We're Back!! 2020 kinda ruined us but we're back with a whomp! We thought we'd kick things off with on a positive note with Pixar's latest offering; 'Soul' starring Jamie Foxx and Tina Fey. Soul is a 2020 American computer-animated comedy-drama film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Directed by Pete Docter and co-directed by Kemp Powers, the film stars the voices of Jamie Foxx, Tina Fey, Graham Norton, Rachel House, Alice Braga, Richard Ayoade, Phylicia Rashad, Donnell Rawlings, Questlove, and Angela Bassett. The story follows a middle school music teacher named Joe Gardner, who seeks to reunite his soul and his body after they are accidentally separated, just before his big break as a jazz musician. Soul is the first Pixar film to feature an African-American protagonist.   Twitter: Tom Twitter: Dee Twitter: The French-Patels Instagram: The French-Patels

Tales From Beyond the Sofa

Pixar's Soul (We're back!)

Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn), also known as Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey or simply Birds of Prey is out and since we were unable to see it in theatres we thought we would revisit the 2002 WB series, Birds of Prey developed by Laeta Kalogridis for The WB and VERY loosely based on the DC Comics series of the same name. The series takes place in a Gotham City abandoned by Batman. The series is set in New Gotham City, several years after it has been apparently abandoned by Batman. In his absence, Oracle (Barbara Gordon) and the Huntress (Helena Kyle) have taken over his war on crime. The two are joined by Dinah Redmond, a telepath (after she assists them in defeating Larry Ketterly); Alfred Pennyworth, who serves Helena as she is heir to the Wayne estate; and Detective Jesse Reese, a police officer confronted with crimes and abilities he cannot explain.   See our Star Trek: First Contact Video here Support our channel over at Patreon for cool extra content and behind the scenes stuff Twitter: Tom Twitter: Dee Twitter: The French-Patels Instagram: The French-Patels

Birds of Prey (is absolutely terrible!)

This week, in celebration of the new Picard series, we sat down to watch one of THE BEST Star Trek films; Star Trek: First Contact. Star Trek: First Contact is a 1996 American science fiction film directed by Jonathan Frakes (in his motion picture directorial debut) and based on the franchise Star Trek. It is the eighth film in the Star Trek film series, as well as the second to star the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation. In the film, the crew of the USS Enterprise-E travel back in time from the 24th century to the mid 21st-century in order to stop the Borg from conquering Earth by changing their past. Support our channel over at Patreon for cool extra content and behind the scenes stuff Twitter: Tom Twitter: Dee Twitter: The French-Patels Instagram: The French-Patels

Star Trek First Contact

We're back to talk about Netflix's The Witcher and we're exhausted! The Witcher is an American fantasy drama series produced by Lauren Schmidt Hissrich. It is based on the book series of the same name by Polish writer Andrzej Sapkowski. The first season, consisting of eight episodes, was released on Netflix in its entirety on December 20, 2019. Set in a medieval fictional world on a landmass known as "the Continent", The Witcher follows the story of solitary monster hunter Geralt of Rivia (Henry Cavill), sorceress Yennefer of Vengerberg (Anya Chalotra) and Cintran princess Ciri (Freya Allan), who find their destinies tied together. The first season is based on The Last Wish and Sword of Destiny, a collection of short stories which precede the main Witcher saga. It explores formative events that shaped the three lead characters, prior to their first encounters with each other. Support our channel over at Patreon for cool extra content and behind the scenes stuff Twitter: Tom Twitter: Dee Twitter: The French-Patels Instagram: The French-Patels

The Witcher Netflix

We just had Christmas which means only one thing; STAR WARS! So we sit down to discuss Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, the third instalment of the Star Wars sequel trilogy, following The Force Awakens (2015) and The Last Jedi (2017), and the final episode of the nine-part "Skywalker saga".[a] The Rise of Skywalker follows Rey, Finn, and Poe Dameron as they lead the Resistance's final stand against Kylo Ren and the First Order, who are now aided by the return of the deceased galactic emperor, Palpatine. Full spoiler talk at 00:19:48 Support our channel over at Patreon for cool extra content and behind the scenes stuff Twitter: Tom Twitter: Dee Twitter: The French-Patels Instagram: The French-Patels

