TV: Six Million Dollar Man

"Steve Austin, astronaut. A man barely alive. Gentlemen, we can rebuild him. We have the technology. We have the capability to build the world's first bionic man. Steve Austin will be that man. Better than he was before. Better, stronger, faster."

Wow! I loved that show. Steve Austin was partly man and partly robot. Not only did he have robotic parts but he was like a super-hero. He could run really fast and lift giant rocks. He had this cool eye that could zoom in on anything.

I watched this show in prime time. I had the toys. Steve Austin was as tall as a GI Joe. Or what we collectors today call 12 inch Action Figure. I played with him along with the inflatable command center while I watched the show. The command center was huge. I remember crawling inside so I could seat Steve at the chair and work the tiny cables and switches the electronic station had. It had to be big as I know it took forever to blow the dang thing up. The doll...um...action figure had this small view finder on the back of his head so you could look through his bionic eye. And if you rolled up his rubber skin on his bionic arm, I could take out these little chip boards or the actual "bionics". He even came with the infamous red running suit. I had the bionic capsule, too. It was this rocket shaped canister that Steve could go inside and it folded out to be a bionic table if I remember right.

I don't think I had any of the other characters--as I know there was a Oscar Goldman and a Bionic Woman version too. And no, I don't have these toys today. These must have been sold in one of our yard sales in the very early 80s.

I've watched the show since and still find it entertaining. I even watched the Bionic Marriage of Steve and Jamie Summers when I was twenty-something.

There's been rumor of a Six Million Dollar Man reboot for many years. At one time it was going to be a Kevin Smith movie, then it turned into a big budget comedy for Jim Carrey. I would love for this to be remade like the new Star Trek movie but you have to do it serious with a big nod for the old show. Granted, I think if the show was adjusted for today's dollar, it would be the Six Billion Dollar Man!

White Sands!

White Sands!

I look at the photograph in the big leather photo album and marvel at the past. I'm wearing green shorts with white stripes on the sides, a light blue T-shirt with a Star Wars iron-on on the front, and knee socks with dorky red stripes. The seventies were odd, but hold memories. It appears in the picture that I'm in the middle of a Minnesota winter, but I tell my friends I'm not. They laugh at my fashion sense. I grin and think back to that image...
Afternoon sun burns bright. Its red soul standing sentinel in the sky. Warming and lighting the day. I look out upon the national park. A gypsum crystal sea awaits, blinding and sparkling in an ocean of endless dunes; waves of sand fill the horizon. I dream of childhood ventures. I dream of family get-togethers.
The temperature rises and I wipe tear drops of sweat from my brow. I'm amazed this winter wonderland exists in the heat of summer. I move my tennis shoes out into the desert covered with snow that never melts and I explore this undiscovered country. I wonder how this appeared to Cortez, to the Spanish, to the French in a time long ago. The edge of the desert glowing with a halo of pure heavenly light. It must have taken their breaths away and brought them to their knees in prayer.
Blue-green, rocky, sharp mountains stand watch over the kingdom of imagination. I stroll through this world and get lost among the dunes. North, south, east, west are forgotten. I look above my head to see only large smoke gray clouds. Puffed like popcorn by mother nature, those clouds become heavy and rain pellets fall. Not a shower, not a sprinkle. The hot air evaporates the water before it has a chance to hit the ground. Only a drop or two stains the sand. I hope it doesn't rain (although I love the rain; the way it washes the dust from the air). My mother calls me back to the picnic table.
Across this sea of sand, small islands grow. Islands of Yuccas. Each a platoon of slender shafts, with their yellow blossoms and emerald, razor bayonets standing at noble attention. I respect them. And I envy them. They never leave this spectacular place. Forever standing at home. I see my mother and grandmother setting the picnic table. The tables are old with arched canopies, some green, some yellow, like crescent moons. Uncle Mike lights the small, charred, black barbecue grill. I look back at my trail of footprints in the sand.
Once an ocean. Now, a valley of gypsum deposits. A beautiful way to go out, I think. Time lost; past and present; pages of time. I swim, dive and run in this forgotten sea. Looking for Easter eggs, chasing and surfing the wandering dunes. The smell of flame-kissed burgers floats to my nose. Cousins sit on the green '66 Rambler, parked next to the splintered table. Music squeaks out of an old AM/FM radio. Probably something by the Partridge Family. Ice cream oozes out of a pink carton, drips, forming a stinky pond beneath the weathered wood. Can we eat it now before it melts away? My mother slaps my hand back; the spoon drops to the bench.
Now, I'm all grown up. And, I hope to return to this place often, when the future seems so uncertain. The world awaits and I fear it. But in this place I will be happy, always remembering my past because that was when life was easiest. I will remember it by many names: New Mexico's most "enchanted land", a blinding wonder; Oz of the soul; Zia's promised land, of eternal snow -- White Sands!

* * *
Christopher V. Whitfield
--1999 (revised)

TV: Emergency!

I remember this show as Emergency 51. Most likely because the Station and Truck number was 51 and the show was named Emergency!. The child mind is sometimes an interesting one. This show has to be in my list of all time favorite shows mainly because I remember watching this show not only in the 1970s when it ran in prime-time but also in the syndication re-runs on KTLA in the early 80s. Not only do I remember watching this show but I had the toys. Yep, they had toys for Emergency! and unfortunately I don’t have them any more. I wish I did.

The show was exciting. The guys DeSoto and Gage would be sitting at the table playing checkers and those awesome tones would sound overhead as the emergency call would come in. The men would run to either Engine 51 or Squad 51. The show was no ER but it had its medical drama along with the action of a rescue show. I always remember DeSoto and Gage calling in the emergency to Rampart and Rampart would always state, “give the victim 100cc saline and transport to Rampart” Then the ambulance would arrive and whisk the poor hurt victim away.

So, I remember my 7th birthday in 1979. My mother and I lived at the old Air Base in Roswell. When Walker Air Force Base closed the housing became rental properties. I don’t recall how long we lived there but it was just in the 1970s and I remember the duplex apartment being cold and dull. The events of my birthday are vague and I remember them to be mixed with happiness, selfishness and depression. I had a few of my friends and cousins over. Not too many children. There’s a picture of all of us in my mother’s photo album. Without going and looking at the photo it was: Shawn, Craig, my cousin Greg and Arnie and me. My cousin Arnie is wearing one of my birthday presents in the photo.

I mainly remember these events as over time, I have seen the photos in the big photo album at my mother’s. The last time I looked at it was when I was showing my soon-to-be-wife in 1998. So forgive me if in the last ten years I have some of the details screwed up.

So the present that Arnie was wearing in the photo was my new Emergency! firefighter role-play gear. It was a red fireman’s helmet with the Emergency 51 logo on the front, a plastic air tank, hose, face mask and tackle box. I was totally excited but I know selfishness and depression kicked in when I had to allow my younger cousin to proceed to wear it for the rest of the party. I’m the birthday kid and I don’t even get a picture of me in my latest present. No…that would be my cousin. Hint the emotions I remember from that time.

