WhatTheCast?

Episode 113: The Stephen and Patrick Show

WhatTheAdmin — Tue, 08 May 2012 14:39:54 +0000

For the first time ever, Stephen and Patrick co-host an episode together! Stephen takes a break from playing with robot helicopters and Patrick pauses packing for his Magic trip to Barcelona to talk about geeky stuff.

In movies, there’s the Avengers, which managed to make $200 million its first weekend without either Stephen or Patrick seeing it. (We did talk about the physics of the Hulk’s jump and whether he’d break the concrete when he leaps into the air.) There are trailers galore, including for Dark Knight Rises (now with an Inception reunion of Joseph Gordon Levitt, Marion Cotillard and Tom Hardy) and Men in Black III (which has its own Baskin-Robbins flavor). We also learn who Benedict Cumberbatch will be playing in the upcoming Star Trek movie.

Speaking of Cumberbatch, Sherlock Series 2 has reached the US. Fringe continues to be awesome, and Patrick has broken down and started watching Doctor Who. I know! We’re as surprised as you are. If you haven’t seen what the Blu-ray transfers of Star Trek: The Next Generation look like, you’re in for a real treat, because they look great.

Speaking of looking great, take a look at these photos of people living off the grid. Be sure to see the last picture in the series.

By the way, did we mention that we were nominated for a Parsec award? Woo!

Episode 112: Gorey Details

WhatTheAdmin — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 18:42:10 +0000

Chris Gore is a comedian who’s a correspondant for G4′s Attack of the Show. He’s produced and written movies and founded a film website. He’s also started a podcast, PodCRASH, in which he visits other podcasts and then posts commentary on his visit.

This week he crashed into WhatTheCast. Chris, Crispy and Brian talk Dragon*Con and cosplay, how Chris does the best impersonation of a character no one wants impersonated (Watto from Star Wars), when you call film projects done, and what indie film distribution deals are really like. He answers questions from our listeners and praises Nick Cage’s devotion to giving his all in terrible, terrible movies. As punishment for appearing on WhatTheCast, we get him to promise to do something with Dragon*ConTV this year.

If you liked hearing Chris on WhatTheCast, check out his PodCRASH podcast. His commentary on this episode will appear there a bit before Dragon*Con. You can also find him on Twitter as @ThatChrisGore or as his alter-ego, @BatChrisGore.

Episode 111: Who’s a Good Hunger Games?

WhatTheAdmin — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 15:39:11 +0000

This week it’s all about The Hunger Games, since Crispy, Patrick and Stephen all saw it and have thoughts on it that they’re happy to share! We still manage to squeeze in some other news, from Notch’s new game 0x10c to a new video that Stephen’s in to Angry Space Needle. Next episode we’ll be interviewing Chris Gore as part of his PodCRASH podcast, so if you have any questions for him, let us know!

Also, Stephen got a dog. Who’s a good dog? Who’s a good dog?

Episode 110: WhatTheDictions 2012 Part 2

WhatTheAdmin — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 20:45:10 +0000

In the second half of our movie predictions for 2012, Brian, Crispy, Jake, and Duckie talk about The Hobbit, a movie about a high school biology teacher who becomes an MMA fighter to raise money for his school, how our live audience gets giggly over Jeremy Renner, that Jonah Hill is this year’s Justin Long, and how Chris Hemsworth’s pecs are everywhere. This is part 2 of the live show, covering the second half of the year.

Episode 109: WhatTheDictions 2012 Part 1

WhatTheAdmin — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 13:20:18 +0000

We party like it’s 2009 and get the band back together to talk about upcoming movies for 2012. Jake, a theater manager, and Duckie, a Troma employee, re-join Brian, Crispy and Stephen to make fun of Liam Neeson punching everything, The Hunger Games, and 21 Jump Street. This is part 1 of the live show, covering the first half of the year.

Episode 108: Patrick is the One With Taste

WhatTheAdmin — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 17:34:00 +0000

Just in time for St. Patrick’s Day weekend, WhatTheCast returns! Stephen was prophetic when he said he wouldn’t get around to editing it until mid-March!

The gang talk a lot about Kickstarter and the nifty things artists and creators are using it for. Ze Frank resurrected The Show, video game maker Double Fine resurrected adventure games, and the comic book Atomic Robo is getting a short animated film. (Since two of those three are already done, here, have Brian Fargo’s Kickstarter to create Wasteland 2.)

