The Punisher season 2 Review

It was...ok. It definitely started out solid then it got very disjointed in the middle through the ending. I am a fan of the original 80’s ‘Jigsaw’ storyline and I really thought they were going that route but then they didn’t. Ben Barnes was great in that role of ‘He who shall not be called Jigsaw’, not sure why they chose not to use that name, maybe because of the Saw movies? 

Jon Bernthal is great as always as Frank Castle and the rest of the cast is alright. I liked the character of ‘Microchip’ from season one and was waiting for his return...which didn’t happen. 

The character of John Pilgrim was fascinating and a very awesome presence on screen, but his character too was cut short from reaching his true potential before the end of the season. 

It was an ok season, definitely not as good as the first. Kinda sad considering Netflix is going to probably cancel this Marvel series as well. But at least it ended with The Punisher kicking ass as he should. 

Season rating: 3***out of 5. 

What to expect from The Pop Culture Pub Podcast

As you may or may not know about me is that I am a Podcaster. I started podcasting back in the fall of 2012 when I started my ‘Random Nerdness Podcast’, which was a studio recorded podcast I did with my sister and friend as co-Podcasters and my brother in law as producer. I then joined and helped co-create the ‘Geek Fallout Podcast’ with Richard Rehder and Jeff Brown. I ultimately stopped RN after a couple years and ended up taking over GF as it’s Editor-in-Chief. 

But for personal reasons I wrapped up my time with GF February 2018 and decided to “retire” from podcasting. After a few months of sitting out I began to miss the conversations I had with my co-podcasters. I had planned on launching a new podcast called ‘Pop Culture Hindsight’ for fall 2018, but that fell through as my heart just wasn’t in it then. And in early January 2019 I stumbled upon some old podcasts I had recorded in 2016 and had a blast listening to them. You see when I started out I would listen to every episode I recorded, but as the years went on I stopped listening to every episode. So it was like listening to someone else talk when I gave those old episodes a listen. I then got the desire to return to podcasting. Thus ‘The Pop Culture Pub Podcast’ was created. 

I asked my old podcast friend Jason Roberts if he would join me as my ‘Co-Host’ and he agreed. We will be pre-recording topic based discussion episodes. We will be avoiding pop culture ‘news’ discussions. It is my hope listeners will look at our list of episodes and be able to pick any episode and have it not have dated material, which a news discussion podcast would do. 

We will not necessarily be a weekly podcast, we are looking to drop 2 or more episodes a month, and we will at times take breaks as both Jason and I are working fathers. We do this podcast for fun and for free. Aside from our collaborative episodes I will also be recording solo episodes where I will be tackling topics on my own. For example I recorded episodes titled ‘The State of Star Trek’ and ‘Social Media Backlash’, which will be released in the coming weeks. 

February 15th our podcast launches with ‘Avengers Infinity War/Endgame Discussion & Predictions’, a hour and a half episode with Jason and myself. 

Hope you give us a chance! 

-Chris

The Pop Culture Pub Podcast

COMING FEBRUARY 15TH 2019: The first episode of 'The Pop Culture Pub Podcast', with hosts Chris Lockhart and Jason Roberts (both formally from 'Geek Fallout' & 'The Random Nerdness Podcast'). 

The first episode topic will be a Avengers Infinity War/Endgame Discussion & Predictions. 

The episode will be available on iTunes and at https://thepopculturepub.podbean.com/

Mark it on your calendars: FEBRUARY 15TH!!

Long Time Running

I highly recommend checking out this film if you are a fan of the band, or just a fan of rock in general. 

Too many cooks in the Star Trek Discovery kitchen?

I think I may have an understanding as to why Star Trek Discovery seems a bit disjointed. There are way too many cooks in the kitchen. When I was watching the opening credits of the most recent season 2 episode I noticed the following: 

• 2 co-producers
• 3 producers
• 1 consulting producer
• 6 co-executive producers
• 9 executive producers. 

Way too many cooks...

Now compare season 2 of Star Trek The Next Generation:

• 1 associate producer 
• 3 producers 
• 3 co-executive producers
• 1 executive producer 

8 producers on TNG compared to 21 on Discovery. TNG had 1 Executive Producer who had overall final say, that man was Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry. Roddenberry had Co-Executive producer Maurice Hurley running the writers room and Co-Executive Rick Berman ran the business side. 

Discovery has 9 Executive Producers! Perhaps 9 people pulling things in the directions they want, hence why for me and many people the series overall feels disjointed. Originally it was supposed to be Bryan Fuller as show runner with his overall vision guiding the show but he left Discovery early on from what I read was because of creative differences. 

Anyway I do hope someone (Or someone’s)ultimately takes the reigns of Star Trek Discovery and steers this ship in one proper direction, like Rick Berman & Michael Pillar did in season 3 of Star Trek The Next Generation. 

Bohemian Rhapsody: my favourite non-comic book/sci-fi movie of 2018

Back in November I saw ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ in theatres and it reinvigorated my love for the band Queen. Yesterday I bought it on iTunes and watched it with Crystal (her first viewing). Even though I know how it ends, I know the real life story of Freddie Mercury...I found myself bawling like a little baby. Such an amazing film and tribute to a great man and great band. Absolute legends all of them. 🙂

I highly suggest you check it out dear reader! 

Michael B Jordan as ‘Superman’?

So I saw an article on Facebook that Warner Brothers/DC are thinking of casting actor Michael B Jordan as their new ‘Superman’. I don’t know why they want to part ways with Henry Cavill, his portrayal of Supes was great. The reasons for Superman’s recent flops don’t lie with Cavill but rather the material he was forced to work with. DC comics did do a Barrack Obama inspired Superman on another Earth so maybe he’ll be playing that version...

But some fans argue that this a lame stunt. I agree but problem is established character names sells tickets. And even stunt casting creates buzz which translates to more butts in seats which means more $$$. Sometimes big business steps on what we fans want.

Honestly the more I think of it ‘Superman’ is one of the few characters I don’t mind being changed, in terms of race. In 1938 had Jerry Seigel and Joe Shuster tried to sell him as a black character he never would have been published. It’s just the way things were back then. So if they want to change it up I’m ok with it. But I do understand why people would want it to stay the same as well. 

 I think DC is looking at all the accolades that ‘Black Panther’ has received and they are wondering how to compete with Marvel. So they think to cast a part of Black Panthers success (Michael B Jordon) as their new ‘Superman’... (sadly in a lot of ways DC is a step behind their rivals...)