Ancient Geeks

Ancient Geeks episode 31: Crisis On Infinite Earths

In the early 1980s, the editors at DC Comics decided that the DC Universe(s) had become unmanageable. Heroes and villains from different eras of comic continuity, often living in different realities, crossing over to have a friendly chat with their peers -- it was all too much. They hired Marv Wolfman and George Perez to blow it all up, and then re-build. Crisis On Infinite Earths, a 12-issue mega-series, was the result.
Journey back with us to 1983, when the Crisis first started. We talk about the multiverse that preceded it, and how Crisis helped improve the quality of DC's publications for years afterward. But the repercussions weren't all good...
Heroes and villains dying! Entire universes dying! Anti-matter annihilation! Golden Age, Silver Age, and Bronze Age characters, all at the same multiversal jamboree! Cosmic battles! Incredible art! It's all here.
 
Ancient Geeks is a podcast about two geeks of a certain age re-visiting their youth. We were there when things like science fiction, fantasy, Tolkien, Star Trek, Star Wars, D&D, Marvel and DC comics, Doctor Who, and many, many other threads of modern geek culture were still on the fringes of culture. We were geeks before it was chic!
For feedback, contact someancientgeeks@gmail.com. You can also find us on Facebook, Reddit, and Bluesky. Also, check out our new Ancient Geeks blog on Substack! And if you like what you hear, please tell a friend. Also, we always appreciate a review on the podcast platform of your choice.
© 2025 Tom Grant and Steven Taylor

Ancient Geeks episode 30: Fan service

We've mentioned fan service in past episodes. Now, we take it head on.
Tom and Steven have a lot to say about fan service, because it's a big part of geek culture today. But was it also a major part of our earlier geek lives? How much more of geek culture, especially on the screen, is dominated by it today? Is it always a bad thing, the death of creativity and quality? Or, in the right hands, can it be used for good.
Sequels! Remakes! In-jokes! Deep cuts! Updates! Transmedia! Spirited debate between Steven and Tom! It's all here.
Ancient Geeks is a podcast about two geeks of a certain age re-visiting their youth. We were there when things like science fiction, fantasy, Tolkien, Star Trek, Star Wars, D&D, Marvel and DC comics, Doctor Who, and many, many other threads of modern geek culture were still on the fringes of culture. We were geeks before it was chic!
For feedback, contact someancientgeeks@gmail.com. You can also find us on Facebook, Reddit, and Bluesky. Also, check out our new Ancient Geeks blog on Substack! And if you like what you hear, please tell a friend. Also, we always appreciate a review on the podcast platform of your choice.
© 2025 Tom Grant and Steven Taylor

Ancient Geeks episode 29: Blake's 7

Blake's 7 was definitely ahead of its time. A BBC science fiction series chock full of political intrigue, interesting characters with unexpected arcs, crazy ideas, and plot twists, all wrapped up in a neat space opera package. It ran at the same time as classic Doctor Who, but it doesn't have the same recognition as the good Doctor's adventures. But it's definitely worth tracking down this somewhat lost (or temporarily misplaced) series, and we'll tell you why.
Totalitarian regimes! Feisty rebels! Mysterious alien technologies! Nasty villains! Artificial intelligences! Zap guns! It's all here.
 
Ancient Geeks is a podcast about two geeks of a certain age re-visiting their youth. We were there when things like science fiction, fantasy, Tolkien, Star Trek, Star Wars, D&D, Marvel and DC comics, Doctor Who, and many, many other threads of modern geek culture were still on the fringes of culture. We were geeks before it was chic!
For feedback, contact someancientgeeks@gmail.com. You can also find us on Facebook, Reddit, and Bluesky. Also, check out our new blog on Substack! And if you like what you hear, please tell a friend. Also, we always appreciate a review on the podcast platform of your choice.
© 2025 Tom Grant and Steven Taylor

Ancient Geeks episode 28: Flash Gordon

Flash! Aaah-aah!
Steven and Tom journey back to 1980, when the big budget Flash Gordon movie premiered. Was it a camp classic? A post-Star Wars cash grab? A sincere homage to the comic strip? A weird amalgam of British, Italian, and American science fiction motifs? Something else? All of the above? Listen and find out.
Thrill to retro rocketships blazing across the screen! Cringe at the acting! Marvel at the incredibly colorful costuming and production design! Cover your ears when Brian Blessed delivers his lines! It's all here.
 
