Martian Outpost » Star Wars

501st Legion on Deal Or No Deal – Star Wars edition! Did you see it?

Vrian Sinth — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 04:18:38 +0000

I just had to give a shout out to the 501st Legion. They made an appearance on the NBC TV show Deal or No Deal and they did a great job! I have met some of these guys and they are some of the nicest people out there. I dream some day of getting enough money to acquire the armor and become a member. That would be a geek dream come true.

All I can say, as I watched the 501st up on stage, is that those guys must have been pretty nervous. What an awesome experience for them! Now that the show has aired, I’m sure the 501st will be able to write more about their experience. It is my understanding that they were under confidentiality agreements (duh) until the show aired. It got over about an hour or so ago. They don’t have much on their site right now about it.

They also got to meet the Deal Or No Deal models in Princess Leia slave outfits. Lucky dogs!

Nice job guys!

New Trailer For Adywan’s Empire Strikes Back Revisited!

Vrian Sinth — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 18:16:04 +0000

Many of you have probably heard of Star Wars The Phantom Edit. The Phantom Edit is a fan edited version of The Phantom Menace. Why edit the movie? Because many of you have the talents and abilities to do so. Many people didn’t like Star Wars Episode I, so they have since edited the movie the way they like it, usually featuring less Jar Jar.

While tracking down some fan edits of The Phantom Menace (after watching Star Wars Episode I – The Rise of the Sith by Slumberland) I came across what I consider to be the best fan edited movie I have ever seen. The guy goes by the name Adywan. I learned about this guy while visiting the forums at originaltrilogy.com.

This guy created his own edit of Star Wars A New Hope named Star Wars Revisited. He has re-edited scenes, added music, added planets and many special effects. The end battle scene at the death star is stunning. I highly recommend that you torrent Star Wars Revisited and watch it for yourself. I got mine in xvid format at mininova.org. I would like to state, however, that you should legally own a copy of Star Wars ANH before downloading the torrent. Who doesn’t?

You can see a trailer for Star Wars Revisited here:

I just came across a new trailer for Empire Strikes Back Revisited. There is also a forum discussing the new edit you can find here. My hopes are pretty high for this one and I am certain the quality will be just as good, if not better, than Star Wars Revisited. Adywan, you’re a bloody genius!

Empire Strikes Back Revisited Trailer:

In Search Of The Force? Try The Jedi Church!

Vrian Sinth — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 21:26:36 +0000

Those Brits sure come up with some fun and interesting stuff. Can you believe that in the 2001 British census 390,000 people claimed “Jedi” as their religion! Obviously Star Wars is a lot more than just a movie to some people. Not only do people claim Jedi as there religion, but they practice it on a regular basis as an official religion.Jedi also appears to be 70,000 Australians’ religion of choice as well. This means that one in 270 Australians consider the force to be their official religion. According to the BBC:

An e-mail was sent around the world in 2001 saying that if 10,000 people declared they were Jedi, it would be recognised as an official religion.

But the Australian Bureau of Statistics said it would be categorised as “not defined”.

Thousands of people in New Zealand and the UK also followed the advice of the e-mail – with Jedi Knight even being included on the list of religions by UK census authorities.

The BBC recently had an article on Jedi worshipers in Britain. In the article they interviewed. The article covered Barney and Daniel who go by the names Master Jonba Hehol and Master Morda Hehol.

According to the article both Barny and Daniel are trying to increase their numbers and want fellow worshipers to join them in worship close to their home on Anglesey. If I’m ever in Wales I’ll have to stop by and take a look.

Their church activities include sermons on “The Force,” light saber training and meditation techniques.

According to the article:

They plan to go to the official opening of a Surrey-based branch or “chapter” of the UK Church of the Jedi in April, and hope to hire an Anglesey venue for their own services.
Already six followers regularly meet in north Wales to discuss setting up the “church”.

All members are currently men, but women are allowed. Those following the dark side of the force can be expulsed from the church.

This has to be one of the oddest things I have ever heard of.

