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S02E02: More Chatting With a School Teacher About Skeleton Crew... Quickly
32 Plays2 months ago
We're back with Bob's big sister Julie to see what a retired school teacher thought about the kids of Skeleton Crew. Were they authentic to their age? How did we see them grow? All that and more on this episode!
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Transcript
Julie Currie's Teaching Reflections
00:00:00
Speaker
We're back with Julie Currie to see what a school teacher thinks about the kids of Skeleton Crew and we're gonna be really quick about back. We're here with my sister Julie Currie, a retired school teacher and we're talking about Skeleton Crew. Let's jump right back in.
00:00:24
Speaker
As a retired school teacher, you spent years in the classroom and then you spent years in the library. And then you spent years in the library, right? yeah ah Five years in the library, 38 years total. Yeah. And so I'm trying to remember because you kind of bounced around age wise, but yeah you so you did spend some time with kids about this age, right? Oh yeah. Yeah. I think most of my time I was with fifth and sixth graders. Okay. Perfect. Right. Cause that's, that's about where I would age those kids. Right.
00:00:54
Speaker
So how do you think they were handled
Authentic Portrayal of Kids in Skeleton Crew
00:00:57
Speaker
in the show? Do you think it was authentic? You know, even with the filter of it's Star Wars inside the real world, like, right was there anything where you were just like, Oh my gosh, a kid would never do that. Um, not really. I think, I think they handled the kids pretty well. I, I thought ah in the beginning when they were first on the ship and.
00:01:18
Speaker
they're running around being goofy and taking training derides, which is exactly what kids would be doing. Yeah. And, um, flipping from being wild and crazy to like, okay, now we have to be serious yeah and doing that back and forth. So wild and crazy and serious and then homesick and missing home. And, um, I thought,
00:01:44
Speaker
that that was a ah pretty realistic depiction of what kids that age would go
Cybernetics in Star Wars: A Question of Representation
00:01:53
Speaker
through. There were some points that I kind of questions, but it was more on a Star Wars front. Like I'm very curious about KB and what, you know, she's got like the visor, like the guy on Bespin had on the cloud city yeah like like or like Geordi or like Geordi LaForge. Right. I mean, that's the first thing we saw. with We thought when we saw her. Oh, it's Geordi LaForge. Right. Yeah. He's actually, she's actually more like Lobot.
00:02:21
Speaker
Okay, so but in the one episode, she had to reboot. So does she have a computer implant to deal with some kind of disability that gave her the knowledge of how to handle the ship pretty well? So that's just questions that I have that they didn't really answer that I don't know that a ah kid would necessarily have watching that.
00:02:44
Speaker
Yeah. Well, I think you slept through that part. Oh, okay. Where was that? Okay. Okay. You might want to go back and watch. I forget what number episode is. It was towards the end. um It was the episode that Bryce Howard directed. And we see a lot of character development between, between especially relationship development between all the kids. Right.
00:03:08
Speaker
But ah we do find out from there that KB had an accident. We don't know any details about it. She had an accident and then the cybernetics are essentially what's keeping her alive.
00:03:19
Speaker
All right. Well, yeah, I guess I slept through that. I think you did. But that's OK. OK. So so that solves that that plot point. But I don't think you know, Lobot in Empire Strikes Back is a very mysterious character. Yes. And there's that one really interesting scene where Lando sends the signal, he presses the thing on his arm to send the signal. And then Lobot is kind of asleep and he like wakes up. It's like he writes.
00:03:44
Speaker
But there's no context about what's actually happening there. Why does that happen or anything like that? So I think these guys had a lot of room to play with in terms of how actually do cyborgs work in the Star Wars universe. Very, yet very good. Yeah. And I think we got some some satisfying
Neil: The Underestimated Positive Force
00:04:03
Speaker
answers there. She is a lot more droid than it seems like she she would be. I got that feeling. Yeah. Even having those through that one part, Bryce Howard.
00:04:15
Speaker
um ah But um I did get that feeling, you know, and just in that she had to reboot. And there there was another part in the last episodes where I thought, oh, is she going to have to reboot again? That there seemed to be some kind of interference. so Yeah. Yeah. She's really she's very interesting. What did you what about the other characters? Like, let's run through them. So um let's start with Neil, who is everybody's favorite.
