Episode 42: The Ape is Back in Town

Episode 42—The Ape is Back in Town

Science fiction writer Scott Pearson and his daughter, Ella, discuss Kong: Skull Island in depth, including how it compares to earlier Kong films, its relationship with Godzilla (2014), how it holds up under repeated viewings, and differences between the film and its novelization. Double-length episode!

Segments

Intro :28

King Kong Through the Years 1:01

First Thoughts on Skull Island 5:18

Character Development: Kong v. Godzilla 6:48

Missing the Boat on Fighter Pilots 12:43

No Forced Romance, Hooray! 15:34

Kong as a Character 17:40

Respecting the Natives 19:48

Monarch and the Kaiju 21:18

Samuel L. Jackson is Angry 23:24

Hey, This Ape Ain’t So Bad 25:07

That’s a Lot of Choppers 26:04

Let’s Talk Monsters 29:22

Who is Captain Conrad? 31:05

Apocalypse Kong 32:15

The Boat that Pilots Built 34:10

What About the Female Characters? 34:57

Vietnam v. Kong 36:45

Coming Back to We’ll Meet Again 41:19

Kong and the Godzilla Template 42:08

The After Credit Scene 43:48

Kong v. Kong v. Kong v. Kong 49:18

Creating a Shared Universe 52:52

Skull Crawlers 54:34

They Sound Like Birds 55:02

John C. Reilly and the Old Flight Suit 55:40

Final Thoughts 56:44

Apocalypse Kong Redux: The Rewatches 57:10

All-Star Choppers Review 58:43

We Need a Map 1:00:47

Still a Fun Flick 1:04:12

Motion-Capture Connections 1:05:36

Thoughts on Three Viewings 1:09:26

The Novelization: Bulking up the Backstories 1:13:40