news

 

 

friday 30th november 2007  
>>>we continue our four-issue online comic adaptation of quest for freedom, drawn to celebrate not only the 30th anniversary of the original star wars but also the 25th anniversary of that very first Lightsabre story.  drawn and designed by richard skidmore, with cover art by craig burt and logo design by tim wann, this mark newbold written story takes places between the events of the empire strikes back and return of the jedi, as lando calrissian and chewbacca search the galaxy for their lost friend han solo.  click the mini banner below to reach the comic book archive and the second page of issue two of our comic strip adaptation of quest for freedom.
>>>indiana jones and the kingdom of the crystal skull will be the biggest movie of 2008.  well, that's the prediction in these parts, and to whet your appetite for next years biggest movie event, here are just a few images gleaned off the internet of our intrepid doctor jones looking iconic and ready for action.

the man in the hat is back may 22nd 2008

thursday 29th november 2007  
>>>we continue our look at worlds of importance from the history of the setnin sector with draite, the birthworld of ex-imperial and enemy of ryath centaur, pillot alvarna...

draite

 

Setnin Sector homeworld of the double agent and mercenary Pillot Alvarna.  Draite was where Goah Galletti brought his starship the Phoenix for her much needed overhaul and where he met Jan Lomona for the first time.   Parking the Phoenix onto Landing Platform 6 Galletti travelled into town where he met up with Pillot and Redd Garmich at the Lighthouse Bar, an establishment owned for many years by Enille Garalle.  Occupied by the Empire and overseen by the ISD Malevolent, commanded by Commander L Terrov, Draite enjoyed moderate weather and facilities, sitting in the three-planet Terlerra System

>>>we bring you a further entry from danny's diary as danny wagner, ex of the ilm model shop and now at kerner optical reminisces about his experiences working on the first of the star wars prequels, the phantom menace...

who lives in a house like this?  let's go through the keyhole...

wednesday 28th november 2007  
>>>our great friend gerald home was interviewed by the bbc today, in a chat with bbc tees.  chatting to bob fischer on the gobstopper programme gerald discussed his career, including his mister muscle adverts and his work on return of the jedi. and gerald kindly contacted us to let us know that Lightsabre also got a big mention on the show.  click here for the bbc tees site, click forward about an hour and fifty minutes to find the interview and click through to the gobstopper show, 7.00pm until 10.00pm.

gerald in another guise

>>>our good friend and former interview guest paul yates drops us a fantastic image from the set of his latest project.  an american film institute member, paul is busy working away on a major american sci-fi show.  we'll be hearing more from paul, but until then enjoy this very cool photo.

paul sanchez yates - the onion god

tuesday 27th november 2007  
>>>setnin select reaches number 266 with photographic artwork kindly submitted to us by jules corellia.  this shows squadron indigo commander terrie saffra boarding her setnin spec x-wing for more looks into the worlds of setnin, click on the mini banner above and go through to the setnin select archive.
>>>believe it or not a 27 year old film can still pull in more viewers than that nations election.  but, when you consider that the country is australia - the adopted home of the prequels - and the film is the greatest sequel in movie history, the empire strikes back, perhaps it's not quite so surprising.  the empire repeat pulled in 829,000 viewers on channel five, while the election garnered 763,000.  once again a sterling example of the power of the force.  click below for a great spoof of the election tv battle.

 

>>>great news from our friends over in poland at imperial city online.  they've secured an interview with star wars fan relations manager stephen sansweet.  over to lucasz.  "just wanted to let you know that our friend and big-time collector kuba turkiewicz recently did an interview with steve sansweet - and it's currently online! this is the first time steve has agreed to do an interview for a polish star wars fansite.  here's a direct link to the english version of the interview: http://www.starwarsy.pl/opowiadania/wywiad_english.htm"

sansweet talks to imperial city online

monday 26th november 2007  
>>>turning to the dork side 22 hits the site direct from neil bakers own site a place in the galaxy. you can view it there or go to our humour section through our assorted sidebar link where it actually hurts from laughing...
>>>we visited the memorabilia show at the nec in birmingham yesterday and bumped into a whole bunch of good people from the world of star wars, including james burns from jedi news, dave tree from the palitoy 2007 archive and our neighbour chris ryder from celebration europe.  have a read of our convention report here or check it out on our conventions page...

the cast of the new star wars television series...

