Podcasts in Review

January 30, 2020 at 12:01 am | Posted in Podcasts, Podcasts in Review, Regular Feature, Reviews, Star Wars | Leave a comment

Here is this week’s Podcasts in Review, starting with the top five and honorable mentions, then moving on to the full reviews.

This Week’s Top Five

Rebel Force Radio Mythological Blueprint for The Rise of Skywalker
The Living Force Episode 40
Brews and Blasters Episode 245
Grand Moff Talkin’ Episode 129
Children of the Force Episode 150

Honorable Mentions

Newcomers Star Wars Ep. IV – A New Hope Watch-Along

Now here is this week’s Podcasts in Review…

Blast Points Podcast: Episode 203 they talk about the Star Wars: The Clone Wars trailer, then kick off Saga Year with a discussion about The Phantom Menace.

Podcast Network: N/A
Runtime: 1 hour
Audio Quality: Excellent
Production Quality: Excellent
Hosts: Jason, and Gabe
Rating: Fun

Brews and Blasters: Episode 245 they talk Star Wars aliens, go over Palpatine’s transmission, the leaked Trevorrow script for Episode IX, maklunkey, macaroni, Yono World, food challenges, TCW trailer and there’s some flute magic. Fun episode.

Podcast Network: Retrozap
Runtime: 1 hour 13 minutes
Audio Quality: Excellent
Production Quality: Excellent
Hosts: Joe, and Chris
Rating: Fun

Children of the Force: Episode 150 they talk about justice and laws, Force lightning, the book Force Collector, whether Maz knew Finn was Force sensitive, the Knights of Ren and they go over listener feedback. Fun episode.

Podcast Network: N/A
Runtime: 1 hour 18 minutes
Audio Quality: Excellent
Production Quality: Excellent
Hosts: Al, Anna, and Liam
Rating: Fun

Fangirls Going Rogue: Episode 20.1 they talk about the updates for the Kenobi show, TROS box office, Star Wars Resistance, and they discuss The Mandalorian. Afterwards they talk about the Rise of the Resistance ride, plus they talk merch, baby Yoda, and some more about The Rise of Skywalker. Good episode.

Podcast Network: N/A
Runtime: 1 hour 56 minutes
Audio Quality: Excellent
Production Quality: Excellent
Hosts: Sarah, Teresa, and Tricia
Rating: Good

Galactic War Report: Episode 186 they talk about upcoming content for Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes, Resistance Hero Poe, and Resistance teams.

Podcast Network: Radio Free Tatooine
Runtime: 54 minutes
Audio Quality: Excellent
Production Quality: Excellent
Host: John, and Sean
Rating: Good

Grand Moff Talkin’: Episode 129 they revisit Jedi: Fallen Order with guest Zeke as they talk about the game, what they liked, what they didn’t like, the characters, the story, and more. They do go into spoilers if you haven’t played the game or finished it yet.

Podcast Network: N/A
Runtime: 1 hour 3 minutes
Audio Quality: Excellent
Production Quality: Excellent
Hosts: Jake, Jasmin, and Riley
Rating: Great

Kanata’s Castle: Episode 75 they look forward to the TROS home release, baby Yoda Build-a-Bear, they talk about Star Wars Resistance, Ahsoka and Anakin’s Force connection, then they talk about Leia and her Jedi path. Good episode.

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

Newcomers: Star Wars Ep. IV – A New Hope Watch-Along is a new podcast hosted by Nicole Byer and Lauren Lapkus who have never seen a Star Wars movie before. Well, until this episode. They both sit down and watch Star Wars: A New Hope for the first time and do a commentary while they watch it. This in itself is rather interesting. You often hear Star Wars fans talk about people who have never seen Star Wars before and speculate what that would be like. Well, neither host liked the movie, and as a Star Wars fan, I found myself laughing at them rather than with them. I’m not sure if that’s okay, to be honest, but it’s kind of hard not to with some of their befuddlement, questions, and incorrect observations and guesses. There’s some adult language, so fair warning if you listen to this with your kids. There’s also a lot of silent parts as they don’t always fill the void with commentary since they’re trying to actually watch the movie. As a fellow Star Wars fan, you might feel a little defensive about some of the things they say since they didn’t like the movie, but you’ll also find some things funny, so it’s give and take. Nevertheless, it is a rare thing to hear someone give their raw thoughts about seeing Star Wars for the first time. In that regard, it’s somewhat priceless.

Podcast Network: Headgum
Runtime: 2 hours 7 minutes
Audio Quality: Excellent
Production Quality: Excellent
Hosts: Lauren, and Nicole
Rating: Good

Newcomers: Star Wars Ep. IV – A New Hope(w/ John Gemberling) following up their first time watching A New Hope, they talk about the movie, and Star Wars in general, with John Gemberling. John knows a bit about the movies so he gets pestered with their questions, and he likes the movies, at least the OT, so he tries to help defend the film and why people like it. Keep in mind the hosts of the podcast did not like it. Adult language in this one too, and not as many laughs as the first episode since it’s more questions than reactions.

Podcast Network: Headgum
Runtime: 1 hour 3 minutes
Audio Quality: Excellent
Production Quality: Excellent
Hosts: Lauren, and Nicole
Rating: Good

Obroa-skai Walkers: Dark Force Rising – Chapters 5-8 they go over their weekly random Wookieepedia article, talk some about The Old Republic and Revan, then discuss chapters 5 through 8 of Dark Force Rising. Good episode as always.

Podcast Network: N/A
Runtime: 2 hours 1 minute
Audio Quality: Excellent
Production Quality: Excellent
Hosts: Ben, and Cole
Rating: Good

Podcast Stardust: Episode 52 goes over the new Star Wars: The Clone Wars trailer, other news, Star Wars awards, and the farewell interview for Star Wars Resistance.