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

We had some bad news after the last episode so we took some time to make sure that we, and the family, are okay but during that time, we discovered a great little show on Netflix called Daybreak: The series follows the story of 17-year-old Canadian high school outcast Josh Wheeler searching for his missing British girlfriend Sam Dean in post-apocalyptic Glendale, California. Joined by a ragtag group of misfits; a 10 year old pyromaniac Angelica and Josh's former high school bully Wesley, now turned pacifist would-be samurai, Josh tries to survive amongst the horde of Mad Max-style gangs (evil jocks, cheerleaders turned Amazonian warriors), zombie-like creatures called Ghoulies, and everything else this brave new world throws at him.  00:00:00 - Intro and chat 00:01:44 - ‘Daybreak’ NON SPOILERS section 00:18:46 - Full spoilers: We go full detail into our favourite characters and favourite moments and why we liked this series so much. The series explores toxic relationships, sexuality and youth culture and how some things are universal, no matter your age. 00:53:51 - Favourite Narrator 01:11:36 - Wrap up and Outro Support our channel over at Patreon for cool extra content and behind the scenes stuff Twitter: Tom Twitter: Dee Twitter: The French-Patels Instagram: The French-Patels

Netflix's Daybreak

With this week's release of Terminator: Dark Fate we thought we could look back at the first and last Terminator movies; the Terminator (1984) and Terminator: Genisys, or as they've come to be known on our sofa as the First Terminator and the Worst Terminator. 00:00 - Intro: a quick catch up and a little look at the Terminator franchise as a whole 04:03 - Let’s talk Terminator Genisys; its boring story and forgettable cast 34:06 - Let’s talk about the Terminator (1984); Now with added Arnie Dong and tiny butt 44:23 - Quick baby break and back into talking about the Terminator, phone sex and whether or not Kyle Reece is in fact John Connor’s father? 58:04 - How often does Arnold Schwarzenegger acknowledge that he’s making a bad movie? 59:29 - What would you do if you were Sarah Connor? 01:05:34 - Wrap up; Are we looking forward to Terminator: Dark Fate? Support our channel over at Patreon for cool extra content and behind the scenes stuff Twitter: Tom Twitter: Dee Twitter: The French-Patels  

Terminator: the First versus the Worst

Welcome to Episode 1 of Tales From Beyond the Sofa; a podcast in which a husband and wife talk movies, television shows, fandom and family. With Todd Phillips' The Joker out this month we thought we could visit the film cited as the biggest influence on the makers of DC Comics adaptation. The King of Comedy is a 1983 American psychological satirical black comedy film directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Robert De Niro, Jerry Lewis, and Sandra Bernhard. 00:00 - Intro chat and and a brief explanation of the show change 03:07 - Let's talk about 'the King if Comedy' 57:00 - Let's talk about the controversy surrounding the Joker movie and gun violence Two Guys, One Comic: Tom's new podcast Dee's Twitter Tom's Twitter  

The King of Comedy starring Robert DeNiro and Jerry Lewis

What an emotional last couple of days it's been! The Infinity Saga is finally over and boy howdy! Do we have some thoughts. But before we get into that we discuss the trailers for Ang Lee's 'Gemini Man' starring Will Smith and Will Smith and also the trailer for 'Men in Black International' NOT starring Will Smith but instead Thor and Valkyrie themselves, Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson. 00:00 – Intro and chat: Tom’s a grump and Dee’s a ray of sunshine 03:00 – Tom’s school-run misadventures 03:52 – Let’s talk nerdy stuff: Gemini Man trailer – Will Smith versus Will Smith, clone versus original in an Ang Lee sci-fi spectacular. 09:56 – Speaking of Will Smith circa 1997, let’s talk about the trailer for Men in Black International and also briefly talk about the original Men in Black trilogy 14:40 – Avengers: Endgame review (NO SPOILERS) 24:33 – Spoiler Talk – in which Tom repeatedly calls characters by their wrong name such as calling Nebula Gamorah and even calling Tony Stark, TONY FREAKING STARK, Howard! Alcohol… It’s a hell of a thing. 01:36:49 – Outro: No Homework this week because we’re prepping for our guests in the next episode Do your usual Amazon shop while helping us at no extra cost to yourself! Support us on Patreon and be our new best friend! Find us on twitter: Tom or Dee Find us on YouTube: The French-Patels or Tom's Channel Join us for Couple's Consoling Game Streams and Creative Stream on Twitch

