It's Symbolic

It's been entirely too long since we've been able to regale you with a tale of any true consequence. But don't worry- we have a cunning plan to tell you all about one of the United Kingdom's top sitcoms of all time. It may just take a few generations for the full effect to kick in.

Deep in the heart of the Windy City, one of the most surprisingly prolific authors and illustrators of all time amassed his work in secret. It may not be the best way to get established in the arts, but it's a hell of a topic for conversation.

Listeners, it has recently come to our attention that some of you may have recently been partaking in certain substances that have been tied to nothing more than violence, corruption, and debauchery. And while violence, corruption, and debauchery are some of the many things we specialize in, we here at It's Symbolic cannot stand idly by while good citizens fall by the wayside. Sit down as we tell you this absolutely true tale of things that definitely happened, and maybe you'll think twice before throwing your life away like that.

Buckle up, prepare for takeoff, and please no smoking, because we've got a collection of It's Symbolic favorites in the manliest work we've ever covered. We've got the only weapons on board, and by god if any of you starts an uprising we're taking the whole plane down with us. You'll find a complimentary bunny in your backseat pocket.

  Tonight's episode: The Wrong Title. Our name is It's Symbolic, a special detail of the podcasting world. We were across town when we learned we were supposed to be recording the 1982 parody police procedural, Police Squad! Our boss was already on the scene.

Warning: prolonged exposure to Polybius can cause headaches, blurry vision, loss of memory, insomnia, small fires, night terrors, and questioning the validity of one's perception of reality. We managed to take the whole brunt of it, but using the proper safety precautions is advised.

Settle down class- we're covering some important material today. We all need to brush up on our math skills from time to time, and our amphibious instructor has presented us with the best way to figure things out, whether it's a refresher or your first time. We all need to know about fractions, after all.

 Why have you disturbed our sleep? This week, we're rising from the grave to bring you the details about the little independent that could, with the genesis of one of our favorite franchises. That's what you get when you read a book with a face, we suppose. Just remember not to go into the woods.

There's a hex on our podcast, one that's caused our lives to become very surreal and full of weird animal people. We keep falling down these time holes. If you listen to the episode, maybe you can help us break it.

So, you pressed the button, and it brought you here. The last button led to an explosion, the button before that caused you to have a vision of an angel, the button before that made green slime appear everywhere, and the first one you tried had dogs. So what now? Needless to say, we're not really sure what's going on either.

Yeah, so we've got a job for you. Put down the beer and listen. We know you've got no idea what's going on, and we're going to do our best to help. In a way. You see, we don't know everything ourselves. And the fact that it looks so cheap is only secondary.

It's nearing Valentines' Day, and what could be more romantic than Flash animation, other than just about anything? That said, we've got a nice little treat for you that manages to beat the odds and rise above its station to levels of quality that we, for one, were not expecting.

The music industry is a tricky thing. Sometimes you make it, sometimes you don't, sometimes you end up with a reputation that has unfortunately little to do with your creative output and that you may have never intended in the first place. This is a story about that last one.

Do you like guns (if you're from the US, you don't need to respond, we already know the answer)? If so, you're in luck, because we've got a movie with more guns than you can imagine (approximately eight). If not, well, this movie has enough stylistic flair and Hays Code dodging for everyone.

As much as we talk about video games, we don't always stop to think about what makes them work. You don't always need a grand development process or a highly regarded brand name. Sometimes, all you need is panache, a unique concept, and a whole lot of fish. This week, we look into the series that keeps reeling itself in at the best of times.

What's better than one musical? Four musicals. Join us for a collection of intellectualism in the form of allegory as we take a look at Tim Rice's self-proclaimed Cold War masterpiece- in all of its incarnations.

Strap in, folks, because this is a wild one. From the early days of Youtube, we present an unexpected journey with stops along the way at pop culture remakes, philosophical introspection, art film, the evolution of the Internet landscape, and a toll free number- all with its roots in a ratty cat costume and a desire to pay back the man who has made us laugh the most.

Warning: Some of the clips used in this episode include events and language that listeners may find offensive or disturbing. Discretion is advised. This holiday season, we're going back through the years and giving you the gift of one of the first ever holiday slashers to grace the silver screen. There may be a few dead coeds and terrible boyfriends along the way, but it's the thought that counts, right?

Even in the grunge-infested music scene of the early nineties, there are things that can surprise you. You may not know what's going on, but join us in our exploration of one of the most overlooked- and oddest- bands of the era. Or even if you don't know them, you may be familiar with a certain number of theirs...

How often have you sat at home, alone, wishing that you had a means of showing all of your idiot friends that you're smarter than them? That all-too-common feeling where you just want to be a thoroughly unpleasant person through particularly unsubtle means so that you can rub it in your marks' faces finally has an outlet. Or if you just like buses, there's something there too.

