Author Archives: Thomas
Earlier today the Vintage Collection collectors successfully funded the Tonnika sisters with a cantina on the side. Which means with a little more than 86 hours still to go TVC collectors can now try to get Hasbro to feed them a few more fis… I mean give them more action figures by reaching more tiers! Only a little less than 8,900 backers to go before everything is unlocked!
Go go go! đŸ˜‰
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This week’s episode of The Acolyte is the polar opposite of the previous one. Zero action, dialogue only. Sadly, this also means you need good actors, even more sadly, Amandla Stenberg continues to seriously underwhelm as the lead characters in this. And so much hinges on her here. Anyway. In this episode Manny Jacinto (who is actually a good actor) as the newly revealed Sith gives Osha his best sales pitch (the usual routine), while Sol pretends to be clueless but isn’t really… just when this show finally wants to tell us how the Jedi murdered all the poor space witches we fade to black. Why this show has 8 episodes is beyond me, this is at best a 4 part mini series with one hour episodes.
So… there’s not that much to talk about this week, since things were mostly just boring or the same old same old you expect to see and hear when a Sith tries to recruit someone. But of course there are some things worth discussing… like the vague vibe I get they may retcon Darth Plagueis here, if they do I have a feeling many folks may not be so happy about it. So click here or on the banner for my spoiler review of Teach / Corrupt and let’s discuss the latest episode of The Acolyte!
We also get male frontal nudity in this… where is equal representation when you really want it?
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We are on the finishing straight for the Cantina HasLab! Only seven more days to go! How do things look? Funding seems to be 100% secure at this point. The big question was and is how many tiers may get unlocked and how the 4th of July holidays in the US may impact backer numbers. Click through for all the details!
Stay on target!
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While we still have to wait another 1 1/2 weeks for Nielsen to finally release their streaming numbers for early June and thus finally including The Acolyte, new player in town Luminate releases their numbers in a much more timely fashion. So we already know the numbers for last week (Friday – Thursday) for The Acolyte. And not to mince any words here… the numbers are BAD. Click through for more!
Few people care
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In all the excitement about the “Stranger” helmet from The Acolyte yesterday it was overlooked that IGN actually revealed Hasbro’s 2024 SDCC exclusive The Black Series set as well!
It is Darth Maul with his speeder bike! Which is the first Black Series vehicle in a long, long time, albeit a very compact and small one. The set will be $59.99. You can get it at SDCC, but you must reserve a time slot online (with a valid badge/ticket of course), then you show up at the Hasbro booth at the alotted slot to buy the set. After SDCC a limited quantity of sets will also be sold on Pulse. I would suppose etailers outside the US will as usual also get a limited number of sets.
Maul has soft goods robes, so he can actually ride the speeder, in addition to his iconic lightsaber he also comes with a probe droid (with stand) and his binoculars. So the only new thing here really is the speeder.
What is your opinion? Is this a good set? I think the speeder is a welcome addition to the line. To make it an SDCC exclusive is… typical. However, SH Figuarts released the speeder years ago as a web exclusive. Unfortunately the speeder was also a limited release and you need to hunt it down on the aftermarket and prices will be pretty high (and it comes without figure, but SHF have a soft goods Darth Maul as well). But anyone not attending SDCC and having no luck with Pulse and has to resort to the aftermarket should see if aftermarket prices for the Black Series set on ebay won’t make the SHF speeder a viable alternative (and it does look better). The SHF speeder goes for about $230 on ebay. First sellers already offer the Black Series SDCC set for $220.
Will you try to get the TBS SDCC exclusive?
SDCC exclusive
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After last week’s “Day” we get “Night” this week. I wish this was a joke. Anyway, this week’s episode finally reveals the super obvious identity of Smilo Ren. And yes it actually is who everyone said it was from the very beginning… even if some people hoped that Leslye Headland can’t be THAT obvious. Turns out… she is!
