Television didn’t always remember. For decades, episodes reset like clockwork, characters lived in cheerful time loops, and anything resembling continuity was considered a liability. Then came a wave of rebellious creators, strange experiments, and a generation of fans armed with VCRs — and everything changed.

In this episode of Geekstorians, Dave rewinds to the era when TV grew up. From Hill Street Blues quietly teaching networks how to tell long-form stories, to Star Trek: The Next Generation bending the rules, to Twin Peaks turning mystery into obsession, and The X-Files training audiences to become detectives, this was the decade television learned to think in arcs.

We dive into J. Michael Straczynski’s audacious five-year blueprint for Babylon 5, and how it helped invent the modern showrunner/fandom feedback loop. Then it’s on to Buffy the Vampire Slayer — the series that rewrote the emotional architecture of genre TV and launched a writer’s room that would shape the next twenty years of storytelling.

After that comes the rise of cable: Angel, Stargate SG-1, Carnivàle, and the 2005 Doctor Who revival becoming proof that genre could be ambitious, sincere, and mainstream. And finally, the 2000s network scramble — the adrenaline of 24, the puzzle-box frenzy of Lost, the heartbreak of Firefly, the ambition of Battlestar Galactica, and the improbable triumph of Fringe.

All of it leads to the blueprint that streaming would later inherit — and occasionally break — as binge culture transformed how we watched, talked, and obsessed.

This is the story of how geek TV conquered the schedule, reshaped fandom, and taught the world that continuity isn’t a burden… it’s a promise.

Geekstorians is written and hosted by Dave from Geektown. For more TV, film and gaming news, visit Geektown.co.uk, or listen to our sister show Geektown Radio.

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/geektown.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s time for the Geektown Awards results podcast.

Dave is joined by Matt for a spoiler-free rundown of how the Geektown audience voted in the 2025 awards, covering TV, film, games, sci-fi, comedy, animation, procedurals, British TV, and the most anticipated releases of the year ahead.

With thousands of votes cast, the results sparked plenty of discussion, from nail-biting category races to unexpected shake-ups and a few outcomes that genuinely caught us off guard. We talk through the voting trends, what they say about viewing and gaming habits right now, and why some long-running franchises still dominate while newer titles continue to break through.

All winners and full rankings are revealed and discussed inside the episode itself, so consider this your spoiler-free invitation to dive in and see how your favourites fared.

Thanks to everyone who voted, and happy awards season listening.

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/geektown.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On 17th November 1978, CBS aired the first ever Star Wars spin-off — a chaotic, disco-tinged Christmas variety show featuring Wookiee domestic life, baffling guest stars, and the on-screen debut of Boba Fett. It aired once… and then disappeared.

But Star Wars has fans.

And fans do not let things disappear.

In this Geekstorians Christmas Special, we unwrap the unbelievable true story of the Star Wars Holiday Special: its overnight vanishing act, the bootleg trail that kept it alive, the obsessive hunt for surviving recordings, the rise of fan archivists determined to clean up every frame, and the moment this forgotten piece of TV slowly drifted back into the galaxy — in ways no one in 1978 could ever have predicted.

Featuring Wookiees, VHS tapes, Boba Fett’s origins, questionable musical numbers, and the fandom that refused to let the strangest artefact in Star Wars history fade away.

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/geektown.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Geektown Radio does something a little different.

Instead of our usual round-table discussion, Dave goes solo for a special end-of-year episode, looking back at what kind of year 2025 actually was for television, streaming, and the industry as a whole.

This isn’t a “best of” list or a countdown. It’s a reflection on a year where shows moved platforms, franchises returned in strange new forms, cancellations came faster and colder than ever, and streaming finally stopped pretending the money was infinite.

Along the way, we talk about:

• ITVX quietly becoming one of the most useful platforms of the year
• The annual US TV Bloodbath, and why it felt different in 2025
• How Netflix, Apple TV, Prime Video, and Hulu play by very different rules
• Why franchises don’t end anymore, they just come back wearing a hat
• What video game adaptations finally seem to be getting right
• The shows that proved TV can still be genuinely brilliant
• And why 2025 was the year the industry stopped expanding and started reorganising itself

We also wrap up with a look ahead to 2026, a thank you to everyone who listens, reads, and supports Geektown, and a short message for anyone finding this time of year a little heavy.

Plus, we tee up our Geekstorians Christmas special — The Hunt for the Star Wars Holiday Special, dropping this week.

Geektown Radio will be taking a short break in January, but we’ll be back in February 2026.

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/geektown.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For this episode of Geektown Talks To…, Dave Elliott sits down with cinematographer Jules O’Loughlin, whose work you’ll recognise from some of the most ambitious genre TV of the last decade.

Jules recently completed work on Season 2 of the Emmy-winning Percy Jackson and the Olympians, returning to the show as it expands its scale, environments and action. He’s the only cinematographer to work across both current seasons, and while production is on a short Christmas hiatus, he’ll be heading back to Vancouver in the new year as Season 3 continues filming.

