Popspotting - Pop Culture Podcast

This week’s Popspotting Listener Edition comes from Rob Valois and Bryan Lipsitz of “The Geek Generation.” Rob was our PopTalk & Trivia Thursday guest back in October, and distinguished himself in many ways. Among them, by being our show’s first (and so far only) professional wrestler.

Today, Rob & Bryan share their top five television shows that were gone too soon. Among the notable series they mourn are “Undeclared,” “Dark Angel,” “Sports Night,” and of course “Firefly.” But there are surely many more deserving shows that never got the lifespan they deserved. Which would make your list?

Popspotting #225: The Geek Generation Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Paul Fox and Kevin Ma of “East Screen / West Screen“ [iTunes Link] bring us our first international Popspotting Listener Edition, in which they each highlight two of their favorite Asian films from 2011 that are now available video in some form that will work in the U.S. Their picks were:

• My Own Swordsman (China – 2011)
• Ra.One (India – 2011)
• When Love Comes (Taiwan – 2011)
• Flying Swords of Dragon Gate (Hong Kong / China – 2011)

Also featured, a song from Ra.One, called “Criminal.”

We are of course fully aware that these Listener Edition shows are only making our to-do lists even longer.  But we continue to be awestruck by the generosity and creativity of the Popspotting community. We do look forward to returning, and are still planning to head to San Diego for Comic-Con. But perhaps its best we’re taking a break, at least this week… Jen wants to see “The Three Stooges.”

Popspotting #224: East Screen/West Screen Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

She’s a mom of twins. A teacher of film students. An editor of videos. And a blogger of lots of stuff. She’s Faith McQuinn (@fbeemcee), the latest generous contributor to the “Popspotting Listener Edition” series of shows.

Her topic for this Easter Sunday? “Top Five Lost Gems of the ’80s.” Faith goes beyond popular classics like “Ferris Bueller,” “Breakfast Club” and “Fast Times,” instead highlighting less celebrated favorites.

Your support has been invaluable to us throughout the run of Popspotting, and what we’ve valued most is hearing your thoughts on your favorite movies, TV shows, books, music and more. So we’re so grateful to the Popspotting community for contributing personal, thoughtful episodes to share with everyone while Jen and I focus on her health.

Thanks again to Geoff for kicking off the “Popspotting Listener Edition” project. We look forward to hearing from more of you!

Popspotting #223: Faith McQuinn Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

We continue to be inspired and humbled by the support we’ve been getting from the Popspotting ‘ohana. This week, the second Popspotting Listener Edition comes from Susan, Amelia and Chris of the Geek Girl Soup Em City podcast.

While they usually focus on the TV show “Oz,” for this special show they focus on comic book recommendations.

• The Walking Dead by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore, and Charlie Adlard
• Y: The Last Man by Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra
• Death Note by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata

And as this goes out, a quick correction from the gang, “Y: The Last Man” is a 60-issue series.

Mahalo to the Geek Girl Soup gang for reaching out and speaking up and sharing some comic book wisdom… one of the areas of pop culture where Jen and I could surely use some schooling. Please be sure to share your own comic book picks, and check out Geek Girl Soup!

Popspotting #222: Geek Girl Soup Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

A few weeks ago, our show schedule was unexpectedly interrupted by some bad news. Though we rallied in the midst of it all to post one more week of episodes, it soon became clear that we’d need to take some time off to focus on health and family.

We knew everyone would understand. Indeed, the support we’ve received over the last month has been humbling and inspiring. But we nonetheless lamented the fact that we wouldn’t be able to keep Popspotting going.

Enter longtime listener and regular contributor Geoff Gentry (@xforce11 on Twitter). In addition to sending his prayers and support, already more than we could have asked for, he proposed the “Popspotting Listener Edition.” For those with the time and energy to share, it would be a fun way to give Popspotting listeners something to listen to: each other.

We were touched by his gesture. And we were thrilled when he came through with our very first “Listener Edition” episode. So while Jen and I get cozy in the back seat, here’s Geoff taking the wheel, sharing some great music (as usual) he discovered… on YouTube.

Thanks, Geoff. And thanks to everyone for having our back. It helps, more than we could ever say.

Popspotting #221: Geoff Gentry Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

We kick off Feedback Friday with lots of great movie talk, including “Red Tails,” a solid rebuttal of Jen’s critique of “The Little Mermaid,” and “Leon the Professional.” Then we move on to some great book recommendations (including a solid endorsement of Chris Van Allsburg‘s work), and finally a few TV thoughts, from “Manor House” to “Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace.”

Popspotting #220: Feedback Play Now | Play in Popup | Download