Tosche Station Radio #137: The Force Awakens Review Special

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Brian from EUCantina and Jay from Eleven-ThirtyEight join us this week to do only one thing: review The Force Awakens. We dispense with the usual format and dive straight in to discuss the characters, plot, music, and more.

Tosche Station Radio is the official podcast of Tosche-Station.net and a part of Majestic Giraffe Productions. If you like what you hear, please leave a review on the iTunes Music Store. We can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.

Nanci and Brian are the co-founders and writers of Tosche-Station.net. You can find Nanci on Twitter with the handle @Nancipants and you can find Brian with @LaneWinree.

This podcast has been brought to you in part by Her Universe and your support on Patreon!

Tosche Station Radio #136: 1,143 Days

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This week on Tosche Station Radio, we take a look back at just how we got to The Force Awakens.

Kicking off the show, the hosts highlight What’s New on the Blog. Our Return of the Jedi live commentary track is up! We already have some cool guests line up for our eventual The Force Awakens live commentary. In Rebels: Brian reviewed Stealth Strike and Saf reviewed The Future of the ForceIn comics, Bria reviewed Chewbacca #4, Darth Vader #13, Shattered Empire, Star Wars #13, and the Star Wars annual. She also reviewed The Perfect Weapon by Delilah S. Dawson, one of the Journey to The Force Awakens short stories. Continuing her coverage from PAX Aus, Saf interviewed Jason Anarchy of the game Drinking Quest. Last week, we started our TFA hopes series as a lead up to the release of The Force Awakens. Each day, one of our staff writers has been describing what they hope to see most in The Force Awakens. Finally, we posted our first episode of Of Dice and Droids, our new tabletop podcast. The game will get started in January.

In Fixer’s Flash, Nanci finished Nanowrimo. She also finished reading Blackbirds by Chuck Wendig. Brian has been spending a lot of time Google Cardboard and playing Battlefront. Additionally, Brian and Nanci were guests on Rogue Podron! Give it a listen.

Deak’s Dirt starts with news that Rebels was renewed for a third season! Also, the cover was revealed for Aftermath: Life Debt.

There’s a whole bunch of TFA and film news in Biggs’ Bull$#&!. Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher appeared on various network shows. Omaze contest to win a trip to the premiere and the Mark Hamill video was delightful.  The TFA press junket is underway, and there was a big event in LA. (listen courtesy of Full of Sith). There’s a Nnew Behind the Scenes “Legacy” featurette. Additionally, #TwitterAwakens and there was a Chinese Trailer featuring a whole bunch of X-WINGS

This week on Camie’s Concerns, we wanted to give you something special to listen to while in line for The Force Awakens. Hosts Nanci and Brian look back at the major events in the Star Wars fandom since the sale of Lucasfilm to Disney three years ago. A whole lot has happened, and it’s been a pretty wild ride to get where we are today.

Tosche Station Radio is the official podcast of Tosche-Station.net and a part of Majestic Giraffe Productions. If you like what you hear, please leave a review on the iTunes Music Store. We can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.

Nanci and Brian are the co-founders and writers of Tosche-Station.net. You can find Nanci on Twitter with the handle @Nancipants and you can find Brian with @LaneWinree.

This podcast has been brought to you in part by Her Universe and your support on Patreon!

Star Wars: Return of the Badass Normal

There’s a reason my original VHS copy of Return of the Jedi pretty much has a hole burned through the Battle of Endor. I watched that starfighter battle on repeat so many times our VHS player eventually ripped the cassette to shreds. The Falcon, X-wings, Y-wings, A-wings, and B-wings flying through capital ships in a massive fight to end the second Death Star and the Empire.

And not a single Jedi among them.

The pilots and soldiers of the Rebellion have always held a special place in my heart. For me, they were the most relatable. They were the heroes I pretended to be when I was running around on the playground or was playing with Action Fleet toys. I didn’t want to be the magical and mystical Jedi. I wanted to be the unassuming hero behind the flightstick and navigating through a starfield. My favorite video games growing up were the ones that put me behind the controls of a starfighter: X-Wing, TIE Fighter, Rogue Squadron, X-Wing Alliance. My favorite books were the X-Wing novels by Mike Stackpole and (the late, wonderful, superb) Aaron Allston.

All of these things- the games, the books, the scenes in the movie- had one thing in common. They all featured the Badass Normal.

The Badass Normal is a character or characters who stand out despite no special powers or destiny. They show up, they kick ass, they get the job done, all in the shadow of the Big Damn Heroes. No one exemplifies this more than the illustrious Wedge Antilles. Shows up in the original three films, is always calm and collected, and understands that his mission is to just get the job done. I want to see that in Star Wars again. I want to see the normal character who goes to work that I can relate to.

