The Incomparable's Greatest Hits

Hey, there’s a new “Ghostbusters” trailer! From 2011, here’s our discussion of the original 1984 film.

Rest in peace, Hans Gruber. In 2010 we declared “Die Hard” the best Christmas movie ever.

If you didn’t listen to our episode about “Inside Out” back in July, well, the movie’s available on video now. So watch it. And then listen as we draw a circle around our own parental sadness and instead focus on the joy of an instant Pixar classic.

From 2011: Turn on your flux capacitors, calculate how many “jigabytes” your hard drive contrains, and prepare for our deconstruction of the “Back to the Future” movie series. Which film reigns supreme? Plus, we talk about other time-travel movies we love. This episode recorded entirely live in a tiny, enclosed space.

“The Martian” is about to hit theaters, but we talked about the book version in early 2014. Get caught up!

We hear that sci-fi writer John Scalzi is popular. Back in 2011 we talked about a bunch of his books, especially the Old Man’s War series.

This may or may not be one of our best episodes, but it’s our best episode recorded outdoors. In the spirit of summer, please enjoy this somewhat rambly but quite amusing discussion with Steve, Greg, and Jason, along with some special surprise guests—no, seriously, we get interrupted a couple of times—at a beer garden in San Diego County.

Earlier this year we watched “Star Wars: Episode 3 - Revenge of the Sith” and then reviewed it with our usual precision and cruelty. This is a special, never-before-released cut of the two-part episode, putting everything back together in a single audio file for your listening pleasure.

Back in 2014 we watched “Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace” and then reviewed it. Mercilessly. This is a special, never before released cut of the two-part episode, putting everything back together in a single audio file for your listening pleasure.

From 2013: The Incomparable’s Superhero Draft is now in session, and justice is on the clock! Hear our collection of panelists assemble several excellent super-teams. Who will inhabit the Hall of Justice? And why are Superman and Batman looking on forlornly? Are they just not team players? Take your Sharknado to the Evil Museum and ponder just why Iron Man might not be the hero you think he is.

Same as it ever was. Right now Marvel is undergoing a major comic-book reboot, and DC Comics is in the throes of its own continuity-charged event. So let’s go back to 2011 and remember the last time this happened…

We conclude our TV Fantasy Draft with the unveiling of our series pitches. Vampire and ghost detectives! Star Trek meets the West Wing! A sitcom starring a robot and an omnipotent being! A gritty techno-drama. A psychedelic drama set on a Zeppelin! And John Siracusa’s pitch seems awfully familiar somehow.

Our very own Glenn Fleishman was on three episodes of “Jeopardy!” in 2012. We debriefed him about his adventures immediately on his return, and then banked the episode until they aired. This episode also talks about game shows and their modern reality-competition show equivalents, and harkens back to the heyday of the panel show, where drunk celebrities engaged in witty repartee.

If you saw the “Batman v Superman” trailer and went eeeuuuuuuuggggh, well, enjoy our review of “Man of Steel.” We start out with a lot of praise, but then we get to the last half of the movie and start beating it up just like how Zod and Superman beat up the buildings of Metropolis.

This might have been our first fantasy draft episode! In this one we pick TV shows who died before their natural lifespan.

From 2012: An enormous list of books we think you should read. They’re all still as good as they were three years ago, so dig in!

From 2011: The second part of our “Star Wars” episode. We were so innocent then. (You can see all our Star Wars episodes in one handy list, if you like. There’s even a podcast feed.)

From 2011: We were so innocent then. (You can see all our Star Wars episodes in one handy list, if you like. There’s even a podcast feed.)

From 2013, part two of our celebration of Star Trek: The Original Series. What do today’s kids think of this nearly 50-year-old show? We ponder the gender politics of splitting Captain Kirk (and a little dog in a weird costume) into good and evil halves. And what about the low standards of the Enterprise’s Engineering department? Please listen: It will only take 71 of your Earth minutes! Also, Captain Kirk thinks your civilization is stupid.

From 2013, part one of our two-part celebration of Star Trek: The Original Series. Was Dr. McCoy promoting vegetarianism? Why did Spock have such a lovely collection of hats? What does Bob Barker have to do with the Guardian of Forever? Join us as we boldly go where so many have gone before.

