the company is inherited by the guy's son, played by Dylan o', Brien, who is this huge misogynistic jerk who, you know, and is the. The. The very typical bro who, you know, hires his frat buddy as his VP over, you know, Rachel McAdams. The characters is much more qualified and. And.

But. But he does agree to bring her on a business trip to. I think it was. I can't remember. It was China or Thailand, but. But to.

And while they're on this, you know, private plane with a few members of the company, a storm hits, and they are. The plane crashes on a desert island, and they are. The. Her and him are the only two survivors. And so now they're stuck on an island.

Obviously, Dylan o' Brien's character has been pampered his whole life. He doesn't know what to do on island, whereas rage. Yeah, Rachel McAdam's character, and I love this.

She's a huge Survivor fan, so she's been preparing for this for her life, and I love it. So the power dynamic shift, and that's really the initial setup. There is a lot of actual. Like, I was.

I was not expecting as many twists and turns in this story. When I saw the trailer, I thought it was, like, pretty straightforward. I was actually really surprised by, you know, you know, the.

The ways the story surprised me. The comedy, again, is fantastic, but it is a story of this, you know, these power dynamic shifting. You feel kind of a tug and pull because, like.

Because, you know, both. Her character is not fully redeemable, and also his character has Some redeeming aspects. He's still a jerk, but.

But, you know, there's this kind of like, you know, pull into, oh, who are you going to root for here and what's going to happen and how is it going to play out? But yeah, this was an absolute blast. And.

And if you know anything about Sam Raimi's films, particularly Evil Dead, Drag Me to Hell is that he can do over the top gore like no one else. And there is a. Oh, yes, and there is a scene here where Rachel McAdams goes toe to toe with a wild, wild hog. Like a. Like a.

And like, like a giant pig. And. And it's a CG1. It's super over the top. It is bloody as can be. And it. Oh, my gosh, like, that alone is easy.

That's funny because I have a. A giant wild pig story. So now. Yeah, it's. It's a fun one.

Sure.

Yeah.

How long is it?

Okay. I was hunting with some friends. I didn't want to use any guns, but I still wanted to go, so. So they were like, yeah, cool. Come, I'll.

Hey, go, come hang. So I'm just.

I'm just walking around in the bushes and stuff like that with a couple of my buddies, and then all of a sudden, oh, look, a little baby pig. It's cute. So I decided to pick it up. For some reason, I picked up the baby. I was like, oh, it's cute.

And then my friends are like, livid, and I'm like, what? Put the pig down. Like, why? What's wrong?

All of a sudden I hear coming from the bushes, the scuffling and this giant, like the size of a car, almost like a little Mini Cooper hog mama pig comes out and. And runs at me and I throw the pig and I start running and they're all like.

Oh, I love it. Honestly, that would fit right into this movie. Like, I mean, that. Like that, like, you know, you could easily be in a Sam Raymond movie.

Evan, I love it, but that. Yeah, but it, it's that kind of just like ridiculous over the top.

And what I love too is that, I mean, Rachel McAdams is one of my favorite actors too. She does, you know, comedy, drama, everything so well, and I like her.

And Dylan o' Brien really understood the tone of, of this movie that I think, like, I. I feel like other actors and other directors, if they were handed this script, they might, you know, take it either too seriously or try to do things like this was apparently like, Sam Raimi didn't write this one. But I think the script, if I. If I'm correct, I think it was like floating around, blacklisted for a while and then he got a hold of it.

But Cam, Rachel McAdams and Dylan O' Brien understood exactly what this movie needed to be and. And they delivered through and through. Rachel McAdams and Dylan O' Brien have fantastic chemistry.

They make, you know, they just are so entertaining together. And yeah, it's just one ridiculously over the top sequence, not one after another. But there's a lot of that. There's a lot of the overtop gore.

There is just like, you know, it's like, oh, my gosh. Like, it's one. This is another one. I know I'm.

I sound like a broken record on every episode when I say, go see this in a theater, but I really mean it with this one because I loved seeing this last Thursday night. Getting the audience reactions and watching this with a crowd, it made it all the better.

Like, not that this wouldn't be good at home, but this is a perfect crowd pleaser where you're going to get so much out of it, seeing it on the big screen, seeing it with others. And yeah, it's just delightfully entertaining. Again, if you. If you love Sam Raimi, like, I do, definitely go see it. But yeah, again.

And that was like, kind of the biggest thing for me as I was surprised by how much the story took different turns and led to a really, I thought, spot on ending that was just as funny and over the top as the rest of the movie. So. Yeah, it was. Yeah. Yeah. So, yeah, I mean, it was a two for two. I mean, like with January horror movies.

I mean, I also saw Primate, but I don't really want to talk about that. That one I got. Yeah, that one was eh. But like, yeah, so I. Hey, if you have like one misfire, that was okay.

