BOBA FETT ONCE RODE A DRAGON; or THE STRANGE COMBO OF AWESOME AND SUCK

When I was a kid, there was Star Wars. I saw it 21 times at the movie theatres. It changed my life. 

And then there was the Star Wars Christmas special, a bizarre concoction of crap and schmaltz, with characters thrown into the mixer. 

For the most part, it really sucked. 

A lot.

For starters, the first chunk- and by chunk I mean 15 minutes that seemed like an eternity- had nobody speaking anything but Wookie language, and doing nothing but hanging out at their Wookie house doing such exciting things as cooking, walking around, and trying to seem cute but coming off as annoying and kind of brain dead. 

I was used to this sort of thing on TV. Back then, there was all sorts of stupid shit on television. And even if something was good, given time, TV had a way of making it terrible. 

The one cool thing on that baffling special was this short cartoon of Boba Fett, a character we hadn't seen before, as this was before The Empire Strikes Back. Boba was mysterious, cool, not really good or bad or ugly. Just tough as hell.

And he rode a space dragon thing. 

It was awesome, and the only think we spoke of at Rogers Junior High the next day. Junior High is what we had before there were Middle Schools. It was 7th and 8th grade only, and sort of a Lord of the Flies kind of experience we all had to go through before the slightly lesser pain known as High School. 

Boba Fett has always been a mix of awesome and suck, from the first time I saw him. Now, after that special, there came Empire, which was amazing and awesome and is considered by many to be the best Star Wars movie ever made. 

And then came Return of the Jedi.

Good, but not great. It had some amazing stuff, to be sure. But it also had C3P0 kind of break dancing with Ewoks. 

Ewoks are the Cabbage Patch Kids of the Star Wars universe. Evil and wrong.

And Boba had this stupid, ignominious death right at the top that was disappointing, anti-climatic, and as full of suck as anything I've ever seen on screen.

It seems like the current TV show is trying to carry on that tradition of combining awesome with suck. Some of it is fantastic, exciting, new and brilliant. And some of it is hackneyed, dull, and unimpressive.

And they still kill off the wrong characters in really boring, anti-climatic fashion. Yes, there are some fabulous episodes (5 & 6 being my personal faves); but there are also some that just don't do anything for me but wish and hope it's all a bad dream. 

Maybe this is good. 

Maybe that mix of joy and disappointment, of rapture and frustration, has helped prepare me for the ups and downs of this world. 

Maybe.

But it would be nice to have it all be Empire.

Here's a song. It's the Jefferson Starship performing Light Up the Sky, as seen in the Star Wars Christmas Special. I'm sorry.

WONDER IS WHERE YOU FIND IT

A cold Wednesday morning. I am sitting in my den, listening to the soundtrack to a movie that was once called Star Wars but is now called Episode Four: A New Hope.  I love it. I first saw Star Wars as an 11 year old boy, and it was love at first sight. Actually, I fell in love with it the first time I saw the trailer. We all did. I remember it so clearly. It was at the old Century 22 theatre in San Jose, one of those movie dome type structures so popular in the 1970s. Back then, there were a lot of movies that were sort of depressing. It seemed like whatever the film, by the end of it, the main character would either die or sell out or learn something sad and depressing. Not that they were bad movies. A lot of them were amazing, and hold up well. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Bonnie and Clyde. Who Slew Auntie Roo? 

Still, there was this sense of dread. Or corruption. And no wonder. America at that point in time was dealing with itself. We had just had the Viet Nam War, the whole 1960s, with it's cultural upheavals and generation gaps. Watergate came along, and everyone was either angry or high or drunk or otherwise lost. 

As for me, my family was a few years into a very dysfunctional time of alcoholism and denial. 

Things were bleak.

And then along comes this film, full of heroes and wonder and space magic. 

And the Force. 

Now that was something appealing. A sort of marital art that anyone can tap into, a power that connects all the universe, every rock and being and speck of dust. 

I saw that movie 21 times in the theatre. 

Where has that sense of wonder gone? I don't think I've ever lost it. I am a sucker for a good story, a rousing heroes journey, and all things fantastic. Hence my love of the Lord of the Rings movies, the Harry Potter series, and so on.

As for the Star Wars franchise, it has become... well, not the same. It's a whole universe. Some of it is still spot on and brilliant. Some not so much. After watching and loving the first two seasons of The Mandalorian, I was very excited for The Book of Boba Fett. 

It sucks. 

A lot.

But then I started watching The Bad Batch, an animated series following a group of clones in the Star Wars universe.

I fucking love it. 

A lot.

Wonder is where you find it. And usually not where you expect. It's in that movie you stumble across that already started but grabs your attention. It's in a conversation with a barista while you wait for your coffee. It's in the act of writing a blog. 

So off to today. I also think you should all watch Dopesick on Hulu. It's a bit depressing, so watch that, and then cleanse the palate with The Bad Batch.

And May the Force Be with You. Always.

Here's Luke watching the double sunset, a moment that spoke to the world of yearning.

THE UNIVERSE IS COOL

It is. Things happen that make me think there is some sort of purpose, some hand that guides us on our journey from cradle to grave, a kind of fate if you will, that connects us all.

Like the force in Star Wars.

Do you capitalize the Force? Hmmm. Where's Obi Wan when you need him.

Anyway, I went down to Colorado Springs to see the Fine Arts Center's excellent production of Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men", directed by by Scott RC Levy. The show itself was fantastic- which is no surprise, based on the season so far. On a beautiful set, designed by Chris Sheley inspired by the art of Thomas Hart Benton (read more about it here) Levy tells a story of isolation and friendship that is alternately heart warming and heart breaking. Kent D. Burhnam plays the long suffering George, a farm hand down on his luck traveling with his friend Lennie, a man-child who happens to be very strong, played with the perfect mix of delicacy, innocence, and sadness by Logan Ernstthal. Burhham takes a no nonsense approach to the role of George, giving him a natural ease and making the final scene all the more tragic as a result.  Dean Steffen as Curley- a bully and a dandy with a Napoleon complex, is outstanding. Adrian Egolf, as Curly's lonely, flirtatious wife, takes a role that could easily be played as a stereo-type and makes us feel for her, even though she's trouble through and through. And Chris Devenport, as Crooks, practically steals the show in his scene with Lennie. His ease on stage, coupled with some truly dynamic vocal and physical work, is just excellent. If you are anywhere near Colorado Springs, you should go see this show. It's another gem offered up by Mr. Levy and company that shines.

What does this have to do with the Force and all that? Well, I'll tell you.

First off, Adrian Egolf, who plays Curly's wife, also happens to be starring in STRONG TEA, a short film written and directed by yours truly. I had already been planning on seeing Of Mice and Men before I found out that Adrian was in it. Second, at the show, as I read the program bios of the cast, I saw that Kent Burnham had worked at the Western Stage of Salinas, CA. A place I had worked several seasons as an actor, most notably as Adam/Aron in the world premiere, 9 hour trilogy of Steinbeck's East of Eden in 1992 and again in 1994. Something was trying to click in my little mind as I read that in   his bio. After the show, there was a talkback with the cast and director- and I asked Kent about his work at Western Stage- turns out he did the 2000 production of East of Eden, and played Adam/Aron as well. On top of that, we had hung out together a couple of times on the Lower East Side of NYC long ago. Weird, no? Well, maybe not weird, but cool.

Speaking of cool- please take a moment to check out the first trailer for my film- Adrian is the dark haired beauty. Devon James plays the blonde with the temper. And Tim McCracken, who plays the lead, was in the cast of East of Eden with me in 1992.

That's about it for now. Gotta keep on keeping on.