Episode 139: Pop A La Carte #139 - How I Met Your Witcher

 Valerie, Richard, and Tatiana bid farewell to 2023, first discussing what it means to see actors and writers alike back to work even as studios continue deleting content for profit (1:00). Sporadic discussions include what to expect from Ghostbusters: Afterlife 2 (7:00), followed by a review of the newest Russell T. Davies' Doctor Who specials (11:00). 

Next up is the state of Marvel (40:00), specifically looking at Loki season 2 and The Marvels. This leads to a bigger conversation about the box office this year (1:19:00), and then finally our personal favorite (1:32:00) movies, shows, and and books of 2023.

 Valerie, Tatiana, and Richard jump on a Pop a la Carte podcast episode to discuss the ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes (0:50), including delays and how executives can be less unreasonable. This eventually dovetails into a discussion about DC movie failures (35:00) such as Black Adam, Shazam! Fury of the Gods, and The Flash. Such a conversation naturally leads to the MCU's latest Phase 5 projects and the state of Fantastic Four (48:00), with a special rant session about Secret Invasion (1:00:00). 

Next up is the late but great breakdown of the chillest San Diego Comic-Con in recent memory (1:17:35). When it comes to TV reviews, we begin with The Witcher season 3 (1:24:45), then move onto Good Omens season 2 (1:31:00). And then the time comes for Barbenheimer: Barbie (1:41:50), Oppenheimer (1:54:20), and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (2:00:00).

Valerie, Tatiana, and Richard kick off this month's Pop a La Carte podcast by discussing TV shows that have just ended (0:45), including Barry, Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Succession, Ted Lasso, and the season finale of Yellowjackets. This leads to a conversation about the artificial cancellation of Netflix shows like Lockwood & Co. (5:45) and Disney joining the burning of creative content for tax write-offs (11:30).

Then it's time for a terrible review of MAX's The Idol (23:50) and why in the world HBO gave up on branding, followed by a slightly less terrible review of The Flash series finale (35:00), and collective hopes or fears for The Flash movie (45:00). 

Movie discussion commences with anticipation for Summer and Fall entries (50:00), such as The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Oppenheimer, Barbie, and Dune Part 2. Then begin the reviews, starting with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (1:02:00) and what James Gunn's writing might mean for Superman: Legacy, as well as mixed reviews for The Little Mermaid and Disney live-action movies in general (1:23:00), and finally the uniformly glowing reviews for Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse (1:28:00).

This month on the Asian Drama Corner of the Pop A La Carte Podcast, Angela and Tatiana introduce (1:00) the dramas we have seen in 2023 thus far. Then we launch into a discussion of one-and-a-half seasons of Alchemy of Souls (8:00) on Netflix and 2 seasons of Island (26:30) on Prime Video. 

Summer Strike (39:00) gets a whole breakdown, and then we praise Crash Course in Romance (53:30), another romcom with a side of murder. Other dramas discussed include: Chinese drama Love Between Fairy and Devil (1:02:40), Thai drama The Warp Effect (1:11:10), and Korean dramas Love to Hate You (1:28:00), Agency (1:34:00), and The Glory (1:40:00).

 Valerie, Richard, and Tatiana go over James Gunn's DCU plan and their thoughts on every project from Superman: Legacy (1:00) to Swamp Thing (38:00) before sprinkling in MCU news like delay for The Marvels (48:45) and Phase 5 plans. Then, they discuss HBO's scandals with The Idol (54:00).

Naturally, that takes the discussion to the shining jewel in Warner Discovery's crown at the moment: The Last of Us (1:01:30). After that, other shows like The Mandalorian (1:08:30), Crash Course in Romance, Yellowjackets, Lockewood & Co. (1:22:00), Endeavor, and Peacock get their moment to shine.

Finally, the trio breaks down their takes on Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (1:37:45) and try to rank the Phase 4 films of the MCU.

 Valerie, Tatiana, and Richard reunite to recap one year and look forward to the next. First, we discuss the joys of LA Comic-Con (0:35) before going into the most recent trailers (2:30) such as Barbie and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Naturally, this meant discussing the fabulous Holiday Special as well. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (11:00) also gets a special shoutout for being the most anticipated film in the bunch, as does Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny for having the most concerning title.

