Dr Leah Robinson and Host, Will Rose, dive deep into the latest Star Wars series, "Skeleton Crew," exploring its significance within the expansive Star Wars universe. They discuss how the show captures the spirit of classic 1980s adventure films, reminiscent of "The Goonies" and "Stranger Things," while simultaneously appealing to a younger audience. The conversation highlights the contrast between the innocence of the main characters and the complex moral landscape of the galaxy, emphasizing themes of friendship, resilience, and the quest for identity. Leah shares her insights on the show's characters, particularly Jude Law's compelling portrayal, and reflects on the broader implications of the narrative for both new viewers and long-time fans. The duo wraps up with a thoughtful discussion on the evolving nature of Star Wars storytelling and its impact on fandom, showcasing their shared passion for the franchise.

Leah Robinson joins Will Rose for an engaging conversation on 'What's News?!' where they delve deep into the world of pop culture, specifically focusing on the latest Star Wars series, Skeleton Crew. Leah, a Professor of Religion, shares her unique perspective as both a scholar and a passionate geekologist, expressing her excitement about the intersection of theology and popular media. The discussion ranges from the nostalgic elements of 1980s adventure films like The Goonies to the modern storytelling techniques used in Skeleton Crew. Will and Leah explore how this series captures the essence of youthful adventure while introducing complex themes of morality and the nature of good and evil in a galaxy far, far away. With Leah’s academic insights, they also reflect on how stories shape our understanding of identity and belonging, making this episode a fascinating blend of entertainment and intellectual discourse.

The episode captures the essence of what it means to be a geekologist in today’s cultural landscape. Leah shares her journey into the Star Wars universe, recounting her first cinematic experience with The Phantom Menace and how her relationship with the franchise evolved through the years, especially with the influence of her husband, Stuart. Together, they discuss the character dynamics in Skeleton Crew, examining how the innocence of youth juxtaposes with the harsh realities of their adventures. This thematic exploration is enriched by their reflections on the nature of fandom and the importance of maintaining a healthy dialogue within it, especially in a time when toxic fandoms can overshadow the joy of engaging with beloved narratives. Their conversation not only celebrates the fun of being a fan but also encourages a deeper understanding of the stories we cherish.

As they transition to more specific critiques of the Skeleton Crew, Leah and Will engage in a lively debate about the series' pacing and character development. Leah appreciates the show’s attempt to cater to younger audiences while also appealing to longtime fans, suggesting that it balances the need for familial connection and adventure. The duo discusses the challenges of creating new content within an established universe, contemplating whether the series adds meaningful layers to the Star Wars mythology or simply retreads familiar ground. Their dialogue touches on the complexities of storytelling in a franchise that has seen both highs and lows, ultimately highlighting their shared enthusiasm for the potential of future narratives in the Star Wars universe. With a mix of humor, insight, and genuine appreciation for the medium, this episode offers listeners a rich tapestry of ideas, encouraging them to reflect on their own experiences with storytelling and pop culture.

Takeaways:

• The podcast discusses the new Star Wars series 'Skeleton Crew' and its cultural impact.
• Leah shares her journey into Star Wars fandom, starting with 'The Phantom Menace'.
• The conversation explores how 'Skeleton Crew' appeals to both new and existing fans.
• Jude Law's character in 'Skeleton Crew' provides an intriguing anti-hero dynamic throughout the series.
• Themes of friendship and personal growth are central to the 'Skeleton Crew' narrative.
• The hosts emphasize the importance of storytelling that resonates with audiences of all ages.

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We discuss all this and more in this one! Join in the conversation with us on Discord now!

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Support our show on Captivate or Patreon, or by purchasing a comfy T-Shirt in our store!

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Check out our other What's News?! episodes:

https://player.captivate.fm/collection/5abf15a7-d441-4638-8a4a-66ccf85e3343

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Don't miss any of our other Star Wars episodes:

https://player.captivate.fm/collection/8a69b978-b30c-4515-9e5d-a38a84cc367f

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Listen to all of Will's episodes:

https://player.captivate.fm/collection/4559ab55-4b6a-4432-b0a7-b61540df8803

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Check out other episodes with awesome guests like Leah:

https://player.captivate.fm/collection/0d46051e-3772-49ec-9e2c-8739c9b74cde

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Systematic Geekology

Our show focuses around our favorite fandoms that we discuss from a Christian perspective. We do not try to put Jesus into all our favorite stories, but rather we try to ask the questions the IPs are asking, then addressing those questions from our perspective. We are not all ordained, but we are the Priests to the Geeks, in the sense that we try to serve as mediators between the cultures around our favorite fandoms and our faith communities.

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Foreign.

YouTube. We are another episode of Systematic Ecology. Hello, fellow geekologists.

And I'm super excited that I have a fellow geekologist with me on this live YouTube what's new. But mainly Star Wars. Hello, Dr. Robinson. Glad that you are able to be with us today on an episode of what's News?

Systemic geekology, but mainly Star Wars Skeleton Crew. So we're going to geek out a little bit on some things. That's what's new in the culture that pops.

And we're going to talk mostly Star wars and Skeleton Crew. But before we do that, do that. I'm excited this is your debut on systematic Ecology.

I'm just happy to be here. And I mean that. I've been waiting to get on. Like, I keep trying to hint at how much of a geek I am and not just a theology geek.

And I'm just glad that someone finally listened.

Yeah, I was, I was listening at your panel at beer camp and I was like, you know what? This is going to happen.

And I'm going to. I'm going to show the shirt and then I'm going to say, sometimes as a woman, you have to scream a little louder for people to hear.

That's true.

Eventually you're here, so it's great.

That's. That's right.

And I, yeah, I was paying attention at geek camp this year because you did a great panel with friend of the show Ryan does on the Alien franchise. And you kept working in like, Star wars stuff.

And I'm like, I feel like, I feel like you didn't look in my direction, but your words came towards me like a tractor being ready to pull you into, like, between you and Nick.

I felt bad because I kept referencing Star wars in the Shire and I was just like, horror movies aren't like this.

That's right. That's right. So, yeah, all that being said, glad you're here.

There'll be more times, but this is your debut and I know you're a big Star wars fan and, and with your family and all, but we'll. We'll talk other kinky things first before we get to that.

I know you through the algebra camp and other Venn diagram of interests and things that we geek out on, but our listeners may not. So. So, Dr. Robinson, you know, a couple questions. Who are you? What do you do? Why. Why are you on this planet called Earth?

Good Lord.

Yeah. In two minutes. In two minutes.

Okay. That's like, Tripp, he's like, here's three questions. And who am I? Well, I am a Georgia girl by birth. Go dogs forever and ever.

And I also am a theologian by trade. I am a wife and a sister and a daughter on this planet. Hopefully a light to some degree, if we want to get very whatever about it in this.

A very intense advocate. So you'll hear me make comments, and you'll be like, oh, she's making those comments. Yeah, that's just gonna be me forever. So if that.

If you're okay with it, then that's fine. Always, Always gonna try to find that in there. So mom to a dog and three cats and here in North Carolina.

So I, you know, I embarrass my kids because I. Every person that has, like a. They're walking a dog. I need to know the dog's name. I need to meet the dog. So.

And I'm fascinated by pet names and what pets. So I need to know your. Your dog's name, cats names and. Yeah, let's meet. Meet your animals.

This is a true test. Well, is this my dog's name? But do you know the character? This is testing your geekology here.

I see a coffee mug, folks who are listening to this those on YouTube live with us. But no, for the podcast, there's a coffee mug with what I see, like. Like a dachshund dog.

A little. Little dog with a little pumpkin on his nose.

It's from Nightmare on Once. Oh, man. It's not a movie that I.

Nightmare is key.

I love this geek pop quiz right off the dust. You can tell she's a professor, folks. You can tell she's a professor. I'm already being quizzed, and I'm nervous and starting to sweat.

It's okay.

I will save you from yourself, Nightmare Before Christmas, because also, love is Halloween, and my dog's name is Zero from Nightmare Before Christmas because that is the loyal ghosty dog. I have a Salem and Stuart. Got to name one. So we have a Kylo Ren who may be evil and maybe isn't.

It's up for debate, you know, certainly isn't kissing all of the girls. That's fine.

Hopefully there's not a Jedi master ready to kill him because he had a bad thought about him. That's, you know, come on.

Every once in a while. And then we have a Beethoven who was a foster. That was. That's a deaf cat, completely white, hence the Beethoven.

And then just after a year, we were like, is anyone gonna take this cat back? And then they didn't. And that's how cats work. So now we are.

We are petless at the moment I had a dog. Woody passed away a year ago. We still grieve that dude. And the latest Superman trailer that just came out, I don't know if you saw it, look it up.

And it is. It wrecked me because Krypto the Superdog shows up and he, he, he looks a little like Woody with his ears. And when I saw that dog, I just.

It wrecked me. In a good way. In a good way.

So I don't think people understand. I mean, people do understand if they've lost. Oh God, you're on my phone. Somehow I'm gonna put that up. I think people forget that like pets.

