Advertise on podcast: Syndicated with Lesley and Ben

It's time for another commercial commentary special! Lesley and Ben are joined by our friend, streamer Svideotheque to talk Video Games, Video Games and more Video Games. We dissect 15 commercials advertising games for arcades, Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis and PlayStation 3 featuring Q*bert, Paul Rudd, Super Mario, Sonic, Kratos, Link and Zelda. We're plugged in on this very special episode of Syndicated with Lesley and Ben! Now You're Playing with Power! *On the Main Feed*: We're posting a teaser of the first half of the commercials we covered for everyone subscribed to the show, wherever you get your podcasts! *On Patreon*: Patreon subscribers, you're in for a treat. At the $1/mo level, you get access to the whole enchilada. An hour and thirty minutes of 15 commercials with commentary and live reactions. We chat about 2000s office aesthetic, wireless controllers, the Nintendo PowerGlove, claymation, Final Fantasy and more. *On YouTube*: We have a complete playlist of all of the commercials covered by Lesley, Ben and Sviddy for your viewing pleasure. Many of these commercials have real wacky visual components. We included the audio in the episode, but some of these need to be seen to be believed.

For the first time in Syndicated with Lesley and Ben history, we’re covering a non-narrative show. With Victoria Collins help, we dip our toes into reality tv and cover the Korean show Chef and My Fridge (Please Take Care of My Refrigerator). It’s a wacky take on the cooking show genre, as the celebrity chefs can only make their final creations out of the ingredients already in that week’s guest’s actual refrigerator. Lesley and Ben were knocked back by the stylistic editing choices and frantic energy of the show., but honestly, we kind of love it? Syndicated with Lesley and Ben is a twice monthly podcast about television, genre and storytelling in which your hosts watch one episode of a new show and explore the history of television one episode at a time. From family room sitcoms to space exploration shows, reality TV to procedurals and game shows, we’re going to cover it all and give you the context you need to understand the wonderful world of television and the stories we love. Our current season is International TV. Our Logo is by Terra Bosart, the theme song is by Mandra Sigma and the show is edited by Jay Gagnon.

Much like the Crunchyroll anime Ruri Rocks, this episode of Syndicated with Lesley and Ben, is an excuse to talk about rocks, minerals and crystals. We’re joined by Héctor González to ask a critical question. Can an anime be educational, beautiful and fan service? Yeah, of course it can. Are you kidding? We covered the first episode, My First Mineral Hunt. Ruri Tanigawa becomes fixated on a crystal necklace in a boutique store. After a failed attempt to get her mother to forward her the money to purchase it, Ruri ventures forth into the forests to find some natural crystals and minerals on her own. The adventure doesn’t go her way until she meets Nagi Arato, a graduate student with significantly more experience in locating the gems that Ruri is obsessed with. Together they’re able to find some garnets and Nagi’s insight into minerals cements Ruri’s new interest. Syndicated with Lesley and Ben is a twice monthly podcast about television, genre and storytelling in which your hosts watch one episode of a new show and explore the history of television one episode at a time. From family room sitcoms to space exploration shows, reality TV to procedurals and game shows, we’re going to cover it all and give you the context you need to understand the wonderful world of television and the stories we love. Our current season is International TV. Our Logo is by Terra Bosart, the theme song is by Mandra Sigma and the show is edited by Jay Gagnon.

Syndicated returns with an episode of Nine Puzzles, the freshly released South Korean detective thriller about two criminal profilers, one of whom is a murder suspect herself, attempting to solve a series of serial killings in which mysterious puzzle pieces are being left behind at the scene of the crime. We talk about atmospheric storytelling, international adaptions, how we depict memory as physical space in visual media and, obviously, the Kiefer Sutherland starring political thriller tv show: Designated Survivor. We covered the first episode of Nine Puzzles, just entitled Episode 1. Yoon Dong-hoon, a superintendent police officer and artist is found dead on the floor of his home by his niece, Yoon E-na, with an awl jammed into the back of his neck. Police interrogate Yoon E-na, but due to a lack of evidence and Yoon’s disappearing memory, are unable to satisfactorily close the case. One clue is left fully unexplained, a singular black and white illustrated  puzzle piece found on the scene of the crime. 10 years in the future, Yoon, now a criminal profiler herself, solves a murder involving a similarly amnesiac child. Just as the case is cracked, Yoon receives an envelope containing a black and white puzzle piece. The episode ends with Yoon frantically reaching out to Kim by phone.

