The Incomparable

The highest-grossing film of all time is straight-up sci-fi and yet in 15 years at this place we’ve never talked about it. That ends now, as we put on our oxygen masks and venture out into the moon of Pandora to meet the local Na’vi and the interloper Sky People and discuss why James Cameron’s “Avatar” became an enormous hit and then disappeared entirely (other than the theme-park attactions) until re-emerging with a sequel that was also an enormous hit. Jason Snell with Erika Ensign, Brian Warren, Brian Hamilton and Chip Sudderth.

Our walk through the 10 different novels nominated for the Hugo and Nebula awards in 2025 begins! In this episode we discuss “Sleeping Worlds Have No Memory” by Yaroslav Barsukov, “A Sorceress Comes to Call” by T. Kingfisher, and “Someone You Can Build a Nest In” by John Wiswell. Jason Snell with Erika Ensign, Aleen Simms, Scott McNulty and Heather Berberet.

The year is 1995. The films: “Hackers” and “The Net,” in which computers are proven to be dangerous for society. One is a ridiculous movie about teen hackers that knows it’s silly, and the other is a ludicrous thriller about adult hackers that doesn’t. Jason Snell with Monty Ashley, Shelly Brisbin, Erika Ensign, Joe Rosensteel, Moisés Chiullán and Tony Sindelar.

Huff some ether, dress for an ORTBO, and always keep an eye out for a private place beneath a tarp—we’re here to discuss the second season of “Severance,” a story that goes beyond the first season with some twists and turns that might be Kafkaesque, but are definitely Kafka-ish. Jason Snell with Brian Hamilton, Brian Warren, Dan Moren, Glenn Fleishman and Heather Berberet.

Spray on some insect repellant and don your hazmat suit, because Del Toro Club has re-formed to discuss a gigantic layer cake of infinite bugs, 1997’s “Mimic.” Parts of it are very Del Toro indeed, while other parts leave us scratching our heads about why something that had a whole lot of potential ended up playing as a pretty good B (not bee!) Movie instead. Are the Weinsteins to blame? (Yes.) Jason Snell with Moisés Chiullán, Steve Lutz and Tony Sindelar.

In a world full of creative projects turned into intellectual property, our panelists join together to choose remakes and reboots that please us, those that displease us, and those items that are out there, waiting to be remade. Jason Snell with Brian Hamilton, David J. Loehr, Erika Ensign, Lisa Schmeiser, Moisés Chiullán, Monty Ashley, Philip Michaels, Shannon Sudderth and Chip Sudderth.

Our Ghibli Club gets together to discuss 2016’s “The Red Turtle,” an unusual Ghibli coproduction, as well as this year’s Oscar winner for Best Animated Feature, “Flow.” Jason Snell with Steve Lutz, John Siracusa and Aleen Simms.

In honor of the 50th anniversary of “Saturday Night Live,” six of us create custom-built episodes of SNL by participating in a fantasy draft of sketches, hosts, musical guests, commercial parodies, digital shorts, and more. Jason Snell with Kelly Guimont, David J. Loehr, Lisa Schmeiser and Shelly Brisbin.

Book Club travels to the far future for the sci-fi/fantasy mash-up “Moonbound” by Robin Sloan. Here be dragons! Not to mention wyrd multidimensional witches at the bottom of a pool, Arthurian proto-heroes, friendly sentient robot hive minds, and plucky talking beavers! Jason Snell with Aleen Simms, Erika Ensign, Scott McNulty, Joe Rosensteel and Heather Berberet.

Arrakis. Dune. Desert Planet. But maybe not the one you’re thinking of. In our own very peculiar way we honor David Lynch by discussing the feature film he probably liked the least, 1984’s “Dune.” Sting with a knife! Patrick Stewart riding a sandworm! How does it all compare with the modern version? Does it have its own special lower-budget charms? (Don’t mention the voiceovers…) What about the voiceovers? And how much does nostalgia fit into our appreciation of this movie? Jason Snell with Steve Lutz, Erika Ensign, Dan Moren and John Siracusa.

