Nerdfest

Love is in the air today, as we open the show celebrating Hazel and Andy’s minus one wedding anniversary, and Jon and Peter offer up some unusual ways on how they can celebrate it :) Then we bring you a tonne of new recommendations for your viewing pleasure. First up is 'Lovecraft Country' which premiered recently in Sky’s ‘Watchmen’ slot. Hazel then talks about an easy binge-watch on BBC iPlayer - “Rhod Gilbert’s Work Experience.” Andy has another eclectic offering, with Ugandan film “Who killed Captain Alex”. Hear about some of the amazing action Wakaliwood can produce on a shoestring budget. And finally Peter has two recommendations - “The Americans” and “Perry Mason” which somehow inspires Jon to perform a series of raps about Arnold Schwarzenegger... In the second section of the show we tackle a listener question, which asks us what we’ve found most disappointing so far in nerd culture in 2020. Aside from all the cinema release postponements, this conversation takes us down some interesting paths. So

This time we answer a question from a listener about just how wrong we all are. This leads us into a fun discussion about certain films that we personally love, but need to mount a bit of a defence for to other people. Before that we have our Film Buff or Film Buff quiz, which tests our knowledge on roles that had to be replaced mid-shoot due to an actor’s untimely death, the movie 'Almost Famous', 50s sci fi TV shows around the world, 'Star Trek', and the works of Alan Smithee. Do send in more of your listener questions for us to tackle! @nerdfestuk on Twitter and Facebook.

A pod poem: We hear all that’s going on, at San Diego Comic Con. “Old Guard” and “Palm Springs” halt time’s advance, as we cross space with “The Expanse”. A sequel to the “The Last Of Us”? (and Hamilton’s on Disney plus!)

Join Peter, Jon, Dan and Ian for another X-Citing episode of the Nerdfest podcast! In our regular Buff or Bluff feature, we examine the complicated profession of bounty hunting in the Star Wars expanded universe as well as some weird and wonderful cinematic sounds, before answering a listener question on how to bring the X-Men into the MCU and who we’d cast in the key roles. Then Jon delves into his own Sack of Fun, for 82 minutes on the "Money Plane". All that and more on this episode- SNIKT!

This week we’re answering some of your profound listener questions, such as "Which is the best cartoon TV show?", and "What's the most horrifying piece of movie tie-in merchandise you’ve ever seen?" giving us an excellent opportunity to talk about a certain pair of Pinocchio boxer shorts. Then we have our recommendations of the week. Dan has two podcasts worthy of your time, including “Californian Century” and the “Six degrees of the song of the south” episode of “You must remember this”. Hazel celebrates the works of Ava DuVernay, including “Selma”, the excellent documentary “13th” and “When They See Us”. Andy recommends the lockdown-themed “Staged”, featuring David Tennant and Michael Sheen trying to practice for a forthcoming theatre show. Peter reviews “Giri/Haji", a thriller set in London and Tokyo. And finally Jon, slightly grumpy that’s he’s not sat in a field surrounding by 100,000 sweaty bodies, recommends some of the most infamous Glastonbury sets from past years, currently featured on BBC iPlayer

The Ians align for our latest episode! Yes, Ians Mayor and McLaughlin join Peter, Jon and Dan for a game of Buff or Bluff, encompassing everything from Aerosmith to Vin Diesel’s dog, before we squee about the many exciting things in store for Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Join us for our thoughts on 'Black Widow', 'Eternals', Jane Foster as Thor, and loads more Marvel-ous stuff!

In a masterful and suspenseful episode, we discuss five of Hitchcock’s greatest film accomplishments. Join us as we dissect 'Rear Window', 'Psycho', 'The Birds', 'Vertigo' and 'North by Northwest' and see how they hold up today. We discuss the groundbreaking shots, the cameos, the treatment of women, behind the scenes factoids, the unique sets, and much more. Before that, we have an eclectic bunch of international recommendations to help you through the 98th week of lockdown. Peter sings the praises of 'Upload', an odd comedy set in a digital heaven. Jon reviews 'Border', a dark Swedish fantasy drama which he tries his best to excite us about without spoilering! Hazel talks about her second-favourite film podcast, 'Film Stories'; a celebration of movie making. Then Dan, on behalf of his fiancée Amy, recommends the truly brilliant cookery/travel show 'Somebody feed Phil', the third season of which has just landed on Netflix. And finally Andy reviews 'Woman at War', an Icelandic comedy drama about an environ

It’s a very special week here at Nerdfest, as not only did the brilliant 'Film Stories' magazine recommend us as their podcast of the week, but also it’s our fifth anniversary! We formed our cinema club in the pub, this time five years ago, so we open the show with a little bit of reminiscing. Also in this episode is our Film Buff Or Film Bluff quiz, featuring true and made-up facts about directors’ credits, which famous nerdy things came first, special makeup effects director Rick Baker, and obscure connections. And finally Dan has come up with a brilliant feature called “Getting to Nerd You”, in which he asks fellow nerds meaningful questions such as ‘What is the nerdiest thing you’ve ever done?’ And ‘Who would you invite to a Nerdfest dinner party?’ Thank you to all our listeners! We’re very grateful to each and every one of you.

