Take Me To Your Reader: Recent Episodes
Pavement Pounders Podcast
The Pavement Pounders discuss adapted science fiction, generally well-known films derived from written works. They read the book, watch the movie, watch remakes, reboots, re-adaptations, and give it all a good mulling over.
Starting our series of comic/graphic novel adaptations with a whimper from a Kryptonian (entirely computer graphics) dog, we dive into the new movie Supergirl, at least somewhat based on Tom King’s Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, after talking generally about comics for really quite some time. Rankings!: Unanimous: Book/movie
This time we discuss 12 Monkeys, the Terry Gilliam film adapted from La Jetée, an experimental short film. Rankings! Colin/James/Seth: Feature Film / Short Film
The time has come again for us to talk about a weird, slow science fiction movie, so I reached out to my favorite guest for such films, Ben DeBono from The Sci-Fi Christian. Thanks to Joe Smith for suggesting it, and to the Oregon Museum of Science & Industry for screening it during this year’s … Continue reading Solaris, by Stanislaw Lem (feat. Ben DeBono) →
Peter Kuskie, who joined me for the Hugos There episode on Project Hail Mary, joins us for a discussion of the new movie, with some brief discussion of the book as well. For more book discussion, refer back to the Hugos episode. The movie is a terrific adaptation and a great experience in the theater. … Continue reading Project Hail Mary, by Andy Weir (with guest Peter Kuskie) →
Following up on our previous episode, we cover the latest season of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Sea of Monsters, which is by almost any measurement a better adaptation than the movie. I’d been sick a looong time and wasn’t quite out of the woods at the time of recording, so make some … Continue reading The Sea of Monsters, by Rick Riordan, Part Two (Disney+ series, season two) →
We return to Percy Jackson and the Mystifying Adaptations with Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters, the 2013 movie based on The Sea of Monsters, by Rick Riordan. Will this movie right the ship and kick of the remaining three movies into a successful and beloved quintilogy? (It will not.) We’ll reconvene next month for the … Continue reading The Sea of Monsters, by Rick Riordan, Part One (2006 book/2013 movie) →
We all attended a screening of the Star Wars Holiday Special in Vancouver, Washington a couple of weekends ago, and I reached out to one of the co-producers on the documentary film A Disturbance of the Force: How the Star Wars Holiday Special Happened, who happens to live in our town, and he agreed to … Continue reading Star-Wikileaks! (The Star Wars Holiday Special, with guest Scott Kirkwood from starwarsholidayspecial.com) →
This time we cover the remake/re-adaptation of Stephen King’s The Running Man. Rankings!: Colin: Book/2025 movie/1987 movie James: Book/2025 movie/1987 movie Seth: Book/1987 movie/2025 movie
It’s been 10 years since we covered this topic last, and we finally have a great adaptation! We got to see the new Frankenstein adaptation in theaters and recommend you do the same.
Double-dipping this month, covering a couple of previously covered books that got new adaptations. First up, the absolutely delightful nonsense that is The War of the Worlds, starring Ice Cube.
Seth was under the weather after returning from doing the Cotswold Way hike in England, so to protect the other guys from germs, this was recorded on his backyard patio, so please forgive the neighbor dog’s squeaky toy accompaniment. Rankings! Colin: movie/book James: book/movie Seth: movie/book Post-credits scenes for this episode include some discussion of … Continue reading Assistant to the Regional Major (The Long Walk, by Stephen King) →
Wrapping up (for now) the informal Robot series we’ve been doing, we discuss Brian Aldiss’s short story “Supertoys Last All Summer Long,” adapted (loosely) to A.I. Artificial Intelligence. Rankings! Colin/James/Seth: Film Short Story Notes: https://brianaldiss.co.uk/writing/story-collections/collections-r-z/supertoys-last-all-summer-long/
We discuss the final four episodes of Season One of Murderbot, then discuss the season as a whole, and then have a long post-script about what project to undertake after we cover one more robot story. (Hint: both possibilities begin with the letter S.)
Our continuing coverage of Murderbot, er, continues. We spend a bit of time discussing the pacing of the series. What do you think?
We’re doing a Murderbot series! We reacted to the trailer, and now we’re covering the first two episodes. We’ll do at least two more of these to cover the full season. If you’re listening on the website because your podcast player feed has gone dead, please update it to the RSS feed below: https://pavementpodcast.com/feed/podcast/tmtyr/
We recorded some quick thoughts that ironically take a while to get to about the Murderbot trailer and what we hope to see in the series. Happy May the Fourth! Murderbot is a droid, so it’s clearly canon.
We got to go see The Wild Robot at our local SF Film Festival, so we figured it was high time we covered this terrific movie, and we were joined by Colin’s elder son, Peter. Rankings: Peter/Colin/James/Seth: Movie/Book
We had a great conversation with Ed Ashton about his background in engineering and medical research, how he finds the time to write a novel every year, and how Mickey7 and Mickey-17 came to be. Edward’s website: https://www.edwardashton.com/
This time the guys look at Mickey7, by Edward Ashton, and its new adaptation, Mickey-17. We pretty much go full spoilers for everything, so be warned. The book takes a couple of days to read, and the movie will be on streaming soon. Rankings!: Colin: book/movie James: book/movie Seth: book/movie
This time the guys take up “The Bicentennial Man,” by Isaac Asimov, the 1976 novelette, and its 1999 movie adaptation Bicentennial Man. Rankings!: Colin: movie/story Seth: story/movie James: story/movie Notes & Links: That Joel Kinnaman/Eric Roberts looking The Positronic Man cover: Elizabeth Freeman, who successfully sued for her freedom from slavery https://www.mentalfloss.com/posts/elizabeth-freeman-sued-for-freedom Bicentennial Man as … Continue reading “Bicentennial Man,” by Isaac Asimov (1999 movie) →
We take a quick look at the new Nosferatu movie as part of our ongoing Draculadaptations series. We had some trouble with our digital recorder and lost parts of the conversation. I’ve tried to salvage what I could and I hope you enjoy it. Good news is that we all enjoyed the movie.
This time, the guys are joined by both of Colin’s adult sons as well as a mystery guest, at a secret location known only to everyone who listens to this episode. It’s a Christmas miracle! We’re covering The Hunt for Red October, by Tom Clancy, and its 1990 film adaptation. It’s fringy science fiction, but … Continue reading LMNOP-plots (The Hunt for Red October, by Tom Clancy, recorded at ) →
Yes, we were going to be doing The Hunt For Red October. But we decided to kick that one down the road a month and replace it with a much less worthy movie, and an even less worthierer book. It’s the 1987 novel Penal Colony, by Richard Herley, and it’s a bit of a stinker. … Continue reading Mad Max in the Jungle! (Penal Colony, by Richard Herley, and 1994’s No Escape) →
This time we discuss the 1981 Caldecott-winning children’s book Jumanji, by Chris Van Allsburg, adapted into the 1995 Robin Williams movie of the same name, and expanded into the new Jumanji franchise started by Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle.
Rankings!:
- Colin: 1995 movie, 2017 movie, book
- James: 2017 movie, 1995 movie, book
- Seth: 2017 movie, 1995 movie, book
This month, we keep things close to home, which makes sense given that last month we were quite far from home. We go small like we’ve never gone before, diving into a local adaptation of R.U.R., or Rossum’s Universal Robots, by Karel Čapek.
It’s not necessary to have gone to our local theater for the new adaptation, as it’s really quite close to the original. The 1920 play is worth reading, only takes a couple of hours, but it’s very much of its time. We talk director/adapter Matthew Zrebski about the changes he made and their impact on the story being told. So even if you didn’t get to see the new version, you can still enjoy the conversation and look into a creative’s mind.
Really this just gave us an excuse to talk about an extremely influential piece of SF history.
https://lakewoodtheatrecompany.csstix.com/event-details.php?e=1119
https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/karel-capek/r-u-r/paul-selver_nigel-playfair
We had a fun time recording live at WorldCon with a few select friends in the audience, talking about games and video games adapted into movies. And with a bonus quiz from listener and fellow podcaster Andy Parry.
We discuss (briefly) Battleship, Doom, and Clue, and also mention a number of other game to movie adaptations.
Thanks to Lori, Kevin, Damo, Andy, Ivor, Tim, and Luke for attending and participating in the discussion!
