Season Four Conclusion – A Long-expected Goodbye!

PODCAST:

S4 Conclusion – A Long-expected Goodbye!*

SHOW NOTES:

So concludes another season of our podcast “No Deodorant In Outer Space” (NDIOS). This time around was a lot of fun. The inclusion of new guests with fresh perspectives really added to the catalog of thoughts, while at the same time it was comforting to catch up with old favorites as well (including my former co-hosts). For me, the season was a successful adventure that allowed me to pursue more stories with more people. Our discussions were just as eye-opening and maddening as before, and probably four times as enjoyable!

In taking on the helm by myself I was able to avoid most of the burn out and fatigue that was causing some strains in the previous iteration of the podcast. That said, and because of the way I chose to produce this unwieldy ship, I found myself becoming increasingly burdened and buried by the various administrative functions I felt were important to keep things afloat. It was a familiar place and the same one I found myself at by the end of Season Three. However, I had tried to streamline the process by recording an entire season worth of episodes ahead of time and held off the start until that was complete. This allowed me to release the podcast on a clockwork schedule with almost no hiccups along the way. Unfortunately, I did not account for the fact that life would get busier, as it often does, and that the postponed editing and administrative work would soon consume more and more of my free time once things got going. I was determined to keep things dutifully on schedule. For the podcast, I did. Inevitably, my writing aspirations took more and more of a backseat (as before).

I must therefore, again, bid you all farewell. There are no more NDIOS podcasts recorded. This journey has taken me the better part of two years: one spent lining up guests, reading, watching, and reviewing the material and recording the episodes; and the other spent editing and administering the show on a timely schedule. I enjoyed it all immensely! Thank you to everyone for participating and putting up with my neurotic personality while I produced our discussions. My guests were all great and the material was exciting to cover (even when it wasn’t!).

To anyone who listened I would also sincerely thank you for checking us out or continuing to listen to this crazy experiment. I hope it was as funny as it was informative (perhaps, sometimes, neither?!)–at the least I hope it served as a background distraction while you folded your laundry or tended to some yard work or avoided other chores that would have been a much better use of your time. Occasionally, life needs these indulgent distractions!

The future is dark and the stars are infinite. I do not know if the podcast will ever return or in what manner it might. I have had many thoughts on the subject, but nothing definitive. What I do know, is that I still cherish the medium and listen to many other (probably better) podcasts myself. Continue to support these efforts, its wonderful to have so many options to peak our curiosities and entertain us. Keep reading, keep watching, keep discussing, keep learning, and keep laughing!

With that I’ll say… Goodnight!**

-Ryan

**FYI: This episode recording is in small part an inspiration, tribute, and parody of the farewell speech made by the immortal character, Bilbo Baggins, for his 111th birthday party in the opening chapter, “A Long-expected Party,” of The Fellowship of the Ring as written by one of my most favorite authors: J.R.R. Tolkien.

 

 

* DISCLAIMER: Please be advised that the views and opinions of the hosts and guests of NDIOS are completely their own and do not necessarily reflect the views and beliefs of the other hosts and guests or that of NDIOS.

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Review: “The Haunting of Hill House” – Mike Flanagan

PODCAST:

S4E10X – The Haunting of Hill House (series)*

SHOW NOTES:

Wherein we slink through the many rooms and scurry past the plethora of ghosts in this ten episode arc, which ambitiously devours and expands upon the underlying source material forever circling the shadow of the director’s authorial inspiration. Thrice, now, we charm a tale of haunted houses and the psychological toll they reap upon their entrants. This rare late return bonus episode is abided again by Amanda Andros (playwright: https://www.instagram.com/scribblergrll/) and Laura Valle (Major Horror community fansite: https://www.facebook.com/welovescary/).

