Sarah Belmont: Happy last show of 2023, sir

>> Sarah : Greetings, nerds. This is Scene N Nerd Nerd. I'm your host, Sarah Belmont, and with me, as always, is our Mr. Producer, Will Polk Happy last show of 2023, sir. How are you?

>> Will: I am doing well, and it's been a very exciting 2023 year. Another one in the books. We've had a lot of awesome content. We'll be sharing some thoughts on our top things tonight, but, yeah, as always, like we said at the beginning of the year, now that we're at the end, I always enjoy our little fireside chats, as we call them. And, yeah. Looking forward to closing out this year and moving forward to 2024.

>> Sarah : Yeah, I was not expecting as much good content this year as we got. really looking back, I don't recall too many, like what we refer to as drought periods or too many. Oh, we just got news to cover. And I think we took our breaks when there were those occurring just because of other circumstances. So that helped us out. But overall, looking back on it, I think this year was very strong in terms of movies and tv especially. I know that we're going to get to it and I was thinking about it. I think one of the reasons why is there is actually a lot of shows ending this year. There were, and it's sad because due to the pandemic, you're like, we just got you back and now you're gone.

>> Will: Yeah, exactly.

>> Sarah : there are a lot of shows that have debuted this year or last year, and we're finally getting their second seasons or their sequels next year. So it's just the circle of entertainment.

>> Will: It is. It really is the circle of entertainment. You're right. Speaking of shows that, the one that ended this year to flash was one that brought us together. But you're right, the circle of entertainment continues because then we found another show that we both, whenever we go through our list, maybe it may or may not be on our list, but, yeah, the circle of entertainment is always good. And even though it's sometimes hard to say goodbye to certain shows, it could be bittersweet. But then there's always something new on the horizon.

>> Sarah : Let's just admit we said Goodbye to the flash like, two years ago. Yeah, we did the infamous zombie episode. And for listeners who have been with us for a while, they know exactly what we're talking about, because I will never forget that conversation, which was the first time will said, yeah, I stopped watching. I watched the full thing. I don't know what happened. What? This is Twilight. but we did finish. Did we always has to remind me that, a, the Flash tv show ended this year and that season happened, and b, the Flash movie happened this year, and I had to watch that too in theaters. Oh, my God. but for also listeners who have, listened to our show this year, you teased and you gave a big hint about your list, sir, but we'll get to that in a moment.

Netflix is remaking the original one piece with a new anime adaptation

but you were teasing one piece, which we have a little bit of news about because, my God, talk about the circle of entertainment. Dear Lord, they can't allow something to naturally grow anymore. It's like, oh, you have success. We're going to suddenly monopolize it and probably kill it. So as much as I like the live action version of one piece that we got this year, the news is that Netflix is remaking the original one piece with a new anime adaptation called the one piece. so. So in thinking about it, I know that there were people who were so overwhelmed and fell in love with the show, the live adaptation, that they did try to go back and watch one piece. And their, feedback was, those early seasons are rough animation. So in a way, this makes sense, but it sounds like it's also going to cut some corners in terms of story because it's a brand new adaptation of.

>> Will: So the remake is going to be starting with the east blue arc. it's a collaboration between Netflix and Oda. who is the, original creator. He's on board. Everyone's on board. And to distinguish it, they are going to call it the one piece. but yeah, I think it was like 1500 anime and I can't remember how many volumes of the manga. but, yeah, they're going to redo it. And, You're right. It's just like, can't we just leave walnuts alone?

>> Sarah : Yeah. Why do we have to have 24 versions of the same thing? Sometimes it works very surprisingly, but I feel as though producers look at it when it does work, when a sequel does outshine the original, when a, spin off, manages to surpass the original show, they're like, oh, we can do that. And then they do. And they forget the 15 other times when that didn't work. Exactly when it did. It's amazing. But entertainment is somewhat of a gamble, especially if you're a producer where you're just putting your money based on the ods of something actually achieving success and something flopping, because of things. And I have no idea, Will. I have no idea. It's been such a weird year for Marvel. Where next year and the year after lies between the content. Because everybody has been talking for the last two years about the MCU and Disney plus in particular, it hasn't been the same. The magic isn't there. You see, glimpses in certain movies and maybe a tv show, you're fine. But. And Loki season two, that happened. A lot of accolades for that. But on top of that, all of that buzz about are they able to pull this off again? You have the biggest villain. The actor who plays him ends up in a court case, and he was found guilty on two counts. I know he wasn't found guilty on everything, but he was found guilty for, I believe, harassment. And was it assault?

>> Will: Yeah, it was a third degree assault and second degree harassment.

>> Sarah : Yeah. Potentially one year in prison.

>> Will: Potentially, yeah. I think his sentencing is in February.

>> Sarah : Yes. On that note, shortly after that came out or that ruling came out, he was let go from his contract with the MCU. So he will not be playing kang. Granted, we don't even know if Kang will be a thing anymore. under these.

>> Will: Of, know. Clearly Marvel Studios was just basically waiting to have plan a and plan b in case of full acquittal, partial guilt, as far as what the jury would. And because of the two know won't get into the legal issues with know because every state's different. But bottom know, Marvel made their. And I will say, because I know a lot of people try to compare this to Ezra Miller situation and other, I think. I think Marvel handled it well, as well as you can't handle these types of situations. He had his day in court, let due process take its course. and then once they had resolution on that, then they made the decision that they needed to make.

>> Sarah : Yeah. And another thing about that comparison is it's a very different circumstance. And I'm not talking about the legal aspects.

>> Will: Right.

>> Sarah : I'm talking about from the production company in terms of the head of Warner Brothers and the DCEU and the head of Disney and the like. In one situation, you have had this actor appear in one movie, two seasons of television, and announce that this role is going to be the big overarching arc of this phase. That being said, the movies aren't made. It's all pre planned. Ezra Miller, that movie, the flash was made.

>> Will: Yeah, it was in the can they iteratively decide to move on.

>> Sarah : Yeah. And then during the downtime in between, during post production. Excuse me. That is when the shit fell apart and all of these things happened that landed him, in some legal issues. So I understand the comparison, but at the same time, I'm like, from strictly a producing point of view, those are very different circumstances of what to do. And I think that I would argue in both cases, the studios played it right. just from a logical standpoint of, like, in one instance. Yeah, the public opinion jury was out on Ezra Miller. Public opinion ruled him guilty a long time ago, but they still had to put out that movie because they spent a lot of money on it, so they had to do it. And in this case, Disney had the time to sit back and say, okay, we're going to let it play out and just see what happens, because you don't know. And honestly, the public opinion hadn't ruled anything either. We got some red flags, but nobody was quick to jump. And also, the legal issues were a bit different, too.

>> Will: Yeah, they were a bit different. And also, to your point about public opinion, public opinion voted with their pocketbook with the Flash.

>> Sarah : Exactly. made me vote the way I did.

>> Will: Yeah. I think the flash was a combination of one, James Gunn's announcement at the beginning of this year about the new DCU, but also I think it was, the Ezra Miller effect, too, of just, people were just like, nope, I'm voting with. And, because of this guy's issues. And so I think the combination of those two things really depressed that box.

>> Sarah : Yeah. Which.

Both Marvel and DC have not had impressive years in the box office

And you have a note on, like, at the end of this year, looking back, both Marvel and DC have not had impressive years thinking in terms of bouncing back in the box office, coming off after the, Covid. But then you have these writer strikes, but you have all these movies that are coming out and it's like, no, those movies weren't talked about nearly the same way that Barbenheimer was. Barbenheimer was a thing. You have Spider man across the Spider verse. That was a, And. And honestly, I have to remind myself what comic book movies came out this year because for a day it was this huge thing. But afterwards, you just mainly had a lot of criticism out there about what happened.

