TheForce.Net - Jedi Council - EU Roundtable #1.2

EU Roundtable #1.2

Welcome to the second go-round, folks! If the first Roundtable was about proving the concept, the second was very much about testing it. There were a handful of problems, the most prominent of which being yours truly showing up an hour and a half late. Thankfully, everyone was still hanging around and more than willing to forgive me and forge onward. The other notable setback we encountered was on-again-off-again lag. While normally I would endeavor to leave the transcript as close to unaltered as possible, I decided it would be prudent to move around a few lines of dialogue here and there to compensate for time delay and keep people?s thoughts coherent. At least, as coherent as they were to begin with. My guests for the evening were the lovely, the talented:

Bob Vitas, the brains behind the phenomenal and endlessly useful (including during this very discussion!) Completely Unofficial Star Wars Encyclopedia.
Nathan Blumenfeld, aka Mastadge, Jedi Council Amphitheater manager and all-around forumer extraordinaire.
Nathan Butler, host of the ChronoRadio talk show and soon-to-be Star Wars Tales author. He?s been called the Bill O?Reilly of fandom, and not always as an insult.

And as usual there?s me, Mike Cooper, friend to children and small animals everywhere. Here we go?

You have just entered room "EU Roundtable."

Mike Cooper: Hyperspace has now been in effect for over a year. Aside from the obvious RotS coverage, is it worth it for EU fans? Or should they be doing more?

Nathan Blumenfeld:: Well, I don't subscribe to Hyperspace, and I don't feel like I'm missing much of anything. I'll feel bad to miss those forthcoming comic strips, but those alone are not worth the price of subscription to me. So to answer your

Nathan Blumenfeld:: question, I think they should be doing more if they want my custom. :-)

Bob Vitas:: Well, if you like old pictures and old fiction...

Mike Cooper: so things like the clone wars episodes and the old short stories aren't enough to draw your interest?

Nathan Butler:: I figure that for all we get, as general fans, it's worth it. What drew me into Insider at first was that it was taking over the prose short stories from Gamer, and that was something, as an EU fan, that I didn't want to miss...

Bob Vitas:: From the encyclopedia's perspective, it's worth it to get breaking character names, etc.

Nathan Butler:: The same goes for the old fiction that is being reprinted on Hyperspace, for those who haven't read it. It's little gems of the saga. For me, though, what makes it worth it is that I've had the chance to work with Tom Hodges a...

Nathan Butler:: while back, and I'm stoked to see him finally get his SW shot with the comic strip.

Nathan Blumenfeld:: The Clone Wars episodes were on TV, and will be available on DVD. Besides which, I hate that animation. I have most of the old short stories. So no, it's not worth it.

Nathan Butler:: See, I would say that it's worth it for the first-run CW episodes.

Nathan Blumenfeld:: I'm not much interested in behind-the-scenes movie stuff, either. If I were to subscribe, it would be for EU material only.

Nathan Butler:: Granted, they'll be on DVD, but if you aren't at your television right when the new episodes were airing or will air, you missed out . . . unless you had Hyperspace. Assuming you wanted the commentary or a bigger-than-crappy res.

Bob Vitas:: Yeah, but you can download the episodes from other sites almost as soon as they come out. (editor?s note ? naturally, TFN does not condone etc etc?)

Nathan Butler:: Bootlegga! ;-)

Mike Cooper: heheh

Nathan Butler:: That's a new alien I think. Bootlegga the Hutt.

Nathan Butler:: He sells glitterstim and illegally copied movies across the galaxy.

Nathan Blumenfeld:: The cartoons just don't interest me enough to worry about missing one. I've only seen a few of them, in fact, and don't much care for them. Nor the newfangled Star Wars Adventures books from DHC. That format doesn't appeal to me,

Nathan Blumenfeld:: and the stories it's been used for haven't been good enough to make it worth it.

Bob Vitas:: Nope. He's the crimelord who was fixing the blob races that got Vob Bitas executed!

Nathan Butler:: SW Adventures from DHC? You mean the Scholastic game books?

Nathan Butler:: The AOTC versions of Episode I Adventures and SW Missions?

Mike Cooper: he means those little comics

Nathan Blumenfeld:: Clone Wars Adventures, rather. My bad.

