Guys Of A Certain Age

This episode takes a deep dive into gaming - unfortunately, the Guys’ pool is pretty shallow.  

Thankfully we have Chortlecast co-host Jake back in the studio to help us navigate these strange new computer-generated worlds.  If you’re like Jay, and think the Wii is still the latest and greatest out there, or you still keep your Palm Pilot charged so you can play Tetris, Jake has suggestions.  (And one of them is not necessarily a membership to Gamefly.) They talk systems, games, exclusivity, hardware, software.  They talk definitions (such as ecosystem and love child) and acronyms (like MMO).  Think of it as a tutorial - Gaming for Geezers.  

In the Geek of the Week segment, Robbie expounds on all the television streaming services available, and gives an expert opinion on how You should watch the Tube, once you’ve finished listening to all the podcasts.  

Climate change, impeachment, healthcare - all those subjects were covered.  But it wasn’t a presidential debate…it was the Oscars!  And we watched it anyway.  Well, Art and Jay watched it - but that didn’t stop Robbie from having opinions.  

In this episode, The Guys go down the list of Oscar nominees, winners, and in some cases, non-nominated-but-should-have beens, and tell you all you need to know about the 92nd annual Academy Awards. And maybe some things you didn’t.  They even talk Razzie nominations,  though there were more “I didn’t see that” admissions from that list than the Oscars.  (Jay still defends his enjoyment of Cats in this segment.)  The Razzies served as Robbie’s Geek of the Week, as Art mourned the loss of a Wild, Wild West star and Jay asked the question: How many Quibi’s will it take before this podcast is over?

Is football really over?  Could it be true?  Well, of course not - XFL play starts next week!  

But the Big Game, the Superest of Bowls, happened yesterday, in all its advertising glory.  The Guys had big plans to talk about the relevance of championship games across sports in general, with how the Super Bowl fit into that, but mostly they just ended up talking about the commercials.  And they were awesome.  Most of them, anyway.  Will “these dudes” buy anything as a result of the millions spent on ads?  Unlikely.  But they still got a kick out of talking about them.  

Plus, in the Geek of the Week segment, Art sits in the captain’s chair and Jay rambles on about a study on pizza-slicing.  Sorry, no commercials.  

The Star Wars trilogy of trilogies may be complete, and current faves such as Jack Ryan and the Mandalorian may not be back till the fall, but that doesn't mean our screens won't be busy in 2020.   

In this episode the Guys look forward to all sorts of cinematic wonders in the year to come.  Marvel?  Eternally covered.  DC?  It's a Wonder-ful world.  Bond?  Finally.  Maverick is back, with Kenny in tow. Even the Ghostbusters return from the dead. 

And that doesn't even include all the streaming series that Art and Robbie think Jay needs to watch just to catch up. (Be sure to listen for the shocking revelation that even with an extended Disney+ subscription, Jay may still be the lone Netflix DVD customer.)

The year is still kinda' newish, and that means it's time for The Guys to talk resolutions. 

But first, Geeks of the Week take a turn toward the cinematic, with Robbie's raving about the Morbius trailer, Jay's defense of his right to see AND enjoy Cats, and Art's fascination with the unique photography used in the movie 1917.

After explaining to Jay who Morbius is, they move on to New Year's Resolutions.  Art's got a comic project in mind, Jay's resolutions go nu-clear, and Robbie - well, we're not quite sure.  Something about [REDACTED] which then led to a discussion of the best TV's for Superbowl viewing.  Buckle up, fans of juvenile BS, lots of ground is covered on this one!

This week the Guys talk all things Mandalorian.  The Disney+ series was generally declared a winner (whoops, spoiler) among all the Guys - even Jay, who continues to be educated on what’s canon, what’s not, and what all those little details mean, thoroughly enjoyed the show.  How could someone not love Baby Yoda?  Those who haven’t watched it all the way through should be advised - they pretty much let the SPOILERS fly.  It is the way.  But before landing on Arvala-7, they talk Batman set photos, Dracula on Netflix, and Exploding Kittens (it’s not like it sounds, thank goodness.) Listen, because: The Guys have spoken.  

DON'T LISTEN IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN "Star Wars - The Rise of Skywalker!"  There Be Spoilers Ahead!

This week the Guys show their true dedication to the podcast.  As a group, with sons in tow, they all went to see The Rise of Skywalker (Jay saw all but 3 minutes of it), then hopped in their landspeeders and dashed directly to the studio to record their thoughts (aka rambles) on the final movie of the Star Wars series.  Allegedly.  

Buckle up for “bonus" minutes of their conversation, and yes - THERE ARE SPOILERS AFOOT!  

The holiday season is drawing to a close, and that means one thing: we have to get back to regular eating, whatever that may mean.  

But not before Robbie and Jay bring in a genuine teen chef to talk about holiday meals.  While Art left so he could actually make it home in time for dinner, Mark Coblentz took his seat at the microphone to talk family food traditions.   Mark happens to be Robbie’s son, but we don’t hold that against him.  His resume includes Chopped Jr., MasterChef Jr, Wonderama, Making a Chef, and now he’s reached the pinnacle of his career: guest appearance on Guys of a Certain Age.  And he makes it through the entire episode without being grounded!  

The best Christmas gift we could ever give!

It’s the golden anniversary, the Jubilee episode: Guys of a Certain Age is 50!  

And what better to discuss on such an auspicious anniversary than a variety of random topics.  Skywalker is about to rise, Christmas TV episodes are showing, Threat Level Midnight makes its debut, and somehow we still work in Dr. Who (a brief mention) and Isaac Asimov.  Jay shares a couple of mind-blowing things he’s learned since beginning this journey, and Art gives a mini concert.  Join us for an episode we never saw coming.

It seems The Guys just can’t tear themselves away from the screen.  It’s Christmas time - the time for getting together with family and friends and thinking about the deeper meaning behind the holiday - and there’s so much more TV to watch, too.  

Even the Geeks of the Week are screen-related: Robbie talks about Crisis on Infinite Earths, Jay found a Netflix show about toys, and Art mentions the new Wonder Woman 1984 trailer.  Then they dive into a spirited discussion of must-watch Christmas movies.   Robbie’s choice is a hill to die hard upon, Jay’s fave relates to a collection he has (no shock), and Art goes deep into the archives to find movies made way before even they were born.  Listen - then watch.