Star Wars, Geek Culture, and Power Converters
There’s no time for the crew of the Ghost to think or even breath as they’re chased off of Lothal. With them should go any lingering doubts about Disney’s willingness to go dark in a kids show because wow has this two-part arc proven them wrong.
This review contains spoilers.
Earlier today, Bad Robot tweeted a note by J.J. Abrams that confirms that the first teaser for Star Wars: The Force Awakens with debut this Friday, November 28 in select theaters and that it will be 88 seconds long:
THANKSGIVING pic.twitter.com/46811BgWiF
— Bad Robot (@bad_robot) November 24, 2014
In case that image isn’t loading for you, the note says
A tiny* peak at what we’re working on–this Friday in select theaters. Hope you enjoy, and have a most excellent Thanksgiving!
Best,
JJ
*88 seconds
Regal Entertainment has posted a picture of Mon Mothma and a note to check their website soon for information about which of their theaters will be involved in the teaser debut, implying that at least some of the select theaters will be theirs.
As of yet, no theaters have been officially confirmed for the debut.
UPDATE: AMC had joined Regal in confirming that some of their theaters will be involved in the debut:
We can confirm that a teaser for @StarWars: The Force Awakens will play at select AMCs this Friday! Locations soon! pic.twitter.com/nPpaQONHQQ
— AMC Theatres (@AMCTheatres) November 24, 2014
The specific theater locations that will show the teaser remain unconfirmed.
UPDATE THE SECOND: Cinemark has joined the league of theaters debuting the teaser, posting this tweet in confirmation:
"I find your lack of faith disturbing." #TheForceAwakens trailer is coming to select Cinemark theatres. Details soon! pic.twitter.com/hhcppbJKGn
— Cinemark Theatres (@Cinemark) November 24, 2014
Again, still no word on specific theater locations.
UPDATE THE THIRD: The official site has confirmed the theater locations that will show the teaser on Friday, as well as confirming that the teaser will be in theaters worldwide after this weekend. There are thirty locations total, 28 of which are in the US and two of which are in Canada. Check out the complete list here.
Its five years of Marvel movies this week on Tosche Station Radio!
Kicking off the show, the hosts discuss What’s New on the Blog. The tension in Nanci’s Thrawn Trilogy retrospective is off the charts. Shoshana started her Jedi Apprentice retrospective! In Rebels news, Nanci reviewed “Out of Darkness” and Brian reviewed “Empire Day.” Bria reviewed Mockingjay and told us why Bria Tharen needs to be in Rebels.
Fixer’s Flash features Nanci writing, Brian failing to purchase video games, and Bria costuming. Surprise surprise.
This week Deak’s Dirt starts with a Hollywood Reporter article on the security surrounding The Force Awakens. Solicitations for Marvel’s Darth Vader comic, which arrives in February. The Princess Leia miniseries will debut in March, and the Star Wars comic will be the first to arrive, in January. According to Tracy Cannobio at Lucasfilm, Rebels will go on hiatus next week and will return on January 5. Check out this AWESOME Celebration Anaheim video!
When are we going to see a trailer for The Force Awakens? Who knows, but we discuss it on Biggs Bull$#*@ anyways.
Marvel announced a bunch of movies, and Bria joins us to discuss them on Camie’s Concerns this week. There’s a whole lot of stuff to be excited for!
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.
The Jedi Apprentice books hold a special place in my heart.
Released between 1999 and 2002, the series is comprised of eighteen regular books and two “special edition” books chronicling Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon’s adventures and relationship from its start until shortly before The Phantom Menace. While I was already a big fan of Star Wars by the time the first one came out and had already been introduced to the Expanded Universe through reference books like the Essential Guide to Characters, the Jedi Apprentice books were the first Star Wars novels I read and, more than that, they were some of the first books that got me excited about reading.
While later the post-Return of the Jedi books became my main focus of interest is the Expanded Universe, this series and its characters remain very important to me. As this series now falls under the Legends banner and a new trilogy of Star Wars films looms on the horizon, it’s been over a decade since I last picked up a Jedi Apprentice book and my perspective has changed quite a bit in those years.
It seems about time I reread these books and see how well they hold up.
If you, like us, are eagerly awaiting getting your hands on another Star Wars book to read, you may be in luck. Today Del Rey announced on their Star Wars Books Facebook page that they will be giving away advanced copies of Kevin Hearne’s upcoming novel Heir to the Jedi during Monday’s airing of Rebels. They will reveal on Monday how to enter to win, so if you’re interested be sure to check their page then. You can read the full announcement here.
