Talking Star Wars

Hello listeners! Just a quick update today that Connor and Alex will be taking a break for the holidays in 2024, with episodes resuming in January 2025! Season 2 of Talking Star Wars proper will finish out with a dozen and a half new episodes, and then our next mini-season will delve into Lord of the Rings before we return to a galaxy far, far away. Stay tuned!

Thank you for listening to Talking Star Wars with Connor and Alex!

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This episode delves into another aspect of the most iconic weapon in Star Wars by exploring the history, variety, and symbolism of this hallmark of the Jedi and Sith alike. We explore the various color of canonical lightsabers, from traditional blue, green, and red to the more exotic black, white, orange, purple, and yellow. Along the way, we discuss the first depiction of each lightsaber color and what the hue may mean from a symbolic context for the individual wielding that saber.

This episode contains content from, and may contain spoilers for: Episodes I through IX, Knights of the Old Republic I & II (Legends), The Clone Wars, Rebels, Ahsoka (show), Ahsoka (novel), The High Republic Phase 1, Master and Apprentice, Jedi: Fallen Order, Jedi: Survivor, The Mandalorian, Acolyte, Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith (2017 comic), Star Wars Visions, and The Rise of Kylo Ren.

Thank you for listening to Talking Star Wars with Connor and Alex!

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In this episode the hosts take us through the currently-recently audio dramas in the Star Wars canon: Dooku: Jedi Lost, Tempest Runner, and The Battle of Jedha. Alex and Connor explore the difference between an audio book and audio drama and provide an overview of each audio piece currently released. From the meandering decades-long and nested tale of Dooku, to the more recent High Republic stories delving into the lives of characters and examining key events, this episode provides an overview of the plot and discusses how the medium works within the Star Wars universe. The hosts finish the episode by speculating about other potential storylines that could be explored via audio drama.

This episode contains content from, and may contain spoilers for: Episodes I through III, Dooku: Jedi Lost, Tempest Runner, The Battle of Jedha, The High Republic Phases I and II, The Clone Wars, Acolyte, and Tales of the Jedi.

Thank you for listening to Talking Star Wars with Connor and Alex!

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This episode spotlights the character of Leia Organa from both the original and sequel trilogies as well as all media set around and in between those eras. The hosts examine Leia both in-universe as a capable, driven woman with unquestioned leadership ability and ironclad drive (while also being a princess, a sister, and eventually a wife and mother) while also acknowledging that she is the only female character with a significant speaking role in the first two Star Wars movies. We examine moments such as Leia’s introduction (where her waifish exterior turns into her pulling out a blaster on a stormtrooper) all the way towards holding together the Resistance and becoming a mentor figure to Rey. Listen today to hear our thoughts about the life, depiction, and impact of Leia Organa.

This episode contains content from, and may contain spoilers for: Episodes IV through IX, Princess of Alderaan, Star Wars (comics, 2015 and 2020 series), The Princess and the Scoundrel, Bloodline, The Aftermath Trilogy, Kenobi, and Rebels.

Thank you for listening to Talking Star Wars with Connor and Alex!

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This episode surveys a unique part of the Star Wars setting - giant monsters and creatures that exclusively live in the black void of space itself. Connor and Alex talk about the majestic Purgill (space whales), the enigmatic and enormous exogorth (space worm) and the apex predator of the space lanes, the suma-verminoth. The hosts explore the depiction of each of these enormous creatures and how they mix the appeal of the unknown with the dangerous and sublime, with a size that is barely comprehensible on a human scale. Listen today to learn more about the Giant Space Monsters of Star Wars.

This episode mentions content from and contains potential spoilers for: Episode 5, Episode 9, Rebels, Solo: A Star Wars Story, From a Certain Point of View (Empire Strikes Back), Legends of Luke Skywalker, The Mandalorian, Ahsoka, and Darth Vader (2015 and 2020 comic series).

Thank you for listening to Talking Star Wars with Connor and Alex!

Check us out on Reddit here:
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In this episode, Connor and Alex discuss the varied ways the Star Wars has handled the depiction of characters in visual media when the original actor who played them has aged out of the role - from recasting, in the case of Han Solo, to digital de-aging, to wholesale CGI replacement of an actor’s face with a recreation of another actor’s.

