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Post by rom on Nov 25, 2018 8:38:41 GMT -5
The MEGO's were prominent on an end cap facing the DVD area for 1 week only when they premiered. If you wanted them afterwards you had to cruise up and down the toy aisles looking for them. One week you may find them with the boys action figures, another week around the corner on the aisle with game cards and even in one store here they were found in the girls/doll row. Target has no idea of marketing or how to show off stuff for sale placement outside of their giant holiday sections. This is similar (though not exactly the same) to what happened in my area. I.e., when the Mego Wave 1 figures were first released @ Target in Summer 2018, they completely took me by surprise because even I - a relatively avid toy collector - didn't even know about them ahead of time. And, I attest that their placement in the store (i.e., at the end cap) had a lot to do with even non-collectors at least being aware of them. In my area they were on that end cap for much of the summer, but then in early Fall they relegated them to other toy aisles - as you mentioned. After they were first removed from the end cap I had to search all of the toy aisles to find them, since they kept moving them. I understand completely that, from a marketing stand-point, the end cap took up valuable shelf-space that Target probably wanted to replace with something that would sell better - especially now that the holidays are getting closer. However, it's frustrating that Target appeared that they were going to fully support these Mego figures, and then after Wave 1 was out for a while they all but turned their backs on the line. In any case, if I can find the rest of the Classic Trek figures I want it will be a minor miracle - LOL. I guess I should be glad I got what I did (some of Wave 1 & the Gorn from Wave 2).
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Post by rom on Nov 20, 2018 23:27:35 GMT -5
Good to know - I had no idea that was the case. Very sloppy! No wonder we're not able to find these later figures.
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Post by rom on Nov 20, 2018 18:44:30 GMT -5
Only really collecting the Star Trek Megos. And, I still haven't seen the carded regular uniform Mr. Spock (Wave 2), Romulan, dress shirt Kirk, or Uhuru/Sulu two-pack. I actually haven't seen any new Trek figures at any brick & mortar Targets for about 1 1/2 months. Either the newer waves are selling out quickly, or the store(s) I go to aren't getting any of these to begin with.
The Target website also only has the Wave 1 Trek figures.
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Post by rom on Nov 13, 2018 16:14:25 GMT -5
Just finished watching the excellent DD S03. Incredible. This is not only my favorite season of DD, but also my favorite season of any Netflix Marvel super-hero show, period. Truly sublime.
Note that adding SPOILER Tags in this forum is not that simple, so I haven't added any here. So, please don't read the below if you haven't finished with the series & genuinely want to be surprised!
-As a huge fan of Frank Miller’s DD comics in the ‘80’s (both his work as artist/writer & just as writer on the later “Born Again” series), I really liked how they brought in various elements from both “Born Again” and FM’s other DD comics (Kingpin finding out Matt's secret identity; Kingpin's goons locking Matt in a car & running it into the water & Matt escaping; Bullseye getting his back broken; Matt’s long-lost mother being a Nun that helps take care of him as he’s recovering from serious injuries; etc.) – but at the same time changed everything around to a great extent so that you were kept guessing until the very end.
-As I’ve mentioned in previous posts about this show, the casting in this Netflix DD show is excellent; all of these roles were spot-on. Initially I felt that they should have gotten an actor with red hair for the Matt Murdock role – but, Charlie Cox personifies the character so well that it doesn’t matter. I.e., for the most part, he definitely looks like Matt from the comic – especially in a suit w/the dark glasses, etc. Foggy & Karen are great casting as well. However, Vincent D. as The Kingpin truly nails this role completely – superb.
-Very impressed with the long, extended fight scene between Matt & the criminals in the prison; this was obviously one long shot from beginning to end – well-done.
-In the comics, Bullseye an almost nameless assassin that was part of DD’s “Rouge Gallery”. Miller didn’t create the character, but definitely made him more ruthless than he had been previously. You never found out much about the character's background whatsoever. However, in this Netflix series, the character of Poindexter (who was never referred to as Bullseye – yet) was humanized to a great extent re: his terrible childhood/absence of parents, etc. That being said, the character was obviously a psychopath from Day 1, as evidenced by his flash-backs and the taped interviews (as a child) to the psychiatrist. And, Matt also grew up without parental guidance (his Mother left him, and his father was killed while Matt was a kid) – but ended up fighting for good, instead of evil. So, as in the comics, Bullseye & Daredevil are almost two sides of the same coin.
-Nice to see Annabelle Sciorra as mob boss Rosalie Carbone. She’s been in a lot of movies/TV shows over the year; my favorite previous role of hers was in The Sopranos.
