Honeymoon 7: "People like us shop at Forbidden Planet"

The Birthday Trilogy, Part III

After a fascinating trip to the Tower of London and a quick late lunch, Karli and I continue my our day out with an abortive visit to the BBC, in hopes of purchasing merch for the new season of Doctor Who. Sadly, when we arrive at Broadcasting House at Portland Place, a security guard brusquely informs us that the shop had been closed for quite a while*, and directs us to "shops on the high street", a less than informative dismissal.

Fortunately, our next stop is far more rewarding: the Forbidden Planet London Megastore, conveniently located on Shaftesbury Avenue near the Tottenham Court Underground station.

Forbidden Planet, which turned 40 in July of this year, claims to be "...the world's largest and best-known science fiction, fantasy and cult entertainment retailer!" and their 10,000 square foot flagship shopping outlet does its very best to live up to that claim.  In addition to its London location, there are 25 other Forbidden Planet stores scattered around the British Isles, and an outlet at Broadway and East 12th Avenue in New York.

As one would expect, the ground floor of the London location has a full array of all the comic book/movie/video game merch that a fan could possibly desire.

(Please note that said fan may need deep pockets:  original pricing for the three items from the window display in the above photo would have set you back £1,749.97 or about three grand in Canadian dollars.  Good thing the two statuettes are on sale.)

But for me, the real prize at Forbidden Planet is their lower level, which features an impressively large offering of science fiction and fantasy, Japanese manga, comic books, reference texts, and graphic novels.

(Not to mention fandom crochet kits.)

It's safe to say that I've visited lots of non-specialty bookstores that were smaller than Forbidden Planet's genre-specific offering, which actually makes it a bit of challenge for me to shop here. In stores where there's not a lot to choose from, it doesn't take very long to make a decision, but the selection at Forbidden Planet is comprehensive to the point of being overwhelming - it would probably take me four or five days of visits just to become familiar enough with the inventory to feel that I was making an informed choice.

However, I don't have the luxury of dedicating a week of our honeymoon to one store, so when K. W. Jeter's George Dower trilogy catches my eye in the Steampunk section, I'm almost relieved that I've spotted  something of interest.  The trilogy is a suitable choice for more than one reason: it's in a letter to the editor of SF magazine Locus about Infernal Devices, the first book in the series, that Jeter coined the phrase "steampunk" to describe the particular sort of Victorian-era science fiction that he and his fellow authors Tim Powers and James Blaylock had been writing.  I'm also impressed by the trilogy's intricate and ornate cover artwork - I know, you're not supposed to judge books on this basis, but they really are well done.

 

Just for fun, I also pick up a copy of 2000 A.D., England's long-running serialized weekly comic magazine.  Most people in North America are unfamiliar with 2000 A.D. or any of the cast of characters that have appeared in the magazine since its first issue in February of 1977: Rogue Trooper, a solitary clone soldier; the robotic ABC Warriors; barbarian warrior Sláine; Johnny Alpha, mutant member of the Strontium Dog bounty hunter guild, and so on, with magazine regular Judge Dredd being the sole breakout character.

For my birthday, Karli purchases two additions to my growing collection of geek-appropriate t-shirts, one with the new Doctor Who logo, and one for the store itself, which features the unique artwork created for store advertising by English illustrator Brian Bolland in 1981.  Sadly, they don't have my preferred size for the Doctor Who t-shirt, and when Karli makes the usual pro forma "Do you have an XL in the back?" inquiry to a member of the store's staff,  she is somewhat brusquely informed that they are out of that size at ALL the stores - which, if nothing else, is probably a good sign for the reception of the new Doctor (or at least the new logo).  

Thank you, Large it is...

Karli also purchases a Dancing with Jesus figurine, which joins us in celebrating as we finish off the day with a pint at the Sherlock Holmes, an old school English pub on Northumberland Street. All in all, an excellent London birthday, and my sincere gratitude and appreciation to Karli for sharing the day with me - not to mention the new t-shirts!  Thanks again, my love!

