It’s episode 40 of Children of the Force, and we have special guest Nick from London on the show! In case you were wondering what special thing we were going to do for ep. 40, this is it!

Listen, you will…

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STAR WARSY STUFF [4:30]

We downloaded the new demo level of The Force Awakens Lego game for PS4. It was fun. Anna really liked it. I did too, but I think the claims of new and improved gameplay might be a little bit overblown. But it was just one round, so I’m fully willing to be proven wrong.

And Anna and I read Rey’s Story. We both liked it a lot.

INTERVIEW WITH NICK! [11:00]

We sit down via Skype with Nick (11) from London and talk about his upcoming pilgrimage to Star Wars Celebration Europe. He has volunteered to be our UK Correspondent for Celebration, and we couldn’t be happier. We also talk about a ton of other Star Wars stuff.

JOKE [35:00]

Nick came prepared with a joke (what a guest!): What do you call someone who wants to be a Jedi?

WHAT’S THAT SOUND? [36:30]

How did they make the sounds of C-3PO and R2-D2’s movements? Once you know, you’ll never be able to unhear it.

NEWS [40:20]

We discuss a few new crumbs of Star Wars video game information that came out of E3. Here’s the full video:

And here’s a screen grab of the video that got Liam all excited.

John Williams expects to compose music for Episode VIII! Horray!

Rian Johnson posted some images online.

From his Instagram:

And from his Tumblr:

John Boyega is going to star in Pacific Rim 2! Here’s a video from Pacific Rim, just in case you don’t know what we’re talking about. [[[CAUTION: scary monsters]]]

Steven Spielberg will spare Indy fans. http://www.ew.com/article/2016/06/15/harrison-ford-wont-die-indiana-jones-5-spielberg

CANON NEWS [50:45]

Our canon news this episode is all about Rey and her life on Jakku.

Q&A COUNCIL [55:30]

If you could spare one character from death in Episode VIII, who would it be?

Related to this question, Liam wants Luke to die in VIII, which reminded me of this piece by Tricia Barr: http://fangirlblog.com/2011/05/luke-skywalker-must-die/

STUMP THE LUMP! [1:00:45]

I try to stump the kids:

What is the name of the massacre Finn refers to in regard to the Rathtars?
What’s species is Unkar Plut?

Anna and Liam have a special way of announcing that they’re the Lumps this week. It’s, as I like to call it, a “Chewbacca Mom Mask.”

OUTRO [1:05:30]

Thanks for listening! Send us a voicemail or email us at forcechildren@gmail.com if you want to take part in the discussion or just give us some feedback. Thanks!

It’s episode 39 of Children of the Force!

Listen, you will…

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LISTENER FEEDBACK [1:10]

We just had to start off the episode with a sweet and sweet voicemail from loyal listener, Isaac.

STAR WARSY STUFF [3:15]

We all read the Lando comic recently, so we talk about that. I don’t think it was a favorite for any of us, but we all liked it enough. The first five issues of Kanan are pretty hard to beat in my book.

Does that one part in the Lando comic give us hope for Ben’s redemption? Could it be an external force that turned him to the dark side against his will? Probably not, but those straws just beg to be grasped.

WHAT’S THAT SOUND? [9:10]

How did they make the nasty crunching sound when Vader choked Captain Antilles on the Tantive IV?

NEWS [11:45]

Celebration Europe’s art was revealed, along with the names of two new types of stormtroopers: Death troopers and shoretroopers. And those AT-ATs are AT-ACTs (All Terrain Armored Cargo Transport), which makes me think that the yellow panels aren’t panels at all, but are in fact huge yellow crates that contain cargo.

MAKE THE MOST ANNOYING SOUND YOU CAN THINK OF CONTEST [17:10 – 18:15]

Cienna Ree is a appearing in X-Wing, from Fantasy Flight Games! Check out this art!

Check out the images from The Force Awakens comic adaptation over on starwars.com.

Here’s that image I talked about not appearing in the final cut of TFA. I wonder if this is part of a scene that’s shot where Rey seriously considers trading BB-8 for all of those sweet, sweet portions.

