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S02E65: May the Fourth Be With You! Plus More Mando
37 Plays26 days ago
May the Fourth Be With You! On this highest of Star Wars holidays, here's an early release of the podcast for a recap of current Star Wars news, followed by our usual two-episode recap of Mando Season 3. And as I am typing these show notes, I realize that this is the second anniversary of the debut of this podcast! Happy birthday to us, and May the Fourth Be With You!
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Transcript
Star Wars Day Celebrations and Debates
00:00:00
Speaker
May the 4th be with you. We're going to catch up on Star Wars news and talk about the next two episodes of The Mandalorian, and we're going to do it as quick as we can. Aren't you a little short? Aren't you a little short?
00:00:11
Speaker
Aren't you a little short for a stormtrooper? Welcome back to Short for a Stormtrooper on this, the highest holy day for Star Wars fans, May the 4th. We're releasing this a day early. You know, usually I come out on Tuesdays, but i'm going to release this on Monday and we are recording it on May the 3rd. Although, you know, honestly, for me, the actual high holy day is May the 25th because that was the actual anniversary of the release of Star Wars.
00:00:42
Speaker
But hey, celebrate twice, right? Yeah. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Ben giving the thumbs up, forgetting that this is an audio only podcast. I didn't know I was supposed to join in. I was just trying to encourage you from the sidelines. Very good. You know, um, so, Hey, before we dive back into the Mandalorian, just a couple of things. First off, how did you guys celebrate May the 4th? Phil, I think it was your birthday. You were celebrating a birthday and your mom's birthday. And I bet star Wars didn't even come up in the conversation. You would be right about that. Um,
00:01:14
Speaker
Definitely. You know, we might watch, maybe we'll watch the original one. You know, it's still still a few, see ill still some time. And because don't think, i don't think my partner Devin has seen it, but I've seen it. But it's honestly been quite a long time since I've seen a New Hope.
00:01:36
Speaker
So maybe maybe that'll be on the junket for the fourth. Other than that, no Star Wars like fandom planned. Okay. I have a recommendation for you on that, but before I get to it, Ben, how did you celebrate?
00:01:50
Speaker
Oh my gosh. I had cupcakes and pinball. It was great. There's a place here in Denver, right near where we live, where we could go. And it turns out I've never seen pinball games in a cupcake store before. It's not a very big place. Yeah. But they had Star Wars themed cupcakes. So some very creative ones. There's one called the Battle of Crate, which is like a like a red velvet cake. But then on top of it is like a white like frosted top. But then they put like red sprinkles on it. So it's kind of like the.
00:02:22
Speaker
the surface there, they had like a, a Darth chocolate, which was as just as awesome as you can have. That's the one I had. And then after I had a cupcake, I played a bit of the Mandalorian ah pinball game by Stern and had a great time with that.
00:02:38
Speaker
And even managed on the store's leaderboard to hit number eight. So with 73 million points, that's, I'm very happy with myself today.
00:02:49
Speaker
It's a good day. Very good. Very good. I love that. That's a great way to celebrate.
Original vs. Special Editions Debate
00:02:55
Speaker
Well, what I did, i was singing the same way that Phil was. So I woke up this morning and I was like, I'm going watch episode four.
00:03:03
Speaker
And so I turned on Disney Plus and I started watching it. And then i was like, wait a second. You know what? I don't want to watch the special edition. You know, I don't want to see Han shoot second and I don't want to hear McClunky and all of that. So um let's just say that Harrison, who is my son and also is my roommate, ah named after Harrison Ford, but in an Indiana Jones way, not in a Han Solo way. He is a very Han Solo way when it comes to pirating.
00:03:34
Speaker
So I said, Harrison, can you download for me the despecialized edition? And so he was able to find it. So Phil, if you're going to watch it tonight and if you have the time to do this, I would recommend just do a Google and see if you can find 4K77. Just Google on that.
00:03:52
Speaker
And that's the latest project to do the the the unedited version of episode four. um which I just finished watching and it was great because while he was downloading that, I was like, you know what, maybe I should actually watch Rogue One first.
00:04:11
Speaker
And then I was like, you know what, before I even do that, I should watch the Gorman Massacre episodes of Andor and get the full arc. And so that was how I spent my day when I wasn't going for a four mile run and doing my laundry and doing my grocery shopping, which I did get done.