>> Will: Yeah. Honestly, as far as comic book movies this year there was guardians. There were three to me that, at least for me, that stood out. guardians of the Galaxy.

>> Will: cross the Spiderverse and blue beetle. For me, that I was like, I came away feeling very positive about, whereas Antman Quantumania, I was trying to fool myself into liking it because I remember when we did our review earlier in the year, it was definitely a lackluster year collectively. There were little diamonds in the rough here and there. I think m more so news wise with DC than Marvel, with the whole Superman legacy. because I think people overall, generally are feeling very positive about where that movie is going to go with the casting of corn sweat and, you know, Rachel Brosnahan, et cetera. And I think they're actually starting filming in Collider today, I want to say in March. So I think that was their big home run for the year. But, other than Loki and Guardians, Marvel had it rough as far as studios.

>> Sarah : Yeah.

>> Will: There was some other just personnel things, too, like with, Victoria Alonzo, with her firing. So they had just not only in front of the camera things that we saw, but just behind the scenes as well. there was a lot of issues with, going on in Marvel Studios this year.

>> Sarah : Yeah.

During the writers and actors strike, there was little publicity for movies

And then across the board, all studios were dealing with the headlines of the writers and actors strike that were simultaneously. That when it started, it was right around the time of Barbenheimer, they still made so much money.

>> Will: yeah, they got that pub, and I'll never forget that, with Barbenheimer, because, at that point, the writers were already on strike. And fortunately, the directors guild managed to make a deal in june, so they never did strike. But, when the screen Actors Guild. Ah, I think they went on strike. Was it right after the fourth? And, yeah, they got that pub in, and we're getting in literally right at the finish line before, the lines are drawn, for the strike.

>> Sarah : Yeah. I loved our conversation a few weeks ago about how. Because you just blew my mind when you brought up how the press, if you think about that time period when the strikes were going on, the movies that came out, you had to really work hard to remember what was happening because there was so little press for any of them. And so now with Wonka, I have no desire to see Wonka, but I'm constantly seeing either on x or on, TikTok, like, interviews with, Keegan, Michael P and, Timothy Chalamet. All of the promotion, and it's just. It's like, okay, this is what missing. I know most of these movies I have no desire to see in theaters, but it is a piece of entertainment to watch the actors actually trying to promote the pieces of crap that they have to.

>> Will: I mean, Alan Richardson's everywhere, right? Mean, I can't turn on anything without seeing him talking about reacher. that was a great conversation we had about that, how publicity that really is that, I guess, earned media. of course, there's a paid advertising, but that earned media of just doing the circuit with the interviews and press junkets. That's so invaluable. And it was really noticeably missing. you had the can interviews and of course, even those can interviews, it's like this was filmed before the strikes and all that kind of stuff, but it wasn't the same because it's like something filmed months ago instead of that real time dynamic sitting there with Jimmy Fallon.

>> Sarah : Yeah.

Ryan Coogler is developing an X Files remake for Disney Plus

the last bit of news we have is, Ryan Coogler is developing an X Files remake for Disney Plus. Disney plus. I actually canceled my subscription. I know I have to renew it very soon because what if. I know, nobody freak out. We will be talking about season two of what if next year. I have this timed out, played out in my mind of how that'll work. But I did a lot of canceling of subscriptions this.

>> Will: But I know you gave me a hey, heads up about.

>> Sarah : I did. I did Max. And then, because Hulu and like, got the bundle deal, when I canceled Hulu, Disney plus went with it. and then I canceled tv. so, and I know within a matter of few weeks, I'll have all those subscriptions back. Maybe not Max, because Max has great shows, HBO has great shows on it. But there's so much break in between that I'm like, all I know is House of Dragon season two, I will be watching that. So I will renew repurchase it at that point. But in between, why do I need to be paying that much money when I know I'm not going there? Browsing through their other stuff? No. Unless I have a show going on, I don't need that.

>> Will: yeah, I know there's a couple things I've been cleaning up, but getting back real quick to Ryan Coogler before we get to, move on to our next topics.

Bloomberg reports that a reboot of The X Files is in the works

yeah, this remake, ah, is something, it was solid in a Bloomberg, report, where, it's a reboot of the x Files. It looks like they will probably have, it's a new version. Scully and Molder will probably, they'll probably have them back, at least according to some folks on Reddit. the rumor mill is, they'll be taken apart in some capacity. But, this would be a fresh cast, more diverse cast, of the classic show. But it will be set in the x Files universe. It won't be like an alternate universe or reimagined, version of the show, it sounds like.

>> Sarah : Oh, yeah, you can do that with such a cult classic phenomenon like the x Files and, yeah, I am sure Scully Mulder will make an appearance or two, especially depending on the ratings of the first. yeah.

As we close out the new year, we got some lists. We have two separate lists

And so that brings us to the big topic of discussion. As we close out the new year, we got some lists. We're very strict about these top five lists, and we will be talking about our top five favorite tv seasons that, aired in 2023. But before we do that, will, would you like to go first?

>> Will: You go first.

>> Sarah : We have two separate. Okay, you want me to go first? Okay. All right, people.

>> Will: Yeah, you're first on the run.

>> Sarah : We and Will spoiled this. For those of you who follow us on Twitter, I was trying to keep this topic closed, but after a lengthy discussion, instead of both of us giving our top five movies of the year list, because I hardly ever, unless mandatorily required to watch a movie, I'm giving you my top five k dramas. Now, I do have this explanation, or, this footnote, if you shall, that. Yeah, there's potential for these k dramas to have made it on my top five tv seasons of this year, but because we're doing this, I get best of both worlds, and I don't have to make hard decisions. So I will be giving you my top five. And I'm just moving on to my other list because Will has not seen my list, at all. We keep them secret, and we always start from number five, the best of the worst of the best, number one.

Netflix's Korean drama "" was a flop on the platform

So in that order, my top five. Number five is celebrity. And I think I talked about this show when I watched it over the summer. I'm forgetting if I think it was in June or July when I watched this on Netflix. It actually is a flop on Netflix. Not a lot of people a watched this k drama or liked it. I did like this. Not for the reasons you're thinking I should have. this show is about an influencer who ends, up murdered and then starts to, even though she's dead, quote, unquote, there's a live broadcast, and she's revealing all of these secrets about all of these other rich and, notorious influencers in Seoul. And there's a big mystery, like, she's dead. How is she doing this? And also who killed her and what happened? And so you're getting a lot of flashbacks. the whole season is basically told through flashbacks. And it was a very intriguing concept because I did want to know. I was like, well, what happened? How did these characters, who's guilty? Who's innocent who's telling the truth? What's going on here? and then about halfway through, it started to just drag on a bit much. And as I, have to say, the one person who kept me on board the whole time, Will, was the romantic male lead. He is fine as fuck. Dear Lord. I'm like, oh, my God. And you know what? I looked up his profile, and he just so happens to be a drummer in a kpop band.

>> Will: Oh, wow. So you're just like, okay. You're like, all right, going to this other catalog now?

>> Sarah : No, I actually haven't, but I was just like, of course. The number of kpop idols who are also in k drum is so funny. so celebrity. I really like the premise. I don't think a lot of people liked the show because arguably the lead actress and, the man who I just talked about their chemistry was not the best. Not the best. And I don't blame them. I blame the writers, because the scenes that they were given, it's just like, are you kidding me? Give me more. We want to see the romance. We want to see them fall in love and not this. Like, you had it. You could have done it, but you just didn't commit. So that is why celebrity is my number five, okay?

