Rogue None?

I realize this title may be more clickbaity. This isn't a full on article. Just a brief announcement.

There's a good chance I will be skipping Rogue One during its theatrical run.

I'm not boycotting it. I actually commend them for bringing the Mon Mothma from the RotS deleted scenes back, and hope the rumors about the return of Smitts as Bail are true. And I'll probably catch it and give it a fair shake when it's released to home formats. And remember, I famously would never have even given Clone Wars a second look had my eventual wife not won tickets from a radio contest.

It's just none of the trailers I've seen for it make me the least bit excited. The style it's advertising just doesn't interest me.

If my family decides to go and pay the way, I may go with them. But with limited money, and movies I am excited about such as Fantasic Beasts and Dr. Strange coming out, well...if I had to choose, I'll save my money on Rogue One. So don't expect a timely dissertation from me. If it happens anyway, well, it'll be a nice surprise. Just don't count on it.

And let me know when the official VIII trailer comes out.

Chewie Chewie

(Originally Written for Jedi News)

Kashyyk, home of the Wookiees. It was featured in the Star Wars Holiday Special, and slated to make an appearance in Return of the Jedi before it was replaced with the Forest Moon of Endor. Fans had been dying to see it for years. They finally got their wish in 2005, where the planet features heavily in Revenge of the Sith.

"Come see our majestic fjords."

Expanding and Expanding

(Originally Written for Jedi News)

There seems to be a strange sort of correlation between ardent I-III haters and hardcore fans of what is known as the Star Wars Expanded Universe (EU for short), the collection of books, video games, comics, and even a cartoon or two detailing events in the galaxy far, far away that was not covered in the films. While this is certainly not true of everyone, I am never surprised to see a large selection of EU material in a hater’s library. In fact, there are many haters that hate on the fact that the films are not more like the EU, and in fact contradict it from time to time.

"This is Just the Tip of the Iceberg"

So I thought it would be “fun” for me to extrapolate upon my own opinions regarding the EU, which I have thrown out from time to time. But before we get into the opinion stuff, I do want to reiterate one solid fact that many EU fans either forget or purposefully neglect to mention:

The EU is, by design, since inception, for all intents and purposes, not canon.

Begun, The Clone War Has

Ten years ago, George Lucas and Cartoon Network conspired to tell stories from the fabled Clone Wars, taking place between the recently-released Episode II and the in-production Episode III.

They tapped Genndy Tartakovsky (of "Dexter's Laboratory" and "Samurai Jack" fame) to make a traditionally animated micro-series. The result was simply "Star Wars: Clone Wars."

Now, I'll admit to only having seen bits and pieces of this special over the years, but its lasting legacy is felt. Asajj Ventress, one of the more popular EU characters, made her debut here inspired by rejected concepts of what would become Count Dooku. General Grievous also made an early bird cameo, and became more of a player as events lead up to the Battle of Coruscant. And though I find its CGI spiritual successor a far better show overall, it's obvious that the character designs were greatly inspired by Tartakovsky's (and they work better in traditional animation as well).

Like any expanded universe story, much of it is not quite canon and from what I understand some of it was contradicted in the later series. While this is probably for the best, one must pay homage to this first and pretty decent attempt to tell of this legendary time.

From Senator to Emperor (Part 2)

(Originally Written for Jedi News)


When we last left our villain, he had just managed to take the top seat in the Republic government, though not quite in the way he expected. He would have to be far more careful as he went on to the grandest scheme of the era...

From Senator to Emperor (Part 1)

(Originally Written for Jedi News)

George Lucas has said that the Star Wars Saga is Anakin Skywalker’s story. And it’s not that difficult to see when all is said and done, even though I’ve always felt it was more about the Skywalkers in general than any one member of the family, especially since IV-VI were half done before even the filmmakers knew Anakin was around.

This, of course, was the main reason for the existence of Episodes I-III. It was meant to tell the story of Anakin’s rise and fall, and then set up his eventual redemption in Return of the Jedi. And it’s a good story, all told. But just as interesting as Anakin’s tale, if not more, is the concurrent subplot of the one who would drive the final bolt into the iconic black suit.

Never Give Up, Never Surrender

(Originally Written for Jedi News)

I had another article planned for this week. It’ll still get here, but I’m pushing it to next week because there’s a very important topic I want to discuss.

Those of us who are true, true Saga fans are being beaten down left and right. Our morale is weak anyway due to Disney not taking the Marvel/Pixar “hands-off” approach we had hoped for and instead gutting Star Wars and Lucasfilm like a boned fish (Disney, I grew up with you, but you’re making it really really hard to say anything nice about you right now). But with the sale, the haters have come out of the woodwork anew. That’s why I wrote the post that landed me this column in the first place.

With all this hatred and ignorance, it seems that many of us are starting to bend. Many of us are being beaten down by the storm that we’re devolving.

We’re becoming apologists.

Well, no, I’m sorry. I’m not going to apologize. I have nothing to apologize for. Neither does George Lucas or the cast and crew of any of the Star Wars films.

Am I willing to concede that I-III aren’t perfect? Well, it is the truth. Nothing IS perfect, after all. But…screw it. I won’t concede. In my eyes, they ARE perfect. Or as near to as can be achieved. I might be persuaded to concede that point if everyone else concedes that IV-VI weren’t perfect either, and for all the same reasons. In fact, I’ll go into much more detail on that in a month’s time (stay tuned).

