A new season begins, and we transition from our favourite genre (sci-fi) into our other favourite genre (fantasy) quicker than turning the corner in Waterstones' basement.

Moving from Star Wars into 1988's Willow felt like the most natural step - it's directed by Ron Howard (of Solo fame), stars Warwick Davies (Wicket the ewok) and has a story dreamed up by George Lucas himself.

There are other parallels, most notably the roguishly handsome Han Solo-esque swordsman Madmartigan (Val Kilmer) and wonderfully crafted stop-motion monsters, but really who needs an excuse to sit through a bunch of classic 80s fantasy movies for the next few weeks?

If you fancy watching along with us, here is our schedule for the next month. Consider joining our brand new 'Captain' tier on Patreon if you want to vote for what we watch on 1st April.

- Willow (1988) - 9th March

- Labyrinth (1986) - 16th March

- Highlander (1986) - 18th March (Captain and Commander bonus episode)

- The NeverEnding Story (1985) - 23rd March

- Time Bandits (1981) - 30th March

- Captains Choice Bonus Episode - 1st April

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...of course it did.

We've completed Star Wars (shut up, Ewok movies) and that can only mean one thing - an episode dedicated to listener thoughts about the series, the discussions we've had about it, and tangents that have their own root system of subtangents.

Also ALSO the three of us give our personal rankings of all 11 Star Wars movies watched on the pod. Are there some surprises in there? Rob has made sure that there are.

Join us!

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We conclude our Star Wars season with 2019's The Rise of Skywalker, J.J. Abrams' second stab at the franchise having kicked off the sequel trilogy with The Force Awakens 4 years prior.

Where the latter was an exercise in replaying familiar hits, Episode IX was all about course correction after the split fan reaction to The Last Jedi. Kylo Ren has his mask back, force ghost Luke likes his light sabre again and Palpatine is back. Somehow.

But is the magic back? Contrary to Luke's declaration in The Last Jedi, I'm afraid this one is going to go the way you think.

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The Last Jedi is almost certainly the most divisive Star Wars movie ever made. A brave attempt by writer/director Rian Johnson to subvert audience expectations and take the franchise in a new direction, it's a film that impressed critics with its brave narrative choices but alienated huge sections of the fan base at the same time.

The three of us watched this together at the cinema - Rob enjoyed it, Dave and Nath not so much. Will the subsequent 9 years have softened or sharpened those initial opinions? How do we all feel about that Princess Leia in space scene? And why does Kylo Ren need to take his top off? Enjoy the episode as we discuss all this and more, and please share your own hot takes over in our Patreon chat.

Join the Redshirt Cinema Club! Support us at patreon.com/redshirtcinemaclub to receive two bonus episodes every month as well as our newsletter, The Civilian Observer.

You can also follow us at x.com/redshirtcinema, and get in touch at [email protected].

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"This will begin to make things right."

As first lines go, this is powerful stuff. An acknowledgement that what came before wasn't up to scratch. A promise that what you're about to see will bring back the old magic. But does The Force Awakens deliver where it counts?

J. J. Abrams is the man with the seemingly impossible task, fresh from reviving (and then killing?) the Star Trek movie franchise, his first film in the new trilogy introduces new characters, revisits old ones, and has an evil base the size of 10 Death Stars. What more could a Star Wars fan want?

Admittedly it's tough to watch this film over 10 years later without the following two movies constantly invading your mind like some kind of insidious Force Power, but that's what we've tried to do; watch The Force Awakens with fresh eyes, before conjuring equally fresh opinions. Ready to take the plunge alongside us?

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The second episode of our mid-season Star Wars break sees Dave finally get his wish of making Rob watch The Green Knight - a dark fantasy retelling of a 14th-century chivalric romance directed by David Lowery and starring Dev Patel.

This is unlike any Arthurian legend you've seen before - a twisted, unsettling exploration of honour and the slow, inevitable, irresistible power of nature. It features a bunch of brilliant performances from some of our favourite British actors, from Sean Harris and Ralph Ineson to Kate Dickie and the aforementioned Dev Patel.

A weird, dark British fantasy - should be everything Rob likes, right? Let's find out!

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In a change to our scheduled programming, this week Rob has forced Dave to watch Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, the straight-to-DVD movie sequel to one of the greatest videogames of all time.

When it released in 2005 this was an explosion of cutting-edge CG, an all-action burst of fan service fed to an audience ravenous for more Final Fantasy VII. More Cloud, more Sephiroth, more cool fights set to even cooler music.

Watching it in 2026 those visuals are starting to creak, which means unfortunately we're actually going to have to judge this film on things like story, pacing and character. Can it stand up to such critique? Will Dave understand anything that's going on? Just what happens when the demands of fervent fandom entice talented game devs to try their hand at the whole movie-making thing? Let's find out!

Join the Redshirt Cinema Club! Support us at patreon.com/redshirtcinemaclub to receive two bonus episodes every month as well as our newsletter, The Civilian Observer.

You can also follow us at x.com/redshirtcinema, and get in touch at [email protected].

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We've reached the end of the prequel trilogy with 2005's Revenge of the Sith, a relentless 2.5-hour explosion of lightsabre duels, Palatine one-liners and, well, actual explosions.

A film many consider the best of a bad bunch, has the 21 years since its release quietened our misgivings or does the hate still flow through us?

We also discuss the very important issues of whether or not The Force works in space and if Anakin's power level would drop once all his arms and legs have come off.

So take a seat, young listener. It's time to end this.

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So this week we're watching Attack of the Clones.

Can we be honest? It feels like we're beset on all sides by inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. And - as Mace Windows might have said in a previous life - we're trying, listeners, we're trying real hard to be the shepherd. Or at least not to go full dark side toxic fandom and spend two hours howling at the moon (wait... that's... whatever).

Anyway here are the shoulder-stroking adventures of Anakincel Skywanker and two armies of synthetic soldiers that ends with a climactic battle in a giant sand bowl watched on by an audience of flying ants.

Rob actually quite likes it.

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You can also follow us at x.com/redshirtcinema, and get in touch at [email protected].

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It's 2026 already? TRY SPINNING OUT ABOUT THE PASSING OF TIME, THAT'S A GOOD TRICK

Join us as we mark this new phase in our enduring existential terror with a rewatch of a film only babies and idiots like - Star Wars: The Phantom Menace.

Actually that's not the tone of the podcast at all. Here at Redshirt Cinema Club we have always tried to be a positive place for fans of all persuasions to enjoy and discuss films. Semi-serious point - not enjoying films in a positive way is something of a lost art in the toxic internet wastelands of (JESUS) 2026. And so watching the Phantom Menace without devolving into a snarking pack of trolls is perhaps our biggest challenge yet (yes, somehow, even bigger than the Hobbit).

Can we, like Luke looking into the cold mask of Darth Vader, find the good in the prequels? Can we find something new to say that hasn't been screeched and endlessly echoed already over the last 25 years? And can we get through this podcast without dropping a c-bomb?

Join the Redshirt Cinema Club! Support us at patreon.com/redshirtcinemaclub to receive two bonus episodes every month as well as our newsletter, The Civilian Observer.

You can also follow us at x.com/redshirtcinema, and get in touch at [email protected].

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