Don't feel like reading my rambling?
Blog Summary: Hyperspace 2006 is looking slightly cooler than Hyperspace 2005. But is missing a few things I'd like to see on it this summer.
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Bonus Feature: Star Wars/Firefly Motivational Poster #4
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If you haven't given it a once over go ahead, though I'll be touching on all of the points.

Hyperspace Horizon: Summer 2006 and Beyond...

So summer 2006 and beyond... I'm going to assume they only say beyond due to such things as the Variety articles being ongoing.

The first looks at the forthcoming animated Star Wars series from Lucasfilm Animation. The 3-D digital series is in development right now at Skywalker Ranch, and soon the veil will be lifted on the secrecy surrounding the show.

Well I'm glad this is right up there at the first bullet because it's what I personally care about the most. Mostly I just want to see what the animation style is going to look like.

It may be more important however to see how they're doing the series... If they set it up as an ongoing storyline with Anakin and Obi-Wan (Or even a lesser Jedi that has a film apperance such as Plo Koon) not only are we going to create a whole mess of technical continuity issues, but also a more basic one of it seeming a bit silly for Anakin and Obi-Wan to have managed to be at every major conflict in the Clone Wars.

I think it'd be better off focusing on a clone unit perhaps with a completely new Jedi character as their commander. This will almost doubtlessly be in the same vein as the original Clone Wars series so I'd have little doubt it'll be on Cartoon Network and it'll be ideal for about age 10-14... Whatever, I still enjoyed it . Of course they could always pull a fast one on me and put it on Adult Swim and ideal for ages 14-30+; unlikely in my opinon due to this being the same age bracket Star Wars: The Live Action Series will likely be aiming for based on Rick McCallum's description of it being "Dark and gritty"... Still I wouldn't complain to have a cartoon exploring the darker side of Star Wars. Lots of possibilites there.

Speaking of Star Wars: The Live Action Series... I'm a fair bit disappointed it wasn't mentioned. Even some simple concept art released to us over the summer would have been awesome. Or even a few written blubs about the direction it's heading. Or I could just get really wild and hope for some casting call interviews released, an interview series with George Lucas, or an animatic trailer.

It looks like this won't happen though... Thus the title: Another 4 months in the dark... Without news or info about Star Wars: The Live Action Series.

Go behind-the-scenes to follow the creation of the revolutionary next generation of Star Wars video games from LucasArts.

Again I don't blog about it much because my opinion is generally the same as everyone else's and I don't feel like being the 4,000th "Battlefrnt 2 is awsome!" entry but I'm a fairly avid gamer. They're listing this in the Hyperspace section so I'm hoping it'll be in the realm of interviews with developers and in-depth info, rather than just a "Battlefront II is coming out soon, buy it!" marketing update.

For all future official events, Fan Club members will get perks not available to others, including early access, exclusive products, and more!

I'm not really a convention type of guy (being yelled at in Klingon freaks me out because I can't yell back ), but the left overs of these exclusive products often trickle on to be Hyperspace exclusives in the Star Wars Shop online store. So that might be neat.

Coming soon is a Hyperspace Leaderboard, where fans can compete head-to-head for fun and bragging rights... including determining the ultimate Star Wars trivia champion.

I'm not sure how they'll prevent cheating for something like this, but I suppose any feature is a good feature. Perhaps "Why is Mace Windu's lightsaber purple?" will be a bonus round question.

A new collector-focused video series that explores the inner recesses of legendary and elusive Star Wars locales. Who knows what treasures await?

I'm not much of a collector myself, I pick up a few things here and there that intrest me (IE: One of those Darth Vader helmets from the Original Trilogy molds and a Force FX lightsaber). I do love to look at collector items though and hear their stories. So even if I can't touch or own them myself, this will definately be a feature I'll be watching.

Exclusive new videos, including glimpses into forthcoming Star Wars DVD releases and other rarities unearthed from the Lucasfilm archives.

I enjoyed those interviews with the guy who did the animated menus for Episode III (and II and I I believe, even if it didn't really get into those). So again, I hope it's some in-depth stuff like that. I have little doubt that's what it will be considering past features, but I suppose I should touch on all the bullets, can't stop now! Also of note, I wonder what "rarities" includes... Perhaps we'll finally get a glimpse at the legendary Lucas Archive copy of the Star Wars Holiday Special

All new webstrip action continuing the saga, including the newly launched Evasive Action: Prey, set after Episodes III, and the ongoing Rookies series set during the classic trilogy.

This is without doubt one of my favorite Hyperspace features. Not only because it's an exclusive bit of canon storyline that only we get to see unfold day by day, but also because it's taking Jedi leading into the Original Trilogy era pretty much in the direction I want them too. Already being hunted, constantly on the run. If they pull out a lightsaber or use a force power odds are one of them will be dead pretty quick after that

Exclusive products from StarWarsShop.com, including access to hot-sellers like the Sideshow Collectible figures.

Shiny!

The growing archive of Variety stories -- which will soon go back to 1975. Read what the entertainment world was talking about when Star Wars first came out.
Follow the daily movement your favorite Star Wars stars (like Natalie Portman, Ewan McGregor, Harrison Ford) and get the latest industry insight into the future of Star Wars with full-article breaking coverage supplied by Variety -- not available to the general public anywhere on the web.

I've combined these two bullets into one... Because they should have been anyway I think
For the most part the Variety articles fall into the "Any feature is a good feature" category again. The old ones are a novelty I'll dive into every once in a while, the new ones often have little to do with Star Wars and when they do have something deeply to do with Star Wars... I've already heard it via another source.

Classic webcam moments are now being compiled into playable videos that allow you to relive some of the excitement of live production in an easily accessible format.

Excellent! I've gone into the webcam quite a few times but am often turned away simply because of the tedium of it. This is indeed an easily accessible format.
In the future however... I hope we can get the webcam into stuff involved with Star Wars: The Live Action Series or perhaps even the animated one (though watching a guy work on a computer on a webcam is probably as much fun as watching paint dry... Let's stick with the Live Action one). I'd also hope we can get it to update every 10, or even 5 seconds rather than the 20 we had before. Even if we don't get a nicer webcam though... I'll be watching.

All this and new issues of Star Wars Insider magazine.

Not a bad rundown, but there's room for more

I suppose I'll also mention...

What's in the Hyperspace Archive:

6 hours of video content
12 hours of audio content
1,300 Variety articles
50 on-the-spot inside reports on the making of Episode III
50 Quicktime VR tours of Episode III sets
20 Webstrip storylines
50 short stories
20 in-depth articles
20 Star Wars Insider online supplements
35 classic issues of Bantha Tracks
40 new editions of Bantha Tracks
600 photos and artwork
And more!

Hm... I'm not sure if having it all laid out in one spot makes it look impressive or pathetic (About 3 years online and we only have 6 hours of video content?). Oh well I renewed yesterday and don't have any buyer's remorse so I suppose that's the real test.

Hyperspace 2006: She may not look like much, but she's got it where it counts... Now can we get some Star Wars Live Action Series exclusive behind the scenes features and interviews?
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