Podcasts in Review

January 22, 2015 at 12:02 am | Posted in Podcasts, Podcasts in Review, Regular Feature, Reviews, Star Wars | Leave a comment
Tags: david michelinie, james arnold taylor

Here is this week’s Podcasts in Review.

After Buzz: “Path of the Jedi” episode features special guest James Arnold Taylor, the voice of Obi-Wan Kenobi. Hosted by Dillon Chance and Katie Cullen, it’s an interesting review of the episode, but mostly I just enjoyed hearing James’ comments. One really nice treat was when James mentioned that there was originally a pitch done for Star Wars Rebels to sell the show. For that pitch, James did the voice of Kanan, Dee Bradley Baker did the voice of Zeb, and Catherine Taber did the voice of Hera and Sabine. Toward the end of the show, they went into a news and rumors section which I tuned out on as I’m still trying to avoid The Force Awakens spoilers, but there’s plenty of warning so no need to worry about accidentally getting spoiled.

Bombad Radio: Episode 183 kicks off with a tough questions – which five expanded universe novels would you make canon? After that, Jeremiah and Jason interview author Walter Jon Williams who talks about his start in historical fiction, his extensive travelling, doing Star Wars, the research involved, what events had to be in the book, rejected ideas that would have explained why Jedi couldn’t marry, coming up with the Sword of the Jedi idea, as well as working on movies and video games and differences between the mediums. It’s a nice interview that helps shine a light on part of the EU and gives fans a better idea about Destiny’s Way and the author behind it.

Fangirls Going Rogue: Episode #15 reveals their newest member, Sarah Woloski, thus creating the fangirl trifecta of awesomeness. Seriously, these are my three favorite female podcasters and now they’re all in one show. A listener could not ask for more (…well maybe one more, Amy Ratcliffe). In this episode they talk about the runDisney Star Wars Half-Marathon, the Rebel, Jedi, Princess, Queen: Star Wars and the Power of Costume Smithsonian touring exhibit, Tricia mentions and interview she did with Star Wars writer Tish Pahl, they talk about Sabine sketchbook artist Annie Stoll, and they have a character discussion focusing on Luke Skywalker. Lots of fun and plenty of great topics.

Full of Sith: Episode XCIX features Mike, Bryan and special guests Steve Sansweet and Consetta Parker as they talk Star Wars, Rancho Obi-Wan, The Force Awakens, collecting, Star Wars Celebration Anaheim and more. Great episode.

My Star Wars Story: Episode 3 features none other than Steve Glosson. This is the first episode I’ve listened to of My Star Wars Story, which is conducted by Scott Ryfun. I say conducted because My Star Wars Story is a different kind of Star Wars podcast. It’s interview focused with each episode allowing the guest to share their story of Star Wars: how they were introduced to Star Wars, how their fandom started, how Star Wars has affected them and where Star Wars has taken them. Thus each episode is primarily the guest talking and sharing their story. In this episode in particular, Steve shares his first experience with Star Wars, he talks about collecting the toys, seeing the original movies, the special editions, the prequels, the comics and the novels. From childhood to adulthood, Steve’s story presents a vicarious experience as you relive his life in Star Wars. It’s very cool and definitely worth checking out. And make sure to stick around after the end credits and music for some bonus audio with Steve.

Episode 5 features David Michelinie who wrote a bunch of the Star Wars Marvel comics from 1981 to 1983. Dave talks about being into sci-fi prior to Star Wars, reading science fiction novels, seeing Star Wars in 1977, being a writer, collecting the action figures and ships, his thoughts on the prequels and writing the Marvel Star Wars comics. He reveals that he didn’t read any of the previous Star Wars comics and was given two things: Luke couldn’t meet Vader and Han couldn’t get out of carbonite. He also talks about his idea of building a new Death Star being shot down and how that tipped him off that they were planning that for the next movie, inventing Fenn Shysa and Shira Brie, and why he left (primarily because they would not let him do the Return of the Jedi adaptation or novelization). Kind of sad to hear he never read Star Wars after that, but at least he still loves Star wars. Overall, a very cool interview with tons of great insight.

