Fandom is a fickle place. Filled with demand and disappointment.
This is the story of how Lucasfilm Licencing lost me...

(But first some backstory)

A Long Time Ago... you know how this bit goes, right?

My addiction (perhaps not chemical, but certainly psychological) to Star Wars began as a child, with my brother and I amassing an impressive array of Kenner action figures and playsets.
Then came the late 80s and early 90s. It was time to sell on the old toys and forget the films which had so enlivened my early childhood.

However, in 1997 (at the tender age of 14), caught up in the excitement of the Special Edition releases and with a long train journey to London ahead of me, I purchased 'Jedi Under Siege'. Once more I was whisked off to a galaxy far, far away and remembered that I loved it there. Soon, A. C. Crispin's 'The Hutt Gambit' was added to the bookshelf, in turn followed by 'Darksaber'.
I had taken a running jump down the slippery slopes of fandom.
By the end of 2007 I owned all of the adult novels and graphic novels, very nearly all of the youth novels, most of the computer games and my own weight in sourcebooks, Essential Guides and Fact Files.
With the promise of major things to come, including a CG movie and TV show, 2008 looked like it would be a good year.


However, the disappoints began coming in thick and fast.

'Legacy of the Force' ended but failed to conclude anything I hoped it would, all but ending on the statement; "You'll have to buy the next series to find out what happens to all those plotlines."

'Last of the Jedi' suffered a huge anticlimax, with most of our heroes snuffed out in a paragraph and Ferus left to quietly sit out the Galactic Civil War in retirement.

Then came the worst blow to a continuity nut like myself; 'The Clone Wars' (which I had so eagerly awaited) would mangle the continuity of that period beyond recognition. The worst thing about this was that it was completely unnecessary. It would have cost the makers (and the great fat Lucas) nothing to set the story later in the war, but when it came down to it, loyal Expanded Universe fans just don't matter as much as those most fickle of cash-cows; children.
I had almost come to terms with this slap in the face when I actually saw the dishwater-dull nonsense that was 'The Clone Wars' movie.

My love of Star Wars had taken a serious blow. I had bought the Ewoks movies and yet I knew I would never buy the DVD of 'TCW'.

For a short while the much hyped 'The Force Unleashed' filled the void of Star Wars pleasure, but in the end it proved too short and too repetetive - not even coming close to making up for 12 months of delay.

But, I had been pouring my time and money into the Galaxy Far, Far Away for over a decade and for a moment it seemed as though I might get over the callous disregard shown by LFL for me and those loyal EU fans like me.
So, the film had been tripe... perhaps 'The Clone Wars' cartoon itself would actually be good.
I eagerly logged on and followed the links promising me that I could watch the episodes online. And it wasn't even a perk of my Hyperspace membership!

But no.
It would seem that LFL cares little for fans outside of the US as well.
To my disappointment and annoyance I, who pays my annual Hyperspace subscription, couldn't even view content available free to non-members in the US.


I've loved Star Wars since I was too young to even understand what I was watching.
I've spent literally thousands of pounds on books, comics, games, DVDs and other merchandise.
I've been an active member of the fan community, interacting with the likes of Karen Traviss, Leland Chee and Abel G Pena.
I've written the official stories of characters in the films themselves.

But no more.
This blog serves the dual purpose of venting my sense of betrayal (but what did I really expect from a multi-million dollar corporation - even if it does rely on fans for it's income) and also announcing, to anyone who's bored enough to have read this far, that my addiction to Star Wars has been kicked.

As of late 2008 The Fragrant Wookiee is withdrawing from the Galaxy Far, Far Away and taking his hard earned spending money away with him.

Goodbye all.



PS - (To anyone who've I've chatted/argued/discussed with during my time as part of the online SW community - particularly the likes of Cull Tremayne, Rogueish and Elephanto) Thanks for all the good times and I hope you, to quote the other franchise, live long and prosper.