Jon Favreau is the saviour Star Wars deserves

The recent launch of the Disney+ streaming service has proven to be a game changer for fans of all of Disneys diverse properties.  Having instant streaming access to what is effectively the entire Disney back catalogue has brought great joy to our household.  But without a doubt, the crown jewel of the new streaming service is The Mandalorian.  The very first episodic live action show set in the Star Wars universe has blown audiences away with the quality of the storytelling that it brings to the table.  Helmed by show runner Jon Favreau, (who has a proven track record of world building, ala a little movie you may have heard of called Iron Man) the Mandalorian has suceeded on many levels,  delivering a new, fun, fast paced story to a galaxy far far away, that has had its share of troubles in recent years.

The simple fact that The Mandalorian delivered not one, but two HUGE surprises in its first season is incredible.  In today's world of reddit leaks and spoilers, the fact that Favereau and his team managed to keep a lid on the two items that we will discuss below os nothing short of remarkable.  It goes without saying that there will be spoilers for Season 1 of The Mandalorian below.  If you haven't seen it yet, go watch it and then come back.  I'll wait...

Surprise #1: The Child.  

I have read reports that state that Disney lost out on upwards of $1.2 million dollars of revenue by not having a slew of merchendise ready to go the moment "the child" debuted on screen at the end of episode #1 of The Mandalorian.  There is no doubt in my mind that that number is conservatively low.  Baby Yoda fever has been sweeping the internet for weeks now, and the wow factor is huge.  The world was is in awe of the tsunami of cuteness radiating from the tiny green puppet.  The fact that the child remains shrouded in mystery, even after season 1 has ended, is a huge draw.  George Lucas has never even given Yoda's race a name, 40+ years later after he was introduced in Return of the Jedi, and the ravenous fanbase is clamerouring for any and all information that The Mandalorian is willing to offer.  Everytime The Child is on screen, he steals every scene he is in with his adorable big black eyes, and tiny legged shuffle.   He is so damn cute, a clip of him drinking soup praticially broke the internet.  While the introduction of the child has some far reaching implications for the future of the franchise, it is actually the second reveal that holds bigger ramifications for the future of this particular series.

Surprise #2: The final moments of Episode 8

If you don't immedietly understand what you are seeing when Moth Gideon cuts his way out of his crashed Tie-Fighter, then drop everything and go watch Season 3 Episode 15 of Star Wars Rebels.  Again, I'll wait...

So the final moments of Season 1 reveal the live action debut of the darksaber.  This one of a kind weapon was forged thousands of years ago, by the very first Mandalorian Jedi, Tar Visla, and has grown to become a symbol of the might of Mandalorian leadership.  It has been used as a symbol of power and leadership of the Mandalorian people for generations.  The simple fact that Moff Gideon is in posession of this unique blade speaks volumes about his involvment in the fall of the Mandalorian people, that this series has alluded to over the course of season 1.  It also points very strongly towards tje direction the series is heading in the future.  This is suddenly not only a story of re-uniting The Child with other members of its own race, it is potentially a story of the rebirth and reunification of the Mandalorian people, under the leadership of Padro Pascall's Djinn Daren.  The epic potential unleashed in that final clip will have huge ramifications for the future of Star Wars as a franchise moving forward, all thanks to Jon Favreau and his creative vision.  This is the way.

The First Rule of Endgame is...

Avengers: Endgame, the cinematic conculsion to Marvels Infinity Cycle, opened in previews last night all over world. And in one night alone it shattered the previous domestic box office records for a Thursday preview and raked in $60 million dollars.  So it goes without saying that alot of people have seen this movie.  BUT with a current projection of a $300 million dollar opening weekend at the box office, it needs to be said that there are millions of people out there that plan to see the film, but haven't had the opportunity yet.  So for the love of god, please don't post spoilers online.  This movie is a cinematic masterpiece that has a deeply emotional journey at its core, and fans need to be allowed to see it without any knowledge of whats to come.  Let them experience it for themsleves.
I went into the midnight preview last night after a 2 day self imposed media blackout, and I couldn't have enjoyed the purity of the moment to moment thrill ride any more if I had tried.

So the first rule of Endgame, is we don't talk about Endgame.  Yet.  But we will, oh we will.  In time. 

Canadian Summer

The Walking Dead: Season 5 Trailer

A BIG thank-you Comic-Con and the interweb for this latest round of awesome.  I just found the trailer for Season 5 of The Walking Dead, and it looks fantastic.  Don't believe me? Check it out for yourself.  It's available here:

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As an insatiable fan of all things The Walking Dead, I am happy to see the show going its own direction.  More diversity from the canon of the comics means more great stories for us all to enjoy. 

