What's next after a mistrial is declared in the case of a police officer charged in Baltimore man Freddie Gray's death, a guide to FSAs, and a Star Wars primer if you know nothing.
Mistrial in case against Baltimore officer could have 'domino effect'
A judge declared a mistrial in the case of Baltimore Police Officer William Porter Wednesday.
Porter is the first of six officers facing charges in the death of 25-year-old black man Freddie Gray. Investigators found that Gray suffered a severe spinal cord injury in the back of a police van last April.
Luke Broadwater, a City Hall reporter for the Baltimore Sun, says the state attorney chose to try Porter first so that he could act as a witness against the other five officers. He says Wednesday's mistrial could now push those cases into 2017.
Press the blue play button above to hear more.
Star Wars for Newbies: What's the deal with these movies and why do fans care?
She's no dummy, but our Take Two editor, Joanne Griffith is feeling a little at sea among all the Star Wars hoopla. Let's just say she's not "invested" in the space saga, and admits to trying to watch one of the films and not making it all the way through.
So, Jo has some questions, and we've got an answer man in our digital producer, Mike Roe, who is a serious student of popular culture in general, and Star Wars in particular.
He takes Jo through the main characters, basic plot lines, and explains what he sees as the basis for the wide and lasting appeal of the Star Wars mythology. Listen for his interaction with Jo, or read his explanations below.
Big picture: What is Star Wars about?
The original Star Wars trilogy — that's the movies "Star Wars," "The Empire Strikes Back" and "Return of the Jedi" — is the story of Luke Skywalker going from a farm boy to being a hero. He gets recruited to be part of the Rebel Alliance, fighting against the Empire, destroying not one but two giant space stations that the Empire builds — known as Death Stars — and leading an uprising. He's a space freedom fighter.
The heroes
The original movie throws you some curveballs, because it starts out by following two robots: the prim and proper protocol bot C-3PO and his short friend R2-D2. C-3PO speaks English, while R2-D2 — R2 to his friends — speaks in a series of beeps and whistles. They're like a space Laurel and Hardy, providing comic relief and serving as sidekicks to the main characters.
Then there's our female protagonist, Princess Leia. She could be a damsel-in-distress, but instead, she's fighting and firing a blaster throughout the films, subverting what you expect from a princess. She also sets the story in motion by giving a message to R2 to deliver.
The last member of the trio that makes up the stars is Han Solo, a breakout role for Harrison Ford, playing a space smuggler who's an interstellar bad boy. He provides transportation for the heroes in the Millennium Falcon, a beat-up spaceship. Han has a giant sidekick named Chewbacca — or "Chewie" as our heroes call him — who's the muscle of the team, with a trademark growl.
And while Leia flirts with both Luke and Han, including kissing Luke, she ends up with Han. One of the iconic moments in the Star Wars films is when Leia kisses Han and finally confesses her feelings, saying "I love you," and Han gives the perfect roguish bad boy response: "I know."
Luke's story
Luke gets recruited to join the Rebels by Obi-Wan Kenobi, who's an old jedi — which are basically the knights of the round table. Obi-Wan gives Luke the iconic Star Wars weapon, the lightsaber — a laser sword — and trains him to use "The Force," a type of space mysticism that also gives you access to special powers.
Luke also trains with Yoda to take his Jedi skills up to another level — Yoda is a small green alien with giant ears who talks in flipped-around grammar and serves as a wise mystic teacher.
Darth Vader
Luke trains in these skills so he can take on Darth Vader, the main bad guy we see in all three films. Vader is an enforcer for the Emperor, who runs the Empire that the Rebels are trying to take down. He also has foot soldiers he works with to carry out his and the Emperor's bidding, known as stormtroopers. Vader tries to turn Luke from being on the Light side of the Force, using the Force for good, to the dark side of the Force on Team Darth.
One of the all-time classic twists in film, right up there with Citizen Kane and Rosebud, is the big reveal at the end of the second movie of the Star Wars trilogy, "The Empire Strikes Back." While trying to turn him over to the Dark Side, Darth Vader tells Luke that he is Luke Skywalker's real dad.