In TV Patrick talks about how awesome Community is (and, in keeping with the Kickstarter theme, did you know there’s a Kickstarter to actually create a show about ~~Inspector Spacetime~~A Space Traveler Who Can Also Travel Through Time?) and tries to convince Crispy and Stephen to watch it. We discuss Benedict Cumberbatch as the Master and pictures of him beating up on Spock, how Prometheus is being advertised through a fake TED talk from 2023, and how the Berenstain Bears books have often been banned.

Potatoes + Spices + Butter + Cheese = Awesome

WhatTheAdmin — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 02:05:17 +0000

In Episode 107, at the behest of Jenn from the Jennisodes podcast, we talked about potatoes. Stephen mentioned a potato recipe that involved Parmesan cheese, red pepper flakes, and butter. Suzie from the always excellent How to Grow Your Geek podcast wanted to know the recipe.

Here is your chance to make the best starchy, fatty, spicy dish out there, courtesy of CJ McD at allrecipes. Caution: like Girl Scout Thin Mints, you may inhale all of these potatoes at once after you make them.

5 pounds small new potatoes
3/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup melted butter
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon dried basil
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary, crumbled
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Place the potatoes in a large saucepan of water. Cover; bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat; gently cook potatoes until tender but still firm, about 20 minutes. Drain.
Place the potatoes on a greased, rimmed baking sheet. Press the warm potatoes with the heel of your hand or a small pan to flatten slightly and just break the skin.
Mix together the olive oil, butter, 1 cup Parmesan cheese, basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary, garlic powder, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper in a large bowl; add the potatoes and toss well. Return coated potatoes to baking sheet, leaving 1/2 inch space between each potato.
Preheat an oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
Roast potatoes in the preheated oven until lightly browned and slightly crispy; about 30 minutes. Place hot potatoes on a large platter; sprinkle with parsley and the remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese.

Eventually this podcast will turn into the Spilled Milk podcast.

Episode 107: WhatTheVersary

WhatTheAdmin — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 21:25:06 +0000

Five years ago, the four of us started a geek podcast with but a simple dream: keep at it for five years. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.

To celebrate five years of podcasting we dissected what Netflix’s first original show, Lilyhammer, means for future TV distribution. We make fun of The River without ever watching it, mainly because Stephen can’t stop watching Downton Abbey. We power through trailers for The Avengers, GI Joe, Spider-Man, and the Lorax. Jenn from the Jennisodes podcast makes us talk about potatoes, while @RevnGeek points out that a columnist for the New York Daily News is calling for Weird Al Yankovic to host the Super Bowl half-time show.

If that’s not enough for you, how about a Space Core mod for Skyrim? Or Dungeon World, an RPG that recaptures the feeling of old-school Red Box D&D without the fiddly bits? Or a rant about how the death of Superman was mis-handled?

Phew, that seems enough for five years.

Episode 106: Scott Sigler’s Covered Wagon

WhatTheAdmin — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 04:35:19 +0000

Here’s a rare treat for you on WhatTheCast: an interview! We talk to author Scott Sigler, whose newest horror novel Nocturnal is coming out in April. Scott, one of the pioneers of podcasting novels, has turned many of those podcast novels into traditionally-published works. He’s a clever fellow with a lot of interesting things to say about publishing, 700-year-long story arcs, why Stephen King is his idol, the pain of turning a podcast into a written novel, why he tries to get the science right in his books, and why every single one of his novels should be turned into a Clone Wars-style show.

We still manage to drag Scott along for the usual WhatTheCast ride, which this week features Brian’s new filk convention, the possibility of a version of Sherlock Holmes in which Holmes is American, the TV show Alcatraz, and what batteries last the longest.

(If you’d like to see what Scott’s works are like, try the podiobook version of Nocturnal.)

Episode 105: Crispy Fights Not to Play Skyrim

WhatTheAdmin — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 03:09:45 +0000

We survived the holidays and came through it stronger and with more board games! While Brian was off at GAFilk, Crispy valiantly resisted the siren’s call of Skyrim and everyone else resisted Star Wars: The Old Republic.

Speaking of video games, we ask why you need a PS Vita when you’ve got an iPhone or Android phone. The live-action Akira is on hold (this one’s for you, Joe Peacock!). We all love the BBC series Sherlock, but Crispy hates Amy Poehler and also puppies and America. Through listener email we learned about the Lord of the Rings musical (though, alas, it’s not dubstep). We end with a touching PSA from Patrick: if you move, change your mailing address at Amazon and other online retailers.