TV: Battle of the Planets

I thought I would tell my stories with a common theme. The theme for now is TV shows. I wrote earlier on the joy Land of the Lost brought to my childhood. I thought what about the other shows. I won’t lie; there are a lot of them. So in the effort of not going too crazy I will limit it to those that made and impact on me and those that I still watch today and find enjoyment.

Battle of the Planets (1978) 1979

BOTP was huge when I was only six and seven. I can’t recall the exact day or month I discovered this show but I do know I was in the 2nd grade. How do I know this? I would watch the show after school at Grandma Combs. Oh, she wasn’t my grandmother. Heck, we weren’t even related. She was the lady that watched me and a few other kids after school. Yet she insisted we all call her Grandma Combs, so we did. Today, that might raise some eyebrows but back then, we didn’t care.

TV watching at Grandma Combs was a unique affair. There was only one television and usually it needed to be shared by several children so everyone had to agree on the show. I was lucky that we got to watch BOTP every other day while the in-between days was the Flintstones…or was it the Tom and Jerry. I can never really remember. But I do remember that Travis and I would always demand BOTP in the afternoons. The show was on KCOP out of Los Angeles. Our local cable provider back in those days offered a whopping 13 channels of content. Four of those channels were from the LA market-- KTTV, KTLA, KCOP and KCAL. I still remember all of those channels. KTLA and KCOP were the cool channels as they played afternoon cartoons. KCAL and KTTV played old 50s and 60s sitcoms and old movies. No fun for a boy at 6 years old. Yet, KCOP always had the newer and differnt shows. Please note: this channel will be mentioned again and again. So around 4 pm in the afternoon I would park my body in the floor of Grandma Combs'living room. Sometimes I would lay down with my arms and elbows in a plush pillow. And I'd watch Battle of the Planets. The show would start and I would instinctively hum the theme song. This show was nothing like anything else on television.

The show revolved around five teenage characters that would change from ordinary people into fighting hawk-like ninjas and battle an alien invasion force determined to rule the earth. There was Mark--the pilot and leader; there was Jason--the race car driver; there was Keyop--who talked in stutters and clicks; there was Tiny--the mechanic and pilot of the Phoenix; and then there was Princess--the cute girl of the team. Chief Anderson would alert 7-Zark-7 to gather G-Force. The five members would race back to Center Neptune and if they couldn't, they would rendevous with the Phoenix in flight. The Phoenix was this ultra sleek ship that was heavily armed and could fly at great speeds. And when she did, she would appear like the fiery Phoenix of myth.

Like I mentioned, the show wasn’t like anything I’d ever seen. It was a show about teenagers that were like superheroes and part of this super secret team to protect Earth. Even the animation style and look of the show was different than any other shows on at the time: like Challenge of the Super Friends, Johnny Quest, Scooby-Doo or Dastard and Muttley. I couldn’t get enough of it. My eyes were glued to the TV until the end credits would roll. I even remember some of the TV commercials that would air at the same time. Kenner would run Star Wars figure ads and there was always the commercial for a Hot Wheels track.

Mark, Jason, Princess, Keyop and Tiny didn't have powers every day. They would have to transform into their hawk-like persona. They would do this via a wrist device and shouting the word, “Transmute!”. They would lift their arm and bring it in front of their face in a sideways "V". "Transmute!" The screen would shimmer and have a kaleidoscope look and they would turn into the birds of prey. Mark was Eagle, Jason was Condor, Keyop was Sparrow, Princess was Swan and Tiny was Owl. My mother had bought me a Star Wars digital watch sometime around then (which I still have today…ok…I’m a pack rat) and I would pretend my watch was the transmute device that Keith and Jason used. I would contort my arm and make the same sideways "V" and yell “Transmute!”. I begged my mother to sew my a cape and costume that looked like their outfits, but she never did. So my imagination was the only solution. I would ride my bike and pretend it was the jet Mark flew to make the tail of the Phoenix. It would be about another 5-6 years before I would become mesmerized by a cartoon. That show would be Robotech. It would be Robotech that introduced me to what I had no idea of in 1978-79 that BOTP was an import of Japanese animation. Nor did I know that it had a different plot and was re-dubbed. Nor would I know that 7-Zark-7 was not in the original Japanese show, Science Ninja Team Gatchaman. 7-Zark-7 was created by the American producers to give the show more of a kids appeal. And he helped hide the edited out violence.

It was the year 2001 and Rhino was releasing BOTP on DVD. I, without hesitation, bought all the DVDs and watch them to this day. They never got around to releasing all 85 episodes. I think they only got about 36 released before Rhino stopped releasing them. Today, the original show Gatchaman is on DVD and I acquired those. I like to watch the original version too. Funny thing is, it has the same theme song just different lyrics.

Memories…..

Great Joy and Great Sadness

My grandmother passed away 10 years ago last January. Sadly, I didn’t realize it was ten years ago until I started hearing the buzz about the ten year anniversary of The Phantom Menace.

TPM had been such a big thing to me back in 1998 and 1999. The excitement of a new Star Wars movies was on everyone's mind. So, it was a real shock when I got that phone call late one night that my grandmother’s health was failing and my mother had checked her back into the hospital. She warned me that this might be the time to prepare for the worse although I didn't want to hear it. I wouldn't hear it. In my own rationale, I knew she would get better. She had done so in the past. See, she battled several health issues and cancer for about three years before that fateful phone call. All those times before, she got better and went back home. Yes, deep down, I knew she wasn’t that strong independent woman that had raised three kids on her own after her husband died early in life in mid-1966.

Back in the summer of 1998, I took my soon-to-be wife down to meet the family. It was that summer (and the only time) my wife met and spoke with my grandmother. At the time, she was spending a few days in the hospital and recovering from the latest treatments of her cancer. We, the family, knew she couldn’t go back home to her small apartment in Alamogordo, so it was up to me and the rest family to assist in moving her into my mother's place in Roswell. In between trips to the hospital, and with nothing better to do in New Mexico, I took my soon-to-be-wife to all the famous locales. We went to Carlsbad Caverns and White Sands. On the way back from White Sands, I stopped in Alamogordo and at my grandmother’s apartment. I had a Nissan truck at the time and I was going to take a few things back to Roswell that she needed and she insisted I take a few things back home with me--like the table, chairs, microwave and some dishes--all to start the new life with my soon-to-be-wife. As we finished loading up the truck, I told my wife that I needed to go back inside for a few seconds. My excuse was to make sure we got everything and lock up. Yet, my sole intent was to simply reflect. That day would be the last time I stood or sat in my grandmother’s apartment. It was the home she had made for herself for as long as I could remember. I truly don’t have any true memories of her other homes (the photos from the 70s tell me I was there but I can't remember them.) When I think of my grandmother’s house, it was that little one room apartment in Alamogordo. The apartment that so many things happened. In that apartment we watched the Space Shuttle Columbia land at White Sands Missle Range. It was that apartment that I drew countless sketches of super-heroes. It was that appartment that helped define my life as every summer I would spent many days there.

