Poker Face, "The Orpheus Syndrome"

New episode out now! We watched “The Orpheus Syndrome”, a season one episode of Poker Face which was created by Rian Johnson and stars Natasha Lyonne as human lie detector Charlie Cale. We talk about the obvious influence of Columbo; not only with the title design but in how the episodes are structured, how it is so character-driven that the guest stars are really the stars, and how Charlie is kind of just there talking to people until they are confronted with their actions. We compare this to other Rian Johnson productions and like that it pushes forward his themes of exploring the unseen people within our world and how everyone matters. We also talk about how Charlie has no authority and cannot arrest anyone, get into the motivations and manipulative behavior of the murderer, enjoyed the vocal volleying of Natasha Lyonne and Nick Nolte, and confront that this episode concerning guilt and loss was just also very sad. Katy mixes up The Lord of the Rings and Shakespeare, Carrie took a photography class, Maddy loves a little scurry, and Mack has a point of order. We loved the excellent production design and artistry of the episode (especially the very cool stop-motion props and footage), discuss the often uncredited women behind the films of auteur men, learn the term “fair play” in regards to mystery stories, and really just love a horse. Listen to hear more about Quantum Leap, the snail question, Phil Tippett, VHS extras, internalized misogyny, Macbeth, shaving heads, and Star Trek. Enjoy!

TW: Misogyny, child trafficking, suicide

Show Notes:

• Marcia Lucas (née Griffin) edited Star Wars (1977) and Return of the Jedi (1983), as well as THX 1138 (1971) and American Graffiti (1973).
• Emma Thomas has produced all of the feature films directed by Christopher Nolan.