Welcome to Episode #12 of the 90s State of Mind podcast - a collaborative project between 4ever in Electric Dreams and Blue-in-Green:RADIO. This podcast series sees Imran (London, UK) and Rhonda (California, USA) delve into some of their favourite releases from the 90s and for this episode, the pair revisit the sophomore album from R&B vocalist, Tevin Campbell, 'I'm Ready'.

Released on 26th October 1993 by Qwest/Warner Records, the album was chiefly produced by Babyface, Prince and Narada Michael Walden.  The album sold over 2 million copies, reaching double Platinum status, and featured an incredible 6 single releases in support of the album including the biggest R&B hit of his career, 'Can We Talk'.  At only 16 years old, 'I'm Ready' is widely regarded as the high-point in Tevin's career even earning the artist 3 Grammy nominations.

Imran & Rhonda delve deep into this definitive 90s R&B album looking at the project, the singles, the collaborators, the remixes and look at other child stars within the 90s R&B realm.

Blue-in-Green:RADIO is a London-based online internet radio station which celebrates 21st century soul, jazz, funk, Latin & hip-hop music.

www.blueingreenradio.com

Episode #51 of the Close Encounters of the Nerd Kind podcast sees the team - this week comprising of Tee-J Sutherland, Dan Collacott, Imran Mirza and friend of show Denis-Jose Francois - delve into the monumental release of Spider-Man: No Way Home.

Although Spider-Man takes up a huge bulk of the conversation, we also delve into the release of the Disney+ series, Hawkeye, take a broader look at Phase 4 as a whole while discussing out respective hopes and fears going forward. We also ponder the best way to integrate X-Men and the Fantastic Four into the MCU fold and we also discuss Denis' comment that Episode 5 of Hawkeye is the single greatest episode across the MCU/Disney+ shows to date.

There will be buckets of SPOILERS going forward for both Spider-Man and Hawkeye so please note that before pressing play. And with that aside, we hope you enjoy the episode...

Welcome to Episode #11 of the 90s State of Mind podcast - a collaborative project between 4ever in Electric Dreams and Blue-in-Green:RADIO. This podcast series sees Imran (London, UK) and Rhonda (California, USA) delve into some of their favourite releases from the 90s and for this episode, the pair revisit the debut self-titled album from R&B vocalist, Brandy.

Released on 27th September 1994 by Atlantic Records, the album was chiefly produced by Keith Crouch and reached number 20 on the US Billboard 200 becoming certified quadruple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).  Worldwide, the album has sold over six million copies.

Four singles were released from the album in 'I Wanna Be Down', 'Baby', 'Best Friend' and 'Brokenhearted'.  The singles garnered Brandy nominations for various awards, including two Grammy Award nominations and the success of the album allowed the young star to establish herself as one of the most successful of the then-new generation of R&B female vocalists who emerged during the mid-to-late 1990s.

Imran & Rhonda delve deep into this definitive 90s R&B album looking at the project, the singles, the collaborators, the remixes and look at other child stars within the 90s R&B realm.

Blue-in-Green:RADIO is a London-based online internet radio station which celebrates 21st century soul, jazz, funk, Latin & hip-hop music.

www.blueingreenradio.com

​Who better to preview Season 4 of Cobrai Kai (and celebrate the previous 3 seasons) than lifetime virtual dojo buddies and Karate Kid fan boys Imran Mirza and Stu Giblin. The Nerd Dragons join host Dan Collacott for this very special Close Encounters of the Nerd Kind Minicast.

Episode #50 of the Close Encounters of the Nerd Kind podcast sees the team delve into their personal connections with genre fiction and the source material from which it comes from.

We look at small things that serve as personal irritations before looking at the situation from a broader lens including wider public reactions to situations that have involved recasting of a character's gender, race or sexuality.  Isn't it fair that a filmmaker should be afforded the creative licence to take a story into new directions?  How can a story or franchise even grow if it is continually expected to be relegated to decades-old confines?

Dan Collacott, Imran Mirza and Tee-J Sutherland tackle the question plus we also take time out to celebrate the milestone that is our fiftieth show!

