Podcasts in Review

October 8, 2015 at 12:01 am | Posted in Comic Books, Interview, Marvel, Podcasts, Podcasts in Review, Regular Feature, Reviews, Star Wars | Leave a comment
Tags: michael a. stackpole, r.a. salvatore

Here is this week’s Podcasts in Review.

Cloud City Casino: Episode 016 features Rich and Sarah from Skywalking Through Neverland as they talk about Disney Infinity 3.0. They talk about the characters, the game mechanics, unlocking features, gameplay, and even a little bit about Force Friday. Fun episode.

Comic Book Noob: Aquaman episode covers why Aquaman has such a bad reputation, and why it’s not deserved. The talk about his powers, his responsibilities, and why the character should be respected, plus their comic recommendations. As someone who is not very familiar with character, this was a great episode and it helped me get a better understanding on who Aquaman really is.

Comics With Kenobi: Issue #7 reviews Lando #4 and a has a great interview with Marvel Star Wars assistant editor Heather Antos. Worth checking out for the interview alone as Heather provides a neat look behind the scenes.

Fly Casual: Episode 58 starts with news for The Force Awakens and Episode VIII, then they venture into toy and video game news such as Disney Elite Series Darth Maul lotteries, and Star Wars: Battlefront beta and bugs. Lots of topics all over the place for some good listening entertainment.

Full of Sith: Episode CXXXIV features the audio from one of the Star Wars panels Bryan Young did at Salt Lake Comic Con. This one is actually a live Full of Sith panel that featured Bryan, Jawa James and Pablo Hidalgo. They cover a variety of great topics and questions. It’s a really great panel to listen to. Don’t skip this one.

Full of Sith: Episode CXXXV is another panel from SLCC, this time with authors R.A. Salvatore and Michael A. Stackpole as they talk about why they killed Chewbacca in the New Jedi Order book series. First off, Bob and Mike are very relaxed in this panel and they get along great, which results in some great discussion for the panel. They share their stories on what happened with the project, how it wound up getting to the point where someone had to die, how it ended up being Chewbacca, and their thoughts on doing it. Mike reveals his role in the decision and how he was almost the one to write it. Bob reveals his regrets over doing, and his relief over Chewie being alive in The Force Awakens. It’s a great panel with good audio, great moderation, two superb guests, and a wonderful topic for discussion. This episode earns my pick of the week. Definitely a must listen.

Great Big Beautiful Podcast: Episode 30 features voice actor Jim Cummings who has done a lot of roles over the years, from Winnie the Pooh and Tigger to Darkwing Duck and Hondo Ohnaka. Very nice interview covering his career, how he comes up with the voices and the voices he’s done, the business, fandom, and some great stories. The only bad thing about the interview is he doesn’t very much in the way of any of his voice, but it’s still a great interview that sheds some light on a very interesting voice actor.

Idiot’s Array: Episode 9 features guests Dan and Corey from Coffee With Kenobi as they discuss Greg Rucka’s novel Smuggler’s Run. It’s a nice discussion, not your typical book review, and light on spoilers. Good episode to check out.

Ion Cannon: Episode #33 is a review of Chuck Wendig’s Aftermath. It’s kind of a difficult episode to listen to as there are some mild audio quality issues, a lot of abrupt starting and stopping with the discussion between the hosts, some silent pauses–which could have been fixed in editing–and the discussion in general is a little bit disorganized as they jump around to topics. It’s not the most thorough, cohesive review, but if you’re looking for podcasts covering Aftermath, you might want to check this one out. They offer both criticisms and some praise.

My Star Wars Story: Episode 14 features Riley Blanton from The Star Wars Report. They do this one in person at a restaurant, so the audio isn’t the best, and there’s some odd mic noises that pop up, but it’s a very unique story as Riley’s first Star Wars movie was The Phantom Menace. Plus he great up overseas and actually played Star Wars with his friends for years before he ever saw any of the films. From his odd introduction to Star Wars and the films, to how he ended up doing a Star Wars podcast, it’s an interesting story. There’s also a good amount of bonus audio after the end credit music, so it’s worth the wait.

Radio 1138: Episode 32 starts with a really nice interview with Tom Spina who talks about Star Wars and creating creature masks. There’s an oddly placed Darth Elvis song in the middle of the interview, but the interview itself is definitely worth a listen. They talk with Jonathan Wilkins as part of their regular Star Wars Insider update. Lastly they have part two of their interview with Dennis Muren who talks Star Wars and special effects.

RebelForce Radio: Episode 10.2.2015 covers Jimmy Mac being in the news, the humming game, tooth tattoos, Season of the Force and Star Wars Weekends, some Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels, and new Star Wars Topps cards reveal The Force Awakens elements. Moving from Anthony Daniels to Tim Rose, there’s more criticism from the cast of The Force Awakens on the security of the film, as well as positive feedback from the newer members of the cast. They also cover ESPN and video game coverage and a Star Wars tie-in, and Chewbacca and toilet paper. Lots of stuff crammed into this one, so lots to enjoy.

Rock Out Loud: The Great Unknown Listening Party episode starts with a mini discussion on The Struts, then they do something pretty neat. They live review Rob Thomas’ new album The Great Unknown. Now Kristen has already dived deep into the album, so she provided all the background info and deep analysis on the songs, but this was the first time Steve had heard any of them, so his thoughts were all fresh and on the cuff. It’s a very poppy album, but I enjoyed the episode. Definitely would enjoy listening to more episodes like this and looking forward to their Def Leppard live listen.

Skywalking Through Neverland: Episode 94 celebrates their two year podcasting anniversary as they play congratulations from guests, share highlights from past episodes, and more. Kind of a neat episode with highlights varying from the reveal of the December release date for The Force Awakens, their first interview with Margaret Kerry, their convo about Disney jail, Star Wars Disney attraction ideas with Techno Retro Dads, talking Star Wars weddings with Consetta Parker and a cute interview with a four year old on Star Wars and The Force Awakens (I think that bit was brand new).