Unless you've had pets, in which case I'm talking to you as well. It's just like how much you get. They're like your children. They really are.

They have personalities. They're with you, you're with them for amount of time. It's so good. Y. So yeah, you're a professor, you're a theology nerd.

You're also that great geek cred when it comes to all the geeky things. We get out. But what specifically do you teach? And then I'm gonna let you plug. Plug a couple books here. You have a book out.

You have one that's getting ready to come out. Yeah. Share that briefly.

Absolutely. So I am a professor of practical theology.

And when I'm teaching undergraduates, honestly, I'm also a world religions professor as well as theory of religion and history of the US and religion is a particular area of mine. So that's my kind of undergraduate teaching. And then if I do post grad, it's usually theology stuff.

I was educated in Scotland along with many of our great cohort, and I worked at the University of Edinburgh. So my.

My PhD professor who is my supervisor, retired and I took her job, which is a little flex there, and then was got to be boss of a couple of our friends on the podcast.

That's right.

I do love to remind them of often. So, yeah, so then I came to the US and I'm still a professor, still doing that work.

The books that I would plug, I currently have three that are out in the world. One is happening. Well, one is being done right now. And those are. One is my PhD dissertation.

If you're really into Northern Ireland and just really slogging through some systematic theology, you can get that one. Yeah, it's called Embodied Peacebuilding. And the other one is. The other two are bad theology and bad theology and Covid.

And those are currently out right now. This is A cool thing. Okay. And as someone who, like, is actually kind of poor at self promotion, like, Tripp will tell you this.

If you put my name into Amazon, I'm the first three that come up. Not that you should buy from Amazon because it's not the publisher.

Right, right.

The first three books, if you want reference as to what the books are. So I felt pretty happy about that. Anyway, so those books are out Bad theology. And Covid is one that I just came out with. Um, and it was a real.

So, yeah, they. It just came out. It's in hardback right now because it's with Palgrave, so it's a little expensive, but if you wait a while.

I shouldn't say this, but sorry, Tom. All of our publishing, it'll go down eventually. Yeah. You can just talk. You just bring me on your podcast. I'll talk about it.

Or you get a sneak peek because you know people and you're like, oh, cool, can't read.

Don't look here, look away. So, and then I have a new book that I'm working on right now that's with Lexington Press. It's about the LGBT community and conversion therapy.

And I'm doing an ethnography and doing some interviews with people who survived that. Yeah. So, you know, just out here doing the Lord's work, just.

Yeah.

Not in a church. I told Will, I was like, he goes, do you want to do morning or afternoon? I was like, my afternoon sermons were always for more production.

Right. That 8:30. That 8:30 service, you know, gets the practice round before I get to hop into 11. Some things I work out. 8:30.

Oh, that didn't land right this good. Oh, what's to say? You know? But, you know, often our 8:30 crew, man, they, they.

They are up and spry and more awake than 11 o'clock crew, but most of them have kids.

If you're a morning person, I'm telling you this. Even my mother was not a morning person. Is not a morning person. She's still alive. She's a nurse and she lives on a mountain and has to commute.

She used to keep me up late. And like, so she had kids. I don't even think it's the kid.

Like, the kids will train you into getting up early, but, like, how your soul exists in the morning is a difference altogether. And I think some people are just like, yeah.

Definitely an enneagram type of morning and night person. And. Or when you have your coffee, caffeine and when it hits. And, you know, I do have to Wake up for.

You know, pretty early for the 8:30 service to kind of get, get, get woken up and warmed up and head, head in the right space. But yeah, well, those jokes drop, you.

Got to change them, you got to.

Change them up, you know, working it out there. So. So yeah, this is a what's New episode and where we talk about what's new in pop culture and things we're geeking out of.

We're spending a little time just with a few quick hits and then we're going to focus mainly on Star wars skeleton crew because I can't wait to talk about this. And knowing that you're a fellow Star wars geek and your family is. We'd love to hear your hot take on, on those things.

And, and so, so yeah, I got, I got. Since it's a lightning round, we, we got to do lightsaber round. There it is.

We're gonna do another sound effects too.

We have some sound effects. So. So yeah, I'll just share give you a chance to, to think, you know, in terms of just a few things you're geeking out lately that' not new.

Like directly hit the pop culture. That's okay. It might just be new to you, but I'll share. Like over Christmas we watched Squid Game season two. Don't know if you're a squid game.

I know you're like horror but I don't know if you're a squid game person or not.

Yeah, I mean I. So I watched the first season some. I didn't finish it. I will say.

Yeah.

So here is my one caveat to the horror genre is going to be interesting. I don't like invasion horror and I don't like necessarily some of the stuff like the. I always say I don't like movies. I can't predict.

I'm a total and complete hypocrite and liar. Because here's the thing with Squid Game. I didn't know who's gonna die and I was upset about it.

There you go.

And so I was like I'm gonna finish it. But then I was like I'm doing Dry January. Not as a again, that is the least flex I will do on this episode.

But like I'm doing that and so I can't drink wine. So I was like, nope, I'm not going to do it.

I do it. That's fair.

I need to know I have to be lubricated before I see who's going to just get shot by some doll with laser beams in your eyeball.

Oh my Gosh, I know. I, you know, there is there dry January is a thing. And I applaud it.

But I was telling somebody other day, even, even some, even my daughter, who's 22, we were like, maybe, maybe January should be like, self medic, clean up February. Like, that's. That's the thing. Like January is a thing. I don't know if I can do dry Daniel, but maybe February, March, or come lint.

That's why Lent is where it is. I'll do that.

It's where it is. Says the two ministers in the room. But still, I totally agree.

Because, you know, the thing about Jane, honestly, I did it because my husband was like, really excited. He wants to run a race. I'm like, okay, let's do this. It is a slogan.

And I don't even think I'm too late type A to like, you know, be like crazy and jumping off the walls. But I will say you do start to see the places where you're like, oh, I can't watch squid game without a cabernet.

I did a dry advent. I kind of tried. I tried to treat Advent like Lent and do spin the dry advent leading up to Christmas.

But then family situation, different life situations hit and I was just like, oh, man, I'm going to do my best. But I didn't. I didn't. If we're on a pass bail system, I passed, but it would not with flying colors.

But I think also people make it like it. There was a New York Times thing that was out recently. I didn't read it because it's behind a paywall. Let's get real.

But like, it was one of those things where it was like, dry January makes me want to drink one. January is the worst month. There's so many days in January. It never ends. You know, this here in North Carolina. When did it start snowing? January.

January.

When you want to whisk by the fire. Genuine. Like, it's just.

And. And like back to like squid game. I agree. Squid game. I bought into the hype when season one came out. I was like, I gotta check this out.

I gotta see what people are raving about or doing. And it is violent. It's not for the. It's not for the faint of heart. It is. It is. Yeah, it's. It's. I. Yeah. I question why it's so popular, but. But it is.

It's intriguing.

It's a storyline that gets to the heart of people and economic justice and what people are slave to or chasing and all those Big that should be there in a TV show or things you get on. So. And then.

And then they made a real reality show about Squid game where there are people where they weren't killing them, they were taking them off the board, you know, but similar to similar, like, relational dynamics of people and what they're playing for in terms of money and backstabbing and why they're there and intrigue. So there's a real reality show about it. And then here comes season two that I was kind of excited about. And then I did. I did like it.

It's more of the same. They did switch up the games, not the same as season one. And then there's some twists and turns in there that make it not exactly like season one.

And there is a game that they play in there that. That we played growing up at, like, church camps. And I would actually leave as a camp counselor and lead at family camp called Mingle.

We've all done it. Mingle. Mingle and group in different groups of two or three or four people.

And you got to find your group and do an icebreaker of favorite color, you know, that kind of thing. So. So when that. When they started playing that game, I was like, oh, man, this is. This is.

You didn't murder each other at church.

We didn't murder each other. But now that I can't not think about that game, I think that's probably.

For the best based on your current career path.

Yeah. Yeah, that's good.

That might have been a tough reference to Cole.

Other two things geeking out on. I did like Squid Game season two. I think it's a little. It was a little short, but then I'm going to send episodes. I watched Creature Commandos.

I finished that on HBO Max, which is James Gunn's animated cartoon that's just as violent as squid games and explicit, and it was good. If you like his suic. His run on Suicide Squad, you will like this cartoon Suicide Squad. Then you. You will like. You will like this.

You don't like through and through.

Yeah. And it. I liked it.

It fell a little flat for me because I felt like it was more of the same and that James Gunn was kind of retreading a lot of things, which is different characters. And so at the end of it, I was like, yep, that was the thing. It was good. It was fun.

It's James Gunn, and James Gunn I trust for what he's doing with the DC universe. But particular Creature Commandos, I was like, it was okay.

And then one of my favorite comedians, I Love stand up comedy, all kinds of stand up comedy. And Nate Bargazzi did a one dropped on Christmas day or Christmas Eve called your friend Nate Bragazzi. And it's very good.

He's a clean comic, wholesome. He's the exact opposite of squid game and creature command. You can watch it with an 8 year old and you don't feel guilty at all.

