The Incomparable Mothership

We return to “Ted Lasso” to discuss the second season of the Apple TV+ comedy-become-dramedy, with an increased view into mental health, questions of relationship power dynamics, the power of Rom-Communism and Holiday Specials, and much more. [The original version had two minutes of weird audio at 18:30. You can press “forward 30 seconds” four times, or delete the file and re-download.] "Ted Lasso" season 2 Jason Snell with Myke Hurley, Kelly Guimont, James Thomson and Dan Moren Sponsors TerryRunte.com - Celebrate the life and work of Terry Runte and discover some fun behind-the-scenes Hollywood stories. (Remember “Super Mario Bros.”?) Referenced Works Ted Lasso 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 reconvenes to discuss two final 2021 Best Novel nominees, “Harrow the Ninth” and “The Relentless Moon.” We also discuss all the Hugo Award nominees for short fiction, rank the books, and recommend some books we’ve been reading lately! 2021 SF/F Novel Shortlist, part 3 Jason Snell with Scott McNulty, Erika Ensign and Aleen Simms Referenced Works Harrow the Ninth [Amazon] [Apple] The Relentless Moon [Amazon] [Apple] Show Notes & Links What Are We Reading? Erika: “Light Chaser”, by Peter F. Hamilton and Gareth L. Powell “The Galaxy, and the Ground Within” by Becky Chambers Aleen: Lois McMaster Bujold “Every Heart a Doorway” by Seanan Maguire Scott: “In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler’s Berlin” by Erik Larson “A Psalm for the Wild-Built” by Becky Chambers “The Personal Librarian” by Marie Benedict “Why Fish Don’t Exist: A Story of Loss, Love, and the Hidden Order of Life” by Lulu Miller “The Dictionary of Lost Words” by Pip Williams Jason: “The Angel of the Crows” by Katherine Addison “City of Stairs” by Robert Jackson Bennett “A Psalm for the Wild-Built” by Becky Chambers “The Premonition: A Pandemic Story” by Michael Lewis “Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City by K.J. Parker Best Novel The Incomparable’s Rankings: “Piranesi”, Susanna Clarke (3 first-place votes, 5.25 average) “Black Sun”, Rebecca Roanhorse (1, 4.5) “The Relentless Moon”, Mary Robinette Kowal (3.25) “Network Effect”, Martha Wells (3) “The City We Became”, N.K. Jemisin (2.75) “Harrow The Ninth”, Tamsyn Muir (2.25) Best Novella “Come Tumbling Down”, Seanan McGuire (Tor.com) “The Empress of Salt and Fortune”, Nghi Vo (Tor.com) “Finna”, Nino Cipri (Tor.com) “Ring Shout”, P. Djèlí Clark (Tor.com) “Riot Baby”, Tochi Onyebuchi (Tor.com) “Upright Women Wanted”, Sarah Gailey (Tor.com) Best Novelette “Burn, or the Episodic Life of Sam Wells as a Super”, A.T. Greenblatt (Uncanny Magazine, May/June 2020) “Helicopter Story”, Isabel Fall (Clarkesworld, January 2020) “The Inaccessibility of Heaven”, Aliette de Bodard (Uncanny Magazine, July/August 2020) “Monster”, Naomi Kritzer (Clarkesworld, January 2020) “The Pill”, Meg Elison (from Big Girl, (PM Press)) “Two Truths and a Lie”, Sarah Pinsker (Tor.com) Best Short Story “Badass Moms in the Zombie Apocalypse”, Rae Carson (Uncanny Magazine, January/February 2020) “A Guide for Working Breeds”, Vina Jie-Min Prasad (Made to Order: Robots and Revolution, ed. Jonathan Strahan (Solaris)) “Little Free Library”, Naomi Kritzer (Tor.com) “The Mermaid Astronaut”, Yoon Ha Lee (Beneath Ceaseless Skies, February 2020) “Metal Like Blood in the Dark”, T. Kingfisher (Uncanny Magazine, September/October 2020) “Open House on Haunted Hill”, John Wiswell (Diabolical Plots - 2020, ed. David Steffen) Emily VanDerWerff on the story behind "Helicopter Story" 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.

Old Movie Club likes to watch… old movies. And these are old movies about the price and perils of watching (and listening). We view the Hitchcock classic “Rear Window” and visit the smelly, greasy, fuzzy ’70s film for “The Conversation.” Also, we call back to the Summer of Spielberg with a discussion of how Francis Ford Coppola’s career making art films like “The Conversation” was derailed by fantastic commercial success. "Rear Window" and "The Conversation" Jason Snell with Dr. Drang, Philip Michaels, Dan Moren, Erika Ensign and David J. Loehr Referenced Works Rear Window The Conversation 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.