00:04:39
Speaker
Yes. well He was very cute. One thing, you couldn't see his mouth. Yeah. Only occasionally did you catch his mouth. And our one brother, Jim, was saying it probably made it easier technically for them to match up dialogue.
00:04:59
Speaker
100% agree, which is true. However, it um I felt like it was some we missed a lot of emotion recognition or whatever by not seeing that yeah it it made him it it's almost like a marionette that yeah mom doesn't move.
00:05:17
Speaker
However, the character, sir I thought he was probably the most... No, I think Wim was the most childlike, but he was very childlike, but he was very, very positive and very present and he was really just a sweetie. And I think he yeah almost kind of got dragged along, but he did rise to the occasion.
00:05:39
Speaker
I feel like he's a character that gets underestimated a lot. Yes. Right. And so people like to have him around because he is positive and he's nice and everybody loves him, but then they don't think that he can deliver that much, but he actually has a lot more under
Diversity of Species in Star Wars: A Critical Look
00:05:55
Speaker
the hood. Right. and people right So I agree. And and I did. And ah the one thing is, and I think this is kind of a general Star Wars thing is introducing new species. So.
00:06:08
Speaker
You know, I read well, he's not the same species as Max Rebo, right? And so I'm wondering about is there just one family of his type on this planet? I don't recall seeing any other what they are and I kind of sometimes get to the point where oh here you know, so here's a Brutus and he's the wolf guy and there's the owl girl and um It's it's almost so many new species it gets a little disconcerting. like you just I just don't know where
Wim's Dreams: Reflecting Fifth-Grade Aspirations
00:06:42
Speaker
we're going with this. So yeah there was a little bit of identity, like wanting to know a little bit more about who Neil was and you know what's what, I guess we don't need to name his species, but just a little bit more of his identity as a member of the Star Wars universe.
00:06:59
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. I think there were more on the planet. We probably saw some extras there. I know for a fact that like one of those elephant people was in that mural with the founders that was in the house, like back in the first couple episodes. That's right. I remember. Yeah. It did feel like they were kind of one of the founding right races there. I want to come back to Kim, the owl girl, but you talked about Wim being more child, yeah childlike, childish. I don't know. like Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So how did you feel about Wim? I, um,
00:07:28
Speaker
I felt that he was kind of an every student. I mean, he was really that age group and the concerns about the testing and, and you know, test anxiety. And they didn't really get into what happened to his mother. But being a child that age and losing a parent,
00:07:50
Speaker
can be very devastating to a child and so just kind of looking for his niche in ah this world and also almost heredity-wise longing for something more than just his home planet.
00:08:10
Speaker
Yeah, kind of feeling like there is something out there. And he was the one that really initiated digging out the spacecraft when they stumbled upon it. And I forgot how KB and Fern found out about it if they overheard or or what I'm not I'm not remembering that. But you know, that was that was a big deal. He wanted adventure. Yeah, he knew there was something more out there.
Parental Support and Children's Passions
00:08:37
Speaker
And that came to that resolution at the end when he's just there looking at the stars. I really liked that part when they went out past the barrier and they saw the stars for the first time. That was beautiful. Yeah, it was. And you know how it is when we get away from our urban areas and out to someplace where you can really see the stars how breathtaking that is. Yeah. And we know what they are. Yeah. So for them. And so he he's he
00:09:06
Speaker
I thought that in that way he was, he was really a very typical fifth grade kid. Yep. I related, this is what I most related to with Wim's story without getting too much into Gerard family psychotherapy.
00:09:21
Speaker
But I saw myself in Wim in Kid having a passion about something that his parent doesn't support. Oh, really? So for me, it was specifically as I was Wim's age and became such a passionate Star Wars fan. Right. And dad was not very supportive of that.
00:09:40
Speaker
Okay, so that's something that I was you're probably away aware of. Yeah. i way Yeah. And he's up on that, you know, yeah it's fine. And so I felt that pain of like, no, this is really what I love. And, you know, kind of feeling judged or like I'm loving the wrong thing.
