advertisement

The Force is already with toy stores

Force Friday has arrived!

What's Force Friday? It's the day when nostalgic parents across the globe can buy their children action figures for a film they won't be able to see for another three months.

Or, more accurately, it's a day when 36-year-old newspaper employees can add more “Star Wars” junk to a work cubicle that already houses a lunchbox, a Han Solo Vinylmation character, a small plastic R2-D2, and even a figurine of Goofy, the Disney dog, playing the role of hated prequel character Jar Jar Binks.

The first wave of merchandise for the Dec. 18 release of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” hits stores Friday, and includes the expected assortment of action figures, spaceships and lightsabers. We don't know much about new heroes Finn (John Boyega), Rey (Daisy Ridley) and Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac), but that isn't stopping Hasbro from selling toys in their image.

The most coveted item will no doubt be the remote-controlled BB-8, the new droid character who looks like a soccer ball with a floating head. Disney CEO Bob Iger personally chose a robotics company named Sphero to bring director J.J. Abrams' seemingly impossible big-screen creation into the real world, helping to convey the idea that the new “Star Wars” film was largely shot on real sets with practical visual effects — unlike George Lucas' prequels, which were largely shot on soundstages covered in green-screen.

So, the toys are already here. A 15-second Instagram teaser had the Internet in a tizzy last week. Illegally obtained pictures of Mark Hamill in his new Luke Skywalker costume were all over Twitter. Just imagine the “Star Wars” hype three months from now! (I already took the entire week off. And yes, I am in a perpetual state of arrested development.)

A standing ovation for ‘Hannibal'

Executive producer Bryan Fuller's reimagination of Thomas Harris' Hannibal Lecter novels ended three erotically charged seasons of gory grandiosity on a high note last Saturday, giving the titular doctor (Mads Mikkelsen) and FBI investigator Will Graham (Hugh Dancy) the kind of twisted consummation for which fans have been hungry.

One of the least-watched shows on network TV, “Hannibal” had no business being on NBC for two seasons, let alone three. I am sad to see it go, having been canceled in June, but thankful that Fuller was able to make such haunting, beautiful television with just the right amount of camp and humor. (And all without Clarice Starling — Fuller and Co. did not have the rights to use story elements from “The Silence of the Lambs.”)

“Hannibal” is best experienced with crystal-clear Blu-ray, but can also be downloaded via Amazon Instant Video, vudu, iTunes and other digital retailers. The final two episodes are available for free at NBC.com.

• Sean Stangland is a Daily Herald copy editor who thinks it is important, as his mother used to say, to always try new things. You can follow him on Twitter at @SeanStanglandDH.

Lucasfilm head honcho Kathleen Kennedy greets new "Star Wars" droid BB-8 in April at the Star Wars Celebration expo in Anaheim, Calif., and soon you'll be able to own a miniature BB-8 of your own. Associated Press
Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.