Podcasts in Review

May 3, 2018 at 12:01 am | Posted in Podcasts, Podcasts in Review, Regular Feature, Reviews, Star Wars | 2 Comments

Here is this week’s Podcasts in Review.

501stCast Minicast: Behind the Bucket Episode 1 is a new thing the 501stCast is doing that features a guest trooper from the 501st Legion as they talk to them about what it’s like being a member of the 501st and trooping in costume. This debut episode features Jeffrey SL-11907 who is a TIE Pilot. Jeff talks about being a member of the New England Garrison, the costume he did, making it, his other costumes, and the challenges of being blind and trooping in the 501st Legion. I have to admit, that’s pretty incredible. They talk about trooping with disabilities, his 1st hospital visit event, and why he joined. Great story and a great episode. Definitely worth checking out.

Podcast Network: N/A, Runtime: 34 minutes, Audio Quality: Excellent, Editing: Excellent, Hosts: Joe, and Nicky, Rating: Great

Beltway Banthas: Episode 55 starts off with some real world news discussion, then they talk Palpatine. They go over his background, his accomplishments, how he became the senate in a democratic government structure, his political career, and the importance of term limits. Then they dip back into real world politics, talk about a convention that was cancelled and was possibly a scam, and the Bloomberg Chick-fil-A article. Interesting discussions.

Podcast Network: RetroZap, Runtime: 1 hour 19 minutes, Audio Quality: Excellent, Editing: Excellent, Hosts: Stephen, and Swara, Rating: Great

Blast Points Podcast: Episode 121 features guest Tom Spina. They talk with him about the mold of Peter Cushing’s face which was used in Rogue One, how he got into the business, his work on Sesame Street, getting into masks, restoring masks, getting to know Pablo Hidalgo, the Richard Pryor Show cantina aliens, Jabba’s palace, the Lucasfilm archives, Regal Robot’s May 4th plans, some rapid fire Star Wars questions, and even a little music discussion. Great episode, lots of fun, and Tom share’s a lot of great stories.

Podcast Network: N/A, Runtime: 1 hour 48 minutes, Audio Quality: Excellent, Editing: Excellent, Hosts: Jason, and Gabe, Rating: Great

Brews and Blasters: Episode 165 goes over get well wishes for Chris, Baby Expo, the new studio, using comic bags for Star Wars figures, Infinity War ticket plans, giveaways, some food talk (fair warning, if you’re hungry when you listen to this, be prepared to start salivating), and they talk Solo. They go over Alden mentioning he is signed up for three movies, John Powell doing the soundtrack which is now up for pre-order, and more. Great episode. Lots of fun.

Podcast Network: Retrozap, Runtime: 1 hour 3 minutes, Audio Quality: Excellent, Editing: Excellent, Hosts: Joe, and Chris, Rating: Great

Bright Tree Radio: Episode 30 goes over their vacation plans, they talk Star Wars Destiny, they touch on Last Shot, and The Phantom Menace documentary The Beginning. For their main discussion, they focus on Anakin Skyalker. They talk about his father being the Force, his father figures, Lucas’ choice in going back to explore that character, Anakin not being born evil, loving too much, when he fell, good intentions, baptism in fire, redemption and whether he was really redeemed, and their speculation on what George Lucas would think of the new movies. Great episode. Excellent discussion.

Podcast Network: Bright Tree Radio, Runtime: 1 hour 13 minutes, Audio Quality: Excellent, Editing: Excellent, Hosts: Sophie, and Phil, Rating: Great

Children of the Force: Episode 103 they record outside in their backyard, but it’s very good audio quality and adds a nice laid back feel to the episode that I really enjoyed. They talk about the Solo TV spot “Risk”, new character posters, new databank entries on StarWars.com for Solo, the 2nd unit director news for Episode IX, new Ron Howard Solo tweets, speculation on Clint Howard’s role (which sounds spot on), and they have their canon news segment which touches on Last Shot, Lando, L3 and droid rights, plus there’s the joke and stump the lump. Great episode.

