Star Wars: Skeleton Crew: We’re Gonna Be In So Much Trouble
January 7, 2025 6:44 PM - Season 1, Episode 7 - Subscribe
Our friends have never felt further from home.
apparently probes or something can get through? If they're lucky?
Senator Mothma-alike (or: "We Have Mon Mothma at home") had a throwaway line about how barrier access codes aren't easy to come by, so I assume the little Peanut Hamper that could was transmitting something to let it through the barrier.
It continues to be a solid show, no complaints, can't wait for the conclusion to the thrilling story etc & so forth.
posted by Kyol at 7:26 AM on January 8 [3 favorites]
Senator Mothma-alike (or: "We Have Mon Mothma at home") had a throwaway line about how barrier access codes aren't easy to come by, so I assume the little Peanut Hamper that could was transmitting something to let it through the barrier.
It continues to be a solid show, no complaints, can't wait for the conclusion to the thrilling story etc & so forth.
posted by Kyol at 7:26 AM on January 8 [3 favorites]
I was surprised to see how short this episode was for the next-to-last installment, but they sure packed a whole lot of story into it. I really enjoyed the whole arc around the parents' message and how it became a double-edged sword.
My one slight protest is - was that a single-user tractor beam on the frigate? It felt weird not to acknowledge that as a threat at all, even knowing that the laws of Star Wars physics are "whatever the plot requires." But eh. Getting right on to the trip through the barrier was worth it, those were some cool visuals.
posted by EvaDestruction at 7:32 AM on January 8 [3 favorites]
My one slight protest is - was that a single-user tractor beam on the frigate? It felt weird not to acknowledge that as a threat at all, even knowing that the laws of Star Wars physics are "whatever the plot requires." But eh. Getting right on to the trip through the barrier was worth it, those were some cool visuals.
posted by EvaDestruction at 7:32 AM on January 8 [3 favorites]
Senator Mothma-alike (or: "We Have Mon Mothma at home") had a throwaway line about how barrier access codes aren't easy to come by, so I assume the little Peanut Hamper that could was transmitting something to let it through the barrier.
This is a very good point and I think answers my question.
My one slight protest is - was that a single-user tractor beam on the frigate? It felt weird not to acknowledge that as a threat at all, even knowing that the laws of Star Wars physics are "whatever the plot requires." But eh. Getting right on to the trip through the barrier was worth it, those were some cool visuals.
I assume pirates must tractor beam a lot of ships, so perhaps they supe 'em up a bit? Or it works by scale?
I was surprised to see how short this episode was for the next-to-last installment, but they sure packed a whole lot of story into it.
It's amazing how good writing can fill up a small space.
posted by Atreides at 8:59 AM on January 8 [1 favorite]
This is a very good point and I think answers my question.
My one slight protest is - was that a single-user tractor beam on the frigate? It felt weird not to acknowledge that as a threat at all, even knowing that the laws of Star Wars physics are "whatever the plot requires." But eh. Getting right on to the trip through the barrier was worth it, those were some cool visuals.
I assume pirates must tractor beam a lot of ships, so perhaps they supe 'em up a bit? Or it works by scale?
I was surprised to see how short this episode was for the next-to-last installment, but they sure packed a whole lot of story into it.
It's amazing how good writing can fill up a small space.
posted by Atreides at 8:59 AM on January 8 [1 favorite]
The supervisor sounded like Stephen Fry.
posted by biffa at 10:50 AM on January 8 [1 favorite]
posted by biffa at 10:50 AM on January 8 [1 favorite]
Just realised that was my 1138th comment in FF and it was coincidentally in a SW thread.
posted by biffa at 12:06 PM on January 8 [5 favorites]
posted by biffa at 12:06 PM on January 8 [5 favorites]
I’d like to note that it took me seven episodes to realize that the guy who betrays Jod is called “Brutus”, named after history’s most famous backstabber.
Somehow I got the idea that Skeleton Crew was 10 episodes long, so was wondering how they’d escalate from the end of this episode. But I like this set up, Jod on one side and the children on the other.
My son is convinced that Jod is bad now, but I’m not so sure. Killing Brutus is one thing, doing real harm to innocent children and their parents is another.
As it is, looks like we’re getting another version of the “can a youth who is pure of heart redeem a morally corrupt wizard” story, but this time with a pirate twist. And you know what, I’m absolutely here for that.