CANON NEWS [27:15]

Captain Phasma’s armor has a great origin.

JOKE [30:00]

What kind of ship does a curious Rebellion pilot like to fly?

What character in Star Wars likes burgers the most?

Q&A COUNCIL [31:10]

What Star Wars toy would you like to see produced that hasn’t been made yet?

STUMP THE LUMP! [35:05]

The kids ask me the name of the character that Billie Lourd (Carrie Fisher’s daughter) plays. I fail.

OUTRO [38:10]

Thanks for listening! Send us a voicemail or email us at forcechildren@gmail.com if you want to take part in the discussion or just give us some feedback. Thanks!

…but it’s got it where it counts.

It’s episode 38 of Children of the Force! And seriously, this episode doesn’t sound that great because I accidentally recorded through the laptop microphone instead of our usual microphone. But I couldn’t bring myself to ask the kids to re-record a whole episode. So here we are with sub-par audio quality. Sorry ‘bout that.

Listen, you will…

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STAR WARSY STUFF [1:15]

We are the proud and happy owners of The Sounds of Star Wars by J.W. Rinzler.

Which brings us to our new segment…

WHAT’S THAT SOUND? [2:20]

How did Ben Burtt create the spine-chilling sound of Darth Vader’s breath?

NEWS [4:00]

The final cover image for The Force Awakens comic adaptation has been released. I still don’t like it, but it’s not as cringe-worthy as it used to be. Here’s the side-by-side comparison:

Thank the Maker those troopers were removed. And the extraneous TIEs. But still…

A new Battlefront coming in 2017? Sounds pretty cool.

CANON NEWS [11:05]

Kylo Ren aka Jedi Killer.

Also, Kylo prevented the return of the Jedi order, which makes us wonder what was up with Luke’s students that they hadn’t “returned” yet.

JOKE [14:40]

Chris from Star Wars Kidscast has a couple more jokes for us.

-What shiny Stormtrooper Commander really likes music?
-What Resistance pilot is always staring at his phone?

Q&A COUNCIL [15:60]

If you could make any letter, number or food item into a Star Wars ship, what would it be?

STUMP THE LUMP! [21:35]

I ask the kids a couple questions this week:

-Who is Niima Outpost named after?
-When was R2-D2’s last memory wipe?

LISTENER MAILBAG [25:40]

Noah sent us a theory on Finn. It doesn’t quite fit (Anna pokes the holes), but how great it is that kids are trying to figure this stuff out!

OUTRO [31:05]

Thanks for listening! Send us a voicemail or email us at forcechildren@gmail.com if you want to take part in the discussion or just give us some feedback. Thanks!

SPOILERS!!! [33:00]

The rest of the episode contains mild spoilers for Rogue One, so… abandon spoilerphobedom, all ye who enter here.

It’s episode 37 of Children of the Force!

Listen, you will…

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STAR WARSY STUFF [2:05]

We’ve been listening to Jabba Flow quite a bit. I’ve even inserted it into my TFA soundtrack right between “The Rathtars” and “Finn’s Confession.”

Not Star Warsy, but we’ve been slowly watching the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies. The kids dig them.

NEWS [7:10]

You’ve heard the news. Alden Ehrenreich is reported to be the next Han Solo, playing the smugglerish rogue (or is that rogueish smuggler?) in the young Han Solo movie coming in May 2018.

Here are the photos we look at in the episode:

The kids are a little worried. And really, who isn’t? They’re going to have a hard time seeing anyone other than Harrison Ford play Han Solo, but really, who isn’t? But we’re all hopeful that young Alden will be a worthy Han Solo. Time will tell…

The Darth Vader comic is ending with issue #25 in August. I don’t think that’s bad news, even though I’ve enjoyed the comic in the past. I’m looking forward to comics set in the new era, and I hope this means we get more of those.

Disney infinity is also ending. Not too much sadness over here, because Liam (the big video game player of the two kids) always chooses to play Battlefront. I’m bummed that we don’t get to see more of these beautiful figures on the shelves, even if we don’t buy them.

