Episode 101: Help us, Obi-Wan Kenobi

One of the most anticipated TV series in years has just concluded its first season, and there's been a lot of talk about it, especially between the members of Planet 8. We're talking, of course, about Obi-Wan Kenobi, the latest Star Wars show on Disney Plus.

Picking up threads from the prequel trilogy and the Clone Wars series, the show follows up on a downtrodden Obi-Wan Kenobi, years after the devastation of the Jedi Order and the fall of the Republic. Obi-Wan lives an unremarkable life on Tatooine, making a living harvesting meat from gigantic desert beasts, and living in a cave not far from the Lars homestead, where he can watch over the young Luke Skywalker. However, through a turn of events, Obi-Wan is called back into service, and must ultimately confront his former friend and now greatest foe, Darth Vader.

One of the problems of doing a story like this, where you're dealing with events that take place in a character's past, is you know they can't be killed off or face serious physical jeopardy, so the focus is much more on their development and growth. The show managed to believably take us from a defeated, self-doubting Obi-Wan to one who has rediscovered his self-worth. It's rewarding to watch, mainly due to the wonderful acting skills of Ewan McGregor. He fully embodies the former Jedi knight and makes him relatable and sympathetic.

A true delight was the unexpected appearance of ten-year-old Princess Leia as portrayed by the marvelous Vivien Lyra Blair. She perfectly captured the spirit of Carrie Fisher's performance.

The introduction of the inquisitor Reva, played by newcomer Moses Ingram, brings to mind questions regarding how the Jedi council functioned -or didn't - and the idea of redemption and how that works in Star Wars. It seems like a person can be truly reprehensible but repent and then be completely redeemed. Does that make sense?

This series, along with Rogue One, helps establish Darth Vader as a true villain again. He and Obi-Wan have several encounters, with Ben getting the upper hand only at the end. The last battle also sets up their encounter in the original film, and explains Kenobi's somewhat cryptic remarks to Luke regarding his father. It's a bit of backwards dancing but it's done well.

All in all, we enjoyed the series. It provides some insight into established characters without breaking canon and gives us some new characters and developments that might allow for a season two. 

Our Sensor Sweep carries on the Star Wars theme, as Karen presents a fabulous book, Secrets of the Force: The Complete, Uncensored, Unauthorized Oral History of Star Wars by Mark A. Altman and Edward Gross. This hefty tome moves chronologically through the history of the Star Wars films, animated series, and The Mandalorian via interviews with the people who made them. It's a treasure trove of great stories and information for any Star Wars fan.

Big News: Your Planet 8 crew will be appearing live at Creatures Con! Held in Orinda, California on August 7,  all three of us -Larry, Bob, and Karen - will be hanging out at a table at the convention! The show is going to be a blast. This year author and film commentator David J. Skal will be a special guest, along with Sara Karloff, daughter of Boris Karloff,  and many others. The show is hosted by our good friend, Lord Blood-Rah, and  Tom Wyrsch, also friend of Planet 8. It's going to be a fantastic show, so please check it out. You can find all the info at http://www.creaturescon.com/. 

All right kids, that's it for this time. Please be good to each other and be safe!

Let us know what you think of Obi-Wan:

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Utinni!!

Episode 93: Closing the Book of Boba Fett

 

This episode, your Planet 8 crew is rejoined by our good friend Lord Blood-Rah to take a long, last look at The Book of Boba Fett. The second live action Star Wars series was rather uneven, but did provide some cool moments. We'll discuss how we felt about Boba Fett prior to the series, and then dive into the details of the show. 

While we varied in our interest in Boba prior to the start of The Book of Boba Fett, we all agreed that he's always been a cool looking character. Of course, he was originally designed as a new type of super stormtrooper, but budgetary concerns resulted in the solo bounty hunter we got in the original trilogy.

In the new show, we get a reborn Boba Fett, who was both intriguing and a little confusing. The flashbacks, with Boba living with the Tusken Raiders, was one of our favorite parts. But his motivations were still somewhat fuzzy. 

A plethora of guest stars graced The Book of Boba Fett. Some we had seen before, others were new (at least to the screen). We talk about all of them, and how the show suddenly turned into the third season of The Mandalorian with episode 5. 