Andy’s podcast! (I guested to talk about a book by Hugo Gernsback):
https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/andy-parry/
Ink to Film podcast! (Similar to what we do, they just do it better):
https://www.inktofilm.com/
This time we picked up a very hard to find story, “A Situation of Gravity,” by Samuel W. Taylor, which was adapted into the 1961 movie The Absent-Minded Professor and the 1996 remake Flubber.
The story was originally published in the May 22, 1943 issue of Liberty magazine. We couldn’t find that. It was also anthologized in Taylor’s book Take My Advice, Mr. President. We also couldn’t find that. But one of our local librarians traced us down a scan of the story from the anthology. Let us know if you have an easier time finding it. If not, enjoy the episode without the reading!
Rankings!
James: Story/1996 movie/1961 movie
Colin: 1961 movie/1996 movie/Story
Seth: 1961 movie/Story/1996 movie
Let us know if you were able to find the story. It’s truly difficult to find.
Ben DeBono from The Sci-Fi Christian joins us once again to discuss a slow science fiction movie and the book that inspired it. It’s Roadside Picnic, by the Strugatsky Brothers, adapted by Andrei Tarkovsky into Stalker.
SFC episode about Ben catching up with the Criteron Collection:
http://thescifichristian.com/2023/08/episode-1107-criterion-completion/
SF 101 episode about the OMSI Science Fiction Film Festival:
https://101sf.blogspot.com/2024/04/a-festival-of-sci-fi-bonus-episode-of.html
Rankings!:
- Ben: Film/Book
- Colin: Book/Film
- James: Book/Film
- Seth: Film/Book
It’s unfortunately time to talk about the A Wrinkle In Time adaptations. We also discuss the book, of course, but I tried to pull back a bit since my fuller thoughts on the book are also covered in my Hugos There episode with Mandy Self:
https://hugospodcast.com/podcast/a-wrinkle-in-time-by-madeline-lengle-feat-mandy-self/
Rankings!
Colin/James/Seth:
- book
- very large chasm, perhaps a cloud of cosmic evil or negative energy or some BS
- 2003 movie
- 2018 movie
In this episode, we discuss the new Adam Sandler movie (okay, it came out March 1st, but it was new for us!) Spaceman, based on Spaceman of Bohemia, by Jaroslav Kalfar. It’s an interesting adaptation of an interesting book, but don’t go in looking for an action movie.
It’s not necessary to read the book to enjoy the movie, but you do miss quite a bit of background.
Rankings!
- Colin: movie/book
- James: book/movie
- Seth: book/movie
We saw Dune: Part Two, then grabbed dinner, then got together to discuss our thoughts on the second half of Villeneuve’s Dune adaptation. We all loved it and welcome any other SF adaptations he wants to do in the future.
The guys follow up their coverage of The Lightning Thief by discussing the first season of Percy Jackson and the Olympians.
Rankings:
Colin/James/Seth: book/series/a very large gap/movie
This is the first of two episodes we’ll do on The Lightning Thief. In this one, we just discuss the book and 2010 movie. We’ll get to the series next month once it’s complete.
Rankings!:
James/Colin/Seth: book/movie (duh)
A couple of links:
My blog post that I resurrected and commented on:
https://pavementpodcast.com/the-lightning-thief-movie-how-to-badly-adapt-a-book-a-case-study/
Rick Riordan’s reminisces about the movie:
https://rickriordan.com/2018/11/memories-from-my-tv-movie-experience/
A quick end of the year episode about the new Disney+ short film (40 minutes), Shepherd, based on the Frederick Forsyth novella of the same name. I believe the story is more well known by folks in Britain and former Crown Colonies than it is to American audiences; this was certainly our first experience of the story, and it’s quite delightful.
All the best holiday greetings to all of you, and I hope you have a great New Year.
While James was away in South America, Colin’s younger son, Tim, joined us for a discussion of H.G. Wells’s The War of the Worlds, along with several adaptations, including the radio play, the classic movie, the 2005 remake with Tom Cruise, and the 2019 BBC limited series.Rankings!* Colin: 2005/novel/Radio Play/1953/2019 * Tim: novel/Radio Play/2005/1953/2019 * Seth: Radio Play/2005/1953/novel/2019 Radio play is available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9q7tN7MhQ4I
This time we just roundtable some other Dracula-adjacent material we’ve consumed. Consider it a DVD extra from our previous episode.
Works referenced (not exhaustive):
- Van Helsing (movie)
- Renfield (movie)
- Love at First Bite (movie)
- Dracula Untold (movie)
- Dracula Daily (book/email subscription)
- The Dracula Tape (book)
- Blade (film series)
- Underworld (film series)
- The Strain (book and TV series)
- The Passage (book)
- The Lost Boys
- Forever Knight
- Morbius (movie)
This time, the guys discuss Bram Stoker’s classic horror novel, Dracula, and two of its direct adaptations, the classic 1931 Universal movie, and 1992’s lavish Bram Stoker’s Dracula, directed by Francis Ford Coppola. We also mention quite a few other direct or slightly indirect adaptations.
Rankings!
Colin: 1931 film, book, 1992 movie
James: Audible version, 1931, 1992
Seth: Book, 1931, 1992.
FYI, the Dracula part of Chirp Audiobooks’s Two Horror Novels starts at Chapter 131.
On The Beach, by Nevil Shute (feat. Michael Simshauser)(Content warning: discussions of suicide and euthanasia)Michael Simshauser, our favorite Aussie and longtime friend of the pod, joins us for a long awaited discussion of Nevil Shute’s On the Beach and its two film adaptations from 1959 and 2000.We do try to keep the conversation on the lighter side despite the book being somewhat dour (though it’s also sweet and shows people being good to each other). There’s an early attempt by me to do an Aussie accent, as requested by friend of the show Phil Nichols. You can judge how successful I was. (Michael was nice to me, and I think I did okay.)Rankings:Michael: Book, 1959 movie, 2000 movieColin: 2000 movie, book, 1959 movieJames: book, 2000 movie, 1959 movieSeth: book, 2000 movie, 1959 movieHilarious “Waltzing Matilda” video Michael mentioned:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_cu6xthQY4
This time, the guys welcome back Dr. Phil Nichols to talk about the recent adaptation of H.G. Wells’s “The Crystal Egg” by the Planet Zoom Players, as well as briefly touching on the Tales of Tomorrow adaptation from 1951. Rankings: Colin: PZP adaptation, story, Tales of Tomorrow James: PZP adaptation, story Seth: PZP adaptation, story, Tales of … Continue reading The Crystal Egg, by H.G. Wells (feat. Phil Nichols) →
Spoilers abound! The screenplay for The Last Voyage of the Demeter has been passed around Hollywood since the late 90s. It’s finally in theaters, and the screenwriter, Bragi Schut, joins us to talk about the new movie, based on a brief chapter of Bram Stoker’s Dracula. (Chapter 7 “Captain’s Log” if you want to read it.) We … Continue reading The Last Voyage of the Demeter (with screenwriter Bragi Schut) →
It’s summer, and Shark Week, so the guys take on Steve Alten’s 1997 novel Meg: A Novel of Deep Terror and its 2018 action movie spectacle starring Jason Statham. Rankings! Colin: Movie/Book James: Audiobook/Movie Seth: Movie/Book
This time, the guys consider Isaac Asimov’s excellent short story / novelette “Nightfall,” adapted to pretty dreadful movies in 1988 and 2000. Rankings! Colin: story/1988 movie James: story/2000 movie/1988 movie Seth: story/2000 movie/1988 movie
This time, the guys hop in the way back machine to 1909 and William Hope Hodgson’s short story “A Voice in the Night” and its small screen adaptation (Suspicion S1.E24) and big screen Japanese adaptation (Matango, or Attack of the Mushroom People!).
We neglected to rank them, which is surprising.
Maybe we were distracted by Kathy’s amazing dessert mushrooms!
The story is available to read for free here:
https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Voice_in_the_Night
And the Suspicion episode is here:
https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Voice_in_the_Night
And Matango is available on Tubi: (we could not find any version available that wasn’t dubbed)
https://tubitv.com/movies/454502/attack-of-the-mushroom-people
This time we hit Robert Mason’s 1989 military/AI novel Weapon, adapted to a pretty terrible 1996 movie named after the main character, Solo.Colin reached out to the author and got him to do some Q&A, which we sprinkle in through this episode.It’s a tricky eBook to find. I guess I found it from Barnes & Noble a while back, but right now I don’t see it in the store. The book is excellent and worth tracking down.Colin references the afterword from the book that’s available on the author’s page:https://www.robertcmason.com/weapon.htmlRankings!:Colin/James/Seth: Book/movie
This time, we hit 1994’s Timecop, based on the Dark Horse Presents character from the August, September, and October 1992 issues of Dark Horse Comics. There are splits, and messy time travel logic, and awesome performances from Bruce McGill and Ron Silver.
