The EscapeGoat Podcast: Recent Episodes
David Faggiani
A discussion podcast about most things, flaws and all. Gruntled. Misleading, but not wrong. Hosted (usually) by David Faggiani. Now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube. Released fortnightly on Sundays.
The celebration concludes! With a final set of chats about favourite television episodes.
First up, we welcome back my brother Matt, with his formative memories of Jackass (Season 2, Episode 6 'Slingshot' from 2001). Next up we have Cat, returning to teach me the good word about the finale of much-loved sitcom The Good Place (Season 4, Episodes 13 & 14, 'Whenever You're Ready' from 2020). Then we have John, bringing the sunshine and illuminating the Christmas Special of The Morecambe and Wise Show from 1977. Finally, Olivia tells me about an imaginative and adorable bottle-episode of The Powerpuff Girls (Season 2, Episode 10a, 'The Powerpuff Girls Best Rainy Day Adventure Ever' from 2000) - and she allows me to then cap things off by rabbiting-on about a classic, operatically-satisfying Bugs Bunny cartoon 'Long-Haired Hare' from 1949.
Phew. So much fun - and thanks so much to all the guests, and listeners! We'll be back....
0.00 Matt on Jackass
0.53 Cat on The Good Place
2.03 John on The Morecambe And Wise Show
3.10 Olivia on The Powerpuff Girls
3.40 David on Bugs Bunny
You can find the show on X at @EGoat_pod (or post at me on @D_Faggiani - I'm on Bluesky too) and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com. All our episodes so far are on Spotify, our YouTube channel, and Apple Podcasts. Do spread the word! We also have a Patreon - any amount of money will get you early access to episodes, and help support the show!
Matt and Mike can be found on Spotify (and other streaming platforms) with their regular co-hosted movie analysis and interview show 'Matt and Mike Pull Focus' - Matt has previously appeared on several episodes of this show - including our episodes on The Batman, Count Duckula, and Time Bandits. Check them out!
Cat works in TV editing in Los Angeles, and was the co-host of the now-concluded The Anime Movie Podcast.
John has been watching and talking about television comedy since people repeatedly started singing the theme tune to 1980s sitcom Dear John at him. He has also been on quite a few episodes of the show now - including a fab conversation about two very different 90s sitcom endings. And all of 'And Ninthly..' of course.
Olivia appeared on the show quite a while ago, on episode 4 of the show, where we discussed South Park and episode 13, where we chatted about Pokemon and Monster in my Pocket. Check them out. Olivia is also the author of Brutalist Plants. Olivia can be reached on X on @olivia_broome or on Instagram via @oliviaxbroome.
And I... I do this.
All original intro, outro and other incidental music recorded and made available by kind permission of Richard Gilbert.
So, here we are... and here, belatedly, is this special episode, with David and John's account of their trip to see the Inside No 9 stage show Stage/Fright in February 2025! And, at time of recording in mid April, it's been announced to be having a UK tour in the autumn! We discuss the show and our thoughts on it in general - SPOILERS start from 15 minutes in. Be warned.
This is the end of And Ninthly... Thanks for listening, everyone. We've loved doing it :)
If you want to hear previous bits of David and John chatting about IN9, it's been the subject of a few EscapeGoat Podcast episodes - here are the links!
Series 1-5: discussion and highlights
Series 6 (pt 1)
Series 6 (pt 2)
And you can find our episode-by-episode coverage of Series 7, 8 and 9 via And Ninthly... on this thread too.
You can reach us on X at @EGoat_pod and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com. We also have a Patreon - any amount of money will get you early access to episodes, and help support the show!
The intro music was recorded and made available by kind permission of Richard Gilbert.
The celebration of the Goat continues! In this episode, Isobel gloriously adapts the brief, and talks to me about the work of one of her favourite authors, the hilarious Jason Pargin (AKA David Wong), author of books including John Dies At The End and If This Book Exists, You're In The Wrong Universe. Following that, Jonny pops up to introduce me to a creative, award-winning (and memeable) episode of Community (Season 3, Episode 4 'Remedial Chaos Theory' from 2011). Shame I only had him for about 10 minutes, but I think you'll get the gist. Finally, James makes a spellbinding return to sing the praises of the iconic Buffy The Vampire Slayer spectacular (Season 6, Episode 7 'Once More With Feeling' from 2001) - and hopefully, we're not just going through the motions.
Part 3 coming soon...
0.00 Isobel on Jason Pargin
0.51 Jonny on Community
1.37 James on Buffy
You can find the show on X at @EGoat_pod (or post at me on @D_Faggiani - I'm on Bluesky too) and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com. All our episodes so far are on Spotify, our YouTube channel, and Apple Podcasts. Do spread the word! We also have a Patreon - any amount of money will get you early access to episodes, and help support the show!
Isobel has previously appeared on episodes of the show, discussing aspects of the Star Trek franchise, the movie Happiness, and the band System Of A Down. You can find her on BlueSky.
Jonny Kiehlmann is a politics, maths, book and climbing nerd based in Aberdeen and London. He is on BlueSky as well. He was previously on the show chatting with me about Alan Moore's Whatever Happened To The Man of Tomorrow and the endings of superhero stories in general, and discussing the remarkable abomination The Flash (2023, Alan Smithee).
James podcasts at Pex Lives, about Doctor Who, Bob Dylan, western movies and whatever else he pleases. He also co-hosts the marvellous Pop Could Never Save Us (check it out!) and his Springsteen project (with Kit) We Learned More From a Three Minute Record. He, too, can be got primarily via jamesmurphy.bsky.social on Bluesky. This is his fifth appearance on this show - for example, last year, he was on (with Kit Power) talking about seminal British gangster film The Long Good Friday. Listen to that here.
All original intro, outro and other incidental music recorded and made available by kind permission of Richard Gilbert.
Happy 5th Anniversary to The EscapeGoat Podcast! And to mark it, we're doing a run of special episodes bringing back guests from all stages of the show's lifespan, talking (mostly) about some of their favourite episodes of television!
This first installment is a dinosaur sandwich on cowboy bread (so to speak). First, we feature Nannina talking about the much-loved Firefly (Episode 11, "Jaynestown" from 2002). Secondly, Dru brings me an all-time double bill with The Jim Henson Hour episode "Living With Dinosaurs" from 1989) and Primal (Season 1 Episode 7 "Plague of Madness" from 2020). Kit closes this part with thoughts on on Deadwood (Season 3, Episode 5 "A Two-Headed Beast" from 2006) which is watched once, never forgotten.
Enjoy! And look out for more of these in the weeks to come. And, as I say in my intro, so much love to all guests, listeners and boosters. Thank you. Long Live The Goat!
0.00 Intro
0.05 Nannina on Firefly
0.51 Dru on Living With Dinosaurs/Primal
1.51 Kit on Deadwood
You can find the show on X at @EGoat_pod (or post at me on @D_Faggiani - I'm on Bluesky too) and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com. All our episodes so far are on Spotify, our YouTube channel, and Apple Podcasts. Do spread the word! We also have a Patreon - any amount of money will get you early access to episodes, and help support the show!
Nannina is a screenwriter, who procrastinates at writing by going down deep research wormholes into alternate dimensions. She supports her writing habit by making coffee, and can be found on Twitter and Bluesky via @NanninaGilder talking about early women filmmakers.
Dru (our animation expert) previously appeared on our episodes about Who Framed Roger Rabbit, the Road Runner cartoons and Count Duckula. Highly recommended.
Kit Power lives in Milton Keynes and writes horror and dark crime fiction, with occasional forays into dystopian science fiction. His fiction work includes a novel, ‘GodBomb!’, and a novella collection ‘Breaking Point’, two short story collections (‘A Warning About Your Future Enslavement That You Will Dismiss As A Collection Of Short Fiction And Essays By Kit Power’ and ‘Voices’) and novellas ‘The Finite’ and ‘A Song For The End’. He also writes non-fiction (https://www.gingernutsofhorror.com/my-life-in-horror.html with Volume 1 and 2 also available in book format) and has a limited hardback available on the subject of Ken Russell’s movie Tommy. In his increasingly inaccurately labelled spare time, he podcasts - on his own show, Watching Robocop With Kit Power, on What The Hell Is Wrong With Us? with George Lea - and, as mentioned in the show, he has recently launched the new podcast series The Ultimate Horror Anthology with fellow horror author Jasper Bark. For weekly early access to his fiction, non-fiction, and podcasting work, visit www.patreon.com/kitpower. He has also been on seven (!) previous episodes of The EscapeGoat Podcast, discussing each part of the original UK House of Cards Trilogy in turn, the Stephen King short story collections Skeleton Crew and Nightmares and Dreamscapes, his essay collection My Life In Horror Volume II, the classic British gangster movie The Long Good Friday, and the South Park tie-in album Chef Aid. Check them out! Also get him on Bluesky.
All original intro, outro and other incidental music recorded and made available by kind permission of Richard Gilbert.
Happy New Year! And here, for your unhinged pleasure, is me and returning guest Kit Power discussing our highlights of the 1993 Stephen King short story anthology Nightmares and Dreamscapes. For over (checks notes) 5 hours. An all-time record. Yikes. Vital timestamps below.
ENJOY! And we'll be back with more later in the the year!
0.00 - Penguin/Joker
0.26 - N&D/the Intro
1.03 - Dolan's Cadillac
1.43 - Popsy
2.15 - The Doctor's Case
2.49 - Crouch End
3.20 - The End Of The Whole Mess
3.51 - It Grows On You
4.31 - My Pretty Pony
You can find the show on X at @EGoat_pod (or post at me on @D_Faggiani - I'm on Bluesky too) and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com. All our episodes so far are on Spotify, our YouTube channel, and Apple Podcasts. Do spread the word! We also have a Patreon - any amount of money will get you early access to episodes, and help support the show!
Kit Power lives in Milton Keynes and writes horror and dark crime fiction, with occasional forays into dystopian science fiction. His fiction work includes a novel, ‘GodBomb!’, and a novella collection ‘Breaking Point’, two short story collections (‘A Warning About Your Future Enslavement That You Will Dismiss As A Collection Of Short Fiction And Essays By Kit Power’ and ‘Voices’) and novellas ‘The Finite’ and ‘A Song For The End’. He also writes non-fiction (https://www.gingernutsofhorror.com/my-life-in-horror.html with Volume 1 and 2 also available in book format) and has a limited hardback available on the subject of Ken Russell’s movie Tommy. In his increasingly inaccurately labelled spare time, he podcasts - on his own show, Watching Robocop With Kit Power, on What The Hell Is Wrong With Us? with George Lea - and, as mentioned in the show, he has recently launched the new podcast series The Ultimate Horror Anthology with fellow horror author Jasper Bark. For weekly early access to his fiction, non-fiction, and podcasting work, visit www.patreon.com/kitpower. He has also been on seven (!) previous episodes of The EscapeGoat Podcast, discussing each part of the original UK House of Cards Trilogy in turn, the Stephen King short story collection Skeleton Crew, his essay collection My Life In Horror Volume II, the classic British gangster movie The Long Good Friday, and the South Park tie-in album Chef Aid. Check them out! Also get him on Bluesky.
All original intro, outro and other incidental music recorded and made available by kind permission of Richard Gilbert.
NOTES
Will add to these early in the New Year - ran out of time before my NYE party :D
Join me for our final episode of Series 5 in which Matt and Patrick gather with me to discuss the classic Star Wars movie (and shared personal treasure) Return of the Jedi (1983, Richard Marquand). Brace yourself for Sith, Walkers, Ewoks and Harrison Ford impressions! Yub Nub!
The EscapeGoat Podcast will revenge... I mean, return.....
0.00 Intro
0.08 Star Wars in general
0.53 Return of the Jedi
You can find the show on X at @EGoat_pod (or post at me on @D_Faggiani) and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com. All our episodes so far are on Spotify, our YouTube channel, and Apple Podcasts. Do spread the word! We also have a Patreon - any amount of money will get you early access to episodes, and help support the show!
Matt and Mike can be found on Spotify (and other streaming platforms) with their regular co-hosted movie analysis show 'Matt and Mike Pull Focus' - Matt has previously appeared on several episodes of this show - including our episodes on The Batman, Count Duckula, and Time Bandits. Check them out!
Patrick was on the show in 2023, talking about the start of the Ncuti Gatwa era of Doctor Who - listen to that here! And you can find his videogame photography Insta account here.
All original intro, outro and other incidental music recorded and made available by kind permission of Richard Gilbert.
NOTES
Here is the 2017 Elizabeth Sandifer essay on Return of the Jedi that I reference in the episode. Well worth a read, as is her other stuff on Star Wars.
I have now seen both the scene from the Obi Wan show that Patrick describes... and also the 'Mouth of Sauron' one from Return of the King Matt and Patrick both admire. Can confirm: both are, indeed, good. You can see them on YouTube, of course, as you can the original 1983 trailer we use, and many, many brilliant Carrie Fisher interviews.
I had the great experience of doing a podcast hosted by Patrick before, discussing fandom culture in general, and it was a good time! Listen to that one here.
And all credit to DJ2FLY, for our outro. Rousing stuff. Here it is.
On the penultimate episode of Series 5, we bring Kit back onto the show, to discuss two exemplars from the early years of South Park (Comedy Central, 1997-present). After a bit of chat about Kit's new horror short story podcast, we firstly delve into the movie South Park: Bigger Longer & Uncut (Trey Parker, 1999) - and how our thoughts on it in 2024 might differ from our teenage ones. We then have a discussion of Isaac Hayes, his relationship with the show, and, specifically, the end of said relationship, leading to the infamous episode The Return of Chef.
In the second half, we set out on a gloriously enjoyable track-by-track journey through the better-than-it-has-any-right-to-be tie-in album Chef Aid (1998) - which, amongst many things, turns into an extended clebration of Hayes the man, the myth and the legend. We hope you enjoy it!
Way back in 2020, me, Matt and Olivia talked about South Park Season 5 (2001) at some length - you can listen to that here.
0.00 Intro
0.05 The Ultimate Horror Anthology
0.31 South Park in general
0.46 South Park: Bigger Longer and Uncut
1.38 Isaac Hayes and his departure from South Park
1.52 TheChef Aid Album: tracks 1-10
2.49 TheChef Aid Album: tracks 11-21
3.45 Closing thoughts
You can find the show on X at @EGoat_pod (or post at me on @D_Faggiani - I'm on Bluesky too) and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com. All our episodes so far are on Spotify, our YouTube channel, and Apple Podcasts. Do spread the word! We also have a Patreon - any amount of money will get you early access to episodes, and help support the show!
Kit Power lives in Milton Keynes and writes horror and dark crime fiction, with occasional forays into dystopian science fiction. His fiction work includes a novel, ‘GodBomb!’, and a novella collection ‘Breaking Point’, two short story collections (‘A Warning About Your Future Enslavement That You Will Dismiss As A Collection Of Short Fiction And Essays By Kit Power’ and ‘Voices’) and novellas ‘The Finite’ and ‘A Song For The End’. He also writes non-fiction (https://www.gingernutsofhorror.com/my-life-in-horror.html with Volume 1 and 2 also available in book format) and has a limited hardback available on the subject of Ken Russell’s movie Tommy. In his increasingly inaccurately labelled spare time, he podcasts - on his own show, Watching Robocop With Kit Power, on What The Hell Is Wrong With Us? with George Lea - and, as mentioned in the show, he has recently launched the new podcast series The Ultimate Horror Anthology with fellow horror author Jasper Bark. For weekly early access to his fiction, non-fiction, and podcasting work, visit www.patreon.com/kitpower. He has also been on six (!) previous episodes of The EscapeGoat Podcast, discussing each part of the original UK House of Cards Trilogy in turn, the Stephen King short story collection Skeleton Crew, his essay collection My Life In Horror Volume II, and the classic British gangster movie The Long Good Friday. Check them out! Also get him on Twitter and Bluesky.
NOTES
So much I could include here, but, simply, here is the Glastonbury performance (from 2002) of Hayes performing Chocolate Salty Balls. Fantastic. And my brother Matt interviewing the superbly entertaining Toddy Walters (voice actor on much early South Park - and voice actor AND animator wrangler on the movie) can be listened to here.
We're back with a few more! James Murphy returns, to have a terrific chat about an influential, interesting but most-definitely flawed piece of media for both of us - that is, the seventh series of the sci-fi/comedy/drama show Red Dwarf (BBC, 1997).
We cover Lister, Rimmer (and his departure!), The Cat, Kryten and his neuroses, Holly and, of course, Kochanski. Also, fan fiction, addiction, paradoxical assassinations and unlikely heroism. Gum?
0.00 Intro/preamble
0.12 Red Dwarf and our backgrounds with it
1.03 Red Dwarf VII in more detail
You can find the show on X at @EGoat_pod (or post at me on @D_Faggiani - I'm on Bluesky too) and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com. All our episodes so far are on Spotify, our YouTube channel, and Apple Podcasts. Do spread the word! We also have a Patreon - any amount of money will get you early access to episodes, and help support the show!
James podcasts at Pex Lives, about Doctor Who, Bob Dylan, western movies and whatever else he pleases. He also co-hosts the marvellous Pop Could Never Save Us (check it out!) and his Springsteen project (with Kit) We Learned More From a Three Minute Record. He can be got primarily via jamesmurphy.bsky.social on Bluesky these days. This is his fourth appearance on this show - earlier this year, he was on (with Kit Power) talking about seminal British gangster film The Long Good Friday. Listen to that here.
