The season three finale is here as we tackle one of the most infamous blockbusters of the 90s. It has loomed over our heads for several episodes, languishing in development hell, but the 1998 Tristar Godzilla is finally here. Hollywood Disaster Film magnates Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich bring their crew from Stargate and Independence Day to bring audiences a movie almost as big as its marketing deals were. It's the movie that forced a rapid course correction from Toho, but is it finally time to give the original American Godzilla a second chance?

We're joined this week by two guests. First, former SDGC cohost and former Paused for Popcorn host Jeff Meier. Second, and returning once again, Case Aiken from the Certain Point of View network.

We're back with Matt and Jayson one last time as we bring Mothra's 90s movie trilogy to a close. It's a movie that was unfairly kept from western audiences for an unreasonably long time, especially when you consider just how good this final entry retroactively makes the entire Rebirth of Mothra trilogy. Moths are good, actually.

Yes, we have technically broken our continuity slightly, as a certain movie did finally release months before Rebirth of Mothra 3. Derek thought it would fit better to finish the trilogy before turning to the elephant (or iguana) in the room.

Mothra's standalone film series continues as our baby boy Leo fights an aquatic jet plane dragon that is also a starfish parasite factory that is also an ancient garbage disposal created by Not-Atlantis. A furby pees on people. Leo turns into an underwater X-wing. It's a weird movie, but more than that, it's a movie that feels like it was shotgunned through an edit bay so it could be over with already.

We're joined once again by JaysonDoesMusic and Matt Storm, returning from our Rebirth of Mothra episode, and bless them for pulling through this entire sub trilogy with us.

Godzilla is dead and signed over to Hollywood, but Toho still needs to make money, so they dusted off some old script ideas and set to make Mothra a solo star again. The first of a trilogy aimed much more squarely at kids and families, Rebirth of Mothra is often overlooked but not lacking in charm. Come for Mothra and a goth Ghidorah doing fighting game special moves, stay for an evil camp fairy icon.

We’re joined this week by two guests. First, returning from an earlier episode, Matt Storm from the CPOV network! Secondly, appearing for the first time, Jayson of JaysonDoesMusic! The two of them will be sticking with us for the entire Rebirth of Mothra trilogy, joining us at the altar of Belvera.

It's the end of an era, the end of several careers, and the end of more than a couple lives (not all of them fictional) as the Heisei period of Godzilla movies draws to a close. One of the most beloved entries in the franchise, Godzilla vs Destoroyah ties the end to the beginning by centering the legacy of the Oxygen Destroyer, Dr Serizawa, and the Yamane family. Also, Crab Satan. Crab Satan is pretty cool.

For the first time, we're joined this week by not one but TWO guests (both returning from previous episodes): Godzilla megafan and SDGC cohost Justin aka Roboplato, and CPOV podcaster Case Aiken. The energy is so good.

And so we're back! From outer space! It's a moment we have been dreading as the Heisei era finally loses the plot. Godzilla vs Spacegodzilla is a fun spectacle, and basically an early Dragonball Z arc in Godzilla form, but it's a case study in how good filmmaking can't overcome basic structural script problems. Derek does a script rewrite live even, a Castle Bravo first (and hopefully a Castle Bravo last).

We're joined this week by podcaster, PR man, and fellow SDGC host Matthew Finneman. The timeline of these movies is getting a little too self-referential for newbies to keep up, but Finn is always ready to fire off a zinger.

This episode was recorded close to two months before publish date, but due to personal tragedy (mentioned at the beginning of the episode) it sat in the vault for a while before we could return to the show.

No, it's not a sequel to Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla. This entry in the Heisei era is the most interested in continuity so far, the most jam-packed with returning monsters, and the least thematically interesting (in that there is no real theme to speak of). But it's big, flashy, and fun, and they managed to make some version of Minilla that doesn't make me physically ill, so that's gotta be worth some points.

We're joined this week by writer and journalist Ryan Easby. Like several of our guests this season, Ryan is coming to the Heisei era of Godzilla without a ton of history with the Japanese films... and getting absolutely blindsided in the process.

Social Media Links

The Show - twitter.com/CastleBravoPod

Derek - twitter.com/DerbyCityDerek

Charlotte - twitter.com/viscerocomplex

Ryan - twitter.com/EasbyGames

With the previous two movies barely managing to break even, the decision was made to Break Glass In Case Of Emergency; it was time to bring back Mothra. The resulting film was not only incredibly faithful to Mothra's original film appearances, but also more smartly reimagined elements of her story to fit into the modern day (especially in comparison to Ghidorah's radical reinvention just one movie ago). It also marks as a sort of final chapter of director Ishiro Honda's connection to the series shortly before his death.

We're joined this week by writer and host of the Make Me A Gamer podcast, Atma Phoenix. Atma, like several of our guests, is coming into the world of Godzilla having seen mostly the American movies, and we couldn't have picked a much better movie to bring someone into the fold.

Social Media Links

The Show - twitter.com/CastleBravoPod

Derek - twitter.com/DerbyCityDerek

Charlotte - twitter.com/viscerocomplex

Atma - atmasweapon.com