Podcasts in Review

February 25, 2016 at 12:01 am | Posted in Interview, Podcasts, Podcasts in Review, Regular Feature, Reviews, Star Wars | Leave a comment
Tags: greg bear, michael kogge, pablo hidalgo

Here is this week’s Podcasts in Review.

501stCast: Episode 91 kicks off with Legion news, the induction of the new Chewbacca actor from The Force Awakens, troop reports, details on the special White House screening of The Force Awakens, and then the “Know A Legion” segment with Terry Chuii. Note if you already listened to the Know A Legion minicast, then you’ve already heard this segment so you’ll want to skip to the 49 minute mark where they get back to new stuff. Just a quick observation here – if you’re not that interested in Legion news, ie. hearing all the troop reports from the garrisons, then listening to the minicasts is the way to go as they’re way more appealing to general fans. However, if you’re wanting to stay up to date with what the 501st Legion is doing, then the main podcast episodes are the way to go.

Aggressive Negotiations: Episode 002 covers friendships and sexualizing friendships. They talk about the relationship between Poe and Finn, Rey and Finn, Han and Luke, and even Poe and BB-8. It’s an interesting episode.

Blast Points: *New Podcast* Episode 1 – This is a new podcast I’ve started listening to. Currently they’re up to seven episodes and their latest one includes Star Wars artist Joe Corroney, which I’m looking forward to listening to. However, I was really impressed with their first episode. It’s a discussion format show with two hosts, Jason and Gabe. In Episode 1 they tackle the “Where’s Rey” discussion, the desire for Kanjiklub toys, Rogue One rumors, and then their main discussion which focuses on defending The Force Awakens from common complaints. From it being a remake of A New Hope, to Rey’s sudden use of Force powers and the lack of politics, they cover quite a few of the big issues some people have been pointing out. There’s a couple things that really made this discussion stand out. First off, they break down the hero’s journey and how different elements in TFA each represent part of the journey. While I’ve heard other people point out a few things, I have yet to hear anyone take it to this level as they point out a lot of elements and cover far more of the hero’s journey than most people talk about. It’s pretty cool. They even bring up a nice parallel between Han dying and touching Kylo’s face to the scene in Attack of the Clones where Shmi dies and touches Anakin’s face. It’s a very entertaining podcast with some excellent discussion. The audio quality is decent, not great, but decent, and it’s a pro-Prequels podcast so no prequel hating here. Worth checking out.

BNN (Bombad Radio): Episode 2.22.2016 covers Nintendo movie talk, Assassin Creed’s yearly release schedule changing, update on Mass Effect Andromeda, EA, Empire Awards, Deadpool 2, Blade Runner 2, Episode VIII and the last scene of Episode VII. Lot of video game discussion in this episode and no Jeremiah, but still a pretty good episode with a lot of information.

Bombad Radio: Episode 226 features an interview with voice actor Wally Wingert. They talk Batman, The Tonight Show, Star Wars, Invader Zim, Harvey Birdman and even firearms and pyrotechnics. Neat interview.

Bombad Radio: Episode 227 breaks out the big guns with an interview with author Greg Bear. Greg talks about Star Wars and creating Zonama Sekot, Star Trek and meeting Gene Roddenberry, Halo and having his ideas used in the game, being friends with Ray Bradbury, Ray Harryhausen and Phil Tippet, and helping to start Comic-Con. Great interview. Greg’s a talker and he has some fun stories to share. Worth checking out.

Brews and Blasters: Episode #56 begins with some Star Wars Rebels discussion. They also talk stormtrooper armor, roast beef and pickles, toy store memories, Boshek–Greedo–then back to Boshek, they open the Hask thug, talk about the Maz Kanata figure, play the stormtrooper who hits his head song, a little Jabba, the voice of BB-8, Battletoads, Jocasta Nu and listener emails. Lot of fun as always.

Brews and Blasters: Episode #57 features Joe and special guest Steve Glosson as they talk about the Rocky movies, the Cold War, wrestling, He-Man, Gobots, Transformers, GI Joe, toys, playsets, Star Wars, complaints with Hasbro, Star Wars Hot Wheels, a Kylo Ren character discussion, M.A.S.K. and more Transformers. It’s a fun one with lots of topics and some Star Wars thrown in.

Brews and Blasters: Episode #58 starts with a winter hat and bathrobe discussion for their usual off topic entertainment, then they get into the real meat and potatoes–the plumbing in Jabba’s Palace. That had me rolling. It’s hilarious…but also interesting. Think about it, Jabba did have plumbing, so he probably had a plumber, right? And where else will you hear someone bring that up? It’s priceless. They also talk Star Wars Rebels as they cover the episode “Homecoming”, they talk a little about the Shattered Empire comic, Quinlan Vos, Hutts, Jake Lloyd, the restored version of the 35mm cut of A New Hope, Deadpool, Peter Mayhew posting pictures of the original script, S.H. Figuarts Captain Phasma, listener emails, the Episode VIII video, news and Force Friday returning. Great episode all around.

Coffee With Kenobi: Episode #51 features Dan and Cory as they cover news, Episode VIII, new actors, buying stormtrooper armor, what they’ve been up to, Lattes With Leia, and a new Star Wars video games segment covering Star Wars: Battlefront. Then they touch on toy and collectible news before diving into their main discussion with guest Bethany Blanton (Star Wars Report) and Professor Roberta Trites. They discuss feminism and Star Wars, from Rey and General Leia to merchandising. The audio on the guest part is just a tiny bit rough, but it’s a good discussion with some great guests so be sure to check it out.

