The Incomparable Mothership

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! For the holiday, we give you a turkey of a movie about a duck. It’s 1986’s “Howard the Duck.” (No way to conceal it.) "Howard the Duck" Jason Snell with Annette Wierstra, Erika Ensign, Moisés Chiullán, Monty Ashley, Steve Lutz and David J. Loehr Referenced Works Howard the Duck 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.

Dan Moren’s new novel ‘All Souls Lost’ is a departure from his previously published work, but not as much as you might think. Antony talks to him about the book, how it came to be, and why it was a long time in the making. Dan Moren's "All Souls Lost" Antony Johnston and Dan Moren Referenced Works All Souls Lost [Amazon] [Apple] Author Interviews 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 have some suggestions for the next round of “Star Trek” TV series. "Star Trek" pitch draft Jason Snell with Monty Ashley, Moisés Chiullán, Joe Rosensteel, David J. Loehr and Heather Berberet Referenced Works Star Trek (franchise) Show Notes & Links Monty - Star Trek: Alternate Universe (R-Rated) Moises - Star Trek: Sector 001 Joe - Lower Decks live-action follow-on (Jason’s: Beta Shift) David - Star Trek: Borderlands Heather - Lives of a Trill Jason - Starfleet Medical Monty - Star Trek: Future Marvels (history of things in star trek) Moises - Star Trek: Trekballs Joe - Drunk Star Trek History David - It Treks a Thief, with Harry Mudd Heather - Georgiou, Mariner, Section 31 Jason - Star Trek: Galaxies / Andromeda Explorer (maybe anime style?) Monty - mirror universe, babies, what’s going on at the gangster planet Moises - Star Trek: Grissom, Engineering Joe - Star Trek: Reliant, Quark’s Kitchen Nightmares David - Looking Glass War, Travelers, Cetacean Ops, Orion’s Flag Means Death Heather - Family focused show, think “Army Wives”; Captain Emergency Hologram Jason - Guardians of Forever, Space Archaeology! (Dead civilizations that build larger mystery but with Raiders feel), Geordi LaForge’s Tales From the Fleet Museum!, Beta shift (lower decks live-action follow on) 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.

A mother seeks help for her troubled daughter from a medical profession that’s unable to find an answer it can believe. A priest questions his faith, until he gets projectile vomited in the face by a 12-year-old girl with her head spinning around. It’s a horror classic. We celebrate the 50th anniversary of “The Exorcist”! "The Exorcist" (1973) Jason Snell with Steve Lutz, Tiff Arment, Brian Hamilton, Moisés Chiullán and Dr. Drang Referenced Works The Exorcist (1973) 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.

Grab some kindling and prepare to board up a window! Old Movie Club gets in the spirit of the spooky season with the 1969 movie that started it all—and by “all” we mean what we now think of as zombies—“Night of the Living Dead.” For a low-budget movie that features mostly amateur actors and fell out of copyright, it’s a certifiable classic. We’re certifying it right now. If you don’t like it, go back down to the basement, because we’re the boss of the upstairs. "Night of the Living Dead" Jason Snell with Tiff Arment, Steve Lutz, Philip Michaels and Erika Ensign Referenced Works Night of the Living Dead (1969) 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.

The Book Club closes the door on this year’s awards shortlist with some lively book ranking and a tour of the nominated short fiction. Awards novel wrap and Hugo short fiction! Jason Snell with Aleen Simms, Erika Ensign, Scott McNulty and Heather Berberet Referenced Works Legends & Lattes [Amazon] [Apple] Spear [Amazon] [Apple] Babel [Amazon] [Apple] Mountain in the Sea [Amazon] [Apple] Nettle & Bone [Amazon] [Apple] The Spare Man [Amazon] [Apple] The Daughter of Doctor Moreau [Amazon] [Apple] Nona the Ninth [Amazon] [Apple] The Kaiju Preservation Society [Amazon] [Apple] Show Notes & Links Our collective Hugo & Nebula shortlist rankings: Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree Spear by Nicola Griffith Babel by R. F. Kuang The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler / Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher (tie) The Spare Man by Mary Robinette Kowal The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia Nona the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi Novellas Even Though I Knew the End by C.L. Polk Into the Riverlands by Nghi Vo A Mirror Mended by Alix E. Harrow Ogres by Adrian Tchaikovsky What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher Where the Drowned Girls Go by Seanan McGuire Best Novelette “The Difference Between Love and Time” by Catherynne M. Valente “A Dream of Electric Mothers” by Wole Talabi “If You Find Yourself Speaking to God, Address God with the Informal You” by John Chu “Murder By Pixel: Crime and Responsibility in the Digital Darkness” by S.L. Huang “The Space-Time Painter” by Hai Ya “We Built This City” by Marie Vibbert Best Short Story (Our apologies that some of these stories aren’t available anywhere on the Internet in English… hopefully the attention given by the Hugo nominations will lead to them being available eventually.) “D.I.Y.” by John Wiswell “On the Razor’s Edge” by Jiang Bo “Rabbit Test” by Samantha Mills “Resurrection” by Ren Qing, translated by Blake Stone-Banks “The White Cliff” by Lu Ban “Zhurong on Mars” by Regina Kanyu Wang 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.

You will believe a man can fly… a seaplane! We take on the curious 2006 film “Superman Returns,” which is a sequel (sort of) to “Superman” and “Superman II” but most definitely not other movies. There’s a new cast and a new boyfriend for Lois, but Lex Luthor’s still obsessed with real estate. Also, this may be the last movie to feature a fax being sent from a yacht as a key plot point. "Superman Returns" Jason Snell with Erika Ensign, Shelly Brisbin, Cicero Holmes, Moisés Chiullán and David J. Loehr Referenced Works Superman Returns 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.

You will believe a man can fly again! Super September continues with a discussion of “Superman II,” a troubled production that shows all the signs of being a superhero classic… but falls short of the mark more often than we expected. "Superman II" Jason Snell with Shelly Brisbin, Erika Ensign and David J. Loehr Referenced Works Superman II [Amazon] 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 entered our viewing of 1978’s “Superman” with nostalgia and a sense of childlike wonder. We exited questioning everything about our fond memories of childhood. "Superman" (1978) Jason Snell with Erika Ensign, Shelly Brisbin, Steve Lutz and Chip Sudderth Referenced Works Superman (1978) 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 Book Club concludes its reading of the Hugo and Nebula shortlist novels with “The Daughter of Doctor Moreau” by Silvia Moreno-Garcia and “The Spare Man” by Mary Robinette Kowal. One’s an homage to H.G. Wells (sort of?) and the other plays like “The Thin Man” in space. Plus: We debate the meaning of star-rating systems, and what else are we reading? Jason Snell with Erika Ensign, Aleen Simms and Scott McNulty Referenced Works The Spare Man [Amazon] [Apple] The Daughter of Doctor Moreau [Amazon] [Apple] Show Notes & Links What are we reading? Scott McNulty Saint Death’s Daughter by C.S.E. Cooney Venomous Lumpsucker by Ned Beauman Aleen Simms The Darkness Outside Us by Eliot Schrefer Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher Erika Ensign The End of Everything (Astrophysically Speaking) by Katie Mack The Music of the Siphorophenes by C.L. Polk Can You Hear Me Now? by Catherynne M. Valente Jason Snell: Children of Memory by Adrian Tchaikovsky The Long Earth series by Terry Pratchett and Steven Baxter 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.