In general, our hosts are more in favor of letting a new actor portray the same character rather than using technology to recreate another person’s likeness, and explain their reasons why. Listen now to hear Talking Star Wars’ take on the uncanny valley, AI voice reconstruction, and views on recasting for the same character.

This episode mentions content from and contains potential spoilers for: Episodes 1 through 9, Rogue One, Solo: A Star Wars Story, The Mandalorian, Ahsoka, The Clone Wars, and The Book of Boba Fett.

Thank you for listening to Talking Star Wars with Connor and Alex!

Check us out on Reddit here:
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This slightly more somber episode of Talking Star Wars is in honor of the late James Earl Jones, the voice of Darth Vader. The hosts explore both the reasons Darth Vader himself has become and remained one of the most recognizable villains and characters in all of popular culture, and how Mr. Jones’ depiction contributed to this legacy. The hosts also each opine on the most powerful spoken lines in the voice of Darth Vader from visual media.

This episode mentions content from and contains potential spoilers for: Episodes 4 through 6, Rogue One, Rebels, and Kenobi.

Thank you for listening to Talking Star Wars with Connor and Alex!

Check us out on Reddit here:
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In this episode, Connor takes the lead and explores the subject of fanediting in Star Wars - the process of taking the raw footage of media and rearranging, editing, altering, and adjusting scenes, audio, and more. We explore both the subject of George Lucas as the very first ‘faneditor’ and review the continual updates the original trilogy in particular have received via CGI since the 90s as well as those prominent fan projects that have iterated on those changes (often to roll them back or smooth them out). The hosts also explore the motivations for various fanedits, from splicing together various media to focusing on specific character arcs. Listen today to learn more about the subculture of Star Wars fanediting through the lens of our favorite sci-fi mega franchise.

This episode mentions content from and contains potential spoilers for: Episodes 1 through 9, The Clone Wars, The Mandalorian, and Ahoska.

Thank you for listening to Talking Star Wars with Connor and Alex!

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In this episode, the hosts take a step back from an in-universe perspective and analyze what was happening in the world during the release of each of the trilogies of movies that comprise the Skywalker Saga. They explore the influence of 70s cinema and the post-Vietnam era on the production of the original trilogy, which was released in the divided world of the Cold War period; the turn-of-the-millennium release of the prequel trilogy right around the birth of the Internet and the rise of global and domestic political tension; and the sequel trilogy, released after the Disney acquisition and firmly in an era of more diverse (and more risk-averse and corporate) filmmaking. Evolving themes this episode examines include the depiction of fascism, increasing multiculturalism, trust and mistrust of authority, and familial legacy. Listen now to hear Alex and Connor’s thoughts on how the times of each film influenced its storytelling.

This episode mentions content from and contains potential spoilers for: Episodes 1 through 9.

Thank you for listening to Talking Star Wars with Connor and Alex!

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This episode resumes the hosts’ survey and discussion of each work in the current Star Wars canon by going over the next group of novels in release order. This episode discusses the works released in the leadup to The Mandalorian and filling in the gaps about the fall of the Empire, the books released as a tie-in to the opening of the Galaxy’s Edge park at Disney and exploring the planet of Batuu, and finally those novels bridging the gap during the sequel era between The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker and explaining out the Resistance rebuilt itself. These works consist of: Alphabet Squadron, Shadow Fall, Victory’s Price, A Crash of Fate, Myths and Fables, Dark Legends, Black Spire, Spark of the Resistance, Resistance Reborn, and The Force Collector. For each work, the hosts provide an overview of the plot and discuss the quality of the novel both as a piece of fiction and as a part of the larger Star Wars universe.

This episode mentions content from and contains potential spoilers for: Episodes 1 through 9, Alphabet Squadron, Shadow Fall, Victory’s Price, A Crash of Fate, Myths and Fables, Dark Legends, Black Spire, Spark of the Resistance, Resistance Reborn, The Force Collector, Phasma, Squadrons, Ahsoka, Star Wars: Battlefront II, and Lost Stars.

Thank you for listening to Talking Star Wars with Connor and Alex!

Check us out on Reddit here:
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalkingStarWars/