The Review Show The Whatnauts

Episode 290. It's Apple April, where we're exploring content from Apple TV+. This week is the first season of Hello Tomorrow!, a 2023 workplace dramedy set in a retro-futuristic world. Jack Billings left his family behind to become a traveling salesman for Brightside, a timeshare development on the moon. When his son unknowingly attends one of his sales seminars, he decides to take the boy under his wing as a new employee, waiting until the right moment to reveal that he's his long-absent father. This isn't Jack's only secret, and the moon might not be the ideal destination he promises. We discuss the show's themes of hard truths vs. gentle lies, what it means to believe in a dream and fake it until you make it, the impressive production design, and robot hands.

(00:00) - Intro

(00:04) - Welcome and banter

(04:03) - Non-spoiler thoughts on Hello Tomorrow!

(15:40) - Housekeeping

(19:05) - Spoilers!! Hello Tomorrow!

(01:20:54) - Review Show Bingo

(01:24:15) - Recommendations

(01:37:11) - What we are discussing next episode

(01:42:26) - Outro


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Episode 289. We're discussing Jordan Peele's 2019 horror film Us, about a family whose beach house is invaded by horrifying dopplegangers of themselves, after the mother survived an encounter with one of them when she was younger. We discuss the puzzling origin of these doubles and the unnerving abruptness of the movie's ending, dream logic, liminal spaces, and buff nerds.

(00:00) - Intro

(00:04) - Welcome and banter

(01:35) - Non-spoiler thoughts on Us

(13:41) - Housekeeping

(17:21) - Spoilers!! Us

(01:05:04) - Review Show Bingo

(01:13:16) - Recommendations

(01:21:27) - What we are discussing next episode

(01:24:37) - Outro


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Episode 288. Friend of the show and master of electricity Ignacio Rojas joins us to talk about Weathering With You, a 2019 anime movie from director Makoto Shinkai. 15-year-old Hodaka runs away from home to start a new life in Tokyo, where he meets Hina, another teenager working to support herself and her kid brother. Hina is secretly a "sunshine girl" who can summon the sun and banish clouds, which the two use to earn money during an intensely rainy season, but the power could cost Hina her life. We discuss how this compares to Shinkai's earlier film Your Name, the accurate Tokyo settings down to a real McDonald's, themes of finding your own happiness on an alternate path in life, and your "senpai" being a 10-year-old with two girlfriends.

(00:00) - Intro

(00:04) - Welcome and banter

(07:41) - Non-spoiler thoughts on Weathering With You

(16:26) - Housekeeping

(21:34) - Spoilers!! Weathering With You

(01:08:09) - Review Show Bingo

(01:12:30) - Recommendations

(01:19:07) - What we are discussing next episode

(01:22:00) - Outro


★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Episode 287. We read the 12-issue DC limited series The Human Target, from writer Tom King and artist Greg Smallwood. Christopher Chance is the Human Target, a secret operative you can hire to masquerade as you and take the hits from your enemies. He drinks a poison meant for Lex Luthor and has only 12 days left to live. He's determined to use this time to solve who is behind this assassination attempt, and all signs point to a member of the Justice League International. We discuss how much DC knowledge you need before reading this story, the juxtaposition of classic noir tropes with a bright mid-century art style, and comparisons to the prolific poisoning-based story The Emperor's New Groove.

(00:00) - Intro

(00:04) - Welcome and banter

(03:01) - Non-spoiler thoughts on The Human Target

(15:52) - Housekeeping

(20:26) - Spoilers!! The Human Target

(01:12:27) - Review Show Bingo

(01:15:14) - Recommendations

(01:24:35) - What we are covering next episode

(01:26:48) - Outro


★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Episode 286. We watched the 1985 detective show Moonlighting, an early "dramedy" and legend in will-they-won't-they romance. After a crooked accountant steals her money, former supermodel Maddie Hayes bets everything on her one remaining business asset, a small detective agency. She teams up with the goofy but effective PI David Addison, and the two bicker and flirt while solving a variety of odd crimes. We discuss the jarring shifts from poignant drama to screwball comedy, the receptionist who answers every phone call in rhyme, David bringing Chester Cheetah energy, romantic soft focus lenses, and a standout Christmas episode.

(00:00) - Intro

(00:04) - Welcome and banter

(02:13) - - Non-spoiler thoughts on Moonlighting

(20:29) - Housekeeping

(25:20) - Spoilers!! Moonlighting

(01:12:06) - Review Show Bingo

(01:19:48) - Recommendations

(01:29:44) - What we are discussing next week

(01:34:17) - Outro


★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Episode 285. We watched season one of the Netflix animated series Blue Eye Samurai. At the time when baby Mizu was born with blue eyes, all outsiders were banned from Japan and the only white men known to be in the country were heinous criminals. After growing up an outcast, Mizu is now an adult trained in the sword, determined to find and kill those men. We discuss the impressive fight choreography, the surprising amount of blood and sex, horny poetry, and characters with speech impediments.

(00:00) - Intro

(00:04) - Welcome and banter

(04:24) - Non-spoiler thoughts on Blue Eye Samural

(15:28) - Housekeeping

(21:22) - Spoilers!! Blue Eye Samurai

(01:16:06) - Review Show Bingo

(01:20:49) - Recommendations

(01:26:10) - What we are discussing next week

(01:28:24) - Outro


★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★