Tosche Station Radio #118: Scored

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Nancy and Sarah join the show this week to discuss the music of Star Wars!

Kicking off the show, the hosts highlight what’s New on the Blog. We had an anniversary, and Nanci blogged about the wedding. We started our new series, Legends Recs. Nanci proposed that if you like Rebels, you should read Wraith Squadron. It’s not on our blog, but Amy Ratcliffe did a bunch of write-ups about Star Wars Weekends and you should check them out. We also recapped Weekend 2. Finally, Why the Rebellion Leaders need to be in Rebels.

In Fixer’s Flash, Brian and Nanci have been busy with Star Wars Weekends, so check out our recaps!

Deak’s Dirt starts with news that TFN has ditched their restrictions on same sex relationships in fanfic. Gary Whitta is writing an episode of Rebels! Chuck Wendig was at Phoenix Comic Con this weekend, and he’ll also be at Dragon Con! Which is when Aftermath comes out. Speaking of books, Star Wars Reads Day is set for October 10! John Scalzi signs a monster $3.4 million, 10-year, 13-book contract with Tor

In Biggs’ Bull$#*&, there’s more Vanity Fair: This time we have interviews with Pablo Hidalgo and Kathleen Kennedy. Finally, we’ve learned that Andy Serkis IS Supreme Leader Snoke.

This week on Camie’s Concerns, our guests join us for a discussion of all things Star Wars music. We talk about ourfavorite themes, motifs, and everything in between!

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 Audible.com.

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Review: Princess Leia #4

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Did you think that Princess Leia #3 was too slow? Too formulaic? BOY DO I HAVE A COMIC FOR YOU THEN. Princess Leia #4 by Mark Waid and Terry Dodson is out in comic stores today and it DEFINITELY takes things up a notch.

Thus far, Leia’s mission to save her remaining Alderaanians have been successful with only a few bumps along the way. Problem is, they have an unknowing traitor in their midst in the form of young Tace and her sister Tula. Add in the reunification talks with Espirion and there’s a lot at stake for the remnants of Alderaan.

Waid manages to pack a lot into about twenty pages worth of story; enough that it’s rather impressive. This is one of those issues where we really get to see all the facets of Leia as a person and as a leader. It’s not hard to see the lessons learned from Breha and Bail about ruling by listening to your people and caring about them as opposed to being totalitarian. It’s fitting for a woman who carries the guilt of her planet’s destruction on her shoulders along with the responsibility for all those left.

Evaan has taken a bit of a more backseat these last two issues but she’s still definitely the standout new character in these books who will hopefully have a lot of staying power in this new canon. The evolution of her relationship with Leia has been absolutely fascinating to watch especially when contrasted with the other prominent Alderaanians featured in the book.

Terry Dodson’s art continues to be lovely and Jordie Bellaire’s colors elevate the book to whole new level of pretty. Everything about Tace’s hair and nails is just spot on perfection. Honestly, what else is there to say at this point?

Princess Leia #4 gets a strong 4/5 from me this month along with lots of anticipation for the finale issue.

Review: Darth Vader #6

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Last issue, I said that I wasn’t sure where Gillen was going with this but I was pretty sure I liked it. Good news. I liked it. Darth Vader #6 by Kieron Gillen and Salvador Larroca is in comic stores today and it should definitely be at the top of your pull list.

There will be spoilers for the issue in this review because it’s impossible not to discuss the issue without them.

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Review: Star Wars #6

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Happy Marvel Star Wars week! Star Wars #6 by Jason Aaron and John Cassaday arrives in comic stores today and heyyyyy look at that cover. Do you think Luke might be in trouble?

As a note, read this issue before this week’s Darth Vader.

Surprising to no one who read the previous issue, Luke’s definitely in trouble. The one and only Boba Fett has tracked him to Kenobi’s hut on Tatooine. Meanwhile, Leia and Han continue their scouting mission to find a new base for the Rebel Alliance. Unfortunately, things don’t quite go our heroes’ ways…

I feel like I say this about every issue but holy wow is this an issue where it’s incredibly apparently what a freaking blast Aaron and Cassaday are having with this book. It’s evident in every single panel and that elevates the book to the next level.

