Blank Check — Patreon: Return of the Podcast (Ad-Free)

Published 2015-12-17; 1:30:16 by the feed.

As extracted (engineer-sonnet-2026-10-13)

The extraction calls the show “Blank Check with Griffin & David (Patreon)” and the episode “Return of the Podcast (Ad-Free)”.

Hosts: Griffin Newman, David Sims. Guests: Ben (producer, present in the room; surname not given in transcript).

Subject films: Return of the Jedi (1983).

On the transcript: No speaker labels; many exchanges are fast cross-talk and speaker attribution to Griffin vs David is mostly guesswork. Titles unreliable but the film is clearly Return of the Jedi.

Films that came up

subject (1)

Return of the Jedi

compared (8)

The Empire Strikes Back · The Force Awakens · The Phantom Menace · Star Wars: A New Hope · The Dark Crystal · Labyrinth · Revenge of the Sith · Attack of the Clones

passing (7)

Jagged Edge · Honey, I Shrunk the Kids · The Godfather Part III · Casablanca · Silent Running · Indiana Jones (series) · Harry Potter (series)

anecdote (2)

E.T. · Shaun of the Dead

Claims (33)

  1. lineage (lineage): The Force Awakens → Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi. Jedi was the last Star Wars movie in story order until The Force Awakens, the day after recording.
    “This is us looking at what was up until now chronologically the last Star Wars movie”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Return of the Podcast (Ad-Free) · 0:03:22 · unknown (0.00 sure it was them)
  2. contrast (contrast): J.J. Abrams → George Lucas. Abrams quoted wanting something worth people's time and not a commercial for toys, a jab at Lucas.
    “I want to make something worth people's time and not a commercial for toys.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Return of the Podcast (Ad-Free) · 0:06:05 · unknown (0.00 sure it was them)
  3. career (career): Richard Marquand → Jagged Edge. Marquand made Jagged Edge after Jedi and had mostly done documentaries before it.
    “Director of Jagged Edge.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Return of the Podcast (Ad-Free) · 0:06:31 · unknown (0.00 sure it was them)
  4. craft (craft): Richard Marquand → George Lucas. Marquand supposedly said directing Jedi was like directing King Lear with Shakespeare in the next room.
    “trying to direct King Lear with Shakespeare in the next room”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Return of the Podcast (Ad-Free) · 0:07:00 · unknown (0.00 sure it was them)
  5. verdict (verdict): Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi → Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back. Jedi's performances are weaker than Empire's and the script is weaker.
    “I will say I think the performances in this one are not as good as they were in Empire.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Return of the Podcast (Ad-Free) · 0:07:23 · unknown (0.00 sure it was them)
  6. verdict (verdict): Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi → Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back. Ranks Empire a little better than A New Hope, A New Hope a lot better than the prequels, and Jedi a little worse than all of the originals.
    “Empire's a little better than New Hope and New Hope's a little better than the prequel trilogy.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Return of the Podcast (Ad-Free) · 0:07:29 · unknown (0.00 sure it was them)
  7. lineage (lineage): Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi → The Phantom Menace. Sees seeds planted in Jedi that bloom in the prequels.
    “you see the things, the mechanations starting to come into place a little bit.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Return of the Podcast (Ad-Free) · 0:08:34 · unknown (0.00 sure it was them)
  8. craft (craft): Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi → The Dark Crystal. The Muppety, British-fantasy tone of Jedi is the kind of thing the speaker watched on video as a child, like Dark Crystal and Labyrinth.
    “much like Dark Crystal and Labyrinth, neither of which I think are great movies.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Return of the Podcast (Ad-Free) · 0:11:06 · unknown (0.00 sure it was them)
  9. craft (craft): Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi → Labyrinth. Same childhood-video fantasy world as Jedi.
    “Labyrinth is okay.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Return of the Podcast (Ad-Free) · 0:11:16 · unknown (0.00 sure it was them)
  10. lineage (lineage): Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi → The Phantom Menace. Jedi's Death Star 2 and bureaucrat-nagging scene is Lucas griping, as the Trade Federation is him griping at his tax bill.
    “the trade federation is him griping at his tax bill, right?”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Return of the Podcast (Ad-Free) · 0:15:43 · unknown (0.00 sure it was them)
  11. craft (craft): George Lucas → Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi. The 1990s special-edition CGI changes touch Jedi more than the other two originals.
    “I would argue more than the other 2 in this trilogy.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Return of the Podcast (Ad-Free) · 0:23:09 · unknown (0.00 sure it was them)
  12. lineage (lineage): Star Wars (A New Hope) → Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi. A New Hope has the Jabba scene as an example of modern CGI bullshit, but Jedi has more.
    “A new Hope has the Java scene.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Return of the Podcast (Ad-Free) · 0:23:15 · unknown (0.00 sure it was them)
  13. people (people): Marcia Lucas → Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi. Marcia Lucas edited all three originals and helped develop the scripts, and Jedi was her last editing job.
    “Her last editing job ever was Return of the Jedi.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Return of the Podcast (Ad-Free) · 0:26:17 · unknown (0.00 sure it was them)
  14. people (people): Marcia Lucas → George Lucas. The speakers theorize Lucas's divorce, and loss of her reining-in, drives the special-edition tinkering and the end-credit editor change.
    “Like she was the one who was kind of keep reining him in?”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Return of the Podcast (Ad-Free) · 0:26:34 · unknown (0.00 sure it was them)
  15. what-if (what-if): George Lucas → The Godfather Part III. Speaker jokes that if people can fix Star Wars, someone should fix Godfather III, then Casablanca.
    “Godfather 3 is bad.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Return of the Podcast (Ad-Free) · 0:30:39 · unknown (0.00 sure it was them)
  16. contrast (contrast): Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi → The Phantom Menace. Jabba is an ugly race guy in Phantom Menace and soft on Han in A New Hope, so he should have debuted only in Jedi.
