Mog

So, I finally caved and purchased a Bastila Shan off of Ebay. Between kids and work, I wasn't gonna be one of the first people there when the stores opened up. But before I continue, I gotta say "thanks" to David Hingtgen for the following post: Because of it, I became super anal-retentive about making sure I customized Bastila to be as video-game accurate in color as possible! Here's my results (apologies for the flash shot): What's crazy is that the pink portions actually look orange in certain lighting:

After a bunch of missteps and "meh" episodes this past season or two, I gotta admit that this week's ep ("Broadway Bro Down") was an awesome return to form for the series. Freakin' brilliant!

Graham will be most please with this ep. Now that I know that General Krell is one of those four-armed aliens, it kinda, sorta makes sense why he'd be dual-wielding two double-bladed sabers (other than the "kewl" factor). Also, I'm almost certain one of those 501st clones, after seeing Krell's demeanor, was thinking (with a Kiwi-accent): "What I wouldn't give to initiate Order 66 on that sorry fool's ass!" Very promising start to the four-parter!

Something nobody else has. (Well, technically, the stickers and scheme are what make it unique.)

Don't we just...ahem...upgrade to the younger, hotter looking version? You know the one that's not so chunky and doesn't have any sagging parts? The one that's tighter all around and is willing (and able) to pull off all sorts of exotic poses and positions?

Based on all the other angles, the fighter mode looks great. It's just that side profile shot that really gives me pause. Maybe if the nose was extended a little bit (like anime52k8 said), it would help. But then, we'd have the issue of the codpiece in battroid looking a bit too long. Compromises between the three modes. Always a tricky thing to manage.

Would it have made the film better or worse if Lance ended it by saying, "Dammit Keith! I told you to quit screwing around and just form Blazing Sword from the start!"

I just can't get over how chubby and stubby she looks in that fighter side profile shot. Is the fighter mode supposed to look like that?

Now that I've seen the trailer, how long will it take before someone puts Tony's witty comeback onto a T-shirt?

I actually died out laughing at how R2 (or technically, Threepio) inadvertently took care of the leader in that first planet. After falling asleep during last week's episode, I just figured "eff it"; this is gonna be one of those "Threepio and R2 Forrest Gump their way through the Star Wars universe" episodes. At least, the creators embraced the concept whole-heartedly and went over-the-top and ridiculous with their ideas.

Since we're posting old pics. . . Sunset shot:

Time to show how much of a nerd I am: But there's a DS9 re-launch book called Unity (set after Season 7) that actually has those bug things as a major threat.

So, Mon Calamari for the season premiere, and Naboo for this last episode. Is the next episode gonna be set on Manaan?

I'd personally say start with the season finale from Season 2 and then work your way on up. That episode introduces the Jem'hadar and has a really awesome observation made by Quark (of all people). However, the following stand-out episodes from Season 1 are also required viewing: * The Emissary = A little slow in parts, but gives you an intro into who the characters are and what personal baggage they're carrying with them when they first come on board the station. * Duet = Easily in the top 10 or top 5 best episodes in all of DS9's run. * In the Hands of the Prophets = Another solid ep that introduces a few key recurring characters.

Actually, if Hasbro had the license, we'd have something like 20 Kakizaki VF-1A's, 2 Cannon Fodders, and 1 VF-1S Roy in each case assortment. Or worse, we'd have so many pegwarmers clogging the shelves that we'd never see the later cases/waves of the Max and Milia VF-1J's and Regulds. And you can forget about ever seeing a Low-Viz out in an actual brick-and-mortar store. Hasbro can do some things right. But their distribution and case assortments have much, MUCH to be desired.

Meh, Voyager never really found its own voice. I hate the fact that I waited five to six years for that series to ever come into its own. However, I still find that DS9 still stands the test of time. I actually brought my Season 5 DVDs of DS9 with me while I was out on training last week. Now, I'll admit there are a few clunkers in there. But overall, a lot of those episodes are still very rewatchable and enjoyable. Great stories, characters that stayed true to their traits, differences of opinions amongst crew members and with recurring guest characters (that didn't necessarily mean CONFLICT, but made the stories a hell of a lot more interesting), and recurring characters that actually grew, developed, and even went down unexpected paths over the years. Damn good stuff.

Not too shabby of an ending. I still kinda a wished one of the Jedi just said "eff it," and went nonchalant, cold-blooded Sith on little ol' Shark-boy. But at least, he still went out in a punked-ass way. Also, no... ...but I still enjoyed the episode nonetheless.

You never saw Highlander: The Source, I take it? I honestly don't know whether a reboot would either help or hurt the franchise.

