Gobbledygeek
by Paul Smith and Arlo J. Wiley
A more-or-less weekly podcast dedicated to all things geeky in pop culture and entertainment. We talk about everything from film and television to books, comics, video games, and more.
Episodes
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536 - Interview with the Vampire (feat. Eric Sipple)
Shall we begin like David Copperfield? "I am born…I grew up?" Or shall we begin about 120 years after Anne Rice's novel Interview with the Vampire took place, with AMC's brilliant TV adaptation shifting the story from Louis de Pointe du Lac as a wealthy white plantation owner in the 1790s to one...
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535 - VAL-halla: The Doors / Tombstone (feat. Eric Sipple)
It is time once more to enter the gates of VAL-halla, our retrospective series on the late Hollywood icon Val Kilmer. Paul, Arlo, and Eric set their sights on what are possibly Kilmer's two best performances. First, in Oliver Stone's psychedelic biopic The Doors, Val embodies the Lizard King...
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534 - Superman (feat. Eric Sipple)
Look up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's James Gunn's Superman, here to launch the writer-director-studio-head's brand new (?) DC Universe. It moves faster than a speeding bullet despite having more plot than the last five Marvel movies put together–and some of those plot points hold…
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533 - The Fantastic Four: First Steps (feat. Eric Sipple)
Well they can't all be winners, folks. I'm not talking about the movie. The Fantastic Four: First Steps was actually pretty great. It's the second MCU film in a row that we here at Gobbledygeek HQ agree on almost entirely, and you'll hear us say lots of nice things about it. No, the non-winner…
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532 - VAL-halla: Top Gun / Willow (feat. Eric Sipple)
Our second trip to VAL-halla finds Paul, Arlo, and Eric contemplating two very different experiences of Val Kilmer's '80s career: Tony Scott's 1986 pro-war classic Top Gun and the 1988 Tolkien rip Willow, helmed by–of all people–Ron Howard. The twist is that the mega-popular Top Gun is a…
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531 - Thunderbolts* (feat. Eric Sipple)
For the first time in a long time, Gobbledygeek dips its beak back into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. They've done so for a very special film: Jake Schreier's Thunderbolts*, a return to the MCU's past glories with a tale of outcasts looking for something to believe in. Yelena Belova, the Winter...
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530 - Sinners (feat. Eric Sipple)
The rich tradition of Southern-fried vampires continues with Ryan Coogler's Sinners, a masterful mash-up of Delta blues, Irish folk, and the horrors of cultural appropriation. Paul, Arlo, and Eric rave about Michael B. Jordan's dual performance as twin gangsters Smoke and Stack, Ludwig…
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529 - That Was Then: The Night of the Hunter
Would you like us to tell you the little story of Arlo and Paul? A-R-L-O! It was with this pretentious film buff that a That Was Then episode on Charles Laughton's sole directorial feature, 1955's The Night of the Hunter, was chosen. P-A-U-L! Do you think he's apt to enjoy a cinephile fave? Now...
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528 - That Was Then: Back to the Future (feat. Eric Sipple)
We're going back…to That Was Then! Paul, Arlo, and Eric return to their series of vintage movie discussions to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Robert Zemeckis' 1985 sci-fi comedy blockbuster Back to the Future. It's a classic beloved by many folks of different generations, but we're here to...
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527 - FCF: Mouse Guard (feat. Eric Sipple)
For this month's (not that we're on any kind of schedule anymore, hehe) Four-Color Flashback, Paul, Arlo, and Eric are scurrying over to the first three volumes of David Petersen's Mouse Guard. Published from 2006-13 by BOOM! Studios, Petersen's medieval epic takes place in a world devoid of...
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526 - VAL-halla: Top Secret! / Real Genius (feat. Eric Sipple)
We lost one of our legendary screen stars earlier this year, so now we're passing through the gates of VAL-halla to celebrate some of his most notable films. That's right, this is the first in an occasional series of double features focused on the work of none other than the elusive, enigmatic…
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525 - FCF: The Incal (feat. Eric Sipple)
Dear telefriends! Get ready to transcend this earthly plane, as Paul, Arlo, and Eric encounter a universe of concrete birds, homeo-whores, and techno-techno equipment for the latest Four-Color Flashback. The gang gets high (some of them too high) on Alejandro Jodorowsky and Mœbius' sci-fantasy…
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524 - That Was Then: Babe (feat. Eric Sipple)
Something passed between them: the faintest hint of a common destiny. Does this describe Paul and Arlo's first meeting, or the first time Farmer Hoggett sets eyes on the piglet known as Babe? What's the difference? For a new That Was Then, the boys are joined by perennial guest Eric Sipple to...
