It’s a trip back to Middle-Earth this week as the cast takes an epic-length at the Amazon Prime series, The Rings of Power. In this episode the cast discusses the logic of a series that can only use the appendices of Lord of the Rings as reference. They get into the types of stories that they’re choosing to tell and whether or not there’s a significant loss of context. Along the way they also get into the casting and what they think of the portrayal of the characters. They also opine on the production values and the various controversies that surrounded this series.
Our five-minute controversy this week asks if Wizards of the Coast has overstepped with their new licensing agreement.
This week Anji, Keith, and Kimi join the cast.
Show Notes:
Wizards of the Coast tightening a hold of their IP
Golden Lasso Games
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You often hear that there’s too much TV to watch these days or that the market is catering to geeky interests on TV today. Yet, the 80’s saw it’s fair share of genre television for people of all ages. In this episode four people that were there (old fogeys) recount tales of the television of their youth. They also discuss whether 80’s television holds up and whether they think that modern audiences would appreciate it. They also give their opinions on various series and talk about the inevitable sequel series to discuss even more 80’s TV. 
Indiana Jones has returned in a fifth installment of the titular franchise. In this episode we talk about the Dial of Destiny. We discuss revitalizing the franchise in the 21st century and how it compares to the prior attempt. We debate the Indiana Jones franchise’s potential for a continuation with other characters or a reboot. We also get into Nazi villains, use of historical set pieces, artefacts, and why Sallah is the bellwether for whether an Indiana Jones film will be good or not. 
This week we delve back into the MCU on Disney+ to talk about Ms. Marvel. Join our cast as we delve into the comic origins of these characters. We’ll talk about what works, what didn’t, and what we wish they included and didn’t. We’ll also discuss casting and performances and what we thought of the tone of the series. We’ll also debate how this works into the greater MCU, where we think it’s going, and how we think the final twist of this series will play into the advent of some new characters coming to the MCU. We’ll also give our opinions on whether the production team knows what a comic con is. 
In this week’s episode we fire up the spore drive to arrive at Star Trek Discovery season 4. In this episode we delve deep into the storytelling, discussing the advantages and disadvantages of season length, using writers unfamiliar with Trek, and telling a narrative across multiple seasons. We also talk about how much we want to see more of the bridge crew, interspecies romance, and how all the teases to former Trek plots can be so frustrating. We also opine on communication issues, season resolutions, celebrity cameos, and what we want from a fifth season. 
The 42cast has reached 200 episodes! We’d like to thank our audience for making this possible. As a treat for this episode we’ve invited back our most prolific guests. We discuss what has been going on in the geeskisphere since Episode 100, and we give our opinions on what has been the good; the bad; and the ugly. We also talk a little about what goes on behind the scenes on The 42cast. Watch out as Nathan goes on not 1, not, but 3 rants in this episode. It is not to be missed!
In the entire history of anime only two characters were considered to have had sufficient cultural impact outside of Japan to adorn the welcome materials given to international Olympic athletes during the Tokyo Olympics in 2020. Those were Son Goku from Dragonball/Z/GT/Super and Sailor Moon. In this episode we talk about the phenomenon that is Sailor Moon. We discuss the manga, anime, and live action versions. We talk about our favorite Sailor Soldiers (yes we know that Toei calls them Sailor Guardians now), and we debate why the franchise endures. We also talk about favorite aspects of the various media and even compare the two different animes. We also get into what dubs and subs each bring to the table. 
The Flash film was announced back in 2014. Originally slated to release early in 2018 many were impressed at DC’s confidence in announcing so many films so far in the future. Over the the intervening decade, The Flash production would be placed on hold multiple times as the script faced an almost infinite amount of rewrites, directors came and went, and various reshoots occurred. Eventually, the film finally saw the light of day in June of 2023. In this episode we take a deep dive on the Flash film. We discuss the plot, the adaptation of Flashpoint, and how it uses the established DCEU mythology and the Batman ’89 legacy. We also talk about the controversies around Ezra Miller and how that was juxtaposed against hype for Michael Keaton. We also get into how all this stacked against the upcoming DCU and why we think this movie flopped as greatly as it did. 
>Babylon 5 created a revolution in television in the mid-90’s. Series creator J. Michael Stracynski was told that science fiction would never succeed on television if it wasn’t Star Trek. Yet, the man had a dream and he fulfilled that dream. Conceiving of a series that would last for five years with a defined beginning, middle, and ending Babylon 5 succeeded in its mission by providing complex, interwoven story arcs in an era when television was almost completely full of stand alone episodes. In this episode we do a deep dive on Babylon 5. We discuss what made the series both revolutionary and successful. We also talk about the characters, what we think worked and what we think didn’t, and whether we think the series should be rebooted. 
Hot on the heels of Disney’s announcement of Moon Knight blu-ray and 4K UHD sets, The 42cast brings you it’s review of the titular Marvel hero. In this episode we delve into Moon Knight’s comic origins, the changes made in later years, and the various changes made for the Disney+ series. We’ll discuss the use of Disassocative Identity Disorder and how well the series handled that and the broader conversation around mental health. We also talk about the characters, plot, and how well we think the performances worked. Along the way we’ll also debate the merits of the CGI, when you can use the unreliable narrator trope, and whether this series segues into a broader storyline within the MCU. We also give our opinion on what we’d want from another season of the show. 
