Clone Wars Chronology

The Clone Wars has debuted on Netflix, including the never-before-seen Season 6: The Lost Missions. I am only two episodes into it, but I must say they are excellent. I've said before I was not a big fan of the Clone Wars myself, but I can clearly see how much they have improved, not only with the visuals but with the storytelling as well. I hope the lessons learned will translate well into the new Star Wars Rebels series. I am a big fan of Dave Filoni and have every confidence that he will.

One exciting aspect of having the Clone Wars on a streaming service is that it is so easy to switch episodes.

216 116 T 301 303 101-115 117-121

201-203 217-219 204-214 220-222

305-307 302 304 308 122 309-311 215 312-322

S4

502-513 501 514-520

601-613

Cat and Mouse (S216)
Hidden Enemy (S116)
Clone Wars: The Movie
Clone Cadets (S301)
Supply Lines (S303)
Ambush (S101)
Rising Malevolence (S102)
Shadow of Malevolence (S103)
Destroy Malevolence (S104)
Rookies (S105)
Downfall of a Droid (S106)
Duel of the Droids (S107)
Bombad Jedi (S108)
Cloak of Darkness (S109)
Lair of Grievous (S110)
Dooku Captured (S111)
The Gungan General (S112)
Jedi Crash (S113)
Defenders of Peace (S114)
Trespass (S115)
Blue Shadow Virus (S117)
Mystery of a Thousand Moons (S118)
Storm over Ryloth (S119)
Innocents of Ryloth (S120)
Liberty on Ryloth (S121)

Holocron Heist (S201)
Cargo of Doom (S202)
Children of the Force (S203)
Bounty Hunters (S217)
The Zillo Beast (S218)
The Zillo Beast Strikes Back (S219)
Senate Spy (S204)
Landing at Point Rain (S205)
Weapons Factory (S206)
Legacy of Terror (S207)
Brain Invaders (S208)
Grievous Intrigue (S209)
The Deserter (S210)
Lightsaber Lost (S211)
The Mandalore Plot (S212)
Voyage of Temptation (S213)
Duchess of Mandalore (S214)
Death Trap (S220)
R2 Come Home (S221)
Lethal Trackdown (S222)

Corruption (S305)
The Academy (S306)
Assassin (S307)
ARC Troopers (S302)
Sphere of Influence (S304)
Evil Plans (S308)
Hostage Crisis (S122)
Hunt for Ziro (S309)
Heroes on Both Sides (S310)
Pursuit of Peace (S311)
Senate Murders (S215)
Nightsisters (S312)
Monster (S313)
Witches of the Mist (S314)
Overlords (S315)
Altar of Mortis (S316)
Ghosts of Mortis (S317)
The Citadel (S318)
Counterattack (S319)
Citadel Rescue (S320)
Padawan Lost (S321)
Wookiee Hunt (S322)

Water War (S401)
Gungan Attack (S402)
Prisoners (S403)
Shadow Warrior (S404)
Mercy Mission (S405)
Nomad Droids (S406)
Darkness on Umbara (S407)
The General (S408)
Plan of Dissent (S409)
Carnage of Krell (S410)
Kidnapped (S411)
Slaves of the Republic (S412)
Escape from Kadavo (S413)
A Friend in Need (S414)
Deception (S415)
Friends and Enemies (S416)
The Box (S417)
Crisis on Naboo (S418)
Massacre (S419)
Bounty (S420)
Brothers (S421)
Revenge (S422)

A War on Two Fronts (S502)
Front Runner (S503)
The Soft War (S504)
Tipping Points (S505)
The Gathering (S506)
A Test of Strength (S507)
Bound for Rescue (S508)
A Necessary Bond (S509)
Secret Weapons (S510)
A Sunny Day in the Void (S511)
Missing in Action (S512)
Point of No Return (S513)
Revival (S501)
Eminence (S514)
Shades of Reason (S515)
The Lawless (S516)
Sabotage (S517)
The Jedi Who Knew Too Much (S518)
To Catch a Jedi (S519)
The Wrong Jedi (S520)

The Unknown (S601)
Conspiracy (S602)
Fugitive (S603)
Orders (S604)
An Old Friend (S605)
The Rise of Clovis (S606)
Crisis at the Heart (S607)
The Disappeared Part I (S608)
The Disappeared Part II (S609)
The Lost One (S610)
Voices (S611)
Destiny (S612)
Sacrifice (S613)

The Force Awakens!

We have a title! Today marked the last day of filming and the start of post-production. Episode VII will be known as Star Wars: The Force Awakens. There will not be the VII numeral in the title.

I like that. I grew up during the OT times so for me the films were simply Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, an Return of the Jedi. The episodic numbering didn't take center stage until the prequel era. I just hope they will keep the episode number in the opening crawl. 

What about the title itself? Like every Star Wars title since ROTJ, it has taken me some time to get used to it. But I like this one. It is short and simple and not corny.

The implications of the title are very tantalizing. Why is it awakening 30 years after ROTJ? Both the Sith and the Jedi use the Force, so which side is emerging? Or is it both? The Jedi were wiped out in the purge and you only had two Sith. So does VII mark a repopulation of Force wielders? 

But the Rebels animated show clearly indicates that Force sensitive people still exist. Vader tells the Inquisitor to hunt down the "Children of the Force" to convert them or kill them. So perhaps Jedi and Sith are not really relevant. I wonder if the people of the Star Wars galaxy view both Jedi and Sith as bad. The wars between the two of them have resulted in so much death and destruction. Perhaps the past 30 years has seen the suppression of anyone showing Force ability. A simple blood test for midi chlorians can help them with that. 

Hmm. Lots to think about!

Finding the Doctor - Series 5

It can be overwhealming trying to figure out where to start watching a show like Doctor Who. It has been around for fifty years with so many different actors, plus all the mythology involved with things like a TARDIS, Daleks, and Sonic Screwdrivers. Where does one start?

Well we started with Series 5 of the modern Doctor Who, which is the first season of Matt Smith playing the Doctor (the 11th Doctor). We were hooked! Below are my ratings and brief reviews of this particular series.

Note that you should watch the episodes in order. It is hard enough trying to keep the time-jumping story lines straight in your head. Watching them out of order would make it impossible!

BEST OF THE SERIES

Vincent and the Doctor (210)
Incredible heart. I am mid-way through Series 6 and this is still my all time favorite episode.

FAVORITES

The Eleventh Hour (203)
This is the premiere episode of Matt Smith and Series 5. This story got us wanting to watch the next one immediately!

The Lodger (211)
This is another episode with great heart. A love story between two people and the Doctor showing his compassion for others (albiet in his own goofy way).

Amy's Choice (208)
I always enjoy a good reality-bending story. Which one is real and which one is a dream?

The Big Bang (212)
The conclusion to Series 5. It ends with a bang and had me practically jumping out of my seat cheering for more!

ENTERTAINING

The Beast Below (204)
This one has really stayed with me. If you can get past the premise of the Star Whale, it does raise some interesting ethical questions.

Time of the Angels (206) and Flesh & Stone (206)
The Weeping Angels are fantastic monsters. This is very much like the movie Aliens.

Cold Blooded (209)
This second part to the story arc started with The Hungry Earth was much better than the first part.