Everyone ranked this series above the 1999 remake, but below the 1963 classic. Ryan appreciated the chances the director took and the way he was able to weave in clever easter eggs, nods, and callouts to the novel. For Amanda, the character development was superb and cleverly done. Laura agreed on this point and lauded the director for excelling in this trait, but also questioned if the spirit of the book was maintained. Many comparisons were made to Stephen King. The ending proved a more difficult pill to swallow and the change in tone was perplexing if not frustrating and we digressed long on that subject.

All in all, the show was enjoyed and the general consensus was that watching the characters develop over the series (especially the middle episodes) provided an enjoyable, though sometimes uneven, experience. Laura was quick to point out that despite her reservations on how things wrapped up, she would be curious to check out other efforts by this director whose previous work she enjoyed.

-Ryan

 

WRITTEN SERIES REVIEWS:

“The Haunting (1963)” by Robert Wise (Julie Harris) (movie)

Ryan: 4 Stars “…they were ambitious and I think for the most part they succeeded in doing something that, in general, kept with most of the spirit of the book and also…survived on its own and I like sometimes when director’s do take a chance and just do their own thing…and he didn’t completely ignore the source material…”

Amanda: 3.75 Stars “…the character development is amazing…especially the female characters…and the relationships between the children both in their adult lives and as small children and the parents as well…the ending killed it for me I was just like this is so corny I can’t even see straight…”

Laura:  3 Stars “….if I could rate each episode individually there are some that I would give…a five…so many like really truly creepy moments…I wanted to see more of that…I wish he’d been braver with making that ending actually a haunting disturbing ending…”

 

FUN FACTOIDS:

Ryan mentioned listening to two podcast interviews with the director in preparing for this episode: Post Mortem with Mick Garris – https://audioboom.com/posts/7194291-mike-flanagan and Blumhouse: Shock Waves – http://podcast.blumhouse.com/shock-waves-episode-4-the-horrors-of-mike-flanagan.

During one of the interviews Mike Flanagan recalled watching Jim Henson‘s Fraggle Rock and in particular the Terrible Tunnel. You can watch this snippet of the Fraggle Storyteller muppet singing the song of the tale of the Terrible Tunnel here on YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9iQMJTVsTs. To learn more about the Terrible Tunnel go to this muppet fandom wiki: https://muppet.fandom.com/wiki/Episode_108:_The_Terrible_Tunnel.

Laura talked about two articles that reflected on the ending of this series. One article, “Let’s Talk About The Ending OF The Haunting of Hill House,” written by Alissa Fikse for Syfy Wire contains an interview with the director where he talks about how he decided to change the ending: https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/lets-talk-about-the-ending-of-the-haunting-of-hill-house. The other article, “‘Haunting of Hill House’: Oliver Jackson-Cohen Points to Red Room Clue That Hints Crains Never Made It Out,” written by Jenifer Maas for The Wrap contains an interview with one of the actors who has an interesting take on some of the hidden or not so hidden symbology woven into the episodes: https://www.thewrap.com/haunting-of-hill-house-red-room-ending-luke-oliver-jackson-cohen/. For more fun hidden images check out this article, “The Haunting of Hill House: All the Hidden Ghosts You Missed,” written by Brian Tallerico for Vulture which talks about the hidden ghosts in the show : https://www.vulture.com/2018/10/the-haunting-of-hill-house-hidden-ghosts.html. Ryan brought up another podcast (Geek’s Guide to the Galaxy) that reviewed the series and mentioned actor Russ Tamblyn (who played “Luke” in the 1963 film) made a cameo appearance as the psychologist for Nell: https://geeksguideshow.com/2018/10/26/ggg333-the-haunting-of-hill-house-season-1/.

Lastly, the three of us all took a guess (when recorded this episode) on whether or not there would be a second season of this show due to its perceived success. We were only kinda right. Check out this article, “‘Haunting of Hill House’ Renewed as Anthology, Creators Ink Overall TV Deal at Netflix,” written by Joe Otterson for Variety that explains what’s next: https://variety.com/2019/tv/news/haunting-of-hill-house-renewed-netflix-1203144815/.