- Sid

* If you have somehow ended up on this page because you were trying to determine the status of the BBC brick-and-mortar shop, IT IS CLOSED.  If you want to buy Doctor Who merch in person rather than online, look elsewhere - although maybe not the high street.

NYNY: FPNY

 

After our visit to the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum and the Enterprise Space Shuttle, we head back toward the Lower East Side and the New York Forbidden Planet store, the only North American outlet for the British comic book and collectibles chain.

 

The New York location has a smaller footprint than the London Megastore, and doesn't sell books, specializing instead in comic books, action figures and toys, and comic, movie, TV and video game-related merchandise - but it's just as much of a geek paradise.

 

Karli has generously offered to take care of my purchases as part of my birthday gift, so I judiciously select a couple of graphic novels, and we get into the checkout line so we can pay for those, adding in a Brian Bolland Forbidden Planet New York t-shirt to complement the one we bought at the London Megastore.

My graphic novels of choice are Old Man Logan and The Infinity Gauntlet.  To be completely accurate, they're actually collections of Marvel comics storylines rather than stand-alone stories, although Old Man Logan could easily have been done as a single story.

The Old Man Logan miniseries, originally published in 2008, is one of those alternate universe stories that both DC and Marvel seem to be so fond of* - perhaps more Marvel than DC, although I think that DC's Elseworlds comics from the 1990s and early 2000s are perhaps a bit better than their What If? Marvel equivalent.  (That being said, watch for the animated version of What If? on the new Disney+ streaming service in 2021.)

In this version of Logan's future, the supervillains have won the war against the heroes by forming an alliance and wiping out their opponents, after which the ringleaders have divided up the United States amongst themselves.  Almost 50 years later, a grey-haired pacifist Logan is living quietly as a tenant farmer and father of two in Hulkland, ruled by the Hulk, who has mated with his cousin Jennifer (aka She-Hulk) and produced an inbred cannibal army of greenskinned, rednecked offspring.**

Sworn to never again use his adamantium claws in anger, Logan is savagely beaten by members of the Hulk Gang after he's unable to pay his rent, and the lives of his family threatened if he doesn't make a double payment in a month.  In desperation, he agrees to join the blinded Hawkeye in a road trip across the United States in order to deliver a shipment of super soldier serum to resistance operatives in Washington, where the Red Skull is the new President of the United States.  Over the course of the trip, we learn of the tragedy that caused Logan to renounce violence, as well as getting an overall view of America after the fall of the heroes.

The concept was popular enough with fans that it eventually spawned an ongoing series, but the graphic novel only collects the initial eight issue run.

The collected Infinity Gauntlet series might appear to speak for itself, given the popularity of the two movies derived from the storyline, but that's not necessarily the case.  I say "derived from" but I might as well have gone with "inspired by" - other than the concept of Thanos the Mad Titan eliminating half the life in the entire universe with a single snap of his gauntleted fingers, and the idea of the entire MCU going up against him in battle***, there's not a lot of resemblance to the original comics.

Which, to be honest, is not necessarily a bad thing.  I'm generally not a big fan of massive changes from source material, but in this case, the movie versions offer a much more dramatic and plausible take on the story.  The comics paint an epic and grandiose version of the struggle to defeat Thanos, drawing in the great powers of the Marvel Universe such as Galactus, the Celestials, and the Stranger, and eventually even avatars of the cosmic constants such as Love and Hate, Order and Chaos, and Eternity, the living personification of the universe.  Unfortunately, the story itself is almost ridiculous in its depiction of Thanos and his irrational responses to the possession of infinite power over all of reality.

When we're done at Forbidden Planet, it seems a waste not to make a quick return visit to the Strand, conveniently (and literally) located right next door - which may explain why FPNY doesn't bother to stock books.

 

Because it's a return visit, I only grab a couple of books to add to my previous purchases:  the rapture of the nerds, by Cory Doctorow and Charles Stross, and No Time To Spare, by Ursula K. Le Guin.  For the rapture of the nerds, even if you didn't have me at Charles Stross, I'm obviously going to be intrigued by the possibilities of a geek singularity.  Equally obviously, anything by Ursula K. Le Guin is always a good choice, although the title of this collection of blog postings is sadly prescient, given her death only a month after its publication in December of 2017.

