In Season 2 Episode 6 of Geekstorians, Dave digs into one of the strangest turnarounds in blockbuster history.

After Tim Burton redefined Batman for the big screen, Warner Bros. slowly pushed the franchise away from gothic weirdness and towards something brighter, louder, more commercial, and far more toy-friendly. The result was 1997’s Batman & Robin — a film so spectacularly misjudged it didn’t just flop, it effectively shut Batman down for years.

But that failure turned out to be the point.

This episode explores how the collapse of Batman & Robin gave Warner Bros. the one thing it didn’t realise it needed: a blank canvas. With the franchise too damaged to continue as it was, the studio eventually handed Batman to Christopher Nolan, first with Batman Begins, then with The Dark Knight — a film that didn’t just restore the character, but changed how Hollywood looked at superhero cinema.

It’s a story about studio panic, merchandising logic, franchise collapse, and the uncomfortable truth that sometimes the best version of something only exists because the previous version failed hard enough to clear the ground.

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Dave is joined by Matt for Geektown Radio Episode 497, and this week’s show is led by chat about Sky thriller Prisoner, the return of Citadel for Season 2, Marvel’s Daredevil: Born Again, and the annual US network bloodbath as renewals and cancellations roll in.

Matt kicks things off with social media reviews for Wonder Man Season 1 and Daredevil: Born Again Season 2, with the latter earning huge praise for its big swings, compelling storylines and excellent payoff. He also wraps up Invincible Season 4, which continues to deliver brutal action, strong character work and plenty of Viltrumite chaos.

On Dave’s side, he reviews Prisoner, the twisty Sky thriller starring Tahar Rahim and Izuka Hoyle, and starts Citadel Season 2, with Richard Madden, Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Stanley Tucci back for more stylish spy nonsense. There is also a quick plug for the latest Geektown Talks To interview with Daredevil: Born Again cinematographer Hillary Fyfe Spera, plus this week’s Geekstorians episode on how Batman & Robin accidentally saved Batman.

In the news section, they break down Bloodbath Week across the US networks, covering the latest renewals, cancellations and pilot pickups from CBS, FOX, NBC and ABC, including everything from Watson and The Great North ending, to 9-1-1, Grey’s Anatomy, Elsbeth, Tracker and Law & Order all surviving another year.

They also chat about UK cancellations including Juice, Film Club and Prey vs Predator: The Hunt, along with renewals for Secret Genius with Alan Carr, Pete Wicks: For Dogs’ Sake, The 1% Club, Saturday Night Live UK and more.

Plus, they run through new series pickups like Line of Fire, The Rockford Files, Sunset P.I., NCIS: New York, The Rookie: North and Baywatch, before rounding up what is coming to screens next week, including Good Omens, The Punisher: One Last Kill, From Season 4, Rivals Season 2 and Welcome to Wrexham Season 5.

Listen now for superhero TV, spy thrillers, network chaos and the usual Geektown mix of enthusiasm, side tangents and entertainment news.

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In this Geektown Talks To interview, Dave chats with cinematographer Hillary Fyfe Spera, the lead cinematographer behind both seasons one and two of Marvel’s ‘Daredevil: Born Again’.

Hillary was there from the very beginning of the Disney+ series, shooting the pilot, finale, and seven of the nine episodes in season one, helping to establish the grounded, cinematic look of Matt Murdock’s return to Hell’s Kitchen. She also returned for season two, shooting half of the episodes, including the opening two, as the story pushed further into the conflict between Daredevil, Wilson Fisk, and a city under increasing pressure.

During the interview, Hillary discusses how she first came to cinematography through still photography, and how her love of collaboration led her into film and television. She also talks about how ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ came to her, and how classic 1970s New York films such as ‘Taxi Driver’ and ‘The French Connection’ helped inform the visual direction of the series.

We also dig into the visual contrast between Matt Murdock’s world and Fisk’s world, with Daredevil and the vigilantes shot in a more handheld, human, street-level style, while Fisk’s side of the story becomes more controlled, symmetrical and oppressive. Hillary explains how those visual rules evolved across the two seasons, and how they could shift as characters moved between worlds or began to lose control.

Hillary also breaks down the show’s practical approach to Daredevil’s heightened senses, including the in-camera “sensory grande” technique, which uses multiple cameras, lenses, movement and aspect ratio changes to represent something that is not inherently visual.

There is also plenty of discussion about the action, including working with the stunt team, keeping fight scenes grounded while still making them cinematic, and why the best sequences need emotional pauses rather than just relentless punching. Hillary talks about the huge East River boat oner in season two, shot at night with drone lighting, choreography and practical location challenges, along with the series’ BB Report segments and how they changed visually as the story developed.

Plus, Hillary chats about what she is watching at the moment, her love of ‘The X-Files’, and why her dream future project would be a Western.

‘Daredevil: Born Again’ Seasons 1 and 2 are available on Disney+.

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