The Bearded Trio

It's all connected. That's been a popular phrase among large-scale franchises like Star Wars and the Marvel Cinematic Universe in recent years. And in the latest episode of The Bad Batch, it is 100 percent true. Very direct call-backs and call-aheads are found throughout this fun romp of an episode.  The season's fifth episode, Rampage, hit Disney Plus Friday morning and was a welcomed tangible step forward in the story, especially relative to last week's episode, Cornered. Omega is presented with her own comlink device as the episode opens, while we return to the story thread of Wrecker complaining about headaches. This comes in just one small part of a scene, but it's a reminder of something potentially tragic happening with Wrecker relative to his inhibitor chip down the road. Still short on resources, but curious about who hired Fennec Shand to hunt them down, the group travels to Ord Mantell, on Echo's recommendation, to locate an old Jedi contact Cid, who ...

What an absolutely fantastic photo featuring some of the talent that brought us E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial.  (Thank you to Lauren Marems who was a sculptor for the movie for sending it across.) The Bearded Trio - The Site For Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, John Williams and a whole lot more.

A Retrospective Look Back I was lucky enough— and just old enough— to see Return of the Jedi at the cinema in 1983. At eleven years old, I was the perfect age. Already a huge Star Wars fan thanks to the first two films, I was completely swept up in the hype surrounding the third. The promotional buzz was everywhere. Cast members appeared on TV more frequently (on our four UK channels), and I recorded as many of these appearances as I could on my prized VHS tape. The trailer seemed to air constantly, and newspapers featured pull-out specials dedicated to the film. Every bit of my pocket money went toward Return of the Jedi merchandise, especially the sticker album (which I never managed to complete) and Kenner action figures and vehicles. It’s safe to say I was ready for this movie. The Big Day The day finally came, and a friend and I queued for two hours at our local cinema, which boasted two whole screens. The atmosphere was electric—except on my right, where the smokers were lighting...

We are now at the quarter pole of season one of Star Wars: The Bad Batch, with Friday's premier of the fourth episode, Cornered. This was basically a chase episode that served one primary function: the introduction of Fennec Shand into the series. We first met Shand, played by Ming-Na Wen, back in the fifth episode of season 1 of The Mandalorian, when she was hunting down The Child and Din Djarin on Tatooine.  Here, we meet a version of Shand that is around 28 years younger than the one we see in The Mandalorian. She is introduced fairly early on, when the Bad Batch have to stop for a supply run. They head to the planet Pantora, referenced early in The Clone Wars and home world of Baron Papanoidia, the on-screen character played by George Lucas in Revenge of the Sith . I do like the premise of the group now having to scrounge around for basics like food and money, because they are now outlaws of the ruling government of the galaxy. Their supplies don't just materialize out of n...

Friday saw the third episode of Star Wars: The Bad Batch roll out on Disney Plus. The characters we meet expands a bit from the first two episodes. As the episode opens, the group's shuttle, the Havoc Marauder, is malfunctioning in hyperspace. The shuttle gets knocked out of hyperspace, and has to crash land on a remote moon.  Omega takes center stage again, as she pesters the group to be a bigger part of the action, another consistent theme established in the first two episodes. They discover an essential part of the ship, a capacitor, needs replacing. Omega and Hunter venture out into the moon's darkness to fix the capacitor, but naturally, they are not alone, Meanwhile, we pick up the story on Kamino, where Crosshair is continuing to undergo medical procedures to enhance his inhibitor chip. The effects have clearly made him a more brutal soldier, something we see throughout the episode. Admiral Tarkin reappears, continuing his campaign to replace the clone army with conscrip...

Happy 77th Birthday, George Lucas Happy Birthday to one of the bearded trio's, George Lucas who celebrates his 77th Birthday today.  From everyone here at the site we wish him a very happy Birthday and hope he has a fantastic day! The Bearded Trio - The Site For Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, John Williams and a whole lot more.

The latest Star Wars project to hit Disney Plus is The Bad Batch, bowing on, of course, May the 4th. The show is slated for 16 episodes in its first season and comes from the same Lucasfilm Animation creative team that created The Clone Wars and Star Wars: Rebels .  The Bad Batch centers on the adventures of five genetically enhanced clonetroopers we first met in the final season of The Clone Wars: Hunter, Crosshair, Wrecker, Tech and Echo. The only familiar character in the bunch is Echo, who was presumed killed at The Citadel back in Season 3 of The Clone Wars, He was captured by Separatist forces and hard-wired into a computer. He was rescued by Anakin Skywalker and the Bad Batch during Season 7, and later joined the other four clones in this unusual group. The show's first episode opens in the final moments before Order 66 is issued, crossing over exact territory covered in S tar Wars: Revenge of the Sith as well as the Season 7 Clone Wars episode Shattered.  Jedi Master...