Variety of Arcs, Foreshadowing & Sticking to Theme - The 9 Elements of Highly Rewatchable TV Shows (p3/3)

https://www.gonnageek.com/show/on-the-bubble/

The 9 Elements of Highly Rewatchable TV Shows (part 3/3): 

Element 7: Mix of story arc lengths [00:55]

Element 8: Hidden details, easter eggs, and foreshadowing [02:34]

Element 9: Sticking to key themes [04:10]

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Episode Transcript (RAW)

9 elements of highly rewatchable TV shows. This is part 3, guys. Thank you for joining us for part 1 and 2. Today, we finish off the series with 3 more elements that we feel make for the most rewatchable TV shows. So if you haven't done so, let us know what you think of the series.

Let us know if you think we missed anything or if maybe we should have given more or less attention to a certain element. Our contact details are in the show notes. Shout out to the Gunna Geek Network. Now let's jump in and talk some television.

Element number 7, and our first element for today, for what makes a really rewatchable TV show is shows that keep bringing me back have a mix of story arc lengths throughout each season. So we've been using Lost in Space 2018 as our example through this series, and they did have, for the most part, quite long arcs. But within those longer arcs, they would have mini stories about different characters where they would highlight a certain character and their journey. And those longer arcs were punctuated by some really fantastic mid season finales, I guess you'd call them, A kind of crescendo for a mini arc within the larger arc, a dramatic set point for the second half of the longer arc. So I think they did that really well.

And this is 1 thing that I think Buffy the Vampire Slayer absolutely nailed, having rewatched that show a bajillion times. They had lots of mini stories and mini arcs and minor bosses or minor bad guys, 1 off antagonists that were pretty threatening throughout entire seasons where there was a longer story arc running at the same time. And The Key and Buffy and also Lost in Space did this well. It didn't feel like an a and b story. It felt like 2 a stories.

They did both types of arcs well, and I think that's important for highly rewatchable TV shows. Rewatchable shows tend to have loads of hidden details, easter eggs, and complex foreshadowing. Think Lost might be the ultimate example of this, I think, that comes to mind. But even if it's jokes that are hidden inside other jokes, Letter Kenny, Curb Your Enthusiasm both come to mind as having jokes inside jokes inside jokes. Highly rewatchable shows do have an element of the Easter egg factor.

Hidden details that keep you coming back again and again. You might hear that you've missed an Easter egg, and that brings you back to the show. You're thinking, I actually don't remember that at all. I didn't pick up that bit of foreshadowing there. Once again, Buffy, massive with the foreshadowing.

Some of that seems like retroactive foreshadowing at times when I hear people from the show talking about how they did that. Did you really foreshadow that, or was that just convenience in retrospect? But different topic for a different day. Another show would be Farscape. Lots of symbolism in Farscape that you don't notice until you've seen the show many, many times.

We'll talk about Farscape at some point in the future, but that's a show where so much was happening in the visuals that you don't pick up on the first time. And that sense of deeper discovery is really important to keep people coming back and also talking about the show over the long term, particularly when the show's been off the air for 5, 10, 20 years. The depth of the show and the writing and the symbolism, the foreshadowing, that bears fruit over the long term. So we've now come to our final element, and this is, in my opinion, the most important element for rewatchable TV shows, yet maybe the hardest to capture in words, to articulate. But I'm gonna have a go.

I'm not 1 for lacking words, but today, I feel like I would definitely lack the words. But how I've described this element, our last element for today, Highly rewatchable shows never give up or abandon their key theme. And I think an example might be Chuck, a highly controversial ending to the series. Overall, I think a really, really great and incredibly rewatchable show. But even with all the criticism that was leveled at the show throughout that final season, 1 thing that Chuck never did was give up on the key theme, that being a good person is strength, and always trying to see the best in people isn't a weakness.

An everyday guy can save the world. They held fast to that theme. Lost in space? The theme is family. That fighting to save each other and stay together no matter what and no matter how hard it gets is worth the fight.

So those are 2 examples of sticking to theme, but I think this might be easier to understand if we look at the opposite. Take Supergirl. The theme of Supergirl of honesty, integrity, love for family, love for friends, and always trying to do the right thing. That, I feel, was a little bit lost in the final season. And it's not that the themes that the show chose to pursue in the final seasons didn't have their own value.