>>>our good pal the stooge was kind enough to feature a mark newbold limerick on his galaxy-famous star wars joke-a-day blog last friday.  click here if you want to groan at some really lousy rhyming and some really gruesome timing...
sunday 25th november 2007  
>>>Lightsabre continues its webmaster interviews.  this week we interview the webmaster behind the rapidly growing corellian dawn costume site, jules corellia.  we've only known jules for a brief time but we've become good friends and her interview can be found here or by going through the sidebar and hitting interviews.  then discuss it at smugglers rants at blogs.starwars.com or at our Lightsabre blog at blog.lightsabre.co.uk.

jules corellia

>>>our good friends at corellian dawn - who are added to our links section and also become our 10th affiliate - are holding a cosplay look-alike contest.  over to our Lightsabre interview guest jules for more details.  "we're very proud that we are finally able to announce our very own cosplay and look-alike contest! the first round is sort of a test, and according to the number of people interested in it and participating, this contest is supposed to become a recurring event that's fun for everyone. we will announce a specific category or theme every time, and the entrants are asked to submit a single photo each that goes along with that category. we deliberately keep it limited to one theme and one photo to make it quick and not time-consuming for everybody to handle. we'd appreciate if you give this idea a chance and participate as your favorite character!"  so, what you waiting for?  get your old rusty sewing machine out and get stitching!
saturday 24th november 2007  
>>>we bring you yet another blast from the recent past with more memories of celebration europe, brought to you by event co-ordinator barry eldridge.  today we take a look at the behind the scenes preparation that was necessary to get the excel arena up and ready for the doors opening on the first morning of the convention.  click here, on our conventions page or on the image below and get browsing.

believe it or not there are 438 people hiding in this shot, but where are they...

>>>we bring you another entry from danny's diary as danny wagner, ex of the ilm model shop and now at kerner optical discusses his amazing experiences working on the first new star wars movie in over a decade and a half, the phantom menace...

mini?  me?

friday 23rd november 2007  
>>>our good friend barry eldridge, event co-ordinator of celebration europe, brings us these great images from the recording session that yielded a batch of brilliant recordings from celebrated impressionist john culshaw.  the radio clips are also included, so browse through by clicking here, on our conventions page or on the image below and have a good time remembering the biggest party of the summer...

john culshaw -  beneath the bin...

>>>as it's thanksgiving in the united states, hollywood brings pizza and paparazzi to the streets as the stars bring their celebrity status to the homeless and lend a hand in feeding the needy.  here, screen legends kirk douglas and harrison ford grab their ladles and do their part.  douglas was no doubt relieved that ford didn't greet him with the lip-locking enthusiasm that john travolta had only a few days before...

note the name tags, just in case the recipients of the meal didn't know who was serving lunch today...

thursday 22nd november 2007  
>>>we continue our look at worlds of importance from the history of the setnin sector with commodor, the setnin sectors oldest and largest starport...

commodor

 

Location of the largest starport in the Setnin Sector.  1600 years before a conglomerate of starship design companies looking for a world suitable for expansion and development build on Commodor.  With a small population of inhabitants eager for off-world money and industry to be brought to their world, the flat arid plains of Commodor were soon replaced by starship repair yards, construction facilities and skyhooks that linked the surface to the massive yards and capital ship repair stations above. Commodor boasted the largest capital-ship repair bay in the Mid-Rim and was the site of the refitting and eventual launch of the Worldship Rinsome, the vessel that carried the last surviving Setnin Jedi along with ten thousand others away from the galaxy for a number of decades.  Commodor also manufactured star fighters at a rate of two thousand per day, which it did for most of the major manufacturers in the region including the Empire and covertly the Alliance during the Galactic Civil War.  Once the base of operations of the outlaw tech Romanoe, Commodor was renowned throughout the galaxy as a prime location for repairs and a world loyal to the Republic during the Clone Wars

