This week’s Star Wars arc feature: Empire. Highlights: We share additional “original” Star Wars experiences with callers, discuss stories without beginnings or endings, again talk “vintage” toys, wonder how bad tauntauns must smell (considering Han could still smell ‘em in the cold), analyze Han’s decision to follow Leia (and what it means for his “scoundrel” ways), argue the morality of Lando’s “betrayal,” and look forward to Jedi next week. Reminder: Chuck and Sean will be at the NYC meetup tonight: Ashtons, 6pm at 208 E 50th St, Btwn 2nd & 3rd Ave (subway E,V,6 at 51st and Lexington).
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It’s time for the Star Wars that started it all: Episode IV, A New Hope. Highlights: we discuss the female fascination with the man in black, argue the meaning of “high maintenance,” notice (yet again) that Leia is smokin’ hot, talk droid knowledge and their interaction with Vader in the original trilogy, comment on Ben’s lie of omission, bemoan the Han/Greedo-shoot-at-same-time DVD (but love the sound), pontificate on Tatooine fashion, love on Alec’s trend-setting Jedi appearance, and watch Ani crank on that TIE’s control knob like he’s makin’ butter.
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This week we check out Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. Highlights: we rejoice in the magic moment when Vader dons his helmet (and bag on his NOOOOOOOOOOOOO reaction a bit), comment on Padme’s womb of holding, note that Aunt Beru is actually quite hot, hear Audra’s Ep. III hair analysis (read: Padme++, Anakin++, Obi’s Beard–), and thoroughly delve into Anakin’s deliverance to the dark side and what it means for next week’s New Hope.
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In our second Star Wars arc podcast we take on Episode II: Attack of the Clones. Highlights: we debate the wrongness of Anakin’s Tusken slaughter, question Qui-Gon’s/Obi-Wan’s parenting skills, wonder why the Republic allows “temporary replacement senators,” discuss the downsides of Sith apprenticeship, hunt for female Jedi, and again marvel at Palpatine’s masterful manipulative skills.
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During the hiatus we’re delving into some other stories, and this week marks the beginning of our Star Wars podcast arc — and our re-watch of Episode I: The Phantom Menace. Highlights: we discuss what the Trade Federation is, why Naboo is remotely important (and why you should care), see midi-chlorians as Star Wars’ glowing cylon backs, question Anakin’s “virgin birth,” note how the Jedi could’ve saved the galaxy for a few creds by buying Anakin’s mother out of slavery, decide it’s OK to say Natalie Portman is hot because she’s over 21 now (and that Anakin’s “are you an angel?” line totally works), hear part one of Sean’s Yoda rant, and compare pod racing to NASCAR (Tusken sugar-water/pot-shots at racers = Talladega beer/boobs).
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I’m totally engrossed in Dark Horse’s Star Wars series, especially Legacy. And though I’ve been able to track down almost all of the series locally in either trade paperback or back issues, for some reason #16 (above) eludes me. I’m sure I could order it from somewhere, but I thought I’d ask GWCers first. Anyone have a copy they’d be willing to sell me?
Star Wars Legacy #16: Claws of the Dragon, Pt. 3 [Dark Horse]
An online gaming site confirmed today that lucky 360, PS3, PS2, PSP, Wii, and DS players will indeed be able to step inside the black suit and play as Darth Vader in the upcoming Star Wars: The Force Unleashed game — but only in the first level because the man in black is just too powerful. From that point forward, players will proceed as Vader’s “secret padawan.”
While this is good news for most people, it’s bad for me — and for Sean. We never got past the level in Battlefront II in which Vader’s playable because each time one of us became Vader we relentlessly force choked everyone, including each other. Though team-killing is normally de rigueur-no, it’s completely permissible when you’re playing Luke’s dad. Why? Because you’re Vader, of course.
Here’s to enjoying the first level a few times before we give up.
Vader Playable In SW: TFU [QJ.net]
After attending a Microsoft blogger event in Singapore recently, CNet Asia’s resident “geek” Nicholas Khoo reports that the much anticipated next game in the Star Wars canon, Force Unleashed will descend upon we rabid fans September 16th this year. Those of you in Asia will have to wait until the next day, and the rest of Europe will just have to suffer until the 19th.
‘Unleashed in you-can’t-play-but-can-watch demo form continues to garner rave previews from numerous sources, and Khoo suggests that goody-goody gamers may be able to find an angelic path in the game — even though you apparently start as Darth Vader’s secret apprentice. Woot!
Khoo’s Blogger Party/Gear Score [CNet Asia]
SW: TFU [Lucasarts.com]
Those of you who haven’t yet seen Robot Chicken’s incredibly-funny Star Wars parody episode — yes, both of you — can now check it out, assuming you have an XBox 360 and 240 remaining Microsoft points. (That’s about $3.) The folks in Redmond have added the show to their XBox Video Marketplace (XVM).
Personally, I’m still holding out for the DVD, which is still scheduled for a May 20th release. While I love the idea of renting via download, I’m still not wholly sold on the portability of downloaded media — especially via XVM. What happens when the next gen consoles hit streets in a few years? I’m planning on re-watching Robot Chicken far past that point.
On the other hand, if I hadn’t already seen it, I’d gladly shell out $3 for it — considering it a rental of sorts. And as far as I can tell, this is the only legal way to watch it right now.
Of course, for those of you possessed more of the dark side, there’s always YouTube and bittorrent.
Robot Chicken Star Wars [XVM] [via]
Few sci-fi universes are as complex as Star Wars, whose story takes form in not only six (released in reverse order) films, but also novels, comics, television, DVD, and even games. Sure, Trek and other franchises have found their way into all these mediums. But in most cases, releases beyond TV and movies are non considered part of the story canon, whereas with Star Wars they often are.
There are, of course, exceptions, which only increase the complexity of navigating what happened outside the Star Wars movies.
That’s where fan wiki’s come into play. Let’s face it: fan wikis are any newbie’s first stop when jumping into a complex story ‘verse. As of yesterday, one of my favorite Star Wars wikis, Wookieepedia, flipped over a milestone, serving fans for three years. Congrats, folks! Here’s to many more years of patching together the ever-larger (and ever-stranger) Star Wars story — and to keeping me in the know as I check out more and more of it.
And don’t forget the Battlestar wiki, to which a number of active GWCers contribute. In fact, if you have a moment, let me know in comments what other fan wikis you commonly visit. For example, I could really use a good X-Men wiki. Ideas?
Wookieepedia [Wiki]
Battlestar Wiki [Wiki]
PS: Thanks to blog Cryptomundo for the awesome wookiee photo. Check out their post on the history of Wookiees which — among lots of other interesting facts — explains the correct way to spell the name of Kasyyyk-dwellers.
Based on numerous recommendations from GWCers I’ve torn into Alan Moore’s Watchmen. Even though I’m only two chapters/issues in, it’s amazing how much popular sci-fi/comic culture draws from this story and the way it’s presented. It’s gritty, ugly, and often uncomfortable to read, but I can already tell that it’s going to give me new insight into the other material I consume.
I also recently jumped into both early and late Star Wars tales in the form of the 125-years-post-Episode-IV Legacy series and the thousands-of-years-earlier Knights of the Old Republic. Incredibly, I’ve never been exposed to the “greater” Star Wars universe, except through a two-year ongoing explanation from Sean. It’s great to see the story in vivid art now, too.
Thanks again for the recommendations, everyone. And I totally look forward to discussing these with you soon!
Personally, I think whoever made this — the poster claims it’s not his — deserves internet immortality far more than the Star Wars Kid. This is comedy genius.
GWCers on Flickr
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