Category Archives: SWEU

Trope Tuesday: The Charmer

Posted on by

It’s been a while since we’ve done one of these, but let’s get back to it. Welcome to another installment of Trope Tuesday, where we take a look at the literary devices and themes that make our favorite entertainment chug along. This week, we’re featuring The Charmer.

The Jack-The-Lad. Cocky, cheeky and devil-may-care, he’s the type of guy you can’t help but like, even as he’s wrapping you around his little finger. Especially if you’re a woman — mostofthe time — and The Charmer knows this all too well. As a result, if there’s a file he wants to see in a filing cabinet guarded by a pretty secretary, all he has to do is switch on his easy smile, and he has not only the file he wants, but also the secretary’s phone number.

There’s definitely a hint of the The Casanova about him, but he’s generally a lot kinder, more decent and less concerned solely with getting his end away; where the The Casanova would ultimately do anything, no matter how underhanded, to score a conquest, only to discard her once he’s achieved his pleasure, The Charmer knows what the limits are. He certainly doesn’t mind the fact that he can have any woman he wants, but he’d never stoop so low as actually take advantage, and is often a lot more chivalrous in his dealing with women. The Charmer generally doesn’t set out to break hearts; it just seems to be an unfortunate byproduct. But even if he’s Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places, The Charmer‘s usually too relaxed in his lifestyle to really consider changing.

Also, where sex is the The Casanova‘s ultimate driving goal, with The Charmer it’s usually a welcome extra; he often has bigger fish to fry, and ultimately knows his priorities

One could argue that Han Solo fits into this category, but to really find who in Star Wars fits the Charmer bill, you have to dive into the Expanded Universe. The character that best personifies this trope?

Wes Janson. Rogue, sharpshooter, Charmer.

Outside of the Star Wars universe, you see characters like The A-Team’s Face or Starbuck from the original Battlestar Galactica. Wow. Dirk Bennedict pretty much personified this trope. You’ve got Rick Castle from Castle and occasionally Dean Winchester from Supernatural slides into this trope. Of course, how can you forget Captain Jack Harkness, the rare bisexual (omnisexual?) example of the trope.

The Charmer has to be executed with care. Done right, it can be an amusing character trait, but go overboard and you will venture into extremely off-putting territory.

Catch Nanci and Brian at Celebration VI

Posted on by

As you may have noticed, both Nanci and I are going to be at Celebration VI this year. We’re always up to meeting people from around the fandom and putting faces to online handles. If you’re going to be at CVI, feel free to stop us and say hi! We’ll even have some Tosche Station swag to hand out.

Here’s our tentative schedule!

Thursday:

  • 11am-12 – StarWars.com and Beyond with Leland Chee, Katie Cook, Steve Sansweet, and Ashley Eckstein (Collecting Stage/W303 ABC)
  • 1:30-2:30 – Dark Horse Comics Looks Ahead: 2013 (Behind the Scenes Stage/W414 ABCD)
  • 2:30-3:30 – It’s a Trap Puppetmasters Rose & Quinn (Digital Stage/W415 A)
  • 5-6 – Ian McDiarmid (Celebration Stage/Chapin Theatre)
  • 6-7 – Timothy Zahn Retrospective (Behind the Scenes Stage/W414 ABCD)

Friday:

  • 10:30-11:30 – What’s Coming from Del Rey (Behind the Scenes Stage/W414 ABCD)
  • 12-1 – Super Secret Star Wars Panel with Todd, Seth, and Matt (Celebration Stage/Chapin Theatre)
  • 2:30-3:30 – Laying Down Tracks – Writing Workshop with Aaron Allston (Star Wars University/W300)
  • 3:30-4:30 – Star Wars Obscure Character Faceoff (Fan Stage/W311 ABCD)
  • 4-5 – Planning Your Star Wars Wedding* (Star Wars University/W300)
  • 7:30-8:30 – Mark Hamill** (Celebration Stage/Chapin Theatre)
*Provided Nanci is feeling girly
**Prepare to queue early

Saturday:

  • 11-12 – The Clone Wars with Dave Filoni and Joel Aron (Digital Stage/W415 A)
  • 12-12:45 – Future of Star Wars in 3D (Digital Stage/W415 A)
  • 2-3 – Fakin’ It – Writing Workshop with Timothy Zahn (Star Wars University/W300)
  • 4:30-5:30 – Behind the Scenes of the Cantina (Behind the Scenes Stage/W414 ABCD)
  • 6-9 – Talking to Myself and Date with a Princess (Celebration Stage/Chapin Theatre)

