Category Archives: Science Fiction

VoK 838: The Movie Passport #18 – Japanese Animation

Posted on November 25, 2024 by | Leave a comment

Kon’nichiwa! Welcome to The Movie Passport, a podcast series about world cinema. In this episode, Duncan (Valkyrist), Zach (Alias), Bing (Shoeshiner), Patrick (Ser Patrick the Tall), and Jock (Munrojock2) return to the country of Japan to discuss the following films:

29:37 – Akira / アキラ (Katsuhiro Otomo, 1988)
50:25 – Grave of the Fireflies / 火垂るの墓 (Isao Takahata, 1988)
1:05:43 – Your Name / 君の名は (Makoto Shinkai, 2016)
1:20:22 – Howl’s Moving Castle / ハウルの動く城 (Hayao Miyazaki, 2004)
1:35:59 – Perfect Blue / パーフェクトブルー (Satoshi Kon, 1997)

Credits:
Edited by Valkyrist

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Posted in Anime & Manga, History, Movies, Music, Podcast, Science Fiction

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VoK 832: The Movie Passport #16 – French Cinema

Posted on September 27, 2024 by | Leave a comment

Bonjour! Welcome to The Movie Passport, a podcast series about world cinema. In this episode, Duncan (Valkyrist), Abby (Daceymormont), Stephanie (gsdg), Alex (Lucky Charms), and Jock (MunroJock) travel to the country of France to discuss the following films:

13:43 – Eyes Without a Face / Les Yeux sans visage (Georges Franju, 1960)
37:07 – Queen Margot / La Reine Margot (Patrice Chéreau, 1994)
57:24 – La Haine (Mathieu Kassovitz, 1995)
1:18:06 – The City of Lost Children / La Cité des enfants perdus (Marc Caro and Jean-Pierre Jeunet, 1995)
1:28:16 – Amour (Michael Haneke, 2012)

Credits:
Edited by Valkyrist

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Posted in History, Movies, Podcast, Science Fiction

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VoK 774: The Movie Passport #14 – Canadian Cinema

Posted on November 10, 2023 by | Leave a comment

Hello and bonjour! Welcome to The Movie Passport, a podcast series about world cinema. In this episode, Duncan (Valkyrist), Scott (skywaltzer), Abby (Daceymormont), and Steven (SJLee) travel to the country of Canada to discuss the following films:

34:06 – Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (Edgar Wright, 2010)
53:42 – Goon (Michael Dowse, 2011)
1:27:42 – I Killed My Mother / J’ai tué ma mère (Xavier Dolan, 2009)
1:42:33 – The Sweet Hereafter (Atom Egoyan, 1997)

Credits:
Edited by Valkyrist

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Posted in History, LGBT+, Movies, Podcast, Science Fiction, Sports, Video Games

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VoK 696: The Movie Passport #6 – South African Cinema

Posted on July 16, 2022 by | 1 comment

Sawubona! Welcome to The Movie Passport, a podcast series about world cinema. In this episode, Duncan (Valkyrist), Bina (Bina007), Glen (Dagos_Rivers), and Jock (MunroJock2) travel to the country of South Africa to discuss the following films:

5:55 – District 9 (Neill Blomkamp, 2009)
28:59 – Spud (Donovan Marsh, 2010)
45:15 – Zulu (Cy Endfield, 1964)
1:04:15 – Tsotsi (Gavin Hood, 2005)

Credits:
Edited by Valkyrist

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Posted in History, Movies, Podcast, Science Fiction

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VoK 687: Video Game Hall of Fame #1

Posted on April 29, 2022 by | Leave a comment


The Vassals of Kingsgrave return to the video game world with a new format for discussion inspired by the Easy Allies YouTube channel. Join Zach (Alias), Bing (Shoeshiner), Matt (blu3arm0r), Katie (Lady Griffin), Alex (LuckyCharms), Jock (munrojock2), Peter (Shellfish), and Patrick (Ser Patrick the Tall) as they each nominate a game they hope will be inducted into the newly created VOK Video Game Hall of Fame.

3:20 — Civilization 5
11:55 — Barbie Riding Club for Windows 98
22:40 —The Outer Wilds
39:40 — Resident Evil 4
55:50 — Ghost of Tsushima
1:17:00 — Bioshock
1:25:40 — World of Warcraft
1:41:10 — Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines
1:53:10 —Voting
2:02:10 — Aftershow

Credits:
Edited by Zach/Alias

Format inspired by the Easy Allies Hall of Greats

Music:
World of Warcraft – Seasons of War
Outer Wilds – End Times

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VoK 680: The Prolific Works of George R. R. Martin (Ice & Fire Con 2021 Panel)

Posted on December 23, 2021 by | Leave a comment

Decades before Martin began writing A Song of Ice and Fire, he was already an award-winning writer who had published a variety of science fiction, horror, and fantasy stories. In this panel, Amin and Duncan (Valkyrist) survey Martin’s other notable works, looking for connections to ASOIAF and discussing his overall development as a writer and his philosophy toward writing.