Mike Cooper: i thought haden blackman actually did a pretty good job considering the format

Nathan Butler:: Ah, gotcha. Hey, I liked those, if only for that freakazoid artwork. Lines, lines everywhere

Nathan Butler:: I was surprised that the CWA comic TPB and the Free Comic Book Day issue weren't by the same writer.

Nathan Butler:: Just struck me as odd.

Mike Cooper: i almost wish haden was writing the actual episodes

Nathan Blumenfeld:: I'm just spoiled by Ostrander's brilliant writing, I guess. And the freakazoid artwork really bothers me. Even as a completist I found it hard to buy that book.

Nathan Butler:: Maybe if someone at DH had the chance to write them, there'd be less continuity insanity

Mike Cooper: heh

Nathan Butler:: "Yeah, uhm, somehow all these Jedi that look like they're gonna die are gonna live, Ventress survives, and somehow she gets off Yavin IV and gets her ship back. We knew that."

Nathan Blumenfeld:: The Free CBD issue will be included in Volume 2, I believe.

Nathan Butler:: Frelling sad trying to shoehorn Infinities-intended materials into continuity, but I digress

Nathan Butler:: (And I'm hypocritical in saying that, given my Janes-esque view on Tales, rather than Land-esque.)

Mike Cooper: and durge regenerates within a year

Nathan Butler:: That too. Soup to badass in record time.

Bob Vitas:: Durge had to come back, though. Too much moving slimy bits.

Nathan Butler:: Like Congress.

Bob Vitas:: heh heh heh

Mike Cooper: i just want to know...if he can be blown to bits and regenerate that fast, what on earth did the mandalorians do to him?

Nathan Butler:: I mean, uhm, the Galactic Senate. Not Congress. No. D.C. is nothing but professional.

Bob Vitas:: Maybe they obliterated him, then froze the pieces (a la Terminator 2) and threw them into space.

Nathan Blumenfeld:: Durge shouldn't have come back. Durge shouldn't have been invented in the first place. What an annoying character.

Nathan Blumenfeld:: Congress moves?

Nathan Blumenfeld:: The Mandalorians took the bits and locked them in seperate boxes, then scattered the boxes all over the galaxy.

Nathan Blumenfeld:: Wow. Some serious lagging here on my part.

Mike Cooper: we're all feeling it

Mike Cooper: especially bob i think

Bob Vitas:: It comes and goes...

Bob Vitas:: ... like Congress!

Nathan Butler:: Wait...individually packaged icky Durge parts...

Mike Cooper: heh

Nathan Butler:: I just figured out where Twizzlers come from!

Mike Cooper: and the EU Roundtable series gets its first running gag

Mike Cooper: eeeeeeww

Bob Vitas:: Eww. So much for my sweet tooth.

Nathan Butler:: Don't ask how milk duds fit into the digestive cycle of an Ewok.

Nathan Butler:: Just dont'.

Nathan Blumenfeld:: So, how do Milk Duds fit into the digestive cycle of an Ewok?

Nathan Blumenfeld:: Let me guess: They don't.

Bob Vitas:: Talk about digressing!

Nathan Blumenfeld:: Indeed. So, how 'bout that Hyperspace?

Mike Cooper: not to get back on topic or anything, but what do you think they'd have to start doing on hyperspace to get your business, nathan?

Nathan Blumenfeld:: Publishing new fiction (by authors whose work I care to read) on a regular basis. Preferably fiction that won't later be made available in another form that I'll be buying anyway.

Bob Vitas:: From here, it was good when it first started, because anything they put up was new. Lots of good stuff for the encyclopedia. Now, you have to wade through the old production stills to get to the nuggets of information.

Mike Cooper: yeah, but then everyone will complain that they're not getting reprinted

Bob Vitas:: Yeah, more new (exclusive) content.

Mike Cooper: i really don't see them doing anything along the lines of new fiction; at least not beyond the hodges strip

Nathan Butler:: I do subscribe, but I'll agree. The more exclusive content you put up, the better. It was the redundancy of information that caused many to turn to fan sites rather than SW.com for years anyway. Hyperspace is a good step, but

Nathan Butler:: needs more.

Nathan Blumenfeld:: Exactly. So just drop this paid subscription for stuff that will all be made available later crud. Get rid of Hyperspace.

Nathan Butler:: Well, now you could just look at it as an extension of the Insider, since it's a bundled deal now.

Nathan Butler:: At least there's a physical product to help justify the cost for naysayesr.

