Welcome back to Go/No-Go, Tosche Station’s regular feature where we offer our spoiler-free opinion as to whether or not you should spend your hard-earned money on a book, film, or other entertainment. Today on the launch pad: Razor’s Edge by Martha Wells. Does the first of the new Empire and Rebellion series stack up? Time to go around the horn at mission control.
Grant Us The Serenity!
And where Joss Whedon and Firefly is concerned, forget your ideas of what fandom can and cannot change and rejoice because they can’t stop the signal.
Dark Horse Comics just announced that their new comic series will pick up where the 2005 movie Serenity left off, with River Tam sitting in the co-pilot’s seat, and Zoe Washburn struggling to adjust to the death of her husband and the realization that she’ll be raising their soon-to-be-born child alone.
Buffy Season 8 artist George Jeanty has been announced as the artist, while the writer and the launch date are still up in the air.
I think this is just shiny.
Tosche Station Radio #69: Dragon Con 2013 Recap
On this episode of Tosche Station Radio, the hosts are back and recapping Dragon Con!
Kicking off the show, there’s a bit of housekeeping. We’ve been away for a while, but hope you enjoyed our interview with John Jackson Miller and our episodes recorded live at Dragon Con. We conned Bria and Emily into stepping in for us one week, and now they have their own show! Be sure to check out their monthly show, Women of Odd Enthusiasms.
The hosts proceed to highlight what’s New on the Blog. Bria reported on her time at Baltimore Comic Con 2013.She also reviewed Legacy #6 and The Star Wars #1. Nanci discussed a certain plot twist in Kenobi and how it made her evaluate her own assumptions. Speaking of Kenobi, we have reviews by Brian and Bria. Spoilers: we all loved it. Bria reviewed another SWEU item: Jedi Academy by Jeffrey Brown. Emily gushed about the podcast Welcome To Night Vale. As we previously mentioned, we have a ton of content from Dragon Con! Be sure to check out our live recordings of the Introduction to the Expanded Universe panel, the Star Wars Authors panel, the Blogging, Podcasting, Vidding, and Fanfiction panel, the Women and Minorities in Star Wars panel, and the Conspiring for Fun and Profit panel.
In Fixer’s Flash, Nanci’s been busy reading The Darwin Elevator and writing a short space western story. Brian’s been reading through Razor’s Edge while both hosts recover from con season.
Deak’s Dirt starts with some news outside of the Star Wars fandom. J.K. Rowling is writing a Harry Potter spinoff film based on Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. In a Reddit AMA, Seth Green addressed the status of Detours. According to him, it’s just on hold. J.J. Abrams is setting up a post-production facility for Episode VII in Los Angeles. Episode VII rumors! They exist! Don’t fall for them. Del Rey released the blurb for Honor Among Thieves by James S.A. Corey. Finally in some sad news, Expanded Universe author and publisher watchdog A.C. Crispin passed away.
In this week’s Camie’s Concerns, the hosts finally sit down to recap their Dragon Con experience. From panels to workshops and costume photoshoots, it was certainly one convention to remember!
Wrapping up the show, the hosts field questions in Ask Us Anything.
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.
Rumor: Saoirse Ronan read for Episode VII part
According to a rumor from Bleeding Cool, Saoirse Ronan has read for a female role in Episode VII. If you want to believe them, it’s a leading role.
I can reconfirm that Saoirse Ronan has had a meeting and read for one of the lead roles – to the best of my knowledge, the lead role – in Star Wars Episode VII.
This was first reported by Latino Review but, for what it’s worth, I’ve also had a rather telling, silent nod from one of my own sources near the casting of this project.
She’s likely to be some way from being cast, as yet, and there are many other actresses who could very easily take the part, including more names that you’d know just as well, but Ronan’s very talented, has a real fanbase and seems to fit the bill perfectly.
The article also says the whole Bennedict Cumberbatch thing still has legs despite claims to the contrary from the actor. It’s the rumor that just won’t die!
As for Ronan, the only thing I’ve seen her in was Hanna, and she was good in that. But of course, this is a rumor. It’s not confirmed. It may not even be reality. So take it all with a gigantic grain of NaCL.
Seth Green: Detours is just on hold
Dunc over at Club Jade spotted a Reddit AMA with Seth Green. While many of the questions asked had to do with other projects and shows Green has been involved with, someone was kind enough to ask him about the state of Detours. His answer:
So there’s actually been quite a bit of talk about this, but Detours is just on hold currently. We have 39 finished episodes and around 62 finished scripts. But that entire show was created before the decision to make more Star Wars movies, so our show (which was created by George Lucas) is an animated sitcom in the world of Star Wars, so we had a lot of conversations with Kathleen Kennedy about Star Wars in not just the next 3 years but the next 30 years, and when you’re in as privileged a position as we were to be able to work on Star Wars content with its creator, you get a great sense of responsibility to the whole. I was introduced to Star Wars as a child and it was without any ironic or comedic lens, so I saw Darth Vader as scary, and I saw all of those messages very very clearly. We didn’t think it made any sense, in anticipation of these new movies coming out, to spend the next 3 years with an animated sitcom as 3 generations’ of kids first introduction to the Star Wars universe.
