Mon, 26 October 2020
Season One of The Mandalorian concluded with a two-part story arc consisting of “Chapter 7: The Reckoning” and “Chapter 8: Redemption.” In this episode of Hyperspace Theories, Tricia Barr and B.J. Priester analyze how the finale episodes pay off the storytelling and characterization set up during the course of the season. We also look ahead to how the threads left open at the end of Season One may lay the groundwork for the stories to come in Season Two. The finale episodes of Season One provide compelling character development for the titular Mandalorian (whose real name, we learn, is Din Djarin), as well as further evolving Baby Yoda’s understanding of the Force, a change of heart by Greef Carga, and the fateful sacrifices of Kuill and IG-11 to save the Child from Imperial captivity. We also discuss the humorous sequence at the opening of Chapter 8, involving the two biker scouts with Baby Yoda, and examine the storytelling impact and thematic purpose of humor in conveying a moral message to the audience. And of course we have to talk about the incredible new villain, Moff Gideon – who, it is revealed in the last moments of the season, is in possession of the Darksaber, an important relic of Mandalorian culture. Direct Download | Libysn embed Related Links Contact Information:
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Sun, 18 October 2020
With Season Two of The Mandalorian premiering at the end of the month, our latest episode of Hyperspace Theories revisits the stories told in Season One. Between the three-episode opening arc and the two-episode conclusion falls a trio of distinct episodes that build and develop a number of important character dynamics. Tricia Barr and B.J. Priester discuss Chapter Four: Sanctuary, Chapter Five: The Gunslinger, and Chapter Six: The Prisoner and what they contribute to The Mandalorian’s story progression. Many of those developments involve the show’s central and titular character. Like the middle of a Campbellian journey, Mando faces tests and trials while encountering allies and enemies. These episodes, for example, reinforce Mando’s distaste for droids and his sworn commitment to never remove his helmet around other people. They also show his worldly experience, his tactical combat prowess and creativity, and the code of honor that plays a role in determining which adversaries he defeats but leaves alive – and which ones he kills. And of course, his relationship with his ward, Baby Yoda, advances too, with a little prompting from Cara Dune, Omera, and Pelli Motto, as well as Mando’s own burgeoning affection for the child. Check back soon for our next episode, also to be released before Season Two begins, when we will discuss the finale episodes of Season One. Direct Download | Libysn embed Related Links Contact Information:
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Sun, 31 May 2020
Teresa Delgado (Fangirls Going Rogue, Star Wars Bookworms) joins Tricia Barr and B.J. Priester of FANgirl Blog to discuss the concluding arc of The Clone Wars.
Direct download: HyperspaceTheories_Siege_of_Mandalore.mp3
Category: general
-- posted at: 10:02pm EDT
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Thu, 30 April 2020
For this episode of Hyperspace Theories, the show comes full circle. Joining Tricia Barr and B.J. Priester for our continuing discussion of The Clone Wars Season Seven is Megan Crouse, a familiar name to long-time readers of FANgirl Blog – and our guest on the second-ever episode of the podcast. Megan wrote reviews of The Clone Wars episodes during Seasons Four and Five when they originally aired on Cartoon Network, as well as contributing book reviews and other articles. Since then, Megan has gone on to write for StarWars.Com, Star Wars Insider magazine, Den of Geek, and other websites. Welcome back, Megan! The focus of our discussion is the second arc of Season Seven, which tells a story of Ahsoka's struggle to redefine her identity relatively soon after her resignation from the Jedi Order at the end of Season Five. Her thinking about herself is influenced by her interaction with the two sisters she meets early in the first episode: Trace and Rafa Martez. As Dave Filoni explained on Clone Wars Download, the sisters represent two possibilities for who Ahsoka could become: the earnest and compassion Trace, or the cynical and selfish Rafa. Over the course of the four episodes, Ahsoka makes her choice – and in the process helps Rafa realize that she can make different choices for herself and her sister, too. In addition to discussing Ahsoka and the Martez sisters, we discuss other themes highlighted by this story arc, particularly how the Jedi Order has been morally compromised. We also share thoughts about how this arc relates to other stories from The Clone Wars, including the novel Dark Disciple and the first two episodes of the final Siege of Mandalore arc, which had already aired by the time of recording. Related Links: Contact Information:
Direct download: Hyperspace_Theories_Martez_arc.mp3
Category: general
-- posted at: 8:44pm EDT
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Tue, 31 March 2020
Tricia Barr and B.J. Priester discuss the storytelling behind The Clone Wars Bad Batch arc.