Star Wars is usually at its best when it entwines together a personal story centered on an ethical question, and a horrendous space kablooie. That it features space pirates is an added bonus, as far as I’m concerned.
posted by Kattullus at 1:34 PM on January 8 [3 favorites]
Somehow I got the idea that Skeleton Crew was 10 episodes long, so was wondering how they’d escalate from the end of this episode. But I like this set up, Jod on one side and the children on the other.
My son is convinced that Jod is bad now, but I’m not so sure. Killing Brutus is one thing, doing real harm to innocent children and their parents is another.
As it is, looks like we’re getting another version of the “can a youth who is pure of heart redeem a morally corrupt wizard” story, but this time with a pirate twist. And you know what, I’m absolutely here for that.
Star Wars is usually at its best when it entwines together a personal story centered on an ethical question, and a horrendous space kablooie. That it features space pirates is an added bonus, as far as I’m concerned.
posted by Kattullus at 1:34 PM on January 8 [3 favorites]
The supervisor sounded like Stephen Fry.
Confirmed on Wookieepedia. That casting bodes well for a potential second season.
posted by nathan_teske at 1:44 PM on January 8 [2 favorites]
Confirmed on Wookieepedia. That casting bodes well for a potential second season.
posted by nathan_teske at 1:44 PM on January 8 [2 favorites]
The second season will see the four characters headed off to Space College, and will be based on Animal House, and Revenge of the Nerds.
posted by 1970s Antihero at 1:52 PM on January 8 [5 favorites]
posted by 1970s Antihero at 1:52 PM on January 8 [5 favorites]
I was hoping to see the words "Peace on Earth" somewhere in the Ecstasy of Gold scene.
I am meh on Brutus' character design but damn Fred Tatasciore chews the daylights out of his words.
And yeah, what was up with that selective tractor beam? Back in the day a tractor beam was good for a whole second act of a movie.
posted by Sauce Trough at 2:17 PM on January 8 [1 favorite]
I am meh on Brutus' character design but damn Fred Tatasciore chews the daylights out of his words.
And yeah, what was up with that selective tractor beam? Back in the day a tractor beam was good for a whole second act of a movie.
posted by Sauce Trough at 2:17 PM on January 8 [1 favorite]
The supervisor sounded like Stephen Fry.
posted by biffa at 10:50 AM on January 8 [+] [⚑]
he's credited as such, this ep
Jod is not only a pirate, he is...a bad Dad! The sequence of him telling the kids to shut up, and threatening with the lightsaber--that was the writers relaying to us that someone's dad whupped em with the belt, right?
posted by eustatic at 3:20 PM on January 8
posted by biffa at 10:50 AM on January 8 [+] [⚑]
he's credited as such, this ep
Jod is not only a pirate, he is...a bad Dad! The sequence of him telling the kids to shut up, and threatening with the lightsaber--that was the writers relaying to us that someone's dad whupped em with the belt, right?
posted by eustatic at 3:20 PM on January 8
Or that he is actually Jedi and they make terrible father figures?
posted by biffa at 4:45 PM on January 8 [2 favorites]
posted by biffa at 4:45 PM on January 8 [2 favorites]
I think there's strong evidence that Jod was a padawan or a young Jedi knight who ended up finding survival and family within the pirate community after Order 66. I could be stretching it a bit, but I feel his comfort using the lightsaber indicates some kind of training, as well. One of the biggest hooks I have for Jod being a former Jedi is his advice to Wim, about his focus determining his reality. Straight up Jedi advice right there.
Based on this, that he's yet to actually never harm any of the kids, and my thought is that like good ol' Long John Silver, himself, he's a mixed character. He's going to do the right thing, by the kids, but so long also, granted, it enriches him, too. Given this is a family show, I feel they can't make Jod THAT bad.
I am meh on Brutus' character design but damn Fred Tatasciore chews the daylights out of his words.
I've definitely been mixed on it. I appreciate the fidelity of trying to match the Shistavanen mask in A New Hope but it doesn't feel very expressive. Which leans into my issue with Neel and his race, when their trunks are covering their faces, it almost feels like I'm watching someone in a mask versus what is supposed to be a living breathing individual.
posted by Atreides at 6:30 AM on January 9 [1 favorite]
Based on this, that he's yet to actually never harm any of the kids, and my thought is that like good ol' Long John Silver, himself, he's a mixed character. He's going to do the right thing, by the kids, but so long also, granted, it enriches him, too. Given this is a family show, I feel they can't make Jod THAT bad.