The Pandorica Opens (210)
It took me a little while to get into this one. For long time Who fans, I am sure the appearance of all these villains was a lot of fun. Still, it was entertaining and a great set-up for the finale, which I loved.

A Christmas Carol (213)
A Doctor Who take on the classic Charles Dickens story.

NO THANKS

Victory of the Daleks (205)
I liked the concept, but the show suffered by poor casting for Winston Churchill and it pushed a little too far into the goofy realm with propeller aircraft flying through space attacking a Dalek ship.

The Hungry Earth (209)
The is the first of a two-episode arc that introduces us to the Silurians.

STINKER

The Vampires of Venice (207)
This was my least favorite episode. I just couldn't get into it at all. I am just tired of the vampire thing as well.

Five Reasons Why You Will Hate Star Wars Rebels

1. It is on the Disney Channel.

There is rampant speculation that Rebels will be made for kids. Sure, you were a kid once and the films appealed to you. But Star Wars should be created just for your age group. The show must be something that appeals first and foremost to you 30- and 40-year olds. Kids these days just don't have the special appreciation for the Star Wars galaxy that you do. You must be catered to.

2. It is the first episodes of the first season.

You expect a new show to be fully developed with a cast that is already full of chemistry and completely integrated with the technical and story writing teams. Also, all the animation models for every character, ship, and world are fully designed with no need for a single enhancement. You believe the first episode of the first season should have the exact same level of quality as an episode at the end of the third season.

3. It is not the Clone Wars.

You believe Star Wars: The Clone Wars was the highest form of animated entertainment and that anyone who did not watch the show regularly are not "real fans" or are Prequel-bashers. You like dark stories with little humor and a serious approach to the content. You expect that since Dave Filoni is heading the team that the same style of stories will be told. You don't want anything new or different. Lastly, for you, if the animation is not rendered in detailed high-definition then it is not good animation.

4. It will sell toys and merchandise.

How could a company possibly consider selling merchandise when spending millions of dollars making a television series? Nevermind the fact that it was because George Lucas retained merchandising rights back in 1977 that Lucasfilm could even come into existence. You also overlook the hours of fun you had playing with those 3.75 inch figures in your backyard, or looking at your Empire Strikes Back lunchbox on the bus on the way to school. Now it is all just greedy, soulless capitalism to your enlightened (cynical) mind.

5. The 1983 George Lucas is not involved.

It is not Star Wars unless George Lucas is involved - but it must be your version of George Lucas. The one from 1983 who made the original trilogy, or the one from 1980 if you hated the Ewoks. Certainly not the one from 2005 who made the prequels - or maybe the one from 2013 who made those Clone Wars episodes that reflected classic movie style because those didn't "feel like Star Wars" to you. You know you have the right version of George Lucas.

6. Is this not you?

Congratulations! You have a healthy level of interest in the Star Wars universe. You know not everything will be perfect. You understand that the people at the helm will make creative choices that you may not agree with or will take time for you to get into. You know that mistakes will be made and learned from. But, no matter what, you are excited that new Star Wars stories are being told and that the joy you felt as a kid will be passing onto future generations that you can share your fandom with.

A New Dawn Book Review

Earlier this month we had the release of John Jackson Miller's novel, A New Dawn. It was an historic moment in that this was the first novel released under the approval of the Lucasfilm Story Group. In the past there was much uncertainty as to how all of the works outside of the films, called the Expanded Universe (EU), officially fit in the timeline. George Lucas himself said he considered the films were officially canon whereas all the supplemental books, graphic novels, video games, and so forth were their own separate thing. After the sale of Lucasfilm to Disney, it was announced that all material would be reviewed and approved by the Story Group. This means that everything from this point onward is all part of one official canon. A New Dawn is the first novel in this new canon.

Considering all this, I was a little surprised how much this book was like the previous EU books. I suppose I should not have been though. I imagine the Story Group is more focused on the characters and locations while giving some free reign to the authors to flesh out the details and pacing of the story. Yes, there is even a mention of "caf"!

I really enjoy John Jackson Miller's writing style. I particularly liked the very short chapter lengths. Most of them are only a few pages long. It is an up-tempo storytelling approach and very helpful for me since the times I have available to read are erratic and short. This book tells the story of how two of the main protagonists of the Star Wars Rebels animated series, Kanan and Hera, meet.

We get a pretty good view of Kanan's back story while Hera's character is left slightly more mysterious. The principal villain, Count Vidian, is a strong character - think Darth Vader mixed with Gordon Gecko. I won't rehash the story since you can find that kind of thing elsewhere. What I will say is if this is worth your time.

I have read many EU books over the years but I am not a big EU fan. There are some books that are excellent, but also many that are "eye-rollingly" bad. If you are new to reading Star Wars books, this is a great one to get started with. Miller's writing does not expect you to have much Star Wars knowledge heading into this book. I would also recommend this book to EU readers as well. It is a great opening salvo for the new Star Wars canon.

Now we wait for Tarkin by James Luceno!

- - - 9/18/2015 UPDATE- - -

Now that is has been almost six months since the first New Canon book was released, and with so much new content about to this market, I thought it would be good to have some formal structure to my reviews of these new Story Board-approved works. I am going to try to keep up with all this expanded universe stuff as best I can, so I hope this will be a good reference to you:

PREREQUISITES?
None. It is a good gateway novel.

WHO SHOULD READ IT?
Those who are interested in the rise of the Rebellion and particularly Star Wars Rebels.

WHEN DOES THIS TAKE PLACE?
Aside from a short look during the time of Episode II / The Clone Wars, the story takes place between Episode III and IV and is a prelude to the Star Wars Rebels television show.

GFFA IMPACT?
Minimal, so far as I know at this point. The novel is pretty self-contained and provides more of a character development and background of Kanan and, to a lesser extent, Hera.

Disney Princess Party Ideas

So here is the connection for this blog - Disney owns Lucasfilm and they also own (created) the Disney Princesses. Plus Leia is a princess too right?

Anyway, I was planning a birthday party for my little girl and she *loves* the Disney Princesses. So with some creativity and a few Pinterest searches, I came up with a lot of activities and I thought I'd share these with you. 

These are all very budget friendly - nothing you can't get at your local dollar store or Walmart...or even around your house!

Here they are, arranged by princess:

Rapunzel Race

This one was a lot of fun. It recreates the scene from Tangled where Rapunzel and Flynn Rider are being chased by the palace guards. You wrap up each princess in yellow streamers and give them a small saucepan (we used a couple from my daughter's toy kitchen). They run a short course and come back to the start. We ran two girls at a time. Even some of the older boys joined in on it!

Snow White's Wishing Well

This is a simple idea but a surprising hit with all the kids. Just decorate a plastic bucket and get some pennies. The girl stands a given distance and tosses each of the pennies to see how many she can get into the bucket. 

Make Your Own Enchanted Mirror (Belle)

Here is a crafting activity for Beauty and the Beast fans. Buy some hand mirrors from a dollar store and jeweled stickers from a hobby shop. The jeweled stickers can be a little pricey so we supplemented with small, regular flower stickers. Each girl decorates her mirror however she would like and gets to take it home with her. 

Anna's Snowball Practice

Remember when Anna and company met Marshmallow the snow monster? She threw a snowball and had pretty good aim, albeit ineffective. Well here is a game for the girls to practice. 

