The Punisher was the last of the Marvel Netflix series. The Punisher hadn’t been part of the original deal for the “Defenders” series between Marvel and the streaming service, but the popularity of the character in season 2 of Daredevil lead to quick negotiations and a series announcement. Dealing with the aftermath of Frank’s hunt of all those that he thought were responsible for the death of his family, the series delved into darker areas than the other Netflix series, while presenting a version of Frank Castle that was both familiar to comics readers but different than how he’d been depicted in any media before. In this episode we discuss how Jon Bernthal’s Punisher was different from those before. We also talk about the supporting cast, plot, and how it fits into the larger MCU. We also do a deep dive into the character of Billy Russo to determine his motivations and whether or not he was badly written. In the end we ask, “would we want Frank to meet the other characters in Marvel’s Defenders line and if so, who?”
This week’s Five Minute Controversy asks if it’s a good idea for Marvel to stop making series with Netflix.
This week Ryan, Gary and Anji join the cast.
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Originally, Gotham was going to be the story of a young Jim Gordon fighting crime in Gotham. By the fourth season, any pretext that this was a show that centered on Gordon was gone. The cast was vast, and the characters shared the limelight. The series remained controversial among Batman fans due to the liberties that it took with the mythology, but it also attracted many more people who were interested in the kinds of crazy stories that got told on Gotham and nowhere else. This week, we take a look at season 4 of Gotham. We talk about the introductions of Sofia Falcone, Professor Pyg, and Jeremiah Valeska. We also discuss Alexander Siddig as Ra’s al Ghul. We also delve into the relationships between the characters, the performances, and what we think of the various plotlines that season 4 brought. 
Marvel’s Runaways brought the MCU to Hulu. As a continuity light series it allowed the focus to reside on the teen stars and their parents, as the youngsters realize that their parents are involved in horrific and evil goings on. In this episode, we take a look at how well the series succeeded in introducing the characters, what we thought of the pacing, the macro-plot, favorite characters, and what we want to see from the show in the future. We also discuss the show’s crossover potential. To start things off, however, we talk about our thoughts on “Star Wars: The Last Jedi”. 
Marvel’s Inhumans made history by being the only MCU series to not be renewed for a second season. With controversial choice of showrunner, Scott Buck, helming the show, the series suffered from poor ratings and poor reception from the fanbase. In this episode we examine the Inhumans series and examine what went wrong. In addition we examine the context of the show and the usage of the characters within the fabric of the greater MCU as well as how the characters from adapted from their comics origin. We also talk about the things that we liked about the show. After that we talk about whether the MCU should scrub the show from the continuity or what we would do to salvage it in the ongoing Marvel narrative. 
The Orville surprised everyone when it debuted. Advertised as a crass parody of Star Trek, the Orville turned out to be a far more sophisticated show than anyone including the network gave it credit for. In this episode we do a deep dive into the first season of The Orville, discussing the the characters and plots, but also talking about how it fits into the legacy of Trek and whether it and Star Trek: Discovery can coexist. 
Timeless gained a second year because the fans demanded it. In a season with reduced runtime and a lower budget Timeless fought for its very survival and told another interesting story through time. In this episode we delve into the changes between Timeless season 1 and season 2, talk about the growth in the characters, and what we think of the evolving Timeless storyline. Sadly, this episode was recorded before we knew that there would be a finale film, so our speculations on a season 3 will always remain just speculations. 
In its 3rd year, Supergirl was fraught with problems. The showrunner was fired, and the show suffered from production delays. In this episode we look back at the season and talk about what worked and what didn’t. We’ll talk about how the show has changed and how we think that it should stay the same. We also discuss the character relationships and how they’ve developed from the beginning of the series before making our predictions for season 4. We’ll also talk about how the Worldkillers stack up against Kara’s foes from seasons past. 
DC’s Legends of Tomorrow became the underdog of the Berlanti universe. Coming out of a season 1 panned by critics and fans, Legends gained more solid footing in its second season. Now, we assemble a cast to discuss season 3 of the series. We talk about the major shakeups to the cast, how permanent we think they are, and what it means for the series overall. We talk about a new team up of villains and whether they were able to hold interest better than the Legion of Doom. We also discuss how a plush toy may change the entire face of Berlanti television and eat a hole in our wallets before discovering that no one on the cast knows who Captain Planet is. It’s only on this year-ending episode of The 42cast. 
Oliver Queen’s five year arc came to a close last year as the flashbacks to Lian Yu wrapped up just as Oliver finally made peace with his past. This week we delve deep into season 6 of Arrow to see how the series fared under its new direction. We talk about the new and returning characters, the DCCW’s Civil War, how much we want to see Slade again, and how Diaz stacks up against Chase. As usual, we discuss our hopes for next season and do our annual Arrow death pool. We also take Five to discuss just why Solo: A Star Wars Story performed lower than expected. 
Season 4 of the Flash raced off our TV screens last May, and The 42cast now looks back at that season and talks about the changes that the show went through. We talk about how DeVoe stacks up as a villain, how Wally was robbed, and why Ralph Dibny is the best thing to happen to the show in a long time. We also talk about characters who’s plot threads are dropped, do a look ahead at season 5, and discuss why we love Tom Cavanaugh. For our five-minute contoversy this week we discuss Disney’s firing of James Gunn.