Moderate Fantasy Violence

Welcome to Moderate Fantasy Violence, a fortnightly podcast about pop culture and the world around it, as discussed by Nick Bryan and Alastair JR Ball. Nick will probably launch into a tangent about comics, Alastair will likely go for politics. Both are equally worthwhile.

MFV #279 - Grasping for dressposition 11/05/2026

MFV #279 - Grasping for dressposition This fortnight, we tackle The Social Reckoning (17:42), Aaron Sorkin's follow-up to the critically acclaimed The Social Network, and Slow Horses season 6 (36:46), the follow-up to the critically acclaimed seasons 1-5. Plus bonus talk about the new Sense & Sensibility adaptation and The Celebrity Traitors season. /episode/index/show/moderatefantasyviolence/id/43634334

MFV #278 - Sorry Ryan Reynolds/Gosling! 10/22/2026

MFV #278 - Sorry Ryan Reynolds/Gosling! This fortnight, it's one of our occasional classic DC vs Marvel episodes, as we cover new Green Lantern TV show Lanterns (20:24) and Marvel's new Midnight line of comics, rebooting their major characters from a horror angle (34:26). Plus bonus chat about the final season of Colin From Accounts, and Alastair's annual broadcast from London Film Festival, including talk of Making of Marie Antoinette, Queer Edward II, Prima Facie, Klara and the Sun and 14th. /episode/index/show/moderatefantasyviolence/id/43388914

MFV #277 - A face for looking miserable 10/08/2026

MFV #277 - A face for looking miserable This fortnight, we cover an apocalyptic robot future in new comic If Destruction Be Our Lot... (20:24) and a cheerful Victorian past in Enola Holmes 3 (34:26). Plus bonus chat about Fackham Hall and Gilmore Girls season 1. /episode/index/show/moderatefantasyviolence/id/43217133

MFV #276 - Are you Alastair? 09/24/2026

MFV #276 - Are you Alastair? This fortnight, we've watched cult hit sex comedy I Want Your Sex (19:53) and also read the latest storyline of cyberpunk horror comic w0rldtr33 (35:21) which also features nudity, but... not in a sexy way. Plus bonus chat about Star City, the Russia-set For All Mankind spin-off, and the latest revival of Ghost in the Shell. /episode/index/show/moderatefantasyviolence/id/43008113

MFV #275 - The raw soggy stuff 09/10/2026

MFV #275 - The raw soggy stuff This fortnight, two movies from the cult favourite end of the cinema that we've been enormously looking forward to - it's erotic comedy-drama Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma (15:42) and silly animation-live-action combined movie Coyote Vs Acme (30:52). Also includes bonus chat about the fifteenth season of King of the Hill and the current run of Marvel's Moon Knight comics. /episode/index/show/moderatefantasyviolence/id/42841645

MFV #274 - Reaching for sexposition 08/27/2026

MFV #274 - Reaching for sexposition This fortnight, we've stayed indoors catching up on some of the big franchise TV shows - it's X-Men '97 season 2 (9:48) and House of the Dragon season 3 (22:59). Some spoilers during the X-Men review, though we're pretty well-behaved for the dragons. Also some bonus chat about self-explanatory comic The Florida Hippopotamus Cocaine Massacre and Anthony Bourdain biopic Tony. /episode/index/show/moderatefantasyviolence/id/42569275

MFV #273 - The Spider-Male Loneliness Epidemic 08/13/2026

MFV #273 - The Spider-Male Loneliness Epidemic This fortnight, some major cinematic moments as we cover the massive new supermovie Spider-Man: Brand New Day (14:03, with spoilers from 26:39) and also-huge horror hit Obsession (36:16). Plus extra chat about Maxxxine and the fifth season of For All Mankind. /episode/index/show/moderatefantasyviolence/id/42402940

MFV #272 - Entering his Dad phase 07/30/2026

MFV #272 - Entering his Dad phase This fortnight, we head out on an epic sea voyage into Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey (12:59) and the dark haunted island of Widow's Bay (35:13). Plus bonus chat about the second Absolute Batman storyline and the novel The Will of the Many by James Islington. /episode/index/show/moderatefantasyviolence/id/42254135

MFV #271 - A Hugh Jackman retrospective 07/16/2026

MFV #271 - A Hugh Jackman retrospective This fortnight, we cover the final season of culinary stress factory The Bear (17:06) and farm-based murder mystery The Sheep Detectives (34:33). Plus bonus chat about the new The Pretty Reckless album (with a tangent about the new one from Muse) and animal horror comics Stray Dogs and Feral. /episode/index/show/moderatefantasyviolence/id/42100430

MFV #270 - Uninteresting Success 07/02/2026

MFV #270 - Uninteresting Success This fortnight, we crack into the year's summer blockbusters with Disclosure Day (17:06) and Supergirl (34:33) - including substantial spoilers throughout the Disclosure Day review so enter at your own risk. Plus bonus chart about Spider-Noir and Mother Courage and Her Children. /episode/index/show/moderatefantasyviolence/id/41921505