But I had, you know, two great theatrical experiences to kick off the year, so that made me very happy. Yeah. So. So that is it for me for January horror movies. I know we got a lot more to cover, but. But definitely highly recommend.

Both 28 years later, the Bone Temple and Send Help.

Bone Temple, so cool title too.

Yeah, it is. Oh, my gosh, it's fantastic. Yeah.

All right, so let's go.

Well, Evan, I'm going To hand the next topic over to you. I want to hear about Fallout Season two.

Yeah. Fallout Season two is here and it's a come and gone because it just finished and it was a.

It was really well paced sequel to the first one to the first season. Every episode was a. It was a continuation and a slow build up to the craziness of the last episode. But they still contained it.

Every episode was still. It wasn't a filler episode where. Where we knew that we were going to get back to the storyline. Like every character had its place.

We saw some new characters come back. So this is after the fact. After the fact that they. That they found out about the explosions from the government and from the.

And from the corporations. So now the. The. The daughter is on the find. She's trying to find dad that her dad turned out to be a big deal and one of the main causes that.

That brought along the destruction of the. Of the world and she wanted to find him and. And to bring him to justice. And she's traveling with the ghoul and they have some adventures that.

That show their differences and in like her in her like naivete and his mode experience. More More a jaded. They. There's actually some comedy in there which was. Which was appreciated. And then they have the.

The storyline for the different military factions which I forgot what their names were. But that character arc was fantastic in the sense of it brought back some other characters and was a change the stakes of the whole season.

And then Macaulay Culen shows up in a few episodes and plays a role that is very. It's very. It's very comedic and it's. And it's kind of timely too in our. In our kind of state of our politics and. And whatnot.

But like I said that every episode was. Was. Was a. Was. Was. Was a build up to the finale which they paid it off. I don't like. It's kind of of a cliffhanger but not really.

But they did answer all the questions and they set up another season and they are all kind of separate again. But. But yes overall I'm glad that it wasn't just it just a way to move the story along.

They actually took the time to flesh out these characters even more and yeah. So A Fallout Season 2 really Cool Special effects. The creature design and the goriness and that was all there and yeah good stuff.

I probably will check it out at some point. I've not gotten to season two yet. We did an episode on season one back a couple years ago.

And I was on that because I was sharing the perspective of I had never played the games or anything. I just went and refreshed to the show and it was a lot of fun. I enjoyed season one. I just, I haven't gotten it. This kind of came out well.

I think it started around the holidays and I was watching Pluribus and finishing up welcome to Derry and Stranger Things. So there was a lot going on at the time. So I have not gotten to it yet, but I did like the setup.

And then I love, you know, like Kyle McLaughlin playing the father. You know, I love the ghoul. I love all that stuff. So I do want to check this out. What you say like.

Yeah, no, with a Kyle. There were some moments of kind of Twin Peaksy kind of moments, like really bizarre. And I, and I, I kind of picked up on that. So I was like, nice.

I figured the casting was intentional on that. I mean, because, like. Because I mean Twin Peaks. And then he was also in the. The famous. The one I. The. The David lynch dune from the 80s. So. Yeah.

Oh, great. Like, I mean like, I don't care what anyone says. I love that movie. But. But yeah, I mean, they like. How would you say this compares to season one?

Season. I, I think.

I think season one has the advantage of being a little bit more simple and not so intertwined or like not saying that season two did a bad job, but season one was. It was more linear, more, More simple, more.

Here.

Here is a girl and now she's. Now she's leaving home and she's going. Going out to the big world and so. So yeah, that's fair.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Because it did have that really good setup at the end of season one. You know, they're going to go to new environments and all that and then like.

Are you a fan of the game too?

I was. I never played them. I have friends that were. That they were really big into the games. I. But I didn't even know too much of the story either.

So I was pretty new when I, when I started the show.

And I like from what I know too, it's like they kind of tell. They. They don't follow the exact same narrative. They kind of take elements and kind of craft their own, do different things. So.

Yeah, but I mean, because isn't like the ghoul not even really a bit.

Like from what I heard more on that in the show, he's. There's. There are like. There are ghouls, but there's not like.

Right. The Goal one, singular. Right, right, right. And I mean, it's Walton Coggins, so, I mean, you gotta make him the like.

So.

Yeah.

And yeah, he plays. There's a lot of. There's.

There's a lot of the flashbacks to where he was still a human and it's a cool framework to see how he was before and how he is now. They play with that framing a lot, so that was cool.

Yeah, that was probably my favorite part of season one. So I probably will check this out. I do like it. I mean, it's a good show. And yeah, the visuals are pretty incredible. So it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Awesome.

Well, any other thoughts on this one?

I. I hope that they don't. I hope that there's a. A final point to this story. I hope they don't go on like, for, like, for 10 seasons.

You know, it's like maybe three, maybe four seasons. Because. Because. Because I think that this could get kind of dragged out to a point where they're just kind of making it. To just kind of make it.

And I hope it doesn't go there, you know?