Sunday:

  • 10:30-11:30 – Why We Love the Prequels (Behind the Scenes Stage/W414 ABCD)
  • 11:30-12:30 – Warwick Davis (Celebration Stage/Chapin Theatre)
  • 1-2 -Star Wars in 60 Minutes (Celebration Stage/Chapin Theatre)
  • 2:30-3:30 – Closing Ceremonies (Digital Stage/W415 A)

Replace the Catsuit: Art Entry from Fiona

Posted on by

With five days left to submit entries for our Replace Mara’s Catsuit contest, reader Fiona has sent in another great art piece for consideration. Fiona says that she wanted to see some color on Mara. Something other than shiny, black leather. We couldn’t agree more, and we love what you’ve sent in.

What I’m really enjoying about all of the entries so far is that they’re emphasizing functionality over the sexy factor. Mara Jade was the Emperor’s Hand, a trained espionage specialist. She would be wearing outfits in public that wouldn’t draw attention to herself. On the battlefield and while at work she would be wearing things that better allow her to do her job. You know. Things with sleeves to hide holdout blasters. Pockets for battery packs and comlinks. Clothing that promotes mobility.

The leather catsuit? Yeah. It provides exactly zero of these things.

Thanks for submitting Fiona! Remember everyone, you’ve got until August 15th to submit your entry to win one of our prizes.

While we’re on the topic of Mara’s wardrobe, be sure to head over to Club Jade to check out some fantastic Mara art that will be featured in the upcoming Reader’s Companion. No catsuit!

Contest: Replace The Catsuit

Posted on by

Somebody give that poor woman some sleeves

We love Mara Jade. She’s smart, she’s snarky, she’s a BAMF to the highest degree.

There’s one thing about Mara we don’t like, however. Nanci and I have talked about this during the podcast before: we hate the wardrobe she’s constantly portrayed in. Specifically, the catsuit. By the Gods of Kobol, we hate the catsuit. It’s objectifying, it’s demeaning. Mara’s a character whose innate personality makes her engaging. She doesn’t need to wear a skintight outfit that’s woefully ill-suited to combat to get fans to like her.

Unfortunately, no one listens to us (which is probably a good thing). Mara will continue to wear that awful outfit in every piece of art and every action figure until the end of time. Unless, perhaps, you speak up.

That’s why Tosche Station is holding a contest to raise awareness for poor Mara Jade’s lousy wardrobe. All you have to do is replace the catsuit!

Here’s what we’re looking for: 

We want to see you, our reading and listening audience, portray Mara in something more appropriate. Bring on the Jedi robes! Bring on the flightsuits! Bring on the flight jackets and trousers! Bring on some kind of outfit that might actually make sense for Mara Jade to wear!

We’re looking to take everything from fanart to costumes and cosplay. If it shows Mara wearing something that isn’t the catsuit, send it our way.

Have fun with this, and remember, we want to see something that doesn’t objectify her like the catsuit does.

The Prize

Like we said, this is a contest! Which means there’s going to be a winner, a runner up, and some fabulous prizes given to the best costume and art submitted.

  • First Prize: A copy of Allegiance and Choices of One by Timothy Zahn
  • Runner-up: A paperback copy of Allegiance

Submit a picture of your costume or your fanart by August 15th via Twitter, Facebook, or the e-mail address on the sidebar. For the costumers in the crowd, consider this a tuneup for convention season this summer. Everyone who does submit something will have their work featured in their own post on the blog. 

Hop to it, Mara fans!

Entries:

Mercy Kill Review Roundup From Around the Blogosphere

Posted on by

The reviews are in, and it looks like Mercy Kill is faring very well with readers around the blogosphere. We’ve gathered up some of the reviews and impressions from various Expanded Universe fansites and personalities. As always, venture into the reviews at your own risk if you haven’t read the book yet! If you’ve got a review you’d like us to add to this list, feel free to leave a comment in this post.

So. Have you picked up your copy of Mercy Kill yet?

What Celebration VI Events are you Looking Forward to?

