So, anybody else go to space this week? Seems like that was the thing to do, ya know, if you’re worth a few hundred million. In case you’re not aware, Katy Perry, Gail King, Jeff Bezos’ mistress, and some other women, went to “space” for a whole 11 minutes – roughly the length of a Bluey episode! And I put “space” in quotation marks because they didn’t even go that far. Instead, they crossed the Kármán line, which is roughly 62 miles above sea level. It’s considered “the edge of space”, but it’s not like you’re about to join NASA. It’s just a really high commercial flight for rich people. Though the price isn’t publicly stated anywhere, it requires a $150,000 deposit just for the chance at a seat on one of these things. The best part, though, is they came back to an Earth that didn’t give a shit. At all.
Perry and King suddenly thought they were officially Astronauts – with a capital A – and couldn’t understand why everyone was mocking them. Even the long-dormant Wendy’s X account got in on the action.
These vapid celebrities thought they were doing something special, when nobody else thought much of it. Had they died, Gail’s obituary would have read “Oprah’s Friend, Gail King”. It would not have said “Aspiring Astronaut, Gail King”. This was not a “bold step for women”, but rather a tone deaf rich kid holiday, as folks are losing jobs and being deported on the Earth below. Screw you, Katy Perry. If you hadn’t gone back to Dr. Luke, to record a colossal failure of an album, you wouldn’t have been this desperate to be loved. I noticed Gal Gadot wasn’t on there, which means even she knew this was a terrible idea, and she’s the QUEEN of the tone deaf PR gesture.
Trailer Park
Eddington (Theaters, July 18, 2025)
This sounded really interesting when I first read about it: two political sides at war in a small town, at the height of the Covid pandemic. And I didn’t realize Pedro Pascal would be in two consecutive summer releases (this comes out a week before The Fantastic Four: First Steps). What I didn’t know, however, was that this was an A24 movie. So, now I’m like “How are they gonna make this weird?” Still, an interesting story, and a great cast. Not gonna see it in a theater, but I hope to one day see it.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps (Theaters, July 25, 2025)
I already covered the teaser on here, and it hadn’t done much for me. I think I was too wrapped up in the “It’s All Connected” aspect of the MCU that I didn’t really have “space” for a new introduction. That said, this trailer finally got me to come around. I’m still not sure about Pascal’s casting, as he seems like he’s the new Oscar Isaac, and everyone wants to be in the Pedro Pascal Business. He’s simply The New Hotness, as opposed to actually being the right choice for a lot of the roles he’s been getting. Johnny, though? Johnny is PERFECT. I like what I’m seeing with Ben. Don’t know anything about Vanessa Kirby, but I’m curious. And I’ve finally come around to the 60s aesthetic of the film. A week ago, I’d have told you Thunderbolts* was the MCU film to which I was most looking forward, but that’s not the case anymore. I’m getting MCU Phase I vibes here, and I don’t say that lightly.
Will Around The Web
Adam and I are back, with a brand new episode of Remember That Show? We’re taking a deep dive into the short-lived, 1996 sketch series The Dana Carvey Show.
Run The Numbers
This segment will return next week
Things You Might Have Missed This Week
- Mythic Quest was canceled by Apple TV+ after 4 seasons, and the season finale was rewritten as a series finale.
- Meanwhile, Peacock canceled Based On A True Story and Mr. Throwback after a single season.
- Over on Amazon Prime, the “paused” international spinoffs of Citadel have been officially cancelled, and their storylines will be incorporated into season 2 of Citadel.
- Zak Starkey, son of Ringo Starr, was kicked out of The Who after 30 years with the band. I really hope he was fired by the son of Pete Best…
- BET is working on a Martin spinoff, nearly 30 years after it ended, focused on the character Varnell Hill, who was a talk show host played by In Living Color‘s Tommy Davidson.
- Facebook Marketplace is drowning in scalpers with the new Barbie KenBassadors LeBron James doll, which is the introductory offering from a new Mattel line designed to highlight notable men as Ken dolls.
- Speaking of Facebook, there’s a report going around that Mark Zuckerberg has suggested wiping all users’ friend lists, forcing them to start over, which would result in a much needed spike in user engagement.
- After 2 SNL hosting outings in one calendar year, it was announced that comedian Nate Bargatze will host next year’s Emmy Awards.
- Peacock is reportedly developing another Clueless series, this one featuring the return of Alicia Silverstone as Cher Horowitz. Yeah, I don’t want this…
So, last week I told y’all that I was in “an undisclosed location”, but the truth of the matter was that I was in Chicago, at the Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo, better known as C2E2. You see, a bunch of my online friends – some you know as the hosts of the Nerd Lunch and After Lunch podcasts – were meeting up at the show for the weekend. They had announced it at the end of a recent episode, and it sparked something in me. For reasons I may go into at some point, my life has been crazy. Not even recently, but rather for the past 2 years and change. I was driving as I heard their announcement, and wondered “Why can’t I go to C2E2?” Plus, I’d get to meet some of my favorite people, all in one place? When would that happen again?! So, I emailed Michael and Carlin, the fathers of After and Nerd, respectively, to get more information about the trip. In about 36 hours, I had a flight, a con badge, and a hotel room.
I got in last Thursday afternoon, hit up a vintage toy store, and even recorded an upcoming podcast with Adam that was not an episode of Remember That Show? In doing so, I fried my voice, so I was in great shape to meet the guys at the show the next day. Friday morning, I made my way to the con, and history was made: I finally met CT, Michael, Rob, Jeeg, Digio, Christian, Jeff, Pax, and was reunited with Shawn. The gang’s all here! Rob’s wife, Collette, is a crafting genius, and she made each of us one of these to commemorate the meetup:
What followed was an incredible weekend, as we met our favorite creators, sampled “authentic” deep dish pizza, and wiled away the night hours at an unlimited play arcade. I really want to give a more thorough play-by-play of the weekend soon, but I’m unfortunately dealing with some family stuff right now, hence the later posting. What I can say, however, is you’ll never meet a better group of guys. I truly mean that. They’re just…GOOD PEOPLE. At no point over the course of the weekend were there any fights, nobody disappeared because they were chasing tail, nobody got blitzed. If anything, the only drama surrounded the fact that we were using 2 different apps and 3 different conversation threads for communication, so we didn’t always notice all the messages. Other than that, perfect weekend. I’ve known most of these guys over a decade online, so it was amazing to finally meet them in person. A lot of folks love to say that “Online isn’t ‘real life'”, but I think occasions like this prove that to be wrong. I swear I’m going to full break down the weekend soon, but this “sneak preview” will have to suffice for now. In any case, it goes without saying that The Chicago Podcastaways had the West Week Ever.
