Podcasts in Review

March 19, 2015 at 12:01 am | Posted in Books, Comic Books, Interview, Marvel, Podcasts, Podcasts in Review, Regular Feature, Reviews, Star Wars, Star Wars Books, Star Wars Rebels, Television | Leave a comment

Here is this week’s Podcasts in Review.

Bombad Radio: Episode 189 packs in a couple interviews. First up is Gabe Smith and Ryan Merrill, the writer and artist for the Human comic series. They talk about all the work that goes into getting a comic started, funded and promoted. They talk about the writing, the artwork and going to conventions. For anyone interesting in getting a comic project started or in learning more how the process works, it’s a nice interview to check out. Afterwards they have an interview with Darren Hayes and Tim Stanton from the He Said He Said podcast. It’s a fun interview, but also a random one as they talk about Savage Garden (Darren’s band), Star Wars and how they met. Overall, a fun episode.

Dead Talks: Episode #35 is hosted by Justin, John, and Antoinette as they review The Walking Dead episode “Forget”. Now this is my first step into the world of The Walking Dead podcasts, and as a fan of TWD, I absolutely loved this podcast. The hosts are great, they do a terrific job of covering the television episode and all the cool moments, plus there’s some great observations of comic elements which I would have missed as I haven’t read the comics yet. I’ll definitely be checking out more of this show as it’s a great way to get your Walking Dead fix.

Fangirl Chat: the Strange Magic episode is hosted by Tricia and Kay as they give a very kind review of Strange Magic. It includes a quick description of the movie, discussion of George’s comments about the movie, great animated moments, bad moments, the good and bad storytelling, and more. The episode ended kind of abruptly, and I have to admit the discussion didn’t have the best flow. I kind of got the feeling it was hard to say a lot of positive things about the movie without being critical of it’s missteps and missed opportunities.

The Into the Woods episode is hosted by Tricia, Kay and Sarah as they review the film version of the musical. They cover both coming into it as fans and as new viewers. There’s a lot of attention on Chris Pine’s part, some interesting discussion on what elements didn’t make it into the movie and what they wished was there, as well as the differences between the film version compared to the stage show which is darker has more character deaths. Overall a nice review and definitely worth checking out if you’ve seen the movie or are thinking about seeing it.

My Little Ponies – All About the Comics is an interview episode between Teresa and My Little Ponies IDW editor Bobby Curnow. Bobby talks about the relationship between IDW and Hasbro, he talks about some of the team members, dealing with the covers, their relationship with the show, identifying with the characters, his favorite ponies and more. It’s a good interview whether you’re a fan of My Little Ponies or not. Personally I’ve never read a My Little Ponies or comic and I’ve never seen an episode of the show, but it was interesting to hear Bobby’s comments as an editor working on the line, the duties involved and how they work with the various involved parties.

Fly Casual: Episode 28 has a farewell to Leonard Nimoy before diving into their news and toy reports. They speculate on the next trailer for The Force Awakens and the season finale for Star Wars Rebels, and they discuss Greg Grunberg, a buddy of J.J. Abrams who may have a sizable role in The Force Awakens due to his being on set for six weeks. In toy news, they talks about Star Wars jewelry via NorseLegion.com and Bandai’s samurai Darth Vader and samurai Stormtrooper.

Episode 29 starts with their comments on the R-rated Power Rangers’ fan film, then they review Star Wars Rebels “Rebel Resolve” which includes speculation on Ahsoka and Darth Vader. Next they review Marvel comic Darth Vader #2 which leads to a little Episode I hate. Afterwards is their rumors report, which is where I stopped as they mentioned they would be discussing new character names and I’m still trying to stay somewhat spoiler free, so listen in at your own risk. Fun episodes, though.

ForceCast: Episode 343 features Justin, Megan, John and Paul as they talk about the season finale of Star Wars Rebels. Then they get into Rebels news, Sarah Michelle Gellar joining the cast for season two, Paul S. Kemp’s novel Lords of the Sith having an LGBT character, LEGO retelling Star Wars, and Ian McDiarmid coming to Star Wars Celebration Anaheim. Then Justin interviews Star Wars author Jason Fry talking about his novel Servants of the Empire, the Star Wars Rebels television show and writing for that setting. All around, a really nice episode with a great interview and a nice review of the season finale.

Episode 337 is hosted by Eric, Erik and Justin as they cover standalone movie news and rumors, some speculation, and George’s comments about Disney not using his story treatment. Then they have an interview with Marvel Star Wars comic writer Jason Aaron who talks about reading the EU and Dark Horse Star Wars stuff over the years, wanting to write a Star Wars comic that he would want to read, his thoughts when reading Brian Wood’s treatment of Star Wars, and getting into the comics industry. It’s a good interview and worth checking out. Afterwards there’s more news and headlines–what might Marvel be working on next, new LEGO sets, and The Force Awakens Blu-ray coming spring 2016. They wrap up with some comments on the prequels and the Holiday Special. Now having taken a long break from the ForceCast, I have to say the show is a lot better since they’ve added Justin as a co-host. He definitely helps the flow and discussion of the shows.

