Podcasts in Review

February 4, 2016 at 12:01 am | Posted in Her Universe, Interview, Podcasts, Podcasts in Review, Regular Feature, Reviews, Star Wars | 1 Comment

Here is this week’s Podcasts in Review.

Awards Chatter: William Shatner episode features an excellent interview with Captain Kirk himself. It’s also a very easy going conversation that reveals a lot about who William Shatner really is and what he’s really like. He even talks a little about Star Wars, admitting he’s a fan and that when on social media, he just likes poking fun. I highly recommend this one and it gets my pick of the week.

Brews and Blasters: Episode 53 covers the Star Wars Rebels season two midseason trailer, toy finds, news, crazy fan theories, an episode review for Star Wars Rebels “A Princess on Lothal”, an interesting find that in one of the junior novelizations Luke uses the dark side which is now canon…maybe? And they talk about a guy who wiped out the toy aisles by buying all the figures, literally. That and lots of other fun Star Wars discussion in this episode.

Class Marvel Star Wars Comics (Skywalking Through Neverland): Episode 2 covers issue #7. Sarah, Richard and artist Randy Martinez break down the comics, their likes and dislikes, and some special attention for Crimson Jack. It’s a fun and funny episode and I love what they’re doing. Splitting off the Marvel comic reviews into their own standalone episodes works great and gives them plenty of time and space to cover the comics in all their glory.

Comic Book Noob: Martian Manhunter episode covers the character’s skills, talents, his appearance on the tv show Supergirl, his peculiar addiction to Oreos, his physical appearance, role, super powers, shapeshifting abilities and limitations, and their reading recommendations. Another great episode for anyone who wants to know more about super heroes. This one does a great job of exploring Martian Manhunter, a character I’m only partially familiar with, but now I have a far better understanding of him.

Disney Vault Talk: Clearing Out the Mailbag focuses in on listener emails, and they reach way back on some of these as they catch up on all the ones they missed. It’s a fun episode as the listener emails spur all kinds of Disney related conversations.

Fly Casual: Episode 73 includes comic reviews for Chewbacca #5, the last three issues of Vader Down, Kanan #9 and Obi-Wan and Anakin #1. They also review Star Wars Rebels “Legacy” and get into some rumors for Rogue One, Episode VIII, the Han Solo movie, and wild Snoke theories. Fun episode as always.

Full of Sith: Episode CLI is an emotional one as they on special guest Consetta Parker who shares her The Force Awakens experience and the tragedy that struck at home. You may need tissues for this one.

Galactic Fashion: Episode 1…first off, I was unaware of this podcast, but after hearing that it was joining the Jedi News Network of podcasts, I immediately downloaded all the episodes. The podcast was formed and is hosted by Johnamarie Macia (The Wookiee Gunner). It’s a fashion podcast devoted to Star Wars primarily, though they do occasionally talk about other geeky fashion items. It’s also a female focused podcast, however, I can attest that it’s still enjoyable to listen to. While I don’t have any vested interest in buying female fashion apparel, it’s interesting to hear the discussions with fashion designers as they talk about the business, the challenges involved, and where things are lacking in the fashion market. Plus they do occasionally talk about the need for more diversity in Star Wars men’s ware. Anyways, it’s an interesting podcast altogether and for the first episode, this one is pretty good. There aren’t any guests on this one, instead Johnamarie interviews herself via Siri, which is an interesting way to introduce the audience to the host and her Star Wars fandom. It has good audio quality and a variety of topics to keep things interesting.

Galactic Fashion: Episode 2 takes place a little after Force Friday, so it covers a bit of that and some other fashion news. Afterwards Johnamarie talks with guest Liz Perales about Vader, cosplaying, collectibles, Covergirl, Star Wars fashion ideas, the accessibility of DisneyXD or lack thereof, Rex and the need for Star Wars makeup bags. There’s a marked difference in this episode from the last one as having a guest really adds a different feel and flow to the show.

Galactic Fashion: Episode 3 starts with some fashion news on shoes and jewelry. Then Johnamarie talks with dress designer and artist Sam Skyler about where she went to school, her Star Wars fandom, the Her Universe reality show, meeting Ashley Eckstein, her fashion icons, changing the image of fashion and her book. It’s a nice interview with some interesting topics.

