Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
S02E46: Manically Matriculating on the Mandalorian
24 Plays5 days ago
Next week starts our Mandalorian rewatch... let's get ready by revisiting those heady days of 2019 when we didn't know what to expect from the first live action Star Wars TV show!
Join the Short for a Stormtrooper community!
Discord: https://discord.gg/a89TD3XdFX
Email: SFASpod@gmail.com
Recommended
Transcript
Anticipation for New Mandalorian Release
00:00:01
Speaker
We're getting ready for the Mandalorian rewatch and we're doing it real quick. Aren't you a little short? Aren't you a little short? Aren't you a little short for a stormtrooper?
00:00:14
Speaker
Welcome back to Short for a Stormtrooper where we are anticipating probably a pretty lengthy series here. We are going to embark on a rewatch of The Mandalorian in preparation for The Mandalorian and Grogu coming out next May. So we will be bringing back our old friends Phil and Ben to do a recap. And just like last time with Andor and a few other things that we talked about,
00:00:38
Speaker
For Ben and me, it's a rewatch for Phil. He's watching it for the first time. So that's always fun to get their perspectives. ah So that's coming. Hopefully we'll start next week. That's the plan at least. And forbidding, you know...
00:00:55
Speaker
things happening, government shutdowns, other things that might throw a wrench into the schedule. Let's plan on doing that next week. And so let's spend 15 minutes today getting ready for this series.
Reflecting on The Mandalorian's Premiere Anniversary
00:01:09
Speaker
What I thought we would talk about, because you know Mandalorian came out quite a few years ago now. It has been a long time. And I'm gonna hit pause for a second.
00:01:22
Speaker
And I am back. I went to consult the ever-present Google, and I discovered something interesting. So this episode of Short for a Stormtrooper, I will release on Tuesday, November eleven November 12th, so tomorrow, if you're listening to this on the first day, is the sixth anniversary of the premiere of The Mandalorian, which I will always remember because the Learning Geeks got together, we had recorded a Learning Geeks episode live, and then we watched The Mandalorian, and we immediately recorded our reactions and did an after show, and we were all just absolutely in love, as I'm sure many of you were.
00:02:03
Speaker
But let's think back to that time about six
Exploring Star Wars TV Series History
00:02:07
Speaker
years ago. There are four things about The Mandalorian that I thought we would chat about today. The first thing is we were finally seeing a Star Wars TV series get off the ground.
00:02:19
Speaker
Now, if you've been around the galaxy a few times like we have, you know that there have been there is at least one major attempt to create a Star Wars TV series. And I remember being at Celebration. it was either the Celebration before Star Wars Episode II or Episode III came out. More likely, it was Episode three And ah Rick McCallum was saying, hey, the TV show, we're working on it. We've got scripts in the can. It's coming.
00:02:52
Speaker
Look forward to it. It's going to be coming really soon. And we were waiting with anticipation and we waited and waited and waited and nothing ever came out. A few leaks came out. ah stories came out that it was going to be called Star Wars Underworld, about the underworld of Star Wars, ah that a lot of it was going to take place on Coruscant down in the deep levels. And around the same time, there was a video game called Star Wars 1313, and that was supposed to be level 1313,
00:03:24
Speaker
on Coruscant, the city planet. So, you know, down in the depths where ah nothing good could ever happen. ah Rumors were that it was going to be a darker take on Star Wars and all of this type of stuff.
00:03:37
Speaker
I also believe that Ron Moore, who was famous for Star Trek Deep Space Nine, and then even more so the remake of Battlestar Galactica, was heavily involved with this. I think he wrote many of the episodes and I think they did have something like 75 scripts written.
00:03:56
Speaker
um I also understand that they were having a hard time trying to figure out where this TV show would actually air. They were shopping it around to a few different cable networks, to a few different broadcast networks.
00:04:09
Speaker
And at the end of the day, it was just gonna cost too much stinking money for them to produce a Star Wars TV show at the standards that George Lucas expected for Star Wars. And so that project ultimately got shelved until, of course, George Lucas sold the company to Disney and then the TV engine started up again.
The Mandalorian: A High-Quality Star Wars TV Show
00:04:35
Speaker
Mandalorian started with Jon Favreau, who was a Disney favorite, and I think he made the pitch. I've always imagined that he spent a lot of time in his backyard being a guy of the same age, very similar thinking to me, ah playing with his Boba Fett action figure and putting him on different adventures. And a lot of what we see in The Mandalorian seems to be what happens when you have kids who play with a bunch of action figures and weird things happen.
00:05:02
Speaker
So it was so exciting to finally see a Star Wars TV show actually happen. We were completely jazzed about that. The fact that the first episode had such high quality, we were in it. And that high level of quality really stayed strong for the first couple of years.
00:05:23
Speaker
The third year... It's debatable. I still liked the third year, but now I'm getting ahead of myself. We will get to the third year when we get to that point in our rewatch.
00:05:34
Speaker
So point number one about The Mandalorian was we finally had a Star Wars TV show, high quality, and we were excited about that.
Stagecraft Technology in The Mandalorian
00:05:43
Speaker
The second thing I wanted to point out was the use of the volume, the official name being Lucasfilm's Stagecraft technology.
00:05:53
Speaker
And I think most people know about this right now. It is, you know, the big circular LCD screens on the soundstage where they film this show and they're able to use I believe they're using Unreal, so video game engine, and so that the backgrounds are continually changing and are able to shift perspective with the camera.
00:06:19
Speaker
And therefore, you are able to basically create any environment and do it really on the cheap. Now, the thing with the volume is, this is what's funny, is...
