speakhard said:
To that end, I try to foster a vibe of thoughtfulness if not outright positivity when we make critiques. I’m still trying to find that balance, and I try to “cast” the episodes with voices I know will bring certain energy to the specific topic.I noticed that while listening to a few of your episodes and I really appreciate it. A lot of fandom/pop culture podcasts either go for easy criticisms or relentless positivity, and don’t have a lot of room for nuance.
Thanks, I really appreciate you saying that. The vast majority of the Star Wars pods I’ve heard are either uncritically positive or relentlessly negative, neither of which I find worthwhile to listen to. So I’m trying to create the discussion that I would want to hear myself.
I noticed you haven’t tackled the prequels yet.
Yes, but I certainly plan to. I’ve been trying to pick topics that roughly go in release order, combined with my own personal experience of the films. But I am slowly transitioning in to prequel era topics. On July 27 we’re releasing an episode called “Prequels 1986” where we imagine what the prequels would have been like if George had kept making a new movie every 3 years after Return of the Jedi, and I think it’s one of the best we’ve done.
Then we’re doing an episode where we discuss the famed “Fall of the Republic” fan script that was making the rounds in fan circles in the early 80s, purporting to be the real script for Episode III.
And in the same drawer that I found both the tape of my Mark Hamill interview and the Star Wars Newsletter I made when I was 10, I came across a print out of prequel rumors from various websites in 1997 that are pretty wild, and I want to do an episode discussing those. That’s all a lead up to covering Episode I and the rest of the prequels themselves.
I’m thinking I want to come at the prequels from a different angle than the blow-by-blow I did for the OT films. As interesting as I think some of those conversations are, I’m not sure if they’re enjoyable to listen to for others.
I’d love to see you dive into them with someone who has the perspective of growing up with those films.
You read my mind 😉 Might you have any interest in guesting on either the TPM or a “growing up with the prequels” episode?
(@Hal, I realize I’m pulling this thread very much off topic, so let me know if you think this should split off into its own thread.)