The Glenn Butler Podcast Hour Spectacular, Episode 23: It's Exciting – Star Trek (2009) Score

Michael Giacchino arrives in the pantheon of Star Trek
composers as The Glenn Butler Podcast Hour Spectacular follows up on its
discussion of the 2009 movie with a separate discussion just about its
score. Glenn & Scott briefly summarize Giacchino’s career heading
into Star Trek before breaking down the new themes he brought
to bear, the plethora of alternate cues considered for the main title
card, how a rare fully-original end credits sequence aids the musical
storytelling of a film, what story is told by the return of Alexander
Courage’s TOS theme in its entirety (and then some), and how Giacchino’s talent for
crafting beautifully emotional music as well as thrilling bombast helped
him make the most of the movie’s more intimate moments among its many
action sequences. Scott can’t resist drawing comparisons to Jerry
Goldsmith’s last several Trek scores, while Glenn prefers to
concentrate on the positive. So tune in to this supplemental edition of
The Glenn Butler Podcast Hour Spectacular!
If you have any questions or suggested topics for a future Star Trek mailbag episode of the Spectacular, contact Glenn or comment on the PTBN Facebook page!

The Glenn Butler Podcast Hour Spectacular, Episode 22: Captain of the Enterprise – Star Trek (2009)

JJ Abrams arrives in the Star Trek film vault as The Glenn
Butler Podcast Hour Spectacular hits the 2009 movie. Glenn & Scott
welcome special guest Greg Phillips for an extensive discussion of how Trek
was rejuvenated for its eleventh film outing, what was involved in
bringing the original series to the big screen in a way it had never
been before, the different takes the new cast has on their roles, new
designs for familiar objects & environments, how the movie has its
cake and eats it too by moving the action to an alternate universe,
Fratboy Dudebro Jim Kirk, and the many ways that Star Trek was
brought back from the wilderness. Scott’s analysis of the title card in
particular is not to be missed. So tune in to the new edition of The
Glenn Butler Podcast Hour Spectacular — you can do zat!
(Note: This show was recorded before the death of Anton Yelchin, and
as such does not address the sad and untimely news. Also, as this show
was running long and the customary score discussion promised to be a
lengthy one on its own, that topic was spun out into its own
supplemental episode. Look for that episode directly following this one
in your blog and podcast feeds.)
If you have any questions or suggested topics for a future Star Trek mailbag episode of the Spectacular, contact Glenn or comment on the PTBN Facebook page!

The Glenn Butler Podcast Hour Spectacular, Episode 21: On the Orlando Shooting

Feeling the need to explore some issues around the mass shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando this past Sunday, Glenn & Scott convene again on The Glenn Butler Podcast Hour Spectacular. They discuss the nature of hate crimes, the widespread marginalization and dehumanization of LGBTQIAP+ people, easy access to guns, and the ubiquity of "thoughts and prayers."

The Glenn Butler Podcast Hour Spectacular, Episode 20: This Is All a Damned Inconvenience – Star Trek: Nemesis

A generation comes to its end as Star Trek: Nemesis takes its place in the latest Star Trek film vault edition of The Glenn Butler Podcast Hour Spectacular. Glenn & Scott are joined by Steven Graham to try to figure out just what Shinzon’s plan is and how it’s supposed to work, what it means to seize the means of production on Romulus, how well the movie explores its ideas about mirroring and nature vs. nurture, action scenes that feel like they’re there to be used in a video game, and how the final voyage of The Next Generation treats The Next Generation. So set a collision course for the latest edition of The Glenn Butler Podcast Hour Spectacular! (Warning: discussion of sexual assault.)
If you have any questions or suggested topics for a future Star Trek mailbag episode of the Spectacular, contact Glenn or comment on the PTBN Facebook page!

The Glenn Butler Podcast Hour Spectacular, Episode 19: It Becomes Wrong – Star Trek: Insurrection

Star Trek: Insurrection threatens to cause an insurrection of its own in the newest dive into the Star Trek film vault on The Glenn Butler Podcast Hour Spectacular. Glenn & Scott are joined by Scott Criscuolo to break down the fountain of youth, how a family feud becomes a parable about imperialism, F. Murray Abraham, what could have been done with Data in this movie that would actually have been interesting, the late stage of Jerry Goldsmith’s career, what insights can be gleaned from Michael Piller’s book about the writing of the film, and how The Next Generation deals with being jammed into a standard action movie formula. This podcast is replete with Scotts but doesn’t get confusing…not that we care about such things in this day and age. So pop a gorch and join the latest Glenn Butler Podcast Hour Spectacular!
If you have any questions or suggested topics for a future Star Trek mailbag episode of the Spectacular, contact Glenn or comment on the PTBN Facebook page!

