Ancient Geeks
Episodes
Ancient Geeks episode 45: Blade Runner
15 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Calling Blade Runner "iconic" is a bit of understatement. There was nothing like it when it premiered: a future noir thriller, based on a science fict...
Ancient Geeks episode 44: The Twilight Zone
08 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
At the signpost up ahead, your next stop, the latest episode of Ancient Geeks! The Twilight Zone was a ubiquitous feature of television when we were g...
Ancient Geeks episode 43: Aliens
01 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We're on an express elevator to hell, going down! We've covered Alien earlier, which compels us to do an episode on the 1986 sequel, Aliens. It's a se...
Ancient Geeks episode 42: Roger Zelazny's Amber series
24 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What if our reality isn't just one universe among many, but is just a shadowy reflection of the one true reality? And what if the ultimate reality is ...
Ancient Geeks episode 41: Dark superheroes
17 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Dark heroes are a staple of popular culture across media and genres. In the 1980s and 1990s, they became prominent comic books, and arguably still are...
Ancient Geeks episode 40: Star Trek VI The Undiscovered Country
10 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The last of the Star Trek movies with the entire original cast, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country saw the return of Nicholas Meyer in the directo...
Ancient Geeks episode 39: Star Trek V: The Final Frontier
03 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We continue our coverage on the TOS era of Star Trek movies with what nearly everyone agrees was the low point, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier. But h...
Ancient Geeks episode 38: Alien
27 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
It's an understatement to say that Alien is a classic, a genre-defining moment in science fiction and horror. Tom saw it when it was released, and was...
Ancient Geeks episode 37: Adam Warlock
20 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In the 1970s, Jim Starlin, a comic artist and writer, revamped a C-list Marvel character named Adam Warlock. Starlin's unique art, sharp writing, and ...
Ancient Geeks episode 36: The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across The 8th Dimension
13 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Kind of an homage to pulp heroes, kind of deliberate camp, and definitely one of the most 80s-ish movies you'll ever see. It's The Adventures Of Bucka...
Ancient Geeks episode 35: Planet Of The Apes
06 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
It's a madhouse! A maaaaaadhouse! One of the critical Big Ideas science fiction movies of our youth was Planet Of The Apes. Not only was it filled wit...
Ancient Geeks episode 34: Star Trek IV: The Journey Home
29 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Star Trek III: The Search For Spock answered some questions about the fate of the Enterprise crew, and left others very unresolved. Where would they g...
Ancient Geeks episode 33: Star Trek III: The Search For Spock
22 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
After Star Trek II, it wasn't completely clear where Star Trek would go, but given the success of The Wrath Of Khan, it was clear it was going somewhe...
Ancient Geeks episode 32: Elric of Melniboné
15 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
"Stormbringer, come to me!" Michael Moorock's Elric of Melniboné is the classic sword and sorcery...Protagonist? Anti-hero? Definitely his own person...
Ancient Geeks episode 31: Crisis On Infinite Earths
08 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In the early 1980s, the editors at DC Comics decided that the DC Universe(s) had become unmanageable. Heroes and villains from different eras of comic...
Ancient Geeks episode 30: Fan service
01 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We've mentioned fan service in past episodes. Now, we take it head on. Tom and Steven have a lot to say about fan service, because it's a big part of ...
Ancient Geeks episode 29: Blake's 7
25 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Blake's 7 was definitely ahead of its time. A BBC science fiction series chock full of political intrigue, interesting characters with unexpected arcs...
Ancient Geeks episode 28: Flash Gordon
18 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Flash! Aaah-aah! Steven and Tom journey back to 1980, when the big budget Flash Gordon movie premiered. Was it a camp classic? A post-Star Wars cash g...
Ancient Geeks episode 27: Godzilla
11 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Look! Towering over the city! It's another episode of Ancient Geeks! We discuss the first Godzilla movie, which is a powerful, compelling piece of fil...
Ancient Geeks episode 26: The Fantastic Four movie
04 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We've seen the new Fantastic Four movie, and this episode contains all of our thoughts on the film, and then some! We discuss how good a movie it is, ...
Ancient Geeks episode 25: John Byrne's Fantastic Four
28 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What better way to celebrate the release of the Fantastic Four movie than to journey back to the 1980s, when John Byrne took over both the writer and ...
Ancient Geeks episode 24: Andor, an allegory for authoritarianism and rebellion
21 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this concluding episode of our Death Star-sized coverage of Andor, we look at this series through the lenses of political science and history (topi...
Ancient Geeks episode 23: Andor season two
14 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
More Andor! Our discussion of the show continues with our analysis of season two. The Empire tightens its grip. The Rebel Alliance gains strength. Cha...
Ancient Geeks bonus episode 1: James Gunn's Superman
13 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Steven and Tom rushed to the movie theater, saw the new Superman movie, and now present their reviews! There's a spoiler-free section in the first par...
