Sterling Hershey wrote a two-part blog on the history of the Star Wars roleplaying game this weekend.
The Catchup: Friday morning reading list
NEWS
- Fractal Matter interviews Rick McCallum about all the usual suspects: Red Tails, TV shows, etc.
- Antifungal drug causes visions of Chewbacca. Well, better Wookiees than, say, Cthulhu.
- Star Wars gets namedropped in Blackwater probe.
- £10,000 worth of figures stolen in UK.
EVENTS
- Cédric Delsaux’s Star Wars on Earth photographs are on exhibit in Washington D.C.
GAMING
- Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron comes out on Tuesday, and TOS has been pulling out all the stops: a two part Q&A; an introduction to Commander Col Serra and a look at his character evolution.
FANDOM
- Perennial blogger Jason Kottke asks the age-old question: What’s the best order to indoctrinate your young with Star Wars?
- University of Alabama offers BUI 301: The Gospel of Star Wars: Mass Entertainment as Postmodern Religion. Does that mean Steve Sansweet is a prophet?
- Bengal Trooper spotted!
PEOPLE
- Sean Connery sexier than Harrison Ford, says poll.
- Natalie Portman campaigns to help end global poverty; will be starring alongside Tobey Maguire and Jake Gyllenhaal in Brothers.
- Carrie Fisher to take on Mrs. Bennett in Pride And Prejudice spoof.
- Billy Dee Williams in Aretha Franklin biopic?
MERCHANDISE
- Get your Master Replicas’ products now; with their license expiring, they stop selling Star Wars stuff after December 31st.
- Check out some of the 30th Anniversary Sketch Cards.
- Complete your collection of convention exclusives with the Celebration Europe Droid 2-pack.
Hyperspace
- The latest Bantha Tracks.
- Two Newsnets: Ralltiir Blockade Impacting Sector Economy and Kira Run Opening Up to Mainstream Trade.
- One tiny fiction bit: One Step Ahead.
- And a lowdown on Delta Source.
What’s what with WOTC
Sterling Hershey weighs in with September’s developments in the RPG realm and his take on Family Guy: Blue Harvest.
Merchandising is so cruel
I believe we’ve already established that I’m empathetically not a gamer and I don’t know the first thing about PSPs and Wiis and all that, but I gotta admit to being mildly tempted by the offer of a free Han Solo in Carbonite PSP case when pre-ordering Battlefront: Renegade Squadron from Gamespot. And keep in mind the most advanced gaming system I’ve ever owned is a Sega Genesis.
They ought to make these these things for iPods or something. The first and second gen Nanos are perfectly proportioned for it! Or… checkbook covers. I don’t know. Something.
Video: Meet the TFUers
A new video is up over at the LucasArts site, ‘A Force Wrecking Ball’, that discusses the game’s characters. There’s also an interesting look at how LucasArts and ILM are digitally capturing the actors, which has a corresponding story on StarWars.com.
Also, will the TFU acronym ever stop being funny? Please tell me it will.
TFU: Gamers get their wish
The Force Unleashed will be available on the Wii with an ‘Exclusive Duel Mode,‘ surprising absolutely no one.
Star Wars in the news
Music teacher wants to show class the opening scene of Star Wars – but Fifth-graders gets a quick look at porn instead. This isn’t the sci-fi epic you’re looking for!
Also…
The haps of GenCon
Now, we sometimes forget this in our pursuit of booze and parties, but GenCon is actually a gaming convention. Over at the TOS blogs, Sterling Hershey has the reports on the Star Wars and general RPG announcements.
For the EU fans, looks like WOTC will be making Legacy of the Force, Knights of the Old Republic, and The Force Unleashed minis.
Star Wars link roundup
Hasbro profits tumble after Lucas stock buyback, but sales are strong for Transformers and Spider-Man toys.
No Harry! I swear!
- Jim Ward interviewed by San Jose Mercury News.
- THX moves beyond theaters.
- Pablo on why you don’t want to fly too close to Luke or stand too near Leia.
- Dave Dorman profiled in local paper.
- German robot masters walking
- Hamill not SW trivia master.
- Another Slave Leia group photo planned at Comic-Con. Sigh.
- Chewbacca dies at age 26. (Warning! PDF link.)
TFU in High-Def
Gamers, GFFA detail aficionados, morning-addled fans looking for something pretty and brainless that goes boom, here’s a little something for you: The Force Unleashed trailer in HD.