Fett Fans are going to love his fight with Luke. It’s refreshingly different then a lot of what we’ve seen before with either character. Plus, we also get to see Artoo being awesome. That little droid really is the hero the galaxy deserves. It’s storylines like these that make me so grateful for comic books as a medium because it’s awesome to actually get to see how the fight goes down between bounty hunter and the fledgling Jedi.

Han and Leia’s story takes a backseat again this issue but Aaron does throw in a few fun lines along with their banter. It’s also a great opportunity for Cassaday to draw a beautiful new planet that would’ve been a way better base then Hoth.

What intrigues me most about the book though isn’t so much what happens but rather how the fandom will react to the introduction of a new character. (Okay so I’m intrigued by the new character too.)

Star Wars #6 gets a 4/5 from me along with a continuing recommendation to pick it up.

Why The Rebellion Leaders Need to be in Rebels

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Rebel_Leaders

Season 1 of Star Wars Rebels didn’t pull any punches when it came to raising the stakes. The season finale, “Fire Across the Galaxy,” changed the landscape of the show in several ways. It killed off the Inquisitor, setting the stage for Darth Vader as the new Big Bad of the series. It revealed Ahsoka Tano as Fulcrum, Hera’s contact in the nascent Rebellion, and established her as a recurring character. Most important, however, was the return of Bail Organa (in hologram form), in which he informed the crew of the Ghost that they were, indeed, their very own Rebel cell.  

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Star Wars Weekends Episode II: Celebrate the Love

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Welcome to May 22-24, the second of five wonderful Star Wars Weekends! This was a pretty special weekend for us. Not only was it a weekend that featured the likes of Warwick Davis, Silas Carson, and Vanessa Marshall, but it was also our anniversary.

We were fortunate to stay at the Swan and Dolphin resort hotel on Disney’s Boardwalk area. Nestled between Hollywood Studios and Epcot, it’s a perfect location with the perfect price point. Because it’s not technically a Disney hotel, it comes in much cheaper than the majority of the park-owned properties but still maintains all of the perks and quality you’d come to expect from a stay at the Walt Disney World Resort.

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Andy Serkis is Supreme Leader Snoke

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The Official Site has a great interview with Annie Leibovitz about her Vanity Fair photo spread.

Included in that interview is a previously unseen photo of Andy Serkis rigged in mo-cap gear, and they also dropped his character name: Supreme Leader Snoke (of the First Order?).

Leibovitz also had some nice words about Adam Driver, who plays masked villain Kylo Ren.

snoke

A Newbie’s Guide to Star Wars Weekends

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Amy Ratcliffe recently attended her first Star Wars Weekends and if her coverage is any indication, she had a fabulous time. Check out her write-ups of the Rebel Hangar lounge experience, all the tiny desserts, the plethora of specialty drinks, and meet and greets with Star Wars characters.

We also recapped our time at Weekend 1, and stay tuned for our recap of Weekend 2!

TFN’s Jedi Council Forum Lifts LGBTQ+ Restrictions

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Yesterday morning, first word came that the TFN forums were in the process of making a big change: finally ditching the ban on same sex relationships. Initially, there was concern that this change would only apply to original characters and not established characters. Later in the day, however, these concerns were put to rest thanks to one of the moderators in their communication forum.

I can now announce that MS has decided that the lifting of the same-sex romance ban applies to canon and EU characters as well as original characters — it’s a full lift, in line with the existing PG-13 rules about opposite sex romances. I’m sure we’ll have something official-ish soon, but we thought you all should know ASAP so there’s no uncertainty that this is a full lifting of the ban.

For better or worse and despite all odds (considering the competition from the likes of AO3 and Fanfiction.net), the TFN fan fiction forums continues to really be the hub for written fanwork in the Star Wars community.

It’s rather easy to be cynical about this and say that they’ve finally stepped into the year 2003, but you know what? I’m just not going to listen to that cynicism. One of the biggest touchpoints and indisputably the biggest written fanwork touchpoint has changed their rules to create a much more inclusive environment for fans.

On my Twitter timeline last night were folks who had left TFN ages ago or had never even bothered to join because of these rules. Those folks are now looking to to back or join for the first time. They feel welcome there.

Speaking for myself, I know I feel the same way. I may just start posting there with some frequency again.