Podcast Network: N/A, Runtime: 47 minutes, Audio Quality: Great, Editing: Excellent, Hosts: Al, Anna, and Liam, Rating: Great

Coffee With Kenobi: Episode 120 Dan talks with Holly Frey and Dennis Keithly about Rey and Kylo, shipping the characters, Snoke and the lack of backstory, Rey’s parents, then they change things up to discuss podcasting. They talk about how they got into podcasting, how they prep for their shows, chemistry with co-hosts, and conversation tips. Good discussion for new podcasters looking for some tips. Afterwards they get into the news, they cover Alden being signed for three movies, Star Wars lip balm (you’d be surprised how fun that discussion was), the Disney Amazon deal, and then they get into lightsaber duels, speeds, and differences between eras. Great episode. This one is my pick of the week.

Podcast Network: Coffee With Kenobi, Runtime: 1 hour 15 minutes, Audio Quality: Excellent, Editing: Great, Host: Dan Z, Rating: Pick of the Week

Comics With Kenobi: Episode 57 covers news, the upcoming Lando series, then they review Darth Vader #14 and Thrawn #3. Great discussions of both issues.

Podcast Network: Coffee With Kenobi, Runtime: 1 hour 5 minutes, Audio Quality: Excellent, Editing: Excellent, Hosts: Matt, and Jeff, Rating: Great

Comics With Kenobi: Episode 58 touches on the news for Star Wars #50, then they review Poe Dameron #26. They go over the new editors, the art and art style, Charles Soule capturing the voices of the characters with the dialog, and then they have an interview with IDW Star Wars comic writer Cavan Scott as Matt talks with him about bringing back Jaxxon. They also cover Free Comic Book Day and IDW’s Star Wars offering. Great interview, though the transition to the interview could have been better. If you want to jump straight to the interview, it begins at 37:20.

Podcast Network: Coffee With Kenobi, Runtime: 1 hour, Audio Quality: Excellent, Editing: Good, Hosts: Matt, and Jeff, Rating: Great

Comics With Kenobi: Episode 59 covers the news, then they review Darth Vader #15 and Doctor Aphra #19 with some really nice, thorough discussions covering both comics. They touch on the artwork, the writing and the stories.

Podcast Network: Coffee With Kenobi, Runtime: 50 minutes, Audio Quality: Excellent, Editing: Great, Hosts: Matt, and Jeff, Rating: Great

Fly Casual: Episode 178 starts with an Itchitirita comedy bit, marking the return of Corey. They talk about Solo, the trailer, thoughts on Han and Lando, love for Woody, and other thoughts and observations. They go over the news, Amazon’s deal with Disney, they have some fun with falsetto voices and do some gags before getting to the news about Poe Dameron #26 taking place after the events of The Last Jedi. They go over the Chinese release date for Solo and title change, opening weekend projections, and then they get to the toy report. They talk about Wookiee Weekend, the new face painting technique, tangent over to Battlefront II‘s Ewok Hunt, then touch on Hallmark ornaments. Lot of laughs in this episode, which means a lot of fun. Great episode.

Podcast Network: Betterkind Media, Runtime: 1 hour 27 minutes, Audio Quality: Excellent, Editing: Excellent, Hosts: Corey, Steve, Garrick, and Mike, Rating: Great

ForceCenter: Episode 113 covers the new Ewok Hunt feature in Star Wars Battlefront II — which sounds really fun — then they talk about the Mara Jade rumors for Episode IX, Solo character info, and their main discussion is Boba Fett. They talk about whether they want to see him in Solo, if he did show up how they would want to see it done, and listener questions. Good discussion and great episode.

Podcast Network: ForceCenter, Runtime: 1 hour 9 minutes, Audio Quality: Excellent, Editing: Excellent, Hosts: Ken, Joseph, and Jennifer, Rating: Great

ForceCenter: Episode 114 covers the news, Alden interview with Esquire, the traveling Falcon experience, new Solo posters, and Star Wars Resistance. They talk about the press release, speculate on what we might get, what they want to see, and share their thoughts on the news. Afterwards they tackle listener questions.

