Ep. 39: Grinding not Glitching - The Games that Made Us

As the pod's first season run comes to end, we doff our caps to some of the best sporting content currently available - from basketball trailblazers to battered bastards of baseball and the civil war currently dividing golf. And while Aidan makes the case for Formula 1 as a spectator sport, Simon rails against the myth that the Superbowl is actually worth fighting sleep for.

The pod tears up with national pride as it runs through some of the great pieces of cinema created here down through the years. And do the best ones always involve the English as the villains? Simon regrets having never worked with Neil Jordan - and then remembers that he did. And it turns out Roy Keane has more money than God.

The pod has a reasoned and illuminating back and forth on those occasions when a TV show has decided to go one more season even though what has gone before cannot be improved upon - they know who they are (The Wire, Line of Duty etc). Flipping the theme, Simon reminds us of those shows that went too early, leaving fans begging for more - we don't know who they are (Wayne? Agent Carter? Surviving Jack?!) And some egghead in the States has finally attained scientific proof that the perfect face exists, and it belongs to a hunky British actor - this enrages Simon to an inexplicable degree.

The pod gives you the rundown on the good, the bad (they're mostly bad) and the completely unnecessary spin-offs we've had to endure over the years. Only Fools and Horses has two spin-offs?! Sticking to the theme, Simon imagines what his character from Bachelor's Walk is doing now. And what were those TV shows that you absolutely had to be home for back in the days long before streaming? Aidan's choice had red bathing suits, lots of slow motion and David Hasselhoff. (No, it's not Knight Rider.)

The pod trawl through some of the good and the great music documentaries for your listening and viewing pleasure, with Aidan mounting an emotional and evocative plea for us to check out how U2 made Achtung Baby. And Simon has list-mania as he goes through what TV we officially missed last year and yet more films coming our way in 2023.