Join us, won’t you, for a Nerdfest recommendations special, with not one, not two, not three, not four, not five, but SIX! nerds together on the podcast to discuss their top picks for lockdown entertainment. Andy kicks us off with a YouTube channel presented by Tom Scott, where he’s been learning such things as "Do the numbers on toaster dials mean minutes?", "What really classifies as a mountain?", and "What really is sea level, anyway?" Dan reviews Netflix’s first foray into improv comedy, with 'Middleditch & Schwartz'. Find out what he thinks their secret ingredient is. As Ian Mayor is perhaps one of the few people on earth yet to watch “Parks and Recreation”, lockdown provided the perfect opportunity for him to get acquainted with Lesley Knope and the gang. We then all delight in reminiscing about the series. Find out what Jon makes of new TV series 'Devs', starring Nick Offerman in a very different role to Ron Swanson. Peter covers the Netflix Chris Hemsworth-starring movie, “Extraction”, a rip-roa

Welcome to another nerdy lockdown episode - as Jason Nesmith was fond of saying, “Never Give Up! Never Surrender!” Which leads us nicely in to this episode’s Shameful Gap, as Hazel has, quite shockingly, never seen 'Galaxy Quest'! Hear her thoughts as she watches it for the very first time, and bring yourselves on a nostalgic trip back to 1999 with Alan Rickman, Sigourney Weaver, a bunch of delightful Thermians, and one heck of a concept. Also in this fun-packed episode we have our Film Buff or Film Bluff quiz where we try to outwit each other with made up facts about Superman in the media, actor’s crazy demands on film sets, renegade and trailblazing women in film, 'Pirates of the Caribbean', and actors who’ve been in video games. P.s for any Thermians listening to this and thinking that the Nerdfest podcast is actually a historical documentary, we would very much like to fly a spaceship, please and thank you.

Looking for some lockdown inspiration? Our nerds discuss our most recommended distractions across movies, TV and comics. Hazel gets the ball rolling with a review of new Apple TV+ production, “The Banker” starring Samuel L Jackson and Anthony Mackie. Jon recommends TV show “Succession” with the one and only Brian Cox (not that one). Dan promotes the virtues of offbeat documentary “The Imagineering Story” which charts the success of Disney’s theme parks. Peter covers satirical comedy/ horror with “The Hunt”, and finally Ian Mayor actually joins us live (well, within social distancing rules) from the void to recommend 'Sabrina' (not the teenage witch); a comic novel which he absolutely raves about. We then have not one, but two quizzes! Dan's‘5 by 5’ tests our knowledge of the fifth film in a series. And Jon has us guessing which celebrity autobiographies he’s been reading, from ‘revealing’ lines taken from their pages. Stay safe and well everyone!

Can our nerds go the distance, as we attempt to trick each other with fiendish Buff or Bluffs on ludicrous "X-Men" characters, composer Hans Zimmer, the videogame "Donkey Kong" and seminal Edgar Wright masterwork, "Spaced"? Then Andy fills another shameful gap (how many can one man have?) by watching movie classic: "Rocky". What does he think of it? "Adriaaaaaaaan!" and we discover Peter and Ian's involvement in the "Rocky" videogames. We also discuss the rumours of James Mangold-taking over Indiana Jones 5. and what that might tmean for the franchise?

As Hazel and Dan watch Hamilton on opposite sides of the Atlantic, Jon is keeping the host’s chair warm as we offer up a brand new set of nerdy recommendations. Make yourself a tea (Earl Grey, hot) as the nerds discuss Patrick Stewart’s return to Starfleet in ‘Star Trek: Picard’, and 'Doom patrol', 'I’m not OK with this', and 'Midnight Family'. And Andy provides a quiz to test our knowledge of movie taglines. Whoever wins, you win!

This is the first chance we’ve had to bid a fond farewell to Terry Jones. So, we open the show by reminiscing about his best moments (Python and otherwise), and chat about some of the lesser known cultural influences he’s had. Then we have our Buff or Bluff quiz, featuring facts on Michael Palin, musicians in the movies, swearing in cinema, film production stories, and a lucky dip! Finally, we have the return of Shameful Gap! We scare the pants off Dan by making him watch ‘The Exorcist’. What did he make of it? And how much behind the scenes knowledge does Jon have? Have a listen to find out! Oh, and the first few seconds will reveal why this episode is called ‘Clucking Hell’. Don’t worry, Hazel’s fine...in a manner of speaking...

