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PODCAST

Gobbledygeek

Paul Smith and Arlo J. Wiley

A more-or-less weekly podcast dedicated to all things geeky in pop culture and entertainment. We talk about everything from film and television to books, comics, video games, and more.

technology podcasting

All Episodes

01:41:23

532 - VAL-halla: Top Gun / Willow (feat. Eric Sipple)

Gobbledygeek ·

2025/09/11

Our second trip to VAL-halla finds Paul, Arlo, and Eric contemplating two very different experiences of Val Kilmer’s ‘80s career: Tony Scott’s 1986 pro-war classic Top Gun and the 1988 Tolkien rip Willow, helmed by–of all people–Ron Howard. The twist is that the mega-popular Top Gun is a terrible, empty film that survives on aesthetics alone and the notorious flop Willow is a fun little high fantasy romp. The gang discusses the insidious nature of Top Gun, Val’s fleeting scenes as Iceman, the

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02:06:36

531 - Thunderbolts* (feat. Eric Sipple)

Gobbledygeek ·

2025/08/27

For the first time in a long time, Gobbledygeek dips its beak back into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. They’ve done so for a very special film: Jake Schreier’s Thunderbolts*, a return to the MCU’s past glories with a tale of outcasts looking for something to believe in. Yelena Belova, the Winter Soldier, U.S. Agent, Red Guardian, Ghost, and Taskmaster come together to form a new kind of Avengers team; one formed under the auspices of none other than Elaine Benes. Paul, Arlo, and Eric–our own band of

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02:15:59

530 - Sinners (feat. Eric Sipple)

Gobbledygeek ·

2025/08/07

The rich tradition of Southern-fried vampires continues with Ryan Coogler’s Sinners, a masterful mash-up of Delta blues, Irish folk, and the horrors of cultural appropriation. Paul, Arlo, and Eric rave about Michael B. Jordan’s dual performance as twin gangsters Smoke and Stack, Ludwig Göransson’s eclectic score, the frankness with which it explores America’s long history of racism, and Coogler’s audacious style. Plus, Paul finally saw the How to Train Your Dragon live-action remake. NEXT: punches

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01:38:12

529 - That Was Then: The Night of the Hunter

Gobbledygeek ·

2025/07/26

Would you like us to tell you the little story of Arlo and Paul? A-R-L-O! It was with this pretentious film buff that a That Was Then episode on Charles Laughton’s sole directorial feature, 1955’s The Night of the Hunter, was chosen. P-A-U-L! Do you think he’s apt to enjoy a cinephile fave? Now listen, and we’ll tell you the story of Gobbledygeek. Those co-hosts, dear hearts, is always a-disagreein’ and a-bickerin’, one agin t’other. Now hear ‘em! Ol’ Paul, he’s a-doubtin’ the perverse noir his

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01:59:16

528 - That Was Then: Back to the Future (feat. Eric...

Gobbledygeek ·

2025/07/14

We’re going back…to That Was Then! Paul, Arlo, and Eric return to their series of vintage movie discussions to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Robert Zemeckis’ 1985 sci-fi comedy blockbuster Back to the Future. It’s a classic beloved by many folks of different generations, but we’re here to answer that most pressing question: Why? The gang unravels every last nonsensical thread of BTTF, finding plenty to love despite how fuzzy everything is beneath the film’s surface. There’s admiration for

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01:45:36

527 - FCF: Mouse Guard (feat. Eric Sipple)

Gobbledygeek ·

2025/06/30

For this month’s (not that we’re on any kind of schedule anymore, hehe) Four-Color Flashback, Paul, Arlo, and Eric are scurrying over to the first three volumes of David Petersen’s Mouse Guard. Published from 2006-13 by BOOM! Studios, Petersen’s medieval epic takes place in a world devoid of humans, where a civilization of mice attempt to survive harsh weather, even harsher predators, and each other. The gang discusses the many, gloriously illustrated sequences of absolutely brutal animal-on-animal

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02:01:33

526 - VAL-halla: Top Secret! / Real Genius (feat....