    “I think he probably should not be in the movies other than this movie.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Return of the Podcast (Ad-Free) · 0:34:27 · unknown (0.00 sure it was them)
  17. contrast (contrast): Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi → The Phantom Menace. Original films don't explain world-building; the prequels explain everything out loud.
    “And what I like about these movies, as opposed to how the prequels work, is that the original trilogy, episode one, two, and three, I like that these films, like just don't explain shit.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Return of the Podcast (Ad-Free) · 0:37:10 · unknown (0.00 sure it was them)
  18. craft (craft): George Lucas → Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi. Lucas's puppet Jabba works because it was a real puppet and shouldn't have been replaced.
    “It's really good that Lucas did not replace that puppet.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Return of the Podcast (Ad-Free) · 0:38:50 · unknown (0.00 sure it was them)
  19. craft (craft): Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi → Star Wars (A New Hope). Leia pulls the Chewbacca-in-manacles disguise trick from A New Hope when infiltrating Jabba's palace.
    “pulling the same trick that they pulled in New Hope, that like Chewbacca in Manacles trick.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Return of the Podcast (Ad-Free) · 0:39:43 · unknown (0.00 sure it was them)
  20. contrast (contrast): Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi → Attack of the Clones. Boba Fett is hyped in Attack of the Clones yet dies by Mr. Magoo accident in Jedi.
    “Boba Fett dies at the hands of a Mr. Magooba.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Return of the Podcast (Ad-Free) · 0:51:27 · unknown (0.00 sure it was them)
  21. contrast (contrast): George Lucas → Steven Spielberg. Spielberg tweaked E.T. and realized he hated having done that, unlike Lucas.
    “you hear about like Spielberg tweaking ET and immediately realizing like, I hated that I ever did that.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Return of the Podcast (Ad-Free) · 0:53:57 · unknown (0.00 sure it was them)
  22. what-if (what-if): Star Wars (A New Hope) → Silent Running. If Lucas had tinkered with Silent Running no one would care because it's not the cornerstone of a popular franchise.
    “if George Lukes had made silent running and tinkered with it.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Return of the Podcast (Ad-Free) · 0:54:10 · unknown (0.00 sure it was them)
  23. people (people): Simon Pegg → George Lucas. Lucas told Pegg to promise he would not make the same movie 30 years from now, a haunted remark.
    “Just promise me right now you won't end up making the same movie 30 years from now.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Return of the Podcast (Ad-Free) · 0:55:02 · unknown (0.00 sure it was them)
  24. craft (craft): George Lucas → Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi. Jedi's Yoda deathbed scene is added at Lucas's request after a child psychologist doubted kids believed Vader was Luke's father.
    “the kids might think that Vader was just lying when he said he was his Luke's father.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Return of the Podcast (Ad-Free) · 0:56:20 · unknown (0.00 sure it was them)
  25. lineage (lineage): Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi → The Phantom Menace. The Obi-Wan log scene starts the over-explanation that typifies the prequels.
    “tiptoe towards the problems of the Phantom Madness trilogy, whereas, like, where it's all explained out loud.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Return of the Podcast (Ad-Free) · 0:58:53 · unknown (0.00 sure it was them)
  26. career (career): Harrison Ford → Indiana Jones series. By Jedi, Ford was already Indiana Jones, which may explain the detached performances.
    “especially Harrison Ford was already Indiana Jones at this point.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Return of the Podcast (Ad-Free) · 1:07:23 · unknown (0.00 sure it was them)
  27. lineage (lineage): Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi → The Phantom Menace. Ewok guerrilla tactics echo the Gungan thing in Phantom Menace, though that one is far worse.
    “And it just sort of reminds you of the Gungen thing, which is way worse, but is in the same, like, ballpark.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Return of the Podcast (Ad-Free) · 1:08:02 · unknown (0.00 sure it was them)
  28. lineage (lineage): Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi → Revenge of the Sith. The Emperor in Jedi sits in a chair saying roughly the same things as in the identical-chair scene in Revenge of the Sith.
    “he's basically saying most of the same thing.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Return of the Podcast (Ad-Free) · 1:11:34 · unknown (0.00 sure it was them)
  29. lineage (lineage): Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi → Revenge of the Sith. Lucas added a 'No' to Vader's turn in Jedi that matches Revenge of the Sith.
    “same fucking no from the end of Avenge of the Sith.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Return of the Podcast (Ad-Free) · 1:13:31 · unknown (0.00 sure it was them)
  30. craft (craft): George Lucas → Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi. Lucas did Blu-ray insertion of Hayden Christensen as ghost Anakin so viewers must watch the prequels.
    “he basically makes it impossible for you to not watch the prequels in one final little visual like gag.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Return of the Podcast (Ad-Free) · 1:16:51 · unknown (0.00 sure it was them)
  31. career (career): Kathleen Kennedy → George Lucas. Kennedy asked Lucas where he was emotionally when he made A New Hope, and his hardware-store-family answer revealed it was about escape.
    “And she was like, oh, that's Star Wars.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Return of the Podcast (Ad-Free) · 1:19:48 · unknown (0.00 sure it was them)
  32. lineage (lineage): Star Wars (A New Hope) → Harry Potter (series). Luke's 'you're actually special' arc is the same hero-journey as Harry Potter and countless others.
    “It's like the same thing that Harry Potter and a 1000000 other things do”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Return of the Podcast (Ad-Free) · 1:20:36 · unknown (0.00 sure it was them)
  33. contrast (contrast): Star Wars (A New Hope) → The Phantom Menace. The originals were Lucas working out what he had to say; the prequels were people telling a genius he must keep being one.
    “the original films are George Lucas going, I don't know.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Return of the Podcast (Ad-Free) · 1:21:13 · unknown (0.00 sure it was them)

