Those were the days.

[Deslock]

Life before video games and cell-phones.

Oh yes, I loved me some Micronauts.:

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Unk3M3U9-lQ"]YouTube- WOW LOST SUPERHEO TOY COMMERCIALS 1960/70's[/ame]

Some weren't so good:

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stblRudM-4I"]YouTube- 1970's Worst Toy Ever Made Commercial # 1[/ame]

And before Lucas ruined everything.:

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNgGpCRRuWg"]YouTube- Star Wars Trailers and vintage Kenner commercials.[/ame]

Yes, there was life before videos games.....It was called "step outside", and use your imagination.

And no, we didn't have to use helmets:

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjTAA_da97w"]YouTube- Big Wheel by Marx Commercial[/ame]

My original Death Star is still one of my faves.

[k1gibson]

Oh the Big Wheel was the shit!!

[mrpappy2u]

Ok I am not that old but, Big wheels came out when I was in my late teens I think I did however play with a GI Joe. My first bike I had used hard rubber tires it was about 1962 , can you imagine peddling as fast as you can and having the front tire fly apart. Ahaaa yes I remember it well. I did however think that those big wheels were really cool.

[thatgirlkim]

big Wheels ROCK!!! my grandpa used to have a huge backyard and my cousin and I would take turns hauling ass all over and making sure to rip the hand brake and slide out....
I've noticed that all the remake toys that are out these days kinda suck...Gi Joes and Star wars figures are smaller..care bears aren't as cute...and even strawberry shortcake needs a new gig...
and does anybody even remember He-man???? LOL I actually had Shera (shira?) I can't recall) and the castle and such....

[Deslock]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=za0r3RoW4gg"]YouTube- She-Ra Commercial Toy Mattel Princess Of Power[/ame]

[thatgirlkim]

Damn Des.. that brought back some childhood memories.... lol

[Phoenix]

No doubt Kim. Big time memories.

[Brocman]

I had a He-man action figure once, but I was a pyro and I set him on fire. Nothing better than burning children's toys.

[Deslock]

I used to be a huge toy geek. Attitudes and the way of life when I grew up was so uncomplicated unlike today.

We rode our bikes without a full body suit to protect us. Hell yeah our toys had progectile missles on them..lol !!! :D Our toys had lead paint on them..heh, heck, so toys were made of lead. We didn't have cellphones and Ipods, we were happier than a pig in crap to have just ol' plain walkie talkies. Legos didn't cost $100.00... We blew up our model tanks and airplanes up with firecrackers!
And good ol' fashioned cap guns with gunpowder.

I'll let my wife have her say also:

From Daz:

Barbie dolls and a pair of skates were all it took to make our afternoons fun. Finding stuff to ride your bike off of and do stunts was always good for fun (and possibly a concussion). Climbing trees was also a favorite past time. And not to mention, numerous bee stings, thorns, splinters, skinned knees, ect. But you know what? We weren't obese. We had no lack of sunshine, fresh air, and exercise. We also had to use our IMAGINATIONS! Do kids even know what board games are now? Or Go Fish? or Old Maid? Seriously, we couldn't even afford a TV till I was 10 years old. Much less an X Box, Wii, PS2, PS3, or a DS. Not to mention, we knew and played with all the other kids in the neighborhood.

Our Cartoons were Looney Tunes and Woody Woodpecker (Too violent now for brodcast), Lil' Rascals (Too racist now-Which I really don't get. Yeah, they did indeed use stereotypes, but all different kids of all races and colors all played together.) The Six Million dollar Man, and Woman. Charlie's Angels. Remember Shazaam and Isis?.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KfFx_UZ5ZU"]YouTube- SHAZAM! Intro[/ame]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnSU2AalfKg"]YouTube- Isis Intro (clearer)[/ame]

And you might wonder why Star Wars was such a HUGE hit with kids...well, take a good look at the Sci-Fi we had before Star Wars..(I LOVED this show almost as much as Star Blazers):

Space Giants:
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iCJdiJObks"]YouTube- The Space Giants: Chapter 5[/ame]

Star Blazers, and why I loved it:

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7_ndVH0ALk"]YouTube- Star Blazers:The Bolar Wars Ep016 (2/2)[/ame]

George Lucas could learn a few things about real story telling from that show.

[Zabka]

Star Blazers was transfixing when I was a kid. As fit little rascals, apparently a lot of the episodes that we have seen are the clean ones while the more offensively racist ones haven't been shown In some time. Same with bugs and popeye; sone seriously racist stuff back then--especially ww2.

All you say is true, but the generation above us claimed the same with our having tvs, and not just radio. I remember being in college and wondering what the old man complaint I would have with my kids. I assumed it would be no remote controls. The Internet wasn't a thought back then to the everyday person.

[Deslock]

I liked Star Blazers though even though it was aimed at kids, they didn't "dumb" it down for us. The entire story was complex, and interesting, kinda like Robotech. Friends became enemies, and enemies became friends. When you first watched it, did you EVER think that Wildstar and Desslok would become friends? And honor each other? !!! But that's exactly how life is. That Desslok would risk his life, and Empire, to save the Earth, after he tried so very hard to destroy it? That's where I feel Lucas failed. Not in the original trilogy, but in trying to explain everything in the prequels.

Anakin is more of a potential badass in the new animated series, than the whiny bitch boy we see in the actual movies. The guy that's supposed to become the ultimate badass in the entire universe shouldn't........

Pout, whine, or throw temper tantrums.

Emperor Desslok lost his war against Earth, lost his military force, and was even forced to watch as his home planet, and way of life destroyed before his very eyes.

Yes, he did have a break down, but he never once whined about it. And when the time came, even fought for the very people that destroyed his people. Hence the whole Vader turning against his beloved Emperor. That's what made it cool.

When you look really at the complexity of Desslok, and Vader, Leader Desslok will always come out on top in comparison.

The original trilogy had "magic". As Star Blazers did.

With all the remakes going on now since Hollywood seems to lack any sense of "originality", this series needs a sequel.

[cmj75]

@ Des. I agree with what you say about originality and character portrayel. A perfect example in a very recent flim was avatar. Yeah, stunning visuals and cool filming but the story was terrible....for those who haven't seen it..guess what you have..it is called Dances with Wolves meets Pocahantas. Why do Alien natives from another planet have to be completely like Native Americans? Yes movies like Star Wars (original) were drawn from elements in history and contemporary society but not to this degree......

[Nuguistic]

i see batteries were never included