MJPollard

}{eywood said:

And I hear "Carrie!" always have and always will

And you're wrong, always have been and always will be.

As for the rest... interesting, but irrelevant. If Adywan even wanted to change all of that (which I'm sure he doesn't), the film would no longer be the Star Wars we all know. As someone else said, if you can't accept things being the way they currently are, then perhaps this edit (and even Star Wars itself) isn't your cup of tea, and should embark on making an edit of your own, to your own specifications.

BMadden said:

Absolutely brilliant, Ady. You are the Master!

If he's the Master, then who is the Doctor?

Username:  No big mystery, it's my first and middle initials and my last name.  No, it's not a homage to actor Michael J. Pollard. :-)

Avatar:  As of 5/4/2011, it's my dog, Zoe, who I had for over 14 years before she passed away.  (It's been four years, but I still miss her.  She was the best dog I ever owned.)

Title:  Nothing yet.

Signature:  I'm a software developer.  You figure it out. :-)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-13137674

Fans of Doctor Who are in mourning over the death of Elisabeth Sladen, who played Sarah Jane Smith in the series and in her own spin-off, The Sarah Jane Adventures. Sladen had been battling cancer for some time.

Of all the Bantam novels I bought, the only ones I bothered to keep were the five Thrawn books (the trilogy and the Hand of Thrawn two-parter) and the Han Solo trilogy by A.C. Crispin.  Everything else was more or less forgettable, or at least not worth the effort to preserve for future reading.

The only Del Rey books I bothered with were Outbound Flight and Survivor's Quest (because they addressed the Outbound Flight thread from the Thrawn novels).  The latter book didn't suffer from as much "prequelitis" as the former, which was set during the prequel era (as it was established that Outbound Flight had been launched during that period of time).  I'm really only keeping them because of their ties to the Thrawn novels.

Puggo - Jar Jar's Yoda said:

The drift in this thread illustrates why I have suggested that the "preservation" section should be listed above the "fan edit" section. This website is supposed to be primarily about ensuring the survival of the original trilogy as it appeared in theaters and in its original academy-award-winning form, not about promoting fan edits. There's another excellent site for that.

To be perfectly honest, Puggo, it doesn't matter where you put the Fan Edit and Preservation sections, because this site is never going to shed the "whiny fanboys bitching about George Lucas" reputation it has earned.  I, for one, come here mainly to follow up on news of Adywan's Revisited projects, not to read about the 1,923rd method of preserving the original trilogy (which that bastard Lucas has totally destroyed, may he burn in hell forever, yada yada yada).

Plus, since the GOUT was released on DVD, this site technically has no reason to continue existing per its own mandate, which was to get Lucas to release the unaltered trilogy on DVD.  He's done that.  The only thing left now is to whine about how he did it, and if you're honest with yourselves, you'll admit that there will be people who will continue to find something to complain about no matter what he does or how he does it.

So, for me, this site's main purpose is to follow the progress on Revisited, plus a few other edits and preservations of interest to me.  The other 99% of the site's contents are completely irrelevant to me; they could vanish into the ether tomorrow and I wouldn't care one iota.

(putting on flame-retardant clothes and waiting for the backlash in 5...4...3...2...)

doubleofive said:

 

Johnny Ringo said:

Just saw the latest episode and finally the show feels like it's going somewhere. For the first time I was excited - there was still a bit of padding but things have basically gotten to a point of no return now.

This is where the story should have been a season ago.

Two seasons in? Jeez, we lost patience before the first season ended. Congrats to those that held out.

 

I know that a TV series has to pad things out, but jeez, when it takes two seasons to get to the point where the original miniseries was in a few hours... :-)

ChainsawAsh said:

You realize what website you're on, right?

BitchAboutAnythingHavingToDoWithGeorgeLucas.com? :)

Chewtobacca said:

MJPollard said:  @Chewtobacca  It's nice that the PAL ROTJ master was better, but some of us aren't in a position to obtain the PAL DVD.

Why?  Can't you ship the PAL disc?  It wouldn't cost that much.  I'm not sure why that was addressed to me, but, to answer your question, to the best of my knowledge no one has modified the script to work with the NTSC version.