Galactic Fashion: Episode 4 is a Halloween special. Johnamarie talks about her favorite dresses in Star Wars with lots of love for the books. Her guest is none other than Ashley Eckstein as they talk about her dressing up as Cousin It for Halloween as a kid, how Her Universe Press came about, and the contributions of Dave Filoni and his wife who are doing a book. Fun episode.

Galactic Fashion: Episode 5 covers Star Wars accessories, includes some news clips, and features special guest Bria (White Hot Room). They talk about fashion blogging, Star Wars, fandom and clothes. Be sure to check out Bria’s House Organa shop. There’s some cool designs.

Galactic Fashion: Episode 6 begins with fashion news. The guest for this one is Julia a.k.a. the Supervillain Stylist who talks about Dooku and Florence, her interest in costumes, designers, The Force Awakens fashion, what she would like to see, and the need for pants. It’s a good episode and worth a listen.

Galactic Fashion: Episode 7 is a holiday special and features guest Catherine Elhoffer as she talks about making scarves for friends and family, doing costume stuff in college, working in Opera, YouTube, Nerdist, doing Game of Thrones costumes, the rewards of sewing, meeting Ashley Eckstein, participating in the Her Universe fashion show and doing fashion designs for Her Universe, as well as the cutthroat aspect of the fashion industry. Catherine also talks about discovering Timothy Zahn and Mara Jade, getting into Star Wars via The Phantom Menace and Star Wars novels, the importance of pockets, the difficulty in men’s ware and the buying power of women. Great episode with some excellent topics. If you’re looking to educate yourself on fashion, these episodes are a great way to go.

Galactic Fashion: Episode 8–yes, I listened to all of the Galactic Fashion episodes that were out there. This one is special, though, because it marks a change. Now that the Galactic Fashion podcast has joined the Jedi News Network, Johnamarie is co-hosting the show with Teresa Delgado. So this show features both Johnamarie and Teresa, with Teresa serving as this episode’s guest. They talk about “Where Star Wars, Share Star Wars Day”, pockets, Kay Jewelers, Hot Topic, athletic wear, red carpet fashion, how Teresa got into Star Wars and scarves. Overall, I really enjoyed listening to this podcast and it’s definitely making the regular rotation. It covers a different aspect of the fandom. Whether you’re a female looking for fashion tips or news, or a guy looking to expand your knowledge of the broader Star Wars spectrum, there’s reasons for everyone to check this podcast out.

Rock Out Loud: Rockin’ The CURE Marathon with Comfort Songs has a lot of variety as Kristin and Steve pick songs that bring them comfort. From Def Leppard “Die Hard the Hunter” to Slash’s “Starlight” there’s lots of great picks.

Rock Out Loud: Songs For The Dearly Departed Hosts is an episode I missed out on a while back because I couldn’t find a download link. However, I finally found one and I’m glad I did because this may be their funniest episode yet as they get into some dark humor as they plan out their funerals and the playlists. Definitely worth a listen.

Star Wars Action News: Episode 467 catches up on collecting and what’s in stores. Then they talk with Andrew about Star Wars Hot Toys figures. They review the Spacetrooper and the 1/4 scale Boba Fett, plus Brock gives a positive review for Alan Dean Foster’s The Force Awakens novelization. Hot Toys is a big focus in this episode, so if it’s something you’re thinking about getting into, it’s well worth listening to.

Star Wars Rebels Declassified (Rebel Force Radio): MegaCast starts with a half hour discussion on the Star Wars Rebels season two midseason trailer. Then they review “A Princess on Lothal”, take a break to talk with voice actress Julie Dolan, the voice of Princess Leia, who talks about how she got into Star Wars and all the projects she’s done so far, then they finish things up with a review of “The Protector of Concord Dawn.” Tyler the intern joins Jason and Jimmy for all the reviews and it makes for quite the episode with all the content. Even if you’re not interested in the episode reviews, be sure to check out the interview with Julie Dolan. It provides some nice insight into her part with the character.

Reviewed By: Skuldren for Roqoo Depot.