Podcast Network: Retrozap
Runtime: 31 minutes
Audio Quality: Excellent
Production Quality: Excellent
Hosts: Dennis, and Jay
Rating: Good

Rebel Force Radio: Mythological Blueprint for The Rise of Skywalker features special guest John Marcoux as he breaks down TROS and dives deep into some nice mythological connections. He goes through Rey’s journey in the film and proposes that the main theme is “Who is Rey?” He hits on all the beats where that theme is brought up and brings up some great points and observations. He talks about Rey facing her shadow self, her moment of weakness, her declaration of self, and the three mythic settings the story visits (heaven, the underworld, and the sea). Plus John goes into Kumbha mela and it’s connections to the Aki-Aki festival in the film. John’s discussion is a must listen. Afterwards they talk about TCW and the new trailer. Great episode.

Podcast Network: Evergreen Podcasts
Runtime: 2 hours 29 minutes
Audio Quality: Excellent
Production Quality: Excellent
Hosts: Jason, and Jimmy
Rating: Great

Scavenger’s Hoard: Episode 130 they talk about the Taika Waititi rumor, The Mandalorian, Force bonds, dyads, and listener emails. Good episode.

Podcast Network: N/A
Runtime: 1 hour 8 minutes
Audio Quality: Excellent
Production Quality: Excellent
Hosts: Kirsty, and Rachael
Rating: Good

Skywalking Through Neverland: Episode 274 they go over the new trailer for Star Wars: The Clone Wars, they talk about Galaxy’s Edge at Walt Disney World, and they go over their experience on the new Rise of the Resistance ride. Plus they talk to others about their thoughts on the ride. They wrap up with other Star Wars news. Good episode. Excellent coverage of the new ride.

Podcast Network: Skynet
Runtime: 1 hour 31 minutes
Audio Quality: Excellent
Production Quality: Excellent
Hosts: Richard, and Sarah
Rating: Good

Star Wars 7×7: Episode 2028 goes over the fifth box office weekend for TROS.

Podcast Network: N/A
Runtime: 7 minutes
Audio Quality: Excellent
Production Quality: Excellent
Host: Allen Voivod
Rating: Good

Star Wars 7×7: Episode 2030 goes over the Obi-Wan rumors.

Podcast Network: N/A
Runtime: 9 minutes
Audio Quality: Excellent
Production Quality: Excellent
Host: Allen Voivod
Rating: Good

Star Wars 7×7: Episode 2031 goes over Ewan McGregor’s response to the Obi-Wan news.

Podcast Network: N/A
Runtime: 7 minutes
Audio Quality: Excellent
Production Quality: Excellent
Host: Allen Voivod
Rating: Good

Star Wars 7×7: Episode 2032 is an update on Star Wars Celebration Anaheim.

Podcast Network: N/A
Runtime: 7 minutes
Audio Quality: Excellent
Production Quality: Excellent
Host: Allen Voivod
Rating: Good

Star Wars 7×7: Episode 2033 goes over the sixth box office weekend for The Rise of Skywalker.

Podcast Network: N/A
Runtime: 7 minutes
Audio Quality: Excellent
Production Quality: Excellent
Host: Allen Voivod
Rating: Good

TechnoRetro Dads: Is the Wheel of Fortune in Jeopardy? they talk about commercials, game shows, share some jokes, then really dive into game shows and their favorite ones as kids. They also talk Marvel Star Wars comics for The Empire Strikes Back. Fun episode.

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

The Deucecast Movie Show: Episode 415 features special guest Burgess as they play a movie game then discuss their surprise delights from 2019 (ie. films that were surprisingly good). Fun movie discussion.

Podcast Network: Retrozap
Runtime: 1 hour 21 minutes
Audio Quality: Excellent
Production Quality: Excellent
Hosts: Dave, Mikey, and Dr. Earl
Rating: Fun

The Living Force: Episode 40 first they go over some listener book reviews, then they dive into the book Queen’s Shadow. They talk about the handmaidens, Bail, Clovis and consent, Padme’s name, the incorporated deleted scenes, and more. Great discussion. This is part one of their Queen’s Shadow coverage.

Podcast Network: N/A
Runtime: 1 hour 19 minutes
Audio Quality: Excellent
Production Quality: Excellent
Host: Charles, Cory, and Eric
Rating: Great

The Sandcrawler: Episode 88 features guest Jake as they talk about rumors, The Mandalorian, Mandalorian merch, Star Wars gifts, and the best and worst Star Wars toys of 2019. Good episode.

Podcast Network: Star Wars Commonwealth
Runtime: 2 hours 34 minutes
Audio Quality: Excellent
Production Quality: Excellent
Host: Dan, and Mac
Rating: Good

Wookiee Radio: Episode 142 they talk about the Bulid-a-Bear baby Yoda, Star Wars Resistance, Millennium Falcon fries, the Jar Jar rumor, Project Luminous, Galaxy’s Edge and other news.

Podcast Network: We Be Geeks Network
Runtime: 1 hour 58 minutes
Audio Quality: Great
Production Quality: Great
Hosts: Derrick, Ken, and Mike
Rating: Good

Wookiee Radio: Episode 143 no Derrick in this episode but they do have on guests David, Gwendy, and Jason, the hosts of Followers of the Force. First they play a Star Wars Family Feud game, then they talk about their podcast, Dungeons & Dragons, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and the proposed film series to be set 100’s of years before the prequels. Fun episode.

Podcast Network: We Be Geeks Network
Runtime: 1 hour 10 minutes
Audio Quality: Good
Production Quality: Good
Hosts: Derrick, Ken, and Mike
Rating: Fun