AVForums Podcast: Episode 205 - 18th December 2017

It wasn't that long ago there was a podcast on Dr Who now being a woman and what was all the fuss about.
 
You quoted The Phantom Menace first with the Gungans when you could of used C3PO With the Ewoks instead. No spoilers for rebels what I’m referring to happened in season 2. Also there is a scene where both Leia and admiral Holdo interrupt each other to say let the force be with you so Rian Johnson did give you that! Pic n mix religion is fine for George but not for any other directer?
I really haven't got time to go around and around on this subject but personally I feel the use of the specific phrase "God speed" is anachronistic. Since we're on the subject I'd also have a go at George for the Tarzan call that Chewie uses in Return of the Jedi.
 
It wasn't that long ago there was a podcast on Dr Who now being a woman and what was all the fuss about.
Despite a previous post in this thread implying I was a sexist misogynist, I am completely in favour of gender equality and, as you say, I applauded the casting of Jodie Whittaker as Doctor Who. Star Wars has always had a history of strong female characters starting with Princess Leia who was brave, independent and clever. However as Spacecat has pointed out it seems to have swung in the opposite direction recently. I loved the addition of Rey, although I found the fact she was naturally brilliant at everything rather unbelievable, and I liked the character of Jyn in Rogue One. However in The Last Jedi, with the exception of Captain Phasma, all the bad guys are... well guys. As for the heroes, all the woman are portrayed as brave, noble and self-sacrificing whilst all the male heroes are portrayed as stupid, argumentative and in need of saving. Worse than that, of our original male heroes we find out that Han is a bad husband and father, Luke is a bad friend, brother and mentor and even poor old Chewie doesn't avoid criticism for his dietary habits!
 
I agree with you about the Tarzan scene in Jedi!

To be fair to Chewie in the TLJ he did take her to Jedi school and drop her off to her boyfriend, who he doesn’t like. Rey has a new dad in a Wookiee.

I enjoy the podcast and have been listening for the last year or so and really enjoy it and looking forward to the CES coverage. Merry Christmas
 
Another great listen. Thanks to the whole team for another great year for AVF podcasts. Wish you all a good christmas and look forward to the CES coverage.

I sincerely hope that Star Wars hasn't ruined @Phil Hinton's year :eek:. Hopefully the upholstery of the new mustang hasn't been permanently damaged by all the tears on the way back from the cinema.

Family life has restricted me actually buying or considering new AV kit (that and the fact that OLEDs aren't currently available at under 55" :(), but the podcasts have kept me informed and engaged in the subject.

Keep up the good work fellas.

MB
 
Re: Chewie's Meat Eating
I didn't take it as a swipe against eating meat, generally. Just a Porg not wanting him to eat one of its mates.
 
Re: Chewie's Meat Eating

I didn't take it as a swipe against eating meat, generally.
Just a Porg not wanting him to eat one of its mates.

That's how i took it as well mate.
Exactly and for the sake of a stupid joke (or possibly an anti-meat eating message) they made Chewie out to be a complete jerk who was prepared to kill, cook and eat a Porg in front of another Porg. Just inexcusable.
 
Re: Chewie's Meat Eating

Well let's be honest the Porg had already been killed, plucked and Roasted so I think a creature that will pull your arms out of their sockets if he loses at chess wouldn't be that arsed.

What sort of moronic animal hangs about and watches the predator that is about to eat one of its kind.....

Just a really cheep joke
 
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Remember to use the spoiler tags please.
 
Has someone broke into Phil’s house and nicked that JVC 7900?
 
Thanks to all the team for a great year of podcasts. Just a shame that TLJ ruined the end of year party.

Looking forward to all your CES reports and can we please have more interviews with experts from the AV industry next year.
 
I wonder what the future of HDR10+ will look like now that the only studio that announced to support it was bought by Disney...

Anyway, great year of podcasts guys! Looking forward to learn much more about how to cook a proper chili in Dolby Vision and if Steve can buy more UHD Blu-rays than Ed can drink beers at CES next year :D
 
TLJ certainly seems to have divided opinion like little else. I haven't seen it yet but I have to say I'm less enthusiastic now that I was before, although the multiplex cinemas in Cardiff are currently £4 a ticket (due to some uniquely local competition) I will check it out soon enough.

Truth be told I've long given up on Hollywood films and I find much more interesting films coming from elsewhere in the world. I find when watching 'blockbuster' movies like this (particularly in the age of mass hype) it's far better to go in with snake's belly-like levels of expectation, else you're likely to end up hugely disappointed...
 
Thanks gents for a year of great podcasts. Merry Xmas and happy New Year to you all!
 
However as Spacecat has pointed out it seems to have swung in the opposite direction recently. I loved the addition of Rey, although I found the fact she was naturally brilliant at everything rather unbelievable, and I liked the character of Jyn in Rogue One. However in The Last Jedi, with the exception of Captain Phasma, all the bad guys are... well guys. As for the heroes, all the woman are portrayed as brave, noble and self-sacrificing whilst all the male heroes are portrayed as stupid, argumentative and in need of saving. Worse than that, of our original male heroes we find out that Han is a bad husband and father, Luke is a bad friend, brother and mentor and even poor old Chewie doesn't avoid criticism for his dietary habits!