Bob Vitas:: I agree. If it's just going to show up somewhere else, it's just LFL getting paid twice for the the same thing.

Nathan Blumenfeld:: Eh. I cancelled my insider subscription when the fiction started losing quality and regularity.

Mike Cooper: started losing quality? when would you say that was?

Nathan Butler:: Well, Changing Seasons wasn't exactly....coherent at times.

Bob Vitas:: Second that!

Mike Cooper: i actually haven't gotten around to it yet

Nathan Blumenfeld:: It didn't help that I never got the first post-Gamer issue, so don't have part four of Keyes' serial. Still holding a grudge about that one.

Mike Cooper: lol...me too, nathan

Nathan Butler:: I mean, a weapon of destruction that's like a piece of astroturff?

Mike Cooper: but yeah, zah does seem to be losing it lately

Mike Cooper: *zahn

Nathan Butler:: Yeah, Survivor's Quest...'nuff said.

Nathan Butler:: 400 page long 100 page story

Bob Vitas:: LOL

Nathan Butler:: But his earlier stuff was gold, so I guess it balances.

Mike Cooper: i am still looking forward to outbound flight

Mike Cooper: i think it's pretty ironic that people spent all this time trying to figure out what to call it, and sue rostoni's just like "oh, hell with it. we'll call it star wars: outbound flight"

Nathan Blumenfeld:: I just find it interesting how one shot takes down a stormy in the movies, yet Zahn's stormies can take a sustained barrage of blaster fire and walk away from it.

Nathan Butler:: I'm sure someone will someday say, "Wow, I dug that Butler's audio stuff, but that Kyle story was CRAP." Eh, so it goes.

Nathan Blumenfeld:: I enjoy Zahn's stuff, but I don't love any of it.

Mike Cooper: well really, though, which makes more sense?

Mike Cooper: them being stormtroopers and all

Nathan Blumenfeld:: Zahn's, no question 'bout that. What's the point of armor if all it does is slow you down?

Nathan Butler:: They're super stormies

Nathan Butler:: I mean Stoormtroopers.

Nathan Blumenfeld:: Is their armor also super?

Nathan Butler:: Zahn clone troopers with the double o

Nathan Butler:: Aarmor

Nathan Butler:: heh

Mike Cooper: heh

Mike Cooper: oooookay, let's move along

Mike Cooper: serious voice: Michael Reaves will be doing three separate novels set after RotS, with the bridge title of Coruscant Nights. Cool idea, or cheesy B-movie idea?

Bob Vitas:: Cool idea, cheesy B-movie title?

Nathan Blumenfeld:: Don't know enough. Three Reaves novels is good. Would need to know something about them other than the title to say much more than that, though.

Nathan Butler:: Odd title. Sounds like Taxicab Confessions, but the concept of three stories that are set a year apart from each other, which isn't just a direct continuation trilogy...I dig that idea. Very SW film-esque in pacing.

Bob Vitas:: Cool idea, cheesy NC-17 B-movie title?

Nathan Butler:: As for Reaves, I really dig what I've read so far of Medstar: Battle Surgeons, but I really wasn't too keen on Shadow Hunter.

Nathan Butler:: But then, not a big Maul fan.

Mike Cooper: steve perry said it'll involve medstar character(s); i'm willing to bet it's gonna be den dhur roaming the seedy underbelly

Nathan Blumenfeld:: Reaves writes pretty good noirish horrorish stuff. I'm hoping for a sort of Angel on Coruscant deal.

Nathan Butler:: Luke...and Lukelus.

Mike Cooper: i didn't even buy shadow hunter until the paperback because it seemed so uninteresting, and it ended up blowing me away

Nathan Butler:: (I know nothing about Angel other than what my girlfriend has told me, so consider that my one intelligent Angel comment...ever.)

Nathan Blumenfeld:: Intelligent?

Nathan Butler:: Quasi-intelligent.

Bob Vitas:: hehehe

Mike Cooper: okay, i can handle straying from the topic here and there, but let's at least stick to straying onto other star wars topics

Nathan Blumenfeld:: Shadow Hunter didn't blow me away, but I enjoyed it. It was a good fast romp of an adventure.

Mike Cooper: i think every star wars book needs a character like lorn pavan

Nathan Blumenfeld:: MedStar I I liked quite a bit. More than the sum of its parts.