Number four on my list is a Korean romantic comedy called Bond demon

And that brings me to my demon, which I am, again, bending the rules. Because this show did debut only about four weeks ago. It is technically not over, but this show is good. It's really good. so my demon stars song Kang, who I've seen in multiple other k dramas, although I haven't seen the one he is most known for, which is, Oh, my God. I'm just blanking on this title of this show that I haven't watched. sweet home, which just came out with its second season. But, he stars as a demon. but demons not. It's very important to understand. I don't get the sense demons used the same way in Korea as it is here. The mythology is different. He's more of almost a grim reaper, a deal maker with souls. Like, you could equate him to the devil. You could do that if the devil was very attractive and, also very funny and very cute and has its charm. If you could do that, then sure, but I don't think it's the same way. But he finds himself, entangled with this woman who, has to get married so that she could be the CEO of her, dead grandmother's. No, dead adopted mom's company. It's very convoluted. Okay. I'm not going to lie, guys. Very convoluted. That's why I don't go into too many details about what the show is about. But anyway, just know in order for her to get what she wants, she has to get married. and also, people are trying to kill her so that they could become the CEO of this company. In the middle of this, these two end up meeting and somehow his powers end up getting transferred to her, but not so she can use them, but that he needs her to use the powers. So it's this whole thing, contract marriage, Song Kang and the actress, it's a beautiful romantic comedy called Bond demon. So, yeah, I was skeptical and I was thinking, I'm not going to like this. I'm just watching it for Song hang, but I think I've watched up to episode six. I find myself laughing. their chemistry between these two actors is really good, really prime. I'm invested in most of the storylines because these episodes go for an hour plus on these shows, so there's a lot of BCD storylines happening. Nine times out of ten, I could care less about them, but I've fully watched these episodes I haven't skipped. so I really like it. It's number four on my list.

>> Will: Okay.

>> Sarah : So number two and number three are really interesting because technically, I haven't had enough time to sit with what I currently have as my number three. And a part of me wants to move it to number two, but I have my reason for number two, so I'm going to stick with it where it is. But just so you know. Okay, if you ask me the same question, next year this might be moved up higher in my list. But the third number is one that I actually binged over this weekend.

>> Will: Oh, wow. Yeah, I know. You told me you had one. That, something, a late entry that was shaking things up.

>> Sarah : Right. This show I found on Hulu shortly after. Actually, I'd actually heard about this show because you guys know how the web works. It tells you things that you should watch because it knows you better than you know yourself. I saw something that made me want to look up what this show is, and I looked up the description, and the description is about. Brace yourself, Will. It's about a college girl student who finds herself possessed by a demon.

>> Will: M. Yeah.

>> Sarah : And so immediately, I got a bunch of red flags because I don't do horror crap.

>> Will: I know. I was like, really? You're going down that road?

>> Sarah : Oh, yeah. I should have brought up the full description of this because then it went on to say, and her and, the, exorcist are going to try to get this demon out of her. Okay.

>> Will: Completely.

>> Sarah : We know this about me. I do not mess with this shit. No, you don't.

I watched the first eight episodes on Sunday, spread out the last four

Okay.

>> Will: I think we got to the source of your sleep problem, inch.

>> Sarah : Well, wait for it. This was months ago. And then on Saturday, Sunday, I was looking and I see this short clip and I'm like, oh, that's really cute. And I recognized that actress from another k drama, that I watched this year, and I really liked her. And then I found out what it was and I'm like, but I did it. I told myself, I'm like, I've seen enough k dramas. I don't think they're going to do horror the way Americans do horror. So I will watch the first episode and then determine what I need to do. Okay. Because I need to see this relationship that keeps getting brought up to me. Okay. I want to see these two. This show was great. I love this show. Wow. I want to say there's twelve episodes. I watched the first eight on Sunday, spread out the last four. I was so invested in this because the way they wrote it was so well done. There were so many times I'm watching, I'm like, this is great writing. This is really, honestly really good writing for a k drama or just a show in general, because a. It wasn't scary. Okay. and what they did was, they told this mystery, because the problem was they never referred to it as a demon. They referred to it as a ghost. Okay, a ghost. But when you see it and you think, like, asian demons. Yeah. It's a girl with long black hair over face. Yeah.

>> Will: So is it like a thriller war or is it.

>> Sarah : It is a thriller mystery. Got it. And it's told, in my opinion, from two different perspectives, because you have the demonic side of it, where girl who's possessed and, the exorcist, which is. This cracks me up. They never call him an exorcist in the show. Will they call him, wait for it. Folklore professor. I'm not making this up. It is so funny to me. And her dad was a folklore professor, and I'm just like, what the fuck is.

>> Will: It's funny you mentioned that, but just, real quick, that sort of tracks with, like, I think, like in China, for example, like with Mephisto. I think if I recall the devil, certain asian cultures, it's just taboo.

>> Sarah : Yeah. There were a lot of episodes of, going into different cultural beliefs. and this whole thing is, how did this ghost even form? what happened? While these two are trying to figure it out from their end and, with all of these mysterious deaths that are occurring on the flip side, you also have, the exorcist folklore professor, who's friends with a, police detective. And then you have his partner look at it from the more of the law. They think they're trying to catch a human. And then, these two other people are like, no, you have something supernatural going on here. You're seeing them piece together the clues both in their own ways. so it's really interesting and I really liked it. and I was a bit disappointed that there wasn't. I'm, going to be honest. I wanted to watch it because of what I thought was going to be a love story, which there was, but these two were hardly given anything. And I need more clarification if they ended up together at the end, which I'm pretty sure they did. But dear Lord, I think the writers made the right choice at the end of the day to be like, this isn't a k drama romance, this is a thriller mystery.

>> Will: Got it.

>> Sarah : But at the same time I'm like, you guys see these things, these two on screen, there's so much chemistry here. Come on, give me more. but I really like the show. It's called the revenant. I watched on Hulu. I was very surprised by how much I don't think I fast forward through any of it.

>> Will: Well, that's high praise because I know if you're not feeling something, you're not shy about hitting that fast forward button.

>> Sarah : Yeah. And we're talking like the one, the first episode is like an hour and 20 minutes. Oh, yeah, I'm like that. We're still here. But I really liked how they told this story and there were instances where it's like ghost of the week, but they did it in a way where, in the back of your mind as a viewer, you're just like, well, this is clearly related to this, isn't that? Because you're learning all of this other information about what's going on with the main storyline. The writers did a very good job about structuring an episode around a, quote unquote ghost of the week, yet not feeling so procedural because it provided so much explanation for what was going on with the main character.

>> Will: Okay.

>> Sarah : Yeah. So that is number three. And I promise the next two I will not nearly have as lengthy stories about.

Larry: I love the ending of Duna. It made the entire show worth it

But, number two will is Duna, which I did talk about on the show.

>> Will: You did? I do remember.

>> Sarah : Okay. Okay. and I watched it back in October when it dropped on Netflix. It is about a girl, kpop idol who ends up having somewhat of a breakdown and gets put on hiatus indefinitely. And, put into, this housing situation where she encounters a very normal college student. They build a lovely friendship that turns into a relationship. And, well, you can see where it's going. this is number two because of the freaking ending. I love the ending of the show, and I'm not going to say what the ending is, but I thought it was arguably the best kpop ending. Like, kpop k drama ending I have seen, it blew my mind. I still think about it. It made the entire show worth it for me. And, looking back on it through the lens of knowing how this show ends, I haven't done a rewatched, but I've rewatched a few episodes and a few scenes, but I should do a full rewatch because there are hints, or clues about what happens to these characters in this relationship, that are not fully answered in the ending. Or I should say that are not fully answered by the ending alone. Okay, so I've heard they are considering a season two. I kind of don't want them to because I love the sending so much, but I also kind of want them to because I need answers. Like, legit answers. I need Duna. I feel as though overall, the revenant, I spend way more time praising it because I think consistently throughout the entire show, even though the ending kind of felt a little like, okay, I get it, but I wanted something else doing it. It's the one exception to the rule where I love the ending. It made everything else worse.

