recursal/Fanatic-Fandom huggingface dataset:
Starman

**Starman** is episode 343 focusing on the 1984 film of the same name and part of the They Podcast miniseries on the films of John Carpenter. Posted September 26, 2021.

## Summary

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> Voyager II may be approaching the “Termination Shock” (Ben’s new favorite phrase), but we’re on earth cherishing the otherworldly romance of John Carpenter’s *STARMAN*! Vanity Fair’s Katey Rich returns to discuss Jeff Bridges’ impressive performance, the illustrious career of Hollywood script doctor “Dinky” Dean Reisner, and the one sandwich that’s actually supposed to have paprika on it (whatever deviled egg thing Karen Allen orders at the diner in this movie).
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### Milestones and Ephemera

* Some wiki talk on this ep (which helps me pinpoint when they recorded because I had to update the page for The Five-Timers Club 😭)
* This is Katey's third pandemic episode... which is such a bummer.
* The youngest ever guest, Charlie, started kindergarten!!
* They tease a potential Baz Luhrmann and Katey calls Australia.

**Box Office**

Weekend of December 14, 1984

1. Beverly Hills Cop
2. Dune
3. City Heat
4. 2010: The Year We Make Contact
5. The Cotton Club

* Other films: Starman (#6)

## References

1. ↑ Blank Check Podcast. Starman with Katey Rich. Audioboom. Retrieved on September 26, 2021.
Moonraker Commentary

**Moonraker** is episode 150 of Blank Check: Special Features and a commentary for the 1979 feature film of the same name. Posted October 1, 2022.

## Summary

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> 🎵Nobody does commentaries better!🎵 BC:SF begins October with the Moore Bond series taking James to one of the most exotic locations...the moon! Topics include: the Broccoli family rumors, the pigeon double take, nobody doing it better, Jaws' evolution and more!
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> **Movie starts at…2:26**
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### Milestones and Ephemera

* Theme song: Moonraker by Dame Shirley Bassey
* See the Milestones and Ephemera from The Spy Who Loved Me episode for a Broccoli claim breakdown.

#### Box office

July, 1979

1. Moonraker
2. Alien
3. Rocky II
4. The Main Event
5. Escape from Alcatraz

* Other movies in the top 10: Prophecy, The In-Laws, Nightwing, Bloodline, Good Guys Wear Black

## References

1. ↑ Blank Check Podcast. Moonraker. Patreon. Retrieved on October 3, 2022.
Lost in Space

Podst in Space

**Lost in Space** is episode 138 and the second Family's Choice standalone episode. The episode is the first Joey Sims choice. The episode was posted on 3 Dec 2017.

## Summary

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> This week is a special family edition episode with brother of David, Joey Sims, who picked a favorite film of the Sims’ boys youth: 1998’s failed sci-fi adaptation *Lost in Space*. When did the age of nostalgic reboots begin in American cinema? What is getting ‘blarped’ mean? How is this a movie for kids? Together they discuss the career’s of William Hurt, Akiva Goldsman and Joey Tribbiani, the restrictions of early CGI technology, Sony Discmans and more.
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Welcome, David Sims' younger brother Joey! At first David thought that Joey could guest on an episode discussing *S.W.A.T.*, but upon reflection David realized he was mostly obsessed with this movie himself while at college, and Joey not so much. But while growing up David and Joey used lines from *Lost in Space* as inside jokes at home, and in true Ben's Choice fashion they watched it repeatedly on VHS, so... family choice made!

Can Matt LeBlanc escape the shadow of "Friends" to have a movie career? Who is the lead in this movie, and is this thing half a movie or is it four movies? Was *Lost In Space* a back-breaker for the careers of Heather Graham or William Hurt? How did a line about "consenting adults" get into this script - danger Will Robinson! What the hell is up with Blarp, and how is the CGI character's performance evaluated in light of a freaky 'Future Blarp' deleted scene?

### Milestones and Ephemera

* Performance Review: Lacey Chabert is David's MVP.
* You be The Judge! Which Griffin impression is better: his Jeff Goldblum or his Matthew Broderick?
* First appearance of Rich Uncle Pennybags for an ad! And he swears like a sailor!
* This mission sucks.
* And...the monkey flips the switch.
* Deeper! THROUGHHHHHH the planet's core!
* Deleted Giant Blarp scenes
* Box Office Game: Weekend of April 3, 1998.
Joker

*This page refers to the 2019 film. For the recurring bit, see Richard T. Joker*.

### Reddit thread

Link

**Joker** is episode 239 focusing on the 2019 film of the same name, as part of the PodDCEU Cast. Posted October 13, 2019.

## Summary

>
> HA HA HA! On the week of its release in October of 2019, Griffin and David discussed *Joker*. Together they examine all the unearned controversy surrounding the film, Todd Phillips' career, the performances of Joaquin Phoenix and Robert De Niro, the portrayal of a gritty 1970's New York City and more!
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### Milestones and Ephemera

* Box office game: Weekend of October 4, 2019
Lolita

**Lolita** is episode 391 focusing on the 1962 film of the same name as part of Pods Wide Cast miniseries on the films of Stanley Kubrick. Posted September 4, 2022.

