The Incomparable

A live “flash” episode recorded right after we watched the 2012 “Doctor Who” Christmas special, “The Snowmen.” We welcome (back?) Jenna-Louise Coleman and discuss whether this new start for the Doctor has rekindled our enthusiasm for the show.

Showing remarkable optimism, we gathered on the eve of the Mayan apocalypse to discuss movies we might see in 2013. In this episode, we discuss the trailers for much-anticipated films “Star Trek Into Darkness”, “Man of Steel”, “Pacific Rim”, “Oblivion”, “After Earth”, “The Lone Ranger”, and “Upstream Color.” Also: Robot Thursdays, the merits of Star Trek punctuation, a Bolivian, Ethan Hunt versus the Fresh Prince, and traditional Kryptonian formalwear.

With great power comes the responsibility to book great guests. And so when it came time to discuss “The Amazing Spider-Man” and Spidey in general, Jason turned to reknowned spider-fans Andy Ihnatko and Dan Benjamin. We discuss how the Spidey in the new movie is a different sort of guilt-trip superhero. Dan explains why you can’t actually kill a spider. Andy previews his new comic book, The Indigestible Spider-Man. We touch on the changes in Ultimate Spider-Man and speculate about the soon-to-arrive Amazing Spider-Man #700. Jason sings two different Spidey theme songs and does his J. Jonah Jameson impression. This giant-sized episode is more Spidey than you can shake a web at.

Trim the tree, wrap the presents, and watch out for the killer in your attic! It’s time for us to place five new gems into the Incomparable Holiday Vault! We discuss some beloved holiday classics and offer a few surprise choices. This is a darker installment, as we uncover the racism in some holiday staples, and then Steve inducts a horror movie. And can a talk show really be a holiday special? You’re gonna shoot your eye out with that thing!

We follow up on our previous episode to ask Serenity Caldwell how she uses her iPhone to read books (and discover her shocking method of scanning pages). Then there’s a discussion of Lois McMaster Bujold’s latest Vorkosigan novel, “Captain Vorpatril’s Alliance.” Finally (at 65 minutes in if you’re skipping ahead), Jason asks Scott to recommend which unread book on his Kindle he should dive into next.

We talk a lot about what we read, but how do we read? Join our Book Club as we talk about ebooks, paper books, and libraries, and how we like to read today. Plus, we tell you some of the books we’re reading right now.

Turn on your electrical generators, fire your nuclear missiles, and notch your bow and arrow—it’s time for our review of the fall TV season, including both new and returning shows. We discuss “Revolution,” the since-cancelled “Last Resort,” “Arrow,” “Elementary,” and returning shows “Fringe,” “The Walking Dead,” “Boardwalk Empire,” and many others!

Were we pranked, or did Disney really just buy Lucasfilm and announce a new Star Wars trilogy? We decided to just assume it’s happening and record a live flash podcast about this unexpected turn of events.

We discuss the Indiana Jones movie series, including a brief revisitation of “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” the good parts of “Temple of Doom,” Dan’s childhood love for “Last Crusade,” and utter denial about “Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.” Also, Lex hasn’t seen it. Recorded live at Cingleton Symposium, Montreal, October 2012.

Our very own Glenn Fleishman’s was on “Jeopardy!” We debriefed him about his adventures immediately on his return. In this episode, Jason and Glenn are also joined by Andy Ihnatko and Steve Lutz, and we talk about game shows and their modern reality-competition show equivalents, as well as harken back to the heyday of the panel show, where drunk celebrities engaged in witty repartee. It’s an episode so comfy you’ll feel like you were back in the womb at Bill Cullen’s house.

Rob Reiner’s legendary heavy-metal mockumentary “This is Spinal Tap” is in our sights. This is one of our very favorite films, and so Jason, Andy Ihnatko, and Ben Boychuk talk about why they love it while regaling one another with favorite lines from this amazingly quotable movie.

Robot sheriff, coming through! We break down the first half of “Doctor Who” season 7, and discover the truth about the Siracusa Threshold. Today we are all John Siracusa, except for Scott. He’s our Rory.

Soon to be a major motion picture you probably shouldn’t see, David Mitchell’s 2004 novel “Cloud Atlas” is in our sights. This novel consists of six separate stories set in different genres and timeframes from the 1850s to a post-apocalyptic future, and yet they’re all interlinked. Somehow. It’s fun, weird, and challenging, but what does it all mean? Read it now before every character in it becomes Tom Hanks and Halle Berry.

A video game beloved by John Siracusa, “Journey” for the PS3, is in the spotlight. We toot the biggest Spoiler Horn of all time — don’t listen if you haven’t played it! — and then talk about what we liked and didn’t like about Thatgamecompany’s desert-and-spoiler epic.

We take on one of our favorite movies, “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan,” while also acknowledging the flaws that make it all the more lovable. Topics include: How Genesis is the galaxy’s worst Kickstarter project; Why it’s always important to count the planets, especially at Ceti Alpha; The size of the Botany Bay library and why it makes Khan so mad at Kirk; Why Scott’s email is more secure than the Reliant; The real name of Khan’s right-hand man; and how Spock’s death solves Kirk’s mid-life crisis. Also, we scientifically prove that “Wrath of Khan” is better than Star Wars.

FLASH! A bonus (unedited) episode, in which we react quickly to the premiere episode of this season of Doctor Who, “Asylum of the Daleks.” Plus: The Incomparable won an award! For podcasting! We react quickly to the announcement of the Hugo Awards. And we do many, many Dalek impressions.

Our Book Club reconvenes to discuss Jo Walton’s Small Change trilogy of novels, “Farthing,” “Ha’Penny,” and “Half a Crown.” (We fire off the spoiler horn before each novel.) These novels explore an alternate-history in which Britain makes peace with Nazi Germany, and focus on a detective who just wants to do his job—but his job keeps changing in increasingly awful ways.

Believe it or not, some of us have managed to breed successfully. Even Steve Lutz. So we talk about what media we provide for our kids. Topics include dealing with the Star Wars prequels, Spongebob Squarepants, how young you need to be to watch “Apocalypse Now” or “The Exorcist,” why “Tron: Legacy” cost Ben dearly, why John became a master weaponsmith in his childhood, Jason’s debates with his son over whether Spider-Man or Batman is better, Lisa’s childhood reading of “The Godfather,” picking video games for your kids, and how your children’s peers will just ruin them anyway.

Our Comic Book Club returns to discuss super-team comics. What makes them work, and what makes them fail? And our primary subject is Top 10, Alan Moore’s other amazing twelve-issue superhero comic series. If you haven’t read it yet, you should!

Pixar takes on princesses with the new film “Brave.” We discuss Pixar’s mother/bear-daughter story, but also the larger issues of female characters in animation and film in general. What’s wrong with the Disney Princesses? Why can’t girls play Belle or Ariel as if they were an action hero, anyway? How does Merida compare with the female protagonists in Miyazaki’s work? Did Pixar change its own fate?