CLASSIC IMAGE: DEPARTING FORCES!

Here's a shot that has only been shown briefly in one of the early CLONE WARS episodes opening narration moments and was, as far as I'm aware, not fully part of an actual story itself (I reckon its an unused shot from the first CLONE WARS theatrical movie from 2008), showing Republic Warships and fighter escorts leaving Coruscant and soon going into battle.

It's a fantastic image from a great series...

"AFICIONADO" BACK ISSUE NEWS

Just to let any interested readers know that the STAR WARS AFICIONADO issues devoted to the making of RETURN OF THE JEDI (2008) and the Thirtieth Anniversary Special (2007) have finally been added to the main sites back catalogue area. That makes every issue of the magazine from number seven onwards now available in PDF form. 

Here's the link for more information:  http://www.starwarsaficionado.com/backissuepdfcatalog.html

As for issues before seven, there are no plans to re-release AFICIONADO double issue five and six, as it was revised as THE MAKING OF STAR WARS special issue in 2007, but there will be an exciting special announcement about issues one to four in the very near future, so keep checking both the sites out...

RETURNING TO "THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL"

Always in trouble, Indiana Jones is older but never any wiser! Image: LUCASFILM/PARAMOUNT



The UK's BBC 1 channel (and HD) sees in the New Year's Day at 5.35 pm with a healthy dollop of fun and action with Harrison Ford, who, if adventure had a name, continues to be known as Indiana Jones, as he and his new "family", wayward youth Mutt Williams (Shia LaBeouf) and still feisty after all these years Marion Ravenwood (a fine return for Karen Allen), enter the legendary Kingdom of the Crystal Skull to unearth its possibly alien secrets, followed by a fine Russian villainess, Irina Spalko (the chameleon-like actress Cate Blanchett) and her army of dedicated soldiers, determined to conquer the world with the secrets they can steal. 

Harrison Ford, despite criticisms of his advancing years, has aged well as the iconic hero and carries the film well-looking good at a time of life when most people can barely climb on board a bus! Perhaps the adventure overall could have had a little bit more depth towards the end story and character-wise, and Indy himself could have have had perhaps one more major action sequence in which to shine, but I feel that KINGDOM is a much under-rated film and far better than most people give it credit. Ultimately, though, none of the Indy sequels, despite all their great and highly memorable moments of drama, action and comedy, have ultimately topped or fully matched the strong story or break neck, pitched to perfection pace of the original RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK-that film is still the best and remains unbeatable as one of the all defining action movies ever- but KINGDOM certainly holds up well alongside an Indy sequel like THE LAST CRUSADE in many places and, if there is no new film on the horizon next year for our archaeologist hero, proves to be an acceptable and generally satisfying conclusion to it all.

Remember this original trailer, and how the world was excited to see Indy return after such a long absence from our screens?:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5bvLbl-Ul0

CLASSIC IMAGE: CLONE ARMIES

A great image seen only briefly in several early episodes of Season One of THE CLONE WARS, showing the legions of battle ready troops in their special staging area on Coruscant- a brilliant recreation of one of the closing iconic scenes of EPISODE II: ATTACK OF THE CLONES

AFICIONADO MYSTERY: WHATEVER HAPPENED TO "THE MIDNIGHT SHADOW"?

With the start of the new Third Season of THE CLONE WARS in the UK this weekend, we're getting another 22 episodes full of STAR WARS goodness. Some of these new season episodes were created during Season Two and held over for Three, a practice that also previously applied with Season One (where the superb CARGO OF DOOM, listed in books at the time for the premiere year (to have been transmitted before what was later to be Cad Bane's first appearance in HOSTAGE CRISIS), was held over as the second episode of Season Two instead). But there's one episode from Season One, also listed on many fan sites and online episodes guides in 2008/2009, which seems to have disappeared never to be seen again- I'm talking about the evocatively titled BATTLE FOR THE MIDNIGHT SHADOW. Exactly just what is the Midnight Shadow of the title? A planet? A spaceship? A disease? Does anybody out there have any more details on the "lost" story and why it had disappeared from the run? Was it an early title for an episode we've already seen (like the BLUE SHADOW VIRUS), perhaps? Did it even exist, or was it an early idea abandoned, or, more excitingly, an idea being re-configured as an episode for a later season?

If anyone can help solve the mystery, please get in touch...

CLASSIC IMAGE: THE MISSING "CLONE WAR"!

With the eve of the new third season of THE CLONE WARS airing in the US on CARTOON NETWORK this week, we thought we'd take a look back to the original 2008 pilot film and this intriguing image of the Clone Soldiers fighting Battle Droids and Super Battle Droids on what I'm assuming is the desert wilderness of Tatooine? This exciting image, used for the films publicity at the time, never made it into the film, though, if I recall correctly, a portion of a clip of this scene appears in one of the opening monologues of one of the first seasons episodes...

I'm wondering if Captain Rex and his team did a final clean-up of the Separatist forces once Anakin and Ahsoka had delivered Rotta to father Jabba the Hutt, and it was just cut from the final film for time reasons. But why not include it on the film's Blu-ray/DVD deleted scenes?

If anyone out there has any more information on this scene please get in touch...