## Summary

>
> How did they ever make a podcast of LOLITA? Let’s just say that it wasn’t easy, but thankfully our guest Fran Hoepfner is in her “brave era” and was more than up for the task! If our SPARTACUS episode was full of Tony Curtis impressions, we’re classing up the joint this week with plenty of James Mason bits. In this episode, Ben learns about the Hays Code, Griffin learns how to pronounce “Nabokov,” Fran learns that it is very difficult to eat a giant lollipop, and David learns what everyone thought of his and Forky’s recent wedding.
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### Milestones and Ephemera

* Fran's Six Days with a Big Lollipop saga.
* Jon Hamm as James Mason on SNL
* Baby name chalkboard meme
* Kanye's water bottle tweet
* Lots of talk about David & Forky's recent wedding reception. Forky did the UK Bit during her speech?
* Fran is in her "brave era" watching more horror films but she was also the only brave one to agree to guest on *Lolita*.
* Jamie Loftus’ The Lolita Podcast

#### Box Office Game

June, 1962 (wide release)

1. That Touch of Mink
2. Advise & Consent
3. West Side Story
4. Boys' Night Out
5. Lolita

* Other movies in the top 10: Hatari, Bon Voyage, Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation, The Counterfeit Trader, Judgment at Nuremburg

## References

1. ↑ Blank Check Podcast. Lolita. Audioboom. Retrieved on September 4, 2022.
2. ↑ Fran Hoepfner. Six Days with a Big Lollipop. Gawker. Retrieved on September 10, 2022.
Praying With Anger/Wide Awake

**Praying With Anger/Wide Awake** is episode 40 focusing on the movies of the same name, as part of the Pod Night Shyamacast miniseries covering the filmography of M. Night Shyamalan.

## Summary

> In the debut episode of the newly rebranded ‘Blank Check’, Griffin and David look to another director of supersized ego and skill: M. Night Shyamalan. Similar to their investigation of George Lucas’ Star Wars, the hosts aim to discover where exactly in Shyamalan’s filmography did this artist lose touch with his unique vision and become the “twist” guy?
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> Starting with 1992’s *Praying with Anger* (set in India and filmed while he was still a student at NYU), as well as, his first major-motion picture *Wide Awake*, join the hosts as they try to understand how these early attempts would affect his future films and the recurring themes Shyamalan would continue to explore.
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### Milestones and Ephemera

* *Wide Awake* features future guest and BC social media manager Marie Bardi as an extra!

## References

1. ↑ Praying with Anger/Wide Awake on Audioboom.
Speed Racer

**Speed Racer** is episode 57 focusing on the movie of the same name, as part of the The Podchowski Casters miniseries covering the filmography of the Wachowskis. Posted 16 May 2016.

## Summary

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> Guests Emily Yoshida (The Verge) and J.D. Amato (The Chris Gethard Show) make their return to Blank Check to examine 2008’s *Speed Racer*. But why does everyone on the panel love this movie and disagree with the criticism it received? How was this film ahead of its time? Should racing involve the financial world? Together, they discuss Spritle and Chim-Chim antics, watching sunday morning cartoons, irony, the amazing special effects and so much more!
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Guests Emily Yoshida (*The Verge*, and mother of Blankies) and J.D. Amato ("The Chris Gethard Show") make their return to Blank Check to examine the Wachowski's biggest blank check yet, 2008’s *Speed Racer*.

As #TheTwoFriends often get the chance to do on the show, they break down the wild journey that the project took through Hollywood before getting the final go-ahead. Can you imagine Vince Vaughn or Henry Rollins as Racer X? Before he has to duck out for the middle 80 of the episode, can you put yourself in the shoes of J.D. Amato while he relates his epic tale of experiencing this film for the first time in a packed IMAX theater?

But in critical and popular opinion at the time, this blank check bounced, baby. Why does everyone on the panel love this movie and disagree with the criticism it received? How was this film ahead of its time, and will "its time" ever arrive? Is this movie a secret treatise on macroeconomics theory? Together, they discuss Spritle and Chim-Chim antics & character motivations, the tight-knit family dynamic that the cast achieved, memories of Sunday morning cartoons, the extraordinary special effects, and any number of digressions on candy, addictions to various things (including candy), and the neon-bright visual style (some might even say candy-colored).

Stay tuned at the end when J.D. returns to the studio, amazed to discover the episode is still going. Oh, J.D., you know what podcast this is.

### Milestones and Ephemera

* Eating on-mic: Griffin, with dry cheerios
* The Speed Racer Volkswagen GTI commercial
* The *Baby Mama* of movie critics: Film Crit HULK
* Get well soon: Producer Ben

## References

1. ↑ Speed Racer on Audioboom. Retrieved August 28, 2021.
Pinocchio (2022)

* Podnocchio
* OG Podcast Away

**Pinocchio** is episode 393 focusing on the 2022 streaming film of the same name as part of the Podcast Away miniseries on the films of Robert Zemeckis. Posted September 18, 2022.

## Summary

>
> The King of the Uncanny Valley - our boy Bob Zemeckis - is back with his spin on perhaps the most iconic un-real boy in cinema…it’s Pinocchio, baby! Our friends from Podcast: The Ride - two Disney daddies and one small wooden boy - join us to chat about Disney’s latest live-action remake, and we’re mostly just confused. How many days did Tom Hanks spend on set? Why are so many people in Hollywood eager to make their own Pinocchio adaptations? Did Leslie Zemeckis do mo-cap work for the sexy goldfish? Why does Disney World’s Rock ‘N’ Roller Coaster revolve around AEROSMITH of all bands?? We may never know!
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### Milestones and Ephemera

* Honest John fancam
* Jiminy Cricket vs Bibleman
* Jason's AI art bot prompt: peter pan and pinocchio eating ice cream sundaes in a fry’s electronics parking lot
* *Geppetto* (2000)
* Box office game: Weekend of September 9, 2022.
* Not sure where to start with Podcast: The Ride? They recommend the eps with Griffin or David, which you can find here!

### Sponsors

The guests were there for the ad reads!

