A More Civilized Age: A Star Wars Podcast

Dedicated television watchers know that you can only learn so much from a show's pilot episode. Performances might not be dialed all the way in yet. The show's style of composition, blocking, editing, and other cinematic elements is still under construction. Hell, even the tone and attitude might be up in the air. But by episode 5, all that wet cement has started to set into a more final shape. And it is exactly here, at episode 5 of Rebels, that we learn just how hard this show is going to go... Show Notes   Hosted by Rob Zacny (@RobZacny) Featuring Alicia Acampora (@ali_west), Austin Walker (@austin_walker), and Natalie Watson (@nataliewatson) Produced by Ricardo Contreras (@a_cado_appears) Music by Jack de Quidt (@notquitereal) Cover art by Xeecee (@xeeceevevo)    

We did it! We made it through the Clone Wars Legacy materials, past Solo (for some reason), and into the heart of the show that is going to take over our lives for the next year plus—or at least until Andor season 2 starts. Today we kick off Star Wars: Rebels, meeting the crew in a series of four, hijinks-laden shorts and then moving on to the two part intro that sets Ezra Bridger on a journey to... well, that's the thing, we have no idea where his journey will take him! Isn't that exciting?  Please let folks know that this might be a good point to hop on board the AMCA train, get yourselves ready for the bevy of upcoming Star Wars material that is seemingly picking up where Rebels leaves off. Also, give special thanks to Ricardo Contreras, who handled the edit for this episode, and will hopefully be sticking with production duties going forward! They absolutely crushed it! Next Time: Star Wars Rebels 03-05 ("Droids in Distress," "Fighter Flight," and "The Old Masters") You can support the show and gain access to a monthly Q&A cast by going to patreon.com/civilized Show Notes Breakdown of how we're tackling the season: 1: Shorts + Spark of the Resistance  2: Droids in Distress, Fighter Flight, Rise of the Old Masters 3: Breaking Ranks, Out of Darkness 4: Empire Day, Gathering Forces 5: Path of the Jedi, Idiot's Array, Vision of Hope 6: Call to Action, Rebel Resolve, Fire Across the Galaxy   Hosted by Rob Zacny (@RobZacny) Featuring Alicia Acampora (@ali_west), Austin Walker (@austin_walker), and Natalie Watson (@nataliewatson) Produced by Ricardo Contreras (@a_cado_appears) Music by Jack de Quidt (@notquitereal) Cover art by Xeecee (@xeeceevevo)  

Here we are. Our final diversion before we finally arrive at Rebels. And what a diversion it is. A couple of really good heists. A couple of great performances. Solid props and sets. An incredibly paced, 60 minute film. I'm sorry. Huh? You're telling me... you're saying that's not even half the movie? It what? It botches a droid liberation arc? They do what with the droid freedom fighter's still living mind? Who shows up???? Oh, right. That one we knew already. Next Time: Star Wars Rebels Shorts ("The Machine in the Ghost, "Art Attack," "Entanglement," "Property of Ezra Bridger") and Episodes 01-02 ("Spark of Rebellion") You can support the show and gain access to a monthly Q&A cast by going to patreon.com/civilized Show Notes Hosted by Rob Zacny (@RobZacny) Featuring Alicia Acampora (@ali_west), Austin Walker (@austin_walker), and Natalie Watson (@nataliewatson) Produced by Austin Walker Music by Jack de Quidt (@notquitereal) Cover art by Xeecee (@xeeceevevo)    

60 episodes. Minus like, a dozen Andor eps. Plus a bunch of Patreon bonus Q&As. That's how long it's taken us to get through the original run of Clone Wars, plus the Legacy materials released soon after the end of its 6th season—culminating with today's episode on the Asajj Ventress/Quinlan Vos romantic adventure Dark Disciple. It's truly all come down to this... Which means, of course, that we spend nearly the entire first hour of this episode talking instead about Star Wars Celebration 2023, or at least the bits of it that had happened by the time we recorded early on Saturday. Next Time (for some reason): Solo: A Star Wars Story Show Notes Ronto Wrap Asajj Ventress Ball Gown Concept Art Hosted by Rob Zacny (@RobZacny) Featuring Alicia Acampora (@ali_west), Austin Walker (@austin_walker), and Natalie Watson (@nataliewatson) Produced by Austin Walker Music by Jack de Quidt (@notquitereal) Cover art by Xeecee (@xeeceevevo)