What else… in some ways this was the best episode yet. Because it had the least amount of dialogue, half of the episode is just fighting in a dark forest. But make no mistake, the plot we get is still as nonsensical as humanly possible and it may make you question life, the universe and all the rest. I cannot believe anyone who read the scripts greenlit this. It’s even more mysterious why this was given a budget of $180 million. Or why Iger lets Kennedy do as she pleases. I am literally dumbfounded after this episode.
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We are more than halfway through the campaign, only 14 days left for the Cantina! How are things? Click through for more!
Out of reach?
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The new Luminate Streaming Charts were released earlier today on Variety. While we still have to wait about two weeks until Nielsen will finally release their numbers for the premiere of The Acolyte, Luminate releases numbers in a much more timely fashion, these are the charts for the June 13th – June 20th period, which includes the release of last week’s episode. And how did The Acolyte do? Well…
Spoiler!
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WHAT. DID. I. JUST. WATCH????
I don’t know what to say. Only that, in my opinion, I watched the most nonsensical 30 minutes of Star Wars EVER. And this although we had slowmo Space Vespa chases, Kenobi being too dumb to walk around a laser barrier, hiding Lil Leia under a coat with no one noticing that they are walking around in an enemy base, Boba Fett getting tired every 20 minutes and Sabine (and Reva) shrugging off full lightsaber torso penetration just like that.
We need to talk about a lot of things. I also need grief counseling. So please click through for my spoiler review of “Day”, the worst Star Wars streaming episode ever. Yet. This was even worse than The Last Jedi. And four more episodes of The Acolyte are still to come. Someone please help me.
Make it stop, please!
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Nielsen is no longer the only game in town when it comes to streaming charts. Luminate is a new player on the market and they cooperate with Variety, who post the weekly Luminate streaming charts. Luminate themselves are not posting any charts on their website, this is a paid service. They are aiming at industry pros and analysts. Anyway, so what does Luminate say about The Acolyte? Click through to find out more!
The power of…. not so many
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As promised here is the next major update for the Cantina HasLab. Day 11 is almost over, so what are the numbers now, one week later? Click through for all the relevant data!
Update with Thursday numbers in the comments!
$399.99
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That escalated quickly!
Yup! This is happening…
Discuss away… and remember, this is supposed to be fun! Please do not take any of this seriously!
UPDATE: down to 15% now… could this reach single digit territory? As a famous pop culture icon would say: “Fascinating”!
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While user scores at sites like IMDB, Rotten Tomatoes or Metacritic are not the be all end all and will never tell any individual viewer whether or not he or she will like something, they are still a good indicator of what the general consensus by viewers is. High or low ratings almost always have their good reasons, and that reason is not “review bombing” despite what some media outlets claim. So how do things look for The Acolyte? Click through for a closer look!
Spoiler
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I have written about surveys and polls that aim to shed light on the demographics of Star Wars fans before. The surveys I quoted all more or less agree that about 40% of the fans are women. And actual movie attendance data by the MPAA supports this, the three movies in their report: The Force Awakens, Rogue One and The Last Jedi were watched by approx. 40% women. However, all of these surveys and polls are US only. But now a new analysis by Parrot Analytics, via Yahoo (who repost a The Wrap article hidden behind a paywall), has surfaced that takes a look at the all time global (so not just the US) demographics of Star Wars fans. They compare Star Wars to Marvel to see where the differences are. And the findings are very interesting! Click through for more!
Star Wars fans in the wild
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I am up very early so you folks can read all about last night’s episode of The Acolyte. The offensive, lore-breaking episode that will forever ruin Star Wars, steal your girlfriend away and crash your car … In truth, none of that actually is accurate. The episode is not offensive, it’s not lore-breaking and it does not ruin Star Wars. Instead it may just waste your time, insult your intelligence and leave you wondering what the effing eff you just watched. But make no mistake: none of it is offensive. Other than offensively stupid maybe.
So yes, there are lots of things to talk about. Click here or on the banner to read my very spoilery spoiler review of “Destiny”, the Acolyte episode that does NOT ruin Star Wars forever or redefines the Force and makes it female. Some people really need to get a life. Whatever. Let’s discuss!
