SSSW - The Bad Batch S3 Premiere

Julian Meush February 23, 2024

Smell that regs? That's the smell of fresh Star Wars animation - breath it in. 'The Bad Batch' dropped it's hotly anticipated 3-part premiere this week and your Small Screen Star Wars hosts are back to unpack each beautifully crafted moment from "Confined", "Paths Unknown", and "Shadows of Tantiss" . Buckle up, as the three episodes come in around 90 minutes in total, which means you are in for a full 2.5 hour recap and review from Julian and Rachel, as the melancholy journey toward the series finale begins. Fortunately each step (episode) on that journey so far has been up to standard. This premiere brings back the gorgeous look and feel from Lucasfilm Animation and the consistently strong storytelling to setup what looks to be an exciting final season. With the board now set it's time to tune in each week to see how this all comes together. We're betting it'll end with a well deserved bang. You know Wrecker wouldn't have it any other way.

ToB Games - Paris Games Week

Julian Meush November 10, 2017

Welcome back to ToB Games! The news of EA's shocking "pivot" of Visceral's Star Wars game came only a day after recording the last episode, so although it's a little late, the guys kick off the show breaking down every detail. Afterwards, Julian, Daniel and Jeremy discuss the plethora of trailers from Sony's Paris Games Week presser, plus all the buzz surrounding Mario Odyssey's release. All this and so much more on this week's episode of ToB Games!

ToB Interlude - Star Wars Celebration 2017

Julian Meush April 22, 2017

Star Wars Celebration Orlando took place over Easter weekend and with it came a metric ton of Star Wars news. Julian, Daniel and Jeremy are here to break it all down and talk about everything going on in the galaxy far far away. Starting, of course, with Episode VII: The Last Jedi. Director Rian Johnson dropped the first teaser trailer and revealed the official poster and the guys break down every detail. Moving onto the animation side, Supervising Director Dave Filoni dropped the bomb that season 4 of Rebels would be it's final season. Julian, the resident Rebels super fan, delves deep into all the Rebels related news. To cap things off the conversation moves to Battlefront II, the sequel to the EA game from two years ago, which was announced along with a trailer showing off it's new single player campaign. All this and so much more in this ToB Interlude / Star Wars extravaganza!

Episode 74 - Comicon 2016

Julian Meush July 27, 2016

This week the ToB Crew gathered to discuss all things San Diego Comicon. SDCC was this past weekend and there's almost too much to cover in one show. But before we get into all the nerdy news from the con we wanted to try out a new segment. We're pitting host against host in a word association challenge. After the game we moved into the deluge that is Comicon 2016 coverage. Starting with movies we break down the Justice League and Wonder Woman footage plus everything else from DC and Marvel. We then move into some leftover Star Wars news from last weeks Star Wars Celebrations in London. There was also a whole slew of TV shows to cover as we discussed another heaping amount of trailers, including: CW's The Flash Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow, Marvel's Luke Cage, Iron Fist and Defenders and even DC's new animated series Justice League Action. We wrap things up talking about a few gaming related stories, not the least of which being Pokemon GO and Nintendo's NES Classic.

Episode 71 - Uncharted 4: A Thief's End

Julian Meush May 28, 2016

This week the ToB Crew reviews Uncharted 4: A Thief's End. The latest title from arguably the most talented game studio in the business, Naughty Dog. The development was wrought with drama, including the exit of Amy Hennig from the studio and The Last of Us directors Bruce Straley and Neil Druckmann taking over at the helm. That's without even mentioning several delays, including one only weeks before launch. But after playing it, I'm hard pressed to even remember that turmoil. It's no spoiler to say we all absolutely adored this game and the three of us discuss every amazing detail.

Before any of that however, we of course start by discussing the latest in geek news. We kicked it off with Nintendo, who decided to jump into the movie business and we speculate on which of their properties would make for great cinema. We then touch on a few Marvel stories before moving onto a whole slew of DC news, not the least of which of being Supergirl's move to the CW and the planned four-way crossover planned for next season. All of this and much more in this week's Tower of Babble Podcast!