00:04:28
Speaker
So that was how I celebrated though. And it's been a great day If I may ask, Bob, just and, you know, would love if any of the fans out there could weigh in in the comments section. But is there sort of this debate of the original version of Star Wars versus this new? I imagine it's like George Lucas making updates to it. Right. Is that sort of the the gist of it? Like very much is it. And so the fandom is generally, would you say, like against these updated versions of it? I again, like I'm sort of in some ways an outsider. I don't maybe have the full context. So I'm curious. Is that what it's like?
00:05:00
Speaker
Again, there's various thoughts, but I would say right now the conventional wisdom is that the edits that George made to it, some of them enhance it, but most of them actually detract from it. And I was just thinking that while I was watching it. Harrison was watching with me, and at the end he was like, you know, I really like this version much better.
00:05:19
Speaker
than the version I've ever seen before. So that was that was interesting and true. So, yeah. But, you know, what we will know. So next year, a year from right now, they're going to re-release this version in the theaters in commemoration of the 50th anniversary.
00:05:35
Speaker
Wow. So you will be able to see it that way. And it'll it'll be interesting to see kind of what sticks with the legacy from here moving forward. I'm sure George is not happy with them releasing the original version.
00:05:47
Speaker
And he shouldn't have signed away Lucasfilm in 2012. I know. He's not happy about it.
Memories of 1997 Star Wars Re-release
00:05:54
Speaker
my That's my message for George Lucas today. I'm sure he's i'm sure he's listening.
00:05:58
Speaker
yeah Ben, did you want to weigh in on the original? Just pointing out that, yeah, you're right. It was really kind of divisive in some ways because when the, I remember when they first did the first round of like specializing, if you want to call it that, the first round of edits that George Lucas ever did to this was in the 97 releases. Now I'm going date myself here, but this is the year I graduated from college. And I remember distinctly going to the Neptune Theater in the U district in Washington state.
00:06:24
Speaker
And I go in there and I'm sitting there to see some other movie. I don't even remember what it was, but the trailer for this comes up. And it's a thing that's about, you see a little kind of what on a movie screen would be like a postage stamp sized television, like an old CRT television with a trailer that says, if you've only ever seen Star Wars this way. you know, and they're sort of showing the version of the, you know, X-wing fighters and stuff like that in the Death Star battle, then you haven't seen Star Wars at all. And this X-wing fighter blasts through the TV and it's full size on the movie screen, which none of us have ever seen before. If you're my age at that time, the audience goes nuts.
00:07:00
Speaker
yeah Special editions come out that summer lines around the block. People are going nuts for this thing, yeah, It's great when you're looking at the X-Wing fighter battles because there's a little more fleshed out and they look better. On the other hand, Greedo shoots first. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:07:17
Speaker
Yeah. And there's a lot of scenes that that he adds that just kind of it adds a little bit of texture to the universe, but it slows down the pacing of the film. If that was my if I may ask, Bob, did you see Star Wars in theaters when it came out?
00:07:32
Speaker
and so Absolutely, I did. Wow. Yeah. and so Many, many times. So Ben, because I know you had said you know you were dating yourself. I wasn't alive in 1997. Well, true. Yeah. so like i And so I've never... We had the DVD of Revenge of the Sith, but I don't think I've ever seen a Star Wars film in the theater before. So maybe next year will be the time. If there was ever a time, I think it is to see it for the 50th anniversary, to see the original in theaters.
Upcoming Star Wars Movies and Disney Changes
00:08:01
Speaker
Well, that's actually a good segue because remember coming up in just a couple of weeks is the Mandalorian and Grogu, which is where I wanted to go next. Um, I did get my tickets for seeing it at the Chinese on opening day. So continuing that tradition, which I'm excited about.
00:08:17
Speaker
Phil, you're actually going to be in Europe. I will be in Greece. Uh, I will not be watching the Mandalorian and Grogu, unfortunately. Um, But perhaps when I'm back, we can record a reaction episode in June. I feel like we have to if we've been building up. You know, we got to get some we got to do a pot about it. Yeah, absolutely. you know what I'm thinking is maybe Ben and I will go ahead and do a quick reaction to when the movie comes out and then we'll come back and get your full i movie student quality appraisal at the end, which would be great. Sounds good. Yeah.
