Blank Check with Griffin & David
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World with John Hodgman
31 May 2026
Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
Chapter 1: What is discussed at the start of this section?
Blackjack with Griffin and David.
Blackjack with Griffin and David. Don't know what to say or to expect.
All you need to know is that the name of the show is Blackjack. April 1805. Napoleon is master of Europe. Only the British fleet stands before him. Podcasts are now podcasts.
Podcasts are now podcasts? Podcasts are now podcasts. No. I think it has got to be podcasts are now battlefields or oceans are now podcasts. Which one is it? I think it's oceans are now podcasts.
Oceans are now podcasts.
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Chapter 2: How does the conversation evolve?
You can't put podcasts for both. Doesn't, yeah. But there is a lot you could do. Like one must always choose the lesser of two podcasts.
You just said there's only one thing I could do.
I think that's the thing.
And I tried to throw you off the hump by putting podcast in two places to make you annoyed. Joe Rogan is master of podcast.
I would like to, at the start of this episode, ask you to try and not make me annoyed on this episode, please. That is a sincere request from me. Okay? I am not intending to make you annoyed on this episode. Okay. Well, I want to make that sincere request. This is a movie that really matters to me, and I don't want you to be antagonistic.
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Chapter 3: What are the key themes of Master and Commander?
I'm very real Aubrey Maturin. Okay, there is a real thing. I want that right on the record to start this episode. I'm not trying to do any negging. You just said he tried to make me a normal person.
We don't have time for your damn hobbies, man.
The one thing. You said there's only one thing I could do. Well, I mean, I do feel like I'm wearing it right now. You are. I feel like that is because it's the opening. Yes. It's like it's the most. But then I was I was I was like, but of course, there are so many great lines. And I didn't want to. And I love your admiral hat.
There are no admirals in this movie, Ben. Oh, boy. Here we go. Is this one of your 10 favorite movies of all time? Yes, I think it is.
And I think I should just like next time I do sight and sound. Stop being like, oh, I love some important movie. Just fucking put this on there. Why is this not an important movie? It is. This is what I'm saying. Before we started recording, you said maybe this is the most important movie. I think it's the most important movie to me.
Last night you texted like the best movie ever made.
This is, isn't it? Is it not? Are you talking to me? Yeah. I'm very self-conscious about being here, I must say. Oh, you're worried because you're like, I don't, you know. You don't feel worried. I had some weeks ago as the Peter Weir thing was just getting started in my feed. Mm-hmm.
I had lunch with J.D. Amato. The great J.D. Amato. The great J.D. Amato. And I'm willing to say this, past and future guests,
That's a big... Oh, yeah?
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Chapter 4: What insights does the podcast provide about Peter Weir's direction and vision for 'Master and Commander'?
Weir has, you're saying? No. Or Rothman. Rothman has. Patrick O'Brien dies at the age of 85, January 2000. Okay. As far as he knew, the two towers stood forever. He's lucky in that sense. He's lucky. We're still hesitant to sign on, but I mean, it just seems like Rothman was basically like... Well, here's the story. They'd have a meeting and Rothman says, what I really think you should do.
And then he pulls out a captain's sword and hands it to him and says, is take command of the HMS Surprise. And Peter Weir is like, can I keep the sword? And they were like, yeah, you can have the sword. Go ahead.
You also have to imagine that Rothman's basically saying to him, like, I'm going to give you full support to make the best version of this movie. You're not going to deal with dumb fucking notes. This is exactly what Weir says.
Yeah. He says, you could not have made this without a studio executive at the top of the tree who loves the material. Like, you need Rothman at the top every time someone's like, hey, Peter Weir just bought a million more gallons of water. Rothman's like, approved!
right so give him another million the guy the guy with the stamp the rubber stamp needs to be someone who understands exactly what these books are and has no temptation to be like could we add a romantic subplot could we do this could we do that kind of bullshit yeah there's a talking parrot yeah that would be fun that was my main note at the time yeah ben the name of the boat is the hms surprise just so you know okay
And if you want to know, if you want to know how to drop anchor, I'll tell you sometime.
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Chapter 5: How does the film portray the relationship between Aubrey and Maturin?
I would. Okay. Put a pin in it. Great. So we're still like, I don't want to do the first book, which is still mostly been every attempt to adapt it has been working. He's like, I want it to be on the friendship of Aubrey and Maturin. I want it to be on their longer voyage. You know, I like if we're doing essentially an origin story, we won't really have that.
