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PODCAST

Ancient Geeks

Two old geeks talk about being young geeks, at a turning point in popular culture. In the 60s, 70s, and 80s, the threads of modern geek culture emerged and wove together. Science fiction, fantasy, comics, movies, TV shows, tabletop games, computer games, ad all their incarnations. The great SF&F writers, Star Trek, Star Wars, monster movies, D&D, Doctor Who, the Marvel and DC superheroes, 2001, Planet of the Apes, conventions, Zork, Ultima...What was it like to experience these for the first time

fiction science fiction

All Episodes

59:12

Ancient Geeks episode 52: The Night Stalker / The...

Ancient Geeks ·

2026/02/02

In the early 1970s, the most popular TV movie was The Night Stalker, the story of a scruffy, disreputable reporter chasing a vampire across Las Vegas. A sequel, The Night Strangler, came a year later. Produced and directed by a producer/director with a penchant for supernatural stories (Dark Shadows, Trilogy Of Terror, Burnt Offerings), and written by Richard Matheson (Twilight Zone, Night Gallery, Star Trek, and more), these made-for-television movies had a fine geek pedigree, and it showed. The

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63:23

Ancient Geeks episode 51: Zardoz

Ancient Geeks ·

2026/01/26

ZARDOZ IS PLEASED YOU ARE LISTENING TO THIS EPISODE! When John Boorman's movie Deliverance became a smash hit, Hollywood gave him $1.5 million to make any movie he wanted. The result? Sean Connery in a red leather thong, a giant stone head, and immortals who want to die. It's transhumanism, 1970s British style! Join us as we explore the dystopian, far future world of Zardoz. Was this as weird as people say? Or as bad? Listen to this episode to find out.Crystals! A lot of Connery's chest hair! An

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80:14

Ancient Geeks episode 50: It's our 50th anniversary!

Ancient Geeks ·

2026/01/19

It's an arbitrary round number, but it's a great time to look back on almost a year of the Ancient Geeks podcast! Steven and Tom discuss what we've learned, about the evolution of science fiction, fantasy, comics, and games, based on our decades of lived experience. How has geek culture changed, and how have we? What books, movies, TV shows, and comics do we still love as much, or even more, than we did when we were snot-nosed youngsters? What do we like less? What treasures did we discover that we

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85:27

Ancient Geeks episode 49: Pluribus

Ancient Geeks ·

2026/01/12

Pluribus is the new series from Vince Gilligan. Why are we talking about it? Because it definitely fits into the realm of imaginative fiction. And we're both big fans of Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul. What else can we say about Pluribus? Unless you listen to this episode, very little. From the first episode on, it's one intriguing mystery after another.But boy howdy, do we have a lot to say about Pluribus. Within this episode are lots and lots of spoilers, for all of season one. If you don't

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63:31

Ancient Geeks episode 48: Denis Villeneuve's Dune...

Ancient Geeks ·

2026/01/05

Dune-A-Palooza concludes with Denis Villeneuve's Dune parts I and II. Wait a second, we said. Someone is going to adapt Dune to the screen, and give enough screen time to do it right? We were excited, but also cautious. After all, there was an earlier adaptation, as we covered in the last episode. And it wasn't great. Would the new movies meet our expectations? Or would our hopes for a top-notch Dune adaptation disappear like a mirage? Hear our reactions in this episode. And also hear our musings

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80:20

Ancient Geeks episode 47: David Lynch's Dune

Ancient Geeks ·

2025/12/29

Dune-A-Palooza continues! Big fans of the Dune novel were excited about the pending release of the film adaptation, directed by David Lynch. And then...we saw the movie. Tom attended the premiere. Steven just saw the movie.We give our unvarnished opinions on the film. We grade David Lynch's Dune as a motion picture, and then as an adaptation of the novel. Fasten your seatbelts, it's going to be a bumpy sandworm ride! Ancient Geeks is a podcast about two geeks of a certain age re-visiting their

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70:14

Ancient Geeks episode 46: Frank Herbert's Dune, the...

Ancient Geeks ·

2025/12/22

Dune-A-Palooza begins! It's the first of our three part series covering Dune, on the page and on the screen. In this episode, we discuss the original 1965 novel. If you were a science fiction fan, you read this book. Even if you weren't a science fiction fan, there's a good chance someone recommended it to you.Both Steven and Tom devoured the book in our teens, when it became the touchstone for what truly great science fiction could achieve. Hear us talk about the origins of the novel, our early

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91:54

Ancient Geeks episode 45: Blade Runner

Ancient Geeks ·

2025/12/15

Calling Blade Runner "iconic" is a bit of understatement. There was nothing like it when it premiered: a future noir thriller, based on a science fiction novel, but also taking it in directions that changed filmmaking. We were impressed at the time, way back in 1982. How do we feel about it today? Do the warnings in this cautionary tale about the near-future apply today? And why does Hollywood love Philip K. Dick? And how does it compare to the other early Ridley Scott SF classic, Alien?A dystopian

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78:07

Ancient Geeks episode 44: The Twilight Zone

Ancient Geeks ·

2025/12/08

At the signpost up ahead, your next stop, the latest episode of Ancient Geeks! The Twilight Zone was a ubiquitous feature of television when we were growing up, and possibly the most generally popular bit of geek culture outside of geekdom until Star Wars. Rod Serling's anthology series used tales of the fantastic to tell meaningful stories, often allegories about contemporary America. Serling's life was just as interesting as his television shows, and he epitomized the screenwriter as