UPDATE: I rewatched a few scenes and found definitive proof of what is going on in this episode and that The Acolyte will indeed copy the movie Roshomon, i.e. episode 3 is not the full story and we will get a second flashback that shows us the real events / the full version, because episode 3 leaves out many key events and the new detail I found proves it. I updated the review to discuss this additional detail.
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Let’s make this quick. Hasbro revealed various new things today!
The Black Series:
- Osha (accessories are her little droid companion and a backpack)
- Shin Hati with a new hat, no with cloth cape, a Target exclusive figure
The Vintage Collection:
- Osha with her droid and backpack and some other stuff
Retro:
- Sol, Jecki, Yord, Osha, Mae, Aniseya 6-pack!
Preorders should open tomorrow at 1 pm!
Click through for some photos!
TVC Osha Aniseya
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After reporting pointless day 1 numbers for the first episode of The Acolyte (because they never did so for anything before), Disney released 5-day numbers last night, just like they did for Ahsoka. And the first episode of The Acolyte had 11.1 million views worldwide, according to Disney. Which makes it the second least watched Star Wars series premiere on Disney+. Click through for more!
Fandom lovingy dubbed this guy “Order 66 Chicken McNuggets”. At least his name is not “Porkins”…
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While there is virtually zero doubt that the Cantina HasLab will get funded, it is still interesting to compare the current campaign to the Ghost and the Razor Crest HasLabs. And when you do you cannot fail but notice how the 2024 crowdfunding campaign is off to a much slower start than the either the Ghost or the Razor Crest. What does that mean? How do the numbers compare? Click through for more!
UPDATED!
Not as sexy maybe?
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… at least as far as auctions of rare toys are concerned. Until recently a Barbie doll with diamond necklace, that sold for $302,500 in 2010 in an auction, was the single most expensive toy in the world. But not anymore.
A short while ago Heritage Auctions managed to sell a rocket firing Boba Fett handpainted prototype figure from 1979 for an astounding $525,000. So, who of you was it? And you do know it belongs in a museum, right?
But this is once more proof that Star Wars can still be at the top. The pop cultural impact of the first movies and the classic Kenner toys should never be underestimated. Let’s see what a Rose Tico figure may sell for in 2060…
Here you can look at the listing on the Heritage Auctions website! Apparently the new owner is accepting offers, but you have to fork out at least $787,500. Maybe now is the time to play the lottery.
The most expensive toy in the world
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The Acolyte… much was talked about this show before. Some delusional idiot claimed it’s not even a real project and that it will never be released… others read what showrunner Headland and various actors have to say and were somewhat suspicious of what on Earth they will make. But the wait is over and we have the first two episodes of The Acolyte. So what’s it like? I will say this: “Boring” & “Stupid”. Whereas even bad Obi-Wan Kenobi and bad The Book of Boba Fett episodes at least had some charm and likable characters. Also, if you like the Jedi you should probably watch something else. Headland was not kidding when she said her show won’t be kind to the Jedi. If you want to know more or discuss the first two episodes click here or on the banner for my review of the first two episodes.
This happens 5 minutes into the show… so not even a spoiler really
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If you follow Star Wars news you probably already know about statements Kathleen Kennedy made about Star Wars fans, male fans specifically, and how women in Star Wars often suffer more from attacks and have it harder in Star Wars because of the male fanbase. I believe this deserves a discussion. So grab your popcorn and click through for some thoughts about all this.
A typical male Star Wars fan?
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SHF is still releasing Star Wars action figures. In April they teased and finally revealed their version of Jar Jar Binks which is infinitely superior to the Black Series version, because SHF remembered that Jar Jar is a pretty goofy character and not really a warrior. So he gets a goofy face with his tongue hanging out, a “thumbs up” hand, even the frog thingy he tries to eat on Tatooine.
And today SHF announced another four releases. Unfortunately, even though it is the 25th anniversary of The Phantom Menace and SHF still has a few unreleased prequel protoype figures (a glorious Queen Amidala in her Theed outfit and a Super Battle Droid) they instead chose to release four A New Hope figures, three of which are basically straight rereleases and one of which is basically the same figure as before, only with one changed detail.