To cap off the day, we have a tasty casual barbecue dinner at The Mighty Quinn, just around the corner and a couple of blocks away on 2nd Avenue, and that's my birthday.  Thanks again to Karli for a great (birth)day out in New York City - I think we managed to ring all the bells in terms of a geek birthday, although it's a shame that we didn't think to bring Dancing Jesus from our London outing, he really does get the party started.

- Sid

* I think that both of these concepts are an inevitable response to new writers and artists coming into their respective comic universes and wanting to take a fresh look at the well-worn trials and tribulations of both heroes and villains.

** It never says whether or not She-Hulk undergoes this experience willingly or unwillingly.  Nor is it explained why the Hulk has joined the alliance of supervillains by killing the Abomination and taking his place, although there's an elaborate Hulk storyline from 2006, Planet Hulk, which  involves the Marvel Illuminati - Professor X, Tony Stark, Mr. Fantastic, Doctor Strange, Namor the Submariner and Black Bolt of the Inhumans - exiling the Hulk from Earth by blasting him into outer space. The Hulk is not happy with them when he makes his inevitable return.  (Parts of the Planet Hulk story inspired the Hulk's career as a gladiator in the Grandmaster's arena from Thor: Ragnarok.)

*** The comic book version pulls a few more heroes into the story  - obviously the movies can't feature the X-Men, the Fantastic Four just haven't made it on the big screen to date, and outside of the world of comics fans, no one has any idea who Adam Warlock is.

Stuff for Noobs: 1-12

 

As per my previous posting, the following is the first half of a response to a WIRED article entitled The 23 Best Sci-Fi Books and Movies to Give to a Noob.

I found the creation of this list to be unexpectedly challenging.  It would have been easy to just recommend my 25 favourites, but "favourite" doesn't equate to "best introduction" or "most representative".  Even so, I can't claim to be familiar with the entire body of science fiction literature, or the complete catalogue of SF movies and TV shows, and as such, my list is going to have its foundations* in personal experience, just as the originating list did. However, my goal was more to present a balanced overview of the genre than to suggest possible gifts, resulting in a list which is more of a package than a selection of one-off recommendations.

Having so disclaimed myself, let's get started.

1. Dune
More than happy to keep this one from the WIRED lineup.  Dune is an amazing combination of elements whose reputation has been damaged by cinema and television adaptations that failed to capture its strengths. Frank Herbert brilliantly blends drama, action, religion, politics, science and ecology in a complex and multilayered story set in a futuristic universe which he creates and supports with a wealth of detail and explanation.

2. Alien
Also a keeper. But JUST Alien. I've always been fascinated by the degree to which each of the Alien movies is completely different from its companions,** but really, the first one does it all, and the script, acting and art direction work together seamlessly to build the archetypal alien monster movie.

The art direction is particularly impressive - not surprisingly, since the look of the movie was created by a supergroup of fantasy and science fiction conceptual artists originally brought together for Alejandro Jodorowsky's abortive Dune movie project - most notably Hans Rudi Giger, whose biomechanical art was the starting point for the unique look of the alien itself.

3. Star Wars:  A New Hope
I honestly can't recommend the entire trilogy - in my mind, the Ewoks from Return of the Jedi are the first step on the slippery slope that leads us to Jar Jar Binks. I acknowledge that The Empire Strikes Back is an excellent film, but really, if you've never run into the franchise at all, let's just keep it simple - A New Hope stands on its own as a game-changer for science fiction cinema. (And, in stark disagreement with the WIRED listing, try to get the original cut if possible, Lucas' changes add nothing to the 1977 version.)

