Giant Geek Vs. Mega N00b

We all know what happens when Cinderella goes to the ball, and when Jack climbs the beanstalk, and when Little Red Riding Hood gets to Granny's house....but not in this version.Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's Broadway musical Into the Woods turns all of these stories (and more) on their heads, then crashes a giant into them to upend things even more. It's a zany fairytale romp, but it's also a story about parents, children, relationships, and loss.Eric has seen the 2014 movie version, which is a solid effort with an incredible cast but cuts several key things and isn't quite the same as seeing it on stage. And so, now we'll discuss the play. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Technology doesn't materialize out of thin air; it's made by people. And those people aren't necessarily good people.This week's movie, "The Social Network," is a heavily dramatized telling of how Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg disrupted Harvard University, then colleges everywhere and then the world. The only problem — at least as seen here with Aaron Sorkin's name on the screenplay — is that he also upended his personal relationships along the way.You can stream "The Social Network" for $3 from Amazon, iTunes, Vudu or Google Play, or download it for $9-10 from all of those places. If you like this, give Emily and me a follow on Twitter. Or, if Facebook is more your thing, like our FB page here! And if you haven’t already, make sure to subscribe to Giant Geek vs. Mega n00b on iTunes or Google Play Music. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

 "Beauty and the Beast," the first animated movie ever to be nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars, is now ... a live-action movie, too! But how does it stack up to the original?On this bonus episode of Giant Geek vs. Mega n00b, we did the same thing that we did with La La Land last month: Emily and I watched the movie on our own, and did not share any thoughts about it with each other until we started recording. Turns out, we both had a lot of thoughts to share.You can find "Beauty and the Beast" at your local multiplex. I would be shocked if it's not playing near you, so go check it out and then listen to this podcast!If you like this, give Emily and me a follow on Twitter. Or, if Facebook is more your thing, like our FB page here! And if you haven't already, make sure to subscribe to Giant Geek vs. Mega n00b on iTunes or Google Play Music. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

After exploring the line between public and private - and the notion of faking your death - with "Man on the Moon" last week, there was only one direction we could go in: "Velvet Goldmine."This one isn't actually a biopic, but it DOES star Jonathan Rhys Myers as a glam rocker inspired by David Bowie, Ewan McGregor as another star based on Iggy Pop and Lou Reed, Christian Bale as a journalist writing about them, and Toni Collette as Myers's wife. They're all very pretty.The opening titles really say it best: Although what you're about to see is a work of fiction, it should nevertheless be played at maximum volume. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We've all been there: 40 million people love watching you perform, and you hate it, so you decide to start wrestling women.OK, actually one person has been there: Andy Kaufman, the subject of the 1999 biopic "Man on the Moon," directed by Milos Forman and starring Jim Carrey as Kaufman. This week on Giant Geek vs. Mega n00b, we are diving deep into alternative comedy, engineered outrage and how well Lorne Michaels and David Letterman can act as themselves.You can stream "Man on the Moon" for $3 from Amazon, iTunes, Vudu or Google Play, or download it for $10 from all of those places. And once you've seen the movie and listened to the podcast, head over to geekvsn00b.com for video clips of some of the real Andy Kaufman incidents that were recreated here.If you like this, give Emily and me a follow on Twitter. Or, if Facebook is more your thing, like our FB page here! And if you haven't already, make sure to subscribe to Giant Geek vs. Mega n00b on iTunes or G

You've heard the term on the news, you've seen it thrown around on Twitter, and now it's time to go to the source.We're talking about gaslighting, the practice of manipulating someone into doubting their own experience and sanity. It comes from a 1944 film starring Ingrid Bergman, Charles Boyer, and Joseph Cotten (and a very young Angela Lansbury in her first film role).Many years after her aunt was killed, Bergman moves back into the house where it happened with her new husband (Boyer), and things start to go downhill quickly. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

