Multimediocrity: The Broadcast!

This installment of MULTIMEDIOCRITY: The Broadcast!, should you choose to accept it, finds Doofin and Talley discussing the latest entry of one of cinema's best ever franchises (seriously, 5 out of the 6 have been very good-to-great), MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - Fallout -- the crazy stunts; its director, Christopher McQuarrie; where the film ranks among its predecessors; and how long the series might go.They guys also recap a bit of news from San Diego Comic-Con (a.k.a. DCEU trailer drop 2018); dispel some urban legends of their youth (Ybor City is fine, gang); and tease a few poop their pants stories (they each have more than one, sadly). Plus, thoughts on the ongoing saga that is James Gunn's firing, Harry Potter's on-the-nose naming conventions, "coexist" bumper stickers, The Nutcracker, and more! Enter the Four Realms with the gents on Episode 30, heard via the State Lines Network!

Talley and Doofin are SORRY TO BOTHER YOU, but on this installment of 'MULTIMEDIOCRITY: The Broadcast!', the gents discuss some films currently in theaters, including ANT-MAN AND THE WASP and JURASSIC WORLD: Fallen Kingdom; the masterpiece-iness of some masterpieces, like THE DARK KNIGHT and BLADE RUNNER 2049; and the worthiness of some quotable older flicks, including THE MONSTER SQUAD and SO I MARRIED AN AXE MURDERER.Beyond a predictable, albeit brief, step up onto the soapbox, they also touch on the World Cup (and correctly predict the winner), lament the Internet calling everything that isn’t explained outright onscreen a "plot hole,” and determine the ultimate '90s one-hit wonder (spoiler: it’s not sick, but it’s not well). Plus: Do any stoner comedies stand the test of time? Will Guy Ritchie ever make another good film? What happens at a Croatian lady prison? Will the non-theatrical MCU shows ever address AVENGERS: Infinity War? Tune in to Episode 29, heard via the State Lines Network, to hear none of t

On this installment of MULTIMEDIOCRITY: The Broadcast!, Doofin and Talley are... well, frustrated -- at the world, at their fellow man, at the current administration. The usual attempt to dive right into pop culture topics is eschewed for a step onto the ol’ soapbox, where they express their disillusionment over, among other things, the ongoing actions at our southern border, said actions’ apathetic defenders, and the growing entitlement of fanboys.The guys eventually do move on, touching on subjects like the recent passing of Anthony Bourdain, how dudes seem to gauge the greatness of Pixar films on a scale of how many tears they shed, the current World Cup, and soccer fandom in the States, or the lack thereof. It’s a scattershot show that sees the conversation bounce from Chris Hardwick’s recent woes to Viola Davis’ ability to elevate even the subpar-est of material. Wonder where it all went wrong with us on Episode 28, heard via the State Lines Network! 

On this installment of MULTIMEDIOCRITY: The Broadcast!, Talley and Doofin are talking SOLO: A Star Wars Story -- the movie's highs and lows, its canonizing connections to the Expanded Universe, and the franchise's ever-worsening fandom (((there are minor SPOILERS, but they manage to avoid spilling the major one))) -- and dissecting the rather decent filmography of its storied director, Ron Howard, who 30 years later, has come full circle to helm another of George Lucas' ripoffs.They touch on DEADPOOL 2 and their anticipation for upcoming action flicks UPGRADE and MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - Fallout as well, before lambasting the Academy Awards for far-too-often gifting statues to actors who aren't necessarily the most outstanding in a given year, but are "due" or had a long and/or respectable-enough career.Your trusty hosts also show some love for '80s teen idol Phoebe Cates; find a mutual fondness for the "great American diner" and all its kitchy trappings; and converse about the negative, sometimes brainwashing e

After a few weeks away, MULTIMEDIOCRITY: The Broadcast! is back! On this brisk episode, Doofin and Talley take to the microphones to discuss, in spoilery detail, AVENGERS: Infinity War! They talk about the audience reactions at their respective theaters, some of the finer action and character moments of the ambitious, eventful film, and the giant (Infinity) stones on Marvel Studios for ending the picture the way they did. Also be on the lookout for past podcast guest Shane Domrongchai, who makes a brief Stan Lee-esque cameo on the show.This cannot be stressed enough: ** if you have not yet seen AVENGERS: Infinity War, do not listen to this episode! ** The guys can’t help but return to dissecting, i.e., spoiling it, all throughout the program. They do venture away a time or two, though, diving deep into hair band power ballads, Kenny Rogers songs, and poor audience behavior at live events. Learn when to hold ‘em, fold ‘em, walk away, and run with your trusty co-hosts on this 26th installment, heard via the Sta

