Breakdown The Universe

So... turns out this one never uploaded when it was supposed to, so we're only, oh, 96 days late. Anyway, here it is, and it's... truly awful.We watched the Star Wars Holiday Special, the TV special that George Lucas tried to kill, that Carrie Fisher tried to save, and that featured extended conversations in an alien language with no translations. The plot is mediocre, Boba Fett is introduced in cartoon form, none of the original actors wanted to be there, and it has squiffy connections to canon continuity.Oh, and it fucking sucks.Sorry for the delay, but a belated Merry Christmas to you all!

Merry Christmas Mrs Blaze's Mum! I know you've been waiting for this one, sorry it took so long.In what is our first (but by no means last) split episode we begin our discussion on the fourth Harry Potter novel, The Goblet of Fire.Outside of a plot breakdown, we discuss Harry's possible powers of far-sight, why did wizards choose owls for their postal service, the fact that Molly and Arthur Weasley are Harry's true parents, that Hermione never sees her family, how Mad-Eye's mad eye is more powerful than you think, why Muggle students aren't all as outraged about House Elf slavery as they should be, how Hagrid is actually very competent as a teacher, and how boring the Second Triwizard Task would have been for the crowd.Buckle up everyone - this is the start of multiple episodes per book, and we go deep.

Look, it's not as "woke" as you might think, but this is the story of a young woman, and the mantle of being Santa that was kind of thrust upon her. This is Noelle.It's hard to hate either Anna Kendrick or Bill Hader, so just don't, and then watch this pretty serviceable Christmas movie. Yeah, we kind of know how it's gonna go from very early on, but who cares? It's Christmas, y'all.Three to go after this one. Oooh, we're close now!

So, it might not be the original, but this remake is totally worth the time - it's time for Miracle On 34th Street.This 1994 remake of an absolute classic is totally worth your time - yeah, it's a bit cheesy, yeah, it's very corny, but also... yeah, it's kind of great.Do the watching, feel the stuff, experience the story-like nature of the thing.

Hello, hello. Here we go again.It's day five of our Pods of Christmas, and we discuss the first sequel of the year - the follow up to the hijinks of Kevin McCallister, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York.Despite a cameo by one of shittest blokes in history, this is a serviceable sequel, whilst also just being pretty much the same film as the first.Stay tuned for the next one.

Welcome to the third day/pod of Christmas this year. In an effort to bridge our normal nerdiness and our Christmas theme, we discuss The Guardians of the Galaxy Holidays Special.Loo, it gets nerdy, and yes, there might be some prior knowledge required, but this is a fun watch.Please use this encouragement to go and watch all of the MCU.

Ding Dong Merrily On High! It's the 12 Pods of Christmas for 2025.In today's episode we talk about the big-budget, action-adventure Christmas caper, Red One.With a massive amount of star power, an interesting premise and some kind of fun set pieces, this movie exceeds expectations without blowing them out of the water.Enjoy, and come back tomorrow for Day Two.

Hello there. No, this is not General Kenobi, and we are not at all discussing Star Wars. We're discussing the third book in the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban.In our deep dive of this book (and to a lesser extent, movie) we discuss the abundance of new themes for the series, the fact that the tone of the series seems to have been settled, the absence of Voldemort, the piece of shit that is Aunt Marge (yeah, I've cleaned it up for this description), the return (technically) of Sirius Black, the new attitude toward Harry, Hermione's new pet, the introduction of several new and important characters, don't Dementors suck, how nice is that Hufflepuff Seeker, friction between The Golden Trio, Harry's broom upgrade, Expecto Patronum, the Marauder's Map, an actual prophecy, and the twist revelation of the true villain of the book.This is our last single episode for an individual book, so... settle in. It's gonna get descriptive.

Oh, hello to the people who are still listening. Yes, we're still here... for good or bad.Please note: this was recorder well before the passing of Dame Maggie Smith. Any discussion of her is intended to be only complimentary.Today we will discuss the worst book (and film), but that doesn't = bad. But it's the Chamber of Secrets, and everything that goes with it.We discuss the Dobby and The Problem With House-Elves, the concept of The Trace, the introduction of Lucius Malfoy - the true villain of the story, the dumbest decision ever made by anyone in the series, the concept of magical racism, and that's before the school year even starts!Harry hears things, The Heir is back (beware), is Harry guilty, who is Tom Riddle, how clever is Hermione (hint: very), why did Hagrid get expelled, who is Tom Riddle really, and would Lucius Malfoy really have killed Harry?

Welcome to our latest (and at this point, by far the most comprehensive) topic - Harry Potter.Firstly, the book we are discussing is Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone, not The Sorcerer's Stone - like in so other ways, America is totally wrong.More importantly, we a podcast (and as decent human beings) do not support the views of the author. They (ha) have taken some strong stances, and we do not agree with them.So, we go through sooooo much stuff; was there always a grand plan for 7 books? How big was the impact of the series? Do the Dursleys belong in jail (spoiler: they do)? Did Vernon beat Petunia (probably)? Did they have a long-term reason for their hatred of Harry (no, no they didn't)?We go over Harry's into to magic, his meeting of his best friends on the Hogwart's Express, his first year at the school, the eventually signature twist, and the setup for the success of the franchise.This topic will go for ages. Sorry, but if you like Harry Potter, enjoy like you've never done before.

Oh, hi there everyone. Keen on this episode? No? Oh, well... here it is anyway. We discuss the last project the Pythons ever did together - The Meaning Of Life. What is this film about? Well, the stages of Life, of course. We don't need to break them down, but it ranges from Birth, through to Sex, and finally to Death. We also talk about why Monty Python is so enduring, and also what is coming next. Here you go. Accept it for what it is.

Sorry for the even more delay in episodes, but here we are - talking about The Life of Brian. It would be impossible not to mention the controversy surrounding this film, to the point a Beatle had to create a film studio to save it (George Harrison, we love you). We discuss the fact that Gender Identity was raised in this film, as well as the accidental Messiah, the legend of Pontias Pilate, the foiled final rescue, what satire is supposed to be, the ongoing legacy, and I last dig at co-worker Lisa. Only the true podcast listener will deny it's enjoyability... sorry, tried to adapt a quote there.