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66:17

Ancient Geeks episode 43: Aliens

Ancient Geeks ·

2025/12/01

We're on an express elevator to hell, going down! We've covered Alien earlier, which compels us to do an episode on the 1986 sequel, Aliens. It's a sequel, sure, but it's also a different kind of movie. With a different director. (Yeah, that James Cameron kid shows some promise.)Tom saw it when it was released. Steven just watched it for the first time. Hear our reactions to this film, on first watch and re-watch. Listen us debate how stupidly evil mega-corporations can behave, and what makes a

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61:42

Ancient Geeks episode 42: Roger Zelazny's Amber series

Ancient Geeks ·

2025/11/24

What if our reality isn't just one universe among many, but is just a shadowy reflection of the one true reality? And what if the ultimate reality is ruled by really terrible people? That was the premise of Roger Zelazny's Amber series. There was nothing like Amber when our younger selves discovered these books, and it's still distinct in the world of fantasy. Or fantasy where our world is also real. Or whatever you can call these books. Family intrigues! Multiversal wars! Plot twists! Unicorns

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103:31

Ancient Geeks episode 41: Dark superheroes

Ancient Geeks ·

2025/11/17

Dark heroes are a staple of popular culture across media and genres. In the 1980s and 1990s, they became prominent comic books, and arguably still are today. Characters like The Punisher, Ghost Rider, Venom, Judge Dredd, and Lobo epitomized this subgenre. Who are these dark superheroes, who are willing to use lethal force to clean the streets of punks and thugs? Are these harmless violent fantasies, or something else? What does it say that many of our entertainments are rooted in violence? And how

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79:32

Ancient Geeks episode 40: Star Trek VI The...

Ancient Geeks ·

2025/11/10

The last of the Star Trek movies with the entire original cast, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country saw the return of Nicholas Meyer in the director's seat. Not only were there high hopes for it to exceed the low bar set by the previous movie, but expectations were high for this finale. How did it succeed as the capstone on original Trek? As a Cold War metaphor? As an environmental metaphor? As an opportunity for Christopher Plummer to chew the scenery even more than William Shatner? Come with us

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65:27

Ancient Geeks episode 39: Star Trek V: The Final...

Ancient Geeks ·

2025/11/03

We continue our coverage on the TOS era of Star Trek movies with what nearly everyone agrees was the low point, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier. But how low did it go? We didn't love it when we saw it, but how do we feel about it today, after a re-watch? Why didn't this movie work as well as the others, despite the fact that the general premise didn't ipso facto doom it to mediocrity?Future camping technology! Pop psychology in spaaaaace! A surprisingly easy trip to the center of the galaxy

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83:43

Ancient Geeks episode 38: Alien

Ancient Geeks ·

2025/10/27

It's an understatement to say that Alien is a classic, a genre-defining moment in science fiction and horror. Tom saw it when it was released, and was blown away. Steven just saw it, and...Well, you'll have to listen to find out! Join us for both our reactions to the movie, some behind-the-scenes facts, and much more.A truly alien alien! Frights galore! Confined spaces! Containment protocols everyone should follow! Fantastic filmmaking! They're all here. Ancient Geeks is a podcast about two geeks

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63:32

Ancient Geeks episode 37: Adam Warlock

Ancient Geeks ·

2025/10/20

In the 1970s, Jim Starlin, a comic artist and writer, revamped a C-list Marvel character named Adam Warlock. Starlin's unique art, sharp writing, and unique vision for this "cosmic" superhero made us instant fans! Plus, Warlock's story became a foundational part of The Infinity Gauntlet, in which Thanos strives to destroy life across the universe! (You may have heard of this Thanos fellow.) Starlin went on later to write some of our favorite comics, both at Marvel and DC.Totalitarian theocrats

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52:54

Ancient Geeks episode 36: The Adventures of Buckaroo...

Ancient Geeks ·

2025/10/13

Kind of an homage to pulp heroes, kind of deliberate camp, and definitely one of the most 80s-ish movies you'll ever see. It's The Adventures Of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension! It has been about 40 years since we saw this movie for the first time, and we're still trying to figure out what it was supposed to be, and how we feel about it. OK, so the title character is a brain surgeon, a physicist, a rock star, a test pilot, and a comic book hero....? OK, cool.Join us as we re-visit this

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84:46

Ancient Geeks episode 35: Planet Of The Apes

Ancient Geeks ·

2025/10/06

It's a madhouse! A maaaaaadhouse! One of the critical Big Ideas science fiction movies of our youth was Planet Of The Apes. Not only was it filled with jaw-dropping revelations, but it became popular enough to inspire four sequels in rapid succession. The world went ape, and so did we!One of the biggest plot twists in movie history! Satire! Misanthropy! Incredible makeup effects! The original Rod Serling script! It's all here. Ancient Geeks is a podcast about two geeks of a certain age

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77:48

Ancient Geeks episode 34: Star Trek IV: The Journey Home

Ancient Geeks ·

2025/09/29

Star Trek III: The Search For Spock answered some questions about the fate of the Enterprise crew, and left others very unresolved. Where would they go next? Why, on a trek to find humpback whales, of course! Star Trek IV: The Journey Home was a very light-hearted adventure to the 20th century to save the future of Earth, and became one of the most beloved Star Trek productions ever! Come with us back to the 80s, an era of colorful metaphors and peak Trek. A mysterious alien probe! San Francisco! A

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79:05

Ancient Geeks episode 33: Star Trek III: The Search...

Ancient Geeks ·

2025/09/22

After Star Trek II, it wasn't completely clear where Star Trek would go, but given the success of The Wrath Of Khan, it was clear it was going somewhere. We only had a couple of years to wait until the release of the third movie, The Search For Spock. Journey back with us to the early 80s, when Star Trek movies became a popular event, Leonard Nimoy started his directorial career, and the fate of the Enterprise crew, and the Enterprise, was still uncertain.Klingons! The Genesis planet! Scrambled

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