The Big Picture: Continuity Wars

[Cpt. Slow]

People are more interested in the Mario talk than in the Star Wars blabber. But my theory is that we would see many, many, many more of these episodes about this subject. And even more so when 2015 draws closer. So maybe it's even safe to say that we will be seeing a monthly 'hurrr, the new Star Wars sage better be good' item? Or is Bob going to skip the pretence and just fill every Big Picture episode with his ranting against the new films? well, we will see.

 

[Lunar Templar]

Continuity Wars

MovieBob shows us the consequences of the new Star Wars movie.

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Bob, I'm thinking at this point, another 'Mario' Ep is in order, cause that little Mario tangent you went on, solid gold

 

[Canadamus Prime]

Yeah, the Mario Universe is not one you really want to think too much about otherwise your head will explode.

 

[Arqus_Zed]

Thing is, I don't give a shit about Mario continuity. I came in with the promise of hearing about Star Wars, and left with nothing useful being said and a two minute tangent on why fucking Shy-Guys are interdimensional beings.

Cute.

He spends about one third of the entire episode talking about it. In great detail. With information that seems disturbingly well thought about. Questioning various theories in rapid succession. He probably wanted to let it come of as a joke, but if you're not too dense, it's quite obvious he's really being quite serious.

It's like that Moviebob episode where he pretends to have seen a private screening of a new high budget Super Mario movie. The episode was basically: "If I had half a billion dollars, this is the Mario movie I would make." Yeah, it was disguised as an April fools episode, but he just wanted to get all his "super cool ideas" to the masses.

I'm going to address both of you at once, because the response is the same.

Lighten up! He was taking a crack at the fact that nerds tend to obsess over ultimately frivolous entertainment endeavours (the message of the video, if you were listening) by going humourously overboard on his analysis of the Mario continuity - a series of games that don't really have a continuity, being entirely frivolous entertainment endeavours. The fact that I have to explain the joke to you kind of destroys its humour, but really, it was very obvious he was joking, and the fact that you two both seem to think he had a serious beef with the Mario continuity frankly amazes me.

He's basically saying "Continuity bugs me as much as it does you, but it's actually way more fun if we just sit tight and enjoy it." And you guys are just going "Rah rah, not enough Star Wars, too much Mario, I'm a very serious person who is inexplicably grumpy about the videos produced by a film critic I clearly don't like very much to start with."

Alright. So. It's like 23:55 where I am right now... And I got to get up early tomorrow... And I just don't care anymore.
So I'm gonna try to make this quick before this just ends up drowning in my quote message box.

Anyway, I'm not a fan of Star Wars, I haven't been interested in Mario since Super Mario All-Stars and I didn't have any problem with whatever he said about continuity. He's probably right. I wouldn't know, I don't tend to obsess about stuff, as far as I know I'm not following anything with a long, established continuity. It just bothers me that Bob is so obsessed with Mario/Nintendo. And I know it's not supposed to be none of my business, but he does it all the fucking time, even when there's no reason to. In Moviebob, in The Big Picture, in the Game Overthinker (at least, he used to, I wouldn't know since I haven't watched that show in ages, if it's still around).

And no, I don't think Moviebob has a serious beef with Mario continuity. In fact, I believe Bob is incapable to have anything against Mario in general. This does not mean I don't like him as a critic, he actually has some good episodes. It's just that he has a higher chance of messing up his episodes than some of the other critics I follow, probably because their shtick doesn't consist out of constantly acting as if you're looking at things objectively, but then getting completely biased when one particular franchise/developer/producer comes up.

You can reply on this message if you want to have the last word, but I probably won't reply back. It's a silly thing that has already gone on too long. Like I said, I don't tend to obsess over things.

 

[Storm Dragon]

You've put a lot more thought into the Mario universe than Nintendo has.

 

[Tturbo]

Ok I want an episode on Super Mario Continuity ! Pleeeeeease !

