Gubaba

Kim Deal hugged me once. I was quite thrilled. Molly Bloom would have you believe it's "met-him-pike-hoses," but she's wrong.

No, I meant instead of Shadow Chronicles. If, after the failure of RT3000, they realized that fans wanted more Rick Hunter, why didn't they do the Sentinels instead of retconning it out of existence and replacing it with Shadow Chronicles? (Could it be because the Sentinels story sucked? Nah, that can't be it... )

I don't see how it can't. I just finished watching "The War of the Gods Part I." The one where Patrick McNee shows up as the not-very-subtly named "Count Iblis," and promises to protect the Galactica if he becomes their leader. Meanwhile, a heavenly city and some unconvincing lights are chasing him, the filmmakers use overexposed film to simulate a planet with red vegetation, and Anne Lockhart, while cute enough, is no Mrs. Peel. Man, this show is dreadful. I can't believe it A) has fans that prefer it to the newer series, and B) has fans at all. EDIT: I almost forgot...there was one line in the episode made me laugh so hard that I wrote it down. Apollo: "Doctor, is it possible that this man, however handsome, could be an android?"

And I'm sure slogging through a bit more of the original series will make it seem all the better.

If they were serious about doing that, why didn't they just continue the Sentinels?

No Season 3 this week...I guess it's time for a few more episodes of the original series.

Really? Every musician I've played that album for loves it (or already owns it). The thing I find fascinating about the Shaggs is that it should be impossible to play that way. If I try to play or sing one of their songs, I automatically add more traditional rhythm than is actually there. They sound like they've had music described to them, but have never heard any.

But not the beginning of Chapter 3?

Okay, well, something that sounds like nothing you've heard before. Unless you have this album, that is.

I would be cheaper to do so...the only problem is size. Macross Ace has larger pages than the collected volume. I don't have the book yet (it should be arriving this week or next), but if it's like most manga volumes, the color pages from the magazine will be in B&W for the book. Other than that, yeah...there's not much to lose by skipping the magazine if you only want Macross the First.

Well, of course they do...with very little forward momentum over the past couple of decades, anyone who really loves Robotech must have asked themselves dozens of times, "How would I do it differently?" Some express their answers on the forums, some in fan fiction, some in fan art, and a few in fan films. Some of the work that I've seen is of excellent quality, sometimes better than the original. But still...the problems start, I think, when fans start thinking of themselves not merely as fans of a series, but as unofficial creators, business advisors, and story editors for that series. Yes, the fans support the work...no fans, no work. But the fans do not own the franchise. The majority of fans have no idea how the write or direct a movie, or how to run an entertainment company. Enthusiastic fans are a plus; vocal fans are a mixed blessing; fans that offer unasked-for criticism and advice are usually a curse. Has HG asked the fans what they want to see? If so, well and good. If they haven't, then we can only assume they don't want it. Each fan is only a small part of each franchise. I have bought A LOT of Macross stuff over the years; I don't think that buys me any kind of access to decision-making on the part of Macross's creators and investors. If Shoji Kawamori came up to me out of the blue and said, "Hey, I'm working on a new Macross series, and the writing staff is a little perplexed about what to do for it. Do you have any ideas," then HELL YES, I would tell him what I wanted to see. But if I approached him at a convention and said, "Hi, I've bought thousands of dollars of Macross CDs, books, DVDs, and model kits, and I think you should do X with the franchise," then I'm only stroking my own ego by making myself out to be more important than I am. Fan works can be fun, and interesting, and sometimes better than the professional works. But they shouldn't usurp the place of the professional works.

I'm pretty sure the contracts for collected volumes are drawn up BEFORE the manga starts running...I imagine we'll see collected volumes of all the comics in Macross Ace as soon as there's enough material...probably by summer of next year for most of them. And yeah...next issue comes out in March. I hope they at least up it to quarterly soon.

I caught an episode of that on TV in Japan in January 2008, soon after it started airing. Made me do a double take for DAMN sure.

Are you watching it along with us? I believe it's part of VFTF1's thesis that there's less filler than most people remember...