>>>it's been a mystery ever since return of the jedi was released in 1983, but now it seems to have been solved.  for years, no one thought that there was a 1138 reference in the movie, but now - thanks to the force.net and pete vilmur - that has been contradicted.  look closely at the image of boushh's helmet for the answer to a 25 year old mystery...

the mighty boushh...

wednesday 21st november 2007  
>>>this friday is a very special day for star wars fans, subscribers to the fan club and especially hyperspace members.  black friday - a catchy name if ever there was one - is friday 23rd november and, by clicking the banner at the top of this page means that you save 10% on everything, 20% if you are a hyperspace member.  and yes, that's 20% on everything.  games, figures, art, you name it, they've knocked it down.  so, click through and start preparing yourself for black friday.

black friday, and no - dave mustaine isn't suing but he is buying a darth maul fridge magnet...

>>>there are only 30,000 copies available and it retails at £39.99, so gather your pennies and order a copy now before this gorgeous re-release of the star wars trilogy tin is snapped up.  including an extra disc with features the empire of dreams documentary, the return of darth vader, the birth of the Lightsabre and the characters of star wars this is a must-have for any saga fan.

clear the lanes, this one's coming through...

tuesday 20th november 2007  
>>>we bring you another entry from danny's diary as danny wagner, ex of the ilm model shop and now at kerner optical discusses the return of the jedi-special edition and the work he did on that show a decade ago...

he's small he's green and he's not yoda...

>>>setnin select reaches number 265 with artwork by richard skidmore.  this shows what the setnin sector looks like as viewed from the neighbouring ki-ki sector for more looks into the worlds of setnin, click on the mini banner above and go through to the setnin select archive.
monday 19th november 2007  
>>>turning to the dork side 21 hits the site direct from neil bakers own site a place in the galaxy. you can view it there or go to our humour section through our assorted sidebar link where doubling up in fits of laughter doesn't make you any healthier...
>>>american politics is a funny thing, and not a million miles from the political intricacies of the star wars universe.  but this cartoon, from last months time magazine showing dick 'shooter' cheney and barak obama is better than most...

family business - political style...

sunday 18th november 2007  
>>>Lightsabre really struck lucky at celebration europe as we were the only organisation to speak with our next guest, billy dee williams.  thanks to our good friend derek maki of coolwaters productions we were ushered to a boardroom at the novotel opposite the excel arena and spent a few minutes talking with billy dee, the results of which can be found here or by going through the sidebar and hitting interviews.  then discuss it at smugglers rants at blogs.starwars.com or at our Lightsabre blog at blog.lightsabre.co.uk.

billy dee williams

>>>in the world of sci-fi there are three venerable and great series that stand out.  there's the thirty year old star wars saga and the 41 year old star trek series, but here in the uk it's doctor who - first aired back in 1963 - that holds sway.  enjoy below a short episode written for children in need featuring the tenth doctor, the brilliant david tenant and the fifth doctor, peter davison in time crash, 8 minutes and 2 seconds of in-continuity mayhem that continues the great tradition of the doctor meeting his past and future selves...

 

saturday 17th november 2007  
>>>natalie portman appears - in the most polite way - to have drawn a veil over her time as padme amidala in an interview with mtv. clearly natalie does see her star wars adventures at an end.  here's the pertinent part of the interview.    mtvstar wars is going to continue in all its various forms, including cartoons and live-action tv shows. can you imagine ever playing amidala again? portman: i'm so honored to have been a part of it. i got to basically latch onto this thing that was a huge success before i ever was involved. i spent 10 years working on these films, and it's time to let it continue on its own. mtv: day to day, you must get a ton of reaction from kids about star wars.  portman: some of the kids in (her latest film, mr. magorium's wonder emporium) were really funny. they were like, "did you really have babies in the movie?" i was like, "do i look old enough to be a mom?" and they were like, "yeah!" and i was like, "wah!" and then they were like, "did you really die in the movie?" and i was like, "do i look dead?"

miss portman.  isn't she luverly...

