F-ZeroOne

Turn-A is not without a few problems; Tomino does like to drop people into things without much in the way of explanation, the ending feels a bit rushed and theres not really a nice, charismatic villain to yell "BOO!" at. Theres also a few story elements which can be a) confusing and b) tend to fall apart if you think about them too hard. All of these, however, are totally outweighed by its strengths. The fact that every single thing that initially appeared as a weakness, such as the bizarre mecha designs, actually... er... "turns" out to be a real strength; to the extent that, at least in my estimation, the Turn-A has gone from being a hearty chuckle to one of my favourite Gundam designs. And conceptually, Turn-A is streets ahead from certain "G" series I could mention... One thing I loved about the original Gundam series was its use of O'Neill cylinders. Turn-A takes a similar proposal and makes excellent use of it; I won't spoil it here but when I found out what the "Zacktrager" actually was I felt like applauding - I think its the first time I've ever seen that particular idea used in a SF series or film. Perhaps the biggest shock, though, is that Tomino does have a sense of humour. Those who suffered through the first half of ZZ might find it hard to believe, but Turn-A shows a lightness of touch that prevents the series becoming the sort of character death-spiral Zeta became. That the show still manages to display the serious aspects of war is just part of why this series is highly recommended, not just to Gundam fans, but to anyone with a passing interest in SF.

I've just snorted coffee out my nose! And remember... it must think in Russian!

That is beautiful, but I think I can forsee some more business headed the way of the third-party decal providers...

I'm trying not to think about that aspect too hard - after all, given the amount of time thats claimed to have passed since the U.C. period in Turn-A, all I can say is that Zakus must have one heckuva warranty to have lasted so long, even before the nano-machines got to them!

I finally managed to finish watching Turn-A. Short version? Best. Gundam. Ever!

Where does he get those shirts?! Many happy returns to the "God of Transformation"!

Blast, you beat me to it on the A-9 - I couldn't remember the serial number but I thought that it looked uncannily like a Frogfoot, and I remember reading somewhere that the Frogfoot bore a passing resemblence to the loser of the fly-off that was won by the A-10... Isn't 14 a Buckeye, the ex-US Navy training aircraft?

"Tone and lock" suggests a missile has been targeted on an enemy - some missiles produce a tone in the pilots headphones to indicate successful "lock-on", acquisition, of a target prior to launch of the weapon. "No joy" probably means just that i.e. lack of success. "Bingo fuel" usually indidcates the aircraft is down to a set minimum of fuel reserves to return to base. I don't think its quite the last "possible" fuel state - I think most aircraft are given a final reserve in case of emergency. Edit: just looked at that linked image. Only ones I recognise off the bat are "STDBY" - "Standby" and "CAP" - Combat Air Patrol, typically a defensive patrol flown by carrier aircraft around the carrier or fleet in order to increase the chances of intercepting potential attackers before they get too close.

To bodily go, where no man has gone before... I have to admire the fact that Shatner's willing to do this, despite it being kind of tacky. And in the end, the tacky's actually part of the charm, as Shatner willingly exploits himself for a laugh and charity. Wait, so you're actually suppose to... pass these things? Through there? *looks down* But... the orifice... is not... that big. O_o It's supposed to hurt like hell. And you're only expected to pass the small ones. Larger ones can't get into the pipe, and have to be operated on(especially if they jam befor ethey get to tbhe bladder, as the kidneys are vERY sensitive to pressure). 361854[/snapback] The English diaryist Samuel Pepys survived just such an operation. Back in the 17th Century. By all accounts, yes, it hurt like hell.

Almost certainly, or something very like it. The original YF-16 was a much simplier aircraft than the production F-16; European customers demanded much more capability which changed the specification a fair bit. If the YF-17 had been selected, then its reasonably likely that the same thing would have happened - Northrop even had plans for a F-18L land based version which would probably have been pretty much equivalent to a F-16C - not having been navalised, it was lighter, faster (Mach 2) and was shown in mock-up with Sparrows mounted - on the wing-tips!

US fans, we bring you this gift from the Great and Bountiful Human Empire: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/4607966.stm I've recently been re-watching the first series on DVD, and with the chance to reflect a bit after the intial excitement of the TV broadcasts, I have to say the series is actually even better than my first impression. There are a few weak spots, and SF fans might quibble about some of the concepts, but this is balanced by the terrific performances, brilliant writing and great lines ("I am fully sonic-ed up!"). The standout episodes to watch for are: Dalek, Fathers Day, and the two-parter The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances.

"My pretty girl... I've been waiting for you... " huh, David?

Snake? Snake?! SNNAAAAKKKKE!!!

Actually, they're more likely to believe the doll-buying... The costume is based on the classic Gatchaman costume - with a couple of minor differences, presumably for practicality - but its difficult to tell what the face is like from the early images that have been released; my guess is that it will be a fairly generic one rather than totally "anime-accurate". And if its able to achieve some of the one-legged poses shown in the pictures without falling over, then I'll eat Berg Katses lipstick!