 

* DISCLAIMER: Please be advised that the views and opinions of the hosts and guests of NDIOS are completely their own and do not necessarily reflect the views and beliefs of the other hosts and guests or that of NDIOS.

Review: “The Haunting” – Robert Wise – Jan de Bont

PODCAST:

S4E10M – The Haunting (movie)*

SHOW NOTES:

Wherein we weigh the two filmic adaptations of this supernatural horror story by two journeymen directors with somewhat similar tutelage, both of whom were supported by talented and capable casts, but with diverging results: one held close to the book’s psychological leanings while the other, bolstered by advancements in special effects, reached for a more thrilling terror experience. Amanda Andros (playwright: https://www.instagram.com/scribblergrll/) and Laura Valle (Major Horror community fansite: https://www.facebook.com/welovescary/) join me again as we return twice more to this not sane haunted house (with yet another review to follow later). 

Our discussions were lengthy and centered mostly around the production aspects for both movies. Amanda brought up the auteur style of directing, and while we contrasted these movies with that directorial form, we also saw a great deal of effort put into these visual expressions of the story. Laura had seen the first movie before and felt it was just as enjoyable to re-watch, but she was sorely disappointed in the later version which she had hoped would simply be a fun ride if nothing else. Ryan agreed with the overall consensus of his guests that the earlier black and white film captured all too well the psychological horror present in the book, yet the later director’s background in action films seemed to lead this work too far away from what made the original story great: i.e. the delicate balance between the psychological and supernatural.

We had loads of fun delving deeply into the backgrounds of these two talented directors and the various thoughtful elements they incorporated into their films. Contrasting the results led to interesting talk about various competing theories which directors must choose or blend when they undertake to make a visual representation of a work of literature. In many ways, this episode exemplifies the core of what the podcast is about. 

So, ignore creaky doors, incorporeal mutterings, those strange wall scrawlings, and odd spots of temperature shift–lean in, listen, stream and thrall with podcast musings and scary delight!

-Ryan

 

WRITTEN MOVIE REVIEWS:

“The Haunting (1963)” by Robert Wise (Julie Harris) (movie)

Ryan: 5 Stars “…The 1963 Film is a cleverly undertook film that perfectly captures the essence of Jackson’s book while empathizing the more psychological aspects in just the right way so that something slightly different and sinisterly Beautiful is realized…”

Amanda: 4 1/2 Stars “…The 63’ version was very Hitchcockian and Orson Wells with the camera angles, it was visually striking…it was a very close adaptation and visually enthralling as well as with the sounds and dialog…lot of internal monologuing in the 63’ version…”

Laura:  5 Stars “…The 63’ version is a fairly faithful adaptation of the book that really…used a lot of fantastic camera work and sound…was really scary and effective…”

*** * ***

“The Haunting (1999)” by Jan de Bont (Liam Neeson) (movie)

Ryan: 3 Stars “…while the 1999 remake attempts to pay tribute to the older cult classic but from a new angle by interjected thriller elements and choosing to focus on the supernatural elements which the previous film tended to avoid in a more grandiose way so that it tends to overshadow itself despite the heaps of talent involved…”

Amanda: 1/2 Star “…which was also very captivating. The 99’ version is just a grotesque funhouse and distortion of the novel…it was not faithful to the vision of the novel…”

Laura: 1 Star “…the 99’ version veered quite a bit from the original source material and was kind of a big mess of special effects and over the top…”  

 

FUN FACTOIDS:

On this episode we mentioned the real life hotel in England where some of the cast stayed and which served as the outside of Hill House for the 1963 movie. To learn more about the Eddington Park Hotel visit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ettington_Park_Hotel, or book a stay there: https://www.handpickedhotels.co.uk/ettingtonpark/#. Some of the strange experiences of the crew for that film reminded Amanda of the infamous curse alleged to afflict the cast and crew of the Poltergeist film series. Snopes did an article on this topic, “Is the ‘Poltergeist’ Curse Real?” which is found here:  https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/poltergeist-curse/.