-Interesting & tragic to see Karen’s tragic past as a drug addict. The sequence when her brother died accidentally in an accident (while she was driving under the influence) was quite hard to watch. This was turned around & modified from the “Born Again” series – in there, Page ended up in a downward spiral (and ended up becoming an addict, and worse) after she quit working with Foggy & Matt.
-I liked how Fisk was eventually referred to as the Kingpin (for the first time on the series). Also dug the scene when he had rows of identical & numerous white suits in his closet; this kept in line with the character in the comics – who was almost always wearing the same white suit.
- I thought it was clever how Matt “used” Bullseye to help him fight the Kingpin. I.e., he told Bullseye the truth about the Kingpin killing the woman he liked, so Bullseye would turn against Fisk. Though he still had to fight both Fisk & Bullseye in the final showdown (in Fisk’s luxurious hotel room), obviously Matt couldn’t have brought down Fisk without Bullseye’s “help”.
-The last scene of Poindexter/Bullseye being operated on was very telling; obviously the character will come back in a future season, probably new & improved. That’s what happens in the comics, so I suspect they will do something similar in the series.
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Post by rom on Nov 10, 2018 20:01:39 GMT -5
Let's face it. Everyone wants Harrison Ford as Solo, Hamill as Luke and Fisher as Leia from the original that they know and love. If Ford was dead or the Solo movie made after a long time of no Star Wars then the movie would have likely been a grand slam. Solo should have been a Harrison Ford movie back in the 80's to have really made people sit up and take notice, but as for being made now it strikes a sour note when fans are still hating on JJ Abrams for killing Han off in The Force Awakens. Hell, Star Trek killed off Spock but were smart enough to know that was a truly bad move and revived him with the very next movie. You can kill the tertiary characters all you like but leave our beloved HEROES alone! Agree that Solo was a great film, and also agree that no one could play Solo as well as Ford. However, if they're making a film about a young Han now they obviously had to have a younger actor. I'm glad they waited to make the film now, when the effects are so much better than they would have been in the '80's. The scenes on Corellia, the train attack scene with the modified Stormtroopers (w/the magnetic boots), etc. were all fantastic - this would have been impossible to do back in the day. I'm not a big fan of the Sequel Trilogy (ST), though I have seen the films & do like some of the tech. & new Imperial Troop designs. I also feel that by making the new films, Disney/Lflm. is also able to make the spin-off films Rouge One & Solo (both of which take place in the OT-era), and I am a HUGE fan of both of these superb movies. Back to the ST: I do feel that at least one of the reasons Han Solo was killed in TFA was because Harrison Ford wanted this; IIRC, back in the '80's he told Lucas that he wanted the character to die in ROTJ, but Lucas didn't want to end the film that way because it would have made it too down-beat. However, flash forward 32 years later - I do feel that Solo's death - by the hand of his son - was one of the most poignant & sad scenes in any SW film. I also felt it made Kylo Ren (a villian I don't really like) beyond redemption to a great extent. Hell, even Darth Vader, who had killed many innocents - was redeemed when he not only stopped short of killing his son, but saved him - by sacrificing himself. In comparison, Kylo Ren was just an entitled, whiny little bi%$#. I hope the character dies a horrible death in the third film.
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Post by rom on Nov 10, 2018 19:58:03 GMT -5
I really hated that they made Sabacc into poker with funny shaped cards.. the whole concept of shifting cards and stasis fields for they to stop in was very Star Wars to me, and would have been easy to good and looked great. I am torn about this. Though I expected Sabacc to be played like it was depicted/explained in the novel Lando Calrissian and the Mindharp of Sharu (1983, L. Neil Smith) , I kind of understand why they chose not to go that route for the film - given that it may have been confusing to a mainstream audience. I.e., I believe they would have needed some exposition/explanation if they depicted it the way SW fans expected to see this. Here's a link with more info. on the game: starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Sabacc
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Post by rom on Nov 8, 2018 11:02:46 GMT -5
Thanks for the updates; even though I know we all live in different parts of the country, these posts give us some idea of what we may expect when looking for these toys.
I haven't been to my local Target in about a week, but may go soon. When I went last week I saw very little of Wave 2, and no Wave 3.
I suspect that with the holidays right around the corner, these figures will be harder to find - especially the Classic Trek ones.
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Post by rom on Nov 8, 2018 10:42:25 GMT -5
I just saw Solo: A Star Wars Story on Blu-ray earlier this week; this was my first time seeing the film & I thought it was superb. Screw the bad reviews. This is not only one of the best films I've ever seen, but has become my third favorite SW film ever (behind ESB & Rouge One). This definitely brought to mind the OT films/era. I will definitely want to see this again soon to fully appreciate this; like all the SW films, I'm sure my appreciation will grow with each subsequent viewing.
