All the Fanfare Eric Pierce

In This Episode:
- Is Hacks the best show about comedians?
- Why Deborah Vance (Jean Smart, straight fire) is one of the most complicated characters ever created.
- Exploring the relationship/mentorship at the heart of the show.
- How Hacks celebrates the act of creativity, lays bare the cost of the creative life, and uses its two protagonists to depict the journey.
- The most painful scenes to watch.
- Deborah as a capitalist maven and how that identity aligns with her Las Vegas persona.
- How Hacks depicts the realities of misogyny in the entertainment industry but is also hopeful.
- Looking ahead to Season 4.
Link City:
The League of Extraordinarily Funny Women: 50 Trailblazers of Comedy (Sheila’s Book)
Stay Curious (Sheila’s Newsletter)


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In This Episode:
Flavors of Tecmo Bowl
Why Tecmo Super Bowl for the NES is the ultimate edition
Idiosyncrasies of Tecmo Bowl
Playing Tecmo Super Bowl in 2024
Memories of playing in the 90s
Best teams and players
Is Tecmo Super Bowl the greatest sports video game ever?
Is Tecmo Super Bowl the best game on the NES?


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In This Episode
Breaking down the crawl
This galaxy is resting on the shoulder of only two Jedi
The majesty of the opening sequence
Favorite battles from the live action Clone Wars
Anakin is a disaster, Padme is plot furniture
Palpatine living his best life
The Republic was a surveillance state?
Everybody was Jedi fighting!
A brief postmortem on the Prequels
Link City
The Mando-Verse Has Given New Life to Species Long Gone Stale (paywalled; only $3 a month!)
Why Baylan Skoll is One of the Most Interesting Star Wars Characters (paywalled; only $3 a month!)
The Most Tragic Star Wars Character is Not the One You Think (free read!)
25 Years Later, The Phantom Menace Remains an Uneven Yet Thrilling Nostalgia Trip (free read!)
What Star Wars Means to Me (free read!)


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In This Episode
Putting the war in Star Wars
How Rogue One stitches into the existing narrative
Thoughts on returning characters
How Disney-era Star Wars delivered on the promise of classic characters
Why tragedy works in Rogue One and fails in the Prequels
Rogue One, Andor, and gray heroes
Favorite moments
A postmortem on the short-lived anthology series
The tension between personal storytelling and fan expectations
Link City
Justin’s website
Write Now: How To Pursue Your Dream And Start Writing Today!
Star Wars articles


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In This Episode
Where does Temple of Doom rate in the Indiana Jones franchise?
How this movie led to the establishment of the PG-13 / UK 12 rating system
Is Temple of Doom a divorce movie?
Opinions on the opening song & dance
Mola Ram and cultural landmines
Kate Capshaw as Willie Scott
Which Indy film has the best Harrison Ford performance?
Favorite sequences from the film
Link City
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom: Racist, Sexist, Too Violent?
Simon’s website
Simon’s newsletter
Simon’s books


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In this episode
My hopes and dreams of the Clone Wars vs the actuality of them
Breaking down the opening crawl
What are the galactic politics, exactly?
The blind arrogance of the Jedi
The troubling relationships at the heart of Episode II
The assassination subplot
Moments I dig
Why this is the worst George Lucas Star Wars movie


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