* Jiminy Cricket (who is definitely *not* Joseph Gordon Levitt) stops by to talk about Bombas.
* Sofia the SeagulLorraine Bracco stops by and rasps about Indeed.
* Joseph Gordon Levitt (and definitely not Jiminy Cricket) stops by to talk about Stamps.com

## References

1. ↑ Blank Check Podcast. Pinocchio (2022). Audioboom. Retrieved on September 18, 2022.
2. ↑ @KaiserNeko. Tweet Sep 18, 2022. Twitter. Retrieved on September 19, 2022.
3. ↑ @blankcheckpod. [Sep 18, 2022 Tweet Sep 9, 2022]. Twitter. Retrieved on September 19, 2022.
4. ↑ @ai\_curio\_bot. Tweet Aug 30, 2022. Twitter. Retrieved on September 19, 2022.
Tenet (no bits)

*This is the no bits version of the Tenet page. For the main article, full of bits, see Tenet.*

### Audio link

Soundcloud
Audioboom

### Reddit thread

Link

**Tenet** (also known as **Benet**, Beneᗺ, and **teneT**) is episode 306 focusing on the 2020 film of the same name, as part of The Pod Knight Casts miniseries on the films of Christopher Nolan. Posted January 10, 2021.

## Summary

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> Blank check revisits director Christopher Nolan with his new backwards action film, *Tenet*. Together #thetwofriends discuss the "Savior of Cinema's" unusual journey to VOD, spotlight the career of Robert Pattinson, the performance of John David Washington, and more!
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### Milestones and Ephemera

* The rules don't make sense and Griffin *does* like it..
* David saw it in alone in a theater rented for him by The Atlantic because he fancy.
* #thetwofriends saw it together in Secaucus, NJ in a theater rented for $150.
* The film has only 280 special effects shots.
* David's interview with Claire Denis and Robert Pattinson: Robert Pattinson and Claire Denis Talk *'High Life'*
* Multiple Nominee in The Sixth Annual Blank Check Awards
	+ Griffin: #7 in his top 10
	+ David: #5 in his top 10
		- Best Supporting Actor - Robert Pattinson
		- Best Director - Christopher Nolan
	+ Joe
		- Best Supporting Actor - Robert Pattinson
* Box-Office Game: Weekend of September 4, 2020

## References

1. ↑ Tenet on Audioboom. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
The Incredible Hulk Commentary

*This is an article about the Patreon episode on The Incredible Hulk, directed by Louis Leterrier. For the main feed episode, see Hulk.*

## The Incredible Hulk

### Reddit thread

Link

**The Incredible Hulk** is episode 3 of Blank Check: Special Features and a commentary episode on the Marvel Cinematic Universe film of the same name. Posted January 21, 2019.

## Summary

>
> Another installment of Blank Check's commentary series on the MCU! This time the boys discuss *The Incredible Hulk*. But who are the various snacks in this film? Does Hulk have a van? Could you equate this film to dog pubes on a plate? Together #thetwofriends and Producer Ben examine set dressing with salami, Planet Hollywood, quad fighting and more!
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### Milestones and Ephemera

* **Movie starts at approx 0:03:52.**
* The episode was released from behind the paywall on January 21, 2022.
* A very bits-heavy episode because the movie sucks ass.
* Forky’s favorite movie is Keeping the Faith.
* Pizza arrives around 1:17:00 and they do eat on mic.
* What makes a movie star: good hair height.
* Ben eats some weed chocolate so it should kick in around Iron Man 2.
* Hmm they *should* do The Mummy movies…
* Maybe they should do the Hannibal movies? Too bad they’ll never cover Manhunter, which is its own thing.
* Ben loves chains *and* bones and he still hated this movie.
* Box-Office Game: Weekend of June 13, 2008
	+ Same BOG as The Happening
Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol Commentary

*For the main feed episode, see Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol*
**Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol** is a Mission: Impossible commentary episode, and episode 68 of the Blank Check: Special Features. Posted August 20, 2020 and released from behind the paywall on August 21, 2023.

## Summary

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> Ready to listen to four friends gasp and yell as Tom Cruise hangs outside Burj Khalifa even though we've seen it already a dozen times??? This week watch Brad Bird turn around the Mission franchise while the BC crew reflects on Sand Gun's career, George Bush's paintings, and why the next villain should be a talking shark.
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### Milestones and Ephemera

* David loves driving. Griffin will *never* drive. Ang & Ben both have terrible road rage.
* Other topics of conversation: Lea Seydoux's horrible miscasting in SPECTRE, George W. Bush's horrifying art.
* They do the box office game for the IMAX release week, because the wide release they had already done for The Adventures of Tintin, War Horse, and We Bought a Zoo.

## References

1. ↑ Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol on Patreon
Ponyo on the Cliff

**Ponyo on the Cliff** (also known as **Ponyo**) is episode 241 focusing on the film of the same name as part of the Howl's Moving Podcastle miniseries. Posted October 27, 2019.

## Summary

> Writer, Shirley Li (The Atlantic) joins Griffin & David to discuss 2008's better Little Mermaid, *Ponyo on the Cliff*! Together they examine Ponyo's love of ham/Sosuke, offer up fresh Men In Black International takes, present life hacks such as bringing a fish back to life with vodka and yes, the dog is off the leash.
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### Milestones and Ephemera

* Ponyo loves ham, David loves Ponyo.
* Sosuke’s mom is a classic David crush (aka bossy round face)
* Ben nicknames @ 0:08:45, including Shirley’s suggestion for a new one: **TinkerBen**
* Recorded around the time the Mann series wrapped so there’s some brainstorming of nicknames, including **Public Benemies**
	+ Rejected nicknames: Dollarhoz, Michael Benn, Hosli (like Ali)
* When Ben’s not vocal on an episode, pretty good chance he was hungover.
* At any point in time, there’s an excellent chance Griffin has recently rewatched the Toy Story movies.
* Recounts Griffin’s quest to get be someone’s plus one to the Toy Story 4 press screening.
* Griffin briefly had a pet fish, which he named Car, that subsequently got released into the river.
* David, Forky, and a bouncing baby Na’vi: a Modern Family.
* Box office game: Weekend of August 14, 2009
* David gets really amped about doing a Stephen Sommers miniseries?? Winter is Sommers?! (It’s not, but check out The Mummy for some Sommers talk)
* Recorded in June 2019, so they make some predictions for the future.

