(RIGHT CLICK THE IMAGE TO SAVE THE EPISODE TO YOUR COMPUTER)

The In Review Podcast is back with an all new episode.  John, Keith, Krissy, and Mike gather to offer new things that might interest you such as Shakespeare in the Park, DragonCon Newbies, Mad Max: Fury Road, and Dale & Tucker Vs. Evil.  Plus, they discuss Neil Gaiman's American Gods for television and the passing of Sir Christopher Lee.  Take a listen and let us know your thoughts on what we discussed.

Comment on this episode here.

Segment One: Bringing it to the Table

2:07 - Krissy surprisingly loves the new Mad Max film, Fury Road.

9:52 - Keith talks about this year's offerings for Shakespeare in the Park - Tempest and Cymbeline.

14:09 - DragonCon is coming and Michael discusses the Newbies program that helps those who are going for the first time acclimate themselves to the frenetic environoment.

20:15 - John surprisingly liked Dale & Tucker Vs. Evil.

25:16 - Promo for the Generations Geek podcast.

26:08 - Promo for the Batcave Podcast.

Segment Two: Pop Tops

27:52 - We discuss:

• Neil Gaiman's American Gods is coming to Starz
• The passing of Sir Christopher Lee

(RIGHT CLICK THE IMAGE TO SAVE THE EPISODE TO YOUR COMPUTER)

As part of our committment to bring you 52 episodes of The Rift this year, here's the first of our monthly In Review episodes!  John is joined by Keith DeCandido and Michael Falkner to ramble on about the latest in pop culture happenings and to opine on them.  There's more convention news from Keith, progression on Mike's Doctor Who watch and great enthusiasm for Marvel Phase 1 from John.  Plus, there's reviews of the latest on television and the Flopcast podcast and much more.  Take a listen and take a moment to chime in with you thoughts on what we're talking about.

Comment on this episode here or by writing john@chronicrift.com.

Segment One: Bringing it to the Table

2:10 - Keith is the author guest of honor at GalaxyFest.

5:00 - Michael is reaching the end of his run on William Hartnell for his Classic Doctor Who Watch and talks about his appreciation for William Hartnell and Jackie Lane.

13:30 - John loves his Marvel Phase 1 Blu-Ray movie collection.  Click the image to get your copy of these great films via Amazon and help support the podcast.

20:58 - Promo for the Handsome Timmy D Express podcast.

Segment Two: Reviews

23:45 - Keith reviews a collection of current TV offerings - The Librarians, Rizzoli and Isles, Major Crimes, The Big Bang Theory, and Gotham. Plus, Keith is thrilled that The Venture Bros. is back.

35:30 - John shares the love that is The Flopcast.

38:50 - Promo for the Generations Geek Podcast.

59:45 - Promo for The Weekly Podioplex Podcast.

Segment Three: Pop Tops

41:00 - We discuss:

• Doctor Who and other BBC shows will remain on Netflix
• Doctor Who clickbait from the Radio Times
• Heroes Reborn
• Thunderbirds are...creepy
• Japanese underwater cities
• We have new writers for Star Trek III.

(RIGHT CLICK THE IMAGE TO SAVE THE EPISODE TO YOUR COMPUTER)

The In Review gang are back after a long hiatus with an all new episode looking to find that culture in pop culture.  Keith has a new Kickstarter, Krissy's excited by new movies to DVD, and Mike's got his blog up and running with his ongoing thoughts on Doctor Who.  Plus, John is the Master, or rather he has a Masters now.  There's this and a whole lot more so listen in and laugh with us.

Comment on this episode here or by writing john@chronicrift.com.

Segment One: Bringing it to the Table

1:20 - John is the Master?

3:00 - Keith is running a new Kickstarter campaign to write a story set in his Dragon Precinct universe and he'd like you to help. Click the link to direct you to the site.

6:35 - Krissy is excited by the DVD releases of Jodorowsky's Dune and the Criterion release of Scanners.  Click the images to get your copy of these great films via Amazon and help support the podcast.

12:18 - Finally, Mike is watching Doctor Who from its origins in 1963 on and recording his thoughts in his blog.  Take a look and see if you agree with his assessment. In the course of the discussion, John mentions an animated version of a Doctor-less Doctor Who episode, "Mission to the Unknown".  Take a look at this little gem that is full of awesome.

