The Incomparable Mothership

After 800 episodes, we are in serious danger of repeating ourselves, but that never stopped us before. Some of our most prolific panelists fulfill the prophesy and draft Incomparable drafts. Jason begs them to give him new ideas, because after 800, he’s almost run out. And we use our powers for good and evil to mark classic episodes for deletion. title_boring Jason Snell with Annette Wierstra, Dan Moren, David J. Loehr, Erika Ensign, Kathy Campbell, Moisés Chiullán, Monty Ashley and Shelly Brisbin Show Notes & Links Draft a draft (it culminates) Monty: 158/159 Film Festival II Annette: 695 Toy Draft Moises: 100 Who Cares What We Think? David: 535 Muppet Draft Erika: 192 Robots Kathy: 388 TV Theme Songs Dan: 329 Travesty Draft Shelly: 553 Bad Best Picture Jason: 479 Saturday Morning Draft Suggest a made-up holiday or summer theme Monty: Crossovermas Annette: Cage Fight Club / Cage Match Moises: Franktoberfest or Franksgiving David: Summer of Spies Erika: Summer of Sun / Summer of Summer Kathy: Streepstakes Dan: Every Version of Blade Runner Shelly: Decade of Disasters Jason: Valentine’s Day romcoms / F’sgiving / Summer of Kaiju Suggest a topic for a future episode Monty: Lawnmower Man/Lawnmower Man 2 Annette: Heated Rivalry Moises: Defeat the Fantasy RPG Final Battle Draft David: Network Erika: Tank Girl Kathy: Best First Role of famous actor draft, Books from your Childhood Dan: Mario Kart Tournament Shelly: Content you think somebody who is not SF/F native would enjoy/help get started Draft an episode you’d like to delete from the Incomparable archive Monty: 222 - Forcegiving Annette: 33 - Real Genius Moises: 22 - Stephen Fry (Does Not Appear) David: 139 - Wrinkle in Time Erika: 269 - Crazy Ivan Kathy: 382 - It’s a Wonderful Life / 202 2014 Hugos Dan: 58 - Greyskull Anonymous Shelly: 325 - Monster Mash Jason: 124/125 LOTR episode since we could do it properly (we could anyway) Support this show and other shows like it on The Incomparable network by becoming a member. Members get early access to podcasts, bonus episodes, and more.

Join John Siracusa, a deep-dive critic of sci-fi, Sandra Wong, a media commentator, and Annette Wierstra, who shares reactions on storytelling, as they dissect Noah Hawley’s "Alien: Earth." They explore the sidelined xenomorphs, the emergence of new alien species like the eye-alien, and the show’s blend of corporate themes with body horror. Discussions cover ethical dilemmas of consciousness transfer, pacing issues, and the intriguing character dynamics, ultimately concluding with mixed but hopeful feelings for a potential second season.

Our most frequent panelists of the year join Jason to talk about their favorite stuff from the year gone by, and we also pause to recall some favorite Incomparable moments. Synergy! The Best of 2025 Jason Snell with Erika Ensign, Moisés Chiullán, Tony Sindelar, David J. Loehr, Annette Wierstra, Scott McNulty, Dan Moren and Brian Warren Show Notes & Links Erika: North of North, “The Same Old Wasted World” by Motion City Soundtrack Moisés: Sinners, Frankenstein, Running Man, Ludwig, Bookish, Nautilus, Tucci in Italy, Split Fiction, Donkey Kong Bananza, Downey Wrote It, the Super Bowl Shuffle Tony: Sinners, Frankenstein, Superman, Wake Up Dead Man, The Studio, Andor, The Lowdown, Frieren Beyond Journey’s End, Odd Taxi David: The Lowdown, Wake Up Dead Man, North of North, Sinners, Dark Winds, Jason Mantzoukas on Taskmaster, Dead in the Frame by Stephen Spottswood, Good Spirits by B.K. Borrison, KPop Demon Hunters, Star Trek: Khan, Only Murders in the Building, The First Snow of Fraggle Rock Annette: Slutty Little Glasses, Heated Rivalry, Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy, Taskmaster, K-Pop Demon Hunters, North of North, Wake Up Dead Man, The Residence Scott: Barker & Lllewellyn series by Will Thomas, The Devils by Joe Abercombie, Moonbound by Robin Sloan, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, The Diplomat, Fantastic Four: First Steps, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Star Trek Lego, Lego Ferris Wheel with Fireworks, Tiny Heart Legos in general Dan: Wake Up Dead Man, Thunderbolts, American Fiction, Thelma, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, Empire of the Wolf by Richard Swan, The Hierarchy (The Will of the Many, Strength of the Few) by James Islington, If Wishes Were Retail by Austin Habershaw, Don’t Trust Fish, Recommending The Lowdown to Tony, Andor, Skeleton Crew, Down Cemetery Road, Peacemaker, Severance, Foundation, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle Brian: Dungeon Crawler Carl, Heretical Fishing, Beware of Chicken, He Who Fights With Monsters, Severance, Ape Club (Escape from the Planet of the Apes), ARC Raiders, Dept. Q, The Pitt, Dropout TV, Thunderbolts, Taskmaster Jason: Sleeper Beach, Automatic Noodle, Moonbound, Barker & Lllewelyn series, The Pitt Pluribus, Ludwig, Severance, Hacks, Shoresy, Dept. Q, Das Boot, The Rest is History Support this show and other shows like it on The Incomparable network by becoming a member. Members get early access to podcasts, bonus episodes, and more.

