Nerd Legion

Last Free Nation

Nerd Legion is a weekly podcast exploring science fiction and fantasy TV shows and films as well as other aspects of nerd culture. Featuring long-time esports casting duo Erik "DoA" Lonnquist and Christopher "MonteCristo" Mykles, the show highlights their years of established synergy and banter to lend humor and insight into the latest pop culture trends.

Play

Open in

20 episodes
Avg 57 min
English

Episodes 20

Newest Oldest Longest

All20 Unplayed20 In progress0 Played0

#113
August 8 · 52 min
Why Star Trek Is The MOST Confusing Show On TV Right Now... (Strange New Worlds)
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds might be the most confusing show on television. Not confusing to follow. Confusing to rate. It has been an Aliens clone, a musical, a 1960s parody, and now a horror show, and there is no way to know before pressing play whether the next episode will be one of the best hours in franchise history or completely unwatchable. Raycon: The Essential Open Earbuds sit outside your ear canal on a flexible hook, so you hear everything around you while you run. Over three mill
#112
July 25 · 56 min
35 Years Later... Why The Rocketeer Became A Cult Classic
The Rocketeer came out in 1991, flopped at the box office, and has quietly become one of the best superhero movies ever made. MonteCristo and DoA revisit the 35th anniversary of a diesel punk cult classic that's aged better than almost everything the MCU has produced since Endgame, and make the case for why you should watch it this weekend. Raycon: Essential Open Earbuds wrap around your ear so you can hear your surroundings. 3 million customers, 30-day guarantee. Go to https://www.buyraycon.co
#111
July 11 · 47 min
House Of The Dragon Is FINALLY Getting The Recognition It Deserves
Game of Thrones sabotaged its own fan base worse than any franchise in television history. And then HBO did the impossible: they actually fixed it. MonteCristo and DoA break down the first three episodes of House of the Dragon Season 3, why the Battle of the Gullet is the second-best battle in the entire Westeros universe, and how HBO pulled off a franchise recovery that Star Wars and Star Trek can only dream of.
#110
June 27 · 52 min
Is Spider-Noir ACTUALLY Good?...
MonteCristo and DoA are on opposite sides of Spider-Noir, and the gap between them is wider than a Prohibition-era speakeasy. DoA loved it. MonteCristo thinks you should watch something else. Raycon: quality wireless earbuds with open-ear and noise-cancelling models for every listening style, with a 30-day guarantee and over 3 million happy customers. Use code NERDLEGIONOPEN at https://buyraycon.com/NERDLEGIONOPEN
#109
June 20 · 1 hr 1 min
Steven Spielberg Made His Worst Movie and Nobody Will Say It
The critic reviews are a lie. Disclosure Day is sitting at 81% on Rotten Tomatoes and it is terrible. MonteCristo and DoA break down how Steven Spielberg, John Williams, David Koepp, and Janusz Kamiński, four of the most accomplished filmmakers alive, collectively produced a movie where nothing makes sense, nothing is explained, and the climax is hijacking a local Kansas City news broadcast in 2026 because apparently TikTok doesn't exist.
#108
June 13 · 53 min
Who Is Masters of the Universe REALLY For?
Masters of the Universe cost $200 million and it's probably the best He-Man movie anyone could have made. That's a compliment to the filmmakers and a ceiling on the IP. MonteCristo and DoA break down why this is a genuinely fun popcorn flick, why Jared Leto's Skeletor is the single best thing in it, and why the movie exists because Barbie made a billion dollars and Mattel greenlit everything in the building, including an Uno movie. Raycon: Essential Open Earbuds wrap around your ear so you can
#107
June 7 · 58 min
Star Wars Fans Waited 7 Years For A Bad Movie... (The Mandalorian and Grogu)
The Mandalorian & Grogu is not a good movie. It has a James Bond cold open that made both hosts genuinely excited, and then it spends two hours systematically destroying that goodwill with flat performances, cartoon-level writing, and a villain nobody asked for. MonteCristo and DoA break down how Dave Filoni turned Mandalorian Season 4 into a feature film that's 45 minutes too long, wastes its entire cast, and accidentally commits genocide.
#106
May 23 · 1 hr
The Boys Finale Is Worse Than Game of Thrones. Here's Why.
We watched every episode of The Boys so you don't have to. The verdict on the series finale: it's worse than Game of Thrones Season 8, and unlike Game of Thrones, nobody will ever rewatch it. PrizePicks — Visit https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/NERD and use code NERD and get $50 in lineups when you play your first $5 lineup!. Into the AM — men's apparel from tees to bombers to denim. Memorial Day sale up to 70% off, plus an additional 10% off using our link in the description. Free worldwide
#105
May 16 · 54 min
Mortal Kombat 2 Has No Right Being This Good
Mortal Kombat is a meme franchise built on Bloodsport, Big Trouble in Little China, and Monty Python-level gore. It has never been serious. So why is this movie better-crafted than most $200 million blockbusters? MonteCristo and DoA break down why Mortal Kombat 2 is the best video game movie ever made and what Hollywood should learn from it.
#104
May 9 · 1 hr 20 min
Disney Is Quietly Erasing the Sequel Trilogy. Here's the Evidence.
The decanonization rumors are back, Kathleen Kennedy is out, Dave Filoni is running Lucasfilm, and Galaxy's Edge is finally putting Darth Vader back in the theme park. MonteCristo and DoA catalogue the evidence that Disney is soft-erasing the sequel trilogy and debate whether Filoni is the right person to rebuild Star Wars. PrizePicks — Visit https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/NERD and use code NERD and get $50 in lineups when you play your first $5 lineup! Raycon — Essential Open Earbuds wrap
