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Screen Testing

Neil Studd and Dan Billing bring you a fortnightly movie podcast with a software testing spin. We'll be looking for bugs in the plot, and comparing how the films compare to real-life experiences we've faced in the world of testing!
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Now displaying: June, 2017
Jun 30, 2017

In our first venture into the world of Doctor Who, guest Andrew Morton adds to Dan's expertise (and Neil's ignorance) to unpack a Fourth Doctor story which has vibes of The Manchurian Candidate and The Matrix (with a bit of a whodunnit and a courtroom drama in the middle). Plus there are fisticuffs!

We take a reverential look at some of the series' tropes, including The Doctor's skill at hiding behind things, the speed at which cliffhangers are negated, stilted deathbed monologues and a villain's inability to finish off his enemy.

We also analyse The Master's ability to turn people into Action Man dolls, short-sighted writers creating continuity nightmares, wonder whether the Timelords would do well to invest in two-factor authentication, and make very early plans for Screen Testing's thirty-year anniversary episode.

Clips from The Deadly Assassin on YouTube (courtesy of BBC Worldwide):

Miscellaneous references:

Doctor Who episodes referenced (ordered by airdate):

  • An Unearthly Child (first story, 1963)
  • The Daleks (first Dalek story, 1963)
  • The Dalek Invasion of Earth (1964)
  • The Chase (1965)
  • The Enemy of the World (1967)
  • The Web of Fear (1968)
  • The War Games (1969)
  • Spearhead from Space (1970)
  • Terror of the Autons (1971)
  • The Sea Devils (1972)
  • Frontier in Space (1973)
  • Planet of the Daleks (1973)
  • Genesis of the Daleks (1975)
  • The Brain of Morbius (1976)
  • The Seeds of Doom (1976)
  • The Hand of Fear (1976)
  • The Face of Evil (1977)
  • The Invasion of Time (1978)
  • Shada (unfinished due to strikes, 1980)
  • The Five Doctors (1983)
  • The Caves of Androzani (1984)
  • Revelation of the Daleks (1985)
  • The Trial of a Time Lord (1986)
  • The Mysterious Planet (1986)
  • Terror of the Vervoids (1986)
  • Time and the Rani (1987)
  • The Curse of Fenric (1989)
  • Doctor Who (TV movie, 1996)
  • The Stolen Earth (2008)
  • The Name of the Doctor (featuring The War Doctor, 2013)
  • The Day of the Doctor (50th anniversary episode, 2013)
  • World Enough and Time / The Doctor Falls (season finale, 2017)

We'll be back in a fortnight with Christopher Chant, to discuss one of Neil's all-time favourite movies, WHIPLASH.

Twitters:
@TestingChef
@TheTestDoctor
@neilstudd

Emails:
screentestingpod@gmail.com

Intro music: Doctor Who theme
Outro music: The Timelords - Doctorin' The Tardis

Jun 16, 2017

Neil and Dan get their teeth into the latest movie in the Star Wars franchise, Rogue One, a prequel to Episode IV which is steadfastly doing its own thing, complete with retconned Death Star powers, penis-tentacled monsters and sarcastic droids.

In a midichlorian-free episode, we discuss whether the Imperials should have discovered the Death Star's fatal flaw, how workplace politics can hinder us from achieving our goals, the nature of Chirrut Imwe's Force-like abilities, and the merits of re-casting versus CGI.

Along the way, Dan proposes a potential spin-off podcast to explore his inner dictator, Neil ponders whether Jon Bon Jovi is in canon, we compare our tenuous connections to Star Wars cast members, and rhetorically wonder why nerds are never satisfied.

In an extended news section at the end, we say goodbye to some of our childhood heroes who we've lost in recent weeks: Roger Moore (Bond), Adam West (Batman) and Andy Cunningham (Bodger).

References:

Closing tributes from YouTube:

Join us in two weeks' time when we'll be delving into the world of Doctor Who, discussing the Tom Baker story THE DEADLY ASSASSIN, with special guest Andrew Morton!

Twitters:
@ScreenTesting
@TheTestDoctor
@neilstudd

Emails:
screentestingpod@gmail.com

Intro music: Michael Giacchino - A Long Ride Ahead
Outro music: Max Rebo Band - Lapti Nek

Jun 2, 2017

HACK THE PLANET! Your regular hosts Neil (aka Integer Overflow) and Dan (Shoe_Gazer) are taking over the airwaves with special guest Matthew Bretten (Mr Null) to pull apart the most 90s film of all-time. We analyse the visuals, the clothing, the soundtrack and the tech, all of which help to make Hackers a hundred times better than Swordfish.

To keep our critical eyes sharp, we debate whether curiosity was really their only crime, whether the hacks still hold up today, and whether the recycle bin is really a good place to store secure files.

Among the oddities we encounter along the way, we talk about the merits of SWAT teams pointing guns at kids, whether Acid Burn's fencing proficiency is a useful weapon, we get pedantic about RAM, and try to avoid talking about Matthew Lillard at all.

References:

Security testing resources from Dan:

YouTube clips for some of the nostalgic name-checking in this episode:

Our next episode will be a double-header, as we tackle both ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY and STAR WARS EPISODE IV: A NEW HOPE to answer the eternal question: Is it a bug, or a feature?

Twitters:
@matthewbretten
@ScreenTesting
@TheTestDoctor
@neilstudd

Emails:
screentestingpod@gmail.com

Intro music: Orbital - Halcyon And On And On
Outro music: Squeeze - Heaven Knows

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