Fun items (25)

  1. fun, about Death Star II: Pitch of the business meeting where someone says 'what if we just did the Death Star again?'
    “What if we just did the Death Star again?”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Return of the Podcast (Ad-Free) · 0:14:00 · unknown (0.00 sure it was them)
  2. fun, about Death Star II: Wikipedia look-up says it's 30 km bigger but looks smaller next to a moon.
    “It is listed as being 30 kilometers bigger on either side, which is big.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Return of the Podcast (Ad-Free) · 0:14:18 · unknown (0.00 sure it was them)
  3. fun, about Admiral Piett: Host is a big fan of the sad bureaucrat of the Empire and wrote a piece on him.
    “Everyone else in the empire is just a sad bureaucrat, trying to obey the commands of an evil space wizard, and Admiral Pietz's obviously the best one of them all.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Return of the Podcast (Ad-Free) · 0:16:16 · unknown (0.00 sure it was them)
  4. fun, about Galactic Empire: Pitch for a canon workplace comedy about life in the Empire.
    “Life in the Empire.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Return of the Podcast (Ad-Free) · 0:16:38 · unknown (0.00 sure it was them)
  5. fun, about Max Rebo Band: Ben wears a leather Max Rebo Band tour jacket.
    “Ben is currently wearing a leather Max Rebo band jacket with patches on the back from every separate tour date he's gone to.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Return of the Podcast (Ad-Free) · 0:19:56 · unknown (0.00 sure it was them)
  6. fun, about Droopy McCool: Droopy's birth name is unpronounceable flute whistles, so they gave him a fun name.
    “Droopy's actual birth name is a series of unpronounceable flute like whistles.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Return of the Podcast (Ad-Free) · 0:22:10 · unknown (0.00 sure it was them)
  7. fun, about Jabba / the Max Rebo Band: Griffin rants that the 1997 special edition's CGI musical number replaced the original puppets and adds a mouth that swallows the camera.
    “And they have this dumb shot where he's singing and then he goes like, and his mouth like swallows the camera.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Return of the Podcast (Ad-Free) · 0:24:05 · unknown (0.00 sure it was them)
  8. fun, about Marcia Lucas: The host claims Marcia Lucas married the man who installed the glass window at Skywalker Ranch that Lucas must walk under daily.
    “Married the man who installed the same glass window at Skywalker Ranch.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Return of the Podcast (Ad-Free) · 0:25:34 · unknown (0.00 sure it was them)
  9. fun, about Marcia Lucas: Theory that Lucas's divorce explains special editions; end credits show a different editor so she gets no residuals.
    “But a different editor.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Return of the Podcast (Ad-Free) · 0:29:42 · unknown (0.00 sure it was them)
  10. fun, about Jabba the Hutt: Hosts imagine Jabba keeping Han in carbonite as decor.
    “I like the feng shui of that.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Return of the Podcast (Ad-Free) · 0:33:24 · unknown (0.00 sure it was them)
  11. fun, about Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi: The scene where the droids' boss brands robots makes the hosts wonder whether robots feel pain.
    “wait, robots can feel pain?”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Return of the Podcast (Ad-Free) · 0:35:24 · unknown (0.00 sure it was them)
  12. fun, about Jabba the Hutt: Hosts joke that Jabba's hidden platform trick was a cardboard wall painted to look like he wasn't there.
    “They had a cardboard wall painted to look like he wasn't there.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Return of the Podcast (Ad-Free) · 0:39:28 · unknown (0.00 sure it was them)