From 2012: We travel to where geekiness and comedy come together, to discuss our favorite geek TV comedies. From traditional sitcoms to animation to movie commentary, we’ve got you covered. Plus there’s a lot of singing.

As Marvel’s groundbreaking, critically lauded “Hawkeye” heads toward its final issue, here’s our celebration of its greatness from 2013. This episode covers the first two trade-paperback editions of Fraction and Aja’s series, including Lucky the Pizza Dog, 50 Shades of Purple, and how hooking up a laserdisc player is similar to defusing a bomb. We’re still great at boats!

For April Fool’s Day 2012 we played a nerdy game show devised and hosted by Jason Snell. Aren’t game shows fun? Maybe we should do more of these. Plus, there’s a visit from a parallel-version edition of The Incomparable, hosted by Lex Friedman.

In 2012 we discussed 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 included: 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.

In this episode from April Fool’s Day 2011, we talk about stuff we think is funny.

Originally aired as episodes 182 and 183 of The Incomparable, and released here in a Special Edition format with no ad or episode breaks, it’s our take on “Star Wars Episode II” that was probably our fan-favorite episode of last year. You can see all of our Star Wars episode on our Star Wars page, and even subscribe to it as a podcast. Look for our “Episode III” episode this spring.

From 2011: Who are the best TV characters of all time? Six people set out to draft teams of 10 characters each, from which they would form some of the strangest TV ensembles ever seen. Will Captain Kirk, Columbo, and The Fonz end up on the same show? Perhaps the craziest episode we’ve ever done highlights dozens of our favorite characters from TV history.

“Raiders of the Lost Ark,” and why it’s so great. Also, “Star Wars” comes up a few times. Special guest John Gruber joins Dan Moren and Jason Snell.

This year’s Doctor Who Christmas Special reviewed.

We had a Pop Up Book edition of this poem, which my father dutifully read to me on Christmas Eve every year. Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night.

Did you know that we’re releasing a season of Incomparable Radio Theater in 2015? It’s true! In fact, right now we are rehearsing the script on the Incomparable Zeppelin…

At the end of a secret recording session last week, Jason asked for holiday anecdotes. And then things fell apart.

Last year’s “Doctor Who” Christmas special saw Matt Smith say goodbye to the TARDIS, but not before an adventure in the town of Christmas on the planet of Trenzalore. Cyberman-head companions! A turkey that takes 300 years to cook in the vortex! Lots of past plot boxes checked! A teary farewell and regeneration! Kidneys of a dubious color! Onward to Peter Capaldi!

Our “Doctor Who” Christmas special flashcasts continue with this one from 2012 covering “The Snowmen.” Jenna Coleman returns to the show, but is this the Clara we’ve been waiting for?

From 2013’s Incomparable Radio holiday special: A roller-derby champion discovers what it means to be a legend; Canadian separatists threaten a ship on New Year’s Eve, and only The Fog and Margo can stop them. Brought to you by Cornet Blue Disposable Facial Tissue and Chock Full Of Coffee.

The follow-on to yesterday’s episode, this Bonus Track features 12 minutes of additional holiday talk and silliness.

From 2013: We talk about Holiday TV, good and bad, and Steve Lutz reveals a deep, dark secret about his own Holiday TV past.

New! Phil and Lisa ruin Christmas with their critiques of holiday movies from the Hallmark channel. Lisa suggests that Hallmark should tap the polyamory market.

In a special holiday episode from 2013, Dot and Nik run into an unexpected set of fellow time travelers. And Dot is confronted with memories of her own Christmas past. Brought to you by Lohengrin Beer.

Our Doctor Who flashcast from 2011 discusses “The Doctor, The Widow, and the Wardrobe,” and why Christmas episodes make us feel warm inside.

This is one of my favorite episodes from 2010. It’s a look at the favorite gifts we received during childhood. Dan still misses his Transformer.

From 2012: This is the Bonus Track before and after our Holiday Vault 2 episode. It’s pretty much what you’d expect from us during the holidays. And Glenn praises “Bad Santa.”