Podcast Network: ForceCenter, Runtime: 1 hour 17 minutes, Audio Quality: Excellent, Editing: Excellent, Hosts: Ken, Joseph, and Jennifer, Rating: Great

Full of Sith: Episode CCLXVI covers the Star Wars Resistance news. They go over the press release, share their thoughts, talk about the people involved, what they’re looking forward to, and speculate on what characters and locations we might see. Afterwards they talk a little about toy hunting for Solo figures, then break for Bryan’s interview with Executive Vice President of the American Federation of Teachers Mary Cathryn Ricker. They talk teaching, inspiring creativity, Star Wars, too much weight being put on Luke’s shoulders, escapism and connections.

Podcast Network: N/A, Runtime: 1 hour 23 minutes, Audio Quality: Great, Editing: Excellent, Hosts: Holly, Bryan, and Mike, Rating: Good

Geek Culture Spotlight: A Star Wars Comic features guests Jim Mello and Alex Ray and Scott talks with them about their fandom, their comic, the work involved, their work process, their objective and upcoming stuff. Good interview.

Podcast Network: Assembly of Geeks, Runtime: 34 minutes, Audio Quality: Excellent, Editing: Excellent, Host: Scott Murray, Rating: Good

Grand Moff Talkin’: Episode 46 discusses the Star Wars novel Last Shot. Now not all of the hosts read the book, completely at least, so there’s some varying angles to the discussion as well as some different opinions. Not everyone liked it. The spoiler discussion kicks in at 17 minutes as they dive into the details of the book. Plus they throw a little shade, and there are out takes at the end. Good to okay discussion, and a few audio issues. Isaac’s audio is kind of rough with weird noises, echoes and sometimes choppy.

Podcast Network: N/A, Runtime: 1 hour 16 minutes, Audio Quality: Good, Editing: Excellent, Hosts: Riley, Jake, Jazmine, and Isaac, Rating: Okay

Grand Moff Talkin’: Episode 47 starts with school memories, then ten minutes in, they talk Infinity War. They start with general thoughts, comparisons to The Empire Strikes Back, and spoilers kick in at 23 minutes. They share their predictions for Infinity War part 2, speculate whether Star Wars could do an Avengers style crossover of characters from the various Star Wars films, they go off on a tangent about the Force and whether it’s essential for a Star Wars movie, , and there’s some video game chat afterwards. Now Isaac’s audio is still a little crummy, and there’s some occasional interference on Jazmine’s audio, but audio issues aside, this is a fun episode.

Podcast Network: N/A, Runtime: 1 hour 16 minutes, Audio Quality: Good, Editing: Excellent, Hosts: Riley, Jake, Jazmine, and Isaac, Rating: Fun

Hyperspace PodBlast: Episode 62 they talk about shared storytelling, in film, comparative examples, drawbacks and limitations, comparisons to the prequels. and The Force Awakens not meshing with The Last Jedi. Interesting discussion.

Podcast Network: Hyperspace PodBlast, Runtime: 27 minutes, Audio Quality: Excellent, Editing: Excellent, Hosts: Bryan, and Shelby, Rating: Good

Jedi Journals: May 2018 Dennis and Jay talk comics as they go over the Han Solo mini-series, then Jay and Chris go over comic news, book news, and magazine news.

Podcast Network: TheForce.net, Runtime: 1 hours 19 minutes, Audio Quality: Excellent, Editing: Excellent, Hosts: Jay, and Chris, Rating: Good

Magic on a Dollar: Episode 26 covers Disney news, ways to relax and spend time in Hollywood Studios, extra magic hours, Pandora rides, and resort promotions.

Podcast Network: N/A, Runtime: 27 minutes, Audio Quality: Excellent, Editing: Excellent, Host: Dave, Rating: Good

Mighty Marvel Geeks: Episode 204 starts off with a little bit of Infinity War discussion, spoiler free, they talk about the absence of Adam Warlock, not being able to use Silver Surfer, juggling the huge cast, they go over James Cameron’s comments on Avengers fatigue, Nova coming to the big screen, Namor rights, Fleer cards, new Venom trailer, Captain Marvel, and comic picks of the week.

