There are definitely some things from the EU that I'd like to see get explored.  My focus tends to be from some of the Dark Horse comics and video games.  And it still seems like fairly fertile ground from a character standpoint.  But I get this shift in direction.  It's an attempt to keep the Star Wars line CURRENT and moving forward with a sense of anticipation towards the new trilogy.

And then there's the shift in the action figure business.  We've seen a pattern emerge where interest seems to be gravitating away from the 3.75" action figure to collector focused 6" figures and the video game sector.  There have also been some massive failures on some serious movie licensed toy lines.  That's led to action figure lines that are leaner, more cost-concious and more risk averse than they were say, 5 years ago.

For the continued health of the line?  I'm okay with this shift away from the EU.  I understand what's driving it.  It's a compromise that's being made in the interest of benefitting the broader Star Wars merchandise line.

Given what we've been seeing from The Official Site and other news sources regarding the Expanded Universe in general, I'm not surprised at all that there's a pullback on the Expanded Universe across multiple fronts.  I take issue with the article simply because I find Paul's work focuses far more on hyperbole and nerd rage than substance and thoughtful analysis.  I found that to be the case during my tenure on the staff at JTA and that shift in style was a major part of my reasoning for leaving that website.  But that's besides the point.

The EU pullback is actually very logical from a marketing standpoint.  Look at what's happening:
-Dark Horse's comic license is coming to an end.  That's been a major source of EU material over the past decade plus.
-Marvel taking over the comic license and re-launching the direction of Star Wars comics.
-The announcement of the creation of the Lucasfilm Star Wars story group which will be determining what is canon and what is not.  And notably this will have an impact on the post-ROTJ EU, which will likely have a tremendous impact on the story direction of Episode VII and beyond.
-Focusing Star Wars on the REBELS television series launch for fall 2014.

Getting the Star Wars toy line working along with the other arms of Disney/Lucasfilm to this common goal is something of a no-brainer in the modern world of brand management.  It does have the side effect of impacting some fans of a particular niche in Star Wars.  This is an unfortunate casualty of the new world view for Star Wars.  But it' seems clear that Lucasfilm Licensing is looking at the big picture and trying to steer things towards a greater goal.  That means working towards a successful launch for the REBELS animated series and a ramp up towards the release of Episode VII.  This move away from established EU figures et al really seems to have been inevitable given the overall change in direction for Star Wars.

Interesting offerings for this first wave.  And safe.  The reveals of the past week have given us a little insight into who these characters are prior to Toy Fair.  I expect that the REBELS line of Saga Legends is going to be timed in such a way as to not give up too much about the show early on.

In a perfect world I'd like to see some more articulation in the figures.  And with the core characters we'll probably see them in a premium format with movie-realistic likenesses.  But the limited nature of the line so far makes it manageable.  And here's to hoping that the show will be good.

They typically don't show (or talk about) exclusives at TF.

Recently, it would seem.  I've been to a number of Toy Fairs, and they have shown exclusives there in the past.  The new trend seems to be bringing the retailers to the showroom and pitching exclusive ideas for Q3 and Q4. 

To me, it looks like a manageable year. I've been trying to be a little more cost conscious about things, and this line looks like Hasbro recognizes some of the strain the economy has put on their customers. The figure line isn't exhaustive, but there are some really cool choices in there. The vehicle line doesn't look completely rehashed. And the the 6" figure line is going in an interesting direction with things like the speeder bike and Jabba.

However, the lack of exclusives?  That seems telling.

Who better to steal from when it comes to designs than the late, great Ralph McQuarrie?

I saw a couple of the new Funko figures yesterday at a Barnes & Noble store of all places. They had a fairly sizable display stand near the front of the store that had photos of each of the 6 figures in this first wave. I would've liked to have gotten Ned Stark, but no luck there. They only had Jon Snow and Danaerys Targaryen. Both looked ok in person, although Jon's beard looks a bit scraggly.

They're tagged at $19.99 each, which seems to be the going rate for 6" figures these days. I'm just wondering what other retailers might be picking up the line.

Definitely sticking with Agents of SHIELD.  It took a while for things to get rolling but the show seems to have some turned a corner.  Especially after Coulson's interrogation.  But the air schedule seems a little puzzling.  Are they taking this week off because they don't want to compete with the Olympics?