From deep down in the lower levels to high up near the surface, we’re traveling through the post-apocalypic society of “Silo” on Apple TV+. Do eggs exist? What’s in daddy’s secret closet of mystery? Why are Pez dispensers outlawed? We begin with non-spoiler thoughts and then after the spoiler horn, we break down season one and two. (There are no spoilers for the Hugh Howey stories the show is based on!) Jason Snell with Heather Berberet, Glenn Fleishman, John Siracusa and Aleen Simms.

Live, from The Incomparable, it’s Jason Reitman’s “Saturday Night,” a film that purports to capture the 88 minutes before “Saturday Night Live’s” first live broadcast 50 years ago. All of our panelists agree it’s a well-made movie. There are many actors and comedians playing actors and comedians. But does it all hold together? Lex Friedman with Monty Ashley, David J. Loehr and Kelly Guimont.

Blending classic Disney animals with a mysterious Miayazki forest, “The Wild Robot” is a story of overcoming your programming and not allowing yourself to become trapped in loops of behavior—whether you’re a robot or maybe even a human being. Jason Snell with Brian Warren, Brian Hamilton, Annette Wierstra and Katie Mack.

It’s the end of the world and a robot apocalypse has happened, so what are the robots up to now? One robot butler takes an unusual journey through the darkly absurd world of Adrian Tchaikovsky’s “Service Model.” All bytes will be sorted and preserved, Uncharles. Jason Snell with Joe Rosensteel, Erika Ensign, Aleen Simms, Scott McNulty and Katie Mack.

Are fairy tales real, or are they mental refuges from the horrors of real life? Guillermo Del Toro’s “Pan’s Labyrinth” toggles effortless between bizarre, Miyazaki-like fantasy (inverted toads!) and an all-too-real tale of violence and treachery in fascist Spain. It’s dark, beautiful, full of disgusting bugs, and manages to use Del Toro muse Doug Jones as not one but two separate monsters! Jason Snell with Moisés Chiullán, Steve Lutz, Tony Sindelar and Monty Ashley.

We send off the crew of the USS Cerritos and salue the completion of the five-year mission of “Star Trek: Lower Decks.” This show expanded what “Star Trek” could be—in several dimensions. And yet it was also utterly, completely a “Star Trek” series. We try to find the special alchemy that brought it all together. Jason Snell with David J. Loehr, Moisés Chiullán, Scott McNulty and Joe Rosensteel.

The writers of “The Expanse” are back with a new series, and “The Mercy of Gods” is an alien invasion story that goes to some extremely dark places. But sometimes, dark is good… right? Right?! Plus: What are we reading? Jason Snell with Scott McNulty, Heather Berberet and Aleen Simms.

Another year in the books, and there was a lot to appreciate about the stuff we consumed—movies, TV, books, video games, and more—in 2024. Our most prolific panelists collaborate on a massive list of the stuff we enjoyed over the past 12 months. Jason Snell with Erika Ensign, Annette Wierstra, Brian Warren, Kelly Guimont, Moisés Chiullán, David J. Loehr, John Siracusa, Dan Moren and Chip Sudderth.

For Kilmas this year we travel to 19th century Arizona for “Tombstone,” where Wyatt Earp, his brothers, and their shady pal Doc Holliday (Val Kilmer!) confront a bunch of rotten outlaw thugs and their own mortality. Will our noted hater of westerns, Erika, accept the possibility of a Kilmas miracle? Listen to find out! Jason Snell with Monty Ashley, Brian Warren, Erika Ensign, Annette Wierstra and Tony Sindelar.

This year’s Ape Club holiday party is 1972’s “Conquest of the Planet of the Apes,” in which the people of Future 1991 use apes as slaves until there’s an uprising led by a talking ape with a familiar name: Caesar. Were the 1970s ape sequels all as bad as we were led to believe, or is “Conquest”… actually kind of good? Join us and find out! Jason Snell with John Moltz, Annette Wierstra, Brian Warren and David J. Loehr.