You know, Absolutely. I mean, I could say. And I mean, it's Amazon, so, you know. Yeah. Money is king over there. Like, so. But I agree. I. Hopefully they do get like.

I could see this as maybe a 3, 4 season, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Cool. Awesome. Well, I'll check it out soon. So that The Fallout Season 2.

And next we have, as we alluded to in the intro, we got a big MCU show to talk about, or at least what I think is one. And you know, we'll also talk about kind of the state of the MCU right now. But Wonder man is the new. The first TV series from the MCU of 26.

This is a. Yeah, this is an eight episode live action series. They dropped the whole season on Disney plus. And yeah, I like. I mean, well, I had.

So we'll get into that too because, like, I think there are reasons for that. I'm glad they did because this was a really nice binge. I, you know, they're shorter episodes and so I liked getting the whole story here.

There are some shows I like more the weekly format, but since they're only 30 minutes here, I liked, you know, getting the whole. The whole story here. But. But yeah, this is. So this series is about Simon Williams, played by Yahya Abdul Mateen ii.

And he is a struggling actor in LA who also has superpowers, though he conceals them. And we'll get to that as to why. Well, we'll try to. I don't know, we'll. We'll allude to that a little bit.

I don't want to give, like, full spoilers because I want people to go watch this, but we'll talk about that a little bit. And in the first episode, he is trying to get an audition for a movie reboot of a superhero he loved as a kid named Wonder Man. And so he's gonna.

He's trying to land the role for this big movie after losing job after job. And in the pilot, he meets none other than Trevor Ben Kingsley's character, who we first met in Iron Man 3. And this is why I love.

First, I have to ask, like, do you remember when Iron Man 3 came out and, like, they revealed that twist? Is that. Yeah. What was your reaction to it? Because, like, I, like, do you remember what kind of.

I remember thinking, dang, they wasted so much money on Ben Kingsley to just kind of flip it like that. I was like, no way.

Yeah, I also had a similar. Like, I. I vividly remember. I see Iron Man 3 came out my freshman year of college. So, like, I mean, I was like.

It was pretty cool because, like, Iron man was.

I was in, like, toward the end of middle school, and then, like, Avengers, the first one, it was end of my senior year of high school, and then Iron Man 3, I'm in my freshman year of college. And, yeah, I mean, it was a similar reaction. I was like, wait, what? Like that. I mean, you know, like, I. I didn't get it at the time.

And I figured, like, I mean, part of me, I guess, assumed, like, that they would bring in the actual Mandarin in another movie at some point, which, of course, they did years later for Shang Chi. But it was a long time after. And I'm glad they did it there. It worked. I was not thinking at the time. Right.

I was not thinking at the time how clever a decision it was because it ended up opening a huge creative door for Marvel to do with this character.

And here I think it's the best use of the character by far because not only does he serve as a mentor to Simon, and they get to have this excellent relationship in this dynamic where they talk about acting and they get into the art of acting and the art of theater. It really.

And in a really intricate and fascinating manner, but also there, you know, there's the element here of, okay, so he's been, you know, he played the Mandarin. Had to play. You know, he's been in prison, but. But. Right. But he still has, you know, Government agencies after him.

And here it's the Department of Damage Control is after him and they hire him and they want him to get close to Simon because they know Simon has superpowers. And that becomes the impetus for the show.

Which I was wondering, how do they know that? But, but I guess that's just one thing that we have to assume.

What they like how do they. Knowing that Simon has powers. Yeah, I mean, I think like, I mean, damage control, I just really shady. And they're kind of, they're keeping track.

Yeah, yeah. And. And also so like I, so I really came into the show not really knowing anything about the character of Simon Williams. And I've been. What?

Yeah, I've been watching a bunch of YouTube videos. In Larry 10, the character's origin in the comics is very different. He's like, he gets his powers from Baron Zemo.

What I think, yeah, what I think here they haven't officially confirmed, but I'm gonna assume for the time being at least that Simon is a mutant in the mcu.

That's what I've heard.

Just because like, that's kind of why. Because like we're moving toward the Mutant Saga.

You know, his powers are generated by emotion, particularly anger, and he, you know, he learns to control them. That's a very mutant thing.

And, and we never see in the show an origin where like, you know, he didn't fall into an acid thing or like, or you know, get his powers accident, at least that we know of. So I'm going to assume that he's mutant.

And I think the damn Department of Damage Control is going to play a major part in the Mutant Saga and they're going to be the kind of like ball over TRAS type people that are keeping tabs on mutants. So I'm just going to assume that that's why they know he has powers.

Humanity.

Exactly, exactly. Yes. Yeah. So I think it's somewhere in that vein and that's why. But, but yeah, so, yeah, and so they set Trevor up to be. To target Simon.

But, but then of course, what ends up happening is they develop this wonderful friendship and you know, and end up teaming up together. And yeah, this was just, this was such a well written, well acted series.

