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

  • 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.'

  •

    Ep. 53 - Space Jam, Mass Effect, Lucifer, w/Colby Waddell

    Episode  |  June 7th, 2021  |  57 mins 55 secs
    bugs bunny, looney tunes, lucifer, mass effect, michael jordan, movies, nba, neil gaiman, sandman, space jam, sports, tv, video games

    This week, we're joined by Colby Waddell to talk 'Mass Effect,' sports, and anime. Also, Tessa is welcomed to the 'Space Jam,' and Sam gets acquainted with 'Lucifer.'

  •

    The Call-In Show! Plus Eurovision and a Summer Film Festival

    Episode  |  May 31st, 2021  |  58 mins 30 secs
    eurovision

    This week, Sam and Tessa take your calls and tweets and provide pop culture recommendations. They also react to their first ever 'Eurovision' and preview their summer film festival.

  •

    Ep. 50 - Josie and the Pussycats, Bit, Fate/stay night

    Episode  |  May 17th, 2021  |  44 mins
    anime, archie comics, bit, fate/stay night, fate/stay night: heaven's feel i. presage flower, josie and the pussycats, movies, nicole maines, parker posey, riverdale, vampires

    This week, Sam watches the cult classic 'Josie and the Pussycats,' Tessa gets her vampire on with 'Bit,' and Andy confuses us all with 'Fate/stay night: Heaven's Feel I. presage flower.'

  •

    Ep. 47 - Star Trek: TOS, If I Was Your Girl, and Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo

    Episode  |  April 26th, 2021  |  55 mins 11 secs
    adolescent literature, anime, books, gankutsuou, gankutsuou: the count of monte cristo, if i was your girl, star treak: the original series, star trek, the count of monte cristo, tv, yal, young adult literature

    This week, Sam finally watches season 1 of 'Star Trek: The Original Series.' Tessa reads 'If I Was Your Girl,' a young adult novel about a trans girl coming of age in the South, and Andy tells us all about 'Gankutsuou,' an anime adaptation of 'The Count of Monte Cristo.'

  •

    Ep. 44 - Mamma Mia!, Metropolis, Attack on Titan

    Episode  |  April 5th, 2021  |  39 mins 5 secs
    abba, academy awards, amanda seyfried, anime, attack on titan, bill & ted face the music, da 5 bloods, delroy lindo, fritz lang, mamma mia, meryl streep, metropolis, movies, music, oscar snubs, palm springs, silent film, sonic the hedgehog, spike lee, the invisible man

    This week, Sam talks music with the film adaptation of the ABBA musical 'Mamma Mia!,' Tessa goes silent with Fritz Lang's 'Metropolis,' and Andy agonizes his way through 'Attack on Titan.' We also have thoughts about Oscar snubs.

  •

    Kaiju Fight! Godzilla, Kong, and More!

    Episode  |  March 29th, 2021  |  1 hr 6 mins
    colossal, gamera, gamera the giant monster, godzilla, godzilla king of the monsters, godzilla vs kong, kaiju, king kong, king of the monsters, kong skull island, movies, pacific rim, shin godzilla, skull island, toho

    Kaiju Fight! Tessa and Andy are joined by Ariel Rada to talk kaiju movies they've crossed of their backlog as well as some of their favorite kaiju movies in anticipation of 'Godzilla vs. Kong.'

  •

    Ep. 41 - Atlanta, Devs, Arctic Monkeys, Purple Rain w/James

    Episode  |  March 15th, 2021  |  1 hr 6 mins
    alex garland, arctic monkeys, atlanta, dev, donald glover, fx, movies, music, prince, purple rain, tv

    Nigel is back! This week we discuss Donald Glover's 'Atlanta,' Alex Garland's FX/Hulu series 'Devs,' English rock band Arctic Monkeys, and Prince's 'Purple Rain.'

  •

    Ep. 38 - Hannibal, A View to a Kill, Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl-Senpai

    Episode  |  February 22nd, 2021  |  1 hr 46 secs

    We talk about Bryan Fuller's Hannibal TV show, We discuss Joss Whedon, We talk about the oldest James Bond, and We Dream of Bunny Girls. . . senpai!