Guys Of A Certain Age

The instructions were clear.  The topic was to be TV series The Guys were enjoying currently that the others might not be watching.  

Robbie understood the assignment (since he made the assignment) with Stick and The Sandman season two.  Art understood the assignment, mentioning the new season of Wednesday, with honorable mention for the reboot of King of the Hill. Jay did not understand the assignment, but still recommends The Office for a lot of good reasons.  

Perhaps he will be redeemed with his Geek of the Week audiobook recommendation, Dave Grohl’s The Storyteller.  Art talks James Gunn’s willingness to shake up the cast list in the DCU, and Robbie breaks the news of a telling hint drop that could get interesting for fans of Princess Leia.  Movies, TV, Books and plenty of random conversation: this podcast has everything!

If an episode has ever gone completely off the rails of intended subject matter, this is the one.  The Guys had a topic, but before they even got to Geeks of the Week, the subject had changed and the original topic forgotten.  

Those sorts of things happen when a body consumes all the flavors of Bartles and Jaymes wine coolers at once, or puts away a six pack of Zimas.  Or in this case, when The Guys start conversing.  Bartles and Jaymes coolers don’t seem to be available in their zip code, and even Japan quit selling Zima a few years ago.  But somehow, the hosts jumped on the nostalgia bus for drinks (or the advertisements for such) that they were likely too young to consume when they could actually be found at the county line.  

Geeks of the Week include yet another upcoming movie updating an 80’s TV show, a Happy Tarzan Day greeting to aaaa-ahahah-aaa-lll who celebrate, and a podcast record set by none other than the future Mrs. Travis Kelce.  Jay closes out the League of Regrettable Superheroes segment, but not to worry - the Legion of Regrettable Supervillains is coming!  We thank you for your support.  

It’s family reunion season, or so it seems.  Jay has been to one in the last month, missed another, and is heading to a third.  Robbie went north for the annual Coblentz-Con reuniting a baker’s dozen brothers.  

Perhaps one day all three Guys will have a reunion and be able to record together 2 weeks in a row.  They can dream!  And apparently, reunion people can also eat.  Hanging out with family you haven’t seen in a while is the ultimate goal of a reunion, but a close second is sharing a dish or twenty around a very large table, and everybody does it a little differently.  Speaking of differently, the old standby roadside restaurant Cracker Barrel is shaking things up a bit, too.  New logo, new decor, new vibes are coming - will it work?  The Guys offer their take, while on the site where a local Cracker Barrell almost wasn’t.  

Robbie has double Geeks of the Week but within the same genre.  Wanna’ take a guess at “Who” he’s talking about?  Jay notes a retcon in the new Peacemaker season that is fascinating, but will only be seen (by him, at least) in the Instagram reel where he discovered it.  (Sorry, Mr. Cena.) Grab a piece of rhubarb pie, call the family, and listen to this episode before they start a water fight.

This week, the Guys take a long overdue return to the worlds of Dungeons and Dragons-not the recent movie or the old cartoon from the 80s, but the legendary role-playing game.

There’s no way around this descriptor: this episode is Fantastic.  But be-Four The Guys get to The Thing they came to talk about, there are notable Geeks of the Week to mention.  

Jay heard about a Hamilton cast member who’s been there from day one, and hopes the same will happen to him in this podcast.  Robbie geeks out over a potential Star Wars-Dr. Who crossover (well, sort of - with a cast member, at least.)  And Art - in his own special segment, soon to be known as the Optimist with the Obituaries (they’re still workshopping the title)- shares sad news about one of WKRP’s finest.  

In Jay’s Regrettable Segment, ROM the Spaceknight gets special coverage: Robbie has been waiting for this one to get to Earth-1012.  Then they get to the final Stretch, a discussion of the MCU’s latest gift to the theater: Fantastic Four, First Steps.  This may be the best FF ever, less Torched by the critics than any of the variants thus far, and The Guys agree.  Good casting overall, balanced story with perhaps some nuances not seen very often in superhero flicks (spoiler: there’s a baby), terrific sets, fascinating time setting, useful mid-credit scene, and fun music.  

