[Author Melisse Aires (HARVEST MOONS) alerted me about a budding romance in Disney's animated show STAR WARS REBELS (ABC). I invited her aboard to provide interested sci-fi romance fans with non-spoiler highlights!]
Will
Romance Bloom?
In 1977, Star
Wars, A New Hope, played for nineteen weeks in my little hometown of
Kalispell, MT. It was a phenomenon. I saw it half a dozen times, or maybe more.
During the final week the local downtown theater put tickets down to .50. Even
my parents went.
I was a fan. If there had been internet, I would have
been on all the sites and probably writing fanfic.
Over the years I saw the prequel trilogy and a few of The Clone Wars show, but by then I was a working mom with three kids and far less time. Now and then I would pick up a Star Wars paperback and re –immerse into the Star Wars world. I’m thrilled sequel movies are planned.
Over the years I saw the prequel trilogy and a few of The Clone Wars show, but by then I was a working mom with three kids and far less time. Now and then I would pick up a Star Wars paperback and re –immerse into the Star Wars world. I’m thrilled sequel movies are planned.
Highlights for me:
The animation: This is a world away from the Scooby Doo cartoons of my childhood. I find it visually appealing.
The
time frame: Star Wars
Rebels takes place just a few years before A New Hope, so Luke and Leia are
teens living their lives prior to the movie. Darth Vader, R2D2, Obi-Wan Kenobi,
Yoda and all the favorite characters and villains are contemporaries of this
crew. For me, this is the time frame that I’ve invested in the most. All the
things I most loved about Star Wars were in this ‘world’.
Firefly
parallels: A small crew
aboard a space freighter with Robin Hood smuggling activities. They were the
losers in the war, and they are hunted. Kanan survived the Jedi purge and must
hide his Jedi status.
The
Characters:
Canaan, voiced by Freddie Prinze Jr. He leads the
small group. A Jedi in hiding, he was just a teen when the Jedi were purged. He has a dangerous but competent vibe, ripe
for romance IMO.
Ezra, teenaged pickpocket and main character. He can
use the Force but needs a teacher. Kanan, who was unable to finish his own Jedi
training, tries to teach him.
Zeb, the huge protector, grouchy but also the comic
relief.
Strong
Women: Hera, the skilled pilot and ‘glue’. The mother of
the group. If anyone deserves a romance, it is Hera. I’d like to see more about
her.
Sabine, the young weapons expert who enjoys wearing
bright colors and tagging, and seems to have a few sparks with Ezra.
The
Inquisitor: The bad guy, seeking to destroy the remaining Jedi.
He is voiced by the delicious Jason Isaacs (Lucius Malfoy, Harry Potter films.)
Will romance bloom? I think so, if the show
lasts. Disney is certainly not opposed
to romance!
My hope-- perhaps Star Wars Rebels will usher in some space opera television shows since there has been such a lack of them in recent years. An SFR writer and reader can dream!
My hope-- perhaps Star Wars Rebels will usher in some space opera television shows since there has been such a lack of them in recent years. An SFR writer and reader can dream!
Take a shy, chubby, Catholic
school girl bookworm from Montana. Hand her a stack of her much older brother’s
sci fi and fantasy novels, James Bond books and horror comics. Later, introduce
Barbara Cartland and the world of romance fiction.
Get her a teaching job or two in authentic, one room Montana schools, ala Laura Ingels Wilder.
Marry her off to a great guy, move her to a big city in Tornado Alley, then pop three daughters out of her in twenty two months(one set of identical twins).
Then, make her a jinx–every great genre TV show she loves gets the ax– Beauty and the Beast, Dark Angel–and Buffy and Spike NEVER have a happy ending! She gets upset about no romance in the world, and fires up to write her own stories with happy endings.
Throw this all together into a small house in Wyoming, along with a small bouncy dog named Baxter and too many cats, shake constantly and pour it out onto a computer keyboard.
There! You have me, Melisse Aires.
Get her a teaching job or two in authentic, one room Montana schools, ala Laura Ingels Wilder.
Marry her off to a great guy, move her to a big city in Tornado Alley, then pop three daughters out of her in twenty two months(one set of identical twins).
Then, make her a jinx–every great genre TV show she loves gets the ax– Beauty and the Beast, Dark Angel–and Buffy and Spike NEVER have a happy ending! She gets upset about no romance in the world, and fires up to write her own stories with happy endings.
Throw this all together into a small house in Wyoming, along with a small bouncy dog named Baxter and too many cats, shake constantly and pour it out onto a computer keyboard.
There! You have me, Melisse Aires.
Connect with Melisse Aires
on Twitter: @Melisse_Aires