The rereleases are
- R2-D2
- C-3PO (the figure seems to have a somewhat updated vac metal finish, based on promo photos and looks more like the Bandai model kit now but is otherwise using the exact same sculpt as the previously released figure)
- Stormtrooper
The barely new figure is an A New Hope Darth Vader which seems to be basically the Kenobi Vader figure, however the cape seems to be new-ish (it looks longer and somewhat better) and the inner tunic is movie accurate and now above the shoulder armor.
Jar Jar is still available for pre-order, he is a web exclusive, so that means aftermarket prices or buying after release will be very expensive. The other figures will go up for pre-order soon – on June 4th – on the usual Japanese websites selling these (Nin Nin, Amiami etc).
3PO seems to have a better chrome finish, but is otherwise the same figure as before
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I originally did not want to review Tales of the Empire, because the previous season, Tales of the Jedi, felt like a waste of my time, with good ideas here and there… never explored and resulting in episodes that were more infuriating than good, because you could tell that the basic ideas were ok or even good… but were never fleshed out and ultimately the episodes felt like pointless filler. With the worst offender the Ahsoka as a baby episode that no one needed.
But Barriss Offee, while a minor character overall, is still one of the better known prequel Jedi (padawans), I liked her character for much of The Clone Wars, until they made her evil towards the end (it came out of nowhere). So I decided to give the Barriss Offee “Tale” a try… and I believe it’s high time we talk about that, even if the few who will ever bother to watch this already watched it over the weekend probably. Anyway… Barriss Offee’s “Tale of the Empire” makes me fear for the very worst when it comes to the future of Star Wars under Dave Filoni. It had good ideas, just like Ahsoka had a few good ideas… but horribly executed, with nonsensical things happening and a character twist that literally makes no sense. The entire format makes no sense to me and I wish Lucasfilm would spend their money on better projects… a proper six to ten episode Barriss mini series could have been really great. What we got instead is a new low point in Star Wars in my opinion. And it pains me to say this. I really wanted to like this. I like Barriss as a character. And then we get “this”. Click here or on the banner to read my review and discussion of Barriss Offee’s story in “Tales of the Empire”.
She’ll certainly get better
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Hasbro’s May the 4th (on May 3rd…) livestream was mostly a nothingburger, unfortunately, especially with the HasLab announcement being delayed until further notice. The Black Series mostly gets kitbashes, refreshes or rereleases.
- Darth Sidious (Revenge of the Sith)
- Qui-Gon / Obi-Wan / Darth Maul 3-pack
- Yoda and Commander Gree 2-pack
- Super Battle Droid
- Captain Enoch and Nighttrooper 2-pack (Walmart Exclusive in the US and Canada)
The figures will be released in fall 2024, the Enoch/Nighttrooper 2-pack will go up for pre-order tomorow, May 4th at 10 am ET on Walmart. All other sets will go up for pre-order at 1pm ET, as usual you can find everything on Pulse.
There was also a pipeline reveal and my reaction was “WTF?”. Click through for the details!
Multipacks are apparently very popular at Hasbro
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I skipped last week’s episode “Flash Strike”, because it was just part one of the big finale of The Bad Batch and I wanted to talk about it all at the same time, so reviewing last week’s episode seemed a bit redundant. So today I will talk about the 70 minute finale which is mostly the 48 minute final episode The Cavalry Has Arrived (with last week’s 22 minute episode added you get the 70 minute finale)… and I will also look back and give my final verdict on The Bad Batch.
Also… in case you really need to know now before you click through… does the series have an actual conclusion? Is the finale a satisfying ending? I would say mostly “yes”, but you can tell the showrunners were probably caught on the wrong foot when they were told that season 3 is the final one. But they tried their best and I would say as far as endings for cancelled series go The Bad Batch absolutely has one of the better ones. But the tacked on epilogue reeks of last minute addition. So there is a lot to talk about, one last time, read my spoiler review for The Bad Batch series finale by clicking here or on the banner!
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