Is that the rousing sound of Carl Orff’s O Fortuna assaulting our ears? Yes, it’s time for a genuine “round table” discussion: this episode we look back at Excalibur, John Boorman’s 1981 whirlwind tour of Arthurian legend. Based on the 15th-century prose work Le Morte d'Arthur by Thomas Malory, which collected together many popular legends about King Arthur and his knights, Boorman’s film takes us from Arthur’s conception through to his death, taking in the rise and fall of Camelot and the quest for the Holy Grail. It stars Nicol Williamson, Helen Mirren, Liam Neeson, Gabriel Byrne, Patrick Stewart and other top Thespians. We’re joined for this magical mosey into the misty middle ages by Joe Abercrombie, bestselling fantasy author of the First Law series, The Shattered Sea books, the Age Of Madness trilogy and more. His latest novel, The Wisdom Of Crowds, drops on 14 September 2021 from Gollancz (Orbit in the US). Joe is a Locus Award winner, an avid gamer, and a social media master with the moniker Lord Grimdark. You can find out more about him at his official site https://joeabercrombie.com/. Looking for more recent TV and film recommendations? We’re happy to help there too. First up: The Suicide Squad, and a moment so funny that our Dave laughs the cat off his desk. True story. Yes, we hitch a ride with DC’s worst of the worst – and silliest of the silliest – to see if it trumps 2016’s definite-article-free Suicide Squad. Then it’s a show so good that NBC pulled the plug – only for it to become a big hit on Netflix. We get Lost with mystery drama Manifest.  There’s all this plus Marvel’s What If…?, BBC’s Ghosts and more “requels”, in Robby The Robot’s Waiting, the podcast that is a dream to some – a nightmare to others! NB There’s no news section this time – we’ve stopped doing that, but we’ll be introducing a monthly news round-up podcast you can hear separately! See our new website www.robbyscifi.com for details.  Episode highlights: 0:01:00 – WHAT WE’VE BEEN WATCHING: The Suicide Squad, Manifest, Ghosts, and Marvel’s What If…? 0:31:19 – Meet guest Joe Abercrombie! What has he been enjoying on his 72 streaming services? Includes Marvel on Disney Plus and Dark on Netflix. 0:38:01 – Joe Abercrombie introduces his new book The Wisdom Of Crowds, the third novel in his Age Of Madness trilogy. 0:47:07 – REWIND! We rewatch John Boorman 1981 swords-and-sorcery epic Excalibur. Who do we think we are? Richard Edwards: film and TV journalist and a former editor of SFX https://twitter.com/RichDEdwards Tanavi Patel: entertainment reporter for SFX magazine and Digital Spy, panel moderator for MCM, FanExpo and more https://twitter.com/tanavip Dave Bradley: writer, gamer, book reviewer and another former editor of SFX, who reveals here that he studied medieval literature back in the day https://twitter.com/BoxDaveB SPECIAL GUEST! Joe Abercrombie is an acclaimed fantasy author. His first book, The Blade Itself, was published in 2006 and began the celebrated First Law series. His latest novel, The Wisdom Of Crowds, is published on 14 September 2021 https://twitter.com/LordGrimdark

We’ve received a premonition of the future and we predict that you’re about to listen to an hour and a bit of sci-fi and fantasy chat. Thanks to our pre-cog mates, we’ve also learned that we’ll be talking about Steven Spielberg’s remarkably prescient Philip K Dick adaptation, Minority Report. We’ll be joined this episode by author, futuregazer and games industry expert Kelly Vero.  Join us on a trip back 19 years to Steven Spielberg’s thriller Minority Report, in which a troubled cop played by Tom Cruise goes on the run after his psychic pre-crime division predicts he’ll be the next guy to commit a murder. It’s a juicy conspiracy plot in the tradition of the best noir mysteries, but it also touches upon themes of free will and ethical policing, as well as building a vision of 2054 where personalised advertising and driverless cars are everywhere.  Meanwhile, fabulous secret powers were revealed to us the day we held aloft our magic sword and said “By the power of Grayskull!” Yes, we’ve been watching Kevin Smith’s Masters Of The Universe reboot, as well as Trollhunters, Wellington Paranormal, Old, American Gods and more. Plus: Space Sweepers, Memories Of The Alhambra and more – our guest this week is Kelly Vero, who shares Tanavi’s love of Korean sci-fi. So if you’re in need of recommendations for new sci-fi films and shows to watch, enjoy their dive into the best Korean entertainment you can find on services like Netflix. In Kelly’s company, we also speculate about the next Doctor Who, watch the new Ghostbusters Afterlife trailer, consider the Battle Of The Planets reboot and loads more. There’s all this plus the Exorcist and fond memories of Ulysses 31 in Robby The Robot’s Waiting, the podcast that knows what you’ve done before you’ve done it. NB. Please forgive the variable audio quality in the first five minutes, we had a recording issue.  Episode highlights: 0:01:00: WHAT WE'VE BEEN WATCHING! Featuring Masters Of The Universe, Old and more 0:23:05: Meet our special guest Kelly Vero – and listen in on our introduction to Korean sci-fi! 0:36:42: REWIND! We discuss the 2002 hit Minority Report. 1:05:51: THE NEWS! In which we discuss Doctor Who, Ghostbusters, Superman, Battle Of The Planets, The Exorcist and loads more. You may be interested to know this is the last time we'll cover the news in this format - we're running things slightly more efficiently from next episode. The voices in your ears: Richard Edwards: film and TV journalist and a former editor of SFX https://twitter.com/RichDEdwards Tanavi Patel: entertainment reporter for SFX magazine and Digital Spy, panel moderator for MCM, FanExpo and more https://twitter.com/tanavip Dave Bradley: writer, gamer, book reviewer and another former editor of SFX https://twitter.com/BoxDaveB SPECIAL GUEST! Kelly Vero is an author, game maker, podcaster, lecturer, investor, mentor, futuregazer and general “creative badass”. https://twitter.com/electricgeisha Have you visited our sci-fi podcast website? Please visit www.robbyscifi.com and leave us feedback and suggestions.