4. Star Trek (s)
Hmmm...I'm a bit ambivalent here.  The original series is such a landmark event, but with only three seasons to choose from, you have to be a bit careful with recommendations.  The Next Generation is certainly a better example of genre writing, and has a wider selection of noteworthy episodes, but I feel that the original series deserves recognition for blazing the trail for so many people.  So, the list within a list - here are the three episodes from each that our noob should watch.  N.B. This could easily be five or ten episodes, but I decided to keep it down to the bare minimum - which was a HUGE struggle with the TNG list, just for the record.

Original Series
• Balance of Terror
• Amok Time
• The Conscience of The King

The Next Generation
• Darmok
• The Measure of a Man
• Booby Trap

5. Neuromancer, by William Gibson
Okay, busted - Neuromancer is one of my favourite books.  However, that doesn't invalidate it from appearing on this list.  Neuromancer is the breakout novel for the SF subgenre of cyberpunk, presenting an intricate underworld plotline set in an enigmatic and detailed future, written in a distinctively laconic noir style. As with so many of the other suggestions on this list, Neuromancer is the first of a series. Unlike some of that other material, the sequels are just as good.

6. Terminator
If we're going to have a Schwarzenegger movie in here, it has to be Terminator.  (Seriously, Total Recall?)  All of the elements of Terminator work together perfectly - story, effects, casting, and direction - resulting in a fast-paced SF action film with a good time travel/causality theme, and a nod to fears about rogue AI which is actually more topical now than in 1984 when the movie was released.  It’s also, to the best of my knowledge, the first time that Arnie says, “I’ll be back.”

7. Akira
I wavered over Akira. I feel strongly that our new fan should get something from the Japanese animation catalogue, but by the standards of the anime community, I'm pretty much a noob myself, and as such I feel unqualified.  Regardless, Akira is a visually stunning stand-alone film with an unusual storyline (and soundtrack), even if it doesn't have any giant robots.

8. The Night's Dawn Trilogy, by Peter Hamilton
In lieu of Harry Potter, if we're going to add a massive example of science fiction worldbuilding to the list, let's go with Peter Hamilton.  A lot of writers rely heavily upon the standard SF building blocks to create their futures, whereas Hamilton reworks all of the conventional memes and invents his own, making this series an epic example of innovation and creativity.  By the way, be warned: each section of the "trilogy" is made up of three novels, so it's actually a set of three trilogies - the full set in paperback takes up close to a foot of shelf space.

9. The Matrix
JUST THE FIRST ONE.
Ahem.  Having said that...as much as I appreciate the Matrix series as a trilogy, I recognize that there are some problems with the overall execution of the story. However, the first movie stands on its own (perhaps a good thing), and its hyperkinetic action scenes work well to represent a virtual world where anything is possible once its structure is understood and mastered.

10. Forbidden Planet
A classic entry from 1956 which borrows some of its theme from Shakespeare's The Tempest, Forbidden Planet originates the DNA that results in Star Trek. It's not a perfect movie, but it's one of the first SF movies that's set in the future and does its best to create a believable vision of that future, and it presents an intriguing look at alien technology combined with the weaknesses of the human mind. Considering the advances in special effects since its original release, Forbidden Planet stands the test of time surprisingly well.

11. Ringworld, by Larry Niven
This is the book that I recommended to Karli at our first introduction and then brooded about.  Regardless, I'm more than happy to add it to this list, even if I'm not comfortable nominating it as the stand-alone introduction to science fiction literature.  Larry Niven excels at taking an idea past its logical conclusion - he's a creative, smart writer who expects his readers to keep up, and Ringworld offers a steady stream of clever concepts and interesting ideas.

12. The Day of the Triffids, by John Wyndham
The Day of the Triffids isn't the first post-apocalytic novel, but it paints a very clear picture of what that world would be like.  In Wyndham's case, the apocalypse is a combination of universal blindness and predatory hordes of fifteen-foot-tall mobile carnivorous plants.  Both 28 Days Later and The Walking Dead borrow from this well-written and easily read 1951 novel.

And that's the first 12.  Next posting, 13-25.

- Sid

* No pun intended.  (This comment will make more sense if you've carefully read the original WIRED list or if you're already a fan.)

