This week has pod-ception on The 42cast as we release a podcast episode about a TV show about a true crime podcast about true crime podcast fans solving true crimes. Of course we are talking about the comedy murder-mystery hit, Only Murders in the Building. In this episode we talk about the trio of Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez and why we think that they work so well together. We discuss the plots and how well they work as comedy and as murder mysteries. We also get into the guest stars and what our favorite appearances in the series were.
This week’s five-minute controversy asks if AI should be used to determine the next James Bond.
This week Beth, Shaun, and Stephen join the cast.
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In the days before streaming, genre television was limited. However, Fox generated a lot of new content to supplement what was on the more traditional networks and cable began producing its own fair share in the 90’s. In this episode we take a look at the various genre TV series of the 90’s. We talk about our favorites and the ones that gained the attention of pop culture. We discuss what we liked, whether we think that they hold up, and why they’re worth a mention. Along the way we also talk about some trends of the decade and give some hints on where we might go in a sequel episode. 
Superman (2025) generated far too much discussion for us to contain it in a single episode. In part 2 we return to the series. We discuss the Justice Gang, what we think of the individual members, and why an unkind person doing good is a great thing to showcase. We also talk about the themes of winning versus saving and how that was modeled throughout the series. We also get into Jimmy weirdness, canine implications, and Gunn violence. 
Superman is the first full entry into James Gunn’s DCU. Facing backlash from those who wished the DCEU to continue, the film had a lot riding on it to prove the narrative vision of this new version of the DC universe across multiples forms of media. In this episode we have part one of our examination of this film. We discuss how it works as an initial outting for the DCU. We talk about some of the themes inherent within the character of Superman and shown in this film. We also dive into several of the controversies in the movie and give our takes on them. 
Echo was a surprising addition to the Phase Five lineup. While the other characters in the MCU were characters with significant followings, Echo was a relatively minor character from the comics. However, due to a strong showing in the Hawkeye series, Alaqua Cox’s character was allowed to star in her own series with ramifications for Daredevil: Born Again. In this episode we review the Echo series. We talk about the connections to Hawkeye, Daredevil, and the prior Netflix series of Defenders characters. We discuss the depiction of the characters, what we think of the performances, and whether we’d like to see Echo show up again in the MCU. 
Last week we boldly went so far that we needed a whole other episode to come back. As a result this episode gives you the second part of our exploration of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. In this episode we tackle such questions as “does a legal procedural work in space?”, “how many times can you bust a series’ format before it’s too many?”, and “how many original series characters do you need to have before it’s too many?” Along the way we discuss musicals, genetic augments, and relationships. We also talk about missed opportunities and what we hope to get out of the third season. 
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds continues to gain prominence among fandom. Telling stories about the crew of the Enterprise in the days when Pike was captain, the series evokes a retro feel while boasting modern effects. In this episode we provide the first half of our discussion of season two of the series. We discuss new characters like Pelia and what we think about her. We talk about the prevalence of Kirk in the series and whether or not we enjoy the many connections they make to other piece of Star Trek lore. Along the way we get into favorite characters, how we feel about time travel storylines, and Vulcan shenanigans. 
Superman month concludes this week, but we couldn’t leave without talking about the last iteration of The Man of Steel. In this episode we look at the entirety of the DCEU – from a franchise of franchises overseen by Zack Snyder to a disjointed dying gasp of poorly performing films and ones pulled before they could see the light of day – we go over the ins and outs of the series. We talk about the merits of the films and what we feel lead to its downfall. Along the way we also discuss our favorite and least favorite movies of them all. 
Superman is high in the public consciousness today, so we’re taking a step back and looking at the movie series that many still site as the quintessential version of the character. In this episode we discuss all four of the Superman movies that starred Christopher Reeve as well as Superman Returns, a movie intended to be a sequel to those earlier films. We talk about Reeves in the roles of both Clark Kent and Superman. We discuss his co-stars from each film as well as how they either added to or detracted from the movies. We also get into the various film plots and how we feel that they showcased the character. Before we wrap up we explain what’s in each of the versions of the first two films and we debate the merits of Superman Returns. We also give our rankings for these movies. 
Superman & Lois was the final DC series produced by the CW. Originally meant to be part of the Arrowverse, the series blazed its own path once it was determined that crossovers wouldn’t be possible with Covid production restrictions. In this episode we talk about the fourth and final season of the series. We discuss the comic origins of the series. We talk about the use of Lex Luthor and Doomsday and how they added to the overall series. We also get into the various production restrictions for this scaled back season and how we felt that effected the story and our enjoyment. We also give our opinions on the ending of the series and how we felt about the various resolutions. 