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523 - That Was Then: Jaws (feat. Eric Sipple)
Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water, it's time for another nautical That Was Then. Celebrating its 50th anniversary this year is none other than Steven Spielberg's Jaws, a landmark moment in American film that permanently changed the shape of the industry, for better or for...
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522 - That Was Then: Popeye (1980)
Pop open a can of spinach and set sail for the far-off year of 1980, when noted auteur Robert Altman had his crew build an entire functioning town so they could shoot a Popeye movie. This unassuming comic strip adaptation represents the collision of the New Hollywood movement and the old studio...
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521 - Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man (feat. Eric Sipple)
Here we go, here we go, here we go again: another Spider-Man adaptation? Don't get your webs in a tizzy, True Believers, because this one is really worth it. Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, the new animated series created by Jeff Trammell, imagines a branch of the Marvel Cinematic Universe...
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520 - FCF: The Nice House on the Lake (feat. Eric Sipple)
It's a reunion at the end of the world as Eric Sipple joins Paul and Arlo for the latest Four-Color Flashback. Paul has invited everyone to The Nice House on the Lake, James Tynion IV and Álvaro Martínez Bueno's 2021-22 DC Black Label series about a group of old friends who have been sequestered...
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519 - Geek Challenge: 3 Women vs. Three Amigos!
We're seeing triple on a new Geek Challenge featuring a duet of trios: first we've got John Landis' notorious flop Three Amigos from 1986, then Robert Altman's dreamy art film 3 Women from 1977. Paul and Arlo debate whether or not Three Amigos deserves its reputation, puzzle over the…
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518 - The Wild Robot (feat. Eric Sipple)
With How to Train Your Dragon, Chris Sanders taught us about human-dragon friendship. And now, with The Wild Robot, he shows us what happens when technology becomes stranded in the wilderness: a robot named Rozz learns to have a mother's love for a gosling named Brightbill. Paul, Arlo, and...
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517 - FCF: Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees (feat. Eric Sipple)
Does a bear kill in the woods? That's the question Patrick Horvath sets out to answer in his "Richard Scarry meets Dexter" opus Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees, the subject of this year's very first Four-Color Flashback. The 2024 IDW series takes place in an idyllic world of anthropomorphic...
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516 - Where the Gobbledy$#@& Have We Been?! (feat. Eric Sipple)
And we're back. Just like that, in the blink of an eye–or, depending on your perspective, what felt like several eternities–six months have passed since the last episode of Gobbledygeek. What happened? Where were we? Paul, Arlo, and third Gobbler Eric Sipple attempt to answer these questions on…
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515 - That Was Then: The Incredibles (feat. Eric Sipple)
In an age where Deadpool & Wolverine is set to smash box office records, it can be hard to remember what things were like in the first wave of superhero blockbusters. Costumes were primarily made of black leather, nu-metal montages were all the rage, and yet–there was a willingness and desire to…
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514 - Ren Faire
Hail and well met! This week, Paul and Arlo raise their overpriced goblets to Lance Oppenheim's HBO docuseries Ren Faire. The three-episode series concerns the nation's largest Renaissance faire, the Texas Renaissance Festival, and the power-hungry Oompa Loompas looking to take over the chocolate...
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513 - The Tortured Parents Department
The stork just made a special delivery, and it's a new episode of Gobbledygeek! Bat-Turkey also welcomes a new addition to the family: Alexandra Jade Wiley, who came into this world on April 28, 2024. Arlo's second daughter has arrived at a pivotal time, a time in which Paul has become consumed…
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512 - Ancient Bodies & Modern Art
For the first time this season, Paul and Arlo have lost the plot. That's right, the beloved Gobbledygeek freestyle episode has returned, new and improved for 2024, including such scintillating subjects as: Back pain! Stomach bugs! Car crashes! Country mouse Arlo took a trip to New York City…
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511 - That Was Then: Gunga Din (feat. Michael Holland)
You're a better podcaster than us, Michael Holland. That's right, the City of Angels' very own boy wonder is back to take Paul and Arlo to film school. The That Was Then classic gracing our screens this time is George Stevens' 1939 adventure film Gunga Din, starring Cary Grant, Victor McLaglen…
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510 - FCF: Uzumaki (feat. Eric Sipple)
Around and around we go, where we'll stop–only Arlo knows! For this month's Four-Color Flashback, Gobbledygeek's enfant terrible has chosen Junji Ito's 1998-99 horror manga Uzumaki. Will Paul ever forgive him? On hand to find out is The Deli Counter of Justice co-conspirator Eric Sipple, who will...