Rankings!:
Colin/James/Seth:
- Movie
- Comics
Colin’s older son, Peter, joins us for a discussion of Paul Tremblay’s 2018 novel, The Cabin at the End of the World, recently adapted into the 2023 M. Night Shyamalan film Knock at the Cabin.Full spoilers for both.Rankings!Peter:* Movie * Book
Colin:* Movie * Book
James:* Movie * Book * No, wait, Book/Movie (swayed by Seth)
Seth:* Book * Movie
Notes:
https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2023/02/is-knock-at-the-cabin-good-for-the-gays
Picking up a dangling thread from last year, the guys discuss a few more adaptations (or “adaptations”) of “The Most Dangerous Game.”
Covered this time are A Game of Death from 1945, Hard Target from 1993, Surviving the Game from 1994, and The Hunt, from 2020.
No rankings this time. But we all liked The Hunt best.
Colin/James/Seth:
- 2020 Quibi series “movie”
- story
- 1932 movie
- 50 feet of crap
- 2022 movie
We’ve got two follow-up movies this year, A Christmas Story Christmas on HBO Max and Spirited! on Apple TV+. Opinions differed on the quality of the movies.
This time, the guys discuss the classic 1924 Richard Connell short story “The Most Dangerous Game” and several adaptations sharing the name (or at least 90% of the name). This is Part One of at least a two-part series covering the many, many adaptations of this story. Rankings! Colin/James/Seth: 2020 Quibi series “movie” story 1932 … Continue reading The Most Dangerous Game, Part One →
The guys do a quick reaction/breakdown of the new movie Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, which was adapted from a Funny or Die parody trailer. Trailer available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcNuiri2dV0 Movie available here: https://therokuchannel.roku.com/watch/066097da82ed5762966888a59b151058/weird-the-al-yankovic-story Rankings! Colin/James/Seth: Movie/Trailer
Our friend Phil Nichols joins us for a discussion of Ray Bradbury’s 1962 novel Something Wicked This Way Comes and its 1983 theatrical adaptation. There may also be mention of another adaptation (oooh, spooooky!) Rankings!: Phil/Colin/James: Book/Movie Seth: Movie/Book Notes/Links: Pants in the Boot: https://www.theincomparable.com/pants/ (Episodes #27-30 discuss differences in housing) Bradbury 100 episode on Bradbury’s … Continue reading Something Wicked This Way Comes, by Ray Bradbury (feat. Dr. Phil Nichols) →
Our friend Phil Nichols joins us for a discussion of Ray Bradbury’s 1962 novel Something Wicked This Way Comes and its 1983 theatrical adaptation. There may also be mention of another adaptation (oooh, spooooky!) Rankings!: Phil/Colin/James: Book/Movie Seth: Movie/Book Notes/Links: Pants in the Boot: https://www.theincomparable.com/pants/ (Episodes #27-30 discuss differences in housing) Bradbury 100 episode on Bradbury’s … Continue reading Something Wicked This Way Comes, by Ray Bradbury (feat. Dr. Phil Nichols) →
We were delighted to interview Bragi Schut, who wrote the original screenplay that the new Samaritan movie is based on. He’s also authored a comic of the same name, currently available as two issues from Mythos Comics. Bragi’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/bragischutjr Mythos Comics: https://www.facebook.com/MythosComics/ The Last Voyage of the Demeter: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Voyage_of_the_Demeter Spread graphic novel: https://imagecomics.com/comics/series/spread The … Continue reading Bonus! Inteview with Bragi Schut, creator of Samaritan →
We were delighted to interview Bragi Schut, who wrote the original screenplay that the new Samaritan movie is based on. He’s also authored a comic of the same name, currently available as two issues from Mythos Comics. Bragi’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/bragischutjr Mythos Comics: https://www.facebook.com/MythosComics/ The Last Voyage of the Demeter: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Voyage_of_the_Demeter Spread graphic novel: https://imagecomics.com/comics/series/spread The … Continue reading Bonus! Inteview with Bragi Schut, creator of Samaritan →
For International Talk Like a Pirate Day (2022), the guys do a quick episode on Gideon Defoe’s The Pirates! In An Adventure With Scientists, adapted into The Pirates! Band of Misfits (it was retitled in the U.S.). Rankings!: Colin: Movie Book James: Book Movie Seth: Movie Book
For International Talk Like a Pirate Day (2022), the guys do a quick episode on Gideon Defoe’s The Pirates! In An Adventure With Scientists, adapted into The Pirates! Band of Misfits (it was retitled in the U.S.). Rankings!: Colin: Movie Book James: Book Movie Seth: Movie Book
One of the first titles I ever planned on us covering, yet somehow it’s taken more than eight years to find our way back to it. It’s Harry Harrison’s 1966 novel Make Room! Make Room!, loosely adapted into the classic 1973 movie Soylent Green. Rankings!: Colin: Movie Book James: Book Movie Seth: Book Movie
Seth’s son Ethan joins the team, along with Jonathan Watkins from Cinema Sins, to discuss the new movie The Black Phone, adapted from the 2004 Joe Hill short story of the same name. Rankings! Jonathan/Ethan/James/Colin/Seth: Movie/Story
If we hadn’t been on the B-6, we may not have covered George Saunders’s story “Escape From Spiderhead” and its Netflix adaptation, Spiderhead. No rankings this time.
This time the guys tackle the new adaptation of Firestarter. Unfortunately, James was ill and not able to join us. The good news is that Deanna Chapman from Chat Sematary stopped by for the discussion. Rankings!: Deanna/Colin/Seth: Book Original Movie Remake Chat Sematary Links: https://twitter.com/ChatSematary https://www.chatsematary.com/
Rounding out the Tri-Sheck-ta, the guys discuss the 1965 Robert Sheckley novella The Game of X and its 1981 “adaptation,” Condorman. Rankings!: Colin: Movie Book James: Book Movie Seth: Movie Book
The guys discuss Robert Sheckley’s 1958 novel, Immortality, Inc. and its 1992 film adaptation (starring Mick Jagger), Freejack. Leg two of the Tri-Sheck-Ta is in the books! Rankings! Colin: Book/No Award James: Book/Movie Seth: Book/Movie
This time, the guys take on some Robert Sheckley in non-English adaptations, namely the 1970 German TV film Das Millionenspiel and the 1983 French film Le Prix Du Danger. Both of these films were adapted from Sheckley’s 1958 short story “The Prize of Peril.” Of course, we engaged a couple of our friends who were native speakers … Continue reading Shot With a Happy Ending (The Prize of Peril, by Robert Sheckley) →
Phil Nichols of Science Fiction 101 joins us to discuss the announced adaptation of Arthur C Clarke’s Rendezvous With Rama. Spoilers for the book! Notes: Science Fiction with Damien Walter: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpZQEdnPYv4 All Judgement Fled, by James White: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1928718.All_Judgment_Fled
For Christmas 2021, the guys discuss Kevin Jakubowski’s hilarious 8-Bit Christmas and its 2021 HBO Max adaptation. Rankings!: Colin: Movie Book James: Book Movie Seth: Book Movie
The guys discuss Robert Silverberg’s 1966 short story, “Needle in a Timestack,” and the 2021 film adaptation of the same name. Rankings! Colin/James/Seth: short story movie
This time, the guys discuss H.G. Wells’s 1897 novel The Invisible Man and its 1933 film adaptation, as well as 2000’s Hollow Man and the 2020 film also named The Invisible Man. Rankings! Colin/James: 2020 film novel Alien Voices audio-drama 1933 film Hollow Man Seth: 2020 film 1933 film Alien Voices novel Hollow Man
This time we follow up on Episode #50 by giving our instant reaction to the new 2021 film Dune.