Posted on by

After the whirldwind that was fandom news yesterday, today has been a little more … dry. As is usually the case when there’s nothing else to talk about, we here at Tosche Station crowdsource the content to you! This week, we want your input on Celebration VI. Just what are you looking forward to? Leave a comment or reply to the tweet below and we’ll add your response to the list.

 

To the jump!

Continue reading →

Replace Mara’s Catsuit: Art Entry from Louis

Posted on by

Time’s ticking down until the end of our Replace Mara’s Catsuit contest! Reader Louis sends in another art entry for consideration. His description:

Hey there, just sending along my entry for the Catsuit competition. You’ll find attached to this the entry image, with it I was going for something grounded in the real world to some extent. The main inspiration was the Mongol culture, whose renowned military history for a combination of abominable acts of destruction combined with tactical genius and efficiency seemed to be the same kind of ideals the Empire would instil in it’s top agents most of all. Not to mention that Mara Jade’s green eyes and red hair are a relative genetic regularity in the Steppe tribes, making the match seem even more perfect. With the costume then I looked at common modes of dress and armour from that culture’s history and interpreted that through Star Wars, giving Mara shoulder and leg armour plates and shoes she’s grabbed from Stormtrooper’s gear complimented with a Corellian-style jump suit and a nice cape, because you can’t be a Jedi or Sith without something long and flowing to catch the wind.

Thanks for submitting, Louis! Remember, you’ve got until the 15th to enter.

While we’re on the topic of Mara and the catsuit, be sure to check out Club Jade’s newest column that brilliantly articulates just why we have a problem with it.

Tosche Station Radio #26: Heavy Meta

Posted on by

Logo

Play in new window | Download
On this week’s Tosche Station Radio, we’re joined by author, filmmaker, and Star Wars fan Bryan Young!

Kicking off the show, we highlight new Replace Mara’s Catsuit entries from kataja, Ellen, Bria, and Robert. Brian looked back at Isard’s Revenge and Emily wrapped up our series of X-Wing retrospectives with a fond review of Starfighters of Adumar.

In Fixer’s Flash, both Brian and Nanci have been pretty wrapped up with the Olympics. Nanci did find some time to read The Gathering Flame, the prequel to the Mageworlds trilogy. She also finished her Mirax costume! Brian apologized for live-tweeting the US Women National Soccer Team’s match versus Canada. Over the weekend he jumped into Marvel’s Siege comic arc and started reading Mageworlds again. He also spent the latter part of the weekend nervously watching NASA’s seven minutes of terror.

Deak’s Dirt opens with news that Brian and Nanci are thrilled about. X-Wing: Mercy Kill, the long-awaited tenth novel in the series, has hit bookshelves!  In Celebration VI news, badges were revealed, Warwick Davis was confirmed, the We Love Prequels panel is returning, and the full schedule has finally been revealed. The Old Republic was recently confirmed as going free-to-play, but Brian’s unsure if this is good news for the game. Rounding out the news, Brian and Nanci are pumped that NASA successfully landed Curiosity.

This week’s Camie’s Concerns features author and Star Wars fan Bryan Young. The hosts and Bryan talk his writing and filmmaking career, his love of nerd culture, and all sorts of Star Wars related topics. Bryan dives in and discusses the previous Celebration conventions he’s been at and what you can expect from his Why We Love the Prequels panel. Be sure to check out his novels like Operation: Montauk and Lost at the Con! You can find Bryan at Big Shiny Robot, Bryan Young Fiction, The Huffington Post, and on Twitter.

This time around in Wormie’s Works, Nanci highlights Kate Blankenship’s brilliant Endor Leia costume and Brian cheats and highlights the great costume and art entries submitted to our Replace Mara’s Catsuit contest. Rounding out the show, Brian and Nanci take questions from listeners.

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.

X-Wing: Mercy Kill Review (No Spoilers)

Posted on by

It’s been thirteen long years but Expanded Universe readers can finally get their hands on a brand new X-Wing novel and wow is this book worth the wait.  Mercy Kill helps put the fun back into the galaxy far far away and does so with a typical Allston flourish.

Mercy Kill is set after Fate of the Jedi in a galaxy where Wraith Squadron hasn’t existed for a few years.  But there’s a general who’s clearly been up to no good and that calls for Face Loran to reassemble the Wraiths to take care of business.

Continue reading →