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-Hello, you are watching "Illuminator" ("Porthole") episode 5!
-And your hosts are -
Nikolai Tereshkin and Eugene "Indi" Mozhaev.
-In this episode: the "Expanded Universe" section -
Prequel and clone Wars books.
-Cosplay - why do stormtroopers always miss?
-Collection reviews - a unique collection of busts and statuettes.
-Q&A - with gifts! -As usual!
-And we move on to the "Expanded Universe" section.
And here is our guest - Duglas!
-Hey. -The last book we discussed in the previous episode
was "Darth Plagueis".
What's next? -The next period is the one,
which is usually called the "Rise of the Empire" era.
-The prequels. -And there are some
books which precede the Episode I.
-These books are about Darth Maul - "Darth Maul:
Saboteur" and "Darth Maul:Shadow Hunter".
By the way, "Darth Maul Shadow Hunter" is a must-read
for those who like the "Coruscant Nights" trilogy
because their plots are related.
-Next book - "Cloak of Deception".
-This novel focuses on political themes in SW.
The book describes the reasons why Chancellor Valorum
lost respect, why his authority was undermined and why it was so easy to overthrow him.
-Next- the Episode I novelization ... 0:01:19.870,0:01:21.950 -Yes, the novelization. What can
we say about novelizations - of course, you will see that
the plot doesn't differ much from the movies
, but novelizations reveal personalities of
the characters better than the movies.
In the novelization of the "Phantom Menace" you can read
how deep was Qui-Gon's care about Anakin,
he was almost like a father to him.
A must-read for all Qui-Gon Jinn's fans.
-Definitely! -"Rogue planet"
follows the "Phantom Menace" -Yes, this book is not important
for this era, but it is for future events.
-For the events, which take place after the Episode VI.
-Much, much later the Episode VI.
-"The Approaching Storm" follows.
To my mind the book was tedious.
-I think it's a real trash, but if anybody is interested -
- you surely may read it. And the next book is "Outbound
Flight" ... -By Timothy Zahn.
-This book is a masterpiece, and this is kind of a prequel for Thrawn's
trilogy. Thrawn's trilogy is usually recommended for those who start
reading Star Wars books.
-"Attack of the Clones" follows.
The book was boring fro me to read.
Frankly speaking, I found the Episode II boring.
-So let's talk about
next books. -All right, we'll probably skip
any military action books... -Karen Traviss' "Republic
commando" and everything connected with it.
-Kind of. -I tried to read it,but
it seemed dull. Next is the Clone
Wars period. "Shatterpoint". It's a book
about Jedi Master Mace Windu, and if you like this character - is definitely
worth reading. One can't but mention the"MedStar"
duology. -I haven't read it.
-I do recommend to read it. These are very psychological books. About
battle surgeons and how cynical they are.
For example, the way they called seriously wounded clones.
-How did they call them? -Spare parts!
Ha, I see! -The main character
, of course,is Barriss Offee,
who was spoiled in the TV series "The Clone Wars".
Barriss from "Medstar" could not turn to the Dark Side.
-And then we have "Jedi Trial."
-The book is quite imprortant for the history of SW, it describes Anakin's adventures
on the planet Praesitlyn,. And at the end of this book, spoiler
alert, Anakin is promoted to a full-fledged Jedi Knight.
"Yoda - Dark Rendezvous" -just fills some gaps,
but there are some notable moments.
When Yoda meets Dooku, Dooku tells him that 0:03:59.959,0:04:04.180 the Dark Side can give him anything. Yoda told him
that he wanted a rose. You must understand that it was impossible for
Dooku to reply. -And then
the "Dark Lord trilogy" begins. "Labyrinth of Evil" -
is quite an in interesting book, its plot is kind of similar to the story
of "The Clone Wars" animated 2003.
-Yes, but there are some differences and inconsistencies.
This is usually explained by the fact that the "Labyrinth of Evil" -
is a historians' record , and the animated series
- are HoloNet stories. The book shows the search for Darth
Sidious, and Palpatine's abduction.
-Depicts how general Grievous abducted Palpatine from Coruscant.
-The Episode III novelization follows.
- By Matthew Stover.