Episode 66 - The Great Battlefront DLC Debate

Julian Meush February 3, 2016

This week we get back to our regular format and discuss the latest in geek news. Starting off with all things DC, we break down everything that came out of the "Dawn of the Justice League" TV special that aired on The CW. From the Suicide Squad trailer to the Wonder Woman footage we examine every detail. After a little more movie news we transition into some TV talk giving our review of the Legends of Tomorrow pilot episode and ask if a Supergirl/CW crossover is getting any more likely. Finally, after catching up on the latest game news we have a great discussion the current use of DLC within the industry. All of which spawned from the news of what exactly the Star Wars: Battlefront season-pass would contain.

ToB Interlude - Star Wars: Battlefront Review

Julian Meush January 15, 2016

One of the most anticipated games of 2015, Star Wars Battlefront, is finally here and the ToB crew got together to break it down. Combining the immersive gameplay of the Battlefield series with the Star Wars universe DICE's new shooter doesn't disappoint.

Episode 63 - A Little Bit of Everything

Julian Meush November 27, 2015

With all three guys back together the ToB Crew touch on a little bit of everything this episode. Starting with Star Wars (of course) Jeremy finally gives his impressions on the latest Star Wars trailer and spend some time discussing the latest news bits from a galaxy far far away. In terms of other film news the guys break down the Warcraft trailer that came out of Blizzcon as well as some news and rumours surrounding the next solo Batman film and a possible Witcher movie in the works. On the television front the full Jessica Jones trailer is discussed and talk about the latest with The Flash, Arrow and Supergirl. There were also some video game stories to discuss, not the least of which being all of the announcements out of the latest Nintendo Direct, including: FFVII's Cloud joining Smash Bros, Twilight Princess getting an HD remaster and a few tidbits from the next full Zelda game. They also touch on the new Mass Effect: Andromeda trailer and some of the big releases coming up. As per the norm, the guys finish off discussing what they've been watching and playing over the last few weeks.

Episode 56 - E3 2015

Julian Meush July 5, 2015

The guys are back with another full ToB Podcast and it a big one! Besides all the huge stories and game announcements out of this years E3, like Horizon: Zero Dawn, Fall Out 4, Last Guardian, and more, the ToB Crew touch on the big Spider-Man casting news, Star Wars Rebels and True Detective season 2 premiers, the Hannibal cancellation at NBC and so much more!

Episode 54 - Avengers: Age of Ultron, Star Wars and BvS

Julian Meush May 4, 2015

Its been a few weeks but the Tower of Babble Crew is back and there is definitely no shortage of major news to discuss. While Daniel and Jeremy were away on vacation they missed some of the biggest geek news stories of the last year. They managed to miss the first teaser for Batman V Superman, the second teaser for Star Wars Episode 7 and the rest of Star Wars Celebration in Anaheim. Of course we also catch up on the Jared Leto Joker reveal, all the news about Batman Arkham Knight and everything out of X-Men Apocalypse. Its not all "old news" though, Daniel and Jeremy were back in time to catch the Friday night screening of Avengers: Age of Ultron on its opening weekend and we have an extensive review for you.

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Jun 5, 2025

SSSW - Tales of the Underworld

Jun 5, 2025

Lucasfilm Animation has been hard at work on their next major project, 'Maul: Shadow Lord', but they've found the time to deliver another installment in their "Tales of" anthology series. The first ones covering the Jedi and the Empire, they now turn their focus towards the Underworld. However, be warned, this is a bit of a misnomer. Don't expect any crime syndicates or really any large scale criminality here. These 2 mini-arcs instead focus on Asajj Ventress (I know, not the first thing that comes to mind when someone mentions the Underworld) as she assists a young Jedi on the run from the Empire, and the origin story of Cad Bane. Which admittedly is closer in line with the criminal underworld concept, but is really more interested in telling a western style revenge story instead. All in all, despite the always great visuals and sound/music design, and few interesting ideas, there's not enough meat on the bone here to satisfy most viewers. But most disappointing is its failure to capitalize on the potential of the Underworld concept.

