Category Archives: Star Wars

Tosche Station Radio #30: The Next Generation

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Tosche-Station.net writers Emily and Bria join the hosts this week for an in-depth roundtable discussion of X-Wing: Mercy Kill!

We kick off the show with some housekeeping. Wormie’s Works will be moving off the podcast and onto the blog as a regular Friday feature. Meanwhile on the blog itself, we’re having Cosplay Week by Bria. She’s highlighting some of the best costumes spotted at Dragon*Con and Celebration VI. So far we’ve seen Mary Poppins, the Hapan Queens, Darth Talon and Cade Skywalker, as well as the all-new Captain Marvel. We also introduced the gender-swapped Wraith Squadron with a bonus appearance by Aaron Allston.

In Fixer’s Flash this week, Nanci’s been busy watching Captain America: The First Avenger and getting into Avatar: The Last Airbender (FINALLY). Brian finished up Marvel’s Siege comic arc and is reading through War of the Seasons by all-around awesome human being Janine Spendlove. Emily is up to her eyeballs in her dissertation, but has found time to watch the brilliant Slings and Arrows television series. Bria’s found time between costuming to get into a decent vampire novel.

Deak’s Dirt starts with news of a survey sent out to Celebration VI attendees that asks where you’d like to see a future Celebration held at. Brian and Nanci are still in favor of Orlando. Emily is very excited about the title of the new Star Trek film. The hosts implore readers to pre-order Pablo Hidalgo’s Essential Reader’s Companion for a mere $20. Meanwhile, Bria’s thrilled that Joss Whedon is coming back to television with a S.H.I.E.L.D series.

This week’s Camie’s Concerns looks into X-Wing: Mercy Kill by Aaron Allston, the first entry in that series in thirteen years. This spoiler-filled roundtable discussion dives into the plot and setting before spending the bulk of the time discussing the returning characters and new additions to the franchise.

Wrapping up the show, the hosts field questions in our Ask us Anything segment.

Tosche Station Radio is the official podcast of Tosche-Station.net and a part of the Solo Sound network. If you like what you hear, please leave a review on the iTunes Music Store or the Zune Marketplace. 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.

Cosplay Week: Darth Talon and Cade Skywalker

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We have more Star Wars costumes for today’s edition of Cosplay Week from Celebration VI!  Unlike yesterday, we actually don’t know who these costumers are and this particular picture was snagged from Jan Duursema’s Facebook so if you know who they are, shout out!

Edit: You can find Darth Talon’s Facebook page here and Cade’s here. Great costumes, guys!

Take a look at these two perfect Darth Talon and Cade Skywalker costumers who look like they could’ve stepped right off the pages from the Legacy comics.  The body pain on Talon is perfectly done and I’m incredibly impressed by the tattoos and the chest armor on Cade.

Pre-order the ‘Essential Reader’s Companion’ for $20

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While at Celebration VI, Erich Schoeneweiss of Del Rey was kind enough to show Nanci and myself a laser print of the upcoming Essential Reader’s Companion by Pablo Hidalgo. I’ll just get right to the point: this book is an absolute must buy for any Expanded Universe fan. The art is gorgeous and plentiful. Pablo’s writing is fantastic. This is a book that needs to be on your bookshelf.

Need a little more incentive? If you pre-order ERC now, you can get it for only $20.

Trope Tuesday: Became Their Own Antithesis

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After a few weeks off, Trope Tuesday is back! Each Tuesday (provided I’m not being lazy) we dive into that time sink in the cloud known as TV Tropes and investigate a literary theme or device that makes our favorite entertainment chug along. This week, we’re looking at how a character can Become Their Own Antithesis.

After Character Development, some people regress into a vulnerable state. Others become betterpeople, somebecome much worse, and others turn into a fragile, highly poetic and a bit irrational version of themselves.

Another group of people tend to reject everything that seemed to define their identity for the viewer, their appearance, their values, their main quirk, and their general attitude towards The Hero, Save The World, and Good Versus Evil. Then, they manage to become a negative picture of themselves, the complete antithesis of what they formerly were known for. This is this trope.

The trope is mostly used to make a Face Heel Turn more dramatic, using The Dark Side Will Make You Forget, but can also serve the other way around, to prove how much someone can better himself when under the influence of Good.