The film school interview of director Jon de Bont mentioned by Ryan on the show took place at the New York Film Academy for the director’s release of his hit film “Twister,” and you can watch this here: https://youtu.be/CBuj1N-jVa0. Ryan also compared some of the over-the-top special effects in the 1999 movie to a typical concert by outrageous heavy metal rockers GWAR. You can watch the official music video from one of their original hit singles “Sick Of You” on the Metal Blade Records music channel on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dbnm-0r3suM.

Last, but certainly not least, we made much ado about the cameo appearance of incomparable actor Bruce Dern in the 1999 movie, which reminded Laura of his role in cult classic film “The Burbs” directed by former NDIOS subject director Joe Dante. Enjoy this short compilation clip of the actor in the aforementioned film aptly titled “The Burbs: Bruce Dern, Master of Physical Comedy” – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbQbflIH8E8.

 

* DISCLAIMER: Please be advised that the views and opinions of the hosts and guests of NDIOS are completely their own and do not necessarily reflect the views and beliefs of the other hosts and guests or that of NDIOS.

Review: “Sin City” – Robert Rodriquez

PODCAST:

S4E6M – Sin City (movie)*

SHOW NOTES:

Wherein I am joined again by former co-host, David Wilkinson a/k/a Wilk, and his friend comic book aficionado, Rob Lloyd II, to discuss the impressive, innovative, hardworking, and do-it-yourself attitude of director Robert Rodriquez and his dual efforts to make the two “Sin City” movies. 

Wilk and Ryan had both previously seen the first movie before reading the graphic novels. Rob had the benefit of familiarity with the underlying material before viewing the movies. Despite these varying perspectives the chips seemed to fall in similar spots. 

The first movie was roundly respected for its innovation at the time of release as well as its ability to hold up to the scrutiny of time and a rewatching. Ryan brought up an article which criticized the film as style over substance, which Rob and Wilk argued against. Rob pointed out that the actors showcased their acting abilities by working within the stylistic constraints of the film, which were in complement of Frank Miller’s special visual artistic expression–an integral part of the comic book medium.

In contrast, the second movie felt less important to the reviewers who perceived that they were getting more of the same–this despite cast changes, a 3D option, and the addition of new material (probably the best part). Wilk and Rob also noted out that the length of time between movies may have worked against the second movie, which made it feel less impactful when compared to the first one. Perhaps Wilk summed things up best for the second movie when he said it was enjoyable, but felt that watching it was like watching a reunion episode of your favorite sitcom. 

Perhaps this 2/3rds mini-reunion podcast episode bears a similar critique?!

-Ryan

 

WRITTEN BOOK REVIEWS:

“Sin City (2005)” by Robert Rodriquez (Bruce Willis) (movie)

Ryan: 5 Stars “…The first film is an innovative realization of Miller’s noir comic that is raw and grungy in its perfection—a perfect example of a literal adaptation… ”

Wilk: 5 Stars “…The first ‘Sin City’ was very influential to me, it still is, I like it, it’s in my mind a fairly enjoyable, perfect, flawless movie for what it’s trying to do and I’ve watched it multiple times…”

Rob: 5 Stars “…I had the benefit of reading the comic books before seeing the movies, and I thought the first movie was a brilliant adaptation that really brought to life those images that already were painting a very vivid picture…”

 

“Sin City: A Dame to Kill For (2014)” by Robert Rodriguez (Josh Brolin) (movie)

Ryan: 3 1/2 Stars “…the second film labors to live up to [the first] and feels weighed down by the action sequences while struggling to recapture what made the first one so special – though it’s a decent enough flick that is also faithful to the source in content…”

Wilk: 3 Stars “…‘A Dame to Kill For’…was exactly what I thought it would be, which was disappointing. I think if you catch lightning in a bottle you should leave it in the bottle and not try to ruin it…”

