Reaping The Blue Harvest - A Look At Blue Harvest: A Star Wars Podcast.

This week, I wanted to continue my exploration of pop culture podcasts with a look at a show that I really look forward to in my podcast feed each Saturday morning.

Blue Harvest: A Star Wars Podcast is a show that has quickly come to be my Saturday soundtrack and I look forward to each episode in much the same way that I looked forward to Saturday morning cartoons as a kid - so it has the dual effect of being a satisfying listening experience as well as recalling those affetionate days of my childhood.

(image credit: H. Burkhardt.)

Here's a little nugget of trivia which Star Wars fans will appreciate. Blue Harvest takes its name from the long celebrated "code name" George Lucas gave to Return of the Jedi while it was in production. So concerned was Lucas in 1982 with potential leaks from the Yuma, Arizona set of the film, he concocted an elaborate cover for the production, dubbing it Blue Harvest: Horror Beyond Imagination. He even had T-Shirts and caps made up for the production team, merchandise which commands a high price amongst collectors today.

(image credit: Lucasfilm/Disney.)

Taking its name from that Lucas sleight of hand, Blue Harvest: A Star Wars Podcast is hosted by Birmingham, Alabama natives Hawes Burkhardt and Will Whitten. Together they bring a vast catalog of knowledge around Star Wars lore as well as a great enthusiasm and love for the franchise that has fomented in them from their earliest days of childhood.

Blue Harvest on-air team Hawes Burkhardt & Will Whitten (image credit: H. Burkhardt.)

Whereas sister podcast, Rogue Won: A Star Wars Podcast For Winners draws is strength from its comedic timing and a more bolshy presentation, Blue Harvest is a more intimate conversation between hosts and life long friends Burkhardt and Whitten. They explore Star Wars topics at length, discuss news and insights from the current productions with an authoritative voice and they wade into the tangential, exploring a wide variety of theoretical permutations in Star Wars story ideas and relish in the many "what if" scenarios those ideas throw up. I don't want to say that Blue Harvest is a more intellectual offering than its podcast mates across the Making Star Wars podcast network - but it does delve deeper into areas of Star Wars lore and culture, making it a unique show, unafraid to stand on its own.

Another appeal of Blue Harvest is Hawes Burkhardt and Will Whitten's commitment to musicians in Birmingham, providing a platform for them to showcase their music to a wider audience. The show's excellent opening theme has been generously provided to them by Birmingham metal band Stoned Cobra. A thumping metal track that builds from a subtle introduction, the song has been tweaked with some clever editing and includes key lines of dialogue from all six Star Wars films. These have been stategically placed throughout the crescendoing stanzas of the track and one can't help but get drawn into the powerful refrains from the lead guitar, especially when Darth Vader's voice rumbles satisfyingly along side it. It is a small aside but it helps to define the show in a really clever way.

Blue Harvest: A Star Wars Podcast takes the Star Wars fan conversation to another level and mixes old school childhood enthusiasm with world weary grown up affection to present a weekly show that is the perfect Saturday morning antidote after long working week.

I love it.

Subscribe to Blue Harvest: A Star Wars Podcast on iTunes.

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Connect with Blue Harvest: A Star Wars podcast here.

Tweet with Blue Harvest: A Star Wars Podcast here.


DFA.

When Star Wars Rogues Unite - A Look At Rogue Won: A Star Wars Podcast.

In the ever expanding world of Star Wars podcasting, fans of the block buster franchise are spoiled for choice. A quick iTunes search will immediately yield dozens of shows examining the minutiae of Star Wars - from the films, to television, to collecting, to gaming. Literally any branch is catered for. 

As a long time listener of Star Wars podcasts, I've traversed all of these branches of fandom in audio form and have encountered many fine examples of Star Wars podcasting. My tastes have evolved over the years. Whereas once, I sought out podcasts with a specific bent - like collecting, nowadays I find myself drawn to more general conversations about Star Wars that speak to me as life long devotee of the franchise - podcasts that remind of the kind conversations I used to have with my childhood friends growing up in the 80's.

In the past two or three months, I have come to the podcast Rogue Won: A Star Wars Podcast For Winners. Adapting its name from the most recent film in the franchise, Rogue Won is hosted by New Jersey native Johnny Grasso, Alabaman Hawes Burkhardt and New Yorker Michael Pappas, Rogue Won is a weekly show that explores the most recent news pertaining to the franchise and engages in a lively banter about Star Wars that harkens back to those distant back and forths I had from childhood.

The genius of Rogue Won lies in the engaging personalities of the hosts - the razor sharp and lovable smart arse in Johnny Grasso, the gravelly acerbic and witty raconteur in Hawes Burkhardt and the bolshie tough guy with a heart of gold in Mike Pappas. They bring the show together from across considerable distances in North America to present an almost small town audio love affair with Star Wars that oozes charm and recreates the child like appeal that Star Wars draws from within all of us fans.

Rogue Won's on air team (L-R) Johnny Grasso, Hawes Burkhardt, Mike Pappas.

And yet, underlying this veneer is a smart and analytical exploration of franchise news, franchise politics and fandom - aided by the fine repository of up to the minute content from the team at Making Star Wars - that goes beyond the superficial. It is often fearless, unafraid to poke holes in the imperfect beast and it baulks at the kind of sycophantic devotion to Lucasfilm inherent in other podcast offerings. But it does so while maintaining a respect and reverence for the franchise and, as such, this sets Rogue Won apart. As a result - and in quite a short span of time - Rogue Won has cultivated a loyal army of listeners and fans which has undoubtedly contributed to its rapid rise on the iTunes charts.

For me, Rogue Won: A Star Wars Podcast For Winners rekindles that old school innocence of 80's Star Wars fandom and as such, it rises above many of the other podcast offerings out there in the wilds. 

Visit Rogue Won: A Star Wars Podcast For Winners here. 

Subscribe to Rogue Won at iTunes here.

Join the Rogue Won Army here.