The Incomparable Mothership

These movie producers really did a job on “Blade Runner.” They don’t advertise for narrations in the newspaper, every good writer knows that. But when you’re trying to sell a narratively dense piece of visual art to 1982 audiences who just want to see a Harrison Ford movie, that’s the sort of compromise you make. All we could do is sit there and watch it play. <p>Jason Snell with Monty Ashley, Steve Lutz, Kelly Guimont and Dan Moren.</p>

Hit the books and polish up your comm badges, because it’s time to go to school—“Starfleet Academy,” that is. We check in on the first season of Star Trek’s latest (and last, for now?) TV series, and find that despite the YA focus, it’s still just really good “Star Trek” that’s worth your attention. <p>Jason Snell with Dan Moren, Erika Ensign, Moisés Chiullán and Tony Sindelar.</p>

Jason was on “Jeopardy!” Now he breaks the experience down with the help of two former “Jeopardy!” champions, Glenn Fleishman and Dan Moren. <p>Jason Snell with Dan Moren and Glenn Fleishman.</p>

Have your squire put on your best (and only) set of armor and be sure to re-paint your shield! We’re here to discuss the surprisingly delightful “Game of Thrones” spin-off “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms,” which features characters to root for, humor, and other things in short supply in other installments of the franchise. <p>Jason Snell with John Siracusa, Erika Ensign and John Moltz.</p>

Charge up your cyberspace deck and avoid all slamhounds! It’s time for us to discuss the second book in William Gibson’s famed Sprawl trilogy, “Count Zero.” Of course, Count Zero is the name of a great hacker… wait, it’s this kid? This is a book that defies audience expectations, from the title character to the way it follows up—or doesn’t, really—the events and characters in its famous predecessor. But, as our veteran Gibson readers note, it sets the template for his career to come. <p>Jason Snell with Lisa Schmeiser, Antony Johnston, Glenn Fleishman and Erika Ensign.</p>

Our Book Club reconvenes to discuss Emily Tesh’s “The Incandescent,” which offers a teacher’s perspective on a magical school (that’s mostly not magical, but infested by demons), an interesting story structure, and some very well-drawn characters. Plus: What else are we reading? <p>Jason Snell with Aleen Simms, Erika Ensign, Joe Rosensteel, Heather Berberet, Paul Weimer and Scott McNulty.</p>

Find a cat bed and some apricots, and prepare to upgrade your chicken! While Jason’s away, we play Embark’s hit game “Arc Raiders”, a multiplayer extraction shooter where people can… be nice to each other? (Most of the time, anyway.) We talk survival tips, resource management, and—to nobody’s surprise—John’s got some opinions on the user interface. Host Brian Warren with panelists Ben McCarthy, John Siracusa, and Chip Sudderth. <p>Brian Warren with John Siracusa, Ben Rice McCarthy and Chip Sudderth.</p>

Want to see a dead body? Bring your comb, stock up on cherry flavor Pez, and stay really quiet if you see a deer. We return to the 1980s and honor Rob Reiner by discussing 1986’s “Stand By Me,” a movie Jason has somehow never seen. It’s not a movie with Things That Happen, but that’s just fine with us. <p>Jason Snell with Kelly Guimont, Erika Ensign, John Siracusa and Shelly Brisbin.</p>

Celebrate Valentine’s Day with The Incomparable. It’s time to discuss that Canadian hockey show everyone’s been talking about. “Heated Rivalry” just wants to know, “Will you come to the cottage this summer?” <p>Annette Wierstra with Kirsten Goruk, Heather Berberet, Stacy Watnick and Kat Benesh.</p>

Guillermo del Toro’s waited his whole life to make a “Frankenstein” movie, and now he’s done it. We carefully select the (Oscar-nominated!) film’s best bits, chop them up, and then sew them back together in the grossest way possible. (We know Del Toro would approve.) You don’t need to have a degree in Frankensteinology to take a seat at the lympahtic charcuterie board, but it helps! <p>Jason Snell with Annette Wierstra, Brian Hamilton, Monty Ashley, Tony Sindelar and Moisés Chiullán.</p>

Hello, Carol. This is a recording. At the tone, you can leave a message to request anything you might need. We’ll do our best to provide it. Our feelings for you haven’t changed, Carol. But after everything that’s happened, we just need a little space. <p>Jason Snell with Erika Ensign, Tony Sindelar, Moisés Chiullán and Glenn Fleishman.</p>

After 800 episodes, we are in serious danger of repeating ourselves, but that never stopped us before. Some of our most prolific panelists fulfill the prophesy and draft Incomparable drafts. Jason begs them to give him new ideas, because after 800, he’s almost run out. And we use our powers for good and evil to mark classic episodes for deletion. <p>Jason Snell with Annette Wierstra, Dan Moren, David J. Loehr, Erika Ensign, Kathy Campbell, Moisés Chiullán, Monty Ashley and Shelly Brisbin.</p>

Noah Hawley’s TV take on the Alien franchise, “Alien: Earth,” is crashing into a building near us, bringing gross aliens old and new, suspicious synths, terrified (and bloody) humans, and a new class of hybrid life forms with the minds of children and superhuman bodies. Does the show give us enough Xenomorphs? Is the eye alien a breakout fan favorite? Was replaying “Alien” on a different ship a good idea? Why is Trillionaire Island so understaffed? We break it all down. <p>Jason Snell with John Siracusa, Brian Warren, Annette Wierstra and Sandra Wong.</p>

Our most frequent panelists of the year join Jason to talk about their favorite stuff from the year gone by, and we also pause to recall some favorite Incomparable moments. Synergy! <p>Jason Snell with Erika Ensign, Moisés Chiullán, Tony Sindelar, David J. Loehr, Annette Wierstra, Scott McNulty, Dan Moren and Brian Warren.</p>

Kilmas comes but once a year! This year we’re climbing into the cockpit and revisiting 1986’s “Top Gun,” starring some airplanes, Val Kilmer, and Tom Cruise. It’s a very subtle movie. Were Tony’s parents right in protecting his young mind from it? And most importantly, why do we remember Val Kilmer’s character being the villain when he’s actually the conscience of the entire film? <p>Jason Snell with Annette Wierstra, Katie Mack, Erika Ensign, Tony Sindelar and Brian Warren.</p>