The earliest memory of that apartment would be the summer she moved in. I remember that summer very clearly. I was 9 years old and spending the summer with my grandmother as I so often did. Yet this summer she was relocating back to Alamogordo. A few weeks earlier, she had signed the paper work on the apartment and now she was able to move in. I helped her load up the car and we drove to Alamogordo. We arrived a day early so we had to stay the first night in a motel. I still remember the motel too. It was the Satellite Inn in Alamogordo. I remember the neon sign that was a planet with a bunch of star-like satellites encircling around it. We picked it mainly for its Sci-Fi reference. The room was nothing special, but I do remember begging my grandmother for a couple of quarters because the bed was one of those vibrating kind. I had never been on a vibrating bed. I still remember the coin box that was next to headboard. It looked like those you find on the penny horse at King Soopers. Long story short, she moved in and it would begin a long history of summers I would spend with her in that apartment.

It was the apartment that I sat in the floor under a fan reading comic books. I loved Alamogordo for one reason: it had a awesome newsstand that had hundreds of cool things. I remember going into town (that’s what she always called it) and going to the Yucca Newsstand. It was the only place that had hundreds of comics in wire racks. It sold coins and paperbacks too. I can still smell it--the smell of printed paper and tobacco. It also sold pipe tobacco and supplies. It was that newsstand that I saw my very first images of the new Star Wars movie called Return of the Jedi. It was an image of a incomplete Death Star and a Star Destroyer. The image was on the cover of the movie's collector magazine. My grandmother bought it for me. And I still have it to this day. I would later go back there to buy the comic adaptations of Return of the Jedi and to buy other Star Wars comics. I bought the ROTJ novelization there. I bought the ROTJ poster magazine there. It was my favorite store while I was that age. Not until a store called Greenspray Books did I love such a store. It saddens me that I wasn’t able to go back to that newsstand before it closed. If the stories are true, it closed around 2000, only a short time after my grandmother died.

So many Star Wars memories focus around my grandmother. She was the person who drove me to Kmart back in the Summer of 1983 to buy my first ROTJ action figure. It was a Gamorrean Guard. I still have it to this day (along with all my childhood SW action figures). Why I bought the Gamorrean Guard I do not know. I guess I thought the pig dude looked cool and he came with that neat meat clever-like ax. Seriously, to be more realistic, I think that was the only figure they had at the time. And I was determined to buy a ROTJ figure that day. Thus, it had to be a character from ROTJ and on a ROTJ card. Even late in 1983, the store still had dozens of the Empire Strikes Back carded figures on the shelf. Most being characters from Star Wars but on an ESB cardback.

Thus, the reason I forge this tale, is to honor my grandmother. She had so much to do with my early Star Wars memories. She entertained my Star Wars fascination then, and even when I became an adult. I wish I could have shared some stories of the new movies with her. The stories of my friends and I standing in the rain and lines at Celebration. The rushing out at midnight to buy toys. The seeing TPM five times in one day on May 19th. 1999 was definitely a very notable year--it saw the release of a new Star Wars prequel movie and my grandmother's death. It was a huge stamp in my yearbook of life. It was a time of both great joy and great sadness. I shall never forget. I remember those times not only for me, but for her...

Rain vs. Klingons...a Celebration Flashback.

I mentioned earlier that listening and watching the rain inspired me to remember back to the first Star Wars Celebration. For the record, Celebration back in 1999 was plagued by three days of nothing but rain. At a traditional convention, inside a convention center, this would have no effect. Yet, Star Wars Celebration was a mixed venue. It was inside an aircraft hanger, now a local air museum and several large tents erected in a vacant field across from the museum’s small parking lot.

So, on my way to work, while spending Memorial Day weekend with of on-and-off again rain for three days, I make this assumption to myself that perhaps this is one of those rain storms that comes every ten years. It would make sense. Within a few weekends of the tenth anniversary of Celebration, we have this long weekend of rain. If that is the case, then this is good news as we need the rain as Colorado has been in a drought for the last few years. Although most that attended Celebration will complain and whine about the rain, I wouldn’t have changed that weekend a bit ten years ago. It made it memorable. Actually, I don’t have any major complaints for the event. Yes there was rain, massive lines and a poor venue, but I would trade any average weekend to go back. Thus, this brings me to the very few complaints I had. Those being:

1. The security. This would be my number one complaint. The security company hired for the event had only been hired a few days prior to the event. See, the original plan was not to have “security” per se. Instead it would be manned by volunteers and paid employees of the Fan Club. Yet, a few weeks prior our area was whacked with the Columbine tragedy and every one was fearful. Just like the Sith want. So, the Fan Club hired a security agency that actually works security at heavy metal concerts. So those punks were expecting the worse. They thought we’d all be drunk, high or carrying weapons. None of those things ever happened mind you. This is a geek festival not a biker gang reunion. I had my own run in with these jerks when they tried to confiscate my friend’s and I's lightsaber hilts. They were made from aluminum and looked like a lightsaber. Yet they interpreted these as weapons. --Only if I beat you with it! After arguing with these guys for about ten minutes and demanding a convention employee assist in the issue, they were told ease up on this one side of the weapon policy. And for the record, the weapon policy at this Celebration was much much more strict than at any other Celebration and we had Columbine to thank for that. Basically, no blasters of any kind were allowed at the Celebration. I'm thankful that didn't hold true for the other Celebrations. Enough of that.

2. Pepsi. Wow. Really, how could one complain about Pepsi. My wife has a heart condition and cannot have sodas with caffeine. Pepsi was one of the major sponsors of the event and of Star Wars that year. You couldn’t go from one corner of the convention to the other without being hit with advertising and samples. One of the Pepsi reps overheard my wife complain that Pepsi had no products with “no caffeine”. To which the rep became over protective of Pepsi and besieged my wife with statements that Pepsi had many “no caffeine” products. The issue my wife had was not Pepsi in general but the Pepsi products at Celebration as all of them were caffeinated versions. I guess they wanted us all alert and awake. Even a simple Sierra Mist selection would have been nice but nah-noooo!

3. And the third complaint was...was....ummm.... the Klingons. Yeah the Klingons that crashed the party on Sunday afternoon. I know this complaint cant be held accountable to the event promoters… or can it? Maybe they should have seen them coming and asked them to leave. Then again, it was funny to see how much Star Trek bashing they got. Now that I recall this, I think they were only around a few hours…mmm…I wonder why. Dorks!