In this flash episode we discuss the head-scratching news from two of our favorite franchises, as the prodigal showrunners have returned! First it’s the news that Russell T Davies, who brought “Doctor Who” back in 2005, is reuniting with his producers from that era to produce and write the show. Then came the announcement that J. Michael Straczynski has been contracted with The CW to write a pilot for a rebooted “Babylon 5.” Can you go home again? Will they play the hits or strike out in new directions? Just a reminder, nobody is going to delete your favorite old episodes—not even the BBC. The prodigal showrunners return Jason Snell with Erika Ensign, Shannon Sudderth, Chip Sudderth and Steven Schapansky Referenced Works Doctor Who [Amazon] Babylon 5 [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.

Get out your bus ticket and get ready to go live on the Internet, because it’s time to talk “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.” Marvel returns exclusively to theaters, and so do we, as we discuss Tony Leung, the dangers of deferred maintenance on articulated buses, hanging a lantern on a dragon, and the emotional weight of a single arrow. "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings" Jason Snell with Moisés Chiullán, Kelly Guimont and David J. Loehr Referenced Works Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings Show Notes & Links Moisés’s movie list: Kung Fu Hustle God of Cookery Chungking Express In the Mood for Love The Grandmaster Rumble in the Bronx Supercop 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.

Arr, matey! Not only be it days from the equinox, but it be International Talk Like a Pirate Day. What better time to wrap up the Summer of Spielberg with “Hook,” a (misguided?) Peter Pan sequel starring Robin Williams as Peter, Dustin Hoffman as Captain Hook, and Julia Roberts as Tinkerbell, all gallivanting around a very crowded and overlit stage-set version of Neverland. We discuss the movie’s appeal to early-nineties kids, Spielberg’s commercial sensibility as a director, and the film’s many misguided creative decisions. "Hook" Jason Snell with John McCoy, Kathy Campbell, Moisés Chiullán and Annette Wierstra Sponsors Privacy: Smarter payments. Get $5 to spend on your first purchase. Referenced Works Hook Steven Spielberg Show Notes & Links Edited by Steven Schapansky. 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.

As we prepare to exit the Summer of Spielberg, things have taken a bit of a turn. We’ve taken out our surgical tools to diagnose just what went wrong with “Ready Player One,” in which a director who is much more interested in movies than video games and who himself deeply influenced 80s culture is put in charge of a too-faithful adaptation of a book about video games and 80s culture. We spent a lot of our time imagining a much better movie that could have been made instead of this one. "Ready Player One" (film) Jason Snell with Brian Hamilton, Erika Ensign, Annette Wierstra, Moisés Chiullán and Chip Sudderth Sponsors Privacy: Smarter payments. Get $5 to spend on your first purchase. Referenced Works Ready Player One Steven Spielberg Show Notes & Links Our episode about the book "Ready Player One" 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.

Hop on your tripod killing machine and watch out for common cold viruses — if it’s New Jersey, it must be an alien invasion! We cover 2005’s “War of the Worlds,” starring Tom Cruise as a dad who just wants to protect his kids from the end of the world. Well, maybe one of his kids. Screaming! Explosions! Implausible plot points! Not enough Miranda Otto! Maybe too much Tim Robbins! The 9/11 influence is strong in this one. "War of the Worlds" (2005) Jason Snell with Shelly Brisbin, Monty Ashley and Jean MacDonald Sponsors Privacy: Smarter payments. Get $5 to spend on your first purchase. Referenced Works War of the Worlds (2005) Steven Spielberg 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.

Stand up and prepare to operate your computer by waving your hands! The Summer of Spielberg continues with 2002’s “Minority Report,” a sci-fi noirish murder mystery combined with a vision of the future and a dose of social commentary. We discuss the future’s retinal-scanning obsession, Tom Cruise’s security eyes, and the amazing precog named Agatha. Is it now? I’m tired of the future. Jason Snell with Erika Ensign, James Thomson, Monty Ashley and Annette Wierstra Sponsors Privacy: Smarter payments. Get $5 to spend on your first purchase. Referenced Works Steven Spielberg Minority Report 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 Summer of Spielberg turns its eyes to “A.I. Artificial Intelligence,” a project begun by Stanley Kubrick and completed by Steven Spielberg. Whether it works for you may hinge entirely on if you consider it a science-fiction story or a fairy tale. We marvel at some great performances, are frustrated by some creative choices, and in the end find ourselves applauding the boldness of the ending. (Now pass us some tissues, we’re ugly crying.) "A.I. Artificial Intelligence" Jason Snell with Erika Ensign, Cicero Holmes and Monty Ashley Referenced Works Steven Spielberg A.I. Artificial Intelligence Show Notes & Links Edited by Steven Schapansky. 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.