Down To Watch

This week, DtW takes a look at both sides of a sad, scary, and strangely funny story of The Sympathizer! Dan and Raul checked out the Max streaming, HBO-branded adaptation of the darkly comedic novel of the same name, and are both impressed after a few eps. Lead character The Captain walks a frighteningly fine line between soldier, spy, and effective enemy operative as he weaves between his Vietnamese allies on both sides of the confrontation. Peppering in A-Listers in surprising roles at times helps keep the pace bouncy alongside the playful narrator, but is it worth sticking with, or do a few small issues add up to anything serious? Who's to say what side is the right side, It's best to listen and find out! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/downtopod/message

DTW is dipping into docs this May with several entries in the upcoming month telling stories that are as strange as they are true! Dan and Raul found they were looking forward to many of the same true tales lined up for the next few weeks, including a look into the life of Muppet inventor Jim Henson, the story of the melodic musical legends The Beach Boys, and an odd but well-documented life in Japan called The Contestant. The oddness continues with a return to hit doc The Jinx, a popular show thought completely told. Scripted TV stays weird with more Outer Range, more multiverse in Dark Matter, some spy stuff, and even movies in this one, so May...be have a listen!? --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/downtopod/message

In anticipation of the soon-to-be-streaming prequel, The First Omen, this week, DtW flashes back to the original 1976 The Omen! Dan sees it for the first time while Raul revisits a classic he used to watch on constant rotation, with star power in the front and satanic panic pushing it forward. Gregory Peck stars in a familial nightmare with a political tinge, detailing a family's fall after unknowingly adopting the son of Satan. Famous moments from scary movie history were made possible by this nefariously apocalyptic tale, but the fears present here were also fueled by an outsized fear of the devil saturating the culture of the age. Does it still scare and compel, or were these fears and feelings only indicative of 70s American unease? Let's talk about it! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/downtopod/message

This week, DtW crawls out to the Prime adaptation of Fallout! Dan and Raul complete the gamer configuration of the show by inviting Jonnie to talk about the first two episodes of a tongue-in-cheek gorefest set in the post-nuclear apocalypse. Lucy is a sheltered vault-dweller encountering the Mad Max-style carnage of the surface world for the first time, Maximus is trying to escape his ineffectiveness as part of a military religion by stealing a suit of robot armor, and The Ghoul has stuck around since pre-war America to give us a modern-day perspective and more Walton Goggins for our TVs. After a few days out, the show has stuck to the game's vibes and continues to get good reviews, so is this another successful adaptation of a game, or is it a bomb with a diminishing half-life? These three brickball aficionados probably know!  --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/downtopod/message

This week, Down to Watch follows a couple of mystery men through their new streaming series! Our DtW hosts start off talking about another take on The Talented Mr. Ripley, this time simply titled Ripley and led by a couple of recognizable BBC faces. The show is set in stark black-and-white Italy and slowly meanders through the crime thriller's story, but is it so thoughtful it forgets to be compelling? A question that can also be asked about the second show covered in this pod is AppleTV+' Sugar, an LA-based crime noir starring Colin Ferrell. Ferell? A new kind of hero, John Sugar, doesn't appear to be as seedy as the story he's in, but will the show's inevitable twist undo the character work done in early episodes? These are questions for Dan and Raul! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/downtopod/message

Down to Watch is back this week, dodgin' bunnies and chuckin' eggs to bring you a shower of April television picks to make your spring even more sprung! Dan and Raul brought a basket of green plastic grass, hollow chocolate, and adaptations like Fallout, Ripley, Parasyte, and Dead Boy Detectives. A bunch of spy craft shows are lined up like a pack of peeps, including The Veil, The Sympathizer, and an LA gumshoe story called Sugar, keeping the investigation domestic. Learn what is happening to the thoroughbreds at the race track with the New York Times doc film Broken Horses, what Conan finds while wandering in Conan O'Brien Needs to Go, and what happened back during The Hijacking of Flight 601. Keep your heads dry while waiting for May to bloom with these great picks!   --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/downtopod/message

This week Netflix dropped a tentpole series with a lot of hype, and DtW is back to tell you about it! Dan and Raul watched the first two episodes of 3 Body Problem, an adaptation of the first book in the Chinese sci-fi series that is beyond popular in China and worldwide. Showrunners/writer/director duo Weiss and Benioff found success and fame helming the groundbreaking Game of Thrones but suffered consequences to their subsequent projects based on fan reactions to the finale they crafted. Does this mean they're ready to burst back on the scene with an equally vast story full of scientific wonder and terror, or does their handling of the GoT ending prove that their stories are rudderless without a source material to draw from? That's a very specific question, and also, there's a Tarly! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/downtopod/message

