All reviews are my personal opinion and do not reflect the views of any person or organization.
Hosts Jason Inman and Ashley V. Robinson do it again with another Geek History Lesson.
Each week Inman and Robinson take one construct from pop culture and clue you in.
Inman and Robinson are excellent at explaining, sometimes complex, issues in a clear manner; I don’t feel like I need a road map afterwards to understand what they just said.
This week (April 17) they focused on the Time Lords from Doctor Who.
I really liked the idea of them focusing in on the Time Lords.
First, it was creative. The obvious choice for a Whovian lesson would be The Doctor or a history of his traveling companions. Doing a lesson on the Time Lords seems like something near the middle of the list, like maybe below a lesson on the TARDIS.
Second, the Time Lords are kind of mysterious. There isn’t much said about them on an episodic basis. You get clues here and there, but quite frankly, I can’t remember snippets from one episode to the next. It was great to have the history all in one place.
This lesson followed the usual format with the Meet Cute, 10 Cent Origin, main history, and Recommended Reading…but the episode didn’t seem to have as many jokes, puns, or general silliness as other episodes, such as the Pride of Illegitimate Skunk-Bears from the Wolverine podcast. The episode was still funny and enjoyable but different.
I also missed Inman doing some kind of impression.
I also enjoyed that they got the “sponsored by” part done near the beginning. It was nice to “get it over with” and enjoy the rest of the podcast. Variety is also nice.
I did notice some audio glitches during the guest interview like voices sounding weird or cutting out. But, I’m glad that they were able to get a guest. It adds variety to the show and gives a sense of community.
This sense of community is another part of what makes these podcasts so interesting. It’s wonderful to know that there are other geeks out there. Growing up in my hometown, if you knew something about video games, comics, or other “geeky” things, you could expect a wedgie or a special “trip” down the hall, so geeks didn’t advertise.
Finally, the episode’s time of one hour…ish is great. It’s short enough that you aren’t getting bored or wondering how you are going to find the time to listen to it. But, it is also long enough to feel intellectually feed—things aren’t thrown at you at high speed and you are struggling to figure out what was just said.
In short, Inman and Robinson’s even, but not mono, vocal tones make the podcast great to listen to while working or doing chores…and sometimes while exercising. So, I’m thankful that they do these podcasts; otherwise, I would never do the dishes.
I have to give them a 4.5 out of 5.
You can find out more about Geek History Lesson (such as where to find it) at geekhistorylesson.com.
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