## Quotes

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## References

1. ↑ Ponyo on Audioboom. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
Knock at the Cabin

* Pod at the Castbin
* The OG

**Knock at the Cabin** (aka **Pod at the Castbin**) is episode 412 focusing on the 2023 film of the same name as part of the Pod Night Shyamacast miniseries on the films of M. Night Shyamalan. This is the fourth revisit of the Pod Night Shyamacast since the conclusion of the original miniseries. Posted February 12, 2023.

## Summary

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> Knock knock! Who’s there? M. Night Shyamalan, of course! We’re answering the door and ushering in the apocalypse with a look at Night’s latest offering.
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### Milestones and Ephemera

* Welcome to the Five-Timers Club, Marie!
* Box office: Weekend of July 23-25, 2021.

## References

1. ↑ Blank Check Podcast. Knock at the Cabin. Audioboom. Retrieved on February 12, 2023.
Sweetie

**Sweetie** is episode 358 focusing on the 1989 film of the same name as part of The Podcastiano miniseries on the films of Jane Campion. Posted January 16, 2022.

## Summary

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> We’ve climbed up in our childhood treehouse and we’re not coming down! Sarah Violet Bliss (Search Party) joins us to talk about “Sweetie” - Jane Campion’s off-kilter meditation on suburbia and sibling rivalry. Revelations within the episode include the fact that David was part of the “Neighbours Society” at Uni (a group of students in favor of airing the Aussie soap in common areas twice daily); that one of the IMDB tags for this movie is “Rides A Man Like A Horse”; that Producer Ben has \*definitely\* known a few Sweetie-types in his life; and more!
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### Milestones and Ephemera

* Campeen? 🍆
* Box-office game: Weekend of January 19, 1990

## References

1. ↑ Blank Check Podcast. Sweetie with Sarah-Violet Bliss. Audioboom. Retrieved on January 16, 2022.
Pod-19: The Widowcaster

The films of Academy Award winner Kathryn Bigelow.

## Summary

Before Patty Jenkins and the blockbuster-budget *Wonder Woman*, there was Kathryn Bigelow.

Griffin and David are fascinated by the themes of Bigelow's films. But how did an artist and house-flipper journey through film school to eventually become the first woman to direct a $100 million dollar budget picture? Where does her later professional alliance and then marriage to James Cameron fit in with the social and psychological issues she examines in her movies? Which of her movies are secret masterpieces? After her blank check movie flopped at the box office, how did she recover to become the first woman to win a Best Director and Best Picture Academy Award, for *The Hurt Locker*? #TheTwoFriends investigate.

This miniseries welcomed the most guests of any Blank Check miniseries to date, with twelve featured in ten episodes.

This miniseries was also the first in Blank Check history to incorporate Advertisements into any episodes, beginning in the *Blue Steel* episode. Nearly every ad read takes the form of an improvised sketch of some kind, with characters and vocal impressions and bits aplenty.

In a Twitter poll to decide the name of the miniseries, "Pod-19: The Widowcaster" narrowly edged out "Zero Pod Casty".

This miniseries was preceded by The Pod Knight Casts miniseries, on the films of Christopher Nolan. It was followed by the Podship Casters miniseries, on the films of Paul Verhoeven.

### Milestones and Ephemera

* Producer Ben nickname: **Ben-19: The Fennelmaker**.

## Ranking Her Filmography

* Griffin and David shared their rankings on the Avatarland/The Second Blank Check Mailbag episode, rather than the usual last episode of the miniseries.
* The Blankies rankings were compiled from the Reddit voting thread found on the r/Blankies sub-reddit. Due to timing, the results did not factor in Griffin and David's rankings.
Paul Scheer

**Paul Scheer** (@paulscheer on Twitter) is an actor, improviser, and podcast host luminary.

## Biography

Paul was an early performer at the Upright Citizens Brigade in New York, and currently performs at the UCB in Los Angeles. He rose to fame as a member of the improv and sketch comedy troupe Human Giant, including their stint as a television show on MTV, and then starred on the mostly-improvised comedy "The League" on FX for seven seasons.

Most relevant, though, is Paul's status as podcaster extraordinaire. He has appeared as a guest on several shows on the Earwolf podcasting network, was the co-founder of the Wolfpop offshoot network, and is a co-host of the popular long-running bad-movie podcast *How Did This Get Made?* along with June Diane Raphael and Jason Mantzoukas. He also co-hosts the good-movie podcast Unspooled with Amy Nicholson.

Paul is a Blank Check listener, and he noted that the Crystal Skull episode in particular helped him personally with that movie! So when the busy schedules worked out he jumped at the chance to appear on Blank Check episode #151 Running Scared, a Guest's Choice episode where he picked out the Billy Crystal & Gregory Hines buddy-cop movie specifically for blankies. So often on his own podcast he gets locked into bad movies, of course, so he was excited to get to talk about a great 80's comedy-action movie from his childhood that doesn't often get its due.
Ocean's Twelve Commentary

**Ocean's Twelve** is episode 184 of Blank Check: Special Features and a commentary for the 2004 feature film of the same name. Posted August 1, 2023.