Before we complete our journey out of the Clone Wars and into Rebels, we have a few final stops to make. First, we find out what ever happened to Darth Maul after the events of the Shadow Collective Arc. Then we get an absolute banger in the unfinished story reel version of The Crystal Crisis of Utapau, an arc too good to have been left in this state indefinitely.  Just one more stop to go before we get to Rebels. Right? That's right, right? There's definitely no big, stupid curveball on its way to derail us from our goal? There's no way that we'll stumble into something else we just "absolutely" need to see before we get to Rebels, that is at deep odds with how we've gone about this project so far, right? We'd never do that. Never. Next Time: Star Wars: Dark Disciple Show Notes Star Wars: The Clone Wars Legacy Ahsoka's Decision - Deleted Clone Wars Scene Remake [4K]  

Come to the end of Clone Wars' original run, we have.   No. No I won't do it. You can't make me write in Yoda. Yoda doesn't even write in Yoda, I bet.  Lie, Yoda does n- No. No I'm not going to have a big, Gollum-like argument with myself either. This arc already did that and it wasn't good then, so why would it be now?  In any case. This is it: The end of Season 6. For millions of fans, it served as a finale for The Clone Wars for six years. A deep dive about some basics of the force. A return of a voice long thought lost. A bunch of new force lore that we did not need. And, of course, an attempt to make everything just a little too tidy.  Could it really end any other way? Next Time: Star Wars: Darth Maul - Son of Dathomir Issues 1-4 and Crystal Crisis on Utapau  Show Notes Hosted by Rob Zacny (@RobZacny) Featuring Alicia Acampora (@ali_west), Austin Walker (@austin_walker), and Natalie Watson (@nataliewatson) Produced by Austin Walker Music by Jack de Quidt (@notquitereal) Cover art by Xeecee (@xeeceevevo)  

After a brief hiatus due to health, travel, and a half dozen other delays, we are back to the Clone Wars. And what a return it is. We begin on the world of Bardotta, where a culture of force sensitives (and Jedi haters) are led by a queen with the best taste in men we've seen so far in this series. Then, finally (well...), we (sort of) learn the (tentative) truth about a mystery we've long been driven to understand. NEXT TIME: Episodes 119 - 121 ("Voices," "Destiny," and "Sacrifice)  Show Notes Deaths: Peteen, Silman, Lom Pyke (and his probably some of his boys)

Today on AMCA, we're teeing up something special for those of you who love it when we go wild creating our own AUs and OCs!  About six months ago, Ali and Austin of AMCA joined the rest of the cast of our sister podcast, Friends at the Table, to do a two day charity marathon raising money for the National Network of Abortion Funds. As part of that effort, we set a bunch of stretch goals, including the promise that we'd play a Star Wars TTRPG one shot over here on AMCA.  Today we make good on that promise, thanks to Jess Levine, who has come through to help facilitate an Andor-era session of her game Going Rogue, which "weave[s] narratives about troubled martyrs mired in messy, ethically gray conflicts who must face the possibility of making the ultimate sacrifice." We use the system to tell the story of an unlikely band of rebels sent into the outer rim to... well, you'll see.  Also! For the rest of the month, you can pick up Jess' Going Rogue 2E along with Riley Rethal's Galactic 2E (the game which Going Rogue most directly builds off of) in a special bundle for just 18 bucks!  NEXT TIME (for real): Episodes 116 - 118 ("The Disappeared, Part I," "The Disappeared, Part II," "The Lost One") Show Notes Character Sheets and Play Materials!