All you need are small, clear plastic cups and a soft ball. You could use a wiffle ball though I found a spongey baseball-style ball at the dollar store. Then you find a picture of the Frozen snow monster, shrink them down so you can fit nine to a page on landscape-oriented paper, print it out and cut them out. Now just tape one to the inside of each cup and you are set. 

To play the game, just stack up the cups into a pyramid shape and have the girl try to knock down as many as she can with the ball. 

It's also nice and compact for storage!

Ariel's Collection

This is one I haven't done myself but thought it was a good idea. You know how Ariel likes to collect things? Well it is the job of each girls to help Ariel with her collection.

Gather three to five of several types of objects. You need one type of object for each girl playing the game. One obvious type of object you can use is plastic forks for dinglehoppers. You could also use sea shells, spoons, hairbows, or other things that fairly small. Assign each girl one object, by giving each girl one of the that type. Now take all the remaining objects, mix them together and spread them out in a pile. The girls now have to hunt through the pile to find all of her objects. 

I used the word "object" quite a bit there...

Cinderella Shoe Race

Here is a Cinderella-themed activity that is easy to do. We all know that she had a hard time keeping her shoes on, right? When she was carrying breakfast up to Lady Tremaine and her step-sisters, she had to recover a shoe on the staircase. Then, of course, we have the famous loss of a glass slipper as she was running to her coach at midnight. All you need for this activity is several pairs of your wife's shoes (probably a good idea to check with her first though!). The game is have each girl put on this overly-large footwear and run a short course. If a girl loses a shoe, she has to stop and put it back on.

- - - 

Well that's it! I hope these ideas are helpful to you. 

Make Your Own Creeper Soap

This was my first real attempt at soap making and I dare say that it turned out better than I hoped! Of course I it helps when you get lots of advice from an experienced soap maker. It actually is not that hard. 

Here is what you need (you can get this stuff at Michaels or another local hobby/craft shop):

• 1.5 pounds glycerin melt-and-pour soap

• Green soap dye (or food coloring)

• Black soap dye (or food coloring)

• Orange essential oil (or other scent)

• One 16 oz silicone loaf mold

• A soap slicer or sharp knife

• A 4-cup Pyrex measuring cup (you could use something smaller but will have to do two batches of green soap)

1. Melt 8 oz of glycerin soap in the microwave. Do it like you would nacho cheese. Meaning heat for 30 seconds, stir, repeat. This should only take about 2 minutes. When it is fully melted, add in a few drops of black food coloring until it looks like how you want it. Stir slowly to avoid air bubbles. 

2. Pour into mold. It should be 1/3 to 1/2 full. Freeze for about 10 minutes or until hard. 

3. When hard, pop the black soap out. Use a knife or soap slicer to cut into strips. You will need two thin strips for the edges of the mouth and three shorter but square pieces for the eyes and center part of the mouth. Put these pieces into freezer. 

4. Clean out your Pyrex dish. Melt 16 oz of soap and color it green an add in your desired essential oil(s) for fragrence (I used orange). Pour the soap into the loaf mold until it is about 1/4 inch deep. Put the mold in the freezer for about 5 minutes or until hard. 

5. Pull out the mold and the two long thin black pieces from the freezer. Reheat the green soap as needed. Position the black  thin pieces (vertically) and pour the green soap around them. Pour until the level is about halfway up the black pieces. Hold then in place for a minute until they are held in place by the cooling green soap. 

6. Let the mold site for a few minutes and the. Put back into the freezer for 5 minutes or until hard. 

7. Now pull out the mold and one of the square black strips. Heat the green soap again as needed. Place the blackstrap in the center, between the two thin strips. Pour the green soap around it until the level just covers the square black strip. 

8. Freeze the mold again for 5 minutes. Then pull it out and the last two remaining square black strips. 

9. Place these black strips on either side of the awaited strip you placed last time. Reheat the green soap and pour the rest out until you reach the top of the mold. 

10. Let it sit and cure for about two weeks. Then slice it like you would a loaf of bread. You now have several bars of Creeper soap you can share with your kids, family, and friends!

Oh, and if you are wondering what the soap slicer or loaf molds look like, here is a picture of mine (right after the soap was finished). This one is actually a four loaf version:

The "Kid Show" Concern

There is a segment of fandom that is very concerned that Star Wars Rebels will be a "kid show". These people likely base if off the fact that Lucasfilm is owned by Disney and that the show will be on the Disney XD channel, which has a target segment of pre-teen/young teenage boys.

For me, I am hoping it *is* a "kid" show. Let's face it, while the Clone Wars featured fantastic animation and frequently very good storytelling, it was really not meant for kids - teenagers and adults, yes, but not for younger kids. When watching some Clone Wars episodes with my nine year old son recently on Netflix, he asked me if there was an episode without so much killing. This was why I stopped watching the show with him during season one. I thought a few years later he would be more comfortable with it. But I must conclude that no, this show is just not meant for kids.

I think it is telling that a recent Star Wars blog posted the top five kid-friendly episodes in the Clone Wars series. I agree with the list and I also think that the reason it is a top five list and not a top ten list is because those are the only episodes out of 122 that really are kid friendly.

Honestly, what is wrong with a "kid" show? I know popular culture is telling us the only way you can tell appealing stories for adults is to fill it with gratuitous violence, sex, and foul langauge (see Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad, and practically every other television series). But I completely disagree. One of Walt Disney's guiding principles when developing his entertainment - whether it was movies or amusement parks - was that it appeal to both children and adults. It was entertainment that everyone could enjoy together. How is that a bad thing?

I can offer up at least one prime example of a great television series that we all watch together as a family, on Disney Channel no less - Phineas and Ferb. Think of it as a more light-hearted Simpsons without the off-color humor or cynicism. There are funny references in there that adults can chuckle at and plenty of action that the kids can really get into.

Episode IV did have some dark elements to it, but it was also fun and adventurous. It's a movie that I know the whole family can enjoy. I saw the recent clip from Rebels and I am very encouraged that the show will follow in its style. Bring on the kid show!

Steampunk

A sub-genre of fiction that I have always been intrigued by, but have never read, is steampunk. It is a fictional 19th Century world driven by steam-power. I suppose I should qualify my first sentence in that I have read - and have always enjoyed - Jules Verne, whose works have been a primary inspiration to modern steampunk fiction.

I recently purchased the 80 Days app on my iPhone and have thoroughly enjoyed it. It takes Verne's novel, Around the World in 80 Days and put an extra steampunk layer of fiction on top of it.

Below is a list of steampunk ideas that I will look into. I would like to read at least one *good* steampunk novel sometime soon!

Wikipedia cites these works as precursors to steampunk:

• The Aerial Burgler by Percival Leigh - A short story written in 1844.
• Metropolis - A 1927 film by Fritz Lang. I have seen this film several times as a kid. It is a very nice work and you can clearly see how the robot that is featured in it inspired the design of C-3PO
• A Nomad of the Time Streams Trilogy by Michael Moorcock - Novels written in the 1970s.