They were a little bit more obvious and politically motivated themes. And I do have to say, I actually agree with the themes for the most part that they were trying to portray through the show. Just it felt like a thematic disconnect from the previous seasons, where sacrifice and family and love and always trying to do the right thing were at the core of Supergirl. Because the key themes changed and maybe weren't handled with the same attention and thoroughness of the key themes of the first 5 seasons, it feels like a standalone kind of detached entity. And that was something I think that could have been avoided if anyone in that room was reminding the writers and the team, let's make sure we don't abandon the themes we built this show upon and this character upon in this universe.

And I'll just finish up by saying, it's not that key themes can't expand, they can't change, they can't modernize if the show is a very long running show. Just the verisimilitude has to be there. It has to feel plausible, real, and consistent with the universe, with the characters, and with the development of how those key themes, those newer themes came to exist within the show when perhaps they hadn't before. There needs to be an organic and understandable path to new key themes being introduced into a TV show. Righto, guys.

Thank you so much for joining me on this 3 part journey. Why I broke this into 3 parts is something I'm examining my own thought process around. I probably should have just recorded it all at once. The thing is when you're recording in your house, guys, and you're surrounded by neighbors, you have to pick a little chunk of time where everything is quiet. And getting 10 minutes of quiet is a lot easier than getting 30 or 40 minutes of quiet.

Righto. Well, hopefully, haven't wished that the last 10 minutes of your life was quiet instead of listening to my voice. Thanks again to the Gunner Geek Network. Check out the official Gunner Geek show. Thanks again, and I'll talk to you again soon.

Bye for now.

The 9 Elements of Highly Rewatchable TV Shows (p2/3) - An Actor's Actor, Comic Relief & Despicable Brilliance

https://www.gonnageek.com/show/on-the-bubble/

The 9 Elements of Highly Rewatchable TV Shows (part 2/3): 

Element 4: Rewatchable shows need an emotional set point character.

Element 5: Comic relief that doesn't kill the drama. (03:12).

Element 6: A brilliant yet despicable character in the core group. (04:04).

@joshuacliston on Instagram, Threads, X and TikTok.

EPISODE TRANSCRIPTION (raw).

9 Elements of Highly Rewatchable TV shows (part 2 of 3).

Welcome back, guys. My name is Josh. In part 1 of this 3 part series, we covered stakes, development, and respecting core characters slash not forgetting about core characters. So go back and check out part 1 if you haven't done so. But today, we're covering another 3 elements that we've highlighted as being essential for highly rewatchable TV shows.

And if you just wanna keep going with today's episode and you'll check out part 1 later, we're using 2018’s Lost in Space, which I think is on Netflix worldwide, at least it is in Australia. We're using that as the example of a show that maybe isn't the greatest show ever, but has unexpectedly high rewatch value, at least in my opinion. So I did say right at the start of the episode we're gonna jump straight in, and that's what we're gonna do. Our fourth element is the show needs an emotional centre point or set point character, and generally, this character needs to be an actor's actor, someone who can elevate the performance, the verisimilitude, and the memorability of the show and the cast and the production. So in the case of Lost in Space, I think it's John Robinson who was portrayed by Toby Stephens.

He really is incredible through this entire show. Not only is his performance among the actors on the show probably the best overall and the most consistent, His character also has the majority of the emotional gravity in the show, and that's the thing in which all the family turmoil and hilarity flows into and collides with. Meaning that Steven's character has to be great in so many of the most important and dramatic scenes in this show. There wasn't any taking a seat off for Toby Stephens when playing John Robinson. So highly rewatchable shows need that emotional set 0.1 character through which the drama travels, but the actor is of a quality that they elevate everything around them, and none of those important scenes, the pivotal scenes, are meh, are so so, because that person is there.

If they weren't great, the whole thing wouldn't be so great. And I would say also that the character of Mack in Agents of SHIELD became the emotional set point of AOS. An incredible versatile actor, fully embedded in that character, and elevating everyone and everything around them. So number 5, our fifth element. The show needs comic relief, but not at the expense of drama, emotion, and suspense.

You don't want every scene being ruined by a stupid joke, or it's dramatic, but we can't quite handle the drama. It's awkward, so someone has to try to be funny. In Lost in Space, it's Don West. He's a really interesting and likable character. And just when you think, oh, god, he's slipping into being a little bit despicable again, just has a believable hero moment, but also delivers some really, really funny stuff at the right time.

