Episode 1109 - What Got Us Through 2020

[RSS]

Saying "2020 sucked" is the understatement of all understatements. But what got us through it? That's what Dan and Mike are here to discuss today. From Jimmy Olsen to Hitman, a new Twitter feed to discovering YouTube channels, the guys look at what brought them comfort during very rough times. [ 1:49:30 || 54.6 MB ]

 

[Davedevil]

TV: One of my friends convinced me and another friend to watch Star Trek: The Next Generation and Battlestar Galactica with her, then it expanded to include Star Trek TOS. I never thought I'd be into Star Trek, but about here I am about 200 episodes later (I also added Enterprise to watch by myself). Having Dan and Mike doing a podcast that covers two of those things is a good motivator for that too.

Speaking of things Mike and Dan cover, I realized this past month that I missed Doctor Who. Thanks to HBO Max, I rewatched the Capaldi era up to where I stopped, a couple episodes into s10, and finally saw what was beyond that. It's not a perfect era but I adore it for taking some big risks for the show. I just started Whittaker's second season and it's pretty decent. I enjoy the cast more than the stories, but the eye candy thanks to the seemingly bigger budget per episode is enough to get me through.

In addition to this, I subscribed to BritBox, so that's Classic Who covered, mostly Hartnell and Pertwee for now.

Reading: Comics and books weren't holding my attention quite so much already, quarantine pretty much killed that outside of reading for grad school.

Video games: I still play Apex Legends and Mortal Kombat 11 as I used to prior to quarantine, with the occasional PS+ free game like the BioShock collection. 

I got really into Dragon Age while waiting for new RPGs to come out. I dug DA II a lot (flaws and all), and Inquisition is a blast. Those games are different from Mass Effect in that it feels like you're the DM for a whole universe, by virtue of switching up the cast every installment but keeping past characters around.

Podcasts: My listening rate has actually gone up as far as podcasts. Mortal Podkast and Retronauts are two of the ones I'd recommend most highly. The former's an entertaining look at the MK universe through the lens of a character at a time, the latter is a retro games show that digs into other topics too (their Doctor Who episode was what sparked me getting back into the show).

[slothian]

All Elite Wrestling: Seeing the thing you love (wrestling) done right (AEW) and not bastardized by a senile evil motherfucker hellbent on world domination (Mr Burns Vince McMahon). It isn't perfect but it gave me something to look forward to on a weekly basis.

YouTube: Primarily Cultaholic, covering the above and WWE, so that I was aware of what they were doing without having to pay McMahon anything. But I got into Colbert and Seth Meyers in a big way over the election to inauguration coverage, as well as Last Week Tonight. Not James Corden. Never James Corden.

Radio 3: America has country music, which is hilarious. How literally quaint! Despite Brexit trying to gravitate the UK from Europe towards the US, the fact we have a BBC channel for classical musical is a godsend. Much like Mike/Dan/Des talking about comics, the world of classical music is not going to be something I ever truly understand, but I am actually happy enjoying classical music on a surface level without bothering to know about any of the nuance of composition, musicianship and history of recordings throughout the ages.

Gaming: I have an N64 I can't play due to some issue with the technical set-up. Until Pandy can fix this, I have invested a lot of time into TEW - a wrestling simulator. Which is fun in its challenge as I shape my own AEW.

Cooking: I do not enjoy cooking or cookery programmes. That being said, my health is dependant on what I put into my body so I have been learning more recipes in the past 12 months. Specifically when I visited my 100 year old grandmother for two nights in September, I tried out my new Chicken and Mushroom Stroganoff and Creamy Tuscan Shrimp dishes, neither of which I knew how to do in 2019, and they received well enough that I'm probably still in the will.

[Professor]

UpUpDownDown Uno: I know Mike mentioned it on the episode, but this makes me laugh more than anything in the past year.  The game meta they have created, the alter egos, and all the friendly banter.  Personal favorite is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZKaZ3IwxXw.
 

NXT: Much like Ian with AEW, NXT gave me something to look forward to each week.   Also, I really missed NXT UK when it went on hiatus and think it has been a welcome addition.

Post Wrestling:  Like Ian and Cultaholic (who are fantastic), the Post Wrestling family of podcasts kept me up to date on everything going on in the industry.  It also helped that they were almost daily.  Having 90ish minutes each day that I didn't have to think of something to do.

Adam Savage's Tested:  Been a fan for years.  But Adam has always been so busy doing many things that the series I like the most (One Day Builds) were not the most plentiful.  Well, that changed.  He was on lockdown like the rest of us, so he went into the shop and did things.  I find making to be very relaxing and the increase of output was great.

Board Game Arena:  Couldn't have board game nights.  And I don't video game.  But this site (and discord) allowed us to still hang out and play some games.  Just learned Puerto Rico last weekend.  Fantastic game.

My own DIY projects:  Not on the same level, but I had various project of my own around the house.  I had the parts already, just now had the time. Felt good to wake up with a plan and have a finished thing at the end of the day.

GrandPooBear:  He a constant on YouTube.  Watching someone play Mario Maker or Among Us is really mindless, but that is needed.  Was great to have on in the background.  And randomly, GPB playing Among Us with the UUDD Uno Crew always entertained.

And finally:

Massively outdated Dread Media:  I've been hopelessly behind for a few years now.  Once I went back to work,  I was able to catch up on a lot of podcasts.  Dread Media was not one of them.  Basically I was home April-July.  Everything podcast I listen to was in some way informed by pandemic.  So fuck all that, I went back to Dread Media.  Apparently I was in late 2018 when I fell off.  Having over a year of content without the world being on fire was exactly what I needed.  It finally came up Millhouse.