As the mysteries continue to unravel in episode 2 of HBO’s Watchmen, Daniel and Jeremy unpack all the major beats as the show continues to improve after a stellar pilot episode. Whether you’re wondering why THAT was in the closet, where that car went, or how that old man lifted that guy, the ToB Crew dive deep into all the questions that are left lingering.
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Watchmen S1E1 "It's Summer and We're Running Out of Ice": ToB Breakdown
ToB Breakdowns are back! Dan and Jeremy got together to delve into the latest HBO phenomenon. Based on Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ prototypical dark comics, Watchmen simultaneously evokes familiar themes from the source material, while managing to fearlessly tackle deep modern issues as well.
Set amidst an alternate version of present day Oklahoma, HBO’s Watchmen introduces us to a violent, grimy, racially-charged world where police are forced to conceal their identities and (allegedly) trans-dimensional squid rain from the sky. Regina King, Don Johnson, and Tim Blake Nelson lead the cast as sanctioned detective/vigilante hybrids fighting a losing battle against an increasingly dangerous hate-group, and a crippling bureaucracy.
From a harrowing opening sequence to an enigmatic twist ending the first episode perfectly establishes the series’ tone, and with a clock ticking inexorably over the episode’s final moments we know begin to understand that by the time the answers are revealed it will be too late. Always has been, always will be. Too late.
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Episode 143 - Arm-Fall-Off-Boy
Martin Scorsese’s comments would have been old news by the time the ToB Crew got around to recording the latest episode of the podcast, fortunately he decided to double down on those comments, making it a whole new story! Julian, Dan, and Jeremy try to dissect Scorsese’s thought process and try to put all the fallout into context. They also discuss the set photo leaks from Suicide Squad that reveal a crazy cast of characters, Damon Lindleoff suggesting that HBO’s Watchmen may only be one season, and the latest Picard trailer. All that, and much more, on this week’s Tower of Babble Podcast!
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ToB Interlude - Joker
It feels like it’s been months since Joker premiered at the Venice Film Festival, taking home it’s top prize. The buzz only continued to grow as it dropped at TIFF for the first time in North America. Even as we inched closer to it’s release to general audiences, the discussion surrounding Joker didn’t seem to let up. Joker, it seems, much like the character it’s based on, turned out to be a force that could not be ignored. Julian, Dan, and Jeremy, having had the opportunity to see Joker over the weekend, and take some time to digest what they saw, deliver a full review of Todd Phillips best film, and sink their teeth into the nuances of a stellar performance by one of the best actors working today.
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Episode 142 - Spider-Man: Returning Home
After weeks of “Slow News Day” podcasts the the floodgates have finally opened and there’s almost too much too talk about. The main story of course is Spiderman’s triumphant, albeit temporary, return to the MCU; the guys discuss both the implications for the MCU as well as potential Sony Universe concepts. From there we transition to Star Wars with news that Kevin Feige may be bringing his Marvel experience to Disney’s other cinematic universe, also, the Obi-Wan series has found a director and J.J. Abrams opinion on Emperor Palapatine’s inclusion in the Episode IX. All this plus some crazy trailers and a couple “Agree or Disagree” segments.. feels good to have a real show again.
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Episode 141 - A Return to Middle Earth
On this week’s Tower of Babble Podcast the guys ask the timeless question; are there too many trailers when you go to the theatre? That’s right, it’s ANOTHER slow week, but there’s still a few fun stories. Not the least of which being the impressions of the Jurassic World short film, “Battle at Big Rock”. Plus, Amazon’s Lord of the Rings series announces it will be filming in New Zealand, and James Gunn reveals the full cast of The Suicide Squad. Finally, Julian and Jeremy review Titans S2E2!
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ToB Games - More Smash Characters
It seems that the ToB Crew only get time to talk games when Nintendo has an announcement. What a nice confidence! In a surprise Direct, Nintendo announced that SNES games were headed to Nintendo Online (Launching with some heavy hitters like The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, and Super Metroid, just to name a few), Terry Bogard from Fatal Fury joins the Smash roster (complete with an awesome pixel art intro!), and most importantly, that even though there is only 1 character left to reveal in the “fighters pack”, that even more characters would be joining the Smash roster after that!
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Episode 140 - Young...ish Elrond?
Another slow news week means that once again, the critical darling, “Joker” leads off the show. “Joker” took home the Golden Lion prize at the Venice Film Festival and made it’s North American debut at TIFF, so you know there was some news bits to follow up on. Besides that, came the surprising news that a Jurassic World short film is dropping next week, and that an actor who looks suspiciously like Elrond was cast in Amazon’s “Lord of the Rings” series. Plus, Julian and Jeremy review the first episode of the new season of “Titans”. All that and… not that much else to be honest, on this week’s Tower of Babble Podcast.
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Episode 139 - Smile for the Camera
While first impressions of the Joker movie sound promising, the jury is still out on the Gotham City story that will follow it. The guys discuss both the critical success Joker has seen so far, and a recent interview with Robert Pattinson detailing his role in the upcoming Matt Reeves Batman film. Some recent remarks from J.J. Abrams spark debate over episode IX and how it will be affected by what came before it. In trailers we have: The King; a period piece emphasizing practical effects and historical accuracy, and Primal; an stylized, prehistoric cartoon with no regard for historical accuracy and a focus on primal violence.
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Episode 138 - D23 2019
The news train just never stops. Coming off the heels of last week’s Spider-Man bombshell is Disney’s annual D23 Expo that brought with it even more Marvel news, plus a lot more! From a dark version of Rey in the Star Wars Episode IX footage (never mind the incredible The Mandalorian trailer) to the deluge of new shows coming to Disney+ just from Marvel alone, there was a lot to discuss as Julian, Dan, and Jeremy got together to break down the biggest stories out of the Disney convention and the rest of the entertainment world this week.
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