All this and talk on The Clone Wars, Rebels, Rise of Skywalker,  Jedi philosophy, and more! We hope you'll listen in and share your thoughts too!

We also pay our respects to special effects legend Douglas Trumbull, who passed away on February 7th. A true innovator, Trumbull created new methods and new technology for special effects, with credits including 2001: A Space Odyssey, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Star Trek the Motion Picture, Silent Running, Blade Runner, and many more. His influence on visual effects cannot be over-stated. He may be gone but his contributions, his work, will go on forever. 

For our Sensor Sweep, Recon Officer Karen shares a brand-new book, appropriate for this episode, The Art of The Mandalorian Season Two by Phil Szostak. This is a big, beautiful book chock full of preproduction illustrations and designs for the second season of Mandalorian. Not only do you get to see all the iterations of character and ship designs, but the texts give back story about how the creators developed their ideas. If you're a Mando fan, you'll love this big tome.

Be sure to check out LordBloodRah.com to keep up with everything his Lordship is doing! You can find links to his Nerve-Wrackin' Theater for his TV schedule, as well as his Nerve Wrackin' Auditorium for his podcast featuring old time radio horror and science fiction. His site will also point you to his Patreon and his live appearances too! It's your one-stop shop for all things Lord Blood-Rah!

As always, we appreciate your support! Let us know what you thought of The Book of Boba Fett, and what you thought of this episode. You know where to reach us:

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Thanks for listening!

Episode 81: Planet 8 Presents: Alfred Hitchcock

 

On this edition of Planet 8, we take a look at the master of suspense, Alfred Hitchcock. Spanning six decades, Hitchcock's career began near the end of silent films all the way into the 70s, and encompassed television as well. He was probably the first film director that the general public recognized, due to his larger than life personality and his consistent use of suspense and fear in his films. Hitchcock would push the envelope with both camera techniques and with how far he would push the mores of the day. 

We'll discuss a number of his films, including Rope and the illusion of the single camera take. Also Rear Window, and the amazing set that was constructed of Jimmy Stewart's neighborhood, and the sense of claustrophobia that was created. There's also To Catch a Thief, which Bob sees a precursor to the Bond films. This time Hitchcock went on location and we get wide open vistas.

Then there's Vertigo, which many believe is Hitchcock's masterpiece. The crew had some disagreement over whether Jimmy Stewart's character suspected that Kim Novak's character was actually his old flame or not. If he did know, it would make his obsessive behavior a little easier to take. But watch it and decide for yourself.

North By Northwest is another favorite for many, with Cary Grant as a man in the wrong place at the wrong time. It's got great actors, humor, and Mount Rushmore too!

But in 1960, Hitchcock delivered what might be his best-known, and perhaps most shocking film, Psycho. Based on a story by Robert Bloch, this tale of murder and a boy who loves his mother a little too much was a hit with the public when released. We talk about the film and especially the Bernard Herrmann score. Herrmann worked with Hitchcock on many of his films, but this score is especially memorable.

And who could forget The Birds? This film has an almost apocalyptic feel, as ordinary birds suddenly begin attacking people. Shot in Bodega Bay, California, the beautiful, peaceful landscapes are juxtaposed with the chaos of the birds' violent and inexplicable attacks. It's an amazingly effective film, which has no music, only bird sounds in the soundtrack. And no happy ending -it's ambiguous as to whether the menace is over. There's also some classic shots in this film, like when a huge flock of birds slowly appear behind Tippi Hedren, or the birds-eye view shot of the town and the gas station on fire. It's great work by the master.

There are so many other great films by Hitchcock -Strangers on a Train, Frenzy, The Man Who Knew Too Much - but we only have so much time. Do yourself a favor and check them out! We wish we had time to go over the television show, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, but that will have to be saved for another episode!

