krack-a-toa

Mine was Lewa Mata. I almost immediately ripped off the plastic cover to see all the pictures that were revealed when you spun the can. Kinda regret that now. And that was followed pretty quickly by the rest of the Toa.

I vote we start calling the water planet Mata Nui crashed on Ocea Magna the barren desert planet is called Barra Magna so Ocea Magna just sounds about right

so now that I've started seeing Agori popping up on shelves I guess 2009 has begun for Bionicle anyway. 2008 was a great year, one of the best. Lets see if 2009 can beat it. I like the idea that we are going back to the "super advanced robots living as villagers in simple society" thing like in 2001. There's something about that contrast I always loved. I've seen all the new sets (even some I shouldn't have) and I like them all quite alot. That being said I probably won't be buying any this year. I decided last year that I came in with Tahu and the gang and it seemed fitting that I stop with them too. My money keeps going else where like gas and school and I'm sure my girlfriend will love me buying her a meal once in awhile instead of buying "those rainbow colored robots". Plus I found my self more and more getting into the story and less into the sets. I'm more excited now to get the next book than the next canister. Those toys will always be a part of my life and I'm sure I'll be digging them out and playing with them for years to come. But I think 50 toa are enough for any man. But enough about that lets go onto the wild theories I have about 2009. Just hit the fancy spoiler tags » Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «The theory going around about Bara Magna having a crashed Great Spirit robot makes alot of sense. I would guess all the current inhabitants of Bara Magna are the survivors of the crash. The scarcity of resource comes from there being basically none on that planet except what came in the Great Spirit. Now it's possible this Great Spirit was a either an earlier model of Mata Nui. This is supported by the idea that the Agori are early versions of Matoran. And it would explain why Mata Nui would come there (I have money riding on Mata Nui being the question mark on the Bara Magna). Wouldn't that just be Mata Nui's luck if he ran to his older brother when he was in trouble on to find that brother in worse shape then he's in? My crazy idea though that has no basis in fact and proof though is that maybe that wrecked robot is what happens when you let a Makuta behind the wheel. Could it be that we've jumped ahead in time a few thousand years. We've seen it before where matoran have devolved and forgotten where they came from, and that was after only 1,000 years. just imagine how far they could fall after 100,000 with no great spirit to guide them. Of course this would mean there's a different reason for Mata Nui to arrive on Bara Magna. He's returned just as he said to clean up the mess. I wonder what the Great Beings think of all this as they look down from their little red star. Have two of their greatest creations failed them? Of course it sounds like they have bigger problems to worry about as well Of course my little theories tend to be way off so dont expect much out of them. I remember the first big one I had way back when the Rahkshi first came out that just was crazy. Had something to do with protodermis being alive and the island of Mata Nui actually being the Great Spirit Mata Nui... pure crazy talk.

Sounds great, will we get to hear your voice by any chance on the podcast? Haven't heard your voice sine the BZPowercast days. Will the podcasts be released on bioniclestory.com?

So I'll try to keep out any spoilers and just tell you that Bionicle Legends 11 is an amazing book. Maybe just for the ending though. It's got some great battles but they don't seem to quite come across in print, even becoming slightly hard to follow at some points. Though the character interaction more than makes up for it between both the heroes and the villians. There's a bit of flying macguffin that seems to show up just to clean up the plot, though I'm not sure how you would have done it otherwise. While the ending wasn't a complete shock if you've been paying attention for a few years, it is surprising that they actually did it. Just reminds me how deep this story for a kid's toy line can get. Once we can post spoilers I might talk about a few metaphors that the story seemed to have, so be sure to go grab the book so you can follow along.

I recently got Legends 10: Swamp of Secrets and I will say it's a good book. Not exactly my favorite of the books but worth the read I wouldn't say its a spoiler to reveal there is basically two stories going on in this book. It's interesting how it flows between the two stories but the final result feels like a book that's half as long as it should be and we only get a few fights and some secrets revealed. I believe both stories had the ability to carry two books, and had thy not been crammed together they would have been great individual stories. And if your new to Bionicle world be sure to bone up on the old stories, this book wouldn't have been near as interesting if I didn't know the history of the Toa Mata from 2001. The Kingdom is also really good, better than the book in my opinion. The idea of parallel universes has alot of potential and its good to see this idea used in such a way to tell a "what if?" story.

It looks like ToyWiz has the Mistika on pre-order Now usually I would never suggest ordering from Toywiz as they have a tenancy to raise the price. Interestingly enough they have all the Mistika available for $11.99, same price as the Phantoka, which is a dollar less then the price being shown at Toy Fair. So does this mean there may not be a price raise, did ToyWiz just not get the memo? But of your one of those that have to get the new sets as soon as possible, you may want to check ToyWiz out. It's only a dollar cheaper for each which wont cover the cost of shipping, but its better than paying full price. Cross your fingers for no price raise. Or cause some sort of economic shift, whichever is easier for you.

I finally chose the people that would be part of my podcast team today. I opened up the poll where people can vote on what to name the podcast I think I have 50 PMs in my mail box I may haven broken BZP in the process I haven't been this excited about...anything in a long time. Here's hoping you'll be listening when its all said and done.