The kids have no idea what Freemakers means. I rectify that.

CANON NEWS [26:40]

This week’s canon news comes from the book Bloodline and contains minor spoilers for the book. So I’m not going to write about it here.

JOKE [35:05]

Jokes this week are from two of Liam’s classmates and, you guess it, Chris from Star Wars Kidscast!

-What did BB-8 say to R2-D2 on Valentine’s Day?
-Which Star Wars character loves to shop?
-Where to Kanjiklub like to surf and swim?
-What is Kanjiklub’s favorite fruit flavor?

REVIEW [38:20]

This week we review the C-3PO comic … finally.

We also discuss that fact that this Lego short picks up where the 3PO comic leaves off.

Which is sort of weird and makes me think there’s some … canonosity? …to the Lego stuff.

Q&A COUNCIL [47:55]

The kids’ classmates knock the Q&A Council out of the park this week!

-What, in your opinion, is the most devastating moment in all seven Star Wars movies?
-What do you think Episode VIII and Episode IX will be named?
-If you could make any Star Wars movie, what would the name be and what would it be about?

Also, Chris from Star Wars Kidscast answers our question from a couple episodes ago about what weird thing we want to see in Episode VIII!

Thanks to everyone who contributed stuff to this episode!

SHOUTOUTS [1:05:35]

Shout-out to 501^st Central Garrison member TK-11468, Mr. Jesse Edberg, for talking trooping with me at my brother’s wedding over the weekend. It’s always an honor and pleasure to talk with a member of the 501^st.

Shout-out to comic artist Michael Walsh, who I also ran into at my brother’s wedding. Walsh does a bunch of art, including these two variant covers for Vader Down and Poe Dameron.

Shout-out to The Younglings Podcast, which is back for its second season! Check them out over at http://www.theyounglingspodcast.com

OUTRO [1:10:00]

Thanks for listening! Send us a voicemail or email us at forcechildren@gmail.com if you want to take part in the discussion or just give us some feedback. Thanks!

It’s episode 36 of Children of the Force, our second-ever mini-cast.

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The day was too beautiful to sit inside recording, so we did a quick episode outside instead. Featured in this episode are the cardinals that live near our house, the barking dogs from a few houses over, and a whole host of other noises from the neighborhood.

Here’s that robin who is reclaiming the three year old abandoned nest.

Also covered:

Impending Bloodline!

Rey has no memory of her parents, according to the book, “Rey’s Story.” What could that mean?

A kid at school posed an interesting question to Liam: If you had to choose, would you rather Luke or Leia die in Episode VIII? That’s a tough one for a whole host of reasons. Both of the kids choose Luke, but I choose Leia. Liam really, really wants Ep. VIII to be all about the new characters and he feels like Luke would step on that too much. Anna just loves Leia too much. For me, it’s all about the fact that Luke was our eyes in the original trilogy. He’s not anymore, for sure. But he was the main character of the story, and I guess I’m not ready for another death of such importance. Still getting over the last one, to be honest.

Nick from London sends us a few jokes about a little green guy.

And Chris from Star Wars Kidscast asks a question to the Question and Answer Council.

Finally, we read a touching Star Wars memory that a listener posted on our Facebook page.

Thanks for listening! Send us a voicemail or email us at forcechildren@gmail.com if you want to take part in the discussion or just give us some feedback. Thanks!

 

It’s episode 35 of Children of the Force!

Listen, you will…

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STAR WARSY STUFF [0:35]

Anna has branched out into Harry Potter podcasting. She’s working on a podcast called Platform 9 ¾ News with a couple friends. The first episode isn’t up yet, but there’s a website (https://platform934news.wordpress.com), which is a great first step!

We continue our enthralling discussion on elevators and we reference the Wookieepedia entry on elevators, which you can find here: http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Turbolift

Liam acquired a new action figure; this Shock Trooper with 13 points of articulation! We wish every action figure was this awesome.

