The Incomparable Mothership
Hosted by Jason Snell
The Incomparable Mothership is the flagship of the Incomparable podcast network. It’s all about geeky media we love, including movies, books, TV, and more, featuring a rotating panel of guests and hosted by Jason Snell and friends.
742 Hi, Anxiety
Several panelists consider Pixar’s “Inside Out” one of their favorite films. Now it’s time to process “Inside Out 2.” Some struggle with the sequel more than others. But at least Bing Bong makes a tiny cameo.
Previous Episodes
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November 8, 2024 “Pitch Black”741 Evil Giant Cicadas
Vin Diesel, Radha Mitchell, Keith David, and a lack of bozos… It can only be 2000’s “Pitch Black,” one of the finer entries in the always-popular “Alien” homage movie genre. We enthuse about elevated filmmaking, great decisions, and low-budget effects.
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October 28, 2024 “Fright Night” (1985)
740 The Coffin Test
Just in time for Halloween week, Old Spooky Club returns for 1985’s “Fright Night.” It’s an entirely ’80s comedy-horror movie with zero cynicism and only a single layer of meta. Chris Sarandon is the perfect vampire, even when he’s villanously chowin’ down on a topless lady as he exchanges intense stares with the neighbor kid. If you’ve never experienced it, you don’t know what you’re missing.
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October 25, 2024 “Airplane!”
739 Above the Zeppo Level
Do you like gladiator movies, Joey? It’s 1980’s “Airplane!”—the comedy version of “Zero Hour!”—with serious actors playing ridiculous parts more or less straight. How does the comedy hold up? What’s unique about the approach? Why was it such a huge hit? We put the ZAZ boys under the microscope. Surely we’ll all have a good time! (Don’t call us Shirley.)
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October 18, 2024 “Only Angels Have Wings” and “Zero Hour!”738 Condor to the Neck
Don’t order the fish! Old Movie Club celebrates Aviatober with 1939’s “Only Angels Have Wings” and 1957’s “Zero Hour!” One bears a striking resemblance to forgettable 1980s TV series “Tales of the Gold Monkey,” and the other is undeniably the inspiration for the more notable 1980 movie “Airplane!” (That’s foreshadowing.)
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October 11, 2024 Grant Morrison’s “Animal Man”737 The Bolthole of My Own Self-Referentiality
It was the late ’80s and comic writer Grant Morrison was fast becoming Grant Morrison. Come back with us to look at his run on Animal Man, issues 1-26, in which a has-been/never-was superhero becomes an outspoken animal rights activist, witnesses the near-undoing of the Crisis on Infinite Earths, and meets his own maker—who looks strangely like Grant Morrison. Before Deadpool and She-Hulk broke the fourth wall, this was Peak Meta.
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October 4, 2024 Dan Moren’s “The Armageddon Protocol”
736 I Have Planets for That
Dan Moren’s “The Armageddon Protocol” is now on sale. He joins Jason to discuss how to wrap up a long-running series (while leaving doors open for future adventures), juggling an increasingly complex home life with a two-book contract, the broader publishing options available to fiction writers, and (of course) sandwiches.
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September 27, 2024 “The Secret World of Arrietty”
735 Who Took My Lady?
Miyazaki Club returns to discuss 2010’s “The Secret World of Arrietty,” a Studio Ghibli production with a screenplay by Hayao Miyazaki based on a series of children’s books. Why are we so unnerved by the linear storyline and lack of weirdness? Why does Jason have Bay Leaf head canon? And why is surface tension the true star of the show?
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September 20, 2024 “The Matrix Resurrections”
734 Hang a Lantern on a Lantern
“Warner Brothers called and they’re demanding that we do The Matrix IV, with or without you?” So motivated, Lilly Wachowski made a movie that revisits “The Matrix” that’s about revisiting “The Matrix.” Could it be that this 19-years-later sequel… is better than the other sequels?
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September 13, 2024 “The Matrix Revolutions”
733 This Could Have Been an Email
The Matrix Trilogy ends with “The Matrix Revolutions.” There’s a big fight in Zion, a lot of stuff in the Matrix we didn’t actually remember, everyone becomes Agent Smith, Chip is devoured by thousands of mosquitos, and Kelly resists the bleakness.
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September 6, 2024 “The Matrix Reloaded”
732 Terrible Clothes, Great Parties
Whoa. Years later, we’re back in the Matrix as we cover the sequels to the mind-blowing 1999 original. First up is “The Matrix Reloaded,” which features thrills, spills, underground orgies, and long philosophical monologues. How well does it hold up? What surprised us? Were we excited, or terrified, to see Zion and all those mech suits? Take the appropriately colored pill and join us.