Direct download: HyperspaceTheories_Bad_Batch_Arc.mp3
Category: general
-- posted at: 8:13pm EDT
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Sat, 30 November 2019
For the latest episode of Hyperspace Theories, Tricia Barr and B.J. Priester discuss the first three episodes of Star Wars: The Mandalorian, now available on the Disney+ streaming service. The untitled premiere episode, Chapter Two: The Child, and Chapter Three: The Sun collectively form the introductory story arc for the as-yet-unnamed titular character. In addition to the character development of the Mandalorian, we consider his interactions with the Bounty Hunter Guild and his Mandalorian clan, as well as his backstory flashback to the Clone Wars. And no conversation about these episodes would be complete without addressing the small green alien in the room: Baby Yoda. We conclude our discussion by looking ahead to the final five episodes of the first season, in particular anticipating the arrival of Gina Carano’s Cara Dune and Ming Na Wen’s Fennec Shand. Related Links: - ‘The Mandalorian’ Director: Baby Yoda ‘Steals the Show’ (New York Times, Nov. 22, 2019)
- Why ‘The Mandalorian’ episodes are short and arrive on Disney+ once a week (CNBC, Nov. 26, 2019)
- The Armorer: Unmasking The Mandalorian‘s Mysterious Blacksmith (Vanity Fair, Nov. 22, 2019)
- The Mandalorian: Deborah Chow Reveals the Inspiration For the Baby Yoda Rescue (Vanity Fair, Nov. 22, 2019)
- Baby Yoda Has Conquered the World (Vanity Fair, Nov. 26, 2019)
- Fangirls Going Rogue: Priority Transmission #14: The Mandalorian Interviews: Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni
- Fangirls Going Rogue: Priority Transmission #15: The Mandalorian Cast Interviews
- Fangirls Going Rogue: Priority Transmission #16: The Mandalorian Press Conference
Contact Information:
Direct download: HyperspaceTheories_The_Mandalorian.mp3
Category: general
-- posted at: 1:42pm EDT
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Sat, 26 October 2019
Editors at FANgirl Blog, BJ Priester and Tricia Barr, share their reactions to The Rise of Skywalker final trailer. Social Media
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Wed, 25 September 2019
While we love Star Wars at FANgirl Blog, we have many passions. Tricia and Kay share thoughts on Netflix's She-Ra and the Princesses of Power.
Direct download: HT_SheRa_Final.mp3
Category: New Galaxies
-- posted at: 9:39pm EDT
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Wed, 31 July 2019
This month’s episode of Hyperspace Theories takes us from books to fashion to movies, with plenty in between. Six months out from the release of The Rise of Skywalker, Tricia, B.J., and Kay look ahead to what might come next for Star Wars and its fans. We begin, though, in the present: discussing the recently released novel Alphabet Squadron by Alexander Freed. Taking place shortly after the defeat of the Empire, the book is the first in a trilogy telling the story of a group of pilots, each flying a different type of starfighter, who are tasked with tracking down an elite Imperial starfighter wing. We evaluate the book on its own terms, how it works to kick off a trilogy, and its relationship to Freed’s other work. As big fans of the X-Wing novel series in the Expanded Universe (Legends) era – featuring the tales of Rogue Squadron by Mike Stackpole and Wraith Squadron by Aaron Allston – we also consider how Alphabet Squadron compares and contrasts with those beloved stories. (For more, you can check out Kay’s review of the novel, too.) Earlier this month, Tricia and B.J. had the opportunity to attend San Diego Comic-Con as credentialed media for Fangirls Going Rogue, and they share some of their insights and reactions from the convention here on Hyperspace Theories, too. We start with the Her Universe Fashion Show, which Kay was able to follow along thanks to livestreams and social media. The work of the designers was impressive as always! Tricia talks about some of the other geek fashion she covered at the convention, as well. We also talk about the Star Wars panels at SDCC, including the Lucasfilm Publishing panel and a bit of Star Wars comics news, along with several other panels examining the role of women in pop culture and the entertainment industry. One of the SDCC panels Tricia attended gathered a group of experts to discuss how fans and fandoms display their reactions and emotions when long-running stories end. We take this idea as a starting point to look at the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Star Wars, both of which reach