Hello, Kaiju Lovers! We meet now…at the end of all things. Or at least the end of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters season 2. Nate gushes over what might be the best episode of the series, discussing the Kong vs. Titan X fight, the show’s trademark “drama logic,” and the unfortunately spoiled surprise at the end. (Hint: It ties to one of MIFV’s most popular episodes). Then Nate concludes with his theories about where season 3 could potentially go, if the series is renewed and gives his final thoughts on the season as a whole.
We’d like to give a shout-out to our free MIFV MAX patrons on Patreon: Cordell Stevens, John Pannozzi, Jacob Heron, Cool Cat Videos, Bransbow, Sean Sullivan, Frankie Wolf, Russel Hale, FRIEN Jadge, Bob Hard, ArtsieSteph, Robert O’Brien, DD Chief, Kaye, Nobody, The Indiscrite One, Clayton Warden, Enigma, Dave Blanken, Patrick Greenlaw, Mikki, Josh Baughan, Shane Cochran, and Francis Chopin.
Hello, Kaiju Lovers! In part 2 of the originally Patreon-exclusive weekly coverage of season 2 of AppleTV+’s Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, the show’s valleys start manifesting—but this stretch episodes also includes Godzilla. For one episode, Nate had to look up a Japanese children’s song he’d never heard, for one thing. There is a character death, an obvious revelation, and a gimmicky “meeting” between Wyatt and Kurt Russell as Lee Shaw. Thankfully, it did get onto an upward trajectory. What’d you think of these episodes? Part 3 will drop Friday.
We’d like to give a shout-out to our free MIFV MAX patrons on Patreon: Cordell Stevens, John Pannozzi, Jacob Heron, Cool Cat Videos, Bransbow, Sean Sullivan, Frankie Wolf, Russel Hale, FRIEN Jadge, Bob Hard, ArtsieSteph, Robert O’Brien, DD Chief, Kaye, Nobody, The Indiscrite One, Clayton Warden, Enigma, Dave Blanken, Patrick Greenlaw, Mikki, Josh Baughan, Shane Cochran, and Francis Chopin.
Hello, Kaiju Lovers! In this compilation of originally Patreon-exclusive weekly coverage, Nate (and Jimmy From NASA) dives into the first four episodes of season two of AppleTV+’s Monarch: Legacy of Monsters. Nate argues it starts off strong and starts hitting some valleys relatively soon. He ends up a little disappointed that Titan X isn’t quite like H.P. Lovecraft’s Dagon as much as he wanted. What did you think of these episodes? Part 2 will be posted Wednesday.
We’d like to give a shout-out to our free MIFV MAX patrons on Patreon: Cordell Stevens, John Pannozzi, Jacob Heron, Cool Cat Videos, Bransbow, Sean Sullivan, Frankie Wolf, Russel Hale, FRIEN Jadge, Bob Hard, ArtsieSteph, Robert O’Brien, DD Chief, Kaye, Nobody, The Indiscrite One, Clayton Warden, Enigma, Dave Blanken, Patrick Greenlaw, Mikki, Josh Baughan, Shane Cochran, and Francis Chopin.
Hello Kaiju Lovers! Because Matt Walsh (no, not that Matt Walsh) is a crazy man who just happened to be on the Island to play Super Mario at a kids party, he jumped to the joke tier on our Patreon called “Jimmy’s Intern” (again). This time, it’s to discuss a 1979 movie directed by John Frankenheimer (The Manchurian Candidate, 1962) that has a pseudo-kaiju bear voiced by Megatron and played by the Predator and stars Rocky Balboa’s girlfriend. (For SEO purposes, that’s Frank Welker, Kevin Peter Hall, and Talia Shire). Jimmy has the day off for this one, which may or may not have been a good idea. Matt argues the movie is better than its reputation. Meanwhile, Nate adds three moments—including a cult status-worthy scene of “peak cinema”—to his “not on my bingo card” list. Also, John was drunk.
Additional Music: “End Credits” by Leonard Rosenman (from the Prophecy OST)
We’d like to give a shout-out to our free MIFV MAX patrons on Patreon: Cordell Stevens, John Pannozzi, Jacob Heron, Cool Cat Videos, Bransbow, Sean Sullivan, Frankie Wolf, Russel Hale, FRIEN Jadge, Bob Hard, ArtsieSteph, Robert O’Brien, DD Chief, Kaye, Nobody, The Indiscrite One, Clayton Warden, Enigma, Dave Blanken, Patrick Greenlaw, Mikki, Josh Baughan, Shane Cochran, and Francis Chopin.
