In praise of...Star Wars Minute

In recent years, podcasting has become the go to for further analysis and insightful discussion about all manner of topics. For this reviewer it is a go to for all NFL, football, current media and arts. From Bill Simmons to The Guardian via Colin Cowherd, these podcasts give great information and keep abreast of all goings on. Whilst it may make the listener feel like they are being spoken to, the garnering of information from various source makes you a more nuanced and knowledgable consumer.

And when on social media you become aware of other podcasts and products of discussion which led me to becoming aware of the Star Wars minute podcast. A podcast by Alex Robinson and Peter the Retailer, two self confessed Star Wars nerds who took on the impossible task of analysing, scrutinizing and celebrating every Star Wars film one minute at a time.

That means every minute, including credits of each of the now seven films.  They started with Episode IV - A New Hope and have gone in chronological order of production. When I first encountered them they were thirty minutes into The Phantom Menace, so I had some catching up to do. Nearly a year into listening to them I have listened to all of Phantom Menace and Jedi, I am an hour into Empire with Attack of the Clones just started.

My praise for the podcast is that it is consistently witty and funny; its constant poo-pooing of the idea of the force as being categorised by midichlorians, Obi-Wan Kenobi being a complete liar throughout the films, the long con of Senator Palpatine and Yoda having a Grover moment, after all he is a Muppet.  Even to the point that Jar-Jar Binks is not the worst thing about The Phantom Menace

It utilises the guests - look forward to the episodes of Chris Radtke - to great effect and the ambition of the idea has clearly come to fruition as they are now the godfathers of minute-by-minute podcasting.

There influence can now be seen by the number of films being dissected in this manner from Back to the Future to Alien cycle to Ghostbusters. They have created a market that cinephiles, geeks and nerds all together can celebrate their favourite films. 

What comes across most in each pod is the reach of cultural knowledge that the two presenters have, using all that hidden away vaults of past television programming, obscure films and catchphrases to good use when talking about Yoda's bulging eyes when Luke Skywalker attempts to lift the X-Wing out of the swampy waters, they reference Don Knotts from Three's Company and Marty Feldman of the 1970s. It shows how influential televisual culture was on children born in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and how important those programmes were as avatars of parenting and moulding of children.

The podcast is growing more and more, they have just begun Attack of the Clones as I mentioned and while I look forward to them dissecting the worst episode of the Star Wars cycle there promises more to come with Revenge of the Sith this time next year and eventually The Force Awakens in 2018.

You can support Star Wars Minute via Patreon, where you can access bonus episodes and help keep the website going. And follow them on Twitter @StarWarsMinute

There is a great community of Star Wars fans who went quiet before the second trilogy appeared in 1999 and since has got stronger. With Disney buying out George Lucas and now owning the franchise, the forthcoming origin films of Han Solo, Lando and Boba Fett promise that the community will only get bigger and this sharing of affection and love of the film will keep getting stronger.