## Summary

> Grab your passport because in this third installment of the Ocean’s commentary series—BC:SF is going European! Together, Griffin, David, and Ben discuss the despised 2004 sequel film, Ocean’s Twelve. Topics include: why Soderbergh’s challenge to himself proved unsuccessful, gentleman thievery, flashbacks within flashbacks, the word ‘chuffa’ and more.
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### Milestones and Ephemera

* Box office game: Weekend of December 10, 2004

## References

1. ↑ Blank Check Podcast. Ocean's Twelve. Patreon. Retrieved on August 8, 2023.
Seaton Smith

**Seaton Smith** is a comedian, actor, writer, director. He is on Twitter as @seatonsmith.

Griffin and Seaton became friends when they worked together on the original pilot for the television series "Mulaney," before Griffin was removed from the cast. Seaton was a guest for The Last Airbender episode of Blank Check; Seaton was a fan of the animated series that the movie was based on.
The Man With the Golden Gun Commentary

**The Man with the Golden Gun** is episode 147 of Blank Check: Special Features and a commentary for the 1974 feature film of the same name. Posted September 1, 2022.

## Summary

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> BC:SF is back with post-sandwich energy and more Roger Moore era Bond! Topics include: third nipples, James Bond being a bit of a creep, Street Fighter II, the J.W. Pepper treatment, Madame Tussauds and more.
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### Milestones and Ephemera

* Post sandwich energy! Starts out hot, gets real sleepy in the middle.
* The Teaser poster
* Nadir of the Moore Bonds
* Cockney Dracula: Would watch.
* Acme VP, Stating the Obvious
* Future live show at UCB Macau.
* Ben loves Vega, David’s go-to is Chun-Li, Griffin likes Blanka.
* Andrea Anders (character), Andrea Anders (actress), Andrea Arnold, Allison Anders
* New Glossary entry: “Peppered in”

#### Box office

December 25, 1974

1. The Godfather Part II
2. The Man with the Golden Gun
3. The Towering Inferno
4. The Island at the Top of the World
5. The Front Page

* Other movies in the top 10: Airport 1975, Earthquake, Death Wish, The Little Prince, Lenny

## Quotes

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> | Griffin: |  Bond.
> | David: |  Whaat?!
> | Griffin: |  James Bond.
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> | Ben: |  Oh shit! Is that that old fuckin' wizard dude?
> | #TheTwoFriends: |  Yes.
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## References

1. ↑ Blank Check Podcast. The Man with the Golden Gun. Patreon. Retrieved on September 1, 2022.
2. ↑ u/pageus. In reference to Ben's mention.... Reddit. Retrieved on September 2, 2022. “In reference to Ben's mention of it in today's episode, here is the heads up display in MK11. It then switches to "Titles" with all his miniseries nicknames”
3. ↑ @ 0:04:40
The Castle of Cagliostro

**The Castle of Cagliostro** is episode 230 focusing on the film of the same name, and the first of the Howl's Moving Podcastle miniseries. Posted August 11, 2019.

## Summary

> This week marks the beginning of a new series on the films of director Hayao Miyazaki! Together they present a brief background of Miyazaki, explore the history of Lupin the 3rd franchise, debate what DJ Khaled actually does and more!
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## References

1. ↑ The Castle of Cagliostro on Audioboom. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
Romance

**Romance** is episode 16 and the fourth part of the Attack of the Podcast miniseries, about the film *Star Wars Episode II: Attack Of The Clones*. Posted 12 Jul 2015.

## Summary

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> Joining Griffin and David this week is friend of the show Rachel Lang, to discuss the steamy romance that develops between Anakin and Padmé. Playing a major part in a film that's about a war happening in space, the scenes of going out to eat at a restaurant, innocently rolling around in fields, and a secret wedding are this episode’s focus.
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David has called this episode one of his favorites. Rachel was just the second guest ever on the podcast, and what better guest to have to get accustomed to the different dynamic? She has an comfortable chemistry on-mic with #TheTwoFriends that makes for good listening.

### Milestones and Ephemera

* Griffin on the Dark Knight trilogy: "This is a whole 'nother podcast." Prophetic!
* Videology Trivia Night team names: Vin Diesel Pig in the City, 2 Fast Tu Mama Tambien, William H. Macy's Thanksgiving's Day Parade
* And for the interested: the William H. Macy humor piece from The Onion that Griffin references can be found here.

## References

1. ↑ Blank Check Podcast. Romance. Audioboom. Retrieved on August 30, 2022.
Pilot Viruet

**Pilot Viruet** (they/them)  is a culture critic and editor with credits on *Vice*. They also started the infamous Videology Trivia Night team that Griffin and David were both on (and later kinda sorta took over).

## Biography

Pilot was a guest for the Star Wars Holiday Special episode of Griffin and David Present. Despite having never seen it before, Griffin and David considered Pilot a good potential guest for the episode because they are often a fan of "bad" movies and shows, or at least movies and shows that most people don't like or appreciate.

Pilot was also featured on the War Horse episode of Blank Check. They were of the opinion that even though the titular War Horse was attractive and all, they did not understand the level of the characters' infatuation with this horse. However, eventually everyone just decided to accept that people just seem to "really wanna fuck that horse!"

## References

1. ↑ According to instagram, they use they/them pronouns. Please do not change them without cause.
March Madness 2020

**March Madness 2020** was a virtual March Madness tournament held on the Blank Check twitter account for Blankies to vote on a director to be covered. The 2020 bracket had no seeds, and was Oscars vs. Razzies themed. The winning director was Robert Zemeckis and the resulting miniseries, Podcast Away, began in September 2020.

## Summary

It's the 2020 March Madness event! Oscar winners vs. Razzie "winners!" At the same time on Blank Check: Special Features a corresponding tournament was hosted to determine the next franchise covered on the Patreon.

### March Madness Rules

* polls post on Twitter @blankcheckpod at or around NOON Eastern/ 9am Pacific/ 4pm Greenwich Mean Time (shoutout British English)
* polls are open for 24 hours, new poll daily through 3/31/2020
* winner = covered in autumn 2020
* Don't @ blankcheckpod about missing directors. These are the choices this year!
* PLAY NICE!