That part, they really nailed. And I think it's important for a rewatchable show that the funny person is believable funny, but not funny at the wrong times where it kills the drama of the show. And our sixth element for what makes a highly rewatchable television, the show needs a brilliant yet despicable character in the core group. So I'll attach audio of a previous podcast to the end of today's episode. I've covered this a little bit more in-depth in the past.

But Lost in Space benefited massively, although it was very hard to watch so much of the time. It was so uncomfortable. Doctor Smith, brilliant character, brilliantly portrayed by Parker Posey, and, yeah, a really fascinating character to love and hate and cheer for and then cheer again, sometimes in the same 5 minutes of the show. Like, yes. Doctor Smith is turning.

And then, oh god, they've turned all the way back around. So think the show needs a brilliant yet despicable character in the core group, and they don't always have to be the same kind of despicable character where they can't be trusted. It could be more like a Leopold Fitz, once again, using Agents of SHIELD. As an example, where there's a darkness inside that character that when it pokes its head up, it can be pretty intense and pretty scary.

You find yourself thinking, oh my god, that was in there. That is inside that person and will always be there. That's intense. Righto, guys. We've now done 6 of the 9 elements.

Let me know what you're thinking at Joshua c Liston in all the places online. My email's in the show notes. Make sure you check out the Gonna Geek Network. Some really good stuff happening there, particularly the official Gonna Geek show's been really interesting lately. Once again, at Joshua c Liston in all the places online.

I can't wait to speak to you again soon and bye for now. Hey guys, question. Who's your favourite entirely unlikable character, but 1 that you know is brilliant and irreplaceable in the narrative of a television show that you personally love. Now I've got 2. The first time I remember loving a character that's really actually not very likeable was Gaius Baltar in Battlestar Galactica 2003.

But more recently and the reason I'm producing this episode today is I wanted to talk quickly just a few seconds on doctor Smith from the 2018 reboot of Lost in Space. Doctor Smith, portrayed by Parker Posey makes you want to pull your hair out every time you watch this show. High rewatch value in terms of the character on the show. Smith is so self centered and so manipulative it just makes you wanna squeeze the remote in anger. Yet, at least for me, it's impossible not to want Smith's character in the mix in every storyline.

Is there such a thing as a positive destructive force or accidentally positive destructive force? Because that is what Smith's character is. Doctor Smith, Parker Posey, hall of fame, unlikable character. I'm putting it out there.

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The 9 Elements of Highly Rewatchable TV Shows (p1/3) - Stakes, Development & Respecting Core Characters

https://www.gonnageek.com/show/on-the-bubble/

The 9 Elements of Highly Rewatchable TV Shows (part 1/3): 

  1. (03:58) The Show Has to Be Good.

  2. (05:14) Core Characters Must Be Continuously Developed.

  3. (06:52) The Core Group of Characters Needs to Be Manageable and Memorable.

@joshuacliston on Instagram, Threads, X and TikTok.

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Episode Transcription (RAW).

I recently rewatched the 2018 Lost in Space series, and if you don't know, it's a reboot of the original 1965 sci fi classic. I was sitting there thinking, this is better, or at least something about this is better than the first time you watched the show. And I need to say this upfront, I'm not the biggest fan of this show. It's not The Expanse or Battlestar or Firefly, any of the truly great modern sci-fis. But 1 thing it does have, and I think this is what I was sensing, is high rewatch value.

And then I was sitting there on the couch getting distracted by the question, what is rewatch value? What is it that makes a show something you can watch over and over and over again and maybe move through that life cycle of you've seen it for the first time, it's awe and surprise. You watch the show again and there's more subtleties. You pick up more Easter eggs. And then it moves into another phase where it's comfortable background viewing where you can almost tune in and out and it becomes 1 of your staple shows that you watch on a regular basis.

And sometimes you watch it because you don't wanna make a decision about what new show to watch, so you fall back on Old Faithful and it pays off. It's worth it. So this is part 1 of a 3 part series called the 9 elements of TV shows with high rewatch value. Today, we're doing the first 3 elements as I see them, and I think rewatch value in the world of TV is 1 of the most subjective things, so I'd love to know what you guys think. All my contact details will be in the notes where you're listening today.

