Podcasts in Review

April 12, 2018 at 12:01 am | Posted in Podcasts, Podcasts in Review, Regular Feature, Reviews, Star Wars | Leave a comment
Tags: charles soule, jason fry

Here is this week’s Podcasts in Review.

Blast Points Podcast: Episode 116 they talk about getting The Last Jedi on Blu-ray, the experience of watching it at home, they go over the documentary The Director and The Jedi, the deleted scenes and they touch on some of the other extras included. Now I specifically waited until after I watched all the extras before listening to this episode, but in retrospect, that’s really not necessary. Either way, you’ll enjoy this episode, assuming you like movie of course.

Podcast Network: N/A, Runtime: 1 hour 17 minutes, Audio Quality: Excellent, Editing: Excellent, Hosts: Jason, and Gabe, Rating: Great

Blast Points Podcast: Episode 118 they go over the Solo trailer. This is a nice breakdown that keeps it fun as they touch on all the cool stuff revealed.

Podcast Network: N/A, Runtime: 53 minutes, Audio Quality: Excellent, Editing: Excellent, Hosts: Jason, and Gabe, Rating: Great

Brews and Blasters: Episode 163 covers Mr. Miagi, vodka, the HasLab sail barge getting backed and what might be next, the Solo Denny’s commercial, aliens in the Solo cantina, Topps cards, Therm Scissorpunch, lobster recipes, Gamorrean guard figures, and Simon Pegg on changes in Episode VIII. This was definitely the funniest episode I listed to this week. Loved it.

Podcast Network: Retrozap, Runtime: 1 hour 34 minutes, Audio Quality: Excellent, Editing: Excellent, Hosts: Joe, and Chris, Rating: Great

Children of the Force: Episode 100 features guests Chris and Tiana as Chris asks them questions about the podcast, The Force Awakens, what they’re looking forward to, the idea of liking Star Wars and being a pacifist, animated shows, and more. Plus there’s some canon news.

Podcast Network: N/A, Runtime: 1 hour 13 minutes, Audio Quality: Great, Editing: Excellent, Hosts: Al, Anna, and Liam, Rating: Good

Children of the Force: Episode 101 they talk about various things, take a break for a dog, talk about seeing The Greatest Show, Emma joins them, they talk Holdo being Force sensitive, the Solo Denny’s promotion and commercial, other Solo news and info, and they talk about their favorite deleted scenes from The Last Jedi.

Podcast Network: N/A, Runtime: 43 minutes, Audio Quality: Excellent, Editing: Excellent, Hosts: Al, Anna, and Liam, Rating: Good

Comic Book Noob: Adam Strange & Brainiac they talk about the new Krypton show, the characters Brainiac and Adam Strange, their comic book origins and powers, and why they’re in the TV show. Good episode, lots of great info.

Podcast Network: Assembly of Geeks, Runtime: 29 minutes, Audio Quality: Excellent, Editing: Excellent, Hosts: Scott, Regina, and Matt, Rating: Great

Comics With Kenobi: Episode 56 kicks off with some news on comic sales, Sana Starros being in Last Shot novel, Charles Soule has a novel out, and Garry Whitta being involved in a reboot of The Last Starfighter. Then they review Star Wars #46 and A Star Wars Comic #14.

Podcast Network: Coffee With Kenobi, Runtime: 57 minutes, Audio Quality: Excellent, Editing: Excellent, Hosts: Matt, and Jeff, Rating: Great

Fly Casual: Episode 175 starts off with some singing, fail army, word associations, and a lengthy discussion of the film The Lobster. It’s a 25 minute intro before they get to Star Wars. Here’s the thing, the discussion on The Lobster was probably the best part of this episode, and it had nothing to do with Star Wars. I’m not sure that’s a good thing since this is a Star Wars podcast. Regardless, they review Darth Vader #13, Thrawn #2, Star Wars #45, and Poe Dameron #25. They talk some about some Star Wars Battlefront concept art, some info from The Last Jedi Visual Dictionary, some Ahsoka, and they end with some John Williams jokes. That’s all good, but my complaint is that there’s some more The Last Jedi/sequel trilogy direction bashing/pissing/moaning mixed in there. There’s a heap ton more of it in the next episode, and I’m really close to just giving up as I don’t want to listen to anymore of it. So we’ll see what happens in Episode 177. It could be the end. And that hurts, as I like the podcasts, I like the hosts, I just don’t like hearing them talk about The Last Jedi. It’s not a problem for anyone who didn’t like the film, but if you did like it, it’s not enjoyable to listen to all the time. All that aside, I loved the film discussion of The Lobster, I liked the comic reviews, and there’s was some funny John Williams’ jokes. End of the day, mixed feelings on this one.

