SSSW - Star Wars Oscars

Julian Meush September 3, 2020

Inspired by the creative minds at @starwarstuff on Twitter, Small Screen Star Wars is back with more podcasting goodness. This week’s theme is Star Wars Oscars (not to be confused with Star Wars AT the Oscars, where John Williams owns). Julian and Rachel pick the best of the best from across Star Wars on film (and television of course). Who’s the best Star Wars director? What is the best lightsaber duel? The best droid? (spoilers, there’s only 1 correct answer for this. I’m sorry, but we don’t make the rules) Tune in to find what is OBJECTIVELY (subjectively) the best stuff in Star Wars!

ToB Interlude - Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker - Spoiler Cast

Julian Meush January 9, 2020

With the Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker premiere now far enough in the past and the discourse surrounding the divisive picture now quieted down, it’s finally time for the ToB Crew to dive deep into the final chapter of the Skywalker saga. Full spoilers ahead, as Julian, Daniel, and Jeremy discuss the ins and outs of a movie that has A LOT to break down. Plus the guys try to fully flush out how this movie follows what was left by Rian Johnson’s “The Last Jedi” (A conversation that may never end). Ultimately, there’s enough content in this movie to keep podcasters busy for years, and this will likely not be the last ToB word on this subject.

FanQuest 2018 LIVE(ish) - Pablo Hidalgo Presentation Breakdown

Julian Meush June 23, 2018

Welcome to FanQuest 2018! Julian, Dan, and Jeremy are here all weekend to talk all things nerdy. First on the docket was Lucasfilm Story Group Executive Pablo Hidalgo's "Inside Solo: A Star Wars Story" presentation. After attending his talk, the guys sit down to discuss all the big revelations and insights, as well as address the rumours of Star Wars standalone movies being put on hold. Stay tuned to the feed over the next couple days for more from FanQuest 2018!

Episode 114 - Solo: A Star Wars Story

Julian Meush May 30, 2018

In what turned out to be a series of unfortunate events and bad decisions, our original review of 'Solo: A Star Wars Story' turned out to be unusable. Fortunately, we we're able to throw together an emergency recording session to correct that error. Julian and Jeremy cover the Boba Fett standalone movie news before diving deep into the guts of 'Solo'. The guys give props to Alden Ehrenreich for a masterful performance as well as break down the film scene by scene, unpacking it's surprising twists and sometimes underwhelming reveals. All this and so much more on this week's Tower of Babble Podcast!

Episode 112 - Familiar With Rings

Julian Meush May 17, 2018

It's only Julian and Jeremy inside the proverbial 'tower' this week as they break down the latest in film and television news. The Guys give their impressions on Shane Black's 'The Predator' trailer and how similar it was to 'Venom' in it's ability to underwhelm. Moving on, they discuss the early buzz coming out of 'Solo: A Star Wars Story' following it's world premier and the latest out DC and Warner Brothers, including the possibility of Peter Jackson joining the DC fold. On the TV front it's a focus on what shows are coming back next year and which aren't as it's that time of year when renewal and cancellation announcements are made. All that and so much more on this week's Tower of Babble Podcast!

Episode 109 - Super Bowl Trailers

Julian Meush February 6, 2018

After a short week off the guys are back at it with another busy episode. The Super Bowl took place over the weekend and with it came some impressive trailers for the years biggest movies. Garnering most of the attention was Solo: A Star Wars Story, as this was the first we've seen of the film with only a few months away from release. Of course there were also some great spots from Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Avengers: Infinity War and Mission Impossible: Fallout. Julian, Dan and Jeremy break down each trailer and much more on this week's Tower of Babble Podcast!

Episode 104 - Stranger Things 2

Julian Meush October 31, 2017

Happy Halloween ToB fans! Julian, Daniel and Jeremy are back to discuss the latest in film and TV news on this spooktacular episode. The guys discuss Shazam! casting news, Fincher turning down Star Wars Episode IX, Netflix tidbits, some fun Halloween themed stories and everything is wrapped up with a spoiler-free review of Stranger Things 2. All this and so much more on a frightful episode of the Tower of Terror Podcast!

Episode 99 - The Age of Adaptations

Julian Meush July 8, 2017

After a nice Canada Day/4th of July long weekend the ToB Crew are back at it. The news didn't take a vacation so there's a ton to cover. Starting with movie news the guys discuss the major shakeup with the Han Solo movie, the future of the MCU, Wonder Woman's tremendous box office success and much more. On the TV front it seems like there's a never ending rumour mill of possible adaptations and reboots. This time it's HBO possibly adapting Watchmen, a live action Jetsons series from Robert Zemeckis and Kevin Bacon talking a Tremors reboot. Finally in gaming news Nintendo announced the Super NES Classic Edition and Julian and Dan debate the merits of removing the "Game Over" screen from Super Mario Odyssey. All this and so much more in this week's Tower of Babble Podcast!

Episode 90 - James Cameron's Opinion

Julian Meush February 8, 2017

Its just Julian and Dan this week as the two of them cover some of the latest in geek news. Including: Ben Affleck stepping down from directing Batman and who's on the short list to replace him, CW's Riverdale, James Cameron's opinion on some of his old franchises and much more.

Episode 87 - Wii U-logy

Julian Meush November 27, 2016

After a week off the ToB Crew returns refreshed and ready to break down all the latest geek news. They jump right in by discussing the latest movie trailers, including the highly anticipated Scarlett Johansson film Ghost in the Shell. Every week brings new comic book movie news so Julian Meush, Daniel D'Souza and Jeremy Kozier examine the rumour of Green Lantern possibly making an appearance in next years Justice League film, David Leitch taking over Deadpool 2 and why we may never see the X-Men in the same movie as the Avengers. Over with Star Wars, it was revealed that Josh Trank's Star Wars anthology film was going to centre around Boba Fett, Emilia Clark joins the cast of the Han Solo film and early tracking numbers are looking good for Rogue One. Before moving onto the news of the big Inhumans TV/IMAX deal the guys discuss the potential future of "variable ticket pricing" at the movie theatre and why it might not be the worst thing in the world. In terms of gaming news, the Wii U has reached the end of its life so its time for its eulogy and then to look forward to the Switch and a possible price point for the hybrid handheld/home console. A brief spoiler review of Arrival wraps up the show along with a brief discussion on The Master, The Theory of Everything, The Edge and The Accountant.

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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

May 2, 2025

SSSW - Andor S2 E4 - 6

May 2, 2025

I'm sorry to tell you all, but we're already halfway through this final season of 'Andor'. Fortunately, the quality hasn't dipped one bit as we accelerate into the finish. Join Julian and Rachel as they savour every minute of this 3-episode arch that takes us to Ghorman for the first time on screen. Tony Gilroy and the team at Lucasfilm outdid themselves yet again in crafting every detail. The size of the set alone is impressive, but they take it a step further by developing a unique culture and even language different from anything we've seen in Star Wars before. It all fits seamlessly into this next chapter of the story that has a heavy emphasis on spycraft as the pressure ramps up for both the Rebellion and the Empire.

May 2, 2025