Down to Watch drops this week with a couple of spring streaming shows with secrets aplenty! Dan and Raul caught a couple of sneaky little shows in their sights with titles that might be misleading. First, AppleTV+ does not have the third season of Manhunt from Spectrum TV, but they do have an adaptation of the book Manhunt that describes the lawful search for John Wilkes Booth. The investigation into Lincoln's assassination is new ground for most viewers and the first two eps get a lot out of the procedural of it all as well as an unexpected emotional element. Next is The Gentlemen, a spiritual sequel to the film of the same name, both from writer-director Guy Ritchie who continues his resurgence after shedding most of his style-over-substance artistic persona. The show follows a new Duke in charge of a surprise weed grow op under his newly bequeathed manor and how his quick wits will serve him well as head of a criminal franchise and a family of aristocratic kooks. Word on the street is positive on both

This week, DtW watches Netflix bend a beloved Nickelodeon franchise into a live-action epic adventure despite previous attempts failing spectacularly! Dan and Raul have a literal family, and fellow podcaster Chris is on to discuss what they did with one of his favorite small-screen stories: The Last Airbender. Horrors abound in the previous incarnation, so the bar is low, but that doesn't mean the 'big red N' can skate past the mistakes that have sunk their previous anime-inspired IRL shows. The good, bad, surprising, and changed are elemental to the discussion, as well as individual performances and scriptwriting imbalances. The faster you hop on this shaggy, saddled flying friend of a podcast, the sooner you'll reach enlightenment! Yip yip!  --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/downtopod/message

This week on Down to Watch, it's an age of honor, discipline and a bunch of swords on your hip because it's Shogun time! Dan and Raul are your pilot navigators through the first two episodes of the new FX series based on the same name book that tells the story of an English sailor who arrives in Japan to find a whole TV show. In the 17th century, a time of treacherous trade routs and infighting between the rulers of the lands of Japan, no one has risen to the position of Shogun in over a century and the position is thought of as antiquated and barbaric. Even as the new overseas acquaintances call each other savages, it's clear they will come to use and rely on each other to get through what threatens to become a bloody civil war. DTW has two katanas, a tanto knife, and everything you need to get you started on Shogun! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/downtopod/message

March comes in like a lion, and Down to Watch is taming the wild new TV shows just for you! Dan and Raul went down the list of new series' ready to pop off in month number three, as well as a handful of returning winners. There's a ton of comeback shows including Invincible, Somebody Feed Phil, Full Swing, X-Men '97, American Rust, Girls 5eva and Eugene Levy's travelogue The Reluctant Traveler. On the fresh and new side, Guy Ritchie is spinning off his film The Gentlemen into a series with the same name, a new show also called Manhunt on AppleTV+ is chasing John Wilkes Booth, and Noel Fielding might be lying in The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin. There are fancy ladies' clubs to join in Palm Royale, a power-mad lady in The Regime, a sci-fi classic adapted in The 3-Body Problem, and 'Gus Fring' as an ex-bad man being dragged back into the game in Parish on AMC. There is plenty to choose from, and these two TV-talkers are the guys to get you hyped about them! --- Sen

A new Marvel TV show emerged, so Dan and Raul knew who to call...Jonnie! This very special guest came prepared and shared his thoughts on the brand new film, Bob Marley: One Love, that just came out to lackluster critical response, yet moviegoers seem to be thoroughly enjoying it. As always, when these dudes get together, a nice chunk of time is devoted to the world of the MCU, leading to a discussion on mutants (Deadpool and Wolverine), The Marvels (now on Disney+), and the future of the MCU. Finally, the guys dive into the newest Marvel TV show, Echo, centered on a deaf, one-legged, fierce warrior of indigenous origins gaining a connection to her familial roots and seeking revenge against the mighty Kingpin. How does this TV offering measure up with some of the recent lackluster MCU offerings? Ya gotta listen and see; nothing in life is free (except playing this pod)! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/downtopod/message

This week, Down to Watch gets in the Valentine's Day spirit in a violent and quirky way with the reboot series Mr. & Mrs. Smith! Dan and Raul accepted the assigned task of watching the first two episodes of the new Prime series starring Donald Glover and Maya Erskine, and have returned with a mostly positive mission report. Despite the strange greeting and nebulous instructions from the company tablet, two charming strangers have agreed to pose as husband and wife while carrying out mysterious and kind of odd, "High Risk" operations in New York and the surrounding area. These orders send them into danger as often as they place them in situations that may form a romantic bond between the rookie agents despite their trepidations. This is a will they / won't they... but will they fall in love, complete their missions, or become collateral damage for the mysterious entity in charge? Let's find out! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/downtopod/message

