Larry Ganni hosts a pop-culture discussion podcast in which he invites his friends in to talk about whatever is on their minds, be it music, TV or film. Stick around after for Drum Groove of the Week, in which Larry talks about and attempts to recreate a
After a LONG hiatus Larry and Dr. Jess are back, discussing life during COVID-19, Star Trek, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Hamilton, Perry Mason (sort of), Ennio Morricone, and Bruce Lee. This episode was recorded and "edited" on Larry's phone. Since Larry is a novice this episode is no frills. And no music. P.S. Wear a damn mask.
The Guest Room Podcast is back with Larry and Dr. Jess reviewing the first five episodes of Star Trek: Picard. There are also brief asides about Sherlock and Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
Larry is joined by his niece and frequent guest Autumn and her boyfriend and brand new guest Ryan! The trio discuss director Sam Mendes' World War I drama 1917. Ryan offers a unique perspective as a well read history buff. Larry offers praise for cinematographer Roger Deakins. Autumn cried. (During the movie, not the podcast) Follow Ryan's history blog on Instagram @the_great_wars
Happy New Year! Larry and Jess are back after a LONG hiatus to discuss Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. They talk about the story, characters, J.J. Abrams, George Lucas, and the overall Star Wars franchise, including some brief thoughts on The Mandalorian. Also Jess complains about the way Larry drives.
Larry and Dr. Jess discuss the series finale of The Big Bang Theory, recall their favorite moments of the series, and speculate about what the future holds for the cast. Sidebar discussions include New Girl, Roseanne, Bob's Burgers, cop shows and streaming availability.
Larry gives his thoughts in Avengers: Endgame, discusses his early MCU skepticism, and offers his updated rankings on the entire MCU.
Larry and Dr. Jess are WAY behind on their media consumption, which doesn't make for timely podcasting, which is nearly tragic for Larry, a lifelong Trekkie who had to wait several weeks to catch up on Star Trek: Discovery. But, all's well that ends well, and the duo give their thoughts on the DISCO episodes "The Red Angel," "Perpetual Infinity," "Through the Valley of Shadows," "Such Sweet Sorrow," and "Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2."
This week Dr. Jess and Larry give their instantaneous reactions to the Star Trek: Discovery episodes "The Sounds of Thunder," "Light and Shadows," "If Memory Serves," and "Project Daedalus." Preorder The Lesson by Cadwell Turnbull at all book retailers. See Larry in Pitt Floyd at The Lamp Theatre in Irwin, PA, on March 30.
This week Larry is joined by his Marvel crew, including KX, Lesley, and fan-favorite Greg O to talk about the latest entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Captain Marvel. They also diverge into some other topics including horror movies, Game of Thrones, the perils of TV buying and problems with LG customer service.
Dr. Jess and Larry have been watching Season 2 of Star Trek: Discovery. They've even been recording podcasts about it. But Larry has failed in his job as editor, having allowed these perfectly good podcasts to collect digital dust. No worries, as he's edited the podcasts into one epic episode covering the DISCO episodes "Brother," "New Eden," "Point of Light," "An Obol for Charon," and "Saints of Imperfection." This episode contains Larry's performance of the David Bowie classic "Space Oddity" in honor of Ensign Tilly's favorite song.
New host Dr. Jess and her guest Larry finally saw the not much anticipated Han Solo origin story. They discuss the many false starts and moments in which they almost watched it, which leads into some existential territory, but have no fear because they do review the film, cast, comparisons in recasting Solo to recasting Captain Kirk, etc. They then discuss the Nintendo Switch game The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
Dr. Jess and Larry dissect the latest Short Trek, The Escape Artist, directed by and starring Rainn Wilson. They talk about their feelings on Short Treks overall and their excitement for season 2 of Star Trek: Discovery and even name a Federation Starship!