Ancient Geeks is a podcast about two geeks of a certain age re-visiting their youth. We were there when things like science fiction, fantasy, Tolkien, Star Trek, Star Wars, D&D, Marvel and DC comics, Doctor Who, and many, many other threads of modern geek culture were still on the fringes of culture. We were geeks before it was chic!
For feedback, contact someancientgeeks@gmail.com. You can also find us on Facebook, Reddit, and Bluesky. Also, check out our new blog on Substack! And if you like what you hear, please tell a friend. Also, we always appreciate a review on the podcast platform of your choice.
© 2025 Tom Grant and Steven Taylor

Ancient Geeks episode 27: Godzilla

Look! Towering over the city! It's another episode of Ancient Geeks!
We discuss the first Godzilla movie, which is a powerful, compelling piece of film-making. No, really! If you haven't seen it, we'll tell you why the original Japanese movie is compelling, thought-provoking, and scary. We get into the interesting behind-the-scenes story of the earliest Godzilla movies, and how this series evolved during the course of its immediate sequels during what fans call "the Showa era." We also talk about the most recent film, Godzilla Minus One, which is even more profound, terrifying, and even moving. If you've never thought you'd enjoy a Godzilla movie, or you've just seen them through the lens of Mystery Science Theater 3000, give us the opportunity to convince you to watch the top-notch films in this series!
 
Ancient Geeks is a podcast about two geeks of a certain age re-visiting their youth. We were there when things like science fiction, fantasy, Tolkien, Star Trek, Star Wars, D&D, Marvel and DC comics, Doctor Who, and many, many other threads of modern geek culture were still on the fringes of culture. We were geeks before it was chic!
For feedback, contact someancientgeeks@gmail.com. You can also find us on Facebook, Reddit, and Bluesky. And if you like what you hear, please tell a friend. Also, we always appreciate a review on the podcast platform of your choice.
© 2025 Tom Grant and Steven Taylor

Ancient Geeks episode 26: The Fantastic Four movie

We've seen the new Fantastic Four movie, and this episode contains all of our thoughts on the film, and then some! We discuss how good a movie it is, how good a Fantastic Four movie it is, and how good a comic book movie it is. Will it appeal to both comic book nerds and people who aren't comics fans? Will this movie help the MCU get back on its feet? 
We also have one of the liveliest debates between Tom and Steven in the history of the podcast – so far! Can long-standing franchises avoid getting tied up in ever-multiplying continuity knots? Where should the MCU go next? Listen to find out. 
Planet-devouring space gods! Family dynamics! Superhero fatigue! Tomorrowland aesthetics! It's all here, and more.
 
Ancient Geeks is a podcast about two geeks of a certain age re-visiting their youth. We were there when things like science fiction, fantasy, Tolkien, Star Trek, Star Wars, D&D, Marvel and DC comics, Doctor Who, and many, many other threads of modern geek culture were still on the fringes of culture. We were geeks before it was chic!For feedback, contact someancientgeeks@gmail.com. You can also find us on Facebook, Reddit, and Bluesky. And if you like what you hear, please tell a friend. Also, we always appreciate a review on the podcast platform of your choice.© 2025 Tom Grant and Steven Taylor

Ancient Geeks episode 25: John Byrne's Fantastic Four

What better way to celebrate the release of the Fantastic Four movie than to journey back to the 1980s, when John Byrne took over both the writer and artist roles for the Fantastic Four comic book. This was one of the best runs of any writer or artist over the 64 year history of the comic book, and Steven and Tom are eager to tell you why.
The FF family facing crisis after crisis! Science fiction galore! Doombots exploding! Galactus getting beaten up by everyone! Reed Richards as a mediocre adjunct professor! It's all here, and more.  
 
Ancient Geeks is a podcast about two geeks of a certain age re-visiting their youth. We were there when things like science fiction, fantasy, Tolkien, Star Trek, Star Wars, D&D, Marvel and DC comics, Doctor Who, and many, many other threads of modern geek culture were still on the fringes of culture. We were geeks before it was chic!
For feedback, contact someancientgeeks@gmail.com. You can also find us on Facebook, Reddit, and Bluesky. And if you like what you hear, please tell a friend. Also, we always appreciate a review on the podcast platform of your choice.
© 2025 Tom Grant and Steven Taylor

Ancient Geeks episode 24: Andor, an allegory for authoritarianism and rebellion

In this concluding episode of our Death Star-sized coverage of Andor, we look at this series through the lenses of political science and history (topics about which we know a few things). What are the important lessons from a galaxy far, far away about authoritarianism and rebellion here? How do the characters in this series epitomize the roles people play in real-world times of upheaval? How well does Andor depict the hard choices that people have to make? What ultimately makes this show as good as we think it is?
 
Ancient Geeks is a podcast about two geeks of a certain age re-visiting their youth. We were there when things like science fiction, fantasy, Tolkien, Star Trek, Star Wars, D&D, Marvel and DC comics, Doctor Who, and many, many other threads of modern geek culture were still on the fringes of culture. We were geeks before it was chic!
For feedback, contact someancientgeeks@gmail.com. You can also find us on Facebook, Reddit, and Bluesky. And if you like what you hear, please tell a friend. Also, reviews on your podcast platform of choice are always appreciated.
© 2025 Tom Grant and Steven Taylor