Ancient Geeks

Our first real episode discussed how Batman in the 60s and 70s played a big role in our early geek lives. Now, we jump ahead to the 80s and 90s, a golden age of Batman in the comics and on the screen. In now-classic series like The Dark Knight Returns, Batman: Year One, A Death In The Family, Batman: The Cult, the writers and artists pulled out all the stops. Batman in a dystopian future! Robin dies! Batman loses his mind, repeatedly! This was an extraordinary period for both writing and art featuring the world's greatest detective. We also discuss Tim Burton's Batman movie in the 1980s. To absolutely no one's surprise, we both loved it. What made this movie so very good? And how did it shape the future of the character? The Batman we know today emerged during this Bat-Renaissance. Hear what it was like to read and watch all this Bat-goodness for the first time, and hear why it had an impact on not just future incarnations of Batman, but also superheroes in general.  Ancient Geeks is a podcast about two geeks of a certain age re-visiting their youth. We were there when things like science fiction, fantasy, Tolkien, Star Trek, Star Wars, D&D, Marvel and DC comics, Doctor Who, and many, many other threads of modern geek culture were still on the fringes of culture. We were geeks before it was chic! For feedback, contact someancientgeeks@gmail.com. You can also find us on Facebook, Reddit, and Bluesky. And if you like what you hear, please tell a friend. Also, reviews on your podcast platform of choice are always appreciated. © 2025 Tom Grant and Steven Taylor  

Put on your polyester shirts and bellbottom jeans, because it's time for Steven and Tom to journey back to the 1970s, when superhero TV shows were popular. You'd think that we would have been excited to see our beloved comic book characters translated to the small screen...But the results were mixed, at best. Wonder Woman, The Incredible Hulk, Spider-Man, Captain America, The Six Million Dollar Man, and even Doctor Strange -- they're all here, kinda sorta. See the world's greatest superheroes sandwiched into the TV tropes of the 1970s! Gasp at the avocado carpets and gold wallpaper! Be amazed at the extremely sub-par writing and acting! Thrill at all the vans! (So many vans...)  Ancient Geeks is a podcast about two geeks of a certain age re-visiting their youth. We were there when things like science fiction, fantasy, Tolkien, Star Trek, Star Wars, D&D, Marvel and DC comics, Doctor Who, and many, many other threads of modern geek culture were still on the fringes of culture. We were geeks before it was chic! For feedback, contact someancientgeeks@gmail.com. You can also find us on Facebook, Reddit, and Bluesky. And if you like what you hear, please tell a friend. Also, reviews on your podcast platform of choice are always appreciated. © 2025 Tom Grant and Steven Taylor

Dragons and beholders and owlbears, oh my! During our geek formative years, we both discovered Dungeons & Dragons, and were instantly hooked. A sandbox where we have freedom to create our own heroic fantasy characters and stories, and we get to roll really cool-looking dice as well? Sign us up! In this episode, we cover the early years of D&D, from the white box edition through the first edition of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. Grab your character sheet and painted miniature and join us at the gaming table! Ancient Geeks is a podcast about two geeks of a certain age re-visiting their youth. We were there when things like science fiction, fantasy, Tolkien, Star Trek, Star Wars, D&D, Marvel and DC comics, Doctor Who, and many, many other threads of modern geek culture were still on the fringes of culture. We were geeks before it was chic! For feedback, contact someancientgeeks@gmail.com. You can also find us on Facebook, Reddit, and Bluesky. And if you like what you hear, please tell a friend. Also, reviews on your podcast platform of choice are always appreciated. © 2025 Tom Grant and Steven Taylor

The Empire strikes back, and so do we! In this episode, we discuss the rest of the original Star Wars trilogy. What was it like to await another Star Wars movie after the original smash hit? How did The Empire Strikes Back exceed expectations? Why were we less impressed with Return of the Jedi? It's all here. Characters with actual arcs. High-paced excitement. Fantastic practical effects. The biggest plot twist ever. An expanding universe. Everything that made the original trilogy iconic, seen from the point of view of the 70s and 80s, when it was all new. Ancient Geeks is a podcast about two geeks of a certain age re-visiting their youth. We were there when things like science fiction, fantasy, Tolkien, Star Trek, Star Wars, D&D, Marvel and DC comics, Doctor Who, and many, many other threads of modern geek culture were still on the fringes of culture. We were geeks before it was chic! For feedback, contact someancientgeeks@gmail.com. You can also find us on Facebook, Reddit, and Bluesky. And if you like what you hear, please tell a friend. Also, reviews on your podcast platform of choice are always appreciated. © 2025 Tom Grant and Steven Taylor