I would, you know, I didn't get to watch it in one sitting like I wanted to, but like I had to split it up over like two nights. But, but just because it came out in the work week. But, but I absolutely loved it. I mean it would.

This was, I, like, as I said in the intro This, I think is very much a breath of fresh air in the MCU after a lot of ups and downs over the, over recent years. I think particularly in the TV realm. There have been certainly some good shows, but a lot of them that you know. And this is one that.

No, it's not a typical superhero show. If you're expecting that, you might be disappointed.

But I actually thought, even as a big comic book superhero fan, I like that this was a very refreshing, self contained narrative that prioritizes story and character over spectacle and world building. So I did not mind at all that there was very little superhero in here. Yeah, Evan, what. I know I'm rambling here. What are your thoughts?

I think a key thing to say is that, that, that, that this is classified as Marvel Television and then it's a spotlight feature. So, so these are kind of more standalone and they have more freedom to be like what this became and what. I was super surprised at it.

Just a character piece. It's just here there's a character and we're gonna flesh him out. Oh yeah. And he's got some powers that he's trying to keep secret.

Other than that, it's just a fantastic, like trying to learn about yourself and trying to put yourself out into the world and accepting and realizing the nuances in yourself while you try to try to make it in the world, you know. And I didn't know anything about the character. I knew about the character and I knew that he just kind of dressed really nice from, from what I saw.

So when I first and when I pulled up the show, I loved that first episode, the end, that second episode, I was like, I know exactly where this is gonna go. Like I predicted the ending, even the post credit sequence, I predicted it. I was like. But, but when that finally happened, I wasn't mad.

I wasn't mad because the journey to get to the end was so satisfying. Those two characters interacting with each other were so great, so great.

One thing I wanted to pull up is that they focused on the fandom of this kind of stuff. And like the main character, Simon, he is obsessed with his character called, called. Called.

Called Wonder man because, because his father took him to the cinema to watch it when, when he was a kid. And then that kind of captured his wonder.

And then I loved it when they showed him and his father, they went to go get burgers after the movie and they were just kind of nerding out on the movie. It was so beautiful to see that because I try to be like that with my son.

And kind of be like, I try not to force him to like what I like, but I kind of bring out what I like. And when, and when he likes it, he really catches on to it. And we kind of talk to each other like that.

And that was a cute little moment and the whole family dynamic of, of his mom and his and his brother trying to give him pressure for not having a real job and them that whole side of trying to be creative in a world that is more industry based and stuff like that. So I, I could go on. But I love this show. It was such a surprise, such a good surprise.

It really is. And what I love too is, I mean it like it doesn't make Simon 100% likable.

Like, I mean a lot of the reasons he's failing at the beginning is very self inflicted. Like there's this wonderful scene in the pilot where you know, he got a job in a scene in American Horror Story.

And at first he's like complimenting all the, the director cast like, hey, I know you from Sunset Theater, I love your work there. And then yes, it's like, it's one thing to like give a note here of like, hey, is this okay to make this choice? But he keeps going to the point.

Where he's like felt so cringy for him.

I was like, cringy like bro, just like, like, like he. To the point where he's like asking if they can switch out the book there that's on the desk.

Because he's like, well this is a professor of this subject. You think they would really be reading this?

Because like it's, I'm like bro, no, you're gonna like, I mean, and then they, of course he gets, you know, oh. So we just talked to the showrunner. They decided to cut your CEO so yearly. But thank you so much for showing up.

And I'm like, it was hard to feel like bad for him in that book. It's like, bro, you kind of did that, you know, so like, and then. But, but it's also the, that's very much a trait of a lot of actors.

And I love that Trevor becomes his mentor there and gets him to stop overthinking and overanalyzing as much. Because at a certain point you have to surrender to, you know, the character and to the scene and that two.

Different, the two different ways of acting and because yeah, you can be super obsessive about all the details and stuff. Like there's, there's some roles that, that, that clearly they, they, they will benefit from that kind of approach.

But sometimes you just, you know, you just got to feel it. I'm talking like if I know about acting. So.

Hey, I've got the theater background, so I. But you're very accurate in that respect, so. But no, it didn't like. And you know, there are some great episodes here too.

One I really love was the callback episode where this is where they get to meet with the director of the Wonder Woman movie and they're.

They go to his house along with several other actors up for the roles because Simon's auditioning for Wonder Man, Trevor is auditioning for the best friend. You know, they go, and, and the actor who plays the director in this movie is the same guy who played the, the minister of Baravia in Superman.

And, and essentially he played like the same character just as an artsy character. And I loved it. It was awesome. It was awesome. Yeah. Yeah. So I, I love that episode.

I also of course love the one about midway through the series where they do an origin of another character. Because oh my gosh. Because the, the question lingering over the, the first few episodes is okay, why does he hide his super powers completely?

Because like this is very much a lived in world where superheroes are normal out there. Like why is he not using him?

