The Game of Nerds Podcast The Game of Nerds

On this episode of The Game of Nerds Podcast, we sit down with Let's Talk Fandom Podcast host Tezeta Gant for the second time. This episode was slated for last year, but her episode was part of the infamous microphone fiasco of 2021. It was only fitting that we sat down for "take two" and got an even better conversation than the first. We start the podcast chatting about our love of Netflix's documentaries and how Nick Miller is our soul animal. But this episode is all about animation, so let's jump in!



Tezeta and I are of similar ages and grew up during the 90's when animation reigned king. So it's no secret that animation holds a special place in our hearts. It's been amazing to see animation projects thrive during the pandemic since creators can do these series at home much more effortlessly than on-set filming. Just look at the latest Disney+ day and how they announced many animated series for the coming year. Animation is one of those creative processes that I'm in awe of and aware of how many TALENTED people it takes to create some of these series/movies that we've loved. We talk about this extensively in the Anime episode and the Voice Acting episode of this podcast. But first, the age-old question, Disney or Nickelodeon? Which did you watch more?



Check out the full podcast episode notes on TheGameofNerds.com



Learn more about our guest on this episode:

Tezeta Gant

Host of Let's Talk Fandom Podcast - https://www.letstalkfandomspodcast.com

Co-Host of Eat Watch Review

Co-Host of Into the Tavern Podcast

Instagram: @Gantgram

Facebook & Twitter: @LetsTalkFandom

The Game of Nerds founder, Shannon Parola sits down to chat with the author of Tower of Blue, Eric Locsh, about what a superhero really is. We both thought this episode would be quite a straightforward chat about our favorite and most hated superheroes, but it got super deep. We may have more questions than actual answers at the end of this. Listen in as we chat about the history of superheroes, superheroes in television and movies, and the future of superheroes.



Check out the full episode review on TheGameofNerds.com.

Learn more about our guest:

Eric Locsh - www.ericlocsh.com

Young Adult Sci-Fi Author of Tower of Blue and Possum Stew

Instagram: @eloauthor

Like him on Facebook

Twitter: @Ericloschauthor

Part 1 of his new superhero series The Night Howler is out now!

The mic saga continues folks, but this episode was too good not to release. I was on Steve and Matt's podcast, Happened In The '90s, back in July and had such a wonderful time that I asked them to come to be a guest on our podcast. I love these two guys to death, and they are definitely "our people." Shout out to Nicholas James for editing this episode for us!



Primarily we focus on our regrets of the things that we've parted ways with over the years. We are desperate to find these short nostalgic trips willing to pay big dollars to have those priceless moments back. Ultimately this brings up "Gamer Rage" and how fights would break out overplaying certain games like Mario Kart. I bring up Seaman AGAIN and how it opened a rabbit hole of discussion among my family and friends. We've concluded that the game had to be the idea from someone's late-night smoke session or a bet gone horribly wrong. 



We move on to talking about what the 90's meant to each of us. To Steve, the '90s was a time of fantastic music and creations. For Matt, it was about the small group of friends and hanging out, as cliche as it sounds for Steve. For me, the '90s were a time of television and pop culture. My love for Captain Planet and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles came from this era. In my area of the Bay Area, we were lucky enough to have a Disney Store and WB store at our local mall. This place allowed us to watch Looney Toon cartoons while my parents shopped around the store. You can imagine our sadness when they shut them down. This leads us into a quick discussion about the new Space Jam movie. We also chat about our favorite 90's Disney movies like the GOAT Lion King and Beauty and the Beast. Who Framed Roger Rabbit is one that never gets enough credit, but Prop Culture does a great job of showcasing how truly groundbreaking the film was. Many non-Disney movies were popular during this time, like Free Willy, Fern Gully, Harriet The Spy, and Good Burger.



Check out the rest of the episode notes on TheGameofNerds.com

Learn More About Our Guests:

Instagram: @Happenedinthe90s

Twitter: @HIThe90s

Facebook: @Happenedinthe90s

New Episodes Every Thursday on Youtube & your favorite podcasting platform

Now The Game of Nerds might not have regular Supergirl coverage like it did when the series first ran, but we recently made friends with a Supergirl podcast that's been helping us fill that void. Supergirl's Attic Podcast was introduced to us by our very own Fandom Science nerd, Tara Jabbari. Vv and Cycles are the podcast hosts of Supergirl's Attic and were both introduced into fandoms differently. Vv decided to look at fandom under a microscope as a college study, and Cycles entered the cutthroat world of Youtube editing at 10. It shows that if we let kids play with these tools, it may just lead them to do the things they love doing in life. Before this episode blasts off, we chat about what we've been binging like Black Widow, Broadcast 41, and Monsters at Work. 



