Marathon Weekend 2026

[DisneyParrothead]

I am also old enough to have seen A New Hope in the theater. The original trilogy was amazing - especially for its time. And having to wait years between movies and seeing them all in a theater probably seems crazy in today's instagram, netflix, amazon, binge watch, get it now world, but the anticipation made it so much better.

I give George Lucus a break on the pre-quels because while not that great, they do at least tie things together for the original trilogy. Which is why I do really like Rogue One and to a lesser extent, Solo.

After that, I cannot believe how badly Disney has destroyed the franchise. Let’s start with the sequels:

Force Awakens somehow worked. But I cannot figure out why. Oh yeah! I know why…because it is basically a carbon copy of A New Hope. 10 years and one of the most anticipated movies ever and they could not come up with an original story?

And speaking of stories, any resemblance of one would have been nice in The Last Jedi. I’ve seen that movie several times and I still don’t know what the story is supposed to be. The only thing that was decent in that movie were the scenes with Luke and Rey. They should have developed that story more rather than developing Rose…probably the most gawd awful character in the franchise - a franchise that includes Jar Jar Binks, btw.

I figured the story could not get any worse but along came The Rise of Skywalker. The movie is pretty much unwatchable, in my opinion.

As for all the TV shows, it just seems Disney feels they need content for Disney+. Maybe the shows are good. I have no idea. Who has time to watch them? I watched the first season of the Mandelorian. I thought is was really good. Finally…stories. But by season 2, it lost its way and was hard to finish season 2. I did, but I have no interest in season 3. I love Bobba Fett and Obi Wan. But I can’t bring myself to watching those shows. Or any other character I wasn’t previously invested in like Ashoka or Skeleton Crew. I thought I may watch Andor because I do like the character and feel like it would help develop Rogue One which was a good movie. But again. Season 2? Why? These should be 2+ hour movies. Not several seasons. I mean Andor is 24 freakin’ episodes…ummm…no friggin’ way!!

I am still a Star Wars fan. But less since Disney sunk their teeth in. I shifted to Marvel more because although I feel Disney is doing the same thing with over saturating so there is plenty of Disney+ content, at least they have mountains of great stories and characters to pull from the comics.

And as for those who are not fans at all. I get it. I have no idea why people like Harry Potter. I made it through the first and then half way through the second movie and was like, “nope, I’m done.”

The Force Awakens worked because of the nostalgia, but I was lost during the Last Jedi and I haven’t seen Rise of Skywalker. I don’t like what they did to Luke in Jedi, and I don’t like how I’d have to watch everything to understand what the heck happened.

 

[Naomeri]

I am also old enough to have seen A New Hope in the theater. The original trilogy was amazing - especially for its time. And having to wait years between movies and seeing them all in a theater probably seems crazy in today's instagram, netflix, amazon, binge watch, get it now world, but the anticipation made it so much better.

I give George Lucus a break on the pre-quels because while not that great, they do at least tie things together for the original trilogy. Which is why I do really like Rogue One and to a lesser extent, Solo.

After that, I cannot believe how badly Disney has destroyed the franchise. Let’s start with the sequels:

Force Awakens somehow worked. But I cannot figure out why. Oh yeah! I know why…because it is basically a carbon copy of A New Hope. 10 years and one of the most anticipated movies ever and they could not come up with an original story?

And speaking of stories, any resemblance of one would have been nice in The Last Jedi. I’ve seen that movie several times and I still don’t know what the story is supposed to be. The only thing that was decent in that movie were the scenes with Luke and Rey. They should have developed that story more rather than developing Rose…probably the most gawd awful character in the franchise - a franchise that includes Jar Jar Binks, btw.

I figured the story could not get any worse but along came The Rise of Skywalker. The movie is pretty much unwatchable, in my opinion.

As for all the TV shows, it just seems Disney feels they need content for Disney+. Maybe the shows are good. I have no idea. Who has time to watch them? I watched the first season of the Mandelorian. I thought it was really good. Finally…stories. But by season 2, it lost its way and was hard to finish season 2. I did, but I have no interest in season 3. I love Bobba Fett and Obi Wan. But I can’t bring myself to watching those shows. Or any other character I wasn’t previously invested in like Ashoka or Skeleton Crew. I thought I may watch Andor because I do like the character and feel like it would help develop Rogue One which was a good movie. But again. Season 2? Why? These should be 2+ hour movies. Not several seasons. I mean Andor is 24 freakin’ episodes…ummm…no friggin’ way!!