## Tournament

### First Round Matchups

* A first round stats roundup by u/mi-16evil: BC March Madness 2020 - Round 1 Stats

### Semifinals

twitter -- 12,822 total votes -- reddit

## Stats

 Round 2
 Round 3
 Round 4
 Round 5

## Featured Episodes

The March Madness 2020 recap episodes appeared on Blank Check: Special Features.

## References

1. ↑ u/mi-16evil. BC March Madness 2020 - Round 1 Stats. reddit. Retrieved on March 31, 2022.
Shaft

**Shaft** is episode 327 focusing on the 2000 film of the same name as part of the Podz n the Cast miniseries on the films of John Singleton. Posted June 6, 2021.

## Summary

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> He’s a bad mother...pod your cast! Demi Adejuyigbe (*The Amber Ruffin Show*) joins Griffin and David to discuss the cultural legacy of Detective John Shaft - most specifically, John Singleton’s 2000 interpretation. Is there enough sex in this version of Shaft? What does Shaft mean when he says, “Giuliani Time!” ? Does Jeffrey Wright put too much paprika on the sandwich? Listen here!
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### Milestones and Ephemera

* The third in Griffin's "Blanking the Blank" Night Court theme rewrites, after The Judge and Hulk.
* The Wesley Snipes 90s *Black Panther* interview: Wesley Snipes Reveals Untold Story Behind His ‘Black Panther’ Film
* Shane Salerno's Singleton remembrance: My Time Making ‘Shaft’ With John Singleton
* The grumpy Singleton interview where he talks about Tarantino: John Singleton: Shaft, the melodrama
* Box office game: Weekend of June 16, 2000

## References

1. ↑ Blank Check Podcast. Shaft with Demi Adejuyigbe. Audioboom. Retrieved on June 6, 2021.
Ray Tintori

**Ray Tintori** is an American director and screenwriter based in New York City.

## Biography

Tintori is also a founding member of the Court 13 filmmaking collective (*Beasts of the Southern Wild*). Ray has directed several short films including the Emmy-award winning documentary short "Follow My Lead: The Story of the NBA Finals 2016" (which featured a 360-degree VR experience via Oculus). In addition Ray has created and directed a number of music videos for bands like MGMT and The Killers.

Ray is a friend of Griffin's and has been a fan of Blank Check since the early days of the show, so he was very pleased to get the opportunity to appear on the podcast as a guest.

Ray was a guest on the Life of Pi episode of Podback Mountcast. His mother is Mary Cybulski, who is a friend of Ang Lee's and has been the script supervisor on a number of his films, so Ray has spent time on Ang Lee film sets and had insider knowledge about about the *Life of Pi* production & the director's process. He even said he pre-cleared information and anecdotes with his mother and with Ang before publicly sharing some of them on the show, out of respect for both Lee and his mother - very considerate and very insider. He also had a small role in Taking Woodstock.

He is one of the few guests to have appeared in, or worked on, a film covered by the podcast.
Roman Mars

**Roman Mars** is a podcaster and all around smart guy. He hosts the podcast 99% Invisible. Roman is a Blankie and cross posted his episode on The Quick and the Dead in the feed of 99% Invisible as well. .

Roman also appears on Slow Xmas 2 where he performs *A Slow Visit from St. Nicholas*.

## References

1. ↑ Roman Mars. Roman Mars on Blank Check with Griffin and David. 99% Invisible. Retrieved on July 1, 2022.
Star Wars Commentary

**Star Wars** is episode 44 of the Blank Check: Special Features, and a commentary episode as part of the continuing coverage of the Star Wars Sequels. Posted February 1, 2020 and released from behind the paywall on February 1, 2023.

## Summary

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> Blank Check comes full circle today and ends an era by going back to the beginning of one. Griffin, David, and Ben finally record commentary for the original *Star Wars. Episode IV: A New Hope*. Taped after The Rise of Skywalker, the crew drools over Harrison Ford, revisits what made George's vision so special and begins to say their goodbyes to Big Nice.
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## References

1. ↑ Star Wars on Patreon. Retrieved November 2, 2021.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

**The Curious Case of Benjamin Button** is episode 448 focusing on the 2008 film of the same name as part of the The Curious Pod of Benjamin Buttcast miniseries on the films of David Fincher. Posted October 22, 2023.

## Summary

> 2007’s THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON is a film that dares to ask the question, “What if he baby but old?” Despite the meme-ification of David Fincher’s trip to the uncanny valley, we are pleased to make our belated case for why this movie is GOOD, actually, and in step with the themes of Da Finch Man’s body of work - not a sappy outlier. Vanity Fair’s Richard Lawson returns to the podcast as we all grapple with mortality, wistfully opine about tugboats, and develop an absurd running bit about late character actor Orson Bean (who is not in this movie). Did you know Producer Ben has been struck by lightning seven times?
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### Milestones and Ephemera

* Ghoulish Orville Redenbacher, not ghoulish real Benjamin Button
* Lots of Martin Brest talk and RiLaws claims *Meet Joe Black* should the miniseries ever come about.
* Box Office Game: Weekend of December 26, 2008

## Quotes

Intro:

> "*Some people were born to sit by a river. Some get struck by lightning. Some have an ear for music. Some are artists. Some swim. Some know buttons. Some know Shakespeare. Some are mothers. And some people, podcast.*"
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## References

1. ↑ Blank Check Podcast. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Audioboom. Retrieved on October 22, 2023.
2. ↑ @ 1:38:05
The Little Drummer Girl

**The Little Drummer Girl** is episode 185 of Blank Check: Special Features focusing on the television series as bonus for the I'm a Podcast, But That's OK miniseries on the films of Park Chan-wook. Posted August 11, 2023.