And if you don’t end up being one of the lucky winners, Heir to the Jedi will be released in hardcover, ebook, and audio formats on March 3.
No one should want to live in Panem and no one should wish they were Katniss Everdeen. The Hunger Games has never been a series to shy away from showing the horrors of war and the oppression of a people and Mockingjay wipes away all the glamor of the Capital to give its viewers an unblinking view. It’s unapologetically grim and bleak in a way that young adult geared films haven’t quite been before but that doesn’t stop Mockingjay Part 1 from succeeding as a thoroughly enjoyable film even if you likely won’t leave the theatre with a broad smile on your face.
After the abrupt end to the 75th Hunger Games, Katniss found herself swept off to District 13. Peeta is left behind and District 12 is no more. The leaders of the rebellion aren’t willing to give her time to grieve because they need her to be their symbol and ignite the people of Panem into action. She agrees to play their game but it has to be on her terms. If they want their Mockingjay, they’ll have to agree to her conditions.
And with that, those who were worried that Rebels wouldn’t have the gravitas of The Clone Wars found themselves with one less thing to worry about.
“Empire Day” begins with Hera, Sabine, and Zeb making their way into an alley of a somewhat remote outpost on Lothal. As they disappear, Sabine stops and gazes out into the distance, where she sees Ezra and Kanan training.
In our last installment, Talon Karrde and his crew picked up Luke Skywalker and is holding him on Myrkr against his will. And Han and Lando are on the way. The chapters are getting really long now, and so are the recaps! Here we go!
Talon Karrde’s Myrkr base
Oh phew, Chapter 21 starts and we’re back to Karrde and Mara! What can I say–I’m predictable. Karrde tells Mara her that Han Solo and Lando Calrissian are on their way to Myrkr, which obviously has negative implications on the current “kidnapping Luke Skywalker” scenario. Mara tells Karrde he has no obligation to speak to them, but Karrde informs her that his associates debts are his own, and she should know that by now. She has a horrible thought, and asks if he’s going to give them Skywalker. Karrde seems disinterested in the matter, but she can sense the truth: he wants more than anything to know why she hates Skywalker. (Because he loves information more than anything!) She refuses to say why she hates him; they bicker some more about why Han is there and what to do with Skywalker.
Today Her Universe released a new Darth Vader jewelry collection, designed by Sparkle Factory, the designers of Her Universe’s R2-D2-themed “My Hero Collection” that was released earlier this year.
The Darth Vader collection features earrings, necklaces, a bracelet, and a ring, bearing either the likeness of Vader’s mask or the Imperial emblem. Each piece is made from black hematite and one necklace incorporates Swarovski crystals as well. You can read more about them here.
The pieces run from $40 to $85 USD and are available for purchase on Her Universe’s site.
The Expanded Universe is an absolute gold mine when it comes to story ideas in Rebels. From characters to planets to mere concepts, there’s plenty for the taking and tweaking. The Clone Wars already proved how successful that tactic could be with their use of Dathomir. In our continuing series here at Tosche Station, we’re pitching you things we’d like to see make it into Rebels. This week? Bria Tharen.
Before you grab your pitchforks, hear me out. A.C. Crispin introduced Bria Tharen into the Star Wars galaxy with the Han Solo Trilogy during the Bantam era. When readers first met her, Bria was a wealthy young Corellian who’d fallen into a religious cult’s trap where they exploited their pilgrims as slaves in their spice mines. Enter Han Solo and a crazy plan that gets both of them (and friends) off Ylesia followed a sudden lack of purpose in her life. The short version of what follows is that Bria ends up leaving Han behind so he can go to the Imperial Academy and she can go off and break her addiction and find a new meaning for her life. She ends up joining Senator Garm Bel Iblis’ resistance group, eventually becomes the commander of Red Hand Squadron in the Alliance to Restore the Republic, and dies in service to the Alliance.
For a show called Rebels, she’s potentially an obvious choice to bring into the new canon. While her story is linked closely to that of Han Solo, it doesn’t need to be in order for her character to be well used in Rebels. The writers can retcon away any mention of the brash pilot and instead condense her backstory down to something easier: she’s a former slave who was freed, joined the Rebel Alliance, and has neither tolerance nor mercy for slavers. Doing so would not only actually help strengthen Bria as a character but also allow the show to tackle several tough topics. Seeing how Rebels is a show that’s already touched on genocide and execution? These probably won’t be too much of a stretch. Continue reading