Join us on a trip back 30 years, as we rewatch Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Rightly regarded as a landmark in movie special effects, James Cameron’s 1991 classic remains a much-loved action film and a high point in the Terminator franchise. The film follows Sarah and John Connor (Linda Hamilton and Edward Furlong) as they are targetted by an advanced, shape-shifting Terminator from the future (Robert Patrick). They are accompanied by a version of the original Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger), sent back in time to protect them. Are we still fans, after all this time? Which of us saw it at the cinema first time around? How does it compare to other action films? We don our shades, dust off our leather jackets and discuss. Meanwhile, we’ve watched The Watch. But would we watch it again? We give our verdict on TV’s Discworld adaptation, now streaming on BBC iPlayer. We’ve also seen Black Widow at the cinema and The Tomorrow War on Amazon Prime. This week your podcast pals are joined by Matt Maytum, a journalist, editor and movie reviewer, famous from the pages of Total Film magazine. You can hear Matt regularly on the official Inside Total Film podcast. He shares his recent Disney+ finds (Monsters At Work and Loki). In his company we also commemorate the passing of Richard Donner, consider what Good Omens 2 might bring, pore over the latest trailers, and lament the cancellation of Lovecraft Country and Cursed.  There’s all this plus Asimov confessions, Lucasfilm’s lawyers, and Chekhov’s father-in-law, in Robby The Robot’s Waiting, the podcast constructed from a prototype mimetic polyalloy. Episode highlights: 0:00:51: WHAT WE'VE BEEN WATCHING! Black Widow, The Watch, The Tomorrow War 0:26:48: Meet Matt Maytum, from Total Film in London, who’s been watching Monsters At Work and Loki 0:32:24: REWIND! We discuss the time travelling terrors of Terminator 2 1:00:00: THE NEWS! Featuring Richard Donner RIP, Foundation, Good Omens 2, Star Wars Visions, Zack Snyder’s Star Wars-inspired movie, Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings, Old Guard 2, Lovecraft Country, Cursed, and Simon Pegg’s Galaxy Quest TV show They absolutely will not stop: Richard Edwards: a film and TV journalist and a former editor of SFX https://twitter.com/RichDEdwards Tanavi Patel: entertainment reporter for SFX magazine and Digital Spy, panel moderator for MCM, FanExpo and more https://twitter.com/tanavip Dave Bradley: writer, gamer, book reviewer and another former editor of SFX https://twitter.com/BoxDaveB SPECIAL GUEST! Matt Maytum is a writer, movie critic and deputy editor of Total Film magazine https://twitter.com/mattmaytum Have you bookmarked our website? Please visit www.robbyscifi.com and leave us feedback and suggestions

Black holes. Warped time. The end of the world! It’s all relativity as we look back – and forward – at Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar. We're joined by Andrew Glester, acclaimed science writer, award-winning radio presenter and podcast host, film producer and director. Andrew's Cosmic Shed podcast was recently named as one of the Guardian's Favourite Podcasts, and he's also worked with BBC Worldwide, The Natural History Museum, Physics World, and more. He's perfectly placed to help us understand the time- and space-bending drama of Interstellar. The 2014 epic stars Matthew McConaughey as an astronaut recruited to save a dying Earth by piloting the ship Endurance across space (and time). From theoretical physics to a complete contempt for physics… Fast & Furious 9 takes a muscle car into orbit – and it’s not the most implausible thing about the movie. We're also watching last year's time loop comedy Palm Springs, plus Luca, Mars, The Bad Batch and more. And there’s all this plus Who, Q and Lord Of The Rings too in our news section. Welcome to the latest Robby the Robot’s Waiting, the podcast that understands the gravity of the situation. Episode highlights: 0:00:53: WHAT WE'VE BEEN WATCHING! Fast & Furious 9, Luca, Mars season 2, Palm Springs [beware: minor spoilers] 0:25:22: Meet Andrew Glester, who's been watching The Bad Batch and Netflix space movies 0:32:10: REWIND! We discuss the highs and lows of Interstellar [beware: relativistic physics] 1:04:59: THE NEWS! Featuring a Marvel/DC crossover, an animated Middle-earth spin-off, Jodie Whittaker leaving Doctor Who, Star Trek: Picard trailer (with added Riker pizza), Jameela Jamil in She-Hulk, The Book of Boba Fett and more Your surplus military robots: Tanavi Patel: entertainment reporter for SFX magazine and Digital Spy, panel moderator for MCM, FanExpo and more. https://twitter.com/tanavip Dave Bradley: writer, gamer, book reviewer and a former editor of SFX. https://twitter.com/BoxDaveB Richard Edwards: film and TV journalist and another former editor of SFX. https://twitter.com/RichDEdwards SPECIAL GUEST! Andrew Glester is a science communicator, podcast host, lecturer, director and producer. https://twitter.com/astrondrew We have a website now! Please bookmark www.robbyscifi.com immediately.