Podcast Network: Betterkind Media, Runtime: 1 hour 39 minutes, Audio Quality: Excellent, Editing: Excellent, Hosts: Corey, Steve, Garrick, and Mike, Rating: Kinda Good/Kinda Bad

Fly Casual: Episode 176 doesn’t have Corey, but the rest of the gang carries on. They go into Star Wars news, discussing Mark Hamill’s comments on George’s original take on the sequel trilogy, they talk about what could be done with Leia for Episode IX, casting rumors, Mark on whether there’s too much Star Wars, which they also discuss, and then they get to some Rian Johnson articles. This takes them on a long discussion of The Last Jedi, Rian Johnson, and the sequel trilogy. They don’t have anything positive to say about any of these things, so if you like The Last Jedi, skip to the 1 hour mark to jump to the toy report. If didn’t like The Last Jedi, then you can join them in relishing how bad it all is and how much you wish it was better. With the toy report, they talk about Funko, Toys R Us, HasLab, Solo toy releases and LEGO.

Podcast Network: Betterkind Media, Runtime: 1 hour 39 minutes, Audio Quality: Great, Editing: Excellent, Hosts: Steve, Garrick, and Mike, Rating: Bad or Good depending if you liked or disliked The Last Jedi

Full of Sith: Episode CCLXIII begins with them talking about the Solo promotion at Denny’s, Therm Scissorpunch, Alden’s interviews on Solo, and then they do some predictions before watching the new Solo trailer. Then they share their thoughts after watching the trailer.

Podcast Network: N/A, Runtime: 1 hour 11 minutes, Audio Quality: Excellent, Editing: Excellent, Hosts: Mike, Bryan, and Holly, Rating: Good

Galactic Fashion: Episode 32 marks the return of the show after a bit of a break. They talk about Harry Potter loot crate items, Her Universe galaxy active wear, nail wraps, purses, cardigans, shoes, and more. Plus the history of earrings.

Podcast Network: Jedi News Network, Runtime: 1 hour 8 minutes, Audio Quality: Great, Editing: Excellent, Hosts: Teresa, and Christy, Rating: Fun

Happy Beeps: Episode 3 covers when Star Wars gets weird. It touches on the Donnie and Marie Osmond Star Wars episode, the Richard Pryor Star Wars skit, a French Star Wars crossover, the Muppets Star Wars show, and a German disco Star Wars show. Fun episode.

Podcast Network: ForceCenter, Runtime: 27 minutes, Audio Quality: Excellent, Editing: Excellent, Host: Jennifer, Rating: Good

Jedi Journals: April 2018 includes listener feedback, comic news, Dennis joins them once again as they talk about the trade paperback Darth Vader: Imperial Machine. Afterwards Chris and Jay interview author Jason Fry about The Last Jedi novelization. Great interview. Plus book news. Great episode with lots of great content and discussion. This one earns my pick of the week.

Podcast Network: TheForce.net, Runtime: 1 hours 55 minutes, Audio Quality: Excellent, Editing: Excellent, Hosts: Jay, and Chris, Rating: Pick of the Week

Kanata’s Castle: Episode 27 they briefly go over news, they talk Forces of Destiny, then they talk about the Force, The Last Jedi, and other stuff like the Bendu’s foreshadowing, the Luke Skywalker book, Rey choosing not to kill Kylo, Luke not getting involved, and more. A little random, but kind of centering around The Last Jedi.

Podcast Network: Retrozap, Runtime: 1 hour 13 minutes, Audio Quality: Excellent, Editing: Excellent, Hosts: Becca, and Devon, Rating: Good

Kanata’s Castle: Episode 28 they talk about miscellaneous things, Luke’s line about powerful light and powerful darkness. They go over parallels and differences with Vader and Kylo, the Jedi being romanticized, balance, and other themes in The Last Jedi.

Podcast Network: Retrozap, Runtime: 1 hour 9 minutes, Audio Quality: Excellent, Editing: Excellent, Hosts: Becca, and Devon, Rating: Good

Kanata’s Castle: Episode 29 covers the new Solo trailer. They get into some interesting discussions on the movie, they contemplate who the other Wookiee might be, how Chewbacca’s life debt might play out, Han’s blaster, and whether Frank Oz might be in Solo.

Podcast Network: Retrozap, Runtime: 1 hour 7 minutes, Audio Quality: Excellent, Editing: Excellent, Hosts: Becca, and Devon, Rating: Good

Less Than 12 Parsecs: Episode 198 covers fan questions on the EU, tattoos, interest in film, and plans.

