Podcasts in Review

March 3, 2016 at 12:01 am | Posted in Interview, Podcasts, Podcasts in Review, Regular Feature, Reviews, Star Wars | 2 Comments
Tags: joe corroney, tim lebbon

Here is this week’s Podcasts in Review.

The 602 Club: Band of Beings covers the Star Wars book Twlight Company. They don’t go into too many spoilers, so this one is pretty safe for all listeners. They talk about the book, the characters, some of the highlights, and interestingly enough, how the book actually ties into The Force Awakens. Now I read this book before I saw the movie, so I didn’t get to make any of those connections, but hearing them talk about it, I can definitely see how the book would fit in. Good episode and definitely worth checking out for Star Wars book fans.

Aggressive Negotiations: Episode 3 covers their favorite Star Wars ship designs. They talk about the design of the Millennium Falcon and the Rebel Blockade Runner, how one was almost the other and what that would have been like, the lack of whimsy with The Force Awakens‘ ships, and their favorite ship designs. Interesting episode.

Aggressive Negotiations: Episode 4 dives into a fun topic – Jedi training. They ponder about Jedi training in the sequel trilogy and what Luke’s Jedi Order would have been like. They analyse Yoda’s training, Obi-Wan’s training and even delve into the Jedi and sex. There’s lots on the Jedi philosophy and insightful observations on all the various training we’ve seen in Star Wars. Good episode.

Awards Chatter: George Miller episode is a great interview with the director of Mad Max: Fury Road. He talks about being a doctor and how he got into film, how Mad Max came about, issues behind the camera with The Witches of Eastwick and how Jack Nicholson helped out, how he went from Happy Feet, Babe and then Fury Road, Joseph Campbell and Babe, and of course they talk making Fury Road and the challenges involved.

Bantha Fodder: Episode 4 starts with some discussion on seeing TFA in IMAX, then they get into their main discussion, Jason Fry’s young adult Star Wars novel The Weapon of a Jedi. They give some nice analysis and observations as they dissect the book, the characters, the story, and some of its shortcomings. If you haven’t read the book, be aware there are plenty of spoilers. I rather enjoyed this one. It’s the first time I’ve checked this podcast out and I’ll probably check out some more.

Blast Points: Episode 2 covers the Star Wars Rebels midseason trailer as they discuss Darth Maul’s return, theories, Yoda’s weird look and Leia returning. Then they switch gears to Rogue One aliens and the guy who made the original Vader suit returning. They cover what movies Rian Johnson made the crew for Episode VIII watch, things they liked about The Force Awakens, and they wrap the episode up with an interview with 501st and Rebel Legion member Lauren Lys who talks about attending the TFA world premier. Fun episode with some good conversations.

Blast Points: Episode 3 covers the Episode VIII delay, guest Ben Lopez joins them to talk Star Wars Rebels “A Princess on Lothal.” The audio is rough but they brought up some points I liked such as the lack of arcs in Star Wars Rebels and how it might be suffering from that, as well as the golden opportunity for the show to use TFA characters like Maz Kanata or Lor San Tekka. Afterwards they talk about TFA Force powers that were used in Star Wars Rebels and The Clone Wars. Their second guest is Kile Moore who talks collecting, what’s hitting shelves and the distribution issue with Rey.

Blast Points: Episode 7 features a nice interview with Star Wars artist Joe Corroney. Joe talks about how he took private art classes when he was seven, taking art workshops throughout school, going to art college, teaching art classes himself, his mentors, Jan Duursema’s contributions to Star Wars, her help, his favorite Ralph McQuarrie piece, meeting Ralph, getting in at West End Games, his TFA opening night experience with Brian Rood and Chris Trevas, who he thinks Rey is (which leads to a fun discussion), a Rogue One tease, and what he’s working on now.

BNN (Bombad Radio): Episode 2.29.2016 covers the Oscar results, the zero wins for The Force Awakens, and Jeremiah gives some good justifications for why. They also talk Ronda Rousey and Samus Metroid movie, Ubisoft and Candycrush takeovers, Iron Fist rumors, R ratings, and some Rogue One rumors for the trailer. Another nice news burst and a good way to stay up on geeky news.