-To my mind this is the best novelization of all the six.
-I absolutely agree. While I have some complaints against the film's depiction of
Anakin's turning to the Dark
Side, the book ... -Well, in the film he is like:
"Why not join the Dark Side?"
-The book shows this process with more details,thoroughly,
it is interesting to read. -It IS shown as a process.
- He has to make a tough choice: choose Palpatine, who has
been substituing his father for many years ...
-or the Jedi Council, who have estranged from him
and do not allow him to take part in solving the matters. -But he tried
to be faithful to them. -He was looking for the holocron in order to
learn the secret of immortality and save Padme.
That was the reason why Anakin lost his temper when he wasn't granted the rank of
Master. Only Masters and Council members
are allowed access to the The Holocron Vaults.
And he could not acquire this knowledge without being a master.
This book also has a mind-blowing scene, in which 0:05:43.189,0:05:46.749 Palpatine, before revealing his identity to Anakin,
offers him everything in the Universe. "Anything you want,
take it. Anything." -Yes, a wonderful moment.
"I want Corellia!" - "The planet, or the entire system?"
Or, for example: "I want this war to end." - "Is tomorrow
too early for you"? The point is that Palpatine tells him
to do what he wants. Not what he should do,
not Council orders to do, but what he wants.
-Indeed, this book describes everything in detail, and it is 0:06:17.039,0:06:19.529 very interesting to read.
-Yes, the book is a page-turner.
-And the next book of the trilogy is,
"Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader" -It is a little less
interesting, but it shows, for example,
how difficult it was for Darth Vader to get used to
his suit. Not to mention the clones 0:06:38.009,0:06:42.389 refusing to execute Order 66.
Next is the Empire Time Era, and we'll discuss it
in the next episode. -Yeah, sure. Thank you, Duglas! - Buy!
-Indy, have you ever wondered why do stormtroopers always miss?
-Well, actually, it really makes me laugh and
surprises me. -Me too. And now our
"Cosplay" presenter - Annie J. will unlock this secret.
-Hello, I am Annie J. and this is "Cosplay" section!
One of the most striking suits - is stormtrooper's armour.
Few subgroups of stormtroopers were shown in the films,
but there are much more in the Expanded Universe.
And there are more than 100
different clone-troopers subgroups, hence if you decide to cosplay a trooper
, the choice is really large.
Armour is designed to protect stormtroopers from
any environment, like warm or hot climates of different planets,
from total vacuum conditions, and from
blaster shots. -Let me see your identifications!
-All right, move along. Hi!
-Oh, Yuri, hello! Yuri Demchenko is the owner
of this beautiful stormtrooper armour. Full armour.
Juri, please tell me, why did you choose the stormtrooper? What attracted
you? Are you a fan of stormtroopers?
Well, I'm more of a fan of the Empire and Darth Vader.
- Did you buy the suit to join the 501st, "Vader's Fist"?
-No, I just love
stormtroopers I have lots of action figures, 0:08:19.419,0:08:22.009 and then I thought why not buy a life-size armour.
-How much does the suit cost?
- About a 1000$. And in order to save up I sold
a lot of stuff from my collection -
like ships: TIE-fighter, TIE-bomber, and,unfortunately ,
AT-AT. -How did you get
this suit? Did you order it via the Internet?
-No, a friend of mine sold it, he is
a fan too. He bought it from another
fan in Moscow and that guy from was
the first owner of the stormtrooper armour in Russia.
He ordered it from the U.S.A. ,from the
501st member. -Wow! So it means that
this is a historical costume, the very first armour in Russia?
-Yes it is. - Amazing! --How many people in Russia
own stormtrooper suits? -Well, I know that there two stormtroopers.
in Moscow. And I saw photoes of the other
- from Ufa. -How did your family react
when you came home in the armour?
-Well, I can't say they were happy when I told them
that I wanted to buy it.
But when I bought it, they were glad,
and liked it. -How much time does it take
to put on the full armour? -Without extra help, it takes
about 20 minutes, but with some
help, much faster.
On the whole, it is difficult to wear it, because
there are loads of buttons and belts.
-Now, imagine how much time do stormtroopers need
in order to be put on alert.