Here is my SPOILER-filled review:
-The casting was fine. I wasn't expecting the actor who played the young Han Solo to be able to fill Harrison Ford's shoes, and he didn't - but, let's be honest, no one can. However, he was solid in the role, and convincingly portrayed someone who had a hard life growing up on the streets of Corellia, been through a lot (fighting as an Imperial), was somewhat cynical - but was still a good person at his core. I liked the fact that the actor didn't try to "mimic" Ford, which would have just felt artificial.
-I also felt the casting of a young Lando Calrissian was solid as well.
-The "relationship" between Lando & L3-37 was...slightly amusing in a way & poignant in another. It was interesting that L3 mentioned that Lando "liked" her, but she didn't want to get involved because it wouldn't work out - LOL. I also may have been reading too much into this, but there did still appear to be "something" between them; what that was exactly wasn't really clear (nor would I want to know anyway - LOL). It could have just been that Lando had become emotionally dependent on her due to their close proximity on the ship & re: their working together; she had also probably saved his life at some point(s) in the past, etc. In any case, as with the robots in the OT, they really humanized "her" to a great extent so that when she was destroyed, you really felt like a person had "died". Well-done.
-From start to finish, the movie kept my interest, and never dragged.
-Moloch was a bizarre looking alien, and had a small - but significant - role in the beginning; I didn't think he was a throw-away character like some were making him out to be. He also seemed to speak a form of Huttese, which was a homage to the OT.
-The centipede/slug gangster creature Lady Proxima was one of the most grotesque, disgusting SW aliens in any of the films - and I say this as a compliment. Well-done!
-Rio Durant was another great character; liked the 4 arms, which may have been awkward-looking but due to the great CGI was smoothly done here.
-I liked seeing the bustling streets of Corellia & the landspeeder chase; the train battle/sequence (it was cool how the Imperial Troops had magnetized boots so they could stand on the train without falling off, etc.); the Sabacc game(s), etc.
-Enfys Nest was a great character with a fantastic speeder; very creative costume design/mask. And, it was nice that she finally took off her mask - which humanized the character to a great extent.
-I liked how the chess holograms from ANH made their way into Solo as well; also, I think there were at least a couple that hadn't been in ANH - nice.
-The "reveal" of the leader of Crimson Dawn was interesting. I was not expecting to see Darth Maul, since he should be dead (given that he was bisected in Episode 1, which took place before Solo). However, IIRC the character came back to life at some point in the comics, so I guess that's where they took that from. In any case, great to see the character again.
-The plethora of new creatures, droids, and cool uniformed characters were fascinating - this was especially pronounced re: the crowds surrounding the two Sabaac game scenes, but they were also interspersed in many other sequences throughout the film. The Ape-like Wookie?! that Chewie briefly befriended was especially cool looking. I was also extremely impressed by the new tech, including the AT-DP, the briefly seen Imperial Trooper Patrol Bike w/Trooper, Han Solo's blue Landspeeder, etc.
-Nice to see Chewie & Han meeting for the first time; I remember reading "The Wookie Storybook" years ago, which had 1-2 pages discussing Han freeing Chewie from the Imperials - and that's how they met. I know they modified the original story somewhat for the film, but it was the same idea.
-It was clever that Han anticipated Tobias Beckett's double-crossing him, and acted accordingly.
-I liked how the Sabacc game came full circle at the end. I.e., when Han & Lando first played Sabacc, Lando cheated (by literally having a card up his sleeve) and won, when Han should have won. However, at the end, when Han confronted Lando on that jungle planet (for abandoning them) & noticed the "hidden" card, he surreptitiously took it away, so Lando couldn't use it to cheat at the end...which resulted in Han winning the Falcon
Side-note about Sabacc: Years ago, I remember reading an SW Expanded Universe book (possibly the Han Solo/Brian Daley novel(s) Sourcebook by West End Games) which mentioned that the reason Sabacc is so difficult to play & win is that the cards have digital images imprinted on them, and the image is constantly changing - so, though you may think you have a winning card, the image may change a second later & you won't anymore; i.e., the only image that meant anything was the one that was imprinted on the card once you revealed the cards at the end, by putting them down on the table. However, they obviously discarded this "EU" version of Sabacc because it would have been to complicated to depict on screen & opted instead to have this be a more traditional card game - which was the best approach to take.