We’ve got answers, but if you’re looking for questions… Well, you’re going to have to ask Deep Thought. We take a trip through life, the universe and everything as we celebrate The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy.  Which is the definitive version of Douglas Adams' masterpiece? The radio series hit airwaves in 1978, the first novel followed in 1979, there's a much-loved 1980s TV series and oft-maligned 2005 movie, with videogames, comics and stageplays appearing along the way. Saturated with Adams unique voice, the story is infinitely quotable and hugely influential. Join us as we spend an evening celebrating its humour, sci-fi credentials and memorable characters.  We take our trip to the planet Magrathea in the company of writer, editor, book reviewer and Doctor Who superfan Rhian Drinkwater, who'll be a familiar name to followers of SFX magazine and the Arthur C Clarke Award.  Shhh… Don’t tell anyone but we’ve seen A Quiet Place Part II. Is it worth shouting about? We've also caught Loki on Disney+ and post-apocalyptic fairytale Sweet Tooth and new episodes of Lucifer on Netflix.  As usual, we take a wry look at the latest sci-fi announcements too. Jupiter’s Legacy has been cancelled, Sandman casting has ruffled fan feathers, and Hugh Jackman dazzles in the trailer for high-concept film Reminiscence. There’s all this, plus Pushing Daisies, Marvel movie news, a bleeped-out bad word, and a proposed Disneyland trip, in Robby The Robot’s Waiting, the podcast that’s mostly harmless. #VoteRobby Please vote for us in the Listeners’ Choice Award, supported by BBC Sounds! Head to https://www.britishpodcastawards.com/vote and type Robby The Robot's Waiting in the search box, enter your details and hit Submit. Thank you! Episode highlights: 00:00:38 – What we’re watching: Loki, Sweet Tooth, A Quiet Place II, Lucifer 00:27:32 – Meet guest Rhian Drinkwater (plus: Star Wars and Marvel rewatch, Black Water Sister by Zen Cho, Inside Number 9) 00:33:06 – The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, in all its glorious forms. 01:04:57 – News: Jupiter’s Legacy, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Kraven The Hunter, JJ Abrams, Sandman, Reminiscence  Bipedal ape descendants: Tanavi Patel: entertainment reporter for SFX magazine and Digital Spy, panel moderator for MCM, FanExpo and more. https://twitter.com/tanavip Dave Bradley: writer, gamer, book reviewer and a former editor of SFX. https://twitter.com/BoxDaveB Richard Edwards: film and TV journalist and another former editor of SFX. https://twitter.com/RichDEdwards SPECIAL GUEST! Rhian Drinkwater is a writer, editor, awards judge, Doctor Who expert and regular contributor to SFX magazine. https://twitter.com/rhian82 We have a website now! Please bookmark www.robbyscifi.com immediately.

Don’t lose your head! Your sci-fi podcast is back for its second season. We’ll be rewatching 1986 sword-and-accents fantasy Highlander in the company of top author Guy Haley. Plus we’ll reveal the current shows we recommend, and cast our eyes over the news. It’s a lot of fun and – gasp! – features our first ever bleep censor. We check out The Nevers, the Victorian women-with-mysterious-powers show originated by Joss Whedon. And we’ve also watched Army Of The Dead on Netflix, the Ocean's Eleven meets Land of The Dead meets Escape From New York movie by Zack “Snyder Cut” Snyder. Are either worth your time?  Highlander, though, is a classic. Right? We dive into the world of immortals, duelling and Queen riffs to reveal whether it stands the test of time, or is just a moody two-hour rock video. For this rewatch we’re joined by former SFX mag deputy editor Guy Haley, who’s now a prolific and much-loved author. He tells us what he’s been watching and playing this month before we launch into a discussion of how sci-fi has changed in the 21st century. It gets deep. Guy Haley himself has a new book out now, Richards & Klein, plus we talk about his Black Library and Warhammer work. There’s all this plus the latest trailers and announcements, with added Ram-Man, Evil-Lyn and Fisto thanks to Kevin Smith's Masters Of The Universe remake.  Stream or download this chat for free, and join us for a jolly jaunt into sci-fi past, present and future. It’s a kind of magic. Episode highlights: 00:00:53 – What we’re watching: The Nevers, Army Of The Dead 00:14:20 – Meet Guy Haley (plus Jupiter's Legacy, Epic, Inside No 9) 00:18:33 – How has sci-fi changed since the end of the 20th century? 00:25:00 – Guy Haley’s new books 00:32:10 – Highlander! Yes, the original. There can be only one. 00:57:00 – News: Eternals, Last Night In Soho, JJ Abrams, Attack The Block 2, Lucasfilm, The Vindicators, Masters Of The Universe Your hosts: Tanavi Patel: entertainment reporter for SFX magazine and Digital Spy, panel moderator for MCM, FanExpo and more. https://twitter.com/tanavip Dave Bradley: writer, gamer, book reviewer and a former editor of SFX. https://twitter.com/BoxDaveB Richard Edwards: film and TV journalist and another former editor of SFX. https://twitter.com/RichDEdwards SPECIAL GUEST! Guy Haley, author of Richards & Klein and also many best-selling Warhammer novels including those in the Siege Of Terra and Horus Heresy series. https://twitter.com/guyhaley Coming soon! The official Robby The Robot’s Waiting website will launch this summer. Join our newsletter to find out more: https://tinyurl.com/robbynewsletter

We're back! But we haven't yet returned to our original form... As a precursor to the upcoming, hotly anticipated second season of Robby The Robot's Waiting, we've put together an elegantly titled What We've Been Watching And/Or Reading: Special Edition rounding up the sci-fi and fantasy we've been cramming into our eyeballs since we've been on hiatus.  What does "fantasy man" Dave think of Netflix's latest dose of magic? Which superhero show caused Tanavi to rage quit? Why have we been rewatching Green Lantern, FlashForward and Terra Nova? And how much did Chewits influence Godzilla Vs Kong? The answers can all be found here... The following sci-fi/fantasy product is contained within: Shadow And Bone (0:43) For All Mankind (10:26) Project Hail Mary (18:00) The Mitchells Vs The Machines (22.57) Love And Monsters (30:00) Godzilla Vs Kong (32:43) Jupiter's Legacy (37:20) Green Lantern (41:33) FlashForward and Terra Nova (46:29) The Bad Batch (54:09) Our season 2 premiere, featuring our trip back to Highlander, will be heading your way very soon – though not before the end of May, as we claim at the end of this episode. Unless you want to lend us a time machine – we'd be happy to take one off your hands. Your podcast pals: Richard Edwards: film and TV journalist and former editor of leading sci-fi mag SFX. https://twitter.com/RichDEdwards Tanavi Patel: entertainment reporter for SFX and Digital Spy, panel moderator for MCM, FanExpo and more. https://twitter.com/tanavip Dave Bradley: writer, gamer, book reviewer and another former editor of SFX magazine. https://twitter.com/BoxDaveB Robby’s mailing list: We are about to restart the regular podcast. Stay up to date with episode announcements by pointing us at your inbox. Here's the sign-up link: https://tinyurl.com/robbynewsletter

