Episode 331 – Luke’s Death Blow

It’s a simple question but one that inspires thousands of thoughts – Why did Vader block Luke’s death blow to the Emperor in Return of the Jedi?  Especially if he still wanted to rule the galaxy as father and son.   Inspired by a 2013 blog post from JW Rinzler where he asked this question, we are analyzing every aspect of this small but oh so important moment in ROTJ.   What was Vader thinking and what clues in earlier moments lead us there?   Plus, what did George Lucas say the meaning of that moment was?  Listen and find out!

AND – SNOKETOBERFEST CONTINUES!  The giant clone thing in gold isn’t done making sounds and the SNOKETOBERFEST party is far from over!  

So, get in a laser fight, listen today and celebrate the love!  

Check out JW Rinzler’s original article here: https://www.starwars.com/news/lukes-death-blow

Episode 308 – The Special Luke Scream Mystery

For 25 years, Star Wars fans have asked one question : why did Luke scream like the Emperor in just the 1997 Special Edition and then it disappeared forever?!  In this very important episode of Blast Points, we have the answer to that question and the person responsible is not who you think it is!  Join us as we unravel this mystery and discuss some of the other strange audio changes in the Empire Strikes Back Special Edition.  PLUS : listener Luke screams AND the big news for our upcoming panel we will a part of at Star Wars Celebration Anaheim!  So, fall into a bottomless pit, listen today and celebrate the love!

Episode 89 : Force Friday 2 = T.G.I.F.F. 2 (Thank George it’s Force Friday 2)

FORCE FRIDAY 2017!  Join Jason & Gabe as they tell the stories of their Force Friday 2 experiences!  The highs, the lows, the interviews with people in line & more!  What did they pick up & why is Jason considering just getting a Klondike Bar next year?  And just what do those new CommTech “Force Link” things say and what super secrets to they reveal?  As you could guess, we listen to almost ALL of them!  As if that wasn’t enough, there’s Force Friday voice message stories sent in by listeners all over the world!!  It’s a full force Force Friday Celebration as they tell you all about their stories in this yearly Star Wars ritual!  (Force Friday stuff starts at about the 14:40 point)

AND before all that, there’s some Last Jedi stuff with talk on how bad we want a new trailer, Snoke’s giant ship and a new ship’s rad name that makes Jason & Gabe really, really happy, some surprise messages from a couple very familiar voices and so much more!

So stare at a Jango figure, make some lasagna & celebrate the love with BLAST POINTS!!

More Force Friday Interviews:

Interview 1

Interview 2

Interview 3

Interview 4

 

Episode 87 – The Tales of Star Wars Tales

Jason and Gabe are talking about one of their favorite Star Wars things ever, Dark Horse Comics’ amazing and vastly underrated Star Wars Tales comic series. It was an anthology series that would feature everything from stories about the main heroes to thrilling tales of Yaddle or George R. Binks, Jar Jar’s sea captain father. They go over which stories and issues have some of their favorites and why the carefree spirit of the Tales comics is for them missed in today’s strictly controlled Star Wars universe. (Tales talk starts at about the 16 minute mark)
AND! They go over the latest news with talk on a possible Obi-Wan spin off movie, singing Obi-Wan, whispering George Lucas’ late night phone calls, the nonstop Last Jedi toy leaks & more!
So grab short round, go looking for fortune & glory & bigfoot and celebrate the love with BLAST POINTS!!

Editorial – It’s So Much Bigger

It’s So Much Bigger
By Jason Gibner

I can freely now admit that I have a problem.  That problem is the teaser trailer for The Last Jedi.   Now, I definitely do not have a problem with any aspect of that first look at the next chapter in the Star Wars Saga.  My problem is that I just can not stop watching it and non stop thinking about it.  I try to do work and all I can do is think about is that handful of brief images that were first shown to me at Star Wars Celebration.  I try to clean the house and all I do is think about just what is happening there on Ahch-To.  Ancient books about The Force in trees, weird tree caves, multiple islands… as someone who usually trips out about any kind of talk about the will of The Force, the whole thing has got me straight up bugging.

Now this morning as I replayed the teaser in my head, as all normal people do, one moment and one line in particular really hit me.  Rey describes her vision into the Force as seeing the light, darkness and the balance.  As we hear the old master Skywalker say, “It’s so much bigger”, we are shown the beautiful and instantly iconic shot of Rey on edge of a mountain practicing with the saber of The Chosen One as Luke stands behind and above her watching on.   In this moment, Rey and Luke are shown as being very small against the massive sight of the Ahch-To waters and mountainside.   As I thought about this, my mind immediately went back to my college and my endless amount of art history classes I took and i realized the rest of my day may be shot.

One of the more interesting classes was an Asian art history class where we looked at countless very old Japanese works of art where one of the overriding themes was that nature was always presented as being bigger and more powerful than people.  In so many of the pieces my professor showed, if there were people in a piece they were tiny compared to the majesty of the wave or the mountain or the trees that were so often depicted in the art.  Now we know the Force is an energy field created by all living things and it surrounds us, penetrates us and binds the galaxy together, right?  As Luke may reference at the end of the trailer, the will of the Force in the future of the saga may be something bigger than any Jedi has ever recognized before, thus calling for a whole new way of thinking about and/or using the Force.   This moment, at the side of the mountain perfectly speaks to that as an important as Rey and Luke’s story may be going forward, they are still very small next to the power of nature or The Force.   Like Luke reminds us, “It’s so much bigger.”  The true nature of the Force may be a greater power then any Jedi has felt before.

I admit, I’m getting carried away here but all that got me thinking too about some of the other important symbols in Japanese art like shape, balance, animals, birds, mountains and waves.   The uneasy balance seen in The Last Jedi poster of Luke and Kylo’s faces with Rey’s gleaming saber of light separating the two.  The combination of hard and soft lines in both Rey and Luke’s very grey costumes.  The birds that rumored to be inhabiting the island with Luke.  The mountain, which in Japanese art represents the unmovable and power almost being a symbol for The Force itself.  The waves that crash into the island, which Rey stares out to in teaser, representing power, strength and the very unpredictable aspect of nature.   Rey, perhaps being very much the unpredictable new vessel for the Force which may have the power to move the unmovable mountain?

It’s clear that this island, which may have be the location of the first Jedi temple, has quite a bit more going on in both story and symbolism then what we saw with our brief look at it in The Force Awakens.   Much like Dagobah, Mortis or Moraband, Ahch-To is seemingly a planet that has a deep connection to The Force just as The Last Jedi appears to have a connection to the Japanese art and cinema style that got George Lucas going all those years ago.   Until December or our next look at the film, we will have to “breathe…. just breathe…”