Taking another work of short fiction, this time the guys discuss Richard Matheson’s short story “Button, Button,” adapted to a 1986 Twilight Zone episode of the same name, and also adapted to the 2009 movie The Box. Rankings! Colin/James/Seth: short story Twilight Zone movie Notes & Links: Funny or Die comedy short: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7rzIwrEqpw CBS Radio Mystery Theater adaptation … Continue reading Nosebleeds for Everyone! (“Button, Button” and The Box) →
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hugospodcast This time, the guys pick up a listener suggestion, from longtime listener Malc Foy, The Running Man, by Stephen King. Rankings! Colin: Movie/Book James: Book/Movie Seth: Movie/Book Note: We’ve been having some trouble with our digital recorder. I tried to mitigate the static/distortion we got in a few places, but if you hear it, … Continue reading Drinking the Cadre Cola (The Running Man) →
Bonus episode! Premise: Can a skilled home cook replicate a cookie recipe just from the name? Roger takes a crack at “S’Mores Blossoms” and we get to taste the results. Sorry it’s not video, but we’ve attached photo evidence of everything except James, who was evidently hiding in a corner with his milk stout. Original … Continue reading Take Me To Your Eater, Episode One? (feat. Roger Anderson) →
Seth needed a break from reading, so for this episode, we watched the 2021 Netflix film Stowaway and compared it to “The Cold Equations.” We also mentioned Cora Buhlert’s excellent response to the classic story, “The Cold Crowdfunding Campaign.” Highly recommended. Notes & LinksCora Buhlert:http://corabuhlert.com/“The Cold Crowdfunding Campaign”: http://corabuhlert.com/2021/03/16/the-cold-crowdfunding-campaign-is-now-available-as-a-free-e-book/Scott Manley’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxzC4EngIsMrPmbm6Nxvb-A
This time the guys discuss Tom Godwin’s 1954 classic short story “The Cold Equations” and tackle three of its adaptations: the 1980s Twilight Zone episode, the 1996 Sci-Fi Channel movie, both sharing the story’s title, and the 2014 short film titled The Stowaway. Rankings! Colin 1996 movie story Twilight Zone 2014 short film James Twilight … Continue reading Underselling the Penalty (The Cold Equations) →
Picking up a short title to keep Seth sane, and a cheery-ish one to keep Colin sane, the Pavement Pounders discuss Lev Grossman’s short story “The Map of Tiny Perfect Things” and the 2021 Amazon film of the same name. Support us on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/hugospodcast Rankings! Colin: movie/story James: tied! Seth: movie/story
Jonathan Watkins from Cinema Sins joins us for a discussion of the three remakes of Invasion of the Body Snatchers from 1978, 1993, and 2007. Rankings! Jonathan 1978 1956 book 1993 2007 James 1978 book 1956 1993 2007 Colin book 1958 2007 1978 1993 Seth 1978 book 1956 1993 2007 Notes & Links Jonathan’s Links: … Continue reading It’s Not a Victimless Movie (Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Part Two: Remakes) →
In this episode, Seth did a bunch of homework (not enough as it turned out), to find out which of the trio was more likely to pick a particular medium first in his rankings. Some assembly required, warranty void if opened, math not valid in Texas.
For our first post-100 episode, we dive into Jack Finney’s The Body Snatchers, originally published in Collier’s Weekly and adapted four times. This episode covers the novel and the original 1956 adaptation Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Rankings! Colin/James/Seth: book movie
For episode #100, we discuss Red Alert, by Peter George, and Fail-Safe, by Eugene Burdick and Harvey Wheeler, then talk about the adaptation of the former, Dr. Strangelove, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, and the two adaptations of Fail-Safe, the 1964 film and the 2000 live teleplay. Rankings! Colin: … Continue reading TMTYR Episode #100: Yeah…We Watched It (Dr. Strangelove & Fail-Safe) →
The guys discuss The Midnight Sky, the new film on Netflix, based on Lily Brooks-Dalton’s novel Good Morning, Midnight. Rankings! Colin: Movie/Book James: Book/Movie Seth: Book/Movie
Roger from The Kitchen Counter Podcast joins the guys for a discussion of Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas, including the original TV special, the Jim Carrey remake, the 2018 Benedict Cumberbatch movie, and the recent TV musical abomination. Time Codes: Grinch book: 13:08 Grinch TV Special: 19:34 Sandwich planning: 24:16 James’s “An Old … Continue reading TMTYR Episode #98: You Can’t Handle the Who! (The Grinch, feat. Roger Anderson) →
The guys are joined by their good buddy Michael Simshauser to discuss Kurt Vonnegut’s 1961 short story “Harrison Bergeron,” and the 1995 movie of the same name, as well as the short film, 2018 from 2009. Colin still doesn’t like Vonnegut. Rankings!: Michael: short story / short film / full length movieColin: short story / … Continue reading TMTYR Episode #97: A Nation of Stagnation (Harrison Bergeron, feat. Michael Simshauser) →
James and Seth are joined by Emmanuel Dubois to discuss Kurt Vonnegut’s 1969 novel Slaughterhouse-Five and the 1972 film adapted from it. Colin sat this one out as he didn’t have anything nice to say about either. Rankings Emmanuel/James/Seth: Book/Movie Notes: Seth’s blog about his first time reading the book: http://seth.heasley.net/blog/2010/04/28/wordful-wednesday-slaughterhouse-five/
The guys are joined by Colin’s son, Peter Kuskie, to discuss Max Brooks’s excellent 2006 novel World War Z, and the movie of the same name from 2013. Rankings: Peter/James/Colin/Seth: Book Movie
This time the guys pick up Peter Benchley’s 1974 bestseller, Jaws, adapted into the Original Summer Blockbuster(TM) directed by Steven Spielberg. Pounder Rankings!: Colin: – Movie – Book James: – Movie – Book Seth: – Movie – Book Notes & Links: LFTS Jaws video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzMwYb8Z5hA&t=653s Behind the scenes of Jaws:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYtYIF_g-T4 Swim Calls:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrvEf7tmT5Q About the last surviving … Continue reading TMTYR Episode #94: Unexpected Sleaze (Jaws) →
This time the guys hit up The Black Cauldron, the 1985 film, very loosely based on Lloyd Alexander’s The Book of Three and The Black Cauldron. Rankings? Please. Notes Comfort Reads episode with Seth & Colin: https://hugospodcast.com/podcast/comfort-reads-the-chronicles-of-prydain-by-lloyd-alexander-feat-colin-kuskie/ Nostalgia Critic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUsfYaKN3nY History of The Black Cauldron: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YbBEFKv6Rg Dude loves the movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6jfVTMfuzY
This time out, the guys discuss M.R. Carey’s short story “Iphigenia in Aulis,” which was adapted into both the book and movie The Girl With All The Gifts. Rankings!: Colin: Short Story, Book, Movie James: Short Story/Book, Movie Seth: Book, Movie, Short Story Notes: Not XKCD but a good comic nonetheless about “All Lives Matter”:
The Pavement Pounders discuss A Princess of Mars, the 1912 novel, adapted into the 2012 movie John Carter. Rankings! Colin: Book/Movie/(Other Movie) James: Book/Movie Seth: Movie/Book Notes: Encyclopedia Barsoomia: https://barsoom.fandom.com/wiki/Main_Page
And we’re back with another new episode! James is finally back in his house, and we’re on remote protocol, but picked a title we could all watch, and one we could do with Netflix Party! So that was fun. Bird Box, the 2018 movie, based on the 2014 book. If you want to skip James’s … Continue reading TMTYR Episode #90: It’s Like Monster Herpes (Bird Box) →
For April Fools’ Day, the Pavement Pounders once again do something out of the ordinary, looking to the future, to the announced adaptation of Frozen Hell, the recently uncovered/released expansion of “Who Goes There?”, by John W. Campbell. James’s participation is somewhat limited in this one due to his looming vacation.
We didn’t realize that the stuff about Nerve Attenuation Syndrome would be so prescient when we recorded this a couple of months ago, but now it seems to be. Meanwhile, James is stuck on a cruise ship in South America (but he’s not sick). So enjoy our brief discussion on a movie Colin inexplicably enjoys. … Continue reading TMTYR Episode #88: It’s a Dishonest Living (Johnny Mnemonic) →
This time the guys look back over the history of their podcast, going all the way back to the beginning in order to properly answer Dr. Phil Nichols’ question about their experience reading/reviewing Reel Future. Notes/Links Seth’s post on podcast editing: https://www.reddit.com/r/podcasts/comments/7w9dn1/how_to_be_kind_to_your_podcast_editor/ Podcast room library:
Following up on a recent request from Steven Lindlbauer, the Pavement Pounders discuss the 1967 book Logan’s Run, by William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson and its 1976 adaptation to film and 1977 adaptation to television.