00:09:57
Speaker
And then ironically, as I became a parent and my kids weren't really passionate about Star Wars or what I was passionate about, I got to see that from the
Fern's Leadership Journey
00:10:07
Speaker
other side. So I got to see that from the side of his parent, you know, and it's like what happens to you as a kid, then it flips and you look at it a different way. I thought that was interesting. But anyway, like before this gets into psychotherapy even more, let's talk about Fern. What did you think about Fern? I really liked Fern again. I kind of got the feeling that Fern and KB were maybe a year older. Yes, I think that's right. than The male characters. I saw her as having, okay, so her mom was the leader of their colony or city. I'm not sure exactly where she yeah fell on that, but she had access to the big,
00:10:45
Speaker
Right. She was, she was a boss. Yep. She was a boss. And so Fern had that conflict of my mom's a boss. And I wanted the difference between being a boss and bossy. And that's where Fern struggled.
00:11:02
Speaker
yeah And so I think we saw her true character, ah you know, that of being compassionate, that her mother also had, but all Ferns really was privy to as a child was my mom's a boss, so I need to be a boss. And and so she came off bossy and KB, I think was, a well, I think all of them were followers to a point.
00:11:29
Speaker
Especially initially. yeah They were used to Fern being the boss. And when things started changing, that was difficult for Fern, but she rose to the occasion. And I think she found herself a little bit more. And I thought that was a really good point.
00:11:47
Speaker
Yeah, I think we saw some really good character growth with her in that, where she went through the, again, it's it's back to that Dallas Bryce Howard episode. right She went through that growth where she got the self-awareness of like, oh, I'm kind of a jerk. like I've got to make some changes. And then she had the so loss of confidence that comes along with that. Right.
00:12:10
Speaker
But then they very quickly picked her up and we're like, no, you are a great leader. you You are the one who should be calling the shots here. We're going to follow you. Just right. Don't be such a jerk about it. Yes. And again, a very real thing that you see in a classroom is the person with um who has leadership qualities but doesn't lead in the right direction, or I should say a good direction, yeah um who doesn't lead well, um a person who
00:12:41
Speaker
you know i I would say you know they're using their powers for evil instead of good. And also ah what happens a lot of times, and this is not fern, but I think in a classroom you will see those people who seem to be leaders but lack confidence and then they will gravitate towards the weaker members because they're more easily manipulative ah manipulatable.
00:13:05
Speaker
yep And ah so I thought Fern had really good growth and really good change and she seemed very realistic. Yeah. Yeah. I saw her as the gifted kid who has too many expectations thrust upon her or feels like there's too many expectations. yeah And then.
00:13:25
Speaker
Turns against that by being a rebel, especially at the beginning, right? Like she was a troublemaker, but she was a troublemaker because she was she was rebelling against that identity of being the gifted kid. OK, I didn't know she didn't want to be the leader, but but but she was.
00:13:45
Speaker
Yeah. And so that made the mess that she had of, you know, kind of being a little bullying maybe. yeah or yeah yeah yeah yeah That's a good point. Yeah, like I was going to go off on a gifted tangent, but that's not what we're talking about here. The gifted kid in that situation will either She can be kind of a bully. They can completely shut down and do nothing. You know, there's just a lot of variety. So I think on the whole that this whole adventure was probably the most beneficial for
Future Speculations: Where Are They Now?
00:14:15
Speaker
Fern. I agree with that. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. and She she grew. And i I would love to say, even if they do like a one episode thing of saying, OK, here it's 20 years later.
00:14:27
Speaker
And here's what they're doing. And Fern's a leader on the planet. And Wim is a starfighter. And ah ah Neil is a child psychologist. I don't know. And KB could be anything she wants. you know i yeah yeah i would have a harder I'm having a harder time placing KB. But seeing how their experiences during this adventure created the ah adults that they became.
Conclusion and Next Week's Promise
00:14:58
Speaker
All right, we're running a little short on time, so we'll pause there and we'll pick it up again with Julie next week. We hope to see you there. Until then, may the force be with you. Bye bye.