People who love I-III and the Saga as a whole may very well have their own problems with them. But by giving the rabid haters an inch, we’re allowing them to take a mile and still be the dominant thought process. History is written by the winners. It doesn’t matter that all the films were box office smashes. It doesn’t matter that all the films had as many good reviews as bad ones. It doesn’t matter that a new generation grew up loving all of Star Wars. By conceding in any of these points, even if we can see where they’re coming from, we’re allowing the “OT = Perfect, PT = Garbage” fallacy to live on and become validated. And as I and many others have pointed out for the last fourteen years or so, all the complaints are shaky at best and come down entirely to personal tastes.

I will say again and again, to all the armchair critics, pretentious auteur-wannabies, hipsters, cynics, trolls, and executives: All of the Star Wars films are good movies. I’m even done with “if you find X a bad thing then they’re all bad” line. No, they’re good, well-made movies. You don’t have to like them, hell there are plenty of objectively good movies I can’t stand because they’re not my style. But you can’t deny the hard work that went into all six Star Wars films, nor the fact that they all continue to succeed in striking a chord with their intended audiences. Anyone who does is either completely ignorant or lying through their teeth, and nobody will ever be able to convince me otherwise. Those of you who praise IV-VI for their direction, cinematography, effects, and performance should see the same caliber in I-III because it’s there. If your “trained eyes” can’t see it, then you are blinded by something I can’t begin to imagine and nothing I say will make you see what’s in front of your face, so I’ll no longer waste my breath. You know what to look for, so you find it. It’s there, I swear.

And before you start calling me a hypocrite, I never ever state something is a fact without empirical proof, either from what the movies are saying or what Lucas and the cast and crew have said in the myriad of books, interviews, and making-of documentaries. Any time I present a debatable interpretation, I do try to label it as such. I’m also stressing that I’m not trying to force anyone to think exactly as I think, merely to intelligently examine the material before putting someone else down for liking it.

I love Star Wars. There is no such thing as an “Original Trilogy.” There is no such thing as a “Prequel Trilogy.” There is no such thing as “Special Editions” or “Expanded Universe” or “Clone Wars.” There is simply the Star Wars Saga. And I love the Star Wars Saga truly, deeply, unabashedly.

No apologies. Not now, not ever.

Clone Wars 5.11: A Sunny Day in the Void

They're...uh....they're flocking this way...

Spoilers ahead

Clone Wars 5.10: Secret Weapons

Oh dear god, a pit droid...

Spoilers to follow

Clone Wars 5.09: A Necessary Bond

What's Hondo doing with Fett's ship?

Spoilers ahead

Clone Wars 5.08: Bound for Rescue

Isn't joining the Jedi order already like running away to join the circus?

Spoilers ahead

WW: Old Republic Free To Play

Well, it's official. The Old Republic goes Free-to-Play this week.

And...I'm not going back just yet.

I don't mind putting some of my characters on the back burner, but no way I'm not playing my main character, a Sith Inquisitor named Binx.

Now, in order to sell their greatest strength, the story, they did not put level caps on the Free-To-Play accounts. What they did do was limit species. Human, Zabrak, and Cyborg.

Binx is Twi'lek.

I hate humans. My Zabrak Jedi Knight Simara is my co-main, so that wouldn't be too bad. I do have a Cyborg 2nd-tier (but she's a Bounty Hunter and if I could only choose one or two, I would prefer Force-Users).

I'll do more research, but it looks like I'm going to be wishing for those timecards after all.

UPDATE 11/16: So I logged in to check and I found that they would let me play Binx even as a Twi'Lek. I guess since she's my highest-level character she was grandfathered it, though if I ever wanted to make another Twi'Lek I'm sure I'd have to go through Subscription or Cartel Coins.

Oh yeah, I'm pissed I don't get Cartel Coins from all I've given them since launch, just because I couldn't re-subscribe in the month before the change. Plus, apparently my server was merged with another and I had to rename half my characters. Binx becoming Rajbinx wasn't so bad. The rest however...ugh. I might even restart my Consuler as a new race if I can ever scrape the coins enough to buy my slots back.

On the upside, if I do get some Cartel Coins, I can pretty much buy most of my conveniences back, plus Cathaur whenever they come out. So, for now, I'm sticking with the Old Republic, just not very often.

Clone Wars 5.07: A Test of Strength

I remember every lightsaber I ever sold, Mr. Potter.

Spoilers Ahead

Clone Wars 5.06: The Gathering

Wicked. Cute.

Spoilers Ahead

Clone Wars 5.05: Tipping Points

Literally....

Spoilers Ahead

Clone Wars 5.04: The Soft War

I wonder how this will resolve itself...

Spoilers Ahead

Clone Wars 5.03: Front Runners

One man's plucky rebel is another man's terrorist.

Spoilers ahead

Clone Wars 5.02: A War On Two Fronts

Never bring a Jedi into a Love Triangle.

Spoilers Ahead

Clone Wars 5.01: Revival

I'd say Maul's plan cost an arm and a leg.

Spoilers to follow...

Clone Wars Update

As good as my word, I shall be giving episode-by-episode reviews of the Clone Wars animated series when it returns, which appears to be September 29th. The time, as has been reported elsewhere, has been moved to Saturday Mornings, though I'll most likely catch the episodes on Starwars.com since they edit out the commercials in a way that makes it seem like they were never supposed to be there in the first place.

Now, I missed Celebration IV (sadness forever), so I did not see the premiere episode(s?) of which reviews have already been popping up. Tough cookies, I'm still going to review it when it premieres to the general public. That's my promise to all of you.