Bonding. James Bonding.
May 4, 2014 2:34 PM Subscribe
Bonding over Bond: Superego’s Matt Gourley and Matt Mira of The Nerdist Podcast love James Bond so much they decided to make a podcast about it. Each episode they invite a guest to take a serious — and seriously funny! — deep dive into “the greatest film franchise known to man.” Oh, and it's called James Bonding! (Of course there are Paul F. Tompkins epsiodes, why do you ask?)
Superego, previously & previously
The Nerdist Podcast, previously
Bonus Superego cut: M asks Bond, “How British am I?” [SLYT]
- 002 - SKYFALL with Steve Agee
- 011 - MISSION BRIEFING #1
- 017 - MISSION BRIEFING #2
Superego, previously & previously
The Nerdist Podcast, previously
Bonus Superego cut: M asks Bond, “How British am I?” [SLYT]
James Bond: Running Out of Steam. "This time, it's purely contractual!"
posted by yoink at 3:02 PM on May 4, 2014
posted by yoink at 3:02 PM on May 4, 2014
It's got high points but god damn does this show desperately need some editing. For starters I have no desire to hear them blandly explain the order of the episodes to every single guest, and the little skits they break off into ought to be cut down by 75%.
(Matt & Matt undeniably have a rapport and I do love the Bond movies, this just turned out to be quite a letdown for me around the From Russia With Love episode)
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 3:18 PM on May 4, 2014
(Matt & Matt undeniably have a rapport and I do love the Bond movies, this just turned out to be quite a letdown for me around the From Russia With Love episode)
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 3:18 PM on May 4, 2014
Oh man, I want this to be good, but I've been spoiled (in the good way) by the Revolutions/History of Rome podcast and the comments here are not encouraging.
posted by immlass at 3:25 PM on May 4, 2014
posted by immlass at 3:25 PM on May 4, 2014
The franchise is dead to me until Herzog directs
posted by thelonius at 3:47 PM on May 4, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by thelonius at 3:47 PM on May 4, 2014 [1 favorite]
Yeah, I'm sure it's a fine podcast, but nothing will top the run of Bond Movie chats Dan Benjamin and John Gruber had on The Talk Show back in the day.
posted by SansPoint at 3:57 PM on May 4, 2014 [4 favorites]
posted by SansPoint at 3:57 PM on May 4, 2014 [4 favorites]
Well I've been enjoying it. I do get a little sick of the impressions.
posted by condour75 at 5:32 PM on May 4, 2014
posted by condour75 at 5:32 PM on May 4, 2014
Alie and Georgia are great. They had never seen a James Bond movie and spent the whole Goldfinger episode just ripping on it for being awful and misogynist. And then Matt and Matt brought them in for the live episode to say something good about Casino Royale, and they hated that too. I thought they were outstanding, but they apparently got a ton of flack online from Nerdist fanboys who didn't like their sacred cows being tipped.
I do get a little sick of the impressions.
Matt Gourley's Ian Fleming is hilarious to me and I wish he just stayed in that character all the time. ("Chai-tea Chai-tea Byahng Byahng.") But Matt Gourley's characters are all hilarious to me. I cannot wait for Fleming to show up on The Dead Authors Podcast.
posted by painquale at 6:44 PM on May 4, 2014 [3 favorites]
I do get a little sick of the impressions.
Matt Gourley's Ian Fleming is hilarious to me and I wish he just stayed in that character all the time. ("Chai-tea Chai-tea Byahng Byahng.") But Matt Gourley's characters are all hilarious to me. I cannot wait for Fleming to show up on The Dead Authors Podcast.
posted by painquale at 6:44 PM on May 4, 2014 [3 favorites]
This is my current most-listenened-to podcast. I like the skits and impressions very much, but I do wish there was a little less off-topic banter and a lot less eating (and chatter about what's being eaten) during the show. And also that they would stop attempting to sing that godawful theme song they came up with.
posted by milk white peacock at 4:39 AM on May 5, 2014
posted by milk white peacock at 4:39 AM on May 5, 2014
For me, the value of James Bonding is mostly that it's one of the few pop culture-centric outlets that's capable of expressing an overwhelming fondness for what's being discussed, while being very upfront about the fact that the films being discussed, objectively, are very silly and usually not worth taking particularly seriously.
Even when discussing the more universally beloved films of the series, Matt and Matt are very upfront about the fact that these movies, objectively, aren't great. They're occasionally culturally important and frequently memorably bizarre, but that can (and should) be discussed in the context of these being colorful fluff. It's pretty refreshing.
It reminds me of how Chris Sims at ComicsAlliance writes about arcane superhero trivia. He discusses it with authority, and with an enormous amount of affection, while never losing sight of the fact that it's all essentially ridiculous. It's just nice to see critics and cultural scholars having a healthy and intelligent relationship with their passion of choice.
All that said, I agree that they could have used a judicious editor, particularly given that this is a podcast with an expiration date baked into its premise. I mean, I actually like its rough, shaggy nature, but no one wants to hear the hosts discuss their holiday travel plans with their guests for twenty minutes. (That said, I found Mission Briefing #2, where no film was discussed and they just talked about Matt Gourley's formative years working at California Adventure, to be their best episode to date.)
posted by incomple at 7:57 AM on May 5, 2014 [1 favorite]
Even when discussing the more universally beloved films of the series, Matt and Matt are very upfront about the fact that these movies, objectively, aren't great. They're occasionally culturally important and frequently memorably bizarre, but that can (and should) be discussed in the context of these being colorful fluff. It's pretty refreshing.