For Christmas 2019, the Pavement Pounders discuss one of Colin’s favorites (and one of Seth’s least favorites), The Polar Express. Rankings!: Colin: movie book James: book movie Seth: book movie Last time Colin picked MOVIE and Seth picked BOOK was Frankenstein! Four years ago! Notes:C.S. Lewis’s XMas and Christmas: http://www.cslewisinstitute.org/Xmas_and_Christmas Collider Crew fixing The Scorpion … Continue reading TMTYR Episode #85: Polar Ex-Blessing (The Polar Express) →
The Pavement Pounders go back into the Crichton vault to pick up The Andromeda Strain. And don’t forget to check out their interview with Daniel H. Wilson. Rankings!: James/Seth/Colin: Book/Movie/Miniseries
For this special episode to tie in with Episode #84 (forthcoming), Seth and Colin sit down with Daniel H. Wilson, author of The Andromeda Evolution, the brand new sequel to The Andromeda Strain. Topics range from Mr. H Wilson’s history as a geek, to the history of this project, to possible adaptations of his work. Notes & … Continue reading TMTYR Episode #83: The Andromeda Evolution, Interview with author Daniel H. Wilson →
It’s the TMTYR/Hugos There Podcast crossover you’ve all been waiting for! For Halloween 2019, the Pavement Pounders discuss the 2019/1944 Retro Hugo Award for Best Novel winner, Conjure Wife, by Fritz Lieber, and its three (!) movie adaptations. We’ve been warned by at least one woman that any female readers/listeners may hate read/watch. We understand … Continue reading TMTYR Episode #82: Oh, I Had Some Brews (Conjure Wife, Hugos There crossover) →
Wrapping up their 5 year journey through Reel Future, the Pavement Pounders hit The Illustrated Man, by Ray Bradbury, and discuss the 1969 film adaptation of…something other than what’s in the book. Rankings! Phil/James/Colin/Seth: Book Story Movie
Stumbling toward the finish line of Reel Future, the Pavement Pounders discuss Roger Zelazny’s “Damnation Alley” and its 1977 film abomination adaptation. The movie’s plot makes little sense. We fixed it for you. Rankings!: Colin/James/Seth: novella movie Notes: Galaxy magazine “Damnation Alley”: https://archive.org/details/Galaxy_v26n01_1967-10_modified/page/n5
Continuing on the quest to finish off Reel Future, this time the boys hit up John Varley’s 1977 short story “Air Raid” and its adaptation, the 1989 film Millennium. Plus, another entry in the list of emails Colin has received from authors he asked for comments. And this one is a doozy. For certain definitions of doozy. … Continue reading TMTYR Episode #79: Evacuate Through the Back Door (Millennium/Air Raid) →
This time, the boy discuss another title from Reel Future, Robert Sheckley’s “The Seventh Victim,” adapted to La Decima Vittima (The 10th Victim) in 1965. Rankings!: Colin: Story James Story Movie Seth: Story Movie Notes: Archive.org copy of the story: http://archive.org/stream/galaxymagazine-1953-04/Galxy_1953_04#page/n39/mode/2up
This time, the guys discuss The Wandering Earth, the blockbuster Chinese film based on Cixin Liu’s story of the same name. Rankings! Colin/James/Seth: story movie
This time, the Pavement Pounders take a look at three John Scalzi short stories adapted into episodes of Netflix’s Love, Death & Robots. No rankings this time. Just enjoy the robot goodness. Notes: Pepsi commercial similar in style to “Three Robots”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kf1A8Ukk5Us
For their 75th episode, the Pavement Pounders welcome back their very first guest, James’s lovely wife Emily, or as he calls her, Her Fordship. Under discussion is Emily’s choice, Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World and its two television adaptations. There’s a fair bit of us talking over each other. Blame it on the soma. Rankings! Emily: … Continue reading TMTYR Episode #75: An Epsilon for Effort (Brave New World, feat. Emily Ralston) →
To celebrate their 5th podcasting anniversary, the Pavement Pounders continue with what they’ve been doing. Namely, working through Reel Future. This time, it’s This Island Earth, the 1952 novel by Raymond F. Jones, and its 1955 film adaptation. Show Notes Exclusive Pounder Rankings! (Yes, we forgot to record it): Colin/James/Seth: Book Movie
Continuing their march through Reel Future, the Pavement Pounders discuss HG Wells’s “The Empire of the Ants,” and the very poor 1977 adaptation. Pounder Rankings!: James/Colin/Seth: story movie Notes: Seth’s new podcast Brief & Not so Brief (RSS feed): http://hugospodcast.com/feed/podcast/brief
Merry Christmas! This time, the guys talk about It’s a Wonderful Life, and the christmas card (yes, it’s true) it was based on, “The Greatest Gift,” Rankings (omitting audiobook references)! Colin: Movie Story James: Story Movie Seth: Movie Story Notes: Mental Floss “25 Wonderful Things about It’s a Wonderful Life”: http://mentalfloss.com/article/60792/25-wonderful-facts-about-its-wonderful-life
Continuing through Reel Future, the Pavement Pounders discuss the 1985 film Re-Animator, based on HP Lovecraft’s story “Herbert West-Reanimator.” It does not receive universal acclaim. After the main episode, stay tuned for an interview with comics and graphic novel artist JL Giles. (Interview begins at 41:34 if you want to skip straight there.) Rankings!: Seth/James/Colin: … Continue reading TMTYR Episode #71: It’s Like a Dead-tini (Re-Animator, plus bonus interview with JL Giles) →
Once, again, the Pavement Pounders are joined by Dr. Phil Nichols to discuss some Ray Bradbury. This time, it’s The Halloween Tree, the book, the television film, and the Colonial Radio Theater production. Rankings!: Phil: Radio Theater Movie/Book tie Colin: Radio Theater Book Movie James: Book Radio Theater Movie Seth: Radio Theater Book Movie
For a very groovy episode 69 (not deliberate, but appropriate), the Pavement Pounders discuss Armageddon 2419 AD by Philip Francis Nowlan, basis for several adaptations, including Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1979 movie/series) and Planet Outlaws (1953 edit of the original 30s movie serial). Rankings!: Colin/James/Seth: 1979 movie/series novella Planet Outlaws Over the next … Continue reading TMTYR Episode #69: Silver-Clad Lady Fantasy Dream (Buck Rogers) →
The Summer of the Twilight Zone continues with the classic episode “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet,” written by Richard Matheson and based on his story of the same name. And he wasn’t done there! He also penned the screenplay for the Twilight Zone: The Movie segments adapting the same story. Colin came up with a new … Continue reading TMTYR Episode #68: Ricky, Billy, Johnny (Nightmare at 20,000 Feet) →
The Summer of the Twilight Zone has begun, with the Pavement Pounders picking another Harlan Ellison story to discuss. This time it’s “Paladin” or “Paladin of the Lost Hour,” adapted into Season 1, Episode 7b of the revived Twilight Zone from the 80s, an episode starring Seth’s favorite entertainer, Danny Kaye. Rankings!: Colin: Twilight Zone … Continue reading TMTYR Episode #67: Responsibility Expects No Reward (Twilight Zone “Paladin of the Lost Hour”) →
This time, the Pavement Pounders dig into the Outer Limits episode “Soldier,” adapted by Harlan Ellison from his story “Soldier from Tomorrow.” Why? Well, because of that little legal case that resulted in “Acknowledgement to the works of Harlan Ellison” in the end credits of The Terminator. We rule definitively on whether there was a … Continue reading TMTYR Episode #66: Soldier From the Futuristic Tomorrow (Soldier/The Terminator) →
This time, the Pavement Pounders are once again joined by Phil Nichols (Dr. Phil Nichols, if you please!) to discuss the new HBO Films adaptation of Fahrenheit 451. No one will be seated for Seth’s explanation (definitely canon) of what “The Nine” is. Hold onto your butts! Rankings!: Phil: book Truffaut film HBO movie Seth: … Continue reading TMTYR Episode #65: Great Stuff With the Pigeon! (HBO Films’ Fahrenheit 451, feat Dr. Phil Nichols) →
The Pavement Pounders return to cover something currently playing in theaters, Ready Player One, based on the 2011 Ernest Cline novel. (None of us hated the book. Or the movie. Feel free to listen to the podcast linked below if you did. Or you could listen to us not go overboard either praising or denouncing the … Continue reading TMTYR Episode #64: I’ve Had That Feeling (Ready Player One) →
April Fools! Once again we’re back with a reverse adaptation. This time as a tie-in with our previous Trek-centric episode, we discuss James Blish’s novelization of the TOS episode “Arena.” Enjoy!