They answer that in episode four in a brilliant way where they do this character origin that explains why Simon cannot do this specifically related to his career field. And I'm like, this was amazing. So I.

And where did Josh Gad go? Where did Josh get.

Where did Josh Gad go? It's the question, will Josh Gad return?

And eventually question.

But yeah, I love that. And now. So you mentioned earlier that yeah, they dropped the whole series of time and he looked at now part of the reason this was.

I don't like the reason that this was and I don't like that Disney and Marvel have done a terrible job Marvel marketing this show. They basically just dropped it. And even friends I've talked to are like, oh, that's out. So the, this story behind this show is that.

So it was created by Destin, Daniel Cretton and Andrew Guest and Destin Daniel Cretton is the director of Shang Chi and then he's also directing the Spider man movie this summer and he directed the first couple episodes of the series and co created it, but it was actually shot a couple years ago and then there was, you know, the actor writer strikes. There's a bunch of overhaul with Marvel Television. There was a point where because this was under the Marvel Spotlight banner.

And it was kind of its own thing. There was a point where they considered not releasing the show and doing it, writing it off as a tax write off.

And I, I'm obviously, I'm so glad that they didn't do that. But it also means, like, you know, I don't think they had a lot of real, like, plans to promote this.

You know, it was a risky prop move to, like, do a character that no, even, you know, comic book readers aren't as familiar with and, you know, that doesn't have a lot of mainstream recognition. But, you know, I'm glad they dropped it. But. Yeah, that's part of. I'm hoping word of mouth will real and word of mouth is great. And critic.

Oh, and the critical reception has been great.

So I hope this does elevate the series and get it to a point where we can get a season two, we can see this character again, because I really want this story to continue. But. But yeah, I just, I want Marvel to take more risks like this because. And same with Star Wars. I mean, like, Disney has a new CEO, but if the.

The new Disney CEO is listening to systematic ecology, which, you know, like, you know, like, make stuff more stuff like this, that takes risks that, you know, isn't exactly what you fit into. The politicians, because people enjoy.

Yeah. They have, like, what, like 100 days when they get into office to do kind of crazy stuff, you know, kind of shake up things. Yeah, why not? Why not?

One thing that I realized halfway through this series, I'm like, where have I seen this guy before? Where have I seen the actor before? And he's. He's from the Aquaman movies. I was like, I completely forgot he.

Was Black Manta and the Aquaman movies. He's also. I think his best role is in the Watchmen series. He's excellent in that. That. If you've never seen that chapter, he's really good. Good. Yeah.

It's amazing. So. No, yeah, yeah. Abdul Martin, the second wonderful actor. I thought it was a perfect fit.

For this, that one episode with. I don't want to spoil it, but it was like the shock. Like. Excuse me. Like that one episode, if you know what I mean. I was just like, yep.

Whoa.

That just happened. It was one of those. That I'm not gonna forget. I don't want to spoil it, though.

No, this. I mean, it has a lot of.

Again, it's just like, this is just really excellent storytelling that, you know, that exists, like, in the same universe as in the mcu, but it's they were not afraid to just let Destin, Daniel Cretton and Andrew guest really do their own thing and work their magic and just tell a great story story. And yeah, and I, and based on where this ends like I, yeah, I really want to see it continue. So we'll see. But yeah, awesome.

Well, we could keep going on about Wonder Woman, but suffice to say go watch it.

And I know we're running low on time and we have a big topic next but I you know, I also, I know I said we, we could easily do an entire episode on the next topic.

We probably will at some point but but I again we had the holidays and me, Will and Laura really just didn't get a chance to do an episode on the second half in the finale of Stranger Things 5. And you know, it's obviously concluded since then. So I did want to take a little time just to share our overall thoughts on how the show ended.

And there was also the making of documentary which I don't have to watch.

That but I got reminded me. I completely forgot about it but I gotta check it out.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So Stranger Things is over for me. It was really cool because I got to it.

So when I watched the season, the series finale first at home on New Year's Eve and then I saw it again at the Alamo the next night. So getting to see it in the theater was really cool. On New Year's Day. That was a blast.

So I is my overall thoughts because you know we did Maywell and Laura did that initial episode on the first four episodes. This was back in November, the first four episodes of volume one, season five. We shared our thoughts there. Volume one. Exactly.

And with volume two and with the finale, I mean I have a lot of like MIG thoughts like overall I was satisfied with how it ended. I thought it had a really good emotional send off for these characters.

And you know, I as far as like this is spoiler because I mean it's been out for. Well, I feel like any, anyone watching this, you know, like, you know, so spoiler.

But like no real big characters die other than, you know, we don't know if 11 is definitively dead or if she managed to escape how they left that. Yeah, I know. Well, I'll go and ask like what are your, what do you think? Are you a believer that she's alive or do you think she's dead?

I, I, I see it the way that they proposed her story. I believe that she is alive but we know it. But they don't know it. That.