I’ve had a lot of parents approach me in the last few years where they showed Robot Chicken or Family Guy Star Wars before they showed them regular Star Wars. The writers on Robot Chicken and I are seeing this a lot. The same way we were introduced to classic music through Bugs Bunny or Tom & Jerry, kids are taking our ironic interpretations of He-Man or other pop culture icons and never having the opportunity to meet them sincerely. It’s a really bizarre thing to wrap your head around, and because I’ve witnessed it firsthand, it made me more thoughtful about what we were putting it out.
I do feel that Detours is a timeless bit of entertainment. Media distribution is changing so quickly, so dramatically, that can you even imagine what distribution of content will look like in 5 years? In a day and age when Netflix series are nominated for the top accolades TV has to offer, what is to say what it will look like when the new Star Wars movie comes out? So Detours can sit on a shelf until the Star Wars movie comes out without losing any of its lustre, because what we’ve created is very funny, very smart and like I said before, timeless.
So are there immediate plans for releasing Detours? No, not yet. But Green is hopeful that it’ll be out there at some point.
Convention Report: Baltimore Comic Con 2013
When you step back and compare Baltimore to other conventions, it’s hard to call it anything but rather excellent. Baltimore Comic Con is that perfect established mid sized convention where the emphasis is absolutely on comics. There are no media guests, only comic creators. Sure, you can still see costumes wandering around the convention of all the usual fandom suspects (I have a list of costumes you’ll see at every convention) but this is still a comic book show.
This was (surprisingly) my first year attending Baltimore Comic Con even though it’s my “local” con but it absolutely left me with a positive feeling and a desire to return again next year. I absolutely recommend it for any interested geeks but especially those who want to see a comic focused show.
That’s the short version. The long version can be found after the jump.
Women of Odd Enthusiasms #1: TV 2013 – What you should watch
Bria and Emily bring you the first episode of Women of Odd Enthusiasms: the monthly podcast where they bring you the best of whatever they happen to be excited about right now, be it crafting, cosplay or computer games. This month’s episode is all about the upcoming season of TV, as our intrepid hosts discuss what to watch, what to DVR, and what to skip. Sit back and relax, because WOE is us!
Our monthly book recommendations can be found at Amazon.com.
Emily: The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe
Bria: Alif the Unseen by G. Willow Wilson
You can contact Bria on Twitter @chaosbria, and Emily @carrkicksdoor. Women of Odd Enthusiasms is part of the Tosche Station Radio Network and affiliated with 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.
This podcast has been brought to you in part by Her Universe and Audible.com.
JK Rowling to Pen “Harry Potter” Spin-Off Film
J.K. Rowling and Warner Bros. have brokered a deal for her to pen the film version of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, a “textbook” from the Harry Potter universe, originally published in 2001.
Rowling said in a statement, “‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’ is neither a prequel nor a sequel to the Harry Potter series, but an extension of the wizarding world. The laws and customs of the hidden magical society will be familiar to anyone who has read the Harry Potter books or seen the films, but Newt’s story will start in New York, 70 years before Harry’s gets underway.”
This will be first movie of a new franchise, which will also include a video game and other products. Warner Bros. will also distribute a TV adaptation of Rowling’s novel The Casual Vacancy.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them will mark Rowling’s screenwriting debut.
Report: Abrams setting up Episode VII post-production facilities in L.A.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, J.J. Abrams is setting up an Episode VII post-production shop at the Bad Robot facility in Santa Monica. Among the additions:
A green room, sound studios and other new facilities will be developed within the three-story, 18,000-square-foot Santa Monica building, which already includes editing bays, a workshop for making props, a screening room that can double as a set and Abrams’ personal suite of offices. Star Wars: Episode VII is set to be released in 2015 by Disney.
No comment from either Bad Robot or Disney at this point, but it would make sense and would probably helpful for Abrams, who did joke that shooting in England would be a little difficult for his family.
Review: Star Wars: Legacy #6
After a whirlwind past couple of issues, Legacy #6 feels like a deep breath as our heroes regroup. That’s not to say there isn’t any action since, as the cover advertises, it’s a Sith vs Sith battle but Ania Solo’s very bad day finally has come to a close. Corinna Bechko and Gabriel Hardman follow up on their excellent first arc with a transitional issue that’s a good read nonetheless.
This review contains mild spoilers for the issue.