Nathan Blumenfeld:: I preferred I-5

Nathan Butler:: So, generally....having Reaves back is a good thing if Medstar is an indication. And the timing of the stories sounds interesting to me. So, let's see it, y'know?

Mike Cooper: I-5 was more entertaining, but there's something about the archetype lorn represented...same with nick rostu in shatterpoint

Nathan Blumenfeld:: And Han Solo?

Mike Cooper: oh yeah, and that guy

Mike Cooper: the weird thing about these books coming out is, randy stradley is saying that DH has to stay out of the post-E3 period because of the TV prospects

Bob Vitas:: Depends on the characters

Mike Cooper: that's what you'd think. i mean, there's no shortage of stuff to cover in that period

Nathan Butler:: Perhaps these are more tangential stories in Coruscant Nights. Though that puts them into yet another area where we might be seeing non-mainstream characters center-stage. How much of their novel schedule can they fill with those

Nathan Butler:: before it wears thin on non-superfans?

Nathan Blumenfeld:: That may be why they're three standalones, presumably not with major characters -- so as not to interfere with TV stuff. Whereas DHC would probably focus more on more central characters.

Mike Cooper: i don't see DH doing anything more central to the post-RotS era than empire is central to the post-ANH era

Bob Vitas:: Story's also important, though. A dumb story will kill any format.

Nathan Blumenfeld:: I don't worry about the non-superfans, really.

Mike Cooper: i can understand the desire to keep them in the fold, but you can't shape your entire outlook around them

Nathan Butler:: Eh, Del Rey has to thought.

Nathan Blumenfeld:: As to story . . . yes, it's important. But stories are everywhere. Plot, on the other hand . . . well, MedStar didn't have a whole lot of plot and was quite good.

Mike Cooper: like after shatterpoint didn't sell very well, they decided it was because mace wasn't a big enough character

Mike Cooper: i refuse to believe that casual fans would see a book with mace looking that hardcore on the cover and think "eh, i'd rather have a book about anakin being whiny"

Nathan Blumenfeld:: And it was head to head with Harry Potter. . .

Bob Vitas:: OK, concept then...

Bob Vitas:: ...the idea that hooks you and drags you along. That's why I liked "Children of the Jedi" so much... Gamorreans in stormtrooper armor.

Mike Cooper: heehee

Nathan Butler:: See, I couldn't really stand COTJ.

Mike Cooper: speaking *achem* basic

Nathan Blumenfeld:: I liked Children, though not for that reason. Too bad she had to follow it up with Planet of Twilight.

Nathan Butler:: Of the Callista Cycle, I was a Darksaber fan, more than the other two, even before KJA explained the whole reasoning for so many superweapons to me on the show.

Mike Cooper: CotJ and PoT didn't really do much for me, but i don't really dislike them either

Mike Cooper: darksaber's LJA's best star wars story i think

Mike Cooper: *KJA's

Nathan Blumenfeld:: TotJ: Redemption gets my vote for best KJA EU.

Nathan Butler:: Too bad he doesn't have the leeway, or didn't, in his SW books to be as expansive as in his Saga of Seven Suns. Great stuff, that.

Bob Vitas:: The only one I truly disliked was "Crystal Star"

Mike Cooper: granted, i'm still working my way through the TotJ stuff

Nathan Butler:: Yeah, that was great. Redemption is a classic.

Mike Cooper: the only books i outright dislike are crystal star and bounty hunter wars

Nathan Butler:: Heh, Crystal Star. Matter...antimatter..how about antiforce? WEEEE!

Nathan Butler:: :: slaps someone over that ::

Nathan Butler:: I had to skim the BH trilogy

Bob Vitas:: A big cube of antiforcematter

Nathan Blumenfeld:: Yeah, you can't swallow a barve like that all at once.

Mike Cooper: the funny thing about crystal star is that i actually like the stuff with the solo kids a lot

Mike Cooper: as hackneyed as the kidnapping thing was, i'd say macintyre was the only bantam author to really treat them seriously

Nathan Blumenfeld:: Been so long since I read Crystal Star, I barely remember it. Is that the one with Hethrir and . . . Ursa, was it? The My Pretty Pony Jedi Girlie?

Bob Vitas:: Short of the NJO

Bob Vitas:: Yep

Mike Cooper: well, i'm talking about before YJK and all that. while they were still too young to be central characters

Mike Cooper: hethrir, yes. don't remember anyone named ursa

Nathan Blumenfeld:: Heh. The pre-YJK twins memory I have is maybe from Allen's books, where Jacen is getting chubby and Han likens him to Jabba the Hutt.

