The year is bracketed by movies: The Hobbit film trilogy finishes and Sci-Fi Movies is the hiatus countdown subject.
However, the year is dominated by books. Most notably, Ben produces hours of Divine Comedy videos then is joined by Matt for an iconic trilogy of episodes. The first Dune review, a discussion of Mark as apocalyptic literature, A Song of Ice and Fire, The Ocean at the End of the Lane, Anathem, and a couple Books of LOST (Watership Down and A Wrinkle in Time) combine to make this season untouchable on the literature front.
Ben pops up to the Reini's cabin for a weekend and came back alive. He also discovers that Mary Poppins is a witch.
Both hosts celebrate 4 years of podcasting and Episode 400.
Matt considers leaving the show (or at least podcasting less) after Episode 500.
End of the Year Awards
| Category | Winner | Archivist's Choice |
|---|---|---|
| Episode | № 341 Encircling the Inferno, № 351 Prancing Through Purgatorio, № 377 Pondering Paradiso | № 341 Encircling the Inferno |
| Episode Title | № 319 The Hobbit: There and Crap Again | № 319 The Hobbit: There and Crap Again |
| Countdown | № 336 Top 5 Low Quality Influences | № 336 Top 5 Low Quality Influences |
| Movie Review | № 319 The Hobbit: There and Crap Again | № 322 Middle-Earth on Film Retrospective |
| Book Review | № 394 The Worlds of Neil Gaiman: The Ocean at the End of the Lane | |
| TV Show Review | № 371 Breaking Down Better Call Saul | |
| Time Loop | № 369 The SFC Time Loop: The Divine Do Over | № 379 The SFC Time Loop: Fate vs. Free Will |
| Guest | Christopher Benek (№ 388 Techno-Theology at Warp Speed) | Christopher Benek (№ 388 Techno-Theology at Warp Speed) (Maybe ineligible because they recorded the previous year and technically Matt was the guest, but my unofficial pick is Leeman and Rachel Kessler (№ 427 Top 5 Sci-Fi Fandoms)). (Also Annie De Bono was great (№ 400 The Sci-Fi Christian Quad-Centennial Self-Celebration Extravaganza)) |
| Funniest Moment/Episode | Matt realizing that Ben wasn't keeping track of feedback (№ 372 The Rock Goes On a Rampage and Other News) | № 411 Mary Poppins is a Witch |
| Surprising Sci-Fi News | Is this the end of The Sci-Fi Christian as we know it? | Spider-Man will get a standalone MCU movie |
| Exciting Sci-Fi News | Star Wars Episode VII is coming soon | Jonathan Nolan is developing a TV show for HBO based on Isaac Asimov's Foundation series |
| Disappointing Sci-Fi News | For the Twilight 10th anniversary, Stephanie Meyer is releasing a gender-swapped version of the story. | |
| Lack of Follow-Through | Alan Moore episode | Alan Moore episode |
| Uncovered Topic | More alternative readings | Literary origins of elements in Tolkien |
| Video | The Divine Comedy series | Fantasy and the Academy |
| Sci-Fi Movie | Interstellar | Creed (alternate September-September release and actual sci-fi pick: Inside Out) |
| Sci-Fi TV Show | Daredevil | Daredevil |
| Sci-Fi Book | Seveneves | |
| Sci-Fi Video Game | Batman: Arkham Knight | 80 Days |
| Worst Episode | № 387 Conversations of Ice and Fire: Part 2 |