I preface this episode by saying how much I love the Arrowverse. The Game of Nerds rose in popularity because we covered the CW series shows so closely those first few years we were starting. Unfortunately, as more shows arrived and the crossover started, it got too overwhelming for me to keep up. Even with multiple writers covering it, I got confused with storylines. Frankly, I gave up mid-second crossover and haven't seen any of these series episodes since. That's where the beauty of Supergirl lies. None of the other CW series impact the show in a way where it matters. The girls describe the crossovers as "wierd family reunions where you see each other once a year." So essentially, you can watch Supergirl and not have to be caught up with the rest of the CW superhero shows. This may be because the series never even started on CW. It originally aired on CBS in 2015, which was known for its drama series. Supergirl became the highest-paid licensing fee television series for the first season at nearly 3 million an episode. 



Read more about this podcast episode on the website, www.thegameofnerds.com!

This episode was edited by the amazingly talented Jared White, www.jaredwhiteaudio.com



Learn more about our guests:

Vv & Cycles from Supergirl's Attic Podcast

Supergirl's Attic Website: https://supergirlsattic.com

Supergirl's Attic Twitter & Tumblr - @SupergirlsAttic

Supergirl's Attic Podcast can be found on Google, Apple, Spotify, and all your other favorite podcasting platforms.

On this episode of The Game of Nerds podcast, I'm sitting down with our resident zombie expert and my "work-husband," Jon Hicks, to talk about our adventures on the convention floor. Before Andy was on the floor doing conventions with me, the rule was Jon had to be going to the convention for me to go. So over the past six years, we've racked up a lot of convention time between the two of us. As SDCC@Home 2021 begins this weekend, it only seemed fitting for Jon and me to talk about our convention experiences as well as tips and tricks. Before we jump into conventions, though, Jon gives us the low down on the Pokemon card situation at Target and how he's deep into old episodes of Unsolved Mysteries. I'm convinced our parents just showed us the show to behave and not do something crazy with friends.



As we begin chatting about conventions, we accidentally started with the best/worst example. Heroes and Villians, Fan Fest, or Walker Stalker Con, whatever you want to call it, is a prime example of how a convention with a great idea can turn bad quickly. It's considered the Fyre Festival of conventions. Here at The Game of Nerds, we've reported multiple times on Fan Fest Events, the legal trouble of its own James Frazier, and the outcome of the now-defunct convention. But there are plenty of great conventions to talk about, San Diego Comic-Con is the most popular out of all of it. It's over 50 years old, and Jon happens to be the only one on staff who has actually attended the convention. The Game of Nerds has applied for press passes for 8 years now only to be denied by new rules and requirements every year. We talk about Jon's venture to SDCC and how it's basically impossible to do everything. Just like all the movies and shows depict, people are lining up days in advance to camp out for a single panel at Hall H. If you are too busy camping you can't really do anything else the con has to offer. Many convention attendees will get worried if they are missing days, but Jon assures listeners that there is usually so much going on and around the convention that you don't really have to worry if you are missing tickets.



You can read the full podcast notes on TheGameofNerds.com



Learn More About Our Guest:

Jon Hicks - TGON's Zombie Expert & Cosplayer

The Game of Nerds Writing

Instagram: @Riddler3Twitch

Twitch: www.twitch.tv/riddler3

Twitter: @JPGarfunkle

On this episode of The Game of Nerds podcast, I'm sitting down with fellow fangirl and writer at TGON, Tara Jabbari. We first met through the podcast website matchmaker.FM and immediately hit it off. Since our first call, I always book at least two hours minimum to chat with Tara because we talk about everything and anything. She has her very own biographical podcast series about women in history called, Who Was She? Tara also has a Masters's Degree in Communication Culture, and Technology. While finishing her degree, she looked into how we form relationships with media, more specifically television. She blew my mind with what I like to call "Fandom Science" when she explained an actual scientific term for what we like to call Fangirling, it's called Parasocial Relationships.



It's no secret. I like Sebastian Stan. It's right up there with Bluey. As a kid, when I would get super into something or someone, my parents would just say, "Oh Shannon, you're just obsessed." It turns out I was experiencing parasocial relationships and didn't even know it. A parasocial relationship is when someone has an intimate one-sided relationship that's non-sexual with a media person or figure. This term was coined originally in 1956 after two scientists realized that people were getting attached to their local news anchors. Some people were going so far as to send soup when they hear their favorite weatherman was sick. This was a fairly new concept since television has just arrived at the beginning of the 1950s. Fast forward to the 2000s and the arrival of Facebook, Twitter, and various other social media, the term is still there but only bigger. This is where Tara says we may need to update the definition or come up with a new term altogether.



Check out the full episode review on TheGameofNerds.com



Learn More About Our Guest:

Her Articles At The Game of Nerds - https://thegameofnerds.com/author/tarajabbari/

Who Was She? Podcast is available on your favorite podcast platform!

Twitter, Tumblr, & Instagram: Tara_Jabbari

Her Professional Website - https://tarajabbari.wordpress.com/