Advertise on podcast: Nerd Legion

In this episode of Nerd Legion, MonteCristo and DoA break down HBO’s latest Westeros spinoff and ask the core question every fan is wondering: does this series understand what made Game of Thrones work in the first place?   Secure your online data TODAY by visiting https://ExpressVPN.com/NERDLEGION   Control Body Odor ANYWHERE with Mando and get 20% off + free shipping with promo code NERD at https://shopmando.com   Level up your game and get 10% off TurtleBeach with code NL at turtlebeach.com/NL Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Starfleet Academy should have been an easy win for modern Star Trek: it's a smaller, character-driven series about young cadets learning what it means to serve in a post-scarcity utopia. Instead, it’s a massively expensive show that seems unsure who it’s even for.     Control Body Odor ANYWHERE with Mando and get 20% off + free shipping with promo code NERD at https://shopmando.com   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

James Cameron’s Avatar: Fire and Ash is an undeniable technical marvel, but does groundbreaking spectacle excuse shallow storytelling?     Raycon's Essential Open Earbuds are here to help you crush your new year goals. Go to https://buyraycon.com/NERDLEGIONOPEN to get 20% off sitewide.   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

SUBURBAN COMMANDO is one of the strangest artifacts of 1990s Hollywood: a kids’ movie starring Hulk Hogan as an intergalactic bounty hunter who crash-lands in suburbia, rents a converted toolshed, and solves neighborhood problems with raw strength and alien technology.     Turn your expensive wireless present into a huge wireless savings future by switching to Mint Mobile! Shop Mint Unlimited Plans at https://MINT MOBILE.com/NERD.     Raycon audio products are up to 20% off this holiday season! Go to https://buyraycon.com/NERDLEGIONOPEN to save on Raycon audio products sitewide.   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The movie Nintendo wants you to forget is somehow even weirder than you remember. In this episode of Nerd Legion, MonteCristo and DoA dive headfirst into the 1993 live-action SUPER MARIO BROS: a film so chaotic, so baffling, and so aggressively not Mario that it took Nintendo over 30 years to try a movie again. Turn your expensive wireless present into a huge wireless savings future by switching to Mint Mobile! Shop Mint Unlimited Plans at https://MINT MOBILE.com/NERD.     Raycon audio products are up to 20% off this holiday season! Go to https://buyraycon.com/NERDLEGIONOPEN to save on Raycon audio products sitewide. Order by December 15th guarantee delivery by Christmas because great gifts shouldn’t show up late! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Star Wars Visions Volume 3 is here and, unfortunately, it might be the weakest entry yet. In this episode of Nerd Legion, MonteCristo and DoA break down all nine anime shorts and ask the big question:   Why does Star Wars keep returning to the same tired ideas?   From endless Tatooine stories to recycled Jedi tropes, half-animated CGI ships, and baffling creative choices, Visions Vol. 3 shows just how far the brand’s stewardship has fallen. Even the anthology format, supposedly a space for experimentation, feels strangely safe and generic.   But it’s not all bad. We highlight the one short that genuinely stands out (“Black”), why it succeeds aesthetically, and how the rest of the series fails to capture anything meaningful about the Star Wars universe.   Control Body Odor ANYWHERE with Mando and get 20% off + free shipping with promo code NERD  at shopmando.com! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this episode of Nerd Legion, MonteCristo and DoA dive into PLURIBUS (aka PLUR1BUS), the new Apple TV+ sci-fi series where a mysterious pathogen slowly fuses all humans into a single, global hive mind. They break down the show’s philosophy, dark comedy, and unsettling medical horror along with why Vince Gilligan’s creative fingerprints are all over it.     Shop the Into the AM Black Friday Sale! All items are up to 60% off through the 8th of December. This is in addition to the 10% you always save by using our link: https://intotheam.com/LFN     Black Friday is around the corner, and Raycon audio products are up to 30% off sitewide! Go to https://buyraycon.com/NERDLEGIONOPEN to save on Raycon audio products sitewide.     Don’t get them socks. Get them premium wireless for $15/mo. Shop Mint Unlimited Plans at https://MINTMOBILE.com/NERD.   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Predator: Badlands shouldn’t be this good.   MonteCristo and DoA went in expecting another forgettable franchise sequel and came out calling it the best Predator film since 1987. In this episode of Nerd Legion, the hosts break down how Dan Trachtenberg turned a dormant IP into a bold, emotional, and surprisingly funny sci-fi blockbuster.   They discuss the film’s unexpected focus on the Predator’s culture and honor code, Elle Fanning’s dual performance, and how the movie manages to feel both classic and completely new. From the inventive world-building to the subtitled alien language and practical effects, Predator: Badlands proves that simple stories told well still hit the hardest.   The conversation also detours into Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein, the curse of bloated superhero films, and why Hollywood keeps forgetting how to make tight, self-contained action movies. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

