Monkey Off My Backlog

About the show

Every week, Tessa and Sam exorcise their personal pop culture demons by going through their media to-do lists one item at a time. Each week involves a discussion about the media they listened, watched, read, played, or experienced that week along with encouragement to continue tackling these backlogs. Plus bonus weekly episodes where one of the hosts reacts to a TV show that the other has forced them to watch.

Monkey Off My Backlog on social media

Episodes and Blog Entries

  • Bond, James Bond (Part 3)

    Episode  |  October 4th, 2021  |  53 mins 58 secs

    It’s Bond week! Join Sam, Tessa, Nigel, and Elyse for part three of their epic, five-part journey toward objectively deciding which James Bond film is the best James Bond film. Nobody does it better than us!

  •

    Bond, James Bond (Part 2)

    Episode  |  September 30th, 2021  |  54 mins 6 secs
    daniel craig, diamonds are forever, die another day, eon productions, goldeneye, james bond, madonna, moonraker, movies, no time to die, quantum of solace

    Sam, Tessa, Nigel, and Elyse are back with part two of their five-part journey toward objectively deciding which James Bond film is the best James Bond film. Nobody does it better than us!

  •

    Tessa Watches LOST - Episode 1

    Episode  |  September 28th, 2021  |  25 mins 33 secs
    lost

    A podcast devoted to Tessa watching 'LOST'

  •

    Bond, James Bond (Part 1)

    Episode  |  September 27th, 2021  |  46 mins 7 secs
    adele, chris cornell, christopher lee, duran duran, eon productions, for your eyes only, james bond, live and let die, movies, no time to die, paul mccartney, roger moore, sean connery, the man with the golden gun, you only live twice

    Join Sam, Tessa, Nigel, and Elyse as they begin their epic, five-part journey toward objectively deciding which James Bond film is the best James Bond film. Nobody does it better than us!

  •

    Nanny Ogg's Book Club Episode 0: Introduction

    Episode  |  September 27th, 2021  |  22 mins 25 secs
    book club, discworld, terry pratchett

    Welcome to Nanny Ogg's Book Club: A Discworld Podcast! Join us as we read through all 41 of the fantastical and outrageous Discworld novels! In this, our introduction episode, Episode 0, we discuss Terry Pratchett's Discworld series and the method to our madness when it comes to reading or re-reading his books.

  •

    Ep. 68 - The Philadelphia Story, High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, Castle in the Sky

    Episode  |  September 20th, 2021  |  48 mins 53 secs

    Tessa talks about the old movie The Philadelphia Story (Not the Tom Hanks/ Neverending Story Crossover)
    Sam talks about deep breath High School Musical: The Musical: The Series
    Andy discusses the difficult to describe beauty of Miyazaki's Castle in the Sky

  •

    The World of Wong Kar Wai

    Episode  |  September 13th, 2021  |  52 mins 39 secs
    2046, as tears go by, berlin, criterion, criterion collection, hong kong, hong kong cinema, in the mood for love, movies, music, shang chi, take my breathe away, tony leung, top gun, wong kar wai

    Longtime friend of the pod but first-time guest Jack is with us as we dedicate an entire episode to the brilliant and unconventional Wong Kar Wai, a master of Hong Kong cinema.

  •

    Ep. 66 - The Sparks Brothers, Whip It, Mother 3

    Episode  |  September 6th, 2021  |  53 mins 19 secs
    alia shawkat, documentaries, drew barrymore, earthbound, edgar wright, elliot page, jimmy fallon, kristen wiig, mother 3, movies, nintendo, sparks, the sparks brothers, video games, whip it

    Things get real this week as Sam talks about 'The Sparks Brothers,' Tessa reflects on 'Whip It,' and Andy tells us about 'Mother 3' and ('EarthBound'). Remember, this podcast is a judgment-free zone, Andy.