Kilmas comes but once a year! This year we’re climbing into the cockpit and revisiting 1986’s “Top Gun,” starring some airplanes, Val Kilmer, and Tom Cruise. It’s a very subtle movie. Were Tony’s parents right in protecting his young mind from it? And most importantly, why do we remember Val Kilmer’s character being the villain when he’s actually the conscience of the entire film? "Top Gun" Jason Snell with Annette Wierstra, Katie Mack, Erika Ensign, Tony Sindelar and Brian Warren Referenced Works Top Gun Val Kilmer Show Notes & Links Support this show and other shows like it on The Incomparable network by becoming a member. Members get early access to podcasts, bonus episodes, and more.

Our Ape Club reconvenes to celebrate the holidays with a viewing of 1971’s “Escape from the Planet of the Apes!” Is this an ape movie or an episode of “Mannix”? What happens when you change lanes on the Freeway of Time? Why is Zira the smartest of all creatures, ape or human? And was Dr. Cornelius framed by big government? Apes smart, humans dumb! "Escape from the Planet of the Apes" Jason Snell with John Moltz, Annette Wierstra, Brian Warren and David J. Loehr Referenced Works Planet of the Apes (franchise) Escape from the Planet of the Apes Show Notes & Links Support this show and other shows like it on The Incomparable network by becoming a member. Members get early access to podcasts, bonus episodes, and more.

Set in a bright retro-future world, “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” doesn’t have anything to do with the Marvel Cinematic Universe… yet. We analyze the latest attempt to translate Marvel’s first family to the big screen, including the trade-offs involved in introducing characters, not retreading the origin story again, turning Galactus into Rumplestiltskin, and the inevitable downbeat ending that never comes. "The Fantastic Four: First Steps" Jason Snell with Erika Ensign, Moisés Chiullán, Scott McNulty and Chip Sudderth Referenced Works Fantastic Four: First Steps Marvel Cinematic Universe Show Notes & Links Support this show and other shows like it on The Incomparable network by becoming a member. Members get early access to podcasts, bonus episodes, and more.

We celebrate Fangsgiving with a visit to darkest Transylvania (and Germany) for the plague-stricken, rat-infested tale of “Nosferatu”, a legally questionable knock-off of “Dracula” more than a century old that surprisingly reinvigorates the classic lines of the Dracula story. "Nosferatu" (2024) Jason Snell with Steve Lutz, Annette Wierstra, Tiff Arment and Tony Sindelar Referenced Works Nosferatu (2024) Show Notes & Links Support this show and other shows like it on The Incomparable network by becoming a member. Members get early access to podcasts, bonus episodes, and more.

Ever wonder what happened to The Oneders? We celebrate Hanksgiving by discussing Tom Hanks’s love letter to ’60s pop that’s also a clear-eyed look at the machinery of the entertainment business, “That Thing You Do!” Powered by a legitimately classic pop song, a stunning cast (turns out, Tom Hanks knows some people), and scenes of joy, warmth, and kindness, this is a film that we find ourselves revisiting often. Happy Hanksgiving to all! And make it snappy! "That Thing You Do!" Jason Snell with Erika Ensign, Lex Friedman, Brian Warren, Kathy Campbell and Dan Moren Referenced Works That Thing You Do! Show Notes & Links Support this show and other shows like it on The Incomparable network by becoming a member. Members get early access to podcasts, bonus episodes, and more.