00:08:50
Speaker
couple other bits of Star Wars news just this last week at Star Wars Galaxy's Edge at Disneyland they did the big timeline change so now everything east of the forest is set in original trilogy times so you've got Vader you've got Han you've got Luke ah you've got Leia and on May 22nd, when the Mandalorian movie comes out, they'll be changing the the Smuggler's Run ride, the Millennium Falcon ride, to a brand new story, brand new mission featuring Mando and Grogu. so Fun. after Yeah, when I'm back in LA, after I see Mandalorian and Grogu at the Chinese Theater on opening day, I think the next day or sometime that weekend, I'll be out at Star Wars Land, so I will come back with a full report on that is the plan.
00:09:41
Speaker
So i'm excited about that. The other thing, and yeah, we're like halfway through the timeframe of this. We're more than halfway through the timeframe of this episode. We're going long today, kids, because, you know, I'll put in the show notes, like get get an especially long chore to do while you do this. We just have a lot to talk about.
The Mandalorian: Reactions and Critiques
00:09:58
Speaker
um Have you guys checked out Maul Shadowlord yet? The new animated series that's running right now? Not yet. I'm looking forward to that one. It's really good. And I would say...
00:10:10
Speaker
it is some It is probably the most sophisticated animated show that they have done yet. ah It's almost as sophisticated as like the last season of, well, it's I would say more than the last season of Rebels and starting to almost approach Andor, which as I was watching those two episodes again today, it made me think, gosh, I wonder if Filoni kind of like went to school on Andor and was like, this is how you bring a little bit more adult level to stories, even though, you know, there are some teenagers who are part of the cast of Maul's Shadow Lord. It's just really working.
00:10:54
Speaker
So I suggest giving it a giving it a shot. It really starts heating up about episode four or five. But the first three are not boring or anything like that. So can I just say I'm a kind of a fan of Sam Whitworth these days.
00:11:08
Speaker
You know what i mean? Like that guy's got all kinds of cred in Star Wars. And let's not forget in Dungeons and Dragons, too. So, yes. And in Battlestar Galactica.
00:11:18
Speaker
Right. And, you know, yeah, he's a really good guy. Phil has no idea who we're talking. Absolutely zero idea. He does the voice of Darth Maul in the animation, but he is also like a huge Star Wars fan.
00:11:30
Speaker
Like he knows what he's doing and what he's talking about. And he he will correct to the directors on lore sometimes. So it's fun. You ready to talk Mando though, guys? We better get into this. Let's do it, man.
00:11:42
Speaker
All right. So let's start with chapter 20, The Foundling, written by Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni together and directed by Carl Weathers, one of his last acting credits before he unfortunately passed away.
00:11:54
Speaker
Mando returns to the hidden covert, a Mandalorian foundling, Paz Vizsla's son Ragnar, gets snatched by a Shriek Hawk, the tribe mounts a rescue, and Bo-Katan saves the foundlings, earning the highest honor of the Creed.
00:12:09
Speaker
Meanwhile, Grogu has a force flashback to Order 66 that finally reveals who saved him. Ben, I'm going to start with you and get your reaction to this episode, then Phil, I'm going to get your download on it, and then there's really just one thing I want to talk about with this episode ah What can I say? Misa loved the flashback. yeah Right.
00:12:31
Speaker
ah Loved Ahmed best that he finally got a moment where he could be somebody other than Jar Jar Binks in the Star Wars canon. And we could see him as as his actual actor-y self doing a great job out there. yeah Really fascinating to see a little bit of backstory. In general, I like the story. it's It feels a little bit like a filler episode, but we do see a lot of stuff that is...
00:12:54
Speaker
Bo-Katan kind of starting to build the coalition that will be important for her in the future. So lots of good parts and pieces. um i will say of the episodes that we're looking at going down the stretch, this is probably the least compelling before we head off into the the real run up to the finale.
00:13:18
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I have similar sentiments, but Phil, I want to hear from you first. Yeah, I would say I pretty much align with Ben on this. This was sort of a nothing burger episode for me. It didn't, it's sort of, yeah, filler, I think is the word you use, Ben, right? Like it it feels like they needed another episode and they were just, and it's really short, as I recall. And it just, feel yeah, it feels like a bit of a nothing episode. Honestly, i wanted to see more of the Grogu backstory. I would have loved like,
00:13:47
Speaker
I would have loved the rest of the episode was like that. I mean, the action sequence is cool. I thought the creature looked really cool and it's cool that Grogu gets some armor. i really liked that piece of it, but yeah it feels like, uh, in some ways like an episode of the week, which I know, which I know Mandalorian does sometimes, but it, it felt empty.
