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Small Screen Star Wars

Star Wars has been a part of small screen history ever since the premiere of the infamous Christmas Special in 1978. Since then, animated classics like ‘Droids’, and ‘Ewoks’, to modern day epics like ‘The Clone Wars’ and ‘Rebels’, have shown that Star Wars is more than just the theatrical films. Disney+ has since brought new life to the franchise with the likes of ‘The Mandalorian’, ‘Obi-Wan: Kenobi’, ‘Andor’ and more. Right now, Star Wars IS the small screen. Julian Meush and Rachel Wilkinson break down, dissect, and review new episodes of Star War every week as they air on Disney+.

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Obi-Wan Kenobi - Premiere Reaction and Review

Julian Meush May 29, 2022

Run, dont walk, to your nearest Disney+ enabled device, because ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ is finally here and it’s been worth every excruciating moment you have spent waiting. With Rachel “on-location” at Star Wars Celebration in Anaheim (don’t worry, she’s already promised to have A LOT to talk about when she’s back), Jeremy fills in to review the premiere (Part 1 and Part 2) with full spoilers. Join the guys as they gush over the execution of a series long awaited, that carries the weight of enormous expectations, yet still managed to deliver something that goes beyond what even the most strident Star Wars fan could have expected. Everything from the elevated scope and scale, to the brilliant performances by returning and new actors alike, there isn’t much to dislike here, if anything at all. This is something big that deserves your attention, so join us every week as we break down each new installment. It all starts here!

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The Book of Boba Fett S1E7 "In The Name of Honor"

Julian Meush February 11, 2022

With all the best intentions, it seems 'The Book of Boba Fett' caped it's first season, with more of a thud than a bang. Despite some really cool visuals this finale felt weightless and uninspired. The divergence to Mando for two episodes did not pay off enough to justify the time spent away from our main characters, thus making the final moments of the season feel disjointed. Of course having Grogu and Mando back together is nice, but at what cost? Time will tell how this all fits into the larger Star Wars TV landscape but for now it certainly looks like there's some room for improvement. On the bright side, how cool was it seeing the showdown between Boba and Bane, or a Rancor on the loose?! There's still plenty to love. Julian and Rachel dissect the good, the bad, and the ugly, and look forward to what a second season might look it. See you in May!

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The Book of Boba Fett S1E6 "From the Desert Comes a Stranger"

Julian Meush February 4, 2022

After last week's episode we thought there was NO WAY they would spend another full chapter on Mando's story, but boy were we wrong. Not only did it pick up right after last week, with Din on his way to see Grogu, it took it to the next level with Luke playing a much larger role than I think anyone expected (by the way, the deep fake tech has apparently come a long way since 'The Mandalorian' season 2. Luke actually looks pretty great!). The most surprising part, besides the delightfully unexpected inclusion of yet another 'Clone Wars' character, was that Boba didn't have a single line of dialogue again in his own show (although, that could be considered an improvement over last week where we didn't see him at all). All that being said, maybe we shouldn't have been surprised considering we knew Dave Filoni was in the director's seat this week. It's always a pleasure seeing Dave at work, but it's his writing where I think where he really shines, in yet another solid installment of live action Star Wars now under his belt. The question now is, how the hell does this show wrap everything up in one episode?!

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The Book of Boba Fett S1E5 "Return of the Mandalorian"

Julian Meush January 28, 2022

When we all heard the Mando whistle/theme at the end of last week's episode I think it's fair to say no one expected this! Lucasfilm decided to drop an entire episode of 'The Mandalorian' into the middle of 'The Book of Boba Fett'; essentially a Mando season 3 premiere. That being said, I was very pleasantly surprised as this episode not only brought us some awesome Dark Saber action moments, it also introduced us to an exciting new local, had some deep lore, fun prequel connections, and it all looked absolutely stunning. This is easily the best episode we've got all season, but it doesn't really feel fair to compare this to the rest of 'The Book of Boba Fett' as this is essentially an episode of an entirely different show (I mean... Boba doesn't even make an appearance this week!). With only two episodes left in the season, only time will tell if this choice will prove to fit in smoothly with the rest of the story, or if it will feel disjointed, but the tease at the end of this week certainly has us excited for what's to come!

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The Book of Boba Fett S1E4 "The Gathering Storm"

Julian Meush January 21, 2022

After a largely disappointing episode last week, we catch up with Boba and friends in what appears to be the final flashback sequence of the season (though I'm still holding out hope for a few more!). Boba recruits Fennec, recovers his Firespray class starship, and exacts some revenge on a certain biker gang (and sarlacc). Back in the contemporary story, Boba does some more recruiting (nice to see that wasn't the last we see of everyone's new favourite wookie), and invites the local crime bosses over for a dinner party in an attempt to gain their aid against the Pykes. Leaving us with a pending "war" and an exciting tease of a certain shiny-armoured friend.