>> Will: I could see why you were torn between trying to which 1 second, which one third. And it could just be like, tomorrow. You could be like, you know what? I'll switch the order.

>> Sarah : Yeah. And I just watched the revenant. It's fresh in my mind. I haven't watched Duna in a bit, but that ending is still there. It haunts me in a way.

>> Will: Oh, there you in things that stay with you. Definitely. To me, that gives something a little bump up in the ranking or rating, whenever you're doing these types of lists.

>> Sarah : Yeah. will, what is my number one? You know what it is?

>> Will: I wonder what it could it be? I'm, not going to steal your thunder, but I know exactly what it is.

>> Sarah : Everyone say it with me now. It's the glory, the glory. Oh, my God. Shocker. And you know what? This may be a little bit more bending of the rules, but because the first half of the season started last year in December, but the second half aired in March, so I'm putting it all together. First season of Larry is brilliant.

>> Will: No, it's cool. It's cool. I'll allow it.

>> Sarah : It's so good. I have rewatched this show three times, at least, maybe four. I have no idea what it is about this show, but I was very intrigued in the mystery of it all, very intrigued in these characters and watching their own, how the main character manipulates these situations to get these characters to honestly cause their own demise. And I was let down by the ending. But the first half of the season, the first few episodes, getting back to it, you remember when season two came out, I told you, I was like, I'm watching it right away. You did want to get freaking spoiled by was. I was. I know, because this was so successful. We talked about that, I think last week a little bit when Netflix came out with their viewers and this one was number two or number three in the ranking. I know they're going to do a season two. I don't know how to feel about it, but they made this work, so I can only imagine what they'll do in season two. They definitely left some threads untied. and I'm not going to go too much into detail about the plot because if you've been listening to us all year, you should know this plot. I have explained it, I've talked about it. and no, I still have not fully watched the first episode because trigger. Ah. Warning.

>> Will: Yeah, I remember when you described the trigger warrant that and put the trigger warning disclaimer, when it first aired earlier, in the year, we first watched it.

>> Sarah : And I know these are five shows, and, there were a few others that I watched this year, but technically they did not come out in 2023. one of them, I bet, would have been on it, had it come out this year, that would be, 21, 25. I really enjoyed that. a time called, you missed this list. Thank God for the revenant, because I was not happy about it being on my list because I'm mad at that show. but I did watch that. And will and I were talking during pre show about this vacation I have, this two week vacation I have. I have like five k dramas that I'm thinking about binging. So, yeah, I'm very happy with the shows that I have watched, I would like to let everyone know there are a few that I did start but I never returned to because these shows are long. I'm not going to invest 24 hours in something that I don't think is good.

>> Will: No, I have some things like that as well where it's just like, yeah, I started but never went back to.

>> Sarah : Yeah, yeah, definitely. so that is my, really out of them. if you haven't watched it, please watch the glory. It is so good. Duna. The ending is worth it, people. The revenant, surprisingly good. I really enjoyed it. It is exactly what I can handle for a thriller and a mystery. And, I think it was really well written despite some of the cheesiness that we talked about. my demon is like very cute romantic comedy. I just love it. and celebrity. It's good.

K drama experts rank their top five movies for 2023

It could have been better. So that's my list.

>> Will: It's a great list. That's a great list. Well, if you're a k drama fan, then you have our, resident k drama experts top five for 2023.

>> Sarah : Yeah. Now, will, I've done enough. So please count down your top five movies of this year.

Sarah: I watched 15 films this year; I ranked them

>> Will: All right, so it's my turn now to go over my top, five movies for the year. so it's funny that Sarah noted we decided to do this route because, this ladder, little role reversal over time. Sarah used to be the more movie person than I was, but now I am the movie guy as far as catching things in theaters. But yeah, so this year I actually watched 15 films. And the films could be, it could either be things that were direct theatrical release, or fill us up a feature link film on a streaming service. So just wanted to put the parameters out there, for the, give you an essence of the universe here. and so I won't give all 15 films, that I watch, but, I will start like Sarah, reverse in least to best on my list. And I did have some honorable mentions, which I'll mention when I get through the full list. but coming in at number five, and this was a hard one for me as far as this fifth spot because, it was a true toss up. Even while we were sitting here, I was tinkering with what was going to make that fifth spot.

Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy ranked fifth on my list of favorite films

And in the fifth spot was Barbie, part of the Barberheimer. and yeah, I know it's unoriginal because everybody's going to have Barbie on their list. but I actually did enjoy this film as I mentioned, I think did a brief discussion about it, back in the summer. Greta gerwig did a phenomenal job directing it, writing it. Margot Robbie, the messages that were in there, this movie wasn't for me. I wasn't the target audience. But at the same time, it was very enjoyable. Ryan gosling definitely stole the show. but also there were some very strong performances by other actors, in the film. As far as America Ferrara, the young lady who played her daughter, who actually. I think she actually showed up in some. I think in Ashoka, as well, as a character. but, yeah, so I really enjoyed, want. If you're curious about what it edged out, it just edged out cooking bear. Cooking bear just was my honorable mention. you're talking about just dumb fun, but movie that, as I noted with Sarah with her k drama list, things that just sort of stick with you. Cocaine bear actually does in a good way. but I think just from an artistic standpoint, and also just the cultural phenomenon that Barbenheimer was, I think for, at least for my list of films that I watched this year, I think it definitely was number five. It was in the fifth place, moving to four guardians, of the Galaxy, three. I know we shit on Marvel a lot, but this movie, it was the ending of that trilogy. Unlike, a lot of endings for trilogies, this one I felt stuck to landing in many respects. We got a good, clean finale to rocket's story. it was a very emotional story. And as far as films, that definitely resonated with me, where I actually started tearing up and stuff in theater or whatever. Guardians is it, with some of the things that happened there. and also just really, this was a true ensemble. Mean, all these marvel films are, but there's just some that just stand up higher than over others. And this cast and these characters are ones that I just really got invested in over their journey from taking a very obscure group from the comic books into what we know now. As far as Groot, I won't get into the whole vin dizzle stuff that broke today. but also with, Drax and Rocket, and other really. It was really connected with me. And I thought that of the comic book films that were out this year, this was definitely, the best one that was out this year, for sure.

>> Sarah : live action wise, right?

>> Will: Yeah, live action wise.

>> Sarah : Okay. Because I'm like, will, you're only on if there's a movie not on your list then.

>> Will: Live action comic book film, I should say. Thank you for clarifying that because, coming in.

Air was my third best film of the year, coming in number two

But I, will go to my third film on my list, and it was actually air. I talked about this back in the spring and how high I was on it, when it's the story of how, ah, Nike, and Michael Jordan, how the air brand came into being and Viola Davis is in it, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck directed it. Probably his best directorial work. I don't know, with Oscar consideration, unfortunately, I don't think air will make it as far as directors, but I could seriously see a strong case where Ben Affleck, could possibly be nominated for best director because it was just so well directed. Ah, he plays Phil Knight in the film as well. And just really chronicling, how Michael's mother was really, how savvy she was as a business person. And just the story of Matt, Damon's character. I'm blanking on the person who's his name in real life, but, his journey as far as just being the developer there at Nike and the battles between converse and Nike and really just shows you how also just a historical lesson too, how converse and Adidas were really the brands back in the day, and Nike was this up and comer upstart. And this was the thing that really launched them into the stratosphere that we know of Nike and the air brand now. But, yeah, air was on Amazon and I had a limited theatrical release as well. but, definitely it was my third best film of the year on my list, coming in number two. And Sarah kind of spoiled it. But yes, across the spider verse was my second favorite movie of this year. and the whole was it just picked up the baton from the first spiderverse film and just carried it, further down the field.