In the conversation, Jules talks about shooting fantasy in a way that feels physical and grounded, why Season 2 of Percy Jackson leaned harder into real locations and large practical builds, and how you approach sequences involving speed, water, scale and creatures that don’t technically exist. He also digs into the collaborative reality of big TV productions, balancing technical precision with performance, and the problem-solving mindset needed when the camera is placed in less-than-friendly environments.

Jules’ previous work includes Black Sails, Ms. Marvel, See, and The Old Man — shows known for their scale, visual ambition, and the kind of challenges that keep cinematographers permanently on their toes.

🎙️ Geektown Talks To… is Geektown’s interview podcast, featuring long-form conversations with the people working behind the scenes of TV, film, games and animation.

📻 You can also hear Dave every week on Geektown Radio for TV news, reviews and UK air date info.

📚 And for something a little different, Geekstorians explores the history of geek culture, from fandom and gaming to the evolution of genre storytelling.

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/geektown.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the 1980s, a strange new box arrived in our living rooms — the VHS player. It was noisy, chunky, and occasionally tried to eat your favourite film… but it changed everything.

In this episode, Dave rewinds through the story of how home video broke the monopoly of the movie studios, terrified censors, and accidentally created the first generation of fan-filmmakers. From Mary Whitehouse’s “Video Nasties” crusade to Kevin Smith maxing out his credit cards to make Clerks, this is the tale of how VHS gave ordinary people the power to choose what they watched — and in doing so, redefined geek culture itself.

[MUSIC / SFX from the episode include: 1980s synths, tape whirrs, and the sound of a van full of forbidden treasures.]

Listen for:

• The forgotten role of a door-to-door video rental van

• The panic that birthed Britain’s “Video Nasty” blacklist

• How a New Jersey shop clerk became a cult-film icon

• Why imperfection made VHS feel alive

🎙️ Written & Presented by Dave Elliott

🔗 More at Geektown.co.uk

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/geektown.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dave is joined by Matt for another packed episode of Geektown Radio, covering new games, returning TV favourites, and one of the biggest nights in the gaming calendar.

Matt shares hands-on impressions of Ghost of Yōtei, Sucker Punch’s follow-up to Ghost of Tsushima, and talks about Rematch, the arcade-style football game from the creators of Sifu. Both hosts are still enjoying Vince Gilligan’s slow-burn sci-fi series Pluribus.

A major part of the episode is dedicated to The Game Awards, where Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 dominated the night, GTA VI was the inevitable “Most Anticipated” winner, No Man’s Sky continued its redemption arc, and reveals included LEGO Batman, Larian’s new Divinity, James Bond, and multiple Star Wars projects.

Dave also catches up on Percy Jackson and the Olympians Season 2, talks about the return of Fallout for Season 2, and updates listeners on Geekstorians, Geektown Talks To…, and the Geektown Awards.

Plus, all the latest TV news, renewals, air dates, and what’s coming to UK screens next week.

00:00 – Intro and what’s coming up

02:05 – Matt on Ghost of Yōtei (early impressions)

08:40 – Rematch and why it feels different from traditional football games

13:55 – Catching up with Pluribus

18:45 – The Game Awards discussion begins

19:30 – Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 sweeping the awards

23:40 – How Expedition 33 compares to Baldur’s Gate 3

26:20 – Big games missing out on awards

28:15 – Sports categories and accessibility eyebrow-raisers

30:10 – GTA VI and why everyone is terrified of its release window

32:30 – No Man’s Sky winning Best Ongoing Game

35:00 – Announcements: LEGO Batman, James Bond, Larian’s Divinity

38:40 – Star Wars reveals, including Fate of the Old Republic

43:00 – What wasn’t shown at The Game Awards

45:15 – Dave’s updates: Geekstorians, Geektown Talks To…, Geektown Awards

49:00 – Percy Jackson and the Olympians Season 2

51:30 – Fallout Season 2 return

53:20 – TV news, renewals and air dates

57:40 – Highlights for next week on UK TV

59:20 – Outro and where to find everything

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/geektown.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Geektown Talks To…, Dave sits down with composer Greg Nicolett, whose work spans Disney animation, award-nominated game scores, sci-fi pilots and experimental live action projects. Greg talks about blending orchestral writing with unexpected sounds, from kazoos and chipmunk-style vocals in Dr. Seuss’s The Sneetches, to amplified cellos and duduk in Talon, and even a bowed one-string guitar for the horror feature Dead of Night.

Greg shares how a viral collaboration with Shia LaBeouf led him into Disney’s animation world, how he approaches world-building through music, and why video games offer a unique creative space. He also discusses the influence of composers such as John Williams and Trent Reznor, the challenge of scoring emotionally dark material while raising a family, and his ongoing search for new sonic ideas.

If you enjoy this interview, you can hear more behind-the-scenes conversations right here on Geektown Talks To…, as well as weekly TV news and reviews on Geektown Radio, and deep dive storytelling on Geekstorians, our documentary podcast exploring the history of geek culture.

Listen, subscribe and explore more at Geektown.co.uk.

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/geektown.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.