We continue our read-through of the Marysue’s “Resistance, Caring and “Mask”ulinity: The Feminist Message of the Dude’s in the Force Awakens.” by Kate Bennion. This week, we discuss Finn and how he’s emotionally honest, caring and respectful.

NEWS [20:40]

Free Comic Book Day approaches! http://www.freecomicbookday.com/

Industrial Light and Magic (ILM) released a great video of them reacting to fans’ reactions to the Rogue One trailer. Check it out:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DeEU61EIgzk

Oscar Isaac gave an interview to the LA Times that gave us some interesting tidbits about Episode VIII. The kids are scared at how different VIII sounds like it might be. http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/herocomplex/la-et-hc-oscar-isaac-on-star-wars-episode-viii-20160417-story.html

CANON NEWS [29:30]

Kylo Ren isn’t a Sith. Also, Snoke has decreed that no one can every say Kylo’s real name. Weird, right?

JOKE [34:45]

Where’s the best planet to get burritos and enchiladas?

Q&A COUNCIL [37:30]

What weird thing would you choose for Rian Johnson to do in Episode VIII?

STUMP THE LUMP! [45:35]

I ask the kids again this week.

Q. What is the name of the bird we see on Jakku as Rey is driving into Niima Outpost?

Q. What is the name of the red-clad pirate in Maz Kanata’s castle who Finn is going to leave Takodana with?

LISTENER MAILBAG [48:20]

Nick from London laments the loss of some of the EU and asks us what we think about the whole thing. It gets emotional. But not for the reasons you’d assume.

OUTRO [1:01:30]

Thanks for listening! Send us a voicemail or email us at forcechildren@gmail.com if you want to take part in the discussion or just give us some feedback. Thanks!

It’s episode 34 of Children of the Force! This week we discuss The Empire Strikes Back, space elevators, Finn, Snoke née Maul, space racing, give a couple worthy shoutouts … and more! Join us, and together we will find out what we become if we continue to fight as father and son and daughter and listener!

Listen, you will…

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STAR WARSY STUFF [1:20]

We watched The Empire Strikes back at movie night at the kids’ school. The last time the school had a movie night, they showed A New Hope. I can only hope this trend continues.

While watching the movie, I over heard a 5 year old girl telling a 5 year old boy, “It’s not a dream, it’s a vision,” about Luke in the cave. And my heart grew ten sizes.

“I get why adults love that movie. It is very good.” –Liam, about The Empire Strikes Back

And then the kids go off on what has to be one of my favorite tangents of all time: Elevators in Star Wars (which would be a great name for a band). Thankfully, mercifully, there is a Wookieepedia page for this, which I will be going over in great detail with the kids. Because apparently elevators in Star Wars are a big deal.

We also get deep into what exactly Luke’s failure at the cave was. What was it? We’d love to hear your thoughts about this.

NEWS [12:25]

We’re looking forward to some new Battlefront content, specifically the “Leisurely Stroll” mode. Come on, EA! Do it!

If you don’t have Battlefront and wonder why we gush over it, take a look at this kid giving you a walkthrough of Jabba’s palace. It’s awesome.

Scorched, a short story in the new Star Wars Insider further establishes that starship/fighter racing is a big deal in the galaxy far, far away.

In the prequel trilogy, we have podracing. In the original trilogy era, we have a Han Solo comic coming up that involves racing. And now in the sequel trilogy era, we have one of Leia’s allies entering a race call The Gauntlet.

Constable Zuvio is in The Force Awakens! You must read that EW article.

CANON NEWS [21:05]

Finn was in the top of his class. But why did he refuse orders? What makes him special? Was it just odds? Is there something about him?

Also, he has biological parents, but did they ever know him? Did he ever have a name?

JOKE [33:55]

The jokes this week are from Chris from Star Wars Kidscast again! Thanks a ton Chris for sending in all the jokes. Makes my job easier.

What do you call it when Leia’s hair comes loose?
What do you call it when a Happabore gets loose?
What’s the worst kind of Star Wars joke?

