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.
753 Robot vs. Nature
Blending classic Disney animals with a mysterious Miayazki forest, “The Wild Robot” is a story of overcoming your programming and not allowing yourself to become trapped in loops of behavior—whether you’re a robot or maybe even a human being.
Previous Episodes
-
January 31, 2025 Book Club: “Service Model”752 Empathy for My Python Scripts
It’s the end of the world and a robot apocalypse has happened, so what are the robots up to now? One robot butler takes an unusual journey through the darkly absurd world of Adrian Tchaikovsky’s “Service Model.” All bytes will be sorted and preserved, Uncharles.
-
January 24, 2025 “Pan’s Labyrinth”751 Big Fascist Dinner
Are fairy tales real, or are they mental refuges from the horrors of real life? Guillermo Del Toro’s “Pan’s Labyrinth” toggles effortless between bizarre, Miyazaki-like fantasy (inverted toads!) and an all-too-real tale of violence and treachery in fascist Spain. It’s dark, beautiful, full of disgusting bugs, and manages to use Del Toro muse Doug Jones as not one but two separate monsters!
-
January 17, 2025 “Star Trek: Lower Decks”
750 The Coolest Job in Space
We send off the crew of the USS Cerritos and salue the completion of the five-year mission of “Star Trek: Lower Decks.” This show expanded what “Star Trek” could be—in several dimensions. And yet it was also utterly, completely a “Star Trek” series. We try to find the special alchemy that brought it all together.
-
January 10, 2025 “The Mercy of Gods”
749 Just Clean the Beakers
The writers of “The Expanse” are back with a new series, and “The Mercy of Gods” is an alien invasion story that goes to some extremely dark places. But sometimes, dark is good… right? Right?! Plus: What are we reading?
-
December 31, 2024 Best of 2024
748 Holes at the End of the World
Another year in the books, and there was a lot to appreciate about the stuff we consumed—movies, TV, books, video games, and more—in 2024. Our most prolific panelists collaborate on a massive list of the stuff we enjoyed over the past 12 months.
-
December 20, 2024 “Tombstone”
747 Latin Rap Battle
For Kilmas this year we travel to 19th century Arizona for “Tombstone,” where Wyatt Earp, his brothers, and their shady pal Doc Holliday (Val Kilmer!) confront a bunch of rotten outlaw thugs and their own mortality. Will our noted hater of westerns, Erika, accept the possibility of a Kilmas miracle? Listen to find out!
-
December 13, 2024 “Conquest of the Planet of the Apes”
746 Ape Mismanagement
This year’s Ape Club holiday party is 1972’s “Conquest of the Planet of the Apes,” in which the people of Future 1991 use apes as slaves until there’s an uprising led by a talking ape with a familiar name: Caesar. Were the 1970s ape sequels all as bad as we were led to believe, or is “Conquest”… actually kind of good? Join us and find out!
-
December 6, 2024 “Deadpool & Wolverine”
745 Untitled Gambit Project
Merry X-Mas, and goodwill to X-Men! Surprisingly holding down the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe for 2024 is “Deadpool & Wolverine,” in which Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman desecrate “Logan” while honoring it, skewer Marvel movies while saving them, and encounter an extremely unlikely collection of Marvel movie cast-offs and has-beens.
-
November 29, 2024 “Only Yesterday” (Ghibli Club)
744 Pineapple of Disappointment
Miyazaki Club morphs into Ghibli Club as we discuss 1991’s “Only Yesterday,” written and directed by Isao Takahata. It’s a story of one (childless workaholic?) woman’s search for herself in the past and the present, plus, of course, a deep dive into organic farming.
-
November 22, 2024 “Planes, Trains and Automobiles”
743 Doritos and Tequila
In honor of Thanksgiving, we review the 1987 classic “Planes, Trains and Automobiles,” featuring Steve Martin and John Candy as trapped-together travelers just trying to get home, if there’s even a home to get back to. Jason comes to the realization that this is the Odyssey in the Midwest. Ben Stein has a special sign just to troll pained travelers. And that’s what Thanksgiving is all about, Charlie Brown.