So that was the worst parts of Celebration. The things that stick out most are walking through the Archives and seeing original models and props for the first time in my life, getting my picture taken with a life sized Darth Maul and a life sized Jar Jar, seeing Anakin’s podracer, seeing the life sized (sorta 2/3's scale) model of the X-wing for the first time, interacting with the fans, seeing panels with Ray Park and Warrick Davis, seeing a fan that had such a good Darth Maul costume on I thought it was Ray Park himself, sitting in the dining tent and eating a lunch of Pizza Hut and KFC in little con boxes and having Anthony Daniels walk the line and stop in front of me to chat for a few seconds.

Yes, that weekend holds true as one of the best of my life. Its only match would be the weekends of Celebration II, Celebration III and Celebration IV. Runner ups would be San Diego Comic Con and my trips to Disneyland and Disney World, but that's for another story later...

When I was young, "Lost" meant "Land of the Lost"...

So I wake up this morning and flick the Bravia on to watch some TV as we eat breakfast. Browsing the HD channels, I rest on Sci-fi to find they are playing Land of the Lost. Not just one episode, but a whole marathon of episodes. Nothing but Land of the Lost, all day!

My wife and I immediately reconnect with the show. Being the same age, we experienced many things at the same time as one another; although we didn't know each other as children. So, with that, I'm thinking this show was much more popular than I remember. I thought it was one of those forgotten or unknown cult shows that very few remember, like the Tomorrow People or You Can't Do That On Television. Land of the Lost, or LOTL, ran from 1974-1976. A bit too early for us to consciously remember it in first run broadcast. Thus, that means we definitely watched LOTL in reruns. Without doing the research, I'm going to assume I saw the reruns via one of the independent channels out of Los Angeles; I'm thinking KCOP or KTLA played the show on Saturdays--late Saturday mornings after the current shows had ended. Shows like Smurfs and Spider-man and His Amazing Friends. I'm guessing I was about 9 or 10 at the time, better stored in my memory. That would put the time around 1980-1981. I may have some earlier memories of the show, dating back into the 1970s, but only vague ones like a whisper of a ghost.

What I do remember from the show, along with the Sleestaks, Chaka, and the cheesy video effects, was the character Holly. Boy do I remember Holly. I can honestly say I had the biggest crush on her when I was little. This crush was different than the crushes I had on Anne Lockhart and Heather Thomas. This was a girl that was the same age as me thus making the crush a bit more personal. In my mind, she wasn't much different than the girls in my own grade school class. I couldn't tell you what she had that Sissy P———, Jamie S——— or Elizabeth F——— didn't have. Maybe it was her blond hair in braided pigtails (a hold out of Cindy Brady) or her smile with those puffy chipmunk cheeks. I'm sure it wasn't the fashion sense of a red plaid shirt and those burgundy pants. I guess it was unexplainable. My wife gives me a strange look when I tell her this story. Oh well...

So, I tell my daughter, who is now going on 10 years old, that I watched this show all the time when I was her age. I tell her about the scary Sleestaks and the dinosaurs. We begin to watch it for a while and I ask her how she likes it so far. She looks at me and says "it's pretty good but the dinosaurs look really fake." I had to laugh and agree. She also reminds me there is a movie coming out and I have to remind her that this show came first and the movie is a big Hollywood revival movie. Yes, the original show didn't have the special effects we take for granted today. Yet it still had magic. It's timeless. I would be lying if I didn't say the show had an impact on how I turned out or how it had an impact on my youth. I wonder if the movie will do the same for kids today. Most likely not. And unlike some shows that I enjoyed as a child, I'm still enjoying this one as I watch it again. Perhaps, it's because of the memories it's igniting from my youth.

Stormtroopers Here?

With today's cool and refreshing rain showers and the mild thunderstorms, I started thinking back to the first Star Wars Celebration. It was during that weekend that we got three days of intense rain.

So over ten years ago, my wife, our friend Lance and myself were preparing for the first Star Wars Celebration. We had spent a few weeks, if not a couple months, buying prop items and working over a sewing machine creating our first Jedi costumes.

During that process, we had also acquired DL-44 "Han Solo" Blasters and replicas of the belt and holster Luke wore in the Empire Strikes Back. We were not planning on wearing these as part of our Jedi costumes but we had thought about working on a smuggler or rebellion inspired style costume. The costumes would never be constructed but we did have a short opportunity to wear the blasters.

The rain had started Thursday evening. It wouldn't quit until Sunday morning. So that night, Lance and I were going to go over to the Wings of the Rockies and scout out the Celebration. Not sure if the Celebration was official opened for business that Thursday night, but we went out there anyways. I had thrown on my red water-proof Eddie Bauer Weather Edge shell. It had the streaming effect of Han's parka from ESB yet without the weight of a full winter coat. Along with the jacket, I decided to give the boot spats a try and to top the outfit off, I strapped on the DL-44 and belt. Not an official costume of sorts, but I felt like some kind of Spice Trader or Bounty Hunter. With communication prior to Lance picking me up (to head over to the Celebration), Lance had put something very similar on as well, only his jacket was blue.

As we arrived, the place was fairly quiet. There was some small activity of venders setting up. We walked right through the main doors and I don't recall anyone wanting to see our badges although we were wearing them just in case. I remember walking in that night. The scene was not that of a busy convention. But the first thing I saw that evening were Stormtroopers. I turned and looked at Lance and spoke, "Stormtroopers here?". The stood in a small alcove off to the right of the main doors. We were in awe. These weren't some cheap Halloween costumes we were looking at. They had to be from Lucasfilm-they were that good. I had never been so close to Stormtroopers of this coolness and quality. The last Stormtrooper costume I remember seeing in person was the plastic jumpsuit and mask I had when I was 8. Yet, here, in front of my 26 year old eyes, were Stormtrooper costumes that were made out of real armor-platic armor anyways. Several of the Stormtroopers were clean and a couple were dirty with shoulder pauldrons. Not only were there real Stormtroopers, there was real Sandtroopers too!

I remember asking one of the guys, where did you get the armor? He said that there was a special outfit that could provide it. He said he was part of an organization called Vader's Legion. So, they weren't official Lucasfilm Stormtroopers. This gave me hope of getting my own Stormtrooper outfit. When I asked how much something like stormtrooper armor cost, he replied with a cool "$1000." My hopes and dreams of becoming a stormtrooper were immediately deflated. There was no way I could afford that. So all I could do was dream.

So, one of the very first memories of Star Wars Celebration was that of Stormtroopers and the real ones that were standing in that small alcove inside the museum's doors. Before the weekend was out, I would even see a black stormtrooper and Snowtroopers. It was that awe and envy that made that weekend a series of great memories.

Oh, and I recall the question that I fielded many times that night, "what character are you?"

To be a Jedi...