On this installment of 'MULTIMEDIOCRITY: The Broadcast!,' Talley and Doofin (who's doped up and down a finger) discuss the mostly good nostalgic escapism that is Steven Spielberg's big screen adaptation of Ernest Cline's READY PLAYER ONE, as well as the greatness of both a Spielberg chase sequence and said director's recent secret weapon, Mark Rylance. As is the norm, they also spout off some misinformation, including mistaking actor Derek Luke's roles more than once and referring to Marvel's Secret Wars story arc when they (Talley) meant Secret Invasion. The second half gets a little sopabox-y (which is also par for the course), with the gents choosing not to watch the Roseanne reboot; showing reverence for greats like the reverend, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Mister Fred Rogers, and Roger Ebert; and wondering how America got to a place where empathy and kindness is a political stance that has to be defended. Take the sticky buns, but leave the aioli with them on episode 25, heard via the State Lines Networ

"DO NOT CONGRATULATE" Doofin and Talley on this goofier-than-usual installment of 'MULTIMEDIOCRITY: The Broadcast!' On the program this week, the guys fondly remember being Toys "R" Us kids, Eddie Murphy's R-rated films, and a pre-puffy Vince Vaughn. They manage to discuss Harry Potter, TV spinoffs, and a few awful contributions to the rap game from '80s pop idols and American sports teams as well. After expressing their general indifference to massive data breaches, an argument sillier than a sitting president and former vice president boasting about who could kick whose ass in a fight ensues: that being In-N-Out versus Taco Bell (we've all seen DEMOLITION MAN, so you know who wins in the end). Talley showed up to this one with an arsenal of lame references and "dad jokes," while Doofin came armed with an encyclopedic knowledge of boy bands that would make Lou Pearlman blush. Your trusty co-hosts did not, however, "come here to look for trouble, they just came to do the Super Bowl Shuffle!" The gents also lo

This scattershot installment of ‘MULTIMEDIOCRITY: The Broadcast!’ picks up mid-conversation, and sees your trusty co-hosts run the gamut of pop culture, covering topics like Hamilton, the musical and the man; the Parkland, Florida shooting and its ongoing fallout; BLACK PANTHER and the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe; disaster movies, which are largely disastrous; and a number of fantastic film scores. Plus, Doofin hard sells Netflix’s new version of Queer Eye, but wonders if something’s wrong with the tear ducts in his own eyes, while a tired Talley turns Negative Nelly, poo-pooing on a few well-loved things, including composer Thomas Newman, Steven Spielberg’s HOOK, and the kid who played Charlie Bucket in WILLY WONKA AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY. The latter also manages to slight elderly people and overweight people, after defending each mere moments before. The gents do end things positively, recalling some fond memories of their favorite bands of adolescence; though, they both find it difficult to s

Atop their respective stacks of moving boxes, Doofin and Talley return with an installment of 'MULTIMEDIOCRITY' that is heavy on reggaeton air horn drops and Delroy Lindo name drops. Running on fumes, the punchy gents discuss their highs and lows at bar trivia, the recent SpaceX launch that sent Elon Musk’s Tesla Roadster into space, and the staying power of both the MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE franchise and a few iconic radio broadcasters. Plus, some thoughts on Super Bowl LII, why riot-like behavior somehow gets excused when it’s celebratory, and the good and bad of the big game’s commercials and movie trailers. “Chud and the Beast” let all the children boogie on this twenty-second edition of the Tide ad– err, podcast… or... or is it just a Tide ad? Tune in to find out, only on the State Lines Network!

On this week's installment of 'MULTIMEDIOCRITY: The Broadcast!', Doofin and Talley are joined by a mutual friend who gets name-dropped on the show almost as often as 'The Lord of the Rings', the giant breaded chicken wing himself, Cameron Burns! Cammo and the guys start the new year by offering up a handful of their favorite pieces of pop culture from the previous one. Among their 2017 recommendations: television programs, including American Vandal, The Leftovers, and Big Mouth; albums from the likes of Alex Lahey, The Welcome Wagon, and The War on Drugs; and several feature films, including GET OUT, THE SHAPE OF WATER, and THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI. Ride along with the guys on this fond (and almost entirely spoiler-free) look back at what turned out to be a great year in entertainment. Maybe they’ll sell you on something you might have missed. It’s episode 21, heard via the State Lines Network!