#103
May 2 · 56 min
EX MACHINA Is More Relevant Than Ever
Ex Machina came out in 2014. It feels like it was made yesterday. MonteCristo and DoA revisit Alex Garland's directorial debut a $15 million chamber piece about a tech billionaire, a coder, and the AI that outsmarts them both and break down why it's only gotten sharper in the age of AGI, Anthropic, and autonomous vehicles. PrizePicks: Visit https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/NERD and use code NERD and get $50 in lineups when you play your first $5 lineup!
#102
April 25 · 54 min
We Used To Love The Boys. Here's What Happened.
We were fans of The Boys. Seasons one and two were genuinely great television: it was a cynical, funny deconstruction of corporate superhero culture that understood how Vought International would actually operate in a modern media landscape. That show is dead now. Three episodes into its final season, The Boys hasn't just jumped the shark; it's jumped about fifty of them, and the Deep is responsible for all of them. ExpressVPN: Your ISP, mobile network, and Wi-Fi admins can see everything you d
#101
April 11 · 58 min
After 35 Years, Is Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze Still Good?
MonteCristo and DoA celebrate the 35th anniversary of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze: the 1991 Golden Harvest sequel that traded the original film's dark, gritty tone for full-on cartoon commitment, and made itself a cultural artifact in the process. DoA has watched this movie so many times he has it memorized. He's not even a little bit ashamed about it. Manta Sleep: blocks 100% of light with memory foam eye cups and breathable, washable materials. Use code LFN at http
#100
March 28 · 51 min
Is Project Hail Mary A Money Grab? Or Is It ACTUALLY Good?
Project Hail Mary is a massive box office hit, a visually stunning sci-fi spectacle, and genuinely well-crafted filmmaking, so why did one of its reviewers spend nearly three hours waiting for it to be over? DoA and MonteCristo land on opposite sides of a movie they both agree is good but can't agree on whether it matters. The result is one of Nerd Legion's most honest conversations about what separates a great sci-fi film from a really well-made popcorn flick. ExpressVPN — Protect your browsin
#99
March 21 · 1 hr 2 min
One Piece Season 2 Is the Best Live-Action Anime Ever Made
Netflix's One Piece might be the most ambitious live-action anime adaptation ever attempted and, somehow, it works. Season 2 takes Eiichiro Oda's gloriously absurd world of devil fruit powers, talking snail phones, and pirates who commit zero acts of piracy, and translates it into eight episodes of practical sets, committed performances, and fight choreography that has no business being this good. DoA and MonteCristo break down why this show succeeds where Cowboy Bebop and Death Note failed. Un
#98
February 28 · 1 hr 6 min
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is the Blueprint Every Franchise Needs
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms just wrapped its first season on HBO, and it might be the most important template for franchise storytelling in years. Six episodes. Thirty minutes each. No world-ending stakes. No required homework from other series. Just a tight, character-driven story set in the Game of Thrones universe that stands completely on its own. It's also a massive hit, averaging nearly 13 million viewers per episode and becoming HBO's third-biggest debut ever. Secure your online dat
#97
February 14 · 51 min
Sean Connery as a Glittering Green Knight?! | SWORD OF THE VALIANT (1984)
What happens when you take the legend of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight… and turn it into an 80s fantasy fever dream starring a glitter-covered Sean Connery? In this episode of Nerd Legion, we dive into Sword of the Valiant (1984): one of the strangest fantasy adaptations ever made. Featuring Miles O’Keeffe, Peter Cushing, John Rhys-Davies, and Ronald Lacey, this stacked cast somehow delivers one of the most unintentionally hilarious medieval movies of the decade. From animatronic severed hea
#96
February 7 · 50 min
Wonder Man is the Marvel Show That Shouldn't Work
Wonder Man is the rare MCU project that feels like it was written by people who actually understand character, comedy, and theme. It succeeds without leaning on CGI sludge, multiverse homework, or the usual “you must watch 14 other things first” burden. In this episode of Nerd Legion, we break down why Wonder Man works: it’s an acting-first show disguised as superhero IP, a behind-the-scenes Hollywood comedy-drama with sharp writing, real performances, and surprisingly thoughtful commentary on
#95
January 31 · 52 min
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Feels Just Like Game of Thrones?!
In this episode of Nerd Legion, MonteCristo and DoA break down HBO’s latest Westeros spinoff and ask the core question every fan is wondering: does this series understand what made Game of Thrones work in the first place? Secure your online data TODAY by visiting https://ExpressVPN.com/NERDLEGION Control Body Odor ANYWHERE with Mando and get 20% off + free shipping with promo code NERD at https://shopmando.com Level up your game and get 10% off TurtleBeach with code NL at turtlebeach.com/NL
#94
January 24 · 1 hr 3 min
Star Trek for Gen Z Doesn’t Work (Here’s Why) | STARFLEET ACADEMY
Starfleet Academy should have been an easy win for modern Star Trek: it's a smaller, character-driven series about young cadets learning what it means to serve in a post-scarcity utopia. Instead, it’s a massively expensive show that seems unsure who it’s even for. Control Body Odor ANYWHERE with Mando and get 20% off + free shipping with promo code NERD at https://shopmando.com

Showing 1–20 of 20 episodes