MonteCristo and DoA return to dissect Netflix’s latest fantasy implosion, where Liam Hemsworth steps into the role of Geralt and discovers that charisma and coherent writing have both been exhumed. From botched tone and nonsense plotting to uneven VFX and dialogue that feels AI-generated, The Witcher has finally become the kind of fantasy parody it used to mock.   The hosts break down why the show collapsed: bizarre subplots, missing chemistry, baffling character arcs, and some of the worst world-building since The Acolyte. They compare Cavill’s grounded performance to Hemsworth’s “mush-mouth” Witcher, praise Laurence Fishburne for stealing every scene, and mourn the death of what was once Netflix’s flagship genre series.   Plus: how this all ties back to bad adaptation culture, writer-room ego, and why Henry Cavill was right to leave when he did.   Black Friday is around the corner, and Raycon audio products are up to 30% off sitewide! Go to https://buyraycon.com/NERDLEGIONOPEN to save on Raycon audio products sitewide.   Ready to say yes to saying no? Make the switch at https://MINTMOBILE.com/nerd. Upfront payment of $45 required (equivalent to $15/mo.). Limited time new customer offer for first 3 months only. Speeds may slow above 35GB on Unlimited plan. Taxes & fees extra. See MINT MOBILE for details. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Splinter Cell: Deathwatch might be the most unexpected comeback in gaming history: an animated Netflix series based on a franchise that’s been dormant for a decade. MonteCristo and DoA dive deep into Ubisoft’s strange revival of Sam Fisher, the stealth-action legend who’s now older, grizzled, and apparently stuck in an anime-style John Wick universe created by Derek Kolstad.   In this episode, the hosts debate whether Deathwatch is a solid espionage thriller or just a messy prelude to Ubisoft’s upcoming Splinter Cell remake. They discuss the show’s surprising violence, chaotic hacking scenes, and the questionable logic of “chaos algorithms,” plus the performances of Liev Schreiber as Sam Fisher and the legacy of Michael Ironside’s voice.   Follow our link and use code NERD to unlock 10% off your purchase at Manta Sleep! https://tinyurl.com/mume73e3   Black Friday is around the corner, and Raycon audio products are up to 30% off sitewide! Go to https://www.buyraycon.com/NERDLEGIONOPEN to save on Raycon audio products sitewide. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

There’s bad. There’s so bad it’s good. And then there’s Ator 2: The Blade Master: a sword-and-sorcery disasterpiece that transcends failure and becomes pure comedy gold.   MonteCristo and DoA continue Nerd Legion’s 1980s fantasy marathon with the most unintentionally hilarious movie ever filmed. From its wooden acting and nonsensical dubbing to its unforgettable hang glider bombing run, The Blade Master proves that even terrible movies can become classics in their own chaotic way.   Along the way, the hosts explore the bizarre Italian fantasy boom of the 1980s, Ator’s legacy as the world’s dumbest hero, and how this film’s director went from swords and sorcery to adult cinema. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance (1972) might be the most outrageous and hardcore samurai film we’ve covered yet. Former shogunate executioner Ogami Ittō becomes a disgraced wanderer, pushing his infant son through Edo-period Japan in a baby cart full of hidden weapons. Along the way, he faces betrayal, conspiracies, and blood-soaked battles that helped inspire everything from The Mandalorian to Ghost of Yōtei. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Samurai Champloo is one of the most stylish anime ever made: hip hop, samurai, and pure visual flair. But does the second half of the series actually collapse under its own weight? In Part Two of our Ghost of Yōtei Inspirations series, MonteCristo and DoA cover episodes 14–26 and debate whether Champloo is a masterpiece of style or one of the most frustrating anime endings ever. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What happens when samurai sword fights meet hip hop beats? In 2004, director Shinichirō Watanabe followed up Cowboy Bebop with Samurai Champloo: a wild mashup of Edo-era Japan, breakdance-inspired swordplay, and lo-fi counterculture.   Two decades later, Champloo still feels fresh, and its influence now echoes in Ghost of Yōtei with the brand-new Watanabe Mode, blending lo-fi hip hop into your samurai journey.   MonteCristo and DoA dive into how Samurai Champloo revolutionized anime, the genius of Nujabes’ soundtrack, and why this series still matters for both anime and gaming. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Before Kill Bill, there was Lady Snowblood (1973): a dazzling, hyper-stylized tale of tragedy and vengeance that changed samurai cinema forever. With unforgettable visuals, outrageous martial arts training sequences, and a performance by Meiko Kaji that blends icy assassin and deeply human, this film redefined what a revenge story could be.   It didn’t just inspire Quentin Tarantino, Lady Snowblood is a direct influence on Ghost of Yōtei, with its female warrior on a bloody path of vengeance against those who destroyed her family. From manga-style chapters to iconic snowbound duels, this movie set the template for modern revenge epics.   In this episode of Nerd Legion, MonteCristo and DoA break down why this film still feels shockingly modern, why it’s better than Kill Bill, and how it connects directly to the cinematic DNA of Ghost of Yōtei. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.