Lunar Sea Spire podcast episode 24: Frybo

  • June 15, 2015

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 16:08 — 11.1MB)

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PodcastTitleGC13, Ken, and Dakota discuss the fifth episode of Steven Universe: Frybo. Ken and GC13 get right back to disagreeing—at least their first impressions of the episode disagreed, and that’s what we’re counting.

We get another mystery in Frybo: the origin of the gem shards. It’s certainly possible to make some educated guesses about how the gems came to be shattered, but so early in the series Steven isn’t willing to listen to even the sanitized history lesson Pearl offers, let alone the gritty real history.

It’s very interesting contrasting the older episodes with the newer ones, though. Steven has greatly grown as a character. If his job as a professional beach hunk never works out, at this rate he’ll have a great career in heroism ahead of him.

Steven Universe air times for June 15-21, 2015

  • June 14, 2015

Click to see episode synopses.

Click to see episode synopses.

#StevenBomb 2.0 is here, so here’s the week’s schedule.

All times are EDT.

Monday:
3:00 PM: Lion 3: Straight to Video
3:15 PM: An Indirect Kiss
3:30 PM: Watermelon Steven
3:45 PM: Fusion Cuisine
6:00 PM: Sworn to the Sword
6:15 PM: Reformed

Tuesday:
3:00 PM: Frybo
3:15 PM: Steven’s Lion
3:30 PM: Cat Fingers
3:45 PM: Serious Steven
6:00 PM: Rising Tides/Crashing Skies
6:15 PM: Sworn to the Sword

Wednesday:
3:00 PM: Joking Victim
3:15 PM: Island Adventure
3:30 PM: Ocean Gem
3:45 PM: Cheeseburger Backpack
6:00 PM: Keeping it Together
6:15 PM: Rising Tides/Crashing Skies

Thursday:
3:00 PM: Garnet’s Universe
3:15 PM: Mirror Gem
3:30 PM: Keep Beach City Weird!
3:45 PM: Coach Steven
6:00 PM: We Need to Talk
6:15 PM: Keeping it Together

Friday:
3:00 PM: Rose’s Room
3:15 PM: Warp Tour
3:30 PM: Secret Team
3:45 PM: Alone Together
6:00 PM: Chille Tid
6:15 PM: We Need to Talk

Saturday:
11:00 AM: Sworn to the Sword
11:15 AM: Rising TIdes/Crashing Skies
11:30 AM: Keeping it Together
11:45 AM: We Need to Talk
12:00 PM: Chille Tid

Sunday:
11:00 AM: Garnet’s Universe
11:15 AM: Lion 3: Straight to Video
11:30 AM: Watermelon Steven
11:45 AM: Monster Buddies

What could we see during #StevenBomb 2.0?

  • June 11, 2015

Ah, the calm before the storm: we know the faintest hints of what is coming (see the episode summaries here), but we all know from experience that Steven Universe episode summaries are only vaguely reliable for letting you know what to expect.

Sworn to the Sword will start the week off with a fairly normal-sounding plotline. The easy way to go with this would be to have Steven be jealous of Connie (the promo seems to indicate she’s quite good), but Steven doesn’t seem to be the jealous type. Besides, he knows he’s good: could Connie have defeated Holo-Pearl with the Boomerang Blade?

Of course if Rising Tides/Crashing Skies actually does feature the return of Malachite… No. No, that’s impossible. They would never schedule something so huge on a Tuesday. Would they? They might have just taken the next five episodes and put them all together, so we’re just going to have to see. If Malachite does show up, it’s going to be a hard act to follow.

Keeping It Together is probably the episode with the most suggestive title: it sure makes it sound like it’s going to involve Garnet having trouble staying fused, and since the episode summary mentions the Kindergarten you know it’s going to be a big deal.

We Need To Talk also says enough to give us an idea what the episode will be about, while being tight-lipped enough to be intriguing. Will we finally get to see the temple fusion form in action?

You get no points for guessing that Chille Tid won’t actually be about a slumber party—unless it’s a storytime episode like Garnet’s Universe, in which case it still won’t be about a slumber party, but at least they’ll be doing slumber party stuff in it.