Hello, Kaiju Lovers! Nate (technically) reaches the Heisei Era of “Godzilla Redux” with The Return of Godzilla (aka “Godzilla 1984”). He’s joined by kaiju author Neil Riebe (who saw it in the theatre!) and the “unapologetic apologist” for the Heisei series, Andrew Wynja “The Ninja.” They get into how this is the only true “Cold War” G-film and offers a uniquely Japanese perspective that was almost completely lost in Roger Corman’s heavily re-edited Americanized version, Godzilla 1985. If history isn’t your thing, they also discuss the amazing special effects by Teruyoshi Nakano, Kenpachiro Satsuma’s first performance as Big G, and the incredible score by Reijiro Koroku, among other things. Strap in!
We’d like to give a shout-out to our free MIFV MAX patrons on Patreon: Cordell Stevens, John Pannozzi, Jacob Heron, Cool Cat Videos, Bransbow, Sean Sullivan, Frankie Wolf, Russel Hale, FRIEN Jadge, Bob Hard, ArtsieSteph, Robert O’Brien, DD Chief, Kaye, Nobody, The Indiscrite One, Clayton Warden, Enigma, Dave Blanken, Patrick Greenlaw, Mikki, Josh Baughan, Shane Cochran, and Francis Chopin.
Hello, Kaiju Lovers! You’re not only getting a double feature in this episode of “The Ultra Journey” but also the long-awaited return of one of MIFV’s first guests, Nick Hayden. Nate also returns to one of MIFV’s original conceits: showing a kaiju/tokusatsu movie to someone who hasn’t seen it. This time, it’s the Ultraman Zearth duology. These quirky parodies feature an Ultraman trying to conquer his own trauma and phobias more than the deliciously evil alien supervillains. No, Zearth’s true archenemies are mud and a volleyball. Strap in for Nate having too much fun with his new equipment and for discussions of strangely “NSFW” scenes in kids’ superhero movies. The Toku Topics are mysophobia (aka “germophobia”) and hypochondria, because the former plagues poor Zearth in his first cinematic outing.
We’d like to give a shout-out to our free MIFV MAX patrons on Patreon: Cordell Stevens, John Pannozzi, Jacob Heron, Cool Cat Videos, Bransbow, Sean Sullivan, Frankie Wolf, Russel Hale, FRIEN Jadge, Bob Hard, ArtsieSteph, Robert O’Brien, DD Chief, Kaye, Nobody, The Indiscrite One, Clayton Warden, Enigma, Dave Blanken, Patrick Greenlaw, Mikki, Josh Baughan, Shane Cochran, and Francis Chopin.
LeMay, John. The Big Book of Japanese Giant Monster Movies, Volume 2: 1984-2017. Bicep Books, 2017.
Mobley D, Baum NH, Beattie A, Nemeroff C. “When Imagination Becomes a Disease: Dealing With Hypochondriacal Patients in Clinical Practice.” Ochsner J. 2019 Summer;19(2):70-73. doi: 10.31486/toj.18.0123. PMID: 31258417; PMCID: PMC6584190.
Hello, Kaiju Lovers! “Godzilla Redux” kicks off with not one but two “gatekeepers” in the kaiju fandom: Jack “GMan” Hudgens and Elijah Thomas (Kaiju Conversation). They along with Nate spend nearly four hours(!) talking about why they effing love the final Showa series film, Terror of Mechagodzilla. It was Nate and Elijah’s first G-film and is one of Jack’s perennial favorites. While many regard it as Ishiro Honda’s weakest Godzilla film and barely give it more credit than the rest of the 1970s G-films, your hosts unpack a laundry list of deep themes and potent symbols. They sing the praises of the wonderful script by Yukiko Takayama (the only woman to write a full Godzilla screenplay), the exciting explosions of Teruyoshi Nakano (who considered this some of his best work), the grossly underrated kaiju Titanosaurus, and the nuanced performance of Akihiko Hirata as Dr. Mafune, among many other things. No stone is left unturned in this epic discussion! Then in the most entertaining Patreon shout-outs segment ever of all time, a certain Mr. Trump (by way of Elijah) appears….
Additional Music: “Main Title [Terror of Mechagodzilla]” by Akira Ifukube
We’d like to give a shout-out to our free MIFV MAX patrons on Patreon: Cordell Stevens, John Pannozzi, Jacob Heron, Cool Cat Videos, Bransbow, Sean Sullivan, Frankie Wolf, Russel Hale, FRIEN Jadge, Bob Hard, ArtsieSteph, Robert O’Brien, DD Chief, Kaye, Nobody, The Indiscrite One, Clayton Warden, Enigma, Dave Blanken, Patrick Greenlaw, Mikki, Josh Baughan, Shane Cochran, and Francis Chopin.