It reminds me of how Chris Sims at ComicsAlliance writes about arcane superhero trivia. He discusses it with authority, and with an enormous amount of affection, while never losing sight of the fact that it's all essentially ridiculous. It's just nice to see critics and cultural scholars having a healthy and intelligent relationship with their passion of choice.
All that said, I agree that they could have used a judicious editor, particularly given that this is a podcast with an expiration date baked into its premise. I mean, I actually like its rough, shaggy nature, but no one wants to hear the hosts discuss their holiday travel plans with their guests for twenty minutes. (That said, I found Mission Briefing #2, where no film was discussed and they just talked about Matt Gourley's formative years working at California Adventure, to be their best episode to date.)
posted by incomple at 7:57 AM on May 5, 2014 [1 favorite]
I can't listen to the podcasts right now, but they're bookmarked for much later goodness. I sispwect they'll be good late-night unwinding material.
I've experiences James Bonding as a real-life phenomenon, though. Being an obsessive 007 fan has given me the opportunity to make connections with all sorts of people I'm not sure I'd have thought I had anything else in common with. There's something in the series for all kind of people: general film buffs, historians, tech geeks, fashion experts, action junkies, genre fans (multiple genre fans, even!), devotees of particular actors, cheese- and beefcake enthusiasts, nitpickers, tentpolers, everybody.
And even when people bicker or disagree on what works or doesn't work in the series, by and large it doesn't seem to fall into the truly bitter acrimony it can in other fandoms. There was SOME of that with the sharp turn into grimdark that came in the late 2000's, but the production company stayed classy and didn't encourange it (unlike some others have done), and so a lot of the fans seem to have remained civil to each other, as well.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 9:27 AM on May 5, 2014
I've experiences James Bonding as a real-life phenomenon, though. Being an obsessive 007 fan has given me the opportunity to make connections with all sorts of people I'm not sure I'd have thought I had anything else in common with. There's something in the series for all kind of people: general film buffs, historians, tech geeks, fashion experts, action junkies, genre fans (multiple genre fans, even!), devotees of particular actors, cheese- and beefcake enthusiasts, nitpickers, tentpolers, everybody.
And even when people bicker or disagree on what works or doesn't work in the series, by and large it doesn't seem to fall into the truly bitter acrimony it can in other fandoms. There was SOME of that with the sharp turn into grimdark that came in the late 2000's, but the production company stayed classy and didn't encourange it (unlike some others have done), and so a lot of the fans seem to have remained civil to each other, as well.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 9:27 AM on May 5, 2014
I've been listening to these, but they are a slog. The stupid little jokes are fine and all, but they bog down the conversation so much they never get back to the point the speaker was making. Every time Casino Royale is mentioned, they need to repeat the title in that silly accent 4 or 5 times, and they they just giggle so much they forget whatever comparison they were making regarding Casino Royale.
On the Skyfall one, it took them 14 minutes to actually talk about the movie.
posted by spaltavian at 8:40 AM on May 13, 2014 [1 favorite]
On the Skyfall one, it took them 14 minutes to actually talk about the movie.
posted by spaltavian at 8:40 AM on May 13, 2014 [1 favorite]
Welcome to podcasts.
Podcasts by comedians are basically never about the topic they are nominally about. The topic is just a scaffold for riffs.
posted by painquale at 10:58 AM on May 13, 2014
Podcasts by comedians are basically never about the topic they are nominally about. The topic is just a scaffold for riffs.
posted by painquale at 10:58 AM on May 13, 2014
I don't want to shock you, but I've actually listened to podcasts before, ones that are tighter than this one, and need no welcome.
posted by spaltavian at 11:24 AM on May 13, 2014
posted by spaltavian at 11:24 AM on May 13, 2014
Matt Mira's career puzzles me. He must be very prompt or a good friend or always have a pen or something.
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 11:43 AM on May 13, 2014
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 11:43 AM on May 13, 2014
I didn't mean for that to sound like an insult.
Scott Aukerman and Adam Scott's U2 podcast is the ultimate podcast of this sort. They go whole podcasts barely talking about U2, and it's a running gag. It's pretty much just a parody of podcasts like this James Bond one.
posted by painquale at 12:07 PM on May 13, 2014 [1 favorite]
Scott Aukerman and Adam Scott's U2 podcast is the ultimate podcast of this sort. They go whole podcasts barely talking about U2, and it's a running gag. It's pretty much just a parody of podcasts like this James Bond one.
posted by painquale at 12:07 PM on May 13, 2014 [1 favorite]
Except this one does talk about James Bond. Not, you know, all the time, but enough that if you're listening for the comedy bits you'd be more frustrated than if you're in it just for the talk about the movies. I'd peg it at about a 60/40 split.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 12:19 PM on May 13, 2014
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 12:19 PM on May 13, 2014
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posted by John Shaft at 2:52 PM on May 4, 2014