Ultimate Battle: U.S.S. Enterprise vs. A Star Destroyer – Battle Of The Ships

Vrian Sinth — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 18:27:16 +0000

You really can’t get much geekier than an argument on who would win between Star Trek’s Enterprise D or E and a Star Wars Star Destroyer. I know this is all Sci-Fi and a ridiculous never-ending argument. I am a huge fan of both genres, so when I got into a friendly argument with my friend at work I reluctantly picked the side of Star Trek.

As this argument ensued at work, people around us started laughing, thinking we had both truly lost our minds. Perhaps we did a little. The argument then turned to Star Wars vs. Star Trek. These were our main arguments in a condensed and far smaller format:

Friend: Star Destroyer big, Enterprise small.
Me: Enterprise faster, more maneuverable.
Friend: Thousands of lasers.
Me: Lasers dude?! You’re kidding me. Phasers kick Lasers in any match.
Friend: Super Star Destroyer and Death Star kill the Enterprise.
Me: Agreed. I don’t think the Enterprise D or E would win those two. So I throw in the Borg.
Friend:
Me: Nuff said.

I have found in my own observations that there are a lot more casual Star Wars fans than casual Star Trek fans. I have also found, again in my own observations, that there are a lot more die-hard Star Trek fans than there are die-hard Star Wars fans. This means in most “forum” based arguments on this topic, Star Wars will almost always win by sheer numbers.

Many people try to throw The Force into the mixture. I used to think this was a big deal as well, especially when watching the classic trilogy of Star Wars (ANH, ESB, ROTJ). The Force kicks trash in those movies. Then the prequel Star Wars movies came out. TPM, AOTC & ROTS have changed my mind on this. I now think The Force would be a minuscule influence in any such fight.

In The Phantom Menace we discover that Midichlorians actually dictate one’s power with the force. It’s not something you can get stronger with (except training), unless there are synthetic Midichlorians being produced and injected into the blood stream. You will also discover in Revenge of the Sith that a bunch of clone troopers can EASILY wipe out the Jedi. I can’t even begin to tell you how disappointed I was watching the Jedi get seemingly killed in seconds by a blaster!

A lot of the argumentative stats in this epic battle are taken from non-canon books, video games and other non-canon sources. This includes both sides of the argument. And let’s not throw in the Expanded Universe from Star Wars into the argument. The Expanded Universe of Star Wars books contradict themselves on every level.

I have done my own research and have found the following sites to be useful when determining who would win a U.S.S. Enterprise D/E vs. Star Wars Star Destroyer battle.

List of Ultimate Star Wars vs. Star Trek Sites:

ST-V-SW.net (Great arguments in favor of Star Trek . Well researched data with sources to back it up.)

StarDestroyer.net (Great arguments in favor of Star Wars. Seems to utilize a lot of non-canon data.)

Answers.com also has a nice article on the subject that you can read here.

There are a lot of awesome ships in the Sci-Fi universe not limited to just Star Wars or Star Trek. Let’s throw an Asgard or Replicator ship into the mixture, or perhaps a Battlestar from Battlestar Galactica. The Battlestars look awesome!

TheForce.net has some great Star Trek, Star Wars and Battlestar Galactica specs, although who knows if the sources are accurate. You can find them here.

Again, I realize this argument will never come to an end, but it sure is fun!

Star Wars Holiday Special – Have You Managed To Watch It All?

Vrian Sinth — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 10:18:13 +0000

The Star Wars Holiday Special is considered to be the “Holy Grail” for Star Wars fans, but many of them admit it is hard to sit through. Who ever thought so many Wookie grunts and groans could be so painful? Being that it is now December, I felt it appropriate to bring this enjoyable piece of TV history back up. Keep in mind that it is 97 minutes long!

As you probably already know, the Star Wars holiday special is not available on DVD or VHS. The only place you are able to find it is on E-bay as a bootlegged copy or by downloading a torrent. Even the copies you find on E-bay are fairly sub-par. It would be fun to be able to purchase a cleaned-up copy of it, but that will never happen.