Nathan Butler:: I can't recall if her name was Ursa, but I think I know what he means. The little...centaur-like girl.

Mike Cooper: or some crap like that =)

Bob Vitas:: Lusa

Nathan Blumenfeld:: That's it.

Bob Vitas:: (as he quickly scans the database)

Mike Cooper: alright, moving on

Mike Cooper: Jeremy Barlow's new Tales format, with stories both in and out of continuity. About time, isn't it?

Nathan Blumenfeld:: Darn tootin'!

Mike Cooper: (counts the seconds until the kyle katarn story is plugged)

Nathan Butler:: Aye, hear hear.

Nathan Butler:: Heh, what Kyle Katarn story?

Nathan Butler:: ;-)

Mike Cooper: say something bad about barlow, nathan. i dare ya

Bob Vitas:: The idea of both kinds of stories is better than before... although the Iron Chef issue was hilarious.

Nathan Butler:: Actually, I've really had nothing but good experiences with Jeremy at this point. It's...creepy.

Nathan Blumenfeld:: See, if Katarn had been on the team in Star by Star, all would have ended well. And if Katarn, not Ganner, had gone after Jacen, there would be no "the Ganner" because no Yuuzhan Vong would have lived to tell the tale. ;-)

Nathan Butler:: Damn right. Kyle and Jan: The Dynamic Duo of...Duo-dom.

Mike Cooper: and that book would've lost one of its coolest moments

Mike Cooper: ganner, i mean

Nathan Butler:: True. Hell, one of the entire NJO's best moments.

Mike Cooper: i do have to say that i hope this isn't the end altogether of htales umor stories

Mike Cooper: *tales humor stories

Nathan Blumenfeld:: Kyle: The one-man army of the GFFA. But getting back on topic, I really like the new direction Tales is taking. As more of a companion to the other books, with longer more serious stories.

Nathan Butler:: Actually, on the whole era tag thing, or the in- or out-of-continuity tag...

Nathan Butler:: yeah, it's a tag, but really, I feel like it's a return to the Tales roots back when Janes was in charge and he flat out told us that some tales happen, some don't, rather than that blanket Infinities nonsense.

Mike Cooper: the indy issue had some really great stuff in it

Nathan Butler:: You mean the most recent? #20?

Mike Cooper: yeah

Mike Cooper: kochalka is the frickin' man

Nathan Butler:: UGH. See, to me, that was the most "awesomely bad" (as VH1 would say) Tales ever.

Nathan Butler:: For Land's "encore," it was kinda sad

Nathan Butler:: but for his "final issue," #19 . . . that one wowed me.

Mike Cooper: you just have to go in expecting nothing, i'd say

Nathan Blumenfeld:: I don't think I've read Tales since #8 or 9. Though I've got them all.

Nathan Butler:: Stories don't have to be set in an obvious time frame to be serious and entertaining, and that issue proved it. That "Storyteller" tale was great, for instance.

Mike Cooper: things have been generally better

Nathan Butler:: I really kind of wish that they could have relaunched the series with a new #1 or with a new title altogether, honestly.

Mike Cooper: ever since..16, i believe it was

Bob Vitas:: See, I think that the old Tales - even the Infinities stuff - could be taken "in continuity"... if you take the stand that it was someone's wild-ass interpretation of a well-known story.

Mike Cooper: 16 was the last truly awful issue

Nathan Butler:: It feels like it's such a turnaround that it might as well be an entirely new series.

Nathan Blumenfeld:: I agree, but if they changed the title, they might lose old readers.

Mike Cooper: the big problem with the infinities stuff from my perspective isn't even the completely crazy stories, it's the ones that could have fit fine if it wasn't for one or two stupid little mistakes

Nathan Butler:: I figure 64 pages. I know my story in #21 is the shortest at 14 pages, so figure 15 for the other two each, right? That's about 2/3 of a regular comic. You can get in a lot more story depth there.

Bob Vitas:: Haven't read pas 18 yet

Bob Vitas:: *past

Nathan Butler:: I just can't wait for the new logo. I haven't seen it yet, nor the photo cover for #21, and I try to keep in the loop with Jeremy on a daily or at least weekly basis these days.