Fangirls Going Rogue: Episode #29 starts with a TFA theater update, news and some various Star Wars topics. They talk about the cover reveal for Bloodlines and the excerpt, they talk about Kathleen Kennedy, LEGO The Force Awakens, Nickelodeon Kid’s Choice Awards, and the Star Wars Podcast Awards. Then they break into an interview with Star Wars author Jason Fry who talks about his thoughts on The Force Awakens, collecting, his suit of stormtrooper armor, his goals for Rey’s Survival Guide, figuring out how DK’s leader lines work, the classification for young reader books, and his original series The Jupiter Pirates. Afterwards they take a different spin on their character segment by picking a character, a vehicle and a destination. Great episode.

Fly Casual: Episode 76 starts with some movie discussion, Star Wars news, box office numbers, Star Wars LEGO news, podcast awards, toy news, and controversial Target pool toys. Let me just say, this episode cracked me up. Lot of laughs.

Fly Casual: Episode 77 gets off on a funny start, and a little dirty. Then they dive into comic reviews for Obi-Wan & Anakin #2, Darth Vader #16, and Star Wars Rebels reviews for “Legends of the Lasat” and “The Call.” Good reviews and entertaining. I won’t say this one was funnier than the last, but I did almost wreck while driving because I was laughing so hard.

Full of Sith: Episode CLIV covers the Boshek story, then they talk about the side characters they like with is a fun discussion. Plus there’s some followup to Ewok responses. Good episode.

Full of Sith: Episode CLV features Bryan, Amy and Dunc as they tackle a bunch of Star Wars topics and speculation. They cover the Episode VIII video, the new actors, expectations, Snoke, movie marathons, unanswered questions and more. It’s good stuff, don’t skip this one.

Rebel Force Radio: Episode 2.12.2016 includes Jimmy’s tale on taking his dad to TFA, they talk about Star War theories, Forrest Whitaker and Rogue One. They also have on Billy Jensen who provides the whole story on how he tracked down the actor who played Boshek. Tom Spina joins them and it’s a great conversation. Afterwards they have another guess, Michael Kogge, as they talk about his junior novelization of The Force Awakens.

Rebel Force Radio: Episode 2.19.2016 begins with a rundown on their Patreon info, then they talk about the Episode VIII video, the new actors, rumors of a change in focus to the new characters introduced in TFA, Rogue One and the impending confusion likely to ensue. Then they talk with A New Hope actor Laurie Goode about his role as a stormtrooper, the story behind hitting his head, playing an alien in the cantina, dressing up as an X-wing pilot and working with Alec Guinness. The wrap up with some listener feedback. Good episode as always, but the interview with Laurie Goode was definitely a highlight.

Rebel Yell: Princess on Concord Lasat knocks out three episodes of Star Wars Rebels as Steve and Teresa are joined by Aaron Goins. They cover “A Princess on Lothal”, “The Protector of Concord Dawn” and “Legends of the Lasat.” With on point observations, key praise and criticisms, they continue to dominate the review field. Great episode.

Skywalking Through Neverland: Episode 111 talks about the All-Time Awards, they have on guests Bryan Young (Full of Sith) and Chris Salton (Brews and Blasters) to talk about how books, comics and tv shows have changed the way we look at the movies and how The Force Awakens factors in, their music segment with Tricia Barr focuses in on “Legends of the Lasat,” they comment on Deadpool, and more. Fun episode.

Star Wars Action News: Episode 469 is part one of their Toy Fair coverage. This half covers LEGO, Hasbro and Jakks Pacific. Great collecting coverage.

Star Wars Bookworms: Episode 53 wastes no time and heads right into their interview with Pablo Hidalgo. Pablo talks about his “Star Wars Day at Sea” Disney cruise (which was his first cruise), the use of Sith and their yellow eyes, how The Force Awakens: The Visual Dictionary project came around, what he had access to for TFA, DK lead lines and the layout team, who he talked to and how that helped provide info for the book, creating the galaxy map and why Lothal isn’t on there. He also elaborates on Han’s racing career, the Church of the Force and how that was an old idea George Lucas had, Maz and her Force abilities, Ewoks and the Force, Kylo’s lightsaber, naming characters after Beastie Boys’ songs, an update on the Star Wars propaganda book he’s working on, thoughts on the Star Wars LEGO TV specials, and even some Transformers discussion. It’s a great interview and one everyone can enjoy. Definitely give this one a listen.

Star Wars Oxygen: Volume 28 goes into listener emails for some excellent discussion points. Dave talks about solfege, they play a fan’s Rey remix, cover Finn’s confession and the similarities to The Phantom Menace, the Emperor’s theme in Kylo’s theme, they talk about the new soundtrack releases and how they differ (or don’t differ), and Dave gets into analog audio, sampling and sound depth. Some fun topics. They keep it interesting.

Star Wars Rebels Declassified (Rebel Force Radio): Legends of the Lasat features Jimmy, Jason and the hosts of Techno Retro Dads. They zero in on Hondo and Zeb, praise the music, and overall give a very positive review of the episode.