NOTES
So, as mentioned in the episode, James had a great chat about the first Red Dwarf novel (by 'Grant Naylor') a few years ago, as part of the great I Don't Speak German podcast. Get that here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/02M7UaahntiYO92ROT7d2h?si=TOi4Gq4yT6G-PLVcw_qMfg
Currently on YouTube, for those interested in Red Dwarf VII, is the ridiculously detailed documentary the production team and cast put together for the DVD release! Actually pretty fascinating. And you can get it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17LvjqKHqi0&t=2235s
In this pretty-much-final helping of And Ninthly.. David and John are... well... a little bit overwhelmed, excited and emotional about the LAST EVER episode of Inside No 9 'Plodding On', which aired on 12 June 2024. Includes SPOILERS for... I'd say most IN9 episodes (this one, obviously, and quite a few others). Be warned!
It's been a real trip, folks. Thank you anyone who listened and shared the episodes - we very much loved doing them, through the cheese, and the crackers. From us both... Stay Ninthly.
If you want to hear previous bits of David and John chatting about IN9, it's been the subject of a few EscapeGoat Podcast episodes - here are the links!
Series 1-5: discussion and highlights
Series 6 (pt 1)
Series 6 (pt 2)
And you can find our episode-by-episode coverage of Series 7 and 8 via And Ninthly... on this thread too.
You can reach us on X at @EGoat_pod and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com. We also have a Patreon - any amount of money will get you early access to episodes, and help support the show!
The intro music was recorded and made available by kind permission of Richard Gilbert.
In this stirring movement of And Ninthly.. David and John mull the high and low notes of 'Curse of the Ninth', which aired on 5 June 2024. Includes SPOILERS for a few IN9 episodes (this one, obviously, and notably 'The Harrowing'). Be warned! And see you in a few days for our coverage of the last ever episode! Then Let Us Be.
If you want to hear previous bits of David and John chatting about IN9, it's been the subject of a few EscapeGoat Podcast episodes - here are the links!
Series 1-5: discussion and highlights
Series 6 (pt 1)
Series 6 (pt 2)
And you can find our episode-by-episode coverage of Series 7 and 8 via And Ninthly... on this thread too.
You can reach us on X at @EGoat_pod and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com. We also have a Patreon - any amount of money will get you early access to episodes, and help support the show!
The intro music was recorded and made available by kind permission of Richard Gilbert.
On this helping of And Ninthly.. David and John analyse their confinement in 'CTRL ATL ESC', which aired on 29 May 2024. Includes SPOILERS for a few IN9 episodes (this one, obviously, and notably 'The 12 Days of Christine'). We also discuss some aspects of the later seasons of The Sopranos. Be warned!
The review of this episode I mention in our discussion was indeed on Den of Geek, and was written by Louisa Mellor - and here it is: https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/inside-no-9-series-9-episode-4-review-ctrl-alt-esc/
If you want to hear previous bits of David and John chatting about IN9, it's been the subject of a few EscapeGoat Podcast episodes - here are the links!
Series 1-5: discussion and highlights
Series 6 (pt 1)
Series 6 (pt 2)
And you can find our episode-by-episode coverage of Series 7 and 8 via And Ninthly... on this thread too.
You can reach us on X at @EGoat_pod and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com. We also have a Patreon - any amount of money will get you early access to episodes, and help support the show!
The intro music was recorded and made available by kind permission of Richard Gilbert.
On this chapter of And Ninthly.. David and John twitch their curtains at 'Mulberry Close', which aired on 22 May 2024. Includes SPOILERS for a few IN9 episodes (this one, obviously, and notably 'Dead Line'). Be warned!
If you want to hear previous bits of David and John chatting about IN9, it's been the subject of a few EscapeGoat Podcast episodes - here are the links!
Series 1-5: discussion and highlights
Series 6 (pt 1)
Series 6 (pt 2)
And you can find our episode-by-episode coverage of Series 7 and 8 via And Ninthly... on this thread too.
You can Tweet us at @EGoat_pod and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com. We also have a Patreon - any amount of money will get you early access to episodes, and help support the show!
The intro music was recorded and made available by kind permission of Richard Gilbert.
On this installment of And Ninthly.. David and John muse over the choices made by 'The Trolley Problem', which aired on 15 May 2024. Including SPOILERS for a few IN9 episodes (most notably 'The Stakeout' and 'Riddle of the Sphinx' but quite a few, really). Be warned!
If you want to hear previous bits of David and John chatting about IN9, it's been the subject of a few EscapeGoat Podcast episodes - here are the links!
Series 1-5: discussion and highlights
Series 6 (pt 1)
Series 6 (pt 2)
And you can find our episode-by-episode coverage of Series 7 and 8 via And Ninthly... on this thread too.
You can Tweet us at @EGoat_pod and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com. We also have a Patreon - any amount of money will get you early access to episodes, and help support the show!
The intro music was recorded and made available by kind permission of Richard Gilbert.
Welcome back to And Ninthly...! For this first episode of the ninth and final series. David and John are once again joined by the superlative George Daniel Lea to analyse 'Boo To A Goose', which aired on 8 May 2024. We also catch up with George first about his reaction to the tail end of Series 8, including SPOILERS for a few IN9 episodes (most notably '3 x 3' and 'The Last Weekend'). Be warned!
George is a prolific YouTube creator, mostly on videogames, pop culture and literature, whose channel can be found here. His horror fiction and reviews can be discovered on his website Strange Playgrounds. He can be reached on Twitter on @EnigmaticElegy. He has previously featured on The EscapeGoat Podcast talking about Gormenghast, The Flight of Dragons, Terry Pratchett's Johnny Maxwell Trilogy and Count Duckula, and David has guested on his channel a few times, most recently also alongside the ever-terrific Kit Power to chat about a Clive Barker short story. And here's George and Kit chatting about another one, which we bring up in the episode...
If you want to hear previous bits of David and John chatting about IN9, it's been the subject of a few EscapeGoat Podcast episodes - here are the links!
Series 1-5: discussion and highlights
Series 6 (pt 1)
Series 6 (pt 2)
And you can find our episode-by-episode coverage of Series 7 and 8 via And Ninthly... on this thread too.
You can Tweet us at @EGoat_pod and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com. We also have a Patreon - any amount of money will get you early access to episodes, and help support the show!
The intro music was recorded and made available by kind permission of Richard Gilbert.
On this installment, I'm joined again by Nannina, and we're talking about some great female film directors! After a bit of initial chat about Dorothy Arzner and her pre-Code movie Nana (which Nannina and I managed to watch together recently!).. we move onto the main double bill.... a chat about The Hitch-Hiker (1953, Ida Lupino) and Point Break (1991, Kathryn Bigelow). Fun is had. Enjoy! And Vaya Con Dios.
0.00 Intro/Preamble
0.16 The Hitch-Hiker
1.07 Point Break
You can find the show on Twitter at @EGoat_pod (or tweet at me on @D_Faggiani) and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com. All our episodes are on Spotify, our YouTube channel, and Apple Podcasts. Do share and enjoy. We also have a Patreon - any amount of money will get you early access to episodes, and help support the show.
Nannina is a screenwriter, who procrastinates at writing by going down deep research wormholes into alternate dimensions. She supports her writing habit by making coffee, and can be found on Twitter and Bluesky via @NanninaGilder talking about early women filmmakers.
All original intro, outro and other incidental music recorded and made available by kind permission of Richard Gilbert.
NOTES
This is a fun article, about Ida Lupino: https://screen-queens.com/2020/02/21/wihm-the-hidden-polemic-of-ida-lupinos-the-hitch-hiker/
Weirdly, once again, my brother Matt chimed with us without co-ordinating, by chatting with his podcast partner Mike about another female-directed movie American Psycho! Give it a listen! https://open.spotify.com/episode/4flYtxiEZvW6N3seXH9x8U?si=MEEPas9MSiWISuA5c_oFBA
This week, my brother Matt returns to the show! We have a terrifically fun chat about the deeply flawed, maniacally disturbing and nasty but still kind of wonderful movie Monty Python's The Meaning of Life (1983, Terry Jones). In the first half, we discuss our general thoughts and reactions to the movie, from childhood exposure to it, til now. In the second half, we do a discursive trawl in rough order through the film's disparate sketches, songs and nightmare fuel. We hope it's a good listen - we enjoyed it!
0.00 Intro/preamble
0.16 The Meaning Of Life (pt 1) - general discussion of the movie and Python
0.55 The Meaning Of Life (pt 2) - rough in-order discussion of the movie's sketches, songs and other sequences
You can find the show on Twitter/X at @EGoat_pod (or tweet/post at me on @D_Faggiani - I'm also now on Bluesky) and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com. All our episodes so far are on Spotify, our YouTube channel, and Apple Podcasts. Do spread the word! We also have a Patreon - any amount of money will get you early access to episodes, and help support the show!
Matt and Mike can be found on Spotify (and other streaming platforms) with their regular co-hosted movie analysis show 'Matt and Mike Pull Focus' - Matt has previously appeared on several episodes of this show - including, as we mention in the show, our 2022 episodes on The Batman and Count Duckula, and our 2021 episode on Time Bandits, which functions as a natural companion piece to this installment. Check them out!
All original intro, outro and other incidental music recorded and made available by kind permission of Richard Gilbert.
NOTES
There's quite a lot of Python-related material (apart from the core shows/films) on Netflix at the moment - including an interview they did around 2013, where they talk about production elements of The Meaning of Life, amongst other things. Very illuminating. Also... if anyone else hadn't seen 'The Adventures of Martin Luther' scene cut from the film... here it is, via YouTube. Extraordinary.
The interviews Matt conducted quite recently which he references in the show, respectively with actors Vin Hawke and Toddy Walters, are both really, really worth checking out - would recommend!
Also, if you wish to hear my nephew performing his punk epic '8 million/10 million Babies' - and who wouldn't - here it is. Bracing stuff.
For this episode, I am pleased to be able to welcome back Christine Kelley to the podcast! After a bit of intro chat, we get on to the main topic - the Irish tragic black-comedy Calvary (2014, John Michael McDonagh), pretty much exactly on its 10th anniversary. We discuss the priesthood, guilt, politics, sardonic humour and animal murder - it's a good time!
0.00 Intro/preamble
0.13 Calvary (pt 1)
0.57 Calvary (pt 2)
You can find the show on Twitter at @EGoat_pod (or tweet at me on @D_Faggiani) and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com. All our episodes so far are on Spotify, our YouTube channel, and Apple Podcasts. Do spread the word! We also have a Patreon - any amount of money will get you early access to episodes, and help support the show!
Christine Kelley (@ballardiangorse on various platforms) writes about speculative fiction and radical politics from a queer revolutionary perspective. Her writing projects include Nowhere and Back Again, a psychogeography of J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth and Dreams of Orgonon, a song-by-song study of Kate Bush. Christine featured on the podcast in 2023, talking about the David Lynch movie The Straight Story. Support Christine on Patreon.
All original intro, outro and other incidental music recorded and made available by kind permission of Richard Gilbert.
NOTES
As I mention in the show, I was fortunate enough to get to chat to Kit Power and George Daniel Lea on their show in early 2023, talking about the then recent movie The Banshees of Inisherin, directed by McDonagh's writer/director brother, Martin. Think that makes a nice companion piece to this episode! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iifk3JM0u-Q&list=PL_3YQW0lAL2OwUpmigRz4mLXrkNtHSLNp&index=31&t=4831s
Funnily enough, talking of brothers... my brother Matt has also recorded a podcast about Calvary, with his co-host Mike! You can hear what they thought of the movie here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6XuOIuxaR5ktskvLDnXK5p?si=cn_H7F0hQsS-R2NYRHl1cQ
This is Series 5! Come on in. We kick off this run with a brilliant combination of returning guests Kit Power and James Murphy, joining me to pick apart (well, gush over) the seminal, thrilling yet melancholic and haunting British Gangster movie The Long Good Friday (1980, John Mackenzie).
We discuss Bob Hoskins, Helen Mirren and the snapshot of dawn-of-Thatcher London presented here. Also politics, money, racism, queerness, violence... and Razors. Oh, and THAT ending. Spoilers.
0.00 Intro/preamble
0.14 The Long Good Friday pt 1
1.03 The Long Good Friday pt 2
You can find the show on X at @EGoat_pod (or post at me on @D_Faggiani - I'm on Bluesky too) and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com. All our episodes so far are on Spotify, our YouTube channel, and Apple Podcasts. Do spread the word! We also have a Patreon - any amount of money will get you early access to episodes, and help support the show!
Kit Power lives in Milton Keynes and writes horror and dark crime fiction, with occasional forays into dystopian science fiction. His fiction work includes a novel, ‘GodBomb!’, and a novella collection ‘Breaking Point’, two short story collections (‘A Warning About Your Future Enslavement That You Will Dismiss As A Collection Of Short Fiction And Essays By Kit Power’ and ‘Voices’) and novellas ‘The Finite’ and ‘A Song For The End’. He also writes non-fiction (https://www.gingernutsofhorror.com/my-life-in-horror.html with Volume 1 and 2 also available in book format) and has a limited hardback available on the subject of Ken Russell’s movie Tommy. In his increasingly inaccurately labelled spare time, he podcasts - on his own show, Watching Robocop With Kit Power and on What The Hell Is Wrong With Us? with George Lea. For weekly early access to his fiction, non-fiction, and podcasting work, visit www.patreon.com/kitpower. He has also been on five previous episodes of The EscapeGoat Podcast, discussing each part of the original UK House of Cards Trilogy in turn, the Stephen King short story collection Skeleton Crew, and then his essay collection My Life In Horror Volume II. Check them out! Also get him on Twitter and Bluesky.
James podcasts at Pex Lives, about Doctor Who, Bob Dylan and whatever else he pleases. He also co-hosts the marvellous Pop Could Never Save Us (check it out!) and his Springsteen project (with Kit) We Learned More From a Three Minute Record. He can be got primarily via jamesmurphy.bsky.social on Bluesky these days. This is his third appearance on this show - last year he featured talking about Douglas Adams' Mostly Harmless.
NOTES
Here is the full extended clip featuring Bob Hoskins and film critic Barry Norman in walkabout conversation around London from a few years after the movie, which we play an excerpt from in the episode. Watch it, they make a ridiculously charming unlikely pair. I'd watch a series of just them: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTgqHsJ4410
Here's a retrospective piece from 2021, including some thoughts from Helen Mirren on the movie: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/apr/01/beheading-scene-helen-mirren-co-stars-long-good-friday-british-classic
Here is a BBC cast and crew documentary about TLGF from 2005: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlCA7eKyKbc
And here's a BFI panel discussion (including Paul Barber) from 2015: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCT5HCRCmkE
Finally... I've had this podcast planned for a while... but in autumn 2023, over at my brother Matt's podcast... they were lucky enough to have guest star Simon Osborne ('Pitt the Younger' in Blackadder III) on for a chat (which is a fascinating listen in its own right)... but guess what movie Simon picked as his favourite to talk about?? Listen here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0ktV6CZqxuqon76fYDIQHz?si=ilM6R_GvR9aAOQ6w8i7xjg
Part 2 of our 60th Anniversary Doctor Who coverage, including hot takes on The Church on Ruby Road - featuring previous guest Olivia returning to the show, and also for the first time the brilliant Patrick!
0.00 pt 1 - General chat about the recent Specials/Tennant/RTD
0.50 pt 2 - Thoughts about The Church on Ruby Road, and the future of the show
Enjoy! And see you in 2024.
You can find the show on X at @EGoat_pod (or post at me on @D_Faggiani) and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com. All our episodes so far are on Spotify, our YouTube channel, and Apple Podcasts. Do spread the word! We also have a Patreon - any amount of money will get you early access to episodes, and help support the show!
Olivia appeared on the show quite a while ago, on episode 4 of the show, where we discussed South Park and episode 13, where we chatted about Pokemon and Monster in my Pocket. Check them out. Olivia can be reached on X on @olivia_broome or on Instagram via @oliviaxbroome.
Patrick is the co-host of the Poditive Spin: The Friendly Fan Club podcast. Follow them on Instagram and Twitter via @poditivespinffc. I had the great experience of being on one of their episodes before, discussing fandom culture in general, and it was a good time! Listen to that one here.
Thanks to Colleen and Andrew for appearing on pt 1 (which you can listen to here) Both Colleen and Andrew featured on a previous episode of this podcast, in which we discussed the Flux series of Who - here it is. And here's an episode where Colleen and I chatted about the Matt Smith-led Season 6 of the show.
All original intro, outro and other incidental music recorded and made available by kind permission of Richard Gilbert.
NOTES
You can watch the mini-episode of Who from back in late 2005 that Patrick references in the episode here. Is the Fourteenth Doctor at least in part referring to his own moles?? You be the judge.
We're back for a pair of specials, ahead of the end of the year! In this first part, Colleen and Andrew discuss the three November/December 2023 Doctor Who Specials, featuring David Tennant as the Fourteenth Doctor - particularly The Giggle, which had just aired about 24 hours before we had the chat. It's first draft of history time, folks! Join us as we discuss strange quasi-retirements, fresh starts, disquiet, and, of course, comfort and joy.
0.00 pt 1 - General chat about the Specials/Tennant/RTD
0.37 pt 2 - Thoughts about The Giggle, and where the show goes next
We'll be back with a part 2 just after Christmas! x
You can find the show on X at @EGoat_pod (or post at me on @D_Faggiani) and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com. All our episodes so far are on Spotify, our YouTube channel, and Apple Podcasts. Do spread the word! We also have a Patreon - any amount of money will get you early access to episodes, and help support the show!
Colleen Cheetham-Gerrard, despite the name, is not a Daily Telegraph columnist. Instead, she's a stand-up comedian and public speaker who can mostly be found on the London circuit. Colleen was also a co-host for Strong Female Leads, a now-completed podcast focusing on nerd culture from a feminist perspective. You can find Colleen via @thecolleencg on X, and she's also on Instagram and Bluesky.