Podcast Network: We Be Geeks Network, Runtime: 58 minutes, Audio Quality: Excellent, Editing: Excellent, Hosts: Mike, and Kylan, Rating: Good

Rebel Force Radio: Episode 4.27.18 kicks off with Jason in the car as he and Jimmy go over the Star Wars Resistance news and share their thoughts. They play some audio of Dave talking about his interest in World War II, then they cut back to the studio and Jimmy and Jason go over Solo meet up plans, toy finds, a Force discussion, a little RFR Star Wars theater with Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon, being mindful of the present, and Jason talks with his son Parker which is fun. They also go over the Alden Esquire interview, his multi picture deal, new Solo trailers and TV spots, Cincemacon’s screening of a Solo scene, Pyke syndicate being in Solo, Trevor Moore’s Kitster song, listener feedback, and they talk a little Holiday Special and Lando’s bar. Fun episode.

Podcast Network: Rebel Force Radio, Runtime: 2 hours 27 minutes, Audio Quality: Excellent, Editing: Excellent, Hosts: Jimmy, and Jason, Rating: Fun

Skytalkers: Last Shot Book Discussion goes over Solo anticipation, site news, then they discuss the Star Wars book Last Shot. They share their overall thoughts, go over the horror elements, favorite moments, favorite new characters, the deeper themes, parenting anxiety, doing what you love, droid rights, and they pull some quotes from the book. It’s a good, in depth discussion and they are very positive about the book with no criticism.

Podcast Network: Star Wars Escape Pods Network, Runtime: 1 hour 42 minutes, Audio Quality: Excellent, Editing: Excellent, Hosts: Caitlin, and Charlotte, Rating: Good

Skywalking Through Neverland: Episode 210 covers Pixar Fest and their experience at Disneyland, then they talk with Kenner Star Wars toy designer Jim Swearingen. Jim talks about his career in the toy business, starting out with Play-Doh, designing Star Wars toys, seeing the film for the first time and a special marketing screening, and some stories about the chemistry side of toys. It’s a great conversation and definitely one for anyone who is a fan of the old vintage Kenner Star Wars figures.

Podcast Network: Retrozap, Runtime: 1 hour 57 minutes, Audio Quality: Excellent, Editing: Excellent, Hosts: Sarah, and Richard, Rating: Great

Star Wars 7×7: Episode 1392 goes over The Last Jedi deleted scenes #7 and #8, the extended Supremacy scene and the Poe jacket sewing scene.

Podcast Network: N/A, Runtime: 8 minutes, Audio Quality: Excellent, Editing: Excellent, Host: Allen Voivod, Rating: Good

Star Wars 7×7: Bonus Episode: Star Wars Resistance goes over the announcement, when the trademark name first popped up, time frame, and other people involved not on the press release list (which is something I haven’t heard anyone else cover).

Podcast Network: N/A, Runtime: 10 minutes, Audio Quality: Excellent, Editing: Excellent, Host: Allen Voivod, Rating: Good

Star Wars 7×7: Episode 1393 covers deleted scenes #5 and #6, the Luke/Leia mourning moment, and the Caretaker sizing up Rey.

Podcast Network: N/A, Runtime: 8 minutes, Audio Quality: Excellent, Editing: Excellent, Host: Allen Voivod, Rating: Good

Star Wars 7×7: Episode 1394 covers Allen’s 3rd and 4th most important deleted scenes from The Last Jedi as he goes over the Finn bacta pod scene, and Rose biting Hux.

Podcast Network: N/A, Runtime: 8 minutes, Audio Quality: Excellent, Editing: Excellent, Host: Allen Voivod, Rating: Good

Star Wars 7×7: Episode 1395 covers Allen’s top two deleted scenes from The Last Jedi. This one goes over the Captain Phasma and Finn fight scene, and the Caretaker village scene. This episode was recorded outside, so the audio quality fluctuates a little.

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

Star Wars 7×7: Episode 1396 covers Allen’s top seven takeaways for the Solo behind the scenes video.

Podcast Network: N/A, Runtime: 15 minutes, Audio Quality: Excellent, Editing: Excellent, Host: Allen Voivod, Rating: Good

Star Wars 7×7: Episode 1398 goes over the new Solo TV spot that includes Rio, and the “Crew” TV spot.

