Tower of Babble

Death Pool: You think you know who will live or die in the final two episodes of the series? Prove it! Follow THIS LINK (https://forms.gle/vcBCTsH2eeHykYE87) to participate in the death pool and be part of the show! You can also find an imbedded version of the submission form below on the podcast episode web page.

After this week, 'The Bad Batch' is only left with three more episodes before the series wraps up entirely. Last week's two-parter set the stage for a clear endgame - The Batch need to find Tantiss Base and rescue Omega. With that in mind, this week sets up an intriguing idea off the jump - perhaps the former Admiral, now prisoner, Rampart, knows the location. Unfortunately, the episode spins it's wheels with a "mission of the week" format without really moving the plot along in any significant way, and uses information the audience already knows as if it's a big reveal. This would have been a great episode in the middle of the season, but not for the fourth from last episode. The action and visual fidelity were top notch as always, but at this point in the series that's not enough to carry the story at this critical stage.

This final season of 'The Bad Batch' is coming at us fast. It was less than a month ago that we were treated to a dramatic two-part episode that left the team reeling, and now again this week another two-part episode drops, and it's another doozy. First, with "Identity Crises" we spend time back on Tantiss with Doctor Emerie Karr as she takes over for Nala Se on Project Necromancer. It's the first time a current or former member of The Batch doesn't appear on screen, as we instead spend the entire episode on Tantiss learning more about the insidious work being done there. It's gripping dramatic television. Next, with "Point of No Return", the stakes ramp up to 1000 as the Empire strikes out against Pabu in an attempt to recapture Omega. The action here is stunning and where the episode leaves off sets up a thrilling final few episodes as we lead into the series finale.

The trailer for this final season of 'The Bad Batch' teased the return of a fan favourite character from 'The Clone Wars'. A Sith assassin who has been part of Star Wars since the Tartakovsky animated shorts, who seemingly died in a novel adapted from an unused story from an animated series, only to return in all her glory as neither Sith nor Jedi. That's right folks Asaj Ventress returns to the screen as the titular "harbinger" of bad news. Julian and Rachel discuss Asaj's big return, what the information she delivers about the "m-count experiments" means for Omega, and whether we think this is the last we see of this assassin turned bounty hunter.

After an exciting two-parter last week, where the larger clone conspiracy plotline was brought to the fore, we return to something a bit more quaint. This week's episode falls more into the "mission of week" type format. Something we got pretty used to from seasons 1 and 2, but haven't seen much of this season. That is likely due to the fact that this is the final season, and there just isn't as much time to spend on episodes that don't really drive plot or character development. This week's A and B plot format attempted to tackle both of those tasks, but largely fell short of being a satisfying enough on either level. We see Hunter and Wrecker working with fan favourite bounty hunter, Fennec Shand, as they look for clues on the Empire's "M-Count experiments". Meanwhile, Omega tries to help Crosshair heal is hand tremors. Julian and Rachel unpack the episode scene by scene as well as discuss the first trailer for 'The Acolyte'.

Julian finds some time to link up with Jeremy between the weekly ‘The Bad Batch’ reviews to discuss the winners from this year’s Oscars, the big wins from ‘Oppenheimer’ and the state of the ceremony itself. The guys also review ‘Dune: Part Two’ and preview ‘X-Men ‘97’. Plus some general Marvel and DC news to keep things flowing. All that and so much more on this week’s Tower of Babble Podcast!

The larger clone struggle returns to center stage with the return of some fan favorites, in what feels like a sequel to the stellar “Clone Conspiracy” episode from season 2. This two-part episode ramps up tension quickly and then relieves it with exciting action set pieces framed by gorgeous scenery. Crosshair and Omega continue to play a vital role at the center of the plot, and with the assassin clones becoming a larger part of the mystery, we are eager to learn more about how everything ties together. These episodes do a great job of clarifying the stakes for the remainder of the season while also planting seeds for things we know are still coming.

The exciting escape last week left us with the unresolved conflict between Crosshair and the rest of his former squad. In the podcast we discussed how it would be a good idea for the show to slow down for a moment and let Crosshair hash things out with Hunter and Wrecker before jumping back into a larger plot driven narrative. Fortunately it seems like the folks over at Lucasfilm Animation were way ahead of us, as they did just that this week. With a return to Pabu for a reset, the team meets up with Echo to gather additional intel on the whereabouts of Tantiss. The mission takes Crosshair back to the events of "The Outpost" for a spiritual sequel, which feels more than appropriate considering where Crosshair is now in his character arc. Julian and Rachel break down every moment of discord whilst Crosshair does the difficult work of earning back trust.

