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ICYMI: “The Mandalorian” Season 2 Trailer

On September 15, 2020

If you haven’t checked Facebook, or Twitter, or any social media today then you may have missed “The Mandalorian” Season 2 trailer unveiling. You can watch it right here, right now.

After 7 months of virus’s, protests, election propaganda and all the other 2020 dumpster fires, Baby Yoda is here to save us! There are many burning questions (mostly among Star Wars fans). Is Ahsoka really in this season? What about Bo Katan? Will “Baby Yoda” finally have a real name? As an avid fan (I use “avid” lightly) the one thing I don’t want them to tell us is the species; that’s been Lucas’ best kept secret since 1977. Yoda’s species needs to stay in the black vault with the formula for WD-40 and who killed JFK.

Episodic Directors

The confirmed list of directors for season 2 are:

? Jon Favreau
? Dave Filoni
? Bryce Dallas Howard
? Rick Famuyiwa
? Carl Weathers
? Peyton Reed
? Robert Rodriguez

Two directors are not returning from Season 1. Deborah Chow, who is probably working on the Obi-Wan series, and Taika Waititi who is probably working on his own Star Wars project (the next movie or movies). It is pretty cool to see Carl Weathers, aka Greef Karga, on the list. The other names you might not recognize is Peyton Reed, who directs the Ant-Man movies, and Robert Rodriguez, who is usually in the role of the producer.

Season 2 of “The Mandalorian” premiers October 30th on the Disney+ streaming service (no, Disney did not pay me to add that, although it would be pretty cool if they did).

This is the way.

HMDYK About Voice Dubbing in Star Wars

By Biggs

On September 8, 2020

In HMDYK, Movies, Star Wars

My motivation behind these posts is to shine a light on some of the unsung, underrated and/or under appreciated actors in the Star Wars universe. I feel like, somewhere in the mire of sequel trilogy discontent, so-called fans were whining about voice dubbing. Actually it might be The Mandalorian. While Pedro Pascal is credited as playing the Mandalorian, he isn’t always the man in the costume. It’s really quite hilarious to be critical of voice dubbing in Star Wars. If you’ve seen a picture of James Earl Jones then you know damn well that man did not squeeze his husky ass into that Darth Vader costume. Then it was during my previous post about Denis Lawson that I thought more about voice dubbing. Perhaps, instead of focusing on one individual for this topic, we take a look at a couple of these voice talents.

First A Few Exclusions

I’m going to exclude James Earl Jones. If you didn’t know he was the voice of Darth Vader then you don’t really know much about Star Wars. If you don’t know who he is, then go educate yourself. I’d start with Field of Dreams, The Sandlot and Patriot Games. David Prowse was the man in the suit during the original series. I’m also going to exclude Pedro Pascal. While he is somewhat of a new comer to the Star Wars universe, the attention The Mandalorian is getting will make him as big of a house hold name as Mark Hamill and … James Earl Jones 🙂

Lastly, I’m also going to exclude the animated series. While the voice talents of those in The Clones Wars, Rebels and Star Wars Resistance definitely deserve their 15 minutes, that is outside the scope of this post. I want to specifically focus on voice dubbing in live action film.

David Ankrum/Wedge Antilles

I figure I might as well start with the one I’ve already mentioned in HMDYK About Denis Lawson. This guy is pretty much a nobody. He had bit roles for 5 years prior to Star Wars. His recurring bit roles continued all through the 80’s. In fact, while looking into his roles I learned that there was an attempt at a Bewitched spin-off series called Tabitha. It only lasted for one season.

David wasn’t completely forgotten about though. In 2016, 40 years after voice dubbing Wedge in Star Wars, he was called back to do it again for Rogue One. He even gets to utter the phrase “May the Force Be With You”.

Jason Wingreen/Boba Fett

There were many men to don the Mandalorian armor of Boba Fett but Jeremy Bulloch did it first. However it was Jason Wingreen that gave us his voice in Empire Strikes Back. While I’m sure nobody has heard of this guy but he has quite an extensive career. I almost feel like I should have given him an entire HMDYK post. His first credit, based on IMDB, was in 1955 but his notable roles, to me, were Harry Snowden from All In The Family and Judge Arthur Beaumont in Matlock. Sadly, Jason Wingreen passed away in 2015 at 95 years old.

Peter Serafinowicz/Darth Maul

Pretty much everyone knows that Darth Maul was portrayed by martial artist and Wushu master Ray Park. However, if you’ve ever heard Ray Park speak you know that Maul did not have that distinctive cockney accent. That’s because the voice of Darth Maul was provided by Peter Serafinowicz. Depending on your movie IQ that name may not ring any bells however I’m sure his face does. In fact I probably could have written an entire post for him as well.

You might know him as The Tick or perhaps as the pretentious Denarian Saal in Guardians of the Galaxy. He’s had his own comedy sketch series named after himself and written by his brother James. He’s also popped up in a few other places such as Parks and Recreation, Doctor Who, and the IT Crowd. I’m actually a fairly big fan of his work.

