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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

01:39:04

Ancient Geeks episode 21: Star Trek II: The Wrath Of...

Ancient Geeks ·

2025/06/30

Back in 1982, both Steven and Tom worried that Star Trek: The Motion Picture was the nail in the coffin of Star Trek. Much to our delight, Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan was everything that the first movie wasn't. Exciting scenes! Snappy dialogue! Surprisingly moving moments about aging and loss! Even more surprising acting (of the good kind) from William Shatner! And, of course, one of the best Star Trek villains, if not the best, Khaaaaaaannn!!!Journey back with us to the multiplex for the

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01:38:35

Ancient Geeks episode 20: Star Trek The Motion Picture

Ancient Geeks ·

2025/06/23

In 1979, Star Trek fans eagerly awaited the premiere of the first Star Trek movies, after Star Trek slid into reruns for several years. The movie had a big budget, a topnotch director, all the original cast, and the promise of a very Trek-ish story. How did we feel about the movie, when it premiered? Did it seem like Star Trek had an ever brighter future after this film? Did we want to sport our own version of the pajama-like uniforms from this movie? Tune into this episode of Ancient Geeks to find

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01:04:32

Ancient Geeks episode 19: Star Trek The Animated Series

Ancient Geeks ·

2025/06/16

After the original series of Star Trek concluded, it looked as though one of our favorite bits of SF had come to an end...Until surprise! Star Trek transformed into a Saturday morning cartoon! The same cast (almost), the same writers, the same everything, but now with even more alien aliens, wild new starship designs, and wacky plots!Spock travels back in time to help his younger self! There's a giant clone of Spock! Satan lives at the center of the galaxy, and he's our friend! Larry Niven's Kzinti

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01:11:15

Ancient Geeks episode 18: The weird 70s, with Blake...

Ancient Geeks ·

2025/06/09

During the 1970s, a lot of people were deeply interested in all the weird things that might be out there. Bigfoot, UFOs, the Loch Ness Monster, UFOs, ghosts, ESP, ancient astronauts, the Bermuda Triangle, demonic possession...All of these bits of weirdness, and more, filled the movie and TV screens, magazines, and books. And our younger selves weren't immune to a fascination with the unknown.To help us unpack the weird 70s, we have guests! Blake Smith and Karen Stollznow are the hosts of

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01:22:45

Ancient Geeks episode 17: The John Byrne era of the...

Ancient Geeks ·

2025/06/02

We continue our coverage of the classic era of the X-Men with John Byrne's iconic run on the series. Some of the biggest moments in not just the X-Men, but comics in general, happened. The tragedy of the Dark Phoenix saga! The horror of Days Of Future Past! We also talk about why John Byrne is one of the best comic artists ever, why he was perfect for the X-Men, and how he captured the attention and admiration of our younger selves. We even get into Byrne's alternate version of the Dark Phoenix

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55:16

Ancient Geeks episode 16: The Uncanny X-Men!

Ancient Geeks ·

2025/05/26

In the mid-70s, the X-Men were a largely forgotten team of teenage mutants, relegated to the back issue section of the comics store. With the release of Giant-Sized X-Men #1, that all changed. The revamped X-Men were a powerful mix of old and new that became the colossus of comics, taking the world of super-heroes by storm! Journey back with Steven and Tom to this first wave of X-mania, during the initial collaboration between Chris Claremont (writer) and Dave Cockrum (artist). Even if you're not a

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01:32:19

Ancient Geeks episode 15: The Star Wars Holiday...

Ancient Geeks ·

2025/05/19

Geek culture and schlocky variety shows collide! When you watched Star Wars or read superhero comics, you probably didn't think, "Why isn't there more singing and dancing? And how about some comics doing schtick?" But the producers of 1970s TV variety shows thought that would be a good idea. It wasn't, and in this episode, we show you why.Of course, we talk about the infamously cringey Star Wars Holiday Special...But there's so much more. Do you think you're ready for Donnie and Marie doing Star

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01:07:59

Ancient Geeks episode 14: Monster movies of the 50s...

Ancient Geeks ·

2025/05/12

During the 1950s and 1960s, a combination of big ideas from science fiction, Cold War paranoia, and the sheer coolness of monsters inspired a generation of monster movies. Godzilla was only the start. Thrill at the rampages of giant atomic mutations (ants, birds, spiders, you name it), ready to wipe humanity from the face of the earth! Shiver as alien invaders walk among us! Plunge into the unknown corners of the world, and the mysterious realm of the human mind, to discover – what else? –

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01:29:28

Ancient Geeks episode 13: Batman in the 80s and 90s

Ancient Geeks ·

2025/05/05

Our first real episode discussed how Batman in the 60s and 70s played a big role in our early geek lives. Now, we jump ahead to the 80s and 90s, a golden age of Batman in the comics and on the screen. In now-classic series like The Dark Knight Returns, Batman: Year One, A Death In The Family, Batman: The Cult, the writers and artists pulled out all the stops. Batman in a dystopian future! Robin dies! Batman loses his mind, repeatedly! This was an extraordinary period for both writing and art

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01:38:05

Ancient Geeks episode 12: Superhero TV shows of the 70s

Ancient Geeks ·

2025/04/28

Put on your polyester shirts and bellbottom jeans, because it's time for Steven and Tom to journey back to the 1970s, when superhero TV shows were popular. You'd think that we would have been excited to see our beloved comic book characters translated to the small screen...But the results were mixed, at best. Wonder Woman, The Incredible Hulk, Spider-Man, Captain America, The Six Million Dollar Man, and even Doctor Strange -- they're all here, kinda sorta.See the world's greatest superheroes

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01:06:31

Ancient Geeks episode 11: Dungeons & Dragons

Ancient Geeks ·

2025/04/21

Dragons and beholders and owlbears, oh my! During our geek formative years, we both discovered Dungeons & Dragons, and were instantly hooked. A sandbox where we have freedom to create our own heroic fantasy characters and stories, and we get to roll really cool-looking dice as well? Sign us up! In this episode, we cover the early years of D&D, from the white box edition through the first edition of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. Grab your character sheet and painted miniature and join us

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01:22:41

Ancient Geeks, episode 10: The Empire Strikes Back...