-So, do you find your armour covfortable? -No, I don't.
Look at the helmet. You can't move 0:10:08.230,0:10:11.199 your head up and down and it is difficult to turn it too.
It is also very difficult to sit in, almost 0:10:16.100,0:10:20.310 impossible, and when you walk it feels
like it's about to fall apart. And when you walk for a long period of
time ,your arms
and legs hurt. -As far as I know, many
fans complained that it's hard to see in a helmet,
is it right? -Yes, it is.
You can see only what is
in front of you.You can't see what is up or down.
-Now I know why stormtroopers
miss a lot!
Does the armour come in different sizes?
Yes, it does. For example, a stormtrooper from
Moscow wants to swap greaves,
because mine are too short , and he
has just the right for my height. -Do you walk outdoors
in that suit? -Yes, once in a park
but it was a weekday, so there was not a lot of people
and those who were there gave me odd looks.
Well, they did take photoes but that was all.
I want to go outdoors in my suit when it's a weekend or a day off,
it's always good to see such a wonderful
stormtrooper from "Star Wars outside in our city.
Thank you very much, Yuri! Good luck!
-You're welcome! Bye. -Good bye!
Annie J. and her Cosplay section - out.
-So, we are in Moscow, and this is a regular apartment block, but even such
ordinary houses hide real gems of
Russian collectors. Now we are about to see
a unique museum in an apartment.
You have already seen a lot of interesting collections in our show,
but mostly these are collections of action figures,
vehicles which fit those figures, and comic-books and books.
Today, we'll see something really interesting ...
Collections like this are large in numbers and more popular abroad.
Statues, busts, dioramas, made of polystone-
just like this. Now let's take a closer
look to the owner of this collection!
Hi, Cyril! -Hey, Indy!
-Will you show your collection to our viewers?
Yes, with great pleasure. -Let's see!
Perfect. why did you decide to collect
these large statues, figurines, busts,
which take too much space and collect dust?
-well, I liked them for the way they look.
-You mean attention to the details? -Yes. Perfect depiction
of the characters. So, mostly you have
Gentle Giant ... I used to collect
only Gentle Giant, because I liked them more.
Now I have collected almost everything I wanted. I switch
to Sideshow and Attakus slowly. My collection grows gradually
for many years. -Do you remember when you've seen Star Wars 0:13:08.319,0:13:10.250 for the first time, why has it begun and
why has it caught your attention? Well, I watched "Star Wars" 0:13:13.199,0:13:17.329 when I was in a pioneer camp, in 1989, during
rest-hour. Of course I liked the film,
the child's impressions are unique. I was filled with love to the
"Star Wars." And I still love it.
-And after the films?
There was no merchandise to buy in Russia.
-In 1991I bought my first "Star Wars"
book. -The famous white edition,
right? Of that size, paperback, isn't it? -Yes, it is.
After that, it was a slight lull, probably, for
4 years, before Kenner figures
appeared in our stores. -How much have you collected?
-I've been collectiong action figures from 95 to 2006 collections and
collected about 500.
-Packaged? -Yes, packaged. -And you don't open them? -No, I don't.
-Were these complete collections of that times?
-Well, yes, some collections, like Power of the Force.
-And when have you started collecting
these bust and statuettes?
-Well, I guess in 2007. In one of Moscow online shops
I noticed this Boba Fett.
At that time, I thought it was just a regular
figure, without articulation ... -Was it expensive?
-Yes, it was. The price surprized me - 250$.
-Well, compared to action figures ... -Eventually, I found out
what it was, I was told that this was a statuette,
I realized that I liked it, and I would like to buy it. I saved
money and bought it.
I brought it home, examined it,
I really liked it, and then I realized that 0:14:44.949,0:14:48.329 I would collect these type of figures.
-And you stopped collecting action figures, didn't?
-No, I didn't. My interest in action figures was with me at that time
and I started collecting both the
busts of the same company as Boba Fett and action figures.
-Great, and are here your favourites?
-Yeah, your neighbor-
Rancor. My most favourite "Star Wars"
character. -Saliva look real. frozen
rosin? -Yes, probably, and maybe
some plastic. -What else? 0:15:21.029,0:15:26.050 -I like this diorama very much ... -Battle of Hoth?