This week Larry and Dr. Jess discuss the latest Short Trek, titled The Brightest Star, which examines fan favorite Saru's backstory. They also discuss (further) Cadwell Turnbull's upcoming novel, Larry's next show with Pitt Floyd and his being recruited into another musical project.
Yo! This week Larry is (sadly) flying solo to discuss Creed II, the latest installment in his beloved Rocky franchise. You want more details? Listen!
This week Larry and Dr. Jess discuss differing uses of the title "Funny Face" before diving into a review of the latest Star Trek: Short Trek, titled Calypso. They get into the benefits of short form storytelling, the attractiveness of actor Aldis Hodge, and the Pittsburgh based education of writer Michael Chabon. Pre-order Cadwell Turnbull's novel, The Lesson, here: https://amzn.to/2OzQHEk Purchase tickets to Larry's next show with Pitt Floyd here: https://bit.ly/2Pn9Yu1
This week Larry checked out First Man, the new film from Oscar winning director Damien Chazelle and starring Ryan Gosling, and The First, the Hulu series starring Sean Penn. Both are about the space program, both deal with challenges on the home front, and one is fiction. How does Larry, a lover of all things space, feel about the more domestic approach these stories take?
Larry breaks down the first installment of Star Trek: Short Treks, titled Runaway, and then is joined by Dr. Jess to discuss the newest Star Trek: Discovery trailer, which dropped at New York Comic Con. They also discuss the budding career of frequent Guest Room guest Cadwell Turnbull. Pre-order Cadwell's novel, The Lesson, here: https://amzn.to/2NuiPYV Buy tickets for the next Pitt Floyd show here: https://bit.ly/2Pn9Yu1
Larry is joined by old friends Paul from The McSoss Comic Book Podcast and Brian aka Spud aka Brizzle. The trio weave in and out of a variety of topics including life at 40, concert going experiences, aging rock stars, pizza, tequila, hair care products, and frightening NHL mascots, of which Gritty is only the tip of the Iceberg. Get it?
Larry, an enormous science fiction fan who loves all things space had never seen Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey. Seriously. That all changes here as Grant joins him to see it on the biggest screen in Pittsburgh. Does it live up to 50 years of hype? Follow the Monolith and enter the Star Gate to find out!
Larry binged the Amazon series Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan this weekend and now he must speak of it. He was a big fan of the early 90s film series. Does this new series live up to his enthusiasm for the older films, or does it fall somewhere near the multiple attempted reboots?
This episode begins with a special announcement that Larry has been invited to join the Pittsburgh based Pink Floyd tribute band called Pitt Floyd! Afterwards he reflects on life now that he's turned 40 before getting into reviews of the bonkers early Denzel vehicle Ricochet, the latest Spike Lee joint BlackKklansman, and further evidence that Tom Cruise is indeed crazy, Mission: Impossible-Fallout, the latter of which includes a discussion with Cadwell and Elliot.
This week Larry and Dr. Jess discuss the newly released trailer for Season 2 of Star Trek: Discovery, breaking down what the presence of classic characters like Pike and Spock will mean for the new show. They also discuss numerous things in the Star Trek pipeline, some confirmed, some rumored, including two limited series featuring Picard and Khan respectively, animation, a potential young adult series, and feature film news which leads to Larry and Jess passionately debating how the departure of Pavel Chekov should be handled. They disagree. Passionately. There is also brief discussion about Super Mario Odyssey and listener feedback about Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.
Larry is back after a long hiatus and he explains why (it has something to do with synovial fluid). Afterward he catches up with the audience about things he's seen, and hasn't seen, including Solo: A Star Wars Story, Cobra Kai Season 1, Lost In Space Season 1, Westworld Season 2, Fahrenheit 451, Won't You Be My Neighbor?, Ant-Man and The Wasp, and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.
