Game of Thrones Bonus Episode - GoT Spin-offs: ToB Breakdown

Julian Meush May 13, 2017

Surprise! Julian and Daniel are back for another off-season ToB Breakdown episode. HBO just announced that it was going forward with a Game of Thrones spin-off (probably a prequel). Four different writers plus George RR Martin himself are involved in putting together speck scripts for four different possible shows. The guys discuss possible time periods for these spin-offs and debate the value of exploring past events and characters.

Episode 95 - Everyone's Favourite Goldblum

Julian Meush May 9, 2017

It's just Julian and Daniel this week on the program as Jeremy is "away". But the show must go on, so to kick things off Julian takes us through his picks for this year's "summer movie wager" and rips Regal Theatres for some questionable business practices. The guys then dive deep into the latest geek news, starting with a couple notable trailers for Marvel's Defenders and The Dark Tower. Moving on, Fox announces 3 new X-Men movies for 2018, Kevin Feige talks about "Phase 4" of the MCU, the Avatar sequels get new release dates (again) and Jeff Goldblum joins the Jurassic World sequel. On the TV front we got our first tease of Marvel's Inhumans and, DC and WB announce a new "DC focused" streaming service that will feature Young Justice season 3 and a new Teen Titans live action series. Over with games, Call of Duty: WWII got a trailer, Nintendo revealed some impressive sales numbers and Injustice 2 continues its march towards launch. To wrap things up the guys shower praise all over the premier of American Gods on Starz, the latest show from Brian Fuller based on the work of Neil Gaiman. All this and so much more on the week's Tower of Babble Podcast!

Episode 94 - NOT Star Wars

Julian Meush April 26, 2017

Following our big Star Wars Extravaganza the ToB Crew return with another numbered episode discussing all the NON-Star Wars related news. Starting with the Thor: Ragnarok trailer, which gave us our first taste of what looks to be a delightful space adventure, despite the dower name. The guys then give their impressions on Josh Brolin being cast as Cable in Deadpool 2 as well as a whole pile of other casting news. After a little video game talk, that included Nintendo Switch sales numbers and a new Call of Duty announcement, Julian, Daniel and Jeremy round out the show with a review of Fast and Furious 8 and the latest DC animated film, Teen Titans: Judas Contract. All this and so much more on this week's Tower of Babble Podcast!

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!

Game of Thrones Season 7 Preview: ToB Breakdown

Julian Meush April 8, 2017

This time last year we were gearing up for another season of Game of Thrones. Looking back, we didn't know how good we had it, because a year later we're still waiting until July before we get back to Westeros. We've been feeling the withdraw like a milk of the poppy addict and we're sure you are too so we sat down to preview the coming season to ease the pain. We discuss everything we know about season seven, dissect the teaser trailer and then make some story predictions. To close out the show we lay out our plans for our season seven GoFundMe campaign and come hat in hand asking for your patronage. If you've been enjoying all of our Game of Thrones Breakdowns for the last several years and have been aching to give back, here's your chance!

Episode 93 - Sour Grapes Over Rotten Tomatoes

Julian Meush April 4, 2017

It's a big show this week and it kicks off with a bang as the guys play a Spider-Man themed version of Nerd Association in honour of the new trailer as well as discuss the news that Spidey might be leaving the MCU sooner than we thought. Julian, Dan and Jeremy then dissect the Justice League, Spider-Man: Homecoming and Mummy trailers before examining Ghost in the Shell's abysmal box office performance. Moving on, and in what is quickly becoming a staple of the ToB Podcast, the Agree or Disagree segment returns, this time asking whether Rotten Tomatoes is truly the "destruction" of the movie business. On the TV front, Buffy celebrates 20 years, followed by briefly talking about several shows that had either their season or series finales including Legion on FX (A show that everyone should be watching) and Star Wars: Rebels (Another show everyone should be watching) and Black Sails. Plus, True Detective season three might happen after all! The show then continues into a bit of gaming news and a discussion on Mass Effect: Andromeda before closing out on a brief discussion on diversity in comics. All this and so much more on this week's Tower of Babble Podcast, which is nothing if not chock-full of nerdy goodness. Enjoy!

Episode 92 - Iron Fist

Julian Meush March 23, 2017

With Julian now back in the Cayman Islands for, at least, six months the show is back to the Skype setup, but it doesn't take them long to get right back into the swing of things. Starting with a fresh game of Nerd Association the guys discuss the latest from the DCEU, the return of The Matrix, the latest delay of Avatar 2 and all the latest in nerdy movie news. The ToB Crew then revisit another old segment, "Agree of Disagree" (We're still working on a better name), and give their take on whether the film industry has a "bleak" future. Next is some TV talk covering Netflix dumping the five star rating system and some major Star Wars moments on Rebels followed by a brief Games section. To close out the show Julian, Jeremy and Daniel give a preliminary review of Marvel's Iron Fist and have a heated debate on the merits of the PS4 exclusive Horizon: Zero Dawn.

Episode 91 - Switch Launch

Julian Meush March 11, 2017

It's been a few week's since the ToB Crew has tackled the news but now that the Oscars are over it's time to dig deep into all the latest goings-on in the nerd world. Starting with the DCEU as things have been busy over at Warner Brothers. The guys discuss Matt Reeves directing The Batman, the Nightwing movie announcement and a ton more DC movie tidbits before moving onto some TV talk. Including: Another delay for Star Trek: Discovery but at least they cast their captain, Star Wars Rebels has been renewed for a 4th season and Castlevania is getting an animated series on Netflix. Finally, Julian, Dan and Jeremy cover the Nintendo Switch launch and the unprecedented reception of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. All this and so much more (including X-Men rumours and Tron 3 news!) on this week's Tower of Babble Podcast!

ToB Interlude - Logan Review

Julian Meush March 8, 2017

Julian Meush, Daniel D'Souza and Jeremy Kozier review James Mangold's Logan. Starring Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, it marks the the final time the actor will put on the claws after having portrayed the character for 17 years. The guys examine every R rated detail of this emotionally heavy, violent and gritty film and take a few trips down memory lane, looking back at one of the greatest actors to ever step into a superhero role.

ToB Interlude - 2017 Oscar Preview Show!

Julian Meush February 19, 2017

It's that time of year again! Yes, that's right, it's Oscar season and the Tower of Babble Crew is back for their second annual Oscars Preview Show! Julian, Daniel and Jeremy sit down and talk about some of the year's best movies and predict who will take home the golden statues. From Best Actor to Best Adapted Screenplay the guys give their take on the major categories, but at the end of the day its all about Best Picture. Each Best Picture nominee is broken down and discussed in an effort to fully understand what's at stake for film's biggest prize.

Support the Show

Become a Patron!

Donate

REcent Episodes

Featured

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