After a bit of hiatus, Lesley and Ben’s season on International TV continues with Money Heist, the his Spanish language crime show from Netflix about a group of bank robbers dead set on robbing the Royal Mint of Spain. This is our second show from Spain, and third Spanish overall, but instead of ghosts and worried priests, Money Heist is packed with action, intrigue and bullets. We talk about translation, non linear story telling, crime movie archetypes and the dynamic design choices that Money Heist makes in its color palette and costuming! We’re watching Season 1, Episode 1, “Do As Planned.” Runaway Tokyo is preparing to leave the country following a botched robbery and a dead partner in crime, when she’s stopped and recruited by The Professor, a strange man promising her an enormous payout for a single job. Tokyo and a team of several other pseudonymously named professional thieves enter a five month crash course to learn how to infiltrate and rip off the Royal Mint of Spain undetected. We flash forward to a heist in progress, with hints of emotional turmoil and mismatched personal relationships that may lead to the crime of the century’s bloody downfall.  Syndicated with Lesley and Ben is a podcast about television, genre and storytelling in which your hosts watch one episode of a new show and explore the history of television one episode at a time. From family room sitcoms to space exploration shows, reality TV to procedurals and game shows, we’re going to cover it all and give you the context you need to understand the wonderful world of television and the stories we love. Our current season is International TV. Our Logo is by Terra Bosart, the theme song is by Mandra Sigma and the show is edited by Jay Gagnon.

Lesley and Ben’s season on International TV continues with MOBILE SUIT GUNDUM: WITCH FROM MERCURY with returning guest Jeff Martin. Jeff has been working on a new ttrpg project called BIG ROBOTS BIG FEELINGS and that means watching a lot of Gundum anime as research, alternating between Mobile Suit and Macross shows. Jeff’s bringing that giant robot expertise to Syndicated! We talk about sad birthday songs, how storytelling pacing has changed over time, the history of mecha as a genre and werewolves. It’s a wild one!We’re watching Episode Zero, Prologue. At Folkvangr, a space based mobile suit laboratory base on the side of an asteroid, scientists and pilots are working tirelessly to bring a new type of mech suit online, one powered by the GUND format that will allow machines to interface directly with human brains. Meanwhile, two key crew members of the Folkvangr base, pilots Elnore Samaya and Nadim Samaya, struggle to raise their toddler, Ericht, on board the base. When a government takeover of the Gundam laboratory leads to its near destruction, only Elnore and Ericht survive, as Nadim dies fighting the armed intruders bent on purging the world of Gundams. Syndicated with Lesley and Ben is a twice monthly podcast about television, genre and storytelling in which your hosts watch one episode of a new show and explore the history of television one episode at a time. From family room sitcoms to space exploration shows, reality TV to procedurals and game shows, we’re going to cover it all and give you the context you need to understand the wonderful world of television and the stories we love. Our current season is International TV. Our Logo is by Terra Bosart, the theme song is by Mandra Sigma and the show is edited by Jay Gagnon.

Lesley and Ben’s season on International TV continues with The Untamed, an ahistorical Chinese fantasy drama from Tencent Video. We’re joined by Nik Boylan of Legends of Laia and Athraplay, who has spent the last year becoming an Untamed expert. After our hosts flip out about the massive complex of historical sets and theme park attractions that the Untamed is filmed at, we learn about the Xianxia genre of Chinese fantasy and the bizarre path this show took to be adapted. Lesley, Ben and Nik faun over the commitment to the bit on display in The Untamed - with its costumes, wire work martial arts, high energy visual effects and campy dialogue. Truly, this is what tv was made for.We’re watching Season One, Episode One of the Untamed. We start with a climactic battle in the Nightless City where a series of sorcerer knights struggle to grasp a shadowy demonic magical object. The rogue Cultivator Wei Wuxian falls off a cliffside after a confrontation with Lan Wangji. 16 years later, Wei Wuxian is summoned back to the land of the living as part of a ritual preformed by Mo Xuanyu. Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji are reunited, but Wei Wuxian isn’t sure he wants Lan Wangji to see him yet. Syndicated with Lesley and Ben is a twice monthly podcast about television, genre and storytelling in which your hosts watch one episode of a new show and explore the history of television one episode at a time. From family room sitcoms to space exploration shows, reality TV to procedurals and game shows, we’re going to cover it all and give you the context you need to understand the wonderful world of television and the stories we love. Our current season is International TV. Our Logo is by Terra Bosart, the theme song is by Mandra Sigma and the show is edited by Jay Gagnon.