Jun 5, 2025

May 22, 2025

SSSW/ToB Film Club - Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

May 22, 2025

It's hard to believe that 'Rogue One' premiered nearly a decade ago. At the time, it was fairly well received, considered to be a decent first step into the standalone Star Wars movies, if not a bit messy. As the years passed, we learned more about the production. Gareth Edwards, who retained sole directing credit, was assisted by Tony Gilroy to "fix" the project. Tony went so far as to call it a "corpse" when he came aboard for rewrites and reshoots. It was Tony's inclusion that brought us some of the movies most memorable moments, and ultimately led him to leading the charge on 'Andor', a prequel project that flew under the radar as hits like 'The Mandalorian' hogged the spotlight. With 'Andor' now complete, considered by many to be a masterpiece in storytelling, not just in Star Wars but on television in general, now is the most appropriate time to reexamine the movie that spawned the Cassian-centered prequel series with fresh eyes. 'Andor', which leads directly into the events of 'Rogue One' recontextualizes much of the film, creating a unique viewing experience that pays off a multitude of threads that are brilliantly laid over the two seasons of 'Andor'. It takes the movie, which was already pretty good, and makes it great. Now existing as part of a whole that weaves a cohesive narrative from the nascent moments of the Rebellion all the way through to the destruction of the Death Star in 1977 (the seed that begat ALL Star Wars, and what we appropriately align our Star Wars BBY calendars to). It all feels wholistic and considered when viewed from the broader perspective - an accomplishment that should set a shining example of what Star Wars can and should aspire to.

May 22, 2025

May 15, 2025

SSSW - Andor S2 Finale

May 15, 2025

After only 4 weeks - the blink of an eye - it's all over. The best Star Wars story since the Original Trilogy has graced our screens and left us in awe. These final three episodes weren't able to reach the emotional highs of last week's arc, but that wasn't the goal. Instead, it provides time to look back at what brought us here, and sets the stage for the climax of the story to take place not in this moment, but within the now recontextualized film that birthed all of this in the first place, 'Rogue One'. And while the show may carry Cassian's name on the title screen, it's been the cast of characters we've met along the way that truly elevated this experience. Not to pick favourites, but in particular, Luthen and Kleya, who get an episode all to themselves this week are the standouts. And what an episode it was, as their story which shepherded much of the series came to an end, as we all expected it would have to. Embracing those feelings of closure, in the final moments of the series, as Cassian flies off into 'Rogue One', we are treated to our last glimpses of our heroes and villains. From Dedra to Vel and even Perrin, we are left to consider their fates as the story marches with inevitability into what begat all of this way back in 1977. Will we ever see Kleya, Vel, Wilmon, or Bix again? One can only hope - and rebellions? Well, they're built on hope.

May 15, 2025

May 9, 2025

SSSW - Andor S2 E7 - 9

May 9, 2025

When dealing in the world of prequels, it’s impossible to escape the inevitable - Anakin will fall, Han will win the Falcon, Cassian will die on Scarif. Somehow, in the midst of some of the most thrilling episodes of television ever put to screen, Tony Gilroy and his team found a way to address that impending doom and weaponize it against the audience to induce some of the most gut wrenching and heart breaking moments we’ve yet to see on ‘Andor’ - “There’s some place he needs to be”. At a larger scale, the show continues to outdo itself on a weekly basis, proving that the Star Wars galaxy provides a colour pallet of some of the richest hues from which to paint bold and personal stories. Proving you can go beyond the larger than life stories of heroics and grandeur to human stories of loss and pain and everything in between. That’s without mentioning the deft touch in pulling in themes that resonates with the contemporary while remaining timeless - a feeling that is a staple of Star Wars. Every detail is considered, every character is deep and interesting. There isn’t much more that can be said about such a powerful piece of art, except that not even the audience can escape the inevitable - only one week remains of this masterpiece.

May 9, 2025