It is passed down through Star Wars lore that George Lucas himself said at an Australian Star Wars convention, “If I had the time and a sledgehammer, I would track down every copy of that show and smash it. The holiday special does not represent my vision for Star Wars.”

It is believed by most Star Wars fans that the Boba Fett portion of the Star Wars Holiday Special is the best part of the entire show. Luckily this can be seen on YouTube, although the quality is still that of 1978.

Who knew a Y-Wing fighter had so much room on it and that the front cockpit could detach into a handy boat? It is also interesting to see the Milenium Falcon and the Y-Wing hit the muddy planet at breakneck speed without causing any damage? If only Luke’s X-Wing could have had so much boyency on Dagobah.

My brother-in-law somehow got himself a copy on VHS which I later transferred over to DVD. It still has the old commercials from 1978. That was a blast from the past. Seeing that tape “Star Wars Holiday Special” printed on a label reminded me of the scene from Weird Al’s music video “White and Nerdy” where the two geeks conduct a back-alley transfer of the special on tape.

Good luck in acquiring your own copy. It really isn’t too hard if you know where to look.

Attack Of The Pumpkins Part Deux – Star Wars Style

Vrian Sinth — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 03:28:42 +0000

It is Halloween night and I figure this is the last chance I can get away with posting some cool pumpkins I have come across on the Internet. I have been handing out candy dressed up like the grim reaper. One of these years I will be a storm trooper. Perhaps I’ll go the cheaper route next year and dress up like a Jedi.

I have been watching Ghost Hunters Live for about two hours. It seems a little ironic that Ghost Hunters, which is supposed to be prooving the existence of ghost, is on the Sci-Fi channel. That is fiction people, which means not real. I am still glad the Sci-Fi channel shows it as I find this stuff very interesting.

OK…back on topic here. I have found some very clever and nice looking Star Wars themed pumpkins. I have searched the Web for hours (not really) and have found the best of the best. Enjoy!

Contestant One – Boba Fett

Contestant Two – The Death Star

Contestant Three – Darth Maul

Contestant Four – Rebel Alliance Logo

Contestant Five – Storm Trooper

Contestant Five – Yoda

Some of these people are very creative. I’m curious how many of these are made from a pattern or by trial-and-error. Some of these are obviously easier to make than others. The Death Star pumpkin would easily take the longest. That one looks great!

Which ones do you like? Anyway, I’m signing out. A kid just knocked on the door. Have a Happy Halloween! Don’t have too much fun!

Stormtrooper Armor For Me!

Vrian Sinth — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 04:49:05 +0000

Yeah, I know. Halloween is right around the corner. I’m poor and can’t really do too much this year, but if money was no obstacle, I would get myself Stormtrooper Armor as seen in Star Wars. I’ve researched it a bit and you would be surprised how many people have gone out of their way to create their own armor. You can even find armor on E-bay. Just do a search for Stormtrooper Armor!

Have you ever heard of the 501st Legion? These guys march in parades, attend benefits and more! I actually met one of these guys from the Alpine Garrison. I would eventually like to look into becoming a member. The guy was nice and I can really appreciate the passion these guys have for Star Wars.

There are a lot of sites out there that give advice on how to build your own armor. There is a lot involved, but many of the replicas look exactly like the props used in Star Wars. Take a look for yourself!

Welcome World! Ahead Full Speed!

Vrian Sinth — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 01:42:47 +0000

This is my first attempt at creating a blog. Please have mercy on me! I am a huge sci-fi nut and am excited to present you with my view on the sci-fi universe. I am a huge fan of sci-fi movies, TV and books.

You may have heard of some of my favorites. These include FireFly, Star Trek, Star Wars and Stargate. I watch much more and practically live off of the Sci-Fi channel.

I hope to be able to keep you all up to speed on the latest sci-fi shows and news. Keep posted as I will try and update this blog on a regular basis. Enjoy!