MFV #269 - Sad, sad bonking 06/18/2026

MFV #269 - Sad, sad bonking This fortnight, we journey into the heart of darkness with sad-teen nihilist sex/crime drama Euphoria season 3 (14:25, hard ending spoilers from 31:34) and murder-arena horror comic Exquisite Corpses volume 1 (33:30) by James Tynion IV and Michael Walsh. Plus bonus chat about the Backrooms movie and the first half of Rivals season 2. /episode/index/show/moderatefantasyviolence/id/41609410

MFV #268 - The screenwriting word 06/04/2026

MFV #268 - The screenwriting word This fortnight, we finally reach the last season of The Boys (14:24), and fair warning, the spoilers are all over this one, so I'd not listen to this until you've seen the show if that's a concern. And then we also review Star Wars: The Mandalorian & Grogu (40:32), with a little more spoiler discpline. Plus bonus chat about Detectorists and the Evangelion anniversary special. /episode/index/show/moderatefantasyviolence/id/41528745

MFV #267 - The Richard Hammond of the MCU 05/21/2026

MFV #267 - The Richard Hammond of the MCU A special extra-long episode this fortnight, as we get excited to return to the Marvel Defenderverse with Daredevil: Born Again season 2 (18:53, spoilers from 26:45), Punisher: One Last Kill (37:09) and emerge for some video game-based subway horror in Exit 8 (49:54). Plus bonus chat about the new Kneecap album and the first season of The Pitt. /episode/index/show/moderatefantasyviolence/id/41363710

MFV #266 - I recognised Michael Fassbender! 05/07/2026

MFV #266 - I recognised Michael Fassbender! This fortnight, another all-superhero special, as we cover the fourth season of Invincible (13:27) and the epic Alivens Vs Avengers crossover comic (27:46). Plus bonus chat about Golden Rage from Image Comics, and Alastair's Studio Ghibli retrospective continues with Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. /episode/index/show/moderatefantasyviolence/id/41181705

MFV #265 - Really gonna edgelord it 04/23/2026

MFV #265 - Really gonna edgelord it This fortnight, some culture from a short while ago - the first volume of Absolute Wonder Woman (15:06) and Oscar-winning Norwegian movie Sentimental Value (28:40). Plus some bonus coverage of more past releases - Alastair's finally seen Princess Mononoke, while Nick's able to legally watch the fifth season of Harley Quinn at long last. (Also its spin off, Kite-Man: Hell Yeah!) /episode/index/show/moderatefantasyviolence/id/40974415

MFV #264 - This film is extremely cinema 04/09/2026

MFV #264 - This film is extremely cinema This fortnight, in a slight change to the advertised programme (after an unexpected trip to the cinema), we cover new dark romcom The Drama (19:00) and recent BBC folklore adventure Small Prophets (31:41). Also some bonus chat about Stranger Things season 5 and Project Hail Mary. Impressively, this podcast won't give away the big reveal in The Drama, but does include some broad Stranger Things spoilers. /episode/index/show/moderatefantasyviolence/id/40773880

MFV #263 - Firing all Chekov’s other weapons 03/26/2026

MFV #263 - Firing all Chekov’s other weapons This fortnight, we delve into two unconventional takes on superheroes - the new Marvel series Wonder Man and the climactic third volume of The Power Fantasy by Kieran Gillen and Caspar Wijngaard. Plus bonus chat about angry chef movie Soul Kitchen and the Vampirella comic run written by Christopher Priest, with art by Ergun Gunduz and others. /episode/index/show/moderatefantasyviolence/id/40612690

MFV #262 - You don’t see that a lot on TV 03/12/2026

MFV #262 - You don’t see that a lot on TV This fortnight, we return to Westeros once more for A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms (23:05), then go deep undercover in The Secret Agent (37:46). Plus bonus chat about Nick's extensive Judge Dredd reading, and Alastair's favourite time of the cultural year arrives, with his Oscar predictions, plus a brief review of F1. /episode/index/show/moderatefantasyviolence/id/40390715

MFV #261 - Naturally occurring crappy wallpaper 02/26/2026

MFV #261 - Naturally occurring crappy wallpaper This fortnight, it's the 10th anniversary of Moderate Fantasy Violence! Somehow we've done this for a whole decade, and obviously, we celebrate by doing one of our double-recommendation episodes, this time focusing on releases from within the last ten years. Nick's suggested hot new comic series Absolute Batman (16:15) while Alastair's plunging us into The Backrooms (34:30), the YouTube series by Kane PIxels about to become a movie from A24. With bonus chat about Train Dreams, the next movie in the Oscar marathon, and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3. /episode/index/show/moderatefantasyviolence/id/40221365

MFV #260 - Harbinger of the Apocalypse 02/12/2026

MFV #260 - Harbinger of the Apocalypse This fortnight, we take a dark-comedy look at both our hellish conspiracy-laden present in Bugonia (18:05, spoilers from 28:32) and the nuclear-ravaged future in Fallout season 2 (35:04, spoilers from 43:17). Plus bonus chat about cool queer hockey romance Heated Rivalry and another quiet Japanese film Evil Does Not Exist. /episode/index/show/moderatefantasyviolence/id/40080700