Yeah, I definitely think either way, like whether she loved it, I don't think she's ever gonna reunite with the whole point.

I think. Yeah, because they needed to let go. They needed closure and not closure like external closure.

They needed internal closure for the whole, the whole thing that happened. And I think it was a very beautiful way of doing it when, with.

When they were playing that final game of their D and D campaign, the Four and now Max and the way that they did a Lord of the Rings ending kind of.

But.

Yeah, but they, but they, but they framed it in a way that he was kind of telling his story on, on how they continue life after and, and Mike was telling it and it was just like a beautiful way to, to end it but to not close it, if you know what I mean. I thought.

No, absolutely. I really love that scene. I think that was what it was really building up to.

And it was like, this is ultimately a coming of age series where you know, the ending had to be about saying goodbye to their childhood and you know, giving kind of a general idea of where the characters might go from here.

I don't think it's like absolutely definitive of like, you know, oh, they all fall these back but you get the general idea of like, okay, Mike becoming a writer, Will Dustin going off to college, Lucas and Max ending up together.

All that I really liked and you know, and yeah, I got it, you know, because I like, I initially I thought like, oh, I think 11 is definitely alive, just in some other world. I think even if he's dead though, like she could still be in some kind of afterlife dimension.

But either way, like you said, like I think she, you know, it's definitely she said goodbye to the character, you know, she's got to, you know, going to go live on and somewhere else and you know, they've had this great adventure but it's time for them to all move on. But I do really love that final scene.

And then the way like speaking of Lord of the Rings, the way it, the title sequence is mirrored after the return. Yep, absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. So that was great. Yeah, I mean, you know, like there I've seen all of the criticisms.

I, you know, some I agree with, some I don't like. I, I'll be honest, I was like a little hesitant going into the finale because I wasn't as crazy about the three episodes before that, Volume two.

Right. Like the episodes I didn't really say much, was not crazy about those. They didn't say a ton. And I thought the pacing was very awkward.

You know, we, me, you, me and Will were sharing a ton of memes. There was like, I love the ones about Max and Holly doing a podcast in the Middle Escape that was absolutely hilarious.

So there were definitely, you know, I mean, when I think about season five as a whole, like, and, and this isn't saying it's awful, but like, would I put it toward the bottom of my ranking? Yes. Like, I mean, just because. But that's because I love season one, Season four.

And I, I'm, I'm more of a fan of season four, but it doesn't mean it's bad. I just, you know, when I think about, like, in comparison with other seasons, I think, you know, it's not as good, but I'll still be rewatching.

What did you think of the. Because to me it kind of came out of nowhere, but they did pretty good. How they set up the diff. Like, what is the Upside down and then the Void and.

Yeah. Yeah.

How did you think about that? Because they kind of brought it in last minute, but they brought a lot.

I wish they. I liked. So it wasn't so much like, I liked the. I. I didn't have a problem with like the actual reasons they gave, like the explanations there.

It was more the execution of those. Like the, the way they over explained stuff, the way they. It was paced. Like, that was more my issues.

But as far as the actual, like, oh, this is what the Upside down is and this is like Vector's dimension. I thought all that made sense. Like, I was good with that. I just, I agree.

I wish it had been like, better written and like, maybe like presented a little sooner and fleshed out a little more.

They did such a good job with that final battle that I.

And especially seeing all the big screen, everyone. That was a blast. Yeah.

Had their own role to play. So now what about the big scene that everyone's talking about, Will's coming out scene? Like, what you think about that?

Yeah, and it was because, like, I read a bunch of interviews with it. I mean, this is speaking as someone who's like, I'm not lgbt. Like, I am a like, ally I would get. But like, I was reading different.

Like some, you know, I, like there were some like, LGBT people who thought, like, this is terrible. This is just like really cringy and stuff like that.

Others who actually appreciate it and like, and I mean, I read interviews where the Duffer brothers and Noah Schnapp, who is gay as well. Like, I mean, they worked really Hard on coming to that. I see it both ways.

Like, my preference would have been it to have been a more like intimate with like him and his mom and him and Mike and like, you know, kind of thing. I. But at the same time I see the power of, you know, coming out in the 80s to a big group, even ones who would be predominantly supportive.

That's a big deal, you know, like, so I get that the thing. It's not. But the thing though that like in it was after that scene.

So like this was supposed to be this big liberating moment for him that enabled him to fight Vecna more than ever and like overcome his fears. I. He already kind of had that moment in season. I thought season four. I mean, I'm sorry, volume, like episode four in volume one.

That was really the moment where he. Because like that was when he thought guard his fears. That when he took over the Demogorgons, like that was infinitely more powerful.

Whereas like in the finale, I. He didn't really do anything new there.

Like, there wasn't really any new powers unlocked after, you know, he had been like so afraid to reveal a sexuality and like really identity. And so I thought it would have like opened up something more, but it really just kind of. They did kind of the same thing, you know, there.

