Episode 139: I'll Just Stop At Home Thanks

Following on from last week's Autopsy on all things 2020 we turn to the obvious question. If all the cinemas were shut what did your average cinephile do for entertainment whilst locked up in their homes for several months waiting for an end to the global pandemic?

In Ian's case the answer is "not watch much on telly". In Leo's case the answer is: watch a bunch of stuff that was hurled in our general direction as a way of keeping us distracted as the world collapsed outside the window. So, different approaches, very different. But the underlying question is what did all the streaming services actually do with this literally captive audience? What was strewn before us to while away the long hours? How did the movers and shakers entice the idle and bored into their gardens of content?

It may not surprise you to learn that the answer is... virtually nothing. As you shall discover, not one of these companies really had the muscle to throw out something seriously arresting, compelling and noteworthy during this time. I guess you just don't have to work as hard when you've got no competition. Oh, well, sigh... best wait on for the cinemas to opern up again.

This week's episode features an excerpt of Ego Trippin' by Lo-Fi Scientists and bedding music Mystical Forces by Citizen Crane. Both are licensed under a creative commons non-commercial attribution-based licence. Follow links for more information.

Direct Link: https://archive.org/download/139-will-just-stop-at-home-thanks/139-will-just-stop-at-home-thanks.mp3

Episode 138: 2020 - The Autopsy

AUDIO QUALITY WARNING: We were using a platform, since abandoned for precisely this and other technical niggles, that, unfortunately, made Ian sound like he was addressing us from the body of a large an empty church (I, Leo, am assuming it was a technical error and not something I need to stage an intervention for). So, sorry about that folks. Honestly, if we'd have screwed up like this on a topic show we probably would have re-recorded. But the autopsy relies on a certain amount of live reaction from the Ian, so we have had to issue as is. We have totally fixed this audio issue in all the rest of the shows in this season.

Now, on to the show. 2020, that was a bit of a shock, wasn't it. We recorded a prediction show in Fedbruary and by April it was all moot. But that is not the end of the story. All the films we talked about, slated for release, existed. They had been filmed, they were ready to go. Marvel's Black Widow wasn't just going to disappear into the infinite, it was going to see the light of day at some point. Similarly DC's Wonder Woman. Similarly Fast & Furious 9 and so to the autopsy.

We examine the fate of those movies which we predicted for in Feb 2020, a different world. Have the films been released? Where were they released? How much money did they pull in when they did get released? And obviously, what does all of that mean for the future of cinema in our mixed up, disease-riddled world of today? We don't have answers but suffice to say we're retiring the predictions format for a bit.

This week's episode features an excerpt of Swag Rag by Riff Kitten and bedding music Everybody Has Another Life by Fodor Balazs. Both are licensed under a creative commons non-commercial attribution-based licence. Follow links for more information.

Direct Link: https://archive.org/download/episode-138-2020-autopsy/Episode%20138%20-%202020%20Autopsy.mp3

Metasode 6 - The Show They Couldn't Cancel

Emerging once more, blinking into the daylight you'd think these things would get easier for the kids from the 80s, but that isn't the case in reality. Fatigued and battered from the global lockdown Leo and Ian have emerged with vastly different takes on the whole experience.

Leo, for example, has decided to put classic Revenge shows in a rotator and fire up a 24/7 internet radio station. Ian, has been playing video games and trying not to think about it all too much. It wouldn't have surprised us if the pandemic had finally killed the cast. After all, it has effectively killed, or at least put on brakes, for our most exciting format the summer review and follow up. This season we're going to have to reflect on this stuff before we can go forward into the future.

There will be reflection on the season ahead, a quick precis of what's to come, some technical niggles and the unfortunate technical fall out that one of us or other might end up sounding like the booming voice of good in the first two episodes before we sort it all out. So, just an average day for the kids, then? Yeah, pretty much.

Direct Link: https://archive.org/download/metasode-2-geeks-in-search-of-a-tower/Metasode_%202%20Geeks%20In%20Search%20of%20a%20Tower.mp3