** To the point that they qualify as different genres - the first one is a nine-little-Indians stalker countdown whodunit, the second one is a military action flick, the third one is a brooding psychological drama, and the fourth movie is...the fourth movie is...good question, what is Alien: Resurrection? I'm going to say, "scripted by Joss Whedon" and leave it at that.

The Star Wars.

Until the recent GREAT REBELLION, the JEDI BENDU were the most feared warriors in the universe. For one hundred thousand years, generations of JEDI perfected their art as the personal bodyguards of the emperor. They were the chief architects of the invincible IMPERIAL SPACE FORCE which expanded the EMPIRE across the galaxy, from the celestial equator to the farthest reaches of the GREAT RIFT.

Now these legendary warriors are all but extinct. One by one they have been hunted down and destroyed as enemies of the NEW EMPIRE by a ferocious and sinister rival warrior sect, THE KNIGHTS OF SITH.

Scrolling introduction to The Star Wars, 1974

To celebrate this year’s May the Fourth and Revenge of the Fifth, I took a look at the original script for The Star Wars, an early 1974 draft by George Lucas for what would eventually turn into A New Hope.  This is also the script that concept artist Ralph McQuarrie read before creating the classic paintings that helped Lucas sell the movie to Twentieth Century Fox.

The Star Wars has the same broad canvas as A New Hope: a struggle against an evil Galactic Empire whose gigantic space fortress provides them with overwhelming tactical power. A rebel princess, an aged warrior-mystic and a young apprentice save the day with the help of two comic-relief robots and someone named Han. But it’s not as similar as it sounds…

In the 1974 script, Kane Starkiller, a Jedi-Bendu master who is more machine than man, is father to “ruggedly handsome” 18-year old Annikin and his 10-year old brother Deak.  After raiding Sith Knights kill Deak in a savage attack, Kane and Annikin leave their home on the fourth moon of Utapau, which fans will recognize as the name of the rocky planet where Obi-Wan duels General Grievous in Revenge of the Sith, and travel to the independent Aquilae system, ruled by King Kayos and Queen Breha.  They have three children: two sons, 7-year old Biggs and 5-year old Windom, and a daughter – Leia, the eldest at 14 (which finally explains why she’s a princess in A New Hope – her father was originally a king.)

Once on Aquilae, Kane and Annikin meet with another Jedi-Bendu, the elderly but powerful General Luke Skywalker, who leads the Aquilaean Starforce.  Kane reveals that he is dying and leaves his remaining son to become a Padawan Learner to Skywalker - we don't hear the term padawan in the movies until the first prequel.

Meanwhile, the New Empire plans its final assault on Aquilae, under the control of the grim General Darth Vader and spearheaded by the Empire’s masked Sith Knights, led by Valorum, the First Knight of the Sith.

Aquilae receives advanced warning of the imminent attack from Clieg Whitsun, their agent on Alderaan, the capital of the New Empire, which allows Aquilaean Starfighters to launch an attack on the space fortress.  During the chaos of the battle, a pair of panicked Imperial construction robots, See Threepio and Artwo Detwo, abandon ship in a lifepod and crashland in the planet's desert wastelands, only to be picked up by Annikin as he returns to the capital after forcefully collecting Princess Leia from her classes at the Academy.

King Kayos is killed in the assault, and his senate surrenders to the New Empire. General Skywalker kills the craven council member responsible for the surrender, and Queen Breha abdicates in favour of Leia – Lucas later revives the idea of a 14 year old planetary leader with Queen Amidala in The Phantom Menace.  

Luke, Annikin and Clieg smuggle the new queen and her brothers off the planet with the assistance of rebel agent Han Solo, an Ureallian who is described as “a huge green skinned monster with no nose and gills”. 

Kane Starkiller sacrifices himself by taking the power source from his cybernetic body to power one of the stasis packs used to conceal the two boys, and after a brief tribute to the old Jedi Bendu, they board a Baltarian freighter headed off-planet.