I am still a Star Wars fan. But less since Disney sunk their teeth in. I shifted to Marvel more because although I feel Disney is doing the same thing with over saturating so there is plenty of Disney+ content, at least they have mountains of great stories and characters to pull from the comics.

And as for those who are not fans at all. I get it. I have no idea why people like Harry Potter. I made it through the first and then half way through the second movie and was like, “nope, I’m done.”

Andor is SO good! (Season 1 at least, I haven't gotten around to season 2 yet)

The sequel trilogy desperately needed one person at the helm, instead of bouncing between 2. And a better lead villain actor **ducks as the Adam Driver fans throw things**

 

[Herding_Cats]

Andor is SO good! (Season 1 at least, I haven't gotten around to season 2 yet)

The sequel trilogy desperately needed one person at the helm, instead of bouncing between 2. And a better lead villain actor **ducks as the Adam Driver fans throw things**

I will start this off by saying that I don't care overly much about whether the movies are perfect, they're just entertainment for me and all of the big feelings about the new ones are baffling. However, I was really confused at the whole Rey/Kylo dynamic and trying to figure out if they were just internally conflicted about being good/bad guys, or if there were *feelings* tension between them. I feel like the writers/producers/directors did a really bad job of selling either of the options for that and it was just a muddled mess, which then made the actors look bad. Did it ruin the movies for me? No, but it also didn't make me want to watch them over and over again either.

 

[The Expert]

Maybe the shows are good. I have no idea.

Well, I have at least attempted to watch them all (at least the live action ones). In reverse order, here's how I would rank them:

7. The Acolyte -- I really tried, but couldn't get past two episodes. Slow, boring, hated the characters and had no idea how this tied into anything else.

6. Ahsoka -- Like you, I have no experience with this character as I never read any of the books or watched the Clone Wars series. She seems cool, but I bailed after three episodes as I just had no investment in what happened to her.

5. Boba Fett -- I had high hopes as I love this character, but it was basically another (weaker) season of Mandalorian.

4. Obi-Wan -- I adore Ewan McGregor and loved that everyone thought this was going to be him following/protecting Luke, but then it turned out it was Leia. I loved that this was familiar characters I knew, and I very much enjoyed how well it filled out his (and her) story.

3. Mandalorian (Season 1) -- I think my expectations were pretty low, and the reveal of Grogu was just brilliant. Season 2 wasn't nearly as great and relied a lot more on knowing the lore, but I really love season one. And the villain is AWESOME!

2. Skeleton Crew -- Just pure fun! It really stands alone and you don't need to know much of anything about the rest of Star Wars to enjoy it. It's kind of how Guardians is to Marvel. It has very early-80s Spielberg feel, like Goonies in space.

1. Andor -- Honestly, as an OG trilogy fan, I think this is the best thing they've done in the SW universe. Rogue One is solidly and just slightly behind Empire as my favorite SW movie, and while it can sometimes be a slow boil, the series really sets up how the rebellion started and grew, and how these seemingly random people all came together. Rebellions often start with a lot of boring and secretive political moves, which is true throughout history. Andor really puts weight behind everything that happens in A New Hope. My plan next week is to watch those last three episodes, then immediately roll into Rogue One and Episode 4.

 

[nancipants]

Andor is by far the best thing Star Wars has done in AGES. I stayed up until midnight this week to watch the latest arc (Episodes 7-9), and even though I knew exactly what was going to happen (the events have been established lore for awhile), I was on the edge of my seat. Tears were shed. Episode 8, especially, was just incredible.

Spoilers about the last three episodes below (mostly for @The Expert ) -

Spoiler

I've had the Ghorman anthem in my head since those episodes, and keep hearing Bail Organa tell Mon Mothma "tear the **** out of this place." I've been wanting to hear Mon's speech in the senate for literal decades and it did not fail to deliver. Genevieve O'Reilly deserves an Emmy for that speech alone. I love her so much.

