Nerdy Show 2016

1. Nerdy Show 278 :: Grandma Tarkin

   The Nerdy Show Network’s flagship podcast unloads on the latest geek news and happenings!

   It’s the end of the year, so chances are good you might be spending time with some family this week. And since that’s the case, chances are also good you might come home to an empty seat at the table, because someone you love is no longer with us. Hey, it’s been a tough year for celebrities, why not normal people too? But don’t fret, friend, because just across the uncanny valley lies a place where all your dead family members can be recreated in CGI. Pretty soon you’ll be in the familiar embrace of Grandma Tarkin.  And she’ll look at least as good as our cut-rate Photoshoppery.

   Join Cap, boR, Nicky, and Brandon as we serve up a piping-hot Christmas meal of Rogue One opinions and our latest television and gaming experiences. We expound on Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency, Final Fantasy XV, and the game we all slept on this year: Quantum Break. Oh, but that’s not all, friends – we talk about the Tickle Me Elmo of the lonely salaryman this season: Gatebox, your very own rudimentary A.I. waifu companion. Well, we’ve got some thoughts on that AND recommendations on how to make your own on a budget! (more…)

2. Nerdy Show :: The 2016 FINAL BOSS – Top 20 Nerdy Things of the Year!

   The Nerdy Show Network’s flagship podcast unloads on the latest geek news and happenings – and in this case all the greatest geeky happenings of the year!

   We’re not going to beat around the bush, 2016 has been a mess. But in spite of tragedies, loss, and injustice aplenty, there’s been some spectacular achievements and innovations; from high science, to the most popcorn of pop culture, and everything in-between. That‘s what our annual Top 20 Nerdy Things list is all about: counting down the best, geekiest people, places, achievements, media, and more that the year has to offer and ranking them with the only measurement of any relevance left on this forsaken rock: nerdiness.

   Join Cap and Jess along with a rotating cast of faces from around The Nerdy Show Network (Doug, Jon, Brandon, Aaron, La Valle, Oral, Max, and Briggs) as we cast arbitrary and subjective judgements on topical geekitudes. We share all the deets and feels on what made this collection of cultural oddities shine amidst this bleak year, say goodbye to our favorite celebrities, and even award a few superlatives to some fine specimens that didn’t make the Top 20 cut.

   If you find yourself lost and looking for meaning, these tremendously awesome happenings just might restore your faith in humanity. (more…)

3. Nerdy Show Microsode: Genesis Does What Nintendon’t

   When The Nerdy Show Network’s flagship podcast isn’t unloading on the latest geek news and happenings, we’re diving deep into super-specific discussions and interviews.

   Ah, the holidays. That magic time of the year when your parents are most likely to cave in and buy you something super-expensive. If you’re on this website, chances are good that more than once that premium gift was a gaming console. But when you peeled back the wrapping, what was underneath? In the early 90s, the console you had was more than a portal to indoor adventure – it was a way of life. Were you a Nintendo kid, or were you a radical, shades and denim wearin’ embodiment of coolness: a Sega kid?

   Join clean-cut Nintendo kids Cap and Brandon, and too kool 4 skool Sega kids, Wicked Anime‘s Andrew and Jonathan, as we revisit the console wars and an insane era of home entertainment experimentation. With the Genesis, Sega tried out every absurd concept they could think of to push the medium one step farther. You could trick out your Genesis with a Master System adapter, the Sega CD, 32X, 3D glasses… and that’s just for starters. In this episode we discuss Genesis culture, the games, the portables, the hardware, and freaky franken-systems you never knew existed.

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4. Nerdy Show 277 :: Con Artists

   The Nerdy Show Network’s flagship podcast unloads on the latest geek news and happenings!

   Ah, conventioneering – the excursion of choice for the modern nerd. With 2016 at an end, our crew’s traveling days have wrapped and we’re excited to share the last of our adventures in geeky parts unknown. Cap reports in from North Carolina Comicon, where DC Comic’s Young Animal imprint took over, and fancy donuts flowed like wine. Nicky shared her experiences at Blizzcon – the con dedicated exclusively to the games produced by Blizzard Entertainment and the legions of fans who worship them.

   Meanwhile, boR returned to his homeland where soda is called “pop” and Jon lost himself in the absurdly detailed VR flight sim, Elite Dangerous, while keeping tabs on some truly remarkable innovations in gene splicing. All that plus the future of Stargate, the problems with continuing Blade Runner, and a review of the stunning sci-fi feature, The Arrival. (more…)

5. Nerdcasting the Multiverse: Thanksgiving Special

   When The Nerdy Show Network’s flagship podcast isn’t unloading on the latest geek news and happenings, we’re diving deep into the super-specific with listener-requested discussions and interviews. But then on rare occasions… something much more unusual happens…

   What we know as “reality” is just a thin barrier covering an infinite multiverse of parallel worlds. Many scientists agree on this theory, but we have proof. Earlier this year, we discovered a rift that allowed us to hear other realities. Tuning our dials into that strange abyss of alternate broadcasts was a fascinating adventure AND it was free entertainment! Who are we to pass up a bargain? ‘Tis the season, after all.

   Remarkably enough, our holidays are mirrored in these other worlds; so as you’re prepping to gorge yourselves and/or camp out in front of a big box store, we invite you to discover the looming threat of the Reptilian conspiracy targeting both Thanksgiving, and the scared treats of Easter on Scale Watchers. Learn cooking tips from the dumpster (Sole Food) and the unknown (Quinowhaaaaa?), or kick Thanksgiving to the curb and celebrate a new holiday coming straight from the Underground: Conquest Day. Don’t touch that dial (we wouldn’t want you to experience quantum displacement) and Happy Thanksgiving! (more…)

6. Nerdy Show Review: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

   When The Nerdy Show Network’s flagship podcast isn’t unloading on the latest geek news and happenings, we’re diving deep into super-specific discussions and interviews.

