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So you actually Hate Brian Daley's novels?

Shut up. You're stupid.

I do like those, but as a whole, even they can't make the EU not suck.

Didn't you like Luceno? I also remember you saying something positive about the Lando Calrissian novels. Heck I think you had something positive to say about Zahn's early novels once or twice.

I'd have also added Troy Denning, Karen Traviss' first Republic Commando novel, Aaron Allston's work (minus Legacy of the Force, although that's not really his fault per se.), Matt Stover (guy wrote Shadows of Mindor as a tribute to Daley's work and the pre-Zahn EU.) the guy who wrote the Medstar novels (whic for me read like MASH in space Republic medics in a war zone.), as well as Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter. KW JEter (who wrote a blade runner novel I thought, and was my favorite depiction of Boba Fett and the one I still consider accurate.) and the guy who wrote 'Death Troopers' (about the only SW 'horror/zombie' book I can remember being written.)

I mean alot of that can be a matter of opinion, but the point is not so much that 'EU sucks' as it is 'its a mixed bag, which is the fate of any shared universe'.

Fuck I'd even go so far sa to say the movies are 'vairable' in quality. So many people think Empire is great, but aside from some key points I always found it tedious as fuck. Whereas ANH had much better pacing (even ROTJ did, although the points before and after Jabba's palace, and prior to the bunker dragged a bit too.)

Connor MacLeod wrote: as well as Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter.

Shadow Hunter was good? I didn't know that. I've had a copy of it sitting on my bookshelf for years and never touched it (Maul is a character I've never really been interested in.) I might have to pick it up and give it a read if I haven't given it away or stashed it in the basement.

Havok wrote:

Xon wrote:Looks like Lucas just de-canonised virtually all of the SW:EU:

Yeah no. It has the exact same status it always has.
There is Lucas continuity which is anything he personally has a hand in. (Movies, animation)
Then there is EU continuity, which is everything. (Movies, animation, animation he doesn't have a hand in, books, comics, video games)

That is the status quo.

now hold on I thought the way it went though is if something in the EU contradicts something in the movies it makes it non canon.

I've read the books that are directly connected with the movies. Are they any better than the EU? Maybe, but they hold a different place for me because the get more direct filtration and oversight from Lucas. I gave up on the "regular" EU ages ago.

Luceno wrote some of those and they were good. Daley's Solo and Calrissian books are probably the absolute high point of the EU for me and they were written in what, the early 80's?
The X-Wing books were OK, but even they got into silly territory pretty damned fast.

Zahn? If I said anything positive about his books it was that they flowed OK and had the advantages of being the first Star Wars anything in almost 10 years from when ROTJ hit. I can't stand how forced they felt and the silliness of the clones/anti-Force worms, nohgri, Mara Jade, Thrawn's Art Power and the Ninja Sword Fleet. If I said anything else nice, I must have been drinking.

I'm just saying its not an absolutist thing, its a matter of degree, and people will agree/disagree over just how much of the EU sucks. There are some who will lap it all up religiously and sya none of it sucks, and there are peopel who (as we know) will say it all sucks because its not the movies.

But it really neglects the nuances inherent in such a statement: What particular aspects suck, why they do, how often they show up, and in what manners.

I mean as I said already, most people on this board adopted an EU SUCKS model mainly because 'LOL MINIMALISM'. If we're really honest about it specific numbers are pretty irrelevant in the long term (as far as story and action goes) and any 'contradictons' can be explained if we're able to step away from our preconceived little notions (EG Coruscant Population MUST BE QUADRILLIONS! I DID THE POPULATION DENSITY MATH TO PROVE IT!)

As an aside: I've actually had 'fans' who were so vehemently obsessed about the numbers (either for or against, and in particular obsessed about the ICS) that the numbers and firepower were SO important to the story, they actually ruined it for him unless he could toss the ICS completely out the airlock. And he thought this was also perfectly consistent with 'canon'.