As for the Sequel Trilogy - I love the ideas. The Force Awakens remains my second favorite Star Wars movie behind Return of the Jedi. But I really disliked the direction they went. They sidelined Poe and Finn to focus on the Rey/Kylo relationship, when Finn was the most interesting of the new bunch. I also didn't like what they did with Luke - which is weird, because the stuff with him at the end of The Last Jedi is incredible. But I hated that he died for seemingly nothing. Yes he helps the Falcon get away, but so what? I don't think they did a good job showing exactly what his sacrifice meant. And then TRoS went a completely different direction. There are moments in that movie that I love, but yeah. Overall, it's meh.

I'm also biased because I read the books for decades and while those stories were also very hit and miss, those stories and characters meant a lot to me and it was hard to see them overwritten. I wish they would have kept the basic framework of the galaxy (Luke starting a Jedi Academy, married and with a kid, Han and Leia with three kids, war between the Empire/New Republic won), and introduce a new threat that the next generation could tackle with the help of the old heroes. Alas - this is why I have fanfiction.

 

[mmm_texas]

Well, I have at least attempted to watch them all (at least the live action ones). In reverse order, here's how I would rank them:

7. The Acolyte -- I really tried, but couldn't get past two episodes. Slow, boring, hated the characters and had no idea how this tied into anything else.

6. Ahsoka -- Like you, I have no experience with this character as I never read any of the books or watched the Clone Wars series. She seems cool, but I bailed after three episodes as I just had no investment in what happened to her.

5. Boba Fett -- I had high hopes as I love this character, but it was basically another (weaker) season of Mandalorian.

4. Obi-Wan -- I adore Ewan McGregor and loved that everyone thought this was going to be him following/protecting Luke, but then it turned out it was Leia. I loved that this was familiar characters I knew, and I very much enjoyed how well it filled out his (and her) story.

3. Mandalorian (Season 1) -- I think my expectations were pretty low, and the reveal of Grogu was just brilliant. Season 2 wasn't nearly as great and relied a lot more on knowing the lore, but I really love season one. And the villain is AWESOME!

2. Skeleton Crew -- Just pure fun! It really stands alone and you don't need to know much of anything about the rest of Star Wars to enjoy it. It's kind of how Guardians is to Marvel. It has very early-80s Spielberg feel, like Goonies in space.

1. Andor -- Honestly, as an OG trilogy fan, I think this is the best thing they've done in the SW universe. Rogue One is solidly and just slightly behind Empire as my favorite SW movie, and while it can sometimes be a slow boil, the series really sets up how the rebellion started and grew, and how these seemingly random people all came together. Rebellions often start with a lot of boring and secretive political moves, which is true throughout history. Andor really puts weight behind everything that happens in A New Hope. My plan next week is to watch those last three episodes, then immediately roll into Rogue One and Episode 4.

I personally liked The Acolyte much better than Boba Fett or Obi-Wan, and at least as much as Ahsoka. (I think you had to get past the first two episodes though, there was actually a lot of action.) Plus, The Acolyte and The Mandalorian are the only two my wife was also really into. I did enjoy Skeleton Crew, and agree, Andor is awesome.

 

[The Expert]

Spoiler

I couldn't figure out how to quote the spoiler properly without revealing it, but suffice it to say I freaking LOVE what they are doing with Mon!

I personally liked The Acolyte much better than Boba Fett or Obi-Wan, and at least as much as Ahsoka. (I think you had to get past the first two episodes though, there was actually a lot of action.)

Maybe I'll go back and give Acolyte another shot after Andor wraps up. DH did finish it and liked it.

 

[Mr_Incr3dible]

I still have the original trilogy on VHS, and should still have a player around here. I really need to go watch them in their original form.

>> And as for those who are not fans at all. I get it. I have no idea why people like Harry Potter. I made it through the first and then half way through the second movie and was like, “nope, I’m done.”

When the books first came out, my first son was an infant, so I heard all the hoopla, plus all the "this is teaching witchcraft", but wasn't "in" it because my one child was so young. But when the first couple of books were on the rack at the grocery store for like $5, I bought them to put back for when my son could read. Fast forward a couple of years and I ran out of something to read, so grabbed the first book one night so see what the hype was about. And quickly realized how well and how cleverly it was written, and then how the storyline got pretty deep in the later books. So the ex and I became big fans, to the point where we were having to reserve two books when the later ones came out.
IMHO, the movies were well done, with the first two staying very true to the books, down to some of the dialog, but the length of the subsequent books meant that the later movies had to condense things.
I had a coworker who had worked for TW during that time, and had a nice collection of the movie props, so I've held one of the quiddich bludgers and one of the wands. And Ms Rowling was at a local independent book store doing a reading after the first or second book came out, so before she became the 2nd richest woman in England. I'm still bummed I didn't go to that; again, hadn't read any of the books yet.