Andrew Blair is a writer, poet and software developer based in Edinburgh, and a frequent contributor to Den of Geek and other sites. You can visit his website via this link. He can be found on X (and Bluesky) via @freelance_liar.
Both Colleen and Andrew featured on a previous episode of this podcast, in which we discussed the Flux series of Who - here it is. And here's an episode where Colleen and I chatted about the Matt Smith-led Season 6 of the show.
All original intro, outro and other incidental music recorded and made available by kind permission of Richard Gilbert.
NOTES
Here's Elizabeth Sandifer's review of The Giggle, and the Pex Lives boys chatting about The Star Beast is here. I haven't even read Darren Mooney's review of The Giggle yet, but I know it'll be great - here it is. Oh, and here's Andrew's latest (post-Giggle) on Den of Geek.
We cap off this current series with a great finale episode, in which I am joined by the brilliant Christine Kelley for the first time. After a general chat about a few things, we turn to talking about our mutual backgrounds with the films of David Lynch, and then in the second part we focus in on Christine's favourite Lynch film - the elegiac, melancholy and tender uncovenventional road movie The Straight Story (1999). Such a lovely chat. Hope you enjoy it.
This episode is respectfully dedicated to the memory of Dr David Baume (1943-2023).
0.00 pt 1 - Intro/David Lynch chat in general
0.48 pt 2 - The Straight Story
That's it for Series 4! Thank you for listening everyone! And many many thanks to all the contributors. You're the best bunch in the world.
The EscapeGoat Podcast will return...
You can find the show on Twitter at @EGoat_pod (or tweet at me on @D_Faggiani) and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com. All our episodes so far are on Spotify, our YouTube channel, and Apple Podcasts. Do spread the word! We also have a Patreon - any amount of money will get you early access to episodes, and help support the show!
Christine Kelley (@ballardiangorse on various platforms) writes about speculative fiction and radical politics from a queer revolutionary perspective. Currently her main project is Nowhere and Back Again, a psychogeography of J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth. Her first project was the now semi-retired blog Dreams of Orgonon, a song-by-song study of Kate Bush. Support Christine on Patreon.
All original intro, outro and other incidental music recorded and made available by kind permission of Richard Gilbert.
NOTES
This Cinephilia Beyond retrospective article on The Straight Story is well worth checking out (as is the B-roll footage it includes). Also, have a look at this wonderful piece by friend-of-the-show Kit Power on Wild at Heart, one of his long-running My Life in Horror series (now available in two-volume book form). Finally, here is Christine's post which will make you want to watch the classic surreal Czech film Daisies. WATCH DAISIES.
This week, I am joined by the fantastic Jack Graham, for his second appearance on the show. In the first hour, me and Jack chat about many things (okay, quite a lot of Star Trek, I'll be honest) and then we turn to the main topic - the classic Agatha Christie novel And Then There Were None (1939), a text that has fascinated Jack for decades. Also... Jack may read a poem insert that I wrote (on the bus) the day following the main recording. I promise, it will make sense in context. A great one, enjoy!
WARNING - contains spoilers for And Then There Were None (like, in-depth) and also for Christie's other monumental thriller The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (1926). Be aware!
0.00 Intro/Additionata
1.08 And Then There Were None
You can find the show on Twitter at @EGoat_pod (or tweet at me on @D_Faggiani) and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com. All our episodes so far are on Spotify, our YouTube channel, and Apple Podcasts. Do spread the word! We also have a Patreon - any amount of money will get you early access to episodes, and help support the show!
Jack Graham is a writer and podcaster who is probably best known as the co-host of the anti-fascist podcast I Don't Speak German. His work can also be found on Eruditorum Press, via his discussion show The Shabcast (a huuuuuuge influence on The EscapeGoat Podcast, I don't mind telling you) and via his Patreon. He can be reached on Twitter on @_Jack_Graham_
All original intro, outro and other incidental music recorded and made available by kind permission of Richard Gilbert.
NOTES
While I was editing this episode, this apparently happened. I suspect the involvement of a giant wasp, personally: https://www.devonlive.com/news/devon-news/live-greenway-house-agatha-christie-8601707
In this latest installment, I'm joined by film critic and pop culture commentator Darren Mooney, to have a ridiculously nerdy and only slightly rambling conversation about Star Trek - both in general terms (initially), and then our respective experiences of the various tie-in book series. Following that, we zero-in on one specific Star Trek novel - that being Star Trek: Invasion! First Strike (Diane Carey, 1996). We had a great time. If this interests anyone else, it will be a bonus. Many thanks to Darren.
0.00 Intro chat/David and Darren's background with Star Trek in general
1.12 A selective overview of the Star Trek novel tie-ins
1.41 Star Trek: Invasion! First Strike
You can find the show on Twitter at @EGoat_pod (or tweet at me on @D_Faggiani) and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com. All our episodes so far are on Spotify, our YouTube channel, and Apple Podcasts. Do spread the word! We also have a Patreon - any amount of money will get you early access to episodes, and help support the show!
Darren Mooney is a pop culture critic at large for The Escapist. He writes the twice-weekly In the Frame column, writes and voices the In the Frame videos, provides film reviews and writes the weekly Out of Focus column. Plus, occasionally he has opinions about other things as well. Darren lives and works in Dublin. He also writes for The Irish Independent and provides weekly film coverage for radio station Q102. He co-hosts the weekly 250 Podcast and he has also written three published books of criticism on The X-Files, Christopher Nolan and Doctor Who. He somehow finds time to watch movies and television on top of that. Ironically, his superpowers are at their strongest when his glasses are on. His extensive work on Star Trek (and many other topics) at The M0vie Blog is, frankly, stupendous (our words). Check it out here.
All original intro, outro and other incidental music recorded and made available by kind permission of Richard Gilbert.
NOTES
Another trove of work regarding Star Trek is this sizeable archive of essays at Eruditorum Press. Explore it by starting here.
We come zooming back, to continue the fourth series! I am thrilled to welcome back Jonny to the show, after a substantial gap, to chat about The Flash!
After a first half in which we discuss DC Comics' Scarlet Speedster generally, and a little bit about his previous incarnations and adaptations, we use the second half to review the (at-time-of-recording) new movie The Flash (2023, Andy Muschietti) . We get spoilery from 1h 16 in, if anyone cares about that. Enjoy!
0.00 Intro/The Flash as a character and a symbol
1.02 The Flash (2023) - review and discussion
You can find the show on Twitter at @EGoat_pod (or tweet at me on @D_Faggiani) and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com. All our episodes so far are on Spotify, our YouTube channel, and Apple Podcasts. Do spread the word! We also have a Patreon - any amount of money will get you early access to episodes, and help support the show!
Jonny Kiehlmann is a politics, maths, book and climbing nerd based in Aberdeen and London. He is on Twitter on @kiehlmanniac. He was previously on the show in Episode 22, chatting with me about Alan Moore's Whatever Happened To The Man of Tomorrow and the endings of superhero stories in genral. Give it a listen!
Last year, we did a quite similar-in-format episode, where I reviewed The Batman movie with the aid of Matt and Mike. Listen to that here!
All original intro, outro and other incidental music recorded and made available by kind permission of Richard Gilbert.
NOTES
Yes, this is basically a scene in the movie (I'm barely exaggerating).
On this episode of And Ninthly... David and John take a deep luxurious dip into the sixth and final episode of Series 8, 'The Last Weekend', aired on 25 May 2023.
We then (from about 1h 13 mins in) give our respective episode rankings for Series 8! Will we see eye-to-eye? Find out....
(spoilers for this series in general, and also spoiler references to 'Sardines' and 'To Have and to Hold'. Once again, be warned!)
Thanks for joining us for this series of Inside No 9! It's been terrifically interesting and fun. See you again soon for more mischief.
If you want to hear previous bits of David and John chatting about IN9, it's been the subject of a few EscapeGoat Podcast episodes - here are the links!
Series 1-5: discussion and highlights
Series 6 (pt 1)
Series 6 (pt 2)
And you can find our episode-by-episode coverage of Series 7 via And Ninthly... on this thread too.
You can Tweet us at @EGoat_pod and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com. We also have a Patreon - any amount of money will get you early access to episodes, and help support the show!
The outro music was recorded and made available by kind permission of Richard Gilbert.
On this episode of And Ninthly... David and John are joined by their mutual friend Dan Hunt to dissect the fifth (and rather surprising) chapter of Series 8, '3 by 3', aired on 18 May 2023. We also spend a bit of time talking about the show in general in the first ten minutes, including SPOILERS for 'Tom and Gerri'. Again, be warned!
We will be back next week to talk the final episode of this series, and to lay down our series rankings.
Dan is a human man. No other information is currently available.
If you want to hear previous bits of David and John chatting about IN9, it's been the subject of a few EscapeGoat Podcast episodes - here are the links!
Series 1-5: discussion and highlights
Series 6 (pt 1)
Series 6 (pt 2)
And you can find our episode-by-episode coverage of Series 7 via And Ninthly... on this thread too.
You can Tweet us at @EGoat_pod and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com. We also have a Patreon - any amount of money will get you early access to episodes, and help support the show!
The intro music was recorded and made available by kind permission of Richard Gilbert.
On this installment of And Ninthly... David and John are joined by the brilliant George Daniel Lea to dissect the fourth episode of Series 8, 'Love Is A Stranger', aired on 11 May 2023. We also spend a bit of time talking about the show in general in the first half hour, including SPOILERS for a few IN9 episodes (most notably 'To Have and to Hold', 'The Stakeout' and the Hallowe'en live special 'Dead Line'). Be warned!
George is a prolific YouTube creator, mostly on videogames, pop culture and literature, whose channel can be found here. His horror fiction and reviews can be discovered on his website Strange Playgrounds. He can be reached on Twitter on @EnigmaticElegy. He has previously featured on The EscapeGoat Podcast talking about Gormenghast, The Flight of Dragons, Terry Pratchett's Johnny Maxwell Trilogy and Count Duckula, and David has guested on his channel a few times, most recently also alongside the equally brilliant Kit Power to discuss the fairly recent horror-comedy film The Menu.
If you want to hear previous bits of David and John chatting about IN9, it's been the subject of a few EscapeGoat Podcast episodes - here are the links!
Series 1-5: discussion and highlights
Series 6 (pt 1)
Series 6 (pt 2)
And you can find our episode-by-episode coverage of Series 7 via And Ninthly... on this thread too.
You can Tweet us at @EGoat_pod and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com. We also have a Patreon - any amount of money will get you early access to episodes, and help support the show!
The intro music was recorded and made available by kind permission of Richard Gilbert.
On this installment of And Ninthly... David and John natter about the third episode of Series 8, 'Paraskevidekatriaphobia', aired on 4 May 2023.
If you want to hear previous bits of David and John chatting about IN9, it's been the subject of a few EscapeGoat Podcast episodes - here are the links!
Series 1-5: discussion and highlights
Series 6 (pt 1)
Series 6 (pt 2)
And you can find our episode-by-episode coverage of Series 7 via And Ninthly... on this thread too.
You can Tweet us at @EGoat_pod and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com. We also have a Patreon - any amount of money will get you early access to episodes, and help support the show!
The intro music was recorded and made available by kind permission of Richard Gilbert.
On this edition of And Ninthly... David and John talk about the second episode of Series 8, 'Mother's Ruin', aired on 27 April 2023.
If you want to hear previous bits of David and John chatting about IN9, it's been the subject of a few EscapeGoat Podcast episodes - here are the links!
Series 1-5: discussion and highlights
Series 6 (pt 1)
Series 6 (pt 2)
And you can find our episode-by-episode coverage of Series 7 via And Ninthly... on this thread too.
You can Tweet us at @EGoat_pod and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com. We also have a Patreon - any amount of money will get you early access to episodes, and help support the show!
The intro music was recorded and made available by kind permission of Richard Gilbert.
Welcome back to And Ninthly... where David, John and occasional guests chat about new episodes of the dark comedy drama BBC anthology show Inside No 9, written by and starring Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton.
In this installment we discuss the first episode of Series 8, 'The Bones of St Nicholas', aired on 23 December 2022.
If you want to hear previous chunks of David and John chatting about IN9, it's been the subject of a few EscapeGoat Podcast episodes - here are the links! The Series 1-5 episode below features us talking about 'The Devil of Christmas'
Series 1-5: discussion and highlights
Series 6 (pt 1)
Series 6 (pt 2)
And you can find our episode-by-episode coverage of Series 7 via And Ninthly... on this thread too.
You can Tweet us at @EGoat_pod and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com. We also have a Patreon - any amount of money will get you early access to episodes, and help support the show!
The intro music was recorded and made available by kind permission of Richard Gilbert.
Were back, talking more Jaws (Steven Spielberg, 1975)! This time, John and I are joined by the fantastic Laura Carseldine.
After some chat about the film and our fandom, we have a look at the original novel by Peter Benchley, and some of the differences between the source material and the movie adaptation. SPOILERS for the book, by the way! One of them in particular blows my mind. Then we have a discussion of the movie sequels, and their sublime and escalating ridiculousness.
You can listen to part 1 (featuring Simon) here.
0.00 Intro chat/Jaws (the film)
1.03 Jaws (the novel)
1.41 the later Jaws film franchise
You can find the show on Twitter at @EGoat_pod (or tweet at me on @D_Faggiani) and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com. All our episodes so far are on Spotify, our YouTube channel, and Apple Podcasts. Do spread the word! We also have a Patreon - any amount of money will get you early access to episodes, and help support the show!
John has been watching and talking about television comedy since people repeatedly started singing the theme tune to 1980s sitcom Dear John at him. He has also been on quite a few episodes of the show now - including a fab conversation about two very different 90s sitcom endings. And, of course, And Ninthly (which will be back very soon...)
Laura is an all-round extraordinary person of no fixed abode. She can be contacted by putting some chum in the water.
All original intro, outro and other incidental music recorded and made available by kind permission of Richard Gilbert.
NOTES
The audiobook of Jaws by Peter Benchley can currently be listened to on YouTube here, read by Erik Steele. Recommended if you're unfamiliar with it, I really enjoyed it!
In a first for the show, we're doing a two-parter! On obscure movie curio Jaws (Steven Spielberg, 1975). He Is Risen.
For this initial part, I'm joined by returning shipmate John and guest skipper the brilliant Simon Barraclough. Together, we start getting our teeth into The Big Fish Film. WARNING may contain poetry.
Stay tuned for pt 2....
0.00 A Trip to Amity
1.01 On The Boat
You can find the show on Twitter at @EGoat_pod (or tweet at me on @D_Faggiani) and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com. All our episodes so far are on Spotify, our YouTube channel, and Apple Podcasts. Do spread the word! We also have a Patreon - any amount of money will get you early access to episodes, and help support the show!
John has been watching and talking about television comedy since people repeatedly started singing the theme tune to 1980s sitcom Dear John at him. He has also been on quite a few episodes of the show now - including a fab conversation about two very different 90s sitcom endings. And, of course, And Ninthly (which will be back soon...)
Simon is a poet, writer and editor who used to have a fear of mechanical sharks. Usually found in the cinema or between the pages of a book. There’s more at simonbarraclough.com
All original intro, outro and other incidental music recorded and made available by kind permission of Richard Gilbert.
NOTES
You can watch that clip of The Doomsday Machine here. And Alex Under deserves credit, always.
This week, the brilliant James S. Murphy returns to the show, to chat about The Hitch-Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy series (mostly the books, but we touch on some other forms too) and more specifically, the fifth book, Mostly Harmless (1992, Douglas Adams) which we really get into in the second half. A complete and total pleasure, from start to finish - hope it is for you all too! And Don't Panic.
0.00 Intro/preamble
0.08 pt 1
1.14 pt 2
You can find the show on Twitter at @EGoat_pod (or tweet at me on @D_Faggiani) and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com. All our episodes so far are on Spotify, our YouTube channel, and Apple Podcasts! Do share and enjoy. We also have a Patreon - any amount of money will get you early access to episodes, and help support the show!
James podcasts regularly at Pex Lives, about Doctor Who, Bob Dylan and whatever else he pleases. He also co-hosts the marvellous Pop Could Never Save Us (check it out!) He can be got on Twitter via @jameslatrmurphy.
All original intro, outro and other incidental music recorded and made available by kind permission of Richard Gilbert.
NOTES
Ladies and Gentlemen.. Mr Peter Davison: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HLy27bK-wU
On this episode, Nannina drops in to chat to me about two movies which kind of orbit the concept of 'Screwball'.... Holiday (1938, George Cukor) starring Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant, and The Hudsucker Proxy (1994, Joel and Ethan Coen) starring Tim Robbins and Jennifer Jason Leigh. I'm watching Holiday for the first time, Nannina is watching Hudsucker for the first time.... what did we think??? Find out by listening!
0.00 Intro
0.07 Holiday
1.00 The Hudsucker Proxy
You can find the show on Twitter at @EGoat_pod (or tweet at me on @D_Faggiani) and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com. All our episodes are on Spotify, our YouTube channel, and Apple Podcasts. Do share and enjoy. We also have a Patreon - any amount of money will get you early access to episodes, and help support the show.
Nannina is a screenwriter, who procrastinates at writing by going down deep research wormholes into alternate dimensions. She supports her writing habit by making coffee, and can be found on Twitter via @NanninaGilder talking about early women filmmakers.
All original intro, outro and other incidental music recorded and made available by kind permission of Richard Gilbert.
NOTES
Here's a pretty good overview piece on the reasons why George Cukor might have been 'let go' from Gone With The Wind.
This Salon piece from 2010 is perhaps a good starting point for the 'Magical N' trope that we refer to in discussing Hudsucker (and it namechecks that movie).