His favorite inspiration is 1984 is the far side of the world. The 10th book. It's where they get the subtitle, but it is not a strict adaptation. They have some of the first book in there. They have some original stuff. John Colley, a Scottish-born physician and professor whose medical travels have taken him across the world before he settled in Australia, is brought in.
He's like a novelist and screenwriter as well. He's brought in to help. I don't really know John Colley. What are his other credits? Happy Feet. Really?
Chapter 6: What are the challenges faced in the production of 'Master and Commander'?
Yeah. Since here?
Wow. He wrote Happy Feet. I mean, one of the several writers wrote Happy Feet. Along with the lady from The Plumber.
But this is his first, this is essentially his first movie apart from a movie called Paper Mask, which is based on a book he wrote. Okay. Yeah. in three episodes of Star Cops on BBC Two in 1987.
What is Star Cops? Do you have any familiar with Star Cops, David? It's kind of cool.
It's a British sci-fi thing from the 90s. Can't say I know this one. I was a Bugs guy. If anyone watched Bugs... Hit me up. It was another BBC, like, kind of sci-fi cop show. It was really cool. It was set in, like, the near future. Because they would, computer bugs, they would do, like, hacking shit. Star Cops is set in a time when space travels become common.
Mankind is in the process of exploiting and colonizing the solar system. They need cops. Takes place in 2027. Do we need cops? Yeah, I gotta say, guys. Hands on hips. I'm, I'm, I'm gonna, yeah. A scab. All space cops are bad? Yeah. Ha! Love that.
So, the breakthrough is... The breakthrough is, according to Kali, seeing the film as a dialogue about what it is to be a man, we're really writing about a family in which Jack is the dad, Stephen is the mom, Blakeney, Max Perkis, is the kid, the rest of the crew are the teenagers, right? You know, like, that's how they think about it. And, like, I think the Max Perkis character is so vital.
The boy who loses his arm. Yeah. Because... I mean, because it's a really good performance. That kid's great. He ended up on Rome. I don't know what happened to him after that. Yeah.
But, you know, he was sort of around. You know what? In 2016, he was appointed head of acquisitions and distribution at Embankment Films. So it sounds like he moved to the other side of the industry.
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Chapter 7: What unique relationship do Maturin and Aubrey share?
But there's a relationship between Maturin and Aubrey that is different from Kirk and Bones. And it's different from anyone else on this ship. They have a marriage. They have a marriage. And that's when they're playing the cello and violin together. That's their, you know...
That's their, whatever, lovemaking. Do you know what's really interesting about you making that comparison point? All of it? Yes. Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle at that time gave this film one of its most negative reviews because it was pretty widely acclaimed. His whole angle was on his protectiveness of the books. Sure, right.
And he specifically was like, by removing the mature and spy thing or not making it deeply textual.
You're effeminizing him, I think. I read that review, too. Well, even beyond that.
And I was at the same conclusion, I think, that you're getting at. This was his exact wording. Their interaction takes on a preening quality reminiscent of the interaction of the Star Trek characters four or five movies down the line.
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Chapter 8: How does the film's portrayal of war differ from traditional narratives?
Yeah, but I took that to mean a little bit sort of like too cutesy, like when Scotty is speaking into the Macintosh mouse and he goes, computer, like that kind of thing. Well, that is one of the funniest things that's ever happened. No, I agree, but I just kind of feel like... How does he say nuclear again? What is it? Oh, Jesus. He says it funny. Yeah. And he doesn't matter.
Don't worry about it. Voyage Home is a movie. I showed it to a friend recently. Nuclear? Nuclear?
It's a lot of Ws. Sorry. Voyage Home.
No, I want to look it up now. Yeah. I'll look it up while you're saying it. No, it's right.
It's Nuclear Wessels.
I knew there was a W. That's just one of those where you show it to a friend who's like seen Star Trek, but maybe not. And you're like, and they're like, and what's this one about? And I'm like, oh. oh, there's some Klingons. Oh, there is? Well, actually, no, not really. They're on a Klingon ship. What do they have to do? They travel through time. Oh, okay, to fight Klingons, fight.
Oh, they have to save the whales. Meet a lady and save some whales. And it's the best thing in the world.
And mainly we just gotta get these characters back to vibe with each other and that's about the end of the movie. Like, you know. I mean, we did these on Patreon in deepest, darkest pandemic, but it is fascinating to look at the box office spike on four because it was the one movie where they could just market it and be like, you don't need to have seen any fucking Star Trek. Yeah. Totally.
You get it. You know the cultural osmosis of these characters. And you get a fish out of water thing. And if they show up in San Francisco in the 80s, comedy will. Semi literally fish out of water. Because they pull that whale up. This is true.
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