What we know:  No one is safe. Robert Kirkman has proven time and time again that he is willing to kill off anyone at any time in order to advance his story.  BUT it seems that gone is the kinder, gentler Rick Grimes.  Rick is back with a vengence, kicking ass and taking names.  And its about time.

I can hardly wait until October for more of this sweet zombie apocalypse.

The Sundering: What does it mean for future of Forgotten Realms Novels?

Let me start by saying that if you don't read fantasy novels, specifically those based around the Forgotten Realms, then this post isn't for you.  Stop here and come back next time.  No offence intended, I can't imagine that you will appreciate this rant.  That being said:

I have been reading Forgotten Realms novels since I was very young...The very first FR novel, Darkwalker on Moonshea was published in 1987, when I was 8 years old, and I think I discovered the series in 1990...starting with Ed Greenwods Spellfire, so I would have been roughly 11 years old, meaning I have now been reading these stories for about 25 years...I believe I own a copy of every novel, novella, and e-book ever produced in the series...which amounts to a lot of shelf space in my condo, we're talking over 200+ volumes.  The Realms have always been my gateway drug to other great fantasy, fueling my discovery of authors like Tolkien, Terry Pratchett, and George R.R. Martin, but I always return to the Realms enjoying a treasured reunion with favored characters, or familiar locations.  After 200 novels, you start to feel like you have a pretty solid knowledge of the source material.

I just finished reading The Herald, by Troy Denning, 5th in The Sundering series of 6 novels released by Wizards of the Coast to help transition the Forgotten Realms out of the mess created by the introduction of 4th Edition Dungeons and Dragons and the Spellplague.  The Sundering is supposed to coincide with the release of D&D Next, which is the latest edition of Dungeons & Dragons soon to hit store shelves.  At the same time D&D Next was announced, Wizards announced that The Forgotten Realms would be one of the official campaign settings used to usher in the new game mechanics.  I haven't played D&D for at least 15 years, but I still appreciate the feel of the fantasy world originally created by Ed Greenwood.

Back to the point, while I enjoyed the book, and it was nice to see Denning return to the campaign setting after a long absence, it is the lack of future novels that concerns me.  Ever since the interweb became a thing, Wizards of the Coast has forecast its upcoming releases schedule on their website roughly six months in advance.  It has been a great way for fans to get a glimpse of what is coming down the line.  Before that, all you could hope for were press pages at the back of the books, which weren't always reliable.  However, ever since news of The Sundering was first released, there have been almost no other titles announced for the series.  Ed Greenwood's conclusion The Herald which is out in June of 2014 is the only title slated for release.  Does this mean the end for the long lived novel line???

Logic says no.  The only other novel that has been released during The Sundering is R.A. Salvatore's Night of The Hunter, which is slated as the first of a trilogy of novels featuring fan favourite, Drizzt Do'Urden and the newly re-united Companions of The Hall.  Drizzt now has 28 novels devoted just to him, and each new release pretty much guarantees Salvatore another spot on the NY Times best seller list.  So we "know" that there are at least 2 more as of yet untitled novels featuring everyone's favorite Drow Ranger, but is that it for the series?  Does the introduction of D&D Next mean the end of the Forgotten Realms novel line?  Or will Wizards of the Coast announce a whole new array of authors to continue the saga once The Herald releases in June?

Only time will tell.

Go Jobra!

I just caught this weeks episode of Community, and I have to say that I haven't laughed that hard in ages!  Dan Harmon really has created something special with this little gem of a show, and his return to the series, after it's ho-hum 4th season, has been really refreshing.

I love that Community has found it's niche as that quirky show that tackles a totally different genre with each and every episode, and as a male child of the 80's I couldn't have been happier to see the choice for this week's episode: GI Joe/ animation.  Titled GI Jeff, the episode was a hilarious blend of a combination of 80's style animation, 80's action figure commercials, and live action. 

The plot for the episode was darkly funny, which is typical Community: Depressed about his advancing years on his 40th Birthday, Jeff Winger drinks a 5th of scotch, downs a handful of Asian "happy magic youth" pills hoping to reclaim his lost youth, and winds up in a coma, suffering a minor psychotic break, where he and the rest of the cast are trapped in an eternal GI Joe Cartoon, separated from actual reality by a subconscious layer of 1980's GI Joe commercials, which are partially drawn from the stock footage that I remember from my youth.

In his fantasy world Jeff becomes Wingman, a Joe with a jetpack, who doesn't play by the rules.  The other community cast also make appearances as part of Jeff's team: Shirley becomes Three Kids, Annie becomes Tight Ship, Britta becomes Buzz Kill, and Ahbed becomes 4th Wall, Each with a hilarious costume and spin on their community personas. 