After a brief tribute to the late drummer John "Jabo" Starks, Larry gets into the nuts and bolts of Avengers: Infinity War with Greg O. and his posse of Elwin, KX Emm, and Lesley, all first time Guest Room guests and all very much up to the task. The group breaks down what they liked and didn't like about the film, performances, the past and future of the MCU, strange features of English automobiles, and why Thanos reminds Larry of a character from Star Trek: The Original Series. After the group discussion Larry offers his updated rankings of the MCU films from best to worst. There may be a controversial opinion or two.
Larry welcomes a true Hollywood veteran to the show, Emmy-winning and Oscar-nominated costume designer Jean-Pierre Dorleac. Jean-Pierre talks about his early experiences in theater, both as an actor and as a costume designer, having the legendary Edith Head as a mentor, his life-long friendship with Jean Simmons, and his experiences on specific projects like the iconic film The Blue Lagoon and, of course, one of Larry's favorite series of all time, Quantum Leap. You can find Jean-Pierre's autobiography, The Naked Truth, and his murder mystery novel, Abracadabra Alakazam, at his official website here: jean-pierredorleac.com
A few years ago Cadwell bought Larry a copy of Ernest Cline's novel Ready Player One for Christmas. Now that novel has been adapted into a feature film directed by Steven Spielberg. Larry and Cadwell get into all the nuts and bolts of what worked - and what didn't - about the movie.
Larry is joined by Travis Jay Coleman of Superenthusiast Radio to discuss the timeless time travel series Quantum Leap, counting down each of their top 10 episodes. In the process much time is spent gushing over the acting prowess of Scott Bakula and Dean Stockwell. Brief tangents include Michael Keaton and filming movies in Utah.
This week Larry offers his quick takes on the Netflix movies Mute and The Cloverfield Paradox and the theatrical releases Annihilation and Red Sparrow.
Old friends Cadwell and Elliot are back this week to talk about the latest entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, director Ryan Coogler's Black Panther. After some critiques of the film through a political lens (mostly by Cadwell) and some minor gripes about CGI boss fights, the trio get into what they love about the film, the characters, the actors, specific moments, and where it stands among the best of the MCU. There are some minor audio issues that get worked out by the 3:50 mark.
Larry and Dr. Jess break down the Season 1 finale of Star Trek: Discovery, titled "Will You Take My Hand?" They get into the nuts and bolts of the episode, discuss whether it provided a satisfying conclusion to the season long story arc, and speculate on what may be coming in Season 2.
This week Larry and Dr. Jess review the Star Trek: Discovery episode titled "The War Without, the War Within," singing the praises of the actors and writers, contemplating the creative process, and discussing how deftly the plot points have been handled throughout the season. This week also marks the return of Fun Facts with Numbers!
Dr. Jess and Larry wanted to have their cake and eat it too this week so they watched the Grammys in their entirety before Star Trek: Discovery Episode 13, titled "What's Past Is Prologue." The result is a brief and rather sleepy discussion, but still one worth listening to!
Larry and Dr. Jess review the latest episode of Star Trek: Discovery, "Vaulting Ambition." In addition to the episode review they also discuss fan reaction to the series overall and how it compares to reaction to Star Wars: The Last Jedi. They also discuss how television has evolved over the years and how Star Trek, past and present, fits in.
This week Dr. Jess and Larry review episode 11 of Star Trek: Discovery, titled "The Wolf Inside," and get into some heavy speculation about where they think things are headed. A lot of time is spent gushing about the acting, because this cast is really, really good.
This week Larry and Dr. Jess review the tenth episode of Star Trek: Discovery, "Despite Yourself," directed by Star Trek legend Jonathan Frakes. The Doc also recalls her early experiences watching Trek.
This week Larry and Dr. Jess asked past and future Guest Room guests to select their top 3 (or 5 if they were so inclined) Christmas songs. Larry and Jess discuss all the selections, count the number of times each song came up in someone's list, and whatever song got the most mentions gets played in classic Guest Room drum and vocal style by Larry!