Lesley and Ben are thrilled to be once again joined by Rachel Collins, host of the upcoming grocery and shopping podcast, 10 Items or Less! Instead of our usual format covering single episodes of television, we're chatting about vintage commercials and the stories they're telling! We cover 21 commercials ranging across the decades from the 1960s to 2004. Electronics Boutique, Hollywood Video, Schlitterbaun Water Park, CompUSA, B Dalton Booksellers and mail order educational software learning opportunities. All this and a lot more on this very special episode of Syndicated with Lesley and Ben! On the Main Feed: We're posting a teaser of the first couple of commercials we covered for everyone subscribed to the show, wherever you get your podcasts! On Patreon: Patreon subscribers, you're in for a treat. At the $5/mo level, you get access to the whooole enchilada. An hour and forty minutes of 21 commercials with commentary and live reactions. Musical numbers, jingles, childhood memories, a lot of talk about malls, bookstores, personal computing, Tom Clancy and regional amusement parks! https://www.patreon.com/posts/swlab-special-108949274?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link On YouTube: We have a complete playlist of all of the commercials covered by Lesley, Ben and Rachel for your viewing pleasure. Many of these commercials have real wacky visual components. We included the audio in the episode, but some of these need to be seen to be believed. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLCNXaDo9tBqSnM6Wq2bE3WTyiQODHbZy

Lesley and Ben’s season on International TV continues with 30 Coins, another Spanish language horror series. Now what are the odds! We talk about how international tv is working great for streaming companies, our personal affinity toward religious and folk horror (including plenty of examples), and the incredible set design of Pedraza, Spain, the location of 30 Coin’s story.We covered Season One, Episode Three, El Espejo. When a wedding guest violently crashes his car on the way to the reception, an investigation of his living quarters reveals that he has a cursed demon mirror in his apartment. It happens. Even though he doesn’t initially believe the mirror is anything but a normal mirror, Father Vergara stays up all night to investigate it. Town mayor Paco and Veterinarian Elena attempt to help him but Vergara rebuffs their curiosity and tries to handle it alone... until the mirror lashes out against him. Unfortunately, shortly after we recorded this episode, HBO decided not to renew 30 Coins. Fingers crossed the story gets to continue some other way.

Is this thing still on? We’re coming in live from our affiliate stations across the world! We’re covering International TV this season with the help of newly installed satellite tv dish. Specifically, we’re focusing on non-English television regardless of narrative genre! We’re starting with Los Espookys, the Spanish language, Latin-American set, HBO produced comedy series about a group of friends who build elaborate special effect horror as a small business. It’s Lesley’s opening staff pick for the season and Ben thinks it’s some of “the wittiest half hour tv he’s ever seen.“ We crack jokes about Portlandia and Letterkenney, praise Los Espookys’ subdued humorous moments and share our personal relationships with Non-English international media and comfort media. Syndicated with Lesley and Ben is a twice monthly podcast about television, genre and storytelling in which your hosts watch one episode of a new show and explore the history of television one episode at a time. From family room sitcoms to space exploration shows, reality TV to procedurals and game shows, we’re going to cover it all and give you the context you need to understand the wonderful world of television and the stories we love. Our current season is International TV. Our Logo is by Terra Bosart, the theme song is by Mandra Sigma and the show is edited by Jay Gagnon.

