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On the podcast this week, Steven and Sean are hunting down a cadre of murderous, doomed robots in the 1982 film from Ridley Scott, Blade Runner.

This film is set in 2019, a time that, I think it\u2019s safe to say, most of us have lived through. We\u2019re familiar with what 2019 actually was: mostly meh, but hey, at least there wasn\u2019t a rampaging virus ruining everyone\u2019s time and a bunch of dumb butts who think wearing masks is a rights issue.

This film missed the reality mark quite a bit, technology-wise. We don\u2019t have flying cars, super photo enhancers, or robots so real that they\u2019ve pretty much passed the Turing test. It sure would be a lot cooler if we did. Who doesn\u2019t watch a film like this one and think, \u201cDang, it would be so great if I could just take a nap on a long car ride. I could if I had one of those automated, flying cars!\u201d

Maybe it\u2019s okay that we don\u2019t have all those things, though? Flying cars would be amazing, but who out there wants to be killed by a robot with a grudge? I can safely say that\u2019s not how I want to go out (I\u2019m hoping for death by puppies).

We\u2019d end up having to entrust our safety in the blade runners. They appear to do a dang good job of dispensing all the rogue replicants, but it seems like living in this future is a tough task. It\u2019s pissing rain all the time, bleak mega-cities are what people call home, and I\u2019d bet the wealth disparity is off the charts. It\u2019s a freaking dystopia! Even Harrison Ford can\u2019t make me want to live in this world.

Still though, it\u2019s a damn good film that encourages deep thoughts and fun conversation. It\u2019s truly impressive how well this film still holds up many decades after its release. It set the bar high for science fiction films and has rarely been outmatched. This one is a classic that everyone should see at least once.

(Recorded on December 21, 2020)

Links to Stuff We Mentioned:

Blade Runner - IMDb

Blade Runner trailer - YouTube

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? - Wikipedia

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers - IMDb

How I Met Your Mother - IMDb

Broken Toe: Symptoms, Recovery, and More - Healthline

Unbreakable - IMDb

Candyman - IMDb

Ridley Scott - IMDb

Hampton Fancher - IMDb

The resolution war: is cinema falling behind home entertainment on innovation? - Screen Daily

Batman - IMDb

Smallville - IMDb

Brightburn - IMDb

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull - IMDb

Turing test - Wikipedia

Fatman (2020) - IMDb

Mel Gibson\u2019s alcohol abuse and legal issues - Wikipedia

Lethal Weapon - IMDb