That’s about all I could find. Lucas is pretty big on using voice dubbing to get the right sound. Everyone knows I’m a big advocate and supporter for the prequel trilogy but IF I had to nitpick I’d say Hayden Christensen’s dialog is a little cringe-worthy. However his facial expressions, especially in Revenge of the Sith, are great as Anakin becomes Vader. In typical Lucas fashion, he should have chosen a voice dubbing for Hayden. Perhaps even Matt Lanter; but I digress.

/MTFBWY

Confronting fear is the destiny of the Jedi.

Book Review – Dooku: Jedi Lost

By Biggs

On August 29, 2020

In Book Review, Star Wars

Dooku: Jedi Lost by Cavan Scott
My rating: [rating=3]

I don’t give 3-stars to too many Star Wars books and I almost gave this one 4 stars. Honestly its my fault because I didn’t realize this book is meant to be an audio book. The print form that I read is the scripted version of the audio book; which has its pros and cons. It takes a little getting use to but once you’ve acclimated the book moves pretty fast. There is some nomenclature and acronyms that I didn’t know what they meant. Such as “SOTTO” and “BEAT”. Some of them I could look them up (ex: SOTTO voice means softly or quietly so as to not be overheard). Anyway, let’s get into the synopsis and review.

Brief Synopsis and Biggs’ Review

In all fairness, the story is interesting. It gives you a glimpse into the childhood and Jedi training of Count Dooku. You even learn a bit about how he becomes a “Count”. Dooku is looking for someone from his past and, to do that, he has called upon Ventress, whom he hopes to make his apprentice. He gives her clues and some holo-recordings to help her track down this person. During her investigation she learns about her soon-to-be master’s past, including his family.

Like I said, I think the story is interesting. It doesn’t jump around through time a lot, it stays pretty linear as Ventress explores his past. We meet a few more Jedi Masters and even get a glimpse into Sifo Dyas. Minor spoiler: it turns out Sifo and Dooku were good friends growing up, which is something I never gleaned from the movies. It’s really not a bad book and I’d suggest reading it just to see more about Ventress’ relationship with Dooku. You just have to get used to the scripted format.

/MTFBWY

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”
– Dr. Seuss

HMDYK About Denis Lawson

By Biggs

On August 7, 2020

In HMDYK, Movies, Star Wars

Wedge in ROTJ (left); Wedge in TROS (right)

How much do you know about Denis Lawson? This guy is a much lesser known actor compared to the previous three I covered. In fact Denis Lawson does not have nearly as prolific of a career as Cushing, Lee or Guinness. However, while he isn’t as distinguished as the others, he is a fan favorite of the Star Wars universe. He is known for his role as Wedge Antilles, the ace Rebel pilot. In fact his role in Star Wars is about the only thing Denis Lawson is known for among his 98 credits.

Despite all the criticism of Disney for turning the Extended Universe canon into mythology, I’m glad they kept Wedge alive. To my knowledge, Wedge was never killed in any of the EU comics and books. So to see him alive, and survive, in Rise of Skywalker is awesome.

An interesting bit of behind-the-scenes trivia about Wedge, during the Rebel briefing in A New Hope, Luke is sitting next to “Wedge”, but it isn’t Denis Lawson. The actor we see is Collin Higgins, but he constantly struggled with his lines and he was ultimately fired. Lawson was brought in to film the remainder of the scenes. Collin Higgins’ “Wedge” would colloquially become known as “Fake Wedge” among fans. Coincidentally both actors voices were overdubbed by David Ankrum, a common practice in Star Wars.

The Force Is Strong In His Family

Denis Lawson was born in 1947 in Crieff, Perthshire, Scotland. He has one child, Jaime Lawson, and a sister. His sister was born Carol Lawson but would marry a man names James McGregor. They would have two children, Ewan and Colin. Whether its a little known fact, or just esoterically known by Star Wars fans, Denis Lawson is the maternal uncle of Ewan McGregor, the man that would play Obi-Wan Kenobi in the prequels. In fact his role as a pilot in Star Wars was inspiration for this nephews; Ewan to become an actor (ultimately in Star Wars) and Colin to join the Royal Air Force. If you ever listen to any of his interviews, he sounds a lot like Ewan McGregor.

I don’t want to say that Denis Lawson in unremarkable because his legacy is cemented in Star Wars canon. However, among his 98 credits, I can’t find anything that really stands out. He hasn’t portrayed any iconic characters. He’s mostly done a few TV shows that I’ve never heard of. Apparently he’s a musical comedy star in London and has even won a Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical.

If there’s anything you’d like to share about actor Denis Lawson, please leave it in the comments.

Book Review: Force Collector

By Biggs

On July 30, 2020

In Book Review, Science Fiction, Star Wars

Force Collector by Kevin Shinick
My rating: [rating=5]

In my last book review I talked a bit about the young adult genre and I hardly qualify as a “young adult” (however I’m not exactly “old” either) but I digress. I won’t turn down a good young adult novel but, I’ll admit, I wasn’t sure about this book. This is another book in the “Journey to Rise of Skywalker” series and I’m eager to learn more about the lore that brought us to that epic conclusion. Therefore, regardless of my age and how it corresponds to “young adult”, I read it and I was not disappointed. This is my book review of Force Collector.

