Week of: May 17th, 1999

Saturday, May 22nd:

Sam's Club Exclusives

Sam's Club has several Episode I exclusives. There are three 2-packs similar in design to the previous 3-packs. They ran $12.98 each. Then there are 5 different CommTech 2-packs. They include a figure and the reader. Darth Maul is shown, but there are also Jar Jar Binks, Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Qui-Gon. These cost $23.98, hence the reason that I only got the Darth Maul one (for now).

12" Leia Ceremonial

TRU east in Madison had several of these yesterday and there were some left this morning.

12" Figures

Shopko seems to be getting these in now. I spotted them at most of the Shopko stores here in Madison. They are a little high at $24.99, but the same as Target.

More Fast Food Items

Another batch of cup toppers and toys are out. The cup toppers are: Darth Maul at Taco Bell, Boss Nass at KFC, and Jar Jar Binks at Pizza Hut. They toys are: Joking Jar Jar Binks at Taco Bell, Queen Amidala's Hidden Identity at KFC, and Yoda's Jedi Destiny at Pizza Hut. BTW, does anyone know what the under 3 toy is at KFC? I seem to be missing that one.

Accessory Packs

Other stores besides Target are getting these in now. I have seen them at Madison area TRUs and Shopkos. Shopko is quite expensive at $7.99. $3 over the other stores, what are they thinking?

Wednesday, May 19th:

New Taco Bell Toy

I picked up the Joking Jar Jar Binks toy at Taco Bell in East Town Mall in Madison. It is in a larger box than the others that I have gotten so far.

Episode I Review - Spoilers -

The day finally came and I have now seen the first Star Wars movie in 16 years. Before I get started, I should tell you that I have now seen Episode I three times. I think that you have to see it multiple times to get the full effect. After seeing it at midnight, I left the theater thinking that its ending just came, that the story wasn't there. I don't think that way anymore.

First off, one of the main focuses of the movie is to introduce the characters. This is done in the classical sense by picking up characters along the way. Although I don't need to be introduced to R2-D2, I'm sure that someone will (I stood in line with a person who didn't know who Yoda was). The other focus is to set up the plot framework for the next two movies (if only they were out now). This is a little different than the classic trilogy in that Lucas didn't know then that he would be able to make all three. It is obvious that he knows that now. There is more foreshadowing than you could imagine.

The effects are great. Very few of the effects seem out of place and considering how many there are, that is quite a feat. The pod race is mind blowing and I can't imagine improving upon the lightsaber battle. The ones that I don't care for are how the Trade Federation peoples' mouths move and the two- headed announcer.

The music is powerful. The addition of a chorus adds to the score and there are undertones of the original to tie all of the movies together. The music accompanying the final lightsaber battle is still going through my mind.

Without giving too much away, I just have to say that the movie is awesome. Don't judge it upon seeing it just once, I think you miss too much due to sensory overload. Watch it looking at not what is going on now, but what is being set up to happen, what we know must happen, and things that may occur along the way. The queen's (Padme's) interaction with Anakin is one thing. How Palpatine weasels his way into power. How they show Palpatine when Yoda and Mace are talking about Sith master and apprentice.

Finally for the skeptics, remember that we judge the classic trilogy after seeing it dozens (hundreds) of times. When we first saw them we were younger and more forgiving. By the time we were able to dissect them for their deeper meaning, we had all three movies and the "whole" picture. Episode I is just the first part and there are two more movies that will build upon it.

Monday, May 17th:

Darth Maul Cup Topper

Zampardi reports finding the Darth Maul cup topper at the Taco Bell located at Target west in Madison. Man are these things coming out fast. It seems that you have to eat out everyday to get this stuff.