And so that was the only thing. But. Yeah, yeah. I mean, so the. Yeah, when I first saw that I was like, eh, this is a little cringy.

I like elements of it, but overall I would have preferred it to be a more intimate scene. It just felt a little forced, like group thing. Yeah, yeah.

I kind of do agree with the notion, like you like, you and like you kind of alluded to that it just brought everything to a halt of a sudden. And then. Right, right, right then like they were clearly trying to set up something and I was like, okay, so what are you trying to say?

And then they said like you said the. They said the. The same thing that we saw in that. In that. In that episode. In his was his empowerment and stuff, which is a great.

But I was like, okay, it's all right. It's good to have that, I guess.

Yeah, right, right. It was just like. I don't know. It just would have. You know, and. Yeah. And again, there was just some like dialogue and stuff.

Like really throughout the season. I was like, eh, really? I don't know. This could be like, this could worked on. But yeah, I mean, I. But I also don't want to speak too much.

Like, I like, I. Again, I want to hear more from LGBTQ people to, like, share their thoughts there. But.

But that was just kind of my general thoughts on, again, those episodes five through seven.

It wasn't so much like the plotting was, like, you know, ludicrous as much so it was just like, the pacing and execution was, like, my biggest issues with those episodes. But then, you know, and so I was nervous going into the finale because I was like, how are they going to wrap all this up?

But I thought they did a really good job.

Like, and I liked how it was balanced between, okay, the first half is the big battle and tying everything up, and then the, you know, the last half is, you know, this extended epilogue. But I think that was very appropriate. I liked seeing, you know, the. The core emotional moments be the.

It has been the beating heart of the series from the very beginning, really come to a satisfying payoff in those final 49.

And. And pretty much. And pretty. They were. They were able to make such a great ending without anybody dying.

Really. Everyone, you know, and everyone stayed. Yeah.

I mean, and I did joke with friends of, like, I was texting a friend that night of, like, wow, if I had this much plot armor in real life, I would be invincible. But, you know, so, I mean, it was.

But at the same, you know, I get that it's ultimately like, yes, everyone was waiting for, you know, oh, who's gonna die, is gonna die. But ultimately, I mean, this is not a Game of Thrones show. This isn't that kind of where, like, there was a.

Like, this is a coming of age, like, character. And like, yes. You know, it makes it for a little Lucas that, like, they all survived this thing, but it made.

That also paved the way for a really touching, heartfelt final 45 minutes that I'm really glad. And I loved where all the characters ended up. I mean, Steve, you know, being a teacher and having a Little league team. Yeah, that was fantastic.

And, you know, and Dustin's speech at the graduation, man.

Yes. Yes.

In. I love how he touched on the division of, like, the jocks and the nerds because they did such a good job, at least for me.

Like, I did experience that a lot. Like, there was that clear division between the people that were nerdy and that were not nerdy and then.

Sure, sure, they fleshed that out from the nerd side. You what? I mean, they fleshed it out so well, I thought. But then they. They don't twist it. Like, they. They don't stay there.

And they fleshed out the fact that. That, yes, we are different. But we are together and we all, and we all, we all came together to, to. To defeat this. But they all came together.

And I thought that was beautiful. I. I thought that was beautiful.

I do too. That was great. I also, I guess there were also memes about like, wow, how did Max graduate when she was in coma for a couple years. Okay.

I have to say here though that like, as someone who's disabled, who I missed about a year of elementary school in total when I went, I'd like through various like illnesses, broken bones, all of that. When I added up all the time, I was like, okay, I missed about a year. I never got held back.

So like, I missed plenty of school throughout my grade school experience. So I actually, I. I'll give them a pass there. They also, I mean, come on, they. They endured collective trauma as a town.

They can let these kids, you know, go on and graduate. But. But yeah, so. So overall, I mean, yeah, I mean there was like, there's the things I can impact.

There's, you know, things that like weren't as great as other seasons. But I thought overall, you know, as one of my favorite shows of all time, if not my favorite, you know, it came to an overall satisfying conclusion.

I do recommend watching the documentary. I will say one of the things that been pointed out is like, you know, they reveal in there.

I was surprised that they dropped this so close after the series ended because like, while I love consuming this kind of stuff, I'm like, it gives a little too much info for, for right when the show ended. I feel like it would have been better drop it like months after, a year after.

But I mean, they revealed that when they went into production on season five, they hadn't had a finalized script for the series finale at that time, which is itself like a movie. And I'm like, you know, that, you know, doesn't make them look great there. I mean that's not uncommon for a particularly like longer form shows.

Like, you know, back in the days of like 20, 22, 23 episode. Yeah, they were writing those that they went.

But you know, for one like this where while they are longer episodes, it's only eight episodes and they had, you know, a lot of time to plan. That's something they should have, you know, probably locked in before.

But you know, but it nonetheless, it was fascinating to see, you know, insight into the production inside, into the creative process. I mean, I'm a nut for all that stuff, so I do recommend checking it out. It was pretty cool. Yeah.

