Hey everybody, another special episode here, thankfully not due to an insurrectionist mob storming the Capitol this time. This week an equally seditious army of bacteria stormed into my tooth, forcing me to have it pulled, so in my medicated haze I didn't have time to watch stuff for a regular episode. Instead, I took some time to talk about a movie I happened to watch just before all the pain, Psycho Goreman, a special effects spectacle sci-fi absurdist comedy from the people who brought us ManBorg, The Void, and apparently The Leprechaun Returns. Not gonna bury the lede here. This movie is great and you should watch it right now, whether or not you listen to my podcast about it. It is currently my favorite movie of the year, which admittedly doesn't mean much considering its only February and my previous favorite movie was that Anne Hathaway Locked Down heist thing, but this is a lot better than that, and probably a lot better than a lot of the movies that are gonna come out this year. It's on Shudder, and you should buy Shudder so you can watch it, or find it somewhere else if you don't want to do that. Just watch it. Seriously, go now. I'll wait.

Welcome to The Anthologist, a podcast where some guy you don't know or care about watches and reviews randomly selected episodes from randomly selected Anthology TV shows that you may or may not know or care about. Shows designed to be watched in any order, watched in no particular order. This Week: The Twilight Zone (1959) - Season One, Episode Twenty One: “Mirror Image," a simple prototype for what is now a well worn trope about evil gaslighting doppelgangers that spends a little too much time holding the audience's hand and not enough time trying to find an interesting story to lead them to. Monsters - Season Three, Episode One: “Stressed Environment" Another stand out schlocky masterpiece from what is rapidly becoming my favorite show regularly covered on the podcast, about adorable killer rats with tiny spears and ill intent and the scientists who stupidly bred them for no discernible reason. And stay tuned for The Expansionist, where I treat the episodes I reviewed as failed backdoor pilots and imagine the full series that might have been, in this case a modern day remake of the classic 90's sitcom The John Larroquette Show I guess, because that's a reference that people remember and care about, and a much more interesting sci-fi thriller about super-intelligent rats trying to take over the world and the one pizza-loving rodent hero willing to stand up against them. Want me to review a specific episode of a specific anthology show, or anything else? Email the show at [email protected]

Welcome to Ben's First Time, a podcast exploring the so-called Modern Golden Age Of Television two episodes at a time, reviewing the first two installments of a relatively recent TV show I've never seen to determine if I want to stick with the whole series, and if I can guess where it goes from the pilot. This Week: I watch the first two episodes of WandaVision, the latest entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the first in an ever expanding sub-universe of Disney+ Original shows based on Marvel properties old and new designed to connect to the movie series, assuming we ever actually get movies again. Then I predict where the show is going from here, which I can actually do this time, because this show was kind enough to give me something to work with, unlike Lovecraft Country. If you want to email the podcast, send your complaints, compliments, and everything in between to [email protected]

Welcome to This Meets That, the podcast where movies combine with other movies to make other movies. It's a convoluted premise for a podcast, so I helpfully explain it over and over again until you're sick of it. This week, we're back to our regularly scheduled programming, diving into the Cloverfield franchise with the far superior spiritual sequel 10 Cloverfield Lane, a movie that could only be made better by cutting itself off completely from the rest of the series. Then I watch Dead End, a somewhat obscure English language French movie where the dad from Twin Peaks and the old lady from Insidious go slowly insane on their yearly commute to Christmas dinner. If you have any suggestions for future episodes, or anything you want to comment on, send an email to [email protected]

Apologies for what you are about to hear, and a sincere, unironic trigger warning for those who come to this podcast for pithy, upbeat pop-culture analysis: this one gets a little rough. In light of recent national events I felt compelled to postpone my regularly scheduled episode of This Meets That in favor of a more personal discussion of everything that is happening right now and how I feel about it, which I discuss in a manner that many might find inappropriate, offensive, or even incendiary. I do not apologize for what I think and feel, but I also don't want to alienate anyone with this podcast, so if you are at all concerned, feel free to skip this one. I also get into some really personal stuff about depression and my personal history that went into starting this podcast and how it informed my current mindset, so if that kind of vulnerability makes you uncomfortable, this will not be the episode for you. I will be back to normal proceedings next week, hopefully with a much lighter outlook on things. Thank you for your time, be safe, and I'll see you in better spirits soon.