This week Larry, Dr. Jess, Autumn, Ashley, and Greg O. review Star Wars: The Last Jedi, the latest installment in the sci-fi/fantasy franchise. Larry and Greg have talked ad nauseam about their lukewarm reaction to The Force Awakens and their lack of excitement for this film. Has writer/director Rian Johnson restored their faith?
This week Dr. Jess and Larry are joined by Anju, Cadwell, Ashley, and Therese to watch and review the Netflix series Alias Grace, based on the novel by Margaret Atwood, which in turn is based on a true story. It's a six episode limited series (which we used to call mini-series) and the gang watches each episode and gives their instantaneous reaction. Is Larry gonna break with his norm and actually enjoy a period piece? Listen to find out!
Dr. Jess and Larry were joined by a veritable Who's Who of past Guest Room guest for Thanksgiving, including Cadwell, Anju, Ashley, Therese, and Autumn for a broad and mostly spoiler-free pop-culture discussion. Much time is spent on the Netflix series Alias Grace, Mindhunter, and Easy but other mentions include Godless, Black Mirror, and Room 104. Also discussed is a connection between Fight Club and The Godfather.
After a brief cameo by Paul from McSoss regarding The Flash, Larry gets into his thoughts about the newest superhero mash-up, Justice League, discussing each hero individually and how they come together. Larry also gets into his thoughts on why he thinks this movie, which has underwhelmed critics and audiences alike, is significantly better than than Thor: Ragnarok, which has been met with almost universal acclaim. Is Larry being objective, or is he letting his life-long nostalgia for Superman cloud his judgement? Listen to find out!
This week Dr. Jess and Larry review the Star Trek: Discovery episodes "Lethe," "Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad," "Si Vis Pacem Para Bellum," and "Into the Forest I Go."
Dr. Jess and Larry attended the Regina Spektor concert at The Palace Theatre in Greensburg, PA and are here to talk to you about it! Before they attend the show they discuss Jess' great love for this unique artist and then, after a so-so performance of "On the Radio" by Larry, they discuss the show itself. Other topics include long forgotten commerce, indoor axe throwing, and what happens when exhaust fumes meet skunk (hint: it has something to do with kielbasa).
Dr. Jess and Larry break down the Star Trek: Discovery episodes "The Butcher's Knife Cares Not for the Lamb's Cry" and "Choose Your Pain."
Spud makes his long awaited return to the podcast as he and Larry break down the latest lp from Foo Fighters, Concrete and Gold. But before they do that they list their top 10 favorite music acts. A performance of Run is included.
Greg O. and Tom G. joined Larry for a screening of the new sci-fi sequel Blade Runner 2049. They get into all the details including design, cinematography, visual effects, music, Ryan Gosling's stone face, Robin Wright's legs, and popcorn butter.
In honor of the 30th Anniversary of Star Trek: The Next Generation, Larry runs off his list of favorite episodes! There may be some surprises as to which ones he likes...and doesn't.
Larry and Dr. Jess provide rapid-fire reaction to premiere night of Star Trek: Discovery!
Larry is joined by his nephew Anthony for a 70MM screening of Christopher Nolan's WWII thriller Dunkirk. The pair preview by discussing war movies they've seen and liked (and didn't like-looking at you, Pearl Harbor). Then they review the film, talking about the intensity, cinematography, characters, you name it. Afterwards Larry ranks Nolan's ten feature films. He then closes the show with some more Star Trek: Discovery talk, because it wouldn't be The Guest Room Podcast without Star Trek talk.
Larry is joined by Cadwell and Elliot as they discuss War for the Planet of the Apes. They get into the craft, CGI, the greatness of Andy Serkis, how this movie ranks among the others in the reboot trilogy, and how said trilogy stands up against some of the all time greats, including Star Wars and Lord of the Rings. They also get into some tangential thoughts on Spider-Man: Homecoming and Wonder Woman. Check out Cadwell's novelette Other Worlds and This One in the latest issue of Asimov's Science Fiction at asimovs.com
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