For this week's Sensor Sweep, Karen shares something completely non-Hitchcock related! Who says we have to make everything match? We're back to Star Wars! It's a great new book called Secrets of the Force: The Complete, Uncensored, Unauthorized, Oral History of Star Wars by Edward Gross and Mark A. Altman. This huge tome covers the entire history of the Star Wars films as told by the people who made the films and others who are affiliated with them. These authors have previously done some terrific books on the oral history of Star Trek that were just a joy to read. If you are a Star Wars fan and want to delve deep into the behind the scenes history, this is the book for you!

That's it for us this time around! Please let us know your thoughts on anything we discussed this episode. You can leave comments here, or hit us up and our other haunts:

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Good Evening!

 

Episode 80: Of Dinosaurs and Droids: A Look at Primal and Star Wars: The Bad Batch

 

This episode we have a rather odd combo for you: two animated series that couldn't be more different! We'll start with Genndy Tartakovsky's Primal, the story of a caveman and his dinosaur companion in a savage primordial world, and then we'll switch gears and look at the latest Star Wars animated series, The Bad Batch, which follows a squad of clone troopers after the fall of the Republic.

Primal follows the adventures of Spear, a caveman, and Fang, his dinosaur companion. Both of them lost their families and so have bonded. So far there have been ten episodes. It's definitely not for kids - there are extremely gory, bloody battles with no punches pulled. But the stories are interesting and run from pure adventure to way out fantasy. Primal sets itself apart from many shows in that there is no dialogue in the show - Spear, the caveman, has no language and communicates only in grunts and shouts. The story is conveyed via the action and the interactions between the characters. The show also uses color very well to establish mood. Hopefully there will be a new season later this year.

The Bad Batch follows Hunter, Tech, Echo, Wrecker, and Crosshair - Clone Force 99, aka The Bad Batch. This group of "defective" clones goes on the run after the end of the Republic and the rise of the Empire. The series fills a space in the Star Wars timeline and rather than focus on the Skywalkers or the Jedi, looks at things from the perspective of the clones, who were being replaced by the stormtroopers -recruits from around the galaxy, rather than clones grown to serve the Empire. There's been some strong episodes and some not so strong ones, but overall, it's provided some great insights to this era of Star Wars.

There are a ton of other animated shows out now or about to come out, and we'll throw around some thoughts on them too. Between all the movies, live action, and animated shows, there's a ton of media for geeks right now!

Before we get to the Sensor Sweep, just a reminder that there are two, count 'em two, Godzillafests coming your way this month in the San Francisco Bay Area. At the Balboa Theater in San Francisco, August 20-22, they'll be featuring King Kong Crashes Godzillafest, with special guest Linda Miller, from King Kong Escapes and The Green Slime. They'll show a ton of movies, including the original Kong, King Kong (1976), King Kong Escapes, Kong: Skull Island, and a smattering of Godzilla films. On the weekend of August 27- 29, it's Legendary Godzillafest, featuring the Legendary films, as well as the Millennium series, and special guest will be motion capture actor T.J. Storm, who played Godzilla. Bob will be on the radio talking about Godzillafest, along with Ms. Miller and Mr. Storm, on August 16 on radio station KFJC 89.7FM with Rob Emmett at 6 pm pacific time (you can also find them online).

Commander Larry has an appropriate Sensor Sweep - it's Masters of the Universe Mini Muglets available at Walmart. They are two-ounce ceramic shot glasses from Geek Tikis. It features four muglets in a plastic container that looks like Castle GreySkull. What better to accompany your viewing of He-Man: Revelations? 

That's all for this episode. What animated shows are you watching? Let us know!

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Later, gators!

Episode 74: Planet 8's Top Ten Sci Fi Films of All Time!

 

Welcome all to Planet 8's third anniversary episode! Yes, we have been doing this insanity for three years now. We thought the best way to celebrate would be to tackle the biggest question we could think of: what are the ten best science fiction films of all time?

Through an arcane process which we describe in the episode, we devised a list of ten great science fiction films. Now these are not necessarily our favorite films, but the films which we think are the most influential, most impactful, unique, and had artistic and/or technical achievements which set them apart. 

It was surprising to us which films we agreed upon, and which ones only one of us selected. But there were just so many great films to choose from. It was very difficult to cut some films, or choose between certain films in a series. 