We did our time, listener! 13 long episodes in crime tv. You can’t make us go back in there! It’s time to wrap up our crime season, and we could think of only one show to throw the book at us. Lesley and Ben cover The Wire, the lauded HBO prestige police procedural starring Lance Reddick, Idris Elba and Dominic West. We started with the season two finale, Any Port in a Storm and were stunned by the quality of the story so far. Was everyone else right? Was The Wire always this good?Plus we talk about crime procedurals role in history, different stories for different demographics and magnetic appeal of Idris Elba. Syndicated with Lesley and Ben is a twice monthly podcast about television, genre and storytelling in which your hosts watch one episode of a new show and explore the history of television one episode at a time. From family room sitcoms to space exploration shows, reality TV to procedurals and game shows, we’re going to cover it all and give you the context you need to understand the wonderful world of television and the stories we love. Our Logo is by Terra Bosart, the theme song is by Mandra Sigma and the show is edited by Jay Gagnon.

Lesley and Ben are trying something new. At Lesley’s suggestion, we’re watching Death and Other Details, the brand new murder mystery drama from Hulu, starring Violett Beane and Mandy Patinkin. Death and Other Details has a compelling plot, but is otherwise tripped up by some visual issues that got under Ben and Lesley’s skin. We’re excited to see how this mystery concludes, we just wish we could see more of the show! Plus, a lengthy discussion about crime as a genre, the lasting prevalence of the murder mystery serial, and the massive corporate media conspiracy to get us to stay at nice, all expenses paid resorts and hotels. Syndicated with Lesley and Ben is a twice monthly podcast about television, genre and storytelling in which your hosts watch one episode of a new show and explore the history of television one episode at a time. From family room sitcoms to space exploration shows, reality TV to procedurals and game shows, we’re going to cover it all and give you the context you need to understand the wonderful world of television and the stories we love. Our Logo is by Terra Bosart, the theme song is by Mandra Sigma and the show is edited by Jay Gagnon.

Lesley and Ben are now on an international crime spree. We’re tackling Lupin, the Netflix produced French thriller series about the adventures of Assane Diop, a man who has modeled himself after pulp character Arsene Lupin, the Gentleman Thief. We talk about Sherlock Holmes, pulp fiction of the early 1900s, foreign television, expanding our cultural horizons and how to execute a good plot twist. Also we talk a lot about France. Sacre bleu! Syndicated with Lesley and Ben is a twice monthly podcast about television, genre and storytelling in which your hosts watch one episode of a new show and explore the history of television one episode at a time. From family room sitcoms to space exploration shows, reality TV to procedurals and game shows, we’re going to cover it all and give you the context you need to understand the wonderful world of television and the stories we love. Our Logo is by Terra Bosart, the theme song is by Mandra Sigma and the show is edited by Jay Gagnon.

Syndicated is hitting the open road and solving murders across America with Poker Face, the Rian Johnson helmed and Natasha Lyonne starring mystery anthology show. We had to cover Poker Face after tackling Columbo and Murder She Wrote. Lesley and Ben fell in love with the 1970s retro Americana aesthetic, the cast of complicated characters and the BBQ being grilled in the third episode of the show. We talk alibis, Star Wars, Okja, cinematic murders. and the use of star power in television. Syndicated with Lesley and Ben is a twice monthly podcast about television, genre and storytelling in which your hosts watch one episode of a new show and explore the history of television one episode at a time. From family room sitcoms to space exploration shows, reality TV to procedurals and game shows, we’re going to cover it all and give you the context you need to understand the wonderful world of television and the stories we love. Our Logo is by Terra Bosart, the theme song is by Mandra Sigma and the show is edited by Jay Gagnon.

Cabot Cove has no shortage of murders and there is no one more qualified to solve them than mystery writer Jessica Fletcher. Editor Jay Gagnon brings us Murder She Wrote, the number one source of Angela Lansbury material. Lesley, Ben and Jay stumble through a charming double murder in the high stakes cutthroat world of fiction publishing. Logically, we picked an episode that guest stars Better Call Saul’s Michael McKean. Syndicated with Lesley and Ben is a twice monthly podcast about television, genre and storytelling in which your hosts watch one episode of a new show and explore the history of television one episode at a time. From family room sitcoms to space exploration shows, reality TV to procedurals and game shows, we’re going to cover it all and give you the context you need to understand the wonderful world of television and the stories we love. Our Logo is by Terra Bosart, the theme song is by Mandra Sigma and the show is edited by Jay Gagnon.