00:14:09
Speaker
I don't know if I like, it just are like a bridge to the next part of the story. Um, yeah. So yeah, it was, it okay. It was fine. Yeah, it was. Yeah, it was fine.
Ahmed Best's Star Wars Journey
00:14:20
Speaker
Yeah. And, you know, this is kind of further establishing this pattern that we're seeing this season of the the the continuity, the thread that's going through the whole season. You get a little bit of the beginning of the episode and a little bit out of at the end of the episode. And then you've got just kind of randomness in the middle, ah which we're going to see even more in the next episode that we talk about here in a minute.
00:14:44
Speaker
ah I'm like, i was kind of the same thing, like them climbing up the mountains and, you know, The whole thing about the Mandalorian culture of the leader has the honor of sitting by the fire while the rest of them all go off and take off their helmets. Some interesting lore there and all that kind of stuff.
00:15:04
Speaker
But yeah. Yeah. Wait, so Ben, the actor who played Jar Jar Binks is the Jedi who saves Grogu in this episode. That's right. That's exactly right. That's cool. And that was the thing I really wanted to talk about with this episode. because so it's it's meta it's not even about the story it's meta is it was so amazing to see him like ben said to see ahmed best come through and really put in a stellar performance as kellerin beck the jedi uh you know uh jar jar's reception by star wars fandom was very negative that's putting it very nicely
00:15:44
Speaker
And as yeah only the internet can do, a lot of it was taken out directly on Ombed Best to the point where he really considered taking his own life. He was just so miserable because the poor guy thought he was gonna be set for life and was going to be a hero because he was in a Star Wars movie and then he wound up being reviled by the fandom and it was terrible. And it was just so great to see this happen. And then last year when we were in Japan for Star Wars Celebration,
00:16:13
Speaker
and I was at the panel where Ahmed Best came and talked about this. It was kind of all about the, this panel was all about the the second fiddles in Star Wars.
00:16:24
Speaker
And he got a standing ovation when he came out, just the love that was coming towards Ahmed Best for everything that he's done when he could so easily have said, I never want to look at Star Wars again. I never want to touch it again.
00:16:39
Speaker
I hate that thing. He just turned around and re-embraced it and was embraced by the fans, which I love. The other funny thing is this character of Kelloran Beck,
00:16:50
Speaker
was actually created for a Star Wars kids show on YouTube called the Star Wars Jedi Temple Challenge, which was a game show. You can still find it on YouTube.
00:17:03
Speaker
It was a game show, ah inspired clearly inspired by the what was of the Secrets of the Hidden Temple on Nickelodeon back way back in the day. And it's pretty funny to watch, but Amibest is the host in this character of Kelloran Beck.
00:17:20
Speaker
So it's worth giving a watch to. Which, by the way, Sam Witwer is the dark side of the force in that. And he is tempting the little kids. And it's really pretty it's really pretty fun.
00:17:32
Speaker
So let's just put the fondling to bed, shall we? yeah Yeah. I will say this. i'm I'm really, just to echo that point, one of the things I remember hearing from some documentary other was ah in interviews. Ahmed Best was saying that during that whole...
00:17:47
Speaker
production process with uh the you know the phantom menace the first of the sequels to come back you know lucas has always been kind of pushing to get even a little bit more crazy and and you know strange with his portrayal so i can only imagine you know when he's like okay i'm gonna put my faith in this guy i'm gonna put my faith in the process and then what a unfortunate um reception heavy sigh Let's talk about He's back.
00:18:13
Speaker
We're glad he's back. ah Very much
The Mandalorian: Story and Cameos
00:18:15
Speaker
so. Chapter 21, The Pirate. Written by Jon Favreau. Directed by Peter Ramsey. Pirate King Goryan Shard attacks Navarro for revenge.
00:18:24
Speaker
Greef Karga calls the New Republic for help. Bureaucracy stonewalls him. Carson Taba goes rogue and tracks down the covert with our five D fours help. The Mandalorians liberate Navarro and earn a homeworld in waiting.
00:18:37
Speaker
The capper Teva finds Moff Gideon's wrecked prison shuttle and best scar shards. Oh, maybe Mandalorians are involved in the freeing of Moff Gideon.
