The women of Feminasty talk courage, and Never Seen Before finally sees The Exorcist
In Podmass, The A.V. Club sifts through the ever-expanding world of podcasts and recommends the previous week’s best episodes. Have your own favorite? Let us know in the comments or at [email protected].
And Introducing
TABOO! (ft. Matthew Perpetua)
Joining hosts Chris Wade and Molly O’Brien in this episode of And Introducing is Matthew Perpetua, director of quizzes and games for BuzzFeed. Each week, Wade and O’Brien read a different musician’s autobiography and proceed to chat over said artist’s music and life. After Perpetua introduces Wade and O’Brien to the viral “Right In Front Of My Salad?” meme, the trio turns to the subject at hand: Fallin’ Up: My Story, the autobiography of Taboo (real name Jaime Gomez) from The Black Eyed Peas. Reflecting on their own lives and tastes during the peak of the Peas’ popularity, the hosts compare the band to The Village People and establish a bit of cultural context as producers of the sort of music you’ll always hear on the dance floor. Taboo’s book offers a variety of interesting information on his early life, but if listeners don’t happen to have a deep interest in the backstory of a lesser-known band member, the real appeal of And Introducing is the fun commentary that gives listeners the feeling they’ve joined a hilarious book club for music fans. [Jose Nateras]
Blast Points Podcast
The Last Jedi Trailer Freakout
Disney derives some sick pleasure in getting Star Wars geeks to watch Monday Night Football. Sensing low ratings with a mediocre matchup, the second trailer for The Last Jedi premiered during this week’s Vikings/Bears game, and Jason and Gabe of the Blast Points Podcast provide listeners with their initial reactions to Rian Johnson’s entry in the Skywalker saga. Noting the use of colors and shot choices, Jason and Gabe agree that The Last Jedi appears to be a very different Star Wars film from what audiences have seen before, blending the look and feel of the original trilogy with the prequels. The hosts discuss some of their favorite elements of the preview, from the crystal wolf to the cute and controversial Porgs, as well as the surprising appearance of Supreme Leader Snoke, whom the hosts were not expecting to see at this point in the film’s marketing. Like any other fans, the hosts have their own theories on who Snoke is speaking to in the trailer’s opening, whether or not Rey will turn to the Dark Side with Kylo Ren taking over her training, and if George Lucas was chilling out at home watching Monday Night Football as well. [Mike Vanderbilt]
Canceled Too Soon
Bates Motel (1987)
The Psycho cinematic universe is arguably more expansive than it needs to be. While A&E’s Bates Motel—which provided Norman Bates with an origin story—was a modest hit for the network, it wasn’t the first time that the cut-rate motel made its way to the small screen. Each week on Canceled Too Soon, critics William Bibbiani and Witney Seibold explore television shows that didn’t last more than one season; 1987’s Bates Motel only lasted one episode. Intended as an anthology-style series ignoring the events of the second and third sequels, the show was to feature horror stories taking place on the hotel grounds. The pilot, according to the hosts, resembles a Scooby Doo episode more than Hitchcock’s original film. The pilot, featuring Bud Cort as the motel’s new owner and a young Lori Petty in a chicken costume, never made it to series and instead was dumped as an NBC movie of the week. The hosts muse that, if anything, Bates Motel is basically on par with Michael Mann’s Heat, as it features notable onscreen winos George “Buck” Flower and Carmen Filpi together for the first time. [Mike Vanderbilt]