Mike Cooper: because you haven't wanted to, bob, or you just haven't gotten around to them?

Mike Cooper: there's a new logo?

Bob Vitas:: Haven't picked them up from the comic store yet. Been too busy with "real life".

Nathan Butler:: Far as I know. It's an entire "revamped" look that he keeps talking about.

Mike Cooper: real life? is that, like, the movies themselves?

Bob Vitas:: No, that's canon.

Mike Cooper: oh

Bob Vitas:: ;-)

Mike Cooper: you mean studying george lucas himself

Nathan Blumenfeld:: Real life? That's the thing with the . . . outside . . . right?

Bob Vitas:: Sounds like a movie... "Studying George Lucas"

Nathan Butler:: Like "Being John Malkovich"...but in flannel

Bob Vitas:: Yup... with the wife who doesn't like to wear the steel bikini

Mike Cooper: so nathan, are you start reading them again now?

Bob Vitas:: (Did I say that)

Mike Cooper: heh

Nathan Blumenfeld:: I'll start reading the new revamped version, sure.

Nathan Blumenfeld:: Looking forward to it very much. Kyle Katarn was the magic word. Er, words.

Mike Cooper: i'm not even gonna ask why you've bought the last twelve issues when you don't even want to read them

Mike Cooper: i can appreciate the collector's instinct, but six damn bucks an issue?

Nathan Blumenfeld:: I buy each hoping for something worthwhile, then flip through them and sigh and put them on the shelf with the others. I'm an optimist, what can I say?

Nathan Butler:: Oh, you'll dig the Kyle stuff. I'm told it's pretty good. :-P

Nathan Butler:: Just wish we had, I dunno, 140 pages instead of 14. :P

Mike Cooper: you've gotta appreciate a guy who can type and pat himself on the back at the same time

Nathan Blumenfeld:: Just tell me whose kneecaps to threaten to get you those 140 credits. . .

Nathan Blumenfeld:: pages, not credits

Bob Vitas:: It's a tough skill to learn

Mike Cooper: well, let's wait until we can see the story first =)

Nathan Butler:: Yeah. I feel sort of like by using Kyle, I've become the TPM of Tales stories, y'know? Expectations vs. Reality...ugh.

Nathan Butler:: But hopefully it'll be enjoyable and at least try to develop the character a bit more beyond what we've seen. Or at least show us how he looks as an older man. heh

Nathan Blumenfeld:: Yeah, but if TPM had had Kyle, I'd've loved it. :-P

Bob Vitas:: (Someone needs to do the Vob Bitas story)

Mike Cooper: hey, i'm just happy for something in continuity and set during the NJO

Nathan Butler:: Wait, who said in-continuity?

Mike Cooper: what story? he's dead, isn't he?

Nathan Butler:: KIDDING!!!

Nathan Butler:: (No killing me.)

Bob Vitas:: Yeah, but he was framed!

Nathan Blumenfeld:: KILLING!!!

Nathan Blumenfeld:: (No kidding you.)

Bob Vitas:: The Republic printed the story too soon, and was too embarrassed to print the truth.

Mike Cooper: for anyone who doesn't know, let me just clarify that bob here had a character named after him in a holonet news article

Mike Cooper: vob bitas, the sleazy blob racer

Bob Vitas:: HEY

Bob Vitas:: My blob's name was Mark McGuire...

Nathan Butler:: Dude, what the hell? I had a character named after me in a comic's script, but it wasn't spoken in the comic itself...and he got killed. Do you think there's a "death to fandom" thing here? ;-)

Mike Cooper: are there blob steroids?

Nathan Blumenfeld:: At least it's not the bleazy slob racer.

Bob Vitas:: Apparently

Nathan Butler:: Bass turds!

Nathan Blumenfeld:: I also had a character named after me. Except it wasn't a Star Wars story. Set in another milieu.

Nathan Butler:: No, really. Fish poop, I say!

Mike Cooper: let's see...vob bitas: dead. krono: dead. clone wars mandalorians: strewn all over republic #67

Mike Cooper: the lesson: leave the VIPs alone

Bob Vitas:: Never

Mike Cooper: what would that be, nathan?

Nathan Blumenfeld:: I think the Republic 67 Mandalorians were kind of a wink at Darth Nuke.