Unfortunately, the freighter is a trap.  The fugitives are split up and captured by Valorum, who threatens to use gas to subdue the Jedi, a strategy reused by the Trade Federation against Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi at the beginning of The Phantom Menace.  Skywalker and Solo escape from their guards, free their companions, and make their escape with the assistance of the two robots.

They steal an Imperial ship and flee the spaceport, pursued by hunter-destroyer spaceships. As they prepare to fight off the Imperial fighters from twin lazer cannon turrets, Annikin confesses to Whitsun that he has fallen in love with Leia, who loves him in return. (A wise move by Lucas to change this up - it's cute when a 9-year-old Anakin falls in love with 14-year-old Padme in The Phantom Menace, it's a bit creepy when he's 18.)

Overmatched by the hunter-destroyers, Skywalker takes the ship into an asteroid belt* in a desperate attempt to lose their pursuers. The Imperial ships turn back, but the asteroids destroy the hijacked vessel, and its passengers board the lifepods as the badly damaged ship goes into orbit around nearby Yavin, one of the Forbidden Planets - forbidden by whom or why never seems to come up.  Clieg and Leia's pod refuses to eject, so Clieg bravely remains on the ship and manually jettisons the pod, only to die in the explosion that follows.

The three escape pods land safely on the jungle-covered surface, but Leia is captured by deformed aliens who are hunting and trapping the primitive Wookees** who inhabit the planet.

Annikin attempts to rescue the princess, but after killing most of the trappers he's knocked unconscious by explosive lazer fire as the survivors flee.  Chewbacca, one of the native Wookees who has been accidentally set lose by Annikin during the fight, frees his companions, one of whom picks up Annikin, and they vanish into the jungle. 

Annikin recovers at the Wookee villages, and after proving himself to the Wookees in ritual combat, he heads off into the jungle with R2, followed by Chewbacca.

Meanwhile, Skywalker, Solo and the two boys have found a scientific outpost occupied by a pair of helpful anthropologists, Owen Lars and his wife Beru, who reappear as Luke's adoptive uncle and aunt in the films.

The general and Solo go to scout the nearby Imperial base, leaving 3P0 to watch over the two princes.  They encounter Annikin at the site of the struggle with the trappers, and follow their trail to the base, which is under siege by the Wookees, who have been unable to overcome the Empire's more advanced technology.

While they plan their strategy, an Imperial squad discovers the two children and 3P0 at the outpost and takes them into custody.

Led by Skywalker and Solo, the Wookees successfully defeat the Imperials using a variety of primitive boobytraps and deadfalls (as repeated by Ewoks in The Return of the Jedi).  Once inside the base, they learn that Leia has been taken back to Aquilae.

Skywalker and Starkiller study plans of the Empire's space fortress from R2's construction database - the first and only time it's referred to as the "death star" in the script - and Annikin disguises himself as an Imperial pilot and leaves with R2 in a daring attempt to rescue the princess, as the general and Solo begin training the Wookees to fly the Imperial starfighters.

The Imperial squad returns to the base with Biggs, Windy and 3P0, where they are ambushed by the Wookees and the captives freed.

As Annikin lands on the space fortress, Vader is torturing Leia before placing her in detention. R2 locates her cell in the Imperial database, but the two are separated and Annikin is captured.  Valorum, the Prince of the Sith, who has somehow been demoted to a regular stormtrooper (perhaps due to the earlier escape?), turns his back on the Empire and helps Annikin to escape. They rescue Leia from her guards, and the trio is forced to escape through a garbage chute.  Vader attempts to crush them using the trash compactor, but they escape after the power is cut off by damage from the attacking Wookee pilots. They reunite with R2 and once again take to the escape pods.

The Wookee space fighter assault is successful, and General Vader dies in the cataclysmic destruction of the space fortress as Annikin and Leia kiss in their lifepod.

 
In the final scene, Queen Leia, "in all of her grandeur" and in front of a crowded throne room, gives Chewbacca a medal, upgrades the robots - no, really -  and declares Annikin the Lord Protector of Aquilae as Skywalker, Solo and Valorum look on approvingly from the sidelines.