Last year, Julian was forced to look back at the Oscar alone. This was back when Twitter was still called Twitter and they still had a feature called "Spaces". He wondered aloud at that time, "what would next year's Oscars show look like?". Well Fast-forward one year and you have your answer. Things are quite different, for one thing Twitter is now called "X" for some stupid reason, and more importantly Julian is no longer alone. In the spirit of this year's ToB effort to expand the cast and bring more people into the show, he's instead joined by long time friend of the show, Axel Foley from the 'Daily DVR Podcast'. The original format returns as the two hosts take a look at each of the Best Picture nominees before moving into predictions for who they think will take home the hardware, as well as who they think SHOULD win the awards.

With the extra large premiere out of the way, Julian and Rachel can settle back into the traditional weekly cadence. Unfortunately life finds a way to disrupt well laid plans. As such, this podcast drops a day later than usual - apologies. The episode itself was high stakes and thrilling from the jump, and had a potent finish that gave us a good reset for the rest of the season. We got to explore a new planet, Lau, which is already under a heavy Imperial presence and ruled by the iron fist of Captain Mann, a greasy Imperial leader who is out to enrich himself while stationed on a backwater world. The setting makes for an intriguing backdrop as Omega, Crosshair, and Batcher look for a way off the planet.

When it comes to sci-fi in the real world, the idea that we'd add an extra day at the end of February, every 4 years, would rank amongst the ideas that sound like they come out of a Frank Herbert novel. Which is appropriate considering that the sequel to Denis Villeneuve's adaption of the novel of the same name, 'Dune', releases across the globe today on February 29th, 2024. To celebrate the occasion, Julian and Jeremy look back at the first installment in the series from 2021 and deliver their in-depth review (with a fun "Transformers" sidebar for good measure) as a bonus, publicly available, installment of the ToB Film Club. Something typically reserved for Patrons only, but what the heck, it's a leap year! We recommend taking a hit of some Spice Mélange before diving in. It will help you make more sense of all of Paul's visions and set you up nicely to transition directly into the sequel over the weekend.

Smell that regs? That's the smell of fresh Star Wars animation - breath it in. 'The Bad Batch' dropped it's hotly anticipated 3-part premiere this week and your Small Screen Star Wars hosts are back to unpack each beautifully crafted moment from "Confined", "Paths Unknown", and "Shadows of Tantiss" . Buckle up, as the three episodes come in around 90 minutes in total, which means you are in for a full 2.5 hour recap and review from Julian and Rachel, as the melancholy journey toward the series finale begins. Fortunately each step (episode) on that journey so far has been up to standard. This premiere brings back the gorgeous look and feel from Lucasfilm Animation and the consistently strong storytelling to setup what looks to be an exciting final season. With the board now set it's time to tune in each week to see how this all comes together. We're betting it'll end with a well deserved bang. You know Wrecker wouldn't have it any other way.

With TV now out of the way we can move on to the medium that TV wishes it was - film! Part 2 of the 2023 Tobie Awards focuses in on the best in movies from last year. The Oscars seem to think that there was one movie that stood head and shoulders above the rest, in ‘Oppenheimer’, at least based on how many nominations it got, and Julian, Vince, and Jeremy, certainly give it it’s due, but there is a lot of other worthwhile films to cover on this list. Especially on the genre side of things - movies that would more often than not, never fall under the Oscars purview. Buckle up as the ToB Crew discuss a wide array of top tier films from across the spectrum. Enjoy!

The prestigious Tobie Awards returns for it's 7th annual ceremony. In a bit of a change from tradition, the decision has been made to split the show into two parts. Part one, today, will cover the best of television from 2023. There was a lot of great shows to chose from, but your hosts, Julian, Jeremy, and special guest, Vince, deliver a varied list that has something for everyone. Of course the breakout hit from HBO, 'The Last of Us', gets it's fair share of love but outside of that, I dare you to guess where all the pieces fall. Next week, we dive into the best in film!

