HAVE YOU HEARD?

Unequal Sequel: The film podcast all about the sequels

Published on August 9, 2021

Have You Heard? is where the Pod Bible team meet the people behind the podcasts you may not have heard of yet. While the Oh. My. Pod. section in the magazine gives a quick shout out to shows of that ilk, Have You Heard? aims to go deeper in an effort to spread awareness for shows that deserve more exposure! We recently heard from Dave and Rich from a film podcast all about the sequels, Unequal Sequel.

Who are you and what’s your podcast about?

We are Dave and Rich and we met at University where we were both studying film. Dave stayed working in the industry and Rich went off to work in radio and then charities. Both of us have a love of movies and podcasts so a movie podcast made sense. Unequal Sequel is all about finding out people’s favourite movie sequel, least favourite sequel and their dream sequel, plus we have a short “extra” episode each week, where we might review a recent sequel or just do something else sequel related. We try to get guests who are really passionate about movies so they might not be really famous, but they really know their stuff.

What was the first podcast you ever listened to?

Rich: It was probably Adam Buxton’s podcast and Distraction Pieces I can’t remember which was first, but I’d listen to one on the way to work and then one on the way home, luckily I was a bit late to the game so there was a backlog, but as I started to catch up I’ve started listening to others like Off Menu, My Dad Wrote a Porno and I really like the Cinemile too.

Dave: For me it was probably The Empire magazines podcast, I’ve been a reader of the magazine and actually hearing the voices of the Empire team was very exciting, which made Helen O’Hara agreeing to be our first guest quite surreal. I also remember listening to some early Kevin Smith pods before I even understood the true power of a podcast. I just consumed as many film podcasts that I could find. Saving Wittertainment for a Monday morning is something I’ve been doing for years; it was way to get the week off to a good start.

Why did you decide to start podcasting in the first place?

Rich: I think that it was mainly to give us a reason to catch up with our friends over lockdown. We started out making a podcast about Baywatch called The Baywatched Podcast where we watch an episode of Baywatch and talk about it, 9 times out of 10 it’s to say how bad it was, and we have had some really fun episodes of that.

Dave: I was part of the Jumpcut Online and JumpCast podcast team which was a great team to be involved with, chatting films with them was so much fun but I always had this idea and feeling that I could do a podcast of my own. The idea of podcasting with my best mates was a real driving force for me, just another form of communication in these odd times. I really love films, it’s pretty much all I think about, so getting to chat about them with like-minded people is just a dream. I also found out that Rich hadn’t seen some pretty important sequels so it’s a good way to educate him a bit. Sadly, we have had to watch a fair few rubbish ones, but talking about them is always a lot of fun.

Which podcasts do you take inspiration from?

Oh this is a hard one, for a concept I guess it has the same rules and layout of Off Menu, but we just chat about sequels and movies instead of food. I would also say we have a little bit of ‘How Did This Get Made?’ about us, especially when it comes to the worst sequel picks. It seems we both enjoy interview-based podcasts. Hearing interesting and funny people talk about something they are enthusiastic and passionate about is the main bulk of the podcasts we listen to. Adam Buxton’s podcast and Distraction Pieces are great examples of that. Most recently I’ve really enjoyed Parenting Hell with Rob Beckett and Josh Widdicombe.

Who’s your dream guest for the podcast?

Rich: It would probably be Scroobious Pip or Adam Buxton, but that’s just because I think they’re both awesome and I’d want to chat to them. In terms of who would be a particularly great guest for the podcast I’d love to get Mark Kermode on.

Dave: Mark Kermode would be great! I would love to get Kevin Smith on. The sheer passion he brings to any subject is amazing. I could listen to him talk about anything. I would love to do a crossover episode with Brett Goldstein and Films to be buried with. But my dream quest would be Steven Spielberg, I want to pick his brain. I know there are loads of comedians who love films like James Acaster and Nish Kumar, getting more knowledgeable comics on would be great, Seann Walsh was an excellent guest.

What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learnt so far as a podcaster?

Rich: Get a really good microphone! Oh and also booking guests is really hard and takes up more time than making the actual podcast.

Dave: Be prepared, be professional. Act like the podcast you want to be if that makes sense. Do research on your audience and have a plan when you start out. Best laid plans and all that. It’s easy to say that now but when we started ‘The Baywatched podcast’ we made a lot of mistakes. But number one is what Rich said, get a good microphone, sound quality can make and break a podcast even one with a great idea.

Which episode would you say is the perfect introduction to your podcast?

Rich: It’s probably the first episode with Helen O’Hara from Empire Magazine. Helen is so knowledgeable and her taste is impeccable. Also the episode with the director, Lewis Arnold was great because he’s so passionate about movies.

Dave: for me it would be Cameron Frew, the entertainment editor of Unilad, I think that episode captures our podcast perfectly. It’s a great blend of being really funny and interesting and entertaining at the same time. We have been so lucky with all our guests; each episode is very different and unique so for me that makes each episode very special.