To me, it is a western.

Mogorilla · February 12, 2020, 06:51:29 AM

Okay, first things first. I am kind of feeling dirty about even typing this. I was 11 when Star Wars came out. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Thought Empire Strikes Back was dark and showed Vader to be a great villain. Then came Return of the Jedi and things went down from there. To me, Han shot first and all of Lucas's tweeking made everything worse by episode 2, I was done. They did get me to watch Rogue One, as it was described as Guns of Navarone in space. not quite, but better than expected. To top it off, Disney owns it and I am no fan of them either. So (stay on target), a few months ago after yelling at Verizon while I was sitting in Europe without the service I had requested, I was upgraded to unlimited data. This weekend, in the midst of the flu epidemic (Stay on Target!), I was notified this gave me the option to get Disney+ for a year for free. I toyed with ignoring it. But, as the flu progressed, I downloaded it and immediately began watching (finally) The Mandalorian. This is a "Star Wars" universe series that would take place a few years after Return of the Jedi and about 15 years before Episode 7 (not sure what it was). It is developed and mostly written by Jon Favreau who did quite a bit with the Marvel Universe films. It is a Western, plain and simple. It also has elements of Samurai films, which where homaged in spaghetti westerns. Each episode is about 35 minutes long and are a combo of the old TV westerns, spaghetti westerns and movies. It might help to know the Star Wars universe some (I do by association, building is full of nerds) but not necessary either. I recommend it.

Capt Quirk · February 12, 2020, 07:19:38 AM

I consider Mandolorian akin to Adventures In Babysitting, only with space ships and blasters. From feared mercenary to babysitter. Just sad, really

Baltimore Ed · February 12, 2020, 07:25:30 AM

I?m a big fan of the Lone Wolf and Cub samurai series. Very hypertensive.

River City John · February 12, 2020, 08:56:30 AM

Loved The Mandalorian!

I've binged watched the entire series so far, and can't wait to see the next season.
I enjoyed Firefly (and the follow-up movie, Serenity) for the same reason, and it, too, was a homage to the Western genre.

Since we're delving in the realm of Sci-Fi "shoot-em-ups" that harken back to that genre, The Expanse is fabulous! Highly recommend.

RCJ

Mogorilla · February 12, 2020, 08:58:28 AM

I get the adventures in Babysitting reference (nobody leaves this place til they sing the blues), but I focused on the lone wolf and cub similarities. When I hit college, I took three years of Karate and all of my roommates for the last 4 years were guys I met at Karate. Kung Fu and Samurai movies were watched repeatedly, so lots of similarities were noted.

Mogorilla · February 12, 2020, 08:59:19 AM

RCJ, I will have to check out the Expanse. It pops up on my Amazon recommended list often. Thanks!

River City John · February 12, 2020, 09:26:18 AM

Quote from: Mogorilla on February 12, 2020, 08:59:19 AM
RCJ, I will have to check out the Expanse. It pops up on my Amazon recommended list often. Thanks!

Mogorilla,
be patient with it, it's a little confusing in the beginning but really grabs you quickly. Absolutely THE BEST and well rendered special effects of ANY space - based show.

RCJ

Baltimore Ed · February 12, 2020, 01:27:55 PM

I liked the effects on the expanse but soon lost interest in the convoluted storyline. At least to me it was. Firefly is a great series and movie.

Jack Wagon · February 12, 2020, 03:39:01 PM

And another 19th century connection to the Mandalorian besides the story line, he carries a 1894 Bergmann !

Mogorilla · February 13, 2020, 07:46:39 AM

Hi Jack,
I thought it looked familiar. In the original Star Wars, Han Solo's blaster was built on a broom handled mauser. i have always been a fan of those, probably never own one, but still have hopes. One problem was when the whole Cosplay started to take off, people were buying original broom handles and decommissioning them and turning them into HAn's blaster. It really removed some from the market. Thankfully there are one or two companies making bb versions that are more reasonable and lest damaging to the antique gun market to replicate a prop. Hopefully someone will come up with a replica Bergmann as I know two people already building a version of the armor.

Coffinmaker · February 13, 2020, 05:10:46 PM

Yepper Mogo

I've been watching Mandalorian every episode. Absolutely love it. I was heartbroken when Firefly died. Really enjoyed Serenity. Absolutely great SiFy "westerns" you betcha. Deeply in "lust" with Gina Torres and her Mares Leg. Too KOOL!! Jelwel Staite was Uber swell too!!.

Capt Quirk · February 13, 2020, 05:46:19 PM

Quote from: Coffinmaker on February 13, 2020, 05:10:46 PM
Yepper Mogo

I've been watching Mandalorian every episode. Absolutely love it. I was heartbroken when Firefly died. Really enjoyed Serenity. Absolutely great SiFy "westerns" you betcha. Deeply in "lust" with Gina Torres and her Mares Leg. Too KOOL!! Jelwel Staite was Uber swell too!!.

I'm also a huge fan of Firefly, not so much Serenity... But only cuz they killed off Wash and Book. My favorite scene though, was River's fight scene. Amazingly limber little minx.

Mogorilla · February 14, 2020, 12:33:16 PM

We are in discussion of holding another Firefly marathon at work. We did one 3 years ago when some new employees had never heard of it. We have a few more who know nothing of Browncoats or misbehavin or shiny things! Tiime to educate.

Like many other actors who do fight choreography well, I believe Summer Glau had been a dancer previously.

I'll be in my bunk....

Capt Quirk · February 14, 2020, 02:00:47 PM

Ballet dancer

Capt Quirk · February 14, 2020, 02:04:30 PM

It pays to listen to the commentary. What a nerd