Star Wars Celebration was a few months away and our friend Lance decided that if we were going to a Star Wars Celebration, we were going to go in style and dress like Jedi. We were to be Jedi! I was a bit skeptical but was willing to give it a try. I really hadn't done the costume thing before but thought it would be fun. Not to mention, Lance was willing to be generous enough to buy many of the key components. He had found a few places on the internet. Finding a place called Park Sabers, Lance purchased my wife and I professional brushed aluminum lighsaber hilts. He had purchased a version that looked a lot like Luke's from the Return of the Jedi. I went for a style more Darth Vader-ish as I thought I was a darker Jedi. My wife's lightsaber was a unique style and was quite nice.

Along with the lightsabers, he had found a place that sold costume pieces. I can't remember what the place was called but I think it had "star" in the name. The one thing that a Jedi needs is a robe or cloak. We proceeded to buy two of their master Jedi robes. I had felt a little guilty for him buying everything so I pitched in on the cloaks. Although we didn't think of this at the time, the robes were no different than a standard monk style robe. The sleeves were too narrow. The hoods were way too small. And they didn't have the big baggy style that Obi-wan was seen to have in TPM. Yet, at the time, we thought they were the coolest things we ever wore. I remember the day they arrived. We had gone out on my apartment's balcony and put them on and practiced our Jedi walk and ominous hooded look. We even got a few looks from the neighbors.

Finding affordable boots was an issue yet the costume site had boot spats that made us appear to be wearing cool Jedi boots yet were much cheaper and velcro'd in the back. I was lucky that I had a pair of dress shoes that had seen better days and matched the color of the boot spats perfectly. I look back on that boot spat idea and think we must have looked so stupid yet I still have those boot spats in a box in the garage.

With boots (sorta), lightsaber (along with a replica belt in the style of old Obi-wan and Han Solo) and a Jedi cloak, there was only one thing missing. I was missing the inner robes. I figured I could use an old pair of khakis for my pants but the shirt needed to look like a Jedi's inner robes. The only solution was I needed to make one. I had never made a costume in my life but that day I went to the fabric store and bought some cool fabric. I didn't know how to sew thus I bought a pattern for a karate uniform. It looked a lot like a Jedi inner robe. With a few modifications, we made it work. We didn't even have a sewing machine so we asked my wife's aunt if we could borrow hers. Having never used a sewing machine before, I had to learn fast. My wife and her aunt were quite surprised that I actually wanted to sew my own costume. It took us a few weeks but we finished them and we were quite proud of ourselves as well.

Flash forward a couple more weeks and its Sunday, the last day of Celebration. We had spotted a cute young girl wearing the Slave Leia outfit. We wanted a picture with her but we were afraid to ask because we didn't want to look like a couple of pervy guys. In the end, we didn't need to ask at all. That afternoon, she actually approached us and wanted a picture with us and our Jedi costumes. She told us that we had done a very nice job and she had seen us the day before but hadn't had the opportunity to stop and ask. We got our photos with her and she got her's with a couple of cool Jedis. I still have that picture to this day.

Yet, I will admit, our costumes sucked back then. As I look at that photo with the slave Leia, I see every flaw. They weren't very movie accurate and the robes were all wrong, along with the sashes, etc. It was this irritation with those costumes that I would spend 2 years researching and making better Jedi costumes that would debut at Star Wars Celebration II. To this day, I stand by those CII costumes to be very accurately done. I still break it out and wear it from time to time. It did get a minor modification for Celebration III yet it has been very much unaltered since the day we sewed them in 2001. Thus we became Jedi in 1999 and it was the first time I costumed...

Nothing but Star Wars

So, this whole week I've thought nothing but Star Wars. I watched The Phantom Menace 5 times on May 19th. I have watched it a few more times since. Ok, like every night. I wasn't watching it intently but it was on in the back ground while I wrote these blogs and worked on other things. I can say that it was a pretty good week. It was fun going back in time and remembering the details of ten years ago.

I have also pulled out my memory box, per se, and found all my Star Wars Celebration souvenirs. I found the program, the badges, the freebies and the photos. It has inspired me to complete a memory-style book so I can appreciate these things easier. I have a big leather binder with all my photos from Celebration III and IV yet Celebration and Celebration II have been overlooked for too long. And right now most of the souviners are just sitting in a box and not being enjoyed.

I thought I would share a few things I still have in the box. And one in particular. Inside the box, I have two Darth Maul convention badges, 2 copies of the Program Listing and Program Guide, a couple Pepsi bags with draw strings and one pack of Farley's Episode I Mega-Duals Galactic Berry Fruit Snacks. These things really bring back some great memories.

So during the Summer of 1999, my friends and I must have bought a few dozen boxes of these Farley's Mega-Duals Galactic Berry Episode I Fruit Snacks. We liked to call them Jedi Snacks . They come fat free with a high source of Vitamins C, E and Beta Carotene. The bag has a picture of little Anakin with his pod racer helmet and the legendary red laser blast logo with Star Wars Episode I. The bag is still sealed but I can feel that these little fruit snacks are now as hard as little rocks. But I can still literally taste these things like it was yesterday. These Jedi Snacks were in our Jedi belt pouches on opening day. I can remember eating a couple packs during each viewing of TPM. I took them on vacation. I took them to the Ren Fair. I took them to work. I loved these things. They really aren't any different than the fruit snacks that you find today in the grocery isle but these were the first Star Wars ones. I remember there being two different kinds. There was the standard flavors and then the Mega-Dual. I must not have saved a bag of the standard flavors. I remember they were in the shapes of Obi-wan, Jar Jar, Anakin and Darth Maul. If memory serves, the Regular Flavors box was blue with a Battle Droid on it. The boxes were everywhere, Walmart, Safeway and King Soopers. Like I said, I must have bought a few dozen that summer. Why I saved one bag? I don't remember but I'm glad I did.

I remember when Episode II came out, I so craved some Jedi Snacks but couldn't find any. I don't think they ever made them to be honest. There was the rumor that many things that were made and promoted during TPM wasn't done for AOTC (Attack of the Clones) because so many companies had lost money on the over hype and promotional items of Episode I. The good news would be that when Episode III was released, Kellogg's had their version of Jedi Snacks. I immediately felt like a kid again and went out and bough box after box. Again, I took them to Celebration III and to the opening day screenings. They were always in my Jedi belt pouches. I don't think I saved any of those snacks save one lone bite size snack. It was a green Yoda head. It's as hard as a rock today too. I do remember saving one bag though and when Episode III was 1 year old, I remember breaking it open and eating them in remembrance of that anniversary. I also remember turning and saying to my wife, "when gone these are, the last of the Jedi Snacks they would be..."

Good memories...

