ChronoRadio Featured on Star Wars: The Dark Side
(source: ChronoRadio, 02-22-05)
It seems that ChronoRadio #19: Nitpicking the Saga (Feb. 1) has generated quite a bit of heated discussion out among a handful of Star Wars fans, based around Dr. Curtis Saxton's Star Wars Technical Commentaries (SWTC). As those who listened to CR #19 will recall, the first of the show's discussion segments featured a head-to-head editorial about the SWTC, particularly in reference to the place of the SWTC (in similar respects to previous discussions about fan-made timelines and the like) in relation to Lucasfilm-approved Star Wars licensed materials.
Readers of the ChronoRadio thread on the Fanworks message board got a taste of the heated reaction to the segment (in which CR's host, Nathan P. Butler, essentially pointed out the common knowledge fact that licensed materials and decisions by Lucasfilm always outweigh anything a fan determines, no matter how much the fan's logic sometimes makes more sense than the Official "party line") earlier this month, during an exchange dated Feb. 5 - 7 that included several accusations leveled against the show (and a transcript posted to refute those charges). Those accusations included a promise that the episode would get a "review" on one accuser's own website (episode guest Wayne Poe's Star Wars: The Dark Side), and notification of that review's posting would be sent.
In any event, notification never came as promised, but the "review" (more a tear-down or attack, rather than a "review," per se) has been posted. Those interested in reading the article (entitled Of Hogs, Acorns, and Spin Doctors) can find a link to it below.
At present, we're informed that the current working version of April's ChronoRadio #20: Tales on Pause is nearly complete, and will include a general response to a couple of "civil pro-Saxton responses" received since CR #19, and will point listeners to both the CR thread on the Fanworks board and Poe's article, but will not address the article outright.
The explanation provided from Butler:
Basically, it comes down to intellectual honesty. The episode is out there for all to listen to, and there's a transcript posted in the CR thread on the Fanworks board. People will be able to listen/read for themselves and determine whether the accusations made against the show are true, and see which "side," CR or Poe's so-called "review," is doing the "spinning." There's nothing there to hide, so I'd encourage people to listen and read both. Even if you don't agree with Poe, read the article. If readers who are intellectually honest enough to listen to the show (or read the transcript) and read Poe's article can honestly say, having seen both sides of it, that the article's right, so be it. If not, they'll at least start to get an idea of the kind of intellectually dishonest, spinning, accusatory flak that the show's been getting in less public arenas for years now. Frankly, I don't see how any rational person who takes the time to actually listen to the episode or read the transcript, rather than just reading Poe's article, will come away with an anti-CR sentiment. As for those who might read the article, take away a negative point of view, and never bother to listen to the show? Those kind of closed-minded individuals aren't who the show is presented for in the first place. We value those who take time to see the full spectrum of an argument and think for themselves.
In any event, the article is there, and we encourage Fanworks visitors to check out both ChronoRadio #19 and the argument against it. As they say, there's no such thing as bad publicity, right?
Star Wars: The Dark Side Article ("Of Hogs, Acorns, and Spin Doctors")
ChronoRadio Thread on the Fanworks Message Board (starting with the relevant section with post #607 in the thread)
ChronoRadio
Direct Download of ChronoRadio #19
Star Wars: The Dark Side (Main Page)