Han Solo shoots Greedo first - great sci-fi moments number seven

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I WONDER when it was that George Lucas stopped being the Rebel Alliance and turned into the Empire?

How much money do you think it took for the hip young 1970s gunslinger with a once in a lifetime idea, as seen in this video interview, to turn into the guy who took the back off perfection to see how it worked and then found it wouldn't go back together again?

By the time the prequels came around, the wheels were well and truly off - I'll just say Jar-Jar and leave it at that - but this moment was when the warning bells started to ring.



To say I was excited when it was announced the 20th anniversary of Star Wars would be marked by special editions of the original fims on the big screen was an understatement and I watched all three, mainly enjoying the new special effects.

But then Greedo shot first and it all went pear-shaped.

Because this wasn't just anyone Lucas was messing with - it was Han Solo, my boyhood hero and still one of the coolest characters in any film ever.

When he gunned down Greedo without warning, it showed the dark side to the lovable rogue and smuggler. The side that would take out anyone who got in his way if they were between him and the money, and then nonchalantly swagger away - kill or be killed.

That made his eventual change of heart and return to save the day at the end of the film all the more compelling.

Instead we had a pointless change that reduced one of the main characters and actually weakened the film, where a professional assassin misses his target at point blank range. In the 2004 dvd release, it is actually made worse by a CGI Han dodging a laser bolt by moving his head before shooting Greedo.

For god's sake Lucas! Han Solo is a kick ass desperado, not someone who has to be invited to blow away a low-life putting a gun in his face.

No doubt in the 2017 super-duper edition, hLucas's meddling means Han will become even more moral by reasoning with Greedo about the merits of his lifestyle before convincing him to give up crime and instead return to his first love, singing showtunes with the Max Rebo band.

Watching every version but the original, I felt like Indiana Jones at the end of Raiders, when he is told they have 'top men' working on the ark - frustrated and cheated.

Thankfully, I still have the films on VHS, but for anyone out there who wants to see the scene as it should be - my great sci-fi moment - here it is.

Torchwood: Children of Earth could be best Torchwood yet

Although I have been blogging on sci-fi for more than a year now, this is my first post on Torchwood ahead of its truncated but excitingly scheduled third series, Children of Earth.

I tried to work out why it had missed out earlier, and I think the reason is for large parts of its first series and some of its second, it just wasn't very good. And for wasn't very good, read a total fucking mess.

It started with a great premise - Captain Jack leading a team defending the earth from alien menaces by using alien technology, with a more adult vibe than Doctor Who. So far, so cool ... but ... where to begin?

For starters, huge chunks of the show didn't make sense, I mean, you're a top secret team, but you drive a big car with your name on it and tell everyone who you are. You keep a pterodactyl for no reason? You stand on top of the Welsh Assembly building, again for no reason?

Secondly you're supposed to be using alien technology to save the earth, but - presumably for budget reasons - we never saw much of it.

In fact their standard tactics were argue, swear, shag, get Jack killed or kill Jack themselves, Jack comes back to life and saves the day, which is fine, but for a supposedly top secret anti-alien team I was expecting something more, like a sense they knew what they were doing and had some sort of clue.

The swearing bothered me, because it felt like they were a middle-class teenager having a party when their parents were away who thought saying fuck was so shitting cool, yah! Fuck yah, we just said fuck!! It takes more than that to make a programme an adult drama.

John Barrowman was overpowering as Captain Jack, which meant that the rest of the team withered next to the power of his awesome, indestructible jazz hands.

And then there was Owen. He was supposedly the ladies man, but was such a rat-faced little turd that it was hard to imagine any woman - alien or not - going within 10 yards of him.

Christ he got on my nerves, right up until he was vapourised in a nuclear meltdown. Normally when a central cast member dies it is a moment for sadness and reflection but I was wooting with delight.

It added up to a wildly uneven programme with the very talented Eve Myles and handful of good episodes - They Keep Killing Suzie was the best from S1 - being lost amid some very poor writing, effects and undeveloped ideas, like the episode where the bloke was knocked down and died, but didn't, but then he did, or something. I've seen school plays with a better storyline.

However it did enough to justify the second series and the bar was raised massively, mostly by the introduction of James Marsters as Captain John, who was brilliant whenever he appeared.

Along with other guest stars, much better plots and better use of Cardiff as a location, it meant I no longer had to watch through my hands and could actually talk about it in work the next day without people pointing and laughing.

Not everything worked - the Meat episode featuring the whale from Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy was a clunker - but the show felt more comfortable and sure of itself.

Which brings us to series three, Children of Earth, which looks nice and creepy if the trailer is anything to go by - kids are always creepy in sci-fi.

It has actually had some buzz built up around it by the BBC's delays in deciding when to broadcast it.

Although they only have five shows - presumably to save money - they turned that potential weakness into a strength by broadcasting on consecutive nights.

That was a brilliant decision by whoever made it, meaning the show is now a BBC1 prime-time event.

Of course the flip side of that is it has to deliver, but without Who to work on, all the energy of the creative team down in Cardiff is focused on Torchwood for the first time.

To me, Torchwood has improved but it has never really delivered what it promised to do when it started out, but the success of series two and what I have seen so far gives me real hope it will finally step up.

Roll on Monday July 6!

Simon Pegg and Nick Frost's hello from Mexico on set of Paul

I think my arithmetic is correct when I say that Simon Pegg+Nick Frost = fun, games and pants-wetting, crying with laughter comedy.

That means this teaser blog for their new film, Paul, is well worth keeping an eye on.

I found it on their official blog site, immediately Google Readered it and would advise you to do the same.

As I understand it, the film is about two sci-fi geeks on a pilgrimage to Area 51 who have an alien encounter - also starring Seth Rogan, Sigourney Weaver, Bill Heder and Jason Bateman.

That's some cast, and I imagine the slacker/nerd roles will be quite a stretch for the duo to portray, but hopefully they'll pull it off. When they do, I think it means Pegg will be the coolest geek ever on top of his turn as Scotty in Star Trek.

Of course, the high spot of their creative collaborations for me is Spaced (as good as Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead have been) especially this bit about the telepathy between men.

So what do you think? Looking forward to it?

District 9's Dark Knight-style viral marketing helps it stand out

IN WHAT is rapidly becoming a more and more crowded marketplace, new sci-fi films have to try something different to stand out - and District 9 has learned that lesson well.

The previously low-profile film has been attracting some serious heat in America with its clever campaign says Sci-Fi Scoop, asking people to report aliens should they see them, and warning them not to pick any up.

I love all that breaking the fourth wall shit, and while spreading buzz through word of mouth in the real world can be a risky business, when it is done well it pays off massively.



The best example I can think of recently was the campaign for the Dark Knight, which went into viral overload and made millions of people around the world feel part of the film months before it came out. The result was a massive surge of goodwill from a super-charged audience to whom the film had a direct connection with.

If they can hoover up a share of that action, I am sure the people behind District 9 - producer Peter Jackson and director Neill Blomkamp - will consider it money well spent and more films will look to move away from more traditional ideas.

We live in an ever more connected world with more and more tools to link up with people from every corner of the globe, the idea of which was science fiction only a few years ago.

While those tools can be used for real good - like Twitter's coverage of the aftermath of the Iranian election - I'm all in favour of using it for relatively frivolous stuff like this too. Your thoughts?

While you're pondering, here's the trailer and the original film it is based on.