In closing, instead of this just being a by-the-numbers fill-in "origin" movie about Han Solo's youth/beginnings, this was an amazing, visually stunning film with interesting characters/aliens/robots, solid characterization, fantastic tech, and incredibly well-done action scenes. In fact, I would even say this is a stand-alone film that can be seen & enjoyed without even being familiar with the other SW films.
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Post by rom on Oct 31, 2018 14:51:29 GMT -5
I don't find Knightfall or the Death & Life of Superman storylines insulting to the Batman & Superman franchises in any way, shape, or form. Like any company/business, DC was/is out to make money. And, if they feit it was time to create a new storyline that revitalizes their core characters that have been around for 50 years....in order to interest new readers/fans....then more power to them. If you didn't/don't like the storyline, just vote with your wallet & don't buy the comics. I myself never bought one issue of the DOS or Knightfall storyline when they were out due to limited funds (I was a poor college student at the time), but was interested in the story & read the novels from the library. And, I did get some of the CE's much later. These days, I never buy any Marvel or DC comics due to not having any interest in the new stories/artists. However, obviously the comics are still selling since they're still being produced - which I think is great.
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Post by rom on Oct 31, 2018 14:34:28 GMT -5
Good question. I have very dim memories of The Brady Bunch regular series, and didn't know that a cartoon had ever come out prior to reading this thread. But, yes - the figure is obviously from the live-action series, not the animated show. So, why a pic. of the animated character is on the package is beyond me....
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Post by rom on Oct 25, 2018 19:35:13 GMT -5
Cody, very nice tribute to your friend. It's obviously one thing to read about the death of a celebrity, writer, artist, etc. that you may have liked/respected (but never actually met) & feeling sadness because of this. However, it's quite another if someone close to you passes. I'm in my late 40's, and have seen some close relatives & acquaintances pass on. Very sad, and nothing ever prepares you for something like this.
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Post by rom on Oct 24, 2018 7:54:08 GMT -5
Wow. Okay, not a lot of love for the DCEU. I personally love Man of Steel, and if we'd just had a Superman trilogy instead, I think it would have gone a lot better. Agree 200%. I liked MOS (as I mentioned in my last post), and thought they were going to make 2 more Cavill Superman films after this. So, I thought it was ridiculous that they instead made sub-par Batman/Superman & Justice League film(s) instead. The character is definitely interesting enough to be able to carry his own film(s), as was seen with MOS. There are so many different storylines they could have done, either from the comics - or they could even have come up with some original ideas. What a missed opportunity.
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Post by rom on Oct 24, 2018 7:27:40 GMT -5
I recently saw the 1999 thirteen-episode series Crusade, which is connected to Babylon 5 to some extent. It takes place in the same universe, and does feature Captain Elizabeth Lochley in some episodes; Dr. Franklin is also in at least one episode. Chronologically, the show seems to take place not long after Sheridan/Delenn, Dr. Franklin, Garibaldi, and others leave Babylon 5 towards the end of the series, but long before the "flash forward" that showed Sheridan's ultimate fate - 20?! years later.
Crusade was mildly interesting, and followed a ship that was sent out on a mission to try to find a cure for a deadly virus that was devastating humanity on Earth. The show was OK, but seemed disjointed at times & the episodes I saw appeared to even be out of order (I watched this on DVD). I may have liked this better had it continued & had a more cohesive storyline. However, it's tough to judge something after only 13 episodes.
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Post by rom on Oct 23, 2018 7:40:28 GMT -5
Great pics.! It's ironic that Wave 3 is coming out in some places, and Wave 2 has still been tough to find for some.
I had no idea the alternate lime green shirt Kirk was even coming out as a figure, carded or otherwise - cool. IIRC, in the series Kirk wore this as a kind of "dress" shirt.
I only collect Classic ST figures from this line, but the Marcia Brady figure looks nice - I like the retro '70's clothing.
Also like the Bewitched two-pack. I wasn't around when the show originally aired, but remember watching re-runs in the mid-late '80's - hilarious series. One of my favorite lines from the show was when some distant cousin of Adora (Samantha's mother) said to her (I'm paraphrasing), "Adora, whenever I think of you as a blood relative, I long for a transfusion." - LOL.
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Post by rom on Oct 22, 2018 14:59:29 GMT -5
These look great - as always, thanks for the pics. Trivia: The new DC 14" Luther & the Wave 1 General Zod seem to be based on the 12" Mego Superman figures from the late 1970's. These late '70's figures were seemingly done to promote the '78 Superman film. After doing some research on this, it looks like the head sculpts were based on the way the characters looked in the film, but the outfits were more from the comics: www.megomuseum.com/wgsh/12/luthor.htmlwww.megomuseum.com/wgsh/12/zod.html
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