Episode 1 features Ryan Shaw (also one of the hosts for Dinner 4 Geeks). Ryan talks about his early memories of Star Wars (which he saw when he was six), his toy focus, being over Star Wars and what triggered him to start collecting as an adult, and ultimately his customization of Star Wars figures involving wax molds and tracking down the original methods and recipes used to make the vintage figures. Unlike some Star Wars stories, Ryan is a bit crestfallen with his fandom as he admits his Star Wars story is near its end as he doesn’t have much desire to collect the new stuff and he isn’t really looking forward to the new movies.

RebelForce Radio: Episode 1.16.2015 includes Liam Neeson impersonations, coverage of the Gary Whitta departure, discussion of George Lucas’ new film Strange Magic, rumors of a Star Wars: Detours digital release, rumors about the first Star Wars standalone film involving bounty hunters and the plans for the Death Star, plus audio clips from Oscar Isaac, J.J. Abrams and Liam Neeson also discussing Star Wars in different interviews. A lot of fun and good stuff packed into this one. I especially enjoyed all the Liam impersonations.

Rebel Yell: “Path of the Jedi” is hosted by Steve, Teresa and Riley Blanton. They catch up, share their holiday experiences, then head in to the Star Wars Rebels episode review. Now I’ve listened to several reviews for “Path of the Jedi”, but this show really asks and ponders some deep, intriguing questions: why did Ezra get his lightsaber crystal as part of his test, are these the rebels that score the first major victory against the Empire mentioned in the opening crawl of A New Hope, does Kanan need to become Kaleb again in order to complete his acceptance of being a Jedi again? Plus there’s a funny lightsaber discussion, and for the record, there are are actually a handful of canon lightsaber colors now: green, blue, red, purple, yellow (Jedi temple guardians in Star Wars: The Clone Wars), and black (the darksaber).

Rock Out Loud: Bon Jovi: New Jersey episode starts out with some listener feedback which includes Avenge Sevenfold and some Zeppelin hate, then they dive into their full track-by-track review of Bon Jovi’s New Jersey album. First off, this was one of the albums I grew up on as a kid, so this episode was of course awesome. Jam after jam, Steve and Kristin play clips of each song and expound on why each one is great. Personally, I’m going to have to say “99 in the Shade” is my favorite, which “Love For Sale” a very close second. If you’re a Bon Jovi fan, you’ll love this one.

Skywalking Through Neverland: Episode 62 includes some interviews. One is with Tina Trybus (runDisney Marketing Strategy Manager) who talks about the runDisney Star Wars Half-Marathon. Then they talk with Diane Simmons who talks about cosplaying and stirred up some interest with her question about doing a mash-up for Star Wars Celebration Anaheim (a Sith lady Loki). Wrapping up the episode, they provide a full review of the Simpsons episode that parodied Disneyland and Star Wars. Another great episode for your playlists.

Star Wars Action News: Episode 440 is part two of their 2014 year in review as they tackle Sideshow, Gentle Giant and Hot Toys. They also take some time to preview what’s coming this year, from Metal Hybrid and S.H.Figuarts to Star Wars Rebels and The Force Awakens. Lots of discussion on collectibles with a focus on the more expensive pieces in this show.

Star Wars Influences: Episode #10 starts off with Paul Bateman talking about his Star Wars Christmas pieces for Lucasfilm, then they transition to Star Wars Celebration, the leaked Hasbro Black Series 6-inch figures for The Force Awakens, TIE fighter concept art for The Force Awakens, and Star Wars Costumes: The Original Trilogy book. While they don’t go into full coverage of the costumes book, they do give it some love and attention. A lot of discussion throughout the episode focuses on McQuarrie, but they do manage to talk about Joe Johnston and a little bit about John Mollo. Toward the end of the episode, they discuss the Star Wars Storyboards book a little. All in all, they touch on a lot of topics in this episode.