Maybe in this film, that Badass Normal is Poe Dameron. If not him, perhaps it’s Jessika Pava. How great would a gender-swapped Wedge-type character be? If nothing else, I want to see a return of the kind of character that was missed in the Prequel Trilogy. Not a Jedi, or a Queen, or a genetically engineered super soldier clone. I want to see someone like me, that feels so passionately for a cause they volunteer and put their lives on the line with nothing more than a blaster or an X-wing to keep them safe.

These Badass Normal characters are what keep Star Wars grounded for me. The first time I see a squadron of pilots in X-wings in this film, I know I’m going to get emotional.

Tosche Station Radio: Return of the Jedi Live Commentary

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Our sixth installment in Tosche Station Radio’s live commentary track series brings us to Return of the Jedi. Joining us this time around are Grace, Sarah, and Jawa James himself.

Instructions!

  • We will be using the Blu Ray discs for these recordings. The recently released digital copies will also work
  • Each recording will start at the 00:00:00 mark (the black screen before the Fox fanfare appear)
  • We will give a “3, 2, 1, play” count. When we say play, that’s your cue to start the film

A note on this recording: For some reason, the RotJ BR features two Fox fanfares (Sequence is black screen, Fox fanfare, blue PG rating screen, black screen, Fox fanfare). We will be starting on the black screen right before the second fanfare.

Sit back and enjoy!

Tosche Station Radio is the official podcast of Tosche-Station.net and a part of Majestic Giraffe Productions. If you like what you hear, please leave a review on the iTunes Music Store. We can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.

Nanci and Brian are the co-founders and writers of Tosche-Station.net. You can find Nanci on Twitter with the handle @Nancipants and you can find Brian with @LaneWinree.

This podcast has been brought to you in part by Her Universe and your support on Patreon!

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Quick and Dirty Impressions: Jakku Spy and Google Cardboard Drops you in the GFFA

A little earlier this week, I got a nifty surprise courtesy of Lucasfilm and Verizon: a set of four Star Wars-themed Google Cardboard viewers. I’ve been reading about this initiative from Google for a while. The Virtual Reality scene seems poised to explode, with development initiatives such as Occulus VR and Samsung Gear VR aiming to bring the science fiction future we’ve been dreaming about since Tron to your home.

Kylo, BB-8, Stormtrooper, and Artoo designs

Kylo, BB-8, Stormtrooper, and Artoo designs

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Review – Star Wars Rebels: Stealth Strike

rebels logoHow do you please totally disparate segments of fandom all at the same time? You write Stealth Strike.

There’s a little something for everyone here. Rex reliving his military days and putting on his Big Damn Hero pants. One former clone trooper against an entire starship worth of stormtroopers? Sign me up. Kanan confronting the ghosts of his past by being forced to trust Rex? Check. A loving nod to the Death Star corridor chases? Yup. An Interdictor on trial runs that hearkens back to classic Expanded Universe material? Double check.

I’ve called Rebels a bridge series several times. It’s designed to be a link to the past, present, and future. This episode is full of nods to The Clone Wars, but its triumph is a brilliant homage to the Death Star escape in A New Hope. Corridor chases, sneaking around to disable critical infrastructure. You can show this to a young fan that’s new to Star Wars, ask them if they enjoyed it, and when they respond affirmatively you tell them you’ve got a great movie to show them.

That’s the brilliance of Stealth Strike and Rebels as a whole.

I could do a more detailed plot breakdown of this episode, but the plot really is secondary in this episode. We see some new Imperial tech, we get a fun rescue adventure, but what’s important is this episode is a 22-minute textbook example of Rebels succeeding at one of its most important goals.

Miscellaneous notes:

  • Ezra really is a whole lot more tolerable and entertaining when he isn’t acting like he’s deserving of Sabine’s attention and affection. When he’s doing his job, he’s great.
  • I need a gif of Rex shaking his boo-tay trying to fit into stormtrooper armor.
  • How cool was that shot of the Interdictor collapsing on itself? Extremely cool.
  • Chopper: sadistic droid or most sadistic droid?

Of Dice and Droids #0: Roll For Introductions

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Welcome to Of Dice and Droids, an all-new Star Wars tabletop RPG podcast here at Tosche Station. Nanci and Brian are joined by players Sho, Jay, Rocky, Saf and Game Master Tom for an adventure-filled trip into the Galaxy Far, Far Away.

This is a special introductory Episode Zero where we’ll introduce ourselves and our characters, provide an overview on tabletop gaming, the mechanics used by the Fantasy Flight Star Wars RPG games, answer some reader questions, and provide the first glimpse at the campaign.

Come back January 8th as we kick off the campaign!

This podcast has been brought to you in part by Her Universe and your support on Patreon!

Introducing Of Dice and Droids

diceWelcome to Of Dice and Droids, a brand new podcast project here at Tosche Station!

