Welcome to Podcast Portal: a spontaneous column that will highlight podcasts of all genres that are lesser known or new shows that are worth giving a listen. With the medium continuing to grow, it is hard to acknowledge all of them. However, I am going to try and find as many noteworthy titles as possible to share and hopefully expand your mind to the greatest growing medium out there. If you have any podcast that you feel is worth adding to the Podcast Portal, please make sure to inform me whether through the comments or through an e-mail (information in sidebar).
SHOW: The Next Picture Show
HOSTS: Scott Tobias, Keith Phipps, Tasha Robinson
NETWORK: None
HOSTS: Scott Tobias, Keith Phipps, Tasha Robinson
NETWORK: None
EPISODE BEING DISCUSSED: "Episode 1: All the President's Men"
If you're someone who enjoys film culture and the joys of talking about it, you likely are saddened by this past summer's closing of The Dissolve. It was a website that featured a strong portion of A.V. Club's original writers. Unlike their origin site, The Dissolve was more focused on film discussion in a forum that was more about original films with very little/if any focus on franchise films. It was for the most part one of the best resourced for movie news and criticism for those who enjoyed the medium. With countless great weekly features, it became a website with its own cult, which fell over into The Dissolve Podcast. As one could expect, that show sank along with the website.
While this technically makes this the third different podcast featuring Scott Tobias, Keith Phipps, and Tasha Robinson, there's a good reason that they keep coming back. As much as they can be seen as snobby, they have a chemistry that is immediate. They're intellectual and provide insightful commentary, but aren't above throwing in references to the Poochie episode of The Simpsons (of which they make two here). What made The Dissolve Podcast an especially enjoyable and welcomed entry was that it was a variety show that featured games as well as relevant criticisms. It's arguably the only thing that's missing this time around.
The gist of The Next Picture Show is that they'll compare two films to each other. This is because the hosts hold the belief that no film exists in a vacuum. Everything is relative. In the case of their premiere, they aptly tackle All the President's Men and why it's a significant film, though possibly not one specifically about journalism. There's talk of its themes and the way that the ending is itself divisive among the hosts. While the premiere episode focuses on one episode, the plan is to do two episodes per week, the latter of which is the new release. In this case, it's Spotlight.
It is tough to really recommend too many shows like this, because it gets redundant at a point. While The Canon has made for a strong weekly debate, there aren't too many shows that can pull it off - largely because the hosts are, frankly, not charismatic enough to be different. Also, how many times can you hear about how great the classics are? At a certain point, it becomes redundant and keeps newcomers from standing out. It's generally why I don't review too many retrospective shows on here. However, I do think that the three hosts of The Next Picture Show work largely because of their lengthy careers in writing and in podcasting. I'm unsure if this show will acquire new fans, but it'll definitely keep those who followed them from The A.V. Club to The Dissolve to the unknown (like myself).
Even then, I'm kind of disappointed about how straightforward the show is planning to be. It's basically going to be two reviews per week, comparing the old to the new. While this is a concise way to critique movies, I cannot help but be reminded of everything else that made Tobias, Phipps, and Robinson (as well as producer and occasional host Genevieve Koski) more interesting on The Dissolve Podcast. There was a community mindset to it that made the discussions lively, and the promise of games was a lot of fun. I'm not saying that their new format won't work. I'm simply saying that it's probably not as strong as I'd like. However, Episode 2 may prove me wrong yet. I cannot wait to find out.
OVERALL RATING: 3.5 out of 5
WORTH A SECOND GO?: If you love movie criticism and sorely miss The Dissolve, I cannot see why not. It may be a little sketchy right now, but it has room for improvement.
If you're someone who enjoys film culture and the joys of talking about it, you likely are saddened by this past summer's closing of The Dissolve. It was a website that featured a strong portion of A.V. Club's original writers. Unlike their origin site, The Dissolve was more focused on film discussion in a forum that was more about original films with very little/if any focus on franchise films. It was for the most part one of the best resourced for movie news and criticism for those who enjoyed the medium. With countless great weekly features, it became a website with its own cult, which fell over into The Dissolve Podcast. As one could expect, that show sank along with the website.
While this technically makes this the third different podcast featuring Scott Tobias, Keith Phipps, and Tasha Robinson, there's a good reason that they keep coming back. As much as they can be seen as snobby, they have a chemistry that is immediate. They're intellectual and provide insightful commentary, but aren't above throwing in references to the Poochie episode of The Simpsons (of which they make two here). What made The Dissolve Podcast an especially enjoyable and welcomed entry was that it was a variety show that featured games as well as relevant criticisms. It's arguably the only thing that's missing this time around.
The gist of The Next Picture Show is that they'll compare two films to each other. This is because the hosts hold the belief that no film exists in a vacuum. Everything is relative. In the case of their premiere, they aptly tackle All the President's Men and why it's a significant film, though possibly not one specifically about journalism. There's talk of its themes and the way that the ending is itself divisive among the hosts. While the premiere episode focuses on one episode, the plan is to do two episodes per week, the latter of which is the new release. In this case, it's Spotlight.
It is tough to really recommend too many shows like this, because it gets redundant at a point. While The Canon has made for a strong weekly debate, there aren't too many shows that can pull it off - largely because the hosts are, frankly, not charismatic enough to be different. Also, how many times can you hear about how great the classics are? At a certain point, it becomes redundant and keeps newcomers from standing out. It's generally why I don't review too many retrospective shows on here. However, I do think that the three hosts of The Next Picture Show work largely because of their lengthy careers in writing and in podcasting. I'm unsure if this show will acquire new fans, but it'll definitely keep those who followed them from The A.V. Club to The Dissolve to the unknown (like myself).
Even then, I'm kind of disappointed about how straightforward the show is planning to be. It's basically going to be two reviews per week, comparing the old to the new. While this is a concise way to critique movies, I cannot help but be reminded of everything else that made Tobias, Phipps, and Robinson (as well as producer and occasional host Genevieve Koski) more interesting on The Dissolve Podcast. There was a community mindset to it that made the discussions lively, and the promise of games was a lot of fun. I'm not saying that their new format won't work. I'm simply saying that it's probably not as strong as I'd like. However, Episode 2 may prove me wrong yet. I cannot wait to find out.
OVERALL RATING: 3.5 out of 5
WORTH A SECOND GO?: If you love movie criticism and sorely miss The Dissolve, I cannot see why not. It may be a little sketchy right now, but it has room for improvement.
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