Mike Cooper: exactly

Mike Cooper: and that's now two roundtables in a row that've mentioned them

Mike Cooper: maybe i can get randy himself for the next one

Nathan Butler:: Dude, don't get randy with people in a chat. That's just perverted and, well, sick.

Nathan Butler:: Ah, punnage.

Nathan Blumenfeld:: If you get Randy, you must invite Nuke as well.

Mike Cooper: okay, let's move on. i don't want to get into this again

Mike Cooper: well, i do, but i don't

Nathan Blumenfeld:: Heh.

Mike Cooper: Medstar duology - who is the spy?

(Editor?s note: it had been decided earlier that Butler would cut and run when we reached this topic, as he was only a fourth of the way through the book at the time)

Mike Cooper: nate, i assume you're gonna go now?

Nathan Butler:: Yep, I'm taking off. No spoilers of Medstar for me. I've actually gotten into this one without the "when the hell will something good happen" feeling. :-)

Mike Cooper: we don't exactly NEED to cover spoilers, but there are things from the end of the book that apply

Nathan Butler:: Evening, gentlemen!

Mike Cooper: you're in for a good ride

Mike Cooper: thanks for participating

Nathan Blumenfeld:: Good evening.

Bob Vitas:: G'night (again!)

Nathan Butler:: Anytime.

Nathan Butler has left the room.

Nathan Blumenfeld:: Well, assuming Michael Reaves all but said that it's Tolk, I'm guessing Tolk. Though before that I was leaning toward the shrink.

Mike Cooper: i dunno..i wouldn't put it past him to have been screwing with us

Bob Vitas:: Tolk makes sense... getting intimate with the chief of surgeons and all that.

Nathan Blumenfeld:: He could well have been.

Mike Cooper: bob, have you heard about reaves' erstwhile appearance in the "who is the spy" thread?

Bob Vitas:: Not yet

Mike Cooper: and it was confirmed that the spy's POV was supposed to be written gender neutral

Bob Vitas:: What'd I miss?

Mike Cooper: basically, he posted something about the possibility of tolk having a big desk (i think), that being one of the clues from the novel

Nathan Blumenfeld:: Reaves popped in, said not to discount Tolk, then later said Whoops I meant to post that as a sock.

Mike Cooper: but there's always the possibility that A: he's lying or B: he just wanted us to keep her in the running so we'd be less likely to guess right

Bob Vitas:: Well, he did kill off quite a few potential new characters

Bob Vitas:: I mean returning

Nathan Blumenfeld:: Yes, and we can be sure it isn't one of the major POV characters -- Jos, Barriss, the journalist, etc.

Nathan Blumenfeld:: I was set on the shrink until Tolk came up.

Mike Cooper: that thread actually has put forth a lot of cool possibilities

Bob Vitas:: Why not Barriss, working really deep undercover?

Mike Cooper: jos could be the spy without realizing it, like fight club

Mike Cooper: phow ji might not be dead

Bob Vitas:: Her mission could have been three-fold - infiltrate the Separatists, infiltrate Black Sun, and bring them all to a confrontation on Drongar.

Nathan Blumenfeld:: If that's the case, I give up on the EU. I think.

Nathan Blumenfeld:: The Jos thing, that is.

Mike Cooper: it depends on how it's handled

Bob Vitas:: Yeah, if it's Jos, I'll retract my support of "MedStar"

Mike Cooper: someone also suggested that it might be xizor, and reaves responded by pointing out that the surronian conqueror seen in the story is actually the same one that guri has in shadows

Bob Vitas:: =-O

Nathan Blumenfeld:: OMGOMG Tolk=model for Guri OMGOMG!!!11!

Mike Cooper: =)

Bob Vitas:: Aw jeez... that makes sense!

Mike Cooper: if that's the case i swear i'll track reaves and perry down and become their manservant

Mike Cooper: there's a chance, though, that he just meant it's the same kind of ship, but i seriously doubt it

Bob Vitas:: Wait, Tolk's attracted to Jos, right? Maybe Jos is Xizor with a Falleen version of an ooglith masquer.

Bob Vitas:: So Jos IS the spy

Mike Cooper: heh

Bob Vitas:: Ties all the eras together

Nathan Blumenfeld:: I think the spy is Quin!

Mike Cooper: THAT would be funny

Nathan Blumenfeld:: Wait, no I don't.

Mike Cooper: one problem with jos, though, is that the spy doesn't seem to be human

Bob Vitas:: Jos = Xizor !!!

