A Certain Point of View: Writing, Film and Stuff

(C) 2002 Hasbro, Inc. and Lucasfilm Ltd. (LFL) Pros:  Nice detailing, good sculpt, and packaging lends itself for collecting Cons:  May be too scene-specific; available mostly online. Character Background:  Just as Darth Vader's Nazi-like helmet, skull-like breath mask and black armor-and-cape outfit indelibly branded him as the face of the Galactic Empire's evil in the Classic  Star Wars  Trilogy, Darth Maul, the seven-horned, red-and-black tattooes Iridonian Zabrak apprentice to future Emperor Palpatine's Sith alter ego Darth Sidious, was supposed to be the incarnation of Hate itself in  Star Wars - Episode I: The Phantom Menace. If one watches the Prequel Trilogy carefully just for thematic purposes, it becomes evident that Maul personifies one of the three aspects of Anakin Skywalker's transformation from earnest but troubled Jedi Knight to Sith Lord: anger and hate. (Count Dooku, of course, represents Anakin's ambition and the fact that a Jedi  ca

Photo Credit: www.toysandposters.com. (C) 2002 Hasbro, Inc. and Lucasfilm Ltd. (LFL) Star Wars - Saga Collection  Battle Droid - Arena Battle action figure Pros:  Comes already posed, better detailing than 1999  Episode I  Battle Droid. Cons:  Okay, I know Hasbro needs to attract figure collectors, but  blaster effects ? Yuck. A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away.... Ten years after the defeat of the Trade Federation at Naboo and the election of Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, the Galactic Republic is in decline. As the Galactic Congress becomes more unable to assert its authority and political debates become more acrimonious, thousands of star systems have declared their intention to secede from the Republic. Led by the mysterious Count Dooku, the Confederacy of Independent Systems has set up a secret manufacturing facility on the remote planet of Geonosis. Allying itself with the greedy bureaucrats of the Trade Federation, the Commerce Guild, and other

Photo Credit: collector-actionfigures.com  Although the Star Wars saga is perhaps associated with dazzling set-piece action sequences replete with lightsaber duels and dogfights in space, the series is replete with small moments that are in themselves fateful or revelatory. In filmmaking, no scene is -- or should be, anyway -- extraneous or tossed in just because it looks "cool." Every tiny bit of dialogue, every single shot has to move the story forward, even something that seems irrelevant.  In Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, everything is set up to propel Anakin Skywalker from his life as a slave to the start of his training as a Jedi Knight, a seemingly straight path that will, of course, zig and zag to Anakin's ultimate destiny…his deviation from the true path of the JedI, his forbidden romance with Padme Amidala, and his turning to the dark side of the Force.  Hasbro's Mos Espa Encounter scene pack beautifully recreates the face-off between y

Photo Credit: 2DayDelivery.com Pros:  Very nicely detailed, pose looks very dynamic. Cons:  Not recommended for very young children. Hasbro's third Star Wars 25th Anniversary Deluxe Boxed Set , Final Duel , captures a pivotal moment in the film A New Hope -- the turning point, perhaps, of the entire Star Wars saga: the legendary Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi facing off against his former Padawan apprentice and now Sith Lord, Darth Vader. His simple Jedi robes and blue lightsaber blade contrast starkly against the Death Star hangar interior and his former apprentice's menacing armored visage and red Sith saber blade. I have been collecting Star Wars figures almost since Kenner (now Hasbro) started selling them in the wake of the success of Star Wars (now known as Episode IV: A New Hope ). I own several variations of both Darth Vader and Ben (Obi-Wan) Kenobi, including the original 1978 figures with telescoping lightsabers and plastic cloaks, but I was impresse

Although Darth Vader would perish without his body armor's life support system, he remains a powerful and imposing figure. His black suit and the dark side of the Force protect him from numerous opponents until he loses his cybernetic right hand in a fateful lightsaber duel with Luke Skywalker on the second Death Star.  - Jedi Fact File, Darth Vader (Emperor's Wrath) figure Released in 2001 by Hasbro as part of its post- Episode I  "Power of the Jedi" product line, Darth Vader (Emperor's Wrath) is yet another scene-specific action figure based on the central character of George Lucas' six-Episode Star Wars saga set "a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away."  This almost spectral figure depicts Anakin Skywalker's Sith alter ego as he appears in the climactic "redemption" scene in which "Darth Vader" sacrifices his life by picking up his long-time Master Darth Sidious/Emperor Palpatine and enduring an onslaught of Fo

Since 1995, when Hasbro re-introduced  Star Wars- related merchandise under its "Kenner Collection:  The Power of the Force " label, the Pawtucket, RI-based toy company has released over 500 action figures under various collection names, including  Episode I,  Shadows of the Empire,  and the 2000-2002  Power of the Jedi  line.  As in the Kenner vintage collection, Hasbro's strategy has been to release many variants of major and minor characters from the six major films, as well as the various  Clone Wars  projects .   The more famous characters, of course, tend to predominate, especially Darth Vader, Anakin Skywalker, Luke Skywalker, and R2-D2, but Hasbro, knowing that collectors want almost every character in the films, has populated store shelves with many supporting "bit players."  Jek Porkins: X-Wing Pilot:   Once a free trader on Bestine IV, Jek joined the Rebel Alliance after his homeworld was conquered by the Empire. He quickly became known as one of th

In 1991, Bantam Spectra Books and Lucasfilm Limited joined forces to re-launch the dormant  Star Wars  franchise with the publication of Timothy Zahn's  Star Wars: Heir to the Empire , the first volume of a three-book cycle known as The Thrawn Trilogy . Eight years had passed since the theatrical run of  Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi,  and only a few Lando Calrissian novels, a moribund Marvel Comics series and a West End Games role-playing game were "keeping the flame" for fans who wondered when - or  if  -  Star Wars  creator George Lucas would complete the long-rumored  nine-part  saga made up of  three  Trilogies - the Classic, the Prequels and a Sequel Trilogy set decades after  Return of the Jedi. Heir to the Empire,  which is set five years after the climactic events of  Episode VI,  not only updated readers on how the lives of Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo, Chewbacca, Lando Calrissian, C-3PO and R2-D2 have changed since the Battle of En