Have there been better arcs of Clone Wars? Absolutely. Have there been arcs that more cleverly dissect the hypocrisy of the Jedi or Anakin's fall to the dark side? Undoubtedly. Are there better duels, dogfights, and tests of will? Of course. But has there ever been a Clone Wars arc as toxic as this one? Oh, no my friends, in that regard we have absolutely peaked. NEXT TIME: Episodes 116 - 118 ("The Disappeared, Part I," "The Disappeared, Part II," "The Lost One") Show Notes Major Deaths (RIP to a real one): Teckla Minnau Normal, Expected Deaths (Sad imo): Commander Thorn, Bec Lawise Additional Deaths (It is what it is): Rush Clovis Hosted by Rob Zacny (@RobZacny) Featuring Alicia Acampora (@ali_west), Austin Walker (@austin_walker), and Natalie Watson (@nataliewatson) Produced by Austin Walker Music by Jack de Quidt (@notquitereal) Cover art by Xeecee (@xeeceevevo)  

Happy New Year! As everyone moves into the new year, we're moving both backwards and forwards at the same time. With the Autumn of Andor (mostly) behind us, we return to our ongoing Clone Wars rewatch. But we also move forward into a new season, picking up with Anakin Skywalker feeling a little more dour than usual as he leads a tired clone force in a circular battle against a foe he thought was long since vanquished. The already troubled situation slips into crisis when... well, you should really watch these episodes and/or listen to us dissect them to get the whole picture. Just know: Today, we finally answer one of the longest running mysteries of the franchise.  NEXT TIME: Episodes 113 - 115 ("An Old Friend," "The Rise of Clovis," "Crisis at the Heart") Show Notes Deaths: Jedi Master Tiplar, Commander Droid Kraken, Tup (CT-5385), Fives (CT-27-5555) 😔 😔 😔 Hosted by Rob Zacny (@RobZacny) Featuring Alicia Acampora (@ali_west), Austin Walker (@austin_walker), and Natalie Watson (@nataliewatson) Produced by Austin Walker Music by Jack de Quidt (@notquitereal) Cover art by Xeecee (@xeeceevevo)

In our final episode of the year, we're joined by Kirk Hamilton of Strong Songs, Triple Click, and the Kotaku review of Destiny 2 fame. (No, really, it's one of my all time favorite reviews. Go read it!) Over on Strong Songs, Kirk recently dove headfirst into Nicholas Britell's excellent Andor score. Today, he's joining us to talk through music's place in the show and in Star Wars in general. Join us as we unpack the differences between Britell, John Williams, and the other musicians who've worked in the franchise. And don't worry, we sneak in one more theory about Cass' sister for good measure! Show Notes "Evolution of the Star Wars Main Theme" by Star Wars Audio Comics on YouTube (Used around minute 20) Brad & Will Made a Tech Pod "When Music is Torture" by an interview with Lilly E. Hirsch by Maggie Wang Hosted by Rob Zacny (@RobZacny) Featuring Alicia Acampora (@ali_west), Austin Walker (@austin_walker), and Natalie Watson (@nataliewatson) Produced by Austin Walker Music by Jack de Quidt (@notquitereal) Cover art by Xeecee (@xeeceevevo)  

As promised, the Autumn of Andor continues! Today, we've got the first of three guest-filled episodes coming to you this December. We are joined by Adam Serwer, author of The Cruelty Is the Point: The Past, Present, and Future of Trump's America, staff writer at The Atlantic, and life long Star Wars fan. We share and contextualize our final feelings on Andor, explore the tensions and consonances between the Lucas, Filoni, and Gilroy visions of the franchise, and (if you are very patient) try to unravel whatever the hell was up with that Karn/Mosk hat swap. NEXT TIME: TBD, but expect us to either pick up either our headphones or our character sheets. Show Notes "Star Wars Gets Political" by Adam Serwer "Tony Gilroy, forgive me for this post" - BB-8 on Andor & the Hero's Journey  Brasso's Actor posting Killing in the Name The Great Game, the Atlantic's World Cup Newsletter Finally, an important communique from the inimitable poet, sociologist, and comic book author Eve Ewing, as hand delivered by Adam Serwer: p.s. Eve, you are ABSOLUTELY welcome to come thru!

