Earth-2.net: The Show

Coming at you midway through March, it's Previews time!

Overture, curtains, lights / This is it, Will will hit the Heights / Tonight what heights we'll hit / TV 101. Musical Episode. This is it.

Will Ackerman, Hannah Krueger, and special guest Matt Willis sit down to discuss the big screen adaptation of Les Miserables in this month's Hey, Gurlfriend. Along the way they discuss why sewers are disgusting, entire scenes of close-ups, and some of the worst facial expressions ever set to film. Les Miserables? More like Les Miserab-yea!

In the latest Books Without Pictures, cyberpunk, ancient Sumerian mythology, pirates versus ninjas, the National Cryptologic Museum, and They Might Be Giants all become part of the attempt by Dan and Wendee to make some sort of sense out of Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash.

Coming to you halfway through the month, it's the February Previews episode!

Lunch Over Graphic Novels returns with an examination of the works of Craig Thompson: Good-bye, Chunky Rice, Blankets, and Habibi.

After a 16-year break, Star Wars returned in 1999 with the first entry in a brand new prequel trilogy: The Phantom Menace. Hopes were high, maybe too high, but what was delivered was not what was expected. Listen as Dan and Mike examine the movie that gave us the origin of Anakin Skywalker, very little Obi-Wan, and defined The Force. Also, Mike has a theory about Qui-Gon Jinn.

Depending on who you ask, the 1996 Billy Zane vehicle, The Phantom, is either an underrated gem or an odd mixture of excitement and tedium. Today, join Ian Wilson, Dave Probert, and Michael David Sims as they extol the virtues of The Ghost Who Walks and his awesomely awesome foe: Xander Drax! Look out for all those seaplanes, and get ready to slam evil! (Note: It's Rosebud, not redrum.)

Long have TV fans dreaded seeing their favorite shows end up in the Friday Night Death Slot. This month, Will examines some of its victims. its history, and why it might all be a little overblown. Tune in, or Super Bunny Corps 3000 might not last the season!

The first full edition of Books Without Pictures is here, and with it Dan and Wendee debate the merits of Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle's classic first-contact novel: The Mote in God's Eye! Blast Hardcheese and the He-Man Woman Haters' Club bring extreme diplomacy to the outer reaches of the galaxy! Is this the 25th greatest science fiction novel in history? Tune in to hear our hosts say "probably not." Note: Thank you to Preston Nelson for lending his dulcet tones to the proceedings.

Mike kicks off 2013 by reading through the January Previews catalog!

Dan and Mike bring the Earth-2.net: The Show 2012 Advent Calendar to a close with a review of The Star Wars Holiday Special!

Today you'll be treated to a classic rendition of A Christmas Carol, as performed by Lionel Barrymore and narrated by Orson Welles. Before that, however, Preston Nelson reads 'Twas the Site Before Christmas, a poem written by Will Ackerman.

The Earth-2.net Advent Calendar saunters forward with a holly jolly Hey, Gurlfriend as Will and Hannah discuss their top five Christmas movies. Hannah brings up a disturbing Christmas sweater, Will has a theory about a Christmas protagonist becoming one of this site's most reviled characters, and the hosts come to blows over one of the films on the list. Ladle up some eggnog into your moose-antler glass and take a listen.

Only The Shadow knows Joey's Christmas Story. Well, now you do too, but don't tell him. He gets a bit tetchy sometimes.

A Christmas Carol is a timeless classic that every TV show seems content to rip apart at some point or another. In this TV 101, Will talks about some of the better explorations of the holiday classic, says "Bah! Humbug!" to some of the less good, and wonders why one character is always so annoying.

As we near the end of the Earth-2.net: The Show 2012 Advent Calendar, Mike dives into three more independent comic books: Blackacre #1, I Love Trouble #1, and Supreme #67.

The other day, when Mike looked at a batch of recent Marvel comics, he had so much fun he decided to do it again: The Amazing Spider-Man #699.1, Avengers Arena #1, and Cable and X-Force #1.

It's Christmastime, and Dan and Jonathan are here to cover three truly awful Christmas specials: "Cobra CLAWs Are Coming to Town" (GI Joe: A Real American Hero), He-Man & She-Ra: A Christmas Special, and "Have Yourself a Morlock Little X-Mas" (X-Men).

In episode 585, Mike looked at several recent Marvel publications, and today he does the same for DC. Those books are Batgirl #15, Talon #1, and Team 7 #3.