But you can find me pretty much everywhere on the Internet at joshua c liston at joshua c liston on all the grams and the tocs and the threads, all the things. So let's jump in with element number 1. And once again, I'm using Lost in Space, the 2018 version, as the example for today because it's not really a show that I would have thought had rewatch value until I rewatched it because, as I said, it's not The Expanse or Battlestar or a modern super show. It's just a good show. So honorable mentions, things that I care less about that some people might care more about.

The quality of the special effects, that doesn't really bother me. As long as they were good or passable for the time that they were created, that doesn't bother me so much. If it's a brand new show and the special effects are absolutely awful or low effort, I probably wouldn't wanna rewatch that show. But if it's from 1998, it's season 2 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Special effects and the quality of the actual film, the fidelity of the picture, those things bother me less.

Beautiful people. Always love seeing some beautiful people in a show. Don't really care if they're not all beautiful and they're not all shippable. That doesn't really appeal to me. Take a show like Smallville.

I think that benefited a lot from having many, many, many, many, many beautiful people. And some of the episodes probably relied solely on the beautiful people factor. But overall, it's an honorable mention because someone like Sarah Carter, who is a stunning human being, she carried a couple of episodes of Smallville that would have been absolutely god awful otherwise. And number 3, great love stories. If the show's going to have a love story, it would be awesome if it was amazing.

But if there's no love story, that doesn't bother me so much. So we're gonna move on to now the elements that I believe are key, at least in my mind, to making a show rewatchable. So number 1, the show has to be good, obviously. It can't be a complete dumpster fire and have rewatch value unless the show itself is meant to be a dumpster fire. And then that in and of itself was a creative decision, and maybe it makes the show funnier because it's awful.

But for the most part, in sci fi and fantasy, which are the shows that I watch the most and I rewatch the most, the show has to be good. There has to be complexity to the story for me to want to rewatch a show, and the stakes have to consistently be raised. I would point to a show like The Expanse where the show was complex but not too complex and the stakes were continuously raised with each and every season. The world just got massively bigger at the end of each season. Lost in Space do a pretty good job of that, of raising the stakes.

The threat level that they're facing goes up and then goes up and then goes up. I think that's important for rewatch value. Stakes, being good, and being complex without being too complex that you need to hire 3 interns that can each write you a PhD dissertation on the show itself. Get it out of here. Not interested.

So element number 2 is the core characters have to be continuously developed across the entire series. So every core character needs to grow, change, delight the audience, frustrate the audience. Sometimes there's characters that are lovable because they're so dislikable, and there's a few in Lost in Space. There's actually an episode all about that earlier in the feed of this show you're listening to right now. But I think the most important consideration when it comes to the writing and to character development in terms of rewatch value is your core characters should not be forgotten about or sidelined for entire arcs or series or seasons.

Your core characters need to be in the mix pretty much all the time and not be forgotten about or sidelined by the writers for little mini arcs, for big arcs, or entire seasons. Lost in Space, pretty good at keeping the core the core. A show like, perhaps Star Trek Strange New Worlds, not so good at this. And it's frustrating for rewatch value because you notice more that x character hasn't had anything meaningful to contribute for half a season, or they're just not there. And they've been written out and then back in in a really lazy fashion.

All detrimental to rewatch value, in my opinion. Once again, all my opinion, guys. Let me know your opinion through the contact details in the show notes. I'd love to hear it. So our third element and our last element for part 1 of 3 today, the core group of characters need to be manageable and memorable for the audience.

Highly rewatchable shows, from what I can gather, keep the core group of characters tight. That's both protagonists and antagonists. They're limited at any 1 time, so the audience can work out who the character is, what their motivations are that they're carrying into each and every scene and story arc. Once again, if you have to go back to intern number 2, that's your character tracking intern to ask who's that person that we haven't seen for 5 episodes and why are they saying that and why do they care in that particular way about the outcome of this scene? That's not good.

That affects rewatch value. The core needs to be kept tight. And if it is expanded, say in Agents of S. L. D, they did a few expansions of the core, the characters need to be really, really great, and they have to earn their way in to that inner circle.

They can't just be landed in there, and then suddenly the show's all about them. They have to find their way into that inner circle. So once again, you can map who they are and why they care or why they don't care. That's that's fun too. So Lost in Space, I think, did this better than they probably did anything else.