Doctor Who - Mission To The Unknown - Levine... by MTTU

21:10 - Promo for the Cyborgs: A Bionic Podcast.

22:07 - Promo for the Dead Kitchen Radio.

Segment Two: Reviews

23:05 - Nicolas Brendan in a movie of substance? This discussion was triggered by Dan Persons' review of the movie Coherence.  Plus, Dan looks at the latest IDW Star Trek comic and compares it with the most recent Star Trek Continues fan production.  Pick up your copy of Star Trek: New Visions by clicking on the image.

33:36 - John presents some of the better TV podcasts that actually deal with television.  He includes Mission Log: A Roddenberry Podcast, Bigger on the Inside, The M*A*S*H 4077 Podcast, The Quantum Leap Podcast, and The seaQuest Podcast.

42:15 - Keith offers his thoughts on a plethora of television shows he's catching up on.  These shows include Dominion, Fargo, Justified, Rake, Killer Women, Murder in the First, and Sirens.  This leads to a discussion of television shows that one is jumping on long after the show has moved on to Netflix and Hulu heaven.

54:50 - Promo for the Generations Geek Podcast.

55:41 - Promo for The Weekly Podioplex Podcast.

Segment Three: Pop Tops

57:00 - We discuss:

• the passing of Tommy Ramone
• turning off Facebook
• MTV developing Terry Brooks' Shannara series
• the possible return of DC's Young Justice series
• and the Emmy nominations.

(RIGHT CLICK THE IMAGE TO SAVE THE EPISODE TO YOUR COMPUTER)

A new year brings with it a new Doctor on Doctor Who.  Before we can get to that, we need to review how we got to the regeneration.  This episode is specially dedicated to the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who with all the specials that were offered to celebrate.  John, Keith, Mike, and Krissy offer their thoughts on all the offerings in a new In Review episode.  Plus, we manage to talk about a few other different things from Dan Persons and Keith as well.

Comment on this episode here or by writing john@chronicrift.com or by calling 888-866-9010.

Segment One: Bringing it to the Table

2:57 - Krissy gets the ball rolling with the Paul McGann web video, "Night of the Doctor".

12:24 - John continues by praising the docu-drama, An Adventure in Space and Time.

22:57 - Mike is next as he talks about the Peter Davison produced, The Five(ish) Doctors.

28:37 - Finally, Keith talks about all the Doctor Who goodness being offered in celebration of the 50th anniversary over at tor.com.

36:11 - Promo for the Adventures of Indiana Jim Podcast

37:09 - Promo for the 2 Schooners Podcast

Segment Two: Reviews

38:45 - A discussion on the merits of characters like Merida from Brave ensues when Dan reviews Frozen.

46:46 - Keith likes the science fiction of Almost Human, but not the police procedual aspects of the show.  Plus, he's happy that Elementary has become appointment television.

57:42 - Promo for the HG World Podcast

59:12 - Promo for Cyborgs: A Bionic Podcast

Segment Three: Pop Tops

1:01:03 - We discuss the final element of the 50th anniversary celebration, "The Time of the Doctor".  Overall, we felt Moffat let Matt Smith down with his treatment.

Mighty Movie Podcast host Dan Persons joins the Rift crew while Krissy is out at a convention.  He fills us in on his Kickstarter campaign to develop a video interview series for Cinefantastique Online.  In addition, we cover NaNoWriMo, Gravity, the new fall TV season, the next Star Wars movie, and the rock star status of Neil deGrasse Tyson and Michio Kaku.  Download the episode, take a listen, and chime in with your thoughts on what we discussed here.

Comment on this episode here or by writing john@chronicrift.com or by calling 888-866-9010.

The Rift Crew is back with an all new In Review episode.  In this episode we talk about Pacific Rim, Harry Potter, Riddick, Burn Notice, DC Comics and naked Harley Quinn, Voyager I, and the loss of the sense of wonder when it comes to science.  All this and more for the low, low price of nothing.  Download the episode, take a listen, and chime in with your thoughts on what we discussed here.

Comment on this episode here or by writing john@chronicrift.com or by calling 888-866-9010.

Segment One: Bringing it to the Table

4:45 - Keith loves his new restaurant haunt, Sauce.

7:15 - Krissy wants to know why Pacific Rim didn't get the love at the box office she felt it deserved.

20:36 - Mike is excited by the news of a new Harry Potter inspired movie scripted by J.K. Rowling.