The latest MCU series felt like a film told in six instalments. Soaring action, powerful themes, exotic locations, old allies and new foes... it's been a thrill ride. We've had a week to recover from the finale of The Falcon And The Winter Soldier, with its battles and character reveals. So what did we think of it overall? The six-episode Marvel series ran weekly on Disney+ and took us on a fraught journey across a world dealing with the outcomes of Avengers: Endgame. In many respects, it's an origin story for our new Captain America. With some familiar faces from the films and new villains in the form of the Flag Smashers, it tackled issues of race, identity, history, propaganda, personal trauma, guilt, justice and politics. And it delivered the kind of aerial fight scenes more usually witnessed on the big screen.  With superhero fans still buzzing about it, it's time to take a break from our regular podcast format and discuss the adventures of Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes in depth. Did we love the series as much as WandaVision? What stories touched us most? Where does the Marvel universe go from here? All this and more, in about 40 minutes of informal chat.  Be warned, this episode contains whopping spoilers for the Marvel and Disney+ original series. We assume you’ve seen every episode, and are aware of all the twists. You must only listen to this recording if you're up to date. Seriously, if you haven’t watched to the end, stay away until you've caught up. Your podcast pals: Richard Edwards: film and TV journalist and former editor of leading sci-fi mag SFX. https://twitter.com/RichDEdwards Tanavi Patel: entertainment reporter for SFX and Digital Spy, panel moderator for MCM, FanExpo and more. https://twitter.com/tanavip Dave Bradley: writer, gamer, book reviewer and another former editor of SFX magazine. https://twitter.com/BoxDaveB Robby’s mailing list: We are about to restart the regular podcast, with season two coming your way in late May. Stay up to date with episode announcements by pointing us at your inbox. Here's the sign-up link: https://tinyurl.com/robbynewsletter

Found it! Yes, the famous lost episode of Robby The Robot’s Waiting – the one that got lost somewhere in the deepest depths of outer space (aka the internet) – has been rediscovered and unleashed in the direction of your eardrums. After one of our audio tracks went missing, we re-recorded most of the podcast to make sure you didn’t miss out on our chat about The Black Hole. Now it’s back from the other side of reality – and it’s epic.  We’re joined by John Singh, a publicity mastermind who’s worked for companies like Disney and Lucasfilm, to talk about Disney’s first attempt to ‘do’ Star Wars. Why does The Black Hole have more in common with 2001: A Space Odyssey than galaxies far, far away? How did The Boy Who Talked To Badgers play a part in its genesis? And what’s with that ending? We’ve got the skinny on one of the weirdest – yet most ambitious – movies ever to come out of the House of Mouse. Elsewhere, it’s a trip back in time as we discuss what we were watching in early March – before we’d even seen the WandaVision finale. We give our verdicts on Snowpiercer, Greenland, For All Mankind and Servant.  And with Disney Plus making weekly appointment television fashionable again with WandaVision, The Falcon And The Winter Soldier and The Mandalorian, we debate the best way to watch TV – once-a-week or all-in-one binge? That’s not all, either, because we take our usual voyage through the strange new worlds of sci-fi news. Look out for our takes on the proposed Thanksgiving San Diego Comic-Con, George RR Martin bringing Game Of Thrones to the stage, The Suicide Squad trailer, the future of Star Wars, and a ThunderCats movie. Snarf! There’s all that and much more in Robby The Robot’s Waiting, the podcast with its own gravitational pull. (Protection from Maximilian is optional.) Episode highlights: 0:01:30 – What we’ve been watching: The Suicide Squad, Greenland, For All Mankind, Servant 0:01:25 – To binge or not to binge, that is the question... 0:31:24 – What has special guest John Singh been watching? Joe Versus The Volcano gets its first-ever Robby The Robot’s Waiting mention 0:36:26 – Rewind! Our retro segment this week looks back at The Black Hole (1979) – available to view now on Disney Plus 1:13:15 – News! The Suicide Squad, San Diego Comic-Con, ThunderCats, Game Of Thrones on stage and Star Wars Your intrepid crew: Richard Edwards: film and TV journalist and former editor of SFX magazine. https://twitter.com/RichDEdwards Tanavi Patel: entertainment reporter for SFX and Digital Spy, panel moderator for MCM, FanExpo and more. https://twitter.com/tanavip Dave Bradley: writer, gamer, book reviewer and another former editor of SFX. https://twitter.com/BoxDaveB SPECIAL GUEST! John Singh has spent more than 20 years of his life working in publicity and media relations for The Walt Disney Company and Lucasfilm, including launching Star Wars Celebration Europe, and introducing D23, Disney's fan club, and the D23 Expo. He’s also worked with Frank Oz and the Saturn Awards. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2089678/ Join our newsletter: https://tinyurl.com/robbynewsletter Attention! There are now 18 episodes in season one of Robby The Robot's Waiting, plus a bunch of standalones. We'll be back with a special dedicated to The Falcon And The Winter Soldier next week, and then season two begins in earnest next month. Stay tuned!

