S3 – Wrap-Up Episode (finale)

PODCAST:

S3 – Wrap-Up Episode (finale)*

Listen to the podcast here (click to play/right click and select “save target as” to download):

SHOW NOTES:

Ryan in his “robot” mode.

To wrap things up this year we attempted to do a season Wrap-Up Episode. Unlike last year, the conversation quickly devolved from review of the entire Season Three line up and turned more circuitously to reflections on the entire history of the podcast and the trials and tribulations of the hosts as they tried to keep this beast afloat. The discussion is more celebratory and, at times, nonsensical. We brought back two past guests: Mike O’Reilly and John (a/k/a Dole) Doyle to bring in some outside perspective.

Occasionally we did manage to get into the art of literature and film and there were some coherent thoughts that managed to squeak thru. All in all, we hope our jovial spirit puts a nice cap to this podcast and provides some reflective laughter along the way. Apologies for the general absurdity and thank you again for checking us out!

-Ryan

The NDIOS crew: Wilk, Rick and Ryan.

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RELATED LINKS:

Hosts:

Ryan Sean O’Reilly

David Wilkinson a/k/a “Wilk”

Rick

 

Guests:

Dole’s band’s website and links to videos of the band: (www.i-decline.com)

Click here for other episodes with Dole.

Mike O’Reilly’s YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/TheMoreilly318

Click here for other episodes with Mike O’Reilly

Wilk’s other podcast with his wife Laura Valle: “How to Avoid Murder …and other awkward situations”

 

RELATED EPISODES:

“Roadside Picnic (1972)” by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky (book)

“Stalker (1979)” by Andrei Tarkovsky (Alexander Kaidanovsky) (movie) – Russian with English subtitles

“Dune (Dune Chronicles #1) (1965)” by Frank Herbert (book)

Film: “Dune (1984)” by David Lynch (Kyle MacLachlan) and SyFy: “Frank Herbert’s Dune (2000)” by John Harrison (William Hurt)

“I Am Legend” by Richard Matheson (book)

“True Detective” by Cary Joji Fukunaga (Matthew McConaughey) (miniseries)

“The Body Snatchers (1955)” by Jack Finney (book)

“Something Wicked This Way Comes” by Ray Bradbury (book)

“The Devil Rides Out (Black Magic #1) (1934)” by Dennis Wheatley (book)

“Nineteen Eighty-Four” by George Orwell (book)

“Watchmen” by Alan Moore (writer) / Dave Gibbons (artist) (graphic novel)

“Naked Lunch” by William S. Burroughs (book)

“Slaughterhouse-Five” by Kurt Vonnegut (book)

 

* 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: Watchmen (Zack Snyder)

PODCAST:

S3E3M – Watchmen (movie)*

SHOW NOTES:

I have been tasked with writing up our thoughts and feelings on the Watchmen movie. I can only speak for myself when I say that the movie was excellent to a point, and once it hit that point, it fell apart in a spectacular way. My other co-hosts were more generous in their praise.

Watchmen was directed by Zack Snyder and captured the look and feel of the comic. It took on the ambitious task of bringing the book to the screen, and it did so rather well. Picking and choosing which parts of the story, and dialogue, was done rather expertly. The look and feel of the movie captured that of the book, and the movie was able to add other elements that enhanced the original form. My particular favorite was the opening credit montage featuring the Bob Dylan classic “The Times They Are A Changin’.” So that was nice. But like most sexually transmitted diseases, you don’t know how much this movie is going to hurt until after the good part is over.

The movie crafted a different ending, one that seemed subtle, but nonetheless changed the overall message, theme, tone, and purpose of the book. And the book is a fucking work of art. It didn’t merely combine a character or omit a scene. It decided to create and kill a god. It drove out the only superhero, instead of showing him leave with an air of callous indifference. And it did not create an alien enemy for man to unite against. Instead it let an American agent go rogue. This, in my opinion, would only create a temporary peace and not inspire man to rise up and above their limitations. At least not for long.

So, while a seemingly minor flaw, this was a major one to me. But the consensus, even including me, was that this is still a movie worth seeing. Just maybe bring some penicillin.

