It’s that time again, folks. That’s right, a brand new episode of The Flickcast is here and it’s yours for the taking. For free.

That’s right, free. As in free beer. And really, who doesn’t love free beer? Nobody, that’s who. Yeah, we’ve used that example before, but so what? It still works. Anyway. . .

Moving right along, Chris and Joe are back and ready to rock and roll with a whole slew of new and recurring topics. Some of these topics include the change in release date of Superman vs. Batman, Star Wars VII script news, Elementary, the return of Sherlock, fanboys and haters, the true meaning of life and a whole lot more.

No, not really. We just slipped that “true meaning of life” one in to see if you were paying attention.

This week’s picks include Chris’ pick of the novel Pandemic by Scott Sigler and Joe’s pick of the audio version of the novel Redshirts by John Scalzi and read by Wil Wheaton.

As always, if you have comments, questions, critiques, offers of sponsorship, or whatever, feel free to hit us up in the comments, on Twitter, at Facebook, Google+ or via email.

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It’s 2014 and Chris and Joe kick things off correct with a brand new episode of The Flickcast. Yes, even though the holiday hangovers are still in full effect, the boys found time to get together, find a barn (or something) and have a show.

Topics this week include holiday movies, upcoming TV shows for 2014, Guardians of the Galaxy, Man of Steel 2, Lex Luthor casting, beer, flying cars, jetpacks, erectile disfunction and a whole lot more.

Did we mention all the more! Well, there’s a lot of it, as usual. This is a long one.

This week’s picks include Chris’ pick of the novel Wired by Douglas E. Richards and Joe’s pick of the book The Naked Brewer, by Christina Perozzi and Hallie Beaune (aka The Beer Chicks).

As always, if you have comments, questions, critiques, offers of sponsorship, or whatever, feel free to hit us up in the comments, on Twitter, at Facebook, Google+ or via email.

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | iHeartRadio | Stitcher | TuneIn | RSS

What could be better than a third season of the BBC’s awesome Sherlock series starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman as a modern-day Holmes and Watson? Why, a fourth season of course.

That’s right, during and interview with UK’s Radio Times today, Cumberbatch said he and co-star Freeman have agreed to do two seasons after Season 2.

“We’ve agreed to two more series but I could get into trouble for saying that,” Cumberbatch said during the interview. “All I know at the moment is I’m doing these three and another three.” Which, translated to how we do series here in the U.S. means he’s currently filming season three of three episodes and then would go on to do a fourth season of three episodes.

He also said in the interview that he and Freeman would like to do more seasons, but as always it depends on their schedules and that of co-creator Steven Moffat, who also runs the BBC’s Doctor Who.

So yeah, that’s pretty cool. We could all use more seasons of this excellent show. And more Cumberbatch and Freeman isn’t a bad thing either.

Look for season three of Sherlock to hit the U.S. later this year.

My affinity for Doctor Who has to be well-known at this point in time, but there is another Brit series that really floats my boat these days. Coincidentally, or more likely not, both shows are currently headed by the same mad genius, Steven Moffat.

Sherlock co-stars one of my favorite british actors, Martin Freeman, and introduced me to the wonder that is Benedict Cumberbatch. But the show has another secret weapon that I am excited to dig into today, a wonderful score by David Arnold and Michael Price.

The name David Arnold should ring a few bells for a few of you, he is most well-known for his many recent James Bond scores, in fact he the second most frequent Bond composer right after the legend, John Barry. Aside from Bong, Arnold also has several other geek cred credits, most notably writing the scores to Independence Day and Startgate.

In case you were not aware, there is a brilliant modernization of Sherlock Holmes on TV right now. Sherlock, the BBC series, tells the tale of the titular detective in a modern London, complete with text messaging, internet teleconferencing and Watson’s blog!

CBS, excited by the prospect of the most famous detective’s ability to work in a modern setting, has set forth on their own take on a 21st century Holmes, and they just nabbed their Watson.

According to Deadline the role of Sherlock’s faithful aide is being filled by a rather surprising choice:

Lucy Liu is set to play Sherlock Holmes’ sidekick in CBS’ drama pilot Elementary, whose tweaks to Arthur Conan Doyle’s classic include switching Watson’s gender to female. The project, written by Robert Doherty, is set in present day and stars Jonny Lee Miller as eccentric Brit Sherlock Holmes, a former consultant to Scotland Yard whose addiction problems led him to a rehab center in New York City.

On one hand, the concept of Jonny Lee Miller and Lucy Liu running around New York as Holmes and Watson actually sounds crazy enough to work. On the other hand, we might be reaching a point of Sherlock Holmes overload, with a TV show and movie series already very much alive.

We at The Flickcast have our fingers crossed that this adaptation goes just bug nutty enough to work along side Sherlock, not against it.

Steven Moffat is one of the best television minds working today. He is in charge of two of the most interesting, well written and generally fun shows on television, Doctor Who and Sherlock, and he might fancy bringing a bit of both together.