The Glenn Butler Podcast Hour Spectacular, Episode 18: Where Was Your Evolved Sensibility – Star Trek: First Contact

Star Trek: First Contact tries to add The Glenn Butler Podcast Hour Spectacular’s distinctiveness to its own, as the Star Trek vintage vault series continues. Glenn & Scott discuss genre drift as First Contact lurches from horror film to action thriller to something more akin to a Star Trek
story, and as the Borg lurch from zombies to vampires to insects. They
also discuss the meaning of the Borg (and how that changes now that they
have a queen), why Captain Picard invites the whole collective to the
gun show, the bizarre eroticism of the Borg Queen, the beginning of the Star Trek future, and the beginning of the end of a Star Trek series. Now with the intense discussions of starship design you’ve all been asking for!
If you have any questions or suggested topics for a future Star Trek
mailbag episode of the Spectacular, contact Glenn or comment on the PTBN
Facebook page!

The Glenn Butler Podcast Hour Spectacular, Episode 17: What’s So Civil About War Anyway?

Captain America: Civil War is here, and Glenn & company are
ON IT. The Glenn Butler Podcast Hour Spectacular convenes its panel of
Glenn, Scott, and special guest Tim Capel to take sides in this evitable
conflict and break down Marvel’s latest marvel, including a spoiler-laden
look at the causes and uses of the movie’s central conflict, how Our
Heroes are used, the ways that Civil War changes the landscape of the
MCU, and the Stan Lee solo movie we all really want to see. Scott gets
bogged down in the physics of Ant-Man, while Tim provides the crucial
perspective of someone who actually knows something about comics.

The Glenn Butler Podcast Hour Spectacular, Episode 16: To Live Forever – Star Trek: Generations

The generations meet as Star Trek: Generations arrives in The Glenn Butler Podcast Hour Spectacular’s Star Trek film vault series. Glenn & Scott break down The Next Generation‘s
arrival on the big screen, including all the ways and all the times the
torch was passed, how Captain Picard is like Tom Bombadil, what it
means to have a TV production staff making a movie, aging, regret, the
pull of duty, the dual symbolism of the Nexus, James T. Kirk:
Existentialist, Data & Picard’s feels, symbolic sacrifices,
normality, and what we leave behind. You don’t have to wait until
Tuesday for this episode of The Glenn Butler Podcast Hour Spectacular!
Find Glenn’s article on the wider Star Trek franchise in 1994 here.
If you have any questions or suggested topics for a future Star Trek mailbag episode of the Spectacular, contact Glenn or comment on the PTBN Facebook page!

The Glenn Butler Podcast Hour Spectacular, Episode 15: Goy Vey

It’s time for a quick Campaign 2016 update on The Glenn Butler Podcast
Hour Spectacular, as Glenn & Scott welcome Steve Wille back to the
podcast to examine how some of the candidates are campaigning among Jews
in the lead-up to the New York primary. Candidates are rolling out
matzah, quizzing Yeshiva students, listing their favorite figures from the Tanakh,
bragging about their grandkids, and much more — and the ol’ Spectacular
is ON IT. By the end of the show Scott hardly has any face left to
palm. So get a bagel, try to parlay it into some votes, and enjoy a
policy-light and sarcasm-heavy discussion!

The Glenn Butler Podcast Hour Spectacular, Episode 14: Don’t Let it End This Way – Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

It’s the end of an era, as Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
comes under the watchful eye of The Glenn Butler Podcast Hour
Spectacular. Glenn & Scott examine the final voyage of the collected
Original Series cast, including its story’s parallels to the end of the
Cold War, the celebration of Star Trek‘s 25th anniversary from
the perspective of its 50th, the crew’s abruptly increased
space-racism, the return of Nicholas Meyer, things and supplies, logic
as the beginning of wisdom, and more adventures in budgetary
restrictions. There’s also no small amount of debate as to what exactly
one should call Spock’s violation of Valeris. (Warning: discussion of
rape and torture from 38:31 to 53:40.)