Mike Cooper: they've got a grudge against the republic, and a kinship with the nediji

Nathan Blumenfeld:: I don't the kinship was a literal one. More a "both of our races have endured this, we are brothers in suffering" sort of thing.

Mike Cooper: does xizor have a grudge against the republic? other than, you know, all those pesky "laws"?

Nathan Blumenfeld:: Not until Vader comes along and decimates his species.

Bob Vitas:: At that point in time, probably not. It's too easy for him to get what he needs, with all the corruption in the US Senate.

Mike Cooper: well, not really his species

Bob Vitas:: Um, er, I mean GALACTIC Senate

Mike Cooper: man, we're really on that tonight

Mike Cooper: so yeah, that's what i'm saying. i can see xizor doing what the spy's doing, but not really for the same reasons

Bob Vitas:: If information is his primary business, though, what could he gain on Drongar that he couldn't gain elsewhere?

Nathan Blumenfeld:: Money.

Mike Cooper: who's to say it was his primary business back then?

Bob Vitas:: True, just going with what we know about him. He's not in charge of Black Sun yet, is he? I'm drawing a blank.

Mike Cooper: we know that he wasn't running things until after TPM at the absolute earliest, i wouldn't be surprised if he didn't hit the top spot until a few years before yavin

Mike Cooper: in fact, maybe coruscant nights will deal with xizor's rise to power

Nathan Blumenfeld:: Maybe, though I'd say that's more Perry territory.

Bob Vitas:: We don't hear much about the bota post-Clone Wars... so Xizor couldn't have made a fortune for Black Sun with it.

Nathan Blumenfeld:: I still like the idea of the mousy journalist fella getting involved in a bunch of noir-y situations during the Empire's rise to power.

Mike Cooper: ditto

Mike Cooper: that, esssentially, is the epitome of what i want to see out of star wars

Mike Cooper: after RotS, i mean

Bob Vitas:: How about this... the Sullustan figures out it's Xizor, then tracks him down and tells the tales from a reporter's point of view?

Mike Cooper: i dunno...i think he's get kinda dead first

Mike Cooper: *he'd

Bob Vitas:: Maybe he gets outta Dodge before it all hits the fan. The Epilogue of MedStar II is the Sullustan getting to Coruscant...

Mike Cooper: coming back full circle, it should also be noted that tolk was the only big character whose POV we didn't experience. so unless there's some weird brainwashing thing going on, it's gotta be her, a minor character, or a new character

Nathan Blumenfeld:: Yes.

Mike Cooper: or maybe the spy is, you know, a part of us all

Nathan Blumenfeld:: As I said: Tolk or Troi.

Mike Cooper: the spy is jealousy

Bob Vitas:: Whoa

Mike Cooper: troi?

Nathan Blumenfeld:: The empath councilor. Can't remember his name, so I named him Deanna Troi.

Mike Cooper: oh, i get it

Mike Cooper: it's klo merit

Nathan Blumenfeld:: That's it. Klo.

Mike Cooper: how do you forget "merit"?

Nathan Blumenfeld:: I'm terrible with names.

Mike Cooper: it could always be the bartender, if you consider a bartop a big desk

Nathan Blumenfeld:: Y'know we're an hour and a half into our hour here. :-P

Nathan Blumenfeld:: Bartenders are never evil.

Bob Vitas:: Yeah, but we started an hour late!

Mike Cooper: yeah, i was about to wrap it up

Mike Cooper: wanted to make sure no one was in the middle of some huge thought

Mike Cooper: any, guys?

Nathan Blumenfeld:: Always in the middle of a huge thought. But if I told you, I'd have to kill you.

Mike Cooper: ...are you the spy?

Nathan Blumenfeld:: Or some other clich?d thing.

Bob Vitas:: None from me.

Mike Cooper: well, i guess we'll call it a day

Nathan Blumenfeld:: In Soviet Russia, the thought has you.

Mike Cooper: that hereby wraps up the EU Roundtable Murphy's Law edition

Mike Cooper: lol

Nathan Blumenfeld:: It is a day. A nice new young one.

Bob Vitas:: Here here.

And with that, we parted. Thanks to Bob and the Nathans for their patience and for keeping things entertaining despite the *achem* conversational difficulties. And once again, if you have an idea for a future topic, or any feedback for that matter, send it in.