But I find I love his cadence. I love his self deprecating humor.

He sounds like us a little bit. Yeah, he's a southern comic, right?

He's a southern comic. And his accent, cadence and the way he tells a story. I just love, I love listen to his podcast too. Nate Land.

So I was really happy about that, that dropping on Netflix. So yeah, that's what I've been geeking out on. How about you before we get into Skeleton Crew, Leah, what about you and your family?

Some new things you're geeking out on?

Well, I will say my family is not in the Star wars book. Stuart certainly is. I want to show you this before. This is when we first started dating. This is Leah's brief guide to Star Wars.

The Skywalker family tree, page one. I'm gonna bring this to Beer.

Practical. You're doing practical Star wars theology. You're bringing it to the people.

Look at this timeline of galactic history. He made all of this. Isn't that wild?

I love it.

So, and then when we were watching Skeleton Crew, well, we can go to that in a moment. But he would, he was like. Because I, I'm always big on the timeline. I'm a part time historian, as you heard.

And I always, I like to know how things go. That helps me know the story.

So I'm always, when we watch these, what I consider kind of interloper TV shows and stuff, I like to know because in my head there's like the first three, like the prequels, the original. The original three and then the Ray three. And I need to know like where everything is in the midst of all of that.

Anyway, we'll talk about that later. So the things.

We'll see where Skeleton Crew falls on that.

He has thoughts about this. I almost brought him in, but he has to work his big boy job so we can pay the mortgage. Meanwhile I get to do this. So the things I'm geeking out on.

So there are. I'm watching the TV show from. I don't know if you've heard of this before.

No, but it's. That's why we do.

Who was in Lost now I.

We're Big Lost fans. Big Lost fans in our family.

Very much in the same vein. I would argue I'm only at season three. I would argue it's a little less. It's scarier. So I don't know what age you're. You said 22.

But I wouldn't let little kids watch this. Like, if they're impressionable. I don't know. Me as a little kid, maybe, but. But if they're not dead inside.

Depends on what kind of little kid.

Because there's like. Essentially, this is the. The premise is that there's a town where if you go through it, you get stuck there. And at nighttime, bad guys come out.

This is the scary part. They're like little vampirey thingies, and they just, like, rip you apart. And they.

They figured out that they can put up these talismans, which are just, like, little stones, and they're not really sure what they say. They just found them. But it keeps the bad guys out. So they just can't go outside.

Okay.

This is their whole life. And it's like one street, and people keep coming in, and the people who are coming in are connected to the people who are there.

And people are starting to be like, is this. What is this? So it's kind of the thing in Lost where the first. If you guys have watched Lost, where you're like, is this supernatural?

Is this constructed? Like, what are we doing here? Like, what is. And from. Is another one. And it has the guy that's in Lost.

What platform is from on?

So it's on fx, which is difficult for us streaming folk. If you have cable, you might get it. I don't know. But, like, YouTube TV, we're now on. I'm gonna say this. Well, no, I'm not. Because we're on YouTube.

If you want to get YouTube TV, then you can get that. That's all I'm gonna say. I was like, where are we?

YouTube is listening. How many people got watching. One of those? Five Eyes on us right now is definitely so YouTube.

But FX and Hulu have combined this bundle thing with Disney plus, so sometimes FX will hop on who have Max as well.

I think Max is just sort of taking over everything right now. So it. It's there. So that's what I'm geeking out on. It's. I really like those shows. It's kind of like where you're not really sure.

I will say my favorite show of all time is Twin Peaks.

Okay.

Yeah.

So I think that any show that follows what I would call a Very Lynchian formula, which is like, there's a mystery, and the mystery is there whether it's who killed Laura Palmer, what is the island, how do we get out of this town, whatever the mystery is.

And then you have these clusters of characters who are all trying to figure out the main thing, but they also have their own little lives and they interact with each other. I love those kind of shows. Those can go. I mean, I wouldn't say like, Supernatural forever, because that's too long.

But, like, those are good shows. And I think when you know that mystery box, how long do you keep it gone? When you reveal when you're not.

That's the kind of the economy of storytelling that we talk about a lot around here. And whether you do it well or not. But, yeah, that's what we think.

This thing with Twin Peaks is that the network said, and my parents said in the 80s, I was a kid, but they said everyone would gather around the water cooler and be like, who do we think killed Laura Palmer? And it's like he wanted to keep that going throughout the whole series.

And the network told him he had to tell who killed her at the end of season one, and it destroyed him and he left. Yeah, like, that's it. That's just. That was my story. Now he came back and this is going to tie into Skeleton Crew 2.

Yeah, well, they did a new reboot of Twin Peaks, and I'm gonna just put that in the footnote for when we talk about Skeleton.

Yeah, yeah, that. All right. So other than from anything else, is there. Is there something.

Yeah, I'm really obsessed with a 24 right now, the production company, and they're not paying me to say that, but if you are into horror films or really. Honestly, if you look at some of the Oscar films right now. Yeah, no. So those films.

There was one that was called Don't Let Go, I think was the name of it, with the hand that you had to grab onto. And then there's Heretic, the one that has what's His Face out recently. These are. They're just producing.

Like, they did Midsommar, they did Lady Bird. Like, they're just doing, like, good stuff. And they're kind of operating under the radar in the sense of, like, they're not mgm. You don't know.

When their thing comes on, it just says a 24. And I just think they're doing a lot of really good horror. They did hereditary.

Like, if you think of any of the, like, really epic horror films that made you think that weren't just like, you know, let's go slash it. Camp Crystal Lake, then. They are. They're really there. So a 24. I'm obsessed with. Third and final thing is that I am.

I had never read and I talked to the Tolkien folks about this. Tolkien is fine. However, and don't tell anyone from Edinburgh or Tripp or anyone. Don't act like this is live. I am a deep, deep CS Lewis fan.

Hardcore my little self. I didn't even grow up evangelical, but I still have him in my heart. So I have actually started the Space Trilogy.

I never read the Space Trilogy trilogy, and I am interested to see what he does with space. Yeah, I've not. I've not seen. Yeah, it's.

It's. It is fun.

There's concepts in there that I still think about on, like, a daily basis with the Space Trilogy in terms of how we encounter other planets or what could be going on out there. Why is it so quiet? You know, those kind of questions that astronomers and astrophysicists ask all the time. And I think C.S.

lewis's imagination is great. Yeah, there's a. I'm a big CS Lewis fan. I grew up Lutheran, so I didn't grow up Evangelical Lutheran Church of America.

I grew up, but CS Lewis really kind of helped spark my imagination with the Narnia books and theology and then went. Went from there and then loved talking as camp counselors. A camp counselor all summer before. We had phones and social media.

I read all of Tolkien and all the Lord of the Rings that whole summer. It was magical. But then there's a new book out by John Hendricks, who did the Faithful Spy about.

About Dietrich Bonhoeffer is kind of a graphic novel. It's like a novel with pictures and words. It's not necessarily a traditional graphic novel or comic book, but it's. It's a.

It's a book with images and pictures and drawings. And so he did that with Eric Bonhoeffer. He just put out a new one called Myth Makers, which is the friendship between C.S. lewis and.

And Tolkien and, and how they affected one another and what that meant for. For their lives and creative lives. And we're going to interview him not too long from now on. Systemic Ecology about. About his book.

So it's a book called Myth Makers. I got it for Christmas. Haven't read it yet, but I've heard.

Great things and I've been to the Eagle and Child. I brought up Tolkien people. I've. I've flirted my way into the C.S. lewis house in Oxford, which is a whole story into itself.

I need to hear that at beer camp. Next Beer camp. I need to hear that story.

Right. If you're a slightly geeky girl with glasses, you can get in there.

Yeah, yeah, I would love, man. And I think we've talked about that before here on Sesico. Geekology. The kind of like the Inklings was systematically. It was God loves geeks.

It was the theology beer camp of them coming together around a pint and to talk about ideas and what they're working on and workshop stuff and geek out. What are you geeking out on? And where they thought the big questions leaned into that or not.

So the Inklings, you know, was definitely, you know, helped us lead into it was the. The forefathers forbearers of doing. Doing this kind of game.

So we could stream.

That's right. That's right. Cool. That's right. All right, so it's time for Star Wars. We're gonna hop right over.

That's what's new with us and what we're geeking out on. But. But we're gonna focus on Skeleton Crew. But before we do that, I.

I know you have deep cred, but in terms of your relationship with Star Wars, I know your. Your husband's a big fan, but engagement with Star wars, like, was it a cartoon? Was it a movie? Was it seeing the movie in the theater? Was it a.

So what was your first engagement with Star Wars? And then how did it lead to now of Skeleton Crew, the latest Star wars edition or storytelling?

I'm so excited to hear what you think about this, but. So my first Star Wars. My parents didn't watch Star wars growing up, and I'm not sure what it was. I think they were more, let's say, 70s kids.

But the OGs came out in the 70s, didn't they? So I don't really know what it was. Maybe they just weren't into it. I listened to a lot of Bob Dylan and like, Southern rock, to be fair.

