The Incomparable Mothership

Our Comic Book Club tackles the topic of #1 issues, especially those in DC’s recent relaunch. We recommend some books and talk about some of our favorite Number Ones. Also we touch on a few of the controversial #1 DC issues and question whether DC is really trying to reach a new audience or just pander to the old one.

Why do secret agents wear make-up under their eyepatches? When do text messages not properly convey thanks for saving the universe? Are the Cybermen the worst villians ever? We wrap up the sixth season of “Doctor Who” with discussion of the last three episodes as well as the season as a whole.

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.

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.

This past summer’s superhero movies are in the spotlight! Are the gods just aliens? When are mutant strippers unrealistic? Why would you beat up people after costing them their jobs? And why do the Stark boys enjoy themselves—and cheesy foodstuffs—so much? Our esteemed panel breaks down how “Captain America,” “Thor,” “X-Men: First Class,” and “Green Lantern” fared.

Press the Green Anchor and jump into a parallel timestream: it’s time to talk “Doctor Who.” In this flash episode we deconstruct the two most recent episodes, “Night Terrors” and “The Girl Who Waited.” And here’s a hint: we liked one of them way more than the other.

This podcast is cancelled! We discuss TV shows that failed to reach their proper natural lifespan. When all is said and done, you’ll hear recommendations for 25 excellent series that burned bright and weren’t allowed to fade away. Fantasy football drafts were never this good.

Strap on your jet pack and locate your pet monkey! Our Comic Book Club reconvenes to discuss works by writer Brian K. Vaughan, who excels at the high-concept premise. In the spotlight: “Runaways,” “Y: The Last Man,” and “Ex Machina.” With plenty of digressions along the way, about feminism, parenting, sexism, and (once again) how hard it is to write an ending.

Flash podcast! A largely unedited Skype conversation after this weekend’s “Doctor Who” midseason premiere, “Let’s Kill Hitler.”

Rip off your hearing limbs and join us for the first anniversary edition of The Incomparable. As with the first podcast, the Book Club discusses a China Mieville novel: in this case, “Embassytown.” Also: What are we reading? Glenn is reading a comic book. We are disappointed.

We read the 2011 Hugo nominees for Best Novel. Sit back and enjoy our reviews of “Blackout/All Clear,” “Cryoburn,” “The Dervish House,” “Feed,” and “The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms.” Plus, we recommend a few of the nominated short stories.

Old men with balloons! Wisecracking monsters! Superheroes with mid-life crises! The films of Pixar are in our sights this week. Join us as we pick our favorite films and explore why Pixar’s movies are better than those from other animation studios. Plus, we discuss what Pixar should do next to challenge itself, try to understand why “Cars 2” was made, and pick out our least favorite thing Pixar has ever done. Hint: Jason has a problem with rats. [This episode was originally two episodes, 49 and 50. It’s been rejoined into a single, double-length episode.]

From the Wall in the north (behind which lurk the fearsome White Walkers) to across the Narrow Sea (which is sort of dull), the first season of HBO’s “Game of Thrones” has everything the George R. R. Martin book has, with perhaps more attractive naked people having sex in front of you. Also: Uncomfortable chairs.

“Star Wars,” the original film, is finally in our crosshairs, and if we can bulls-eye a Womp Rat we can take on this classic sci-fi film. We talk about our first memories of Star Wars, pretend the prequels didn’t happen, give Cantina drink-ordering tips, marvel at Darth Vader’s coffee-drinking habits, praise the jump to hyperspace, explain why TIE fighter pilots wear black, ponder how Han and Leia somehow turn up in an Aaron Sorkin scene, reveal why there is no Space OSHA, comment on Ben Kenobi’s old man slippers and incomparable pseudonym, and expose the rebellion so rich it can have its own university and mint its own medals. [This episode was originally two episodes, 46 and 47. It’s been rejoined into a single, double-length episode.]

Pour yourself a White Mickey and listen to our discussion of the first half of “Doctor Who’s” split season. We discuss “The Rebel Flesh,” “A Good Man Goes to War,” and the season as a whole. Or half? We also debate the merits of Lesbian Victorian Silurians and Auton Roman Centurions.

DC decides to stick a fork in continuity and reboot its universe. Publicity stunt, bold creative move, or both? Andy Ihnatko joins Lisa, Jason, and the good Jason to discuss this latest attempt to save the comics industry.