Welcome to Series 4! We're back with a fresh run in 2023. And we're kicking off by welcoming back the wonderful Kit Power, to talk to me about his new essay collection, My Life in Horror Volume II! Join us as we talk about whether the Nightmare on Elm St movies ever lived up to their potential, whether Bruce Springsteen is a horror writer, why Superman III is utterly terrifying, and much much more!
0.00 Intro
0.08 pt 1 - General chat about My Life in Horror Volume II
pt 2 - A closer look at some of the essays
0.47 I Had A Job, I Had A Girl (Born in the USA)
1.03 You've Been on my Nerves for a Long Time (Superman III)
1.24 Obnoxious, Self-Righteous Sadists (Smoking)
1.43 If Only There Is Something We Could Have Done (XCOM)
2.01 El Eye Vee, Ee Are Pee, Double Oh El (Cracker)
2.25 We Will Bury You (Confessions of a Reluctant Barman)
You can buy Kit's new book here via Amazon, either in physical form or for Kindle (and Volume I here), or you can of course get your local bookshop or library (at least in the UK) to order it. Please do - it's a real experience!
You can find the show on Twitter at @EGoat_pod (or tweet at me on @D_Faggiani) and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com. All our episodes so far are on Spotify, our YouTube channel, and Apple Podcasts! We are also now on Patreon. Do share and enjoy.
Kit Power lives in Milton Keynes and writes horror and dark crime fiction, with occasional forays into dystopian science fiction. His fiction work includes a novel, ‘GodBomb!’, and a novella collection ‘Breaking Point’, two short story collections (‘A Warning About Your Future Enslavement That You Will Dismiss As A Collection Of Short Fiction And Essays By Kit Power’ and ‘Voices’) and novellas ‘The Finite’ and ‘A Song For The End’. He also writes non-fiction (https://www.gingernutsofhorror.com/my-life-in-horror.html with Volume 1 and 2 also available in book format) and has a limited hardback available on the subject of Ken Russell’s movie Tommy. In his increasingly inaccurately labelled spare time, he podcasts - on his own show, Watching Robocop With Kit Power, What The Hell Is Wrong With Us? with George Lea, and a Patreon exclusive show on the Sherlock Holmes canon with Jack Graham. For weekly early access to his fiction, non-fiction, and podcasting work, visit www.patreon.com/kitpower. He has also been on four previous episodes of The EscapeGoat Podcast, discussing each part of the original UK House of Cards Trilogy in turn and then the Stephen King short story collection Skeleton Crew. Check them out!
All original intro, outro and other incidental music recorded and made available by kind permission of Richard Gilbert.
NOTES
Kit actually recorded an episode of Jack Graham's Shabcast back in early 2020, to promote and discuss Volume I of MLiH - you can listen to that episode here (and should!)
The music at the beginning of this EscapeGoat episode is a clip from a peculiar rights-challenged Hip Hop oddity - if you're not aware of it, the video can be viewed here.
We're back! With an autumn special, before a new series in 2023.
I welcome once again to the show both Matt and George! After an introductory chat, mostly about our recent Halloween/horror experiences (and the recent Hellraiser movie)... we move onto our main topic... the Cosgrove Hall UK animated classic Count Duckula (ITV, 1988-1993). Including a bit of animation history context from former guest Dru... and our most special guest ever... the inimitable Doreen Edwards (vocalist of the Count Duckula theme tune) We hope it's fun!
Stick around after the credits for me and George having a chat about the cult comedy-horror hit Don't Hug Me I'm Scared (YouTube/Channel 4, 2011-16, 2022-).
0.00 Intro/Halloween 2022 preamble
0.16 Hellraiser (2022)
0.30 Count Duckula pt 1
0.56 The History of Cosgrove Hall (with Dru)
1.18 Count Duckula pt 2
1.32 Interview with Doreen Edwards (vocalist of Count Duckula theme)
1.46 Count Duckula pt 3
1.58 Don't Hug Me I'm Scared
You can find the show on Twitter at @EGoat_pod (or tweet at me on @D_Faggiani) and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com. All our episodes so far are on Spotify, our YouTube channel, and Apple Podcasts! Do share and enjoy. We also have a Patreon - any amount of money will get you early access to episodes, and help support the show!
Matt and Mike can be found on YouTube with their regular co-hosted movie analysis show 'Matt and Mike Pull Focus' - Matt has previously appeared on several episodes of this show - most recently, our episode on The Batman.
George is a prolific YouTube creator, mostly on videogames, pop culture and literature, whose channel can be found here. His horror fiction and reviews can be discovered on his website Strange Playgrounds. He can be reached on Twitter on @EnigmaticElegy. He has previously featured on this podcast talking about Gormenghast, The Flight of Dragons, and Terry Pratchett's Johnny Maxwell Trilogy and I had the honour of featuring on his channel talking about the Amiga500 era of gaming!
Dru (our animation expert) previously appeared on our episodes about Who Framed Roger Rabbit and the Road Runner cartoons. Highly recommended.
All original intro, outro and other incidental music recorded and made available by kind permission of Richard Gilbert.
NOTES
So... here's George talking about Hellraiser (2022).
Here's George and Kit Power (also a previous guest on this show!) and Alasdair Stuart talking about Cosgrove Hall too, with focus on The Wind In The Willows.
I've got no idea about the legality of this... but this YouTube channel is your easiest pathway to watching a lot of Count Duckula. Enjoy!
Doreen Edwards is a living legend... and her work with Distant Cousins is outstanding. Start maybe with You Used To (which has been in my head for most of this year...)
and, of course... the original Don't Hug Me I'm Scared material can be found on their YouTube channel. And the new stuff on Channel 4.
Here it is - the last episode of our third series! In which returning guest Nannina and new guest Lauren Humphries-Brooks join me to chat about three amazing Werner Herzog movies, Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972), Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979) and Fitzcarraldo (1982). And also Bob's Burgers, obviously.
Thank you so much to all our guests this year, and everyone who has listened. The EscapeGoat Podcast will return....
0.00 Intro/preamble
0.19 our backgrounds with Herzog's movies
0.32 Aguirre, the Wrath of God
1.02 Nosferatu the Vampyre
1.31 Fitzcarraldo
1.46 Wrap-up
You can find the show on Twitter at @EGoat_pod (or tweet at me on @D_Faggiani) and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com. All our episodes are on Spotify, our YouTube channel, and Apple Podcasts. Do share and enjoy. We also have a Patreon - any amount of money will get you early access to episodes, and help support the show.
Nannina is a screenwriter, who procrastinates at writing by going down deep research wormholes into alternate dimensions. She supports her writing habit by making coffee, and can be found on Twitter via @NanninaGilder talking about early women filmmakers.
Lauren is a writer, editor, and media journalist. She regularly contributes to film and pop culture websites, and has written extensively on Classical Hollywood, British horror films, and the sci-fi, fantasy, and horror genres. She is the co-host of the Citizen Dame podcast. She can be found on Twitter via @lhbizness.
All original intro, outro and other incidental music recorded and made available by kind permission of Richard Gilbert.
NOTES
A couple of podcast recommendations... firstly, the Cult Movies Podcast, which works through the films written about by Danny Peary in Cult Movies, did an Aguirre episode last year. Secondly, They Must Be Destroyed on Sight! did an episode a few years ago (featuring Jack Graham, who has been on this show) chatting about both Nosferatu versions. Both recommended.
The Herzog commentary about Fitzcarraldo can be found on YouTube - and you can probably find a few others on there too, alongside the interview which I use a clip of in the middle of this episode.
On this episode of And Ninthly... David and John take on the sixth episode of Series 7, 'Wise Owl', aired on 1 June 2022. Spoilers as always (and, on that note, trigger warnings for discusions of abuse).
After that (and a short break) we give our respective rankings of Series 7 of IN9, and some final thoughts! Skip ahead to 1h 7mins for that bit.
If you want to hear previous chats of David and John about IN9, it's been the subject of a few The EscapeGoat Podcast episodes - here are the links!
Series 1-5: discussion and highlights
Series 6 (pt 1)
Series 6 (pt 2)
Pemberton and Shearsmith record their own podcast for BBC Sounds, Inside Inside No 9, which usually features interesting material about the shows' productions and creative decisions. Well worth a listen!
You can Tweet us at @EGoat_pod and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com. We also have a Patreon - any amount of money will get you early access to episodes, and help support the show!
The intro music was recorded and made available by kind permission of Richard Gilbert.
On this episode of And Ninthly... David and John have a discussion about the fifth episode of Series 7, 'A Random Act of Kindness', aired on 25 May 2022.
If you want to hear previous chats of David and John about IN9, it's been the subject of a few The EscapeGoat Podcast episodes - here are the links!
Series 1-5: discussion and highlights
Series 6 (pt 1)
Series 6 (pt 2)
Pemberton and Shearsmith record their own podcast for BBC Sounds, Inside Inside No 9, which usually features interesting material about the shows' productions and creative decisions. Well worth a listen!
You can Tweet us at @EGoat_pod and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com. We also have a Patreon - any amount of money will get you early access to episodes, and help support the show!
The intro music was recorded and made available by kind permission of Richard Gilbert.
On this episode of And Ninthly... David and John get carried away by the fourth episode of Series 7, 'Kid/Nap', aired on 18 May 2022. If you want to hear previous chats of David and John about IN9, it's been the subject of a few The EscapeGoat Podcast episodes - here are the links!
Series 1-5: discussion and highlights
Series 6 (pt 1)
Series 6 (pt 2)
As mentioned on the show, Pemberton and Shearsmith record their own podcast for BBC Sounds, Inside Inside No 9, which usually features interesting material about the shows' productions and creative decisions. Well worth a listen!
You can Tweet us at @EGoat_pod and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com. We also have a Patreon - any amount of money will get you early access to episodes, and help support the show!
The intro music was recorded and made available by kind permission of Richard Gilbert.
On this episode of And Ninthly... David and John tackle the third episode of Series 7, 'Nine Lives Kat', aired on 11 May 2022.
If you want to hear previous chats of David and John about IN9, it's been the subject of a few The EscapeGoat Podcast episodes - here are the links!
Series 1-5: discussion and highlights
Series 6 (pt 1)
Series 6 (pt 2)
As mentioned on the show, Pemberton and Shearsmith record their own podcast for BBC Sounds, Inside Inside No 9, which usually features interesting material about the shows' productions and creative decisions. Well worth a listen!
You can Tweet us at @EGoat_pod and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com. We also have a Patreon - any amount of money will get you early access to episodes, and help support the show!
The intro music was recorded and made available by kind permission of Richard Gilbert.
Our latest episode - and our longest ever - in which I welcome back Kit, and we go deep on the 1985 Stephen King horror short story collection Skeleton Crew. And get pretty dark. After 20 mins at the start about Die Hard 2, naturally. Enjoy! 0.00 Introduction/chat about Die Hard 2
0.19 Our backgrounds with short fiction and Stephen King
1.03 The Mist
1.48 Here There Be Tygers
2.01 Milkman (#1 and #2)
2.11 Gramma
2.35 Word Processor of the Gods
3.06 The Jaunt
3.31 Survivor Type
You can find the show on Twitter at @EGoat_pod (or tweet at me on @D_Faggiani) and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com. All our episodes so far are on Spotify, our YouTube channel, and Apple Podcasts! We are also now on Patreon. Do share and enjoy.
Kit Power lives in Milton Keynes and writes horror and dark crime fiction, with occasional forays into dystopian science fiction. His fiction work includes a novel, ‘GodBomb!’, and a novella collection ‘Breaking Point’, two short story collections (‘A Warning About Your Future Enslavement That You Will Dismiss As A Collection Of Short Fiction And Essays By Kit Power’ and ‘Voices’) and novellas ‘The Finite’ and ‘A Song For The End’. He also writes non-fiction (https://www.gingernutsofhorror.com/my-life-in-horror.html with Volume 1 also available in book format) and has a limited hardback available on the subject of Ken Russell’s movie Tommy. In his increasingly inaccurately labelled spare time, he podcasts - on his own show, Watching Robocop With Kit Power, What The Hell Is Wrong With Us? with George Lea, and a Patreon exclusive show on the Sherlock Holmes canon with Jack Graham. For weekly early access to his fiction, non-fiction, and podcasting work, visit www.patreon.com/kitpower. He has also been on three episodes of The EscapeGoat Podcast, discussing each part of the original UK House of Cards Trilogy.
All original intro, outro and other incidental music recorded and made available by kind permission of Richard Gilbert.
NOTES
Kit has put out a fair bit in both written and recorded form about King and his works. A few highlights and perhaps the ones most relevant to this podcast include these two pieces (here and here) about The Mist (2007), and these two chats (1 and 2) about It (book and film) with George Daniel Lea. Talking of other people who have featured on this podcast, back in 2016 (just before the US Presidential Election) Kit and Jack Graham got together on The Shabcast to chat about the two Stephen King adaptations The Dead Zone and The Running Man. A few years later, they got together again to talk about Kit's novella The Finite , which comes up in our episode here. All very worth a listen, in my view.
On this episode of And Ninthly... David and John dissect the second episode of Series 7, 'Mr King', aired on 27 April 2022.
If you want to hear previous chats of David and John about IN9, it's been the subject of a few The EscapeGoat Podcast episodes - here are the links!
Series 1-5: discussion and highlights
Series 6 (pt 1)
Series 6 (pt 2)
As mentioned on the show, Pemberton and Shearsmith record their own podcast for BBC Sounds, Inside Inside No 9, which usually features interesting material about the shows' productions and creative decisions. Well worth a listen!
You can Tweet us at @EGoat_pod and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com. We also have a Patreon - any amount of money will get you early access to episodes, and help support the show!
The intro music was recorded and made available by kind permission of Richard Gilbert.
Welcome to a new strand of show, And Ninthly... where David, John and occasional guests chat about new episodes of the dark comedy drama BBC anthology show Inside No 9, written by and starring Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton. In this installment we discuss the first episode of Series 7, 'Merrily, Merrily', aired on 20 April 2022.
If you want to hear previous chunks of David and John chatting about IN9, it's been the subject of a few EscapeGoat Podcast episodes - here are the links!
Series 1-5: discussion and highlights
Series 6 (pt 1)
Series 6 (pt 2)
As mentioned on the show, Pemberton and Shearsmith record their own podcast for BBC Sounds, Inside Inside No 9, which usually features interesting material about the shows' productions and creative decisions. Well worth a listen!
You can Tweet us at @EGoat_pod and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com. We also have a Patreon - any amount of money will get you early access to episodes, and help support the show!
The intro music was recorded and made available by kind permission of Richard Gilbert.
In this episode, Rich is my guest to talk about the classic Beatles double-album from 1968 The Beatles (almost always known as The White Album.)
After a general chat about our respective Beatles fandoms and histories, we discuss the album in general, and opine what it means to each of us. We then move on to a track-by-track discussion of The White Album, simultaneously presenting our individual picks for a re-versioning of the collection down from 30 tracks to 15! Which was good fun! Hope it's fun to listen to, as well.
0.00 Intro
0.08 The Beatles and The White Album in general
0.58 The White Album - Side 1
1.25 The White Album - Side 2
1.42 The White Album - Side 3
1.52 The White Album - Side 4
You can find the show on Twitter at @EGoat_pod (or tweet at me on @D_Faggiani) and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com. All our episodes so far are on Spotify, our YouTube channel, and Apple Podcasts! Do spread the word! We also have a Patreon - any amount of money will get you early access to episodes, and help support the show!
For more Rich, you have your pick of several episodes, but here's the Hail To The Thief episode we reference from 2021.
All original intro, outro and other incidental music recorded and made available by kind permission of Richard Gilbert (the very same).
NOTES
Aw, heck, it's not on The White Album, but here's that Muppet Show version of 'With a Little Help From My Friends' that I mention.
You're very welcome.
For this episode, John joins me to discuss the respective finale episodes of the UK sitcoms Men Behaving Badly (1992-98, ITV/BBC) and One Foot in the Grave (1990-2000, BBC). WARNING: spoilers for all content in the two finales. In the first half, we talk about the three-part (!) Men Behaving Badly ending, and touch on 90s masculinity, baffling filler karaoke scenes, VideoPlus codes and the bleakness of forced maturity.
In the second, we deal with the last installment of One Foot in the Grave, and accidental death, ambiguous murder, fragile optimism and Paul Merton cameos. We hope you enjoy the chat!
0.00 Intro/Men Behaving Badly
1.08 One Foot in the Grave
You can find the show on Twitter at @EGoat_pod (or tweet at me on @D_Faggiani) and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com. All our episodes so far are on Spotify, our YouTube channel, and Apple Podcasts. Do spread the word! We also have a Patreon - any amount of money will get you early access to episodes, and help support the show!
John has been watching and talking about television comedy since people repeatedly started singing the theme tune to 1980s sitcom Dear John at him. He has also been on quite a few episodes of the show now - including a great chat about Spaced.
All original intro, outro and other incidental music recorded and made available by kind permission of Richard Gilbert.
NOTES
Men Behaving Badly and One Foot in the Grave are both currently available to stream on BritBox.
You can read Elizabeth Sandifer's piece about Amy's Choice (the Doctor Who episode written by Simon Nye) on her blog here.
There is a good piece online about One Foot as a whole, and particularly its use of weird horror content - Horror in the Britcom: Victor Meldrew's New Nightmare - very recommended. As mentioned in the episode, Victor Meldrew did return one more time, in the 2001 Comic Relief special. It can be watched on YouTube here.
Our latest episode is a take on the latest caped crusader flick The Batman (Matt Reeves, 2022) - a very hot take: when this was recorded, we'd all seen it just once, 24 hours previously.
Joining me once again is Matt - and, for the first time on this show, his regular podcasting partner Mike Dunn! Between us, we chat a bit about our various histories with the Batman movie series, and after half an hour, we move onto a spoiler-free review (if you haven't seen the movie yet, you might want to switch us off at the 54 minute mark, because, at that point, after a break, we move onto SPOILERS).