Don’t forget: a new episode every day from June 15-19

  • June 9, 2015

stevenbomb2banner

Ah, a second #StevenBomb to tide us over during the summer. Isn’t it great how things turn out sometimes. We were excited when the new #StevenBomb was announced, but now we know the episode titles and summaries for all of the episodes. Read on if you’re interested in knowing what’s coming up:

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Lunar Sea Spire podcast episode 23: Together Breakfast

  • June 8, 2015

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 16:15 — 11.2MB)

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PodcastTitleKen, GC13, Dakota, and Hunter discuss the fourth episode of Steven Universe: Together Breakfast. While GC13 holds the episode in a special place in his heart since it was his first episode, Ken predictably disagrees. 🙂

The episode was our first (and only for a while) look into the temple, and gave us a big mystery right away with the scroll (a mystery we still have yet to solve). No matter what anyone says, however, Pearl was not a jerk. No way is that true.

Discussion about writer techniques naturally comes up: what is intended foreshadowing, and what is a question that the writer asks with intention to answer later? Perhaps the more important question is whether any of it matters.

The most important question, however: just what was that scroll?

Steven Universe air times for June 8-14, 2015

  • June 7, 2015

All times are EDT.

Monday:
7:30 AM: Shirt Club
7:45 AM: Steven’s Lion
8:00 AM: Winter Forecast
8:15 AM: So Many Birthdays
3:00 PM: Rose’s Scabbard
3:15 PM: Monster Buddies
3:30 PM: The Test
3:45 PM: Onion Trade

Tuesday:
7:30 AM: Love Letters
7:45 AM: Arcade Mania
8:00 AM: Horror Club
8:15 AM: Beach Party
3:00 PM: Full Disclosure
3:15 PM: Lion 2: The Movie
3:30 PM: Future Vision
3:45 PM: An Indirect Kiss

Wednesday:
7:30 AM: The Message
7:45 AM: Steven and the Stevens
8:00 AM: On the Run
8:15 AM: Steven the Sword Fighter
3:00 PM: Alone Together
3:15 PM: Space Race
3:30 PM: Warp Tour
3:45 PM: Secret Team

Thursday:
7:30 AM: Rose’s Scabbard
7:45 AM: Monster Buddies
8:00 AM: The Test
8:15 AM: Onion Trade
3:00 PM: Coach Steven
3:15 PM: Rose’s Room
3:30 PM: Political Power
3:45 PM: Mirror Gem

Friday:
7:30 AM: Full Disclosure
7:45 AM: Lion 2: The Movie
8:00 AM: Future Vision
8:15 AM: An Indirect Kiss
3:00 PM: House Guest
3:15 PM: Garnet’s Universe
3:30 PM: Island Adventure
3:45 PM: Joking Victim

Sunday:
11:00 AM: Fusion Cuisine
11:15 AM: Tiger Millionaire
11:30 AM: Maximum Capacity
11:45 AM: The Return

Assigned Viewing: So Many Birthdays

  • June 2, 2015

CryingGemFriendsThis one was a very interesting episode to watch for the first time, back when you couldn’t be sure whether Steven was really changing or if he was dreaming. Of course, even on repeated viewings all you really need is to be pointed in the direction of the Baby War and it’s on.

So Many Birthdays was pretty good for lore, packing some solid firsts for the show:

  • It made it clear that the Gems are quite old
  • We learned their bodies are illusions
  • Steven manifested a new(ish) power

Of course the arrival of Pearl the Sad Crying Clown was great as well.

Steven’s ability to shift his age is still kind of an unknown element, however. Like so many things it was introduced once and never used again, so unlike Gem fusion we can’t really say we know much about it.