Rob: 3 Stars “…the second [film] continued in [the] same vein [as the first], but it had less impact. I think part of that may be due to the time frame in which it was released, which was nine years later…”  

 

FUN FACTOIDS:

 

Much was made on this episode regarding the tenacious and innovative creative efforts of director, Robert Rodriquez. Even his earliest efforts were praised for his unique ability to make something special with few resources. You can watch one of his very first short films “Bedhead” here: https://youtu.be/InHgkJhvT_A. Hollywood came calling with the success of his directorial debut and first indie feature film “El Mariachi,” which he wrote about in a book called “Rebel Without a Crew: Or How a 23-Year-Old Filmmaker With $7,000 Became a Hollywood Player”: https://www.amazon.com/Rebel-without-Crew-23-Year-Old-Filmmaker/dp/0452271878/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=rebel+without+a+crew&qid=1561415033&s=books&sr=1-1. This book is recommended by former guest and indie filmmaker “Mike O’Reilly” Rodriquez continued his support of the indie community through a series of short film school video segments: “The Robert Rodriguez Ten Minute Film School.” Here is one of those on the making of “El Mariachi”:  https://youtu.be/VQE9eEmu1b4.

During the episode’s discussion Ryan brought up an article by Dan Seitz for Uproxx that argues the “Sin City” movie is style over substance, which hamstrings the actors trying to recreate comic panels meant for a different medium. That article called ” Why ‘Sin City’ Is What Comic Book Movies Shouldn’t Be” can be found here: https://uproxx.com/viral/why-sin-city-is-what-comic-book-movies-shouldnt-be/.

Here is a cameo of comicbook creator, Frank Miller, playing a priest in the first “Sin City” movie:

The alternate “Cinco de Mayo” politicized trailer for “Machete” cut by Rodriguez in response to pending Arizona immigration legislation mentioned on the podcast can be found here: https://youtu.be/If3GRbAMkCc.

Also, as before, Wilk gave a shout out to the all-things-horror themed Facebook page “Major Horror” run by his wife and past show guest, Laura Valle, which you can find here: https://www.facebook.com/welovescary/.

Lastly, in discussing impressive graphic novels the “Saga” series by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples was mentioned. Below are photos of Volume One and Volume Two:

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Volume One of the excellent and critically acclaimed #comicbook series #Saga written by #BrianKVaughan and illustrated by #FionaStaples from #ImageComics – #epicspaceopera #spaceopera #fantasy #scifi #scififantasy #sciencefiction #sciencefantasy #comicbooks #comics #bookstagram #booksofinstagram #booksofinsta #lovebird #petsofig #instapets #birdsofinstagram #petsofinstagram

A post shared by Ryan Sean O'Reilly (@ryanseanoreilly) on Nov 13, 2017 at 10:12pm PST

View this post on Instagram

Volume Two of the excellent and critically acclaimed #comicbook series #Saga written by #BrianKVaughan and illustrated by #FionaStaples from #ImageComics – #epicspaceopera #spaceopera #fantasy #scifi #scififantasy #sciencefiction #sciencefantasy #bookstagram #booksofinsta #comicbooks #comics #lovebird #petsofig #instapets #birdsofinstagram #petsofinstagram

A post shared by Ryan Sean O'Reilly (@ryanseanoreilly) on Mar 24, 2018 at 5:46pm PDT

 

* DISCLAIMER: Please be advised that the views and opinions of the hosts and guests of NDIOS are completely their own and do not necessarily reflect the views and beliefs of the other hosts and guests or that of NDIOS.

Review: “Sin City” – Frank Miller

PODCAST:

S4E6B – Sin City (graphic novels)*

SHOW NOTES:

Wherein we discuss the prolific career and unarguable influence of this storied and stylistic comic book creator. I am joined by former co-host, David Wilkinson a/k/a Wilk, and his friend comic book aficionado, Rob Lloyd II.