So here it is, a sketchy first draft of history. Hope you enjoy, folks!
(a version of this episode is also available on Matt and Mike's YouTube channel here: https://youtu.be/RI3XzdGz3Y0)
0.00 Intro/basic chat about the Batman franchise
0.34 The Batman - a review (spoiler-free)
0.55 The Batman - further discussion (with spoilers)
You can find the show on Twitter at @EGoat_pod (or tweet at me on @D_Faggiani) and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com. All our episodes so far are on Spotify, our YouTube channel, and Apple Podcasts. Do spread the word! We also have a Patreon - any amount of money will get you early access to episodes, and help support the show!
Matt and Mike can be found on YouTube with their regular co-hosted movie analysis show 'Matt and Mike Pull Focus' - in fact, a version of this recording will be posted there before too long! Matt has previously appeared on several episodes of this show - most recently, our episode on Time Bandits.
All original intro, outro and other incidental music recorded and made available by kind permission of Richard Gilbert.
NOTES
As mentioned in the episode, Matt and Mike recorded an episode about Batman (Tim Burton, 1989) a few years ago, as the first episode of their show - you can listen to it here. Before The EscapeGoat Podcast even launched, they were also kind enough to have me on the show, talking about yuletide Muppets - a fond memory!
Near the beginning of the podcast, I make reference to this YouTube chat, between Jack Graham, George Daniel Lean and Kit Power - all previous guests on this show. It might be the definitive critical podcast take on the Nolan Batman trilogy - definitely check it out. Also want to give a shout out to Jack's essay from years back (I've referenced this before) which was prompted by an earlier Matt Reeves movie, and probably has relevance to The Riddler in The Batman, too. Equally, give it a look.
This week, I'm joined by George Daniel Lea and James S. Murphy to wax lyrical about the 90s young adult series by the late great Terry Pratchett, The Johnny Maxwell Trilogy (1992-1996).
We chat about Only You Can Save Mankind, Johnny and the Dead and Johnny and the Bomb, and the surreal, often bitter messaging of all three, as well as their positionality and mood rooted in the mid nineties of the UK. We also tie them in to aspects of Pratchett's work with his Discworld series, and talk about how the Johnny books resonate with us now, in 2022, and what they have to say about war, history and visionary headspaces. Hope it's a blast!
0.00 Preamble
0.06 The Johnny Maxwell Trilogy, pt 1
0.57 The Johnny Maxwell Trilogy, pt 2
You can find the show on Twitter at @EGoat_pod (or tweet at me on @D_Faggiani) and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com. All our episodes so far are on Spotify, our YouTube channel, and Apple Podcasts! Do share and enjoy. We also have a Patreon - any amount of money will get you early access to episodes, and help support the show!
George is a prolific YouTube creator, mostly on videogames, pop culture and literature, whose channel can be found here. His horror fiction and reviews can be discovered on his website Strange Playgrounds. He can be reached on Twitter on @EnigmaticElegy. He has previously featured on this podcast talking about Gormenghast and The Flight of Dragons, and I had the honour of featuring on his channel talking about the Amiga500 era of gaming!
James podcasts regularly at Pex Lives, about Doctor Who, Bob Dylan and whatever else he pleases. He can be got on Twitter via @JimCrop1916.
All original intro, outro and other incidental music recorded and made available by kind permission of Richard Gilbert.
NOTES
Andrew Blair (who featured on our Doctor Who: Flux episode) wrote a piece back in 2015 about the Johnny Maxwell books - here it is! Also, the 2006 BBC TV series of Johnny and the Bomb can be found on YouTube (starring the now-famous George Mackay!) The 1995 ITV version of Johnny and the Dead seems to be a bit more elusive online, currently.
We're back, with the first episode of series 3 of the show! In which my guest Chris Doughty joins me to discuss the long-running improvised comedy Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO, 1999-).
We chat about Larry the character and Larry the real-life creator of the show, talk about the supporting characters and actors that make the show great (from Cheryl to Leon) and we pick our favourite seasons of Curb (and a few specific episodes!) and assess where we think it is now, in quality terms, after 20+ years. Hope you enjoy it - it's good to be back! Pretty, pretty, prettyyyyy good.
0.00 Intro/podcast chat preamble
0.19 Curb Your Enthusiasm (pt 1) - Larry the character/changes as the show has developed
1.09 Curb Your Enthusiasm (pt. 2) - the Gervais/David interview/favourite other characters in Curb/favourite seasons and episodes/is the show still 'good'?
You can find the show on Twitter at @EGoat_pod (or tweet at me on @D_Faggiani) and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com. All our episodes are on Spotify, our YouTube channel, and Apple Podcasts! Do spread the word! We also have a Patreon - any amount of money will get you early access to episodes, and help support the show!
Chris is one of the two regular hosts of The Wasting Time Podcast, a discussion and interview show focusing on the pop-punk music scene. You can find it on all the usual podcasting platforms. You can reach the show on Twitter via @TheWastingTimeP.
All original intro, outro and other incidental music recorded and made available by kind permission of Richard Gilbert.
NOTES
The 2006 Channel 4 interview that Ricky Gervais did with Larry David (which we discuss in pt. 2 of the show) is available on YouTube - and so, amusingly, is the infamous Garry Shandling one.
The final episode of our second series, in which David and Colleen (with a monologue assist from new guest Andrew Blair) tackle the recently-concluded season of Doctor Who (known as 'Flux'), and the 13th Doctor era more generally!
Happy early Xmas! We'll be back with new episodes in early 2022.
0.00 Intro/What We Do In The Shadows
0.10 Doctor Who: Flux
0.52 The Andrew Interjection
1.13 The 13th Doctor era more generally/thoughts for the future
You can find the show on Twitter at @EGoat_pod (or tweet at me on @D_Faggiani) and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com. All our episodes are on Spotify, our YouTube channel, and Apple Podcasts! Do spread the word! We also have a Patreon - any amount of money will get you early access to episodes, and help support the show!
Colleen Cheetham-Gerrard, despite the name, is not a Daily Telegraph columnist. Instead, she's a stand-up comedian and public speaker who can mostly be found on the London circuit (or on Zoom). Colleen is also a co-host for Strong Female Leads, a Standard Issue podcast focusing on nerd culture from a feminist perspective. You can find Colleen via @thecolleencg on Twitter and Instagram and Strong Female Leads via @strfemaleleads, as well as in all the usual podcast locations.
Andrew Blair is a writer and poet based in Edinburgh, and a frequent contributor to Den of Geek. He can be found on Twitter via @freelance_liar.
All original intro, outro and other incidental music recorded and made available by kind permission of Richard Gilbert.
NOTES
As of December 2021, the internet is obviously awash with takes on Doctor Who: Flux. One of my favourites that I read after the recording was this tweet thread by Andrew Ellard (@ellardent) And here's Darren Mooney's review, thorough and excellent as always.
I have Nannina back on the show in order to discuss recent Arthurian arthouse horror fantasy oddity The Green Knight (David Lowery, 2021). After a bit of preamble chat about Foundation (Apple TV, 2021-)
N.B. I'd say we start getting sliiiiiightly spoilery about The Green Knight from about the 45 min mark, and it sort of ramps up from there (esp. in pt 2). We don't discuss the specifics of the ending at all until the last 20 mins, though. And I don't spoil Foundation at all, because Nannina hasn't seen it yet.
0.00 Intro/preamble on Foundation
0.16 our background with Arthurian legend and adaptations/The Green Knight
0.59 The Green Knight in more depth/specific scenes/the ending
You can find the show on Twitter at @EGoat_pod (or tweet at me on @D_Faggiani) and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com. All our episodes are on Spotify, our YouTube channel, and Apple Podcasts. Do share and enjoy. We also have a Patreon - any amount of money will get you early access to episodes, and help support the show.
Nannina is a screenwriter, who procrastinates at writing by going down deep research wormholes into alternate dimensions. She supports her writing habit by making coffee, and can be found on Twitter via @NanninaGilder talking about early women filmmakers.
All original intro, outro and other incidental music recorded and made available by kind permission of Richard Gilbert.
NOTES
The Green Knight can currently be viewed (at least in the UK) as part of an Amazon Prime subscription.
The lady reading the extract from the source poem in Middle English can be watched reading the entire Passus 1 here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aH6rGxF5gCU. If you're looking for analysis of the film online (and there's quite a bit!) a fun place to start is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIM94dRlKWc
On this latest episode, I welcome back Kit to finish off the Francis Urquhart trilogy with The Final Cut (1995, BBC). Joining us to see the old man off in style is the legendary Jack Graham. A thoroughly enjoyable chat to have, and hopefully to listen to!
You may also wish to listen to our previous episodes on House of Cards and To Play The King.
0.00 The Final Cut
2.17 Bonus extra chat
You can find the show on Twitter at @EGoat_pod (or tweet at me on @D_Faggiani) and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com. All our episodes so far are on Spotify, our YouTube channel, and Apple Podcasts! We are also now on Patreon. Do share and enjoy.
Kit Power lives in Milton Keynes and writes horror and dark crime fiction, with occasional forays into dystopian science fiction. His fiction work includes a novel, ‘GodBomb!’, and a novella collection ‘Breaking Point’, two short story collections (‘A Warning About Your Future Enslavement That You Will Dismiss As A Collection Of Short Fiction And Essays By Kit Power’ and ‘Voices’) and novellas ‘The Finite’ and ‘A Song For The End’. He also writes non-fiction (https://www.gingernutsofhorror.com/my-life-in-horror.html with Volume 1 also available in book format) and has a limited hardback available on the subject of Ken Russell’s movie Tommy. In his increasingly inaccurately labelled spare time, he podcasts - on his own show, Watching Robocop With Kit Power, What The Hell Is Wrong With Us? with George Lea, and a Patreon exclusive show on the Sherlock Holmes canon with Jack Graham. For weekly early access to his fiction, non-fiction, and podcasting work, visit www.patreon.com/kitpower.
Jack Graham is a writer and podcaster who is probably best known as the co-host of the anti-fascist podcast I Don't Speak German. His work can also be found on Eruditorum Press, via his discussion show The Shabcast (a huuuuuuge influence on The EscapeGoat Podcast, I don't mind telling you) and via his Patreon. He can be reached on Twitter on @_Jack_Graham_
All original intro, outro and other incidental music recorded and made available by kind permission of Richard Gilbert.
NOTES
The Final Cut is currently available to stream on BritBox, along with House of Cards and To Play The King (and probably at least one version of Corialanus. Richardson junkies seeking more of the good stuff might want to check out this.... and this.
On this installment, Matt returns to talk about a shared childhood favourite, the comic fantasy movie Time Bandits (Terry Gilliam, 1981). We discuss the aesthetic flow of Monty Python and Gilliam movies, the genius of David Warner, and the rough justice of The Supreme Being!
0.00 Our background with Monty Python
0.29 Time Bandits
You can find the show on Twitter at @EGoat_pod (or tweet at me on @D_Faggiani) and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com. All our episodes so far are on Spotify, our YouTube channel, and Apple Podcasts. Do spread the word! We also have a Patreon - any amount of money will get you early access to episodes, and help support the show!
Matt can be found on YouTube with his regular co-hosted movie analysis show 'Matt and Mike Pull Focus'. He has previously appeared on several episodes of this show - most recently on our episode on Blackadder II.
All original intro, outro and other incidental music recorded and made available by kind permission of Richard Gilbert.
NOTES
Ladies and gentlemen... the greatest cultural product of 2014: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONSdt7RS3Vs
In this week's episode, I welcome back George, talking about... well many things.... but, from an hour in, about the relatively obscure animated classic The Flight of Dragons (1982).
Before that, we touch on Witches Abroad, Adventure Time, Garth Merenghi's Darkplace and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Enjoy!
0.00 Preamble
1.01 The Flight of Dragons
You can find the show on Twitter at @EGoat_pod (or tweet at me on @D_Faggiani) and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com. All our episodes so far are on Spotify, our YouTube channel, and Apple Podcasts! Do share and enjoy. We also have a Patreon - any amount of money will get you early access to episodes, and help support the show!
George is a prolific YouTube creator, mostly on videogames, pop culture and literature, whose channel can be found here. His horror fiction and reviews can be discovered on his website Strange Playgrounds. He can be reached on Twitter on @EnigmaticElegy.
All original intro, outro and other incidental music recorded and made available by kind permission of Richard Gilbert.
NOTES
Here is a place where imagination is still real... DailyMotion: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7zva0r
This week, I welcome back both Cat and Nannina, to chat about one of my formative teenage movies - Walkabout (Nicolas Roeg, 1971). We talk about the film's unique style, its actors, what it might be trying to say, and its ambiguity and effectiveness. A great discussion.
0.00 Walkabout (pt 1)
0.53 Walkabout (pt 2)
You can find the show on Twitter at @EGoat_pod (or tweet at me on @D_Faggiani) and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com. All our episodes are on Spotify, our YouTube channel, and Apple Podcasts. Do share and enjoy. We also have a Patreon - any amount of money will get you early access to episodes, and help support the show!
Cat works in TV editing in Los Angeles. She is the co-host of The Anime Movie Podcast.
Nannina is a screenwriter, who procrastinates at writing by going down deep research wormholes into alternate dimensions. She supports her writing habit by making coffee, and can be found on Twitter @NanninaGilder talking about early women filmmakers.
All original intro, outro and other incidental music recorded and made available by kind permission of Richard Gilbert.
NOTES
The interview clips of both Jenny Agutter and David Gulpilil used in the show can be found in their entirety on YouTube.
Welcome back for our second series! For this return, I have a fantastic discussion with Matt and John about the legendary UK sitcom Blackadder II (1986, BBC).
We talk about its reinvention after the experimentation of The Black Adder (1983), how its cast make it really fly as an ensemble comedy, and some of our personal highlights. We then work our way through all six episodes, to sieve them for highlights and flaws. We attempted to be critical, but there is also just a fair bit of fanboying, let's face it.
0.00 Intro/preamble
0.09 Blackadder II in general
1.07 Episodes 1-6 more specifically
You can find the show on Twitter at @EGoat_pod (or tweet at me on @D_Faggiani) and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com. All our episodes so far are on Spotify, our YouTube channel, and Apple Podcasts. Do spread the word! We also have a Patreon - any amount of money will get you early access to episodes, and help support the show!
Matt can be found on YouTube with his regular co-hosted movie analysis show 'Matt and Mike Pull Focus'. He has previously appeared on several episodes of this show - including our previous episode on The Black Adder.
John has been watching and talking about television comedy since people repeatedly started singing the theme tune to 1980s sitcom Dear John at him. He has also been on quite a few episodes of the show now - including a great chat about Spaced.
All original intro, outro and other incidental music recorded and made available by kind permission of Richard Gilbert.
NOTES
Blackadder II can currently be watched on both BBC iPlayer and Britbox. Both the Rowan Atkinson interview clips I use on the show (including a longer version of the latter one) can be found on YouTube.
The world of Blackadder fan fiction is very. very, very odd (I'm not kidding). I include this one here, which is far from the oddest I've seen (ask me in the pub), but is notable for the way it tries to thread together the first and the second series in a way that no-one asked for, needed, or could have imagined.
We're back in the middle of our summer hiatus with a special new episode, to tide you over until September! I’m very pleased to welcome David Bean to the show, to talk primarily about his essay in the new counterfactual political history collection Prime Minister Priti and other things that never happened (Biteback Publishing, 2021), which is due out on 27th July.
In the first part of the episode, we talk about David’s essay What if Eric Joyce had pulled his punches in 2012? in the new book, which investigates a recent divergent scenario involving a drunken punch-up with massive implications for both the Labour Party and the state of Brexit today.
In the second part, I ask David about his essay from the previous 2011 Biteback collection, Prime Minister Boris and other things that never happened (hmmmmm) which focused on a narrative where Hillary Clinton beat Barack Obama to the Democratic Nomination in 2008. Specifically, we talk about how well the essay and its take on events have aged in regard to the events of 2012 and (particularly) 2016.
In the third part, we have a more wide-ranging free-form chat about alternate history in general, and especially some of the ways we were both introduced to it as kids. Material discussed include Fatherland, 1984, Star Trek (and The Orville!), Blackadder, A Christmas Carol and It’s A Wonderful Life! We hope you enjoy the episode!
0.00 Intro/chat
0.12 What if Eric Joyce had pulled his punches in 2012?
0.57 What if Hillary Clinton had secured the Democratic nomination in 2008?
1.27 Alternate histories in pop culture
You can find the show on Twitter at @EGoat_pod (or tweet at me on @D_Faggiani) and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com. All our episodes so far are on Spotify, our YouTube channel, and Apple Podcasts! Do spread the word! We also have a Patreon - any amount of money will get you early access to episodes, and help support the show!
David Bean has been a fan of alternative history for many years. In 2011 he contributed a chapter to Biteback Publishing's 'Prime Minister Boris… ' that considered a Hillary Clinton victory in the 2008 Democratic Party primaries. He is now returning with a new essay in the new volume 'Prime Minister Priti...' He spent most of the intervening years with the Policy Research Unit at the House of Commons, and can be contacted on Twitter at @DMBean.
All original intro, outro and other incidental music recorded and made available by kind permission of Richard Gilbert.
NOTES
Prime Minister Priti and other things that never happened can currently be pre-ordered and (after 27th July) purchased directly from the Biteback website, and through several book shops, along with the first four volumes in the series.
The EscapeGoat Podcast previously did an episode on The Black Adder – check it out here, if that’s to your interest!
The counterfactual thing I wrote back in late 2014 that I mention in the second part of the show (Douglas Carswell: Free Liberal) is still available online, for the curious! Here’s part 1, part 2 and part 3.