I'll be heading out to the coffee shop soon. I saw my DVD provider yesterday, so she she knew I was two episodes away from the end of Season 2. However, she also likes to torture me...so whether she'll bring Season 3 with her tonight is anybody's guess.

Episode 3: Fire Scramble First Appearances: Akiko Hojo Eyecatches: Gamlin / Mylene Songs played (besides OP/ED): Soko ni Aru no ga Mirai Dakara; Totsugeki Loveheart (a capella); My Soul for You; Planet Dance (drums only) I haven't read VFTF1's comments yet; and yet again, I watched the episode raw. I noticed that the dialogue is getting a little more involved, because I understood less than I had the previous two episodes. Anyway, when I first watched this episode, I found myself slightly annoyed by the rather predictable plot line here: Basara pisses off some people, but then sways them through his music (or the fact that he's playing in while flying in the middle of a battle). This time 'round (this is probably the fifth or sixth time I've watched it), I still find it contrived. We get the start of the "Success-oriented Mylene vs. Spontaneous Basara" dynamic that continues through the show - and pisses off a lot of people who already dislike Basara. I'm not sure WHY it's such a bothersome point, though. Basara doesn't really care about success, or fame, or business. I don't see why there's anything wrong with that. But, of course, we also get one of Basara's most infuriating moments: when he beats up the guys and then blames Mylene for making him hit them. I think it's pretty clear that the audiences sympathies are meant to be with Mylene here, but still...it's an odd scene. The battle scene is already reusing footage from the previous episodes, and playing a ballad kind of sucks most of the thrill out of it, although it's nice to see that Basara is trying something musically different to try to get through to the aliens. But still, the battle seems to be there solely to get the Queen & King and Mosaic Band fans to like Basara. It feels tacked-on to me. This episode DOES however, have one of my all-time favorite throw-away gags, with the couple cornered by the juice machines. So...not a bad episode by any stretch, but not a great episode, either. It's at this point, I believe, that anyone expecting another SDFM or Macross Plus will start to get a REAL sinking feeling.

From Macross Ace #002. This is the one that was quoted in the first post.

Nothing yet. 1.0 took about six or seven months to come out on DVD, so 2.0 will probably follow suit.

It's "Be-Bop-a-Lula," and it was by Gene Vincent, not Buddy Holly. It's also not bebop.

Yeah...my DVD provider said that Episode 1 of Season 3 was the first episode she ever saw, and she was hooked instantly. I saw her briefly yesterday, and told her I was finishing up Season 2, so she'd BETTER bring Season 3 when I see her today...

Christ, you guys weren't kidding about surprises ahead...I watched "Lay Down Your Burdens" Part 1, and the whole episode seemed like set-up. Then I started watching Part 2, and it continued to seem like set-up. And then...Cloud Nine were ka-blooey, it felt like the pay-off was about to start, and then... Well, as you all know, it jumped PAST the pay-off; if I hadn't known there were more seasons coming up, I would've thought it was an epilogue or something. As it is...WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING??? (Again, don't answer that.) Now I really don't know where the show's going anymore...

Not unless you can read Japanese well enough to search the blogs and find any reports. Which I don't think you can.

I'm in a coffee shop right now, and I'll probably go out with friends later. So maybe late tonight (depending on how drunk I am) or tomorrow morning (depending on how hung-over I am). EDIT: I can, however, post the entire interview from last issue, since I have the scans with me. Give a moment to resize them... FURTHER EDIT: On second check, I guess I don't have them with me...sorry.

Sorry, I should've made myself clearer...I was agreeing with you. I wish I could...I find it really hard to translate these kind of interviews. It was sheer bloody-mindedness that got me through the Yoshino interview way back when. But I'll see if I can hammer out a summary or something. Not soon, though.

I'm not sure I trust her as CAG, though...we'll see where it goes. I just hope she stops drinking so heavily. I'll be finishing Season 2 today. If my DVD provider brings Season 3 to me this weekend, I'll continue on. If not, I'll go back to laughing at the original series for a week or so (Maybe I could actually finish it? I'm more than halfway through...not counting the execrable Galactica 1980, of course).