Welcome to Ben's First Time, a podcast exploring the so-called Modern Golden Age Of Television two episodes at a time, reviewing the first two installments of a relatively recent TV show I've never seen to determine if I want to stick with the whole series, and if I can guess where it goes from the pilot. This Week: I watch Lovecraft Country, a Jordan Peele produced horror series about the perils of black people navigating the deep South during Jim Crow, like Lovecraftian beasts, death cults, and the worst monsters of all, white people. Than I don't bother predicting the season to come, because this show is so disjointed that it makes that process impossible. Maybe next time. If you want to email the podcast, send your complaints, compliments, and everything in between to [email protected]

Welcome to The Anthologist, a podcast where some guy you don't know or care about watches and reviews randomly selected episodes from randomly selected Anthology TV shows that you may or may not know or care about. Shows designed to be watched in any order, watched in no particular order. This Week: The Twilight Zone (1959) - Season Three, Episode Seventeen: “One More Pallbearer," a small scale story of petty revenge with large scale apocalyptic ramifications that still mostly works as a character study and morality play, even if it pulls its punches a little too much, completely unlike the last Twilight Zone episode I watched for this show. Rumic Theater - Season One, Episode Six: “As Long As You Are Here," a cute little slice of life story about a successful corporate executive forced to learn humility while helping his ailing wife, the first episode featured from an anime anthology series that still mostly works despite the notable absence of vampires, aliens, or robots. And stay tuned for The Expansionist, where I treat the episodes I reviewed as failed backdoor pilots and imagine the full series that might have been, in this case a deep dark exploration of one man's long term plan to get back at everyone in his life who wronged him by controlling every aspect of their doomed, post-apocalyptic lives, and a heartwarming Greg Garcia style small town single camera sitcom about the trials and tribulations of a local convenience store. Want me to review a specific episode of a specific anthology show, or anything else? Email the show at [email protected]

Welcome to This Meets That, the podcast where movies combine with other movies to make other movies. It's a convoluted premise for a podcast, so I helpfully explain it over and over again until you're sick of it. This week, its the second episode of Season Two and my continuation of the Cloverfield franchise, In which I don't watch a Cloverfield movie, and instead re-evaluate the much maligned L.A. set sequel to Escape From New York to find out if its bad reputation is truly justified. Then I watch The Rezort, a new take on the Jurassic Park style stupidly dangerous amusement park island concept, but with zombies! If you have any suggestions for future episodes, or anything you want to comment on, send an email to [email protected]

Welcome to Ben's First Time, a podcast exploring the so-called Modern Golden Age Of Television two episodes at a time, reviewing the first two installments of a relatively recent TV show I've never seen to determine if I want to stick with the whole series, and if I can guess where it goes from the pilot. This Week: I watch Raised By Wolves, a crazy sci-fi space opera from Ridley Scott about psychotic android foster parents, the most one-sided religious war in interplanetary history, and a whole bunch of dead ass kids. Then I predict the twists and turns to come in season one, like how aliens on an alien world might not be entirely alien, and how this entire strange new world might just be one giant J.J. Abrams style Mystery Box. If you want to email the podcast, send your complaints, compliments, and everything in between to [email protected]

Welcome to The Anthologist, a podcast where some guy you don't know or care about watches and reviews randomly selected episodes from randomly selected Anthology TV shows that you may or may not know or care about. Shows designed to be watched in any order, watched in no particular order. This Week: The Twilight Zone (1959) - Season Five, Episode Twenty Four: “What's In The Box," a pulpy two hander about ominous visions delivered through TV signals revealing our deepest, darkest secrets and warning us all about the ever present danger of punch-able old ladies standing too close to multi-story apartment windows. Black Mirror - Season Four, Episode Five: “Metalhead," an episode of this obviously terrible show everyone is wrong for loving that isn't entirely unwatchable, and graciously waits until the last five minutes before Black Mirroring itself with pointless nihilism and garbage twists. And stay tuned for The Expansionist, where I treat the episodes I reviewed as failed backdoor pilots and imagine the full series that might have been, in this case a supernatural mystery about the residents of an apartment building betrayed by their own media and a LOST-style flashback laden indictment of Jeff Bezos and Amazon destroying the world with deadly convenience. Want me to review a specific episode of a specific anthology show, or anything else? Email the show at [email protected]