So, yeah, I enjoyed HP, as well as SW and ST. It's all some pleasant escape for a short time. Like WDW as a whole.

 

[Naomeri]

I still have the original trilogy on VHS, and should still have a player around here. I really need to go watch them in their original form.

>> And as for those who are not fans at all. I get it. I have no idea why people like Harry Potter. I made it through the first and then half way through the second movie and was like, “nope, I’m done.”

When the books first came out, my first son was an infant, so I heard all the hoopla, plus all the "this is teaching witchcraft", but wasn't "in" it because my one child was so young. But when the first couple of books were on the rack at the grocery store for like $5, I bought them to put back for when my son could read. Fast forward a couple of years and I ran out of something to read, so grabbed the first book one night so see what the hype was about. And quickly realized how well and how cleverly it was written, and then how the storyline got pretty deep in the later books. So the ex and I became big fans, to the point where we were having to reserve two books when the later ones came out.
IMHO, the movies were well done, with the first two staying very true to the books, down to some of the dialog, but the length of the subsequent books meant that the later movies had to condense things.
I had a coworker who had worked for TW during that time, and had a nice collection of the movie props, so I've held one of the quiddich bludgers and one of the wands. And Ms Rowling was at a local independent book store doing a reading after the first or second book came out, so before she became the 2nd richest woman in England. I'm still bummed I didn't go to that; again, hadn't read any of the books yet.

So, yeah, I enjoyed HP, as well as SW and ST. It's all some pleasant escape for a short time. Like WDW as a whole.

I'm hoping the new HP series adaptation on Max turns out well.

 

[Barca33Runner]

***WARNING- Star Wars rant prompted by other Star Wars rants but not responding directly to any previous Star Wars rants and respecting all opinions previously and henceforth expressed. If you don’t want more Star Wars, feel free to skip***

Rian Johnson could have, and probably would have, written and directed an excellent trilogy of Star Wars movies outside of the Skywalker Saga. Movies that he was, at one time, signed on to do. What he did with episode 8 I find completely unforgivable. He took well-established characters and completely retconned their personalities, he unceremoniously killed Snoke, the only real option for a big bad of the trilogy-leaving a complete void for where to go with the third movie (they were always going to redeem Ben Solo, I don’t think there was any intention to revive Palpatine until there was literally no villain left for Rise of Skywalker), and generally treated the franchise as though it needed sending up and to be turned on its head.

With his own characters that would have needed background stories thst he could have developed any way he wanted, I think he could have made great Star Wars movies. Alas, Disney chose to give him a trial run with The Last Jedi and tainted two things that could likely have been much better (the 7/8/9 trilogy) or could have been a great direction for Star Wars- telling interesting stories independent of the Skywalker Saga written and directed by talented people. I blame him almost entirely for the failure of Rise of Skywalker. They probably should have done better, but he really cut them off at the knees (as did the incredibly unfortunate death of Carrie Fisher).

Now that the Rian Johnson rant is out of the way, I will segue to the Disney rant. Disney was on the right track awarding movies/television/content meant to be staged outside of the Skywalker Saga to creatives outside of the Filoni-verse.

My favorite piece of Star Wars content outside of the original trilogy (possibly even including the original trilogy) is the Knights of the Old Republic video game. The storyline of the game is amazing and it exists entirely without tie-in to the films before it other than it existing in the Star Wars universe. George Lucas created this entire Galaxy of possibilities and we are stuck watching pieces of the same picture getting filled in with every new piece of content; and, inevitably, when those new pieces get filled in the pieces that already exist begin to shift and become more blurry, their meaning changed and emotional impact dulled.