The term itself was coined by author K. W. Jeter as an attempt to describe the style of fiction written by himself and his peers in recent years:

• The Anubis Gate by Tim Powers (1983)
• Homunculus by James Blaylock (1986)
• Morlock Night by K. W. Jeter (1979)
• Infernal Devices by K. W. Jeter (1987)

However, other fictional works preceded the use of the steampunk neologism:

• Worlds of the Imperium by Keith Laumer (1962)
• Queen Victoria's Bomb by Ronald W. Clark (1967)
• A Transatlantic Tunnerl, Hurrah! by Harry Harrison (1973)

Here are other interesting steampunk-type books:

• The Last Man by Mary Shelley (1826) - Apocalyptic
• The Difference Engine by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling (1990) - Victorian
• The Leviathan Trilogy by Scott Westerfeld - Victorian

Data Analysis for the GFFA

One of my favorite blogs I have discovered recently is FiveThirtyEight. It is a blog started by Nate Silver for data analytics oriented toward a general audience. Today the folks over there published a blog analyzing results of a Star Wars survey. One of the great things about this site is that most of the data they report on is made available via the code sharing site, GitHub.

You can hop over to their site to read the article. It is a great write-up, but I wanted to dig a little deeper. So I pulled the data and did my own analysis, which I am posting here. I didn't have much free time so this is just an initial study. But, I think you will find these preliminary results interesting!

One aspect I was curious about is how both the Star Wars (SW) fan and the Non-SW fan views the major characters in the films. This was a topic of heated debate between Jason Swank and Jimmy Mac of the must-listen Star Wars podcast, Rebel Force Radio. There was a "spirited" debate as to how  recognizable Boba Fett was versus Han Solo or other characters. We now have some hard data to add to the discussion!

In terms of the survey data itself, it comporises a sample of 1,186 participants. Of those surveyed, 79% have seen at least one Star Wars film and 47% identified themselves as fans. So this looks like a healthy sample of data of both fans & non-fans for studying.

First let's start with the fans. Below is my graphic showing how the fans view the characters as requested in the survey:

Many characters come as no surprise in terms of favorability: Han Solo tops the list, followed closely by Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi. Luke, Leia and Artoo make a strong showing with Threepio a step behind. Seeing Jar Jar Binks at the bottom of the rankings is also no surprise!

Vader's lower position on the list is a little surprising, but he is a villain so I'd think many would skew to a negative vote in light of that fact. This wouldn't necessarily mean they did not like the character.

What I found most interesting is Boba Fett. Not only is he towards the bottom of this list but that the distribution of favorability is also across the spread evenly across the spectrum. Our perception of him as being such a huge fan favorite may be due to how a vocal a subset of fandom is relative to the broader fan base.

Now let's turn to the non-Star Wars fan:

Wow! Han Solo is much lower on the favorability list even with Harrison Ford's marquee name. In contrast, Luke, Leia and Artoo - despite having not been on screen in thirty years - are still ranked as the most favorable Star Wars characters among non-fans. Vader and Yoda are well up on the list as well. Vader's distribution of favorable and unfavorable ratings again is likely driven by his status as a villain.

You may notice that the last several names have a mostly invisible bar on the right hand side of each stacked bar column. This indicates the survey respondent marked this character as uncertain (not known). Poor Padme, the mother of Luke Skywalker is unknown to a large swath of non-fans. Even Lando! Oh the humanity!

...and then there is Boba Fett. You can see he is among the lesser-knowns and those that do known him are mostly indifferent. This data is hardly a compelling case for the much-rumored Boba Fett spin-off film.

Before I warp up this blog post, I thought I'd show you an interesting comparison of how fans and non-fans ranked the six films.

For the fans in this dataset, the interpretation is clear and predictable. They love the original trilogy with The Empire Strikes Back as their top favorite. The chart below is the mean (average) rating given ranging from 1 (best) to 6 (worst). The light blue bars indicate the prequel films:

For the non-fans, the results are surprisingly different. The Phantom Menace is, on average, ranked higher than Return of the Jedi! Attack of the Clones ranks higher than A New Hope! Wow....

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

It is time for a blog post for a sister franchise of Star Wars under Disney - Marvel. Specifically this is a synopsis of all the episodes from the first season of Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.. I have DVR'ed the first full season and had watched a handful of episodes. However, I was disappointed in the acting and storytelling as the first part of the season progressed and stopped watching. However, my DVR dutifully recorded every episode and I held off on clearing it out simply because I love the Marvel movies and I knew this show would be an extension of the ongoing canon of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I couldn't quite give up on the show.

I am so glad I didn't!


1.01 "Pilot"
Director: Joss Whedon
Writers: Joss Whedon & Jed Whedon & Maurissa Tancharoen



1.02 "0-8-4"
David Straiton
Maurissa Tancharoen & Jed Whedon & Jeffrey Bell



1.03 "The Asset"
Milan Cheylov
Jed Whedon & Maurissa Tancharoen



1.04 "Eye Spy"
Roxann Dawson
Jeffrey Bell


1.05 "Girl in the Flower Dress"
Jesse Bochco
Brent Fletcher


1.06 "F.Z.Z.T."
Vincent Misiano
Paul Zbyszewski


1.07 "The Hub"
Bobby Roth
Rafe Judkins & Lauren LeFranc


1.08 "The Well"
Jonathan Frakes
Monica Owusu-Breen


1.09 "Repairs"
Billy Gierhart
Maurissa Tancharoen & Jed Whedon

The lowest of the low. This episode was just plain bad - the worst of the series. The storytelling was muddled to the point that although his was supposed to be the transformative episode for Agent May's character, I didn't get it - I didn't care.

1.10 "The Bridge"
Holly Dale
Shalisha Francis

This is the episode that turned the series around for me. Up to this point there were a few high points but for the most part the episodes were mediocre. Whether it was better writing, better directing, or better acting, they seemed to have fixed the problems starting here.

1.11 "The Magical Place"
Kevin Hooks 
Paul Zbyszewski & Brent Fletcher

I am so glad the creators decided not to string us along for several seasons on the mystery of Coulson's miraculous recovery. It was also nice to see Shepherd Book back on TV!

1.12 "Seeds"
Kenneth Fink
Monica Owusu-Breen & Jed Whedon

Having seen this episode weeks after Winter Soldier, I noticed some of the hints bein dropped in this episode about the future. I think this is the first time in the series that Hydra is mentioned by name. This was mostly a standalone episode but contiuned the overall story arc and spawned a new potential villain for the future.

1.13 "T.R.A.C.K.S."
Paul Edwards
Lauren LeFranc & Rafe Judkins

This reminded me a lot of the train heist in another Whedon TV series, Firefly. I love the time freezing type weapons introduced here. A heart wrenching third act.

1.14 "T.A.H.I.T.I."
Bobby Roth
Jeffrey Bell

Big revelation on the source of the medicine used to bing Coulson bak from the dead. Perhaps this will tie into Guardians of the Galaxy?


1.15 "Yes Men"
John Terlesky
Shalisha Francis

This seemed like a one shot episode and a promo for the lesser known Asgardian women. While it was that, it was still very entertaining.


1.16 "End of the Beginning"
Bobby Roth
Paul Zbyszewski
We find out Fury has returned to the Triskelion from Agent Hand, who then orders Agent Sitwell to go to Lemurian Star (set-up for Winter Soldier movie). The Clairvoyant found and eliminated - or is he?