I am meh on Brutus' character design but damn Fred Tatasciore chews the daylights out of his words.
I've definitely been mixed on it. I appreciate the fidelity of trying to match the Shistavanen mask in A New Hope but it doesn't feel very expressive. Which leans into my issue with Neel and his race, when their trunks are covering their faces, it almost feels like I'm watching someone in a mask versus what is supposed to be a living breathing individual.
posted by Atreides at 6:30 AM on January 9 [1 favorite]
Which leans into my issue with Neel and his race, when their trunks are covering their faces, it almost feels like I'm watching someone in a mask versus what is supposed to be a living breathing individual.
yeah, I love Neel's character, that timid pure-hearted nerd with the awkward part in his hair really lands for me ... but from an execution standpoint he looks like a guy in a halloween mask and his performer has to use their neck and shoulders to show that he's talking.
OTOH Baby Yoda never ever once looked like a real organism to me, especially when he's doing all his flippy jumps. He looks like a stuffie with not very many points of articulation. and Baby Yoda is the breakout character from modern star wars, so clearly the audience isn't hung up on that.
posted by Sauce Trough at 12:50 PM on January 9 [2 favorites]
yeah, I love Neel's character, that timid pure-hearted nerd with the awkward part in his hair really lands for me ... but from an execution standpoint he looks like a guy in a halloween mask and his performer has to use their neck and shoulders to show that he's talking.
OTOH Baby Yoda never ever once looked like a real organism to me, especially when he's doing all his flippy jumps. He looks like a stuffie with not very many points of articulation. and Baby Yoda is the breakout character from modern star wars, so clearly the audience isn't hung up on that.
posted by Sauce Trough at 12:50 PM on January 9 [2 favorites]
speaking of guys in masks:
As a weird star wars nerd, I like to turn off my center speaker and watch Mandalorian without dialog.
It's fascinating to watch the Mando performer (not sure whether its Pedro Pascal or his double) without the benefit of voice acting and see how they use their whole bodies to embody their character. It's almost like silent movie acting, very broad.
also the sound design and music are stone cold awesome in that show. it's the best-sounding show I've ever heard. the little Morricone-esque stab whistle that plays when Mando decides a situation is so good.
posted by Sauce Trough at 12:58 PM on January 9 [1 favorite]
As a weird star wars nerd, I like to turn off my center speaker and watch Mandalorian without dialog.
It's fascinating to watch the Mando performer (not sure whether its Pedro Pascal or his double) without the benefit of voice acting and see how they use their whole bodies to embody their character. It's almost like silent movie acting, very broad.
also the sound design and music are stone cold awesome in that show. it's the best-sounding show I've ever heard. the little Morricone-esque stab whistle that plays when Mando decides a situation is so good.
posted by Sauce Trough at 12:58 PM on January 9 [1 favorite]
It's my understanding that Pascal is almost never in the costume, but Brendan Wayne, Lateef Crowder, and Barry Lowin are the stunt performers who pretty much developed Mando's physical gestures/traits and so on.
The funny thing about Neel is that a lot of his head is animated and very rarely is there just a static mask on the kid playing him. You'd think they'd make his trunk move more expressively or something. They work his eyes to be sure, but his trunk just doesn't make me think of anything.
posted by Atreides at 2:29 PM on January 9
The funny thing about Neel is that a lot of his head is animated and very rarely is there just a static mask on the kid playing him. You'd think they'd make his trunk move more expressively or something. They work his eyes to be sure, but his trunk just doesn't make me think of anything.
posted by Atreides at 2:29 PM on January 9
I think there's strong evidence that Jod was a padawan or a young Jedi knight
Yeah, where did canon end up landing on the whole "you'll cut your own damn appendages off with a light saber if you aren't force sensitive" thing, anyway? Or did more sensible people step up and say "hoss, it's just a sword, that only matters when you're doing backflips and gymkata, right?"
posted by Kyol at 9:03 AM on January 10 [1 favorite]
Yeah, where did canon end up landing on the whole "you'll cut your own damn appendages off with a light saber if you aren't force sensitive" thing, anyway? Or did more sensible people step up and say "hoss, it's just a sword, that only matters when you're doing backflips and gymkata, right?"
posted by Kyol at 9:03 AM on January 10 [1 favorite]
Not sure. Apparently this show has established that the minimum level of operating a lightsaber is knowing which end is up.
posted by Atreides at 9:45 AM on January 10
posted by Atreides at 9:45 AM on January 10
Finn used one without losing limbs. Maybe the way to look at them is that they're almost infinitely-sharp swords that are that sharp in every direction, like the weapons in Larry Niven books that are some kind of nanomolecular thread that are kept stiff by a force field, and you just don't want to touch the blade (except maybe with beskar) and can only control it with the hilt (unless you had a beskar gauntlet).