This time, the Pavement Pounders discuss the 1944 Fredric Brown short story “Arena”, which was adapted into a Star Trek TOS episode (S1E18), may have inspired the TNG episode “The Last Outpost” (S1E5), and there’s also an Outer Limits episode, “Fun and Games (S1E27).” Big thanks to Rich O’Donnell for sending us the suggestion! For … Continue reading TMTYR Episode #62: I Gave Him That Answer! (“Arena” TOS episode) →
Following up on a suggestion from John Hagmann, the Pavement Pounders discuss Kazuo Ishiguro’s 2005 novel Never Let Me Go and its 2008 film adaptation, as well as Michael Bay’s The Island, which plays in a similar sandbox, only with more explosions and massive vehicular destruction. Thanks to John for reaching out and suggesting a … Continue reading TMTYR Episode #61: Ready to Movie On (Never Let Me Go) →
The Pavement Pounders ring in 2018 with Isaac Asimov’s short story “All The Troubles of the World,” which was exactly how much adapted into the 2008 film Eagle Eye? You’ll have to listen to find out. You have been activated! Rankings:! Unfortunately we had a 51% probability of rankings, but an abort recommendation. Notes: Full text of … Continue reading TMTYR Episode #60: Tangentially Inspired (Eagle Eye) →
Merry Christmas! For their fourth Holiday Special, the Pavement Pounders discuss A Christmas Story, the classic movie adapted from Jean Shepherd’s collected stories from In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash and other volumes, and also discuss the live TV musical that recently aired on FOX. Rankings!: Colin: Live TV special Movie Book James: Movie Book … Continue reading TMTYR Episode #59: Grizzly Bears and Bullies (A Christmas Story) →
This time, for a very late November episode, the Pavement Pounders discuss PD James’s The Children of Men and its 2006 adaptation, Children of Men. The movie and book were not universally loved by all of us, but it spurred a great conversation. Thanks so much to Dominic Coddington for suggesting the topic! Rankings: Colin/James/Seth/Dominic: … Continue reading TMTYR Episode #58: A Very Important “And” (Children of Men) →
We wanted to get a quick podcast out here, so we convened in Seth’s dining room to record our reactions right after seeing the movie. Apologies for the poor audio quality and frequent dog interruptions, but there you go. (And then Seth forgot to post the darn episode.) The long and the short of it … Continue reading TMTYR Episode #57: You’re 50 Percent Right (Blade Runner 2049) →
Wrapping up the Summer of PKD, the Pavement Pounders endured Blade Runner and whine about it for a bit. And two of three Pavement Pounders enjoyed the novel on which it’s based, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? And Seth can’t seem to pronounce “Voight-Kampff”. Rankings!: Colin/James/Seth: book movie Bonus Rankings! (PKD films we’ve done): James: Total … Continue reading TMTYR Episode #56: Heeere’s Batty! (Blade Runner) →
As the Summer of PKD winds down, the Pavement Pounders discuss yet another bad adaptation of one of his stories, this time 1995’s Screamers, based on the 1953 short story “Second Variety.” Tune in and watch Peter Weller mail in his performance, and watch as the 1995 PC video game cutscene level graphics make you think, … Continue reading TMTYR Episode #55: Teddypocalypse (Screamers) →
The Summer of PKD continues, this time with The Adjustment Bureau, the 2011 adaptation of “Adjustment Team.” Have the Pavement Pounders finally found a good one? (Yes. Yes they have.) Rankings!: Colin/James/Seth: Movie Story Notes: Read the story for free here: https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Adjustment_Team Next month’s homework, “Second Variety”: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/32032
Continuing the Summer of PKD, the Pavement Pounders discuss the short story “The Golden Man,” loosely adapted into the 2007 Nicolas Cage vehicle Next. Somewhere, somebody enjoys this film. Just not us. Will the story fare better? Bonus points for anyone who counts how many times Colin says “nucular.” Pounder Rankings!: Colin: Story Movie James: … Continue reading TMTYR Episode #53: No, I Mentioned the End Credits (Next) →
As the first entry in the Summer of PKD, the Pavement Pounders discuss the 1953 short story “Paycheck” and the 2003 film of the same name, starring Ben Affleck. (This is an effort to economize on precious time, as the three of us will have a difficult time getting together over the summer.) Rankings!: Colin/James/Seth: … Continue reading TMTYR Episode #52: De-Woo it! (Paycheck) →
Fittingly, for Episode #51, the Pavement Pounders discuss an alien abduction movie, as Centauri kidnaps Alex Rogan in his intergalactic Predator Van to make him fight Xur and his Ko-Dan Armada. Yes, it’s another April Fool’s “Reverse Adaptation,” as we discuss the 1984 film The Last Starfighter and its Alan Dean Foster novelization. It’s a … Continue reading TMTYR Episode #51: We Had a Beta Unit (The Last Starfighter) →
Note: We’ve added an episode for the 2021 film. Get it here: http://pavementpodcast.com/podcast/i-like-the-flying-fat-man-dune-2021-film/ To celebrate their 50th episode, the Pavement Pounders got James drunk and made him read Dune. (And also watch the 1984 film and the 2000 miniseries.) Unfortunately, Seth’s recording failed (silently) at about the 40 minute mark, so his audio is pulled … Continue reading TMTYR Episode #50: Whiskey, the Water of Life (Dune) →
This time out, the Pavement Pounders discuss their very first Stephen King, going with Firestarter, the 1980 novel and its 1984 theatrical adaptation. Alas, no exploding chickens in the movie. But lots of feathered hair, teke-ing really hard, and good old Hollywood whitewashing! Hooray! Rankings!: Colin/James/Seth: Book Movie Notes: Seth was lazy this time and … Continue reading TMTYR Episode #49: Watch This on VHS (Firestarter) →
Brace yourself for a hard-hitting gut punch of a knockout movie, and also for Seth’s best attempts to destroy the universe with the worst possible puns and Dad jokes, because this time out, the Pavement Pounders discuss Real Steel, loosely based on the Richard Matheson short story “Steel,” as well as the Twilight Zone adaptation … Continue reading TMTYR Episode #48: Robot Rocky (Real Steel) →
For Christmas 2016, the Pavement Pounders discuss a film that came out on Christmas Day 2013 that also happens to be adapted from a short story which was also adapted into a 1947 Danny Kaye film that Seth just happened to grow up watching over and over. It’s “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,” by … Continue reading TMTYR Episode #47: Punching People and Getting Promoted (The Secret Life of Walter Mitty) →
This time out, the Pounders discuss the new film Arrival and “Story of Your Life,” the Nebula-winning Ted Chiang novella on which it’s based. Go see this movie! It’s awesome! Pounder Rankings!: Colin: Story Movie James: Story Movie Seth: Movie Story (But it’s pretty close on all counts) Notes: Zencastr! https://zencastr.com Ted Chiang interviews: http://www.indiebound.org/author-interviews/chiangted https://electricliterature.com/the-legendary-ted-chiang-on-seeing-his-stories-adapted-for-the-screen-and-the-ever-expanding-916a9530e598#.x3a6212z0 … Continue reading TMTYR Episode #46: There Are No The’s (Arrival) →
For Halloween 2016, the Pavement Pounders discuss Richard Matheson’s 1954 novel I Am Legend and the three major films adapted from it: 1964’s The Last Man on Earth, 1971’s The Omega Man, and the 2007 film I Am Legend. Slow, zombie-like vampires! Pale vampire Sith Lord beaniks! CGI uncanny valley superhuman darkseekers! And an Asylum … Continue reading TMTYR Episode #45: Pale Luddites (I Am Legend) →
This time out, the Pavement Pounders quickly discuss Daniel H. Wilson’s short story “The Nostalgist” and its short film adaptation. This is a low homework episode, folks, so don’t get spoiled unnecessarily! This is a first, as the Pounders read, watched, recorded, edited, and posted the episode all in one day. Don’t get used to … Continue reading TMTYR Episode #44: A Little More Data Than Number Five (The Nostalgist) →
For Episode #43, the Pavement Pounders are lucky enough to be joined once again by friend of the show Phil Nichols, senior advisor to the Center for Ray Bradbury Studies. Fahrenheit 451 is the topic this time, both the Francois Truffaut adaptation and, of course, the classic dystopian novel by Ray Bradbury. Pounder Rankings!: Phil/James/Colin/Seth: Book … Continue reading TMTYR Episode #43: Montag Shot First (Fahrenheit 451, feat. Phil Nichols) →