We also noted that all of our selections fell between the 1950s and 1980s. Maybe it has to do with giving a film time to build a legacy. Or it could be we're just old farts who prefer older films!

If you want to be surprised by what films we chose, then skip over the section below. Otherwise, proceed! 

Planet 8's Top Ten Science Fiction Films of All Time

10.  Robocop

9. Tie - Predator and Empire Strikes Back 

8. War of the Worlds (1953)

7. 2001: A Space Odyssey

6. Forbidden Planet

5. The Thing (1982)

4. Alien

3. Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)

2. Planet of the Apes (1968)

1. Star Wars

 We're sure this list may inspire some debate -we know it did with us! While these are all fine films, you can make an argument for where they should be positioned in the list, or if other films should take their place in the top ten. For some more insight into our thought processes, here are our individual lists.

Bob's List

1. Forbidden Planet
2. War of the Worlds (1953)
3. Alien
4. Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
5. Star Wars
6. Planet of the Apes
7. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
8. The Thing (1982)
9. Blade Runner
10. Close Encounters of the Third Kind

Karen's List

1. 2001: A Space Odyssey
2. Star Wars
3. Empire Strikes Back
4. Planet of the Apes
5. Alien
6. The Thing (1982)
7. The Matrix
8. The Thing (1951)
9. Day The Earth Stood Still (1951)
10. Quatermass and the Pit

Larry's list

1. Star Wars
2. Planet of the Apes
3. Predator
4. Robocop
5. Day The Earth Stood Still (1951)
6. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
7. The Thing (1982)
8. Blade Runner
9. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)
10. Forbidden Planet

What about the films we left off? Hard choices had to be made. Of course, we love Logan's Run but had to admit it was not top ten material. And no Star Trek films on the list? Sadly, it's true. 

We would really like to hear from you about what you would put on your top ten - again, not your favorites, but what are the best? Send us your thoughts and we will follow up on them in a future episode.

We've covered a number of these films we're talking about. If you'd like to go back and listen to those episodes, check these out:

War of the Worlds

Alien

2001: A Space Odyssey

Planet of the Apes

The Thing

This makes us realize that there are many more films that we need to cover! No danger of running out of material here on Planet 8.

Seeing as it is our third anniversary, we want to send out a special thanks to all of you who have been following the show. We didn't know we were going to be doing this for three years, but they have just flown by! We're still having a blast, and most of that is due to you listening and contacting us. So we hope you'll stick with us and continue on along the journey!

You also have one week until Bay Area Film Event's Godzilla's Monster Bash at the Balboa Theater in San Francisco. On May 14-16 they will show ten classic Godzilla films, and there will be vendors and guests! It should be a great event, so if you're in the area, be sure to come out. You can get more info and tickets at  http://bayareafilmevents.com/godzillafest

This wraps up our episode. Let us know what you thought. Leave a comment on the site, or you can contact us at:

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Remember: Klaatu Barada Nikto!

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 43: May The Force Be With You...We Have Spoken!

As 2019 came to a close, fans had Star Wars coming at them on both the big and small screens: we were ending the fabulous Mandalorian TV series on Disney +, and the final movie in the "Skywalker saga," Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker, was released. Dare we say, reactions to these two productions couldn't be more different. The Planet 8 crew first discusses their feelings -we search our feelings -about Episode IX, a film that has continued the controversy from The Last Jedi. We came out of the film with a lot of questions, some frustrations, and a few things we enjoyed. We just wish there had been more.

On the other side of the galaxy, Disney + really hit it out of the park with the last half of The Mandalorian. We reviewed the first half of the season in episode 40, and all three of us absolutely loved it. The last four episodes delivered on the set up of the first four. We all felt that the conclusion was very satisfying. The final episode was thrilling; it had the right amounts of action and heart. And it's perfectly set up for the second season, as Mando is now bound to the Child and must help find his home. We discuss what we hope to see in the second season...which feels so very far away right now! 

For our Sensor Sweep, we keep our Star Wars theme, as Commander Larry discusses his experience meeting Anthony Daniels, aka C-3PO, during his tour for his book, I am C-3PO. Larry found Mr. Daniels to be a charming gentleman.