I think Empire strikes back is the best of the trilogy

And the thing that, I know a lot of people grumble with the ending and stuff, but as I was putting together my list, I could not help but think about the Empire strikes back as far as how this film, and granted, we still will have to have the third part of the trilogy come out. And at this point it looks like it's probably going to be 2025 because of production issues and other things.

>> Sarah : Yeah.

>> Will: but the way that film, the resonance of that film and the things that were going on there is very, I could easily draw analogies to empire. Not necessarily. well, yeah, I mean, there's things in it that happen and I don't want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't watched it yet, but if you haven't.

>> Sarah : The way you said it, I was like, you don't want to spoil empire strikes.

>> Will: No. Yeah, not spoil empire, but spoil spiderverse. Yeah. Just to be clear, not spoiled spiderverse.

>> Sarah : for some reason, my mind doesn't go to empire strikes back. I always think about, two towers with Lord of the Rings.

>> Will: Okay, that's another fair one too.

>> Sarah : Yeah. I always thought that that was the best of the trilogy. For some reason, every now and then, the middle movie is better than arguably the first or the last one. And I think that across spiderverse would be that way too, where I actually think that. I don't think I'm going to like the last one as much as I like across the spiderverse.

>> Will: Yeah, I'm predicting that I, I'm there with mean, I've watched that film. I watched, it, I think, three times in theater and I think once now on Netflix, and it's still just like, bam. It just knocks me over every time I watch it. I mean, it's just so freaking. And, and another film that I think if Oscar Rogers or whoever would get over themselves and allow for the space for animated films to be in best picture, this film should totally be nominated for one because it is definitely one of the best pictures of the year, hands down.

>> Sarah : If I was doing my movie list, I would tell you right now that that would be my number one.

>> Sarah : Because it's the only movie I've rewatched.

>> Will: Well, yeah. And rewatchability is a factor.

>> Sarah : Right. Because the one that I think that you're about to name, I really enjoyed it. I do not foresee me rewatching that anytime soon.

>> Will: I have rewatched my number one, which is Oppenheimer. yeah. that film, just to this day, it just sticks with just everything about it, from Killian Murphy's portrayal of Robert Oppenheimer to, of course, Robert Downey Jr. Playing Senator Strauss. about the senator Strauss, but the senate committee where he was with s. Strauss, as far as his role. the ending, of course, just how it just sort of makes, I still think about the night I watched it the first time and how I just sat there in a theater with that ending and just realized and just had that moment. Like, damn this questions. It's just that existential thing of life and death. That ending just really makes you just ponder those things and it just sticks with you in a way that as I get some distance from that film, I come back to it. And yes, it was very long. And, yes, there's some people that said, after the detonation of, the test is in the middle of the film.

>> Sarah : Yeah.

>> Will: And that last hour is, sort of the fallout from that, no pun intended. but that last hour now even resonates more. And especially just thinking about the environment and things, that political climate and things that we are in. Today's some lessons that Oppenheimer had to deal with, question his patriotism and other things, and his loyalties. those things are very resonant today. So I think not only is the film great from a historical standpoint, but there's also lessons that you can take from it, that are very resonant. Present day as well. That's my top five films for 2023.

>> Sarah : Yeah. I love Nolan. I love Killian Murphy. I thought arguably, this was Robert Downey, Jr. At his best in a very surprising way. And, all of the cameos that occur throughout the film, very entertaining. I agree with you. The detonation, like, if you want to see the detonation, yes, the last hour will feel like garbage, but I didn't go for that. And I thought the last hour was the best part of the movie. I was fascinated by it because I was fascinated by Strauss so much. And not to say I wasn't fascinated by Oppenheimer, but I thought at the end of the day, it was such a beautiful and fascinating depiction about ego.

>> Will: Yes.

>> Sarah : And I really enjoy that.

There's something about Nolan's work that's difficult to get audience emotionally

But as much as I love Nolan, I do, see more and more through his work about the criticism he gets and why he gets this criticism of his films are so cold. There's something about it where he has yet to really figure out a way to get the audience. and I'm not talking about critics, but to get a regular viewer just to feel this connection to a character and to really emote an emotion about lot, I don't know. And I know a lot of his movies deal with very depressing situations. And we all instantly. Matthew McConaughey Conahe screaming Murph. Murph from Interstellar popped in my mind, but still interstellar. There's so much criticism about that movie and how cold it is. And I'm one of those people where I'm like, he's, like, at 90%. And the day that that man films a movie and produces a project that is at 100%, directors beware.

>> Will: The closest he's done that, I think as far as showing that warmth, what that coldness is. The Dark Knight.

>> Sarah : Yeah.

>> Will: With Heath Ledger's performance as.

>> Sarah : Yeah, true, but I don't, yeah, this isn't going to be turned into a conversation about that. But, yeah, it's, Oppenheimer. I'm not surprised. I did think to myself, if we both had movie lists, you were going to have Oppenheimer number one. I was going to have across the spiderverse as number one. Like, our top two would be totally switched. But, very good list. And I've seen all those movies except, and I did watch air and then I fell asleep and I never returned to it. Take that with one of your way.

We both have top five tv lists of shows that aired this year

That brings us to the big showdown. We both have top five tv lists of shows that aired the seasons of television that aired this year. we will be going back and forth, even though I'm very curious to know if shows will, overlap.

>> Will: Yeah, absolutely.

>> Sarah : and where overlaps will occur. And on that note, I'm going to start with my list at number five. Loki season two. Yes. For those who thought it would be higher. You did not listen to me when we talked about season two.

>> Will: I'm surprised it's on the list.

>> Sarah : There we go. You know what? I could not have it on the list at the end of the day as much as I didn't. I've been very good. Last year I scrambled putting together my list. This year I started right away jotting down things I was watching in categories, too. So I've kept pretty good record. for those of you who thought a reality tv show would be on this list, I'm going to, spoil you right now and say, no, there are no reality tv shows. Although, yeah, very tempted, too. But I couldn't at the end of the day, as much criticism and as much shit I gave Loki season two. It is a very good show and I respect that. And I think even though I prefer season one over season two, if I just look at season two on its own and when I compare it to other things that I watch. Yeah, it's going to go at my number five slot. So that is Loki season two, number five for me. Will, what is your number five?

>> Will: My number five is Star Trek strange new worlds.

>> Sarah : Of course, a Star Trek show would be on your.

>> Will: Yeah, well, it edged out Loki. but, Yeah. Star Trek strange new worlds. I think for me, it was top to, I guess it was ten episodes. I, think what resonated for me with that, with this season is it took some creative risk they had. And I know we mentioned, I mentioned one of those last week when we were. Yeah, it was last week when we talked about Doom Patrol finale, final episodes, their final season with, the musical. I even commented, I wonder if I would have had the same reaction to strange new world musical if I'd seen the Doom patrol musical first. but, there was that episode.