Surprise! Thanks to a very kind mystery contact with their own very kind mystery contacts inside of Lucasfilm (and/or Disney Plus), we were given last minute screener access to the Andor finale. And you better believe we hustled to watch it, prep our notes, and deliver the longest episode of our Andor season and one of the longest episodes we've ever recorded. Come for our emotional reactions to the return of voices we'd thought we'd heard the last of. Stay for our dive into 2000s-era anarchist philosophy. And then rate us five stars for all the time we dedicate to talking about our very favorite absolutely rotten relationships. ALSO: As a special bonus for our Patrons, we recorded our own live reactions when we group watched this episode together. Go to patreon.com/civilized, support us at the $5 level, and you can hear each of our exuberant pop offs, our surprised gasps, our wavering voices, and our howls for the most rancid of love stories.   NEXT TIME: No episode on the 30th (this is that episode), and potentially no episode on the 7th. But we have a bunch of great stuff queued up for December, so look forward to it! Show Notes The Coming Insurrection by the Invisible Committee We are Everywhere: The Irresistible Rise of Global Anticapitalism Hosted by Rob Zacny (@RobZacny) Featuring Alicia Acampora (@ali_west), Austin Walker (@austin_walker), and Natalie Watson (@nataliewatson) Produced by Austin Walker Music by Jack de Quidt (@notquitereal) Cover art by Xeecee (@xeeceevevo)  

As Cassian and Melshi put distance between themselves and Narkina 5, the rest of the galaxy spins just thus, aligning such that many of our principal players will wind up together on Ferrix. And those that won't, well, they're busy uh... talking about Trad Chandrillan customs, so, you know, equally as exciting.  Like many of you, we have spent the last ten episodes on the edge of our seats, eager to know what comes next. But with today's episode, written by Tony Gilory and directed by Benjamin Caron, we are a step past eager. We are desperate. Join us in desperation. You can support the show and gain access to a monthly Q&A cast by going to patreon.com/civilized NEXT TIME: Andor Episode 12 (TWELVE. THE SEASON ONE FINALE. AHHHHHH)  Show Notes Shout outs to Chase for this one. Hosted by Rob Zacny (@RobZacny) Featuring Alicia Acampora (@ali_west), Austin Walker (@austin_walker), and Natalie Watson (@nataliewatson) Produced by Austin Walker Music by Jack de Quidt (@notquitereal) Cover art by Xeecee (@xeeceevevo)

If you rewind the clock by two years, it was today, November 14th, that Ali, Rob, Natalie, and I got in the same group DM and made a decision: Let's do a Clone Wars podcast. Today, our 50th episode releases, and let me tell you: On that day, we could not BEGIN to imagine how much we would be feasting. Today's episode of Andor is a tight, focused 43 minute exploration of revolutionary sacrifice in its many forms. And while I could not call this nearly three hour long episode of our show anything close to "tight," I do think it's one of our best yet. So please, tell a friend, review the show on your podcast platform of choice, and (if you're in a place where you can) go ahead and give us some support on our Patreon. Here's to 50 more episodes of yelling about Jedi hypocrisy, theorizing about crybaby fascists, sometimes, complaining about mid-tier fandom, coming up with our own outlandish AUs, and (every once in a while) offering deep analysis. NEXT TIME: Andor Episode 11 Show Notes Hosted by Rob Zacny (@RobZacny) Featuring Alicia Acampora (@ali_west), Austin Walker (@austin_walker), and Natalie Watson (@nataliewatson) Produced by Austin Walker Music by Jack de Quidt (@notquitereal) Cover art by Xeecee (@xeeceevevo) You can support the show and gain access to a monthly Q&A cast by going to patreon.com/civilized  