Q&A COUNCIL [35:35]

What is your favorite title of a Star Wars saga film?
What is your first Star Wars memory?

Let us know your answers by emailing us at forcechildren@gmail.com or leaving us a voicemail at speakpipe.com/childrenoftheforce! We’d love to hear from you.

STUMP THE LUMP! [44:05]

This week, I try to stump Anna and Liam by asking them what the name of that green stuff that Rey eats on Jakku is.

Also, who’s the chancellor of the New Republic at the time of the destruction of the Hosnian system?

LISTENER MAILBAG [46:15]

Listener Nick from London has another great Snoke theory. Darth Maul! It’s a pretty awesome theory.

SHOUTOUTS [50:10]

Shoutout to Danny (@ceruleansnidget on Twitter) for sending the kids some great homemade trading cards as a consolation prize for participating in his This is Madness Creatures tournament.

Shoutout to Ian, the winner of our “URoRRuR’R’R” iTunes review contest. He gets this shoutout and also the digital codes to download the 5-issue Chewbacca comic series! We hope you enjoy it, Ian! And thanks for the review!

OUTRO [53:55]

Thanks for listening! Send us a voicemail or email us at forcechildren@gmail.com if you want to take part in the discussion or just give us some feedback. Thanks!

It’s episode 33 of Children of the Force!

Listen, you will…

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STAR WARSY STUFF [4:10]

We’ve been going through the Blu-ray of The Force Awakens, of course. So far, we haven’t watched too much behind the scenes stuff, but what we’ve seen is pretty cool. And it’s great to be able to pop in the movie whenever we want. Sort of surreal.

But we’re not just watching The Force Awakens. We’re still savoring The Clone Wars, so we’re re-watching the Ahsoka arc that is the finale of season 5. Powerful stuff.

We continue our read-through of The Marysue’s Resistance, Caring and “Mask”ulinity: The Feminist Message of the Dude’s in the Force Awakens by Kate Bennion. This week, we’re talking about old Han and how he’s so much better than young Han.

Liam cosplayed as a Sith who killed Luke Skywalker and stole his lightsaber.

NEWS [17:00]

We got our first Rogue One trailer!

So we talk about that for quite some time. The kids are waaaay more excited for it now than they were before this thing came out. And so am I.

Also in the news, an Ahsoka novel is coming, and there’s an Aftermath: Life Debt excerpt over at Entertainment Weekly.

CANON NEWS [53:15]

Our canon news this time around comes from Aftermath by Chuck Wendig. Did you know that after the Emperor was killed on the second Death Star, the Empire continued to insist he was still alive? They even went so far as to put a decoy in front of the cameras in order to convince the galaxy.

JOKE [55:35]

We have four jokes today, all from Chris from Star Wars Kidscast! Here are the set-ups. See if you can guess all the punch lines before listening to the show.

Who’s the richest man in the First Order?
Who is the tallest man in the First Order?
Who is the biggest hockey fan in the First Order?
Who is the grossest man in the First Order?

Q&A COUNCIL [57:10]

Our question this episode comes from listener Asher who sent us a voicemail asking what our favorite Star Wars musical theme is. It’s a tough question and I think our answers change quite often. What is your favorite Star Wars musical theme? Why don’t you send us a voicemail over at speakpipe (www.speakpipe.com/childrenoftheforce) and let us know. We’d love to play your answer on our next episode.

STUMP THE LUMP! [1:00:30]

The kids ask me the name of that droid in Maz Kanata’s castle who alerts the Resistance to the presence of BB-8. I get it half right.

OUTRO [1:03:15]

Thanks for listening! Send us a voicemail or email us at forcechildren@gmail.com if you want to take part in the discussion or just give us some feedback. Thanks!

What a difference a few seconds can make!

But first, spoiler alert for the finale of season 2 of Rebels.

This episode is sort of a quick and dirty reaction to Twilight of the Apprentice recorded on our couch on my phone.