Episode 104: Michael Bay’s Oregon Trail

WhatTheAdmin — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 03:16:10 +0000

It’s our final episode before the holidays, and we have a lovely set of presents for you. We have GaFilk and Anachrocon and Chattacon for your conventioning pleasure, plus new Dragon*Con guests, including Cary Elwes. We got you two lost Doctor Who episodes that have been found and a Doctor Who free-to-play MMO.

For after-dinner entertainment, we pitted Mission Impossible 4 against Sherlock Holmes: A Game of ~~Thrones~~Shadows, and everyone wins! Crispy likes the G.I. Joe 2 trailer, much to everyone else’s bemusement. And if you look under the tree you’ll find a Middleman/Doctor Who crossover fanfic, a new Louis CK special that he’s selling un-DRMed, an evil Apples-to-Apples-like game called Cards Against Humanity, and Kim Jong Il re-imagined as a DJ.

While you’re celebrating, why not take a look at our shiny new Google+ page?

Episode 103: Depressing Bus

WhatTheAdmin — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 23:26:24 +0000

Remember when we talked about nostalgia last episode? Those were good times. This time, however, we’re talking TV, videogames, and the frightening number of musicals based on movies. Stephen is tentatively excited about Prometheus, Ridley Scott’s semi-prequel to Alien that’s coming out next summer. Muppets made Crispy choke up — just a little bit — and everyone experienced the surprise Shakespeare of Coriolanus, in which Voldemort faces off against That Dude From 300.

In videogame news, Crispy talks about the new Zelda game, Stephen talks about the older sequels such as Bioshock 2 and Brian is captivated by the spectacle of Desert Bus, which is now available for iPads. If ever there was a videogame suited for iPads, Desert Bus is it. There’s also talk of a TV show about Booster Gold, how there’s a musical version of Priscilla Queen of the Desert and Rocky, and we all have fun with the idea of Google Maps indoors. Also, Crispy really didn’t like how The Walking Dead ended its season.

Episode 102: I Loved It When They Rebooted Nostalgia

WhatTheAdmin — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 03:34:59 +0000

In this episode, Crispy and Stephen fly tandem and discuss nostalgia and the plethora of reboots that plague genre media. They recap their ongoing experiences with Grim, Once Upon a Time, Batman, Deus Ex, and Fringe. Crispy talks about Zelda and the nostalgia we experience as new games and media are revamped, as was done to the Fallout and Golden Eye series. How much does nostalgia factor into our decision to buy and consume new media? Stephen talks about reboots, from the rumored Doctor Who movie to Star Trek, with Crispy chiming in on Batman, Sherlock Holmes, and Footloose. They throw the question to the listening audience: are there non-genre reboots like Hawaii 5-0 that they overlooked?

In other news, Stephen is obsessed with Breaking Bad and Crispy can’t stop talking about Muppets. Stephen now has Siri in his pocket and AT&T on his back, while Crispy is headed to Florida to visit Disney World. Since Patrick is leaving Florida, we had to replace him with another WhatTheCast host.

Episode 101: Patrick Puts On His Robe and Wizards of the Coast Hat

WhatTheAdmin — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 14:51:31 +0000

This episode, all four hosts assemble to make jokes about binary numbers and discuss Halloween. Crispy thinks Once Upon a Time is crazy, Patrick’s enjoying Death Valley, and Brian is suffering through Grimm. Speaking of grim, Patrick’s deadpool for TV shows is going poorly, as he picked shows that all are doing well.

In happier news, Joss Whedon made a Shakespearean film, Bollywood is giving us Ra.One, a superhero flick, and Crispy found a video of David Tennant and the Doctor Who cast and crew being super cute. We finish with Patrick’s amazing news about his new job and a plug for the eighth season of Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Episode 100: Meanwhile, 4.5 Years Later

WhatTheAdmin — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 19:46:19 +0000

On Feburary 8, 2007, Brian, Crispy and Stephen recorded the first test episode of WhatTheCast. Over the next four-and-a-half years we’ve produced many hours of geek-oriented programming. The podcast is older than Stephen’s daughter and Patrick’s marriage. It’s undergone countless changes.

So of course we made the same Zune jokes we’ve always made during our 100th episode.

Crispy and Stephen recorded Episode 100 at the Geek Media Expo 3.0. They discussed GMX, the new direction of WhatTheCast, using Fiber One bars as a measure of how good something is, and the death of Zune (complete with actual Zunes!). Since they recorded next door to the convention’s videogame room, they discussed Deus Ex: Human Revolution and Arkham City, along with that time that game designer Ron Gilbert argued with Steve Jobs about whether videogames could really tell a story. To kick off the next 100 episodes there’s new theme music and a new pixellated logo. Now we just need a new whipping boy to replace the Zune….