So now onto my next crazy theory, the Great Spirit Mata Nui himself. I have a theory that seems to come more from Transformers then Bionicle...but it might work. Mata Nui's body is literally the world under the great sea. Think of it kinda like Unicron or actually Primus from Transformers. That is why the island of Voya Nui had to be returned to help revive him, it was part of him, thats why the Staff had ot be used to repair the world, to repair Mata Nui. That is why the core needed to be healed, it was the core of Mata Nui..the heart of the world. Thats something I was always curious about during the Great Cataclysm. Why did so many bad things happen all over the planet? Was it because Mata Nui could no longer keep it in check. If so why didn't more things begin falling apart. Perhaps the Great Cataclysm wasn't cause by Mata Nui's slumber...perhaps he fell asleep because of it. Causing so much damage to ones body would definitely cause one to become comatose, and if such damage was not treated then death would be certain. The only way Mata Nui could be awoken is if everything is returned to the way it was before his fall. If Mata Nui is not the actual body of the world, then at least his life and existence is directly connected to the health of the world. What better person to care for a world then one who feels it's pain. next time...why the matoran matter. and yes, i am kracked

The audition contest for my Podcast is almost over. Be sure to get your auditions in BEFORE January 15th. if you have no idea what I'm talking about then please go here. now is when the fun can start!

I just started auditions for the new BZPowercast (though currently looking for a new name) that I've been talking about. Go HERE, read the rules and be sure to send in your sound clips so we can get this thing going, I wouldn't be able to do it without you.

Got it Read it Loved it Now you

Would the CGI be by the same people who did all the commercials?

These new characters just keep getting more and more interesting, well done Greg.

Well I just recently got Muaka & Kane-ra thanks to the wonder that is Ebay, and I have to say these may be my new(old) favorite sets. Not to mention I got them mint in original box for $35...gotta love it. But back to the sets, I absolutely love these things, I was amazed at how many peices on there I hadn't seen before, not to mention the pure originality of the bull and the cat. I know that this set and many of the original rahi were based on an old Lego Technic brand whose name escapes me that was all about battling so the rahi have great battle and destruction functions incorporated into them. The fun of shooting the Kane-ra head forward and having its mouth open and grab onto something is fun enough as it is, but when you use that to pull the pin out of the Muaka's arm it causes the whole arm to fall off and really gives you a sense these toys have a function. What can I say, I like my toys to have a little more "action" and a little less "figure". That got me thinking....what the heck happened to the creativity in the titans? I mean I know we dont have any sets over $50 anymore (i would buy a good $80 set) but when was the last time we had a titan that just wasnt a large man (anything that stands on two legs). and as I look at the sets for 2008 i see alot of repeats again. How do we go from cat/tank things and punching lizards to "large man with big weapon #47"? Most of the titans are pretty standard...the most original set since 2003 is Vezon & Fenrakk...which in itself pales to some of the earlier ones. I know of course the rahi never sold well, but how well did any of the Bionicle sets sell that year comparred to now? I would think an original and creative set (no i dont mean weird colors and wheels on your feet) would have enough support from the general fan base alone to be worth making it, at least as a limited edition or something. All I want for Christmas is a tankbull

It's time for one of my theories..so sit back, relax, and enjoy the crazy. It's actually an idea I had a long time ago, but due to recent evidence it just seems to get more and more true. I'm just going to go ahead and say it, that way you wont have to read. The Great Beings are people. Like you and me. Now for those of you still here I'll try and clarify it. When the mystery of the Great Beings first came about it more or less just hit me. What would be the perfect creator of the entire Bionicle world. Then I looked down at the Toa in my hand and realized who really was the creator of Bionicle...me. We make the sets and the world in our mind. What would be a more perfect answer in the story then that simple idea. The Bionicle world was made by people just like us. First it was just an idea...but now more and more seems to be supporting it. The first thing that got me was when we were told everything above ground on the Bionicle planet is infact organic, the biomechanic begins all came from underground. Everything underground was basically crafted by the Great Beings, either with their own hands or by their creations such as the matoran and Mata Nui. So if biologic things exist, but biomechanical beings were all created by the Great Beings, it goes without saying that the Great Beings are biologic, otherwise who would have created them? Also, doesn't the original story of the matoran sound alot like your average robot today. Only knowing their work, those who couldn't work any more went to Karzahni to be repaired or destroyed (think Junkyard)...or went to Artakha to continue their work in the light. This is basically a metaphor for the actual life of a machine. The most recent information about the Great Beings have been provided by the Gali blog. There was the list of things to do written by the Great beings, written on paper. Maybe I'm just reading into it but the idea of paper screamed human to me in this machine world. Plus theres more...and it leads into another great mystery, the red star. It's been said that if Mata Nui died that all of the Bionicle universe would go with him, but the Red Star would remain. This shows that something exists that Mata Nui has no power over, he cannot affect things created before he was, or things that exist outside his domain. We also know that the red star has guided the matoran for years with its perfectly placed astrological locations. Even more recently the star has taken a more direct approach when it created the Inika. Now it seems Gali Nuva has discovered the greatest mystery of the Red Star...there are beings inside it. Now if you had created a massive world, set it in motion and let it grow..wouldn't you wanna stick around and see what happens? I know I would. I believe it is the Great Beings themselves (a few of them at least) that inhabit the star, ever watching and indirectly helping they're little creations. So what have we learned class? The great beings are biologic, they have very human technology, and they have a giant red space ship that flies around keep an eye on things. Sounds perfectly reasonable to me, at least by Bionicle standards.

should I do it? should I take the plunge? Should I follow my dream? Should I risk it all blowing up in my face? Should I face the fear of failure? Should I go out in a blaze of glory? Why Shouldn't I?