As the ToB Crew kickoff 2024, we begin by lamenting what we lost. If only we could return to the simpler times, pre-pandemic. Alas, this is not to be, so instead Julian and Jeremy rely on "ol' faithful", which of course means reviewing the latest news concerning film and television. Unfortunately, they immediately lose focus, perhaps subconsciously staying true to the nostalgic undertone that accompany the start of a new year, and enjoy a fun sidebar discussion about the state of Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings and Star Wars in the early 2000s (We didn't know how good we had it back then). All of which was of course an offshoot of the news of John Williams un-retirement. Next the guys unpack some Star Wars news, and then lean into Marvel. Specifically the fresh legitimacy the Netflix 'Defenders' saga shows have received as Daredevil is pulled further into the MCU. They also save some time to review the Golden Globe winners and look ahead at the Emmys (which were happening live during the recording). All that and so much more on this week's episode of The Tower of Babble Podcast.

Maybe time works differently in the Star Wars universe because it feels like it was just yesterday that we were flipping over the calendar from 2022 to 2023. We were so young and naive. We didn't know a Hollywood strike would bring production of all our most anticipated projects to a grinding halt, and we hadn't yet learned to never trust a movie announcement from Lucasfilm, or that Mando S3 would land with such a thud. But here we are, a year later, looking ahead at another year of Star Wars. We are still waiting for the next movie in the franchise, while some of the best animated content is about to come to an end with the final season of 'The Bad Batch'. Plus, some intriguing new live action shows are just around the corner in 'The Acolyte' and 'Skeleton Crew', though we still don't know much about either one. It's a tumultuous time, so to kick things off on the right foot, Julian and Rachel take a moment to enjoy their Star Wars themed Christmas gifts before diving back into the nitty gritty.

Julian and Jeremy recently sat down to record a Film Club episode and as it happens, they mad some extra time to chat about a few random topics afterwards. This is that conversation. Physical media vs streaming, Oppenheimer, Rebel Moon, Harry Potter, TV's, sound and home theatre setups. It's a hodgepodge of topics that will fit perfectly into your holiday podcast binging. Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas from all of us at Tower of Babble! See you next year...

With every media company in some state of crises these day, it's nice to be reminded that there are things worth looking forward to, even if it's mixed in with a lot of other crap. You really need to try these days to cut through the noise. Fortunately, at least one new trailer dropped recently that made us feel alive again, 'Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga', taking us back to the simpler times of bombastic explosions and a post-apocalyptical setting. As this weeks episode title suggests, yes it is a sequel (or I suppose a prequel as well), and yes, sequels in general have been on the top of Hollywood's mind as of late. Disney's Bob Iger, who has had a rough go of it recently, chimed in saying that Disney was going to pull back on the amount of sequels it was creating. Meanwhile, Sony, who can't help themselves, released a trailer for 'Madame Web', highlighting for everyone exactly why less sequels are needed. Julian and Jeremy discuss all of this, as well as a lay-up "Agree of Disagree" featuring Chris Nolan, which dovetails nicely into a conversation on 'Oppenheimer' to close things out. All this, and more, in the week's Tower of Babble Podcast!

We're hitting the ground running as we attempt to get back to a regular cadence this week with one of the biggest stories in Hollywood right now. If you've been listening to this show for awhile you know that we've paid close attention to the troubles that have beset Warner Brothers over the last few years. My have the tables been turned. Variety has put out a pretty scathing article (hit piece?) on the current state of Marvel Studios that didn't hold back in its indictment of the management (mismanagement) by Disney for what was, up until very recently, a nearly unblemished brand. Julian and Jeremy unpack how they got themselves in this situation and ponder what moves they can make to bring people back into the world Stan built. Meanwhile, of course, WB still manages to find it's way into the limelight with it's latest attempt to burry a film for tax credits, so of course that is touched on as well.

With crisp autumn leaves on the ground and the smell of pumpkin spice latte's in the air, it's easy to feel nostalgic about the summer that was. And what a summer it was (at least for Hollywood)! 2023 saw the resurgence of a more "typical" summer movie slate, having recovered as best as it could after COVID. Massive titles like 'Spider-Man', 'Indiana Jones', 'Guardians of the Galaxy' and don't forget the massive phenomenon of 'Barbenheimer'. It all came and went over the summer months seemingly in the blink of an eye. It was a whirlwind time that brought many surprises, both good and bad. Julian and Rachel unpack it all as they review the results of this year's Summer Movie Wager (credit to The Filmcast). If you're wondering if you might have missed the preview episode at the beginning of summer, well put those fears to rest because there wasn't one! Unfortunately we weren't able to schedule that episode in time. Thankfully the website we use (link in show notes) keeps us honest.