John joins me to wrap up our first season, by finishing our review of Series 6 of Inside No. 9 (BBC, 2014-). We cover episodes 4-6, and then give our respective rankings of the entire offering! Hope you have a good time listening to it.
The EscapeGoat Podcast will return with new episodes in September! Until then... enjoy the back catalogue! And thanks again to every single guest, and listener. It's been amazing.
0.00 Intro
0.04 Episode 4 - Hurry Up And Wait
0.27 Episode 5 - How Do You Plead?
0.49 Episode 6 - Last Night Of The Proms
1.25 Our final rankings
You can find the show on Twitter at @EGoat_pod (or tweet at me on @D_Faggiani) and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com. All our episodes so far are now on Spotify, our YouTube channel, and Apple Podcasts! Do spread the word! We also have a Patreon - any amount of money will get you early access to episodes, and help support the show!
John has been watching and talking about television comedy since people repeatedly started singing the theme tune to 1980s sitcom Dear John at him. He previously appeared on Episode 19, chatting about Inside No 9. He also came on the show to chat about the Channel 4 sitcom Spaced. And, of course, he was on pt 1 of this review.
All original intro, outro and other incidental music recorded and made available by kind permission of Richard Gilbert.
NOTES
Inside No. 9 is currently available in its entirety on BBC iPlayer and on a few other platforms. The 'after-show' podcast where Pemberton and Shearsmith (and guests) chat about each episode is on BBC Sounds here - they started doing them in Series 5.
In this penultimate episode of the first season (I guess) of The EscapeGoat Podcast, David and Nannina (after some initial chat about Dune) talk about the Audrey Hepburn/William Holden meta-fictional screenwriting rom-com oddity, Paris, When It Sizzles (Richard Quine, 1964.) Spoilers - it's a very odd movie. Enjoy!
0.00 Preamble/Dune
0.27 Paris, When It Sizzles (pt 1)
0.58 Paris, When It Sizzles (pt 2)
You can find the show on Twitter at @EGoat_pod (or tweet at me on @D_Faggiani) and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com. All our episodes so far are on Spotify, our YouTube channel, and Apple Podcasts! Do share and enjoy. We also have a Patreon - any amount of money will get you early access to episodes, and help support the show!
Nannina is a screenwriter, who procrastinates at writing by going down deep research wormholes into alternate dimensions. She supports her writing habit by making coffee, and can be found on Twitter @NanninaGilder talking about early women filmmakers. She previously appeared on Episode 20, talking about Hitchcock's The Birds and Episode 25, discussing The Time Machine (1960).
All original intro, outro and other incidental music recorded and made available by kind permission of Richard Gilbert.
NOTES
I couldn't justifiably get it into the episode (drat) but, please, enjoy this - one of my favourite remixes. Let it sizzle.
John returns to the show to discuss the first half of the long-awaited new sixth series of Inside No. 9 (BBC, 2014-). We cover episodes 1-3 of Series 6, and will be back in June to chat about the remaining episodes and to discuss the series as a whole. Until then, enjoy!
0.00 Intro/general chat
0.21 Initial reactions to Series 6 of Inside No. 9
0.42 Episode 1 - Wuthering Heist
1.10 Episode 2 - Simon Says
1.38 Episode 3 - Lip Service
You can find the show on Twitter at @EGoat_pod (or tweet at me on @D_Faggiani) and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com. All our episodes so far are now on Spotify, our YouTube channel, and Apple Podcasts! Do spread the word! We also have a Patreon - any amount of money will get you early access to episodes, and help support the show!
John has been watching and talking about television comedy since people repeatedly started singing the theme tune to 1980s sitcom Dear John at him. He previously appeared on Episode 19, chatting about Inside No 9. He also came on the show to chat about the Channel 4 sitcom Spaced.
All original intro, outro and other incidental music recorded and made available by kind permission of Richard Gilbert.
NOTES
Inside No. 9 is currently available in its entirety on BBC iPlayer and on a few other platforms. The 'after-show' podcast where Pemberton and Shearsmith (and guests) chat about each episode is on BBC Sounds here - they started doing them in Series 5.
This week... I'm not on the show! Which is a novelty. Instead, many-times-prior guests Matt and Isobel host, and discuss the innovative and eccentric Armenian-American metal band System of a Down, a topic very close to both their hearts.
They chat about their fervent fandom, youthful and not-so-youthful gig and album memories, and then spend a serious negotiation coming up with a joint 'Top 5' tracks of the band. A great enthusiastic discussion, whether you love SOAD or not!
0.00 General discussion and memories of System
0.40 Matt and Isobel's Top 5 System tracks
1.02 Other favourites/closing thoughts
You can find the show on Twitter at @EGoat_pod (or tweet at me on @D_Faggiani) and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com. All our episodes so far are now on Spotify, our YouTube channel, and Apple Podcasts! Do spread the word! We also have a Patreon - any amount of money will get you early access to episodes, and help support the show!
Matt can be found on YouTube with his regular co-hosted movie analysis show 'Matt and Mike Pull Focus'. He has previously appeared on several episodes of this show - including the very first one.
Isobel is a full time Nomad who travels from home to home, house-sitting and exploring new places. Her blog, house-sitting booking form, and online shop can be found here: https://www.thenomadlifestyle.co.uk/. She previously appeared on three episodes of the show, discussing aspects of the Star Trek franchise and the movie Happiness.
All original intro, outro and other incidental music recorded and made available by kind permission of Richard Gilbert.
NOTES
The music podcast mentioned by Isobel, No Dogs in Space, can be found here. Also, Marc Maron recently (April 2021) had Serj on his WTF show, it's a fun listen!
Cat returns to the show for the first of hopefully two episodes about her and David's respective favourites in the Legend of Zelda game series!
After about 30 mins of chat about their recent podcasting efforts, they get onto chatting about the stone-cold N64 classic, Ocarina of Time (Nintendo, 1998). This includes digressions into fictional maps, orientalism, bisexuality, The Terminator and which tunic Adult Link looks hottest in. Enjoy!
0.00 General chat/making podcasts
0.30 Ocarina of Time
You can find the show on Twitter at @EGoat_pod (or tweet at me on @D_Faggiani) and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com. All our episodes so far are now on Spotify, our YouTube channel, and Apple Podcasts! Do spread the word! We also have a Patreon - any amount of money will get you early access to episodes, and help support the show!
Cat works in TV editing in Los Angeles. She is the co-host of The Anime Movie Podcast.
All original intro, outro and other incidental music in this and prior episodes recorded and made available by kind permission of Richard Gilbert.
NOTES
You might find these three pieces on Ocarina of Time interesting, by Tom Massey, Moses Vandenberg and L.I. Underhill respectively. This extended post/theory about the game's Temples is absolutely wild too.
Matt is my guest this week for our 30th episode, discussing his first impressions of Seasons 3 and 4 of The Sopranos (1999-2007, HBO), which he's watching for the first time. This follows on from our episode on the first two seasons last year.
N.B. This podcast contains no spoilers for The Sopranos beyond the end of Season 4, so if you've only seen that far, it's safe to listen! We do make references back to Seasons 1 and 2, as you might imagine.
0.00 Intro
0.08 Season 3
0.55 Season 4
You can find the show on Twitter at @EGoat_pod (or tweet at me on @D_Faggiani) and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com. All our episodes so far are now on Spotify, our YouTube channel, and Apple Podcasts! Do spread the word! We also have a Patreon - any amount of money will get you early access to episodes, and help support the show!
Matt can be found on YouTube with his regular co-hosted movie analysis show 'Matt and Mike Pull Focus'. He previously appeared on several episodes of this show - including our previous one on Sopranos Seasons 1 & 2.
All original intro, outro and other incidental music recorded and made available by kind permission of Richard Gilbert.
NOTES
The only Saturday Night Live sketch anyone ever needs to watch can be seen here. He was just THE best actor.
In this installment, I welcome Kit back to the show, to continue our deep dive on the BBC House of Cards series, with the middle part of the trilogy To Play The King (1993, BBC). Also featuring chat about Trump, The Justice League... and, if you stick around til after the credits... some UK politics. Who are we kidding... politics throughout. SPOILERS for House Of Cards and To Play The King. We make minor veiled references to The Final Cut, but spoiler-free we hope, as we'll be back for that. If you like this, I'd definitely recommend you check out Episode 21, where we both talk about House of Cards (1990) the first part of the trilogy, in equal depth. In fact, probably listen to that first, really. 0.00 Preamble and chat 0.34 The British Monarchy and us/To Play The King in general 1.02 Sarah/Elizabeth/Stamper 1.45 Mycroft/Chloe/The King/wrap-up 2.47 Epilogue You can find the show on Twitter at @EGoat_pod (or tweet at me on @D_Faggiani) and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com. All our episodes so far are on Spotify, our YouTube channel, and Apple Podcasts! We are also now on Patreon. Do share and enjoy.
Kit Power lives in Milton Keynes and writes horror and dark crime fiction, with occasional forays into dystopian science fiction. His fiction work includes a novel, ‘GodBomb!’, and a novella collection ‘Breaking Point’, two short story collections (‘A Warning About Your Future Enslavement That You Will Dismiss As A Collection Of Short Fiction And Essays By Kit Power’ and ‘Voices’) and novellas ‘The Finite’ and ‘A Song For The End’. He also writes non-fiction (https://www.gingernutsofhorror.com/my-life-in-horror.html with Volume 1 also available in book format) and has a limited hardback available on the subject of Ken Russell’s movie Tommy. In his increasingly inaccurately labelled spare time, he podcasts - on his own show, Watching Robocop With Kit Power, What The Hell Is Wrong With Us? with George Lea, and a Patreon exclusive show on the Sherlock Holmes canon with the legendary Jack Graham. For weekly early access to his fiction, non-fiction, and podcasting work, visit www.patreon.com/kitpower.
All original intro, outro and other incidental music recorded and made available by kind permission of Richard Gilbert.
NOTES
If you want a bit more Richardson reading Machiavelli (and who wouldn't?), here's the YouTube excerpt we made use of - you can probably get the whole audiobook somewhere online. Oh, and last episode, we highlighted the Grey Poupon mustard ad from the 90s... there's also this.
This time, I am joined by the wonderful Colleen Cheetham-Gerrard to talk first (relatively briefly) about the WandaVision finale, which had just aired two days ago when we recorded this! Subsequently, we talk about a mutual passion - Doctor Who (1963-, BBC) and more specifically, the Matt Smith/Karen Gillan-starring Season 6 (2011)! Is it fantastic? Flawed? As usual, a bit of both? Listen on...
0.00 WandaVision
0.33 Doctor Who and us in general
0.49 Season 6 in detail
You can find the show on Twitter at @EGoat_pod (or tweet at me on @D_Faggiani) and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com. All our episodes so far are on Spotify, our YouTube channel, and Apple Podcasts! Do spread the word! We also have a Patreon - any amount of money will get you early access to episodes, and help support the show!
Colleen Cheetham-Gerrard, despite the name, is not a Daily Telegraph columnist. Instead, she's a stand-up comedian and public speaker who can mostly be found on the London circuit (or these days on Zoom). Colleen is also a co-host for Strong Female Leads, a Standard Issue podcast focussing on nerd culture from a feminist perspective. You can find Colleen on @thecolleencg on Twitter and Instagram and Strong Female Leads is on Twitter @strfemaleleads, as well as in all the usual podcast locations."
All original intro, outro and other incidental music recorded and made available by kind permission of Richard Gilbert.
NOTES
We mention both Elizabeth Sandifer (and her vast TARDIS Eruditorum essay collection) and Jack Graham in this episode - you can find them both here: http://www.eruditorumpress.com/. This is the Andrew Blair piece from 2011 I mentioned https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/doctor-who-a-celebration-of-william-hartnell/ - Andrew has since written loads more for that site, as well as several other places, and can be found on Twitter on @freelance_liar.
Also, I found this on YouTube, from Doctor Who Confidential - remember that? It's arguably quite cute: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBfQ6ppm8jQ
In this episode, Matt and Rich join me to talk about the slightly divisive 2003 album Radiohead album Hail to the Thief. We discuss what Radiohead mean and meant to us, where they were at in 2003, and the strengths and weaknesses of the album in question. Hope you enjoy!
0.00 General intro chat
0.16 Radiohead and our experience with them
0.47 Hail to the Thief specifically
You can find the show on Twitter at @EGoat_pod (or tweet at me on @D_Faggiani) and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com. All our episodes so far are on Spotify, our YouTube channel, and Apple Podcasts! Do spread the word! We also have a Patreon - any amount of money will get you early access to episodes, and help support the show!
Matt can be found on YouTube with his regular co-hosted movie analysis show 'Matt and Mike Pull Focus'. He previously appeared on Episodes 1,4, 9, 15 and 17 of this podcast, where we discussed Zombies, South Park, All About Eve/Meet The Feebles, The Black Adder and The Sopranos respectively!
For more Rich, check out Episode 03, where Rich and I discussed Westerns (although not Deadwood!), Episode 08, where we discussed The Pixies, Episode 12, where we talked about the Road Runner cartoons with Dru, and Episode 14, where we chatted about Game of Thrones and Deadwood!
All original intro, outro and other incidental music recorded and made available by kind permission of Richard Gilbert.
NOTES
The HttT review from the NME I read a bit from on the episode can be found here. An extensive interview with the band originally released as a bonus disc with the special edition of the album (I think) is on YouTube here.
New episode, featuring YouTube creator and author George Daniel Lea! After a fun time discussing everything from contemporary horror game Visage to puzzle game classic Lemmings 2 to The Chronicles of Narnia to the ITV sitcom Vicious... we finally (at the 1hr mark) get around to chatting about the main focus of the episode, the Mervyn Peake adaptation Gormenghast (2000, BBC). We talk about the show's amazing ensemble cast, its startling aesthetics, and its differences from Peake's very idiosyncratic books. Hope you enjoy!
0.00 General chat/intro
1.00 Gormenghast (2000)
You can find the show on Twitter at @EGoat_pod (or tweet at me on @D_Faggiani) and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com. All our episodes so far are on Spotify, our YouTube channel, and Apple Podcasts! Do share and enjoy. We also have a Patreon - any amount of money will get you early access to episodes, and help support the show!
George is a prolific YouTube creator, mostly on videogames, pop culture and literature, whose channel can be found here. His horror fiction and reviews can be discovered on his website Strange Playgrounds. He can be reached on Twitter on @EnigmaticElegy.
All original intro, outro and other incidental music recorded and made available by kind permission of Richard Gilbert.
NOTES
As mentioned in the show, Gormenghast does not yet seem to be available to stream on BritBox, which is a shame, but can be purchased on DVD and BluRay, and it looks like it's currently up on YouTube for free - as is the 1980s BBC radio adaptation, for contrast!
As mentioned in the preamble, Michael Ward's book Planet Narnia: The Seven Heavens in the Imagination of C.S. Lewis (Oxford University Press, 2008) is well worth a read.
For this edition, I welcome back Nannina Gilder, to talk about another Rod Taylor movie (and another of my all time favourites!). We discuss The Time Machine (1960, George Pal) as well as our backgrounds with the Wells novella from 1895, sci-fi in general, and what little we can remember of the 2002 adaptation! Enjoy chat about Morlocks, Eloi, pre-Facebook Asimov internet message boards, offensive adventure fiction tropes and The Big Lebowski.
0.00 General chat/intro
0.24 The Time Machine as a story/our background with Sci-Fi
1.00 The Time Machine (1960)
You can find the show on Twitter at @EGoat_pod (or tweet at me on @D_Faggiani) and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com. All our episodes so far are on Spotify, our YouTube channel, and Apple Podcasts! Do share and enjoy. We also have a Patreon - any amount of money will get you early access to episodes, and help support the show!
Nannina is a screenwriter, who procrastinates at writing by going down deep research wormholes into alternate dimensions. She supports her writing habit by making coffee, and can be found on Twitter @NanninaGilder talking about early women filmmakers. She previously appeared on Episode 20, talking about Hitchcock's The Birds.
All original intro, outro and other incidental music recorded and made available by kind permission of Richard Gilbert.
NOTES
The Time Machine by H.G Wells can obviously be purchased from pretty much every bookseller in the world, although you might be harder pressed to pick up a copy of The Time Ships by Stephen Baxter (1995) although it's well worth it if you can! Also, this exists.
In this episode, John returns, to discuss one of his favourite shows with me, that being the cult British sitcom Spaced (1999-2001, Channel 4).
We talk about the choices Jessica Hynes and Simon Pegg made in bringing the show to the screen, as well as the indelible signature of Edgar Wright as director, and what the other actors contribute to the whole mix. We then have a brief chat about the 'Cornetto Trilogy' of movies (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, The World's End), particularly what approaches they might continue from Spaced, and what they do differently.
0.00 Intro
0.06 Spaced/Season 1/Tim & Daisy
1.00 The other characters in Spaced/Season 2
1.52 The 'Cornetto Trilogy' and Spaced
You can find the show on Twitter at @EGoat_pod (or tweet at me on @D_Faggiani) and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com. All our episodes so far are now on Spotify, our YouTube channel, and Apple Podcasts! Do spread the word!
John has been watching and talking about television comedy since people repeatedly started singing the theme tune to 1980s sitcom Dear John at him. He previously appeared on Episode 19, chatting about Inside No 9.
All original intro, outro and other incidental music recorded and made available by kind permission of Richard Gilbert.
NOTES
Spaced is currently available to stream on both Netflix and BritBox. The BFI panel discussion from January 2020 from which we play a clip from can be found on YouTube, as can this fascinating cut scene from the finale, which I hadn't seen when we recorded, or I would definitely have mentioned it (I think they should have included it.) The mid-noughties 'reunion' doc Skip To The End featuring Hynes, Pegg, Wright and most of the other contributors to Spaced can be found on DailyMotion.