That's what I wanted to know, thanks.

And to decode between the lines of what I said: some of us only have the NTSC version and don't want to spend money on a DVD we otherwise can't use.  Hope that's clearer. :)

Actually, I specifically wasn't trying to compare the two. I went into the new V with an open mind, and a total willingness to accept it on its own merits. Would they find a fresh angle on the story? Turns out they did, and in the end, I still didn't find it very compelling. In fact, I found it boring. And if I'm typical of the average viewer, if you fail to hook them in the beginning, you have almost zero chance of getting them later on.

That last part is probably why I can't get worked up over Baccarin's performance, because I just found the show to be... dull. She's no doubt giving a fine performance, but my total antipathy towards the show is reflected in my lack of interest in her character (or anyone else's). And I know she can give a fine performance; her roles in Stargate SG-1 and Firefly (which I didn't personally watch) are a perfect example.

(But... seriously... Monica? The hair? Please do something. That hair does not suit you at all. Jane Badler proved that you can do "evil lizard queen" and still look good. Please, just... please.)

As far as the original being an allegory to Nazi Germany, V is hardly the first TV show/movie to do that. It works if it's done right, and in my opinion, V did it right: they showed that even after 50 years, humans still haven't learned from history, and will allow themselves to be lead into Hell (and beyond) with false promises of a newer, better world. It could be any dictatorship in history; the Nazis were the parallel because they're the most recognizable (there's a reason the Visitor symbol in the original series had a more than passing resemblance to a swastika).

@Chewtobacca

It's nice that the PAL ROTJ master was better, but some of us aren't in a position to obtain the PAL DVD and we have to "make do" with the NTSC release.  As such, has anyone even tried to take a crack at modifying this script for the NTSC version?

What Plans? said:

Well, despite some complaints, I LOVE this series.  I never miss an episode and I am definitely loving Season 2.  Season 1 was fantastic, but Season 2's episodes are so much more suspenseful.  I love the fact that the show is mostly about plotting and outsmarting the other group.  I would have turned it off right away if it was all action-packed and full of "battles."  I never saw the original past like 10 minutes.  But this version definitely has me hooked :D

The original (the first miniseries, not The Final Battle or the TV series) wasn't "all action-packed and full of battles" until perhaps the fourth and final hour, when the Resistance clumsily starting being proactive.  Most of the time, it was a study in how a dictatorship slowly worms its way into a society, with society's blessing... a perfect parallel to the rise of the Nazis, which was Kenneth Johnson's intent.  The Final Battle turned it into wall-to-wall action (because Johnson was no longer involved), and the series... well, let's not go there.

Regarding the remake... I tried to watch it, I tried to like it, but I couldn't.  I just couldn't care about any of the people I was watching.  They are, almost without exception, bland, cookie-cutter characters.  I couldn't even work up much emotion about Monica Baccarin; I honestly preferred when she was chewing the scenery as Adria on Stargate SG-1.  And Jane Badler's presence as Diana 2.0 only serves to remind me how much I enjoyed the original miniseries over this remake.

rockin said:

Is it wrong that I find the new line both horribly amusing and entertaining?  It must be the tone... It's gotta be the tone!

If I recall correctly, "alert my Star Destroyer" is an unused line from the recording sessions for Star Wars, and is why it sounds so odd.  Take a listen, then watch the original film (the non-Revisited version with the original audio); it really does sound more like it fits there than in ESB, where James Earl Jones pitched his voice to the way we're now used to hearing it.  Ol' Vader was a bit more of a higher-pitched hothead in that one, particularly when interrogating Rebel prisoners on captured transports. :-)

Mark Singer (whose character, unlike Badler's Diana, isn't named Mike Donovan) isn't supposed to appear until the last episode of the season... which, of course, is going to be a cliffhanger. Optimistic, aren't they? *eyeroll*

EDIT: That's Marc Singer, not Mark. D'oh!

It's better than the original TV series that followed V and V: The Final Battle... but that's not saying very much.

I hate "reimaginings."  I would much rather have seen a new miniseries that followed up on the original (ignoring TFB and the series), perhaps based on Kenneth Johnson's follow-up novel, V: The Second Generation.  The story probably could've used some polish, but seeing how Earth would fare 20+ years after the original invasion would've been interesting.