Welcome one and all to the newly-created Nerdfest 'Cats' Support Group. Curiosity got the better of Dan and Jon, and so they recall their cat-astrophic experiences of watching Tom Hooper’s 'Cats', with what little remains of their souls. As Dan remarks, "curiosity killed the cat, but Cats might kill your curiosity..." On a lighter note, we chat happily about the various Oscar winning films that we haven’t had a chance to talk about in depth yet, including '1917' and 'JoJo Rabbit'. We also have brand new recommendations for you, including the supremely interesting 'Song of Spider-Man' book about the doomed musical ‘Turn off the Dark’. Jon has (surprise surprise!) another Nic Cage film to recommend - 'Color out of Space' but he is forced to admit that the Cagester is not the best thing in it! What could it be? Hazel also recommends 'The Show that goes Wrong', a new BBC series that sees acclaimed slapstick theatre company The Mischief Theatre perform 6 different plays in front of a live studio audience. Shen

In one of our notoriously bad segues, we begin this week’s episode not with a Buff or Bluff quiz, but with a trip to the gateway of the Hellmouth, the home of 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer'. Hazel has been rewatching the series from the start, and so our nerds discuss the groundbreaking storylines, the amusing consequences of remastering it for widescreen, and how they feel now about certain episodes. Once we get back on topic, our Buff or Bluff quiz features facts about the most unusual reasons for becoming a supervillain, the musical 'Cats', previously unknown tidbits about 'The Rise of Skywalker', and the all-time worst TV shows. Also in this episode is the return of Hazel’s needlessly overcomplicated Oscars Sweepstake. Our nerds (and a few special guests) discover which Best Picture nominee they have drawn, and how pleased (or not) they are with their picks.

What with 'Wonder Woman 1984’, 'The Eternals', 'Black Widow', 'Ghostbusters Afterlife' and more, the lineup for 2020 releases is looking mighty fine indeed, as our nerds count through the year, naming the movies we’re really looking forward to... and 'Candyman'. Also join us for our deep-into-spoiler-territory review of 'The Rise of Skywalker'. We’re joined by the much-missed Ian Mclaughlin, overcoming a prolapsed disc in his back to give his thoughts on J.J. Abrams’ closing chapter. We discuss everything about this 40-years-in-the-making movie, including character background notes from Dan, who’s been swotting up with the Visual Dictionary. We’d love to hear your thoughts on TROS - send us a tweet or Facebook message @NerdfestUK

It’s our 50th episode! To celebrate, we reflect back on some of our favourite recording moments from the past 2 years, and Hazel has a special quiz to test our knowledge of, well, ourselves! Also in this episode we each count down our top 3 films of the year. There are some surprising inclusions, and we debate and discuss how we feel now about certain movies. Any 50th episode would be remiss without our Film Buff or Film Bluff quiz, so this round includes questions on Murder She Wrote, James Bond, Nicholas Cage (thanks, Jon) and some of the earliest female filmmakers, which gives us all a chance to chat about this long lost era. Last but not least, we’d like to wish all our listeners a very happy new year, and a huge thank you for supporting us for the last 50 episodes. We really appreciate it, and long may it continue :)

As we head into that time of year where no one has a clue about what day it is, and we constantly emerge blurry-eyed from multiple turkey comas, you can take comfort in our many and varied holiday viewing recommendations! In this episode, we review the excellent 'Watchmen' TV series, which Jon has declared his favourite TV show of the year. We also do a spoiler-free preview (because we obviously haven’t seen it yet. Ahem!) of 'The Mandalorian' from Disney+. Dan recommends 'Ladhood', a BAFTA nominated coming of age comedy. And we have a group discussion on Rian Johnson’s modern murder mystery, 'Knives Out'. We end the show with our immediate reactions to J.J. Abrams’ closing chapter of the new Star Wars trilogy, 'The Rise of Skywalker'. Having taken our pod recording equipment to the midnight screening, we put off going to bed for the sake of capturing this segment, featuring a few nerds you’ve never heard from before! Don’t worry if you haven’t seen it yet, we don’t reveal any secrets :) May we wish all o

Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury, please take your seats for the return of Nerd Court! In the dock this week is a film that has almost divided a relationship - Thor Ragnorok. Engaged couple Andy and Hazel battle each other in the Nerd courtroom, in our most fiercely fought nerd battle yet. Will Thor Ragnorok see off all the evidence weighted against it? Will Judge Jon pronounce an unbiased ruling? Can Andy and Hazel’s relationship even survive this? Listen to find out! Also in this episode we have our Film Buff or Film Bluff quiz, where our nerds must find the false fact from a web of lies and deceit. Topics this week include record breaking in films, ridiculous fighting game pairings, Star War’s The Emperor, and the 30th anniversary of the Nintendo Gameboy. Thanks for listening!