On this week's episode of "MULTIMEDIOCRITY: The Broadcast!", Doofin and Talley run through some television goodness, like Stranger Things 2 and Mad About You, and some television badness, like the many swing-and-miss attempts at live television musicals. 'The Lord of the Rings' comes up because of course it does, as does the hesitance to accept soft reboots and sequels of straight-up remakes, OCEAN'S 8 being the latest example. Doofin also touches on the positive side of social media, in particular, Shea Serrano's "guerilla philanthropy." On the back half, it's almost all "laser sword" talk. The gents enjoyed STAR WARS: The Last Jedi a good bit, but end up speaking more on some of the ridiculous reactions and actions by those who didn't. Jump to hyperspace with them on episode 20, their last show of 2017, only on the State Lines Network!

“I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Mountains on fire off the shoulder of Los Angeles. I watched C-yoU Next Tuesdays campaign with no shame for an Alabama snake. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain. Time to die.”This installment of MULTIMEDIOCRITY: The Broadcast! finds the hosts in differing states of sickness, but they’re game enough to give… well, an average amount of effort. Still high on Marvel’s AVENGERS: Infinity War trailer, they discuss the MCU’s bright future, the ramifications of Disney’s possible acquisition of 20th Century Fox (see: the Fantastic Four and X-Men), and JUSTICE LEAGUE’s somewhat successful setting up of the DCEU’s future, but overall middle-of-the-roadness. The guys then go full-film geek when talking about the finer points of directors Sam Mendes and Christopher Nolan, cinematographer Roger Deakins, and the beauty of BLADE RUNNER and its successor. Talley tries to avoid mentioning politics, but Doofin grants him Primae Noctis, or PechaKucha--yeah, t

 On this installment of MULTIMEDIOCRITY: The Broadcast!, Doofin takes back his co-host chair, but is magnanimous and gives way for State-Lines’ own Daniel Cura to join the program once again. They and Talley can’t help but begin with the litany of new names, some breaking as they recorded, being accused of sexual misconduct. The guys admit to having a hard time processing how to handle consuming art by some of the accused, and wonder where it all ends, if it ever does. Eventually, the gents do pivot, and discuss a number of rock bands that have lost and/or switched up lead singers and the non-existent war between Tampa and Orlando, before ending on their thoughts on the latest MCU entry, THOR: Ragnarok. In short, they all agree it was Rad-narok. No, wait. It Ragna-rocked. It-- just-- they really dug it. Take a trippy ride to Ass-gard with the podcasting Revengers on episode 18, heard on the State Lines Network!And be sure to check out and subscribe to our guest's own show, This Is Everything with Daniel Cura,

On this installment of MULTIMEDIOCRITY: The Broadcast!, Talley braves the rocky podcast waters with a fill-in first mate. Don't worry; the Doofin isn't going anywhere. A series of miscommunications on all fronts led Shawn to doing an impromptu episode with fellow State Lines contributor and behind-the-scenes extraordinaire, Daniel Cura. The gents get geeky with a lot of talk about DC Comics' fledgling Cinematic Universe, and share an optimism about the upcoming JUSTICE LEAGUE film that it arguably doesn't deserve. They also discuss Marvel's Cinematic Universe, the unfinished AMAZING SPIDER-MAN story, and Sony's penchant for blowing it. Plus, some takes on Disney, Star Wars, Doctor Who, and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles; the good and bad of Twitter; and what millennials are killing next. Steal some napkins with the guys on this week's episode, heard via the State Lines Network!And be sure to check out and subscribe to our guest's own show, This Is Everything with Daniel Cura, on Apple Podcasts!

On this week's installment of MULTIMEDIOCRITY: The Broadcast!, your trusty hosts swoon over some melancholy music before Shawn's wifi drops out, wherein hilarity does not ensue. Once they regroup, the guys fall into the familiar pits of "separating the art and the artist," "searching for context and nuance," and "selective outrage." This time around, the rehashing of said topics is born out of the fallout from Harvey Weinstein and others' despicable behavior, and the subsequent #MeToo hashtag. After touching on everything from Chick-fil-A and Guy Fieri to THE LAST JEDI trailer and some Netflix original programming, Doofin gives his slow progress report on his and his lady's underwhelming-to-date horror movie season watch list, while Talley hates on what Chipotle’s trying to pass as edible queso. "We got a fast car" on this sixteenth episode, heard on the State Lines Network! 