He likely learned to control it at least enough to not have it happen accidentally, since he had to work with the Crystal Gems to get his legs back to normal (plus we’ve never seen his age shift, so he must have it under control), but that’s about all we know. Why does his shapeshifting power respond to his mental state as such a powerful age changer? Did Amethyst go through similar problems learning to control her Gem powers, or is shapeshifting like summoning her weapon (i.e. something she’s never had to work at)?

whocoulditbeAnd then, of course, there’s our favorite outlandish theory: that the person at the back of the boat in the old-timey painting is an older Steven who traveled back in time at a later point in the series. With hair like that? Come on. We can’t be the only ones who see that.

It’s possible, right?

Lunar Sea Spire podcast episode 22: Cheeseburger Backpack

  • June 1, 2015

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 21:40 — 14.9MB)

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PodcastTitleGC13, Ken, and Hunter discuss Cheeseburger Backpack, the first and last appearance of the site and podcast’s namesake: the Lunar Sea Spire. Also, right at the start of the episode, some of the big news (#StevenBomb 2.0 and Mr. Jones-Quartey’s departure) is brought up.

The appearance of Garnet and Pearl in the background of a page of Batgirl also brings up the topic of the Crystal Gems vs various DC heroes (the consensus is that Superman and the Flash are too OP for the Crystal Gems to deal with, but that it doesn’t matter since versus crossovers inevitably end with both sides being shown in a positive light).

Of course Cheeseburger Backpack is the subject of the podcast so its zany animation, from a time when the show was younger comes up. You could say it was a… Pearlfect way to start the series.

Steven Universe air times for June 1-7, 2015

  • May 31, 2015

All times are EDT.

Monday:
7:30 AM: Reformed
7:45 AM: Gem Glow
8:00 AM: Story For Steven
8:15 AM: Cheeseburger Backpack
3:00 PM: Marble Madness
3:15 PM: Serious Steven
3:30 PM: Maximum Capacity
3:45 PM: Lars and the Cool Kids

Tuesday:
7:30 AM: Say Uncle
7:45 AM: Laser Light Cannon
8:00 AM: Joy Ride
8:15 AM: Together Breakfast
3:00 PM: Open Book
3:15 PM: Giant Woman
3:30 PM: The Return
3:45 PM: Tiger Millionaire

Wednesday:
7:30 AM: Political Power
7:45 AM: Cat Fingers
8:00 AM: Jailbreak
8:15 AM: Bubble Buddies
3:00 PM: Shirt Club
3:15 PM: Steven’s Lion
3:30 PM: Winter Forecast
3:45 PM: So Many Birthdays

Thursday:
7:30 AM: Marble Madness
7:45 AM: Serious Steven
8:00 AM: Maximum Capacity
8:15 AM: Lars and the Cool Kids
3:00 PM: Love Letters
3:15 PM: Arcade Mania
3:30 PM: Horror Club
3:45 PM: Beach Party

Friday:
7:30 AM: Open Book
7:45 AM: Giant Woman
8:00 AM: The Return
8:15 AM: Tiger Millionaire
3:00 PM: The Message
3:15 PM: Steven and the Stevens
3:30 PM: On the Run
3:45 PM: Steven the Sword Fighter

Sunday:
11:00 AM: The Test
11:15 AM: Future Vision
11:30 AM: On the Run
11:45 AM: Horror Club
6:00 PM: Shirt Club
6:15 PM: Open Book
6:30 PM: Story For Steven
6:45 PM: The Message
7:00 PM: Joy Ride
7:15 PM: Love Letters
7:30 PM: Say Uncle
7:45 PM: Reformed

Ian Jones-Quartey leaving the show

  • May 30, 2015

whatdoesitmeanBad news you guys: Ian Jones-Quartey, the show’s supervising director and co-executive producer, is leaving the show. He broke the news in this tweet.

It’s never a good sign when someone so instrumental to the show leaves (too much rocking the boat, changing a good thing), but he indicated that there are plenty of episodes he’s worked on that we haven’t seen yet, so it will be a while before we see how the team managed the transition.

As for what’s next for Mr. Jones-Quartey? Well, he isn’t saying what he’s moving on to, but the easy money says that he’ll be working on his new cartoon, Lakewood Plaza Turbo. So when that comes out we’ll be able to see how our little family of cartoons has grown.