## Summary

> For our Park Chan-wook bonus ep Griffin, David and Ben are joined by writer and reporter Whitney McIntosh to discuss Director Park’s 2018 thriller TV series “The Little Drummer Girl”. Topics include: Florence Pugh and Alexander Skarsgård career trajectories, plenty of Big Chicago talk and a massive Ben earring update.
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## References

1. ↑ Blank Check Podcast. The Little Drummer Girl. Patreon. Retrieved on August 11, 2023.
Seven Chances/Go West

**Seven Chances/Go West** is episode 426 focusing on the 1925 films of the same names as part of Podcast Jr. miniseries on the films of Buster Keaton. Posted May 21, 2023.

## Summary

> This week’s Keaton double feature sees our unflappable hero chased by two types of terrifying crowds: angry would-be brides, and a herd of cattle. How does he outrun them both? Jamie Loftus joins us to chat about Buster Keaton’s tremendous on-screen running (up there with Tom Cruise), his enduring sex appeal (we love a hot tired guy), and his compassion for animals (giving the bovine star of GO WEST a week off to have sex). Plus, because Jamie is THE Hot Dog Queen, we get into a very involved, very long tangent about the world of competitive Hot Dog Eating.
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### Milestones and Ephemera

* This podcast is pro-Snitz
* 30 for 30: "The Good, The Bad, The Hungry" on the Kobayashi/Chestnut rivalry
* Kobayashi vs. Grizzly bear

### Box Office Game

**Seven Chances**

March 1925

1. Sackcloth and Scarlet
2. Seven Chances
3. If I Marry Again
4. New Toys
5. Sally

**Go West**

November 1925

1. The Gold Rush
2. Little Annie Rooney
3. The King on Main Street
4. The Freshman
5. Go West

## Films

Seven Chances (Keaton, 1925) — High Quality 1080pFull MovieBuster Keaton - Go West (1925) 1080p Full MovieFull Movie

## References

1. ↑ Blank Check Podcast. Seven Chances/Go West. Audioboom. Retrieved on May 21, 2023.
The Great Mouse Detective

**The Great Mouse Detective** is episode 310 focusing on the 1986 animated film of the same name, and the first episode of The Poddle Mercast miniseries on the films of Musker & Clements. Posted February 7, 2021.

## Summary

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> All new, all fun! Blank Check launches a brand new mini series on the animated films of John Musker and Ron Clements. Writer and Ratigan stan, Fran Hoepfner (Bright Wall/Dark Room), joins to discuss the duo’s first project together as co-directors of *The Great Mouse Detective*. Topics include: the Disney renaissance, Sing-Along Songs VHS tapes, Sherlock Holmes, Steampunk, frozen rats and more!
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### Milestones and Ephemera

* Heavily influenced by The Castle of Cagliostro
* Box office game: Weekend of July 4, 1986

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## References

1. ↑ Blank Check Podcast. The Great Mouse Detective with Fran Hoepfner. Audioboom. Retrieved on February 7, 2021.
Podback Mountcast

Holy cow! Pat Reynolds went above and beyond on this one - look at the name on the Army uniform...

### Followed By

Something's Podda Cast

**Podback Mountcast** is a miniseries on the films of Ang Lee. This miniseries title is cited as "Brokepod Mountcast" by Griffin and David in the first few episodes of the miniseries... Since so many episodes were banked up in advance and out of order, they forgot multiple times what they decided to name it in the first episode recorded (*Sense and Sensibility*). Clearly the fractured recording schedule wreaked havoc on everyone's faculties, but they got things handled by the *Lust, Caution* episode.

## Summary

Ang Lee is a director of Taiwanese descent. He began making films in the Chinese language but after a couple foreign-language film Oscar nominations he made the leap to work in Hollywood. He couldn't even speak English very well at the time he was first making English-language movies, which is crazy to imagine. He made an historical Civil War epic which bombed spectacularly... and that might very well have been it for his career stateside, but for the fact that he had another movie pretty much in the can already. Might as well release it, I guess... and *Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon* became an unbelievably improbable sensation which crossed over and even got Best Picture and Best Director Oscar nominations. It was such a success that Ang was able to immediately capitalize and make what Griffin refers to as the ur-blank-check movie, *Hulk*! How did that go, and how close did his career come to ending right there?

And then the rollercoaster ride went right back up again, and he made an English-language movie that netted a Best Director Oscar win this time. Where did he go from there? How do his recent experiments with technology and effects fit into this narrative?

There's some real variety in this filmography. What ties it all together? Perhaps his notable empathy for characters and people can provide a throughline.

This miniseries is preceded by The Podcastibles miniseries on the films of Brad Bird. It is followed by Something's Podda Cast, the miniseries covering the films of March Madness-winning Nancy Meyers.

### Milestones and Ephemera

* Producer Ben nickname: **Eat Drink Ben Hosley**

## Ranking His Filmography

* The blankies' rankings were compiled in a voting thread found on the r/Blankies sub-reddit, where the results were later posted.
* The sheer variety in genres and tones made this ranking a challenge, and you can tell from the differences between these three lists. Quite a challenge to compare films with such different aims, like, say, *Hulk* and *Sense and Sensibility*.
* Notably, the blankies' stats showed a fairly clear 1st & 2nd, while the standard deviation for pretty much every entry from 3 to 9 was abnormally high - most of those films got ranked all over the place by various blankies.
The Jedi Order

**The Jedi Order** is episode 27 and the fourth part of the Revenge of The Podcast miniseries. Posted 19 Oct 2015.

## Summary

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Towards the end, Ben pays homage to the dearly departed Jedi with an overdub of Taps while their names are read solemnly. A lovely bit of post-production from the Pro-doer.