Deathlok (Mike Peterson) - gets a rocket launcher and continues his cyborg transformation
Thomas Nash - An index reject, paralytic, supposedly the Clairvoyant? Ward kills him.
Edison Po - Clairvoyant says he is the one who came up with the name. First seen in Girl In The Flower Dress.
Agent Hand - Takes over the plane and tells team to kill everyone except Coulson.
Agent Blake - First appeared in short Item 47.
Agent Sitwell -


 1.17 "Turn, Turn, Turn"
Vincent Misiano
Jed Whedon & Maurissa Tancharoen

Phew! What an adrenaline rush. This is the episode that ties into The Winter Soldier and, man, is it a tie in! Huge revelations and truly a game changer. So much happens here it will take several days and episodes to sort this all out.

1.18 "Providence"
Milan Cheylov
Brent Fletcher



1.19 "The Only Light in the Darkness"
Vincent Misiano
Monica Owusu-Breen


1.20 "Nothing Personal"
Billy Gierhart
Paul Zbyszewski & DJ Doyle


1.21 "Ragtag"
Roxann Dawson
Jeffrey Bell


1.22 "Beginning of the End"
David Straiton
Maurissa Tancharoen & Jed Whedon








http://www.sfx.co.uk/2014/04/18/marvels-agents-of-shield-1-16-end-of-the-beginning-tv-review/

1.16 End of the Beginning
Writer: Paul Zbyszewski
Director: Bobby Roth

Your Own Theme Music

This is a short blog post on a type of music I have really gotten into over the past few years - epic music. You may have noticed in trailers for video games and movies that the background music is different from what might be on the actual official soundtrack. A perfect example of this is the music to the trailer for Inception. The incredible work is *not* done by Hans Zimmer, even though he did the soundtrack. It was written by Zack Hemsey and you can find the song, Mind Heist, on You Tube.

The song that started this all for me was Immediate's Darkness on the Edge of Power. Follow the link and listen to it now. This will give you an idea of what I am talking about! What I love about this is that you can listen to it while working, driving, household chores, or any mundane task and it adds an element of significance and drama to what you are doing. It helps me to focus and work more efficiently - especially those mind-numbing repetitive tasks you just have to do.

I imagine most of these musicians and fans, such as me, can trace their interest in this style of music to the seminal works of John Williams. So there is your Star Wars tie-in to this blog!

You Tube has a huge selection of epic music to listen to with a simple search. The musicians for this whole sub-genre of music have started releasing "public" albums of their works. They are amazing and you should buy them on Amazon and iTunes! Here are my top choices, ranked in order:

Invincible by Two Steps From Hell
This "group", which I think has a lousy name, is probably the best of any of the epic music musicians. This particular album has wall-to-wall greatness. My favorite is Velocitron.

Illusions by Thomas Bergersen
This album is by one of the members of Two Steps From Hell. There is not a single bad track on this album either. It is hard to pick my favorite, but I'd say Immortal and Rada are my top two.

Trailerhead: Saga by Immediate
This album has my first favorite, Darkness on the Edge of Power, which I mentioned earlier. It is hard ranking this album only third, but I'd say these top three are all "must buys".

I would also recommend any of the soundtracks by Hans Zimmer. He is an amazing talent. Two Steps From Hell has several other albums out as well (check out Aesir from Archangel), which I would recommend. But I hesitate a bit with SkyWorld. There are a few vocal tracks on that album that just don't fit and one of them is just plain bad.

Immediate also has several albums out that are all great. Take a listen to How to Control the Dream from Trailerhead: Triumph and The Reluctant Warrior from the original Trailerhead.

Lastly, I will mention Globus, which has some great choral type of music. My personal favorite of their's is Preliator. It sounds like a martialing of an army heading to a decisive battle.

Oh, I forgot to mention that the albums have 20+ tracks and if you get the MP3 version it is only nine or ten bucks - a fantastic bargain!

Threads: Luke Skywalker

I am starting up a new series of blog posts that studies the story threads left available that could tie to Episode VII. The announcement that the prior EU is firmly not canonical has now opened up the future beyond Return of the Jedi to almost limitless possibilities.

What I will attempt to do here is look exclusively at the Story Group canon - the six films and the Clone Wars series - and see what are the plausible trajectories a specific character might follow, leading into Episode VII. Let's start with the principle hero from the original trilogy, shall we?

How Does Luke Continue to Grow in His Knowledge of the Force?

"No more training do you require. Already know that what you need."

One aspect of Luke we don't see in the OT movies is how he learns more about being a Jedi without a teacher. For example, we don't know how Luke learned to move objects when we see him get his lightsaber to defend himself against the Wampa on Hoth.

Is ghost Obi Wan instructing him? I tend to think not because he only appears to Luke when he is on the verge of collapse and it was just a faint image - the first time we have seen Obi Wan since the Death Star. Some theorize that Obi Wan's Force ghost appears more strongly to Luke as he himself becomes a more powerful Jedi. Other potential sources of training could be holocrons, which was an EU creation but canonized in the Clone Wars. Also there could be Force sensitive people out there who are not Jedi but have an affinity towards those type of beliefs. I think of it like the Clone Wars Nightsisters, but good instead if evil. 

This question training is one of the chief reasons why I want to read Kevin Hearne's Heir to the Jedi when it comes out next March. It will be a canonical book so we should hopefully get some answers from this. This factoid can be a major factor in determining the trajectory of Luke's story. 

I wonder, after Return of the Jedi, if the ghostly triumvirate of Anakin, Yoda, and Obi Wan will continue to exist and give Luke council over the years leading up to Episode VII. Over the course of developing the original trilogy, Lucas toyed with the idea of having the ghost of Obi Wan disappear and merge into what is now called the Cosmic Force. Will that have happened when we see the sequel trilogy?

Does Luke Reestablish the Jedi Order?

"Luke, when gone am I, the last of the Jedi will you be. Pass on what you have learned."

The EU assumed Luke would follow Yoda's request to pass this knowledge on by recreating the Jedi Order. They had him traveling around the galaxy looking for force sensitives to join him at his court of Camelot. Oops, sorry, wrong franchise. 

Seriously though, this may not be necessarily the case. If we consider Luke's actions in Return of the Jedi, we see him reject both Yoda's and Obi Wan's instructions to kill Darth Vader. Now that know what happens in the prequels and the Clone Wars, we see how the Jedi Order became corrupt and deceived. They were generals of a slave army to ensure star systems don't try to become independent. They were aggressive. They killed people. They did not embrace what Yoda would later instruct Luke that the Force was for knowledge and defence, never for attack. 

It is clear that the Yoda of the OT is different than the Yoda of the PT. The difference? Qui Gon Jinn's instruction from beyond. So in some ways we shouldn't be surprised that Luke took a different path. I contend that Yoda and Obi Wan's instruction to kill Vader was Clone Wars era thinking. They did not believe someone could be turned back to light. This is understandable because all Jedi saw attachment, and therefore strong relationships, as a bad thing that led to selfish behavior and ultimately to the dark side.

Yet what does Luke do? First, he senses good in Vader which apparently no one else (Yoda, Obi Wan, even Sidious) could either see or truly consider possible. Second, even though Luke clearly has attachment to his father and his sister, he chooses to sacrifice himself as a Jedi rather than succumb to the dark side. The Emperor did not see that coming! Lastly, Luke redeems his father and turns him back to the light by appealing to their attachment of father and son. Had Luke followed the ways of the Jedi Order, he would have failed and the Emperor would have triumphed.