   In this case the specific discussion at hand is a stand-alone film review of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them – the first film set in J. K. Rowling’s Wizarding World not revolving around Harry Potter. You might recall back in 2013, our lukewarm feelings towards a film adaptation of the in-universe textbook, followed by a rising enthusiasm earlier this year when details of a more elaborate story came into view and the article series History of Magic in North America began its release, leading up to the film.

   Join Doug and Nina as they share their feelings on the film, fresh from an early screening – opening with a spoiler-free review and then switching gears to unrestricted discussions about what transpires and modern film’s ever present nemesis: the clunky third act. (more…)

7. Nerdy Show 276 :: Hackin’ with boR

   The Nerdy Show Network’s flagship podcast unloads on the latest geek news and happenings!

   When life gets you down, there’s always rad media and good friends to help you through the tough times – and we’ve got both!

   Join your pals at Nerdy Show for our two cents on the latest games we’ve been playing, tech we’ve been hackin’, and movies and TV we’ve been watching. Well, most of your pals anyway. Cap’s gone to North Carolina Comicon; leaving boR, Trench, Tony, and Doug to run amok in the Nerdy Show studio unsupervised.

   What did the gang think of Marvel’s first foray into the mystic arts with Doctor Strange? Is Skyrim‘s re-release worth your hard-earned dough? How do Titanfall and Dishonored‘s sequels measure up to their predecessors? Is any surprise that Tony’s bony ass thought the 90s comedy Heavyweights was a laugh-filled romp? (It isn’t.) And just how much stuff can boR hack? Clearly these are the most important questions of the day. (more…)

8. Nerdy Show Interviews: The Cast & Creators of Your Pretty Face is Going to Hell

   When The Nerdy Show Network’s flagship podcast isn’t unloading on the latest geek news and happenings, we’re diving deep into super-specific discussions and interviews.

   Our sins have finally caught up with us… so it’s time we caught up with our favorite sinners! In this episode we’re speaking with the cast and creators of Your Pretty Face is Going to Hell – Adult Swim’s workplace comedy set in the underworld. To celebrate the series’ third season Cap and boR are joined by Henry Zebrowski (The Wolf of Wall Street) who plays the hapless demon, Gary, Satan himself: Matt Servitto (The Sopranos) and writer/ directors Dave Willis (Aqua Teen Hunger Force) and Casper Kelly (Too Many Cooks).

   When you’re doing a show where red body paint is required dress code, and you’re getting shat on by devils, you can bet there’s some wild stories. Hear all about the exotic body parts, mushroom flashbacks, and green screen magic behind the scenes.  Even if this is your first time on the rack, this is a prefect primer for the sublime tortures of Willis and Kelly’s series. Plus you’ll get the answers to age old questions like can aliens go to hell? What’s after Too many Cooks? And will Henry’s bold concept restaurant, Foogler’s, get off the ground? (more…)

9. Nerdy Show 275 :: Nerdy Show Switch

   The Nerdy Show Network’s flagship podcast unloads on the latest geek news and happenings!

   The Big N has finally pulled back the curtain on the much-murmured WiiU follow-up, and it’s a heck of a SWITCH from what we expected. Heyo! Thanks, we’ll be here for the duration of this podcast. But seriously, folks – we’re cautiously optimistic about this modular, multi-use console and in this episode we air all our concerns and hopes on how this hybrid system might pan out. Plus we’ve got some leaked specs that, if true, shed some light on what’s to come.

   Join Cap, Brandon, boR, and Jon as they not only talk meatspace gaming, but the virtual realm too. Thanks to a hardware hook-up from sci-tech master Jon, Cap and Brandon jacked into VR and had a transformative experience. Hear how their experiences differed from boR’s past HTC Vive reporting, and how they’re coming down from the virtual high. Not ones to leave science out of the “sci-tech”, we also report the latest from Tabby’s Star – the mysterious space object that has the most sound scientific minds saying, “I’m not saying it’s aliens…” We’ve got some alternate theories, and a review of World of Final Fantasy too! (more…)

10. Nerdy Show Microsode: Journey to Mars – NASA, SpaceX, and Mars One

    When The Nerdy Show Network’s flagship podcast isn’t unloading on the latest geek news and happenings, we’re diving deep into super-specific discussions and interviews.

    Look up in the night sky. What do you see? We’ll tell you what: a smug, red dot bastard taunting us; saying, “oy, come on you blighters. I dare you.” We don’t know why he’s cockney, but his name is Mars and clearly he’s a jerk. Challenge accepted, squire. We’ve got a cadre of national and private enterprises determined to plant some flags in your smug face.

    Our journey to Mars has been a long road from the fanciful 20th century sci-fi that started it all, but the next space race is upon us and in 15 years humanity is likely to have made landfall on a new world. With SpaceX’s recent announcement of their advantageous plans for colonizing, NASA’s in-progress projects, and even the controversial Mars One project – exciting things are happening. Wait, what was that last one? Mars One? That’s the private project determined to be the first to the Red Planet that got a lot of attention (and flack) when they announced they expected to fund their Mars missions by televising the whole thing as  a reality show. That’s the listener-requested discussion that launched this episode, but we’re taking it one small step further and catching up with the latest from SpaceX and NASA too. What dangers of colonization are still unaccounted for? Does Mars One have a life after reality TV? Will public interest in space come back in full? Humans on Mars, Kyle. Humans on Mars. (more…)