11 - Avengers Endgame

We've all been sick but we managed to claw ourselves out of bed and into the studio. After last episode's discussion of 90's-set Captain Marvel we decided to revisit the 90's, the era of 'girl power' and look at some kickass women of 90's cinema. Turns out we were in for quite a culture shock. Tom goes on some of his usual social rants so be warned. 00:00 – Intro and sickly chat; Dee’s not well this week but it’s been a calamitous period for the whole family 02:49 – Avengers Endgame leaks and ACCIDENTALLY tripping on spoilers 06:20 – TRAILER: Star Wars; the Rise of Skywalker (with a sprinkling of trolling from Tom). What does the title mean? Does Luke return or does ‘Skywalker’ refer to something else? 13:19 – Let’s talk the female action heroes and the scarcity of female action heroes in the 90’s. The rule is that it the movie had to be a vehicle for the Female Action Hero. 16:06 – Film No. 1: Tank Girl starring Lori Petty, Malcolm McDowell and Naomi Watts. Is it as good as Tom remembers and is it as good as Dee was expecting? Nope! Overall it is a very problematic film but for the time is kind of ground-breaking which is kind of sad when you think about it . 40:06 – That time Tom was in the test audience for an embarrassing film 41:09 – Film No. 2: The Quick and the Dead starring Sharon Stone, Gene Hackman, Russel Crowe and Leonardo DiCaprio. Again, is it as good as Tom remembers and is it as good as Dee was expecting? Double Nope! Sharon Stone is essentially relegated to B-Plot in her own film. 58:26 – Let’s move on and talk about a film we really love: Film No. 3: The Long Kiss Goodnight starring Geena Davis and Samuel L. Jackson, written by Shane Black and Directed by Renny Harlin. It is one of our favourite films, it’s as good and as camp and as cheesy as we always remember it. 01:11:00 – A quick aside about Cat-Calling because of something that happens in the film 01:14:03 – Back to The Long Kiss Goodnight 01:22:26 – The Long Kiss Goodnight’s legacy and the shape of female lead action movies today 01:28:10 – Dee’s homework: Captain Marvel; the 2014 run of comics. 01:35:20 – Tom’s Homework: A Study in Emerald by Neil Gaiman 01:40:47 – This week’s homework assignment: Tracy Queen and the Oneshi Press Annual Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker except it's 'What's Up Danger' Do your usual Amazon shop while helping us at no extra cost to yourself! Support us on Patreon and be our new best friend! (Coming Soon) Find us on twitter: Tom or Dee Find us on YouTube: The French-Patels or Tom's Channel Join us for Couple's Consoling Game Streams and Creative Stream on Twitch

10 - Kickass 90's Action Women (Tank Girl, The Quick and the Dead and The Long Kiss Goodnight)

We're back!! Again... It's been a hot minute since our last episode; in that time we had another kid - which needless to say took up a considerable amount of our time but now we are back into some semblance of a routine which means we can talk nerd together. Except Dee's not pregnant anymore so we can drink together!! And boy, do we... 00:00 – Intro and catch-up: The odds are NOT in our favour 04:38 – All the podcasts that never were 13:46 – Stuff that’s happening now: The Avengers Endgame Trailer 23:26 – Tom is befuddled by a bottle of Ale (#notspon) 25:48 – Back to talking about the trailer 29:09 – Thor like Danvers; discussing the Brie Larson controversy 33:22 – Captain Marvel and the changing cultural landscape 41:03 – Let’s get into the story of Captain Marvel (Full Spoilers) and go down a 90s nostalgia trip 1:21:23 – Moet break 1:24:08 – Back to Captain Marvel 1:42:37 – Side note before we finish 1:46:49 – Homework assignments   Do your usual Amazon shop while helping us at no extra cost to yourself! Support us on Patreon and be our new best friend! Find us on twitter: Tom or Dee Find us on YouTube: The French-Patels or Tom's Channel Join us for Couple's Consoling Game Streams and Creative Stream on Twitch