The Express is reporting that Cumberbatch is the desired choice to play the most recent incarnation of The Master, a renegade Time Lord who often butts heads with the good Doctor:

“It’s fitting that the Doctor comes face to face with his ultimate enemy, The Master, for the 50th anniversary and it’s felt Benedict is the perfect choice if schedules can work… Fans will love the idea of the man who plays Sherlock Holmes taking on the Doctor’’

This year Cumberbatch was in two highly regarded films stateside, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and War Horse, and the next year and a half will see him in at least two major blockbusters, Star Trek 2 and The Hobbit. So there is genuine concern about his upcoming availability for a multiple episode or even season long arc on the show.

The 50th anniversary year of the longest running sci-fi show in history is expected to be huge. No doubt bringing back the Master is only the tip of the iceberg of plans the Grand Moff and BBC have in store for us in 2013.

Sherlock Holmes is a popular character these days, between a popular film franchise and an acclaimed BBC TV show, there are several ways to enjoy his particular brand of inductive reasoning. So popular in fact that BBC has ordered up a third round of Sherlock episodes, according to the trustworthy official twitter of show creator Steven Moffat.

Add that popularity with a recent trend of taking quality foreign programming  and re-purposing it for American audiences and it will come as no surprise that CBS has ordered their own Holmes pilot as well. Elementary is planned as a modern take on the classic detective, putting Holmes in the middle of New York City.

This is not the first time a network wanted to put a Holmesian character on the mean streets of the big apple. Law and Order spin-off Criminal Intent was originally conceived as a way to put a detective like Sherlock in the Law and Order universe. That worked well, but the character was only loosely based on Holmes, it will be interesting to see how the character fits into the CBS style drama mold.

It has never been a hotter time to be a fan of Sherlock Holmes. The old chap now has two blockbuster Hollywood movies. Plus, Sherlock has a highly rated and successful BBC television series. The only thing he is missing is a comic book.

His mortal enemy Professor James Moriarty is brilliantly featured in his own series published by Image comics called, what else, Moriarty. It is the beginning of the 20th century, the dawn of World War 1, Sherlock Holmes has been dead for twenty years, and Moriarty has been drafted into service by MI5.

This issue is part four of the storyline called The Lazarus Tree.  A full-scale riot breaks out in the streets of Kyauktada, and the British authorities sweep in to take control. The mystery begins to unravel, and Moriarty becomes aware of the lurking threat of Moran’s sniper rifle hunting him in the shadows.

The characterization of Moriarty is brilliant. He is essentially an evil Sherlock Holmes. He sees common details that people miss, he is a brilliant doctor, and he is even a brilliant professor, dealing with concepts and theories that are way beyond his time. The major problem with the character is that even though he interesting; the writing never truly gives us a reason to like him.

For those who are stuck in the box of US television, and have yet to venture into the exciting world of British TV, you’ve missed quite a bit. Sure, there are the hits like Doctor Who and Sherlock, but one show that doesn’t get nearly as much play as it should is the E4 series Misfits.

Just finishing up its 3rd season, the show follows a band of teen troublemakers who, while stuck on a chain gang for community service, are struck by lighting, granting them superpowers to do whatever they choose. We wish that was all the show was about, but it’s managed to become one of the best shows on TV in only 21 episodes.

This past season saw the departure of the show’s lead comedic relief, Robert Sheehan, and the introduction of This is England’s Joseph Gilgun. Now, with two more characters leaving the show in the season 3 finale, we can expect to see the show make a return for a fourth year.

We don’t want to spoil anything for those who haven’t caught up, but you can catch up on Misfits over on HULU.com. Not even the show’s creator has a clue where the band of juvenile delinquents are headed next year, but we definitely know that it will involve plenty of superpowers, and tons of swearing.

Can’t wait!

In a recent interview promoting the new BBC mini series Sherlock, Benedict Cumberbatch candidly implies his interest in becoming the next Doctor Who. With current Doctor Who show runner Steven Moffat also heading up the Sherlock mini-series, the possibility is much higher than with most similar rumors.

During the interview with Digital Spy, the interviewer unassumingly asked if Cumberbunch had any interest in appearing on an episode of Doctor Who, to which he responded that he wouldn’t want to be in an episode. Then the interviewer realized that Cumberbatch was asserting that he didn’t want to just have a single episode run and asked if he wanted to be the doctor, and with a sly smile he responds with a quizzical maybe.

Cumberbatch then explains that after Sherlock, it would be more fitting to have a substantial role in his next project. The video is open to interpretation, as Cumberbatch has previously been rumored to be Moffat’s choice for a role as The Master, but he does seem to imply that he wouldn’t be in a supporting role if he were to join the cast of Doctor Who.

Whether this lends any credence to the rumor that Matt Smith is looking to leave the role after next season has also yet to be determined. One thing is for sure, the bravado I saw Cumberbatch display as he responded to the question assures me that he will no doubt be having an impact on Doctor Who sooner rather than later.

How do you feel about the possibility of Matt Smith leaving Doctor Who? Do you think Benedict Cumberbatch would make a fitting replacement?

To see Cumberbatch’s response check out the video after the jump and for all your Doctor Who news stick with The Flickcast.