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509 - FCF: Weavers (feat. Eric Sipple)
Oh, what a tangled web we Weavers! For this month's Four-Color Flashback, Paul and Arlo trap Eric Sipple in their web once more, this time to discuss Simon Spurrier & Dylan Burnett's Lovecraftian mob story Weavers. Despite being big fans of Spurrier's (author of past FCF favorites Six-Gun Gorilla...
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508 - That Was Then: Sideways
As they say, don't drink and podcast, but here Paul and Arlo are talking about 2004's Sideways for another round of That Was Then. Alexander Payne's acclaimed dramedy follows alcoholic wine connoisseur Miles as he takes his bonehead best buddy Jack on a road trip through Santa Barbara the week...
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507 - That Was Then: The Taking of Pelham One Two Three
We're speeding away at breakneck speed with another installment of our That Was Then series. This time Paul and Arlo are witnesses to The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, a 1974 subway heist thriller that is exactly what it says on the tin. Not that there's anything wrong with that! But our boys…
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506 - That Was Then: The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (feat. Michael Holland)
For the next installment in our That Was Then series, Paul and Arlo cast their minds back to 1964–a year that predates both of them, though the era's Beatlemania might as well be Arlo's spiritual birthplace. This time, they're popping paisley parasols for Jacques Demy's The Umbrellas of…
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505 - That Was Then: Ghostbusters
Who ya gonna call? Gobbledygeek! For the first installment of our That Was Then series, taking a look back at movies celebrating anniversaries in 2024, Paul and Arlo take residence at Spook Central for 1984's Ghostbusters. Turning a frightful 40 this year, Ivan Reitman's classic comedy began as a...
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504 - FCF: Superman for All Seasons (feat. Eric Sipple)
Look, up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's the Gobbledygeek season 15 premiere! Breaking from vaguely defined tradition, Paul and Arlo are kicking off the season with a Four-Color Flashback, and their pal Eric Sipple is on hand to help turn the pages. Arlo has chosen to subject Paul and...
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503 - Twisted Christmas: Black Christmas vs. A Christmas Story
You'll slash your eye out, Kidder! To close out our truncated season, it's a Twisted Christmas double feature, as Paul and Arlo explore both of Canadian auteur Bob Clark's yuletide classics: 1974's proto-slasher Black Christmas and the 1983 staple A Christmas Story. The boys separately find each…
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502 - Blue Eye Samurai
What is there for a young, mixed-race woman to do in feudal Japan? Reject all traces of her femininity, assume the masculine identity of a ronin, and seek revenge on any of the four white men in the whole country who could potentially be her father. Is Mizu a demonic half-breed, an enlightened...
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501 - Scavengers Reign
We're crash-landing back into regular podcasting with the Max original animated series Scavengers Reign. Created by Joseph Bennett and Charles Huettner, the seeds of Scavengers Reign were planted in an Adult Swim short before blossoming into a brilliant sci-fi series teeming with surrealist…
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500 - Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (feat. Eric Sipple)
500 episodes! Can you believe it? What incredibly special way will we choose to commemorate this event??? By, well, just having a regular episode discussing Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse with our good friend Eric Sipple. At one point this past summer, we weren't sure another episode was…
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499 - Geek Challenge: Xanadu vs. Mulholland Drive
You have to believe Gobbledygeek is magic. Or at the very least, that Paul and Arlo will revel in cinematic magic on the latest Geek Challenge. Robert Greenwald's infamous 1980 flop Xanadu is paired with David Lynch's acclaimed 2001 masterpiece Mulholland Drive for a fantastical discussion of...