-Wilk

WRITTEN FILM REVIEWS:

Film: “Watchmen (2009)” by Zack Snyder (Jackie Earle Haley)

Ryan: 4 Stars “…I don’t think it was perfect, but I did enjoy it thoroughly…”

Wilk: 3 1/2 Stars “…It’s well worth it, but if you enjoy it all the way through then there is something wrong with you…”

Rick: 4 1/2 Stars “…I’m recommending this movie, basically to everyone, but especially to those that don’t have a lot of experience with comics…”

Quinn Bayola (guest): 3 1/2 Stars “…If Dr. Manhattan was actually Keanu Reeves it would have gotten a 4 (stars)…”

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FUN FACTOIDS:

Our guest on this episode was Quinn Bayola who has his own show called “The ThisQ Podcast.” Check it out on iTunes, Spreaker or other podcast venues

On the show we mentioned that director Zack Snyder commissioned film versions of some of the meta fiction contained within the graphic novel. These released separately as a fully animated short “Tales of the Black Freighter” and mock TV tell-all-style show “Under the Hood.”

The animated short is narrator by previous Snyder collaborator Gerard Butler. Watch the trailer for that below:

* 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: “Watchmen” – Alan Moore – Dave Gibbons

PODCAST:

S3E3B – Watchmen (book)*

SHOW NOTES:

One of the best shows we have recorded in my humble opinion so don’t miss this one and tell your friends and family to check it out—especially if they are not really into comic books. This time we were compelled to go longer than our usual time allotted for our new format, but it seemed necessary given the epic we covered. There was a lot to cover in this hour and we got big contributions from my old friend, Quinn Bayola. Quinn earned the respected rank of captain of the famous (and fearless) Bravo Company at Culver Military Academy when him and I were seniors there and currently has his own show called “The ThisQ Podcast.” Check it out on iTunes, Spreaker or other podcast venues. His podcast has a chill vibe and provides unique perspective on pop culture and… professional wrestling, no kidding.

-Rick

WRITTEN BOOK REVIEWS:

Ryan: 5 Stars “…Unbounded artistic genius, bubbling with the bottomless, murky depths of complex allusions…”

Wilk: 5 Stars “…Excellent and genre shifting story telling. It has set the tone for many works since it was published…”

Rick: 4 1/2 Stars “…You will not want to ignore this masterpiece, even if you are not a fan of comics…”

Quinn Bayola (guest): 5 Stars “…easily five its a great work of art…it inspires you to look through…national history and world history…that’s what great art does…”

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

FUN FACTOIDS:

In the show Wilk mentioned Artist Dave Gibbons’ work for famed classic rock group Jethro Tull on “Too Old to Rock ‘n’ Roll: Too Young to Die!”

 

 

 

 

We talked about some early comics that were the inspiration of the characters that eventually became the Watchmen.

 

 

 

 

 

Also mentioned on the show:

Beastmaster

Sega Genesis’ Altered Beast

Dirty Harry’s Scorpio

G.I. Joe’s Destro

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

* 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.

Preview Episode (Watchmen)

PODCAST:

S3P3 – Preview Episode (Watchmen)*

SUBJECT MATTER:

Book: “Watchmen (1986/1987)” by Alan Moore (writer) / Dave Gibbons (artist)

“A New York Times Best Seller! Considered the greatest graphic novel in the history of the medium, the Hugo Award-winning story chronicles the fall from grace of a group of super-heroes plagued by all-too-human failings. Along the way, the concept of the super-hero is dissected as the heroes are stalked by an unknown assassin.

This edition of WATCHMEN, the groundbreaking series from Alan Moore, the award-winning writer of V FOR VENDETTA and BATMN: THE KILLING JOKE, and Dave Gibbons, the artist of GREEN LANTERN, features the high-quality, recolored pages found in WATCHMEN: THE ABSOLUTE EDITION with sketches, never-before-seen extra bonus materials and a new introduction by Dave Gibbons.” (from Amazon.com)

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Film: “Watchmen (2009)” by Zack Snyder (Jackie Earle Haley)

“Someone’s killing our super heroes. The year is 1985 and super heroes have banded together to respond to the murder of one of their own. They soon uncover a sinister plot that puts all of humanity in grave danger. The super heroes fight to stop the impending doom only to find themselves a target for annihilation. But, if our super heroes are gone, who will save us?” (from Amazon.com)

* 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.