29:45 - Promo for Tales from the Mouse House Podcast

30:30 - Promo for The Thunder Crester Podcast

Segment Two: Reviews

32:20 - Natalia returns with a new book review, looking at the apocalyptic novel, Interrupt.

43:17 - Dan reviews Riddick and we discuss why this movie even got made when it appears nobody wanted it.

53:10 - Keith was less than impressed with the ending of Burn Notice, but he is happy about the return of Sons of Anarchy.

1:02:37 - Promo for The Jen and Dave Show.

1:03:25 - Promo for The Machinery of Light

Segment Three: Pop Tops

1:05:20 - We take a look at the mess DC Comics has made with their request for a naked Harley Quinn contemplating suicide, Voyager I and what happened to our sense for science, and the passing of Ray Dolby.

We start with the first in our somewhat reformatted episodes as we present book, comic, and movie reviews.  Comment on the episode here and make sure you rate the episode at the bottom of the page.

SEGMENT ONE: Bringing it to the Table

6:05 - Orenthal talks about the rebranding of the Sci-FI Channel.
14:10 - Judy explains why she thinks Billie Piper's Secret Diary of a Call Girl is limited in its premise.
16:14 - Andrea wonders why we celebrate Fred Rogers Day.
20:25 - Promo for the March 29th episode of Better in the Dark podcast.

SEGMENT TWO: Reviews

22:49 - Andrea reviews the latest from Stephen King.
28:25 - David takes a look at the latest offerings in the funny books, including Marvel's Noir series and IDW's Star Trek.
33:41 - Derrick reviews Watchmen.
48:10  - Promo for Geek Jesus podcast.
49:10 - Promo for Let's Watch Movies podcast.

SEGMENT THREE: The Wrap-Up

50:50 - Orenthal glows about the Golden Age of Comic Book Movies in his "Popfiendish" segment.

LINKS

Here are the sites Andrea mentioned in the episode:

"Won't You Be My Neighbor" Day - http://www.fci.org/neighbor

NYPL's Stuff for the Teen Age List - http://www.nypl.org/books/sta2009/

In this episode, Orenthal and John talk a lot about Knight Rider, despite Andrea's best attempts to stop them.  In addition, Andrea gives a preview of teen vampire works (for the Twilight fans), Keith reviews Dollhouse, David rants about comic "events", and Derrick reviews Gran Torino.  Plus, Michael Burstein sits down and talks about his award nominated anthology, I Remember the Future. Don't forget to rate the episode below and to comment on it - here. Also, listen for your chance to win a copy of I Remember the Future.

Segment One - Bringing it to the Table

3:16 - Andrea talks about the Razzies and offers her prediction for the Worst Movie of 2008.

10:58 - Orenthal offers an apology to the ten Knight Rider fans as he has found the fun in the reboot.

16:20 - Promo for Doctor Who: Podshock.

Segment Two - Reviews

17:45 - Andrea offers a variety of teen vampire works for the kids.

25:08 - David rants about the evils of comic events.

34:02 - Derrick reviews Gran Torino.

37:48 - Keith reviews Dollhouse.

48:52 - Promo for the Better in the Dark podcast.

Segment Three - Michael Burstein Interview (50:48)

 Michael A. Burstein, winner of the 1997 Campbell Award for Best New Writer, has earned ten Hugo nominations and three Nebula nominations for his short fiction, collected in I Remember the Future. Burstein lives with his wife Nomi in the town of Brookline, Massachusetts, where he is an elected Town Meeting Member and Library Trustee. When not writing, he edits middle and high school Science textbooks. He has two degrees in Physics and attended the Clarion Workshop. More information on Burstein and his work can be found on his webpage, http://www.mabfan.com. Photo by Nomi Burstein.

Segment Four- Conclusion

1:22:05 - Promo for The Dome audio drama.

Show Notes

Please take a moment to rate this episode at the bottom of this entry and to comment on it in ourforum.  Make sure you listen for your chance to win a set of the Star Trek Destiny trilogy.

Segment One - Bringing it to the Table

1:56 - Keith talks about the the television show Leverage and the related website Kung Fu Monkey.

4:04 - Andrea comments on the lack of wide release of the DVD for the documentary, American Teen.

7:24 - Jay is mostly happy to see the return of Lost.

13:37 - Orenthal and John debate the merits of the reboot of Knight Rider - well, not really.

