Talking Tropes Podcast

Recap and discussion of Part 2 of the RTD 2 Doctor Who specials, now available on iPlayer or Disney+

Recap and discussion of Part 1 of the RTD2 Specials, now available on iPlayer and Disney+

*SPOILERS* Happy Halloween everybody, it's the much anticipated finale of Chris Chibnall's final season of Doctor Who! What do you think of Yaz, the Doctor, and Chris's exit? Tweet at us @talkingtropes and keep an eye out for more Tardis Tropes content as we wait for the60th anniversary.

It's Chris Chibnall's last episode before the Centenary special and his final farewell. It's a pirate-themed adventure set in Qing dynasty China with a returning baddie, THE SEA DEVILS! In some ways, it's exactly what you'd expect from a Chibnall episode, but in other ways, it is WORSE. Listen to our hot takes on the lack of chemistry between The Doctor and Yaz!

This is the BIG ONE! If you only listen to one episode of Stanning Stanley Tucci, pick this one. Tucci's directorial and screenwriting debut, Big Night (1996). Co-starring Tony Shalhoub, we recap the real Italian-American story of two brothers trying to save their restaurant from the brink of bankruptcy. Listen to hear about Tucci's real life inspiration for the film, (There's even a secret reference to Tucci's role in Miami Vice). Tweet at us your first memory of seeing Big Night @talkingtropes and let us know if you want to be a guest Stan on a future podcast.

In this episode, we take a look at the controversy surrounding Netflix's Don't Look Up. One of us liked it! We also look at the history of the Doomsday Comet trope in film and television. Armageddon, Deep Impact and more comedic fare like Seeking a Friend for the End of the World. Is doomsday upon us? Tweet your Don't Look Up hot takes @talkingtropes

Tucci reunites with indie director Alexandre Rockwell to do a little character acting with Rosie Perez. Somebody to Love is a boring title, but is there some hidden artistry here? Or is this just an American take on a Fellini film that sacrifices the New Wave aesthetic?

An obscure art-house film starring Tucci, who spends most of the movie bound and gagged. It ultimately fails to deliver on the psychosexual stage-play aesthetic and just comes across as if someone adapted a porno for the festival circuit. But Tucci is still good in it! Tweet at us @talkingTropes if you want to be a guest Stan on a future podcast

Am I feeling some déjà vu? I feel like I'm in a time loop reviewing another Chris Chibnall Dalek episode on New Year's Day 2022. This time Chibnall seems to have hit his mark with memorable characters and a fun time looping premise, but a beat-by-beat recap reveals that none of it actually makes any sense at all! Join us on this fantastic journey and let us know what you think by tweeting us @talkingtropes

First episode of the new year has us asking, What is Real? A little bit of Baudrillard and The Matrix: Resurrections help us understand why Facebook is now called Meta and why our reality is becoming harder to distinguish from virtual reality. Let's trace the history of the Metaverse to its source and look at how HBO Max is using it to showcase its intellectual property in The Matrix, Ready Player One, and even Space Jam. Please Tweet at us @talkingtropes or I swear to god I will make a Talking Tropes NFT. You have to stop me by tweeting what you think of this podcast or a topic we should do next or the blockchain will be stuffed full of TTNFTs.

Tucci plays a crooked Assistant DA in this remake of a 1940s mob movie. Joined once again by Nicolas Cage, and now by college classmate Ving Rhames, Tucci gives a fantastic dramatic performance while eating a hot dog. In Tucci News, we read selections from Tucci's September feature in an in-flight magazine.

It's the finale of the Flux and what an awfully dull adventure it all was. Are any secrets revealed in this big finale? No? Well you should listen to us talk about it anyway.

It's a spoiler-filled recap of the penultimate episodes of Doctor Who: Flux. Village of the Angels and Survivors of the Flux continue a trend of alternating straightforward monster episodes and convoluted multi-plot episodes. Secrets are revealed but are any of them satisfying? What does the Division actually do? Did Joseph Williamson, the top hat man actually have a point? Listen and jump into the void with us.

Hope you had a good Thanksgiving! This week, we look at some classic American tropes related to hair color. Do Gentlemen Prefer Blondes? Do they have more fun? Is there a darker side to the trope of the dumb blonde? Let's find out. You can watch our video podcast here: https://youtu.be/HhV6X982ODU Tweet at us @talkingtropes if you have a hot take about blondes, brunettes or any hair color on the visible spectrum!

Wahoo! Flux is actually living up to the hype with two completely different episodes with wildly different tones and plot structure! Sontarans riding horseback and whacky time shenanigans galore in this recap of the second and third episodes of Series 13 of Doctor Who.

Pauly Shore, master of the deeply unfunny, brings us the worst Stanley Tucci film so far, as we continue to review Tucci's entire IMDb history. A bizarre mish-mash of 12 Angry Men and Bio-Dome, Jury Duty (1995) gives Tucci a chance to shine in an otherwise forgettable "comedy." In Tucci news, we celebrate Tucci's latest Emmy award for his travel show Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy. Let us know if you'd like to be a guest Stan on a future Tucci recap on Twitter @talkingTropes Watch our video podcast at https://youtu.be/TrbdXL69_y0

Tardis Tropes is back with more Doctor Who recaps and discussion. This week we have a bizarre series premiere and Halloween Special. Doctor Who Flux episode 1: The Halloween Apocalypse features Dog Man, Crystal Skull Man, Weeping Angels, Sontarans and Liverpudlians. Plenty to talk about and plenty of mysteries to solve.

Trick or trope! Talking Tropes is back with a Halloween episode about tricksters. Trickster Gods like Loki and Maui, trickster animals like Bugs Bunny and Br’er Rabbit, Clowns, and the devils and demons that trick mortals out of their souls! Could this figure represent something essential about human psychology across cultures? Do shapeshifters help us to transform ourselves? Spoilers for the character Loki in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Let us know your favorite trickster by tweeting us @TalkingTropes Check out our video podcast here https://youtu.be/30y-0J_iDxM

Tucci plays a deadbeat, pathological liar, ex-husband to a waitress who gets a surprise tip of 2 million dollars from Nic Cage, who plays a lottery winner and the greatest cop in NYC. Is this movie Tucci's most naked role? Literally? And is it a hidden gem or a piece of propaganda for the New York Post? Find out in another Stanning Stanley Tucci!!! Tweet at us @talkingtropes if you want to be a guest Stan on a future podcast Watch the Video Podcast here: https://youtu.be/oMcaRy7pNog

With special guest Sarah, we deconstruct the Magical Girl genre of anime and manga, briefly recapping the history and evolution of tropes and analyzing the role it has played in changing perceptions of gender and femininity over the years. Do Sailor Moon and Cardcaptor Sakura commodify the female body or do they empower young girls to embrace their inner strength of character? Let us know what you think by leaving a comment below or tweeting at us @talkingtropes Watch the video podcast here: https://youtu.be/xyREwlZM_Ok