#2: EB Games & Walmart

After My first foray into the world of Pop!, I continued with a second EB games visit and a Walmart visit. As expected Walmart had almost nothing, besides a handful of Star Wars Pops. I picked one up and prior I collected Two from EB games. My aunt also brought one back from Honolulu. These are the four I got:


Krall

Immediately you will probably notice that, this time the Pops I got were much more minor characters. The first was Krall, who was the main Antagonist of Star Trek: Beyond. I enjoyed Star Trek: Beyond for representing both sides of Star Trek: The Exploration side And the Action side. I Personally prefer the action side, but Star Trek was originally based in exploration and it's important for a Franchise too stay true to it's roots. it's essential for the series to repeat both sides and I feel Beyond did that better than any Modern Star Trek film save the 2009 one. Krall was of course played by Idris Elba, who is one of my favourite actors. And so I was hugely looking forward to his part of the film. I thought the reveal of Krall's past was a bit silly, as you already know since Elba is credited as Krall, which means the big twist is spoiled by the poster… which is a bit amusing. otherwise Krall was arguably the most effective Villain of the Star Trek "reboot" series. Though I thought it a bit bizarre that Krall spoke a alien language. I mean, I can accept the altered appearance stuff, but speaking a weird alien language for no reason? Is it like the drone language? A bit unimpressed with that. The Pop I got had some wear on the side of the box.


Saw Gerrera

I grew up with the Star Wars prequels, So for the longest time I never minded them. however at around age twelve, I started to pay attention to criticisms, that were much more legitimate than my nine years of age, self thought. To many peoples surprise the Clone Wars TV series, was by season III, better than the prequel films in many ways. Saw Gerrera was a creation of the Clone Wars. A character that initially acted as the "First Rebel." The character originally was meant to appear in a live action Star Wars series, until the series was scrapped. Instead the character appeared as Resistance Fighter/Terrorist/Revolutionary in a story arc on Onderon. The character is okay, however things get truly interesting in the excellent film Rogue One. In it Saw Gerrera is old and grizzled. His war never ended, having fought through the Clone Wars and then fighting the Empire as a member of the rebellion. The animated series Star Wars: Rebels promises to tell that side of the story, but by Rogue One he has left the Rebel Alliance and formed his own splinter force. I felt it was a extremely interesting yet underused side of the film, featuring his extremist Rebel force and asking the question: Is their really a difference in-between The Rebel Alliance and the "Terrorists''? And as such I found his death underwhelming and wished there was just a bit more screen time for the arc.


Director Orson Krennic

Star Wars has a unfortunate history of creating brilliant Villains and immediately, killing them off. Darth Maul, Boba Fett And Captain Phasma, who survives but is embarrassingly utilized, thrown literally in the garbage. I am unsure whether or not to count Krennic among these. He's charismatic enough and definitely sympathetic, but he wasn't written that great. then again the entire movie had some iffy dialogue at times. Still Krennic's journey for recognition was interesting to follow, and I thought the addition of a cape to his officer's uniform, was a pretty cool look. I would love for the character to show up in Star Wars: Rebels. The Pop itself was brought back by my aunt, as a gift from Hawai'i. My first exposure too the character was through the video game Star Wars: Battlefront. specifically the Rogue One themed expansion pack. Fun fact: Director Orson Krennic is one of my favourite "hero" type characters to play as in Star Wars: Battlefront.


Galina "Red" Rezkinov

Orange is The New Black is one of Netflix's greatest success stories. unsurprisingly their most watched show Orange is The New Black, is one of the few examples of a TV series I have binge watched. I watched four seasons in two months. I was impressed with it's dialogue based humour, that reminded me of Get Fuzzy and it's story lines. To be honest I am not very fond of series lead Piper Chapman, as I am unimpressed with actresses skills. Instead I feel the supporting cast steals the show, and I appreciate how the series comes close to using an ensemble cast. One of the characters that stood out the most was Galina "Red" Rezkinov, a Russian-American prisoner who runs the kitchens. I found the storyline of the fall of Rezkinov over the course of the First Season. And then in Season II, her return to some semblance of power. One thing I hate in television and film, is over multiple installments characters failing to evolve in personality and position. Rezkinov is one of the best examples of a character succeeding in doing this, while still staying true to the character.

#1: The First Pops.

I went to a EB games recently to pick up my first Pop! Vinyls and kickstart my collection. I got four but had to return one, as it was damaged, and I will only go over the three I am keeping.

I knew for my first Pops I had to get some characters that were special. Some really significant Pop culture figures. Three characters that have had a huge impact on my relationship with film and television. So which did I get? 