Episode #49 of the Close Encounters of the Nerd Kind podcast sees the team delve into the Dark Side of the Ring documentary series exploring those oftentimes tragic stories surrounding the lives of past wrestlers.

By the late-90s, WWF wrestlers were well-known to spend 300 days of the year on the road, travelling from one town to the next to perform. The brutal and gruelling lifestyle impacted wrestlers in many ways with many picking up vices including addictions to alcohol, drugs, pills, etc. As explained in the title, Dark Side of the Ring, as a series, gravitates to these challenging stories bringing to light the difficulties wrestlers experienced in a very much bygone era of wrestling.

Dan Collacott, Imran Mirza and Tee-J Sutherland, as devoted wrestling fans, review two episodes from the three seasons of the show available. Two heart-breaking stories in their own right, we explore:

"The Assassination of Dino Bravo" (season 2, episode 6)
"The Montreal Screwjob" (season 1, episode 2)

Episode #48 of the Close Encounters of the Nerd Kind podcast sees the team put their geek credentials on the line in epic fashion with the first of our Quiz Night-themed episodes.  Dan Collacott and Tee-J Sutherland are put through their paces courtesy of ruthless Quiz Master, Imran Mirza, as we delve into head-first into the MCU tackling a range of different questions like...

"In Guardians of the Galaxy, Rocket claims to need three things in order to escape the prison - a security band, a battery and...?"

If you know the answer to this then you should definitely be competing against Dan and Tee-J so press play immediately and if you don't know, then press play anyway for a ridiculously tense and fun episode.

With more Quiz Nights to come over the coming months, we'd love to know what you thought of our first attempt.

Episode #47 of the Close Encounters of the Nerd Kind podcast sees Dan Collacott joined by Richard Roth and Denis-Jose Francois as the trio look towards depctions of the future in film that - thankfully - did not actually come to pass.

Predictions of our future usually tend to be split between societies that run on a level of technology we can only dream of and societies trying to adapt to a bleak and uninspired future devoid of hope.  While at times striving to celebrate both visions, this episode explores three movies that delve into the more bleak aspects of what may lie ahead for us all.  And while the worst of it may not yet have come to pass for the films selected, and while the films discussed may seem like light years away from our current lives, the team explore a series of worrying parallels that highlights the science within the fiction. 

Hi... 00:00
Mad Max... 01:34
The Running Man... 23:50
Robocop... 49:00

​Episode #46 of the Close Encounters of the Nerd Kind podcast sees Tee-J Sutherland and Dan Collacott joined by long-time listener and even longer-timed friend of the show Stuart Giblin as the team discuss the state of British sitcoms in the UK as once championed the Big Five terrestrial channels.

The UK's long-standing history as champions of innovative and inspired new comedy talent has led the way to some defining moments in our rich entertainment history.  Cherished sitcom characters like Alan Partridge, David Brent and Basil Fawlty have become engrained into the fabric of this country's comedy lineage and still serve to inspire subsequent generations.  But why does it seem that the once-beloved British sitcom has taken a back seat in the eyes of the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 in favour of more generic formats like panel shows?  Has comedy moved on?  Are sitcoms just too expensive and high-risk for networks to gamble on and are panel shows subsequently easier because they're cheaper to fund? 

Episode #45 of the Close Encounters of the Nerd Kind podcast sees Tee-J Sutherland, Dan Collacott, Imran Mirza and Denis-Jose Francois discuss the third show in the MCU's foray into Disney+ TV shows.

Loki premiered on June 9, 2021, and ran for six episodes until July 14. It is part of Phase Four of the MCU and has already been renewed for a second series.

Following the show's successful run, the Disney+ exclusive explores how Loki moves forward following the events of Endgame and introduces consequences that will impact significant areas of the MCU's Phase 4. The third of the MCU's incorporation of the streaming service as part of their overall narrative, the team discuss their expectations of the show going in, where the MCU moves to from here, plus we take a look at the Spiderman 'No Way Home' trailer, the first three episodes of 'What If' and talk Black Widow and Shang-Chi.