Everybody’s got an adorable parallel-universe nickname — The Walternate! Flauxlivia! Pacey! — on the always unpredictable Fox sci-fi show Fringe. Sure, it’s no Lost (nor X-Files, nor “Enemy Within”) but it’s got its charms, including high-speed pregnancy, Leonard Nimoy impressions and cast members from “The Wire” not being given enough interesting things to do.

Do you know where your towel is? Are you a hoopy frood? Have you just consumed your fifth Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster? We have. And you’d better catch up. In honor of our 42nd podcast and the recent Towel Day, The Incomparable celebrates the life and work of Douglas Adams. We feature our special guest, Yoz Grahame, who worked for Adams’ The Digital Village, the producers of Web sites such as h2g2.com (a precursor to Wikipedia of sorts).

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.

After long delays, our Comic Book Club discusses Warren Ellis and John Cassaday’s “Planetary,” which is only fitting given that the 27-issue series took 10 years to be released. We also talk about how hard it is to write a satisfying ending to any fictional work.

Neil Gaiman breathes life into the TARDIS in this week’s “Doctor Who” episode, “The Doctor’s Wife.” We discuss what we liked about this much-hyped episode, as well as detailing how Rory dies this week.

Our Book Club discusses the works of sci-fi writer John Scalzi, including “Old Man’s War.” We also talk about “The Forever War” and many other books. We play the “new author remakes classic novel” game we just invented. Find out why Dan says “Ce Podcast est Fini!” And stay after the end to learn Jason’s secret plan to create a terrible sci-fi trilogy.

Flash discussion of Doctor Who’s “Curse of the Black Spot.” We try to give it CPR, but we do it wrong and the patient dies. Or, no, wait! It came back to life! Hooray! Unrelated: why Rory is like Kenny from “South Park.”

Flash! A discussion about the first two episodes of this season of “Doctor Who,” “The Impossible Astronaut” and “Day of the Moon.” Who is in that spacesuit? Who is the little girl? Are the Silence just lazy? We speculate wildly.

Everybody wants to rule the world, er, the kingdom of Westeros. As the “Game of Thrones” series continues on HBO, we discuss the source material: George R.R. Martin’s bestselling “Song of Ice and Fire” books. If you haven’t read the books, you will be spoiled! We’ll post the climactic resolution of this podcast in about five years, so invest your time wisely.

Based on the best-selling novel! Inspired by HBO’s “Game of Thrones,” in this episode we discuss the translation of books to the screen. Should movies be faithful to the book? Is it better if filmmmakers take liberties? And what books do we wish would be made into movies? If you don’t want to listen to this episode, just buy the novelization.

The lesson learned? Never share anything you love with John Siracusa. Like, for example, “Real Genius.” Or any ’80s movie. Or any ’80s anything. Or from-any-other-time anything. Fear John Siracusa, for he is the destroyer of dreams.

Stories by science-fiction writer Ted Chiang, including the anthology “The Story of Your Life and Others.” Plus, enough recommendations to get you through every bathroom break and bus ride for the next three years.

An entire hour devoted to The CW's "Supernatural." Can you imagine it? Brr. Fortunately, that's not what this podcast is about. It's about stuff we think is funny. Only one of likes "Supernatural." To find out who, you will need to listen.

Make it so, Number One! Star Trek: The Next Generation is on our agenda. We talk favorite episodes, least-favorite episodes, killer snowflakes, why Jean-Luc Picard is catnip to the ladies, why everyone loves Geordi, and why in the future no one needs Wet Wipes.

A hero with an unpronounceable name, magic that doesn’t actually do much, cardboard female characters, a story where nothing really happens, and the first and inconclusive part of a longer series? Sounds like an acclaimed fantasy novel to us! “The Name of the Wind” on this week’s Incomparable Podcast.

Zombie, Spaceship, or Wasteland? We explore the reasons Geek Culture exists, what it means, and if it really exists. Also: are nerds just as awful and exclusionary as jocks? Why will Oprah sit astride the apocalypse? Find out what happened when Scott McNulty met Kitty Pryde. And most importantly, learn the deadly secret about how Dungeons and Dragons relates to nuclear submarines.

Turn on your perpetual-motion machine, man your Zeppelin, and fly away for our next edition of the Incomparable Book Club. We discuss "The Dream of Perpetual Motion" by Dexter Palmer, as well as answer the question, "What are you reading?"

Grab your pound of dice, a bag of Cheetos and your +1 wit, to join the Incomparable Podcast as we venture forth into the world of “Dungeons and Dragons” and other role-playing games. Hey, at least we don’t LARP.