I think the thing that really stood out with this season of Star Trek, strange new worlds

I think the thing that really stood out for me with this season of Star Trek, strange new worlds, is they really experimented with many different, genres within this season. You had your comedy episode, you had your musical, you had your hard legal, procedural, episode, and really, there were only, I think only two episodes that really did not resonate. Well, one was the season premiere, where it just seemed very run of the mill, average Star Trek, and then there was one in midseason, that was also. They were trying to get to some moral issues and all, but they couldn't just take a leap to have a character, Captain pike do something that he would have to really deal with the ramifications of that, unlike, say, Ben Cisco and deep space nine, if you want to keep it within the Star Trek universe, where he crossed some moral lines and they did not allow for that with pike. So that's why it got knocked, because, spoiler alert, there were two big Star Trek shows this year, strange new worlds and Picard as far as live action, and, that really, knocked down strange new worlds to the point where, like I said, it was really neck and neck with Loki. but I think just the creative choices that they did, overall gave was sort of the tipping thing that it got the fifth spot versus Loki because Loki was like, right, there was going to be my next. Right there. My honorable mentions.

>> Sarah : Yeah. number four for me. Gen v. Yeah, interesting. M. No, this is me. This is me. Depending on your reaction. When I name mine, I'm like, okay, is that a. That's on my list, but it's higher. That's not on my list at all. We shall see no spoilers about what's to come. But Gen v season one. For those who have been listening to, especially our discussions about the show, I was thoroughly surprised by it. I was not expecting what we got. This sits at the same table as the boys. For me, arguably, I really enjoyed it from start to finish. no, they don't have a homelander. But there's something about this group of young adults that through all of their different perspectives and everything that occurs throughout this season, I really just like the gang, even more so than the boys themselves, because arguably the boys. Yeah. We have our central gang, but they often go off and do their own thing. And we spent a lot of time with just these people. It's a true Scooby gang we have. And, this is the way you do a spin off, and this is the model for it. And I'm so excited for the next season. And it is perfect marketing to get me so excited for the next season of the boys, too. So I thought it was brilliant.

One piece was one of those things completely not on my radar

I, could not have this on my list, and it may be a bit low, but at the same time, there's some other things that happened this year that I did not forget about. So, will, what is your number four?

>> Will: So my number four is one piece.

>> Sarah : Nice.

>> Will: M. Yeah. And, it was one of those things completely not on my radar at all. and I think we both messaged each other around Labor Day, was like, hey, what's this one piece thing? We should give it a try. because I saw it trending on Netflix and a couple of other places and instantly fell in love with the. The freshness of it. I don't know. I know we were watching it were we broke it up instead of trying to binge it all just so we could really want just to stretch out content. Because of the strike, there were a lot of things not happening. But what first became a decision out of trying to have content for a few weeks ended up becoming a thing where, I really got super invested in these characters and it was so. But prior to mean, the only thing I was familiar with one piece was I'd just seen a bunch of memes that was know. So I didn't know who Luffy was or anything. I've seen his face, like, popping around here and there on the Internet, but both of us came to it know. It was just so well constructed. I don't know if it was just a freshness or something new and different, but it was accessible because, again, I didn't watch any of the anime, didn't read any of the manga, but it was accessible for a general audience and it really painted a nice tapestry of luffy and trying to put together this little pirate gang and some of the themes that they were dealing with. We even noticed some similarities with the genre show that we were covering ahsoka at the same time as far as how dealing with father or grandfather figures or leadership figures, how those things you could see shows mirror images of each other and how they approach things. Like I said, really enjoyed the series during the time period it was on. I was telling people, oh, you got to check out one piece because just word of mouth and everyone I've recommended to you has enjoyed it.

Succession season four is not my favorite season of succession

with that, it came in at number four on my list for this year.

>> Sarah : Interesting. Very good. number three. guys, come on. You know me. You know me. You know what it is. Well, you might think this would have been higher. I don't know. But honestly, at the end of the day, I worked hard on this list. Succession season four is number three.

>> Will: Wow.

>> Sarah : Succession season four is not my favorite season of succession. However, the third freaking episode is brilliant. And if we were just talking about episodes alone, it would be number one. And I only say it's brilliant because I did not know what happens in that. Now, the fact that I know there are listeners and will himself, who knows what happens in the third episode if he ever gets around to watching it. I tell you right now, you will not have the same experience that I and the viewers who did not know what was going to happen did. And the brilliance is lost. And I think about it, and it a makes me angry because people who spoiled that, like, fuck you, shame on you. Because the effort and the brilliance to. And I'm not going to say what happens, guys. I can talk around and you can be like, oh, so boring because I don't really know what she's talking about. I don't want you to know. I want you to watch the episode. I want you to watch episode three, season four of succession. I have never experienced something like that. And there's been a lot of episodes that try to get. I mean, tv has been on for a long time. You all. There's a lot of things that have been trying to get viewers to have that type of reaction, never accomplishing it like this. And it just blew my way. And I was so happy when I heard other reactors and other viewers have that same reaction, and I'm like, this worked. This is brilliant. and of course, there are other episodes that are very good, but it's just like, overall, I think that this season is good. It's not necessarily my favorite season. I did like the ending, don't get me wrong. I really do. I think that this played out very well. I'm not disappointed by this season, but you all, a lot happened this year. I had to make some decisions. And so, yes, the last season of succession is going at number three. Okay. Got two more spots left. I did what I did.

>> Will: Yeah. Well, there's some hard calls that have to be made. that was me and Star Trek strange two worlds. The fandom in me was like. The fan in me was like, it's got to be up in the top three.

>> Sarah : But no, where did you think I was going to put succession? Because you knew it was going to be on my list, but where did you think it would be?

>> Will: I thought it'd be one or two.

>> Sarah : Yeah. Okay, cool.

Gen V had one astounding episode and a lot of good episodes

So now I'm very curious. What is your number three, will gen v. Yeah.

>> Will: Completely like you. I, went into this. No, to low expectations, because I'm like, okay, we got a spin off of the boys in the boys universe. Is it just going to be like dollar store boys? And it's the furthest thing from it.

>> Sarah : I never heard you say that, but I wish you had said that so long ago. I'm sorry, dollar store boy. Okay, I'll be quiet now. Let you have your moment.

>> Will: I might make that. As far as the teaser coming into the episode. Yeah. Wow. You hit on a lot of things that I don't want to repeat. that. but the only other thing I would say is, hats off to the writers and the creatives of this show because, you're right, it's hard to do a spin off and not seem derivative of the original. but they really did crack, I think, setting it in a university setting and really following these kids. And it's beautiful because it really gets into the ramifications of things in this universe when parents did the fucked up thing of giving their kids this compound b, and now we're seeing the results of that and with the characters in the episodes. I'm not going to spoil in particular, things that happen with each character. But I will say that you do see the ramifications of the decisions that were made by giving people this compound v, really, the whole arc of the season, as far as, like you said, I can't think of that there was a bad episode at all in that first season. there are some that may be stronger than others, but one that just makes you go, oh, just cringe where you're just like, I just can't get through this. I can't think of one.

>> Sarah : and sorry to cut you off, but to my point about succession, succession had one astounding episode and a lot of good episodes, but just like, what you're saying about Gen V, like, not having a single bad one, it also didn't have one that overshadowed the rest.

>> Will: Right. Yeah, it was just a tight, cohesive first season of television that was enjoyable. Got us from point a to point b did a masterful job of having its own storylines, but yet still has enough ties back to the source, the original. now you're like, people ask, do you need to watch the boys? Would you have had to watch the first three seasons of the boys to enjoy this show? Now that we've seen it the entire series, I will say no. And I know I think, honestly, I might have switched from my original thought when we discussed it a few weeks ago. I think I was on the other side of the equation. But now looking at it, thinking about it at the end of the year, having no, you don't necessarily need to watch the boys to enjoy this show, which I think is another strong thing about this spin off. It can stand on its own.