I can imagine Luke researching the past of the Jedi Order with all the resources available on Coruscant and the core worlds and not like what he saw. Kyle Newman, director of Fan Boys and regular contributor to the fantastic podcast, Rebel Force Radio, has stated his belief that Luke would *not* reestablish the order. He thinks Luke will become essentially a hermit, like Yoda. I don't think that is will be the case. I think he will create some kind of Jedi organization, but not in the same form as we have been accustomed to seeing them.

Will Luke Become a Force Ghost When He Dies?

This is something I think most fans from the OT generation, like myself, have always assumed. Prior to the prequels, we thought all Jedi lived on after death in these ghost forms. Now we know that it is incredibly rare in the history of the Jedi - practically unheard of! Should we assume that the ghostly triumvirate will teach Luke this ability? Will they be allowed to do so?

Our last look at Luke Skywalker in the films shows him seeing the force ghosts of Yoda, Obi Wan, and his father as they celebrate their victory over the Emperor. We now know, thanks to the prequels and the Clone Wars, that these three are the only Jedi in the universe who can exist like this (one could argue for Qui-Gon Jinn if you want to be technical). 

How did these Jedi gain such knowledge? They were taught from beyond by Qui-Gon, under permission of the priestesses as shown in the Yoda arc for Season 6. Yoda was allowed to be taught because of the imbalance of the Force - that the light side cannot be allowed to be extinguished. But now with Vader redeemed and the Emperor gone, will the special ability still be taught? Will these Force ghosts even still exist or will they fade away into the Cosmic Force?

Will Luke still have these teachers?

Star Wars Day in Review

Well another Star Wars Day is in the books. I must say it is becoming a bigger deal each year. Of course having a slew of movies coming out, with casting announcements less than a week old, and a new television series on the way, does not hurt either!

In terms of news there really wasn't any great revelation. But with bombshells like the EU reboot and the Episode VII casting announcement, it is hard to top that! It was nice getting the full trailer for Rebels. It looks like a great show! I'm really looking forward to it. 

I think part of the issue was that the 4th was on a Sunday this year. Apparently that is not a good day in Hollywood to do major promotion work. I'm pleasantly surprised by this. 

It was awesome getting a short video from J.J. and Lawrence Kasdan wishing everyone a happy SW day! I loved seeing all the celebrities, from Wil Wheaton to Samuel L. Jackson, to new celeb John Boyega get into the spirit of things via Twitter and Facebook. 

There were some great shopping deals this year. Last year I got the enormous Blueprints hardcover book for a fantastic price plus a tee shirt from We Love Fine that has the Boba Fett logo on it. It is a pretty obscure SW reference and I have yet to meet someone who recognizes it outright. Quite a few think it is a Fender reference, given the "F" shape in it.

Well there were a lot more tee shirt options this year! I was disappointed in TeeFury's offerings this year - there were two - one was boring and the other just weird (a psychedelic Yoda). Fortunately We Love Fine had a great selection. I spent quite a bit of time yesterday studying the shirts. I like ones that have subtle references and are styled in a unique way. I picked out two but waited to order them on May 4th since it was 25% off. 

One thing I missed out on was the free May the Fourth pin over at Think Geek. You only had to spend $20 to get it. I put it off to tomorrow and they sold out. At least they still had the 20% deal for Star Wars merchandise. 

Lastly, over on Amazon I got a few graphic novels on Kindle. I'm not a huge comic book reader and the EU reboot makes this not as important reading, but 90% off is too good to pass up for some titles. 

Anyway, all in all it was a great Star Wars Day!

Star Wars Day 2014

Here is a quick summary of the happenings & shopping deals for Sunday, May the 4th!

HAPPENINGS

• Disney Channel - New Yoda Chronicles episode (May 4, 7 p.m. ET/PT)
• Disney Channel - Premier of full Star Wars Rebels trailers (during Yoda Chronicles)
• Star Wars Journeys: The Phantom Menace iOSApp - Released 

SHOPPING DEALS

Here are the best deals, in my opinion:

• Think Geek - 20% off SW merch plus a free pin when you spend just $20! (now through May 5, ends midnight Eastern Time)
• Mimoco Flash Drives - These used to be very expensive, but the prices have come down considerably. (May 4 Only, ends midnight Pacific Time)
• We Love Fine - These are high quality T-Shirts. I got a Boba Fett logo one during last year's Star Wars Day and I still love it! 25% off makes this an especially good deal. (May 4 Only, ends midnight Pacific Time)
• Disney Store - The don't have a huge selection of Star Wars stuff yet, but there are a few nice T-shirts there that I like. Good prices! (now through May 18)

Here is a more comprehensive list:

• Amazon - exclusive, official Star Wars Rebels t-shirts (available through May 10)
• Disney Store - Free pin if you happen to be one of the first 100
• Gamestop - Sweepstakes
• Hallmark - Free e-card
• Hallmark - 20% off personalized Star Wars Cards
• Hallmark - Prize packages (valid through May 5)
• Lego Stores - Free poster with any Lego Star Wars purchase in-store (May 3-5)
• Lego.Com - Free Lego Darth Revan minifig if you spend $75+ online (May 3-5)
• 15% off Star Wars M&M candy items (through May 4)
• Party City - 50% off Star Wars tableware
• Pottery Barn Kids - 20% off Star Wars items + free gift
• Sideshow Collectibles - sweepstakes for Vader bust
• MyCoolCarStuff - 50% Star Wars items, like this awesome sunshade!
• Star Wars Pinball for iOS - free (May 4)

Be sure to check out the official Star Wars page for all the latest information!

This deal's getting better all the time!

Verily, A New Hope (Book Review)

I love Shakespeare. One of my favorite classes in high school was an English class focusing exclusively on the bard and his plays. We studied Hamlet thoroughly in the lead up to the film release of the play starring Mel Gibson (yes I am old). I'll never forget the time when we had a class field trip to see the movie that as we were laughing at Shakespeare's jokes, I overheared a pair of elderly ladies trying to understand what was funny.

So when I heard of Shakespeare's Star Wars - it was a truly Reese's Peanut Butter Cup moment - chocolate and peanut butter? Awesome! Now having read the book, I must say author Ian Doescher delivered a fantastic work!

All of the hallmarks of a Shakespeare play are clearly evident even to the non-scholar like me:

• The play is in five acts
• There is minimal stage direction
• Rhyming couplets close each scene
• Characters have "asides" (what we call "breaking the fourth wall" now)
• Soliloquies (asides that are delivered alone on stage)
• Use of iambic pentameter

He references several of the tragedies, namely Hamlet, Romeo & Juliet, King Lear, and MacBeth. He also refers to several histories: Henry V, Richard III, and Julius Caesar. There is also a bit from As You Like It and even a few sonnets in there too!

But you can tell that Doescher is not just a Shakespeare fan but is truly a Star Wars fan as well. He didn't simply take the Episode IV script and shakespeare-ize it, he truly did an interpretation of it. There are extended scenes, like the tragic tale of stormtrooper TK-421 who correctly theorizes that the droids they are looking for are hidden the Falcon. His partner talks him out of it and they are called up the gangplank to give some help - and the rest is history!