For the second part of a conversation either side of the US Election, I am joined this week by Tierney Hamilton, and also by my friends Megan and Sophie.
In the first half, we discuss events since the November election, and how Trump and Biden have played the situation. We also unavoidably discuss the storming of Capitol Hill by a pro-Trump mob on 6th January (we were recording on 9th January, so it's pretty fresh). We discuss the possibilities and benefits of impeachment.
In the second part we discuss the new shape of the Senate after Georgia, the likely politics of the Biden administration and some of his Cabinet picks (and Kamala Harris) and what the hell lies in store for the future of the Republican Party post-Trump... and the USA itself.
0.00 Intro/events since November/Capitol Hill
0.54 The Georgia Senate results/the future for the Democrats/the future for the Republicans
You can find the show on Twitter at @EGoat_pod (or tweet at me on @D_Faggiani) and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com. All our episodes so far are on Spotify, our YouTube channel, and Apple Podcasts! Do spread the word!
Tierney Hamilton (7 February 1812- 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. She created some of the world's best known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era. If you want Alternative Facts... Tierney Hamilton is a dog person and PhD student in Visual and Cultural Studies at the University of Rochester. Her research interests include Art and Technology, Expanded Cinema, Interactivity, Relational Aesthetics, Exhibitions and Public Engagement, and Arts Equity.
Megan is a former teacher turned stay-at-home mom who is retraining into accountancy in her free time. She's also an avid reader and crafter. She was born and raised in Indiana but has lived the past 17 years in the UK and Ireland. She currently resides in Ireland with her husband and kids.
Sophie is an artist and educator, originally from Manchester (UK) now living in Omaha, Nebraska.
All original intro, outro and other incidental music recorded and made available by kind permission of Richard Gilbert.
NOTES
You can watch the Justice League Unlimited clip used in the middle of the episode on YouTube here: Seemed pertinent, and a good tie-in to our previous episode!
To see out 2020 (phew), I am joined by Jonny Kiehlmann to chat about the Alan Moore comics gem, the Superman 'finale' Whatever Happened To The Man Of Tomorrow? (1986, DC Comics). We also ramble a bit about other Moore works, and some other notable Superman stories, as well as 'endings' in popular heroic fiction generally. Give it a listen, and Happy New Year in advance! See you in 2021.
0.00 Intro and general chat
0.23 Whatever Happened To The Man Of Tomorrow?
1.10 'Endings' in ongoing heroic fiction
You can find the show on Twitter at @EGoat_pod (or tweet at me on @D_Faggiani) and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com. All our episodes so far are on Spotify, our YouTube channel, and Apple Podcasts! We are also now on Patreon. Do share and enjoy.
Jonny Kiehlmann is a politics, maths, book and climbing nerd based in Aberdeen and London. He is on Twitter on @kiehlmanniac.
All original intro, outro and other incidental music recorded and made available by kind permission of Richard Gilbert.
NOTES
You can purchase WHTTMOT in a collected trade from most booksellers, and in the US (I think) from DC Comics Online. The Laurie Anderson clip used in the episode can be watched in its entirety on YouTube, as can the full interview with Stewart Lee and Moore (from BBC Radio). Oh, and the Kieron Gillen lecture on Watchmen that Jonny mentions can be found here. We thought we'd include the cover of All Star Superman #1 by Grant Morrison below, just because it's wonderful.
This week, I'm delighted to welcome Kit Power to the show! After some initial and vaguely relevant discussion about Season 4 of The Crown (Netflix, 2016-), we proceed to a thorough chat about a mutual favourite, the 1990 BBC TV political drama miniseries House of Cards, starring Ian Richardson and Susannah Harker.
SPOILERS for House Of Cards itself, and very minor spoilers for the US remake show (Netflix, 2013-2018). We make minor references to To Play the King and The Final Cut, but these are spoiler-free, as we hope to cover these sequel miniseries in the future!
0.00 Intro
0.06 The Crown (Season 4)
0.22 House Of Cards (1990)
You can find the show on Twitter at @EGoat_pod (or tweet at me on @D_Faggiani) and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com. All our episodes so far are on Spotify, our YouTube channel, and Apple Podcasts! We are also now on Patreon. Do share and enjoy.
Kit Power lives in Milton Keynes and writes horror and dark crime fiction, with occasional forays into dystopian science fiction. His fiction work includes a novel, ‘GodBomb!’, and a novella collection ‘Breaking Point’, two short story collections (‘A Warning About Your Future Enslavement That You Will Dismiss As A Collection Of Short Fiction And Essays By Kit Power’ and ‘Voices’) and novellas ‘The Finite’ and ‘A Song For The End’. He also writes non-fiction (https://www.gingernutsofhorror.com/my-life-in-horror.html with Volume 1 also available in book format) and has a limited hardback available on the subject of Ken Russell’s movie Tommy. In his increasingly inaccurately labelled spare time, he podcasts - on his own show, Watching Robocop With Kit Power, What The Hell Is Wrong With Us? with George Lea, and a Patreon exclusive show on the Sherlock Holmes canon with the legendary Jack Graham. For weekly early access to his fiction, non-fiction, and podcasting work, visit www.patreon.com/kitpower.
All original intro, outro and other incidental music recorded and made available by kind permission of Richard Gilbert.
NOTES
House of Cards is currently available on BritBox, and can be purchased on Amazon Prime. The Andrew Marr interview with Ian Richardson (from 2006) which we play an excerpt from in the episode can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUXTzsWk3Bc. Also... this exists... and everyone must know about it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwOCOm9Z0YE .
On this 20th installment, I'm joined by my friend Nannina to talk about one of my favourite films, The Birds (Alfred Hitchcock, 1963).
After a general catch up about the post-Election landscape in late November 2020 in the US, we turn to discussion of the indelible Hitchcock movie, in terms of its focus, its characters and its startling aesthetic style. We also touch on the original 1953 short story, by Daphne du Maurier.
We then move on to the sad topic of Tippi Hedren's artistically productive but deeply toxic and unpleasant relationship with Hitchcock. Spoiler warnings for The Birds (and, briefly, Marnie) and trigger warnings for controlling abuse and sexual harassment.
0.00 Intro chat/the US in November 2020
0.28 The Birds
1.17 Hedren and Hitchcock
You can find the show on Twitter at @EGoat_pod (or tweet at me on @D_Faggiani) and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com. All our episodes so far are on Spotify, our YouTube channel, and Apple Podcasts! Do share and enjoy.
Nannina is a screenwriter, who procrastinates at writing by going down deep research wormholes into alternate dimensions. She supports her writing habit by making coffee, and can be found on Twitter @NanninaGilder talking about early women filmmakers.
All original intro, outro and other incidental music recorded and made available by kind permission of Richard Gilbert.
NOTES
The full clip from the August 2012 BFI interview with Tippi Hedren which we play an extract from in the show can be found here. I found it pretty upsetting. There's also an interesting New Yorker piece by Richard Brody on Marnie and Hitchcock more broadly, from 2016.
This week, it’s my pleasure to take a break from electoral matters, and welcome my friend John to the show (in what ended up being our longest episode yet) to talk about the dark comedy anthology TV show Inside No 9 (BBC, 2014-). We’re both big fans.
After some general discussion of the show and our backgrounds with Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton, we get into specific analysis of (what else?) 9 episodes that we’ve picked as favourites to chat about in more detail.
SPOILERS for these episodes and more from 31 minutes in! I’ve put the specific timecodes below to aid in navigation.
0.00 Intro/general discussion of Inside No 9
0.31 The Understudy (S1)
0.45 The 12 Days of Christine (S2)
0.58 The Devil of Christmas (Special)
1.09 The Riddle of the Sphinx (S3)
1.19 Empty Orchestra (S3)
1.31 Diddle Diddle Dumpling (S3)
1.47 Bernie Clifton's Dressing Room (S4)
2.03 To Have And To Hold (S4)
2.14 Dead Line (Special)
2.30 Thoughts on Series 5/The future of the show
You can find the show on Twitter at @EGoat_pod (or tweet at me on @D_Faggiani) and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com. All our episodes so far are now on Spotify, our YouTube channel, and Apple Podcasts! Do spread the word!
John has been watching and talking about television comedy since people repeatedly started singing the theme tune to 1980s sitcom Dear John at him.
All original intro, outro and other incidental music recorded and made available by kind permission of Richard Gilbert.
NOTES
Inside No 9 can currently be streamed in the UK on BBC iPlayer, and in the USA on Britbox. Anyone looking for more info on the show should either search on YouTube for material (especially commentaries) from Shearsmith and Pemberton themselves, or check out the YouTube channel of WeeLin, which is full of detailed interesting fan material and opinion.
For the first part of a conversation either side of 3rd November, I am joined this week by Tierney Hamilton, for a discussion of current US Politics ahead of the rapidly-approaching Presidential Election.
In the first half, we have a general political discussion, and get an idea of the mood on the ground in Tierney's part of the States (Rochester, NY). From 41 minutes in, we talk more about the performance of the Trump and Biden campaigns, how we feel about how it's all going, and we make a few predictions about States results and other outcomes. Eeeep.
A second part will definitely follow soon after Election Day... til then... good luck everyone.
0.00 Intro/General political chat
0.41 The Trump/Biden campaigns/Predictions for November
You can find the show on Twitter at @EGoat_pod (or tweet at me on @D_Faggiani) and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com. All our episodes so far are now on Spotify, our YouTube channel, and Apple Podcasts! Do spread the word!
Tierney Hamilton (7 February 1812- 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. She created some of the world's best known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era. If you want Alternative Facts... Tierney Hamilton is a dog person and PhD student in Visual and Cultural Studies at the University of Rochester. Her research interests include Art and Technology, Expanded Cinema, Interactivity, Relational Aesthetics, Exhibitions and Public Engagement, and Arts Equity.
All original intro, outro and other incidental music recorded and made available by kind permission of Richard Gilbert.
NOTES
The Reply All Podcast Tierney mentions in the episode can be found here (their episode on QAnon), and here also is the Left Right and Centre Podcast referenced. The Game of Seats Facebook group which Tierney and I are both members of can be found here, for FB users... do join us there, if interested!
Matt joins me for a chat about his first impressions of the first two seasons of The Sopranos (1999-2007, HBO). He has just finished watching them for the first time, and I'm a massive long-term fan, so I couldn't resist getting his take on the early stages of the show!
We also ramble a bit at the start about the current commercial state of cinema in late 2020, and somehow drift from The Sopranos into Close Encounters of The Third Kind at some point.
N.B. This podcast contains no spoilers for The Sopranos beyond the end of Season 2, so if you've only seen that far, it's safe to listen!
This episode is dedicated to the late great Carl Whiteley, great friend of Matt's and Sopranos super-fan. RIP.
0.00 Intro
0.22 The Sopranos
0.33 Season 1
1.08 Season 2
You can find the show on Twitter at @EGoat_pod (or tweet at me on @D_Faggiani) and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com. All our episodes so far are now on Spotify, our YouTube channel, and Apple Podcasts! Do spread the word!
Matt can be found on YouTube with his regular co-hosted movie analysis show 'Matt and Mike Pull Focus' - in fact, their Hallowe'en special on obscure Horror movie picks is now out! He previously appeared on Episodes 1,4, 9 and 15 of this podcast, where we discussed Zombies, South Park, All About Eve/Meet The Feebles and The Black Adder respectively!
All original intro, outro and other incidental music recorded and made available by kind permission of Richard Gilbert.
NOTES
The HBO Sopranos trailer from 1999 that I play in the show can be watched here. The Talking Sopranos podcast hosted by Michael Imperioli and Steve Schirripa is highly recommended and fascinating - full of spoilers though!
In this episode, I welcome Isobel back to the show! After getting distracted with other topics (mostly, my recent rewatch of Season 3 of The Wire - minor spoilers for that show) we turn to an examination of the VERY dark comedy/drama movie Happiness (Todd Solondz, 1998). Skip straight to 34 minutes in for that.
It’s a fun conversation, but also touches on some very dark themes, as the movie does. So, content warnings for discussion of harassment, sexual abuse/paedophilia and sexual assault.
0.00 Intro
0.14 The Wire (Season 3 mostly)
0.34 Happiness (pt 1 – Helen, Allen, Christina, Lenny/Mona, Joy/Vlad)
1.41 Happiness (pt 2 – Bill, Billy, Trish)
You can find the show on Twitter at @EGoat_pod (or tweet at me on @D_Faggiani) and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com. All our episodes so far are now on Spotify, our YouTube channel, and Apple Podcasts! Do spread the word!
Isobel is a full time Nomad who travels from home to home, house-sitting and exploring new places. Her blog, house-sitting booking form, and online shop can be found here: https://www.thenomadlifestyle.co.uk/. She previously appeared on Episode 2 of this podcast, where we discussed Star Trek: Voyager, and Episode 6, where we discussed All Good Things/The TNG movies/Star Trek: Picard.
All original intro, outro and other incidental music recorded and made available by kind permission of Richard Gilbert.
NOTES
The Wire podcast I just discovered is The Wire: Way Down In The Hole by Jemele Hill and Van Lathan. Recommended!
You can find the hilariously-and-inappropriately-jaunty contemporary US Theatrical trailer for Happiness (played in the episode) on YouTube here, alongside the clip of Todd Solondz on Conan O’Brien in 1998, from which we play an excerpt. You can find information on Stop SO, the sexual abuse prevention charity Isobel mentions, on their website.
This week, I welcome Matt back to the podcast, to talk about a very unusual and much maligned semi-obscurity... the first series of a subsequently highly revered UK comedy, The Black Adder (1983, BBC Television). Is it as bad as its reputation suggests? And what did the following more acclaimed Blackadder series take from it... and what did they leave behind?
Matt and I recall our childhood background with the show, discuss The Black Adder in general, including its cast and style, and then examine the six episode series in a bit more detail, including what makes it so disconcerting and odd. Hope you enjoy it!
0.00 Intro
0.07 The Black Adder
0.53 Episodes 1-6: analysis
You can find the show on Twitter at @EGoat_pod (or tweet at me on @D_Faggiani) and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com. All our episodes so far are now on Spotify, our YouTube channel, and Apple Podcasts! Do spread the word!
Matt can be found on YouTube with his regular co-hosted movie analysis show 'Matt and Mike Pull Focus'. He previously appeared on Episodes 1,4 and 9 of this podcast, where we discussed Zombies, South Park, and All About Eve/Meet The Feebles respectively!
All original intro, outro and other incidental music recorded and made available by kind permission of Richard Gilbert.
NOTES
The unaired The Black Adder pilot can currently be found on Dailymotion here - it really is worth a look! For anyone wishing to remind themselves about the whole Michael Gove vs Blackadder row in 2014, here's a refresher.
For this episode... we present the unearthed EscapeGoat pilot! A conversation recorded in June 2019, with the thought of being a dry run for a potential podcast which eventually became this show!
In this chat (recorded face to face in a very hot room), Rich and I talked about the then-recent finale episode of Game of Thrones (2011-19, HBO) and what we made of it, and indeed some of the general direction of the show.
We go on to talk about the (again) then-recent comeback special/belated finale of Deadwood (2004-2006, 2019), and how it's an odd TV event, but one that made us feel very good!
As I say in the intro, this is kind of our The Menagerie (for Star Trek fans!) and both these shows have drifted out of the cultural conversation since last summer, but we hope you enjoy it, as a barely edited 'dry run'!
0.00 Intro
0.03 The finale of Game of Thrones
0.59 The Deadwood movie
You can find the show on Twitter at @EGoat_pod (or tweet at me on @D_Faggiani) and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com. All our episodes so far are now on Spotify, our YouTube channel, and Apple Podcasts! Do spread the word!
If you enjoyed this, check out Episode 03, where Rich and I discussed Westerns (although not Deadwood!), Episode 08, where we discussed The Pixies, and Episode 12, where we talked about the Road Runner cartoons with Dru.
All original intro, outro and other incidental music in this and prior episodes recorded and made available by kind permission of Richard Gilbert.
NOTES
In keeping with the casual summer 'holiday hiatus' feel of the existence of this episode in general.... I hope you enjoy this clip featuring Peter Dinklage :)
This week, I'm joined by Olivia, to discuss two respective childhood passions with some similarities - the Pokemon and Monster in My Pocket franchises!
We discuss our introduction to the brands as kids, our passion for collecting and exploring these worlds, and the origins, inspirations and symbolism behind the monsters in each series. Olivia talks about how her recent acquisition of Pokemon Shield for the Nintendo Switch has helped her cope with lockdown, and I share how similar rediscovery of my childhood MIMP figures (and a very expensive sticker album!) has helped me deal with a very odd year.
0.00 Pokemon
0.47 Monster In My Pocket
You can find the show on Twitter at @EGoat_pod (or tweet at me on @D_Faggiani) and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com. All our episodes so far are now on Spotify, our YouTube channel, and Apple Podcasts! Do follow us wherever you prefer.
Olivia previously appeared on episode 4 of the show, where we discussed South Park! Check it out. Olivia can be reached on Twitter on @olivia_broome or on Instagram via @oliviaxbroome.
All original intro, outro and other incidental music in this and prior episodes recorded and made available by kind permission of Richard Gilbert.
NOTES
Pokemon is obviously a very widely discussed cultural phenomenon, almost 25 years on from its launch. Obviously the greatest manifestation of the entire franchise is this late nineties promotional TV linking clip featuring Lou Bega. Enjoy.
Monster in my Pocket hasn't left quite such a big cultural footprint, but you can have a look at the Series 1 and Series 2 monsters on this fan wiki. The controversy over the Kali figure in the British Hindu community is referenced in this piece by Don Jolly.