### Milestones and Ephemera

* Griffin and David: Adorable monsters
* NO 👏 BITS 👏
* The Great Bruce Spence!
* This was the first episode of the show that u/ilaughalone, establisher of this wiki, listened to. Big fan of Mike Drucker's laugh.

## References

1. ↑ Blank Check Podcast. The Jedi Order. Audioboom. Retrieved on August 30, 2022.
The Matrix Revolutions

*For the Patreon commentary episode, see The Matrix Revolutions Commentary*.
**The Matrix Revolutions** is episode 56 focusing on the movie of the same name, as part of the The Podchowski Casters miniseries covering the filmography of the Wachowskis. Posted May 5, 2016

## Summary

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> Concluding the Matrix trilogy, Griffin and David examine The Matrix Revolutions. But why gruesomely blind our hero Neo? What is the franchise’s message about love? Was this ending the right choice? Together, they discuss the unnecessary storyline between Captain Mifune and the Kid, Jada Pinkett Smith’s career, Dennis Franz as a potential replacement for the Oracle, and the very extended final showdown between Neo and Agent Smith.
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## References

1. ↑ The Matrix Revolutions on Audioboom. Retrieved August 28, 2021.
Planet of the Apes (2001)

*This article is about the 2001 Tim Burton film. For the commentary miniseries on the Planet of the Apes series from 1968-1973 see Planet of the Apes (miniseries). For other uses see Planet of the Apes (disambiguation).*

## Planet of the Apes

### Sponsors

Stamps.com
MUBI
/Filmcast podcast

**Planet of the Apes** is episode 206 focusing on the movie of the same name, as part of the Podward Scissorcast miniseries covering the films of Tim Burton. Posted March 3, 2019.

## Summary

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> Film critic, Matt Singer (ScreenCrush.com), joins Griffin and David to discuss 2001's universally maligned franchise reboot, *Planet of the Apes*. Together they examine Burton's missteps, Wahlberg's distain for being in this movie, the legacy of the original series and the devastation of a young Griffin Newman.
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A reboot of the classic film series from 60s and 70s had been development at Fox for almost a decade before this much maligned film hit cinemas in 2001. Scores of directors and lead actors attached, but the Burton/Wahlberg connection we got seems so incompatible with the rest of his work and style. What exactly did Burton have to add? A greatly successful film that pretty much everyone agreed shouldn't get a sequel in the same iteration, Fox executives really got by on the skin of their teeth.

### Milestones and Ephemera

* Mark Wahlberg: Add him to the list of impressions for David's MADtv reel.
* Box office game: Weekend of July 27, 2001

### Sponsors

* Stamps.com - Actor Terrence Stamp stops by, he's not in this movie but some future Burtons. David takes too long to realize that he is here to promote his fan site Stamps.org, maybe you can use the postage from Stamps.com to send him fanmail.
* MUBI - Count von Count is back, and he counts to 30! A rotating selection of thirty movies on MUBI! Ha Ha Ha!
* /Filmcast Podcast

## References

1. ↑ Planet of the Apes on Audioboom. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
Rachel Zegler

**Rachel Zegler** is an actress, Blankie nominee, and literal Disney princess. She is the second Blank Check guest to have starred in a film covered by the podcast after Jamie Bell.

## Biography

She had a lot of projects get delayed during the pandemic, and for a while her only IMDb credits were her upcoming projects and The George Lucas Talk Show. She even called into GLTS during the 2022 Oscars ceremony (pre-slap).

For her performance in West Side Story, she was nominated by David for Best Actress at The Seventh Annual Blank Check Awards. At the same awards, she was also voted by Blankies as the #5 best lead acting performance.

Aside from Bell, she is one of the few guests to have appeared in, or worked on, a film covered by the podcast.
Peter Serafinowicz

**Peter "The Witch" Serafinowicz** is an English actor, voice actor, comedian, and writer.

## Biography

He played Pete in *Shaun of the Dead* and Garthan Saal in *Guardians of the Galaxy*. He currently stars as the title character in the live-action adaptation of "The Tick" alongside Blank Check co-host Griffin Newman.

Peter was a guest for the Talking Maul live episode of Blank Check. Peter was the voice of Darth Maul in *Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace,* so while filming for "The Tick" Griffin got the opportunity to invite him on the podcast - finally an actor from The Phantom Menace trilogy appears on the show!

It turns out that his vocal performance was recorded separately from any other aspects of the production (the movies were famously heavy on ADR) and the entirety of the role is less than three lines. Thusly the episode is mostly an extended bit about how "method" Serafinowicz went for a very small role.

He is one of the few guests to have appeared in, or worked on, a film covered by the podcast.
The Chronicles of Riddick Commentary

**The Chronicles of Riddick** is episode 107 of Blank Check: Special Features and a commentary on the 2004 film of the same name as part of the Riddick franchise commentaries. Posted August 21, 2021.

## Summary

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> Blank Check: Special Features picks up on everyone's favorite rapscallion, Richard B. Riddick, in the 2004 odd expanded universe sequel, *The Chronicles of Riddick*. The gang talks knife notes, dusty CGI, Vin's sneaky little smile, and more!
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## References

1. ↑ The Chronicles of Riddick on Patreon. Retrieved September 9, 2021.
R/blankies

The subreddit **r/blankies** (Link) is one of the most popular homes of the Blank Check fan community. In January 2018 the subreddit was closing in on 1000 user subscriptions; as of November 2019 it's past 5000. The subreddit was opened by Reddit user «queer-mo-sexual» and is co-moderated by «mi-16evil».

**www.reddit.com/r/blankies**

The term "Blankies" was coined by frequent podcast guest Emily Yoshida during The Podcast Reawakens episode, the very first episode to be branded with the "Blank Check" moniker. Consequently Emily received the nickname "Mother of Blankies" thanks to this.

So.... go to blankies.reddit.com for some real nerdy shit.