My So Called Life with Sloan Just
A 1994 teen drama that aired against Friends, died after one season, and somehow described your entire inner life better than anything since. Mandy finally meets Angela Chase — and the leaning boy who ruined a generation.
Dr. Horrible’s Sing a Long Blog with Krissy Lenz & Kyle Olson
A musical written during a writers strike, funded out of Joss Whedon’s own pocket, and starring a not-yet-evil Neil Patrick Harris — and somehow Mandy had never seen it. Kyle Olson and Krissy Lenz drag her into the Evil League of Evil, one unfinished song at a time.
Batman Pulled a Gun: Batman Beyond with Jason Yeung
Batman doesn’t use guns — so why does Batman Beyond hand an aging Bruce Wayne one in the first five minutes? Voiceover actor and lifelong nerd Jason Yeung walks Mandy through the criminally underrated Batman nobody watched.
Leave the Gun, Take the Nerd: The Godfather with Seth Vargas
Mandy has spent her entire life dodging The Godfather. Movie nerd Seth Vargas finally makes her an offer she can’t refuse.
Prince with Kyle Olson and Pete Wright
Pete brought Kyle. Kyle brought a playlist. Mandy brought a fourth-grade dance routine she will never forget.
Sensual Creatures: Vampires, Frilly Shirts, and Interview with a Vampire with Jonny Lee Jr.
Cher was almost cast as Louis. Jonny Lee Jr. returns to walk Mandy through the Anne Rice vampire universe, where the blood drinking is sexier than the sex, the five-year-old is the smartest one in the room, and Tom Cruise — against all odds and her own initial objections — absolutely earns his place as Lestat.
Shoot Again! Talking Pinball with Clark Hill
Clark Hill has pinball machines in his blood, quarters in his pocket at all times, and a very reasonable explanation for why you are both encouraged and expected to physically shove a 300-pound machine while playing it.
The Truth is RIGHT HERE: X-Files with Chelsea Stardust
Mandy has spent decades successfully avoiding The X-Files. Filmmaker Chelsea Stardust has six episodes, zero aliens, and one extremely persuasive Flukeman to fix that.
Watch Me Fly… Serenity with Krissy Lenz
Krissy Lenz is back in the nerd chair, this time making the case for Serenity — the 2005 movie that exists only because Fox couldn’t kill Firefly hard enough. Mandy watches the space western, meets the Browncoats, and discovers that a fandom is hardcore when it can get a movie greenlit, commission a documentary about getting the movie greenlit, and also organize themed parties called Shindigs.
No Time To Play… Ender’s Game with Erica Cochran
Mandy Kaplan has been handed a Hugo-winning, Nebula-winning, Mormon-authored military sci-fi classic about a six-year-old being psychologically tortured into committing accidental alien genocide, and reader, she has THOUGHTS.