There are many things about Andor that, push come to shove, I think we could have predicted. Self-sufficient (if selfish) rogue slowly warms to a rebellion? Sure. Imperial bureaucracy tightens its snare around the revolutionary and the uninvolved alike? Definitely. Coruscanti political drama? Probably, hell, they had that in Clone Wars. But there are scenes in this week's Andor that never in one hundred years would we have imagined to have shown up. Here? In Star Wars? No. Couldn't be. Disney wouldn't let it happen.  And yet... here we are.  NEXT TIME: Andor Episode 10 Show Notes #Keero Fancam by Patrick Willems Hosted by Rob Zacny (@RobZacny) Featuring Alicia Acampora (@ali_west), Austin Walker (@austin_walker), and Natalie Watson (@nataliewatson) Produced by Austin Walker Music by Jack de Quidt (@notquitereal) Cover art by Xeecee (@xeeceevevo)

If you made fun of us for going long on a previous Andor episode, well the joke is on you, because you should've waited for this week. In what can only be described as (minute-for-minute and pound-for-pound) our MOST five star runtime episode yet, we delve into all manner of bleak material. There's prison labor. There's a bitter-yet-functional marriage. There's a snare slowly tightening around a rebellion so nascent that even two of its most important leaders can't come to terms about working together. And there's a little terrible man who is, one bad day at a time, learning that the world doesn't work in the the facile, cartoonish way he dreamt it did. NEXT TIME: Andor Episode 09 Show Notes Hosted by Rob Zacny (@RobZacny) Featuring Alicia Acampora (@ali_west), Austin Walker (@austin_walker), and Natalie Watson (@nataliewatson) Produced by Austin Walker Music by Jack de Quidt (@notquitereal) Cover art by Xeecee (@xeeceevevo)  

After a nail-biting heist, what could follow for Andor? Unsurprisingly, a talky episode all about the Empire's response to the fledgling rebellion, filled with juicy details about galactic policy decisions, intelligence agency maneuvering, and a bunch of difficult emotional conversations. And, of course... Space Miami. NEXT TIME: Andor Episode 08 Show Notes Hosted by Rob Zacny (@RobZacny) Featuring Alicia Acampora (@ali_west), Austin Walker (@austin_walker), and Natalie Watson (@nataliewatson) Produced by Austin Walker Music by Jack de Quidt (@notquitereal) Cover art by Xeecee (@xeeceevevo)

Wow, what a season. From the opening at the rainy PreMor leisure district to the climactic conclusion in highlands of Aldh- What's that?  You're saying this is only the halfway point of the series? The halfway point of the first season of the series?  No, that can't be right. You're saying that after this—perhaps the best pound-for-pound filmmaking we've covered on the podcast—we get... more?  Wow. A better world really is possible. NEXT TIME: Andor Episode 07 Show Notes Heads up that next episode may come a day late, as we're dealing with scheduling difficulties and dental recovery! Hosted by Rob Zacny (@RobZacny) Featuring Alicia Acampora (@ali_west), Austin Walker (@austin_walker), and Natalie Watson (@nataliewatson) Produced by Austin Walker Music by Jack de Quidt (@notquitereal) Cover art by Xeecee (@xeeceevevo)

We finished last episode with two desires: To sit in on an absolutely terrible dinner evening and to watch the beginning of a high intensity heist. We got neither, and instead have received a feast unlike any we could've hoped for. From Coruscant to Aldhani, we trace four stories about families bickering. A mother dressing up insults in the language of care. A father leaning back and watching in glee as his daughter tears into her mother. Brothers-in-arms at each other's throats. It's drama time, baby. The action can wait. NEXT TIME: Andor Episode 06 Show Notes Hosted by Rob Zacny (@RobZacny) Featuring Alicia Acampora (@ali_west), Austin Walker (@austin_walker), and Natalie Watson (@nataliewatson) Produced by Austin Walker Music by Jack de Quidt (@notquitereal) Cover art by Xeecee (@xeeceevevo)