Good news, everyone! We’re hitching a ride to the 31st century with Planet Express, to celebrate the animated comedy genius of Futurama with our guest, writer and broadcaster Yael Tygiel. You can catch up on Matt Groening and David X Cohen’s sci-fi cartoon too because all 140 episodes are available now on Disney+. Is it still funny? We think so.  A waste of time or a four-hour epic of “I told you so” proportions? We discuss Zack Snyder’s Justice League and how it deviates from the 2017 version.  Meanwhile, we’ve also been watching the start of Marvel’s latest TV offering, Falcon And The Winter Soldier, plus time-travel comedy film Naked, Twelve Monkeys the TV show, high-concept Netflix series The One, and Pacific Rim: The Black, the animated series set in the world of Kaiju and Jaegers. Join us as we share our recommendations (or warnings).  We take aim at the sci-fi news too, checking out Victorian superheroes in the trailer for The Nevers, and Melissa McCarthy and Octavia Spencer’s middle-aged superheroes in the first trailer for Thunder Force. JJ Abrams is back for more Star Trek, and we hear Aladdin’s Mena Massoud will be in the Star Wars show Ahsoka. We natter about Hawkeye spin-off Echo, Captain America, the further delay to Black Widow’s cinema release, Black Adam, Emerald Fennell taking on Zatanna, Batwoman, Michael Keaton in The Flash, a new collection of rare notes from the creator of The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy and more.  And yes, it’s true: this is the season one finale of Robby The Robot’s Waiting! Please catch up on all the episodes so far – we’ll make the “lost” episode 17 available soon too – and then we’ll be back next month with the first of our season two episodes.  Thanks for listening. All glory to the hypnotoad. Episode highlights: 0:01:30 – What we’ve been watching: Zack Snyder’s Justice League, The One and more 0:27:22 – What has special guest Yael Tygiel been watching? Twelve Monkeys! 0:30:17 – Rewind! Our retro segment this week looks at Futurama (1999-2013) 0:57:30 – News! Star Trek, Ahsoka, The Nevers, Black Widow, Thunder Force and more... The lost episode What happened to episode 17? We recorded an edition a couple of weeks ago dedicated to The Black Hole with guest John Singh, former publicity mastermind at companies like Disney and Lucasfilm. Alas, the recording disappeared into an internet black hole of its own. We’re busy resurrecting it, and we’ll publish it in the very near future.  Your podcast pals: Richard Edwards: film and TV journalist and former editor of SFX magazine. https://twitter.com/RichDEdwards Tanavi Patel: entertainment reporter for SFX and Digital Spy, panel moderator for MCM, FanExpo and more. https://twitter.com/tanavip Dave Bradley: writer, gamer, book reviewer and another former editor of SFX. https://twitter.com/BoxDaveB SPECIAL GUEST! Yael Tygiel is a writer published on PopSugar, ComicsBeat, and FANDOM. She hosts Super Lady Hero Hour on FANVERSATION, Have You Tried NOT Being a Podcast on That Hashtag Show, and streams video games on Twitch. https://twitter.com/yaeltygiel Join our newsletter: Don't worry we'll protect your data, and we'll email you when season two is ready to launch! https://tinyurl.com/robbynewsletter

Life moves pretty fast out in the suburbs. It was only last Friday that WandaVision came to an end. So we’ve put together this special episode of magical chat. Across nine episodes, Wanda, Vision, Agnes, Monica, Jimmy, Darcy, Haywood and co have kept us guessing about what’s really happening in Westview, New Jersey. Mixing the tropes of classic sitcoms with flashbacks to the adventures of the Avengers, it’s been event TV in its purest form, expanding the Marvel Cinematic Universe while giving us a unique tale of grief and redemption.  Be aware, this chat contains HUGE SPOILERS for the Disney+ series and assumes you’ve seen all nine episodes to the very end – including post-credit scenes. You must only listen to this episode if you are up to date, and know about all the big reveals. Seriously, if you haven’t watched to the end, stay away – and don’t come back until you’ve binged the lot! You can subscribe to Disney+ at https://www.disneyplus.com/. If you have enjoyed this tale of Westview and its enchanting, and enchanted, inhabitants, please join your three Robby The Robot’s Waiting hosts as they ponder the finale, the season’s mysteries, the in-jokes and what it means for the future of the MCU. Kick ass! Your Westview insiders: Richard Edwards: film and TV journalist and former editor of SFX magazine. https://twitter.com/RichDEdwards Tanavi Patel: entertainment reporter for SFX and Digital Spy, panel moderator for MCM, FanExpo and more. https://twitter.com/tanavip Dave Bradley: writer, gamer, reviewer and another former editor of SFX. https://twitter.com/BoxDaveB Interplanetary connections: Join our mailing list! Get sci-fi podcast announcements straight to your inbox: https://tinyurl.com/robbynewsletter

With great power comes great responsibility – and some great movies. Amazingly, it’s been 17 years since Tobey Maguire’s Peter Parker battled Doc Ock. In the latest episode of your sci-fi and fantasy podcast, the regular podcast gang are joined by author and comic expert Joseph McCabe, to reevaluate arguably the Wallcrawler’s finest screen outing, Spider-Man 2. Need viewing recommendations? We’ve been watching Space Sweepers on Netflix, which sounds like the Space Truckers sequel nobody wanted but is actually at the vanguard of a wave of exciting Korean sci-fi.  Joss Whedon’s been in the news for the wrong reasons and as Buffy and Angel stars speak out about a toxic environment on set, we ask if behind-the-scenes unpleasantness tarnishes classic shows. Meanwhile, one of our favourite characters is dropped from one of our favourite shows: what happened to The Mandalorian’s Gina Carano (Cara Dune)?  Putting controversy behind us, we talk about news of Rian Johnson's Star Wars trilogy and Mike Flanagan's Midnight Club, and discuss the casting of Pedro Pascal in The Last Of Us. The Man Who Fell To Earth is getting a remake too. And there’s all that plus Buck Rogers, Shakespeare in the original Klingon, the latest on George RR Martin’s A Song Of Ice And Fire and more, in Robby The Robot’s Waiting, your friendly neighbourhood podcast. Episode highlights: 0.00.52 What we've been watching (Space Sweepers, Star Wars shows, Pixar Popcorn) 0.14.06 Buffy stars allegations about working with Joss Whedon 00.22.59 Gina Carano dropped from The Mandalorian 0.29.01 What guest Joe McCabe's been watching – and eating! WandaVision, The Mandalorian and breakfast cereal 0.34.10 Rewind! We rewatch Sam Raimi’s 2004 classic Spider-Man 2 0.58.21 The news! RIP Christopher Plummer, Buck Rogers shows in development, Rian Johnson's Star Wars trilogy, Mike Flanagan's Midnight Club, Pedro Pascal in The Last Of Us, The Man Who Fell To Earth, Iron Fist, Truth Seekers and A Song Of Ice And Fire Share the love: Enjoyed this hour of chat with us? Please share the episode link with friends, and leave us a review – a five-star rating is appreciated and helps us spread the word. If you want to help us choose the Rewind topic for a future episode, send your suggestions for classic sci-fi/fantasy movie, TV or book to @Robbyscifi on Twitter, and say why we should talk about it. Your suggestion may be the Robby team’s next rewatch! On the mic: Richard Edwards: film and TV journalist and former editor of SFX magazine. https://twitter.com/RichDEdwards Tanavi Patel: entertainment reporter for SFX and Digital Spy, panel moderator for MCM, FanExpo and more. https://twitter.com/tanavip Dave Bradley: writer, gamer, book reviewer and another former editor of SFX. https://twitter.com/BoxDaveB SPECIAL GUEST! As well as being founding editor-in-chief of DC Universe, Joseph McCabe is an entertainment journalist and author of 100 Things Batman Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die. https://twitter.com/jmacabre Get the newsletter: https://tinyurl.com/robbynewsletter