 This week, Emily and I played a video game with several great features, including offices, hallways, doors, a broom closet and existential dread.And as if that's not enticing enough, then try this on for size: "The Stanley Parable" is a hilarious interactive ride that answers a question no one was asking, "What if Tom Stoppard wrote a video game?" In it, you play as Stanley, an office drone whose coworkers mysteriously vanish.And I'm not kidding about the broom closet. Go in the broom closet.You can play "The Stanley Parable" on a PC or Mac, buying it via the digital game store Steam, where it's currently $15.Just remember: THE END IS NEVER THE END IS NEVER THE END IS NEVERIf you like this, give Emily and me a follow on Twitter. Or, if Facebook is more your thing, like our FB page here! And if you haven't already, make sure to subscribe to Giant Geek vs. Mega n00b on iTunes or Google Play Music. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Two lovers, both alike in artistic yearning, in fair Los Angeles where we ... ok, you know what, I'm not going to try and do the Shakespeare thing. "La La Land" is a story about two white people in L.A. who want to be famous and/or artistically respected, and it tied the record for most Oscar nominations ever. In this special bonus episode of Giant Geek vs. Mega n00b, recorded shortly before the Oscars, Eric and Emily offer their harsh critiques of a movie that has enchanted much of the country. We are also fun at parties. You can't stream "La La Land" anywhere (legally) at the time of this writing, so check your local movie theater!If you like this, give Emily and Eric a follow on Twitter. Or, if Facebook is more your thing, like our FB page here! And if you haven't already, make sure to subscribe to Giant Geek vs. Mega n00b on iTunes or Google Play Music. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Does When Harry Met Sally really need an introduction? It isn't just a classic romantic comedy; it is THE romcom. Though far from the first, it's the ultimate and quintessential romcom, the movie that defines the genre, the movie that launched the romcom boom of the 1990s and 2000s, the movie that all others since aspire to.Even those who somehow haven't seen it, which until recently included Eric, know the basics: Meg Ryan. Billy Crystal. Nora Ephron. Rob Reiner. Carrie Fisher. Classic lines. Hilarious moments. All the feelings. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Imagine, if you will: A seemingly ordinary podcast suddenly re-emerges after more than a month of silence. Except this is no ordinary season premiere. The two hosts of this podcast have just made a life-changing visit ... to the Twilight Zone.We're back! And to kick off Season 5, we watched five episodes from the seminal TV anthology, "The Twilight Zone." After the intro to this episode, we talk about them with spoilers in depth, so you should watch these episodes before you listen! They are:Season 1, Episode 1: "Where Is Everybody?"Season 1, Episode 22: "The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street"Season 1, Episode 34: "The After Hours"Season 2, Episode 7: "Nick of Time"Season 2, Episode 15: "The Invaders"You can stream "The Twilight Zone" on Hulu, Netflix, Amazon Prime or (with ads) on CBS' website. Or, you can rent individual episodes from Amazon, iTunes or Vudu.If you like this, give Emily and me a follow on Twitter. Or, if Facebook is more your thing, like our FB page here! And if you haven'

Instead of a beloved and critically-acclaimed feature, today we're watching a cheesy-as-hell TV special by Rankin and Bass. They're the same folks that brought us the Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer we've all seen a million times - but this is better (in my humble opinion).Santa Claus is Comin' to Town is a Santa origin story, tracing his life from orphaned baby to jolly old man delivering toys. Along the way, it answers all the burning questions you've always had about Santa (how do the reindeer fly?), but Eric has lived his whole life in the dark. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

What's this? Why, it's another bonus episode of Giant Geek vs. Mega n00b! Most of the time, people who say "Happy Holidays" aren't thinking of Halloween, but that might change once you see "The Nightmare Before Christmas," a 1993 stop-motion classic directed by Henry Selick and inspired by a poem written by Tim Burton. Emily, despite being the more musical half of the podcast, has never seen it, so whether you're a n00b like her or a geek like Eric, join us!If you're listening to this episode when it comes out, there's a pretty good chance you can find "Nightmare" on TV. But you can also rent it for $3 from Amazon, iTunes, Google Play or Vudu, or buy it for $10 from all of those places.If you're new to Giant Geek vs. Mega n00b, please subscribe to the show on iTunes or Google Play Music. And you can follow us on Twitter and Facebook.Merry Christmas, and see you tomorrow for Part 2! We'll be continuing with stop-motion holiday movies, but in a very different way, when we watch "Santa Claus Is Comin

Surprise! Just in time for Thanksgiving, have an extra serving of Giant Geek vs. Mega n00b!While you're recovering from your food coma this week, join us for six delightful episodes of turkey-flavored TV: Three from "Bob's Burgers," which Eric has seen relatively little of, and three from "WKRP in Cincinnati," which Emily hadn't even heard of.The three Bob's Burgers episodes on tap are: S3E5, "An Indecent Thanksgiving Proposal"; S4E5, "Turkey in a Can"; and S5E4, "Dawn of the Peck." You can stream them all on Netflix, or rent them for $2 apiece from Amazon, iTunes, Vudu or Google Play.Since we're starting from scratch on "WKRP," we watched the first two episodes (S1E1 "Pilot: Part 1" and S1E2 "Pilot: Part 2" — such clever names!) before jumping ahead to the main dish: S1E7, "Turkeys Away." You don't have to watch the first two, but if you're new to the show they teach you who all the characters are. You can stream all those on Hulu, or rent them for $1 apiece from Amazon or iTunes.If you're new to&n