>>>where do the years go?  after all, it's not only the 30th anniversary of a new hope but today marks 29 years since the one and only airing of...the star wars holiday special.  that's right, 29 years since ackmena sang to her customers, since boba fett first came across the gang, since leia sang the life day song.  more cheesy than fifty acres of the lunar surface, dust down your old vhs copy or follow this link on youtube and revel in the pure trashy splendour of it all...

saun dann  - comedian.  to whit.  "hey itchy, why the long hairy faces?"

friday 16th november 2007  
>>>we continue our four-issue online comic adaptation of quest for freedom, drawn to celebrate not only the 30th anniversary of the original star wars but also the 25th anniversary of that very first Lightsabre story.  drawn and designed by richard skidmore, with cover art by craig burt and logo design by tim wann, this mark newbold written story takes places between the events of the empire strikes back and return of the jedi, as lando calrissian and chewbacca search the galaxy for their lost friend han solo.  click the mini banner below to reach the comic book archive and the first page of issue two of our comic strip adaptation of quest for freedom.
>>>could it be true that the new star wars clone wars series is premiering not on dvd or television but on the big screen?  according to a report posted by the force net that could be the case.  during the hasbro fall 2007 event it was announced that the animated series would have a theatrical release on august 8th 2008 before hitting screens in the autumn.  a lucasfilm spokesperson said "i'd like to clarify hasbro comments this am (morning) about the clone wars tv series. we see it as a breakthrough animated television series and are exploring a number of innovative ways to introduce it to the public. no decisions regarding release strategy have been made yet."  very interesting news, so watch this space for more details as they come.

coming to a galaxy near you august 8th 2007?

>>>our great friend gerald home is as busy as ever, with video footage of the 30th anniversary charity concert he narrated last week.  the night was a great success and the rebel legion, spain base should be very proud.  enjoy.

 

thursday 15th november 2007  
>>>we continue our look at worlds of importance from the history of the setnin sector with chinngard, setnin world that's changed alleigance numerous times...

chinngard

 

Peaceful water planet on the edge of the Setnin Sector, covered by thin slips of islands, orbited by one moon.  Home to the experienced smuggling brothers Mactin and Durne Selka, Chinngard was a popular stop-off point for ships travelling out towards the inner systems and the Core.  In past days Chinngard had been invaded and occupied by the Janos Executioners during their Holy War on the rest of the Setnin Sector, but had fought valiantly and repelled them.  Chinngard allied itself with the Confederacy of Independent Planets during the Clone Wars and was merged into the Ki-Ki Sector years after the fall of the Empire, becoming a part of that sectors boundaries

>>>our good friend joao pinto over at fan force portugal has struck again with a great exclusive, interviewing star wars collecting legend stephen sansweet.  click here for the interview and enjoy it in both portugese and english
wednesday 14th november 2007  
>>>the annals of the abrion conflict is a gaming site dedicated - much like we are - to a specific sector of space.  take a journey there, but make sure you get those astrogation co-ordinates right.  we wouldn't want you getting lost, would we...
>>>galactic voyage are a great site, and one that's been on the net for just about the same time as Lightsabre.  celebrating it's 8th year on the web, galactic voyage are changing their look and refreshing the site.  click here for a gawk at the site in all its glory...
tuesday 13th november 2007  
>>>we bring you another entry from danny's diary as danny wagner, ex of the ilm model shop and now at kerner optical discusses the empire strikes back-special edition and the part he had in making those amazing additions...

just some of the skulduggery danny got up to...

>>>setnin select reaches number 264 with artwork by craig burt.  this shows close detail of the 'camel' fighters uniforms.  for more looks into the worlds of setnin, click on the mini banner above and go through to the setnin select archive.
monday 12th november 2007  
>>>there can't be many more sites out there that deserve a mention for their great and consistent work than galactic empire network stephen has overseen the growth of the site for almost a decade, adding new sections, forums and galleries to the site, all the while maintaining a consistently high level of quality that most sites can only dream of.  so, it's only fitting that the newly launched yahoo star wars site should acknowledge this by choosing gen as their first featured site.

ahhh, it's nice to be noticed...