The Glenn Butler Podcast Hour Spectacular, Episode 13: What Does God Need with a Starship? – Star Trek V: The Final Frontier

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier is the latest entry into the
Star Trek film vault series, as The Glenn Butler Podcast Hour
Spectacular investigates one of the most derided entries in the
franchise. Glenn & Scott welcome special guest Erik Amundsen for an
in-depth discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of Star Trek V,
the character dynamics, William Shatner’s turn in the director’s chair,
how the film also reflects Shatner’s interests as an artist, the film’s
place in the development of the Star Trek franchise, the meaning of
Uhura’s nude fan dance, Doctor McCoy’s stance on euthanasia, and whether
The Final Frontier deserves the reputation it’s accrued. The
three also consider two very important questions: what does God need
with a starship, and why is Captain Kirk climbing a mountain?
We need our pain, but sometimes the words aren’t important, what’s important is that you have a good time singing.
Find Erik’s published fiction at Jabberwocky, Apex Magazine, Lackington’s, and twice at Clarkesworld.

The Glenn Butler Podcast Hour Spectacular, Episode 12: There Be Whales Here – Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

The Star Trek film vault continues with Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
in the latest Glenn Butler Podcast Hour Spectacular, when Glenn &
Scott welcome Andy Halleen back to the show for a laid-back discussion
of one of the most aesthetically and financially successful entries in
the series. The three discuss The Voyage Home‘s shift into
comedy, the ongoing transformation of William Shatner, colorful
metaphors, orbital mechanics, the whale prime directive, and how each of
the movie’s characters are used & developed. Also, Scott does his
impression of whale song, because of course he does.
We won’t eschew you on the latest episode of The Glenn Butler Podcast Hour Spectacular!

The Glenn Butler Podcast Hour Spectacular, Episode 11: A Fighting Chance to Live – Star Trek III: The Search for Spock

The Star Trek film vault continues with Star Trek III: The Search for Spock,
as The Glenn Butler Podcast Hour Spectacular takes a turn towards the
meditative. Glenn & Scott welcome Tim Capel from PTBN Comics to an
in-depth discussion of the third Star Trek movie’s place in an
ongoing story, its theatricality, Klingon linguistics, Christopher Lloyd
& Mark Lenard’s differing approaches to gravitas, how death can be
turned into a fighting chance to live, the inability of Commander Kruge
to see past his own worldview, the film’s distinct lack of Kirstie Alley
& Bibi Besch, and finger-sex versus finger-foreplay. Glenn sings
the praises of James Horner’s lyrical score, Tim gives a brief rundown
of the state of Trek comics in the early 80’s, and Scott explains why the film’s finale might be the best single scene in Star Trek history.
Get yourself an Altair water, hit the antimatter inducer, and enjoy
the latest episode of The Glenn Butler Podcast Hour Spectacular!

The Glenn Butler Podcast Hour Spectacular, Episode 10: Re-Closing the X-Files

The X-Files have been closed once again, and Glenn & Scott welcome
Andy Halleen back to The Glenn Butler Podcast Hour Spectacular to follow
up on their discussion at the beginning of season ten now that the miniseries has fully taken shape. They discuss the return of various styles of X-Files episodes, whether the limited six-episode run hurt or helped the show, the value and quality of cliffhangers, the launch of The X-Files: The Next Generation with Agents Einstein and M-Something, a drug trip to remember, X-Files
as viewed through the lens of sports announcers, terrorism, and much
more. Also, Scott lists all (and we mean ALL) of the people who could
possibly be on the ship.

The Glenn Butler Podcast Hour Spectacular, Episode 9: Madness and Death – Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan is the subject of The Glenn Butler Podcast Hour Spectacular’s latest dive into the Star Trek vault, as Glenn & Scott welcome Todd Weber from PTBN’s comics contingent to break down the Trek movie with what is probably the best reputation. They discuss how & why Star Trek II differed from Star Trek I, check in on the movie’s characters, examine the pull it exerted on all future Trek
movies, sing the praises of actors from Ricardo Montalbán to William
Shatner to Bibi Besch, lament the absence of Madeline Kahn, and much
more!