But, like, I never really got that. Yeah. So. But my dad was a Pepsi man for 30 plus years. This is key to the story, pet. There you go. He would approve.

Tough gig in Georgia, but he would approve. So I, He. They went through this thing in the 90s, if you remember, where they just sponsored everything, Right?

So, like, there we got to go to all these, like, movie premieres. It sounds fancy, but. Well, it was in Atlanta. Like, it wasn't like Los Angeles. So one of the premieres was actually the Star Wars.

Pepsi sponsored the Original or not the original, but the prequels.

Okay.

That was my first one that I saw was. I suppose it's a Phantom Menace, isn't it?

That was the first one I saw. I would have been years old.

I am curious, how. How old were you in? Nine. Seventeen. Okay.

So that was my first. That was my first film. And I sat there and had no idea what was going on.

Do you remember liking it or questioning or like, what am I watching?

Or was it kind of like Hayden Christensen A whole lot. But that was also, again, 17 year old Leah was probably not the like paradigm of logical thinking at this stage.

Right.

So, like, I mean, I. I think, I think I. We got a. A cooler that was shaped as R2D2 because we got all this promotional stuff and my dad still has it.

And I was like, dad, that's probably worth a million dollars.

I know, golly.

And so he's like, I'll just give it to Stewart. I don't care. And I'm like, okay, that's fine. I also accept that as well. So that's the first one that I saw.

Now fast forward to going to Edinburgh and getting my PhD. I saw the OG trilogies because I dated a film major and that will do it.

Yeah.

Like, when I talk about him knowing it, we will get him on the show. I was like, I've got to do this on my own. But he like, knows stuff.

Like, he'll be like, well, in the Clone wars, the Animated Series, they said this and this and this. And then because I was like, he was like, well, it's the rule. We were talking about the Sith last night. I was like, come on, you got to pump me up.

You got to get me ready. And he was like, the rule of two. There's only two.

We got Darth Maul, we've got Darth Gideon, we've got Darth Bane, we've got, you know, blah, blah, Palpatine. And I was like, okay, okay, okay, okay. And then I was like, well, who's Kylo Ren's to Kylo Ren. We don't even know if he's a Sith or not.

No. Like, no.

And I know. So I'm telling you, he knows. Like, when I say he knows it.

Like, he knows on that flowchart. You just showed. That's all.

Can you do a PhD in Star Wars?

I'm sure somewhere. But if not, we're gonna. We're gonna make that happen again.

Genuinely. Like, I think, because, like, this was his, like, little intro to, like, like a pat me on the head.

This would be like, like the Bible for dummies for you and I.

Star wars for dummies. And there is a lot. There's so much lore and expanded over. So you're right. It's like when we asked that question, what's your first Star Wars?

You engaged with. It's. It's, you know, it's an icebreaker. But it's also an important question to see where people land. Like, you know, there's a.

There's so many years of.

Of Star wars and so many movies and so many shows and so many extended novels, graphic novels, comics is like, how did you engage with their video games? Or did you. Was it the novels? Was it the first trilogy, the second trilogy, the third show, the Disney. Like, there's the animated stuff.

There's so much.

So in order to get to understand where people are with Star wars, where their fandom comes from, you don't just assume that they just started with Episode four New Hope and just watched it, like I did. Similar to religion, you know, it's like, where. All right, you say you're a Christian. Like, where do you fall in that?

Where did you first engage with the church? What church did you grow up in? Where. What is your favorite season? I don't know. Like, there's.

It's a bigger question than just, like, are you a Christian? You grow up in church. There's a lot more there. Same way. Do you like Star Wars? Cool. All right, now let's sit down for three hours and discuss.

Really like it.

Yeah, yeah.

The CS Lewis thing. Like this. Because people will be like, well, what about Bonhoeffer? What about Carl Bert? What about Paul Tilly? I'm like, I know those guys.

They're in the back. I've got. Yeah, that's what I like for right now. And I feel like Star wars people can be a little judgy now.

Oh. Oh, yeah, yeah. And.

And like we've said at the algebra camp and all, you know, in terms of people who deconstruct from, you know, unhealthy bad theology or unhealthy faith communities, the same is no different in fandom and at comic Cons. The toxic fandom that's within Star Wars. I Mean, I. I love. Go ahead and throw it out there. I love Skeleton. I thought it was fun.

And then I immediately go on to like Re Force Radio, my favorite Star wars podcast, and look at their face. I can't wait to see what the people think on. On their Facebook page and immediately like, oh, those little anticlimactic.

Oh, I can't believe they did this. I'm like, oh my gosh. Can I immediately. With.

With.

And I understand it's hard to cut off the critical mind sometimes, especially when you like to deconstruct and reconstruct things and all that stuff is if that's always on. But, but I. Yeah, there. There's a toxicity to it, which again, we've shared with systemic allergies.

We want to create a different, healthier conversation within that does to. To not geek shame anybody, but you know, it's okay to have difference opinion or be disappointed in things or wish something was more than it was.

But there's a way to talk about that in a healthy way that hopefully we model for folks is what we hope.

So I agree, I agree with literally everything you're saying is that I think also what I will say is that I think it means something to people. Like for Stuart. Stuart also introduced me to Dr.

WHO, which is its own thing that I'm also geeking out on but didn't here forever geeking out on Doctor who. There's lots of material like that.

Yeah.

But there are certain episodes of Doctor who that I will look at him and I will be like, that was trash. Not even critical thinking. I'm just like, that just didn't hit. That's like one of those bad sermon jokes. Like, it just didn't hit. And.

And he is this way about Star wars where he'll be like, please don't say that. Like, just don't. Let's just have this one thing. And then now this other thing, which is Star Wars.

He doesn't want to necessarily hear, like, because I think it means something. I think that's the thing about being a geek as well, is like, I think it isn't just that you love these things.

It's that these things actually mean something that kind of grounds you and helps you navigate life.

You know, that's the story, the narrative. My story connected with another story because it resonates with me, with.

Within me and with my own story story and help shape how I navigate a complicated, stressful world. And so if it brings me joy because of entertainment or imagination, but also some moral framework to Help frame things and make meaning of things.

Yeah, nothing wrong with that. And what we. What we do here. So.

And I think we helped frame it. This is the last thing I'll say. And then we can go into is. He said the prequels were like Hollywood blockbusters.

That's the impression I got in seeing this for the first of my movies, is that they were a production. It was a thing.

You had Natalie Portman, you had, you know, all these actors that are like big actors, Liam Neeson and blah, blah, blah, like they were in there. And then he said the OG3 were a niche and they had no idea what was going to happen. And it was a niche thing.

And then interestingly enough, because he asked me what my favorite was out of everything.

Oh, one of my next questions. Yeah, yeah. Good, good.

I'm gonna tell you my favorite is probably the new trilogy, the. The Rey trilogy. And you're gonna stop and you're gonna say it's because it's a girl. Weirdly for this time only. Not the truth. Not the truth.

He said that's like watching an indie film. He's like, the new ones are like. That was his take on it. He was like, I'm not really surprised you like that. Everyone likes Rogue One.

I really liked Rogue One too. I honestly didn't hate the prequels because it gave me background and as a history person, I liked the background.

Do I think Natalie Portman and Hayden Christensen should be on screen together ever again? Bless their hearts. No.

No.

So I shouldn't be on screen with Natalie Portman. You know, I don't necessarily love in the new trilogy where they stuck like the Skywalkers and where they each had their own movie.

I think some of that was maybe done because of Carrie Fisher's sad parting of us. But anyway, that's my. That's. I thought that was interesting.

And then of course my. Were big. And then all those toys came out and then all the theories of what could happen. Now they're going to make another one.

And yeah, I didn't know the back history of like how this movie was made or what actors were in it or the shoestring budget that George Lucas was just trying to keep his head above water to make this thing, his vision come to life and you know, all that stuff. But then to see that the impact. I often tell people that I even judge time.

And then all the toys just hit right as a 5 to 10 year old and then an 8 year old going to see Empire Strikes Back which is my favorite just because that just hit the sweet spot of and it's great.

But all of the movies had like I couldn't wait for the prequels and then I was on internship in seminary when that came out and couldn't wait for that. But then I was like oh, that's the choice George Lucas made.

I'm glad he has all the tech that he wants to technologies helping him make the movie he wants to make. But I think let's pay attention to some dialogue and, and, and storyline other than just I can make it look Sand.

There was some sand.

Yes, sand.

We'll move on to skeleton crew in in the Phantom Menace there's a, there's a moment where Qui Gon Jinn's at the table with Anakin's mom and they're having a deep conversation around slavery in the dentured servitude. And I was, it's a meaningful conversation.

And, and, and then all of a sudden Jar Jar makes like a burp or a fart joke or something and I'm like what are we doing, George? You don't have to make a like heart. There's no comic relief here. Just lean into this what we've wanted to see forever.

And I was just like ah, so it was that kind of thing. I, I, I looking back, that movie has held up for me.

I feel like they gave them the story to like like a nep to whatever production company and then they were like cool, we've got the story.

Got it. Let's run with it now we're just my chief favorite fandom and and, and love it.