Give it a listen…

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In first half of our reaction, you’ll realize that we completely missed a few seconds during that final montage. This was not an uncommon occurrence, apparently. I’ve heard of others missing this same scene.

So we thought Ahsoka was dead. Like, dead dead dead. But it turns out she might be alive! Or maybe dead. Or possibly dead dead. But not dead dead dead! Which is a relief.

You’ll hear us all be really sad that she died. And then you’ll get to hear us be happy that she didn’t. It’s a weird episode.

We also discuss such gems as:
Ezra’s lightsaber
Maul’s deception
Helicopter lightsabers (kids’ verdict: AWESOME!)
That owl thing
The voice of the temple
The future of Ezra Bridger
Ahsoka

And more. There’s always more. See?

Thanks for reading and listening! Send us a voicemail or email us at forcechildren@gmail.com if you want to take part in the discussion or just give us some feedback.

It’s episode 32 of Children of the Force!

Listen, you will…

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STAR WARSY STUFF [0:30]

Our family went to The Force Awakens in the theater for one last (?) time. It’s finally at the cheap seats theater, the historic Riverview. I mentioned that Liam’s first movie-going experience was at the Riverview Theater [http://www.riverviewtheater.com]. 2011’s Winnie the Pooh. Here’s a photo of Anna and Liam outside the theater on that day:

Boy, how times have changed. If I was thinking ahead, I would have taken a picture of them when we went to see The Force Awakens. This might mean we have to go back and see it again.

Anyway, this viewing was like opening night all over again. Packed house and tons of applause. Here’s the list we came up with of all the times the audience erupted in applause:

Star Wars (intro)
“The garbage will do.”
Defeating the second TIE on Jakku
Han and Chewie entering the Falcon
“It’s the Resistance.”
Leia’s first appearance
R2’s first appearance
Rey forcing the lightsaber
Rey defeating Kylo Ren
End of the film

Upon viewing The Force Awakens again, the kids rethought some stuff, including the character of Poe (“He sacrifices himself for a droid!”) And I have some additional thoughts about Finn and his journey away from his traumatic childhood toward fighting against the very people who raised him. It’s something a lot of adults can identify with.

Anna makes the connection that Finn is the Sokka of Star Wars. (By the way, if you haven’t watched Avatar: The Last Airbender yet, do it! And while you’re watching it, listen to The Avatar State podcast [http://www.theavatarstate.com], where two long-time Avatar fans watch through the entire series with two people who have never seen it and have no idea what happens. It’s a really fun listen.

Speaking of thinking more deeply about the characters of The Force Awakens, we start our on-air read through of Resistance, Caring, & “Mask”ulinity: The Feminist Message of the Dudes in The Force Awakens by Kate Bennion. This week, we start off with discussing how amazingly non-jerky Poe Dameron is.

Finally, Liam found this under his pillow the morning after he lost his tooth. I am not a great drawer.

LISTENER FEEDBACK [26:25]

Nick from London sends us another amazing theory. This time: Snoke is a clone! How is that possible? Is that how the Force works? Listen to the episode to hear Nick’s theory!

NEWS [31:10]

There’s information about Aftermath: Life Debt out of C2E2. Nothing too groundbreaking, but it’s nice to have a general idea of what it’s about.

CANON NEWS [33:55]

We get into a lot of information about Chewbacca and discuss what a life debt is and whether or not Chewbacca actually owes one to Han (or maybe Han owes one to Chewie?).

JOKE [37:20]

Our joke this week is, again, from Chris from Star Wars Kidscast.

Q: What cuddly bear flies X-wings for the Resistance?

Q&A COUNCIL [38:40]

Q: Of all the scenes in The Force Awakens, which one do you most want to freeze-frame though when we get the Blu-Ray?

STUMP THE LUMP! [45:05]
The kids ask me another question from Star Wars Trivial Pursuit: What were the odds of Han and Luke’s survival during the Hoth night, according to R2-D2?

OUTRO [49:00]

Thanks for listening! Send us a voicemail or email us at forcechildren@gmail.com if you want to take part in the discussion or just give us some feedback. Thanks!