The Jab

So, I was listening to a Phantom Menace remembrance podcast today and the show had numerous voice-mails and MP3s of fans calling/sending in their Phantom Menace memories. After listening to them, I started thinking. While everyone stated how much they remember standing in lines for tickets or the actual first screening, and how they look back on the movie with fondness and the time with sentiments, they almost always follow or precede their statements with a jab at the movie. And, this got me wondering if anyone truly feels the movie is a great Star Wars movie. But because of the popularity of prequel hate, they feel (by way of obligation or in the spirit of looking cool) they have to slam the movie at the same time. Even the podcast's host (who sounds to be a huge fan of Star Wars) went in loving the movie. (sidebar: I found it coincidental that, like myself, he saw the movie literally five times in the first day.) Yet,by the end he stated that he slowly lost his appreciation for it and he found himself bored and disenchanted with the movie as a whole. So much to the point, that he didn't watch it for a couple years afterward. I unlike the host do not nor did not share the same opinion. After five viewings, I was still very much impressed and loved the movie.

I will admit there are parts of the film I dislike. There is a character I prefer not be so animated or comical. Yet, this is Star Wars! We should appreciate it. Sorta like a wife. You take Star Wars in the best of times and in the worst of times, in sickness and in health, etc etc. Again, as Star Wars fans, in an effort of being taken seriously, is it a must to throw down some prequel hate?

Which brings me to another point as well. This movie was so hyped by the 16 years of waiting and anticipation, that regardless of the final product, I think the fan community would have still torn the movie down. Everyone had their own prequel built in their mind. Everyone had their own events mapped out and once we got the official version, it didn't match our own imagination thus it clearly was out of place. One of the most common criticisms of the movie is that it didn't feel like a Star Wars movie. I disagree with this statement. I think it feels very much like a Star Wars movie but a Star Wars movie created by a storyteller who now had a much much bigger pallet of colors to work from. If GL had made Episode I in 1986 or 1989 as some of the original rumors were back then, perhaps it would have felt more like the OT. The guilty party is that of modern film technology. There was this thing called CGI that didn't exist in 1983. The scenes were being shot digitally instead of on 35mm film stock. Scenes were being edited in a computer vs. an editing table. So in a "certain point of view" the movie felt different on a technical level but the magic of Star Wars was still present. There's a ton of woulda-coulda've suggestions when it comes to the prequels. My key "what should have been done" is GL should have made the movies as if he was in 1986. Challenged himself to film the movie like he would have in the 1980s with all those technological challenges. Then only use the CGI and digital technology only after to enhance the movie at the editing stage. But EPI was pre-visualized way too early as a big test vehicle of ILM's might.

So with all this pondering, I'm thinking Star Wars fans are simply keeping their true feelings for The Phantom Menace locked deep inside? I'm not afraid to admit when I like something. And I like Episode I! I still watch it several times a year. I still feel the magic when I sit down to watch it. It's a small window into the past--at time machine of sorts--that allows me to literally relive one of the happiest times of my life--the anticipation that was Episode I!

Midnight Madness = Toys!

In continuing my star wars memories, I will briefly give another short Star Wars memoir. This one is about grown men and them racing out to buy toys—action figures!

May 2, 1999. Star Wars Celebration had ended not with a whimper or a bang but sadly with a simple passing moment of time. We were exhausted and dirty. I recall that I had driven home and dropped the wife off. We took quick showers and grabbed bites to eat. I had called my friend Lance and a confirmed the time he’d swing by to pick me up for tonight’s big event. He’d be by around 10:30 PM. With it being only 7ish at the time, I figured I would grab a quick catnap. In a nervous worry I would totally fall asleep and not awake for days, I had set the alarm for 10:15. I dozed with my Star Wars T-shirt, Jeans and ball cap on. As the catnap turned into a full sleep, it was a good thing I had set the alarm. It beeped in that annoying style that made the sound perfect for an alarm clock. I raced out of our apartment and down the stairs to wait for my friend.
He sped through the parking lot in his Jetta a few minutes late but nothing to worry about. We were off. 10:45 PM we decide to hit the Toys R Us on Mississippi and I-225 first. Arriving with five minutes to the TRU, we quickly changed plans. The Toys R Us had a line that went from the front door, around the corner, around the building and down the perimeter of the parking lot. I had never seen so many people lined up at a toy store in the middle of the night before. We ran down some alternate locations. For some reason we decided to cross the street to the Media Play (the store would close in 2007 and the building is now vacant). The good news was there was no line. The doors were open and you could walk right inside. There were about 50 people mingling through the store. I remember that we had total access to all the merchandise and could peruse the books and trinkets. While at the time we thought this very cool, it never dawned on us that when it got closer to midnight to move our purchases to the registers. See, we could look at the stuff and buy the stuff but we had to wait until 12:01 AM so that the store technically hadn’t broke street date on the merchandise. The street date being 5/3/99. In a moment of distraction, we had missed an opportunity to grab our novelizations, CD score and posters and step third or fourth in an already crowed check out lane. As we raced to the registers at 11:45 PM, we had to wait until that moment of 12:01. I remember the girl at the counter kept checking the registers time and when it clicked to 12:01 she quickly used the little laser gun on merchandise as fast as she could.
The unfortunate part was we wouldn’t leave the Media Play until nearly 12:25 AM. That was literally an eternity in Star Wars collecting time. Every second counted in finding Star Wars merchandise and acquiring the most important Star Wars toys. Although Media Play was a great place to find the merchandise and media of The Phantom Menace, they had not action figures. Toys R Us across the street was a failed attempt. I quickly suggested the 24-hour Super Kmart (the store eventually closed in 2003 and is now a Home Depot). It was the store I still worked at part time in the evenings and the store I had worked all though college. The store was 20 minutes away but we ran to the car and raced out of the parking lot as if we were a Pod Racer.
As we drove by the TRU, the line outside had shrunk but there were still people outside. Meaning: there were still some poor fans not even near the figure pegs. How anxious that must felt like.
Twenty minutes later, we had parked in the parking lot of the Super Kmart 4918 in Greenwood Village Colorado. Lance and I nearly sprinted to the toy isles. Yet it was eerily quiet. There was no one around. I quickly picked up a store phone and paged a co-worker who was both a good friend and Star Wars fan. I remember the conversation not even getting past a “hey”. It was simply, “the figures are up here at the east doors, hurry!” We raced to the east doors, the grocery side of the store. There sitting on pallets were dozens and dozens of action figure cases. The sides read: Star Wars Episode I Figure Assortment I Street Date 5/3/99. The stock crew hadn’t even bothered to hang the figures on pegs or shelves. They had just allowed the collectors, the fans, the enthusiasts to pick through the cases. I feared we were too late. There were dozens of empty cases. I quickly found my friend Mark, the co-worker I had paged only moments ago. He saw our disappointed faces. Yet he had foreseen our tardiness in the Force. He hand gestured a “follow me”. We followed. He led us into the back of the store where another pallet sat full of fresh unopened cases of TPM action figures. I quickly grabbed a few cases and snapped the tape with my keys. The feeling was more electric than I had ever experienced.
I had been collecting the action figures for nearly 5 years and I had never felt the rush I felt that night. We grabbed our cases and he walked us back up to the front of the store. He pulled the pallet of new cases behind us. We spent another half hour looking through and confirming we had what we needed and I had my two of each. At the time there weren’t many people looking through the boxes, but I do remember everyone was willing to help a fellow fan find that one figure they needed to complete their collection. I specifically recall pulling at least one Darth Maul out and helping a fellow fan, a fan that had bought his 7-year-old boy out to participate in that memorable night.
So with my two of each, one to open and one to leave sealed—yes, that was the my collector mentality back then—I slowly walked to the registers. I look back on that night with a bizarre fondness, especially since as I don’t buy any of the action figures today. I still clearly remember walking to the check out lanes of that Super Kmart at 1:30 AM feeling like I had just won a lottery, watching dozens of action figures being scanned and carefully placed back into their cases. I even remember swiping my credit card to a tune of $341.72. In addition, that amount didn’t even count toward the nearly $200 I had spent on books and music at the Media Play only an hour earlier. That night was the first Midnight Madness I would experience. And it wouldn’t be the last Midnight Madness either. However, I will say, those nights were some of the most fun I would ever have as a Star Wars fan.