There comes a time when we must ask ourselves the important questions. Where exactly does faith lie within our hectic world of consumption and modification? Have we lost our way? How much is too much? What does a blood-drinking turkey monster have to do with any of this? And what, exactly, is the point of releasing a Thanksgiving episode several weeks after Thanksgiving?

The force of nature is a powerful one, but there are equally powerful forces at play- the forces of addiction, of technology, and of prejudice. These are enough to bring even the strongest down. This week, we discuss the rise and fall of a legend- the one, the only, Molly Moo-Cow. That, or we're just talking about a forgotten cartoon mascot from the thirties. It's hard to tell sometimes.

Hark! Our intrepid trio, ill-prepared and with nary their wits about them, encounter one of their most daring foes yet- filled with unconscionable violence, scandalous wenches, and making fun of individuals in their teenage years.

As the fabled date of scares approaches, we take a look at the modern horror classic to get ourselves in the mood. With five cautionary tales about the rules and traditions of the holiday, what better way to prepare?

We actually venture into the virtual horror land itself to see what exactly has made it so memorable. Whether it's killer dolls, giant worms, or simple slashers, there's plenty of scares to go around, and quite a bit to talk about.

It's the biggest horror attraction in town! It's worth billions, and every penny shows! It's the last theme park you'll ever attend! It's Illbleed, and we had so much to say that we had to split it into two episodes!

Our October scare-fest continues with what's possibly the best musical ever written based on a tabloid article and definitely one of the darkest final-act turns we've come across in all of our research.

We're gonna cut right to the chase. This is a movie where Nicolas Cage thinks he's a vampire. You can't just ignore that. And we've carefully dug through the contracts to let you know all about it.

  Get ready to get judgey, because this week we're getting a table at the fakest diner we can find and discussing Daniel Clowes' indie comic darling Ghost World and its 2001 film adaptation. But hey, even if your date doesn't show up it doesn't mean we're the ones laughing at you.

In a very special episode of It's Symbolic, we remember one of the highlights of that brief period when MTV made cartoons. We also talk about Full House a lot. That's how you know it's good.

We try to make sense of the strange, mystifying, and utterly bleak world of the manga artist Nekojiru. Is there an underlying sense of hope beneath the cruelty, or is it just awful children all the way down?  We promise we'll cover a happier topic next week.

in a blast from the past the gang takes a look at the queer tale of an insect who is also a poet

What's your damage? We take a look at the eighties high-school favorite and see what makes it a timeless classic. Murder and mayhem ensue. Trust us, it'll be very.

Have you ever been punched in the face by a famous comedian? Don't worry if you haven't- while it may not be a service that we provide here at It's Symbolic, we've got a game for you that emcompasses the same general experience.

We may not be the young ones very long, but we ARE going to talk about the 1982-1984 BBC2 series The Young Ones. Also known as Screaming Brits: The Show. This week, we need to do our laundry.

We go on what is either a journey of self-discovery or an excuse to make a lot of penis jokes by looking at Peter Gabriel's Genesis swan song. It's one of the two, I'm sure.

We get ourselves a paperclip and make a reservation in the Wish Room as we discuss Cing's neo-noir adventure title. The secret of the hotel may not reveal the location of our missing partner, but it could demonstrate the magic of the early DS era.

This week, we book a room in Naomi Iwata's cozy little slice of personal hell and try to work out the meaning behind all of our underlying fears- and maybe some of yours. Needless to say, the other guests aren't making it easy.  Also, Muir gets distracted and talks a lot about DuckTales.

This is the description for our episode on [title of show], which as a musical about two guys writing a musical about two guys writing a musical is one of the most metatheatrical examples of musical theatre. In turn, this audio showcases our discussion, in which only one out of three actually knows the world of theatre and we work out whether a showcase of humanity outweighs the crime of being a theatre dork. These words are a failed attempt at postmodernism.

Listen, we're all gathered here because we care about you very much. And frankly, we're worried. But there's no better way to show that we care than talking about a rom-com from the ninties about lesbians, is there?

What do you get when you cross a naive domineering father, three disinterested daughters, a fly-by-night record company, and questionable interpretations of on-key performance and time signatures? Well, you get a hell of a backstory, for one.

Wandering Kyoto has only led to ruin. Attempting to read the text that has appeared on the walls brought us to an endless hallway, and we still have failed to establish contact with the giant infant in the next room over or the elephant that has appeared in the sky... what were we doing again?

It's as big as a battleship! It's as sturdy as a battleship! It's as indestructable as a battleship! It may or may not actually be a battleship! Either way, it's our new best friend.

It's our first episode! That's a good sign, right? To celebrate, we take a look at one of our favorite independent animators and discuss the best Nicktoons show ever to last six episodes.