This week, I welcome back both Rich and Dru to the show, for an extremely enjoyable discussion of the classic Warner Bros Chuck Jones-directed Road Runner cartoons! We have a general chat about why we think they're so brilliant, talk a bit about the context of their creation, and get shamelessly in-depth about some of our favourite gags from the series (particularly from the first 10 films in the series, 1949-1957) and why we think they are enduringly fantastic and creative. Had such a good time doing this!
After Dru leaves us, me and Rich then have a quick chat about the 2015 movie Bone Tomahawk, which I have watched since Rich recommended it on a previous episode.
0.00 The Road Runner cartoons
0.46 The first 10 films and their highlights
1.36 Bonus discussion of Bone Tomahawk
You can find the show on Twitter at @EGoat_pod (or tweet at me on @D_Faggiani) and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com. All our episodes so far are now on Spotify, our YouTube channel, and Apple Podcasts! Do spread the word!
If you enjoyed this, check out Episode 03, where Rich and I discussed Westerns and Episode 08, where we discussed The Pixies. Dru was previously on Episode 07, talking about Who Framed Rodger Rabbit?
All original intro, outro and other incidental music in this and prior episodes recorded and made available by kind permission of Richard Gilbert.
NOTES
Anyone wishing to see as well as hear the classic 'Earthquake Pills' bit that I dropped in as an audio feature in the middle of the episode can view it here. It's genius. I hope the sonic experience alone was memorable! Also, this recent Village Voice piece about Chuck Jones and the aesthetics of his cartoons is well worth a read.
This week, my friend Daniel joins me for the first time, to discuss a shared passion of ours, the stories of Roald Dahl!
In the first half we focus pretty closely on discussion of Dahl's longish short story The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar. In the second half, we broaden the scope to talk a little bit about Dahl's other works, particularly some of his more popular children's fiction, and their ideas around retributive and 'childish' justice. Works discussed include Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Witches, The BFG, Fantastic Mr Fox and several others.
0.00 The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar
0.54 Dahl and the nature of justice in his stories
You can find the show on Twitter at @EGoat_pod (or tweet at me on @D_Faggiani) and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com. All our episodes so far are now on Spotify, our YouTube channel, and Apple Podcasts! Do spread the word!
All original intro, outro and other incidental music in this and prior episodes recorded and made available by kind permission of Richard Gilbert.
NOTES
We'll almost certainly end up doing another podcast about Roald Dahl some other time - probably focusing more on his more nominally 'adult' stories, which Daniel and I have a lot to say about.
Just to highlight - we (very briefly) mention Dahl's pretty unpleasant antisemitism in this podcast, but don't really go on to examine it at all. We're not wanting to minimise it - it will definitely be a topic of proper discussion next time we do a cast about Dahl.
The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar can currently be found on YouTube here, read by Martin Jarvis. I think this is the version I listened to growing up, and, yes, Jarvis does basically do a (fairrrrrly restrained) 'Apu voice' in Indian accent when voicing Imrat Khan. I know Andrew Scott has narrated a more recent version - I have no idea if he does the same (let us know!)
The author Jack Graham, who I mention towards the end of the cast, touches on his conception and defence of 'childish' politics (in a good way) in this piece, and I think in others. Apologies if I misrepresented his views in any way on the cast, I hope I got the basic gist across!
In our 10th episode, Cat returns to talk to me about how the US TV industry has been faring since we spoke in April, and a little bit about how US Politics is shaping up ahead of the November Presidential, and in light of the continuing COVID chaos.
We then get on to the main topic of discussion, that of romantic comedy movies. We mainly focus on 500 Days of Summer (Marc Webb, 2009), When Harry Met Sally (Rob Reiner, 1989) and Annie Hall (Woody Allen, 1977). Other films we touch on include Me Before You, While You Were Sleeping, Isn't It Romantic...and a few others! Was a fun conversation!
0.00 US TV/US Politics in 2020
0.40 500 Days of Summer
1.24 When Harry Met Sally
1.50 Annie Hall
You can find the show on Twitter at @EGoat_pod (or tweet at me on @D_Faggiani) and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com. All our episodes so far are now on Spotify, our YouTube channel, and Apple Podcasts! Do spread the word!
Cat works in TV editing in Los Angeles. She is the co-host of The Anime Movie Podcast. You can listen to Cat's previous episode (on Ex Machina and Upgrade) here.
All original intro, outro and other incidental music in this and prior episodes recorded and made available by kind permission of Richard Gilbert.
NOTES
Obviously, there has been a lot written about Romantic Comedy tropes! Here's an introductory piece from 2013 about the Manic Pixie Dream Girl cliche.
On this episode, Matt returns, to discuss with me a film double-bill about the perils and pitfalls of getting ahead, knowing who to trust and being an older actress in the theatre world - that is, All About Eve (Joseph L. Mankiewicz, 1950) and Meet The Feebles (Peter Jackson, 1989).
After that, we have a brief and hopefully mildly-amusing post-show chat about Star Wars!
0.00 All About Eve
0.56 Meet The Feebles
1.36 Post-show chat
You can find the show on Twitter at @EGoat_pod (or tweet at me on @D_Faggiani) and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com. All our episodes so far are now on Spotify, our YouTube channel, and Apple Podcasts! Do spread the word!
Matt can be found on YouTube with his regular co-hosted movie analysis show 'Matt and Mike Pull Focus'. Matt previously appeared on Episodes 1 and 4 of this podcast, where we discussed Zombies and South Park, respectively!
All original intro, outro and other incidental music in this and prior episodes recorded and made available by kind permission of Richard Gilbert.
NOTES
Meet the Feebles is, for some reason, currently available on YouTube in its entirety.
Friend of the show (and previous guest on Episode 7) Dru has also put together the Eve/Feebles mash-up poster below, which I'm slightly in love with.
On Episode 08 of the show, Rich returns!
We chat for a while about some television we've been watching recently (and some old associations with it).
We then move onto the meat of the episode - a discussion of the early (1987-1992) recording career of the utterly seminal US Alt Rock band The Pixies. We meanderingly traverse their discography, pick out some track highlights, and debate what the band meant to us and what they mean to us now!
0.00 Intro/TV discussion
0.35 The Pixies: Come on Pilgrim, Surfer Rosa and Doolittle
1.44 The Pixies: Bossanova and Trompe Le Monde
If you enjoyed this, check out Episode 03, where Rich and I discussed Westerns.
You can find the show on Twitter at @EGoat_pod (or tweet at me on @D_Faggiani) and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com. All our episodes so far are now on Spotify, our YouTube channel, and Apple Podcasts! Do spread the word!
NOTES
The 1988 Simon Reynolds piece on The Pixies I refer to in the show can be read here. The 1989 interview with Black and Deal can be watched here. And, for the curious and bold... here is the music video for 'Sign O' The Times' by Prince.
On this episode, I sit down with my friend Dru to gush lovingly about the live-action/cartoon LA noir classic Who Framed Rodger Rabbit? (Robert Zemeckis, 1988).
In Part 1, we blether on about various fantastic aspects of Rodger Rabbit, the work of Bob Hoskins and Christopher Llloyd in the film, and some of the political resonances of Doom's plan and of the existence and treatment of the Toons in general, as well as our idea for a prequel comic.
In Part 2, we get a little bit more into some of the technical innovations of the movie, including several specific scene highlights and how they were realised, as well as talking about Jessica Rabbit, Eddie's visit to Toon Town, and the general influence of Rodger Rabbit on the film and TV industry - including brief discussion of Cool World (Ralph Bakshi, 1992), which I kind of stan for.
We hope you enjoy the discussion as much as Dru and I did - it was fun to do!
0.00 - Part 1
0.58 - Part 2
1.54 - Outro
(Content warning - towards the end of Part 1, we do briefly discuss visual and plot elements of the movie that evoke the Holocaust. Just so you know...)
As always, you can follow the show on Twitter at @EGoat_pod (or get David on @D_Faggiani) and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com.
NOTES
Who Framed Rodger Rabbit? is currently available to stream on Disney+, and you can purchase it at various other places. You might enjoy this documentary on the making of the movie which was originally a VHS extra, available on Youtube, as well as this shorter clip regarding a deleted scene from the film.
If you want to read up about the real-life history of the LA public transport system in the 20th Century, this Curbed Los Angeles article by Elijah Chiland is a good starting point!
In this installment of the show, Isobel returns, and we discuss All Good Things, the classic finale episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1994). We talk about what makes All Good Things such an effective and emotional episode of television, and touch on its themes of trauma, healing and solidarity.
We then move on to kvetch about a few things which arguably provide a less-satisfying capstone to the Next Generation story - namely, the four TNG movies (1994-2002) and the recent Star Trek: Picard (CBS/Amazon Prime, 2020-).
0.00 Intro
0.04 All Good Things
0.58 The TNG movies
1.30 Star Trek: Picard
You can find the show on Twitter at @EGoat_pod (or get David on @D_Faggiani) and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com.
Isobel is a full time Nomad who travels from home to home, house-sitting and exploring new places - although less so at present, sadly. Her blog, house-sitting booking form, and online shop can be found here: https://www.thenomadlifestyle.co.uk/. She previously appeared on Episode 2 of this podcast, where we discussed Star Trek: Voyager - check it out!
NOTES
Obviously, rather a lot has been written about All Good Things in the last 26 years! Two fun takes to start with might be those of Zack Handlen and Josh Marsfelder.
For a contemporary (July 1994) take on why Star Trek:TNG ended, and made way for the movies, whilst still pulling huge audiences in, check out this archived NY Times piece.
Also, more recent immediate takes on ST: Picard are copious - a few that are enjoyable are The Pensky Podcast, Richard Jackson at Val Verde Broadcasting, and the guys at Trekabout, one of whom mounts a defence of Picard based on its groundings in Jewish mysticism. It didn't quite convince me to like the show, but it was interesting!
In this episode, I'm joined by my friend Cat Hamilton, from LA. We talk a little bit about the current state of the US TV industry (which Cat works in), its short-term reactions to the current Covid-19 crisis, and the future directions it might evolve into, to survive.
Speaking of evolution and survival, we then move onto the primary focus of the episode, in discussion of two sci-fi/AI-focused movies from the 2010s, Ex Machina (Alex Garland, 2015) and Upgrade (Leigh Whannell, 2018), and our thoughts about them. We liked one of them a bit more than the other one. We also conversationally stray into Lethal Weapon, Dracula, Psycho, Red Dwarf , Arsenic and Old Lace and... Fawlty Towers, for some reason. I blame lockdown.
0.00 Intro
0.05 The state of the TV industry (in April 2020)
0.28 Ex Machina
1.20 Upgrade
2.28 Post-human chatter
You can reach the podcast on Twitter at @EGoat_pod (or tweet at me on @D_Faggiani) and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com.
Cat works in TV editing in Los Angeles. She is the co-host of The Anime Movie Podcast.
All original intro, outro and other incidental music recorded and made available by kind permission of Richard Gilbert.
NOTES
I thought this piece, by Jaylan Salah Salman, was a good intro to some of the more feminist themes in Ex Machina. You might also want to check out Sympathy for the Other: the Science Fiction Horror Film in the Brexit/Trump era, by Darren Mooney.
This week, I welcome Matt back to the podcast, and am also joined by Olivia Broome, to talk about South Park (1997-, Comedy Central) in general, as well as conducting a full episode-by-episode retrospective on Season 5 of the show, which aired over the course of 2001, and contains episodes including Scott Tenorman Must Die, Super Best Friends, Kenny Dies and Butters' Very Own Episode.
We discuss the approach and attitudes of Trey Parker and Matt Stone's work as a whole, as well as their development of South Park in the early years, including the move South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut (Trey Parker, 1999). We attempt to examine whether Season 5's status as my personal peak of the show holds up to scrutiny. We also debate how our fandom has evolved over the decades, the show's influence on us, and our current varying assessments of the show in 2020.
Content warning - in discussing the show, we do very occasionally use the words 'Jew', 'F*g' and some other terms that could be considered slurs, in quoting from the show or the ancillary materials. Just to make you aware.
0.00 Intro/general discussion of South Park
0.26 South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut
0.43 Season 5, episodes 1-8
1.19 Season 5, episodes 9-14
1.55 Wrap up
You can find the show on Twitter at @EGoat_pod (or tweet at me on @D_Faggiani) and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com. All original intro, outro and other incidental music recorded and made available by kind permission of Richard Gilbert.
Matt can be found on Youtube with his regular co-hosted movie analysis show 'Matt and Mike Pull Focus'. Matt previously appeared on Episode 01 of this podcast, where we discussed Zombie movies (especially Day of the Dead) and World War Z. Listen to that episode here. Olivia can be reached on Instagram via @oliviaxbroome.
NOTES
The short commentaries on Season 5 by Parker and Stone (which are fascinating) can be found currently on the South Park Studios UK website, and I imagine on other global equivalent sites. The full movie Cannibal: The Musical (Parker, 1993) can at the time of this posting be watched in full on the Troma Youtube channel, which I just discovered is a thing. Be assured, the three of us watched it (remotely) a few nights after recording this show, whilst drinking bloody maries.
This week, I'm joined by Richard Gilbert to discuss a fairly broad swathe of Westerns. First, we talk Sergio Leone and the 'Dollars Trilogy', with particular focus on The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (Leone, 1966). We definitely touch on mythological tropes, and we probably get a bit pretentious. We then chat about the first three episodes of The Mandalorian (Disney+, 2019-) and especially how it echoes Leone stylings and themes.
We then move on to me interviewing Rich about his experience playing the two Red Dead Redemption games (Rockstar Games, 2010/2018), and his take on their scope and influences, from both film and videogames themselves. The idea of Western simulations then leads us into a brief discussion of Westworld (HBO, 2016-) - primarily, Season 1, because neither of us have watched further (because neither of us liked it).
Somehow, neither me nor Rich even utter the word 'Deadwood' throughout this entire episode, which is extraordinary, as we're both massive fans.
0.00 Sergio Leone/The 'Dollars Trilogy'
0.53 The Mandalorian
1.06 Read Dead Redemption/Red Dead Redemption 2
1.37 Westworld
1.52 Recent recommendations/wrap up
You can find the show on Twitter at @EGoat_pod (or tweet at me on @D_Faggiani) and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com. All original intro, outro and other incidental music recorded and made available by kind permission of Richard Gilbert.
NOTES
The book Cult Movies by Danny Peary (first pub. 1982) can be purchased on Amazon, via this link, as can The Immediate Experience by Robert Warshow (first pub. 1962), via this link. Listeners might also want to check out this 2018 YouTube clip of the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, because it's joyous.
In this episode, I'm joined by my friend Isobel McNally to discuss the television series Star Trek: Voyager (UPN, 1995-2001). Isobel and I discuss our childhood and adolescent Trek fandom, where Voyager sits in our regards, and how it's aged in our eyes, and those of the wider Trek community. We review some of our highlights (and lowlights) of the seven seasons of Voyager, and talk a little bit about where the franchise has been more recently, and our current relationship with all things Trek.
(N.B. this episode was recorded with two episodes left to air of Season 1 of Star Trek: Picard, so although we touch on it briefly, we didn't think it was fair to properly review it. Suffice it to say, the last two episodes didn't do much to improve either of our opinions of it.)
0.00 Intro - first experiences with Star Trek
0.10 Star Trek: Voyager (general discussion/themes and characters)
0.49 Voyager Seasons 1-3
1.23 Voyager Seasons 4-7
1.50 More recent Star Trek and opinions of it/wrap up
You can find the show on Twitter at @EGoat_pod (or get David on @D_Faggiani) and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com. All original intro, outro and other incidental music written, recorded and made available by kind permission of Richard Gilbert.
Isobel is a full time Nomad (not unlike the crew of the USS Voyager) who travels from home to home, house-sitting and exploring new places. She writes about her reflections on the road, and her blog, house-sitting booking form, and online shop can be found here: https://www.thenomadlifestyle.co.uk/
NOTES
For information on the quite-frankly unbelievable (on every level) 'Jamake Highwater', Voyager's fradulent Native American consultant, this Indian Country Today piece from 2015 is a good start.
The Irish media blogger and critic Darren Mooney has written an intimidatingly thorough and insightful collection of essays on every single episode of Star Trek: Voyager. They can found on his website themoveieblog.com here (scroll to the bottom for the catalogue) - very much recommended. Other sources you might enjoy are the Trekabout podcast, who covered almost all of Star Trek: Voyager - and, more generally, on wider Trek, the Vaka Rangi collection of essays by Josh Marsfelder, and the ongoing The Pensky Podcast by Wes Teasdale and Clay McCormack (and other guests).
Welcome to the first episode of a podcast about most things, flaws and all. And thus completely impossible to promote effectively or monetize. I'm your host David Blake-Faggiani. In this first attempt, I am joined by my brother Matt to discuss two pretty important pieces of Zombie fiction - the movie Day of the Dead (George A. Romero, 1985) and the fictional oral history novel World War Z (Max Brooks, published 2006).
We touch on the meaning of both these works to us, and discuss the wider Zombie genre, some other Romero movies of note, the adaptations of WWZ (successful and otherwise) and the irony of discussing all of this at the 'end of the beginning' of the then-current global coronavirus pandemic (the episode was recorded on 14 March 2020)
0.00 Intro/Day of the Dead/Romero
0.57 World War Z
You can find the show on Twitter at @EGoat_pod (or get David on @D_Faggiani) and email us with any feedback on escapegoatpod@gmail.com. All original intro, outro and other incidental music written, recorded and made available by kind permission of Richard Gilbert.
Matt can be found on Youtube with his regular co-hosted movie analysis show 'Matt and Mike Pull Focus'.
The short film 'Red Harvest' (2010) which Matt mentions in the first half of the podcast (and which he directed) can indeed still be found on Youtube!