The Phantom Memory of May 19th 1999.

A short memoir about the day Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace was released.

As I began to write this memoir, it nears the exact time, to the minute, that ten years ago, my wife and I (along with a small group of friends and family) sat in a dimly lit movie theater awaiting our first screening of The Phantom Menace. The time was 11:45 PM May 18, 1999.
Flash forward, at exactly 11:43 PM May 18, 2009, I have reclined on my sofa, laptop computer on my…well…lap and I have placed the DVD of The Phantom Menace into the Playstation 3—up-scaled it to 1080p and projected it through my 52 inch Sony Bravia LCD TV—all in attempts to recreate that day in that darkened theater not so long ago. The volume on the home theater is turned up to a thunderous roar. On the other hand, the best it will allow in light of the DVD’s compressed audio in this age of Blu-ray and superior sound technology and not to wake the wife and daughter.
Sitting in that theater, ten years prior, I may have not been thinking as long and hard on the past ten years as I am tonight. However, I know I would have been sitting there wondering if I would ever experience something like that again. Moreover, I for a fact do remember that night!
I remember seeing The Phantom Menace five times in a single day.
I remember, from all corners of the theater, fans chanted out a count down that would rival any on a given New Year’s Eve. I remember we settled back in our seats, gripped our sodas, popcorn bags, overpriced M&Ms and our stainless aluminum lightsaber hilts and held our breaths as we read the Episode I’s now infamous crawl.
Before I can truly recount that memorable day here, I must first back up even further in time. Let’s just say that night would be the culmination of not only months and months of expectation, but would be the pinnacle of anticipation for any given movie:

From the moment in 1994 when George Lucas announced he was writing and working on the first Star Wars movie in over 10 years:
—to the moment in the summer of 1997 when we heard principle photography had begun;
—to racing to the mailbox anxiously looking for and reading the next issue of Star Wars Insider (formally known as the Lucasfilm Insider);
—to the moment I logged onto StarWars.com for the first time to learn the name of the movie we had only known as Episode I for the last year and a half;
—to watching the first official teaser trailer attached to a ridiculous movie called Water Boy in 1998;
—to having my extremely slow Pentium II computer downloading that very same trailer over a 56K modem;
—to setting the VCR (DVRs had yet to be invented to my knowledge) to record Entertainment Tonight to get my first official copy of the trailer that I could watch over and over again on my 27 inch RCA television and nearly wearing out the video tape;
—to researching and sitting at a sewing machine in efforts of creating my very own Jedi costume;
—to sneaking out of work on an extra long lunch hour so I could stand in line with friends to purchase tickets to a movie that wouldn’t be released for another 32 days;
—to the attendance of Star Wars Celebration at the Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum in Denver Colorado;
—to watching the Duel of the Fates music video in a cool and damp tent;
—to watching TV spots and promos with Samuel L. Jackson on Sci-Fi Channel;
—to the point of sacrificing sleep and rushing out at midnight to buy the merchandise, action figures, sticker books, pez dispensers and “making of” books;
—to careful review and reading of the thousands of magazine articles;
—to the hunger for Star Wars news yet with a strong desire to remain spoiler free;
—to buying four copies of a novelization so I could get all the book cover variants;
—to buying a soundtrack yet not even breaking the shrink-wrap;
—to requesting a day off and trying to explain to my boss that it was all in preparation to see a movie we had been waiting for nearly 20 years.