And so even when Disney's acquisition of the the franchise and the ip you know those, those movies are things I love about them. Some things I wish they did different.

And in the streaming era we'll get a little bit more kind of where we think those hold up, you know in terms of post or during COVID streaming wars what they're they're trying and see what hits or not. I here we are.

Let's, let's get the skeleton crew the main, main event and you know this, this one falls on the timeline shortly after Return of the Jedi in the Mandalorian era of, of Star Wars. On your flowchart there. The Mandoverse. Exactly. And so Luke has won. Leia. They're, they're, re, they're reconstructing the New Republic.

All that's going on.

Goonies, Hook, whatever you want to throw in there as Stranger Things. We have an idea that, that would be fun if that was kind of the backdrop of these kids finding themselves. Oops, I'm in a Star wars adventure.

And that went rolling and the snowball just kept going and that's what rolled out this thing. So for me, I loved it. I thought it was great. It was coming off the Acolyte, which was a lot of disappointment for me.

And it was just steeped in expectation and lore that I think got in the way of itself, even though there are parts I liked about it. But Skeleton Crew, I think Star wars needed a hit or needed a win. And for me this was a victory. It wasn't perfect. No.

You know, either was Goonies, either was Gremlins, either was Stranger Things, you know, Anyway, but in the self contained story and the call to adventure within the story just hit right? And I thought it was great. And so I thought finale slightly anticlimactic for me.

There's a couple things I wish it could have been a little bit more grandiose, but in a self contained story. If I think of like how Goonies ended, where they just had the treasure and they were like, yay.

And they roll credits, I think I think this, this was fine for me. And it's fine being what it is.

It doesn't have to be steeped in expectation and lore and Jedi myth or Skywalker legacy character or a big cameo to make it legit. It can just tell its story and we'll talk more about some of the actors and that Jude Law's character jawed man, he did so good. So I loved it.

I thought it was great. I'm very happy as a Star wars fan. I'm glad this is out there. Would have been Better as a movie in the theater, probably.

But the fact that they're doing this streaming and episodic week to week to keep us kind of glued in and us talking about it on podcasts and things and in a crowded market of geek stuff, why not? I thought it was good. So you watched it with your family, your husband. Where do you guys stand? Where do you stand?

How this fit in the Star wars pantheon?

Yeah, I mean, okay, big question. I will say I. My husband liked it more than I did.

Okay.

Doesn't mean I didn't like it.

Right.

Don't come at me. No, won't, not you. But you know, he did say something interesting. And again, this is the man who does not criticize this universe. He.

He said it didn't add anything and it didn't take away. And I think that that's fair.

Yeah, that's fair.

I, I think that it's a stand, as you said. Honestly, as soon as you said movie, I was like, yes, I think I would have liked it as a movie.

Like, and I know that the, the, the streaming services, like the week to week stuff, there were parts that were a bit of a slog. I think the second half was infinitely better than the first half.

Yep, yep. In fact, Joshua Noel was like, I watched two episodes. I think it's kind of boring. I'm not gonna watch. I'm like, no, watch Episode three.

When you finally get Jude Law and Jod as a pirate and you get to his character, he nails it. He's great. If you don't like it after Episode three, then, yeah, it's not for you. I just watch Episode three. And he did. He's like, yep, you're right.

I like it. I'm gonna keep going. And that's. Yeah, yeah, go ahead. That's exactly right.

No, I. But I think that's it.

Like, when I first started, I was like, now I was an 80s kid and I watched now and then in the Goonies and all of this sort of stuff, and I definitely saw the relation to what was happening. It's very formulaic in the sense of like, you go on your adventure, you get your pals are doing this thing. I thought the actors were generally good.

You know, they're in a Star wars film. I think they acted, you know, as they should. Jude Law was exceptional. I think he. That's. That's a revolution. That's a revolution for him.

I think he's, he needs to stick in that world.

The ending, I don't know what I expect because it Is it is, I would argue a kids show and I mean that in the least sort of non derivative way possible. Like it's a show that I think was. Because I asked her afterwards, I said this is not a criticism but it's a genuine question.

Who do you think this was geared towards? Like, do you think this is geared towards like the, the faithful, which is like Will and Stuart Gibb or is it like trying to get new people.

People in? Because as a vehicle to get new people into the universe, I think it's great.

You're that five year old self that watched the og you know there's going to be kids watching this that are like, oh, this is fantastic. So in a way, I don't think, I don't know. What do you think? Do you think it was geared towards kids or was it geared towards both? It could be both.

Like the faithful and younger. Jen.

I think, I think, you know, if I pull back the curtain a little bit and thinking like a Disney executive and people who run, you know, the Star wars franchise for Disney, I think they know over the last decade, you know, in terms of what the rise and fall and the, I guess the, the unpredictable moods of a fandom that I think we have a hit here and they hate it or there's like, I don't know if this is gonna be great and they love it. Like I, I think they're like let's, let's find an avenue to get the younger audience. We need a younger audience. They're going to age out.

These, these original people who watch the original three movies or, or even six. They're going to be like, they're, they're going to age out at some point.

How do we get new audiences in a crowded market of, of social media and 30 second, 10 second video clips and video games and all that stuff. People watching people play video games for crying out loud. And so they're like, how do we get it?

So maybe we can gear towards a younger audience and connect with some kids. And I know some friends of mine who have younger kids were like, yep, this is a show that I heard was marketed to specifically me as a family.

To watch as a family or watching as a family. There's a couple of scary parts. Like there are some pirates, there's some, there's murder, there's some scary moments.

But I think to hit the 5 to 8 to 9, 10, 11 year old and it's a family over Christmas to watch this, that's, that's what they knew what they were doing. To try to do that.

And there's a Disney park that has a Star wars land that you can bring out some of these characters into that Disney park and say, this is. If you want to know more about the skeleton crew, here's some pirates to come hang out. You know, don't just go to Pirates Caribbean.

You can go to Star Wars Pilot Land or whatever they're going to do. They, they knew what they were doing. So I do think it was geared towards that. So I had to kind of say, yep, this is for younger audience.

But for me, it was a, it was a. There was some levity to it because it wasn't so steeped in lore and expectation. What are they gonna do with Luke Skywalker?

What are they gonna do with the Legacy character? I'm not gonna ruin my childhood. What are they gonna say about the Jedi religion? I connect with so much. Don't deconstruct my Jedi religion.

They're good guys. What are you doing? No, they're not. They did a lot of bad things.

I didn't call it. As soon as Jude Law was like, made the key come to him, I was like, he's a Jedi. And then Stuart was like, it's a trick. And I was like, he's a Jedi.

Just wait, just. I mean, he's not a Jedi. He's got the Force. He, like, he hasn't done the training. But like I said, I love that.

They kept that a mystery. Like, he was wearing gloves. And there was, like, I think the Obi Wan series.

There's someone who used, like, Star wars tech to make it look like he had Jedi abilities, was posing as, like, a con Jedi. And so there was a little bit like, this guy's a pirate. He's a con. Maybe he's doing that.

But I love that they kept it all the way to the end until they shared, like, part of his story.

Why someone across the room going like that.

Yeah.

Which is a hard trick to do. Not. But hard.

Yeah. So I, I, I'm with you there. Yeah. The ending was, you know, does it add to. Does it add. Could I engage with Star wars and not watch this and.

Or yes, you don't. You're not missing a whole chapter of. Of lore that you're.

You're missing in the big family tree or, you know, if you want to relate back Lord of the Rings. Like, there's not, like, a big history here that if you don't know this, then it's not going to mean much.

Yeah, but, But I love your take on this because you're, you do good work practical theology around like healthy unhealthy communities and theology and religion. So in Star wars you have like the binary of good versus evil. You have black and white, you have the Empire versus the rebels.

And then you have like the ordinary people who are just trying to do their job and live in the universe and not. And just keep their head down like Uncle Owen, the parents at they're just trying to. I just want to make a living, just get out of my way.

But then you have the scum and villainy of this there from the very beginning and the pirates and the scoundrels and you know that whole subculture of they're in it for the hustle, but that they don't, they don't affiliate with the binary, but they're just trying to make a living in this world like was doing. So what is this, like what is this story trying to tell about that? And I, I'm, I'm really.

It was cathartic for me to like let's spend some time with the scum and villainy and see how they have a code, they have rules. There's John at one point says we're all hungry. We're all hungry. His speech about like appealing to like, like look, we're all just trying to.

Eat hungry since he was young.

So this is young. And, and they're all, they're all like.

Why are you doing this? And he's like, I was a hungry.

Kid in a hole and someone found me. I saw that person murdered. And I was like, that's the kind of galaxy we live in. I don't want to play part of it. I'm just gonna do what's for me.

There's some good in him. He's not straight out sith, but yeah, he's a con art. I don't. I was like, how are they gonna redeem this guy? His story help redeem a little bit there.

But, but what, what kind of story are they trying to tell even though it's self contained. And then within the pantheon of characters within Star wars, we have our big favorites, the big three.

And you know, you know what side you're on, you know, on the side of the Empire, hopefully. But then, but then you have this.