Credits roll.

The good news is that Lucas was able to step back and take a second look at the story, resulting in a much tighter script for A New Hope: more dramatic, fewer main characters, a simplified plot revolving around the Death Star plans, and a lot fewer escape pods.

It's interesting to look at how the characters go back into the blender in order to return as the principals of the final version.  General Luke Skywalker is reborn as Obi-Wan Kenobi, and his name goes to the adopted farm boy who replaces Annikin Starkiller as the hero of the story.

Lazerswords, used by soldiers on both sides in The Star Wars, become light sabers, a more evocative name for a more elegant weapon that's used solely by the Jedi and the Sith, and the force of others, a meaningless bit of dialogue in the script, becomes the Force, the energy that holds the universe together.

Leia wisely becomes a more mature princess with serious attitude, Darth Vader gains a mask and membership in the Sith, and Jedi-hunter Prince Valorum of the Sith One Hundred vanishes, only to have his name reused for the Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic in the prequel trilogy.  Han Solo goes from being green and gilled to human and hot, thereby creating the potential for a new romantic storyline, and Chewbacca retains his status as pilot - well, copilot, but still.

The Imperial City of the New Empire, located on the gaseous planet Alderaan and perched on a long spire that descends into the clouds, reappears as Cloud City, the tibanna gas mining city administrated by Lando Calrissian in The Empire Strikes Back.  The "death star" space fortress gets some capital letters to officially become the Death Star, and the Starkiller family is commemorated by Starkiller Base, the First Order planetkiller from The Force Awakens.

Speaking of the First Order, there's even a casual reference to a First Order trooper in The Star Wars, without any explanation of what the First Order might be.

I couldn't find any evidence as to whether or not the writers of the final trilogy derived the name of the Empire's successor from that one line. It's not impossible - Lucas was a creative consultant on the final trilogy, and apparently shared his rough scripts for the three movies. Based on the number of things that were recycled from The Star Wars, he may have suggested the name of the First Order, but my god, if that’s where it came from, what a small thread from which to weave such a large tapestry!

The bad news is that even after such an epic rewrite, the dialogue is still a problem. One of the key elements in science fiction story telling is the creation of a distinctive vocabulary and nomenclature that helps to establish the world in the story takes place, and although you can see what Lucas is trying to do, it just never quite rings true.

In the words of Jedi Bendu General Skywalker, may the force of others be with you.

- Sid

* The odds of successfully navigating an asteroid field are not discussed first.

** That's not a typo, Chewbacca was a Wookee before he was a Wookiee.

"Out there... thataway."

A few years ago, I signed up for a membership with the Heritage Auctions web site - not because I wanted to start bidding on things, but because their site was an excellent source of high resolution scans of comic book covers and artwork, book and pulp magazine covers, and movie posters and memorabilia.  

However, over time I've started casually following their auctions - they do dedicated comic book and movie sessions every week, and I've always thought that it would be nice to own original comic book art.  Admittedly, anything I've ever been interested in has been far out of my price range - yes, this is the auction house that auctioned off a Frank Frazetta cover painting for 5.4 million dollars in 2019   and the first comic book appearance of the Batman for 1.3 million at the start of this year - but it's a harmless dream to enjoy while I browse.

However, there are more modestly priced lots available, and every now and then I place a bid, just for fun.  Recently, this resulted in the successful purchase of a set of eight lobby cards from Star Trek: The Motion Picture, which debuted in December of 1979.  

It's generally agreed that the first attempt at transferring the original crew to the big screen was not a great success, but it's still a significant moment in Star Trek history, and I like the idea of lobby cards - they don't seem to attract the same amount of bidding as the posters, and and at 11x14 inches they're a convenient size to frame, whereas a 28x40 inch movie poster almost requires you to design the room around it.  (Although, gosh, if I had the wall space and the money...).