How did a bastard orphan immigrant become one of America's founding fathers? How did the country forget about him? And how — and why? — did he become the subject of a wildly popular hip-hop musical 200 years after his death?In trying to answer these tricky questions, we quickly struck a roadblock: Neither Emily nor Eric had seen or listened to the soundtrack of "Hamilton," Lin-Manuel Miranda's hit 2015 Broadway musical about the rise and fall of Alexander Hamilton. Enter Eric's friend and coworker Amy Keyishian, a "Hamilton" devotee and our first-ever guest geek.None of the three of us have seen Hamilton, still, but we listened to the original Broadway cast recording twice: Once in isolation, and a second time with the annotated lyrics from Genius in front of us. And boy, did we have a lot to say about it!You can find the "Hamilton" soundtrack pretty much anywhere you listen to music, in physical or digital formats. But if you're not sure about paying for it, and you don't subscr

Topic: The West WingGeek(s): Emily and EricWe've got American politics on the brain (can't imagine why that would be), so it seems high time we get to a particularly stellar bit of political fantasy we're both more than a little obsessed with - the West Wing.Since we need a n00b to enlighten/inflict this on, we're enlisting help from my dear friend Reilly Mesco, who has somehow never seen the show. A travesty, we agree, and one that must be corrected.In case you're somehow also in the n00b category on this one, the West Wing is an Aaron Sorkin drama that premiered in 1999 and followed the senior staff of a fictional White House under the leadership of Martin Sheen's President Jed Bartlet. It's fantastic, but you'll have to listen to find out if Reilly agrees. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

 What if you could put your finger in a machine and find out how you were going to die? What if that machine were always right?And what if that machine was also kind of a jerk, dispensing cryptic predictions that often came true in cruelly ironic ways? That is the delightful-slash-terrifying premise of "Machine of Death," an anthology of short stories collected and first published in 2010 by Ryan North, Matthew Bennardo and David Malki. And it's what we're talking about today on the podcast!For this discussion, we're only reading the first half of "Machine of Death," which goes from the preface through the short story "Exhaustion From Having Sex With a Minor." Feel free to read more if you'd like, but that's as far as we read before turning on our recorders.You can find "Machine of Death" on Amazon, TopatoCo or lots of other places where dead trees are sold and loaned. Like, say, a bookstore, or a library?If you like this, give Emily and me a follow on Twitter. Or, if Facebook is mo

Topic: Steely DanGeek: EmilySteely Dan is a 1970s band that gets knocked a lot for being stereotypical dad music. But have you ever really listened to them? Eric never has. But even if you think you know them, I'd encourage you to pay closer attention this time. There's a lot going on there, folks.We're diving in to our close read with their 1976 album The Royal Scam. Give it a listen, then listen to this. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

On one of the first episodes of this podcast, I made Emily watch Doctor Who. On a later episode, which sadly never saw the light of day because we lost the audio, I made her watch Back to the Future.Today, we complete the trifecta with "Rick and Morty," the irreverent animated Adult Swim show that synthesizes those series, Futurama, and like a million other sci-fi influences into a hilarious, chaotic and occasionally traumatizing experience.Come on, it'll be fun!If you've never seen Rick and Morty, don't worry, you don't have to watch the whole show. For today, we're just watching five episodes from season one: Episodes 1, 2, 5, 6 and 7. That's the pilot, plus "Lawnmower Dog," "Meeseeks and Destroy," "Rick Potion #9" and "Raising Gazorpazorp."You can stream those episodes on Hulu Plus, or buy them for $2 apiece from Amazon, Vudu or Google Play. If you like this, give Emily and me a follow on Twitter. Or, if Facebook is more your thing, like our FB page here! And if you haven't already, ma

Topic: Gilmore GirlsGeek: EmilyIf you're out on the road, feeling lonely and so cold, all you have to do is call on Gilmore Girls and they'll be there on the next train.I've tortured this so that it doesn't actually rhyme, but you see, this is more or less how I feel about this beloved TV show. And I'm not alone! There's so much love out there for Gilmore Girls that it's getting its very own Netflix revival. Huzzah for Stars Hollow, Connecticut!Eric, however, has never seen it, and with the new episodes coming it seemed about time. Listen on to see how he fared. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The last time we visited the zombie apocalypse, when we watched "The Walking Dead," most everything was bleak: People were fighting, some of them got killed, and there was little hope for the future.What if, instead, we all decided to have fun? That's part of the appeal of this week's movie, "Zombieland," a roadtrip comedy that just happens to coincide with the world's destruction via flesh-hungry monsters.And — as if you needed another reason to watch this movie with us — "Zombieland" has a pretty amazing cast, featuring Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, Woody Harrelson and Abigail Breslin.Make sure you do watch if you haven't seen it before, as we spoil everything after the 5-minute mark, including one of the movie's biggest surprises. At the time of this writing, you can rent it from iTunes, Amazon, Google Play or Vudu for $3, or buy it from any of those places for $10.If you like this, give Eric and Emily a follow on Twitter. Or, if Facebook is more your thing, like our FB page here! And if you