I donno. 'The EU sucks' isn't the same as 'all the EU sucks' or 'everything in the EU sucks', I interpret it to be short for 'a lot of the EU sucks', 'the majority of the EU sucks', 'the EU generally sucks' and so on, and let's face it, a lot of the EU does suck, and minimalism is rarely the main problem. As Connor said, it often doesn't affect the story anyway-the number of ships the Empire should have is irrelevant if none of them ever show up to begin with. There were all of two capital ships in the original Han Solo trilogy and one of them was an antique. Didn't hurt the story any. Heck we didn't see all that many ships in the OT either. While I do find minimalism irritating to a degree (3 million clones is a joke and I haven't even read Traviss' work) it didn't stop me from enjoying Zahn's Thrawn stuff or the Wraith Squadron books.

I don't know if Kasdan will still be as good as he was back then, but its strong evidence that Disney respects the original trilogy, or at least wants to earn the support of its fans.

Also, David Tenant has expressed his interest in acting in a Star Wars film (apparently he's a Star Wars fan).

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/20328801

As someone who finds Tenant likeable as both an actor and a person, I am strongly in support of this.

Tennant could make a cool Jedi in the mold of Obi-Wan/Qui-Gonn.

I just want them to bring back Mace Windu somehow.

Havok wrote:I just want them to bring back Mace Windu somehow.

This happened in a Star Wars game my old RP group did once!

Truly, nothing says fucked like ending a session staring down an insane, Dark Side-wielding cyborg Mace Windu in Palpatine's tomb.

We may know the director of the next film now.

Source: http://www.examiner.com/article/matthew ... paths-star

"Matthew Vaughn confirmed as 'Star Wars' director by 'Seven Psychopaths' star!"
"While this is unconfirmed, "

Never change hyped up over-excited article writers, never change.

The rumour mills being going overdrive about Vaughan doing it, so who knows?

Saw an article earlier saying that McCallum has 'retired' from Lucasfilm this week.

Darksider wrote:

Connor MacLeod wrote: as well as Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter.

Shadow Hunter was good? I didn't know that. I've had a copy of it sitting on my bookshelf for years and never touched it (Maul is a character I've never really been interested in.) I might have to pick it up and give it a read if I haven't given it away or stashed it in the basement.

It's just about the only Michael Reaves SW book without mind-numbingly stupid mistakes, so that's something.

That's not surprising since he was tasked with creating a live-action TV show and Disney is out to make movies.

Has the live action TV show been cancelled?

Disney's doing a SHIELD show aren't they (I presume they're involved since they own Marvel)? So why not a Star Wars show?

Galvatron wrote:So it looks like Lawrence Kasdan is on board to script Episodes VIII and IX.

That's funny, considering he turned down writing for TPM. Maybe he just needs a writing gig, since Mumford and Dreamcatcher didn't do so well.

The Romulan Republic wrote:Has the live action TV show been cancelled?

Disney's doing a SHIELD show aren't they (I presume they're involved since they own Marvel)? So why not a Star Wars show?

I don't know but I'd imagine it's been pushed to the back burner -at least until the new movie comes out.

There is no need for a TV show if there is going to be a movie every few years now.

Galvatron wrote:So it looks like Lawrence Kasdan is on board to script Episodes VIII and IX.

Kasdan writing the script, and Lucas kept muzzled? That's the combination that brought us Empire.

There might be some hope for this trilogy after all.

Havok wrote:There is no need for a TV show if there is going to be a movie every few years now.

Or you just go the route of Star Trek and do both at the same time.

Galvatron wrote:So it looks like Lawrence Kasdan is on board to script Episodes VIII and IX.

i'm calling it now. I bet in Episode 8 either Han, Luke or Leia will die giving a strong emotional weight like Empire.

come to think of it. I think Leia will die which will push Luke to the darkside and he will become a villian in Episode 9

Nobody died in Empire Strikes Back besides rank and file soldiers and that Admiral who got choked.

Having Luke turn evil would be repetitive after Anakin's fall and would contradict Luke's character development in Return of the Jedi.

If one of the old heros dies, I suspect it'll be more like the deaths of Obi-wan and Yoda: an old mentor dying after helping the next generation continue.