He employs R2-D2 as a character like the Fool from King Lear in that he speaks truth but no one believes or understands him. This is done wonderfully when Artoo  has spoken "asides" in English.

...

In closing, I thought I would take a moment to describe what iambic pentameter is. Many people know that is how Shakespeare wrote his plays but few really understand what the heck this phrase means! Iamb means two syllables in a soft-STRESSED arrangement, such as "en-JOY". Pentameter means there should be five iambs in a line.

Here is an example of iambic pentameter:

I'd RATHer BE a HAMmer THAN a NAIL

Note though that Shakespeare did not exclusively use iambic pentameter in his plays. When it came to words spoken by characters of a lower social class, he would use regular prose instead. He would also sometimes intentionally break the rules of iambic pentameter: "to BE or NOT to BE that IS the QUESTion.". That last "-ion" is a weak ending that extends past the five iambs. The author, Ian Doescher, stated that even though he was much more rigorous in following iambic pentameter than Shakespeare ever was, he still has about a dozen lines that break this pattern in his book.

To learn more about Shakespeare and how Ian Doescher wrote this book, be sure to read the excellent Educator's Guide on the Random House website!

A Day Long Remembered

Look at this picture above. This will go down as an historic photograph in the continuing history that is the Star Wars saga.

It's funny, we've practically known for 15 months that the original cast was returning for Episode VII, but there is something absolutely electrifying about seeing Harrison, Carrie, and Mark (along with Peter Mayhew of course!) in this photo. Episode VII is happening folks! It is really happening!

I'll write more about the casting later. Right now I just want to soak this all in....

Lucasfilm Finally Deals With The EU

The first book published as
new offical cannon

Huge news coming out of Lucasfilm today. They have finally come out and said that the EU is not canon. They will use it as possible source material to inspire future storytelling, but it is not part of the official continuity. This is similar to how the EU material was treated by the Clone Wars, which is now definitive canon by the way - if there was any doubt.

With that I breathe a big sigh of relief. While certain stories of the EU are great, such as the Thrawn Trilogy, there is a greater proportion of mediocre or just plain bad content out there. The thought of having the 300+ novels be all part of the canon is prohibitive for both new and old school fans to get into. Fanboy wars arguing over subtle points in obscure novels is not what Star Wars is all about. The old novels are not going away. They will continue to be published, but under the moniker of Star Wars Legends. So the authors will still get residuals. That is a nice way to classify this older non-canonical works going forward. 

Now I just hope Del Rey and Marvel publishing arms will show a little restraint and not hit us with too much new content each year. The stakes are higher now because all future publishing *will* be canonical. This will become essential reading for all passionate Star Wars fans. 

In fact, this begs the question of will this backfire for fandom? For those who have held to a G-level canon, it has been pretty easy. Just know the six films and you are done. Now it is not so clear. You have the films, the 121 Clone Wars episodes, and every new Star Wars publication across the spectrum - from adult novels to comic books to young adult fiction. Plus the new trilogy and spin-off films. It will be a lot of content to keep track of. I can already hear the obnoxious fanboys' dismissive attitude toward anyone who has not consumed evey part of this content.

Del Rey has already announced four books in the adult novel line. I think 4 books over a 12 month period is plenty. I hope they keep it this way. 

• The first book, Star Wars:A New Dawn by John Jackson Miller, will be a Star Wars Rebels lead in book out this September. 
• Then there is Star Wars:Tarkin by James Luceno featuring that baddie from Death Star I out November. 
• In January next year, we will get Kevin Hearne's Star Wars: Heir to the Jedi, which is a first person Luke story taking place between Episodes IV and V. We may get some tantalizing little character tidbits that might show up in Episode VII. 
• Then in March 2015 we will have Star Wars: Lords of the Sith by Paul Kemp, featuring the Emperor and Darth Vader teaming up. It is a buddy story the likes of which have never been seen before! Maybe?

Oh and do you think they will eventuall drop the "Star Wars:" from future book titles? It will get pretty annoying.

All this is interesting but also safe. Everything is kept within the confines of the OT. I'm wiling to bet these books were in development long before the rethinking of the EU. Perhaps there was a few tweaks of story lines but I don't think there will be much here that impacts future canon. 

We shall see!

Edge of the Empire RPG

In celebration of the second annual International Tabletop Game Day, here are my thoughts on the Star Wars role playing game, Edge of the Empire. If you are looking for tips in preparing for the day, take a look at this post on Geek Dad.

I have not played a lot of role playing games, but I used to pour over the Advanced Dungeon & Dragon rulebooks as a kid. I studied the Player's Handbook and the Dungeon Master's Guide so much I could probably tell you what is on every page. I spent more time creating characters than actually playing the thing.

I never went further than that when it came to this kind of tabletop gaming. I've flirted with the idea of getting back into tabletop RPG (or rather actually playing the thing). However, I would quickly get overwhealmed by the complicated dice and table look-ups and the sheer enormity of the various worlds.

That being said, I am very pleasantly surprised to have discovered one of the latest RPG releases from Fantasy Flight Games - Edge of the Empire. It is a simple system that emphasizes storytelling over elaborate calculations and look-up tables. The key is a collection of specialized dice that have various symbols on them. To make a skill check you get to add good dice (the number and type depends on your character's proficiency & situation) as well as bad dice (depending on your opponent's skills & situation). You roll the pool of dice and see if you end up with more good rolls than bad rolls. It really is that easy!

I won't go into a full review because (1) I still haven't played the game yet and, (2) there are plenty of more reputable sources you find on the web that do a much better job than I ever could! However, here is a summary of what is currently available for this game:

INTRODUCTORY MATERIALS

Beginner Box - This is like the old D & D red box where you get a much reduced rulebook, pre-made characters, dice, and a streamlined adventure, called Escape from Mos Shuuta. It is the try before you buy sampler, which I think is a fantastic idea. I bought the newly revised D&D red box and, though I haven't played it, I feel like I have a good idea what it is like. I am not a big fan of the maps and miniatures that seem to be common among RPG systems these days. I guess I am too old school for that. I am glad that it seems the Edge of Empire RPG does not rely so much on miniatures. This is a perfect place to start with this RPG (released Dec 14, 2012)

The Long Arm of the Hutts - This is a free downloadable adventure from Fantasy Flight Games that continues the story, Escape from Mos Shuuta, started in the Beginner's Game. It also includes two more pre-generated character folios. (released Dec 14, 2012)

CORE MATERIALS

Core Rulebook - Unlike D&D, there is just one rulebook for both player and game-master to use. I like that approach. While it possibly makes it more expensive, it is just more convenient and compact. Apparently the adventure that begins with the Beginner Box continues with the sample adventure, Trouble Brewing, included here. (released Jul 5, 2013)

Game Master's Kit - This kit includes a screen to hide the the actions of the GM, as needed. It also has the adventure, Debts to Pay, included. (released Jul 5, 2013).

ADVENTURES

Under a Black Sun - This adventure was made available during the 2013 Free RPG day. (released Jun 15, 2013)

Beyond the Rim - This is the first full length adventure set in the Edge of the Empire RPG. It is a 3-act adventure. (released Sep 6, 2013)

The Jewel of Yavin - This is the second full length adventure set in the Edge of the Empire RPG. (To be release Q1 2014)

SUPPLEMENTS

Enter the Unknown - This is the first rule supplement that expands the Explorer career (released Dec 6, 2013)

Suns of Fortune - This is a sourcebook supplement for the Corellian system. There are new weapons, ships, and races included here (released Jan 24, 2014).