00:18:51
Speaker
Phil, let's start with you. What did you think about this? I like this episode better than the previous one. Um, I felt like it was a bit of a repeat of some things we've seen in previous episodes of the series, but at least there were some stakes here. And I felt like some continuity towards the overall storyline. We just talked a second ago about how episode four really didn't have that.
00:19:10
Speaker
um So i overall, I liked it, but yeah, it feels a little like a repeat. You know, criminals destroying the town. Where have we you know where have we seen that, right? Yeah. million times before, right. Like pirates coming. But then, you know, there were there were some cool jet fights. There were cool action sequences. um And then I will say the ending really got me. I will i feel like they really – they landed the plane even if it was a little bit of a repeat journey. It wasn't a bad one. um And, yeah, they so were was Moth Gideon taken by Mandalorians?
00:19:44
Speaker
I don't know. That's the, that is, that is the question. um And I feel like really nice cliffhanger to leave us on. Yeah. Very interesting. Ben, what are your thoughts?
00:19:56
Speaker
Well, I like that we get a chance to revisit the pirates. I mean, when we see that whole set show up again, we're like, oh okay. That's why we actually bothered to have that experience before when these guys showed up in the earlier episodes. um I, you know, this to me is, is again, a little bit of a standalone episode in a certain sense, because the a story in this episode with the pirates is one where,
00:20:21
Speaker
Again, that's the kind of the spaghetti Western thing, The Mandalorian really is. And I think that's a great example of its kind. And I liked it. um I think also though, the B story about the pilot trying to go to the new Republican, and then there's the subversive quality of this so-called reformed imperial,
00:20:41
Speaker
who we know is not reformed in the least. i That part kind of drew me in a little bit more. You know, I sat there hating her for a bit, although I love that actor. She's in a lot of great stuff. O'Brien, yeah, she's great.
00:20:56
Speaker
Yeah, ah was in Mission Impossible lately, which did a really great job there too. Oh, was she? I didn't realize Yeah, she's in the last one. She also gives a much more of an indie movie, but gives a wonderful performance in this movie called Love Lies Bleeding, which is sort of a 80s Western thriller. Kristen Stewart's in it, Ed Harris is in it, and Katie O'Brien is the...
00:21:18
Speaker
lead or second lead and gives a great, great performance. You can see certain like shades of, of like dark, like dark core that I think she brings to the character here in the Mandalorian. And I definitely recommend checking out if you haven't seen it, seen it.
00:21:34
Speaker
All right. Yeah, I agree with, with your guys stance on this. I think we're all agreed with about where we're at in this season three of the Mandalorian on how things are going.
00:21:45
Speaker
Just the only thing I wanna to add is a little bit of trivia. At the beginning when he's in the bar, before he meets up with Carson Teva, we see Zeb from Rebels. So Phil, that purple giant alien who he's talking to at the end, is one of the major characters in Star Wars Rebels. And he's brought to live action for the first time, voiced by the same guy, Steve Blum, who voices him on the show.
00:22:12
Speaker
And we will see him. We will see Zeb again. He seems to be a much more substantial character in Mandalorian and Grogu. Cool. Can we just shout out yeah for to shout out? We didn't say Tim Meadows in this episode.
00:22:25
Speaker
oh random Oh, yeah. Random um funny character as like this bureau sort of a bureaucratic New Republic guy who is sort of a nothing of a person, like just can't really do anything yeah to help the captain just trying to do something good, you know?
00:22:40
Speaker
mes But a very funny performance, I think, and very unexpected. I wanted so much more of him, honestly, in that respect. Yeah, i when he first comes on, immediately all of the the ladies' man quotes start running up in my head. Absolutely. And I wanted to start hearing him having a little bit more fun than i think he was allowed to have.
Podcast Closing and Listener Engagement
00:23:00
Speaker
So great. Well, guys, we are seven minutes. So this is an episode and and a half. But thank you for enduring. It's May the 4th. So we only get one of these a year. So we're happy that you were here. And listeners, we were happy that you stuck with us till the end, which you must have if you're still listening to us. So meanwhile, you know, tell your friends about the podcast.
00:23:21
Speaker
Get few more people to watch it. We'd love that. Phil, Ben, we'll see you again really soon. the first be with you. Who's that mindless choice to do? Podcasts, hope you see them through.
00:23:32
Speaker
Star Wars is your favorite image. Let's chat for 15 minutes. Aren't you a little short? Aren't you a little short? Aren't you a little short for a smorn trooper?
00:23:45
Speaker
Aren't you a little short for a smorn?