Interesting.

First off, I thought it was going to be a good film. I saw this on the BBC:

Last Jedi has critics in raptures

Other than that I've tried to avoid comments as I will probably watch it when Christmas is out of the way. The comments on here were my first inkling it might not be that good.

Now I've heard the podcast.

Well I laughed out loud a few times.

I haven't watched the film yet, but will be back when I have.
 
The use of the word Lord has no religious connotations whatsoever, it's an honorific, and although the Gungans for example worship various gods the idea of 'God speed' is directly taken from the monotheistic Christian religion which is utterly anachronistic in the Star Wars universe. All the character had to say was "may the force be with you" but Rian Johnson couldn't even give us that. As for Rebels, that is light years better than rubbish like TLJ and is made by people who really understand Star Wars.

Not saying I agree with it but there's this take on it.

The Last Jedi / Headscratchers - TV Tropes

Headscratchers/God In Star Wars?

There's a couple of times in the movie where members of the Resistance said 'Godspeed', one being the doomed Medical Frigate captain and another being Holdo herself. So do characters in Star Wars, at least those who are human, have somewhat familiar religion to our real world? I mean, there are characters using 'hell' in those movies as well after all. Han Solo did it in the OT, and Poe said it here as well.
  • I choose to believe that "God" is simply the highest setting on their speedometers. But seriously, the religious references have never been adequately explained.
  • Several cultures have had various gods in the old EU (typically revealed to either be the Force under a different name, a powerful Force-user, or occasionally left unexplained). Most of Star Wars has been secular in an Outgrown Such Silly Superstitions way except for the Force (which is of course a very solid and provable religion), but just because most people are non-religious doesn't mean everyone is.
  • Even if we just look at the films, both Return of the Jedi and The Phantom Menace made references to the concept of gods and religions. The Ewoks worshiped C-3P0 as a god and he was quick to tell the others that pretending to be a deity was against protocol. Meanwhile, Jar Jar Binks often exclaimed "ye gods" and "by the gods", which implies the Gungans have at least one pantheistic religion.
  • Godspeed is just a figure of speech. It's a fancy way of saying "good luck". An atheist can tell someone "godspeed" and be 100% sincere even though he/she does not literally believe in a god. It's the equivalent of a person saying "Go to Hell" even if they believe there is no Hell to go to.
 
That makes for an interesting read and I can remember at the time that Empire wasn't that well received, it was very different from Star Wars and it didn't really have a conclusion which annoyed a lot of people. Since I was only 13 at the time, I remember thinking that 3 years was a hell of a long time to have to wait to find out what happens. Imagine my disappointment when, after waiting 3 years, all I got was Jedi! The last sentence of Vincent Canby's review seems particularly relevant these days "At this point the adventures of Luke, Leia and Han Solo appear to be a self-sustaining organism, beyond criticism except on a corporate level."
 
Since I was only 13 at the time, I remember thinking that 3 years was a hell of a long time to have to wait to find out what happens. Imagine my disappoint when, after waiting 3 years, all I got was Jedi!

The Phantom Menace is what i got at 16 at least you got to see the original trilogy in the cinema with no special edition treatment!
 
Great podcast, thanks for the excellent work throughout the year and looking forward to next year.

I saw that the Christopher Nolan 4K discs in the US doesn’t have the digital downloads which is something I’d want ... that said I’m ignorant of how to apply digital download codes.
How do you activate them and once you do what are they accessible on? Also does it vary by movie/studio?
 
Thank you for another great year of informative and entertaining podcasts, with the odd rant here and there for good measure. Anything less wouldn't be British would it! :)

Ed has stolen the show on more than one occasion; may your enthusiasm for beer, BBQs and vinyl never dwindle. I'd also love to listen to those Concept 500s sometime, but your recommended GB1s will probably live here for some time to come.

Can I personally say thanks for raising the 21:9 questions and holding on to the topic as well with Danny. It was great to hear that they've been thinking about this, and hopefully LG are also thinking about this for the next big thing. Let's face it, if curved TVs were given the green light, surely 21:9 has an equal or greater chance at success. I don't quite see the fascination with 8K (except it's a big marketing number) as I believe 4K already exceeds the limits of the human eye in all but a few screen size/distance ratios used today, and a world full of 2K DIs seems to suggest the venture would be a complete waste of time.

I want to also use this opportunity to thank the AVForums community for helping me with substantial upgrades this year. Steve's reviews led to auditioning, and user reviews and further discussions in the forums have led to the biggest upgrade I've made in a very long time, including the jump to 4K. I blame both Phil and Steve for a massively unhealthy load on the bank account and credit cards! Phil, your reference earlier in the year that Kuro owners should think about moving on was financially painful, never mind how right you were! But like the pain of fuelling a V8, it's all worth it, and I'm still upgrading through Christmas.

My wife is questioning my sanity even though she is also enjoying the improved experience.

So this is almost the end of 2017. Have a great Christmas break and enjoy yourselves at CES. See you in the New Year. Really looking forward to it. :D

A thought to carry forward into next year:
Is it too much to ask for a Dolby Cinema in the UK?
 

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