Anyway, yeah, great ep and still seems like the big question is whether or not Jod will break good, or at least not bad enough to kill kids. A little worried about Wim's dad, though.
posted by Halloween Jack at 9:39 PM on January 10 [2 favorites]
Anyway, yeah, great ep and still seems like the big question is whether or not Jod will break good, or at least not bad enough to kill kids. A little worried about Wim's dad, though.
posted by Halloween Jack at 9:39 PM on January 10 [2 favorites]
Re: lightsabers, my headcanon has always been that there is a strong gyroscopic element to them—a very high moment of rotational inertia—that makes them twist at 90° angles to the way you try to move them, like the spinning bike wheel in your hand in the physics lab.
So you don’t necessarily need to be force sensitive to wield one, but if you’re not expecting how it behaves you’re gonna have a bad time.
I don’t think there’s anything, anywhere, that supports this. But I’m pretty sure I made a lightsaber noise the first time I picked up that bike wheel, and that was that.
posted by thecaddy at 7:04 PM on January 13 [5 favorites]
So you don’t necessarily need to be force sensitive to wield one, but if you’re not expecting how it behaves you’re gonna have a bad time.
I don’t think there’s anything, anywhere, that supports this. But I’m pretty sure I made a lightsaber noise the first time I picked up that bike wheel, and that was that.
posted by thecaddy at 7:04 PM on January 13 [5 favorites]
The comics do have a non-Force user, a Stormtrooper, actually, who uses a lightsaber and I think that's the trick of it. If you're trained to use it, you can use it, or if you have some kind of background in using meleé weapons, even, you can essentially use it. The Force lets you take it to the next level with the confidence you won't accidentally knick off an appendage or you competently can deflect things flying toward you almost at the speed of light.
posted by Atreides at 7:17 AM on January 14
posted by Atreides at 7:17 AM on January 14
My headcanon has always been that lightsaber blades have zero weight or momentum except for the resistance they encounter when cutting through things, so handling them is super weird and dangerous compared to a plain ol' matter-based melee weapon.
Like, say you're a butterfingered padawan and you accidentally drop yours and it tumbles as it goes down, it's probably gonna whack off a piece of you.
posted by Sauce Trough at 2:44 PM on January 14 [1 favorite]
Like, say you're a butterfingered padawan and you accidentally drop yours and it tumbles as it goes down, it's probably gonna whack off a piece of you.
posted by Sauce Trough at 2:44 PM on January 14 [1 favorite]
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RIP BRUTUS.
RIP SM-33. NOT SO FAST! One hundred percent likelihood that KB or someone just reconnects the severed head by the end of the show. Definitely not the end of SM-33, though the likelihood of SM-33 being a legendary pirate captain is not so high.
I got to wonder if one of the crew members kept Jod's helmet/mask as a trophy or if a sympathizer just stowed it away knowing Jod was going to eventually Jod himself back into power.
The Onyx Cinder....an antique? Me, when I saw it without the outer hull, "Whoa, sleek, cool ship!" Tv show, "Yeah, it's a model T space ship comparatively speaking."
I was glad that everyone got back to At-Attin, and that the barrier was more than just smoke and mirrors. It made it's isolation more plausible if physical travel was nigh impossible, though apparently probes or something can get through? If they're lucky?
The treasure of At-Attin. Is there a secret droid mining and minting army under the surface of the planet? And why wait to tell kids that travel from and revealing the location of At-Attin is forbidden?
Jude Law's interpretation of the "Ecstasy of Gold" was pretty darn well perfect. My guess is the next episode begins with him ordering everyone to load up the Onyx Cinder with the treasure. The lightsaber coming out again was also a great touch, his space cutlass.
posted by Atreides at 6:46 AM on January 8 [3 favorites]