Podcast Network: N/A, Runtime: 8 minutes, Audio Quality: Excellent, Editing: Excellent, Host: Allen Voivod, Rating: Good

Talk Star Wars: Episode 116 covers listener feedback on what they’re looking forward to most in Solo, Rob and Marc share their thoughts on Solo, viewing orders, and reactions. They talk about Kylo’s mask and whether it will return in Episode IX, their favorite R2 moment, then they cover Solo news. Alden being signed for three films, Rio Durrant dialog in latest TV spot, new posters, the card game, Kevin Feige on The Star Wars Show and whether there’s any significance to that, and some Becket and Val speculation. Great episode.

Podcast Network: Star Wars Commonwealth, Runtime: 1 hour 18 minutes, Audio Quality: Excellent, Editing: Excellent, Hosts: Marc, and Rob, Rating: Great

Tarkin’s Top Shelf: Episode 36 covers Star Wars Resistance, the Episode IX 2nd unit director news, then they dive into the Star Wars novel Last Shot as they talk about the audiobook, the characters and a little bit about the plot. Not super spoilery so if you’re on the fence about the book, this episode might help you decide if you want to make the leap.

Podcast Network: MakingStarWars.net, Runtime: 46 minutes, Audio Quality: Excellent, Editing: Excellent, Hosts: Becca, and Mark, Rating: Good

Tatoine Sons: Episode 22 covers what they’ve been up to, then they talk Star Wars Resistance, speculate whether we could get Snoke’s backstory, they go over Solo info, Alden’s interview on director change up and being signed up for three movies, then they do a what if segment on what if Han, Luke, Leia and Chewbacca never made it out of the trash compactor. Plus they talk about the Cinemcon screening of a scene from Solo.

Podcast Network: Star Wars Commonwealth, Runtime: 1 hour 7 minutes, Audio Quality: Excellent, Editing: Excellent, Host: David, Rating: Good

TechnoRetro Dads: Rampage with Ralph, Lizzie, George, and The Rock includes gorilla jokes, news, the Millennium Falcon experience, Star Wars Resistance, Labyrinth news, cereal, Robotron arcade in the box, then they talk about the Rampage video game, and the Rampage movie, plus listener feedback. Fun episode.

Podcast Network: Retrozap, Runtime: 1 hour 17 minutes, Audio Quality: Excellent, Editing: Excellent, Hosts: Shazbazzar, and JediShua, Rating: Fun

The Deucecast Movie Show: Episode 325 features Dave, Mikey, Dr. Earl, Scott Ryfun and his son Garrison as they do a sweet 16 for Tom Cruise’s top movie roles. They pair off his top 16 roles and slowly eliminate them to declare his best one. The sweet 16 shows are a lot of fun, and this one is no different. They discuss Tom’s roles in Days of Thunder, Mission Impossible, A Few Good Men, Risky Business, Jerry McGuire, Minority Report, The Color of Money, The Firm, Legend, Top Gun, Interview with a Vampire, Collateral, Tropic Thunder, War of the Worlds, Valkyrie, Born on the Fourth of July, Cocktail, Magnolia, and Rain Man.

Podcast Network: Retrozap, Runtime: 1 hour 19 minutes, Audio Quality: Great, Editing: Excellent, Hosts: Dave, Mikey, and Dr. Earl, Rating: Fun

The Fanitarium: The Fanitarium Enters the World of Fantasy with Ed Greenwood kicks off with Jeremiah and Kaela talking about fantasy TV shows, books and films. Kind of a random discussion as they touch on various things, and a bit lengthy. They Ed Greenwood interview kicks in at 50 minutes. Jeremiah talks with Ed about fantasy, books, Game of Thrones, fantasy now being mainstream, playing with stories, what he’s up to, thoughts on writing, storytelling, magic and more. I’m actually not a huge Ed Greenwood fan as I haven’t had a chance to read very many of his books. If you are a Greenwood fan, though, you might get more out of this one. It’s an interesting interview nonetheless.

Podcast Network: The Fanitarium, Runtime: 1 hour 35 minutes, Audio Quality: Great, Editing: Excellent, Hosts: Jeremiah, Rating: Okay

The ForceCast: Episode 4.25.18 features an interview with Star Wars Rebels voice actress Vanessa Marshall, which starts at 11:38. They talk with her about how it feels now that the show is over, her what would Hera do mantra, her initial thoughts on Hera having a kid, the death of Kanan, Solo thoughts, an NFL tangent, and she mentions that she is working on a novel, a cartoon show and standup. Interview ends at 27:48. I didn’t listen to anything else, but it’s a great interview and worth listening to.