Ancient Geeks episode 22: Andor season one
07 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What's it like to watch Andor, from the perspective of two lifelong geeks who were there for the premiere of the original Star Wars film? And who also...
Ancient Geeks episode 21: Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan
30 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Back in 1982, both Steven and Tom worried that Star Trek: The Motion Picture was the nail in the coffin of Star Trek. Much to our delight, Star Trek I...
Ancient Geeks episode 20: Star Trek The Motion Picture
23 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In 1979, Star Trek fans eagerly awaited the premiere of the first Star Trek movies, after Star Trek slid into reruns for several years. The movie had ...
Ancient Geeks episode 19: Star Trek The Animated Series
16 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
After the original series of Star Trek concluded, it looked as though one of our favorite bits of SF had come to an end...Until surprise! Star Trek tr...
Ancient Geeks episode 18: The weird 70s, with Blake and Karen from the MonsterTalk podcast!
09 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
During the 1970s, a lot of people were deeply interested in all the weird things that might be out there. Bigfoot, UFOs, the Loch Ness Monster, UFOs, ...
Ancient Geeks episode 17: The John Byrne era of the X-Men
02 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We continue our coverage of the classic era of the X-Men with John Byrne's iconic run on the series. Some of the biggest moments in not just the X-Men...
Ancient Geeks episode 16: The Uncanny X-Men!
26 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In the mid-70s, the X-Men were a largely forgotten team of teenage mutants, relegated to the back issue section of the comics store. With the release ...
Ancient Geeks episode 15: The Star Wars Holiday Special and other 70s geek-based variety shows
19 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Geek culture and schlocky variety shows collide! When you watched Star Wars or read superhero comics, you probably didn't think, "Why isn't there more...
Ancient Geeks episode 14: Monster movies of the 50s and 60s
12 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
During the 1950s and 1960s, a combination of big ideas from science fiction, Cold War paranoia, and the sheer coolness of monsters inspired a generati...
Ancient Geeks episode 13: Batman in the 80s and 90s
05 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Our first real episode discussed how Batman in the 60s and 70s played a big role in our early geek lives. Now, we jump ahead to the 80s and 90s, a gol...
Ancient Geeks episode 12: Superhero TV shows of the 70s
28 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Put on your polyester shirts and bellbottom jeans, because it's time for Steven and Tom to journey back to the 1970s, when superhero TV shows were pop...
Ancient Geeks episode 11: Dungeons & Dragons
21 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Dragons and beholders and owlbears, oh my! During our geek formative years, we both discovered Dungeons & Dragons, and were instantly hooked. A sa...
Ancient Geeks, episode 10: The Empire Strikes Back and Return Of The Jedi
14 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Empire strikes back, and so do we! In this episode, we discuss the rest of the original Star Wars trilogy. What was it like to await another Star ...
Ancient Geeks, episode 9: Star Wars
07 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Star Wars, nothing but Star Wars...Steven and Tom re-visit the very, very first Star Wars movie. When it landed in the summer of 1977, it had an aster...
Ancient Geeks, episode 8: Doctor Who
31 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We were both early Doctor Who fans, back when the iconic Doctor was a British eccentric with a long scarf, a floppy hat, a pocket full of Jelly Babies...
Ancient Geeks, episode 7: Marvel Comics, Fantastic Four, and Thor
24 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Make mine Marvel! In this episode, we talk about discovering Marvel Comics, what distinguished Marvel from DC comics. We focus on our first favorite c...
Ancient Geeks, episode 6: Classic science fiction writers
17 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Classic science fiction writers were essential parts of our early geek lives. The influential SF writers from the 60s, 70s, and early 80s were almost ...
Ancient Geeks, episode 5: Other classic fantasy writers
10 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We talked about Tolkien last episode, and now we're on a fantasy roll! We discuss the classic fantasy writers we discovered in our youth: The Arthuria...
Ancient Geeks, episode 4: J.R.R. Tolkien
03 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We're talkin' Tolkien! Steven and Tom discuss J.R.R. Tolkien, author of Farmer Giles of Ham, as well as lesser-known works like The Hobbit and Lord of...
Ancient Geeks, episode 3: Star Trek The Original Series
24 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Space, the final frontier... These words started our lifelong love of Star Trek. In this episode, we talk about our first stage of that love affair, t...
Ancient Geeks, episode 2: Superman in the 60s and 70s
17 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Look! Up in the sky! It's the Superman episode! Last time, we covered the Caped Crusader in the 60s and 70s last time. This episode, we talk about Sup...
Ancient Geeks, episode 1: Batman in the 60s and 70s
10 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
WHAM! SOCK! POW! We were big fans of the Caped Crusader in the 1960s and the 1970s, starting with both the TV show and the comics. In this episode, we...
Ancient Geeks, episode 0: Our origin stories!
15 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
It all starts here! Welcome to Ancient Geeks, a podcast about the birth of geek culture, from two older geeks whose younger selves were there at the b...