Then he cuts off Luke's hand with a lightsaber! Meanwhile, Han has been taken captive, giving "Empire" a dark ending for our heroes. The other big reveal in "Return of the Jedi "is that Luke and Leia are long lost brother and sister — and that's when audiences try not to think back to when they were flirting and kissing.
While Darth has been trying to turn Luke to the Dark Side, Luke ends up flipping the script on Darth, turning him against the Emperor in the final showdown and ultimately redeeming the character, while Darth sacrifices himself for his son.
The prequels
They were Darth Vader's origin story, showing how he went from being a hero to being the scarred man hidden behind Darth Vader's mask, but those movies were so focused on cute characters and CGI that the parts that resonated with Star Wars fans in the past got a little lost, with some extremely clunky lines and performances.
Still, there are some thrilling moments in there and great fight scenes, but they are definitely not essential. Sorry about that, Jar Jar Binks.
Why people care
There's Jabba the Hutt, Ewoks, Midi-chlorians and so much more, but ultimately none of these details really matter. The reason why people care about Star Wars is that it's classic storytelling, no matter what the genre is. It's wrapped in science fiction, but George Lucas studied the story structure used in mythology and created a modern mythology (you can read about what he learned from Joseph Campbell and his Hero's Journey philosophy on the official Star Wars website). Star Wars looks like a myth that we're going to keep talk about for several more generations, and it means a lot to a lot of people — that's why me and my wife used the music from the end of the first movie for our recessional.
The Wheel Thing: A Stormtrooper Dodge Charger
In the midst of Star Wars mania, a hot, black & white muscle car rolled up into our parking lot at the Mohn Broadcast Center. It was a 700 horsepower Dodge Charger Hellcat, tricked out to look, a little at least, like a stormtrooper.
It's part of a cross-promotion (of course) between Disney, Dodge and Hot Wheels. But we couldn't resist taking the Stormtrooper Hellcat for a spin. It turned some heads, and we burned some rubber.
This Charger starts at $63K, and although our motor critic, Susan Carpenter, thinks it's a little overdone, she does appreciate the utility of a four-door family sedan with a 6.2 liter supercharged V-8.
Ride along with us, as we test out the Stormtrooper Charger.
State of Affairs: President Obama visits San Bernardino and the presidential debates
On this week's State of Affairs, President Obama to visit San Bernardino, the gun control debate continues, and two presidential primary debates in one week.
Joining Take Two to discuss:
- Marisa Lagos, KQED's California Government and Politics desk
- Josh Richman, Bay Area News Group
HoverBoards on fire: a look at what's causing this popular gizmo to ignite
You may have seen people riding hoverboards around town. They look like a cross between a Segway and a skate board, but instead of pushing off with one leg, a battery powered motor propels it along while you stand on it facing forward.
It's become one of the hottest holiday gifts of the season, literally.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission is investigating over ten reports of hoverboards spontaneously catching fire.
Amazon has pulled some of them off their site and all of the US's largest airlines have banned them from flights.
Matt McFarland is the Innovations Editor for the Washington Post and gives A Martinez the details.
LA Zoo now hosts Tasmanian devils
Marsupial lovers will be in heaven when they head to the LA Zoo. It is now one of the only four zoos in the U.S. to host Tasmanian devils.
Two brothers, in fact.
Tasmanian devils are endangered, but a collaboration with the Conservation Ambassador and Save the Tasmanian Devil programs led their arrival to Southern California in early December.
They currently live in the Australian section of the zoo, and mammal curator Beth Schaefer joins Take Two to explain more about what visitors will see.
'Sisters' writer Paula Pell on family and the role of women in comedy
The new movie "Sisters" stars Tina Fey and Amy Poehler as Kate and Maura Ellis - siblings who come home but discover their parents have plans to sell the family home.
The two decide to revisit their past by throwing a raging party, and hilarity ensues.
Sisters was written by Paula Pell, who previously spent years working as a writer with Fey and Poehler on Saturday Night Live.
We talked to her about her career, and how women are sometimes featured in movies and TV, but we began by asking her about her real life sister … and how she would describe Paula.