Fode And Beed (Podrace Announcers) - POTJ - Basic

Reporting live from the press box at the Mos Espa Arena, the two-headed Troig Fode and Beed has long been a mainstay at Tatooine Podraces. Renowned for their instant play-by-play commentary, the famous announcers have hosted competitions throughout the Galactic Podrace Circuit.

Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace is a stubborn child. In one breath you have to praise its simplicity and then in the next you become so intolerant that you lash out and maybe regret saying some of the things that went from your brain to your tongue. It’s no secret to our readers that the Boonta Eve Podrace sequence was one of the most torturous aspects of the film. So torturous in fact that we’d rather listen to Jar Jar Binks talk and trip over things all day instead. That may sound like quite an exaggeration, but that’s honestly how we feel. It felt like one big CGI nightmare. None of (most of) the characters didn’t seem “real” and the incessant lopping around Tatooine being shot at by Tusken Raiders and spied on by Jawas made it even more grueling. It went on for much too long and it’s hard for us to get through even today. Interestingly, our opinions of the Boonta Eve Podrace are not that popular. And we don’t share the overall excitement of these scenes with the majority of the Star Wars community. And it appears neither does Hasbro. When it came down to determine the lineup of the Power Of The Jedi line, one character was on the top of Hasbro’s list. Or should we say “characters”? Fode And Beed, whose real name is Fodesinbeed Annodue, finally get a proper release and a proper naming for the first time ever. As annoying as the podrace was, we found this announcer duo more annoying. So forgive us if we struggle being impartial with this review.

If you recall, this isn’t the first attempt by Hasbro to make Fode And Beed (Podrace Announcers). In 1999 during the overhyped The Phantom Menace era, Hasbro produced the Jabba The Hutt (With 2-Headed Announcer) set for the Episode I line. Surprised that it passed Lucasfilm in this state, the 2-Headed Announcer (without a proper name at the time of release) was produced based on the bluescreen shots of the actors who portrayed the characters. And instead of Fode And Beed, this figure arranged the heads as Beed And Fode. (For the record, Fode is the red headed announcer and Beed is the green-headed announcer. They are identified left to right – as in their left/your right to their right/your left – correctly on the Power Of The Jedi release.) It’s impossible to deny that Fode And Beed (Podrace Announcers) is a great action figure. Hasbro ensured that for the second time making this figure that they would get every last detail correct. We feel that they succeeded. The sculpting is quite excellent and the paint operations are even better. And when we compare it to the original figure Hasbro made in the Episode I line, it makes complete sense why George Lucas opted to replace the masked actors’ heads with computer generated images instead. They look more otherworldly and their unique alien features are more pronounced thanks to computer generation.

You may be surprised to learn that Fode And Beed (Podrace Announcers) comes with ten points of articulation. Each head rotates and their entire neck joint swivels as well. Fode And Beed (Podrace Announcers) also come with four independently swiveling arms and two swivel legs. And for good measure Hasbro added a swivel tail. Screen accurate, colorful and well-articulated are all fair descriptions of the Fode And Beed (Podrace Announcers) action figure. But if we’re honest, we do need to point out a relatively notable flaw. The figure has difficulty standing up due to an awkward center of gravity, poorly positioned legs and soft plastic that allows the lower legs to bend inward over time thus preventing the action figure from possessing flat footing which is necessary to make it stand upright without issue. If you do experience that the action figure will not stand initially, a little patience will pay off. The torso of Fode And Beed (Podrace Announcers) is very heavy and at the right angle it will serve as a balance to the action figure. But good luck with those legs because they are the main problems with this action figure. Fode And Beed (Podrace Announcers) will undoubtedly make many fans of The Phantom Menace very, very happy. As a character, or as characters that have speaking lines, were front and center in the film and were at times humorous, they are well known to Star Wars fans. As far as an action figure? Well, let’s just say that this figure isn’t entirely enticing. It will need a lot more articulation to make us happy.