Podcast Network: Star Wars Commonwealth, Runtime: 7 minutes, Audio Quality: Excellent, Editing: Excellent, Host: Tim, Rating: Good

Less Than 12 Parsecs: Episode 200 celebrates the 200th episode by covering all the things Tim thought about doing, but didn’t. Being brutally honest here, it’s basically an episode about nothing.

Podcast Network: Star Wars Commonwealth, Runtime: 5 minutes, Audio Quality: Excellent, Editing: Excellent, Host: Tim, Rating: Skippable

Less Than 12 Parsecs: Episode 201 Tim talks with Din from F-105 as they do the 10 stoopid Star Wars questions, which as usual, is pretty entertaining. Definitely worth a listen.

Podcast Network: Star Wars Commonwealth, Runtime: 15 minutes, Audio Quality: Great, Editing: Excellent, Host: Tim, Rating: Fun

Magic on a Dollar: Episode 23 Dave talks about what he’s been up to, Toy Story ride experience, Mary Poppins movie update, some Disney history, and then he talks about his experience at Universal Studios Islands of Adventure. Dave goes over the rides, the atmosphere and the different islands at the park.

Podcast Network: N/A, Runtime: 50 minutes, Audio Quality: Excellent, Editing: Excellent, Host: Dave, Rating: Good

Magic on a Dollar: Episode 24 features guest Jennifer Novotny as they go over Donald’s Dino Bash, the exclusivity of some items at the parks, fast pass tiers, Disney history stuff, and then they talk about what to do at Disney when it’s busy. They talk about lesser used areas to find some escape from the crowds, fast pass planning, as well as the baby care areas. Good info for anyone planning a Disney trip.

Podcast Network: N/A, Runtime: 52 minutes, Audio Quality: Excellent, Editing: Excellent, Host: Dave, Rating: Good

Me and My Padawan: Episode 13 covers Star Wars news, Baatu in the new Thrawn book, then they talk about Darth Revan and Darth Malak. As someone who played the first two KOTOR games, read the Revan book and read the KOTOR comics, I never realized how long and convoluted the story of these characters is, especially with how Revan’s story continues in TOR. Afterwards they talk Transformers, and Dillon talks a little about PJ Masks. Fun episode.

Podcast Network: N/A, Runtime: 53 minutes, Audio Quality: Excellent, Editing: Excellent, Hosts: Ryan, and Braden, Rating: Fun

Radio Free Endor: Season 2 Episode 29 covers the Stephen Hawking news with some sound bytes, they talk about Hawking, and they also talk about Mark Hamill’s star ceremony, Battlefront II, Lucasfilm lawsuit, Solo poster controversy, latest Bad Lip Reading video, Ready Player One soundtrack, and then they get to their main discussion which is John Williams stepping down and who will replace him. This leads to their special guest Ian Crabb as they talk about other composers and soundtracks. There’s some great editing here as there’s background music that changes as the conversation moves from composer to composer, thus highlighting each one and providing examples of their work. They also give time to let some of the tracks breath, thus lots for music lovers to enjoy. It’s an excellent music discussion.

Podcast Network: N/A, Runtime: 2 hours, Audio Quality: Excellent, Editing: Excellent, Hosts: Jamie, and Paul, Rating: Excellent

Radio Free Endor: Bonus Episode 1 Interview with Ian Crabb is an extended version of the interview featured in Episode 29. This one is 20 minutes longer. I’m not sure if the new stuff is at the end of the discussion or if there was editing throughout, but it was a great interview and the extended version is just as good. I wound up just listening to the entire bonus episode as I wasn’t sure which parts were new, and it really is a good conversation, so I didn’t mind listening to a good chunk of it twice.

Podcast Network: N/A, Runtime: 1 hour 9 minutes, Audio Quality: Excellent, Editing: Excellent, Hosts: Jamie, and Paul, Rating: Fun

Rebel Yell: Finale features Steve, Erich, Teresa, Shazbazzar and eventually Aaron (he shows up a little later) as they discuss the finale of Star Wars Rebels. They share their overall thoughts on the finale, they touch on the epilogue and Kanan and Hera’s kid, they dive into the episode for some fun discussions including the Emperor’s trap and The Last Jedi connections. Plus Erich shares a fun story about Clancy Brown. Great episode.

Podcast Network: Geek Out Loud, Runtime: 1 hour 19 minutes, Audio Quality: Excellent, Editing: Excellent, Hosts: Steve, Teresa, and Erich, Rating: Great

Skytalkers: Solo: A Star Wars Story Full Trailer Reaction they share their thoughts on the new Solo trailer. They go over their favorite parts, talk about what they’re looking forward to in the movie, speculate whether the moment where Chewbacca is hanging off the train could be the life debt moment, and other speculation. Good discussion.