Gobbledygeek ·

2025/06/30

We lost one of our legendary screen stars earlier this year, so now we’re passing through the gates of VAL-halla to celebrate some of his most notable films. That’s right, this is the first in an occasional series of double features focused on the work of none other than the elusive, enigmatic Val Kilmer. To kick things off, Paul, Arlo, and Eric are going back to the very beginning. Kilmer got his big screen start in a Zucker-Abraham-Zucker laff riot, 1984’s Top Secret!; with the benefit of

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01:42:52

525 - FCF: The Incal (feat. Eric Sipple)

Gobbledygeek ·

2025/06/06

Dear telefriends! Get ready to transcend this earthly plane, as Paul, Arlo, and Eric encounter a universe of concrete birds, homeo-whores, and techno-techno equipment for the latest Four-Color Flashback. The gang gets high (some of them too high) on Alejandro Jodorowsky and Mœbius’ sci-fantasy The Incal, a far-out trip to a new state of being. What starts as a noir riff quickly becomes a galaxy-spanning, head-spinning epic. Topics of discussion include the Lee/Kirby-esque dynamic between Jodo and

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01:51:12

524 - That Was Then: Babe (feat. Eric Sipple)

Gobbledygeek ·

2025/05/17

Something passed between them: the faintest hint of a common destiny. Does this describe Paul and Arlo’s first meeting, or the first time Farmer Hoggett sets eyes on the piglet known as Babe? What’s the difference? For a new That Was Then, the boys are joined by perennial guest Eric Sipple to discuss Chris Noonan’s 1995 film Babe. Celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, the unlikely Best Picture nominee set a new standard for animal VFX and influenced a generation of vegetarians and vegans. The

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02:01:28

523 - That Was Then: Jaws (feat. Eric Sipple)

Gobbledygeek ·

2025/05/03

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water, it’s time for another nautical That Was Then. Celebrating its 50th anniversary this year is none other than Steven Spielberg’s Jaws, a landmark moment in American film that permanently changed the shape of the industry, for better or for worse. It can be tough to view such a classic as a piece of craft unto its own, but Paul, Arlo, and super-duper special guest Eric Sipple do their best. The gang recounts the film’s storied production,

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02:03:23

522 - That Was Then: Popeye (1980)

Gobbledygeek ·

2025/04/14

Pop open a can of spinach and set sail for the far-off year of 1980, when noted auteur Robert Altman had his crew build an entire functioning town so they could shoot a Popeye movie. This unassuming comic strip adaptation represents the collision of the New Hollywood movement and the old studio system, both in their waning days; neither would survive “Stalag Altman,” as star Robin Williams coined it. Paul and Arlo are delighted by the end result, an improvisational-seeming ensemble picture in the

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02:08:20

521 - Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man (feat....

Gobbledygeek ·

2025/04/14

Here we go, here we go, here we go again: another Spider-Man adaptation? Don’t get your webs in a tizzy, True Believers, because this one is really worth it. Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, the new animated series created by Jeff Trammell, imagines a branch of the Marvel Cinematic Universe where Peter Parker was never supposed to be bitten by that genetically altered spider–until he was. Cue wacky high school shenanigans, as a number of key changes from the comics and other shows/movies cause

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02:17:32

520 - FCF: The Nice House on the Lake (feat. Eric...

Gobbledygeek ·

2025/04/06

It’s a reunion at the end of the world as Eric Sipple joins Paul and Arlo for the latest Four-Color Flashback. Paul has invited everyone to The Nice House on the Lake, James Tynion IV and Álvaro Martínez Bueno’s 2021-22 DC Black Label series about a group of old friends who have been sequestered from the apocalypse by their alien BFF. The gang discusses the way Tynion captures the feeling of being that friend who only has one other friend in the group, how Bueno uses his naturalistic and painterly

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01:37:51

519 - Geek Challenge: 3 Women vs. Three Amigos!