I was hooked right from the opening credits where an animated Community cast fights alongside the traditional Joe's to fend of a Cobra attack lead by Destro.  Wingman actually kills Destro in the final moments of the opening sequence, which gets him and the team thrown in the brig for breaking the GI Joe code of conduct.  The rest of the episode is spent, trying to escape, and return to reality.  Hilarity ensues.

Now I can also appreciate that not everyone would enjoy this particular episode as much as I did, for example, all of the young women I have discussed this episode with, just didn't get it.  GI Joe just wasn't a significant part of their upbringing, which I can certainly understand.

But, that aside, this was 22 minutes of fantastic television.

Not Jaywalking...

Okay, this is too good not to publish. 

Tonight, post show, we all decided to head over to the one and only bar in this one horse town that is still open, which also happens to be directly across the street from the theatre, and kiddy-corner to our hotel.  There is a traffic light at the intersection, but at this time of night, cars are few and far between.  Now, we're in small town southern USA, on a Tuesday night, so there isn't much else going on in town.  Bar rail shots are dirt cheap and bottles are cheaper...the cast and crew are having a good time, blowing off some steam after a tough travel day and our first double show day in a while.  I have a few, and as the responsible adult, who still has show reports to write, I decided to call it a night well before the stroke of midnight.  I literally walk out the front door of the bar, turn towards the hotel (which, remember, is kiddycorner), check that the road is not only clear but in fact deserted,  and start to cut across the intersection, on the most direct path to the hotel.  No sooner had I made it three steps out into the intersection than a car became visible headed towards me, so, judging the distance to be too close for comfort, I hopped back up onto the sidewalk, continuing to cross the street with the light, in the accepted manner.  Besides, if television has taught me anything, it is that some areas of the states take Jaywalking very seriously.

Ofcourse, the car turns out to be a local police cruiser that slows down and pulls to the side of the road just through the intersection.  There is no crosswalk signs at this particular intersection, so I wait for the light to change, giving me the right of way.  As it does the young female officer steps from the car and calls me over.  One hand in her flashlight, one hand on her holstered sidearm.  She immediately asks for my ID, and wants to know where I'm coming from.  I very honestly tell her that I'm coming from "the bar" (the angle is now wrong for me to read the sign at this time of night, and I don't know what the hell it is called, I have only been in been here in town for exactly 1 day, all of which I spent in the theatre, but I keep that fact to myself for now).  Not impressed that I don't know where I've come from, or at least the name of the establishment, she has me put my hands on the car while she radio's HQ to see if they have the technology required to run my ID.  She literally asks if they can run Canadian ID...While she converses with HQ, I stand with my hands on the cruiser, trying desperately not to die laughing at this whole situation.

Finished with HQ, She wants to know where I was headed.  I explain that I am staying at the hotel, which is now literally steps away.  She wants to know how much I've had to drink.  I tell her the truth.  She doubts me, this in fact seems to confirm her suspicions.  She starts to tell me that she saw me weaving into the street, obviously jumping to the conclusion that I am impaired so I very politely interrupt her to explain that I was in the middle of choosing to Jaywalk across the street when I saw a car, and thought better of it. I am calm, coherent and far from inebriated, and she is slowing starting to catch on...but she has already called in my ID, so we're stuck here...

So I'm still standing with my hands on the back quarter panel of her cruiser, basically in the middle of the intersection, and I ask if I could stand on the sidewalk, out of the street.  She grudgingly agrees, which seems to ratchet the tension down a few notches.  Now we're getting chatty.  She wants to know if I am here with anyone, I explain that I am with the tour, and that most of the group are still at the bar.  She wants to know how long we're in town, and how the show sold.  Suddenly it becomes very apparent that she knows that she has no reason to detain me, so she's just making conversation to pass time while she waits for HQ to run my ID, and confirm what I have told her, that I am not in fact a fugitive from justice.  It has now been at least 15 minutes, and I am almost surprised that no one from the cast has come out of the bar to discover my predicament.  She just keeps making light banter.  Some people might even suggest that she was flirting with me at this point, but I am not even going to speculate on that.  I just kept up my polite, honest, mildly bemused Canadian routine, and eventually once her dispatcher confirmed my ID, she handed me back my license and jokingly drawled "I bet you hate this small town now".  After telling me I was free to continue on my travels, she then told me that while it was good that I decided not to Jaywalk, but it was my "disorderly travels" that caught her attention.  I apologized (I'm Canadian, it is what we do) for having wasted her time with such an insignificant incident, and before she hopped back into her cruiser, she admitted that it was the most excitement she had had all night. 

I laughed the whole way back to my room.

Only in America.