>> Sarah : Yeah. And you know what? You may watch it and then get curious about the boys.

>> Will: Yeah.

>> Sarah : Because I think between both shows, it's just in a testament to the world that's been created, and I just want to stay in this. As weird as it may be and as gross and as over the top as it may be at some points, I still, for whatever reason, like, watching this world, I don't know. Yeah, I agree. I knew we were going to have an overlap with that show. Of course, there's one other one, that I know we're going to have an overlap with.

Will: Last of us season one is my number two favorite television show

but that brings me to my number two. I'm just full of surprises because I think this might also shock you, especially given my number three, last, of us season one is my number two.

>> Will: Really? You made some hard choices here. Yeah.

>> Sarah : All will is thinking is, then what the fuck is her first?

>> Will: I'm, like, racking my head down, like, okay, what else do we talk about? Is this got to. This may be something that we didn't talk about on the show.

>> Sarah : Did we? No. I want to give last of us season one its moment. yeah. If I was making a list about best shows, yeah, last of us season one arguably would be number one, but I've not gone back and rewatched it at all. I was definitely in the moment loving it. I love the after show. I knew this story. I, have seen the cutscenes beforehand. I even am pretty sure when I first learned about this story and did the cutscenes, I'm pretty sure not thinking they were ever going to make a live action adaptation. I explained the entire plot that, thank God, will forgot so that he could enjoy the first season as much as he did. And I really did enjoy talking with you about it. A lot because you didn't know some of the things that were happening, and I did, and it was just a, very. I truly enjoyed that time that we spent talking about the show, and I can't wait for the next season, even though we have to. Overall, it was a masterful adaptation, like we've talked about. New series premiering in an unremarkable way, a new spin off doing what we didn't think it would do. And now we have an adaptation of, specifically a video game, like, surpassing expectations. So I think overall, we're finding a lot of projects this year that came about and everyone being very skeptical, given the circumstances. And then it just nailing everything it needed to, to make it an excellent season of television. I admit, this is a brilliant season of television. The first episode, I think that I have rewatched the first episode. and I think there might be one or two other episodes that I have rewatched that I have not ever gone back and rewatched the entire season. again, to your point about Gen V, honestly, I don't feel as though there's a single episode that surpasses any of the episodes, that outshines any of the episodes. I think it's pretty consistent. There are moments that are a bit weaker and there are moments that are a bit stronger. and the performances, it's so good and the story is so strong that when you think about it, makes all the sense in the world why it worked. Because you have the creator of the game come on board and do the writing and help with the directing. I think he also directed a few, if I'm not mistaken. And then you also have the man behind Chernobyl.

>> Will: Exactly.

>> Sarah : Not the event. The tv.

>> Will: Tv show. Yeah. Which is, strangely enough, I don't think Chernobyl made. I think variety. I think I overheard this today. I'm pretty sure that Roca and Snyder were, like, bagging Variety's top 100 tv shows of all time. Apparently, Chernobyl is not on that list, which is like, really? Yeah. Anyways, but that's a discussion for another day.

>> Sarah : It's not on my list because I honestly haven't watched it, but I've heard a lot of people really like it. last of us, season one is number two. Will, what is your second?

>> Will: So this was another hard decision because it was a heart versus head, and I went with my heart. Well, I went with my head on this one. even though the heart is, very, has very strong feelings about it, too much to the point where I ended up setting up a spin off show from our main podcast here about it. Because I love talking about Star Trek Picard with you. like you were saying with our discussions with last of us, and, you being familiar with the game and the cutscenes and all that stuff, and I'm not. I enjoy talking Picard with you because this was, because we made it through seasons one and two as hard as they were. Even me as a Star Trek fan, I will freely admit those season two in particular was a hard slog.

>> Sarah : I was going to say season one felt like a breeze.

>> Will: Yeah. even me as a Star Trek fan, season two was tough, but season three of Star Trek Picard was a love letter to the fans.

>> Sarah : Yeah, a love letter to Will.

>> Will: Yes, it was. But that being said, yes, I will freely admit there were a lot of member berries. everywhere, sprinkled everywhere. But Terry Metallis constructed a season of television start to finish that I will put up against any of the more prestige shows. it will hold its own with it, because once you get past the Star Trek aspect of it and really get into some of the explorations of the things that were going on with that season, with Picard really coming to grips with its age, I don't want to get too deep into it, but there was some, again, it was very topical with dealing with radicalization, with some of the things that was going on with one of the characters in the show, the performances, some of the best work that the cast has done in their careers as far as in the Next Generation, Jonathan, Frakes in particular, and even Patrick Stewart. I mean, it's criminal that neither one of them got supporting gates, McFadden, any of those actors and actresses didn't get, some due credit as far as Emmy nominations. I know some of the other shows award seasons have been very complimentary of it. Not only the Saturn awards, but also some of the more mainstream ones. But I just felt that this, and yes, there's three shows this year that broke me to the place where I had an emotional moment when I was just a hot mess of emotion, whether happy, sad, in between. One we discussed last week was Doom patrol.

>> Will: Star Trek Picard is another one. And there was a particular scene in that episode in the series during the third season that when I saw it, I was just a mess of tears of joy when I saw that particular scene, and it was destitute, was member berries. But also, it was just, like I said, a true love letter to the fans. And something that I never thought that this particular cast would get a proper send off like they did, but not only did it get a proper send off with a very solid story, and there were some moments, that, I think there were some stronger episodes than others. so I won't say that, but, unlike, as we were discussing, say, like, gen v, where I think it was consistent tone throughout, there were a couple episodes, Picard that were, like, could have marinated a little bit more. And I think that's why it's getting knocked down to number two versus my first choice. but, yeah, it's hands. top. It was one of my favorites of the year, for sure.

I understand why you lean towards season three because of all the nostalgia

>> Sarah : Okay, what the heck is the member? Barry?

>> Will: That's a thing from South park. So basically, nostalgia. Empty nostalgia.

>> Sarah : Okay. I mean, I could piece in context. I was figuring out what it was, but I just had to understand where the reference was.

>> Will: Yeah.

>> Sarah : I've never watched South park, so I wouldn't understand.

>> Will: Yeah. Member varies, basically empty nostalgia. Which, if people looked at this, you could easily say, third season of Star Trek, Picard is just empty nostalgia. But it wasn't. It truly had a story, and we talked about it. And the reason why I know it had a good story that people could latch on is because you're not a Trek fan and you even liked it.

>> Sarah : Yeah. I prefer season three over season two. I think the first season of Picard I actually liked the best as being a non Trek fan. But in hearing you talk about it, I can understand why you lean towards season three because of all the nostalgia. And I don't think nostalgia is empty. I think people get it confused with. And I think you even said this when we're talking about Picard. Season three, nostalgia can be done. Right. It's just that there are so many times when it just feels like fan service. Why are you doing that? That's not necessary. You don't have to. And we've seen that so much that when it's done right, you want to disclaim it's not empty nostalgia. It's a good show, even. It's just that, the nostalgia, ah, amplifies, and you get more payoffs, and you get rewarded for sticking on. The entire journey that goes. Extends beyond just this series itself.

>> Will: That's exactly it. And when they brought characters back, it was for the story.

>> Sarah : Right? For the story.

I'm looking at at least 20 shows that I've watched this year

will, do you have any guesses about what my number one is?

>> Will: Oh, gosh. so I'm looking at at least the 20 shows that I've watched this year.

>> Sarah : Yeah.

>> Will: And I know there's some overlap between us, but I know there's some that.

>> Sarah : We already figured out. Your number one. But yeah.

>> Will: Oh, gosh. he said no reality show, so. No, it's not Vanderpump rules.