I'm normally a mecha junkie, but I've just had to put in a pre-order for an item I couldn't resist - Takara are releasing a Cool Girl Gatchaman Jun figure. I'm looking forward to having to explain to my family why I've bought a doll in a pink mini-skirt...

AWACs = MRCA (Must Refurbish Canberras Again!) The Merlin is a fairly big copter - perhaps a variant? Fighters: theres a guy in South Africa who is still operating some Buccaneers, perhaps we could buy them back... I find it unlikely that the government would be able to seriously consider buying Rafales, especially as far as the general press is concerned they're the same as Typhoons (canard deltas, must be the same right?), and worse, French (no disrespect intended to any French MWers, I'm just looking it the way the UK tabloids would - they tend to treat international affairs like a playground fight at times!). I'm sure BaE would love the chance to offer a Naval variant, and the carrier is way bigger than I was expecting (would be nice if the lead ship could be called Ark Royal, but we already have one of those and I doubt the politically correct lobby would go for Warspite these days... ), but its been a long time since the UK built any carrier aircraft for itself - although there is the Goshawk... Which pretty much leaves American. F/A-18s would be a suitable compromise, I guess, but again, would probably get the government crucified in the press. Calling the Spirit of Sydney Camm, your country needs you! Calling the Spirit of Sydney Camm...

In layman's terms: Stopgap fighter. 354546[/snapback] Yup, like the Spitfire Mk IX Chris 357912[/snapback] At the risk of bleeding into the "Vs. Aircraft" thread... over 5,500 produced. The intent was stopgap, but when you're good...

I'm feeling a bit guilty at the moment - having raved about Turn-A, I've got stalled at the mid-20s; Christmas, work, and, er... Doctor Who. (Turn-A is great, but... Doctor Who...!) I will get back to it shortly, I promise! Gui, you're welcome - if you're a bit puzzled about the "X-Bomber/Star Fleet" reference Black Valkyrie mentioned, you can find out more here: http://www.sfxb.co.uk/ (as you mentioned writing for a French anime site you might know the series by its French alter-ego: "Bomber X"...?)

Wow, very nice images, Dana, thanks for sharing! And I think your male friend in the group shot is Max Jenius...!

Okay, general opinion around a couple of forums is that the Christmas Special was a little weak in the first half but much better in the second (possibly not coincidentally, this is the half which features much more of the new Doctor). David Tennant is so far doing a pretty good job but obviously we'll have to see how he goes on. Theres some clever SF references (pay attention at the back!) and a lovely little joke when the Doctor starts to make a big speech about humanitys place in the Universe and then realises hes actually quoting... ...well, you'll see. Possibly most exicting was the trailer for the second season at the end. If the following words don't excite you, then you're not a Doctor Who fan: Cyberman. K-9. Sarah-Jane Smith!

I love this Gundam design personnally: though I'm usually not fond of 'good guys' MSs and particularly dislike Gundam designs, this one was cool and not overexagerating onto useless details to be noticeable among the crowd. This feature is surprising at first sight but I found it grew on me rather quickly, all the more as the lunarians always call it 'the Mustache' which gives a strong personnality to this machine I've always been a fan of Syd Mead designs since about 15 years now and I'm very glad to see that a western artist had the opportunity to work onto far-east productions. Someone knows if other people from western cultures have already been directly involved into animes? 354622[/snapback] Also, the moustache resembles a crescent Moon... As for Western designers in anime, I can think of one right off the top of my head - theres a UK company called Terratag that produces anime-inspired art-work and t-shirts, and their designer Paul Nicholson did the "Laughing Man" logo for Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex! http://www.terratag.com/ Gerry Anderson has both directly and indirectly been a big influence on many anime; his classic 60s shows like Thunderbirds inspiring many (in particular, Hideki Anno), as well as being involved in the recent anime "Firestorm".

"Winging" - could mean one of two things: 1) Pressing the button means your wife is replaced by five moody not-quite-teenagers in tight shorts who pilot giant robots and say "Mission accomplished" a lot or: 2) Has no-one ever heard of whinging...? (i.e. to complain in an annoying way, to keep carrying on, moaning, whining, etc... )

He, he, that's true: I never looked at it in this way, that Wells is also a precursor for mechas aswell Steampunk human mechas would have been cool too: maybe for the next 'remake' 354062[/snapback] I feel I should point out that the bacteria is sort of really the whole point of the book, but still... we can dream, huh?

The really odd thing is I don't remember even owning the game... must be some dim recollection of the arcade version...

Actually I happen to know that there are probably at least a whole, er, ten models or toys available for Turn-A - and at least ninety for SEED/Destiny. Ninety plus one. Ninety plus two. Ninety plus...