Ancient Geeks ·

2025/04/14

The Empire strikes back, and so do we! In this episode, we discuss the rest of the original Star Wars trilogy. What was it like to await another Star Wars movie after the original smash hit? How did The Empire Strikes Back exceed expectations? Why were we less impressed with Return of the Jedi?It's all here. Characters with actual arcs. High-paced excitement. Fantastic practical effects. The biggest plot twist ever. An expanding universe. Everything that made the original trilogy iconic, seen from

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01:14:54

Ancient Geeks, episode 9: Star Wars

Ancient Geeks ·

2025/04/07

Star Wars, nothing but Star Wars...Steven and Tom re-visit the very, very first Star Wars movie. When it landed in the summer of 1977, it had an asteroid side impact on our brains, popular culture, and moviemaking. Come with us to the mall theater on opening day! Hear all the great things that practically knocked us out of your seats on that first showing! Listen to us talk about what it was like to see our friends and family follow under its spell! Gasp at how many times we saw it, and why, not to

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01:17:47

Ancient Geeks, episode 8: Doctor Who

Ancient Geeks ·

2025/03/31

We were both early Doctor Who fans, back when the iconic Doctor was a British eccentric with a long scarf, a floppy hat, a pocket full of Jelly Babies, and a robot dog as a sidekick. Or was he an older gentleman wearing a puffy shirt, driving an antique roadster? Or a grumpy, grandfatherly figure who could be kind of a jerk? We discuss the first five incarnations of the Doctor, his companions, and his antagonists. This was the Doctor as he first arrived on American shores, courtesy of PBS (!).Weird

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01:21:33

Ancient Geeks, episode 7: Marvel Comics, Fantastic...

Ancient Geeks ·

2025/03/24

Make mine Marvel! In this episode, we talk about discovering Marvel Comics, what distinguished Marvel from DC comics. We focus on our first favorite characters, the Fantastic Four and Thor, which in many ways were the most over-the-top, cosmic of Marvel's stable of superheroes. From the down-to-earth family dynamics of the Fantastic Four, to the vast vistas of Asgard and outer space, it's all here. Plus, we describe how we grow to love Jack "King" Kirby, for both his wild imagination and his

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01:16:48

Ancient Geeks, episode 6: Classic science fiction...

Ancient Geeks ·

2025/03/17

Classic science fiction writers were essential parts of our early geek lives. The influential SF writers from the 60s, 70s, and early 80s were almost too many to list! Asimov, Clarke, Heinlein, Le Guin, Zelazny, Ellison, Bradbury, Herbert, Dick, and countless others...In novels and short stories, they filled our brains with big ideas, and left us wanting for more! In future episodes, we'll talk about many of these authors in greater depth. For now, let's take a galactic tour of classic science

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01:10:27

Ancient Geeks, episode 5: Other classic fantasy writers

Ancient Geeks ·

2025/03/10

We talked about Tolkien last episode, and now we're on a fantasy roll! We discuss the classic fantasy writers we discovered in our youth: The Arthurian legends, Roger Zelazny, Michael Moorcock, Robert E. Howard, Fritz Leiber, Piers Anthony, Poul Anderson, Ursula Leguin, and many more. It was a time when sword and sorcery dominated the genre, but there were lots of other good fantasy stories to be read, too. Fantasy fiction in the 60s, 70s, and 80s was diverse, exciting, and fun – not just Tolkien

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01:25:28

Ancient Geeks, episode 4: J.R.R. Tolkien

Ancient Geeks ·

2025/03/03

We're talkin' Tolkien! Steven and Tom discuss J.R.R. Tolkien, author of Farmer Giles of Ham, as well as lesser-known works like The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. Follow us as we followed Bilbo and Frodo through these unforgettable, iconic books.Come for the spectacularly detailed world-building and epic quests! Stay for singing elves, bad animated adaptations, the good live action movies, calendars, pirate editions of the trilogy, and more. Plus, can you guess which of us made it though The

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01:22:06

Ancient Geeks, episode 3: Star Trek The Original Series

Ancient Geeks ·

2025/02/24

Space, the final frontier...These words started our lifelong love of Star Trek. In this episode, we talk about our first stage of that love affair, the original series (TOS). The optimism about the future! The exploration of the unknown! The big ideas! The thinly-veiled social commentary! The original crew! The TOS best episodes! The TOS worst episodes! William Shatner at a jeans store opening! It's all here. Star Trek was pivotal in our young geek lives, and foundational for geek culture. This is

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01:09:37

Ancient Geeks, episode 2: Superman in the 60s and 70s

Ancient Geeks ·

2025/02/17

Look! Up in the sky! It's the Superman episode! Last time, we covered the Caped Crusader in the 60s and 70s last time. This episode, we talk about Superman in the same time period, on TV and in the comics. See a man dangling from a zeppelin, in glorious black and white on The Adventures of Superman! Thrill as Superman fights Luthor, then he becomes a caveman, Jimmy turns into porcupine, and Lois demands his execution! Learn why, in spite of all these bizarre plots, Superman remained a beloved icon

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