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