It’s not that I don’t care that today is the 35th anniversary of the original theatrical release of Star Wars. Nor is it that I am usually all that concerned about general inability to scrape together an original thought about anything ever. But the combination of these two things strikes me as good reason not to get into it with the Star Wars thing, right now.
Chaos Theory: Utopian Death Culture: An Analysis Of The World Of “Luck Of The Draw.”
I don’t know what else to say.
“…so let me get this straight. A trailer for your show gets released. Everybody likes the trailer. Everybody says they hope it becomes a real show. So you immediately — the same day — decide to dump it off as a web series? I’m genuinely impressed, SyFy. Most TV stations would be thrilled to air a show their target audience seems excited about — but the minute you hear people genuinely like B&C, and have definite proff of them enjoying it, you cancel it.” {From: Seriously, SyFy, What the @#$% Are You Doing – Topless Robot.}
While I’m sure that SyFy made their decision based solely on some set of esoteric financial criteria that we mortals aren’t likely to comprehend, I don’t suppose it’s unreasonable to suspect conspiracy here. Specifically, I think that SyFy hates nerds.
Nerds have gotten used to the fact that there are a lot of businesses out there trying to cater to their whims, which is unfortunate. Because this allows them to forget two important things: First, nerds are an extremely LOUD, but not particularly LARGE group, meaning that the financial payoff for courting them is not as big as you’d think it would be.
Second, nerds are thoughtful, committed, and the biggest freaking crybabies you will ever see on the Internet. Is it any wonder why media companies often hate dealing with us? I mean, fans in general are crazy, but nerdish fans are terrifying.
So, Syfy–a network that has been doing everything it can to distance itself from SciFi, to the point that they changed their name to a ridiculous nonsense word–puts out a trailer and notes the positive responses of a community of limited financial interest that’s also a pain in the ass to deal with. It makes sense that they decided to run that trailer’s series on the web, leaving network bandwidth open for more wrestling.
“This is a smart excavation of the marketing campaign for John Carter, and this is an excellent point: ‘Because the Barsoom books were so influential to cinema’s greatest sci-fi auteurs, just about everything in it had already been plundered and reused by other hits. And as a result, the more that was revealed of John Carter, the more derivative it looked, even if its source had originated these ideas.’ Totally true!” {From: Tim Riggins in Space | The Awl.}
This is similar to the problem I had when I read the original Jekyll and Hyde story. I’ve seen so many parodies, re-tellings, and homages over the years, that the original was almost intolerable. Especially since all of the tension in the story is meant to come from the mysterious relationship between the two title characters.
Oddly enough, I have read A Princess of Mars, and I liked it well enough. But I don’t expect older books to be fresh and exciting (I’m after something else when I read them, usually), whereas I do sort of expect that kind of thing from big-budget sci-fi epics. Which means that I guess I don’t mind if the movie completely departs from the book? That sounds weird, but it’s more complicated than I have time for.
I once made a (not quite so solemn) vow that I would never set foot in a comic book shop again. No, I don’t remember why. But I do have an idea of the reason I’ll soon have for breaking that vow, maybe.
If George Lucas ever says anything to you, or within the range of your hearing ability, please do the world a favor and consider not recording it, not writing it down, not repeating it, and not publishing it. Imagine what a wonderful world this would be if everything that came out of Lucas’s mouth just dispersed into the ether like morning fog.
You know, as much as I dislike the Star Wars prequels, I don’t really bear any animosity towards George Lucas. I think he is somewhat lazy, self-deluded, and (apparently) over-sensitive, but if those traits were justification enough to despise a man, I’d have written off most of the whole human race by now.
But I’m glad he’s retiring. Go have a nice, long rest, buddy. I mean, you’ve accomplished a lot! There’s no need to, for example, make any more movies or TV shows or anything. Take up a hobby, do something fun! In private! Especially–and I want to make this absolutely clear–something that has nothing at all to do with Star Wars again, ‘kay?
Who wouldn’t enjoy a teapot shaped like DeForest Kelley’s head? Nobody, that’s who. If you buy one, I suggest putting it somewhere in your bedroom where it can watch you sleep. Sweet tea and sweet dreams!
Have I ever told you about that old Mr. Spock liquor decanter I used to have? There’s no better way to relax than coming home from a long day of work, pulling Leonard Nimoy’s head off, and pouring yourself a drink.
This was noted everywhere yesterday, and I have to express my sadness, here. She was a legend.
Some guy created a device that captures moisture from the air–even in hot, dry deserts.
The spice must flow. (Prepare yourself, you’re going to see that joke a lot.)
