for some peculiar reason - and i am guess it might be a slow news day - the newspaper here is celebrating the 12th anniversary of Boro signing Massimo Maccarone. let that sink in.
moving on, then, and about thirty three and a half years ago i saw The Empire Strikes Back. my Dad will no doubt chip in and correct me on the specifics, but i am all but certain it was in one of them cinema things they have in London (innit), and it was not at all long before we moved to that Australia place.
that would, of course, be the first time i saw the one they called Boba Fett. a minor, trivial character, never intended as anything beyond a lazy plot device. but a character that became the most awesome thing ever that many of us had ever seen.
i would have next seen Boba in that infamous Star Wars Holiday Special, which for some reason got broadcast on TV in Australia. most reports were that it was only shown in the USA, but nope, the kids of Australia, or whatever it is called now, got subjected to it too. he was ace in it, riding some sort of bull thing and having a class lightning stick or something.
hang on, the USA got it before Empire came out, yeah? i think America only got the film a year after everyone else anyway, but no matter, someone else run along and work it out.
is there a point to this? surely. i never got a Boba Fett figure, although i was lucky enough to have just about all the others. Boba Fett was never put on general sale, but Americans could get one by sending off "proof of purchase" things.
the lack of Boba Fett toys for sale has always bothered me, in particular in the face of how many Jar Jar Binks you can buy, and i have never had one of them. oh sure, i have two Jango Fett ones, but never a Boba Fett. that got fixed today.
yes, there he is. boxed for some reason with two other figures; figures presumably that one simply throws away or something after they have opened the box. i am pretty sure in my younger days i had a Snaggletooth and a Sand People anyway. i also had that one we all called "Bumface"; no idea what is actual name was.
the above picture was taken in the shop where i found the Boba. i was, oddly, actually looking for something called Thundercats for William when i found this. found them too, i did, look you see, but never mind that, whatever the hell it is, i got a Boba Fett.
yeah, i know, nothing really special or spectacular about it in a general sense. i could have, after all, got one at any point in the last dozen or more years by simply ordering one off of one of them shops on the internet. that wasn't the point, though. i always wanted the thrill of walking into a shop, finding a Boba Fett and buying it, no matter what price was on him.
as you can see, i got it for an exceptional price. i probably would not have blinked at double that just for Boba Fett, so three for the fee is fair enough, even if two are to be simply binned or whatever. if, of course, i ever open the box.
which i probably will, but just not right now.
what's the enduring appeal of Boba Fett? have you even seen Empire Strikes Back?
Boba Fett not only talks back to and threatens Darth Vader, but also has Vader cowering and offering to compensate him. that would be, right, the same Darth Vader that chokes someone to death with his f****** finger purely because he is displeased with the way the asteroids look.
also, Boba Fett has a Wookie scalp on his belt. you've seen a Wookie, yeah? if we assume he didn't get that from a bin outside a hairdresser, or ordered it off of ebay, well, i would not like to try and get one myself.
also, he just looks class. stylish, menacing, ace.
the spare character on the left (not Snaggletooth who is on the right in red) also, dear reader, allows you to tell the difference between normal people who like Star Wars and obsessive, socially inept nerd types. here is a simple test. show them that character, right, and ask "what is this?"
if they answer :
(a) a Sand People - they are normal, well balanced people who enjoyed Star Wars and are quite happy to call characters by the name they were given in the film
(b) Tusken Raiders - they are dangerous, lunatic brigade members who believe that the films are something far more than family adventure films. they will never, ever forgive George Lucas for not calling at their Mum's house, asking to speak to them and getting the valuable information he obviously needed about making the films much, much better
or
(c) SPARTAAAA - refer them to the Gerard Butler career slide ever since that film came out and wish them well as you send them on their merry way.
anyway, here is not so much one of them "unboxing" videos as it is a "still in box" video for you.
yeah, not the greatest video i have ever put here, which is saying something, but i am pretty sure it is the best ever Boba Fett video i have posted.
back of the box? back of the box.
no, i have no particular interest in buying the other sets. they did at the shop have another set of this one that features Boba Fett, and yeah i am tempted to get it. but no, because that steals away the chance of another fan from getting it.
the big question, will Boba remain in his box, in perfect hibernation if you like, or will he be freed from it?
the answer, i suspect, is both. i think i will keep Boba Fett in his box for a little while yet, then take him out, admire him, take several pictures and then hand him over to the boys to play with. maybe go back to that other shop and buy Slave 1/I too, you know.
they are, after all, toys, and are meant to be played with.
right, that will do. i am off to look at Boba for a bit, and then i have the latest edition of Viz to read, an edition that Spiros reckons is class.
be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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