-Battle of Hoth, yes. Wampa, Taun-taun and Luke -Hoth
assualt or Hoth attack? -Then, of course, one
of my favourite characters as a collector - Salacious
B. Crumb. -Salacious Crumb is lifesize,
like we in the film.
-Yes, this is his real height. And he was made by the same artist
that had worked on the sculpture for the film.
And the gamorrean
guard, who is not less well-made. One of my favourites too.
-And how much of these do you have?
-At the moment I have 62 busts.
And statuettes? -About 20-.
if we mean Gentle Giant, which
produced my Boba Fett.
-And what about other companies?
-I used to collect mostly
Gentle Giant, I collected busts and statuettes.
When I bought everyone I wanted
, I switched to other companies,
Attakus and Sideshow. By this moment I've collected
everything I want by Gentle Giant, but they keep
making new dioramas, statuettes
,premium format figures or lifesize figures.
-As far as I understand they are not in a hurry, like as Hasbro with their
action-figures, It takes much
time to make one of these figures, doesn't it?
Yeah, of course, they can't make new so quickly.
-And what is their beauty? Most of them
all limited, aren't they? -Yes, they are.
-And each one has individual number.
-Yes, but the number is different, some has
400 units, some 200 from someone or 1.5 thousand or
even more. -Uh-huh. But it is nice
to have a figure with ...
-Well, of course it is! -Any number, like 65.
-Yeah, it's nice to have one of the 200 figures of the whole world.
-But the most important thing about them is not their price or
the details or their
limited edition, in fact,these are
true works of art,
like this Vader.
-And now - Q&A!
Maxim Yatsushkevich asks: Who do you think has made
the biggest contribution into the development of "Star Wars"
except for Lucas, because he set the direction of
all this movement. -Well, yes. Do you have
any opinion? -Timothy Zahn, of course.
Yes, Timothy Zahn created the Expanded Universe
in 1991, revived her, and set 0:18:01.220,0:18:05.070 the direction of post-Endor era.
And James Luceno did a significant
contribution. -Andrei Frolov asks
How old are the younglings, which become Padawans?
Ahsoka Tano became a Padawan very early, at the age of 16.
-Well, actually it's not very clear what Andrew has in mind, right?
-It's too late than too early.
-16 is too late to become a Padawan.
Usually at the age of 12-13 years. Till 14.
- Dave Walverton in his "Jedi Apprentice"
books wrote about it. If a young Jedi doesn't manage to find
a master till he or she is 14,he or she will be sent to gather crops.
-This is an Agri College by the Jedi Order!
-Mikhail Belousov asks what do you think about the differences
in Russian translations, Di- Istrebitel',
stands for TIE-fighter.
Well, it is short for "twin ion
engine." -We have a translation SID-Istrebitel'
-which stands for "Twin Ion Engine" in Russian -And DEE!
-And DEE - "TIE" in bad translation.
-"Double-Ion" in Russian. -Yes.
-Or "Ion Engine", it is unclear
what was meant, when "Eksmo" translated
Star Wars books. And table of translations variations
existed, which was used by the fan-translators
and that is why, it is now believed that fan translations
are much better that the official
Russian translations. -The next question is from Ahsoka
Tano: Beloved Nikolai and Eugene
I won't survive, if I don't ask this question
and know the answer, if Chewie appeared for the first time
in the end of the third season of the cartoon "The Clone Wars"
then how old was he in "New Hope"?
-When Episode 4 was in production, it had been known
that Wookiees' life span is very long
and Chewbacca was 200 years old.
-So, it's time for the prizes,
this is our humble prize fund
and now we will choose the winner and the prize for him or her.
-I like the question about translation.
Indeed, this is a very interesting question,
asked by Michael Belousov. And we can give Michael
a figure ... pilot figure. it is not TIE fighter pilot,
but a ... Clone-pilot in a black
flying suit. -As far as I know,
the helmet can be removed. Let's try. Yep!
-Participate in our contests and win prizes!
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Join our group, "like", tell your friends
about us. -Thank you and may
the Force be with you!