It’s the end of the world as we know it – and he feels fine! The story of a bleak dystopian future Earth was always unlikely subject matter for an animated movie, but if anyone could make it work, it’s Pixar.  In the latest episode of your sci-fi and fantasy podcast, your regular Robby The Robot’s Waiting team are joined by Radio Times journalist and Disney expert Jo-Anne Rowney to talk about WALL-E, aka R2-D2: The Movie. How were a pair of binoculars integral to the movie’s origins? Has WALL-E shown us the actual future of the human race? And how much do we want to experience the joys of a cupcake in a cup? Never has a film about a big pile of rubbish been quite so captivating.  Elsewhere, we check out new shows Resident Alien (Now TV/Syfy) and Fate: The Winx Saga (Netflix), wonder if Star Trek: Lower Decks (Amazon Prime Video/CBS All Access) has got the right balance between geekery and gags, and give not-really-fantasy sitcom Dead Pixels (E4/All 4) a free pass. And for anyone who remembers the days when UK TV screens were jam-packed with the genre likes of Doctor Who, Primeval, Torchwood, Misfits, Being Human and, er, Hyperdrive, we ask where all the British sci-fi telly has gone.  Beyond all that, we remember late Babylon 5 star Mira Furlan, wonder if the world needs more Harry Potter and Game Of Thrones, get excited about a Wakanda TV show, and debate the title of the upcoming Matrix 4. There’s all this and more in Robby The Robot’s Waiting, the podcast that cleans up the mess while you’re away. Episode highlights: 0:00:48 – Fate: The Winx Saga, Resident Alien, Star Trek: Lower Decks and Dead Pixels 0:13:42 – Where did all the British sci-fi TV go? 0:24:15 – Robby The Robot's Writing. Your words, not ours!  0:26:50 – Guest writer Jo-Anne Rowney’s genre faves: WandaVision and Superman 0:33:02 – Rewind: our retro section revisits WALL-E 0:55:16 – The news! Featuring Babylon 5’s Mira Furlan, Harry Potter and Game Of Thrones, Wakanda TV show, more movie release date delays, Epic (aka Once Upon A Time 2), Willy Wonka: The Early Years, The Suicide Squad and The Matrix 4. Share and enjoy: Enjoyed this episode? Please share the link to this episode with friends, and leave us a review – a five-star rating is always appreciated and helps us spread the word. If you want to help us choose the Rewind topic for our March episode, send your suggestions for classic sci-fi/fantasy movie, TV episode, book (delete as appropriate) to @Robbyscifi on Twitter – and tell us why we should talk about it. Our favourite suggestion will be immortalised by the Robby team. Your podcast pals: Richard Edwards: film and TV journalist and former editor of SFX magazine. https://twitter.com/RichDEdwards Tanavi Patel: entertainment reporter for SFX and Digital Spy, panel moderator for MCM, FanExpo and more. https://twitter.com/tanavip Dave Bradley: writer, gamer, book reviewer and another former editor of SFX. https://twitter.com/BoxDaveB SPECIAL GUEST! Jo-Anne Rowney is a journalist for the Radio Times and also a Disney uber-fan. https://twitter.com/JoAnne_Rowney Join our newsletter: https://tinyurl.com/robbynewsletter

Welcome to the latest episode of your sci-fi and fantasy podcast, where three top genre journalists lead you through the best of past, current and upcoming TV, movies and books. It’s like getting a top sci-fi and fantasy magazine delivered in audio form, so buckle up for an hour of chat where geekery comes as standard. We celebrate 15 seasons of demon-slaying carnage in Supernatural. But where should newcomers begin with so many years of a show? We’re joined by journalist, columnist and Supernatural superfan Jayne Nelson, who explains why the show remains so popular and suggests some places to jump on. What do our Winchester virgins make of Castiel’s first appearance in the season 4 opener? Meanwhile, we review the first episodes of WandaVision. We also check out Outside The Wire on Netflix and A Discovery Of Witches on Sky One, The Expanse on Amazon Prime and the weird new Peaky Batman series Pennyworth.  Lots of Marvel, Star Wars and Lord Of The Rings is all well and good, but wouldn’t it be nice to watch something different for a change? Are they starving oxygen from everything else? We wonder if sci-fi and fantasy are in danger of getting a bit repetitive, as the big franchises grow ever bigger.  Speaking of which, there’s yet more Marvel, Star Wars and Lord Of The Rings in the news! But we also cast our eyes at Galaxy Quest 2 rumours… There’s all this and more in Robby The Robot’s Waiting, the podcast that drives around in a 1967 Chevrolet Impala. Episode highlights: 0:01:00 – What we've been watching: WandaVision, A Discovery Of Witches, Outside The Wire 0:14:58 – Are big franchises taking over? 0:25:25 – Robby The Robot's Writing: thank you for your feedback! The playlist compiled by listener James Edwards is at https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2DlEuIA9sngtu2JW0rfWTJ?si=lunwe0FXRICka7KKUb6k0A 0:27:23 – Guest Jayne Nelson’s current TV faves: The Expanse and Pennyworth 0:33:02 – Rewind: we (re)watch Supernatural in our retro section 0:55:38 – The news! Featuring The Lord Of The Rings on TV, Deadpool 3 in the MCU, is Kevin Feige the greatest producer ever, Qui-Gon Jinn's return, a new Star Wars game, and Galaxy Quest 2. Share and enjoy: Please share the link to this episode, and leave us a review – a five-star rating is always appreciated and helps us spread the word. Your podcast pals: Richard Edwards: film and TV journalist and former editor of SFX magazine. https://twitter.com/RichDEdwards Tanavi Patel: entertainment reporter for SFX and Digital Spy, panel moderator for MCM, FanExpo and more. https://twitter.com/tanavip Dave Bradley: writer, gamer, book reviewer and another former editor of SFX. https://twitter.com/BoxDaveB SPECIAL GUEST! Jayne Nelson is a film and TV journalist, columnist, and experienced writer/sub-editor for a range of publications. https://twitter.com/kakapojayne Stay in touch: Get episode announcements straight to your inbox https://tinyurl.com/robbynewsletter