Much of our exploration considered the gray morality dogging the vast ensemble of characters, which was in contrast to the majority of stark black and white artwork. We also talked about the amazing myriad of interweaving plots and detailed, but focused world-building that develops and unfolds as the neo-noir ethos of Sin City.

Everyone was in complete agreement that the Sin City yarns we discussed were impressive in both their content and artistic style as well as their ability to distinguish characters. While Ryan found that the dialog grew laborious at times while reading the stories straight through, he didn’t think he wanted anything else from the series. Rob and Wilk both felt that the stories were excellent and enjoyable, but were just shy of considering the work paramount for the simple fact that they enjoyed the author’s Batman work slightly more.

Lastly, Rob and Wilk describe their sordid gripping life on the road finding creepy motels to stay at near Ryan, as well as their secret-agenda-quest / real reason for coming to Chicago: to watch grunge rockers “Pearl Jam” live at Wrigley Field.

-Ryan

 

WRITTEN BOOK REVIEWS:

“Sin City” by Frank Miller (select graphic novels)

 

 

 

 

 

• “The Hard Goodbye (April 1991 – May 1992)” (V1)
• “A Dame to Kill For (November 1993 – May 1994)” (V2)
• “The Big Fat Kill (November 1994 – March 1995)” (V3)
• “That Yellow Bastard (February 1996 – July 1996)” (V4)
• “Booze, Broads, and Bullets (1998)” (V6)

*** * ***

Ryan: 5 Stars “…Imagine getting punched in the gut by some rogue lunatic underworld gladiator who promptly collapses into your kitchen chair and chomps down on a bowl of cheerios with his oversized mitts as you crouch on the floor stunned and drooling blood…there’s a knock on the door and you pick up your corpse of a body to stare through the peephole at a knife-wielding leather-clad dame grimacing while rare classic cars skid onto the scene followed by screaming cop sirens tolling in debauchery and corruption…then the color drops out and real nice like everything goes noir…”

Wilk: 4 Stars “…a juxtaposition of provocation with expectation…vice was not rewarded, but it was celebrated at the same time…”

Rob: 4 Stars “…I think there’s some seminal works that rank above this that are five star works, but it’s right there on the cusp…it’s awesome. I really enjoyed it…”

(Click the links to read full written reviews on Goodreads.com)

 

FUN FACTOIDS:

Frank Miller is a legend in the comic world. As mentioned in the episode, he inspired many other artists including the creators of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Here is an article called “The fascinating origin story of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” by Andrew Farago for The Week on that origin story with early sketch work: https://theweek.com/captured/446321/fascinating-origin-story-teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles.

The Guardian article referenced in the episode about Frank Miller’s past troubles was an interview by Sam Theilman and called “Frank Miller: ‘I wasn’t thinking clearly when I said those things'” and it can be read here: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/apr/27/frank-miller-xerxes-cursed-sin-city-the-dark-knight-returns.

On the podcast Wilk mentioned the all-things-horror themed Facebook page “Major Horror” run by his wife and past show guest, Laura Valle, which you can find here: https://www.facebook.com/welovescary/. The Michigan comic book store mentioned by Rob and Wilk during our recording is called “Vault of Midnight” and it can be found online here: https://www.vaultofmidnight.com/.

Lastly, much was made of Wilk and Rob’s true purpose behind their journey to visit Ryan–that being a concert at Wrigley Stadium by the famous grunge rock group Pearl Jam! The duo had a blast joining other friends (including former co-host Beam)! After the concert they joined Ryan at Dole’s abode for more fun before finally settling in to a new hotel (one less worrisome). Below is some pics (taken by Rob, Beam or Dave A) and promo images of the concert they attended:

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* DISCLAIMER: Please be advised that the views and opinions of the hosts and guests of NDIOS are completely their own and do not necessarily reflect the views and beliefs of the other hosts and guests or that of NDIOS.