I firmly believe that the best Star Wars content that can be made at this point would use the universe George Lucas created but exist almost entirely outside of the stories already told. They, somewhat, attempted this with Acolyte and, to a larger degree, Skeleton Crew but I don’t think they’ve scratched the surface of what could be accomplished. I can only imagine how much more amazing Andor would be if I didn’t already know how it ends (not a diss on Andor, what they’ve done with Rogue One and Andor is truly amazing; it confirms that there is great content to be made with the Star Wars IP). I’m not getting my hopes up though, the way Disney is currently operating we will fill in the minutiae of every two week period and every tertiary character from the beginning of Phantom Menace all the way through Rise of Skywalker before they, gasp, try something original.

 

[Naomeri]

***WARNING- Star Wars rant prompted by other Star Wars rants but not responding directly to any previous Star Wars rants and respecting all opinions previously and henceforth expressed. If you don’t want more Star Wars, feel free to skip***

Rian Johnson could have, and probably would have, written and directed an excellent trilogy of Star Wars movies outside of the Skywalker Saga. Movies that he was, at one time, signed on to do. What he did with episode 8 I find completely unforgivable. He took well-established characters and completely retconned their personalities, he unceremoniously killed Snoke, the only real option for a big bad of the trilogy-leaving a complete void for where to go with the third movie (they were always going to redeem Ben Solo, I don’t think there was any intention to revive Palpatine until there was literally no villain left for Rise of Skywalker), and generally treated the franchise as though it needed sending up and to be turned on its head.

With his own characters that would have needed background stories thst he could have developed any way he wanted, I think he could have made great Star Wars movies. Alas, Disney chose to give him a trial run with The Last Jedi and tainted two things that could likely have been much better (the 7/8/9 trilogy) or could have been a great direction for Star Wars- telling interesting stories independent of the Skywalker Saga written and directed by talented people. I blame him almost entirely for the failure of Rise of Skywalker. They probably should have done better, but he really cut them off at the knees (as did the incredibly unfortunate death of Carrie Fisher).

Now that the Rian Johnson rant is out of the way, I will segue to the Disney rant. Disney was on the right track awarding movies/television/content meant to be staged outside of the Skywalker Saga to creatives outside of the Filoni-verse.

My favorite piece of Star Wars content outside of the original trilogy (possibly even including the original trilogy) is the Knights of the Old Republic video game. The storyline of the game is amazing and it exists entirely without tie-in to the films before it other than it existing in the Star Wars universe. George Lucas created this entire Galaxy of possibilities and we are stuck watching pieces of the same picture getting filled in with every new piece of content; and, inevitably, when those new pieces get filled in the pieces that already exist begin to shift and become more blurry, their meaning changed and emotional impact dulled.

I firmly believe that the best Star Wars content that can be made at this point would use the universe George Lucas created but exist almost entirely outside of the stories already told. They, somewhat, attempted this with Acolyte and, to a larger degree, Skeleton Crew but I don’t think they’ve scratched the surface of what could be accomplished. I can only imagine how much more amazing Andor would be if I didn’t already know how it ends (not a diss on Andor, what they’ve done with Rogue One and Andor is truly amazing; it confirms that there is great content to be made with the Star Wars IP). I’m not getting my hopes up though, the way Disney is currently operating we will fill in the minutiae of every two week period and every tertiary character from the beginning of Phantom Menace all the way through Rise of Skywalker before they, gasp, try something original.

I think we're getting something original with Starfighter from Shawn Levy, starring Ryan Gosling, in 2027. It's supposed to be outside the Skywalker Saga.

 

[JediKnightXan]

I think the Clone Wars/Bad Batch/Rebels cartoons are actually really good star wars, so if you haven't given them a chance because they are cartoons I would recommend. Particularly the later seasons of the clone wars, once they got a green light to tell more of a continuing story they really did a good job with it. They also make really good treadmill shows.

On the topic of the sequels I watched them all in theaters, but I can't imagine I will ever watch them all again. Who knows maybe time will be kind to them the way they have the prequels. I prefer to ignore them and stick with the book Expanded universe.

The High Republic books show you can get some good stories away from the exiting movies/time line, its to bad the Acolyte couldn't figure it out. I didn't actually finish it, felt to disjointed, maybe I need to go back and give it another chance.

 

[Michelle Perno]

Lol I will never do Dopey. After four days of waking up at 2 a.m., I would have a mental breakdown . Non-Dopey-ers, unite!