 

[bastardofmelbourne]

Probably because a lot of people liked the KotOR series at one time. I'm a big fan of KotOR II, and to a lesser extent KotOR I myself. On the subject of retroactive continuity though . . . Star Wars: The Old Republic pretty much destroyed KotOR and KotOR II, retconning nearly everything in sight, twisting and destroying a series I'd loved prior. A sign of just how far Bioware has fallen, in regard to KotOR and a sign that Obsidian being put in charge of KotOR II, rather than Bioware, was a very good thing.

Just too bad about Bioware and SWTOR. I'll just pretend SWTOR never happened.

For God's sake, it wasn't that bad.

All they really did was

Spoiler

kill off the Exile, who was created by Obsidian and not Bioware, and then have Revan get killed by the Empire in what was really quite a well-executed flashpoint.

It's not like they took away the lightsabers or anything.

You can reply on this message if you want to have the last word, but I probably won't reply back. It's a silly thing that has already gone on too long. Like I said, I don't tend to obsess over things.

You didn't even have to give the reply you did, so I'm really curious as to why you bothered. It was a joke. You didn't get it. Say 'I don't get it' and move on. No need to give me a point-by-point breakdown of your opinion of Moviebob's videos.

 

[alandavidson]

Does this mean we'll get a Big Picture about Mario soon?

Please?

 

[sbutler1]

I really want a Qui-Gon prequel with a badass Liam Neeson jedi!

 

[Hutzpah Chicken]

I get the point to not take the EU too seriously, but I still firmly believe that some elements HAVE to take place. There must be some of the very large events that take place, such as the invasion of Courscant. Being a big X-Wing fan, I think it would be cool as balls if Disney made a loose movie version of the Rogue Squadron series. However, I can fan something like that aside as long as they stick to the big events.

The Empire did not end because the Emperor was killed. Thus the movies should pick up with the gazillions of characters that make up the Rebellion (or New Republic, whatever the hell its called afterwards) that are at their disposal. It will still make a metric ton of money even if it doesn't have the aged cast from 30 some years ago.

 

[Draconalis]

Gotta love going off on tangents... Hilarious.

 

[Elf Defiler Korgan]

Good points Bob,

I think on star wars, it is important to stop caring. To just be over it, not care about continuity or what Lucas did terribly after the first three great films and what Disney will now do now as it bashes the golden goose against the wall of its castle, trying desperately to get more gold. The time has come to no longer care; because we are being sold back what was already good in times past, and there will be more re-packaging. If something comes out, and it is good, by all means buy the ticket, consume related goods, have fun. We should all know now that it is important to not care too much, because there is going to be a lot of change and additions, and if we care, we lose to this inadvertent trolling.

 

[UsefulPlayer 1]

I felt like I was being hit with a nerd attack everytime you brought up Mario. Like super proving a point.

Continuity discussions are definitely the nerdiest thing. Arguments and reasonings about worlds that don't exist....

That said, I do that all the time. With myself. I can't take talking about it to other people. Because it would be too nerdy.

 

[CPunchMaster]

People thought they would use EU stories... Oh my...

I said the other day with a fan that I wouldn't be surprised if they just took the names of EU characters and rewrote the characters in whatever way they wish. But I guess we'll have to wait and find out.

Personally, I've compartmentalized my interest in Star Wars a long time ago. Original trilogy, sans Ewoks, and the two KotOR games.

 

[Dukeoftacos]

So either here or in Intermission could you expand on your interpretation of the Mario Bros. continuity. I've been a big fan of yours for a few years now and still re watch a lot of your videos of things you are really passionate about because that is, in my opinion, when you are at your best and most entertaining.

 

[Jennacide]

1. They'll probably still pull a bunch of the Extended Universe "favorites" (I use that dispargingly) like Mara Jade in the new movies.

2. The Mario canon discussion bits had me in stitches.

 

[GrimHeaper]

If you are wondering where the shyguys went the yoshi's probably ate them.

 

[templar1138a]

See, whenever I see mention of concern over continuity with the expanded universe in these new films, I just think three words:

Death Star's origin.