MFV #259 - Kill all the fish people! 01/29/2026

MFV #259 - Kill all the fish people! This fortnight, we cover the latest damp Doctor Who spin-off The War Between The Land And The Sea (15:20) and recent tragic theatrical adaptation Hedda (33:53). With bonus chat about toilet movie Perfect Days and murder comedy-drama Barry. /episode/index/show/moderatefantasyviolence/id/39910070

MFV #258 - The King of Table Tennis 01/15/2026

MFV #258 - The King of Table Tennis For the first regular podcast of 2026, we take a fully-informed look at Pluribus (17:01), our best show of 2025, and Marty Supreme (37:50), one of this year's big Oscar contenders. Plus bonus chat about the latest seasons of The Traitors and Foundation. /episode/index/show/moderatefantasyviolence/id/39726940

MFV #257 - United by betrayal 01/01/2026

MFV #257 - United by betrayal Just in time for your 2026 return to work (and only one day late due to Nick's holiday overindulgence schedule), it's the MFV end of year round-up for 2025! Featuring the usual reflections and individual top five round-ups for our core areas of both TV (12:18) and film (43:42), and then an attempt to reach a single unified top three. Will this be the year we finally come to blows? Plus bonus chat about Studio Ghibli movie Spirited Away and Image comic series Monstress. /episode/index/show/moderatefantasyviolence/id/39586440

MFV #256 - A.K.A. The Shirtless Sailor 12/19/2025

MFV #256 - A.K.A. The Shirtless Sailor This festive fortnight, we cover one of the big Christmas movies of this year, the new Benoit Blanc mystery Wake Up Dead Man (15:01), plus the latest season of political comedy-drama series The Diplomat (27:00). Plus bonus chat about acclaimed crime miniseries Task and ecological scifi play The Precipice. /episode/index/show/moderatefantasyviolence/id/39470000

MFV #255 - The Man With The Infinite Bum 12/04/2025

MFV #255 - The Man With The Infinite Bum This fortnight, Nick and Alastair enter the gothically dark world of Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein (16:27), and the edgelordishly dark universe of youthful Boys spin-off Gen V's second season (28:18). Plus Alastair's heard new Sprints album All That Is Over, while Nick's finally finished his long binge of The Marvelous Mrs Maisel. /episode/index/show/moderatefantasyviolence/id/39243145

MFV #254 - Capitalism Vs Predator 11/20/2025

MFV #254 - Capitalism Vs Predator This fortnight, we venture into the deadly landscape of Predator: Badlands (15:44), then the even scarier dark underbelly of the internet in W0rldtr33 volume 3 (29:10). Plus Nick's read Eight Billion Genies by Charles Soule & Ryan Browne, while Alastair's watched Ballad of a Small Player on Netflix. /episode/index/show/moderatefantasyviolence/id/39107470

MFV #253 - The Dr Cox Effect 11/06/2025

MFV #253 - The Dr Cox Effect This fortnight, it's espionage and political drama on both sides of the pond with A House of Dynamite (13:36) and Slow Horses season 5 (29:40). In slightly lighter territory, Alastair's also watched Wednesday season 2, while Nick's been living and dying with The Celebrity Traitors. /episode/index/show/moderatefantasyviolence/id/38925610

MFV #252 - Apologies to the bird-blind community 10/23/2025

MFV #252 - Apologies to the bird-blind community This fortnight, another double-superhero podcast, with DC's Peacemaker season 2 (20:44) and Marvel Zombies (38:55) from, shockingly, Marvel providing our token Halloween content. Also including a belated Wicked review from Nick, plus Alastair's annual dispatch from London Film Festival, covering movies such as H is for Hawk, The Chronology of Water and Fucktoys. /episode/index/show/moderatefantasyviolence/id/38741155

MFV #251 - A haunted doll wouldn’t behave like that! 10/09/2025

MFV #251 - A haunted doll wouldn’t behave like that! This fortnight, Nick and Alastair battle the evils of the system (exhaustedly) with One Battle After Another (18:08) and then icky extraterrestrial creatures in Alien: Earth (36:09). As if that wasn't enough, Alastair's seen M3gan 2.0, while Nick's watched the first season of The Paper, the new sitcom spinning off from The Office US. /episode/index/show/moderatefantasyviolence/id/38512445

MFV #250 - It was always Carnage 09/25/2025

MFV #250 - It was always Carnage To celebrate a ridiculous 250 episodes, we're once again recommending each other some favourites. Alastair's making Nick watch Alice in Borderland (20:21) on Netflix, while Nick's imposing on Alastair with 90s superhero-cyberpunk comic Spider-Man 2099 (36:15), as a small homage to recently departed writer Peter David. Also featuring some chat about the latest seasons of Ghosts US and Abbot Elementary, plus the 2024 movie Queer. /episode/index/show/moderatefantasyviolence/id/38340180

Moderate Fantasy Violence

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