09 - Captain Marvel

It’s our first podcast in the new flat AND it’s our wedding anniversary!! Today we discuss the ups and downs of our new place, Scooby Apocolypse Vol 2, Spencer & Locke; a dark twist on Calvin & Hobbes, and finally an in-depth chat about the Netflix series Happy! Starring Christopher Meloni and Patton Oswalt 00:00 – Popping the bubbly! 00:38 – Intro and Chat: We didn’t get any cake at our wedding! 02:38 – Here we are in our new flat on the hottest day of the year 05:44 – Enough of the natter, what’s Dee been up to? Scooby Apocalypse Vol 2 – avoiding spoilers 06:31 – Tom & Dee and the Wrong Trousers and recap of Volume 1 11:11 – Really, this is mostly Velma’s story 12:19 – Tom’s flashbacks 12:46 – Dee struggles to get the show back on track but no… 14:07 – Back to subject at hand 16:58 – Slight spoiler 17:57 – Out of Spoilers 20:18 – The thing about Scooby Doo… 22:38 – The new Mystery Machine 23:49 – Are reboots/re-imaginings really that bad? 28:47 – What’s Tom been up to? Spencer & Locke: just a bloody good detective story ­– No Spoilers 36:33 – Placebo Effect or Allergic Reaction 37:02 – A very short read 38:10 – Pregnancy Break 38:44 – Mic Check! 40:10 – Happy! - No Spoilers 51:02 – Into Full Spoilers 1:22:10 – What’s Happening with England in World Cup News? 1:25:58 – This week’s Homework: Wacky Raceland 1:26:51 – Technical Problems and Outro Do your usual Amazon shop while helping us at no extra cost to yourself! Support us on Patreon and be our new best friend! Find us on twitter: Tom or Dee Find us on YouTube: The French-Patels or Tom's Channel Join us for Couple's Consoling Game Streams and Creative Stream on Twitch

08 - Scooby Apocalypse Vol2, Spencer & Locke, and Happy!

We recorded this while staying with the in-laws; in this week’s episode we compare this summer’s Brolin Double Whammy; Avengers: Infinity War and Deadpool 2. 00:00 – Weird Intro and Chat 03:03 – An apology for the last episode 04:32 – Straight into Avengers: Infinity War talk – how much do we even remember? 06:49 – Were the Black Order a little generic? 07:40 – Picking the best seats in the theatre 08:32 – Tony Stark, Spider-Man, and the great Space Donut 09:46 – Dunking on Justice League 10:45 – Thanos as protagonist 12:24 – It’s been a long time coming and grown-ups just don’t get us!! 14:05 – We’ve given up on trying to remember the story! 15:14 – One cinematic universe to rule them all!! 16:14 – “One Week Later” Syndrome and the logistics of the Infinity Gauntlet 17:55 – All bets are off 21:39 – Dee’s ‘Mr Miyagi’ moment 22:33 – The MCU is built on daddy-issues 23:19 – What didn’t we like? 27:56 – Dee’s favourite character and Tom’s MCU crush 29:30 – Something that annoyed Tom but it’s a good idea to watch films twice 32:06 – The thing about fan theories… 34:31 – Captain Marvel and Tom’s feminist jibe 35:35 – Ike Perlmutter… 37:18 – Pregnancy break 37:30 – Deadpool 2: The Braxton-Hicks Adventures! 40:01 – Who was the Better Brolin? 43:18 – We liked the film but it had problems… 45:39 – The best bait and switch ever! 48:39 – Was Firefist any good? 50:37 – Does a bigger budget equal better action? 52:17 – The Domino effect! 53:58 – Baby legs!! 55:29 – Does the comedy land better this time around? 56:11 – Eventually watching it a second time around 56:57 – Will there be a Deadpool 3 or will he join the MCU? 59:08 – What’s been happening in Liverpool news this week? From a couple weeks ago… 1:05:23 – No homework again this week 1:06:41 – Outro, Call to Action and Changes coming to the podcast Do your usual Amazon shop while helping us at no extra cost to yourself! Support us on Patreon and be our new best friend! Find us on twitter: Tom or Dee Find us on YouTube: The French-Patels or Tom's Channel Join us for Couple's Consoling Game Streams and Creative Stream on Twitch

