A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…Take some time this week to remember your original happy hour: Saturday mornings as a kid, waking up at dawn, jumping on the couch with a bowl of chocolate cereal, turning on the ‘toons, tuning out the outside world, and working your way into a sugar hangover before noon. This week, we celebrate May the 4th and the silver anniversary of The Phantom Menace with writer, podcaster Marc Bernardin. Snap hiss back to a more civilized time. A time before, the internet, podcasts, reaction videos and the scummiest & villainous of them all the  “Fandom Menace”. Star Wars had been out of theaters for 15 years. GI Joes, Transformers, TMNT and even The Power Rangers had taken over toy shelves across the USA. And then came a movie that changed it all… Meet Joe Black. Well, not exactly Meet Joe Black but rather the world debut of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace trailer and we haven’t stopped talking about Star Wars since.    Have you accepted Jar Jar Binks as your holy savior? Join Grim Shea, Marke, Johnny Heck and The Retro Cool Nerd Jimmy Leszczynski as they blast back to 1999 and where they were physically & psychologically for the theatrical return of Star Wars. Recorded live from the Golden Apple Foundation booth at WonderCon 2024, our guest Marc Bernardin is a monster of modern fandom. He’s written for LA Times, Hollywood Reporter, Entertainment Weekly and staff writer for Alphas, Castle Rock, Treadstone and Carnival Row. He’s co-hosted Batman Beyond with Kevin Smith and The Battlestar Galacticast with Tricia Helfer but he comes to use as a comic book writer on the new Mace Windu series for Marvel. And if his cred couldn’t get any more incredulous, he’s also written for DC & Image Comics where in 2018, he won an Inkpot Award by CCI. I have a good feeling about this!

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