>>>no turning to the dork side this week - neil bakers hand is still a claw - but instead here's an amazing fan poster depicting characters, planets and images from the entire six movie saga.  if an official company doesn't pick this up and turn it into a printed poster then someone's not doing their job properly...

absolute class...

sunday 11th november 2007  
>>>Lightsabre continues its webmaster interviews.  this week we interview the brains behind the brilliant and well received palitoy 2007 archive, dave tree.  we've known dave for a number of years since dealing with his old ultimart site back in the early 2000's and his interview can be found here or by going through the sidebar and hitting interviews.  then discuss it at smugglers rants at blogs.starwars.com or at our Lightsabre blog at blog.lightsabre.co.uk.

dave tree

>>>close your eyes - it's 1983 again.  revel in nostalgia with this classic palitoy television ad, hyping the scout walker.  and look closely - star wars figures from £1.89.  accessories from £3.00 to £43.00.  oh, those were the days...

 

>>>after a two year break we add to our albums page with details of the corellian edition cd.  13 tracks, spanning the six movies with a great cover is a sure-fire introduction for novices to the themes of the star wars saga.  click below and go through to our albums page.

the corellian edition

saturday 10th november 2007  
>>>danny's diary returns to Lightsabre with the latest entry from danny wagner, ex of the ilm model shop and now at kerner optical.  this week danny takes a look back at the days of the star wars-special editions, reminiscing about his work on those ground-breaking movies.

"throw the game artoo, throw the game!"

>>>topps are releasing a brand new indiana jones trading card set.  the new trading card collection consists of 90 retro-cool cards featuring new photos from the original movies, as well as 'super collectible inserts' including sketch cards, authentic autographs and sequentially-numbered parallels. this exciting new set ships february 2008.

topps indiana jones heritage.  anything star wars can do...

friday 9th november 2007  
>>>continuing the new underworld age - part two we present the 2002 story state of play by jonathan hicks a document of both personal and professional nature highlighting the inner struggle of fleet commander cathum balancing the demands of his career with his own beliefs and worries...
>>>the adventures of young indiana jones now has a new website to accompany the stellar dvd box sets that are being released.  click here or on the image below to be taken to paramounts mini site, where the trailer for the dvd's is on constant stream.
thursday 8th november 2007  
>>>we continue our look at worlds of importance from the history of the setnin sector with chakratak, the homeworld of the telepathic krictakk...

chakratak

 

Situated in the Elany System, this was the new home of the slavering telepathic creature, the Krictakk.  Originally hailing from Salutarr, the Krictakk was transported across the Setnin Sector by Jan Lomona, who took pity on the creature.  Filled with many mountain ranges and numerous caves, the temperate climate suited its new inhabitant well.

>>>Lightsabre joins yahoo star wars.   click in to the new yahoo star wars site and visit star wars fansites - you'll find us listed under the european sites section.  we're excited to be a part of this great new site, which you can visit by clicking here or on the banner below...

 The World 

of Star Wars

 
wednesday 7th november 2007  
>>>family guy: blue harvest is a go!  the star wars spoof is to be officially released on january 15th with never before seen footage, a george lucas interview, commentaries, a teaser for the empire strikes back parody 'something, something, something dark side' and a special edition package that includes a t-shirt, 3-d glasses and fight scene, trading cards and an exclusive brochure.  well worth saving your christmas pennies for...
>>>star wars blueprints is the latest book to be announced by the official site, and it looks to be another fantastic read.  over to the sites announcement.  "star wars fans have relied upon the great works of dk books to visually catalogue the saga in impeccable detail, and a new volume is on its way which takes a schematic approach to some of the galaxy's most memorable technologies. star wars blueprints: the ultimate collection details the millennium falcon, the death star, see-threepio, artoo detoo, darth vader and more as technical illustrations by artist chris trevas. it is due out in fall 2008. more details to come..."

star wars blueprints - coming your way next autumn...

tuesday 6th november 2007  
>>>setnin select reaches number 263 with artwork by craig burt.  taken from his quest for freedom issue 2 cover this shows the city of ecaps on a-desando under imperial attack.  for more looks into the worlds of setnin, click on the mini banner above and go through to the setnin select archive.
>>>since posting our dagobah 2007 article we've already had emails fly our way from poland mentioning the piece.  thanks to lukasz 'miagi' mlotkowski of imperial city online and michał poręba.  your comments are greatly appreciated.  also a shout out to theforce.net for their mention of our spaceport convention article and a thank you to adam of jedi news - who celebrated their first six months on the net on sunday - for posting a piece about sundays irvin kershner interview.