 

[faefrost]

Mario 1, he's tripping on some mushrooms. Mario 2, it's a dream. Mario 3, the game starts with a curtain rising. Conclusion, Mario makes a play based on all his trippy visions. Super Mario World, every area is named after a food, ergo Mario has the munchies.

Do I want the Sequel Trilogy to be an adaptation of EU stories? No, that's silly. I want a new story, not a rehash of one I could buy from Del Rey. On the other hand, I also believe it would be pretty bad to ride roughshod over the entire existence of the EU. Sure, it isn't all award winning literature, but there is some good stuff in there, and I would hate for the new trilogy to pretty much say that none of the characters in those stories exist at all.

Incidentally, the timing of these movies is eerily in sync with the current progression of the post-RotJ EU fiction. The Fate of the Jedi series ends up at about 40 years after the Emperor takes his swan dive into a reactor core(or whatever that was), and by the time Ep VII comes out it will have been about 32 years since RotJ hit theaters. If Ep VII took place a couple years after that storyline you would have a Skywalker just coming out his teens, a Solo on the Jedi Council, and another Solo preteen on whom the balance of the Force may turn. Not to mention the Empire has just had its first general election, there are at least two different sects of Sith out there somewhere, and the Galactic Alliance(formerly the New Republic) is reeling from a catastrophe on Coruscant.

I could think of several possible stories one could tell with that cast and setting.

They have to ride rough shod over pretty much the entirety of the post RotJ EU stories. It's pure math and accounting and aging. There is NO other option. It all gets thrown in the scrap heap.

Here is the problem

Fans of the Star Wars Movies = 2+ BILLION Human beings. These people are familiar with Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Darth Vader, Chewbacca, etc etc etc.

Fans of secondary animated materials, ie The Clone Wars = 10+ Million. These are people (and young primary desired consumers) Who are well versed with the stories of Captain Rex, Asoka Tano, the 501st during the Clone Wars etc. Not a bad fan base as a starting point for anything new. Plus the entirety of this story takes place between movies 2 and 3, so does not require any knowlege past the third prequel. Solid still usable backstory and characters, to a point.

Now comes the 800lb Gorilla in the room that no one is talking about. Fans of the EU novels and printed stories. Somewhere in the neighborhood of 250,000 (at best, and even then only trending that high for the older stories like the Zahn stuff). (OK OK Maybe a bit more for the three Thrawn books only). At best estimate, maybe, just maybe some of these might peak close to a million. But the typical production run for the novels is 1 or 2 hundred thousand, if that. Heck Dark Horse would be thrilled to get anywhere near those numbers for the comics.

Now add to that the shear volume of material in those EU books that would occur in the 30 years between when we last saw our primary cast, and what the current age of your primary character actors now is. There is no possible way to compress any of that information to make it viable for use on screen. Certainly not without pissing off the 2 billion movie fans. Three words to illustrate the problem. "Death of Chewbacca". "Oh by the way fans, we callously killed off one of your favorite characters 10 years ago as a publicity stunt in a book that less than 1% of you even knew the existence of." And if you think that's bad, try explaining something like the stupidity that is the Yuuzhan Vong to your Uncle Louie who waited in line for 6 hours the summer of '77.

So when faced with the choice between pissing off maybe a hundred thousand fanatic nerds, or pissing off over a billion fans who wish not to be betrayed or confused, well Disney's gonna hold themselves a good old fashioned book burning. They simply cannot base any of the story around needed background knowledge and backstory that only 10's of thousands of fans actually know.

The best the EU fans can hope for is to maybe get some cameo's of some well liked characters. Much as they did in the Prequels. I would not rule out seeing or having some reference to Thrawn. I would not rule out some cameo of Coran Horn or Red Squadron. Mara Jade will not be seen. As much as a cool hot redhead would work well on screen, the whole "Married to Luke Skywalker and mother of his kids" thing pretty much stops that cold.

 

[Okysho]

Informative AND hilarious, great job Bob. I was never one to really buy that much into the star wars extended universe and so the canon brought through that doesn't really hold any water for me.