20:41 - Promo for the third season of the Paul McGann Doctor Who audios.

Segment Two - Reviews

22:45 - Andrea makes a case for Street Gang and Wishful Drinking.

31:29 - Keith presents the first annual Taters.

41:55 - Promo for the Generic Movie podcast.

Segment Three - David Mack Interview (44:01)

 David Mack is the national bestselling author of more than a dozen books, including Wildfire, Harbinger, Reap the Whirlwind, Road of Bones, and the Star Trek Destiny trilogy — Gods of Night,Mere Mortals, and Lost Souls.

In addition to novels, Mack's diverse writing credits span several media, including television (for episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine), film, short fiction, magazines, newspapers, comic books, computer games, radio, and the Internet.

Upcoming novels by David Mack include the supernatural thriller The Calling, his first original novel; Promises Broken, a novel of The 4400; and Precipice, the fifth installment of the acclaimed Star Trek Vanguard series.

Mack has been to shows in every Rush concert tour since 1982, and he finally met two-thirds of the band in 2007. He currently resides in New York City with his wife, Kara.

Segment Four

1:11:06 - Promo for Goz's Grumpy World Podcast.

1:12:50 - Orenthal is upset that another childhood favorite, The Electric Company, is pissed on.

1:23:55 - Letters from our listeners.

1:29:19 - Trivia Contest - Win David Mack's latest Star Trek trilogy.

1:31:30 - Plugs

Our fourth episode features news, reviews and an interview.  Check it out and make sure to rate the episode here and comment on it here!  In addition, check out the video player at the bottom of the page featuring another episode of the old TV series.  Mike Fichera, who is appearing in this episode of the podcast, appears in the TV episode dealing with the effectiveness of special effects.

Table of Contents

1. Each of the gang brings something cool and new to the table.
2. Andrea reviews reviews What It Is by Lynda Barry, Dilbert 2.0: 20 Years of Dilbert by Scott Adams, and Nerds on Parade by Dave Kellett. (21:50)
3. Rhymephile fills us in on the releases of X-Files: I Want to Believe and The Dark Knight.  (25:30)
4. David looks at some great gift ideas, including the Grant Morrison All-Star Superman collections, for the comic collector we all know and find odd. (35:00)
5. Keith reviews Primeval and Sanctuary, plus fills us in on Sons of Anarchy. (41:50)
6. Orenthal speaks with Mike Fichera about Marvel Comics' newsest release, Amazing Spider-Man 08 Yearbook, a recap of the dramatic events in the life of Peter Parker in the past year. (49:25)
7. Orenthal opines about this year's Philcon in his Pop Fiendish segment. (1:06:25)

 Mike Fichera - Inspired by the death of great-grandfather Cacciatore ("the Hunter"), killed by a spider bite on a Sicilian farm, Mike began a lifelong interest in the wall-crawler. Like Peter Parker, he grew up in Queens, NY playing with microscopes, computers, and science kits, hoping to create web-fluid and gain spider powers. His sister provided his first comic: Spidey Super Stories #12. Faithfully scrapbooking the newspaper dailies for many years, he joined Spiderfan.org when the web was young becoming a staff writer. After helping write and organize the Spider-Man Encyclopedia, Mike's first official writing credits began with the Spider-Man 2005 Handbook and subsequently in the 2006 A-to-Z series.

Since then, Mike has contributed to the A-to-Z 2007 Updates, the "Legacy" Handbooks for the 1960s, 70s, 80s, and 90s, various spotlight Handbooks for Iron Man, Hulk, and X-Men, as well as the Marvel Atlas. In 2007, he led theSpider-Man: Back in Black Handbook, and this year, he's led the 2008 Spider-Man Yearbook coming out on his birthday, Christmas Eve, December 24. The Yearbook is half "Saga" - which will be a recap of 2008's Spider-stories, and half Handbook focusing on the new characters to debut this year, as well as some old ones who popped up (including the Squid and Scorpia). He's currently working on the A-to-Z Permiere Hardcovers, which repackage all the various Handbooks from 2004 to the present, with updates and polishing of the graphics.

In addition to image refurbishment, his artwork has been featured in a few Handbooks including the Spider-Slayers, and a biology text-book cross-section of Spider-Man's arm back when he had organic webbing.

His expertise has been featured on AM Atlanta with Tom Hughes and the syndicated Mitch Albom Show.