The new WTC theme includes the song Pulse (George Ellinas remix), by George Ellinas.

GMX This Weekend!

WhatTheAdmin — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 00:15:46 +0000

Join Crispy & Stephen for the 100th Episode of WhatTheCast (applause) at GMX this weekend (applause). Sunday at 10:00 AM in Forums East!

Brian won’t be able to attend due to a work trip (boo). He’ll be enjoying Taipei (yay) in the rainy season (boo) and missing out on all the free drinks (booooo). Patrick will also miss out (boo) because he’s in Florida (yay?).

Episode 99: Short Cargo Shorts and Long Ugly Jacket

WhatTheAdmin — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 16:07:59 +0000

In this episode, Brian, Crispy and Stephen tackle bad Batman cartoons, the Wedding of River Song on Doctor Who, and the Nobel Prize in Physics. Along the way we discuss River Song’s timeline (which Doctor Who Confidential was nice enough to detangle for us), the death of the Zune, the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics, and the end of Nintendo Power magazine. We also got feedback from Brad Bowyer (of Podculture and Tardis Interruptis fame) and Mike Hall on our earlier comments about Torchwood and Children of Earth.

Want to tell us what we should do for our upcoming 100th episode? Let us know! Want to see us live? Crispy and Stephen will be representing WhatTheCast at GMX in Nashville on October 21-23, and Brian will be speaking at Digital Atlanta 2011 on November 9th. And if you’ve got some spare time, why not check out the text adventures that were entered in the 2011 Interactive Fiction Competition?

This episode of WhatTheCast is brought to you by Audible. Check out http://audibletrial.com/whatthecast for a 14 day free trial of this great audiobook service.

Episode 98: Everybody Gets a Blimp!

WhatTheAdmin — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 03:12:01 +0000

It’s our annual live episode from Dragon*Con! We had Patrick, our sports reporter, giving us live updates from the Magic: The Gathering pro tour in Pennsylvania. Brian talked about Shatner’s explanation for Star Trek V‘s rock monsters, Crispy had a good time at the Jonathan Coulton and Paul and Storm concert, and Stephen was being stalked by Colin Ferguson. (Little did he know what bathtub scene awaited him after the podcast.) From there we discussed the BBC America premiere of the Doctor Who episode “Night Terrors”, geek proposals at Dragon*Con, Game of Thrones, drunk Tony Stark, and more. By the way, did we mention that we won a Parsec award?

Episode 97: A Blu-ray Bathtub Moment

WhatTheAdmin — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 17:57:10 +0000

We’re back with our first podcast recorded via a Google+ hangout. We discuss our experiences at Dragon*Con, including winning a Parsec award and Stephen being in the bathtub with Colin Ferguson from Eureka. In other con news, Crispy and Stephen will be representing WhatTheCast at GMX Vol. 3 in Nashville on October 21-23. Stop by and hear us live!

In geekier news, Patrick has a new fantasy league: drafting new fall TV shows that are sure to be cancelled. Stephen and Crispy agree Torchwood: Miracle Day was not so miraculous. Patrick’s lost the Alphas love, while everyone is very sad about Green Lantern making back its money. Brian gets to hear Kevin Pollack’s William Shatner impersonation in person, Crispy loves the videogame Dead Island, and Stephen has a new podcast called Disasterpiece Theatre. And we all agree: Patrick is going to clean up in the Fall TV Cancellation league.

This episode of WhatTheCast is brought to you by Audible. Check out http://audibletrial.com/whatthecast for a 14 day free trial of this great audiobook service.

Episode 96: Christ, What a Green Lantern

WhatTheAdmin — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 20:34:28 +0000

We’re doing the time warp with this episode, which was actually recorded a month before Dragon*Con but thanks to the magic of procrastination is only now available in mid-September!

Thrill! to hearing Crispy tear apart the Green Lantern movie.

Gasp! as we all agree that Dark Skies and Game of Thrones are pretty good.

Listen! as we talk about Doctor Who and the then-current spoiler about River Song.

Plus! Lulzsec, Weird Al’s video for Perform This Way, and Brian’s anniversary.

All in this long-lost episode of WhatTheCast, available now from fine podcast vendors everywhere.

This episode of WhatTheCast is brought to you by Audible. Check out http://audibletrial.com/whatthecast for a 14 day free trial of this great audiobook service.