00:06:33
Speaker
I heard about it. I remember the first few times watching through that first episode, I could not tell when they were using the volume. I felt like, remember the the opening sequences on an ice planet. I thought that they filmed it on location, like in Sweden, like they did with Empire Strikes Back or Norway or whatever.
00:06:54
Speaker
um It just looked so real. It was completely bought in. Now I go back to that first episode or the second episode when he ah when he gets on to Tatooine.
00:07:06
Speaker
And I'm like, oh, the volume is so obvious. We can just see through it right now. And that really comes up with some of the later TV shows where it's just so incredibly obvious that they're using the volume.
00:07:22
Speaker
And now it kind of it kind of leaves a little bit of a bad taste in my mouth, especially when you compare it to Andor, where I don't think they shot anything on a volume or an LCD screen. I think it was all shot on location.
00:07:36
Speaker
And it's just such a difference in quality. The only thing is the volume lets Lucasfilm produce content. ah It might not look as great, but they can do it quicker and they can do it much more cheaply.
00:07:52
Speaker
And for me, as long as the stories are good, i can live with the look of it not being quite so good. I would rather have not so good looking volume sets with a fantastic script, a fantastic storyline and fantastic performances than the other way around.
00:08:14
Speaker
And I'm sure many of you would agree with me. So the volume for what it is, it's gotten a little bit long in the tooth. I'm sure that they're continually improving that technology. I know a lot of people have riffed on that. So now there's a lot of variety and competition in that kind of stagecraft space.
00:08:32
Speaker
So it's getting better, but it is what it is. That was one thing that was interesting.
The Success of Ludwig Gorenson's Music
00:08:38
Speaker
Another thing about The Mandalorian that you might have forgotten was the music.
00:08:45
Speaker
This was the first significant time that we had Star Wars without music by John Williams. And not only you know not not only music, not by John Williams, but music that didn't exactly sound like Star Wars. So Ludwig Gorenson, the composer, had a definite different vibe in mind. And you think about the theme of the Mandalorian and you know whatever that instrument is he uses, the
00:09:18
Speaker
It's just so good. it works so well. it it yeah i mean, you hear that, and it sends chills up and down my spine. It did when i saw the trailer for the new movie.
00:09:29
Speaker
ah Now, when he's doing his music, when you're doing the the main theme of The Mandalorian, he does kind of get into, you know after that beginning part that sounds so different, he does get into kind of some...
00:09:42
Speaker
ah triumphal, bombastic music that does sound a little bit more like John Williams and more like traditional Star Wars music. So it's not that It's incongruous with the universe. it just It works so well. And the music of The Mandalorian, I think, is an absolute highlight.
00:10:02
Speaker
I absolutely love the music. So that's point number three is to remember this was the first time we got non-John Williams music, and it worked, which was great.
The Phenomenon of Baby Yoda
00:10:13
Speaker
Now, here is the big ticket item. You know where I'm going with this. The big ticket item, the big surprise from the Mandalorian caught us all off guard was Baby Yoda.
00:10:27
Speaker
I remember watching that very first time and when the hood of his little pram comes back and you saw the little tiny head with the little ears come out and I said to Jake and Dana, i was like, is that a Baby Yoda?
00:10:42
Speaker
And lo and behold, it was. We were bought in. We were excited. This was actually after I had already heard that The Mandalorian was heavily inspired by Lone Wolf and Cub, you know about a a Japanese samurai who takes a young infant, a young child under his care.
00:11:04
Speaker
I was so surprised to see... another character of Yoda's species. And of course, we all just fell in love with him as we got to know him over the first few episodes of the show.
00:11:16
Speaker
We didn't know until much later that his name was actually Grogu. And i remember hearing that and and hearing Ahsoka tell the Mandalorian that his name was Grogu and thinking, Grogu, what kind of name is that? But now it just seems to fit.
00:11:34
Speaker
I'm so used to it. And so it's Grogu. But I still fondly think of him as Baby Yoda. And remember back you know six years ago, ah and everything just went crazy for Baby Yoda.
00:11:49
Speaker
they They had to hold back on the merchandise of it because they wanted that big surprise. But then very quickly after that big reveal, merchandise started flooding. If there's anything that Lucasfilm knows, it is how to make merchandise that resonates with the fans.
00:12:07
Speaker
And they just want to buy it. And I bought a whole bunch of different Baby Yoda things. I i still have... Many little miniature Baby Yodas. I've got a mini one up on my arcade machine.
00:12:19
Speaker
I've got a Lego action figure of him. I've got a actual retro action figure that's right under my monitor. ah that It was just Baby Yoda.
00:12:31
Speaker
It was great. It was so fantastic.
Memorable Catchphrase: 'This is the way'
00:12:35
Speaker
The last thing, I know I said four, but the fifth thing just popped into my head as we close was the phrase, this is the way.
00:12:42
Speaker
That just seemed to catch on, right? do you remember that? When Mandalorian was saying, this is the way with the armor, and they were going back and forth, and that just sounded so cool.
00:12:54
Speaker
And... We come later to understand, you know, maybe it's not every Mandalorian that does the whole this is the way thing. Maybe it's not the best thing in the world, but that's still stuck in the cut in the psyche, hasn't it?
00:13:08
Speaker
Good old this is the way. So speaking of this is the way, this will be our way for the next several weeks. The rewatch will start next week, and we hope you'll join us. We hope you'll tell your friends about it. If they're Mando fans or if they are Mando doubters, what better time than to join in the rewatch with us, listen to our thoughts, reply with yours, echo back yours, and let's all get ready for this new movie coming out next May.
00:13:38
Speaker
All right, we'll wrap it up there. Please do all the usual post-episode things. We'll see you real soon. May the Force be with you. Aren't you a little short?
00:13:48
Speaker
Aren't you a little short for a sporn trooper? Aren't you a little short for a sporn trooper?