Okay, heres the promised/threatened Episode 1 action figure story: Star Wars Episode 1 was coming out in May 99 and geeks were going crazy, including myself. I mean, we had no doubt this movie was going to be awesome. Ahem. Well, the action figures were released a few months before the movie in yet another of the Flannelled Ones nefarious efforts to drain our wallets. The Toys R Us here in town was having a special midnight opening for the action figure release and I was in line with the rest of nerds in the parking lot by 11:30pm that night. The local news was there and everything. We were stoked. The doors opened at midnight and we rushed in. There were big wire bins arranged throughout the aisles, full of brand new action figures. It was like 1977 all over again. The geeks were digging in, sometimes two and three deep at the bins. Of course the one everyone wanted the most was Darth Maul, but lots of folks were going for the complete set, even Jar Jar, because again, this movie was going to be awesome and Jar Jar was going to be the best sidekick since Chewbacca. I found a Maul early but kept looking for maybe a Ric Olie or some other sure-to-be iconic character. (God.) So, a guy over my shoulder spied a Maul in the bin and dove for it. He grabbed it and extracted it. but on his way out, the edge of the cardboard backer of the action figure caught me right across the bridge of my nose. No biggie; these were the risks. We all understood that. Well, after snagging a couple more future fan-favorites, I withdrew from the mob with a half-dozen action figures clutched protectively to my chest. Just as I broke free and found a clearing, I turned and came face-to-lens with a WXII news camera, pointed right at me. I held my toys tight and marched to the nearest cash register. Only once I got back in my car to head home did I realize I had a nice trickle of blood streaming down my face from the cut on my nose given to me by Darth Maul. I didnt watch the news the next day, but there was a(n allegedly) grown man on there, hugging little plastic people and bleeding.
Posted on: Fri, 28 Mar 2014 22:07:37 +0000
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