The prestigious Tobie Awards returns for it's 7th annual ceremony. In a bit of a change from tradition, the decision has been made to split the show into two parts. Part one, today, will cover the best of television from 2023. There was a lot of great shows to chose from, but your hosts, Julian, Jeremy, and special guest, Vince, deliver a varied list that has something for everyone. Of course the breakout hit from HBO, 'The Last of Us', gets it's fair share of love but outside of that, I dare you to guess where all the pieces fall. Next week, we dive into the best in film!
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Episode 191 - Take Me Back to 2018
As the ToB Crew kickoff 2024, we begin by lamenting what we lost. If only we could return to the simpler times, pre-pandemic. Alas, this is not to be, so instead Julian and Jeremy rely on "ol' faithful", which of course means reviewing the latest news concerning film and television. Unfortunately, they immediately lose focus, perhaps subconsciously staying true to the nostalgic undertone that accompany the start of a new year, and enjoy a fun sidebar discussion about the state of Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings and Star Wars in the early 2000s (We didn't know how good we had it back then). All of which was of course an offshoot of the news of John Williams un-retirement. Next the guys unpack some Star Wars news, and then lean into Marvel. Specifically the fresh legitimacy the Netflix 'Defenders' saga shows have received as Daredevil is pulled further into the MCU. They also save some time to review the Golden Globe winners and look ahead at the Emmys (which were happening live during the recording). All that and so much more on this week's episode of The Tower of Babble Podcast.
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SSSW - 2024 Star Wars Kickoff
Maybe time works differently in the Star Wars universe because it feels like it was just yesterday that we were flipping over the calendar from 2022 to 2023. We were so young and naive. We didn't know a Hollywood strike would bring production of all our most anticipated projects to a grinding halt, and we hadn't yet learned to never trust a movie announcement from Lucasfilm, or that Mando S3 would land with such a thud. But here we are, a year later, looking ahead at another year of Star Wars. We are still waiting for the next movie in the franchise, while some of the best animated content is about to come to an end with the final season of 'The Bad Batch'. Plus, some intriguing new live action shows are just around the corner in 'The Acolyte' and 'Skeleton Crew', though we still don't know much about either one. It's a tumultuous time, so to kick things off on the right foot, Julian and Rachel take a moment to enjoy their Star Wars themed Christmas gifts before diving back into the nitty gritty.
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Bonus Episode - End of Year Movie Talk
Julian and Jeremy recently sat down to record a Film Club episode and as it happens, they mad some extra time to chat about a few random topics afterwards. This is that conversation. Physical media vs streaming, Oppenheimer, Rebel Moon, Harry Potter, TV's, sound and home theatre setups. It's a hodgepodge of topics that will fit perfectly into your holiday podcast binging. Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas from all of us at Tower of Babble! See you next year...
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Episode 190 - Sequels and Spider-Man
With every media company in some state of crises these day, it's nice to be reminded that there are things worth looking forward to, even if it's mixed in with a lot of other crap. You really need to try these days to cut through the noise. Fortunately, at least one new trailer dropped recently that made us feel alive again, 'Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga', taking us back to the simpler times of bombastic explosions and a post-apocalyptical setting. As this weeks episode title suggests, yes it is a sequel (or I suppose a prequel as well), and yes, sequels in general have been on the top of Hollywood's mind as of late. Disney's Bob Iger, who has had a rough go of it recently, chimed in saying that Disney was going to pull back on the amount of sequels it was creating. Meanwhile, Sony, who can't help themselves, released a trailer for 'Madame Web', highlighting for everyone exactly why less sequels are needed. Julian and Jeremy discuss all of this, as well as a lay-up "Agree of Disagree" featuring Chris Nolan, which dovetails nicely into a conversation on 'Oppenheimer' to close things out. All this, and more, in the week's Tower of Babble Podcast!
