Balladeer’s Blog is all about responding to reader questions and requests. Some of you have mentioned that you’d like to see me write about what revisions I’d have made to the Star Wars sequels in the same way I write about revisions I’d have made to old Killraven stories or how I’d have handled the unfinished Harry Flashman novels.
I have only ever been a casual (at most) Star Wars fan so it’s possible that lets me approach the subject with a certain detachment that many others lack. I have no favorite characters and I’m not really invested in the story or its universe outside of the original lightning-in-a-bottle 1977 film.
My take is that the sequel trilogy is too much of a mess and has nothing worth salvaging. However, since there is more and more talk about recasting the major roles like Luke, Han and Leia for a potential reboot or tv series I figured THAT’S what I’d look at.
The original 1977 Star Wars is about as close to perfection as you can get in terms of a movie succeeding at what it was intended to be: in this case a fun, uncomplicated valentine to the days of simpler storytelling as a nice antidote to the glut of self-consciously “deep” movies by that point in the 70s.
There’s nothing wrong with deep or introspective movies, of course, but by 1977 it seems that audiences were VERY hungry for a movie that didn’t wallow in unsolvable problems and was instead sheer feel-good spectacle. (I often speculate that if the Robert Shaw film Swashbuckler had come out after Star Wars instead of before it, it might have been received much more enthusiastically.)
My own take on potentially casting a new Luke, Han & Leia and starting over would be that the original Star Wars should remain untouched. Begin the reboot AFTER that film but eliminate the overrated twist in which Darth Vader turns out to be Luke’s father and Leia turns out to be his sister. Continue reading
WHEN RANKED TEAMS CLASH – The number 6 team in the nation – the DALTON STATE ROADRUNNERS – traveled to take on the 24th ranked WILLIAM CAREY UNIVERSITY CRUSADERS. The Roadrunners were trailing the Crusaders 32-28 at Halftime but after the break they outscored their opponents 47-35 for a 75-67 comeback victory. Rand Bell led Dalton State with THIRTY-ONE points. 
CENTURY CLUB – Teams scoring 100 points or more in Regulation: The HARRIS-STOWE STATE HORNETS defeated their hosts the FREED-HARDEMAN UNIVERSITY LIONS in a 101-96 shootout ### Meanwhile the (1) GEORGETOWN (KY) COLLEGE TIGERS hammered the CUMBERLAND UNIVERSITY PHOENIX 116-74 ### And the BETHEL (TN) WILDCATS downed the BREWTON-PARKER COLLEGE BARONS 101-82. 
KILLRAVEN: THE GRAPHIC NOVEL (1983) – Killraven and his Freemen continued their guerilla war against Earth’s alien conquerors. In the 7th of its official line of graphic novels, Marvel Comics let writer Don McGregor and artist Craig Russell wrap up some of the storylines left dangling by the cancellation of the 1973-1976 series of Killraven stories. In the previous post I detailed how McGregor had, in the meantime, transferred many of the Killraven story elements and time period to his 
*** First, through no fault of Don McGregor or the original Killraven artists, Darth Vader became a huge pop culture figure in 1977. KR’s main alien villain, the High Overlord (introduced in 1974), had worn full-body armor and a Japanese feudal helmet like the kind Darth Vader went on to wear in Star Wars. Obviously, Star Wars was so much better known than the canceled Killraven series that this 1983 graphic novel dropped the helmet for the High Overlord to avoid looking like their villain was a rip-off of Vader, despite the fact that the High Overlord predated Star Wars. 
WEBB INSTITUTE WEBBIES 
GREAT BAY COLLEGE HERONS 
PRATT INSTITUTE CANNONEERS 
EAST/WEST UNIVERSITY PHANTOMS 
PART THIRTY-ONE: Moving on to the July 1921 issue of James Larkin Pearson’s monthly Fool-Killer publication. The Fool Killer’s (I prefer no hyphen) targets this time around were: 
Pearson and his Fool Killer wondered if, despite official claims that the government was trying to prevent other nations from getting hold of the formula, the U.S. might wind up using the gas ourselves at some future time and therefore become “the Huns” of a new war. 
In the style of Balladeer’s Blog’s separate examinations of Hawaiian and Samoan myths as a subset of Polynesian Mythology comes this look at the deities worshipped on the Polynesian outliers Bellona Island and Rennell Island. Despite its much smaller size Bellona had a larger population for much of their history.
MAHUIKE – The earthquake god of Bellona and Rennell Islands (henceforth Bel-Ren). Like his counterparts in Hawaii and Samoa, Mahuike lived far underground and caused earthquakes by pushing at the earth with both of his arms.
USCAA (United States Collegiate Athletic Association) – 1. UNIVERSITY OF SAINT THOMAS (TX) CELTS ### 2. FLORIDA NATIONAL UNIVERSITY CONQUISTADORS ### 3. BRYANT AND STRATTON COLLEGE (Buffalo) BOBCATS ### 4. BLUEFIELD STATE BIG BLUES ### 5. DELHI STATE (NY) BRONCOS ### 
6. NEWPORT NEWS APPRENTICE SCHOOL BUILDERS (Shipbuilders) ### 7. UNIVERSITY OF DALLAS CRUSADERS ### 8. UNIVERSITY OF MAINE AT FORT KENT BENGALS ### 9. CLINTON COLLEGE GOLDEN BEARS ### 10. FIVE TOWNS COLLEGE SOUND ### 
THE LOG OF THE FLYING FISH: A STORY OF AERIAL AND SUBMARINE PERIL AND ADVENTURE (1887) – Written by Harry Collingwood (William J.C. Lancaster). 
NUMBER TWO TAKES A FALL – The MENLO COLLEGE OAKS welcomed the number 2 team in the nation – THE MASTER’S UNIVERSITY MUSTANGS. The Oaks put the Mustangs on Upset Alert by Halftime with a 45-37 lead, then consummated the Upset by a final score of 87-76. Ross Williams led Menlo College with 20 points. 
OTHER UPSETS IN THE RANKINGS – The (19) LINDSEY WILSON COLLEGE BLUE RAIDERS struck down the visiting (4) UNIVERSITY OF PIKEVILLE BEARS 80-69 ### The HUSTON-TILLOTSON RAMS won 84-67 against the (6) LSU-SHREVEPORT PILOTS ### Meanwhile the UNIVERSITY OF MOBILE RAMS toppled the (8) LOYOLA (LA) WOLFPACK 84-82 ### And the ROCKY MOUNTAIN COLLEGE BATTLIN’ BEARS totaled the (13) LEWIS-CLARK STATE WARRIORS 87-57. 
CENTURY CLUB – Teams scoring 100 points or more in Regulation: Just one this time around – the (15) HOPE INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY ROYALS played host to the WESTCLIFF UNIVERSITY WARRIORS. The Royals were on top 48-32 by the Half on their way to a 100-68 blowout win. Josh Powell-Davis led HIU with a Double-Double of 28 points and 12 rebounds. 
SOLO (1980) – Written by Jack Higgins. Solo is not exactly one of my favorite espionage novels but it is definitely my favorite by Jack Higgins. It’s the story of efforts to catch an international assassin code-named the Cretan Lover. Luckily that ludicrous codename is often shortened to just “The Cretan” throughout the novel. I’ll use the same review format that I used for my look at The Top Seven Robert Ludlum Novels. 