One of the big three is my least favorite.

Oh, Luke. Yeah, yeah, I know. That's okay. You're, you're with Joshua Noel.

You, you guys will connect on that, that you know, in terms of a blonde haired little kid wanting to be a hero When I was a little.

Crazy as a kid, he was fine. It was when he started whining as an adult. I don't want it. This is. Is hard.

What are we doing? This is hard.

I'm in the swamp. Okay, you're in the swamp with Yoda. Go.

Go be with your friends.

Be a superstar. Yeah. What kind of story is it trying to tell? Yeah, I mean, so I.

I tried to think about this, especially in the latter end of the story, because I think in the beginning, it's setting up the kind of adventure that they're gonna have. But then when you find out. And again, I don't think you care about spoilers on this show.

Yeah. If people click on Skeleton Crew and they haven't watched it yet, then you just know what you're getting into. There are spoilers, folks. Pause here.

Go watch. Come back. Yeah.

Yeah. So I think when you find out that Ad Aton is like the mint, basically, it's. It's the place where they make money.

And that the big project, or I think is that what they refer to it as, the big project?

It was the great. The great ordeal. The great work. The great work.

The great work, which is even more. That's. That's better. Yeah, because it's this idea of like, they're working. Have you ever seen the movie this Will Age Me? Well?

This will actually show that I dated a film major. Have you ever seen Metropolis that old? Like 19?

No, but I know of it. Definitely know of it. Yep.

It's exactly that story, in a sense, that the whole of the Metropolis lives up here, but everything is being done below ground. But they think they are the world, you know, the underground people. But really what they're doing is.

Everything they're doing is for the people up above. And it's when they finally realize that there are people up there, that stuff starts to get. They get liberated.

And I think what we see in this story is that these people have a perfectly fine life. It's a fine life. However, one of the things I think that all the kids share, even elephant Neil, Nath O'Neal.

Neil, Neil, Neil, Neil.

Is that they. They want something else, and they're wanting something else is different. I will say especially, you know, some of the.

The older of the two kids, including the captain, the girl who becomes captain. I'm terrible with names. There you go. They're all looking for something because they know that what they're doing is fine, but that it's just.

And so I think what we see here is that when they go out and they explore, they do meet pirates and scallions in the nasty part of life. But the nasty part of life gives them a little insight that their life isn't life. Their life is a protected little bubble.

And so, you know, I, that's the sort of message that I got from it is that they can't go back now. You can't put it back in there. They've seen too much.

And I love her little speech to her fern speech at the end with her mom where she's like, look, we were out there and we saw a lot of terrible things. But every single time we went to a planet and saw terrible things, there were also good people there too.

I love that line. I immediately wrote it down, immediately wrote it down.

And I was just like, yes, that's the thing is that she knows that that is the universe worth fighting for. Because if it is just pirates, then we could just be like, okay, well, we're out.

Like, they're gonna destroy each other and we'll keep our little cocoon and no one's gonna bother us. But if there are good people out there, then you're obligated to go out into the world if you're, I mean, someone like that.

My one disappointment, not my one, but one of my disappoints is when the dad of one of the main kid characters, Wimp, is riding his, his bike. I thought he was gonna pop out of it. I thought he was gonna, it was gonna. Because he like turns on the electricity.

He's almost getting shot by Jude Law. I was like, oh, he's in it now. All the parents are in it. But I don't feel like that's gonna happen. They clearly left it up for a season two.

I think that's gonna happen. I think that was the anticlimactic. Yeah, Star wars is bad at concluding a story it wants to keep open. And I don't think that's a criticism.

It's just like, why is Jude Law just staring off into the distance as a thing explodes? Because we need Jude Law to be alive.

I kept in the, in the press release and stuff. And a little bit I try not to watch too much of that stuff, but it seemed like they were like, this is a self contained story. We're one and done.

We're not going to build off lots of seasons. We just hope to do this.

And so I thought for sure they were going to kill a parent or maybe even a kid or even, even Jude Law, because they were like, oh, they're not going to do this anymore. But they definitely left it open for, like, if this is successful, then we can do more with this. And then I liked his character so much.

I was glad to see that he didn't die and that he perhaps could pop up in a Mandalorian movie around the corner, show up again at some point.

I don't think that he can die in this because, honestly, without him there is like, yeah, you have the ragtag group, but you kind of need him as the anti hero because he is someone who clearly has the for force. He was trying to be trained by someone who gets killed. That story comes out and he used. He uses his force for not great purposes.

But then he also doesn't really hurt anybody. Like, when you watch because I rewound him shooting at the deck. He's not really. None of it's real.

And I think it's interesting that, because we joke about the stormtroopers being horrible shots and my God, honestly. But, like, he is a horrible shot and he's got the force, so we know that's not real.

Even the pirates were pretty bad trying to shoot at the kids on their bike. So, like, they're just as bad shots as the stormtrooper.

But her comment about, like, we've seen a lot of crazy things in this universe, but we still saw some good people, and that's worth fighting for. Juxtaposed with Jod's, like, I saw the person who save me get murdered, therefore the universe is meaningless.

You know, that whole problem of pain question is legit. Like, yeah, him going down that road, like, yep, sorry. The only one person showed me any kind of love was, well, so I'm gonna get mine.

That with her side by side was interesting to me because I think that's the story they're trying to tell is, like, you have one of these pirates is chasing the riches, the gold, the credits, you know, cold heart, hard credits. And then you have, like, found friendship, found family through this adventure with the kids.

You know, some of them liked each other best friends, but they eventually became a core group where they. They really liked each other and loved you and cared for each other. And then they had a renewed sense of, like, love of their family. That's like the.

The.

And I love how in this final episode, they applied what they learned through the entire series to be able to fly a plane, fix things, stick up for one another, shoot a laser gun at and shoot down the pirate ship. Put Neil was up there just firing away. Like, they applied everything they had learned. Even knowing what they learned.

The lesson, the cautionary tale of Jod. To say, like, yeah, I learned from this, and I'm gonna do some things differently, go down different path.

I thought that was neat that you're showing what they learned along the way to work as a team by the end and then say, like, yeah, yep, we're sitting on a pile of money. But the. That could mean nothing to them. They don't care about the credits or the gold. They want to make sure kb.

They want to make sure KB is alive and okay. Did we win?

And then eventually pours out on her.

Yes. As they pour out. Yeah. They don't. They don't care that that. Yeah. Machine in Vegas is dumping out coins at all.

They're just looking right at their friends and I. And the fact that the end. Also, there's this assessment, like, standard. It's also a slight on standardized test.

Like, at least you don't have to take your. Your assessments now. And he's like. I was like, ah, yeah. Down to sat. I hate that thing.

Who is a teacher. I was stressed about that the whole time. I hope he gets back. I hope they let him have a buy on that.

But I think it's also interesting, the innocence here. It plays into the Star wars good and bad.

Because, of course, with a lot of Star wars stories, they try to conflict us in terms of what is good, what is bad. How does one turn good and bad? And I think the Kylo Ren and his story really plays into that is like, is he good? Is he bad? You know, whatever.

I mean, we pushed Han Solo off the bridge, and there was a bridge. I start screaming every time there's a bridge. I start yelling. And Stuart thinks I'm insane. I'm like, the bridges. Nothing good happens on a bridge.

That would be my Star wars shirt. Nothing on a bridge. Make it.

Yeah. So.

But yeah, I think they're playing with that in this show because that there's an innocence there. And so to them, they don't see the conflict with. I still call him Crimson Jack because that was the first thing I feel like that.

I mean, he's got a million so many aliases. Everybody was like, don't trust this guy with a different name. They're like, who are you? And I think that story you tell of, like, who are you?

Is a good question. Yeah.

And that's a throwback to one of the Marvel comics in the 70s, one of the first pirates that Han Solo meets after the original movie in the Marvel comic books. Is this guy named Crimson Jack? It's not Jude Law. He's definitely a redhead wearing, like, a Speedo in a vest. But he.

But it was a good callback to the comics, and people read the comments like, oh, I know that name. Is that him or what? But anyway, go ahead. Yeah, his aliases. And whether you know him or not, is. Is.

So it's Jude Law, essentially. And he does have this conflict, and you see it even when he's talking to the captain, which is the little girl Ren, and he's like, just stand down.

He knows he has to take control of the situation, and he doesn't say it's a fight to the death, but he's like, just stand down. Just don't. Don't do this. You can see that he could kill them, and he kills a few people in the show, so it's not outside the realm.

But they don't see that conflict to him. To them, he's a bad guy. That's it. And I think because he's not work.

And so whenever they call to the owl lady and they're like, oh, bring in the good guys, and the Republic comes, it's like, those are the good guys, you know, and to them, that's it. Like, Jude Law is not in conflict. There's no conflict there. He is a bad guy. These are the good guys, guys. And I sort of like that in a way.

It's not making you. I think this is where the kids will really like it is. And honestly, some adults, including myself, is like, you know what. What is a bad guy? Okay.

He didn't filet up their dad. Congrats. Like, not me on a given Wednesday. Like, you know, it's not a conflict if you're an.