gerald doing...well, we're not quite sure what he's doing...

photograph courtesy of lukasz "miagi" mlotkowski

monday 5th november 2007  
>>>turning to the dork side takes a break this week as neil bakers arm recovers from constant drawing.  but to fill the emptiness in your monday we present the very first dork side, which you can also view at neils own site a place in the galaxy or go to our humour section at the foot of our redesigned assorted sidebar link where 84% of women say that the most important attribute in a man is a good sense of humour...yeah, right...
>>>our good friend gerald home is not only generous with his time but a great ambassador for star wars around europe.  as well as participating in a 30th anniversary charity concert of star wars music, narrating the story of anakin in spanish he visited poland back in august for the dagobah 2007 convention.  click here for the convention report and see exactly what gerald and paul 'greedo' blake got up to.
Gerald, Paul and the many Polish Outpost members
sunday 4th november 2007  
>>>we are thrilled to welcome to Lightsabre the man who took the reins of the star wars saga and directed the greatest movie sequel of all time, irvin kershner.  we spoke to kersh earlier in the year and he generously gave us half an hour of his time answering questions, the first part of which can be found here or by going through the sidebar and hitting interviews.  then discuss it at smugglers rants at blogs.starwars.com or at our Lightsabre blog at blog.lightsabre.co.uk.

irvin kershner

>>>here we have the trailer for the eagerly awaited fanboys, and it looks like an absolute riot.  william shatner, han solo being called a dirtbag, pigs in blankets...just watch and start the countdown.

 

saturday 3rd november 2007  
>>>chris gereke is Lightsabre's north american correspondent, bringing us news of conventions and shows in the united states.  but, not only has he covered celebration europe and the san diego comic convention for us, he was also present at last weekends reunion 2 convention in france.  click here for chris' review of the show and click here for our conventions reports, covering shows from celebration 3 all the way up to reunion 2.

chewbacca (sitting down obviously), stephen sansweet and chris gereke

>>>november 4th 1977 was the day that a new hope, or simply star wars back then, was released in spain.  and to commemorate that event,  an amazing gathering is being organised in barcelona on november 4th at 11am.  over to their press release.  "a long time ago...in a galaxia far, far away...it has been 30 years since the first stage of this galactic saga who's influence carries on. many people are still remembering and re-watching every time there is an opportunity ...we are the fans. it is for them, and for us, that we pay a small tribute to the saga in this, the 30th anniversary since we saw it for the first time: princess leia in the tantive iv being pursued and captured by the vast ship of a fearsome villain dressed in black named darth vader...a young farmer named luke skywalker who would march forward to save the galaxy as a pilot or an old and tired sorcerer named obi wan kenobi...all together captivated the hearts of hundreds of thousands of fans. the 501st carries on the unconditional love of the films though fun and costuming.  for anyone who wants to approach us, we invite you to live among star wars characters for a few hours and join in the parade commemorating those 30 years in spain."  best wishes to them and we hope they have an amazing day.

the european celebrations continue...

friday 2nd november 2007  
>>>after a three month hiatus we continue our four-issue online comic adaptation of quest for freedom, drawn to celebrate not only the 30th anniversary of the original star wars but also the 25th anniversary of that very first Lightsabre story.  drawn and designed by richard skidmore, with cover art by craig burt and logo design by tim wann, this mark newbold written story takes places between the events of the empire strikes back and return of the jedi, as lando calrissian and chewbacca search the galaxy for their lost friend han solo.  click the mini banner below to reach the comic book archive and the cover for issue two of our comic strip adaptation of quest for freedom.
>>>continuing the new underworld age - part two we present the 2002 story origins by louis turfrey told entirely from the viewpoint of the returned tar ranth, this letter to his cousin blake de’athe attempts to explain what's happened to the cloned mercenary cum jedi knight...
thursday 1st november 2007  
>>>we continue our look at worlds of importance from the history of the setnin sector with cawbate, the world that hosts both crimelords dressel and mister spyte...