Bringing back Jane Badler and Marc Singer is obvious stunt casting in an attempt to revive a failing series.

Lord Grievous said:

Setting aside the smile, I hope that Ady will at least consider making the emperor's right eye less dark in the holo scene.

Are you unable to comprehend English?  Ady said he's done with the scene.  Finished.  The way it is now is how it's going to stay.  Pestering him isn't going to convince him to change his mind, particularly since his mind is made up.  The issue is settled.  Done.  Finito.  End of discussion.

TheBoost said:

MJPollard said:

Hopefully it'll happen one day, but from what I heard, the original digital masters were created with equipment that made them incompatible with today's digital technology (or something like that). 

 To quote a line Darth Vader never said... "How can that be?"

I wondered that myself, but then, I'm just repeating what I heard.  I'll give them the benefit of the doubt; too many people seem hard-wired to see conspiracies in every little thing, but fortunately I'm not quite there yet. :-)

What 005 said.  ImgBurn is simply the best tool around for burning CDs and DVDs, and DVD video images in particular (especially DVD-9 images; it's pretty much the only one around that manages to get them right).  Plus, it's free. :-)

Recommendation: if you're going to burn the DVD-9 image, use Verbatim DVD+R DL discs.  Using any other brand almost guarantees you'll get a very shiny, very expensive coaster.  And NEVER use DVD-R DL discs; they're incompatible with just about every DVD player out there, old and new.

Lord Grievous said:

Since when can you discuss opinions, you can agree or disagree with them, period.

Congratulations on your elevation to forum moderator.

steb74 said:

The score is screaming out for a complete release, or a remastered 2CD complete score/original album presentation.

Hopefully it'll happen one day, but from what I heard, the original digital masters were created with equipment that made them incompatible with today's digital technology (or something like that).  Perhaps someone will eventually find another source (say, an analog recording that's been hidden away all these years), clean it up, remaster it, and release a new CD (just like they apparently did with the version that's now on iTunes *spit*).  I'd buy it in a heartbeat.

Alien - 5

Aliens - 5

Sorry, but I like both equally, but for different reasons.  Alien is a great horror movie, while Aliens is a great action movie.  Comparing them, let alone pitting them against each other, makes this one of the stupidest threads I've ever seen, and that's saying a lot for this forum.

My biggest problem with the prequel music is how "Duel of the Fates" was turned from a majestic battle theme into just another pour-it-on-like-ketchup song. When I first heard it on MTV's Total Request Live (the only orchestral song to make it onto TRL, IIRC), I was blown away by it, and by the images from TPM. By the time ROTS rolled around, it was like, "Oh, yeah, here's 'Fates' again, ho-hum."

That being said -- and to bring this on-topic -- I actually liked the fact that Adywan incorporated "Battle of the Heroes" into the Vader/Kenobi duel. It gives a sense of connection, with the same music as the backdrop for both their first and last duels. If it were me, I'd keep it in Revisited HD, but include an alternate audio track where the score is not used. Everybody wins.

ChainsawAsh said:

I'd be really annoyed if it turns out to be bookended by Elijah-Frodo reading the story from Bilbo's book...

Why?  It makes perfect sense from a marketing standpoint.  From what I've read, there are only a couple of characters from the LOTR stories in The Hobbit.  If they're going to get people other than the LOTR fanbois into the theaters, they have to feature some of the characters from the LOTR films in some capacity.  Since Frodo doesn't appear in The Hobbit at all, using him as a framing device in the film makes sense, and adds the recognition factor they'll need to help make an otherwise unfamiliar story a success.  (Besides, they have to do something to pad out a single book into two films...)

Since I don't have (and have no interest in) a Blu-ray player, I think I'll be holding onto my 20th Anniversary DVD, even though I can always use more cash in hand. :-)

adywan said:

I don't have anything left from ANH:R so Everything will have to be done from scratch. I'm hoping i can find the original death star mesh animations but i know i deleted all the project files and everything else

Okay, everyone, time to pitch in to the Adywan Fund so that he can get a couple of 2TB external drives on which to store these project files. :-)