It really IS the hardest part! The running isn't quite as taxing as the sleep schedule. And the stress of multiple alarms. One year my wake up call did not come and my phone alarm did not go off for the half. Fortunately I had gone to sleep early enough that I woke up relatively in time. I made it to the start several corrals behind the one I should have been in but I made it. So Sunday I had my nightshift nurse sister give me a 2:45am wake up call and she came through while the hotel had failed.

 

[sandam1]

Sorry, everyone, I’ve gotten caught up in Mother’s Day commitments and don’t have a SAFD this week. Normal service will resume next week unless someone wants to toss out a question (or we can just keep talking Star Wars).

I'm going to throw out a question...

SAFD - Inspired by Mother's Day, who is the person (or people) who have inspired you or you would want to thank for their help/support on your running journey?

 

[jmasgat]

SAFD: As I posted over on the running thread.....it would be my family--my DH (sort of--he gave up running and took up cycling), DD, DS. Everyone in the family was a runner at some point in time before me. I never had an interest. But finally, when my daughter was off to college (and still running XC and track) and my son was (sorta begrudgingly) running XC in HS, I decided "well, why not".

 

[BigEeyore]

SAFD: I ran track in HS, and a little bit here and there in college. Then, after our second child was born in 2009, I started doing spin classes at the gym, and started to make friends with people in the class. There were several people doing a triathlon, and they convinced me to join them, so I started to add swimming and running to my life. One thing led to another and I just ran my 16th marathon! I am still friends with some of those spin class buddies and we still run together!

 

[The Expert]

SAFD: When I started running I only knew a few folks personally who ran, and they'd all done it their whole lives and were much faster than me, so I do all my training solo. My DH is super supportive of me doing the races and all the training for MW over the holidays, but most of my support in real-time is from you all -- here on this board and in person at race weekends. I'm so grateful to have found this community!

 

[jpholic]

SAFD: I picked up running again three years ago after a very long hiatus.

My bestie and I were chatting one day and they had signed up for the 2024 SS 10k and said I should come down and run with them. It sounded fun and the run was during my birthday month so happy birthday to me! I found a charity bib, flight, and after a month of training I was in WDW for my first rD race. During that race weekend we had a mutual friend that I bonded with over our love of Disney and running. We have been Pain and Panic ever since and they are a ray of sunshine in human form, the cheerleader always there for encouragement, and truly one of my favorite people.

I thank these two for rekindling my love of running.

 

[Baloo in MI]

SAFD:
I have been a runner for a good portion of my life. When I was younger I was actually quite a strong runner, more of a mid-distance sprinter - 400 & 800. I ran cross country in JH/HS/College to stay in shape for track and that was my focus. Since then I have run on and off most of my life, but have been pretty committed to running since my early 40’s and love runDisney which I have been doing since 2015. But I would say I have done it all in honor of my uncle who was a runner and died in Vietnam before I was born and for who I am a namesake. When I was a kid my family would say I was very much like my uncle. And I would hear many stories about him and how in high school he was a track and cross country star. It all made me want to run too and even though I am now much older, and much slower, it did come very naturally to me. I am sure he would have continued running, he loved it. So now I continue to run, I love it too.

 

[Mr_Incr3dible]

I ran cross country in jr high, but being middling (at best) at sports, once I got to high school I focused on academics. After college I did some occasional running while working out west, but nothing with any regularity. But I can tell you that Monday morning July 6, 1992 is what truly launched me on distance running. I had co-workers who spent hours going on about the Peachtree Road Race they had just run. I had never even spectated the PTRR, much less run a 10K, but they made it sound like something I wanted to do, so I started training and entered the 1993 PTRR. And after finishing around 55 minutes, with a ton of walking the first mile due to being in the back, I decided to do it again the next year. Plus other races.
So those guys have no clue what they inspired, and I never said anything.
After that, covid had the biggest effect in that, after a few weeks of ten-hour days working from home, I decided that I had to get off my butt and get some exercise. Walks became jogs became runs and circumstances aligned to allow me to run the 2022 Dopey. That plus meeting and "meeting" you guys got me going down the vortex of me, my $$, and running shoes going to WDW and other destinations. Due to an ugly virus, I'm now 10 lbs lighter (and losing) and in the best shape I've been in in the last 30 years.
So officer, that's how I got here....