The Review Show – Details, episodes & analysis

Episode 299. We are not numbers! We are free podcasters!! Our topic this episode is the 1967 British sci-fi mystery show The Prisoner. After suddenly resigning from his intelligence bureau, a spy known only as Number 6 is kidnapped and imprisoned in the eerily idyllic Village, where he's challenged with bizarre mind games until he gives up whatever terrible secret made him resign. We discuss the rotating cast of actors playing the Village's leader Number 2, the killer bubble, the mod coastal fashion aesthetic, a truly strange series finale for the ages, the show's place in TV history and its continuing influence, and who we would want to see in the oft-rumored Christopher Nolan adaptation.

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• (00:00) - Intro
• (00:04) - Welcome and banter
• (05:22) - Non-spoiler thoughts on The Prisoner
• (17:51) - Housekeeping
• (23:38) - Spoilers!! The Prisoner
• (01:42:06) - Review Show Bingo
• (01:48:10) - Recommendations
• (01:55:16) - What we are discussing next episode
• (01:59:57) - Outro

Episode 298. French cinema month concludes with the 1964 musical The Umbrellas of Cherbourg. It's the 1950s in a quaint French town, and young Genvieve is despondent over her boyfriend being sent off to war, and coming to terms with marrying a more sensible man whom she should love but doesn't. We talk about how the movie is sung through in its entirety and defies common musical structure, the vibrant color palette, why Genvieve's mom doesn't just marry the suitor herself if she adores him so much, and how we wish the movie was more about the industry specifics of umbrella design.

Click here to watch a video of this episode.

• (00:00) - Intro
• (00:04) - Welcome and banter
• (03:03) - Non-spoiler thoughts on The Umbrellas of Cherbourg
• (14:44) - Housekeeping
• (19:43) - Spoilers!! The Umbrellas of Cherbourg
• (01:12:59) - Review Show Bingo
• (01:14:45) - Recommendations
• (01:25:15) - What we are discussing next episode
• (01:32:15) - Outro

Episode 289. We're discussing Jordan Peele's 2019 horror film Us, about a family whose beach house is invaded by horrifying dopplegangers of themselves, after the mother survived an encounter with one of them when she was younger. We discuss the puzzling origin of these doubles and the unnerving abruptness of the movie's ending, dream logic, liminal spaces, and buff nerds.

Click here to watch a video of this episode.

• (00:00) - Intro
• (00:04) - Welcome and banter
• (01:35) - Non-spoiler thoughts on Us
• (13:41) - Housekeeping
• (17:21) - Spoilers!! Us
• (01:05:04) - Review Show Bingo
• (01:13:16) - Recommendations
• (01:21:27) - What we are discussing next episode
• (01:24:37) - Outro

Episode 201. We read the first two volumes of Jason Aaron's Thor comics featuring the Goddess of Thunder! After Thor becomes unworthy of Mjolnir, he bestows his name and heroic legacy to the mysterious masked woman whom the hammer chooses as its next wielder. Our new Thor deals with the threats posed by dark elves and the Roxxon corporation, while trying to hide her identity as Jane Foster. Jane is honored by her new powers, even as they take a terrible toll on her health.

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Episode 200. It's our 200th episode! Finally, we really learn about the concept of reviewing things from the 2014 scripted comedy series Review. Forrest MacNeil hosts a show where he reviews life experiences based on audience requests, and he has a sworn duty to embody each assignment to the fullest and provide a rating of 1-5 stars, regardless of the damage this may cause him and his loved ones. Forrest reviews stealing, eating 15 pancakes, getting divorced, eating 30 pancakes, going to space, starting a cult, and spending the night in a haunted house, all with unintended consequences that tear his family apart and force him to the brink of death while he insists the show must go on.

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Episode 199. We’re doing another sitcom trade, where we make each other watch shows we love that the other person has barely seen. Kyle brings us the pilot of Community and the episodes “Contemporary American Poultry” and “Remedial Chaos Theory.” Melissa brings us the pilot of Arrested Development and the episodes “Staff Infection” and “Good Grief.” We discuss faking your own death, chicken strips, 2003 time capsules, and variations on sitcom structures.

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Episode 198. We watched the original Godzilla movie from 1954! When fishing boats are destroyed off the coast of a small Japanese island, the authorities search for answers while the older locals recall legend of a mythical sea beast. An ancient creature now affected by dangerous radiation, Godzilla emerges and begins to attack Tokyo. As the citizens evacuate in a panic, scientists struggle with the moral quandary of killing a truly unique being and if their weapon against him will become a weapon that other countries use for war.

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Episode 197. We watched Darren Aronofsky's 2010 psychological thriller Black Swan. When ballet dancer Nina is cast in the prestigious role of the swan queen in Swan Lake, she's determined to make this a perfect performance. She begins cracking under the pressure of the rehearsals, her overbearing mother, and confusing attractions and rivalries within her dance troupe. As she struggles with performing the darker half of the role, she starts to see glimpses of her own dark other half.

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Episode 196. We read the Batman story Court of Owls, by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo. This was the start of Batman's New 52 storyline, and it's a great place to jump in for new readers! Gotham City has long heard of the Court of Owls, a secret elite council who controls the city through its assassin called Talon, but most people believe it's just a ghost story. Batman himself investigated it and found nothing. But when he's attacked and thrown into a mysterious underground maze, jeered on by figures in owl masks, he realizes that Gotham City has secrets that even its greatest protector could never understand.

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Episode 195. This month we finished reading the sci-fi manga series Knights of Sidonia by Tsutomu Nihei. The scientists of Sidonia are continuing to experiment with human/gauna hybrids, but they're not all as successful as Tsumugi. Tanikaze's domestic life grows with new housemates and new romantic rivalries and tensions. The pilots try to distract themselves from ongoing battles with a popularity contest, but all their bonds are at stake when a member of the Sidonia's immortal crew has a disastrous new plan to try and save humanity.

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