This time out, the Pavement Pounders tackle a whopper, covering The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, including the original radio play (Primary Phase), book, TV series, and movie. Michael Simshauser was nice enough to give us some audio to drop in, to add his insights about the four media under consideration, as well as the … Continue reading TMTYR Episode #42: The Prevalence of Tea Towels (The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – feat. Michael Simshauser) →
This time out, the Pavement Pounders discuss one of Seth’s favorite films, Christopher Nolan’s The Prestige and the Christopher Priest novel of the same name on which it’s based. Not everybody agrees about how awesome the movie is, but Seth is clearly right in this case, and also typing these show notes. Pounder Rankings!: Colin: … Continue reading TMTYR Episode #41: Everybody’s a Victim (The Prestige) →
We’re well into our second year here, and if Seth has to listen to each episode multiple times, he should at least be allowed to pull out some of our best bits and chuck them into a supercut. This is a good sampling of our discussions on adaptational considerations, James’s proclivity for dropping in “That’s … Continue reading TMTYR Episode #40: Guilty Underpants (Supercut: Year Two!) →
This time out, the Pavement Pounders are joined by Ben DeBono of The Sci-Fi Christian to discuss Stanley Kubrick’s classic 2001: A Space Odyssey. Colin and Seth both disliked the film on first viewing. Will things change after this viewing? What will James think about it the first time out? The movie is (kind of) … Continue reading TMTYR Episode #39: Selfie With the Monolith! #aliens (2001: A Space Odyssey) →
Recording right about the time of our second podcast anniversary, this time we discuss Colossus: The Forbin Project, adapted from DF Jones’s novel Colossus. Many thanks to everyone who’s interacted with us in any way since we started doing this. It’s been a lot of fun and we look forward to many more awkward discussions … Continue reading TMTYR Episode #38: Scientists Should Read Frankenstein (Colossus: The Forbin Project) →
This time out, the Pavement Pounders were joined by Margo Donohue of the Book Vs. Movie podcast to discuss The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins and its smash hit film adaptation. Huge thanks to Margo for classing up the place by hanging out with us! Pounder Rankings!: Margo: book movie Colin: book movie James (rebel!): … Continue reading TMTYR Episode #37: The Going Exchange Rate on Kisses (The Hunger Games, feat. MargoD of Book vs. Movie) →
No clever title this time, because we were fortunate enough to have a chance to sit down (virtually) with Michael A. Burstein and discuss his short story “I Remember the Future” and its recent short film adaptation. It’s not quite our usual format, as for the most part we took a back seat to Michael, … Continue reading TMTYR Episode #36: I Remember the Future, Interview with Michael A. Burstein →
For a special Christmas treat, this time the Pavement Pounders discuss Die Hard, adapted from Roderick Thorp’s Nothing Lasts Forever. Is it a Christmas movie? Is it science fiction? These questions and more considered. Sprechen Sie talk? Eh? Pounder Rankings!: Colin/James/Seth: movie book Notes: Honest Action: Die Hard: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnHKv2G0wCw Tattoo fail ‘Nothing Last’s Forever’: http://www.buzzfeed.com/adamdavis/examples-proving-we-need-to-be-more-careful-with-grammar#.jlJr7jnPRK … Continue reading TMTYR Episode #35: The Movie is Canon (Die Hard) →
For a special tie-in with the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the Pavement Pounders discuss their Top 3 entries in the dearly-departed Expanded Universe, now called Star Wars: Legends. Pavement Pounder Picks!: Colin: Heir to the Empire, by Timothy Zahn Han Solo: Paradise Snare, by A.C. Crispin Spinter of the Mind’s Eye, by … Continue reading TMTYR Episode #34: Ion Canonization, or an Axe-Whuppin’ (Top 3 Expanded Universe Entries) →
All things being equal, this episode would’ve been released for Halloween 2015. But 20th Century Fox decided to push Victor Frankenstein to Thanksgiving Weekend, so it’s Franksgiving, or Thankenstein from the Pavement Pounders! Under consideration this time are the classic 1818 novel Frankenstein, its equally classic 1931 adaptation, 1935’s Bride of Frankenstein, Mel Brooks’s Young … Continue reading TMTYR Episode #33: Bilateral Kidney Stones (Frankenstein) →
And now for something completely different! Eschewing the normal homework-heavy format, the Pavement Pounders discuss their lists of Top 3 Science Fiction books. This is a new thing they’re hoping to do more of, so be sure to get in touch with your suggestions for future lists, and let them know what you thought of … Continue reading TMTYR Episode #32: Practically Illiterate (Top 3 SF Books) →
For a brief Episode #31, the Pavement Pounders discuss Brad Bird’s The Iron Giant, which recently had a Fathom Event re-release. Also under discussion is the book the film is based on, variously titled as The Iron Man and The Iron Giant. Thanks to Roger from The Geek Likes for suggesting the title. Also, be … Continue reading TMTYR Episode #31: Hogarth’s Getting a New Daddy (The Iron Giant) →
For Episode #30, the Pavement Pounders are joined by Matt Anderson of The Sci-Fi Christian to discuss the new film The Martian, adapted from Andy Weir’s best-selling book. Seth totally forgets about the Earth’s magnetic field when discussing the radiation problem. Also, his Windows laptop totally freezes up halfway through. See if you can spot … Continue reading TMTYR Episode #30: Weir Science (The Martian, feat. Matt Anderson) →
For Episode 29, the Pavement Pounders discuss Steven Gould’s excellent novel Jumper and its lackluster 2008 film adaptation. Just read the book series! For a podcast on a better Doug Liman film, check out our episode about Edge of Tomorrow (All You Need is Kill). Huge thanks to Steven Gould for replying to our tweet, and … Continue reading TMTYR Episode #29: We Mean No Harm to Your Planet (Jumper) →
(Ironic Title Translation: Don’t Change Anything. You’ll get it once you’ve read the story.) In honor of what would have been Ray Bradbury’s 95th birthday, the Pavement Pounders discuss his well-known short story A Sound of Thunder with Phil Nichols, Senior Advisor to the Center for Ray Bradbury Studies at Indiana University. Also under consideration … Continue reading TMTYR Episode #28: Deaunt Chaynj Ennithnng (A Sound of Thunder, feat. Phil Nichols) →
Sorry folks, no clever title this time, and no actual new book/movie review featuring James, Colin and Seth. Instead, Seth was lucky enough to get Keith Kato of the Heinlein Society on the phone to chat about the Society, R.A.H. himself, his work, rumors of future adaptations, and even some tidbits about Predestination, which the … Continue reading TMTYR Episode #27: Interview with The Heinlein Society’s Keith Kato →
In Episode #26, the Pavement Pounders were delighted to be joined by Nicholas Jensen to talk about Starship Troopers, the Robert Heinlein novel and the Paul Verhoeven film of the same name (if not the same content). This podcast also features a brief segment from a longer discussion with Keith Kato of The Heinlein Society. … Continue reading TMTYR Episode #26: De-bounced (Starship Troopers) →
In Episode #25, the Pavement Pounders discuss the much-maligned 2004 film I, Robot, based (or is it?) on Isaac Asimov’s classic novel/anthology of the same name. This completes our Robot obligations after previously covering Eando Binder’s short story “I, Robot.” Also under consideration is the alternate universe version of the movie that we unfortunately never … Continue reading TMTYR Episode #25: There Is No Spooner (I, Robot) →
For a special attempt at relevance, the Pavement Pounders discuss Jurassic World, currently chomping through box office records and in no way in need of their endorsement. Still and all, they discuss in what sense (if any) the movie is adapted from the original Jurassic Park novel, just to give lip service to the whole … Continue reading TMTYR Episode #24: Raptor Bromance (Jurassic World) →
In Episode #23, the Pavement Pounders are joined by Emily (James’s better half) to discuss Ira Levin’s 1972 novel The Stepford Wives and its two film adaptations, from 1975 and 2004. Big thanks to Emily for suggesting the topic, and to Roger at TheGeekLikes.com for seconding it. Content warning: This podcast contains some frank discussions on sexuality. Nothing … Continue reading TMTYR Episode #23: Dawn of the Apron (The Stepford Wives) →