Credits:
Edited by Valkyrist

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Links:
George R. R. Martin’s “Thousand Worlds” Wiki

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Posted in A Song of Ice and Fire, Books & Novellas, Fandom, Podcast, Science Fiction

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VOK 679: 2021 Video Game Discussion

Posted on December 15, 2021 by | Leave a comment


The Vassals of Kingsgrave return to the video game world to discuss some games they enjoyed playing in 2021 (even if not all those games came out then). Join Zach (Alias), Bing (Shoeshiner), Matt (blu3arm0r), Katie (Lady Griffin), and Zander (The Lord Baron) as they talk the year 2021 in gaming with all its highs and lows.

11:05 — Hades
18:55 — Return of the Obra Dinn
26:00 — Kingdom Come: Deliverance
33:20 — Resident Evil Village
44:25 — Disco Elysium: The Final Cut
53:55 — Persona 5 Strikers
1:02:30 — Humankind
1:07:30 — Mass Effect: Legendary Edition
1:09:00 — Guardians of the Galaxy
1:10:55 — NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139
1:21:55 — Most Anticipated Games of 2022

Credits:
Edited by Zach/Alias

Music:
Persona 5 Strikers: You Are Stronger
NieR Replicant: Kaine Salvation

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VoK 639: Creature Chat – Dragons

Posted on February 24, 2021 by | Leave a comment


The Vassals convene to chat about magical reptiles of various shapes and sizes. So grab your ceiling wax and look out for sharkdoors.

Hosts:
Peter/Shellfish
Michal/inkasrain
Sara/DrBlood
Amber/amberrocks
Zander/The Lord Baron
Marie/Nymeria
Ben/King Jucio
Adam/drownedsnow

Credits:
Edited by Peter

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Posted in Books & Novellas, Creature Chat, Movies, Philosophy, Podcast, Science Fiction

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VoK 638: GRRM’s Thousand Worlds – “The Glass Flower” and “The Stone City” (Review)

Posted on February 11, 2021 by | Leave a comment


The Vassals (and Bastards) conclude their voyage into George R. R. Martin’s science fiction universe. Join Amin, Duncan (aka Valkyrist), Michael (aka Mordion), and Zach (aka Alias) as they review two more short stories from Martin’s Thousand Worlds series – “The Glass Flower” and “The Stone City.”

Credits:
Edited by Valkyrist

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Posted in Books & Novellas, Podcast, Science Fiction

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VoK 633: GRRM’s Thousand Worlds – “The Way of Cross and Dragon” and “And Seven Times Never Kill Man!” (Review)

Posted on January 18, 2021 by | Leave a comment


The Vassals (and Bastards) continue their voyage into George R. R. Martin’s science fiction universe. Join Amin, Duncan (aka Valkyrist), Michael (aka Mordion), and Zach (aka Alias) as they review two more short stories from Martin’s Thousand Worlds series – “The Way of Cross and Dragon” and “And Seven Times Never Kill Man!”

Credits:
Edited by Valkyrist

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Posted in Books & Novellas, Podcast, Science Fiction

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VoK 607: GRRM’s Thousand Worlds – “Bitterblooms” and “In the House of the Worm” (Review)

Posted on May 12, 2020 by | Leave a comment

The Vassals (and Bastards) launch into George R. R. Martin’s science fiction universe. Join Amin, Duncan (aka Valkyrist), Michael (aka Mordion), and Zach (aka Alias) as they review two short stories from Martin’s Thousand Worlds series – “Bitterblooms” and “In the House of the Worm.”

Credits:
Edited by Amin and Valkyrist

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Posted in Books & Novellas, Podcast, Science Fiction

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VoK 603: Westworld (HBO series) – Mid-Season 3 Discussion

Posted on April 13, 2020 by | Leave a comment

1800

Join Bina007, Matt/Blu3arm0r, Adam/DrownedSnow, Dana/Taindana and Jock/MunroJock2 as they review the first half of season 3 of HBO’s Westworld. Spoilers throughout.

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Posted in Podcast, Science Fiction, TV Shows, Westworld

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VoK 594: Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) [2019] (Review)

Posted on February 24, 2020 by | Leave a comment


Please join Sarah (Lady Weaver), Matt (blu3arm0r) and Thomas (FTWard) as we discuss the fantabulous fashion, action, music and characters in DCs latest film. We also talk about the issues surrounding the movie, the Harley Quinn animated series and the future of the DCEU (if that is still even a thing).

After Show @ 1:06:00

Credits:
Edited by Thomas (FTWard)

Fandom Entertainment, Charting With Dan Bird’s of Prey Video
Dan and Roth on Fandom Entertainment
Hollywood Already Did It

Music:

Barracuda
Written by Ann Wilson, Roger Fisher, Nancy Wilson, Michael Derosier
Performed by Heart

Woman
Written by Andrew Pearson, Kesha Sebert, Stephen Wrabel
Performed by @emmajayne

It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World
Written by James Brown, Betty Jean Newsome
Performed by Jurnee Smollett-Bell

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Posted in Comics, Movies, Podcast, Science Fiction

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VoK 589: The Mandalorian (Netflix series) – Season 1

Posted on January 27, 2020 by | Leave a comment

Join your local covern of VoK hosts as we review the first season of Disney+’s original series, The Mandalorian. Hear such beloved topics such as, baby yoda, baby yoda, and even more baby yoda. Hosts: Michal (inkasrain), Adam (drownedsnow), Dana (taindana), Zach (Alias), Casey (blue-eyed-queen), and Paul (SerDinnerRoll).