They continued to focus just on the Robinsons, the robot, Doctor Smith, and Don West. And if you zoom out, you might think, well, this shows so much about them that it's just really unrealistic that the universe spins on the head of a pin. And in this case, the head of that pin is this 1 family that's in the middle of everything that causes most things to go wrong and then fixes nearly everything themselves. But it does make the scope of the show, even when the threat level and the scale is increasing. This show did a good job of world building and increasing the threat level without blowing the characters that we need to track out to 50 characters.

And it got me thinking once again, I go back to myself on that couch, when I wanna laugh, why do I rewatch Brooklyn 9 9 or Lucifer? Or if I want to disappear into a slightly different universe, there's Buffy and there's Firefly and there's Grimm. Why do I keep going back to those shows? I think it's because I know those people. I like the characters, whether they're meant to be likable or they're despicable.

I like each character and I can track each character without having to, once again, call in the interns on their day off to explain to me who that person is that we've only seen for 5 seconds before and why now they're suddenly important. So just to recap, the first 3 elements that we've covered today, the show has to be good. It has to be complex, not too complex, and the stakes need to be consistently raised. If a show's not nailing that first element, I'm not sure the rewatch value's ever gonna be there. Number 2, the core group of characters have to be continuously developed across the entire season and not forgotten about.

Not forgotten about. No sidelining characters. I'm a bit personally attached to that 1 because so many shows I feel do that now. They sideline characters for no apparent reason. And number 3, the core group of characters needs to be manageable and memorable for the audience, both when you're fully engaged and when you've watched the show 20, 30, 40 times like I have with, say, Firefly or a Buffy, where it'd be probably way more than that at this point.

I don't really wanna pop my head up from playing guitar and then have to work out who someone is and why they're there and what their motivations are, Because it's bad guy number 6,000 with only a slightly different haircut and slightly different personality. So the core group of characters needs to be manageable and memorable. Righto, guys. I'd love to know what you think. You guys are really smart.

I've figured that out over the last 10 years. So let me know what you think. Who knows? I might be able to just get you to record the next 2 episodes because you guys are, once again, very smart. Righto.

My name is Josh. It's been a pleasure talking to you today, and I'll speak to you again soon. Bye for now.

The Expanse (Revisited) - did the best sci-fi show since Battlestar Galactica get saved by fans?

In this episode we take a look at the explosive fan campaign for acclaimed sci-fi/drama The Expanse.

From coffee bags and 3D videos, to model rockets and 50,000 upvotes, The Expanse fan campaign is one of the most intense fan campaigns in recent memory.

  • (01:49) The Cancellation Announcement.

  • (02:59) The Fan Campaign Begins.

  • (05:20) The Viral Movement Takes Off.

  • (08:22) Understanding the Rights Issues.

  • (11:33) Cast and Crew Participation.

  • (13:08) LA Talk Radio Interview with the Cast.

  • (16:01) The Show's Creative Peak.

Sources:

Josh on Insta: @joshuacliston on Instagram.

Josh on X: @joshuacliston on X/Twitter.

Gonna Geek Network: https://www.gonnageek.com/show/on-the-bubble

SUPERGIRL - 4 Things I Loved and 4 Things I Didn't from the CW Series

4 Things I Loved About CW’s Supergirl:

  1. Kara's Consistent Morality.

  2. Perfect Casting: Alex Danvers and Mon-El.

  3. Lena Luthor's Character Arc.

  4. The White Martians as Antagonists.

4 Things I Didn't Love About CW’s Supergirl:

  1. Perfect Resolutions of all Interpersonal Conflicts.

  2. Lack of Chemistry.

  3. The Inconsistency of J'onn J'onzz's Power Level. 

  4. The Dialogue in Season 6. 

How Matt Ryan's CONSTANTINE was "resurrected" in the Arrowverse, and Constantine - City of Demons

[ Correction: Constantine - City of Demons was a two episode series (not a six episode series) ]  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constantine:_City_of_Demons

Matt Ryan's Constantine wasn't completely done after the single season cancellation of the show (by NBC). With the character regularly featuring across The Arrowverse, in Constantine - City of Demons, and in several of DC's animated shows.

Fans didn't get more dedicated Constantine in live-action, but perhaps in the end they got even more.

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Quote: “Sad news. Thank you #Hellblazers for your support. 

You truly are the best. 

And thank you to everyone involved in the show. 

Memories made forever. 

Very disappointed that we are not continuing this journey - will miss playing John. 

You guys never gave up. I thank you all #Constantine.”

End Quote. (Constantine Star Matt Ryan in May 2015). 