Mayfair Witches gets a preliminary discussion (27:00), with what is certain to be a debate between book readers and show enthusiasts a la Interview with a Vampire. The DC Comics arm of Warner Bros. gets a more in-depth discussion (38:30) with plenty of speculation about what that means for everyone from Batman to Wonder Woman. Disney, on the other hand, gets the "What Happened With Bob Chapek" treatment (58:00). 

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (1:12:00) gets a lengthy discussion, followed by an attempt to understand Netflix's 1899 (1:25:00). But the biggest discussion is saved for Avatar: The Way of Water (1:46:00), so sit back and strap in. Finally, things wrap up with a list of 2022's Top Stores and 2023's Most Anticipated ones!

With An Accent reunites for a Pop A La Carte podcast round-up of 2022's Q4, starting with Valerie, Tatiana and Richard chatting about the trailer for The Super Mario Bros. Movie (1:00),  and how fun Bros is despite the box office (4:00). Then we jump into the next season of His Dark Materials (9:30), and a more in-depth look at the Immortal Universe commencing with Interview With The Vampire and The Mayfair Witches (14:00).

Big television shows continue with the epic prequels House of the Dragon (55:00) and LOTR: The Rings of Power (1:05:00), and Andor (1:10:00). And of course, She-Hulk, Werewolf By Night, and the current state of MCU (1:20:00) must be discussed.  It's all rounded out with a glance at what is happening to Warner Bros. (and especially DC films and shows) in the light of the Discovery merger.

Valerie, Richard and Tatiana gather to discuss what fans can expect from Marvel and DC at SDCC (1:00) - not to mention how they will avoid mentioning The Flash. Speaking of: Ezra Miller the disaster artist and Lady Gaga in Joker 2 (21:55) rounds out the DC news.

Valerie explains Netflix's 1899 trailer released (26:00), coming from the creators of Dark, and the trio discuss the Jon Snow-centric Game of Thrones spinoff and what would make a better series option (32:00) and the behind-the-scenes machinations of Warner Discovery, Disney and other companies (35:00).

We love Ms. Marvel (38:00) and discuss the first three episodes in depth, and then discuss how epic season 3 of The Boys is (51:00) thus far. A minor discussion of The Umbrella Academy season 3 ensues (58:00) but leads to a bigger discussion of Stranger Things season 4. And then comes Obi-Wan Kenobi (1:06:00), with varied responses.

TV shows give way to movies, such as Marcel The Shell With Shoes On and Mrs. Harris Goes To Paris (1:17:00), The Bob's Burgers Movie and Top Gun: Maverick (1:23:00), Downton Abbey: A New Era (1:30:00), Jurassic World Dominion and Lightyear (1:36:00).

Tatiana, Angela and Camille Dragging Disney+'s lack of Kdrama distribution (1:30), such as Snowdrop, Rookie Cops, Soundtrack #1, Grid, and Crazy Love.

Angela then takes us through a 2006 Hong Sisters drama called Couple or Trouble (11:30) as well as discussing what we think of the newest Hong Sisters story, Alchemy of Souls.

We review the dramas completed this year thus far (15:15), including Twenty-Five Twenty-One and Business Proposal, Ghost Doctor, Through The Darkness, The Sound of Magic, and Forecasting Love and Weather. And then the dramas of which we've seen two episodes or so (32:00), including Woori The Virgin and Again My Life.
 
Angela reveals the non-Kdramas she's been watching (36:30), such as Thai drama Not Me, Chinese drama Couple of Mirrors, Japanese drama My Love Mix-Up!, and an upcoming Thai GL called GAP.
Angela requests quick fire ratings on recent dramas (51:00) before we do an in-depth dive into True Beauty (1:02:30).

Finally, Camille shares her impression of the Filipino remake of The World of the Married, called The Broken Marriage Vow (1:18:00).

Valerie, Camille, Richard and Tatiana start by talking CW cancellations (0:40) as well as Hulu, Netflix and other streaming losses (10:00) before veering into reviews of various television series: Bridgerton Season 2 (17:00), The Time Traveler's Wife (24:30), Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (32:20), Outer Range (40:00).

Then it's time to talk MCU release dates and lineup changes (46:00), the Thor: Love and Thunder trailer (53:00), the first season of Moon Knight (1:03:00), and a lengthy dissection of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (1:16:30).