Hailing frequencies open! With the latest season of Star Trek Discovery coming to end last week, it’s time to take a break from our regular podcast format and discuss the adventures of Michael Burnham and crew in depth.  Be aware, this chat contains huge spoilers for the CBS/Netflix series and assumes you’ve seen seasons 1, 2 and 3. You must only listen to this episode if you are up to date, and know about all the big reveals. Seriously, if you haven’t sat to the end, stay away – and don’t come back until you’ve binged the lot! It's on Netflix in the UK (https://www.netflix.com/title/80126024) and CBS All Access in the US (https://www.cbs.com/shows/star-trek-discovery/).  If you’ve enjoyed this tale of the 32nd century, please join your three Robby The Robot’s Waiting crewmates as they ponder the finale and the highs and lows of this season’s action. Let’s fly!  Your bridge crew: Richard Edwards: film and TV journalist and former editor of SFX magazine. https://twitter.com/RichDEdwards Tanavi Patel: entertainment reporter for SFX and Digital Spy, panel moderator for MCM, FanExpo and more. https://twitter.com/tanavip Dave Bradley: writer, gamer, reviewer and another former editor of SFX. https://twitter.com/BoxDaveB Interplanetary connections: Join our mailing list! Get Robby’s announcements straight to your inbox https://tinyurl.com/robbynewsletter Verification token: GjchujYiHgRGFG0GZTDR

Happy New Year, and welcome to our first episode of 2021. Thank you to all our listeners who have been with us on this journey. If you’re new to Robby The Robot’s Waiting: welcome! You’ll find some geeky chat, a wry look at the sci-fi news, some what-we’re-watching recommendations, and a look back at a classic of the genre in the company of a top guest. This episode we’re joined by Jonathan Wright, journalist and editor, an expert on literary SF, the publisher of Adventure Rocketship! and a regular in the pages of SFX magazine. The topic under discussion? Usually, we check out a vintage movie or TV show, but today you’ll hear about Terry Pratchett’s novel Night Watch. Yep, it’s destination Ankh Morpork as we set coordinates for Discworld to talk about one of Sir Terry’s finest novels (which, with a theme of policing and civil unrest, seems more relevant than ever). Meanwhile, we’ve been checking out Pixar’s Soul, the New Year’s Day edition of Doctor Who, The Midnight Sky, The Expanse and more... Lockdowns are a pain but they’re a good excuse to watch a lot of streaming TV and films. We also discuss Star Wars: The High Republic, the latest on DC and Marvel’s bids for world domination (including Wonder Woman 3), TV ghost stories, The Elder Scrolls – Terry Pratchett’s favourite video game, fact fans – finally becoming a TV show, Steven Seagal tributes, the big Lost rewatch, Scotty in space, and loads more. Episode highlights: 0.00.53 – What we've been watching: Soul, The Midnight Sky, Doctor Who New Year Special, The Expanse, Star Wars: The High Republic, Sci-Fi Blindness on Radio 4 and more 0.19.04 – Robby The Robot's Writing: our new listener feedback section (all correspondence welcome!) 0.23.01 – Meet our guest Jonathan Wright. He’s been watching Soul and reading The Library Of The Dead by TL Huchu 0.25.13 – Rewind: we’re celebrating a book in this week’s retro section, rather than a TV show or film. Sir Terry Pratchett’s Night Watch takes us back to a turbulent time in Discworld’s past 0.53.02 – News! Wonder Woman 3, more DC movies on HBO Max, MCU on TV, The Book of Boba Fett, no more The Haunting Of...s, His Dark Materials gets a third season, Elder Scrolls on TV, Scotty in space and loads more Your podcast pals: Richard Edwards: film and TV journalist and former editor of SFX magazine. https://twitter.com/RichDEdwards Tanavi Patel: entertainment reporter for SFX and Digital Spy, panel moderator for MCM, FanExpo and more. https://twitter.com/tanavip Dave Bradley: writer, gamer, book reviewer and another former editor of SFX. https://twitter.com/BoxDaveB SPECIAL GUEST! Jonathan Wright is a highly-regarded journalist, critic, editor and book guru (BBC History Mag, SFX, Adventure Rocketship) https://twitter.com/Jonathanw101 Robby’s mailing list: Get episode announcements straight to your inbox https://tinyurl.com/robbynewsletter