Brief Synopsis and Biggs’ Review

Karr is a thirteen year old child on Merokia who suddenly discovers he’s Force sensitive. The Force allows him to see the history of the Jedi whenever he touches an artifact that, at some point in the past, encountered the Force. Now he’s determined to discover the truth about the Jedi. His journey will take him across the galaxy, to many familiar places and faces. He will learn not only about the Jedi but about his own past and his destiny.

I think what I enjoyed the most about this book is the different ways it links all the movies together. I’m a sucker for subtle references and Easter eggs. They are like the Force itself, binding the galaxy together. I know, that was corny. I’ll be honest, when I first started reading I was confused about where it occurred in the timeline. The last book I read, in this series, takes place just a few months after The Last Jedi. Naturally I assumed this book would be somewhere in the same time period. It is not. So, for future readers, it takes place BEFORE The Force Awakens; that is extremely relevant to the events of this book.

Unlike Spark of the Resistance, this book doesn’t add any context to Rise of Skywalker. It’s a fun stroll down memory lane. It’s sole purpose, in my opinion, is to advance the lore of the Jedi. It provides an idea of how and why the Jedi may have become so mythical and elusive after Return of the Jedi.

I definitely recommend this book for Star Wars fans. I had a hard time putting it down.

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”
– Dr. Seuss

SWTOR: Return of the Sith Juggernaut

By Biggs

On July 23, 2020

In Gaming, MMORPG, Star Wars, SWTOR

I’m a little over a month into my World of Warcraft hiatus. While I do miss logging into my Paladin and hanging with my raid team, I’ve been busy tanking it up with my Sith Juggernaut in Star Wars: The Old Republic. I was fortunate to get into the beta of this game way back in 2011 and I loved it. As I mentioned before, two subscriptions is not economical to maintain a mmo/real-life balance, so I kept the one that more of my friends were playing. The game has changed a lot the past nine years so I thought I’d share some of my thoughts on these changes in this post I’m calling “Return of the Sith Juggernaut”.

F2P, Game Time and the Cartel Market

It’s probably been about 6 years since I’ve played SWTOR and wrote a gameplay post. When my WoW hiatus started I didn’t buy any game time right away. I played the Free-2-Play version for a few weeks first and, only recently, bought some game time. I, honestly, didn’t feel as stymied about the F2P restrictions as I felt in the past. Granted I do have a “preferred” status which means I do receive additional liberties (such as a 1 million credit cap as opposed to the 350k credit cap). It may have helped that I was away from the game long enough that I accrued over 9,000 Cartel Coins.

I love the Cartel Market system. I’ve only spent about 4k of my Cartel Coins so far, mostly on species and gameplay unlocks. I think one of the mechanics I really like is the daily “Flash sales”. Every day an item from the Cartel Market is on sale for 50% off (or more) and only for about 14 hours. If you are patient enough you can wait for some really cool mounts or costumes to come down in price. The minor drawback is that it only unlocks for the character you bought it on, however you can unlock it account-wide for a few more Cartel Coins.

Speaking of costumes, the outfit designer feature is really cool. It’s similar to the Warcraft transmog system except the costume remains even after you replace a piece of gear. In some ways I like that better than transmog except you can’t overwrite your weapons.

Flashpoints and Expansions

I didn’t activate a recurring subscription, instead I purchased their non-recurring 60 days of game time. I really like this idea of only one time purchases of game time without having to buy a game time card. In fact, not only does it grant you a one time purchase of game time, it also fully upgrades to the current expansion. Prior to my initial exit from the game, Rise of the Hutt Cartel was the current expansion. Therefore I didn’t have any of the content after that expansion unlocked. Now I can reach max level of Onslaught without a recurring subscription or expansion purchase.

Flashpoints (which is the SWTOR version of 5-man dungeons) have a new mechanic that I really like. Story Mode. This means you can complete a flashpoint solo, or with a smaller group. The mobs health and damage is reduced and you also receive an additional companion droid to help with the fights. I love this. It always kind of bothered me, in World of Warcraft, that the main story arcs always ended with a dungeon quest. There are even some professions that require a dungeon visit. I usually end up waiting for months to finally finish these quests because I feel blocked by the dungeon.

I get that Blizzard is trying to foster a community environment and these quests are designed to be completed with a group. However, I don’t always feel like hunting for a group of folks or waiting on the Looking-for-Group tool. I just want to complete my quest (and thus the story). SWTOR Story Mode let’s me do that. Blizzard needs to do this.

On a final note, playing the game again reminds me how amazing the voice acting and writing is, especially of class companions. I also love the fact that they incorporated music and creatures (ex: the varactyls) from the prequels. I really do love this game.

If you’re interested in playing this game visit the website: www.swtor.com.

/MTFBWY

“ I’ll do it, on one condition – if I die, you have to build a statue in my honor. An Expensive one. ”

A Geek's Cogitations, Conjectures and other Cortical Experiences

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