A More Civilized Age: A Star Wars Podcast

After the highs and lows of Revenge of the Sith, it felt like we were due to even back out with some mid-tier content. And hey, good news, the Blue Shadow Virus is nothing if not mid. One one hand, it spends some solid time characterizing nearly every one of our leads. On the other, its combination of mad scientist stock villain, half-developed Bermuda Triangle planet, and bio-terror plot just don't mesh together into anything especially elevated or memorable. But with just one more arc to go in the season, and with some clear signs that the production team is perfecting their technical processes, it does feel like maybe we're nearing the light at the end of the tunnel of mediocrity... Next Time: The Ryloth Arc (The Clone Wars: Episodes 19-21) Show Notes Not a clone, but still: RIP to Taquito.  Padme Holding Knives: 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)

5 Mai 20211h 44min

With what can only be described as "season finale energy," today we detour from our Clone Wars journey in order to (re)visit the final film in George Lucas' much derided Prequel Trilogy: Revenge of the Sith.  Do we debate at length where the final blame for Anakin's downfall lies? Yes. Do we dream up ways that things could have gone differently? Absolutely. Do we find ways to talk ourselves into circles? Oh, without a doubt. Join us for this four and a half our dive into Revenge of the Sith. If you (and we) can make it through this, then the rest of Clone Wars will be nothing. (Also, if you enjoy this, reminder that you can support the show and listen to a monthly Q&A by going to patreon.com/civilized. Oh and be sure to check the show notes on the site to get all the Important Secondary Material we'll reference throughout this pod.) Next time: Clone Wars Episode 17-18 (The Blue Shadow Virus Arc) Show Notes Sheev's Gamer Chair (With Cat Ears) 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)

21 Apr 20214h 30min

Content warnings: Discussion of sex and drug use. It should've been a simple episode. Two stand alone stories, each filled to the brim with the sort of political world building and philosophical question raising content that we thrive on. And, for what it's worth, we roll right into all of that. But then, perhaps because the tracks had been greased a little too well, perhaps because of hubris, or perhaps because of the ever-present will of the force, we go way off the rails.  And frankly, we were due. Next time: Revenge of the Sith 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)

7 Apr 20212h 25min

If there is one leading question this podcast has raised so far, it's "What role do the Jedi really serve in the Galactic Republic?" It's fair to say that we've been pretty critical of this ancient order of religious space cops, and fortunately, the writers of Clone Wars have decided to bring our skeptical perspective into the show directly. Someone who can speak truth to power. Someone who can confront the hypocrit- Sorry, sorry. One second. I'm being handed a note.   Ah! Well. Nevertheless, Next time: Episodes 15-16 Show Notes Fallen Clones: Flash (not FLESH as we thought), Lucky, and Cameron 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)

24 Mar 20211h 35min

"Maybe there's a lesson to be learned here..." -Obi-Wan Kenobi What are some things you'd love to see in a Clone Wars arc? Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Count Dooku forced to work together? Check. The introduction of a new, series regular space pirate? Yup. A lot of people getting absolutely roasted? Absolutely. This week's episode pairing has all the ingredients to be a delicious dish. And yet... Next time: Episodes 13-14 Show Notes Fallen Clones: Mack 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)

10 Mar 20211h 45min

"This is a mission of peace. I put my faith in diplomacy. We can't solve all of our problems by throwing troops at them." -Padmé Amidala Before we get into the episode today, big news: We've launched our Patreon! Just go over to patreon.com/civilized (lol) to support us and gain access to our monthly Q&A podcast. We're keeping it super simple for now. A single tier, a single reward. We don't want to bury ourselves in work. But we also have some ideas for how we'd want to expand this down the road, and we'd love to hear ideas from you too, so let us know! Given the extra work of launching the Patreon this week, we'd love to say that this week's episode is a light one. And on paper, it should be. These episodes cover three distinct stories, with marginal narrative overlap, each tackling a different genre and theme.  Unfortunately for us and our runtime, even the worst of these episodes (the Jar Jar vehicle "Bombad Jedi") has enough to chew on for damn near fort minutes. And if that was the case for the comic relief episode, then what could we have expected from our conversation about the one-two punch of "Cloak of Darkness," perhaps our best episode yet, and "Lair of Grievous," which gives us a small taste for the Separatist Supreme Commander's backstory that we've been so thirsty for?   Next time: Episodes 11-12 Show Notes Fallen Clones: Green Leader, Bel, Niner, Commander Fil 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)

24 Feb 20212h 55min

"I have a bad feeling about this." - Commander Cody, Rookies "I have a bad feeling about this." - Anakin Skywalker, Downfall of a Droid "I have a bad feeling about this." - Captain Rex: Duel of the Droids This week, we've finally hit a truly solid episode in our first Clone-focused romp, "Rookies," which raises questions not only about Clone individuality but also the Republic's handle on... everything. We also delve into Droid personhood (and beef) in a two parter that separates Anakin from true series protagonist, R2-D2. It's a story that has one real lesson: Do not fuck with R2-D2.   Next time: Episodes 8-10 Show Notes Fallen Clones: Cutup, Hevy, O'Niner, Droidbait, Nub, CT-327 ("sentry") 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)

10 Feb 20211h 52min

“My lady, are you sure the information from Chancellor Palpatine is… reliable?” - C-3P0 After weeks of build up, we've finally made it to the Clone Wars series proper. Join us as we take our first dive into questions of Clone individuality, meet the polarizing Separatist commander General Grievous, and return to the eternal question: How does no one find out about Padme and Anakin when they're barely hiding their relationship. Next Time: Episodes 05 - 07 Show Notes Fallen Clones: Matchstick and Tag  How Tall is General Grievous? 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)

27 Jan 20212h 4min