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Episode 189 - Marvel Feeling Desperate
We're hitting the ground running as we attempt to get back to a regular cadence this week with one of the biggest stories in Hollywood right now. If you've been listening to this show for awhile you know that we've paid close attention to the troubles that have beset Warner Brothers over the last few years. My have the tables been turned. Variety has put out a pretty scathing article (hit piece?) on the current state of Marvel Studios that didn't hold back in its indictment of the management (mismanagement) by Disney for what was, up until very recently, a nearly unblemished brand. Julian and Jeremy unpack how they got themselves in this situation and ponder what moves they can make to bring people back into the world Stan built. Meanwhile, of course, WB still manages to find it's way into the limelight with it's latest attempt to burry a film for tax credits, so of course that is touched on as well.
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Bonus Episode - Summer Movie Wager Results 2023
With crisp autumn leaves on the ground and the smell of pumpkin spice latte's in the air, it's easy to feel nostalgic about the summer that was. And what a summer it was (at least for Hollywood)! 2023 saw the resurgence of a more "typical" summer movie slate, having recovered as best as it could after COVID. Massive titles like 'Spider-Man', 'Indiana Jones', 'Guardians of the Galaxy' and don't forget the massive phenomenon of 'Barbenheimer'. It all came and went over the summer months seemingly in the blink of an eye. It was a whirlwind time that brought many surprises, both good and bad. Julian and Rachel unpack it all as they review the results of this year's Summer Movie Wager (credit to The Filmcast).
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SSSW - Ahsoka S1E8 “The Jedi, the Witch, and the Warlord”
There it is folks. The big finale for Dave Filoni's first full season of live action Star Wars. Though it was a little bumpy at times, most can probably agree that 'Ahsoka' brought it in the parts that matter most. Characters and emotional through-lines were strong, the plot satisfying, the action thrilling, and most importantly they were able to stick the landing. Sure, there's still plenty of unanswered mysteries, and with no clear understanding of how the story will continue (we have yet to hear of an announcement for a season 2) all fans can do right now is unpack the story so far. And in that regard, you're in luck, because that's exactly what Julian and Rachel are here to do. The pair of hosts do a scene-by-scene dissection of the entire episode, look back at the season as a whole, and do their best to predict where things might go from here (which turned out to be surprisingly hard to do).
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Bonus Episode - Ahsoka and More - Daily DVR
Last week, Julian joined friend-of-the-show, Axel, on the Daily DVR Podcast to discuss the dire future of streaming TV as Amazon looks to introduce ads to Prime, the end of the writers strike and how audiences have yet to feel it's deferred impact on content, and a light-weight discussion on Disney's 'Ahsoka'. Think of it as a companion piece to the Small Screen Star Wars content we've been delivering. At the end, the guys chat a bit about Canadian football of all things as well. Enjoy!
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SSSW - Ahsoka S1E7 "Dreams and Madness"
It never ceases to surprise me how quickly 8-episode seasons of TV fly by. Here we are, already at the penultimate episode of the season (everyone's favourite TV related word, maybe only next to "titular"). With only the season finale left to rap things up, there's some anxiety amongst the fandom that there won't be enough time in only one episode to provide a satisfying finish to what has largely been a very successful season of TV. Both in terms of quality of storytelling but also fan reception. Time will tell how 'Ahsoka' will tie off it's loose ends, but with a "Heir to the Empire" movie on the horizon, it may not need to neatly wrap everything up. In terms of 'Part Seven' itself, it does the necessary job of moving all the pieces into place for a big finish next week while also providing some exciting action set pieces framed with strategy sessions with Thrawn. It had this tick-tack-toe feeling to it, as Thrawn, commanding his forces remotely, faced off and was forced to adapt as Ahsoka and our heroes responded to his moves. It made for a interesting dynamic that filled most of the episode. Oh, and we got a fun cameo as we checked back in with Hera and the New Republic. Next week is the big finale. We all hope it's got a long runtime as it has quite a bit to do, and as Thrawn said this week, the season lost the only thing it couldn't afford to lose, time.
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