Month: October 2009

Posted on

A Fate of the Jedi clarification: Premium paperbacks are not trade paperbacks

UPDATE 11/11: Sue Rostoni says that Del Rey is dropping the plan to print the Fate of the Jedi paperbacks as premiums. They will be regular mass markets.

Comparing trade, premium, and mass market paperbacks

Comparing trade, premium, and mass market paperbacksWhen we first heard that the Fate of the Jedi paperbacks were coming out in the (newish) premium paperback format, a lot of people seemed to think that meant trade paperbacks; Not so. Above and to the right, photos I took last week comparing the trade, premium, and standard mass market formats. They were originally stuck in the comments of the original post; However, I’m still seeing questions about this out and around, so perhaps some top-leveling is in order.

The Fate of the Jedi paperbacks will be in the same ‘premium’ format as the Stephen King book shown here. The Clone Wars: Wild Space is a trade paperback, while Dark Force Rising is a mass market.

Meanwhile, Sue Rostoni confirmed today that only the Fate of the Jedi paperbacks will be in the new format for the foreseeable future:

re: Premium Paperbacks — I found out that only the Fate of the Jedi reprints will come out in the premium size. For now, anyway…..

So, if you truly object? Vote with your wallet and utilize your local library. She goes on to say:

The pages are a little bigger, enhancing readability, and the paper quality is better.

Better paper? That might soften the blow for some… Though I still think you people freaking out about your bookcase symmetry are a little weird. (Sorry.)

It’s worth noting larger softcovers – like any of the Essential Guides – are also called ‘trade paperbacks.’ Why they play fast and loose with that term and not ‘mass market’ is beyond me.

Posted on

Movie news: Liam Neeson gods out for Titans remake

At least it's not a neon halo?Zeus was truly a man before his time. Did you see the picture of Liam Neeson all Zeused up for the Clash of the Titans remake in Entertainment Weekly, a few weeks back? (It’s all very Excalibur.) There are a couple more pictures (though no Neeson) over at Empire, where genre up-and-comer Sam Worthington takes the name of Harryhausen in vain. Tisk tisk: Doesn’t anyone teach these kids film history anymore?

The biggest Trek of all. J.J. Abram’s Star Trek has beat its predecessors at the box office, TrekMovie found. Not too shabby for a near-dead franchise.

Aww hell, why not. Bryan Singer is up for a return to the X-Men. If only he’d thought that way before inflicting that tedious Superman flick upon us all.

Something new and exciting! Roland Emmerich on why there wasn’t an Independence Day sequel. Because really, how many chances does one get to painstakingly destroy major monuments and… Oh.

Okay then. Jon Favreau will not be directing The Avengers and Beyonce is not going to play Wonder Woman.

Posted on

The fandom minute: Plo cake will eat your brain at 30 Rockefeller Plaza for guitar-playing wounded soldiers

plo cakeHis biggest fan. Of course there was a Plo Koon cake, and of course it was eventually served to none other than Dave Filoni. (And Jeremy Bulloch. And Ashley Eckstein.)

Brains. StarWars.com celebrates the release of Death Troopers with Zombie Week. I wish I had the words to tell you how much I’m feeling Zombie Week, but I’m exhausted.

Obession corner. TFN’s Mike Barrick has collected Star Wars references on NBC’s 30 Rock, while GalacticBinder counts down the top 12 Star Wars guitar crossovers.

Charity. The Pennsylvania Star Wars Collecting Society is selling Obi-Wan medallions to help raise money for seriously injured service members.

Posted on

Genre TV – Where things stand

It’s a cut-throat world out there in TV, these days.  So even though we’re only in the first few episodes for most of scripted TV’s fall season, we already need to be watching the numbers.

So how is genre TV faring this year?  I crawled through TVbytheNumbers to see what I could piece together.

  • Eastwick – Not lookin’ too healthy right now,  but still holding on.
  • FlashForward – A fairly solid hit, as long as they keep everyone interested in the story.  (Although, can this show go beyond one season without getting annoying?)
  • Ghost Whisperer – Still doesn’t pull in big numbers, but they’re loyal numbers.  So if they want to keep going, it’s looking good they will.
  • Big Bang Theory – The network’s ratings winner amongst scripted shows.  They will be hanging around in all their geeky glory.
  • Vampire Diaries – Proof that the vampire phenomenon still reigns supreme, even if they don’t sparkle.  This is the highest rated scripted show for the CW.
  • Supernatural – Still huge.  Not going anywhere.
  • Smallville – Wow.  Still going strong.  (How far are they going to take this show, anyway?)  It’s the most-DVR’d show, as well, so folks are still interested, if not primarily loyal.
  • Heroes – Still way down from their series high.  But this website still thinks they’re strong enough for a renewal.  (Of course, it’s not as if NBC has much to offer, anyway, right now.)
  • Sanctuary and Stargate Universe have made SyFy the #3 cable network.  I suspect that means they’ll be hanging around.
  • Dollhouse – Much beloved by those by DVRs.  Per this website, it’s looking like Fox will cling to those happy numbers and keep the show.  But they’ll have to continue getting some live eyes to really solidify this.
  • Fringe – It’s hanging on the edge.  If it can start to inch back up, it could have a chance.

Hopefully the networks will continue to think that genre TV is worth pursuing.  It could be a very different landscape come next fall.

Posted on

Taking a peek at ‘Senate Spy’, Friday on Clone Wars

...Puppets.The episode guide teaser page for this week’s The Clone Wars episode: ‘Senate Spy’ is up. Is there a Separatist conspiracy in the Senate? Padmé, at the request of the Jedi Council, goes undercover to find out.

Also, the next act of the ongoing The Clone Wars webcomic “Act on Instinct” is up. Cad Bane and Aurra Sing capture a Jedi seer.

CartoonNetwork.com launches a new The Clone Wars game online, Star Wars: The Clone Wars Game Creator as part of their overall site re-design, allowing players to customize their own game levels and pick a character and ship to use in them, and have other players rate it. Read more about it at starwars.com or just go ahead and play it online.

Posted on

The Clone Wars reviews: how did ‘Children’ behave?

Google Force (beta)

Looking back at last week’s episode of The Clone Wars, ‘Children of the Force’ get graded:

  • 3.5 / 5 stars from CloneWarsFan, saying, “it tested the limits of how much you can pack into a single episode” and found the Force-sensitive kids a bit too adorable.
  • BigShinyRobot was impressed with the episode, calling it “an incredible piece of televised animated cinema.”
  • MTV Movies Blog enjoys Cad Bane as a change from Dooku and Asajj but doesn’t think that war is a place for adorable babies.
  • TheForce.Net called it the “best Season Two episode so far” and rightly calls out Anakin’s inaction on Ahsoka’s revenge motive.
  • IGN gives it 8.4 out of 10, and pointed out the loss of longer battle scenes in order to everything going on.

Meanwhile, Pete Vilmur talks to Ian Abercrombie on starwars.com about voicing Palpatine and Darth Sidious.

And check back later today for our own review!