highly anticipated endpoints this year. With Avengers: Endgame and Spider-Man: Far From Home, the MCU drew to close a ten-year, 22-movie epic storyline and resolved the fates of a number of prominent characters from the series. In December, The Rise of Skywalker will conclude a nine-movie, four-decade Skywalker Saga story told in the Star Wars films. We note the similarities and differences in the two franchises, and consider how the reactions to the end of the MCU’s Phase Three may or may not necessarily transpose to the aftermath of Episode IX. In particular, the Phase 4 slate of new films and Disney+ series announced at SDCC keeps the MCU moving forward at a fast pace, and with great strides in improving the diversity of the talent on screen and behind the scenes at Marvel Studios. By contrast, Lucasfilm currently is scheduled to have a three-year break before the next film and has only two Disney+ series announced for that time period; on the other hand, Star Wars tells stories in animation, books, and comics that continue to advance the same singular storyline in a way that Marvel does not. Although both the MCU and Star Wars will pivot in new directions, we expect to see some significant differences in how the franchises and their fandoms react and adapt going forward. Contact Information:
Direct download: HT_46.mp3
Category: general
-- posted at: 9:38pm EDT
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Sun, 16 June 2019
We have the future, the past, and the present to discuss in this month’s episode of Hyperspace Theories. With Celebration Chicago in the rear-view mirror and December’s movie still half a year away, Kay, Tricia, and B.J. still have plenty of Star Wars to talk about. We begin with the Vanity Fair cover story on The Rise of Skywalker, featuring an article by Lev Grossman and photographs by Annie Leibowitz. As is typical for these pieces, we learned a few new character and planet names, but very little other new information – especially following so closely on the heels of similar interview answers given at Celebration. Likewise, Leibowitz’s composite style provides imagery presumably intended to convey the tone and spirit of the film, but they are traditional behind-the-scenes snapshots or on-set stills. But we did get much better looks at the costumes for Rey and Zorri Bliss, much to Kay’s excitement. Our storytelling segment travels over sixty years back in time on the Star Wars in-universe chronology, to the era when the Jedi Knights were the guardians of peace and justice in the Old Republic – though the seeds of the Order’s demise already had begun to grow. The novel Master & Apprentice by Claudia Gray focuses on the teacher-pupil relationship between Qui-Gon Jinn and a teenage Obi-Wan Kenobi a number of years before The Phantom Menace. She spins a tale of trust and friendship, as well as prophecy, ethical dilemmas, and the political power of governments, leaders, corporations, and the Jedi. One of the new characters is Rael Averross, also an iconoclast to the Jedi Order – but in a quite different manner than Qui-Gon. What they have in common is that both are former apprentices to Dooku, who appears only briefly in flashbacks in Master & Apprentice. The fallen Jedi turned Sith Lord is central figure of the full-cast audiobook Dooku: Jedi Lost by Cavan Scott, released two weeks after Gray’s novel, which also includes Rael and Asajj Ventress from The Clone Wars. Between the two stories, the backstory to Episode I gains a considerable amount of new perspective. This month’s world-building segment takes us to Anaheim, California, where Tricia attended the official grand opening of the Galaxy’s Edge expansion at Disneyland. She shares her reactions to the new land, including the setting, inhabitants, food and drink, and of course the ride Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run. She also gives a behind-the-scenes peek at the dedication ceremony and formal opening of the ride, with VIPs in attendance including Star Wars animation guru Dave Filoni and Captain Marvel’s Brie Larson. One prominent new character in Galaxy’s Edge is Resistance spy Vi Moradi, who appears in Delilah Dawson’s novel Phasma and August’s upcoming Black Spire. In the park, Vi is portrayed by cast member Alex Marshall-Brown, who has been sharing her experience on Instagram and Twitter. Vanity Fair‘s Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Links Contact Information:
Direct download: Hyperspace_Theories_45.mp3
Category: general
-- posted at: 9:24pm EDT
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