Yeah, I agree. I do like that.

I think some of the toxic fandom will get upset because Star wars hasn't, as of late in the last decade, leaned into the binary too hard, or they've. They've deconstruct the Jedi religion a little bit. There's a gray Jedi as what is Luke done or not done? Or Kylo Ren or even the Acolyte.

You know that even the backstory, looking through a different lens, you're making, oh, you're ruining my childhood. She could turn to my childhood childhood heroes into villains now, but not. Not that that's what they're trying to do.

But I see a nuance in, like, the. The grand military industrial complex is. Is. That is a good critique of Star wars, you know, but this particular one has.

They're like here comes the good guys. And there was no nuance around these X wing fighters.

Whether they were like, you know, is is them versus the pirates and they save their planet and bring in hope, a new hope.

They had the right shaped ship.

That's all the right shaped ship. And roll credits like good, we can go down a different one.

We can go, you know when andor comes out season two in the spring or summer, then we can get to the nuance of the New Republic Old Republic rebels who's good guy and bad guy can get really nuanced. But for this kid shout yeah, it's okay that the X win fighters that.

They'Re the good guys and he's the bad guy because he's holding up their lives. And I think you know what kids? That's what that's. That will be okay. And honestly I was okay with it too.

And I think honestly, I wonder if George Lucas didn't want to play into that a little bit which is that you have you made these stark contrasts. I mean the outfits are clear. Like if you were drafting slightly Nazi esque and you have black and red on, it's not well for you.

And if you're in some sort of like heavenly Jesus robe, you're doing well. Right. But then you get these characters that are like okay, so like is Darth, I mean this is Darth Vader. Is he really, I mean a bad guy?

Like he's got a story. He's got a story.

He blew up some planets. That's not so nice. Well again I think it's the questioning of what.

So you have this good and bad side and we are as our brains, we love to put people in them. But our. But what does it really mean to actually stick someone into those categories?

Yeah, I, I agree and I like it that like the, the pirates in the scone of villainy it's been a. You know, they show up, they're on the edges.

They're not of attention paid to them in the grand story of Star wars but this one just focused in on them. There's room for that. I loved it. That super fun. You can have fun with those villains. And what are they chasing? What. What's.

What's the meaning of life where they really chasing the money or family love. Are they just hungry and they're trying to make survival.

They're just trying to survive in this universe where there's this big galactic star war going on. Then. Then there's rehearsal room for that for that story.

Here's a Question for you. I'm gonna ask you a question. Out of the ones that are from the Disney, I'll call it the Disney universe that we've recently. What's your favorite of.

I'll go with TV shows. Favorite, least favorite.

Look what banner I made that we were gonna ask.

Oh, is that it?

Yeah, that's it. You didn't even know that was happening. You're force sensitive. You knew that was out there. I love it.

Um, yeah, before I get into that real quick, what were your thoughts on the Supervisor just being a big robot with a red eye?

Not surprised, I think. Well, yeah, surprise. Yeah. I mean, like surprises. And like, I didn't know it was coming. But then when you think about the whole system, not surprised.

Right? Like the fact that we're being led by like someone who talks in vague words and is dictating stuff and still has.

This is how Stuart knew where it was in the timeline. Because when he said, said the Jedi are our betrayers or whatever, he was like, oh.

But then he said it was farther down the timeline because of how fast the good guys got there. Because he was like, they got there real fast and there was a whole bunch of them and they had really advanced ships.

And I was just like, cool, I'll tell Will that.

Yeah, I like, you know, I was kind of hoping for like a cameo of a legacy. I don't know, like maybe some well known pirate or character or something that would show up. That is the Supervisor.

I was kind of anticipating that, that. But the fact that it was just like a big droid where the whole planet is ruled by like robotics, tech supervising robots watching them.

In this era of robotics and tech and AI and question of that, all that ruling an entire planet, that's pretty cool. And I loved you notice that is a red eye. And then it would sometimes go to blue, then red back and forth.

And these even within itself had a conflicting narrative of like, yep, I'm working for the Empire, or no, I'm still part of the old Republic, and it's trying to get its narrative straight and trying to keep order on this planet. So that, that for me was. It was kind of a neat, neat way to do it. So I. I was secretly hoping for maybe a little bit bigger of a cameo.

But that just being makes sense in the story.

Stephen Fry. All you Brit lovers out there will know maybe who Stephen Fry is. So as soon as we heard the voice, it was like, that's Stephen Fry, Supervisor.

Super cool.

No, who was that? But also, yeah, I think It's a little. It is one of those things where it's like, once the electricity goes out, there's no one, like, leading this.

And once he hooks the eyeball out, I think that's really interesting, what you talked about with the colors, that it's switching back and forth because it is this idea of like. And then as soon as he, like, quote, kills the machine, the woman that is like, what have you done? Like, we have no one to guide us.

It's like, it's a machine. And least favorite.

Yeah. Okay. So, yeah, in the ranking the streaming shows, I love the Mandalorian. I love what they captured there from the very beginning.

Season one, Baby Grogu, season two of the Mandalorian, how they ended that with a young, heroic sky, Luke Skywalker, after seeing the Last Jedi and seeing that was like, that's the Luke Skywalker I wanted. And so glad I saw it. So it's hard to beat that for me. And then the other streaming have been fun. I've liked them. They've added to the lore.

But I will say, yeah, it's like apples and oranges. Like, it's. It's hard to rank, but I think my number one favorite is Mandalorian and season two with Luke.

And then I will say Skeleton Crew, probably because it's up there for me because it's not steeped in so much like lore and legacy characters and expectations. I could take a breath.

And coming off the Acolyte and all my complicated relationship with that show and the ups and downs I loved about and didn't like about that show, Skeleton Crew came out a good palette cleanser and I was just able to have fun with Star wars and that's what I was looking for in the series. So it's going to be up there for that. So that's where I am.

How about you in terms of streaming services, Stuart, if you're still on watching, what is yours? Oh, there he is. I think he chimed in. It's probably the best standalone in his humble opinion. Andor folks. Yeah, andor is.

And yeah, I thought it was fun or not fun. It's just like, it's good storytelling, good dramatic storytelling. And then season two. Two.

It's definitely going to get the most PR leading up to season two. That's most anticipated because people love season one. So. Yeah. So how about you, Leah?

My favorite, I'm going to say Stuart will know this, which is my favorite. Obi Wan. I really, I really enjoyed that. I thought it added to the story. Now I Already loved that character and that actor.

So, like, it wasn't a very hard sell for me.

But also, I think the way that it was done, I'm kind of the opposite a little bit in the sense that because I'm late in the game and because I don't hang out on the podcast and stuff like that is that I kind of like getting the inside scoop on stuff and seeing the background and stuff. So, like that one, the Mandalorian, I think hit. They did well with that. Like, it. It is an episodic thing that does not bore me.

I'm never bored watching it because I like the story. Again, I think how they ended it, you know, with them all getting together. I love Mandor and the, like, story and the lore behind that.

And then I will say three is Ahsoka. I liked. I really liked that. Again, to get the background of some of these characters that were in. And they're important and we.

We know that they're important. But I. I like that least favorite. What this is going to come is not a shocker. But Boba Fett was.

Yeah.

But I will say part of that is. And I dressed up as Boba Fett for Halloween one year. They make it to make a Boba Fett outfit. And I've got it. I might wear it to beer camp.

Yes. There you go.

I was really interested in his character. I think they just made it too. Not his character. I didn't mind that he was like, oh, I'm like, taking over this town, like Jabba the Hutt, blah, blah.

But, like, it became not really him.

Yeah. I mean, there's something about, like, the. The silent not say much. The mystery. Oh, this guy's a badass.

Because he doesn't say a whole lot and wears a mask. And it's the coolest mask and outfit and all of Star wars and the cool ship and all Star Wars. And he's a bounty hunter old man.

And then when you get to know him, you're like, ah, you're. You know, that's scary there. You're kind of goofy. What is going on here?

And he's like, I'm gonna save this planet. And it's like, okay, you were not in this conflicted category before, and now you are. And that's fine. It makes you interesting.

But also, I wanted to see you kick ass and take names, and now you're not doing it.

And I think that show had the problem of. They tried to. They I them shoehorning in three episodes of the Mandalorian. Where it's like season 2.5.

I know they had covered to worry about and they're trying to different. They're experimenting and the streaming that if they just told Boba Fett story and then saved that for Mandalorian Season three. I, I, I, I get it.

Mandalorian's popular. Luke Skywalker is popular. Igo's popular. And they teamed up in, you know, Boba Fett showed back up in. In Mandalorian, so why not do the same in his.

But I think just letting him have his own story without.

I was gonna say he didn't show up in like, Ahsoka, and I think that's still in the mando verse. So it's like, yeah. Why. Why did they show up in. In Boba Fett? Like, I don't. To me, I was like, okay, wait. Oh, okay. There's a Mandalorian. That's fine.

That you're all at the same time.

Yeah.

Why are you in. Why are you in the show? Is it. And I thought initially it was to bring the ratings up, but I don't know if that's true.