Barr, Jason. The Kaiju Film: A Critical Study of Cinema’s Biggest Monsters. McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. 2016.
Brothers, Peter H. Mushroom Clouds and Mushroom Men: The Fantastic Cinema of Ishiro Honda. AuthorHouse, 2009.
Commentary by Keith Aikan and Bob Thomas (Classic Media DVD).
Galbraith IV, Stuart. Japanese Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films: A Critical Analysis and Filmography of 103 Features Released in the United States, 1950-1992. McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. 1994.
Kalat, David. A Critical History and Filmography of Toho’s Godzilla Series (2nd edition). McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. 2017.
Lees, J.D. and Marc Cerasini. The Official Godzilla Compendium. Random House. 1998.
LeMay, John. The Big Book of Japanese Giant Monster Movies, Volume 1: 1954-1982 (2nd edition). Bicep Books, 2017.
LeMay, John. Writing Japanese Monsters. Bicep Books. 2020.
Ryfle, Steve, and Ed Godziszewski. Ishiro Honda: A Life in Film, from Godzilla to Kurosawa. Wesleyan University Press, 2017.
Skipper, Graham. Godzilla: The Official Guide to the King of the Monsters. Welbeck Publishing Group. 2022.
Hello, Kaiju Lovers, and welcome season five! It kicks off with the appropriately-titled Ultraman: The Adventure Begins, an animated movie produced in 1987 by Hanna-Barbera. Yes, the studio that brought you Superfriends and Scooby-Doo made the first all-original Ultraman movie! Nate could think of no better guests for this than Drew Dodgen and Jacob Heron (who also created the cover art for this episode) from The Cel Cast. Given that this episode officially marks MIFV’s induction into the Culture Box Network, it’s even more appropriate. While Nate battles weird headaches all episode, he and them Cel Cast boys dive deep into this failed TV pilot and discuss…“diabeetus.” Yeah, it confused Jimmy From NASA, too. To celebrate the Ultra Series’ 60th anniversary and get the uninitiated up to speed, the Toku Topic is a crash course in the history of the Ultraman franchise. Take your first step on The Ultra Journey!
We’d like to give a shout-out to our free MIFV MAX patrons on Patreon: Cordell Stevens, John Pannozzi, Jacob Heron, Cool Cat Videos, Bransbow, Sean Sullivan, Frankie Wolf, Russel Hale, FRIEN Jadge, Bob Hard, ArtsieSteph, Robert O’Brien, DD Chief, Kaye, Nobody, The Indiscrite One, Clayton Warden, Enigma, Dave Blanken, Patrick Greenlaw, Mikki, Josh Baughan, Shane Cochran, and Francis Chopin.
Hello, Kaiju Lovers. Jimmy From NASA here. I’m writing the shownotes for this episode, because, as you’ll hear, Nate had a hard time during this broadcast. In fact, he’s been having a hard time all season; he was just good at hiding it on the air. I wanted to let you know before hearing this. Anyway, Nate discusses a Patreon-sponsored double feature from former (and future?) MIFV MAX member Brad “Batman” Eddleman with The Amazing Colossal Man and War of the Colossal Beast (1957 and 1958, respectively). These Bert I. Gordon movies hold a nostalgic place of honor for Nate, because these were the first episodes of Mystery Science Theatre 3000 he ever saw. The first one, as Nate argues, is better than most people realize, while the sequel…isn’t. But for MSTies, these are controversial movies thanks to the widow of AIP’s co-founder. You’ll learn about these and more in MIFV’s season four finale!
Episode edited by Jesse Blount and Nathan Marchand.
We’d like to give a shout-out to our MIFV MAX patrons Danny DiManna (author/creator of the Godzilla Novelization Project); Damon Noyes, The Cel Cast, TofuFury, Eric Anderson of Nerd Chapel, Wynja the Ninja, Christopher Riner, The Indiscrite One, Eli Harris, Jake Hambrick, Matt Walsh (but not that Matt Walsh), Jonathan Courtright, Leon Campbell, Michael Watson, Sam Allred, and Devin Torrence! Thanks for your support!
Warren, Bill. Keep Watching the Skies! American Science Fiction Movies of the Fifties, Vol. 1 and 2 – The 21st Century Edition. McFarland & Company, Inc., 2016.
War of the Colossal Beast blu-ray special features:
“Size Matters: Bert I. Gordon at AIP”
Commentary by C. Courtney Joyner, Donald F. Glut, and Eric Hoffman
