Good Morning Youtinians. Last week, we asked readers if they planned on building a physical Star Wars media collection or sticking to a digital library. 78% of those who responded said that physical media is important to them. Collecting “can be a complicated profession,” but it can also be a beautiful and fun hobby. The chase after treasured items, meeting fellow collectors, and sharing your collection with friends and family—it’s easy to see why so many love it.

Thank you for all of the feedback we’ve received. Our releases have been a little sporadic, but we have locked our s-foils and plan to have The Youtini Dispatch arrive in your inbox weekly on Tuesday mornings.

— Corey Helton & JG Carse

New Star Wars Deck Building Game Released

Star Wars: Unlimited is a brand new deck-building game designed to allow players to create their own teams of Rebels or Imperials to battle it out in the galaxy far, far away. Created by Fantasy Flight Games, this tabletop card game is one more way for all of us to connect to our favorite characters, ships, and galactic venues.

What is a deck-building game? If you aren’t familiar with deck-building games, the premise is extremely simple. Players purchase card packs to build a deck of cards that balance power, strength, resilience, and strategy in the gamescape of their choosing. Once you’re happy with your custom deck (or your starter deck in the Star Wars: Unlimited Spark of Rebellion Starter Set currently available at Amazon), you can compete with other players to see who has the best deck and the most effective strategy.

Our Favorite Cards: Star Wars: Unlimited has some incredibly powerful cards, and at the top of the list are the two Leader cards: Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader. These cards are central to any player’s strategy, forming the foundation for all subsequent combat. Following those, players have Unit cards, which include popular characters such as Princess Leia and Grand Moff Tarkin and even famous ships such as the Rebellion’s number one choice, the X-Wing. Check out this YouTube video from Fantasy Flight for a full reveal and playthrough!

We’re all fine here now—how are you? Are you looking forward to building a custom Star Wars deck with this new game? Let us know!

The 2024 Oscars: A Night to Remember

The 2024 Oscar ceremony could easily have been a snooze fest, with many categories seen as locked up by dominating nominees going into the night. However, the night had plenty of surprises once it was all said and done. Taking a page from the Emmys, the Oscars made significant changes to their presentation making it a more enjoyable viewing experience. From the winners to the performances and everything else in between, it will be a night long remembered.

Blowing the competition away: Oppenheimer. Nominated 13 times, it took home seven wins, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Cinematography, and more. Leading up to the night, Oppenheimer was the favorite for most of its nominations. The mid-summer blockbuster proved once more, like Everything Everywhere All at Once, that it does not matter when in the year you release a film for award contention. 

Firsts: The night was full of firsts. Some notable firsts included Cillian Murphy, Robert Downey Jr., and Da’Vine Joy Randolph, each earning their first Oscar. Oppenheimer also earned Christopher Nolan his first Oscar win despite multiple nominations. Wes Anderson won his first Oscar for his live-action short The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar. In total, there were 32 first-time winners at the Oscars this year.

Music: While it was a night to celebrate film, music was also on display. There were several heavy hitters in the Best Score category, but Ludwig Görannson won the Oscar for Oppenheimer. The Osage Tribal Singers took the stage to perform the original tribal song from Killers of the Flower Moon: “Wahzhazhe (A Song For My People).”Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell quieted the room with their performance of the Best Song Winner “What Was I Made For?”. Ryan Gosling brought the roof down with his performance of “I’m Just Ken,” featuring co-star Kens from the film, songwriter Mark Ronson, and Slash on guitar.

What A Week For F1 Rookie Oliver Bearman

The second Formula 1 event of the 2024 season, the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix, ended unsurprisingly, with Max Verstappen continuing his streak of wins and extending his dominance in the race for a championship. However, that was not the story of the weekend, as rookie reserve driver Oliver Bearman took the F1 community by storm. Starting from P11 and finishing in P7, he easily won the fan-voted Driver of the Day award.

Context: Carlos Sainz Jr., a Ferrari driver, felt unwell all week. He eventually was diagnosed with appendicitis and required surgery, which led him to withdraw from the race weekend. Bearman had done everything required of him in Formula 2 (the junior series), including securing a P1 start. On Friday, he was called up as a reserve driver to fill the vacancy in the F1. He made it to the second qualifying round with only one practice, falling just short of the third round.

The Race: Not only would this be Bearman’s first F1 race, but it would also be his longest at any level. While there were a few close calls, he stayed calm and improved his starting position, ultimately landing a P7 finish. He persevered and held off Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton, who had won seven F1 championships. He became the third youngest driver to start an F1 Race, behind Lance Stroll and Max Verstappen. 

What’s Next: While the race took a significant toll on Bearman physically, there was much to be proud of. Sainz Jr. has two weeks to recover before the next race in Australia, meaning Bearman will return to F2. This weekend put Bearman on the radar, and sooner or later, we’ll hear his name in F1 full-time.

⏱️ Doctor Who 101

BBC announced that Doctor Who Season 1 will premiere two episodes at midnight on BBC iPlayer in the UK and at 7 PM Eastern on Disney+ where available outside the UK. A standard airing on the BBC in the UK will also air on Saturday evening. With the show now significantly more accessible to US viewers, here are three essential things you need to know before watching for the first time:

1. The new season is appropriately titled Season 1, despite the show celebrating its 60th anniversary. The show has several distinct eras, each a great place to start, including this new era.

2. The Doctor is a time-traveling humanoid alien who travels with mainly human companions. He does his best to resolve conflicts with as little violence as possible. When The Doctor is fatally injured, he can regenerate (transform) into a new face and body (actor), allowing the show to continue for over 60 years.

3. While you can probably go into the first season without watching any prior Doctor Who, you may want to check out the first full episode, “The Church on Ruby Road” featuring the doctor and his new companion. Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson star in the Christmas special that introduces the two characters and lays the foundation for what’s to come in season 1. 

Are you planning on checking out the new Doctor Who season? Let us know in Discord on the TV shows channel as we all get a little “ . . . wibbly wobbly, timey wimey.”

🚀 Ready for Dispatch

• The High Republic: Tempest Breaker audio drama will be released on December 3rd as part of Phase III’s release schedule. This is Cavan Scott’s second audio drama in the initiative, following The High Republic: Tempest Runner in Phase I. 

• A new golf comedy from Apple TV+ is in the works, with actor Owen Wilson set to star. Wilson recently starred in Marvel’s hit Disney+ series Loki. Apple TV+ is no stranger to sports comedy with its critically acclaimed and award-winning series Ted Lasso.

• Scream 7 is moving forward with a shocking twist. Neve Campbell is returning as Sidney Prescott despite not being in Scream 6 due to salary negotiations falling through. Scream creator and writer Kevin Williamson is now set to direct the film for the first time in the franchise. 

• Justin Timberlake reunited with NSYNC in Los Angeles for first Performance since 2013. Timberlake has been putting on single shows in the lead-up to his new album “Everything I Thought It Was.” 

• NFL teams propose changes to onside kicks and instant replay. Every offseason, teams send in rule proposals, and for any change to happen, it needs the approval of at least 24 teams.