Star Wars, nothing but Star Wars...Steven and Tom re-visit the very, very first Star Wars movie. When it landed in the summer of 1977, it had an asteroid side impact on our brains, popular culture, and moviemaking. Come with us to the mall theater on opening day! Hear all the great things that practically knocked us out of your seats on that first showing! Listen to us talk about what it was like to see our friends and family follow under its spell! Gasp at how many times we saw it, and why, not to mention people who saw it even more! Cringe at the TV specials! Suit up in your home-made Han Solo costume! Star Wars was the first epic success of geek culture in our lifetimes, even bigger than the Batman TV show and other topics we've covered.  Journey back with us to the late Seventies to hear how this culture-defining movie changed our young geek lives...And how it conquered the world! Ancient Geeks is a podcast about two geeks of a certain age re-visiting their youth. We were there when things like science fiction, fantasy, Tolkien, Star Trek, Star Wars, D&D, Marvel and DC comics, Doctor Who, and many, many other threads of modern geek culture were still on the fringes of culture. We were geeks before it was chic! For feedback, contact someancientgeeks@gmail.com. You can also find us on Facebook, Reddit, and Bluesky. And if you like what you hear, please tell a friend. Also, reviews on your podcast platform of choice are always appreciated. © 2025 Tom Grant and Steven Taylor

We were both early Doctor Who fans, back when the iconic Doctor was a British eccentric with a long scarf, a floppy hat, a pocket full of Jelly Babies, and a robot dog as a sidekick. Or was he an older gentleman wearing a puffy shirt, driving an antique roadster? Or a grumpy, grandfatherly figure who could be kind of a jerk? We discuss the first five incarnations of the Doctor, his companions, and his antagonists. This was the Doctor as he first arrived on American shores, courtesy of PBS (!). Weird aliens! Imaginative plots! Epic science fiction TV on a low budget! It's all here. For feedback, contact someancientgeeks@gmail.com. You can also find us on Facebook, Reddit, and Bluesky. And if you like what you hear, please tell a friend. © 2025 Tom Grant and Steven Taylor

Make mine Marvel! In this episode, we talk about discovering Marvel Comics, what distinguished Marvel from DC comics. We focus on our first favorite characters, the Fantastic Four and Thor, which in many ways were the most over-the-top, cosmic of Marvel's stable of superheroes.  From the down-to-earth family dynamics of the Fantastic Four, to the vast vistas of Asgard and outer space, it's all here. Plus, we describe how we grow to love Jack "King" Kirby, for both his wild imagination and his distinctive art style. For feedback, contact someancientgeeks@gmail.com. You can also find us on Facebook, Reddit, and Bluesky. And if you like what you hear, please tell a friend. © 2025 Tom Grant and Steven Taylor

Classic science fiction writers were essential parts of our early geek lives. The influential SF writers from the 60s, 70s, and early 80s were almost too many to list! Asimov, Clarke, Heinlein, Le Guin, Zelazny, Ellison, Bradbury, Herbert, Dick, and countless others...In novels and short stories, they filled our brains with big ideas, and left us wanting for more!  In future episodes, we'll talk about many of these authors in greater depth. For now, let's take a galactic tour of classic science fiction. For feedback, contact someancientgeeks@gmail.com. You can also find us on Facebook, Reddit, and Bluesky. And if you like what you hear, please tell a friend. © 2025 Tom Grant and Steven Taylor

We talked about Tolkien last episode, and now we're on a fantasy roll! We discuss the classic fantasy writers we discovered in our youth: The Arthurian legends, Roger Zelazny, Michael Moorcock, Robert E. Howard, Fritz Leiber, Piers Anthony, Poul Anderson, Ursula Leguin, and many more. It was a time when sword and sorcery dominated the genre, but there were lots of other good fantasy stories to be read, too. Fantasy fiction in the 60s, 70s, and 80s was diverse, exciting, and fun – not just Tolkien imitators, but there were those, too. You'll hear about the best and worst from this time when fantasy laid down deep roots in geek culture. Plus, we talk about the differences between fantasy and science fiction, and whether those differences even matter. Look for future episodes that discuss these writers in greater depth. For feedback, contact someancientgeeks@gmail.com. You can also find us on Facebook, Reddit, and Bluesky. And if you like what you hear, please tell a friend. © 2025 Tom Grant and Steven Taylor

We're talkin' Tolkien! Steven and Tom discuss J.R.R. Tolkien, author of Farmer Giles of Ham, as well as lesser-known works like The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. Follow us as we followed Bilbo and Frodo through these unforgettable, iconic books. Come for the spectacularly detailed world-building and epic quests! Stay for singing elves, bad animated adaptations, the good live action movies, calendars, pirate editions of the trilogy, and more. Plus, can you guess which of us made it though The Silmarillion? And is Tom Bombadil really a merry old fellow? For feedback, contact someancientgeeks@gmail.com. You can also find us on Facebook, Reddit, and Bluesky. And if you like what you hear, please tell a friend. © 2025 Tom Grant and Steven Taylor