Bombad Radio: Episode 228 features a great interview with author Tim Lebbon. Tim talks about the authors he grew up with, his first acceptance letter, going from building surveyor to full time writer, the 30 Days of Night novelization, the sequel novel, handling tie-in work like Star Wars, Alien and Predator, the challenges set by publishers, the fun in writing tie-in stories, details on Dawn of the Jedi: Into the Void, his desire to do a trilogy for the main character in that book, his long time effort to do an Alien story and how that finally came about, writing Predator and Hellboy, and what scares him. Again, great interview, good audio and tons of great content.

Brews and Blasters: Episode #59 goes from what they did when they turned 21 to the Skywalking Through Neverland All Time Awards. There’s also some Star Wars Rebels discussion as they talk about “The Honorable Ones”, they get into Predator 2 as Chris talks about meeting Gary Busey and Danny Glover, there some Mark Hamill autograph discussion, Three Stooges, collectibles, listener emails, drinking with Obi-Wan and more. It’s fun, it’s random and it made me laugh. Great stuff.

Children of the Force: Episode #27 covers The Force Awakens, Bloodlines, Rey’s Survival Guide, thoughts on Star Wars Rebels “The Protector of Concord Dawn” and “Legends of the Lasat” and more.

Children of the Force: Episode #28 tackles some weird TFA theories for Anakin and Rey, listener emails/voicemail, news for Episode VIII, thoughts on Rogue One, more fan theories and some listener questions.

Comic Book Noob: Captain Marvel covers the original incarnation of the character and the many incarnations that followed including DC’s Captain Marvel. If you’re looking to learn more about the character, great episode to check out.

Fangirls Going Rogue: Priority Transmission #1 features Tricia, Teresa and Sarah along with guests Amy Ratcliffe and Andrea Letamendi as Amy and Drea talk about their new podcast Lattes With Leia. They talk about how the podcast came about and they talk quite a bit about the diversity, or lack thereof, in Star Wars podcasts. I’m not sure if the diversity thing is completely fair as most people tend to podcast with their friends which tends to lead to all female or all male podcasts, but diversity is definitely something to keep in mind and strive toward. It’s definitely appreciated, and as a listener to a lot of podcasts, it’s fun to hear different viewpoints from different groups and perspectives.

Full of Sith: Episode CLVI is hosted by Mike, Bryan and Amy as they talk about Kylo and Anakin, the parallels and the possibilities. Then they go into Star Wars Rebels and, in particular, “The Honorable Ones” and Kallus. Good episode with some great discussion.

Galactic Fashion: Episode 9 covers fashion news, new items, Norse Legion, tote bags, cat fashion, Japanese jewelry, love and Mandos, and Kay Jewelers new stuff. Then Johnamarie interviews Lisa Granshaw on how she became a Star Wars fan, her Star Wars crush, hosting Geek Girl Con fashion show, her favorite person to interview, favorite fan event, trend, character outfit, female geek fashion, the lack of male fashion beyond t-shirts and more. Then Johnamarie and Teresa talk about the Her Universe reality show and the history of the cardigan. Good audio quality, good guest and fun hosts.

Hangin’ With Team Kanan: Episode 6 discusses the Star Wars Rebels episode “The Call”, space whales, Ezra murdering a Rodian, his use of the Force, the pergil, and then they head into “Homecoming”, Cham and Numa, Kanan and his awkwardness, Hera and Chopper, Hera’s accent, and the cover for Kanan #11 comic. This is my first time tuning into this podcast. There are three hosts, Jeremy, Catrina and Johnamarie, and it’s a lot of fun. They’ve got decent audio and a Kanan focus, hence the podcast’s name.

Jedi Journals: February 2016 show covers the usual lit news and updates with new releases, upcoming and recent acquisitions. Plus this one delves into some listener emails which leads to book discussion.

Know What I’m Sayin’: KWIS THIS! features the return of Karl and Steve as they bro out on each other. They talk breakfast food, what they thought of The Force Awakens, Tom Brady, Joe Montana, the Superbowl, movies, old movies, and Harry Potter. If you’ve listened to KWIS, you know what you’re in for. If you haven’t, it’s fun.