Gobbledygeek ·

2025/03/18

We’re seeing triple on a new Geek Challenge featuring a duet of trios: first we’ve got John Landis’ notorious flop Three Amigos from 1986, then Robert Altman’s dreamy art film 3 Women from 1977. Paul and Arlo debate whether or not Three Amigos deserves its reputation, puzzle over the inscrutability of 3 Women, and compare the two films’ respective turns into surrealism. Plus, Arlo’s back in the Cage with a series of ‘90s action classics. NEXT: three, two, one…who knows? BREAKDOWN 00:00:30 -

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02:12:12

518 - The Wild Robot (feat. Eric Sipple)

Gobbledygeek ·

2025/03/17

With How to Train Your Dragon, Chris Sanders taught us about human-dragon friendship. And now, with The Wild Robot, he shows us what happens when technology becomes stranded in the wilderness: a robot named Rozz learns to have a mother’s love for a gosling named Brightbill. Paul, Arlo, and forever-guest Eric Sipple discuss how the film merges its natural and sci-fi elements, Sanders’ evolution as a filmmaker, the stunning voice performance of Lupita Nyong’o, and what the movie says about parenthood

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01:41:19

517 - FCF: Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees (feat....

Gobbledygeek ·

2025/02/25

Does a bear kill in the woods? That’s the question Patrick Horvath sets out to answer in his “Richard Scarry meets Dexter” opus Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees, the subject of this year’s very first Four-Color Flashback. The 2024 IDW series takes place in an idyllic world of anthropomorphic animals where not all is as it seems–the local hardware store owner, Samantha Strong, has a nasty habit of heading out to the city and slaughtering random passersby. That is, until another serial killer comes

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02:14:49

516 - Where the Gobbledy$#@& Have We Been?! (feat....

Gobbledygeek ·

2025/01/20

And we’re back. Just like that, in the blink of an eye–or, depending on your perspective, what felt like several eternities–six months have passed since the last episode of Gobbledygeek. What happened? Where were we? Paul, Arlo, and third Gobbler Eric Sipple attempt to answer these questions on our season 16 premiere. Along the way, we eulogize master filmmaker David Lynch, discussing what made his Midwest surrealism so unique and why the “Lynchian” descriptor so often fails to capture his genius

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02:04:04

515 - That Was Then: The Incredibles (feat. Eric Sipple)

Gobbledygeek ·

2024/07/04

In an age where Deadpool & Wolverine is set to smash box office records, it can be hard to remember what things were like in the first wave of superhero blockbusters. Costumes were primarily made of black leather, nu-metal montages were all the rage, and yet–there was a willingness and desire to be experimental that is often lacking today. That's the scene The Incredibles burst onto in 2004, with its dynamic color palette, its retro-futuristic atmosphere, and (shockingly) its sharply defined point

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01:48:40

514 - Ren Faire

Gobbledygeek ·

2024/06/25

Hail and well met! This week, Paul and Arlo raise their overpriced goblets to Lance Oppenheim’s HBO docuseries Ren Faire. The three-episode series concerns the nation’s largest Renaissance faire, the Texas Renaissance Festival, and the power-hungry Oompa Loompas looking to take over the chocolate factory from their perverted Willy Wonka. The boys are in awe (derogatory) of TRF owner George Coulam, a self-professed horny old man who seems much more interested in “sugaring” young women than in running

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01:51:12

513 - The Tortured Parents Department

Gobbledygeek ·

2024/06/18

The stork just made a special delivery, and it’s a new episode of Gobbledygeek! Bat-Turkey also welcomes a new addition to the family: Alexandra Jade Wiley, who came into this world on April 28, 2024. Arlo’s second daughter has arrived at a pivotal time, a time in which Paul has become consumed by Taylor Swift’s life-altering new album The Tortured Poets Department. Besides raving about the ladies in their lives, the boys catch up on pop culture: Luca Guadagnino’s triple threat Challengers, the

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530 results

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