Well that's all folks! Only five short weeks later and we're now looking back at 'Obi-Wan Kenobi' in full context. Following an epic 2-episode premiere, it was a bit touch-and-go there in the middle. Fortunately, they pulled it together for the conclusion and absolutely nailed the final episode. Not only does it live up to the "rematch of the century", as it was billed, but it's character moments are just as strong (if not stronger), and gives the appropriate amount of closure not just to the characters, but to the fans as well. Julian and Rachel break it all down scene by scene (and even break down granular lines of dialogue!), and discuss the conclusion to a mini-series that by no means was perfect, but as a whole largely works, with satisfying character arches and interesting choices that did more than enough to justify the shows existence. Join us as we discuss it all!
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SSSW - Obi-Wan Kenobi S1E5
'Obi-Wan Kenobi' returns to form this week with one of the strongest entries since the 2-part premiere. With the Empire baring down on Ben, Leia, and friends, we are treated to flashbacks of Obi-Wan and Anakin training, pre-clone wars (an era not often enough explored in my opinion) . This not only justifies bringing back Hayden for Vader, but also acts as an exciting, and insightful, framing for the larger "modern" story being told. Despite some odd dialogue moments, this episode feels concentrated on Obi-Wan and Anakin's relationship, and how that is reflected in Vader and Ben's choices, it's fascinating. Plus, there's also some very good action here (even some inspired by the Clone Wars I might add), with enough moments that will make you audibly exclaim, "that's cool", to largely overshadow some of the flaws this week. On to the finale!
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SSSW - Obi-Wan Kenobi S1E4
As we pass the half-way point of the season, it comes as a bit of a surprise that Part 4 of 'Obi-Wan Kenobi' was only just over 30 min. With only 6 episodes for the full season, 30 min episodes, in my opinion, really need to justify the truncated length. Unfortunately, Part 4 ultimately still felt rushed, despite also having some very cool moments. Of course seeing Obi-Wan skulk around an Imperial instillation never really gets old, but it's everything around that core setup that felt under baked this week. We are introduced to new characters who we barely get any time to get to know, and despite some interesting allusions to a more interesting story with them, we are rushed off to a set-piece far too quickly. After the events of last week's big confrontation with Vader, I would have liked a little more time to let those moments breath, but alas, the show must go on!
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SSSW - Obi-Wan Kenobi S1E3
We see Obi-Wan face off with Vader much sooner than we might have expected. But with only 6 episodes to work with, maybe we shouldn't be so surprised, as we're already half way through. And just as Ben reunites with Anakin this week, so to does Julian reunite with Rachel, following her return from Star Wars Celebration in Anaheim (though with much less death and agony). They break down the return of Vader, Ben's fear, Leia's intuition and much more in this over-stuffed review!
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Episode 164 - Netflix Inking Deals, WB Cancels New Gods, and the Iron Anniversary
Just the two J’s this week as Dan is away. Julian, and Jeremy discuss Rian Johnson’s big money ‘Knives Out’ deal with Netflix, Warner Bros. cancelling ‘The Trench’ and Ava DuVernay’s ‘New Gods’, and the 10th year anniversary of ‘Game of Thrones’ premiere on HBO that they’re calling the “Iron Anniversary”. The guys also touch on some notable release schedule changes around Hollywood, and the cast list for ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’, which had a few pleasant surprises. All that, and so much more, on this week’s Tower of Babble Podcast!
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Episode 74 - Comicon 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.
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Episode 73 - Post E3 Catch-up
Its been a slow couple of weeks after E3 stole the show. But we've managed to scrape together stories from across the internets and put together another great ToB Podcast for you. Julian Daniel and Jeremy sit down and discuss all things nerdy, starting with the "mea culpa" set visit that WB put together for DC's upcoming blockbuster; Justice League. After that, there'salways some Star Wars news so we breakdown some of the news that came out of EW's Rogue One: A Star Wars Story exposé before moving on to a whole slew of DC CW news. Not the least of which being the casting of Tyler Hoechlin as Superman and the confirmation of Flash Point. We also breakdown all the latest renewals and cancellations across the TV landscape before wrapping up with a chat about the worldwide phenomenon that is Pokemon Go!
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