Ben, please!
Turns out Robot Chicken did something similar to our last strip (see last Friday), so the feeling of disappointment over here at Team BMS has been a cloud over the weekend. I decided to cut straight to this strip, as I doubt anyone’s done THIS before. I love Yoda and Obi-Wan. 🙂
We’ve ended the “Best Expanded Universe fiction” poll. In a moment I’ll talk about the results and my thoughts. But first… time for a little of Neil Baker!
The talented Neil Baker, creator of the Turning to the Dork Side Star Wars parody webcomic, has produced an animated movie which he is now submitting to festivals for the 2013 circuit! Small Sacrifices has appeared at one festival already and has been nominated for a sound design award! I think this is simply fantastic and I’m really thrilled for him. Way to go, Neil!
The stop-motion film is inspired, in part, by Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzig Norgay’s conquest of Mt. Everest. It tells the story and struggle of a group of fleas, led by Count Otto Von Louse, on an expedition to conquer the Great Gnatterhorn. Show your support to Neil in words, or in donations for his ambitious Epic of Tiny Proportions!
Like Small Sacrifices on Facebook! 🙂
Poll Results!
Over the last couple of months we asked readers What is the Best Expanded Universe Fiction? Over 1200 responses later we have a pretty good idea of what fans love most in the Star Wars Expanded Universe.
The Thrawn Trilogy might as well have been the Death Star, and the competition, Alderaan, because it blew everything else away.
Published in 1991, it was the first official Star Wars novel since Return of the Jedi which created a great deal of interest. Perhaps part of its massive popularity stems from the hype it received. It also launched a series of Star Wars novels that continue to this day.
Knights of the Old Republic mounted a small but comparatively futile challenge. If we combine the X-Wing and TIE Fighter series (novels, comics, games) then the star fighter themed works have a convincing third place. The Brian Daley Han Solo Adventures books came fourth, which is a triumph for the vintage era Expanded Universe! Kyle Katarn and Republic Commando are also widely popular. The Clone Wars low placing may have been influenced by the BMS readership being skewed toward OT Star Wars, though it still performed well in the poll. Shadows of the Empire ranked lower than Clone Wars. What do you guys think about the results?
I had a bad revelation about Disney owning this franchise. We’ll no longer be able to see Slave Leia’s belly button. Or was it ever visible?
Pat
see link for your answer
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/341/carriefisherslavegirl.jpg/sr=1
Nice find. Her bellybutton is definitely, surely visible! And how nice it is.
The results were pretty much what I expected, though I would have expected SotE to rank higher.
Always wondered why Ben didn’t respond- would have seemed like a moment for it, unless they were out to teach Luke for leaving Dagobah. In this case, they’re just not very nice people, those Jedi. 😉
Just like Ben to drag Luke into this messy battle and not be of any help at all!
Love the Pizza by they way. 😉
Ben told Luke when he left Dagobah that if he faced Vader he would it alone, that he couldn’t interfere.
Exactly.
Would it be possible to present the answers to each voter in a randomized order?
I believe that the Thrawn Trilogy had the advantage here, no competition (it had my vote for one). But its top placement even added to that, I fear.
Really? I would bet it had more to do with the fact that more people have heard of it – and read it – than the other choices.
I half expected to see Biggs hanging upside down with him.
Well done!
BTW No one ever answers the Force Mails I send them!
@ Neil Post a schedule of the film shows you will be at please!
Wilco.
There’s no reason why Ben couldn’t at least give Luke a ghostly “Hang on, Luke, hang on” while he was dangling there, like what he did in Star Wars. He chose not to interfere, so he might as well have been hanging out with Yoda, eating pizza! The hammock really makes this work.
Thanks, Rod – that was a very cool plug 🙂
Awesome strip today. There’s so much potential for spirit Ben and Yoda hijinks!
The feelings of disappointment ended when the Ravens won yesterday. I’m sure you all heard Leanne’s reaction to the win.
Pizza and naptime. X D
wow not as much love for the tales books as I would have thought. the books over all are worth a read, and the DKM stories are some of the best things ever pretty much. Pretty much the defining pre prequel boba fett story in tales from jabba’s palace.
hehe. We’re not supposed to ask where Yoda got takeout from on Dagobah.