Hello. Our name is The Incomparable. You killed our father. Prepare to listen to a spoiler-filled podcast about the most quotable movie in the universe, “The Princess Bride.”

Dive through a wormhole to defend the honor of the Imperium! We discuss Lois McMaster Bujold’s Vorkosigan series of novels, which we really can’t recommend highly enough. It’s swashbuckling Sci-Fi adventure with some great characters and a big canvas. And you can read most of them for free!

Don your mask and cape and join us for a discussion of the good, the underrated, and the overrated in the realm of superhero movies. And you think we’re going to praise “The Dark Knight” you might be in for quite a shock… No, seriously, we rip it apart. We also discuss “Superman 2,” “Darkman,” “Iron Man,” “Megamind,” “The Incredibles,” “Unbreakable,” “The Rocketeer,” and many others.

Recorded live and in person before a studio audience (of one)! We discuss Stephen Fry, Sherlock Holmes, James Bond, Sean Connery, Scottish accents, corpulent detectives, V for Vendetta, 1984, Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury, Solaris, The Fountain, Garfield, “in medias res” movie conceits, Doctor Who special effects, our favorite TV shows of all time (including Buffy, Max Headroom, Sports Night, Spaced, Smack the Pony, and the Rockford Files), The Middleman, Kevin Sorbo, Gene Roddenberry’s posthumous oeuvre, and why Steven Spielberg can’t make a good TV show. Also: the debut of the Spoiler Quack.

Comic Book Club returns with a discussion of comic-book “special events,” and why they are (in most cases) amazingly disappointing. We discuss our favorite and least-favorite events, from Crisis on Infinite Earths to Civil War to that time that Superman fought Spider-Man.

Get your hat and your shotgun and prepare for the Zombie Apocalypse! We discuss AMC’s TV series “The Walking Dead,” as well as touch on some zombie movies including “Zombieland” and “Dawn of the Dead.”

Hop in your time machine and listen to our latest Book Club installment—and then be sure to travel back and prevent the podcast from having ever been recorded, because time travel is tricky like that. We discuss “How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe” and other time travel books we have liked.

If you do something every Christmas for six years, it’s time to call it a tradition. And so we have to add the “Doctor Who” Christmas special to our lists. We enjoyed this year’s episode, “A Christmas Carol,” so much, we recorded this flash podcast to talk about it. Happy holidays, everyone.

Is “Die Hard” the greatest Christmas movie ever made? Dan Moren thinks so. Others are less sure, but there’s no denying how great this seminal ’80s action flick is. We discuss John McClane’s adventure at Nakatomi Plaza, as well as other Christmas movies and TV shows we have loved.

Happy holidays from everyone at The Incomparable. In this pre-Christmas edition we talk about beloved gifts from our childhood, and discover a strange collection of cruel parents as well as a Transformer tragedy.

Greetings, programs! It’s time to talk about “Tron” and the new sequel, “Tron Legacy.” Also, what’s the appropriate use of CGI? When should creators go back and use computers to “improve” their work? And does Jeff Bridges’ CGI doppelganger fall right into the middle of the Uncanny Valley?

A new topic on the podast: video games! We talk classic (okay, OLD) games as well as the latest and greatest motion-controlled games. From Pong to the Kinect, we’ve got it covered—plus why the human race is doomed if someone invents a holodeck.

In honor of the release of the seventh Harry Potter film, we convene a collection of panelists to discuss the books, the movies, the phenomenon that is J.K. Rowling’s young-wizard saga. (If you haven’t read the series, there are spoilers and also the entire podcast will make no sense. Except for the part about “Magnum P.I.” and Pablo Picasso. This episode sponsored by the word “exegesis” and the musical stylings of Tom Bombadil.)

Discussing Joss Whedon, from Buffy to Firefly (to the Avengers?) and everything in between. What’s the appeal? What are our favorite episodes? Why did Firefly die young and leave a great-looking corpse?

Three Hugo winners enter our Book Club. “Spin” by Robert Charles Wilson, “Hyperion” by Dan Simmons, and “The Yiddish Policeman’s Union” by Michael Chabon. Also: Why sequels suck. And we’ll work you like a ham!

The Fantastic Four is the topic of this installment of our Comic Book Club! We talk “Unstable Molecules,” a strange mini-series about the fictional “inspiration” for the Fantastic Four. Also: the bad movies and worse TV shows, Ultimate Fantastic Four, and more.