At the end of a year when planet Earth turned into a total-immersion version of a post-apocalyptic sci-fi movie, the Robby The Robot’s Waiting team take the only logical course of action – we look back on a year of TV and film.  While 2020 in cinema was as much about the films we didn’t see as the films we did – would Birds Of Prey be making it into top five lists in any other year? – TV has arguably never been better.  So, join Robby regulars Dave, Tanavi and Richard – and our special guest, journalist and author Tara Bennett – for a journey through Star Treks, virtual watercoolers, and superheroes. And yes, we do talk about Doctor Who – eventually...  We also look ahead to what’s (hopefully) going to be exciting us on screens big and small in 2021.  Happy new year to all our listeners. Thanks for all the downloads in 2020 – there’ll be loads more in 2021!  Episode highlights:  0.01.05 – What we HAVEN’T been able to see in this strange, pandemic year  0.03.36 – What new films did we enjoy in 2020? Tenet, The New Mutants, Birds Of Prey, Bill And Ted, and more  0.21.40 – Our pick of shows on TV and streaming services: The Mandalorian, Servant, What We Do In The Shadows, The Good Place, Star Trek (Picard and DIscovery), Space Force, Arrow, Red Dwarf, and loads more  0.44.09 – Doctor Who series 12  0.48.40 – What are we looking forward to in 2021?  Your bounty hunters:  Richard Edwards: film and TV journalist and former editor of SFX magazine https://twitter.com/RichDEdwards   Tanavi Patel: entertainment reporter for SFX and Digital Spy, panel moderator for MCM, FanExpo and more https://twitter.com/tanavip   Dave Bradley: writer, gamer, book reviewer and another former editor of SFX. https://twitter.com/BoxDaveB   SPECIAL GUEST! Tara Bennett is an author, journalist, US editor of SFX magazine and senior producer at SYFY WIRE https://twitter.com/TaraDBennett   Robby’s awesome mailing list:  Get episode announcements straight to your inbox https://tinyurl.com/robbynewsletter

Christmas has been an eclectic mix for the Robby The Robot’s Waiting team. The premise of our "Christmas gifts" was to introduce our co-hosts to something they've not seen before. Having ventured into ’80s fantasy territory with Hawk The Slayer, before braving the Spanish Civil War chills of The Devil’s Backbone, we’re off for a jaunt to the decidedly odd Maine town of Haven. In the third of our festive specials, the Stephen King adaptation was Tanavi’s pick for Richard and Dave to watch. We invited freelance journalist, TV expert and former SFX editor Dave Golder along for the ride to remember what TV was like at the start of the decade. Join us as we wonder why such a small town has so many amenities, ask if Haven’s part of the same world as The X-Files, and celebrate a show that brought The Thing to small-town America. The voices of the troubled:  Richard Edwards: film and TV journalist and former editor of SFX magazine. https://twitter.com/RichDEdwards Tanavi Patel: entertainment reporter for SFX and Digital Spy, panel moderator for MCM, FanExpo and more. https://twitter.com/tanavip Dave Bradley: writer, gamer, book reviewer and another former editor of SFX. https://twitter.com/BoxDaveB SPECIAL GUEST! Dave Golder: genre journo, author of books about post-apocalypses and film posters, another former editor of SFX magazine (http://www.sfx.co.uk) and an expert on sci-fi and fantasy TV. https://twitter.com/davegolder Robby’s sci-fi mailing list: Get episode announcements straight to your inbox! https://tinyurl.com/robbynewsletter

We've reinvented the concept of Christmas presents this year. Instead of handing out actual tangible gifts, Tanavi, Dave and Richard – aka the Robby The Robot's Waiting podcast team – have each chosen a favourite movie or TV show for the other two to watch. The only rule is that they can't have seen it before.  Following Dave's pick of Hawk The Slayer, Richard has gone for early Guillermo del Toro masterpiece The Devil's Backbone, a Spanish Civil War-set story about a haunting in an orphanage. And an unexploded bomb.  We've also invited along Den Of Geek UK editor (and horror expert) Rosie Fletcher to help us discuss a kids' adventure movie with a very dark edge. Expect chat about spooks in bubbles, men called Pig and the value of marbles made of snot… Your voices in the dark:  Richard Edwards: film and TV journalist and former editor of SFX magazine. https://twitter.com/RichDEdwards Tanavi Patel: entertainment reporter for SFX and Digital Spy, panel moderator for MCM, FanExpo and more. https://twitter.com/tanavip Dave Bradley: writer, gamer, book reviewer and another former editor of SFX. https://twitter.com/BoxDaveB SPECIAL GUEST! Rosie Fletcher: writer, horror expert, UK editor of Den Of Geek. https://twitter.com/rosarellafletch Robby’s sci-fi mailing list: Get episode announcements straight to your inbox! https://tinyurl.com/robbynewsletter

Merry Christmas! In three special festive episodes of Robby The Robot's Waiting, we're handing out Christmas presents... in a manner of speaking. In each one, regular hosts Dave, Tanavi and Richard have chosen a movie or TV show the others have never seen before to find out what they think – and to share the joy of sci-fi and fantasy this festive season. First up is Dave's pick, Hawk The Slayer. Is it a classic of ’80s fantasy? Or is it just the butt of a joke in Spaced? To help us decide, we've brought along a special guest: Jason Kingsley OBE. Jason is the CEO of Rebellion, publisher of hit videogames Sniper Elite and Alien Vs Predator, not to mention the galaxy's greatest comic, 2000 AD. He's also held the Mind Sword, which makes him uniquely qualified to talk Hawk. Along the way, we discuss machine gun elves, the sequels that never were, and how a man who doesn't do much killing ended up being nicknamed "the Slayer". Your band of adventurers:  Richard Edwards: film and TV journalist and former editor of SFX magazine. https://twitter.com/RichDEdwards Tanavi Patel: entertainment reporter for SFX and Digital Spy, panel moderator for MCM, FanExpo and more. https://twitter.com/tanavip Dave Bradley: writer, gamer, book reviewer and another former editor of SFX. https://twitter.com/BoxDaveB SPECIAL GUEST! Jason Kingsley OBE is the co-founder and CEO of Rebellion, publisher of legendary comic 2000 AD, not to mention video games, books, films and more. He's also a host of Modern History TV (https://www.youtube.com/c/ModernHistoryTV) the popular YouTube channel that looks at life as a knight. https://twitter.com/rebellionjason Robby’s awesome mailing list: Get episode announcements straight to your inbox https://tinyurl.com/robbynewsletter