Podcasts in Review

July 10, 2014 at 12:00 am | Posted in Podcasts, Podcasts in Review, Regular Feature, Reviews, Star Wars | Leave a comment
Tags: jeff grubb, john morton, mark meer

Here is this week’s Podcasts in Review.

Assembly of Geeks: “The Fandom Strikes Back” covers a lot of stuff including Video Game: The Movie, The LEGO Movie, a study on kids to see if they would tell the truth, a case of a child getting bullied over a Spiderman lunch box, the Rian Johnson Star Wars news, Daniel Radcliffe wanting to be in a new standalone Batman movie, and more. Excellent podcast to check out for all the latest geeky news and lots of great discussion.

Bombad Radio: Episode 154 features a very entertaining interview with Mark Meer. Mark is probably most well known as the voice of Commander Shepard in the Mass Effect games. What I didn’t realize was that Mark’s normal speaking voice is the same one he used for the games, thus for the entire episode you get to hear Commander Shepard. Mark talks about his comedy work, improv, how he got started with Bioware, his other work like Dragon Age, playing D&D, and perhaps the biggest highlight of the show, he does his Vorcha voice. I didn’t realize Mark did a bunch of the voices of the aliens in the game, and it was pretty amazing to hear him do the Vorcha as it’s spot on without any extra effects. Great episode for Mass Effect fans.

Episode 156 is another interview episode, this time with game creator and author Jeff Grubb. Let me just say that this interview is awesome. Jeff talks about how he was tasked with meeting Ed Greenwood to buy Forgotten Realms, working with Ed in those early days, and writing the novel Cormyr with him. He talks about leaving TSR and how he wound up with WOTC later on. He covers his Star Wars novel and how he was originally tasked to write a videogame tie-in novel, but the game was cancelled. They then asked him to write a The Old Republic MMO tie-in novel, but he couldn’t since he was working on another MMO, Guild Wars. Thus they asked him a third time if he would do an original novel. After tossing out his pitches for a Jaxxon novel and a Jar Jar novel which would have ended with his death, surrounded by his children with a heroes farewell, they decided to go with a Hutt book. Jeff talks about writing for Magic the Gathering and The Brothers’ War. They cover all of that and a lot more. A must listen to for Jeff Grubb fans, he has some great stories.

Coffee with Kenobi: Episode #20 features an interview with Bobby Roberts (Full of Sith) as they talk about the nature and role of rumors. It’s a good discussion and worth checking out, plus it wraps up their series of interview they’ve been doing with the hosts of Full of Sith.

Episode #21 covers the latest Star Wars news such as Rian Johnson, some spoiler free discussion of his two other movies Brick and Looper, Harrison Ford’s ankle injury and The George Lucas Museum heading to Chicago. Aaron Harris swings in to talk about Mark Hamill’s presence at Star Wars Weekends and getting to meet James Arnold Taylor. The Bearded Trio talk about Speilberg’s untitled Cold War film about the crashed U2 pilot and Tom Hanks involvement with the Coen brothers writing it. Afterwards, in there collector news segment, they cover lightsaber sales and the Heroes series Millennium Falcon (which led to some fun Star Wars Rebels talk). In their discussion segment, they talk with Ricky Brigante (Inside the Magic) about Disney and Star Wars, from the collaborative history to the presence at the parks. I had a good laugh when they started talking about tauntaun burgers. Great episode to check out.

Coffee Chat with John ‘Dak’ Morton is an excellent interview covering how John got involved with Star Wars and how he got back into fandom. They ask him about his thoughts on his character, he talks about writing for Star Wars, working with West End Games, to almost getting to an X-wing like book. He mentions Star Wars Rebels and the story group, getting to be Boba Fett in The Empire Strikes Back, about Joseph Campbell and myth, and a whole lot more. John is a talker and a well versed one at that. It makes for a great discussion. If you’re a Star Wars fan, you’ll definitely want to listen to this one.

RebelForce Radio: Episode 6.27.14 features special guest host Steve Glosson as Jimmy and Jason tackle a spotlight of all the upcoming Star Wars directors. They talk about the other films the directors have done and what we might expect in their Star Wars films. Aside from that, they provide updates on Harrison Ford’s ankle injury, talk about The George Lucas Museum coming to Chicago, Tom Cruise cameoing in Episode VII, Warwick Davis’ Disney show, and audio of Billy Dee Williams in The LEGO Movie. Jam packed show with lots of goodness.

Rock Out Loud: “Power Ballads” covers some of the music I most often skip past when listening to the sounds of the 80’s. That said, Steve and Kristin make it interesting and pull out some fun pics that can be nostalgic and eye opening. “Living in Sin” by Bon Jovi was one of those songs that brought back memories. On the other hand, “Starlight” by Slash is a modern song I happen to really like and was glad to hear it get played. If you like the 80’s, this is a fun show to check out as they keep it old school for the most part.

Secrets of Star Wars: Episode 15 features special guest host Riley Blanton (Star Wars Report) as they talk about Harrison Ford’s injury, Star Wars Weekends and Mark Hamill. Riley is an excellent addition to the podcast and it leads to some really good discussion. Definitely worth checking out.

Skywalking through Neverland: Episode 36 is their wedding episode. I actually enjoyed this one as they had some great guests and conversations. First up, they talked with Consetta Parker who spilled the beans on her Star Wars wedding, how it all came about and everything that went into it. Then they talked with Teresa Delgado who shared all the details on her Star Wars/Disney themed wedding with lots of tips and tricks. Plus the hosts talked about their own Star Wars wedding, having R2-D2 as a ring bearer, and they shared part of a previous interview they did with the R2 Builder’s Club member who provided the R2 for their wedding. If you’re planning on a wedding and thinking about including Star Wars elements, this is a great episode to check out. It’s also just fun to hear their stories, so win-win either way.

Star Wars Action News: Episode 427 has all the latest Star Wars collecting news including the Gentle Giant Jumbo Wicket, the Walgreens exclusive Boba Fett, upcoming Black Series 6-inch waves/cases, and SDCC updates including their fan breakfast event. They review the Kotobukiya’s Mara Jade Bishoujo statue, recap a Star Wars Vans shoe shopping trip, and have a brief review of J.W. Rinzler’s Star Wars Storyboards books (both the Original and Prequels). Good episode to check out for updates on collectibles and more.

Star Wars Bookworms: Episode #25 features guest Paul DePaola (EUCantina, Fanboys Talking) as they talk about Dark Horse’s Star Wars: From the Ruins of Alderaan, Dark Times: A Spark Remains, and touch base on his membership with the 501st Legion. They also have special guest Johnamarie Marcias (Now This Is Podcasting, The Wookiee Gunner) who recaps New York Book Con 2014 and shares some Mando’a. With good guests and good hosts, this is a podcast worth checking out, as always.

Star Wars Report: Episode #134 features guest Amy Ratcliffe who talks about her job as a blogger and her fandom with Star Wars. In this episode they also touch on the news including Rian Johnson being named as a Star Wars director and Harrison Ford’s ankle injury.

Episode #135 reunites Mark with Riley and Bethany as they talk about Star Wars news, rumors and Star Wars Rebels. Riley even gets on an imitation kick and does some voices. Fair warning, they do cover a lot of Star Wars Episode VII rumors, so any hardcore spoiler avoiders may want to skip this one. They also dive into a lot of interesting speculation. Fun episode and worth a listen.