You said stuff about COVID I'm not, I mean, I'm not. I don't work for Disney.

Well, did you know that's right. And what I want to maybe. I don't know. I'd be in a consultant and some storytelling.

I mean, on the bottom line.

But yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And that's kind of where I am. I like it. They have. We have these different options.

I mean, if you were told me as a kid that, you know, there would be these streaming services and TV shows and I would have loved it.

You know, I had to wait three years for the next movie and fill in the gaps with some, some novels and comics and my own imagination with my own action figures then. And that's part of it is I think Star wars has a leg legacy of or fans have, like, they, they love it.

And then they build the head cannon and they tell the story. And when they don't tell that story that's already in your head, you're like, ah, I'm disappointed you didn't do it my way.

Well, this is a little bit.

This was my footnote. And this leads into this.

Okay.

Is my footnote was Twin Peaks, if you remember. So I put a little flag in it.

Yep.

I watched the first episode of the new reboot of Twin Peaks, which was many a year ago, and I was like, like, oh, they're gonna ruin it.

Yeah.

And then I didn't watch a single episode. This was a show I obsessed over, and I was like, oh, no, they're gonna mess this up. And I never watched another thing. Will I revisit it?

Of course I will, because I'm glutton for punishment. I got a PhD. However, also, do you think that there is a point where it's too much.

Oh, yeah.

Too much content for the Star Wars. And I'm not saying I'm there yet, because, again, I'm just coming into it. There's ones I haven't seen. So I haven't seen Han Solo.

I actually haven't seen the Acolyte. Those are the two.

Yeah. I'll be interested in your take on the Acolyte. Maybe you watch that and come back and revisit and share. And you and Stuart both talk about.

I'd love to hear his thoughts on Acolyte. It's a conflict within me of good and light when it comes to that show and a couple of the movies out there, but still, Star wars. And it's fun.

There's lightsabers. Yeah, they pulled that real fat.

The Han Solo movie I really liked because it came off like I had so much, like, conflict within me about Last Jedi, stuff I really loved and stuff I really hated, and I was just a ball. You know, do I even understand or love Star Wars?

I mean, there's existential questions as a Star wars fan after Last Jedi that when Han Solo came, I was like, I'm just gonna go in, have fun. There's no expectations. And guess what? I had fun. My expectations were just, hey, maybe I should go into all movies that way or all stories.

And doesn't mean I have love it all. Doesn't have to like it all. It just like, maybe I should go in with, like, guarded or, like, realistic expectations. And that's a good.

That's how I went into the Mandalorian. I was like, is this going to change my life? Maybe not. I mean, I wouldn't put it past Pedro Pascal, but I don't.

I mean, it's possible he's gonna be in a new Marvel movie this summer. I don't know if you've heard Fantastic Four. He's gonna be Mr. Fantastic this summer. The original first family of Marvel Comics Fantastic Four.

He's playing Reed Richards, Mr. Fantastic. And I can't wait for that. And to see what the family.

I can't get enough of him. So.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah. So, folks, thanks for listening. Thanks for tuning in. Thanks for the questions. Those online, those later.

Leah thanks for being here and geeking out Star Wars. I could probably do this for a whole nother hour and we'll do it again at some point and. Yeah. Is too much. Too much. Yeah.

I think there is something to be said about holding back a little bit and waiting a little while and let things build. And then, you know, there's comics and there's novels and there's video games and there's movies and shows. I'm ready for a Star wars movie.

I think the streaming series are fun, but I'm ready for it to be back in the theater and go with the family and get some popcorn and just have a fun Star wars movie. That's. That's where I'm. I'm really wanting.

I know there's a streaming wars and there's investors and stockholders when it comes to Disney and expectations of what they need for. For in the midst of everything. But I. I really would love. I mean, they're hurting. I know.

They're like, you know what? They're like those, those pirates, they're just trying to survive out there.

They're hungry. They're all just hungry. Really hungry. What? Hungry for what? We don't know. Well, yeah, like. Share Review the show. Let us know what you think.

Chime in the comments if we missed something. I'm sure we did. There's, you know, favorite character moments and characters and things we could talk about.

Let us know what your thoughts are and would love to engage with you. Where. Where, where can people find you and engage with you?

You have your own podcast and, and other than Theology beer camp and, and those places where people can find and.

Engage with you, I am most found on. At Theology on the Rocks Instagram. So that's at Theology on the Rocks. That's my podcast with Christy Whaley.

We talk a lot of stuff and we drink a lot of stuff. We talk a lot of stuff. So we have a good time. And then we also have these guys we're going to get people on and we cross over. We just did a podcast.

We did till it today with Taylor.

Yay.

Yeah. So we're all pals and it's actually really fun.

We all favorite person.

We really enjoy each other and I hope that's. I say that not. I shouldn't sound so incredulous, but like, really, we really do. Like, this is the highlight of our days most of the time.

Yeah. Yeah. I took a break. My. My dad passed away last month and over. Over Christmas and I. And I was like, yeah, rightfully so.

I'm taking a break from podcasting and, you know, focus on family and those things. And then, and then I was like, man, I, I hopped on a podcast. Like, will you okay? Like, no, I need this. This is good. I need, I need to podc.

I need to hang out with some friends. I need to geek out. I need to do other stuff. So it's an outlet to go and geek out.

So yeah, there's a reason why I do these things and love and geek out with each other. So I agree. And yeah, I. One of the most things I'm impressed with you and Kristen was you did a Hot one ones.

You answered theological questions while two of them while eating hot wings. As they got hotter and hotter and hotter, so did the questions.

So that the heat was brought when it comes to figuratively and literally when it comes to answering big mysterious questions that everyone.

That's my idea. And then it became a thing. And when things become a thing, they keep being things.

So be careful because we got Tom in there last year and we need somebody for this year.

So dude, I'm ready. Yeah, that's right. Yes, I will step up. I've always. I love the show Hot Ones. I feel like my wife Cindy, she is so like her. She loves spicy things.

She could eat a whole. Like she could go hot the hot and be. Probably be fine.

And she's brought me along with Thai food and Indian food and I feel like my, my threshold for pain with. With spicy things have gotten better over the year and I could train for Hot Ones up front.

We could do a systemicology theology and the rock crossover Hot Ones. I. That would. That would get me to be. Get me to beer camp.

Also. I will say that Tom was real tough until a certain point.

And one of our listeners, Bryant, found the exact timestamp where he started to go down the hill real fast. So of course we made sure to point that out because.

Did you. Did you. Do you watch Hot Ones too? Do you. Is that. Did you see the Conan O'Brien one? Like that was. Oh, watch it tonight. I'm a big Conan Bryant fan.

He's obnoxious. He's not everybody's sense of humor. He's definitely mine and his Hot Ones is one. I was laugh crying so hard at one point that he, he just.

Oh, he's so obnoxious, but so fun. Watch that. You don't think you're going to take.

Over your life the way that it does. Like will when you. I'm gonna say when you do it now Your whole being just like you're just surviving like. And. And the problem is things are.

Questions are coming at you.

It's like an ayahuasca experience.

There was one time where one of our questions. It was like one of the hottest. It was like this hell exists. And I was like, I don. I don't even care anymore.

I don't care. I'm in it right now. Maybe I just might be it.

So it becomes. Gets her.

I'm ready. Cool. We'll see. It hasn't been announced where the next theology beer camp is. I. I'm hoping east coast because it makes it easier for me.

But we'll see if we're moving that direction they will.

Okay then. You know.

It was in your church, wasn't it?

It was, yeah. The, the original post Edinburgh trip back in the States in North Carolina. The, the God pods.

We were the, the new hope of camps and then it was the God pie strike back and then return of the God. So yeah, I'm very happy that the first movie I saw in the theater was A New Hope and then the first theology beer camp in the States was the God pod.

So yeah. So hey, I would love it if this, Whoever's watching on YouTube we could get 50 likes.

And in the summer there was like I would frolic through flowers if we got 50. Like. But now I'm up in it but since it's winter and and I'm going to Utah Friday for a ski trip. So I will.

If we get 50 likes on this video, I will dance in the snow in my bathing suit and put it on YouTube. So there's your challenge, folks. Share like review like this campaign with your friends. I will be in the snow in a bathing suit and we'll frolic.

I'll do a snow angel.

Is it still snowy in Chapel Hill?

No. They cancel school for like three days even though there's a little ice just in the bushes.

But so much you want them around you all the time.

That's right. But. But yeah, we're going to Utah where it's supposed to be like 8 degrees and a lot of snow. So I would do it there.

But your window short for a week if you can get 50 likes on this. So Leah, thanks for being a part of this. Super fun. We'll do it again. And we have all kinds of different kinds of sign offs here.

But your favorite, I'll let you sign us off with. What's your favorite Star wars phrase? Could be the force be with you. It could be. It could be whatever your favorite Star wars phrase is.

We'll let that be the final quote.

All right, well, I wish it was the opposite direction, but I need you to say something for me to help me here.

Okay?

Say I love you. But you gotta say, leah, I love you.

Leah.

I love you know?