Podcast Network: Star Wars Escape Pods Network, Runtime: 48 minutes, Audio Quality: Excellent, Editing: Excellent, Hosts: Caitlin, and Charlotte, Rating: Great

Star Wars 7×7: Episode 1376 is Allen’s top seven takeaways from the Solo trailer.

Podcast Network: N/A, Runtime: 12 minutes, Audio Quality: Excellent, Editing: Excellent, Host: Allen, Rating: Good

Talk Star Wars: Episode 113 features Marc and Rob as they talk about Star Wars movie viewing orders, Leia in Episode IX, recasting rumors, and whether its doable. They also discuss skeletons in Star Wars as they address listener questions. They talk about the bomb bays on the Resistance bombers, Finn and Rey to reunite for Ep. IX, time jumps, the Denny’s Solo commercial and Topps trading cards, and Therm Scissorpunch. Great episode.

Podcast Network: Star Wars Commonwealth, Runtime: 1 hour 34 minutes, Audio Quality: Excellent, Editing: Excellent, Hosts: Marc, and Rob, Rating: Great

TechnoRetro Dads: Ready Player One and Sixes by Twos has an ongoing theme for the number 6, they also do jokes, talk about Monty Python coming to Netflix, pot holes and cereal, Alamo doing a 40th anniversary screening for Superman, the 50th anniversary for 2001, they talk about the soundtrack for Ready Player One, unicorn cereal, the video game Galaga, and then they dive into Ready Player One (the movie) which is why this episode is longer than usual as it gets lots of coverage and discussion. They do go into spoilers, so fair warning. And they do talk about the differences between the movie and the book. Great discussion.

Podcast Network: Retrozap, Runtime: 1 hour 45 minutes, Audio Quality: Excellent, Editing: Excellent, Hosts: Shazbazzar, and JediShua, Rating: Great

The Deucecast Movie Show: Episode 323 features Dave, Mikey, Dr. Earl and special guest Scott Ryfun as they devote the entire episode to see this, not that for movies starring actors who are in the Avengers. Everyone goes around and shares their picks for all the main actors, and they touch on a lot of the minor actors as well. Great, fun discussion.

Podcast Network: Retrozap, Runtime: 1 hour 30 minutes, Audio Quality: Excellent, Editing: Excellent, Hosts: Dave, Mikey, and Dr. Earl, Rating: Great

The Geek Supreme: Cloning Stan Lee and Michael Bay Fandom they talk about Stan Lee’s blood being used to stamp comics, they poke fun at Michael Bay, play a game to guess the music in Ready Player One, discuss The Last Starfighter and Gary Whitta’s involvement, and they play a word game for cons. Fun episode.

Podcast Network: Assembly of Geeks, Runtime: 1 hour 1 minute, Audio Quality: Excellent, Editing: Excellent, Hosts: Darth Taxus, Scott, Jeff and Regina, Rating: Fun

The Great Big Beautiful Podcast: Episode 174 features Jamie, Justin and Shiri as they talk about Charles Soule’s new book The Oracle Year. Then they talk with Charles Soule about a bunch of fun topics such as China, studying law, his interest in music, his love for writing, how he got started with comics, how he got his book deal, the difference with writing Star Wars, what he’d like to write, and he touches on all the various comic series he has. Great interview, and there is some Star Wars in there.

Podcast Network: Geek Dad, Runtime: 1 hour 4 minutes, Audio Quality: Excellent, Editing: Excellent, Hosts: Jamie, Justin, and Shiri, Rating: Great

Toy Run: Episode 104 covers the successful funding of the sail barge and other info on it, they talk April Fool’s Day, Denny’s Solo promotion, toy news, toy runs, a guide to the upcoming Solo toys, and how the release compares to others.

Podcast Network: N/A, Runtime: 1 hour 4 minutes, Audio Quality: Excellent, Editing: Excellent, Hosts: Criz, and Jake, Rating: Great

Wookiee Radio: Episode 60 kicks off with sport boxes, then they discuss Solo being at the Cannes film festival, they talk about the Range Trooper and Mud Troopers, some pre-trailer release discussion, they go over StarWars.com article on 12 things we learned from The Last Jedi comics, they discuss the deleted scenes from The Last Jedi that were included in the novelization and how the author Jason Fry worked with Rian Johnson to make sure those scenes didn’t contradict the story Rian wanted to tell. Some other info from novelization. Leia recasting rumors. And some of their thoughts on The Last Jedi.

Podcast Network: We Be Geeks Network, Runtime: 1 hour 6 minutes, Audio Quality: Great, Editing: Excellent, Hosts: Ken, Derrick, and Mike, Rating: Good