James’ Top 5 From 2016
Making this list was extra fun for me, because although I help select our topics–I almost never get to talk about them. The lone exception was Final Fantasy XV —check out that episode! Claire was surprised where our favorites overlapped, but I know she wasn’t surprised where Overwatch landed on this list. I’m pretty sure Kyle saw that coming too.
The Big Book of Science Fiction
This book is a treasure. I have loved science fiction since I was a kid, and only having read the introduction and a few of its many stories, I already think that this book is helping me appreciate the genre in a more thoughtful and meaningful way. Part of our podcast’s mission is to better understand where all of our favorite nerdy topics are born and how they evolve in the cultural conversation. Jeff and Ann VanderMeer’s have worked with a thorough passion to provide that understanding to their readers. The emotional impact of something like Ted Chiang’s “Story of Your Life”, in such a short space, took me by surprise and filled me with the anticipation of finding more jewels. I’m willing to bet that this book has more relevance to our show in the year ahead than anything else I’ve listed here. Listen Here
Captain America: Civil War
After the first Avengers movie and The Guardians of the Galaxy, I was starting to take great Marvel ensemble films for granted. Then I saw Age of Ultron… Luckily, Civil War has renewed my faith! The Russo brothers have now directed two of my favorite entries in this Disney epic film franchise, and managed not only to win me back over to the superhero team movie, but performed the most essential Marvel Studios feat: they had me looking forward to two more films before this one even ended. Listen Here
Daredevil
Daredevil makes my number 3 of all the works we covered last year, because this isn’t a “best” list—it’s a favorites list. And the heart wants what the heart wants. In this case my heart wants is a beautiful woman of dubious morality who murders magic ninjas. My heart also wants to watch Kingpin do…anything. I have literally enjoyed watching him stare at a blank wall. This show has flaws and in season 1, it sometimes got on my nerves. But, after season 2 gave me Élodie Young as Elektra, Jon Bernthal as The Punisher, and Vincent D’Onofrio as Kingpin I realized that I can’t get enough. Also, it’s worth noting that fight choreographer, Philip J. Silvera, is as good at his craft as any other artist connected to this list. Listen Here
Westworld
Sexy Robots. Wild West shootouts. Anthony Hopkins monologue-ing for more time and with more skill than anyone should be allowed. Beyond all these surface treats, West World takes on some of science fiction’s biggest questions: where does personhood begin? And what does personhood demand of us? This show takes its time to heat up to the finale, but I was perpetually intrigued by watching the actors who played hosts (robots) externalize an unknowably intricate internal journey. And I felt grateful that I could watch Anthony Hopkins perform writing this good. We’re lucky to still be able to watch him. Listen Here
Overwatch
Before writing this, I joked with Claire and Kyle that Overwatch was going to be numbers one through five on this list. I play other videogames, but I have an Overwatch habit. Part of my delight in it, is how different it is from my other favorite games. Competitive multiplayer was always too intimidating for me. From the time I was a teenager, I’ve preferred games with a compelling narrative. Somehow none of that matters with Overwatch. The character design is so captivating, and the world so bright, joyful, and cool that when I first saw one of their animated shorts I knew I had to play it. The game is so well balanced, that I liked it when I was bad at it. Now that I’m “okay” at it—I love it. AND I WILL GET BETTER. Listen Here
Claire’s Top 5 Topics From 2016
If you listen to our podcast you’ll know that I really enjoy a lot of the topics we talk about (it’s the benefit of choosing them). Therefore, narrowing them down to 5 has been quite a challenge. As much as I wanted to show a range of mediums most of my picks ended up being books… of course. Oh, and I didn’t include our throwback topic The Nightmare Before Christmas because that seemed like cheating
Uncharted:
This fifth spot was the hardest for me to fill because, like I said earlier, there were so many wonderful choices. At the end of the day this game was such a joy to play, or mostly watch in my case (one day I will master that Playstation controller). The story was riveting; I became invested in the characters from the get go. I cared about their relationships and the decisions they made in a way that I didn’t think was possible with a video game. Also you gotta love an Indiana Jones homage, which manages to capture the action and swashbuckling tone. Listen here
The Big Book of Science Fiction:
I feel so lucky we stumbled on to this. I think James found it on an online forum and we threw it into the mix last minute when another topic fell through. It is a gem! The work the editors Ann and Jeff Vandermeer put into finding these short stories is astounding. They feature authors from all over the world and stories that have been written as far back as 1897. I’ve been emotionally moved by every piece I’ve read so far (disclaimer: I haven’t gotten through too many since it’s 1166 pages). I can’t wait to get my hands on The Big Book of Fantasy, which reportedly is their next project. Listen here
The Witch:
This was one of the first episodes we ever recorded and now it seems like I watched this movie in a different lifetime. In reality it was March. The Witch is one of those topics where the research we did on it made me like it even more. As a history nerd I really appreciated the level of detail/research director Ryan Edgars put into the film. From appropriate 16th century candle lighting, to accurate sets, to what the Puritan lore. Also, it was a very engrossing story. I thoroughly enjoyed it, which is a lot coming from someone who hates scary movies. (I spent most of the film trying to hide behind my boyfriend’s shirt.) Listen here
Temeraire:
This might be controversial (for our podcast) since it’s one of the few topics Kyle and I disagreed on. But forget him, I loved, loved, loved these books. From the different quirky dragon characters, to the reimagining of how dragons would contribute to a Napoleonic battle, to the exploration of different countries and continents in the 1800s. History and magic, everything I want! I actually saved the last two books of this series for an 18-hour plane ride and it was the smartest thing I did because when the plane landed, I wasn’t ready to get off. I would have rather continued reading. Listen here
Six of Crows/Crooked Kingdom:
I say this all the time on the podcast. But YA fantasy is my entertainment comfort food. I’ll read mediocre works in the genre and still have a good time. But when it’s good… OMG! This fantasy heist set in a fictionalized Amsterdam kept me on the edge of my seat from the start. All of the characters were three-dimensional, the plot had wonderful twists and turns and as the cherry on top, we got to have author Leigh Bardugo and audio book narrator Lauren Fortgang as guests! Listen here