Seen the reviews of George Lucas’ new animated “Star Wars” prequelly thing, “The Clone Wars”?

Don’t feel bad if you haven’t. They keep disappearing.

Harry Knowles of AintItCoolNews.com posted a review that was… let’s go with “negative,” because “scathing” might give away the ending. Sample quote:

“I hated the score, the animation, the shots, the characters and most of all the retarded ******** idiot story.

I hated the film. HATED IT. REALLY HATED IT.”

So although he was clearly holding back, he still expressed an opinion. He gave his reasons, and also said that others in his audience enjoyed it. So, no worries, Harry posted a review.

Then he unposted it, along with a similarly negative review by Massawyrm. According to Moriarty, “Harry took his CLONE WARS review down at the request of Lucasfilm, who have chosen to enforce an embargo on reviews on our site.” (You can read ‘em both at the Force.net’s forum along with links to just about every other review; way to archive, guys)

Odd that LucasFilm didn’t choose to enforce an embargo on the Associated Press, whose reviews of TCW have been mostly positive (“Clone Wars” is fun though forgettable ). Or on… look, lots of reviews have popped up, yet only the detailed, negative, massively disappointed ones have been shut down. Little insecurity showing there, George?

Yes, people ripped into the prequels (and deservedly so, IMO). Yes, people are going to rip into your new cartoon as well. But suck it up, George. If you’re proud of your work, put it out there and take the heat along with the praise.

OK, no strip today. But we do have something cool to share: a page from the pilot script!

This appears to be a single page from the pilot episode “Encounter in Forever on the Edge of the City of Tomorrow.” This is apparently a casting sheet, used for auditions, from the scene at the beginning when Vince Parvo has his destiny crammed into him by his former commander, Adm. Buchanan (Ret.). And we have no markings to suggest what version of the script this might be from, although chemical composition tests on the mysterious stains on the back suggest that at one time it was laid in a pool of over-sugared decaf on the counter at The Coffee Bean on Ventura Blvd in LA.

As you know, showrunner Manny Ulrich has been fanatically careful in keeping all the copies of the “Hiatus” scripts to himself, even forcing actors to laboriously memorize their lines while crouching in Manny’s closet as he held the script open for them from outside, so this is a real find.

Anyone with more pages or information on this script, please comment below.

Adam is still on the road (I suspect illicit doings) so today’s strip will actually be tomorrow’s strip. But it’ll be twice as funny and well-drawn, to make up for it. I hope.

Hello world!

Some quick hits for you before I head off to WorldCon in Denver. (Hugo Awards! Lois McMaster Bujold! Robert Heinlein, sort of!)

SciFi.com listed the top ten “Brilliant But Canceled” scifi shows. The usual suspects are there (and yay for the SDCC Browncoat booth shoutout) but there are also a few I’d forgotten.

What’s on Dr. Horrible’s bookshelf? LibraryThingers figured it out.

PC Mag listed the Ten Best Unsung Webcomics.  I remember “Don’t Forget to Validate Your Parking” from the writers’ strike, and I love me some “Girls With Slingshots,” but now A Softer World is my new favorite weird strip. They missed Anders Loves Maria, though. And where’s SaveHiatus, PC Mag? Hmm?

Actually, no, I lie. My new favorite bizarre webcomic is “Medium-Large,” by the guy who does “Sally Forth.” Turns out he’s a sick, sick man. Love the Peanuts archive.

The new edition of Dark Horse Presents has a free Serenity story. Which, yay for that, but… is Serenity shooting other ships? With what? I’m confused.

And io9 explains How to Discover Classic Doctor Who in Three Easy Steps.

One of our favorite Webcomics is Hijinks Ensue, which, if you haven’t read it before, I strongly urge you to do now. For the past four months, the strip’s creator, Joel Watson, has been undertaking what he calls “The Experiment,” to see whether he could make a career out of his Webcomic. At the rate he’s gaining readers, (especially with three front page diggs in the last couple of weeks) it’s definitely possible that he’ll be able to make it work financially in the next year or so, but right now, his readership (and income) isn’t enough to see him through the red and carry him into the black.

So right now he’s holding a donation drive and asking readers to consider setting up a donation subscription via paypal. He’s got some pretty cool stuff available exclusively to subscribers. Plus, he’s a pretty cool guy, who would DEFINITELY have watched Hiatus from day one. So, if like the work Joel’s doing with Hijinks Ensue and want to see more of it, now’s a good time to donate, if you’re so inclined.

The State of the Experiment: Save Hijinks Ensue