Full of Sith: Episode CV starts off with a Lords of the Sith discussion as Bryan talks about the LGBT character in the book, the article he wrote regarding it, and everyone joins in as they cover the fan reaction. Mike, Bryan and Amy Ratcliffe all bring their ‘A’ game for this episode as they go on to cover the Marvel comic Princess Leia #1, Harrison Ford’s plane crash, and the season finale of Star Wars Rebels. Great episode with some great topics. After the end credits there’s a cool voicemail from Admiral Adama who provides some insight on aviation, pilots and their emergency landing training. He goes over what pilot’s are prepared for, breaks down some of the events that happened during Harrison Ford’s emergency landing, and she’s some nice light on the situation. It’s worth sticking around for.

Geek Out Loud: Episode 123 starts with the usual listener feedback which leads to Gotham, Agent Carter, Star Wars Rebels, cereal, Bon Jovi, Hulk, Star Wars toys (both vintage and Black Series), as well as Marvel GOL connections. Then Steve breaks out the big guns with guest Erich Schoeneweiss as they unveil a new recurring segment “Pass the Corn”. In this episode they talk about Rambo: First Blood Part II and Rocky IV. First off, I didn’t know James Cameron wrote the original script for Rambo II while waiting for funding for Terminator. Very cool factoid. Also, it was hilarious to hear that Erich once took a date to go see Boogie Nights in the theater. I think that kind of sums up the segment: fun facts and hilarious stories, which of course equals great entertainment. Later on, Steve talks about the Power Rangers fan film, Marvel, the Guardians of the Galaxy animated series and voice actor news, catching up on comics, and comparing old comic storytelling to new comics. It’s a long episode but there’s some good stuff.

Rebel Yell: “Rebel Resolve and Fire Across the Galaxy” is a doubleheader as they review both episodes of Star Wars Rebels with guests Erich, Kay and Aaron. First off, Erich, Kay, Aaron, Steve and Teresa make a great roundtable for reviewing the episodes. They all have different viewpoints and observations that cover the full spectrum of the episodes and they all work really well together, each of them having time to share their voice without anyone feeling crowded out. It all leads to a great discussion and one of the best reviews of the last two episodes that I’ve heard so far (and that includes RebelForce Radio). Steve does a great job of keeping the discussion moving and pointing out some interesting topics. I loved the idea of Meebur Gascon being inside of Chopper. It’s equally horrifying yet tantalizingly possible. Seriously, though, Rebell Yell is leading the pack when it comes to Star Wars Rebels reviews. Definitely give them a listen.

Skywalking Through Neverland: Episode 68 features a surprisingly awesome interview with Steven Smith who talks about growing up as a kid and interviewing movie stars. He goes into depth about making the documentary Empire of Dreams and the interviews that were a part of the project including Harrison Ford and George Lucas. There’s a lot of cool stories. Afterwards he talks about the The Sound of Music and some projects he’s involved in for that. He also touched on a book he did about Bernard Herrmann and how that led to an interview with John Williams who was influenced by Herrmann. It’s great stuff. I’d love to hear more stories from Steven as he’s got some good ones and he’s a good storyteller. Later in the show they have an interview with Eric Geller from the ForceCast who talks about Star Wars Celebration and fandom. Then they have an interview with Richard Arnold who talks about working with Leonard Nimoy. Excellent show.

Star Wars Action News: Episode 444 is heavy on the toys and collectible discussion as they cover Hasbro, Funko and Disney, get into some toy reviews for Funko and Hot Toys, and cap things off with a book review for Heir to the Jedi. Nice episode with a lot packed in.

Star Wars Oxygen: Volume 15 begins with some listener feedback which leads to a deeper discussion of “Duel of the Fates”. They play a song that may have inspired the celebration music at the end of The Phantom Menace revealing it’s Brazilian parade music inspiration, something I was not aware of. Then they head into recurring themes, the Trade Federation march, Jar Jar’s themes, Queen Amidala’s music, Qui Gon’s theme, and more. Another awesome show you won’t want to miss and which will deepen your understanding and appreciation for The Phantom Menace.

Star Wars Report: Episode 158 is hosted by Riley and Mark as they catch up on Star Wars. They talk Star Wars Celebration Anaheim, what they have planned, and they go over the season finale of Star Wars Rebels.

The Younglings Podcast: Episode #5 is something very different when it comes to Star Wars podcasting. This is the first time I’ve checked out the podcast, and I have to say I’m impressed. This podcast is hosted by Annie and Tess, who are ages 10 and 7 respectively. Let me just say that these kids are not only brave, but talented. Their love of Star Wars shines bright and they put some love and effort into their show. The episode is short, but it’s fun. They talk some LEGO Star Wars news, cover Harrison Ford’s plane crash, and have their grandpa Ivan on to talk movies. Then they recreate a scene from Star Wars and tackle listener feedback which leads them to some really cool comments about Ewokese and Huttese. Like Star Wars Kidscast said on their blog, this is the next generation of Star Wars podcasting. Plus they have some great audio bumpers. Big thumbs up.