Podcast Network: ForceCast.Net, Runtime: 1 hour 4 minutes, Audio Quality: Excellent, Editing: Excellent, Hosts: Ryan, and Daniel, Rating: N/A

The Gamer’s Dominion: Ready Player One features guests Scott and Jennifer Murray as they discuss Ready Player One, both the book and the film. The touch on anticipation for the movie, how it brought the world of MMO’s to life, thoughts on how the film compared to the book, thoughts on the beginning and end of the movie, the romantic relationship, the nostalgia references, and overall thoughts. Great discussion.

Podcast Network: Assembly of Geeks, Runtime: 33 minutes, Audio Quality: Excellent, Editing: Excellent, Host: Genese Davis, Rating: Good

The Soundtrack Show: Korngold and Warner Brothers: the Sound of Hollywood Film Scores Dave talks about film composer Erich Wolfgang Korngold and his influence. He goes over Korngold’s film work in the 1930’s for Warner Brothers, and then does a mini-bio for him. He covers how Korngold was a child prodigy, how he did his first composition when he was 10, how he began composing orchestras at the age of 13, his move to operatas (musical theater), his move to Hollywood, and his fame as a composer being a big boon for film. Dave plays some samples of his music, the Captain Blood overture, The Adventures of Robin Hood overture, The Sea Hawk, Elizabeth and Essex, and Kings Row. Dave ends with Korngold’s legacy. A brilliant episode, and a must listen. You don’t have to be a fan of old movies to appreciate this one.

Podcast Network: HowStuffWorks, Runtime: 34 minutes, Audio Quality: Excellent, Editing: Excellent, Hosts: David Collins, Rating: Excellent

Toy Run: Episode 107 covers HasLab updates, Solo opening night fan events, Hasbro earnings down, Chewbacca bandoleer variants, Disney Elite Series Darth Vader for May 4th, Tamashi Nations snowtrooper, the number of figures out compared to the past, S.H. Figuarts Anakin, ForceLink 2.0, Disney astromechs, new toy arrivals and acquisitions, crazy Walmart finds, toy news, and they highlight some of the new figures like the Lando/Kessel Guard two pack, the Maul and Qui-Gon two pack, Enfys Nest with speeder, and Luke and Wampa.

Podcast Network: N/A, Runtime: 1 hour 6 minutes, Audio Quality: Excellent, Editing: Excellent, Hosts: Criz, and Jake, Rating: Good

TSW Round Table: Retrospective – Attack of the Clones features Rob, Ash, Nathan and Tim as they talk a bit about 2002, where their fandom was at that time, and their thoughts on seeing Attack of the Clones. They talk about the Obi-Wan parts, Anakin’s crush on Padme, pacing issues, Count Dookua, and their final thoughts on the film. Great discussion. They don’t bash it, but they don’t shy away from criticism either.

Podcast Network: Star Wars Commonwealth, Runtime: 1 hour 9 minutes, Audio Quality: Excellent, Editing: Excellent, Host: Rob, Rating: Great

Who Talks First: Solo Trailer and Last Shot first they talk toy hunting, then they talk about the Solo trailer. They speculate, share some interesting ideas, and mention what cameos they thing might happen. They switch gears 48 minutes in to talk about the Star Wars book Last Shot which is a spoiler discussion. Good discussion and they give a good recommendation for the book.

Podcast Network: N/A, Runtime: 1 hour 13 minutes, Audio Quality: Excellent, Editing: Excellent, Hosts: Solo, and CT, Rating: Good

Wookiee Radio: Episode 63 starts off with Mike and Derrick (Ken joins them later) as they discuss Solo news, info from Wired article about the origin aspect of the film, Solo scene being screened at Cinemacon, Alden’s comments in Esquire interview, Millennium Falcon experience, Star Wars Battlefront II news, new products and deals for May 4th, and Star Wars Resistance. Good episode.

Podcast Network: We Be Geeks Network, Runtime: 58 minutes, Audio Quality: Excellent, Editing: Excellent, Hosts: Ken, Derrick, and Mike, Rating: Good

Reviewed By: Skuldren for Roqoo Depot.