So what exactly is this? Well, it’s is a podcast that will be all about pen and paper Star Wars RPGs. We’ll be talking about the mechanics of tabletop gaming, how to put a campaign together, how to play, and answering questions from listeners. The centerpiece, though, is an actual campaign that we’ll be recording for a twice-monthly podcast.

A few months back, I had tossed the idea of doing a Star Wars tabletop podcast into the winds of Twitter after watching some old episodes of Penny Arcade’s endlessly entertaining Acquisitions Incorporated, the live D&D game they play at PAX Prime and PAX East. The concept of doing a show where a small group of friends create their own adventure for an audience was compelling to me, and as you’ll see below, was compelling to a few other people.

This podcast is going to have something for everyone. If you want to learn how to play the Fantasy Flight Star Wars RPGs, we’ll go over the how-tos. If you just want an original (totally non-canon) Star Wars story being put together by six creative players and one awesome GM, we’ve got you covered. So even if you have no desire to ever play yourself, we hope you’ll stick around just to enjoy what promises to be a supremely entertaining adventure.

Without further ado, the players:

  • Brian Larsen: Editor here at Tosche Station
  • Nanci Schwartz: Editor here at Tosche Station
  • Sho: Contributor here at Tosche Station
  • Jay: Contributor at 1138
  • Rocky: Contributor at 1138
  • Saf: Contributor here at Tosche Station and at every fansite in the multiverse

We are extremely fortunate to have Darth Internous himself, Tom from Del Rey, serving as our Game Master. He has crafted an original campaign for us that will kick off during Return of the Jedi. Tom is a long-time tabletop player and GM. Now, what is this original campaign you might ask? Well, it will be utilizing the Age of Rebellion Rulebook, but what you’re going to find interesting is the name of the campaign: The End of All Things. Episode I will be Darkness on the Edge of Town.

The players have been split into two parties. The first party consisting of myself, Nanci, and Rocky are with the Rebel Alliance. The second party consisting of Jay, Sho, and Saf are hired mercenaries. Each month we’ll be recording two episodes (schedule permitting). One episode will center around the Rebels, and the other episode will center around the mercs. Tom will be GMing both groups.

Later today, we’ll post our special Episode Zero show, which is very much an introduction and workshopping episode that’ll give you an idea of what goes into creating the campaign and characters. You’ll get to meet the players and GM and learn a little about the story we’ll be telling.

Tentatively, the first actual episode is set to be recorded on January 8th.

We don’t want to give away everything, but Tom did write up an opening crawl as a teaser…

THE END OF ALL THINGS

EPISODE I: DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN

The Galactic Civil War endures. As Imperial and Rebel forces engage each other in conflicts great and small across the galaxy, pockets of peace are scarce.

Conflict brings opportunity. Crime cartels and gangs – operating at the Edge of the Empire struggle for control, playing both sides of the war and filling power vacuums where they can.

Far into the Outer Rim, the lone desert planet of Tatooine sits on the brink of chaos after the death of Jabba the Hutt. Eager to display strength, the Hutts offer intel on valuable technology that could sway the balance of power in the war….

Tosche Station Radio #135: You Sunk My Battlefront

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This week on Tosche Station Radio, Tom from Del Rey joins us to discuss Battlefront!

Kicking off the show the hosts highlight What’s New on the Blog.  Rounding up the last few episodes of Rebels, Brian reviewed Brothers of the Broken Horn, Nanci reviewed Wings of the Master, and Bria reviewed Blood Sisters. Bria also told us why Katooni should be in RebelsWe’ve got a bunch of comic reviews, as per usual. Bria reviewed Chewbacca #3, Darth Vader #12, Star Wars #12, Kanan #8, and the first issue of Vader Down #1Saf was at PAX Australia, and she interviewed Hollow Night’s William Pellen.  Matthew previewed the 2016 LEGO Star Wars sets.

Fixer’s Flash covers the latest geek things we’ve been up to. Nanci is still neck-deep in NaNoWriMo. Brian’s been playing Fallout 4 and Battlefront. Tom? Battlefront and Halo.

From there we discuss the latest news in Deak’s Dirt, we say goodbye to  Star Wars Weekends. . In Biggs’ Bull#&@*, we talk the four new TFA TV spots and the EW cover story.

This week on Camie’s Concerns, Tom and Brian give their impressions of DICE’s Star Wars: Battlefront.

Tosche Station Radio is the official podcast of Tosche-Station.net and a part of Majestic Giraffe Productions. If you like what you hear, please leave a review on the iTunes Music Store. We can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.

Nanci and Brian are the co-founders and writers of Tosche-Station.net. You can find Nanci on Twitter with the handle @Nancipants and you can find Brian with @LaneWinree.

This podcast has been brought to you in part by Her Universe and your support on Patreon!