Card Trader Illuminerdy

Well, this is it. The last of the Skywalker saga has come and gone. We go over what the advance crowd-sourced info on Reddit got right (all of it), and wax poetic about our takes on what it all means as an end to a story that has had such an impact on our lives. We compare and contrast what's happening in Star Wars with what's happening in Star Trek, including hashing out the start of the Picard series. As far as Star Wars Card Trader, we're so far removed from it now that it doesn't seem to make sense to even pretend that's what this is about. So let us know if you still want to hear from us, and we'll see if we can't find something else for the "CT" in CT Illuminerdy to stand for. Thanks as always for listening!

A beloved franchise, with a new historically significant episode, years in the making. An episode not without controversy, both in what's come before and what may lie ahead. Yes, it's another edition of this podcast, where we discuss an upcoming movie. We don't discuss any leaked The Rise of Skywalker spoilers or rumored spoilers, but if you've even avoided the official trailers, or cast list, or any publicity, we do mention one character that you might not automatically assume would have a presence. We discuss The Mandolorian as well, including some of the characters and dialogue up through the 6th episode, so consider yourself spoiler-warned on that as well. Also, trigger warning if you have aversions to discussion of kitten viscera, and/or the new build of the SWCT app. Other than that, it's the CTI you know and love...thanks as always for listening, and a special thanks to those who check in telling us they want to hear more...Michael's finely-honed indifference is vulnerable to the voices of the people.

It's been 4 years since the TOPPS Star Wars Card Trader app was unleashed upon the world. Since it's the reason we're here as a podcast, we give it its due. Rhett literally phones in the episode, accidentally doubling as our "from the WWII front lines" correspondent.

We discuss cards that have been under represented in the app:

- "Capes of Calrissian": when will we get this set?

- Lack of baby Ewok cards: only seen in classic art that we could find.

- Abandonment of Lott Dod base cards

- Poggle rainbow check-in (spoiler: not going well)

Other Star Wars things we're liking:

- The two-foot Super Star Destroyer expansion for the Star Wars: Armada miniatures game

- Hasbro's massive Jabba's Sail Barge

- Michael shares how he was moved to tears by the new novel, Queen's Shadow. We conjecture the collective noun for a group of handmaiden ("tale").

We also discover there are a lot of characters in the Star Wars universe that have double-g in their names.

"This episode has more fan service than Solo".

Topics include:

- Real-life totsicles

- When will we see a set of cards based on card trading podcasts?

- Highlights magaine

- Deleting 20,000 tweets...and if it's possible to keep tweets deleted on a rolling basis

- State of the studio discussion and speculation about Lucasfilm

- The Last Jedi characters as seen in the SWCT TLJ Characters set

Warning! This discussion is full-on Solo spoilers. Rhett, Michael, and Tommy are joined by Earl, recording right after we saw Solo in the birthday party room of the movie theater. Bonus attendee DaveSecura walks in mid-way through and sticks around even though he hadn't seen it yet(!). We stay remarkably on topic...for us, thanks to Earl's valiant efforts. Even though it typically went back to going around in circles about how to say "Enfys Nest". What did you think of the movie? Or are you like Dave, and just like to listen to spoiler-filled discussions of movies you haven't seen? Let us know!

With summer fast approaching, what better way to beat the oncoming heat than a new episode recorded when it was still winter? Complete with current-event jokes riffing on Trump being spanked with a magazine (remember that?) and discussion of the untimely passing of The Cranberries' lead singer Delores Rearden. We come up with a reality show pitch: having the lead signer of a band fend off newcomers. Also: scarf-wearing and best steaks. And finally a resolution to the cliffhanger of Michael's missing Poggle card. Most importantly, and actually timely, we discuss our feelings in advance of seeing Solo.

With Topps accidentally flooding people's accounts with millions of crystals, temporarily shutting practically all of the app's store, it raises many questions about what happens behind the scenes that leads to mistakes like it. We were able to interview someone that we hoped could give some insight. Rhett unfortunately was not able to join us until after the interview, but weighs in with his perspective on the fiasco. As a bonus, after we think we've wrapped, Michael discovers that there's a Heritage Poggle card, and a Taun We card for Rhett, and they start cracking packs like it's 2015.

We saw the movie and had to get our thoughts aired. Joining us this week, possibly from the 1940s, is our friend Earl, who some of our listeners may recognize from The Deucecast Movie Show. Don't listen if you haven't seen the movie. Even if you don't care about it being spoiled, it just won't make any sense. Maybe that's par for the course, though. We give a teat-count, coin the phrase Constable Zuvio-ed, and wax philosophical about the direction and tone of the movie as it compares to The Force Awakens. Enjoy!