>> Sarah : You're doing very good detective work. just let me know when I can proceed. But I wanted to give you an opportunity to at least, because I have talked about this show, during the year on our podcast.

>> Will: Yeah, I got 20 on my list.

>> Sarah : And you're like, I have 19 that I know it's not.

>> Will: Yeah, it's not this one. Oh, gosh. I'm, like, blanking. I'm drawing a complete blank. What is it?

>> Sarah : It's okay. I would have been so shocked had you even brought this show up, because I did talk about it, but I think I only talked about it one time, and I don't think. It's not, like, the glory where anytime I would reference it. No. And I've referenced the last of us so many times. I've referenced succession so many times.

>> Will: it's not billions, is it?

>> Sarah : No. That is very good. Glass. but no, it's not billions. Because, let's face it, billions should have ended with season three. It went on too long. even though I did, like, this last season. Billions. It's not. It. It is the bear season two.

>> Will: Oh, yes. Duh. Yeah. You know why? Because I haven't watched a bear. How could I forget the bear? I mean, oh, my God. It's like everybody talks. Is the bears everyone's favorite show this year?

>> Sarah : so the bear season two. Yes. Okay, let me backtrack here. I watched the air season one last year after seeing a whole campaign about it, and everyone's saying, like, word of mouth and especially one episode towards the end in particular. It's like, you got to make it that far because it's amazing what they pull off. And I like the show overall, but it wasn't memorable to me. It was a good binge. I could see its strengths, but, it didn't grab me. Season two. I was so shocked. It took everything I liked about season one and just amplified. It just was like, no, we're going to focus on this. And I'm like, that's what I liked. Thank you. They minimized everything I didn't like about season one and amplified everything I did. So it was brilliant for me. I remember watching it. I think it was, a one and a half day binge for me because there's I think, twelve episodes. And then I instantly restarted the season and it was just a, long weekend of the bear. And then after rewatching it for the second time, I was like, no, I'm not over this. I crave more. I went back to season one. it's at that point when I realized, as much as I love the story of the last of us, as brilliant as it was, as much as I love episode three of succession, I cannot tell you the rewatch ability. The bear, season two, I have rewatched episodes of it since then. I want season three. There are moments in this season that it's so good. there's maybe one episode that I think is its weakest. but everything else, it's very consistent. And, I was shocked by how much I love this season of television and how it just hit me really good. No, I didn't bawl my eyes out or anything, but, there were a lot of surprises or there was just enough surprise. There was a lot of growth for a lot of characters. And overall, I didn't realize how much I was invested until the end. I really adore this season. and I think the proof was when I rewatched it for the second time and was like, I want to stay with these characters more. So I'm going to obviously go back and start watching season one. So, no, I didn't talk about this as much as I should have. Shows.

>> Will: I should have known, though. Yeah, I should have known what? I said I should have known, though. But when you have talked about it, I guess for me it's just like, it took me a while to get to finish season one of the bear. And I keep saying I need to get the season two and it's just one of those things is just like a blind spot for me.

>> Sarah : Well, it's so funny.

Our list, um. I, um, think that the tv lists are fascinating

Our list, we're going to get to the anticlimactic of will, season one, number one choice. I, think that the tv lists are so fascinating because we watch a lot of the same shows, but we also have different preferences and we also have shows that we don't necessarily watch together. We watch separately and then fill each other in and sometimes there's overlap. and the fact that you managed to watch the vampire season ten reunion episode beyond me, things I wasn't expecting. and hey, maybe next year I'll put together a reality tv show because I will tell you right now, guys, you didn't ask for this, but as much as I love Vanderpub season ten, you all should be watching real housewives of Salt Lake City because that season four, it's going off. It's so good.

>> Will: So good.

>> Sarah : Those girls are mess. those girls, those women are a complete mess. middle aged women. But yeah. honestly, also, I think I didn't talk to this one as much because I wanted it to be a surprise. I didn't want to play all my cards because I thought my list last year were so predictable. but if you haven't watched it, everyone listening, please go and watch the bear. It is worth it. I don't think it's overhyped. and I do think season two is superior. Will.

>> Will: Yeah.

>> Sarah : I'm so curious. What is your number one?

>> Will: It's the flash. I was kidding. No, my number one is the last of us. yeah, you probably figured it out whenever I was talking about three shows this year that broke me either happily or sad. And the last of us. yeah, there were some episodes that, Will was like in a little ball on the floor in his living room with a couple of those episodes. Just, so powerful, so well done.

Sarah: This was a near perfect season of television

Again, as Sarah noted, there's ways that adaptations can go many different ways. And the fact that they, adapted a video game, which historically video game adaptations have not gone well.

>> Sarah : Right.

>> Will: but they were able to do that with this show. And in a way that not only was mostly satisfying for people who've played the game, for people like me who haven't played the game, but heard of the last of us, but didn't really know much about it beyond that. Oh, yes, it's a very popular video game. this show was just, start to finish was just, amazing. Ah, there's very rare where you have a near perfect season of television. And this was one of those situations where you had, a, near perfect season of television, but also even, like, the level of detail, with the cutscenes and the comparisons, when you see the cutscene and the live action version of it, they made it their own, but it still held the spirit of the frames from the game itself. when you watch those cutscenes and again, you're just become so invested in the story with Joe and Ellie and the people they meet along the just chef's kiss. I can't wait for season two. can't say enough great words about this show, because it truly was first, we started off the year strong with the last of us.

>> Sarah : I was just going to say I feel like, if I remember correctly, I vaguely have this memory of us talking around this time last year or whenever they started dropping the teasers in the trailer. And I got the impression from you, this was one where I'm like, no, we'll recovery. And you're like, I was like.

>> Will: I don't know. I'm not sure about this.

>> Sarah : But yeah, but that first episode, within the first half hour, I was like, will's going to be. He's going to love this show.

>> Will: Yeah. But also too, some of the things, we didn't talk about it much, but, with the effects, they had such a beautiful blending of practical effect and visual effect. Like I mentioned before, the level of detail, know, staying true to the source material. But also really, we binged, the companion show, podcast, that HBO put out and hearing Craig, and, the, game creator, druckman talk about, mean everything about just like, very. There's only few series you can say. It was near perfect season of television and this is one of them.

>> Sarah : Yeah, definitely. And if I was ranking based on best seasons of television, last of us would probably be number one. but I went with my heart and chose the bear season two over it. and I made this conversation probably a lot more interesting. And you had some surprises, too. But that is our list. we did overlap exactly where I thought we would. I was like, but yeah, it's been a great year of tv, semi good year of film.

>> Will: Yeah.

>> Sarah : But overall, a great year for scena nerd. And on that note, Will, why don't you tell our listeners where they can find you?

>> Will: Yes, you can find me. And let me know what you think of, my list on, Twitter. Well, ex, formerly known as Twitter at, will mpulk. W-I-L-L--M-P-O-L-K.

>> Sarah : Yes. And this is our last show of 2023. We will be back in about two weeks for our first show of 2024. so keep a watch on our socials. Will always does a very good job about letting you guys know when we're recording, and we know we like to switch up the nights.

>> Will: Ah, yeah. Given where things are dropping, the first of 2024, pay attention. Probably second week of January.

>> Sarah : Yeah. and thank you all for your love and support, throughout 2023. And we hope you stick around for 2024. And on m that note, you can follow me on X as well at SJ, Belmont, sjblmo and T. Please follow our crew on Twitter at scene and nerd friend us on Facebook. Follow us on Instagram and threads at scene underscore n underscore nerd and visit our website, ww sceneanderdpodcast.com. But most importantly, rate, follow and comment on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. Good night. Geek out. You're welcome.