Up Yours, Downstairs!

Consumer Reports Can Suck it!

Kelly & Tom recap Downton Abbey S6E5 (but don’t forget to taste the Instant Take) and wonder why a servant is like a comma, decide that Tom should be Spratt for Halloween, make a Cockerton judgement, marvel at Andy’s acceptance of homosexuality, lament the lack of Whore Institute t-shirts, and plan to cut a baby…

A Prophet (2009)

Special thanks to Frank Cantelmi for pulling the metaphoric trigger to commission a podcast on “A Prophet”, a 2009 French film and Academy Award nominee directed by Jacques Audiard. An intense, beautiful, absorbing look in how a hapless youth is pulled ever deeper into a world of violent crime, Jim and A.Ron compare it favorably to The Godfather, Goodfellas, and Scarface. Yes, really. Thanks again, Frank!

Black Oil and Bee Stings - 1002 – Founder’s Mutation

Episode 1002 entitled “Founder’s Mutation” of the X-Files miniseries is better than the premiere, but not by a wide margin, and would be considered a middling episode back in the day. The boys explore the charms of the episode, and ask what we presume are some of the big questions raised within. We also discuss ratings so far, where we think the series is going, and our hopes for the future. See you next week!

Black Oil and Bee Stings - 1001 – My Struggle

X-Files is back, with episode 1001, “My Struggle”. It was the best of X-Files (cool space ships! Mulder and Scully! Cancer Man!), it was the worst of X-Files (retcons galore, crazy conspiracy word salad monologues, our heroes flip flopping on their skepticism / gullibility). The key was, we were kind of braced for that, so by and large we enjoyed the introduction to the relaunch / reboot for what it was, and are eager to see what they get up to now that the heavy lifting is out of the way. What did you think? We got a wide range of opinions via email and the forums, but we’d love to hear from you using the contact methods below. We’ll be back for the second episode tomorrow, see you then!

Up Yours, Downstairs!

They Paved Pig Farm, And Put Up a Parking Lot

In their recap of Downton Abbey S6E4, Kelly & Tom may have had a bit too much coffee as they declare these to be the show’s “Holly J years.” They also contemplate the implementation of ovesters, wonder why Downton is suddenly filled with sexual innuendo, speculate about port-related injuries, explain Satan’s only weakness, remind everyone…

Black Oil and Bee Stings - The X-Files Miniseries (2016) Preview

Greetings X-Philes! Jim and A.Ron begin their coverage of the six episode mini-series version of the X-Files with a bit of a preview podcast, to get the feeds primed and pumping for this weekend’s premiere. We discuss our history with the X-Files, favorite episodes, and hopes and fears for the weeks ahead. Our coverage of the first episode airing on Fox the evening of Sunday, January 24th, will be out Tuesday, January 26th! See you then.

Up Yours, Downstairs!

Ruth Buzzi Better Watch Her Back

In their recap of Downton Abbey S6E3, Kelly & Tom discuss the cost of a sucking pig, forget that The Secret Garden is a musical, revel in another Isobel/Dowager fight, wonder why the twins from The Shining are at the Hugheson wedding, meet Tubby McFlopsweat & Rarebit, and wonder if Baron Julian is just flushing…

The Fifth Element (1997)

Special thanks once again to Aaron Spaulding, who for his double commission feature selected the wonderful, weird, and fully preposterous Luc Besson joint “The Fifth Element”, of which Jim and I are very familiar with. We delve into the depths of Jim’s annoyance with Ruby, while A.Ron explains how he quit worrying and learned to love the Rodd, Besson’s partly crazy, partly insightful look into life in the 24th century, and spend quite a bit of time analyzing the lead actors Bruce Willis, Milla Jovovich, and Gary Oldman.