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498 - FCF: Far Sector
In brightest day, in blackest night, no listener shall escape the Four-Color Flashback's might! In an unusual turn of events, Paul has selected a DC book–but, of course, it's an unusual one. Published under DC's Young Animal imprint, curated by My Chemical Romance's Gerard Way, Far Sector is a...
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497 - Geek Challenge: Stick Season vs. Blood on the Tracks
Are you feeling "Homesick"? Are you all "Tangled Up in Blue"? Dogged by a "Simple Twist of Fate" or, perhaps, sippin' on gin and "Orange Juice"? Then boy, do we have the Geek Challenge for you! Dipping their toes in musical waters for the first time in a while, our boys are listening to one of…
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496 - FCF: Boxers & Saints
For this month's Four-Color Flashback, Paul and Arlo tackle a blindspot from one of their favorite writers. Gene Luen Yang, author of Gobbledyfaves like American Born Chinese and Avatar: The Last Airbender, tells the brutal story of the Boxer Rebellion in Boxers & Saints. The graphic novel…
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495 - HBO's The Last of Us, Season One (feat. Dale & Ensley Guffey)
Love can spread like a fungus throughout the soul, eradicating any shred of self-control. For a thorough depiction of that sentiment, we turn to HBO's The Last of Us, a TV adaptation of the blockbuster video game series. Joining Paul and Arlo to talk everything mushroom are authors and pop…
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494 - Geek Challenge: Alice vs. Labyrinth
You remind me of the pod…the pod with the geeks. Paul and Arlo fall down the rabbit hole of another Geek Challenge, this time pitting Jim Henson's 1986 cult classic Labyrinth against Jan Švankmajer's 1988 headtrip Alice. Henson's film finds Jennifer Connelly dancing with David Bowie and a variety...
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493 - RRR
Time to rise, roar, and revolt as Paul and Arlo engage in some extreme piggybacking with S.S. Rajamouli's RRR. This alt-history epic is the rare Indian film to make a splash in the Western world, and our boys approach it as only two ignorant white guys can: with almost no knowledge of Indian...
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492 - FCF: We Only Find Them When They're Dead
Got a hankerin' for god meat? Well, pull out your giant lightsaber knife and feast on a new Four-Color Flashback! For the first FCF of 2023, Paul and Arlo set out at warp speed to seek enlightenment with Al Ewing and Simone Di Meo's We Only Find Them When They're Dead. The BOOM! Studios series,...
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491 - In Like a Lion
We're back, baby! After a longer than expected hiatus, Gobbledygeek has returned for season 14. That's right, we're up to 14 seasons of Paul and Arlo babbling on about any manner of nonsense–which they continue to do in this freestyle season premiere. 2023 has come in like a lion and is likely to...
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490 - Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio
Is that a tree branch on your face, or are you just lying to me? An extra-long Gobbledygeek season finale takes root with a discussion of Guillermo del Toro and Mark Gustafson's new stop-motion adaptation of Pinocchio. Paul and Arlo discuss the numerous ways del Toro has made Carlo Collodi's...
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489 - Geek Challenge: White Christmas vs. Eyes Wide Shut
Hang your stockings by the chimney, roast some chestnuts on that open fire, and prepare yourself for a very special Twisted Christmas installment. Our annual yuletide derangement has morphed into a Geek Challenge, featuring two obviously similar films: Paul has challenged Arlo to Michael Curtiz's...
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488 - Weird: The Al Yankovic Story (feat. Kenn Edwards)
Now that rock star biopics have peaked with Elvis, what else can the genre do but get Weird? Dare to be stupid with Paul, Arlo, and Alex Jonestown Massacre guitarist Kenn Edwards as they discuss Weird: The Al Yankovic story. Everyone's favorite accordionist parodies Oscar bait bologna to tell a...
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487 - Reservation Dogs: Season 2
Aho, podcast listeners! To celebrate Native American Heritage Month, Paul and Arlo check in on the latest season of Reservation Dogs, possibly the best show on TV. It would be hard to top Rez Dog's freshman year, a revelatory season filled with joy, pain, and a whole bunch of shitasses. Yet…
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About this show
A more-or-less weekly podcast dedicated to all things geeky in pop culture and entertainment. We talk about everything from film and television to books, comics, video games, and more.
Hosted by
Paul Smith and Arlo J. Wiley
Categories