See a Lost DVD features You know?

Yeah, exactly. Exactly. That's what's being now. It's like now instead we've got Netflix documentaries and YouTube videos and stuff and all that. But. Yeah, so, yeah.

But overall, I mean, hey, it's Stranger Things. I'm always going to love it. And I, I was really happy getting to see that on the big screen.

And correct me if I'm wrong, but I think this might be one of the last, like, the franchises or something that's a fairly new to capture the world's eye, you know what I mean? Like, Stranger Things was a big deal. It was a big deal and it came out of nowhere, you know?

Yep. I think you're absolutely right. Like, there's not. I mean, there are so many shows and movies now, and it's more like.

I mean, I hate this word, but like, like, you know, of, like, it's, you know, content out there, you know, stuff.

But like, but like a pop culture sensation like this, like, no, it's, I mean, like, I, I, if another happens like that, I, I think it's gonna be a while and I don't know what the next big thing will.

I don't think that's a bad thing. Like, because the, the, the, the streaming and Internet has kind of changed the landscape of this kind of stuff, but.

Right.

But I can see the value in like, having a small little pop culture things here and there, but. Yeah, but this was huge.

Sure.

But this was huge.

No, it's a great point. I mean, that's a, like, it's just rare that you get something of that magnitude. Yeah. So I don't know what we'll see.

I mean, like, you know, I mean, we've got existing franchises, but I don't know if there will be something like this again or in the near future. We'll see. Cool. But we do have that. They are.

They did drop the teaser for the animated spin off, which I think it's a little soon to, like, do another one. They, like, there's good, but it looks fun, though.

I know that we want to close up, but I went down a huge deep dive on the. On what the Stranger Things, specifically season one and probably season two were that. On what they were based on.

Do you know what they were based on?

Like, all the, like, all the movies and stuff or like. Oh, you're talking about that book. What's it called?

Montage Files.

Like the Monta. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Fascinating conspiracy.

I've never read it, but like, yeah.

Holy cow. I had no, no idea the level of Just absurdity that might have happened. You know what I mean? Like. Like these stuff that these people were saying.

Yep. And they considered calling the series that back. You know, back when.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I thought that was fun because I had no idea. I had no idea.

Yes. I. I didn't know that for a while, but I learned that I don't remember exactly when, but. But yeah, it's fascinating. Awesome.

Well, Evan, this has been. I know we could go on and on, but we do need to wrap up here.

So before we go, Evan, if you had to recommend either one of the things we discussed tonight or something totally different, what do you want to give a shout out to?

I'll throw in something completely different. And it's a theme park thing. Disney dropped on the Disney plus streaming service. I don't know why I said like that, but they dropped.

It's a documentary of sorts, but it's more of a footage of the. Of the opening of Disneyland and how they.

Okay.

How it was such a time crunch and how. And how they were able to. To put a whole theme park together in less than a year. It was insane.

Oh, I think I have seen that. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Because there's a lot of good. Yeah. Behind the scenes.

Yeah. So a lot of things that they could not do today, for sure. A lot of OSHA violations and stuff. But that was a fun peek behind the curtain.

A lot of cool things.

The history of Disneyland and Disney World are fascinating.

Whenever someone says, like they oppose a question about where would you go if you had a time machine? And the opening up of Disneyland is what I want to do because it's so filled with.

Or.

And it. And, and. And it sparked a whole industry that I love, you know, so, yeah, totally excellent choice.

So you can easily binge it over a weekend. It is some of the best storytelling you're gonna see. I mean, definitely not just in comic book like, but. But I mean. Oh, it's brilliant.

I mean it, it helps if you've read the Watchmen comic, but honestly, you can go into it fresh and they tell you what you need to know. Like it. It serves as a sequel to Watchmen and it crafts an original story. It's absolutely phenomenal.

I mean, him, Regina King, Tim, Blake Nelson, you know, wonderfully written by Damon Lindelof and a bunch of others.

Oh, I love Damon Lindelof.

Yeah. All right. It's, I think, one of the best things he's ever done. Yeah. Better. So I.

So I did leftovers because, man, oh, boy, I love leftovers.

I've not seen leftovers, but I need to. Yeah, I know, I know, I know. This came out, like, right after that. So I. I mean, yeah, yeah. And he may have worked with the same people. I'm not sure.

But. But yeah, no, that's. That's one.

So if you finish Wonder man and are itching for more of Mateen's work and you want to see just another great, you know, character driven story driven comic book property, that is an excellent one.

Cool. Cool.

So awesome. Well, Evan, this has been fantastic. Thank you so much for joining me night.

And for listeners out there, you know, if you missed the live recording, hey, you can join our Facebook group to interact with us there and, you know, again, rate or review the show. Wherever you get your podcast, it really helps us. And I want to give a shout out to more of our Patreon subscribers.

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