The Incomparable

Is “Die Hard” the greatest Christmas movie ever made? Dan Moren thinks so. Others are less sure, but there’s no denying how great this seminal ’80s action flick is. We discuss John McClane’s adventure at Nakatomi Plaza, as well as other Christmas movies and TV shows we have loved.

Happy holidays from everyone at The Incomparable. In this pre-Christmas edition we talk about beloved gifts from our childhood, and discover a strange collection of cruel parents as well as a Transformer tragedy.

Greetings, programs! It’s time to talk about “Tron” and the new sequel, “Tron Legacy.” Also, what’s the appropriate use of CGI? When should creators go back and use computers to “improve” their work? And does Jeff Bridges’ CGI doppelganger fall right into the middle of the Uncanny Valley?

A new topic on the podast: video games! We talk classic (okay, OLD) games as well as the latest and greatest motion-controlled games. From Pong to the Kinect, we’ve got it covered—plus why the human race is doomed if someone invents a holodeck.

In honor of the release of the seventh Harry Potter film, we convene a collection of panelists to discuss the books, the movies, the phenomenon that is J.K. Rowling’s young-wizard saga. (If you haven’t read the series, there are spoilers and also the entire podcast will make no sense. Except for the part about “Magnum P.I.” and Pablo Picasso. This episode sponsored by the word “exegesis” and the musical stylings of Tom Bombadil.)

Discussing Joss Whedon, from Buffy to Firefly (to the Avengers?) and everything in between. What’s the appeal? What are our favorite episodes? Why did Firefly die young and leave a great-looking corpse?

Three Hugo winners enter our Book Club. “Spin” by Robert Charles Wilson, “Hyperion” by Dan Simmons, and “The Yiddish Policeman’s Union” by Michael Chabon. Also: Why sequels suck. And we’ll work you like a ham!

The Fantastic Four is the topic of this installment of our Comic Book Club! We talk “Unstable Molecules,” a strange mini-series about the fictional “inspiration” for the Fantastic Four. Also: the bad movies and worse TV shows, Ultimate Fantastic Four, and more.

Booooo! We get ready for Halloween with a discussion of horror and scary movies featuring two horror aficionados and also Jason, who doesn’t have a stomach for it. Plus, we highlight a neglected horror classic.

“Raiders of the Lost Ark,” and why it’s so great. Also, “Star Wars” comes up a few times.

Dissecting the fall TV season, including “The Event,” “No Ordinary Family,” and the promising third season of “Fringe.” Plus other sci-fi shows we have loved and hated, why trying to ape “Lost” is a bad idea, and Dan suggests a new “Law & Order” spinoff.

Comic Book Club returns! This week we talk about TV adaptations of comic books, TV shows inspired by comic books, comic books that would make good TV shows, and more. Plus, random discussion of X-Men Annuals, the Micronauts, and why Reed Richards is a douche (in X-Men Annual #5, anyway).

Our Book Club reconvenes, to discuss Nick Harkaway, Cherie Priest, William Gibson, favorite prose stylists (Shakespeare? Please!), and multiple Shatners. Also in this episode, we introduce listeners to two new inanimate-yet-Incomparable characters: the Spoiler Horn and its good friend, the All-Clear Bell.

Movies and movie soundtracks are on the agenda, as we talk Giacchino, Star Trek soundtracks, bad movies we have loved, Blade Runner, Kick Ass, and the prospect of a “Dark Tower” movie/TV series combo platter.

It’s British TV time. Steven Moffat’s “Sherlock” and “Doctor Who” are on the agenda. We mention his sitcom “Coupling” too. And Glenn cranks the pretension meter up to ten, only for Jason to crank it right back down to one.

I call this meeting of Comic-Book Club to order! Today we will be discussing “The Unwritten” by Mike Carey and Peter Gross, published by Vertigo. But of course, we end up talking about much more than just “The Unwritten,” as any good book club should.

In the very first episode ever of The Incomparable, recorded before we even knew what we were going to be called, we talk about a whole bunch of novels, including China Mieville’s “The City and The City,” Paolo Bacigalupi’s “The Windup Girl,” and Cory Doctorow’s “For the Win.” We mispronounce some of their names, float an idea for books that burn themselves, and ask the most important question a reader should ask: Are there Zeppelins?