Solid episode. I remember it as if it happened yesterday.

It was past midnight when I posted that, so there.

You know what's kind of cool? The fact that at almost exactly the halfway mark is when the House Of Cards discussion starts. I just think it's neat how that worked out.

I'm pretty happy with the Abrams choice. Abrams seems perfectly happy to sacrifice sensible plot at the altar of character drama and emotional momentum, and that is SW in a nutshell. You guys pointed out the plot weirdness in Super 8, and ST's plot was a pile of nonsense, but they both score highly because of their commitment to their characters and to the kinetic story energy.

I watched ANH recntly on a bad tv with bad sound, and was struck by two strengths that shine through were the kinetic energy thing and what i can only call sincerity or heartfelt earnestness. The prequels had some earnestness, but none of it was heartfelt. Abrams seems to love actors and characters, and Super 8 and ST both have a real sincerity to them. Also, his not-too-reverent understanding of nostalgia should serve him well on SW, too.

Good point about how we can look forward to fewer cgi sets. I hadn't thought of that, but man is that encouraging!

Giachinno is as big a Star Wars fan as Abrams apparently and he already scored Star Tours: The Adventures Continue so the chances are good.

I can't help but wonder what these films will be rated. I'm hoping for PG. SW doesn't need to be PG-13, does it? It seems how PG-13 is becoming the new PG in a way. More and more parents are letting their kids see PG-13 stuff, because that's what all the super-hero movies and the like are rated.

Ang Lee also did Sense & Sensibility. Watch it now. Watch it right now. It is perfection. And the two commentary tracks on the dvd are excellent, as well.