Do I Dare To Eat A Peach

We wrap up our two part episode on the greatest songs of the 60's. Rob doesn't make as much of a fool of himself as he did in the first round, though he still manages to live up to the 'stupid' part of his side effects. Anyway, here are our lists of the best songs of the 60's.

It never rains, but it pours. Meaning, I take medicine that makes me forget things, which means that we didn't record till late, which means I didn't edit till late, which means I didn't get this edited correctly, which means that I had to take it down and fix it and put it back up. But now it's great! Hooray! We decided, because it went so long, that we'd split this episode into two parts. So today you get each of our two lists, numbers 10-6, and next week you'll get the exciting conclusion, 5-1.

This week, we're very pleased to bring on another great guest, the inimitable SJ "Shelly" Kincaide. Seeing as how her books (Insignia and Vortex) have a bit of a near-future, cyberpunkish flair, we decided to have a near-future episode. In this show, it is revealed (to everyone's shock) that Rob is a moron who can't think straight. We also cheat and break our own rules over and over, because, frankly, there just aren't enough near-future TV shows to support three different Top Ten Lists.

(And a handful of books.) We wax nostalgic for a little while about the days of yore when we had such deliciously perfect villains for every movie, book, and comic. And then the cruel oppression had to end and people had to get freedom and life got so much harder for us writers. Dang them. Anyway, we both made lists. Rob thought it was all supposed to be movies, but Dan included two books, which made Rob revise his list mid-podcast. And in case you're wondering, Red Dawn didn't make either of our lists, because: have you watched it recently? It's really terrible. (Warning: There are some glitches in the audio where you can't hear Dan, but those glitches disappear at about the 11:30 mark.)

We tried really hard to come up with rules for this one, but we just couldn't do it. Rob initially said the movie had to come out between Memorial Day and Labor Day, and it had to have made at least $100 million dollars. But then Dan pointed out that inflation is a problem, and he wanted to define it just as "It made a whole lot of money". So, fine. But then we both made our lists and we both cheated on the dates. Rob had one that came out in May at least, but Dan reached all the way to March, because he's a cheating cheater-face. Anyway, enjoy!

Last week we looked at science fiction movies that had been adapted from books; this week we're looking at original screenplays. There's a bit of genre bending--there are some movies that might fit more into the realm of fantasy or even magical realism. But that's just how science fiction is. (After all: what is Star Wars? Science fiction, because it has space ships and lasers? Or fantasy, because it has magic?) Anyway, Dan and Rob both come up with top ten lists and they argue a lot and agree a little.

In this episode we discuss the best sci fi movies that started out as novels or short stories. We're not judging them based on how well they're adapted--we haven't read all of the original works (Dan has read 7 of his 10, and Rob has read 4), but we're just judging them on what makes the best movie. Rob offends Dan's delicate sensibilities almost right from the very beginning. But, seriously, Rob is right.

The Grammy Award for Best New Artist is a ridiculous award generally, and it's well known to be a very flawed indicator of future success. In this episode, we take a look at all the nominees and decide who should have won the Grammy as opposed to who did win the Grammy. As we put it early in the episode: it's discussing minutiae about trivialities. But that's what we do best.

In honor of the return of Arrested Development, a show which was, quite possibly, the funniest TV comedy of all time, we decided to look at the other shows that were canceled before their times. We each made our lists secretly. Rob expects six shows will cross over; Dan suspects four. In the end? Only three. So I supposed this should be the Top Seventeen shows.

In honor of Mother's Day, Dan and Rob each made of list of the most awesome mothers in pop culture. Please note that we're saying "most awesome" not "best" because some of the mothers we choose are villains and we wouldn't prefer that they be our mother. Please also note that our mother, Patty Wells, is not a villain. These lists crossover surprisingly little--of our Top Tens, only two ended up on both Dan and Rob's list. Also worth noting: we could not come to a conclusion about who the very best mother is. (Other than our own.)

This week we have not one, not two, not three, but FOUR Doctor Who lists for your listening pleasure. First, we discuss our favorite doctors, then we discuss our favorite doctor costumes (because we've never discussed fashion on the podcast before.) Then we discuss our favorite companions (warning: Dan hates everyone), and then we discuss our favorite villains. It's four podcasts in one! Also, Dan wants this picture to be viewed in conjunction with this post.

In this episode, we gripe a lot about the American Film Institute and their list. You'd think that the AFI had personally insulted Dan's children, or something. We also try to come up with the most quotable movie, within certain parameters.

Dan and Rob got their wires crossed this week and made their lists following different guidelines. Rob made a list of the top ten places he's ever been, while Dan made a list of the top ten places he wants to go. Rather than go back and fix our lists we just ran with it. This episode hearkens back to our days of long episodes, and for that we apologize. But it's two hours of solid goodness.

Everyone knows the group who goes on a fantasy quest: the farm boy, the wizard, the warrior, the comic relief. But who would be the very best? Who is the ideal mentor? The ideal archer? For that matter, who is the ideal Evil Overlord? We tackle all of these questions in this episode. Today's show has been brought to you today by Massive Fiction, an educational Kickstarter Dan and Rob are both involved in. To find out more information, go here.

NPR asked readers to submit their favorite titles last year, and they received 5000 nominations and 60,000 votes. Dan and Rob, both writers of speculative fiction, have opinions about the list and about the dumb people who voted; they also have opinions about the crappy methodology with which the list was made. Lists! Don't get me started! Anyway, for your listening pleasure, the Top Ten Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Novels of All Time.