Episode 65: Have Yourself a Very Mando Christmas

 

Season's greetings, friends! Welcome back to Planet 8. To wrap up the year, we'll talk about one of the bright spots of 2020: season two of The Mandalorian. It was an exciting season, full of great character appearances, amazing new worlds and creatures, and fantastic adventures. We also got to see the relationship between Mando and the Child grow. For us old school Star Wars fans, it was like being transported back to those days of stories from a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. 

Warning -this is a SPOILER-FILLED episode! If you haven't seen season two of The Mandalorian, we suggest you watch it before listening, because this episode, and post, may give away details you don't want to know!

Your Planet 8 crew will discuss their overall impressions of this season and then dive into each episode. We all loved the show and had a variety of thoughts and ideas about how this season unfolded. It's safe to say, we were all pleasantly surprised, especially with the finale. Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau have done a phenomenal job bringing this show to us. It's the right mix of new and old ideas, characters, and designs. Every week was like getting a new Star Wars movie straight out of the original trilogy era.

The season gave us a lot of great action, with monsters to battle, lots of baddies, and some interesting planets too. But one of the highlights of the season was the impressive guest stars - Boba Fett, Ahsoka Tano, Bo-Katan Kryze, and...Luke Skywalker?! Unbelievable! The great thing about this all was that they didn't seem forced -they made sense given the storyline.

Of course, the finale was a tear-jerker (especially for Commander Larry). The good-bye between Grogu and Din Djarin was touching, and well done by Pedro Pascal. Now we're left with many more questions. Will we see Grogu in season 3? Can the show continue to be as popular if Baby Yoda is gone? And honestly, considering what a marketing boon he is, is there any way they wouldn't have him on the show? But how do they do that? And what happens between Mando and Bo-Katan regarding the Dark Saber? And will Mando continue to follow his creed, or has he changed? We have a year to ponder these things....

It's the holiday season and we want to wish all of our listeners the very best, whatever you may be celebrating. Thanks for spending some time with us over the year -especially this year. We hope we've been able to provide some lightness and entertainment during these difficult days. We hope you have a wonderful holiday and that the new year brings all of us some much needed happiness.

That's all for now. Send us your thoughts about The Mandalorian -we'd love to know what you thought.

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May the Force be with you!

Episode 64: We will control all you hear: The Outer Limits

 

There is nothing wrong with your speakers. Do not attempt to adjust the sound. We are controlling transmission. For the next hour your Planet 8 crew will control what you hear. You are about to experience the awe and mystery of the classic 60s TV show, The Outer Limits!

One of the last of the anthology series on television, Outer Limits is fondly recalled by many fans today. One of its hallmarks was its "bears" - the strange, striking aliens and monsters created for the show. Appearing in almost every episode, these creatures often featured outlandish designs, which have proved to be highly memorable, such as the ant-like Zantis, the twisted Thetan from  Architects of Fear, and the Ebontie interrogator from Nightmare. The Projects Unlimited team, including Jim Danforth and Wah Chang, produced designs which have stood the test of time.

But beyond the monsters, Outer Limits was a top notch science fiction show. It explored what it meant to be human, our flaws and  our potential. This was key for the shows creators, Leslie Stevens and Joe Stefano. Much like Star Trek, they wanted to impart a message about humanity. They also aimed high, for a more literary form of science fiction, although obviously they were balancing it with the crazy monster each week!

We'll discuss a number of episodes, some favorites and some that we just found intriguing. Of course, OL had an extremely limited run -just a season and a half, 49 episodes. But there are so many fun shows to discuss! And there are interesting connections to other 60s shows, like Batman, Hogan's Heroes, Star Trek, and so on. 

As usual, we'll look at other aspects of the production, including the lighting, staging, and of course, the unique music, which was composed by Dominic Frontierre. And who could forget the control voice, performed by actor Vic Perrin?

Outer Limits is definitely one of the most important SF series ever made, and its stories and creatures continue to provide entertainment and are influential decades later.

Appropriately for our Sensor Sweep, Karen shares a beautiful book, David Schow's The Outer Limits at 50. This large paperback was published by Creature Features in 2014. It is packed full of fantastic photos from the show, some from behind the scenes. It also has descriptions and details about making each episode. This book is hard to find now (there are some ridiculous prices on eBay). But if you see it in a used bookstore, grab it! You won't be disappointed! Schow's Outer Limits Companion is also highly recommended.

As we recorded this episode, news of the passing of actor David Prowse was just breaking. Your Planet 8 crew is saddened by this news. Of course, Prowse changed all our lives by being the physical presence of Darth Vader. But he also appeared in a number of Hammer films, and trained Christopher Reeve to bulk up for Superman. He was a remarkable gentleman, and we salute his life, and shall miss him.

That's it for this time. We return control to you! Send your transmissions to us:

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Thanks for listening!