There are no prime directives on the Hollywood Prospectus podcast — other than, perhaps, Thou Shalt Not Forsake Meek Mill and Thou Shalt Overrate All Bourne Movies — so it wasn’t any sort of violation for me and Chris to tear into Star Trek Into Darkness (1:10). Amid crazy spoilers we pointed out troubles far more serious than Tribbles in a movie that was hamstrung by its need to satisfy two fundamentally opposing fan bases: those who love Trek and those who like space movies where stuff blows up. This led to one of our larger, crankier discussions about the state of big movies and how the even bigger profits contained within inevitably lead to smaller ideas and even fewer risks. Happily, taking risks is not a problem for the meth heads at Mad Men (27:38). Some may have found “The Crash” off-putting and strange, but I think we both loved it precisely because it was off-putting and strange. No show on TV has ever been more concerned with the giant abyss of neediness lurking inside everyone, and this was an hour that saw all of our favorite characters inject an insane cocktail of stimulants to try to leap that chasm like Evel Knievel, with similarly smashing results.

Speaking of screwed-up characters, transitioning to Game of Thrones (44:28) this week was a breeze, easier than sneaking past 8,000 Unsullied with some decapitated heads in a duffel bag. “Second Sons” was a reminder of how great Game of Thrones can be when it’s good, which brought us to our first of what will be no doubt many 2013 conversations about Kanye West. Cruel Summer was last year; if his SNL performances and building-projections are any indication, I have a feeling the next few months are just going to be great. Praise Yeezus!

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