The MCU may not be Invisible much longer.  

It’s here, it’s here, it’s finally here!  The first major film in the DCG (DC Gunn-iverse, for those not caught up on the latest lingo, like Jay) hit theaters and Superman is back.  

The Guys had high expectations and some were met.  Others, maybe not so much.  But they agree that major steps  - especially in the casting - were made in the right direction for DC as the universe gets a reboot. As Art so eloquently put it, hopefulness has been restored to the franchise.  

Art is also hoping for a John Carter figure for Christmas (listeners can pre-order now), Jay wants a night light that might also scare away intruders (and/or unsuspecting family members), and Robbie may or may not want a new late night talk show, as one of the biggies has been cancelled.  It’s a super episode - or at least The Guys hope so.  

First, there were the Untouchables.  Then the Incredibles.  Later came the Expendables: 1, 2, 3 and 4.  (Apparently Stallone can’t be involved in something without multiple sequels.) Dare we say the GOCA-bles?  Probably not.  

Let’s move on to the Regrettables and quit while we’re behind.  This week Robbie is lost somewhere in Indiana, leaving Art and Jay to their own devices.  Having none, they go back to the well they like to call, “Jay’s Regrettable Segment on Steroids.”  Or in another brilliant alliteration, “Regrettable Round-Up.” The League of Regrettable Superheroes book will shortly come to a close, and this episode will help The Guys skate/truck/thunder/or…legislate (?) towards a bittersweet end.  With two voted redeemable and two most definitely regrettable, prepare to be introduced for perhaps the first and last time to Prez, Skateman, U.S. 1, and Thunder Bunny.  You can’t make this stuff up.  Yet somebody did.  

In Geeks of the Week, Jay wonders when his podcast salary will reach Superman status, and Art reports that an upcoming series about Green may be a bit Blue.  Don’t miss this colorful episode; pink ears, white booty shorts, and well, that’s enough.   

It’s a race to the finish in today’s episode.  

Only six more Regrettable Superheroes left in the book before Jay will have to create another segment, only a few more degrees before Mississippi weather hits 100 (that’s temperature AND humidity), and a challenge to see who’s seen the most auto racing movies.  Today’s redeemable regrettable is Phoenix the Protector, whose finish came not from the alien super-race determined to end humanity, but from the collapse of Atlas Comics.  

Geeks of the Week were short and sweet: Spiderman returns (again), Denis is not done with Dune, and Sandman Part the Second gets an eye-opening review via Robbie.  

Then it’s off to the races.  Jay and Robbie went to see F1 in the theater, and both left ready to take turn four at speeds never before reached in a Tundra.  Look for The Guys faces on your favorite Formula 1 car next season.  That led to a discussion of auto racing movies, a much larger genre than anticipated, leaving Jay with another list of movies to watch when he retires.  

Buckle up, this one goes by fast.  

It’s not the last of Them, but it is The Last of Us. The streaming series, that is. And the game.

In fact, it may be a first: not only are all three Guys in the studio this week, they even brought in a fourth: Jonah Holland, certified by GOCA as an expert in all things The Last of Us. The Guest even brought a Geek of the Week, so he got paid double and extra bonus points because his Geek related to the topic.

As for the rest of Them, Robbie brought news of yet another shift in the streaming scene, Jay revealed some not-so-secret Superman cameos, and Art boldly pronounced the name of the newest Bond movie director.  After the break, Jonah gave The Guys a primer on The Last of Us, with a little game history, a few highlights of the streaming series, and an opinion or two on how the two media matched up. Even the GOCA-phites got into the action, as Mrs. Reed and Mrs. Holland (via their sons) shared their thoughts on the highlight of the series, and who would also like you to “vote for Pedro.”

If Jay binged Season 2 in about 15 hours, it must be pretty good, right?  That’s what all the listeners who binge-listen to this podcast say, too…right? If nothing else, listen to Jonah - he knows what he’s talking about.