Guys Of A Certain Age

In a landmark event, all three Guys come with the same Geek of the Week.  Good thing it’s a big one, with plenty to share.  And that’s not even the biggest event. 

At recording time, the world (we’re sure) was celebrating the 40th anniversary of what may arguably be the best movie sequel ever: Star Wars’ Return of the Jedi.  This movie could also have one (or two) of the most-quoted lines in Hollywood history (at least among us geeks and nerds), and introduces the most lovable (and dangerous) Muppet ever to grace the big screen. 

It’s a big one, deserving an episode of its own.  

What do Planet of the Apes, Psycho, and The Empire Strikes Back all have in common?  Besides the prominence of the letter P?  We can’t reveal that.  It would spoil the ending of the podcast.  But now you know there’s a twist involved in these and so many more classic films, and heck - they’re decades old to begin with.  

So be a guy (or lady) of a certain age, put on your big boy (or girl) pants (or slacks) and watch the doggone movies.  End the disbelief Art and Robbie exclaim weekly when Jay still hasn’t seen Shaun of the Dead.  Get in on the private jokes and memes the movies with the best plot twists have cemented into our cultural vocabulary.  

This week the Guys talk spoilers, plot twists, and reveal the identity of the mysterious McGuffin.  Listen now before someone spoils it for you!

2020 is a year that will be remembered, though there may be time we just want to forget it.  Luckily, for Guys of a Certain Age, forgetting gets easier and easier. 

Graduates in 2020 (including Robbie's eldest from high school and Jay's from college) have had an unexpected finish, and instead of prom and tossing those funny hats, they will reminisce about online classes, virtual graduation and Zoom assignments.  The Guys thought this would be a good time to revisit their senior years - the good, the bad and the ugly.  (You get to figure out who's who.) Listen as they walk down - and stumble- memory lane, straight through the 1980's.    

For a trio of oldish curmudgeons, The Guys sure seem to have a lot of toys.  And we're not talking about the proverbial "grown-up" toys like jet skis, jetpacks, and jet...jets - we're talking about toy...toys.  Legos.  Action figures. (They're not dolls.) And ships to transport the not-dolls to galaxies far, far away. 

Which ones have stood the test of time?  Which ones did we desperately want as kids, but couldn't afford until we were adults with disposable income, ebay, and understanding wives?  Listen to this one in your playroom, man cave, or wherever secondary-market-collectible-mint-in-box toys are sold.  

Listeners may have noticed that The Guys watch a lot of TV.  Or they watch a lot of content on a lot of streaming services on a lot of screens, at the very least. 

How many times have you heard two of our co-hosts exclaim in surprise to the third, "You haven't seen that?"  Truth be told, though, we all have shows that have large fanbases, great Nielsen ratings, coveted advertising slots - even national conventions dedicated to one show - and yet, they just don't appeal to us. 

That's the conundrum The Guys talk about in this episode. Which "must watch" shows fall into the "I just don't get it, therefore I just don't watch it" category?  Or maybe we gave up after one season or one episode, even if those shows are in the top 5 TV shows of all time.  Prepare to be show-shamed.  Or not.  

It’s week something-or-other in shelter-at-home, and we’re not sure what day it is - but the Guys are here anyway to keep you informed, entertained, and occupied while figuring out if you’re essential or not.  

In this week's episode, they mourn the loss of a mad cartoonist, explore the possibilities of yet another streaming service, and debate the value of spoilers.  Random?  Of course.  What else do you expect?  Next, they tackle the perplexing problem of perpetuity.  In other words, Robbie is force-feeding old movies to his sons during quarantine, and some hits of previous decades have not proven worthy today.  Jay and Art throw a few movies in the ring, too, that they’ve revisited or finally had time to watch during these weird, weird, days.  

Just because the Guys can’t be in the same room together during stay-at-home orders, doesn’t mean they still can’t ramble on for half an hour anyway.  Thank you, technology.  

And this week they give their takes on a handful of technological breakthroughs that have now, essentially, put on the brakes.  From lightsaber apps, to aux cords connected to cassette tape adapters, to Billy Bass, to Netflix DVD’s (hey…wait a minute…), the Guys reminisce about gadgets and such that were at one point essential “personnel” but have since been sent home.  

When it comes to Geeks of the Week, Robbie says it’s hip to be Square, Jay’s still playing with high-end legos, and Art is ready to join (or at least watch) the Space Force.  Call the delivery guy, grab a donut chicken sandwich, and listen.  

With Jay out this week, Robbie and Art "engage" in a spoiler-filled discussion of Picard, the latest Star Trek series from CBS All Access. 

This week the Guys continue to practice safe social distancing with Jay actually taking it to the extreme by separating himself by both time and space (like Doctor Who!).

It’s a weird world we are living in, and it’s getting weirder.  

We’re all doing lots of things online, we’ve given up watching actual live sporting events, and we’re spending a lot of time indoors away from other people.  In other words: normal life for many in the geek-nerd community.  

Who better than the Guys to help you find fun things to do in quarantine?  This week they go really old school and talk about their favorite games past and present, and they’re not talking about Pac-Man.  It’s time to dig out the board games and all those decks of cards.  Now it's about Fishbowl,  Spades, Uno, Dutch Blitz, Rook, and marathon Monopoly.  If Amazon doesn’t have them, your local antique store probably does.  

And of course, there are some suggestions about things to watch besides college football reruns, including an updated YouTube video from the stars of Shaun of the Dead.  And yes, the microphones were a safe distance apart.