Only a few days removed from the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history, Talley and Doofin don't have all the answers, but lament so many shutting down even asking questions pertaining to possible prevention of future massacres. Choosing the "treacherous path of reasonable," they tackle some of the terrible takes on gun control, the lack of context and nuance in public discourse, and America's refusal to face much of its own dark history. The guys also preach on people’s generally poor public behavior and the staggering amount of creeps in positions of power, namely at this moment, in the entertainment industry. But it's not all heavy-handed soapbox-ing. They eventually move onto a lot of music talk, including remembering the late Tom Petty, discussing his impact, as well as venerable rock n’ roll acts like Creedence Clearwater Revival, Electric Light Orchestra and Steely Dan. Episode 15 of MULTIMEDIOCRITY: The Broadcast! is brought to you by the State Lines Network! 

On this installment of MULTIMEDIOCRITY: The Broadcast!, Doofin and Talley discuss the fallout from Hurricane Irma, the impending Hurricane Maria, and the perfect storm of name calling and word salad that is Hurricane Trump. Trying not to fall into the bog of eternal stench that is political talk, the guys tiptoe around it, escaping into a sewer of horror movie talk. They tackle some tired horror hot takes before dropping a few of their own, and answering pressing fright film questions, like is THE WITCH -- or THE VVITCH -- a horror movie? (it is) Is IT a horror movie? (IT is). The scary movie talk gets them nostalgic for the creature features of old, which leads to fond remembrances of slasher movie franchises and their own holiday movie watching traditions. A few anecdotes about Talley’s toddler later, the hosts end on some tv show recommendations (Adam Ruins Everything and Master of None), but not before bashing a couple of others (The Big Bang Theory and most of Seth MacFarlane's catalog). Episode 14, a bu

Hosts Shawn Talley and Matthew Hevey come to you this week from a world that's equal parts flooding and on fire. The former survived the city of Los Angeles' largest recorded blaze (not that he was ever that close to it), while the latter recorded this shortly before final prep for Hurricane Irma (SPOILER: Doofin also survived). On this episode of MULTIMEDIOCRITY: The Broadcast!, they discuss the then-impending storm, what makes for a good "hunkered down" music playlist, and the current pissy nature of ol’ Mother Nature. The guys also speak highly of Game of Thrones' season 7 finale and a trio of new albums -- LCD Soundsystem, Brand New, and Kesha(?), respectively. After a few poor attempts at Stallone impressions, they pitch their world-mending ideas for CREED II/ROCKY VIII before inducting an inaugural member into "The Awesome Gent Ring of Honor" and one into "The Jeff Hunter Awful Gent Ring of Dishonor." The show ends dirty, but strong with talk of the long, lost HBO series Dream On and the hosts recalling

On this installment of MULTIMEDIOCRITY: The Broadcast, Talley & Doofin discuss Game of Thrones season seven's sixth episode: the divisive, timeline-fudging "Beyond the Wall" and it's major fallout (RIP Visy... well, sort of). The guys also touch on the state of our nation's political discourse, or lack thereof, and the recent public rise of the bad guys we thought Cap and Indy already squashed. They also run the pop culture gamut, bouncing from Rockwell to Harry Potter. From Kurosawa's "easterns" to Leone's spaghetti westerns. From underrated Coen Brothers films to underrated A-list actors. Plus, Talley questions whether several older celebrities are still alive, while Doofin offers a different take on Pontius Pilate. Come for the defense of early-2000s pop-punk, stay for the poor Al Pacino impressions. The awesome gents "take a flamethrower to this place!" on this hodgepodge episode, heard by way of the State Lines Network! 

On this week's episode of MULTIMEDIOCRITY, Doofin and Talley fawn over the first half of Game of Thrones' exhilarating seventh season, and look forward to what prophecies have yet to be fulfilled... and by whom. Their freeform conversation takes them everywhere: from the merits of Kate and Rooney Mara to David Fincher's stellar filmography, from the new season of HBO's Hard Knocks to the kickain-fueled decisions made by '80s filmmakers and musicians. Doofin also recounts catching a revival screening of EXPLORERS and a harrowing experience at the clinic, while Talley threatens to blow up all round earth deniers before being reminded that mass murder is, in fact, wrong. Come for the defense of good-bad movie sequels like GREASE 2 and GREMLINS 2: The New Batch, stay for the discussion on what constitutes "Yacht Rock." The guys double down (You always double down on 11) on this spirited installment, heard exclusively on the State Lines Network! "And you never once paid for drugs! Not once."