I remember the first Star Wars Celebration. It’s hard not to when I think back to May 19th. (those details will be explored later) However, it was at that very event, where we, the fans in attendance of Celebration, had all hoped we would catch our first true glimpse of The Phantom Menace. I even recall some of us, in our most wild and incredible dreams, fantasizing GL would allow us to see a rough cut of the entire movie. Nevertheless, those were just fanboy dreams.
Like a whisper in the back of my mind, I sometimes worry that I will forget important details of that day, May 19, 1999, a Phantom Memory cursed to be forgotten. Tuesday May 18, 1999 started like any other. I crawled out of bed and shuffled off to work. As hours ticked away, I became more anxious. Excited more than a 10-year-old boy with a new BMX bike. I distinctly remember spending the day listening to my CD box set of Star Wars (ipods were still a few years away). Co-workers had paraded by my desk to inquiry if I had seen the latest news program or morning show that had featured something on this new Star Wars movie. And like teasing playground bullies, they had to poke fun at me standing in line with my lightsaber.
The hours between leaving work and arriving at the theater are missing in my memory hard drive. I do recall getting dressed in my Jedi robes and arriving to the Aurora Century 16 Theater around 9:30 PM that night. The line wasn’t too long. Although my goal was to get there by no later than 9 PM. Yet, tell that to a wife who was nearly eight months pregnant. Memory serves that there were only about 20 people in line when we arrived. I remember asking the person at the front of the line when they made their stake for the coveted spot. They had mentioned an original arrival time of around 6 PM yet found themselves first so they went and grabbed some fast food and returned around 7:30 PM, still to find themselves first in line. I remember them being much more prepared for their long wait in line than us. They had the laid-back lawn chairs, an ice cooler full of refreshments, magazines and board games to past the time. This was nothing compared to the line of Episode II and III where I recall fans pitching tents not only with comfy chairs and sleeping bags but with electricity to run TVs, DVDs and AC. With my tickets in my pocket and fellow friends joining us in line, we began our wait – a two and half hour wait to what we thought at the time was going to be the best Star Wars movie ever! I can’t recall the specifics of all the conversations we had in line from that night but I do know it very rarely deviated from the subject of Star Wars.
I cannot explain the feeling a grown man gets as he awaits the next big Star Wars movie. It clearly is nearly indescribable. The feeling can only be summed up as a mix of anxiety, fear, sorrow and pure enthusiasm. It’s like the night before Christmas morning. You can’t wait to open your presents yet you don’t want it to happen either as the realization hits you just before you fall into a slumber that the electricity of that anticipation will soon be over. The wait for Star Wars: The Phantom Menace had taken months, years and it was slowly coming to an end.
Although it was ten years ago, I do remember standing in that line. Adjusting my Jedi belt and lightsaber, pulling my Jedi robe closer to fight off a cool evening breeze, my wife complaining of tired feet, the flicker of the theater lights, the chatter of dozens of Star Wars conversations, the moment they opened the doors and we rushed in to a ticket taker ripping tickets and the smell of buttered popcorn.
The time was 11:05 PM May 18, 1999. We had rushed into the theater to pick our seats. Surprisingly enough, we claimed very nice ones. Not exactly center center but close enough. I bought our concessions and took pictures of our friends and family. I may have even proclaimed we would be telling this story to our grandkids someday. The theater had quickly filled to capacity. I remember the theater manager assuring fans that two more theaters were being opened for fans to occupy. The excitement wouldn’t end there. Fans chanted Star Wars. Several challenges for lightsaber combat incurred between costumed Jedi and Sith. Three beach balls bounced around the theater as if at a pool party. Only when the 20th Century Fox logo debuted, did the balls stop floating around the theater. I recall there being John Williams music playing on someone’s boom box. Although I don’t understand why, there were several people reading the novelization. I guess some didn’t care about being spoiled. Yet to me it was like knowing the answer to a question you had yet to think of and ask.
I remember the fans bonded that night like old school friends at a class reunion. You couldn’t recall the person exactly nor knew their name yet you inherently knew them, understood them and respected them.
I honestly remember as the lights went down sometime around 11:55 PM, with only about six minutes remaining to 12:01 AM May 19, 1999. I remember those last few minutes as I had a moment that I can only describe as a life changing moment. Similar to an epiphany, it’s that moment where you within a few minutes or seconds you relive your life up until that event. Not so much like a "life flashing before your eyes" as the experience is a good one vs. a bad one. I sat there in that darkening theater and realized how lucky I was to be sitting there. I was going to experience something I couldn't have ever done before. I was going to see the premier of a Star Wars movie. Who'd would have thunk that I would be writing about it in ten years. I hope to be writing about it in 20 or 30 more years. It was in those few minutes that tears welled in my eyes. I wished for the chance to call my grandmother and tell her about the moment. She has listened to hours of phone conversations of me retelling events that were in that month's Insider magazine. This the woman that bought me my first Return of the Jedi figure. But, I couldn’t as I had lost her to cancer in January of that year, 1999. I felt compassion for Steven Curnow, who wouldn’t be able to watch TPM because his life was cut too short by the events of the Columbine shooting. I suddenly felt fear and joy knowing that in a short couple of months, my pregnant wife would give birth to my daughter. I would be a father for the first time. The realization that not only a era of fandom was ending that a new one was beginning—yet this time I was experiencing it as a grown up.
I remember watching as the 20th Century fox logo faded away into those unforgettable blue letters of “A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…” I remember the applause and cheers as the Star Wars logo appeared and quickly pulled back to reveal the crawl.
I remember the awe and magic I felt at 2:30 AM as we slowly walked out of the theater. I remember wanting to stay there all night and recount and discus what we had just seen. But, it was the cold realization that we had another screening beginning in less than six hours encouraged us to go home and catch a few winks of sleep. Lucky for my wife and I that we only lived a ½ mile away.
I remember the plan that morning was to drive back to the theater at 7 AM and get in line for the 8:30 screening. I look back on that now and think I was a bit OCD on the whole idea. Apparently, my mind set was the crowd at the 8:30 AM show would be no different from the 12:01 AM show. My wife still reminds me of that error in my judgment to this day.
I remember we arrived at the theater parking lot around 7:15 AM give or take, we found ourselves the only ones there. I remember worrying that maybe my tickets were incorrect and the next showing was not at 8:30. Thus, we sat in the car and waited. We also had time to shake off the effects of too little sleep. It was sometime around 8 AM when we saw a lone theater employee unlock the doors and gave us our signal it was okay to proceeded in. Tickets were purchased weeks earlier so it was just the theater door and us.
I remember buying a couple sodas and that’s it at the concession stand and walking into an empty theater. I remember that the second viewing was just as exciting as the first. Once the credits ended, we had about 20 minutes to move from one theater to another for our third viewing.
It was between our third and forth screening that we had about 55 minutes for a quick lunch which I remember was at Burger King up the street (duh Star Wars promotions). The fourth viewing began promptly at 2:15 PM. And, I remember the day would conclude with returning to the theater at 7 PM that night for one last viewing minus my tired and very pregnant wife.
I had spent May 19, 1999 in a theater, had watched The Phantom Menace so many times I could already quote dialog. And the funny thing was, I still wanted to see it one more time. I remember seeing my wife’s face grimace as I tried to drag her to another showing. Nevertheless, she was always the loving wife and would smile and endure another screening.
Before the summer of 1999 would end, I remember seeing The Phantom Menace another four times. Whether it was on the huge screen of the United Artists Continental Theater or a run down $1 theater with sticky floors and torn seats, I remember enjoying it each and every time. It was somewhere in there I remember hauling a baby carrier into a darkened theater and looking down at my daughter and saying, “you’re gonna love this movie!”
Thus, this brings me back to writing this memoir.
So, last month, I got this idea. The idea was I would go all out to relive May 19th all over again. It would be in my living room and the movie would be on DVD but it would be great in not only spirit but also tribute. I purposely drank caffeine after 9 PM so I could stay up till midnight on May 18th. I pushed play on the DVD at precisely 12:01 AM. I managed to watch the entire movie before heading off to bed at 2:40 AM. I pulled my aching body out of bed at 7 AM and watched it again at 8:30—this time with a doughnut in my hand.
It’s May 19, 2009. I have watched Star Wars – The Phantom Menace five times. Once with the commentary track on. I even watched the “making of” documentaries and deleted scenes. I will admit the day felt different than it did ten years ago. Perhaps because I spent today alone where as ten years ago I was in the company of friends and family. The displays of emotion were missing—there was no laughter, groans of worry or applause at the final credits. Although I did try to recreate them all.
I wonder where the last ten years went. I will tell you that I sincerely miss them. Although I can’t go back, I know I can at least look back on those ten years and say I remember them as good years. As I write these last few sentences, I watch the sparkle in my daughter’s eye as she is enthralled by the lightsaber duel of Qui-gon, Obi-wan and Darth Maul. She is almost 10 years old, watching TPM with her daddy literally for the first time beginning to end. (I brought her up the ol’ fashion way—Star Wars was New Hope, Empire and Jedi first, then the prequels). I look back and wouldn’t trade those years for anything. Ten years have certainly passed and my body certainly feels a bit different but my mind hasn’t aged a day since. Let’s hope I can say the same about the next ten years…or at least entertain the idea of reliving May 16th 2002 in three years!