Down to Watch is already a bit into the short month of Feb with some new shows that might have tried to sneak past you, as if you didn't have Dan and Raul to catch 'em for you! This month, it's all about the Big Game, a couple of fancy shows, and some real-world stories worth diving into. The documentary world has tales of killers in the woods and on the soccer pitch and some stories of Texas from proper storytellers. On the drama side, we have ninjas, avatars, spy couples, astronauts, and shoguns vying for precious TV time. Larry David has earned his sendoff, awards season is in full swing, and The Walking Dead is back: TV is doing all the things! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/downtopod/message

Winter can be a cold wasteland of television, but Down to Watch has a couple of new winter streamers to get cozy with. Dan and Raul spent part of their winter TV trip in sunny SoCal with a couple of sons of a triad boss in The Brothers Sun. The new Netflix action-comedy maybe does one genre better than the other, but with a breezy runtime and bouncy dialogue, the show managed to hook at least one host. The other half was spent dipping into the latest incarnation of a spooky crime anthology with deeply macabre musings - True Detective: Night Country. With more supernatural, more unending night, and more title punctuations than any season before, Jodie Foster leads a talented ensemble through a frigid nightmare that proves charming and unnerving in its first ep. Do these shows have what it takes to warm our TVs this winter? Answers are within!  --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/downtopod/message

The year in television usually starts slow, so the DtW is taking advantage and covering classics and cult favorites from the 80s that defined how stories would be told forever. This week, Dan and Raul caught a couple of episodes of the landmark show Moonlighting, a moment of network lighting in a bottle that made Bruce Willis and Cybil Shepard household names, put new spins on many classic film genres on the small screen, and introduced a level of writer creativity we still benefit from today. That doesn't mean the show is flawless; however, it remains an artifact of its time, and they don't make them like they used to! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/downtopod/message

This week, DTW bravely returns yet again to the 80s for a highly essential work starring Cher and Nic Cage.  But Dan and Raul were pleasantly surprised to find the movie is about much more than the stars and not just a run-of-the-mill rom-com…we follow the trials and tribulations of an entire NYC Italian family filled with many interesting characters.  Yeah, there had to be a discussion about the title ‘Moonstruck’ and what that exactly means, but the movie makes us understand with many songs and dialogue references to the actual moon, too!  Come for Cher, stay for Dukakis, and after listening to this pod, you surely will be able to answer her eternal question, “Why do men chase women?” --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/downtopod/message

The new year brings new stories to the big and small screens alike, and Down to Watch has your January all lined up! Dan and Raul welcome 2024 as they carefully work through the minefield known in some circles as "dumpuary", an early-year dumping ground for content that is expected to disappoint studios. There might be a show or two worth mentioning, as the guys cover the Mean Girls musical, a new Marvel entry, prequel shows for the movies Sexy Beast and Ted, another drug empire story from the Narcos crew, and much more. Make a resolution to be Down to Watch this year!  --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/downtopod/message

DTW continues the 200th episode celebration by, once again returning to the 80s for more shuckin' and jivin', but this time adding a bit more adult edge and sexiness. Special Guest, Hannah joins Dan and Raul, who have not seen this essential 80s classic, to explore exactly what makes this such a fan-favorite movie. The pod pals dive into the successes, discussing the intricate and creative dance sequences but also, um, the main character, apparently an 18-year-old with a full-time job as a welder and fully furnished loft apartment...! Yep, and she starts a relationship with her 30something-year-old boss who white-knights all over the place, power dynamics be damned! Come for the dancing, stay for the pop songs (all winners) galore, and be a maniac! maniac! by hitting play on this here pod! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/downtopod/message

This week, Dan and Raul kick off the first of two 200th episode specials with pod bestie Natalia and iconic 80s dance epic, Footloose! Episode timing aside, the double feature of 80s dance planned for the podcast milestone starts with a classic movie and a classic guest as the podfriends gab about Kevin Bacon's seemingly unchanging aura, kids behaving badly across generations and losing yourself to anger-dancing in an empty warehouse, possibly in silence. The 80s gave us a pair of dance movies that would go on to be imitated and spoofed for how emblematic of their time they would prove to be; this is one of 'em! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/downtopod/message