I can see the ads on TV now:
“Swamp Pizza of Lesser Mudhole Dagobah: we deliver in 2 days or it’s free!”
Why the hammock? hehe. nice touch. It’s not like a ghost would need furniture.
*insert ep3 nooooo here* Now i feel bad for telling you about RC 🙁 So sorry Hannahs! On the bright side, i once had a cellphone signal with yoda that went “Oh, it’s ringing! A message from the dark side it is!”, many years ago. perhaps it still exists for you to find?
I thought it was due to Luke not having enough midichlorians to call long distance.
Midichlorians did not exist back then, smart ass! 😛
Sure they were! George retro fitted them to all his old movies.
There are no midichlorians in the BMS universe.
Keep that attitude in mind when Disney inevitably “reto fit” material of their own. I draw the line at 1997 for Star Wars. All that came after gets my casual interest only.
OK, he didn’t have enough oomph to call long distance. 🙂
Ben warned him he would not help him if he went.
Even if Ben did show up, he would only have said “I told you this would happen .. rescue you? how? Just gonna leave you here to think about what you’ve done, someone else will be along to rescue you in a bit…. Again!”
Not if Disney retro-fits Star Wars so that Force users can teleport. 😛
While I can settle for midichlorians existing in canon, I don’t view them as the sole reason for force-sensitivity. It’s not the x-gene. Yeah sure, they might HELP you notice the existence of the force, but they aren’t what causes them. In my view, The Force creates midichlorians, not the other way around.
Can’t we have just 1 midichlorian in the BMS universe, to step on and squish. What good are they, if they can’t DIE! 🙂
LOL! Good one Tom.
As far as I recall, I think Luke had to be rescued about seven times.
Tuskan raider, guy at bar, hoth, dagobah(well his ship), cloud city, sarlac pit and finally dear old dad. (Any more? maybe Leia rescuing them via garbage chute?)
Did save a few billion too though. 😉
I voted for SotE 😉
I really like the Thrawn Triolgy too, but I think Shodows is awesome for all the first person Vader stuff.
Long before we had The Rise of Vader series this was the only in to the mind of the conflicted sith lord. And it really fleshed out Luke’s change between Empire and Jedi. As well as giving a understandable time gap between the two films. It also portrayed the stotic awesomeness of Princess Leia as she tries to rescue Han and uncover the plot against Luke (her forceiness is hinted at!).
Me, I voted ‘other’. 😛 I love many of the books on the list, but my favorites are Vision of the Future/Survivor’s Quest. (Hey, look, Zahn books!)
But it was some tough competition and you could only vote for one. 😉
Sadly, Star Wars is following it’s predecessor Star Trek.
Star Trek was remarkably consistent in events, “history”, timelines, technology, etc., until Roddenberry died and his timeline with him. (See the 1980 Star Trek Chronology Manual that was consistent with Roddenberry’s original timeline.) After about star Trek IV it went in a 1000 different directions with dozens of conflicting events and timelines.
Now, it’s partly happened to Star Wars with revisions by its creator. That is nothing compared to what will happen under Disney.
Yep. Pick your period and stick with it. No one has a brain big enough to accommodate it all. Not while maintaining a life outside the hobby.
I rather beleive the reason the eu is so messed up is not (that much) because of Lucas, but because of ther ebeing a 1000 different writers and directors, for every game, comic, film, tv-show, toy and books, all with their own idea of sw. I mean, the biggest mistakes I feel lucas have done is not about his own ideas, it’s how he didn’t say “no” to enough of the many weird ideas all the various eu writers came up with. he’s sadly one man so he can’t manage them all. par tof the reason he sold to disney: they do, or at least have more potential to than he did.
Funnily enought I just re-read the X-Wing/Wraith Squrdon series, and I’m working my way through the Thrawn trilogy. I liked the X-Wing ones – I thought it was a nice way to introduce other characters, but re-readign them now was a little cringeworthy. “Never tell me the odds!” did that one throw-away line really have to define an entire planet worth of people?