Now who can relate to this trope? Someone that was compassionate at one point, but became a vile and inhumane person? Someone whose love of all living things was tossed away? Someone who …

Well that works.

Gender Swapped Wraith Squadron

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You’ve heard us talk about it before and you’ve even seen a teaser picture but now, direct from Dragon*Con, we bring you the Gender Swapped Wraith Squadron featuring, yes that’s right, some of the Tosche Station staff!  We had an absolute blast getting the group together especially since we got to chat with the one and only Aaron Allston after a panel as the Wraiths.

Allston's Wraiths

The Wraiths with their creator!  Check out the rest of the photoshoot after the jump!

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Cosplay Week: The Hapan Queens

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Cosplay Week continues here at Tosche Station with not one, not two, but three costumes today!  Not only are we featuring one of the best Tenel Ka costumes but also a Teneniel Djo and a Ta’a Chume!  That’s right: the entire line of Hapan Queens live and in person!  Heather, one half of Zhobot, as Tenel Ka Djo, Jesse as Teneniel, and Jean as Ta’a Chume.

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Tosche Station Radio #29: Dragon*Con Special

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On this week’s Tosche Station Radio, we’re recapping Dragon*Con 2012 and attempting to recover from Con Plague!

Kicking off the show, Nanci highlight’s what’s new on the blog. There was all sorts of convention coverage that you can find in the archives. Brian bought a toy at Celebration VI that made him cry. Meanwhile, Bria looked into gender-swapped cosplay. Yes, there’s even a picture of us in costume at Dragon*Con.

In Deak’s Dirt, news dropped that ABC has officially picked up a pilot for a Joss Whedon-led S.H.I.E.L.D television series. In other TV news, The Clone Wars is heading for syndication and airing in chronological order. Finally, Lucasfilm President and COO Micheline Chau is retiring and will be replaced by Kathleen Kennedy on an interim basis.

This week’s Camie’s Concerns looks back at the hosts’ visit to Dragon*Con 2012, highlighting the sights and sounds of the four-day fan convention. They spend a lot of time talking about three Expanded Universe panels featuring authors Aaron Allston, Michael Stackpole, Timothy Zahn, and Kevin J. Anderson. Will they ever go to back-to-back conferences again? Listen in and find out!

Wrapping up the show, the hosts dive into the Trope of the Week and answer questions from listeners and readers.

Tosche Station Radio is the official podcast of Tosche-Station.net and a part of the Solo Sound network. If you like what you hear, please leave a review on the iTunes Music Store or the Zune Marketplace. 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.

Darth Maul Returns Director’s Cut DVD to be Target-exclusive

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Jawajames over at Club Jade noticed that fans of Darth Maul may want to visit Target on September 11th to pick up an exclusive Director’s Cut edition of the Darth Maul Returns episodes from The Clone Wars. You’ll be able to pick up the four episodes for $10 through Target’s online store.

Season five itself will go onsale on DVD and Blu-ray on October 23.

Lucasfilm President Micheline Chau Retiring

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After nearly two decades with Lucasfilm, President and COO Micheline Chau is retiring. The Wrap reports that Kathleen Kennedy will serve as interim president and by the sounds of it, a reorganization of the company will occur on at least a temporary basis.

Kathleen Kennedy, who joined Lucasfilm as co-chairman in June, will serve as interim president. The heads of the various departments, such as Industrial Light & Magic animation, LucasArts (gaming) and licensing, will report to Kennedy for the time being.

The company has no plans to name an immediate replacement for the COO position.

If I were to wager a guess, the Interim tag will be removed from Kennedy before long.

News Station Bullies Star Wars Fans, Ashley Eckstein Not Amused

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And frankly, neither are we.

Earlier today, the good folks at the Star Wars Report alerted me to some rather lousy behavior by WPLG Local 10. Suggesting that someone dressed up in Jedi robes has their schedule built around Dungeons and Dragons. Really clever.* Sadly, I think as fans we’re all used to this kind of dismissive treatment. Even though I wrote about how baffling the disconnect between sports fandom (socially acceptable) and geek fandom (shun the weird people), this sort of behavior is something I just come to expect. That’s wrong of me, of course.

*And so what? Dungeons and Dragons is fun. 

Edit: This story has gotten long and crazy, so continue under the cut.

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