To my surprise, I won the items with what I considered to be a relatively low bid of $38 USD.* This bid marked my first successful purchase in this area - I had tentatively placed a bid on lobby cards from the 1956 science fiction classic Forbidden Planet at some point last year, but it quickly got too rich for my blood (I strongly feel that the secret to managing auction participation is to not fall prey to bidding fever).

My purchases arrived today, and now that I'm able to examine them in person, I'm definitely pleased.  Oh, there's a slightly compressed corner here and there, and a hint of yellowing on one or two of the cards, but overall they're in excellent shape for printed items that are over 42 years old.

Now that I think about it, I'm not sure I've watched this movie since I saw it in commercial release in '79.  Hmmm...it must be streaming somewhere, right?

- Sid

 

* Okay, this is a lie, as you can see if you compare that with the screen grab at the beginning of this post  $38 is just the auction price.  On top of that I paid a $19 Buyer's Premium, and about as much as those two combined for shipping.  Price of doing business, I suppose - and the original bid was still lower than I expected.

 

Honeymoon 11: Vignettes

And, to finish up the Honeymoon series, some random moments from the trip:

"I'm Batspud..."

Our tour bus mascot from Ireland:  Batspud - not the hero our tour needs, but the hero it deserves.

"The Cliffs of Insanity!"

Well, actually the Cliffs of Moher, located in Ireland's County Clare, but these are also the cliffs featured in The Princess Bride for the scenes where Westley, in his role as the Dread Pirate Roberts, is pursuing the kidnapped Buttercup, only to be faced by the deadly swordsman Inigo Montoya when he finally reaches the top.  Good thing that he's not left handed...

“Please look after this bear.”

As part of our time in London, Karli wanted to visit the Paddington Store at Paddington Station, in order to purchase - you guessed it - a Paddington Bear.  I was originally just along for the ride, but I fell prey to my own worst habits and picked up the first Paddington book for a read while Karli was comparing ursine price breaks.  As such, not only did I end up paying for her bear, but I also bought a copy of A Bear Called Paddington for myself:  not my usual thing, but call it a tribute to Fantasy's younger sibling, Make-Believe - and after all, to quote Mrs. Brown, “It's nice having a bear about the house.”

“It’s been a long time since I’ve bought women’s clothes.”

Having been unable to find exactly my size when Doctor Who t-shirt shopping in London, we were pleased to see that our AirBnB was just across the river from the Dublin Forbidden Planet International location.  Which, as it turned out, had next to ZERO Doctor Who inventory - it's hard not to wonder if it's politically motivated, it was clearly evident over the course of our time there that the Republic of Ireland is a long way from forgetting its history with England. (But, really, who are they punishing here?)

“When in doubt, go to the library.”

The Long Room at the Trinity College Library in Dublin - in spite of rumours, not used as a set for any of the Harry Potter movies, but a magical place nonetheless if you're in any way a lover of the printed word.  

“Fhtagn?"

 

A somewhat Cthulhoid piece of art in Dingle.  EVERYTHING that I've read on the topic says that it's a bad idea to ask the inhabitants of an isolated seaside village about their enigmatic tentacle statue, especially if you're going to spend the night...

“Doctor Bruce Banner, changed by gamma rays..."

Dublin, Disney Store, Hulk.  Questions?

And, of course, books.

As always, I bought books whenever the opportunity allowed.  In addition to the purchases in Paris, London and Dublin that I've already mentioned, shout outs to Notting Hill Comics in the Portobello Market for Robert Holdstock's Eye Among the Blind, a battered copy of Willy Ley's classic 1958 book Satellites, Rockets and Outer Space, and Murray Leinster's The Brain Stealers, and to the Apple Bookstore in York, for A Storm of Wings by M. John Harrison.  (Which I thought I already owned - and do, as it turns out - but I couldn't take the chance of being wrong.)

- Sid

Geek chic.

Ah, and what does the well-dressed geek wear for a late Saturday lunch at the Storm Crow?

NASA cap - check.

Forbidden Planet t-shirt - check.

Academie Duello longsword apprentice green cord - check.

Book Nerd pin - check.

Table for two, please...

- Sid