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The Book of Boba Fett S1E3 "The Streets of Mos Espa"

Julian Meush January 14, 2022

Boba Fett's star vehicle seems to be on a bit of a rocky road. A lukewarm premiere was followed by one of the best Star Wars TV chapters yet, only to have chapter 3 stumble once again. Robert Rodriguez is behind the camera (as he was for chapter 1), and despite his action pedigree, the fight and chase sequences were underwhelming. The fights feeling oddly blocked and paced, while the chase could not have felt much slower (unless maybe they were walking?). Story-wise, the conflict with the Hutts was quickly resolved, only to leave us with a completely new enemy, and still no idea why Boba Fett even WANTS to be a crime lord. Especially one who is facing a war with another crime syndicate. With another 4 chapters left to find its way, there's still plenty of hope, but so far the track record is not strong for what was a very highly anticipated series. Join Julian and Rachel as they unpack what worked and what didn't in this week's episode of Small Screen Star Wars.

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The Book of Boba Fett S1E2 "The Tribes of Tatooine"

Julian Meush January 7, 2022

After a rocky start, with an underwhelming first chapter, there were some concerns about how the rest of 'The Book of Boba Fett' would play out. Fortunately, Chapter 2 put that all to rest with a spectacular follow up. "The Tribes of Tatooine" continues to explore the Tusken culture, and likely finished what "The Mandalorian" started, by officially winning most us over to being full fledged fans of "the sand people". Meanwhile, the "contemporary" story jacks up the stakes as some major players are introduced to threaten Boba's burgeoning criminal empire. This is all done while finding time for some very fun and satisfying nods to long time Star Wars fans throughout the episode. This is top notch Star Wars in nearly every regard. Join Julian and Rachel as they dissect it all!

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The Book of Boba Fett S1E1 "Strangers in a Strange Land"

Julian Meush December 31, 2021

It's been a long wait since the end of 'The Mandalorian' season 2 that not only reintroduced the character decades after his supposed death in 'Return of the Jedi', but it also ended with a teaser of Boba on Jabba's throne. Fans have since been speculating about the uncertain future of the galaxies most feared bounty hunter now that he's taking an eye to leadership. The first episode does little to reveal what is to come for Boba, and instead looks backwards, as we are treated to the long anticipated reveal of HOW he survived the Sarlacc. It's unclear if we'll follow Boba's journey all the way up until we meet up with him in Mando but it seems clear that they are using the full extent of the "book" motif, and will likely explore other parts of the character's life throughout the series while following his rise through the underworld.

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Star Wars: Visions

Julian Meush October 4, 2021

Julian and Rachel reconvene to discuss 'Star Wars: Visions'. The anime anthology series that brings together some of the biggest studios in Japan to tell Star Wars inspired stories. From the Kurosawa inspired "The Duel" that opens the series with dramatic fashion, to the more eclectic and fun "T0-B1", there's a lot to love here for Star Wars and anime fans alike. Everyone will have their favourites, and the ones they don't particularly care for, but that comes with the territory when you're dealing with such a wide variety of styles and themes. Listen as your hosts break down each short and rank their favourites.

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The Bad Batch S1E16 "Kamino Lost"

Julian Meush August 17, 2021

Picking up only moments after last week's episode, the season finale of 'The Bad Batch' spent much of its 28 minute runtime alternating between action set pieces, as the squad works to stay alive as Tapoka City sinks into the Kaminoan sea, and hard hitting dialogue scenes as the show unpacks Crosshair's emotional turmoil. For my money, it's the those dialogue scenes that really hit home and make this finale work. Where as I wasn't as concerned for the squads survival during the set pieces, knowing a season 2 was on the way. We are treated to continued exchanges between Hunter and Crosshair that dive deep into Crosshair's damaged psyche and make you feel genuine pity and sadness for the character. To me it's another sign that the show is willing, and capable, of tell complex stories and sets up a fascinating season 2. Overall, the first season of 'The Bad Batch' has to be considered a success. The animation quality took another step forward (the water effects alone in this episode are enough to blow me away) and the storytelling was generally consistent across the season (looking at you "Infested"). It's by far the best first season of any Lucasfilm Animation series, and as a season finale it holds its own against some of the absolute bests in Star Wars.

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Tower of Babble Podcast

We're a podcast network talking about the things you care about. Characters, places and events that aren't real... but are. Three friends chat about the goings on in geek news. Film and television are the focus with a variety of shows that also concentrate on gaming and comics.

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