  •

    Ep. 65 - Casablanca, Otis Redding and Marvin Gaye, The Prisoner

    Episode  |  August 30th, 2021  |  1 hr 8 mins
    casablanca, claude raines, humphrey bogart, ingrid bergman, marvin gaye, motown, movies, music, otis redding, patrick mcgoohan, peter lorre, stax, the prisoner, tv

    This week, Andy discusses 'Casablanca,' Sam talks about Otis Redding and Marvin Gaye, and Tessa reveals what 'The Prisoner' is.

  •

    The Romance Genre

    Episode  |  August 16th, 2021  |  1 hr 30 mins
    alyssa cole, cat sebastian, contemporary romance, courtney milan, fanfiction, fantasy, historical romance, kresley cole, lisa kleypas, regency romance, romance, romance novels, talia hibbert, tessa dare, the brown sisters

    This week, Tessa is joined by Megan and Elyse to talk about the romance genre--what it is, why it's so popular, and what they like about it.

  •

    Ep. 62 - Easy Rider, Dark Side of the Moon, Final Fantasy III

    Episode  |  August 9th, 2021  |  59 mins 14 secs
    dark side of the moon, easy rider, famicom, final fantasy, final fantasy iii, jack nicholson, movies, music, pink floyd, square, square enix, video games

    This week, Sam and Tessa discuss counterculture with 'Easy Rider' and 'Dark Side of the Moon,' and Andy talks about 'Final Fantasy III.'

  •

    Ep. 60 - Wong Kar Wai, Wreck-It Ralph, One Cut of the Dead

    Episode  |  July 26th, 2021  |  52 mins 36 secs

    Wong Kar-wai, the master film maker that did In the Mood for Love and Fallen Angels gets covered by both Sam and Tessa as they discuss what makes Wong Kar-wai special. Tessa gives a talk about Wreck-It Ralph and why she's a Fix-it Felix. Andy talks Japanese zombie comedy with One Cut of The Dead.

  • Ep. 58 - LOST, Final Fantasy XV, Quantum Break

    Episode  |  July 12th, 2021  |  48 mins 10 secs
    final fantasy, final fantasy xv, jj abrams, kingdom hearts, lost, quantum break, remedy, royal edition, square, square enix, tv, video games

    Andy's back...just in time to hear Tessa talk about the first season of 'LOST'! Plus, Andy and Sam talk video games with 'Final Fantasy XV' and 'Quantum Break.'

  •

    Ep. 56 - The Problem with Apu, Shirley, Good Morning, Vietnam w/Elyse

    Episode  |  June 28th, 2021  |  53 mins 6 secs
    documentary, elisabeth moss, good morning vietnam, movies, murder she wrote, robin williams, shirley, the problem with apu, the simpsons

    This week, we're joined by Elyse from 'Podwraiths,' who discusses the 2020 film 'Shirley.' Sam talks about 'The Problem with Apu,' and Tessa watches the classic Robin Williams film 'Good Morning, Vietnam.'

  •

    Ep. 55 - Pitch Black, The Last Witch Hunter, Girlfight w/Megan Spell

    Episode  |  June 21st, 2021  |  41 mins 17 secs
    f9, girlfight, michelle rodriguez, movies, pitch black, riddick, the chronicles of riddick, the fast & furious saga, the last witch hunter, vin diesel

    This week, we're joined by friend of the podcast Megan Spell to get psyched for 'F9' by talking about the films 'Pitch Black,' 'The Last Witch Hunter,' and 'Girlfight.'

  •

    Ep. 54 - Station 19, Bugsnax, Becoming Bond

    Episode  |  June 14th, 2021  |  1 hr 3 mins
    007, abc, becoming bond, bridgerton, bugsnax, george lazenby, grey's anatomy, james bond, netflix, ps5, shonda rhimes, station 19, tv, video games, young horses

    This week, we're joined by once again by friend of the podcast Nigel to talk about the Young Horses' game 'Bugsnax.' Tessa catches up with 'Station 19,' and Sam watches the George Lazenby biopicdoc 'Becoming Bond.'