  13. fun, about Princess Leia: The gold bikini debate: one host argues the film never sexualizes her, while merchandise made the slave outfit dominant.
    “the slave outfit's been merchandise more than anything else.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Return of the Podcast (Ad-Free) · 0:44:10 · unknown (0.00 sure it was them)
  14. fun, about Mon Mothma: Girlfriend asked who Mon Mothma is, since she has two lines of exposition and is the next female character.
    “who is Mon Mothma?”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Return of the Podcast (Ad-Free) · 0:44:39 · unknown (0.00 sure it was them)
  15. fun, about Rancor keeper: Favorite moment: the keeper just cries when Luke kills the rancor.
    “No, he just cries.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Return of the Podcast (Ad-Free) · 0:48:02 · unknown (0.00 sure it was them)
  16. fun, about Boba Fett: Blinded Han accidentally knocks Boba Fett into the Sarlacc.
    “It's a Mr. Magoo bit.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Return of the Podcast (Ad-Free) · 0:51:25 · unknown (0.00 sure it was them)
  17. fun, about Luke's lightsaber: The lightsaber is green because blue vanished against blue sky.
    “Let's make it green.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Return of the Podcast (Ad-Free) · 0:53:01 · unknown (0.00 sure it was them)
  18. fun, about George Lucas: Simon Pegg story: Lucas asked him not to make the same movie 30 years from now.
    “Just promise me right now you won't end up making the same movie 30 years from now.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Return of the Podcast (Ad-Free) · 0:55:02 · unknown (0.00 sure it was them)
  19. fun, about Alec Guinness: Hosts feel bad for Guinness in the Obi-Wan ghost scene, which looks embarrassed.
    “He looks really, really embarrassed.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Return of the Podcast (Ad-Free) · 0:58:39 · unknown (0.00 sure it was them)
  20. fun, about Ewoks: C3PO retells the previous movies to the Ewoks in sound effects.
    “There's a bizarre scene where C3PO does the plot of the previous movies in like Ewok language, using sound effects.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Return of the Podcast (Ad-Free) · 1:05:31 · unknown (0.00 sure it was them)
  21. fun, about Han Solo: Suddenly insecure love-triangle moment in Jedi.
    “Han Solo becomes aware of a love triangle that no longer exists.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Return of the Podcast (Ad-Free) · 1:05:46 · unknown (0.00 sure it was them)
  22. fun, about Carrie Fisher: Friend Marie noticed Leia has one long fingernail in Jedi.
    “Leia has a crazy fucking coke fingernail in this movie.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Return of the Podcast (Ad-Free) · 1:06:48 · unknown (0.00 sure it was them)
  23. fun, about Emperor Palpatine: The Emperor looked better here than in Revenge of the Sith; hosts say he should just be Voldemort-ish.
    “he should just be Voldemorty.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Return of the Podcast (Ad-Free) · 1:11:11 · unknown (0.00 sure it was them)
  24. fun, about Anakin ghost: Blu-ray swaps Sebastian Shaw for Hayden Christensen as ghost Anakin.
    “Yes, on the DVD, it was still Sebastian Shaw playing an unscarred ghost of Anakin.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Return of the Podcast (Ad-Free) · 1:16:22 · unknown (0.00 sure it was them)
  25. fun, about Kathleen Kennedy: Kennedy story: asked Lucas what was happening in his life; hardware store answer is Star Wars.
    “And she was like, oh, that's Star Wars.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Return of the Podcast (Ad-Free) · 1:19:48 · unknown (0.00 sure it was them)

Who's talking

The show's recurring bits

Names the transcriber got wrong