Dangerous Covenants - This is the second rule supplement that expands the Hired Gun career (released Feb 28, 2014)

Specialization Decks - There are several specialization deck cards available for the each of the paths within each career.

This series is just one of three cross-compatible series planned by Fantasy Flight Games. The other two, Age of the Rebellion and Force & Destiny are due out in 2014 and 2015, respectively. The beta test version of Rebellion was released in September 2013.

If you want to see the downloadable content from Fantasy Flights Games, follow this link.

Thrawn Trilogy as Animated Film

I have been watching the final season, The Lost Missions, of the Clone Wars on Netflix and I must say the animation and storytelling are just incredible. The quality is practically on par with what Pixar, Dreamworks, and Walt Disney Animation are currently cranking out. All of this got me thinking about the future. 

Right now we know we are getting the sequel trilogy, which starts 30 years after Return of the Jedi. We are also going to get spin-off films that we speculate will follow the Marvel Cinematic Universe approach of single character stand-alone movies interspersed with an ensemble picture. We do not know in what time periods these stand alone films will occur, but they won't necessarily be constrained by the Sequel Trilogy timeline.

Meanwhile on television, we will have the regular animated series of Rebels that takes place during the dark times leading up to Episode IV. This looks to be a fun and very kid-friendly series with an all original cast and setting.

All these developments are exciting, but wouldn't it be neat if we got an animated theatrical Star Wars film? I know it was done before with the debut of the Clone Wars series, but that was ill advised since honestly the animation wasn't very good and the team that was put together was just getting started. I dare say that had a theatrical release been held until the end of the series, it would have had a much different reception from fans and critics alike.

I believe Disney-Lucasfilm has all the creative and technical resources to create excellent animated feature films. I think that if they do pursue this type of movie, the Thrawn trilogy would be a fantastic story to bring to life on the big screen.

Why?

First, it would side-step casting issues. Disney was able to create a youthful version of Jeff Bridges in Tron: Legacy, but these were only a handful of scenes. Attempting this technique over the course of an entire film with main characters like Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher would be foolhardy. The alternative of trying to recast those parts with new young actors would not be accepted because, let's face it, Han, Luke, and Leia are icons. Yes, you could use a different actor to portray a young Han Solo, but the Thrawn Trilogy takes place just a short time after Return of the Jedi. Animation avoids these visual problems and you can still use the principal actors as voices or even tap into the rich talents of a wide range of voice actors. 

Second, it is continuity-safe. With Episode VII jumping 30 years into the future and knowing that the Thrawn Trilogy doesn't have galaxy-disturbing events, such as the death of a major character, this story can be easily told. I am all for rebooting the EU, but I'd say of any of the 300+ EU novels, most people would put the Thrawn Trilogy at the top the essential reading list. 

Third, it will tap into the well-known demand for movie adaptations of books. Films like Twilight, Hunger Games, Divergent, and Harry Potter have racked up at the box office. The Thrawn books are well-known, loved, and are New York Times best sellers. It would also be the first Star Wars production where we will know the entire story, not just the ultimate ending, which will keep the snobby fan boy critiques quieted down (if that is even possible).

Fourth, it throws a bone to the EU fans. I expect the legion of fans who have read the legion of Star Wars novels and comic books will be disappointed as vast areas of the EU continuity are erased from the Star Wars galaxy in the Disney-owned reality. It would be an olive branch to those fans and open up the possibility of future animated films looking into other remnant pieces of the EU that could be dubbed "official" by Disney-Lucasfilm.

Last, Disney knows animation. The billion dollar movie, Frozen, proves that once again. Animation provides so much creative freedom you can't get with a live action film. I would love to see the combined forces of Disney and Lucasfilm for a project like this!

Episode VII Deal-killers

We are less than two years away until the premiere of Star Wars Episode VII. But now that we are finally getting some new content released from Disney, starting with the release of the main cast for the Star Wars Rebels animated series and then with Bob Iger's announcement that VII will take place 30 years after Return of the Jedi, it has gotten me thinking.

Now I am going to do my best to go along with whatever direction J. J. Abrams, Kathleen Kennedy, and the rest of the Lucasfilm leadership decide upon. I am already preparing myself for the possible (eventual) deaths of that core trio of the OT, Han, Luke, and Leia. I frankly will be shocked if Han is still alive by the end of VII. However, for me, there are some areas that could really kill off my enthusiasm for the sequel trilogy:

Artoo Detoo is destroyed - Never. Perish the thought! He is such a key part of the fabric of the Star Wars cinematic saga. It would not be Star Wars without Artoo existing out there somewhere. I don't care what other droid you might put in it's place, it is not the same. Threepio, on the other hand, is negotiable....

The Millennium Falcon is destroyed - This one is not so much about sentimentality, though there is quite a bit tangled up here, as it is just cliched. How many Star Trek films feature the destruction on the beloved Enterprise? Somehow the ship manages to survive all sorts of travails and close calls for season after season on TV, but as soon as it hits the big screen we have to have some massive destruction of the ship.

I am still traumatized from Transformers: The Movie (1986) where the creators pretty much destroyed every single character in the first ten minutes of the film and substituted their own, new creations. It is such an "easy out" that my respect for movie directors who go this direction always diminishes. I will say I was pleased that in Star Trek: Into Darkness, Abrams was able to restrain from the total destruction of that Enterprise, so I hold out hope that he won't resort to it in VII.

The Yuuzhan Vong exists and is prominent - I'm sorry EU fans, but I am not a fan of the direction the Expanded Universe took in creating the Vong. I think it was a desparate attempt for new creativity after so many years of Original Trilogy retreads that passed for new novels. If I wanted to see/read that stuff, I can go to Alien and/or Predator. It is too gross/weird/disturbing for the wonderful space opera that Lucas himself said is made for ten year olds. Plus the Force has no affect on them. How lame will that be when all the Jedi are doing are moving their arms around to no effect? I can do that myself. I don't need a movie exploring that possibility. It would remove some the magic of the GFFA.

I mean look at one of the plot points in the last novel of the Vong series: "an awakened but still weakened Jaina Solo is told by the Shamed One, who believes that she is the human avatar of the Vong Trickster goddess Yun-Harla, that he had attained his Force powers by grafting yammosk DNA to his own neural tissue in order to emulate the gods' works in creating the universe." This is supposed to be Star Wars?!

We should have an answer to this question pretty quickly when the trailer comes out. The 30 year time mark that Bob Iger announced is well into the Yuuzhan Vong invasion according to the EU timeline. If Lucasfilm is following such a timeline, which I both doubt and hope not, Episode VII will open up in a very strange world filled with terraformed and destroyed planets. I have my fingers crossed the Vong will be just a footnote to the Star Wars universe!

The Emperor Returns - Can we please be original? I won't mind a cameo of the great Ian McDiarmid's character, but I don't want a reincarnated or cloned Emperor. We've already seen that in the Dark Empire graphic novel. Surely there are other villains out there that we can discover?

Oh, and the EU has pretty much used up all the good "Darth" names. I think the only ones left are Darth Milquetoast, Darth Sithman, and Darth Darth.