Lattes With Leia: Episode #2 gets into some gaming talk as Drea talks about Imperial Assault. They also cover Tsum Tsums, Hux’s cat Millicent, and their main discussion delves into learning lessons from Star Wars. First and foremost, they nailed it by pointing out fiction like Star Wars can broaden our mindsets. They go on to point out some of the lessons they’ve learned from Star Wars like redemption, recovery, Ahsoka’s leaving the order and the need to separate yourself from group perspectives, Jar Jar and clumsiness, Chewbacca and friendship, and how Chopper can teach us to always be who you are.

My Star Wars Story: Episode 19 features Jason Collier and his Star Wars story. This one is a restaurant interview so the audio takes a hit from that. Starts out okay but doesn’t really get interesting until later. Jason won a contest to meet George Lucas and saw Revenge of the Sith with him. He also talks about going to Celebration I, and joining the 501st Legion.

Rebel’s Chat (The Wookiee Gunner): Episode 33 covers Star Wars Rebels “Homecoming.” They talk about training pilots, the relationships between the characters, Ezra and attachment, Hera and Cham’s relationship, Numa and they have a very insightful conversation on language and accents. Great episode. Definitely worth checking out for fans of Star Wars Rebels. They have great audio quality and good discussions.

Rebel Force Radio: Episode 2.26.16 has some discussion on the new awareness of of Star Wars with kids. They have on guest Billy Mac, they talk about watching the prequels with their kids and Jimmy brings up the very interesting and shocking idea that we should have seen Anakin kill a Tusken Raider mother. Billy tells the origin of Kister, they go over their Patreon campaign, the Kylo/Han lightsaber handoff, they revisit Laurie’s comment from last week about an added line to A New Hope, they talk Star Wars Rebels, Harrison Ford’s Disney event, TFA box office numbers, new Disney events and more.

Rebel Yell (Disney Vault Talk): The Call and Homecoming leads to talk of space whales, Ezra, some Free Willy music, the narwhal song, Cham, Hera, and Kanan. They cap it off with some listener feedback. Fun episode.

Rock Out Loud: The River has Steve and Kristin’s full reviews of the two Bruce Springsteen concerts they went to in Atlanta and Philly. They talk about the experience, the songs, and toward the end they play some of the songs. Good episode.

Star Wars Action News: Episode 470 is the second part of the Toy Fair coverage. It covers ArtFX, the Spinmaster BB-8, Uncle Milton, food accessory products, and an interview with the Hasbro brand team. Still my favorite podcast for Star Wars collectible news and coverage. Be sure to check them out.

Star Wars Rebels Declassified (Rebel Force Radio): “The Homecoming” features guest Steele Saunders. They start with Snoke theories, novel canon versus film canon, TFA, and then they dive into the episode. They talk about the use of Clone War versus Clone Wars, Cham and his motivations, the accents, Kanan’s nervousness, Jason’s kid falling in love with Darth Maul, whether Ezra will surpass Kanan in Jedi abilities, and listener emails.

Star Wars Report: Episode #208 features guest Mark Newbold as he and Riley talk The Force Awakens box office numbers, the number of times they’ve seen the movie, LEGO The Force Awakens, Star Wars Rebels subscriptions, and listener emails. Okay episode.

Star Wars Report: Episode #209 starts with guest Bozidar Jukic who talks with Riley about Episode VIII shooting locations in Croatia. Afterwards Riley covers Disney earnings news, Ewan in talks for Force ghost, Harrison Ford’s leg lawsuit, and listener feedback. Then guest James Burns joins Riley to talk Toy Fair, the next Force Friday, LEGO and The Freemaker Adventures.

Talking Apes TV: “Terror on Ice Mountain” covers another episode of the Return to the Planet of the Apes cartoon. Rich and Mark breakdown the episode, point out all the silly moments, fun moments, and the rare good moments. Fun and entertaining show, especially for Ape fans.

Reviewed By: Skuldren for Roqoo Depot.