Ellen Ripley

The first time I watched Alien I was eleven. I was extremely excited to watch my first horror film, AND on top of that it was Alien! Alien which every adult I knew swore that it terrified them when they were young. so when I settled down to watch the film I had just a tiny bit of dread. it was uncalled for. throughout the film, never once did it even make me feel uneasy. suffice to say I was massively disappointed. I have since forgiven it's datedness as a product of it's time, and come to appreciate it. however it's it sequel Aliens that I truly love, as a spectacular Science fiction action film. I feel the dated effects really fail at horror proper, but making a Action-Horror film really works. not to mention the improved visual effects. I still consider to this day Alien 3 to be one of the worst sequels of all time, but more on that a different time. The one thing that was consistent through the films was Ellen Ripley. Ripley is one of the greatest, if not THE greatest science fiction hero of all time. She was one of the few extremely well written, and acted characters in 70s/80s Sci Fi. While Mark Hamill and William Shatner were very iffy acting wise, Sigourney Weaver was convincing, and her character was interesting and complex. Ripley remains one of my favourite science fiction film characters. And on top of that the character is significant for challenging gender roles. so of course Ripley had to be one of the first pops i got. The pop I got is arguably my most damaged Pop, as the box has a worn spot on it's left side. I considered returning it, before deciding it wasn't that bad. 

Tenth Doctor With Hand

One of my Mother's favourite Tv series is Doctor Who. When I was younger (seven or eight) she watched a lot of the Tom Baker and Peter Davison era episodes. I liked them, but was a bit lost when it came to the plot most of the time. To this day I still haven't rewatched the classic Doctor Who series. The modern series though is another story. Years back I noticed Netflix had The modern Doctor Who series, and decided to watch it. I had a enormous amount of fun watching it. Yes it was silly. Yes it quickly got convoluted. But it was funny and entertaining and it's lore was interesting. sometimes I wonder how/if my opinion would differ if I had watched the original series, but either way I enjoy it. especially the David Tennant and Matt Smith era. Speaking of Tennant, the Tenth Doctor was probably my favourite incarnation, except for maybe the Eleventh. The Tenth Doctor was a great character because he was very human. He was witty and humorous and yet could have a terrifying temper and could be utterly merciless. He introduced audiences to so many different additions to the lore, and his relations with his companions was complex. He genuinely loved Rose Tyler and after being forced to wipe much of Donna Nobles memory, chose to travel without companions. The Pop version I have features his severed hand in a container, Which he lost in a memorable scene in the Series II debut episode. at first it seemed a amusing background object, until it surprisingly factored into the plot. one other thing, was that The Tenth Doctor had two "costumes". one with a brown coat and and a Blue tuxedo with rusty red stripes. The pop has the latter version. 

Harry Potter

As a kid my favourite fantasy books were (As is the case for many people from my generation) the Harry Potter books. I still enjoy and respect them for being one of the greatest modern fantasy series. The Films I respect also for being fairly loyal to the source material. And while I feel Philosopher's Stone and Chamber of Secrets are cringe worthy for the Iffy child acting, Prisoner of Azkaban, Order of The Phoenix, Half-Blood Prince and Deathly Hallows parts I and II were spectacular and fairly smart for choosing what to keep. Though I feel Goblet of Fire was downright offensive to book fans for it's changes. (Durmstrang only brings male students and Beauxbatons only brings female students? Wtf?) But overall it is one of the most consistently entertaining fantasy franchises. Though I admit, I am one of those people with the "books are better'' mentality. Despite the stereotypical "chosen one" aspect to the character, Harry Potter himself was a great main protagonist. Like the Tenth doctor, he is compassionate and generous and yet has a lethal temper, which is very humanizing. The character's Journey from age eleven to seventeen, is interesting how it progressing from simple fantasy fare, to including colourful and unique plot devices, like Horcruxes and the deathly hallows. And as the character of Harry Potter grows and changes as does actor Daniel Radcliffe. it must be noted the pop appears to be based after the first few films. 

#0: The Pop Vinyl Plan

Starting January 2017, I have begun trying to collect every Pop! Vinyl available.

The vinyls are stylized representations of Pop culture characters, and they number over 1000 and counting. (My standards, are a good condition figure, and A excellent condition Box. I like to have no wear on the box, but I will accept a small amount of wear on the plastic window and a tiny amount on the front and side. the back, I don't care much about.)

however I am not just trying to collect all of them, (which is still my biggest goal, and one I am very excited about.) I am also trying to watch ( and in some cases rewatch) every film and television series, play every video game and listen to the music of every band that has a Pop! vinyl. 

This is because some of them I am not very familiar with and others I just would enjoy rewatching.

- Adar