Episode Fourteen: Christmas in the Stars
It's finally here! No, not Christmas (well, that's finally here too). I'm talking about our interview with Steve from the Geek Out Loud Podcast! Known to some of his listeners as The Star Wars Guy, Steve is the biggest fan of the galaxy far, far away that we know.
We also have a special announcement to make. We now have our own forums which are embedded in the Geek Out Loud forums. This is a great opportunity for everyone from our podcasting network to get together and geek out together about all sorts of things. We're really excited about this and hope you will check it out.
In the meantime, Merry Christmas!
Music used this week:
"Star Wars: Main Title" by John Williams
"Bells, Bells, Bells" from the Star Wars Christmas Album
"What Can You Get A Wookie For Christmas (When He Already Owns A Comb?)" from the Star Wars Christmas Album
3 comments:
Hi Faith and Ky -
Don't quite remember exactly how I stumbled onto your podcast the other night - it was incredibly late and my eyes were blurring from translating Latin for hours on end. However! What I do I remember is that I was searching for new Geek podcasts to avoid studying for my PhD translation exams and typing Geek and Podcast into iTunes and voila! Chic Geek!
Listened to Episode 14 and thought it was great fun. You two hold a great dialogue and who doesn't love Star Wars! (Although I have some disagreements about a few points ... ).
There were a few mic problems at the beginning, but smooth from there on and lots of fun to listen to.
You have new listener and I'll spread the word to my friends.
Enjoy your holiday break. (They only get shorter from here on out :D)
John
I know my comments are a bit long winded. Feel free to cut them down to relevant talking points should you continue to read them on air.
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T:SCC - I could swear the engravings they point out on the air craft are the same ones we learned about way back in "Vick's Chip", where John informs us about a Terminator's language and how it sorts its memory files. I've only watched each episode once, so if you find out I'm wrong, I'll accept that.
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HEROES - Total solar eclipses (as opposed to frequent partial solar eclipses) happen, on average, every 18 months. Though only from a specific vantage point, and for no longer than 7-and-a-half minutes at a time.
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SMALLVILLE - Though I only made it through season 3 (so far), I was also among those who wanted Chloe to be Lois. She seemed so natural for the part.
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CHUCK - The first half of the episode was perfect, one of the greatest holiday-themed episodes of all time. But the Fulcrum twist in the middle threw an unnecessary layer on things and took a lot of the fun out of it. It's still good, I just think it could have been better.
And Reginald VelJohnson was underused.
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STAR WARS - I very much enjoy the original trilogy, though I don't go out of my way to rewatch them constantly. As for the prequels ...
Yes, the themes are deep. Yes, the ideas are sound. But forgive me for asking that the execution also be there to back them up.
It's easy to say modern directors use big special effects as a crutch, but I truly believe that in George's case. He was so caught up in the rich backgrounds and digital characters that he didn't realize his cinematography and editing were as flat as an average sitcom with none of the striking angles and whip-pans and dynamic energy of his original episode 4 (the only OT film he himself directed). And then there's the dialogue. The terrible, wretched, stiff as an oak tree dialogue. Back in the day, George knew the spoken word wasn't his strong point (just read his original scripts to ep. 4), so he brought in others to polish it up.
Every film in the original trilogy taught Lucas lessons. He had challenges and limitations that hit him every day and he responded well with a sharp mind and a surrounding crew of knowledgeable people. But in the prequels, he had the leisure of complete creative control and technology that suddenly allowed for all possibilities. There were no more challenges, no more limitations to keep him sharp and on his toes, and no other key crew members to make up for his weak points, so he got lazy and the quality of the films reflect this.
A perfect case in point is episode 3. Tom Stoppard is not only one of the top playwrights alive, but he's a highly sought after script doctor for films, especially when it comes to snappy, character driven dialogue. As far back as PHANTOM MENACE, people have been suggesting Lucas bring in Stoppard to polish things up, just as he did with INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE. With REVENGE OF THE SITH, Lucas finally took them up on the offer and I think the tighter, more focused plotting is a sign of this. As for the dialogue, Lucas, in his infinite wisdom, decided to rewrite Stoppard's rewrite. This is ridiculous to me because Lucas himself admitted in the past that dialogue is his weakest point, and here he is stumbling all over the best thing that could have happened to the series.
Sorry. Went off on a bit of a rant there, but I was just so disappointed with the prequels. No, I don't hate them and, yes, I can appreciate the good ideas and moments within, but the strong points just make me even more frustrated that the remaining drek didn't live up to the same standards.
As for the Expanded Universe, I have yet to dive into those waters, but plan to in the future.
I do, however, own a bootleg dvd of the HOLIDAY SPECIAL and find joy in inflicting it upon others. Hey, did you know that one of the writers was Bruce Vilanch?
Thanks for sharing this episode, I have been waiting for its release:) You know, sometimes it's better to forward your yet unpublished articles to proofreading-services.org for a review!
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