What? We couldn't throw some Selkaths and some more Kit Fistos* up into this bitch? Don't know why, but wasn't really feeling tonight's double episodes. Story felt kinda like same-old, same-old. The prince seemed pretty cookie-cutter. And shark-boy was so annoying that I wanted one of the Jedi to just Force-rip his jaw apart and be done with him. And how can we have Honestly, I didn't think the episodes sucked outright, but I wouldn't necessarily call them great either. Just adequately entertaining. * (I'm too lazy to look up his race's name)

I'm sorry, but the latest BSG is what Voyager SHOULD have been. It was the ST series with the best potential from the get-go, and they royally screwed the pooch with the minimal amount of character development, the recycled stories/plotlines, and the lack of balls to really push the envelope with their unique characteristics. I mean seriously, where was the Maquis/Starfleet tensions and conflicts? Other than a few episodes in the first season, they became utterly nonexistent. There were GUEST characters on DS9 with more character development than any of the MAIN cast on Voyager. Harry Kim and Chakotay never really changed much from Season 1 all the way to Season 7. Heck, DS9's Rom had more character development than any of the Voyager cast not named 7 of 9 or the Doctor. And did the ship ever take any sort of damage or need any sort of long-term overhauls as it was all by its lonesome out in the Delta Quadrant? Other than a few episodes, the ship always looked in top shape. Contrast that with BSG, where the Old Bucket never looked the same after struggling to get to that Algae Planet. And maybe because it was on the ratings-struggling UPN, but some of those teaser trailers they had for next week's episodes were annoying examples of bait-and-switch tactics (Their first Borg episode comes to mind. ). Like I said, so much wasted potential. And Voyager utterly squandered it, played it safe, and never took any true risks. It's the series that burned me out on Trek.

George couldn't stop himself and tweaked one of the prequels already:

Make 'em dance:

I just waited until the DVDs (with the unedited, original, and unfortunately, non-anamorphic, versions on a separate disc) went for sale at $10 each at Target. I'm sure that all the deleted/bonus scenes from the Blu-Rays will eventually be posted on the Internet later on, so no sweat off my back. <shrugs>

Yeah, we all know the annoying "revisions" that George Lucas has made to the Star Wars films over the years. But what changes would YOU have made to any or all of the Star Wars films? For me, Attack of the Clones is probably the weakest of the lot, so I'll focus my venom there. 1) With the romance, what the F@#% did Padme see in Anakin? What the hell was ever shown in the film (as is) that would motivate her to marry little Ani'? Even a little comment about Padme feeling a bit envious of her sister (because of the children and family life she has) would have helped this utterly ignored aspect of the romance. 2) The whole "I hate sand" scene: Whoever greenlighted the idea to have Anakin touch Padme's hand AND THEN touch her bare back is a clueless IDIOT. Any sane guy with a wife or girlfriend knows this, ahem, "move" would never fly. And instead of that stupid diatribe over why he hates sand, why not just have Anakin say something like, "I hate sand; it reminds me too much of ......home." Give Anakin and Padme something to truly bond over. 3) Where's the ACTIONS that show that Anakin is a good, up-and-coming Jedi? Hey George, it's not enough to SAY that a character is good and/or powerful. The ACTIONS on-screen have to DEMONSTRATE those particular traits. It's sad when the Clone Wars cartoon does more to show the goodness of Anakin than anything in AOTC. 4) Where's the actions and dialogue that show the fun, respect, and camaraderie in Anakin and Obi-Wan's relationship? At least Episode III fixed this when those two landed on Grievous' ship. But damn, it was too much whiney brat and overbearing/follow-the-rules-to-the-letter teacher in AOTC. Inject some fun (and a hell of a lot more witty) back-and-forth banter between those two! Going back to my earlier point, Anakin says that Obi-Wan is like a father to him. What the hell was ever shown on-screen in Ep. II that would help support that claim?! 5) Where's Padme's wooden necklace thingy that Anakin made? It shows up in Phantom Menace. It shows up again in Revenge of the Sith. Hell, it even shows up in Volume II of the Clones War cartoon!! Where the hell was it during Attack of the Clones?!! Heaven forbid George uses that little trinket to help move the romance angle along! So, what would be your suggestions?

While it's not my first choice, the first subtle "no" was okay. Doesn't detract from the scene; but doesn't exactly add much from the original "no spoken words" version. I could have lived with just that minor change. But the stupid, drawn-out "NOOOOOOOOO!!!!"? It really frakkin' killed one of the most memorable and most dramatic scenes of the entire Original Trilogy. And yes, I get that he's trying to thematically tie it back to Vader's "NOOOOO!" in Ep III. But I found that whole "Homage to Frankenstein's Monster" bit to be one of the weakest aspects of the otherwise solid Ep. III. Mini-tangent: If it was up to me, I would have redone that whole scene by having Vader fall to his knees instead; let out a more primal, almost growling "NOOOO!!" (like how a pained or emotionally strained Wolverine would scream it); then have Vader slowly get back up while quietly going back to his usually controlled breathing cadence; and have him stare back at Palpatine. End the scene making you wonder whether Vader's simmering with anger towards Palps or just trying to calm himself down after a little emotional outburst. So, what's next? Is George gonna revise that Ep. III scene where Anakin and Padme stare out at the Coruscant skyline (presumably at each other) because there's no dialogue?