We continue our delve into fairy tales with a discussion of the origins and history of the Cinderella story and a critical viewing of Ever After. We talk mousewashing and how it’s changed stories over the years, track Cinderella all the way back to 1 B.C., question the one-true-match theory, and get a big kick out of Cinderella as a tomboy, a killer father-daughter relationship, and the role of Utopia as a bond between them. We also run down the week in geek, including some Fassbenderesque boobs-against-the-window NYC exhibitionism, Sean’s take on the new Underworld flick, a possible Spidey intro in the why-can’t-I-see-this-today-Crom-why Avengers movie, thoughts on just how much early Dark Knight press is enough, Patrick Stewart’s expressed desire for a film career, a serious Trek fan’s divorce-fueled loss of his prize possession, creator’s approval for the new Dredd re(boot/make), and joy for new Spartacus and new (Hooper-tastic) Archer.

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We kick off our fairy tales arc with a watch and discussion of The Brothers Grimm. And we run down the week in geek including some spoiler-free BBC Sherlock season-finale discussion, a bit on Jonathan Coulton as an “old man who knows how to use the internet,” and some thoughts on what makes a fairy tale a fairy tale. Also: lots of classic, fun GWC off-topic chat, like a serious discussion on what constitutes the best cheap-ass beer, some frank talk about Peter Berg, and Chuck’s scary gym LOL moment.

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We dive into the ’90s Bill and Ted sequel, addressing some serious points about the duo’s psyche and home life as well as the heart we find in rock ‘n roll. And we run down the week in geek, including Dark Knight tix already (no, really) on sale, the miserable Bane ‘Knight trailer, our take on digital media availability, and the new medical tricorder X-prize (think Siri meets WebMD).

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We tackle the 80s time travel classic in style, giving it the geek cred recognition it so richly deserves. We note some significant trek connections. We talk about Bill and Ted’s untainted honesty, focus, and ability to grow without change. We discuss standards of beauty and Bill’s uncanny resemblance to some famous art. We note that inflation affects more than cash. And we run down the week in geek, including incredibly new BBC Sherlock, Sean’s Arkham City experiences, more ME3 news, and Chuck and Audra’s recent viewing of Thor.

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It’s our last podcast of 2011, and we spend it running down the week in geek, including some detailed discussion of Forza Motorsports 4 and it’s awesome new get-insulted-by-Jeremy-Clarkson gameplay, a tease of a don’t-we-wish Helen Mirren as the next female Doctor, some spoiler-free opinions on Mission Impossible 4, lots of interest in the Precinct 17 “leak,” and (of course) trailer talk about Snow White and Avengers. Joining us in-studio this week are long-time friends and GWCers Lady D and Topgun. See you in 2012!

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We’re joined again by Christmas TV Companion author Joanna Wilson, this time to discuss sci-fi Christmas specials. We listen to Bwana’s response to our honor of naming a GWC news section after him, which inspires some gaming discussion, like what it means to be a gamer and our take on the new XBL dashboard. Donnie Iris and the Cruisers serenade our audience with another awesome Christmas tune. And we run down the week in geek including the Prometheus, Lost Girl, and Three Inches trailers, new Spartacus, floating cities of the future. Also: We call out some awesome GWCers who tweeted us during recording. Happy holidays, everyone.

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We offer up some holiday entertainment to hopefully help make that Christmas travel just a little bit easier this season. Rock legends Donnie Iris and the Cruisers join us with a special performance to set the holiday tone. Joanna Wilson, author of ‘Tis The Season TV and the Christmas TV Companion walks us through the ins and outs of the Christmas special. And, of course, we run down the week in geek, including our quick take on Sherlock 2, some Skyrim bug fixes (less arrows to the knee, we hear), awesome news on the private orbital space flight front, and lots of trailer talk — Dark Knight, Battleship, Snow White, and MIB3 to name just a few. Happy holidays from your friends in Texas, y’all.

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We round up some of the Best of 2011 in our new patent-pending Top (n) lists. And we run down the week in geek, including some analysis of the analysis of Trek 2/12, Baldwin’s now-infamous Words With Friends addiction, a cool new take on Snow White, and the latest trends in ePublishing.

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This week’s special 300th episode of Galactic Watercooler was recorded live in front of a (remote) studio audience. We take a number of live callers. We bring you a special version of Fantasy Sci-Fi League in which our audience-selected team of heroes saves the holiday. We bring back the Reverend Dr. Wichelns (one of GWC’s most popular interviewees who originally joined us back in episodes #22 and #23 to explain some of the religious history in Battlestar Galactica and the philosophical mind-knots in The Matrix) for a talk. And we run down the week in geek, of course. Thank you to everyone who’s contributed their love, resources, and spirit to GWC over the years. Here’s to hundreds more. Note: This is a FOUR HOUR+ episode of GWC. We don’t normally run that long!

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This week we give thanks for some of the geeky things we loved this year. And we discover a ball-slappingly good time with Audra’s new holiday: Spanksgiving. Oh yeah, we also run down the week in geek including a ton of Trek movie news and Audra’s take on the neolithic iPad.

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We talk about some of our favorite geek gifts this holiday season. And we run down the week in geek, including lots more Skyrim love, a discussion of The Captains documentary, new Trek 2/12 news (filming and work on effects shots has begun), Sean’s take on Anita Blake audiobooks and sex in magic, some talk of the Hunger Games movie trailer, five reasons you should follow The Rock on Twitter, and Pixar’s update on their latest work.

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We catch you up on all the great shows and movies we’ve been watching for the past few months. And we run down the week in geek, including the new Elder Scrolls game release, a possible Bruce Willis casting in an upcoming Neuromancer big-screen debut, re-writes and shuffling in the Battleship/Asteroids camps, and lots, lots more.

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