I know bionicle.com is going to be great next year Bink. Good luck and I hope your having as much fun as it sounds.

Welcome to the wonderful world of premier membership, thanks for supporting the site and I hope you like it.

And here i thought with the word "reboot" being passed around that we'd find out the whole thing had been taking place in a computer... Sorry, just had to say it. Will we perhaps see a time skip? maybe a few thousand years from where we left off, I think those are usually interesting and let you explore whole new ideas while keeping it in the same universe with a few of the old characters still up and kicking.

You know what holds Bionicle back the most? The sets. I say that after catching up on bioniclestory.com. Those stories are amazing (though the biocast has all the production values of a elementary school play) and while I know most of my glee from it is pure fandom (Toa Hagah? Yes please) I know that's also because the story is free to just be a story. There is no need to try and explain a whole set of new characters every six months, they can just have new characters when they want to. See the fact that the story is mainly used to sell the new toys, and not to just tell a great story, is what keeps it from being able to evolve into a much deeper and richer experience. But the fact that the story is as great as it is despite these shackles is a testament to how great the story team really is. I've seen the same thing happen with my other favorite toy line, Transformers. I've always been a fan more of the comics series from transformers then anything, because unlike the TV shows they dont need to try and sell the toys, there dont even need to be toys for most of the characters. I guess what I would envision is a way that the storyline could drive the sets, not the other way round. But the part of me thats taking college economics knows that wouldn't work. Love the sets, love the story, I just want them both to live up to the full potential.

Yah..... and thats all I'm going to say about that (at least until we are allowed to) EDIT: Now with twice the judgement Im just going to go ahead and use spoiler tags for all of this, in case no one even wants to have the new sets vividly described to them First of all, lets just look at the sets » Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «I like these sets. Well all except maybe Kopaka, probably because the only weapon I see on him is one of those guns. I really dont like the guns, why do they seem to get bigger each year? I'm also not a huge fan of the whole jet pack flying gimmick either, but it's different and could work. I wasn't really surprised when they showed up with 3 good and 3 bad, kinda been expecting that to happen for a while. I like the baddy sets more then the good ones actually, they look good. The new matoran sets looks good as well, we've got knees now and no tacked on gun things. I would say my favorite set it the Toa Moli, with him (her?it?) the gun actually works. I'm really going to miss cans though...you just cant make a good tower without them And now for the story bits » Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «I hate these sets. Well ok I hate 3/13ths of these new sets. the rumor flying around is the baddies are all brotherhood members, so that should be interesting, plus I always like a good evil matoran. But on the Toa....did they just already have the sets and slap the name Nuva on them just to make us old fans happy? I'm a little confused, I thought it was said the Toa Nuva wouldn't transform again, meaning that if they changed at all it could only be some new masks and armor or something. No amount of new armor is going to completely change the shapes of their bodies. I mean Pohatu is even right side up now. You cant say that the Nuva have not been transformed. I guess I would just like one thing on these sets that said "hey we are still the Nuva" they did a good job of that for changing the Mata into the Nuva, you could do it again I guess thats enough judging for now, at least till we see more.

Aright now that the forums are back online (which I think was just some sort of ploy so the collective energies of the site could be focused into shipping little blue bricks) I thought I would share how my project currently know as "The crazy idea for a fan made Powercast that will most likely fail" is going so far: Actually the down time for the forums have been a bit of a blessing for me cause the time I usually use sneaking my way around the forums could be put to better use. I think I know have all the programs I need. I may need to change the show a little due to limits set up by the "free" version of some of the software but that shouldn't be too hard. Right now I'm testing everything out and seeing exactly what I can and can't do with the stuff...plus i may have a theme song up soon. Next I'll just need to pitch it to the staff and see if I can get the go ahead to find other members who can help out. Then once I find my merry crew I can begin recording the pilot and see how it goes from there. School may slow me down a bit (18 credit hours aint exactly easy) but once I get settled back to college life I should have plenty of time to get this all done. And on a completely unrelated note, I really like my bricks. They should sell us more stuff. I would buy a Tohu mask for sure. Though I guess the fact that old yellow gears doesn't wear a mask may be a problem.

I got mine as well. Love em like little plastic brothers. Now to go use them to construct a very short wall.

If your looking for a good Wii game then you have to get Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. And if you want to have some fun get Rayman Raving Rabits.