If you’ve been thinking of reading Science Fiction and Fantasy but had no idea where to start, we’re here to help. Our panel of longtime SF/F readers has some suggestions just for you! New to SF/F reading list Jason Snell with Aleen Simms, David J. Loehr, Erika Ensign, Heather Berberet and Sandra Wong Show Notes & Links David - The Human Division by John Scalzi Aleen - Old Man’s War by John Scalzi Erika - A Spindle Splintered by Alix E. Harrow Heather - Jack the Bodiless by Julian May Sandra - The Butcher of the Forest by Premee Mohamed Jason - The Rook by Daniel O’Malley David - The Mimicking of Known Successes by Malka Older Aleen - Monk & Robot (Psalm for the Wild-Built/Prayer for the Crown-Shy) by Becky Chambers Erika - The Midnight Bargain by C.L. Polk Heather - The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood Sandra - Blood Over Bright Haven by M.L. Wang Jason - The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker David - To Say Nothing Of The Dog by Connie Willis Aleen - The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty Erika - Summer in Orcus by T. Kingfisher Heather - Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow Sandra - The Archive Undying by Emma Mieko Candon Jason - 11/22/63 by Stephen King Additional choices (may not be approved by Jason) David - Calculating Stars by Kowal, Exhalation by Ted Chiang, Quantum Love Story by Mike Chen, All Our Wrong Todays by Elan Mastai, A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle, A Canticle for Liebowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr., Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey, Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, Engines of God and Polaris by Jack McDevitt Aleen - Vorkosigan Saga by Lois McMaster Bujold, The Expanse by James S.A. Corey, Zombie Fallout by Mark Tufo, Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman, Daevebad Trilogy by S.A. Chakraborty, Uprooted by Naomi Novik, Emily Wilde series by Heather Fawcett, Nettle and Bone by T. Kingfisher, Automatic Noodle by Annalee Newitz, Streets of London by Ben Aaronovich, All Souls Lost by Dan Moren, Baking Bad by Kim M. Watt, The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo, The Broken Earth by N.K. Jemisin, The Seven-Year Slip by Ashley Poston, Ninefox Gambit by Yoon Ha Lee Erika - Galactic Cold War by Dan Moren, And Then There Was n-1 by Sarah Pinsker, Shadow Police by Paul Cornell, A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher, Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree, Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher, Witches of Lychford by Paul Cornell, Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison, The Broken Earth by N.K. Jemisin, A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine, Imperial Radch by Ann Leckie, Machineries of Empire by Yoon Ha Lee Heather - Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice, Silo by Hugh Howey, Scholomance by Naomi Novik, Hunger Games by Susan Collins, Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper Sandra - Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse, A Heart of Blood of Ashes by Milla Vane, October Daye by Seanan Mcguire, Saints of Steel by T. Kingfisher, The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin Jason - Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir, The Yiddish Policeman’s Union by Michael Chabon, The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers, Service Model by Adrian Tchaikovsky, The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey, The Steerswoman by Rosemary Kirstein, Pattern Recognition by William Gibson, Borderline by Mishell Baker, Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel, Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi, Shards of Honor/Barrayar by Lois McMaster Bujold, Uprooted by Naomi Novik, Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin Support this show and other shows like it on The Incomparable network by becoming a member. Members get early access to podcasts, bonus episodes, and more.

Pixar Club re-forms to discuss “Elio,” the studio’s lowest-grossing feature film of all time. Funny thing, though… it’s a pretty good movie? It’s funny, has some space adventure and gross-but-lovable aliens, and even has a nice message about making connections. Look, we didn’t go see it in the theater either, but we sure had a fun time watching it on Disney+. "Elio" Jason Snell with Moisés Chiullán, Brian Hamilton and Annette Wierstra Referenced Works Pixar Animation Studio Elio Show Notes & Links Support this show and other shows like it on The Incomparable network by becoming a member. Members get early access to podcasts, bonus episodes, and more.