Credits:
Edited by Paul (SerDinnerRoll)

Music:
The Mandalorian Theme by Ludwig Göransson
Big Mandalorian Iron by Funk Turkey

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Posted in Podcast, Science Fiction, Star Wars, TV Shows

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VoK 585: Watchmen (HBO miniseries) – Retrospective

Posted on January 1, 2020 by | Leave a comment

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No, Miss Crookshanks! It’s only just begun!

Welcome to the VOK review of maybe the only ever season of the TV show, Watchmen. (We reviewed episodes 1-3 in VOK 576).

Your hosts are Adam (drownedsnow), Amber (amberrocks), Jock (Munrojock2), Matt (blu3arm0r), Michael (Mordion) and Thomas (FTWard). There’s an aftershow at 1hr 24m in which Bina007 and DavidHHH share their thoughts on the season with a little counter-point from Mordion.

Editor: FTWard.

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VoK 584: Star Wars – The Rise of Skywalker [2019] (Review)

Posted on December 29, 2019 by | Leave a comment


VoK makes the jump to lightspeed and ends up long, long ago in a galaxy far far away to bring you our feelings on the “end” of the Skywalker Saga. How does Episode IX measure up as a Star Wars movie?

Hosts: Adam (drownedsnow), Michal (inkasrain), Kevin (Gaiden), Paul (SerDinnerRoll), Duncan (Valkyrist), Katie (Lady Griffin), and Amber (amberrocks).

Spoilers: The entire Star Wars movie universe and some of the EU/Legends material.

Editor: Adam

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Posted in Movies, Podcast, Science Fiction, Star Wars

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VoK 581: Video Game Roundtable – Best of 2010s Edition

Posted on December 17, 2019 by | Leave a comment

The Vassals of Kingsgrave engage in a different sort of video game discussion this time around. Instead of evaluating the best games of 2019, they take a look at the entire catalog of games released over the past decade. Join Bing (Shoeshiner), Katie (Lady Griffin), Matt (Blu3arm0r), and Zach (Alias) as they share the games they each personally felt best defined the past 10 years in gaming for them.

This podcast contains spoilers for The Last of Us, Persona 5, the Batman Arkham series, and Gone Home.

9:50 – Telltale’s The Walking Dead
22:30 – Undertale
32:45 – The Last of Us
43:45 – Persona 5
58:15 – Gone Home
1:09:50 – The Witcher 3
1:20:20 – Batman Arkham Series
1:25:30 – Starcraft 2

Credits:
Edited by Zach (Alias)

Music:
Witcher 3 – The Trail
Journey – Apotheosis

My Life of Starcraft by Day9

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Posted in Fandom, History, Podcast, Science Fiction, The Witcher, Video Games

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VoK 576: Watchmen (HBO series) – Mid-Series Discussion

Posted on November 10, 2019 by | Leave a comment

hbo-watchmen-regina-king-sister-night_0

Join Thomas (FTward), Michael (Mordion), Matt (Blu3arm0r), Adam (DrownedSnow) and Bina007 as they discuss the first three episodes of HBO’s Watchmen.

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[Peteypedia] Official world building
[The Hollywood Reporter] Lindelof on Ep 1
[Official Podcast] HBO’s episode guide

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VoK 574: A History of Horror Movies (public lecture)

Posted on October 25, 2019 by | Leave a comment


Why are horror movies so popular? In this lecture, Valkyrist explores the arcane origins of horror cinema and speculates over the social and psychological reasons behind its appeal. Celebrate Halloween season by dissecting the power and meaning behind some of the most famous (and infamous) horror movies of all time.

The presentation includes video clips from the following movies:
Nosferatu (F. W. Murnau, 1922)
Frankenstein (James Wale, 1931)
Godzilla (Ishirō Honda, 1954)
Night of the Living Dead (George A. Romero, 1968)
Halloween (John Carpenter, 1978)
The Silence of the Lambs (Jonathon Demme, 1991)
Get Out (Jordan Peele, 2017)

Credits:
Edited by Valkyrist
Music from John Carpenter and Disasterpiece

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Posted in Fandom, History, Movies, Philosophy, Podcast, Science Fiction

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VoK 565: Stranger Things (Netflix series) – Season 3

Posted on August 1, 2019 by | Leave a comment


The Vassals travel in the way back machine to 1985 Hawkins, Indiana and try to avoid being stuck in the upside down as we discuss season 3 of Netflix’s Stranger Things.

Aftershow at 1:34:00. Contains minor spoilers for Agents of Shield.

Hosts: Adam (drownedsnow), Hannah (Shaowbaby), David (davidhhh), Sarah (Lady Weaver), and Jock (Munrojock2).

Editor: Adam

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