We have a special request: if you can't wait to listen to our episodes, if we've enlightened and entertained you, please consider nominating Planet 8 for a Rondo award for Best Multimedia site. You can click here for the details. Thanks again for the support you have given us!

That's all for us this time friends. We look forward to hearing your thoughts about Rise of Skywalker and The Mandalorian. Are you looking forward to more Star Wars from Disney +? What kind of shows would you like to see? Let us know. Leave your comments here, or hit us up at our other telecommunication locations:

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Thanks for Listening!

Our closing song is Star Wars by The Lounge Brigade.

Episode 40: This is the Way: The Mandalorian at the Half-Way Mark

via GIPHY

It's here -the first live-action Star Wars series! And so far, everyone seems to agree -The Mandalorian is a hit! Your Planet 8 crew has eagerly awaited the debut of this Disney +  show, created by Jon Favreau, with contributions from Dave Filoni of Clone Wars and Rebels fame. Set about five years after the events of Return of the Jedi, the show depicts a time of uncertainty and unrest as the Alliance attempts to build from the ashes of the Empire. In the outer rim territories, the mysterious bounty hunter known as The Mandalorian forges a living hunting down bail jumpers and other low lifes, when he receives a bounty commission from former Imperials laying low. And from there, his life gets very complicated...

It's not a surprise to say that our episode is heavily SPOILER-FILLED from minute one, so you may not want to listen unless you've seen the first four episodes of The Mandalorian! We will discuss just about every detail of the show, being long-time Star Wars fans, and this show really hearkens back to the original trilogy in many ways. But it also brings a fresh take on the universe, which we thoroughly enjoyed!

via GIPHY

What are some of the influences we detected for the show? What were the little details we flipped over? How much does Commander Larry love Baby Yoda? Take a listen and then be sure to chime in with your thoughts too!

For our Sensor Sweep, no, it's not Star Wars, but Godzilla we turn to, as Chief Engineer Bob tells us all about the exciting new Godzilla Showa Era boxed set from Criterion! Almost as big as the King of Monsters himself, this eight disc bluray set covers Godzilla films from 1954 to 1975 and comes in a beautifully illustrated hardcover book. You can get it from Criterion or other fine retailers.

OK, that's it for this transmission. If you've seen The Mandalorian, what are your thoughts so far? Got anything to say about the Criterion Godzilla collection? Anything else you need to get off your chest? Leave a comment below, or try our other communication resources:

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Thanks for listening - we have spoken!

Episode 39: Thankful for Star Wars

It's that time of the year when we celebrate the things we are thankful for, and here on Planet 8, we are thankful for Star Wars! For many of us, Star Wars -the films, the animated shows, the toys, games, books, comics, and so on - have been a big part of our lives, for most of our lives. When the first film came out in 1977, we had never seen anything like it. We took a trip to that galaxy, far, far away, and nothing was ever the same.

Join the Planet 8 crew, including newly-promoted Lieutenant Debby, as we reminisce about all of the things that have made Star Wars so enjoyable and so enduring. Seeing Star Wars as youngsters created a connection for us that has lasted to this day, and we still eagerly await every new film and TV show, as well as the various product spin offs. 

We'll discuss  the films, but, being Planet 8, we'll stray off course and talk about our personal experiences with Star Wars, the toys and other goodies, the animated shows, and much more. It's a Star Wars lovefest, more over- stuffed than a Thanksgiving turkey!

Please note, we recorded this episode a few weeks prior to the debut of The Mandalorian TV show on Disney Plus. But we'll be covering that very soon!

Lt. Debby and Chief Engineer Bob and friends

Recon Officer Karen, unidentified angry man, and Commander Larry

For our Sensor Sweep, Commander Larry shares a new goodie he purchased, the Hot Toys Nano-Gauntlet 1/4 scale figure. This is a mini-version of the Infinity Gauntlet that Tony Stark wears at the end of Avengers Endgame. It lights up and everything! You can find it on the Sideshow site here.

We hope you enjoyed this episode and will share your thoughts on Star Wars. You can do it here, or at our other places of business:

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Thanks for listening -and May the Force be with you!