In Episode #22, the Pavement Pounders take up Michael Simshauser’s suggestion of the 1975 dystopian sports movie Rollerball, based on the William Harrison short story “Rollerball Murder,” and also give some due condemnation to the 2002 abomination of a remake. It’s two hours of movie from 70 minutes of material! With bonus amazing classical music … Continue reading TMTYR Episode #22: No Penalties, No Time Limit, No Award (Rollerball) →
Now that we’ve been doing this about a year, we figured it was high time to put together a supercut of us being idiots. So if you’ve joined us recently, here’s your chance to see what you’ve missed. Colin insists on adaptational fidelity and disagrees with Seth! Seth admits or doesn’t admit he’s wrong! James … Continue reading TMTYR Episode #21: Word Salad With the Pavement Pounders (Supercut!) →
For a special April Fools’ Day episode, the Pavement Pounders change things up and discuss the book adapted from Total Recall, namely the novelization of the film, written by Piers Anthony, who was gracious enough to respond to a query about the process for writing it. Warning: Colin geeks out to within an inch of … Continue reading TMTYR Episode #20: A Lot of Novel Stuff in There (Total Recall Novelization) →
In Episode #19, the Pavement Pounders discuss the Philip K. Dick short story “We Can Remember it For You Wholesale” and the two films (1990 and 2012) titled Total Recall adapted from it. The virtue of blood squibs discussed! The tri-mammary problem under consideration! Many too many Ahhnold impressions done! See you at the paaaahty! Pounder … Continue reading TMTYR Episode #19: False Mammaries, or Sleeping With the Enemy (Total Recall) →
In honor of Leonard Nimoy, the Pavement Pounders briefly discuss two episodes of The Outer Limits, both starring Nimoy, and also discuss the Eando Binder short story I, Robot on which the episodes were based. No, we’re not discussing the Isaac Asimov story collection or the Will Smith movie. That’ll have to wait for later. It was … Continue reading TMTYR Episode #18: No Ifs, Ands or Robuts (Leonard Nimoy) →
For Episode #17, fittingly a prime number, the Pavement Pounders discuss Contact, by Carl Sagan, and the 1997 film adapted from it. Big thanks to Rem from The Sci-Fi Movie Podcast for recommending it! Full Spoiler alert! Asterisms discussed! Swedish Radio Astronomy considered! The Drake Equation pondered! And also the crucial question of why, for … Continue reading TMTYR Episode #17: An Awful Waste of Space (Contact) →
Episode #16 is here and brings with it visions of the future. This time, the Pounders discuss “The Minority Report,” by Philip K. Dick, and the 2002 Tom Cruise film Minority Report adapted from it. “In gloomy half-darkness, the three idiots sat babbling.” – Philip K. Dick, “The Minority Report” Was there ever a more apt description … Continue reading TMTYR Episode #16: Two Out of Three Idiots Can’t Be Wrong (Minority Report) →
Ringing in the new year with a brand new film, the Pavement Pounders discuss the new film Predestination, currently in limited theaters and video on demand. The film is adapted from Robert Heinlein’s 1959 short story “-All You Zombies-“. Boys will be boys, and the Pavement Pounders got caught in a temporal underwear discussion loop. It’s not … Continue reading TMTYR Episode #15: A Heinlein Timeline (Predestination) →
Merry Christmas to all! In honor of the holiday, the Pavement Pounders read Charles Dickens’ 1843 novella A Christmas Carol and watched four adaptations: Scrooge (1951, starring Alastair Sim), The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992, starring Michael Caine), A Christmas Carol (1999, starring Patrick Stewart), and Scrooged! (1988, starring Bill Murray). We also discussed other versions we’d seen and gave some … Continue reading TMTYR Episode #14: Double the Marley, Double the Fun! (A Christmas Carol) →
This time out, the Pavement Pounders review the 1969 Nebula Award-winning novella A Boy and His Dog, by Harlan Ellison, and the 1975 Hugo-winning film adaptation of the same name. We did it so you don’t have to. This one comes with a content warning: If you’re uncomfortable with a story involving a lot of … Continue reading TMTYR Episode #13: Cheesy Quilla-desa (A Boy and His Dog) →
In Episode #12, the Pavement Pounders discuss John W. Campbell’s 1939 novella “Who Goes There?” and the three films (at least loosely) based on it, including 1951’s The Thing (From Another World) and the 1982 and 2011 films titled The Thing. Colin is right about something! Seth accidentally defends the Star Wars prequels! James forgets to plug in the … Continue reading TMTYR Episode #12: Speak Softly and Carry an Electrified Pitchfork (The Thing) →
In the first episode of Take Me To Your Reader, Season Two, the Pavement Pounders examine the 1985 film Enemy Mine and the Hugo and Nebula Award Winning novella on which it was based. The movie didn’t win nothin’. Pounder Rankings!: Seth/Colin/James: novella movie Notes: Season Two plans!: http://pavementpodcast.com/season-two-plans/ A couple of io9 articles on the movie: … Continue reading TMTYR Episode #11: Some Of My Best Friends Are Drac (Enemy Mine) →
In Episode #10, the Pavement Pounders discuss the influential and criminally under-read (at least in the U.S.) The Day of the Triffids, by John Wyndham. The 1962 British film adaptation as well as the 1981 and 2009 BBC mini-series adaptations are also discussed. We’re considering this the end of Season One of Take Me To Your Reader, … Continue reading TMTYR Episode #10: Day of the Torrence (Day of the Triffids) →
In Episode #9, the Pounders discuss Edge of Tomorrow, adapted from Hiroshi Sakurazaka’s much more interestingly-titled light novel All You Need is Kill. In a twist that’s perhaps ironic and perhaps moronic, Seth didn’t notice his mic was unplugged until the discussion was well underway. Fortunately, he’d been splattered with Alpha blood and was able to time … Continue reading TMTYR Episode #9: Groundhog D-Day (Edge of Tomorrow) →
In Episode #8, the Pavement Pounders discuss Jurassic Park, both the 1993 film and 1990 book, and as might be expected, The Malcolm Effect rears its ugly head. We’re blaming Dennis Nedry for our recording setup failing us. So, we ended up with a great discussion being captured by the built-in laptop microphone. We’ll understand … Continue reading TMTYR Episode #8: The Tranny-saurus and the Philosoraptor (Jurassic Park) →
In Episode #7, the Pounders return to their classic format, discussing the 1975 cult classic Death Race 2000, based on Ib Melchior’s 1956 story “The Racer,” and also the 2008 remake/prequel Death Race with Jason Statham. Pounder Rankings have been cancelled for this episode, because we couldn’t figure out how to recommend the story or either film. But … Continue reading TMTYR Episode #7: Shake My Hand Grenade (Death Race 2000) →
In Episode #6, the Pavement Pounders take up a listener suggestion and read Michael Crichton’s Timeline and check out the 2003 film based on it. Along the way, we find out that Seth has read a lot of Crichton books and has gripes about swords making a zing sound when drawn. And James takes offense to comparisons to Paul … Continue reading TMTYR Episode #6: Quantum Physics Means Never Having To Explain Yourself (Timeline) →
In Episode #5, the Pounders examine the recently-released but long delayed film Odd Thomas, based on the Dean Koontz book of the same title. Can it possibly live up to the book? No. No, it can’t. But tune in for a few thoughts about what it did well and what could have been done better. Pounder … Continue reading TMTYR Episode #5: Botox or Boat-Axe or Something (Odd Thomas) →
The Pounders discuss 1986's The Fly, along with the original 1958 film and the 1957 from which they're adapted.
In Episode #2, the damned, dirty Pavement Pounders delve into the classic 1968 film Planet of the Apes. Also discussed are the Pierre Boulle novel on which it’s based, and the unfortunate re-adaptation/remake starring Marky Mark, with a brief conversation about Rise of the Planet of the Apes and the new franchise it’s started. Along … Continue reading TMTYR Episode #2: Can I Get An Ape-men? (Planet of the Apes) →
The Pavement Pounders take a look at The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), adapted from Harry Bates's Farewell to the Master. Also, that 2008 remake.