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Josh on Insta: @joshuacliston on Instagram.

Josh on X: @joshuacliston on X/Twitter.

Gonna Geek Network: https://www.gonnageek.com/show/on-the-bubble/

ARROW had to Save the CW, according to Series Co-Creator Marc Guggenheim

ARROW had to save the CW, according to series co-Creator Marc Guggenheim. And that's a new one for On The Bubble podcast.

Sources: 

....

Josh on Insta: @joshuacliston on Instagram.

Josh on X: @joshuacliston on X/Twitter.

Gonna Geek Network: https://www.gonnageek.com/show/on-the-bubble/

Syfy's KRYPTON - an audio essay on Season 2, Brainiac, Lobo, Doomsday and Lyta-Zod

Why did Syfy's Krypton not get renewed for a Season 3? And did the creative choices made throughout Season 2 lead in any way to the cancellation of the show?

This is an audio essay written and read by Josh Liston from On The Bubble podcast, and is just his personal opinion on Krypton, as a fan that enjoyed the show, but felt like it could have, and should have, been great.

....

Email: josh@jcaldigital.org

Josh on Insta: @joshuacliston on Instagram.

Josh on X: @joshuacliston on X/Twitter.

Gonna Geek Network: https://www.gonnageek.com/show/on-the-bubble/

FOREVER: ABC cancelled the Ioan Gruffudd led crime-drama in 2015, but not before scheduling it into oblivion

In 2015, ABC cancelled the supernatural crime-drama, Forever, but not before scheduling the show into oblivion.

The network showed little support for the show from the very start, placing the Ioan Gruffudd led drama into a Tuesday at 10pm time slot, a historically tough time slot for ABC at the time. They then went on to start airing the back half of the first (and only) season on a very erratic schedule, never airing more than two episodes consecutively. All this, plus a genuine lack of purposeful marketing support, meant that ABC had doomed their own program to failure, and proved they only saw Forever as schedule filler, an absolute shame given its quality and scope.

Note: the show's low initial broadcast ratings were somewhat overcome by strong delayed viewership numbers, but that delayed-viewing-performance was also ignored by the network.

Sources: 

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Josh on Insta: @joshuacliston on Instagram.

Josh on X: @joshuacliston on X/Twitter.

Gonna Geek Network: https://www.gonnageek.com/show/on-the-bubble/

NEIGHBOURS: Amazon cancels the much-loved Australian Soap Opera and fans aren't impressed

In 2023, Amazon MGM Studio saved the much-loved Soap Opera Neighbours from cancellation, and fans in Australia, New Zealand and the UK rejoiced. In 2025, Amazon re-cancelled the show, most likely for 'good'.

Episode Sources: 

....

Josh on Insta: @joshuacliston on Instagram.

Josh on X: @joshuacliston on X/Twitter.

Gonna Geek Network: https://www.gonnageek.com/show/on-the-bubble/

Krysten Ritter was 'heartbroken' when ABC cancelled Don’t Trust the B---- in Apartment 23

In 2013 ABC cancelled the sitcom Don’t Trust the B---- in Apartment 23 mid-way through its second season, after airing episodes out of order (for no apparent reasons), and fans of the show were not happy.

Series Star Krysten Ritter speaking about the cancellation of B. in Apt. 23 on the Inside of You podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ey2wLRt3yQ

Quote: “the hardest rejection (I've faced)” Unquote.

Because Quote: “I loved it so much” End Quote.

https://www.gonnageek.com/

Long Live Longmire (p3/3). A Deeply Connected Cast, Crew, and Fandom (from the Longmire Posse, to Longmire Days)

The Voices of Long Live Longmire:

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Josh on Insta: @joshuacliston on Instagram.

Josh on X: @joshuacliston on X/Twitter.

Gonna Geek Network: https://www.gonnageek.com/show/on-the-bubble/

Audio Essay: Wednesday S2 and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds S3 were both a bit disappointing (and that makes me sad).

OTB Audio Essay September 2025: Wednesday S2 and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds S3 weren't worth the wait (and that makes me sad). 

If you aim for incredible, you might just hit great! Strange New Worlds Season 3 feels more like “they aimed for safety..and they hit suitable”. 

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Josh on Insta: @joshuacliston on Instagram.

Josh on X: @joshuacliston on X/Twitter. 

Gonna Geek Network: https://www.gonnageek.com/show/on-the-bubble/