07 - Avengers: Infinity War and Deadpool 2 - It's a Josh Brolin Double Bill

It’s the last recording session before we move out of our flat (sad face emoji) but we can’t dwell on that because there’s a lot to talk about from Skottie Young’s ‘I Hate Fairyland’ To ‘Gotham by Gaslight’ and everyone’s favourite boring franchise: Assassin’s Creed!   00:00 – Uncomfortable Intro 00:47 - Chat about moving home and the future of the podcast 03:41 – What’s Dee been up to? I Hate Fairyland by Skottie Young 05:37 – A twisted Wizard of Oz? 12:29 – Technical problems, forgot our train of thought! Whatever, it doesn’t matter… 14:04 – Comparisons to The Wizard of Oz (again) 16:09 – Farting around with the mic and and the mysterious “sweet spot” 17:43 – What’s Tom been up to? Gotham by Gaslight by Brian Augustyn and Mike Mignola 24:52 – Have connected universes ruined Tom’s enjoyment of literature as a whole? 25:46 – Back to the matter at hand: Batman! 29:38 - Do you think it’s time for the main topic? Nope! 30:47 – Smoothest Segue into Assassin’s Creed 31:51 – Never Played the first one because the second was better 38:26- Annoying historical references 39:42 – The Ezio Trilogy 40:58 – How Tom coped with the hottest summer on record by playing Assassin’s Creed II 43:25 – Assassin’s Creed III is BORING!!! 45:37 – But it does have one of the greatest moments in the entire series! 48:03 – What happened to the Glyphs? 49:23 – Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag is GREAT and has a super relatable protagonist 55:52 – Disappointing Climaxes… 57:41 - Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate was really good once it was no longer confusing! 58:47 – Let’s talk about maps, baby! 1:04:05 – But what about the actual game?! 1:11:40 – Weird psychic death … 1:13:18 – Let’s talk a little bit about Assassin’s Creed: Origins, or as much as we can… 1:16:10 – This will be the least popular episode 1:17:35 – The accursed 50th Red Nirnroot!! 1:18:19 – What we plan for the break 1:19:35 – Liverpool news and various bits 1:23:00 – Telling Dee off for ruining the flow of Tom’s meticulously planned out program leading up to homework 1:25:32 - Outro and Call to Action!!   Do your usual Amazon shop while helping us at no extra cost to yourself! Support us on Patreon and be our new best friend! Find us on twitter: Tom or Dee Find us on YouTube: The French-Patels or Tom's Channel Join us for Couple's Consoling Game Streams and Creative Stream on Twitch

06 - I Hate Fairyland, Gotham by Gaslight and Assassin's Creed

We’re through our first month!! In today’s episode we discuss Warren Ellis’s ‘Black Summer’ and really get into The Last Jedi; was it really as bad or as good as everyone says?. 00:00 - Awkward intro, tongue twisters and a bit of a chat 03:54 - The beauty of words 05:05 - What have we been up to: Dee tells us about Black Summer by Warren Ellis 10:00 - Why it hasn't aged well 12:15 - Let's try to get to the end of the book 16:00 - What's Tom been up to? (Lost in Space chat) 19:27 - Updating dated characters & tropes: why all the hate? 22:04 - "Speaking as a father..." 23:47 - Is it worth continuing? 24:05 - This was recorded the week of Star Wars the Last Jedi's home release - Is it better the second time around? 27:14 - DIGRESSION: Why Tom likes Attack of the Clones more than most people do 27:54 - Phillip Marlow but as Obi-Wan Kenobi 29:25 - Star Wars is not just about the Light Side and the Dark Side and speculations 30:54 - Parental responsibility interruption - Child or dog? 31:14 - Mystery boxes, expectations and fan theory 32:00 - Regardless of expectations it's a bloody well made movie! 32:30 - Why Finn and Rose's Vegas Adventure was kind of needed but also why it could have been better 37:09 - Romantic subplot algebra and probability 40:00 - What about Poe Dameron? 46:25 - Whose life is Poe Dameron really risking? 48:42 - Back to Finn and Rose's adventure and the nuance it brings to the Star Wars universe 50:50 - Talking about Rey, that Mary Sue! 54:30 - Too much emphasis on bloodlines - the Anakin Skywalker paradox 1:01:30 - Redemption Arcs: Comparing Kylo Ren to Prince Zuko (for some reason) 1:03:05 - Silly speculations for the next phase 1:03:29 - What all this means for the expanded "Star Wars Legends" canon 1:05:51 - Tom's philosophical gripe with Star Wars and Luke's mistakes are so important 1:09:08 - The poetry of Luke's force projection 1:11:51 - How would WE handle Carrie Fisher's death in the next film? 1:14:40 - Let's wrap this up: what did we think? 1:15:08 - What's Happening in Liverpool News this week? Remember; this was recorded Saturday 14th April 1:19:35 - Dee's homework assignment: I Hate Fairyland by Skottie Young 1:21:52 - Outro and Call to Action!! Do your usual Amazon shop while helping us at no extra cost to yourself! Support us on Patreon and be our new best friend! Tom's SECRET ORIGIN OF THE PORGS video! Find us on twitter: Tom or Dee Find us on YouTube: The French-Patels or Tom's Channel Join us for Couple's Consoling Game Streams and Creative Stream on Twitch

05 - Black Summer by Warren Ellis and Star Wars: The Last Jedi

A married couple discuss their favourite films and Television Shows