Category: Guest Editorials

Shrines, Temples, and Tombs – A Look at Existing Beyond Death in Star Wars

Posted on January 21, 2015by

“I am here because you are here.” – Qui-Gon Jinn, “Overlords”

The release in March 2014 of The Clone Wars’ “Lost Missions” was seen at the time as a generous gift to the loyal but disappointed fans of the powerful and popular Star Wars serial. Abandoned story arcs would be resolved, secrets uncoiled, and, best of all, it would all be streaming on Netflix.

Almost a year later, it’s become clear that the “Lost Missions” were not just a gift to fans, but also a necessary statement at a critical time for the Star Wars universe; the prequel mysteries of the clones, Order 66, and the fate of Master Sifo-Dyas were solved. More importantly, the triumphant Yoda arc explored deeply the mythos of the Force and the secret of how some Jedi are able to maintain their identity after death. Read More

Why Star Wars: The Old Republic Needs a “Legends” Expansion

Posted on December 1, 2014by Guest Editorials

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On April 25, 2014, Lucasfilm announced that in preparation for the upcoming Sequel Trilogy, the Expanded Universe would not be in any future material and would be declared non-canon.

As a fan of the Thrawn trilogy and other Star Wars books & comics such as John Jackson Miller’s Kenobi, Drew Karpyshyn’s Darth Bane: Path of Destruction John Ostrander and Jan Duursema’s Star Wars: Legacy and the critically acclaimed Bioware RPG video game Knights of the Old Republic, I was disappointed in the announcement. The idea that we were getting brand new Star Wars stories was exciting, but a lot of fans did not see it that way.

Most of you by now know of the “Give Us Legends” groups, and the many “Disney is ruining my childhood” posts. And the constant bashing of new Star Wars content on official Star Wars Facebook pages. Dark Horse finished its Star Wars run in August, and Del Rey has published two official Star Wars canon books, A New Dawn and Tarkin. There isn’t anything that’s non-canon in Star Wars that’s still ongoing – except Bioware’s MMORPG Star Wars: The Old Republic (Or SWTOR for short). SWTOR is still running and it doesn’t look like it’s going anywhere for a while. I had an idea, which I thought was silly at first, but the more I think on it, the more I like the idea.

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Analyzing the Emotional Response to the Great Reboot, Part II

Posted on November 24, 2014by Feature Articles, Guest Editorials

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(Editor’s Note: comments on Part I of this piece have been disabled—feedback is welcome here on Part II, though readers are strongly encouraged to read both halves before commenting.)

Why should people NOT be upset about the reboot? Because not everything new is bad!

Despite my personal position on the severe mishandling of the Expanded Universe, there’s one thing that I’ve come to find significantly more annoying over the last few months: many of the other fans!

Facepalm - apply directly to the face!
Facepalm – apply directly to the face!

A lot of the arguments start off as “I don’t like what Disney/LFL/other power-that-be is doing”, and I start to think, oh interesting, why doesn’t this person like the reboot? Then they go off into “they changed this minor detail and it sucks because they changed it”, even though if the exact same decision had been made in the Classic EU they’d have loved it.

Though the reasons behind rebooting the universe are questionable, not every decision that has been made is a bad one. With anything that is created, either in the Classic EU or the new Canon, things will change. In fact many of the things that are complained about are not an issue: 1) Cosmetic Changes, 2) EU Accurate Characterization, 3) Respect for Existing Material, and even if you ignore all that 4) Constructive Criticism is better than directionless whining. Read More

Analyzing the Emotional Response to the Great Reboot, Part I

Posted on November 21, 2014by Feature Articles, Guest Editorials

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Statement from the Editor: I don’t like seeing people get shouted down. Regardless of my own feelings, if I perceive a reasonable opinion as being forced out of the conversation, I will generally go out of my way to give it a fair hearing—I mean, broadly speaking, that’s what this whole site is for.

So a couple months back, I reached out to the #GiveUsLegends people.

“Open letter to the ‪#‎GiveUsLegends‬ campaign: while your cause is not abundantly interesting to me personally, I do admit that there is a fair case to be made here. That being said, ETE has an open submissions process, and I pride myself on a willingness to engage unpopular opinions. If anyone associated with #GiveUsLegends wants to pitch me a piece making the case for continuing the Legends universe in a way that meets our format and tone guidelines, it would be given fair consideration.”

Well, I didn’t hear back from them. About a month later, Anger Leads To Hate arrived—Eric Geller’s compelling, exhaustively-researched, and vital exposé on the movement for TheForce.Net. As the backlash against this, frankly, childish campaign of hashtivist harassment against Del Rey (of all people) reached its height, one person did express a desire to speak up: two-time Eleven-ThirtyEight guest contributor Lance Henning, who sympathized with #GiveUsLegends’ cause while nevertheless lamenting their methods and public image. Read More

The Case for The Common Man

Posted on October 10, 2014by Guest Editorials

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The future of Star Wars is currently a place of vast creative possibilities and storytelling opportunities. To make the most of this new era those who chart the course of the franchise through this undiscovered country must remember the importance of ordinary characters. They form an integral part of Star Wars’ past but can also become an important part of its future.

Enjoyable as the pre-reboot Expanded Universe was, it’s clear to see that in its final days it had become a “Jedi only” club. A place where ordinary characters were pushed to the periphery in favour of Force-sensitive antagonists. Indeed in some cases those without Force powers were seen as utterly incapable of facing let alone defeating the threats being faced by their midi-chlorian-endowed comrades. Now can be the time to change all that and show that ordinary characters can be not only as compelling but as capable in a fight as any Jedi. To see an example of this done well we need only look back to an earlier time in the EU, and to the character of Jagged Fel. Read More