Article by: JGM Doc Tore of Medstar 3
“Being a Medical Doctor is just a hobby. Being a Star Wars fan is my real job.” That has been my slogan after graduating from Medical School which, believe it or not, was the time I got into Star Wars.
Unlike others, I wasn’t able to watch Star Wars IV and VI in the theater when I was a kid. I JUST WASN’T INTO IT. I was in the theater for Star Wars V in 1980 when I was 15 years old, but I didn’t watch it. I had a first date with a girl I recently met in high school and we just talked all throughout the movie.
That all changed when I was in Medical School. It was my 3rd year and in a few months time, I would be a Junior Intern in a hospital with real medical duties. I was about to get “seriously busy” in my professional career and I definitely had no time for any other extra-curricular activities (let alone becoming a fanatic Star Wars collector). One fateful day, I noticed that the doctor I considered to be the wisest and oldest (70 year old female doctor & chairman of the Neurology Department) was reading a newly released Star Wars novel. I initially shrugged it off but then noticed that one of the most talented and popular Medical Student (president of our class consisting of 700 medical students) was also reading the same novel. So I went to the nearest bookstore and was surprised that the book was breaking records in the New York Times Bestseller list. I bought it and got hooked ever since. Little did I know that it would be the first book out of my existing 1,670++ Star Wars books (and counting).
So my Star Wars collection started out as a “mini” library. I was more into the knowledge of Star Wars and not the collecting of memorabilia. I wanted to know things about the characters and the enigmatically mysterious “force” that even die-hard Star Wars fans didn’t know. So initially I collected the novels. Then the encyclopedias, dictionaries, atlases, guides & cross-sections. Then I expanded even into adolescent pocket books and children’s activity books. This was followed by subscribing to magazines and comics that arrived on a weekly, monthly, bimonthly and quarterly schedule with no exception.
But I got tired of people always asking me about certain things contained in my collection. I would describe it (alien, space ship, weapon, etc.) but they couldn’t picture it. So I thought to myself maybe it would just be easier to have toys to point at. My first space ships were just miniatures no bigger than matchboxes, but I graduated to large ones more than 2 feet in length. They are so big you can put toy figures in them like doll houses. I started with the standard 3 ¾” figures but ended up collecting even the bigger 12” fully-dressed dolls. The coup de gras was when I decided to buy genuine costumes and put them on mannequins. But the crème de la crème was cosplaying during “events”.
And then I got married and had kids. And they shared my enthusiasm, especially my son. This was evident when he started playing videogames of Star Wars and religiously watching the Animated TV Series day-in and day-out. And during his 14th Birthday, he had his friends celebrate at our present “mini” Star Wars museum. They even had a photograph taken while wearing helmets and it was featured in an international Star Wars magazine. What was more enticing was that my son’s letter was also featured in the same magazine. The editor was even proud of the ultimate Jedi Master & Padawan Apprentice relationship that we had as Father & Son. It also included a photo that we made based on his question to me, “How come there are no Jedi Droids in the Star Wars universe?”
In 2008, three years after Star Wars III was released and ended the Star Wars saga of the original Classic Trilogy and subsequent Prequel Trilogy, Lucasfilm had a premiere of the animated movie Star Wars: The Clone Wars. No tickets were for sale and it was only by special invite. However, few hours before the premiere, a contest was suddenly announced for FREE TICKETS. But certain hard and difficult trivia questions about the new Star Wars character in the movie were to be asked. There were only 4 winners and the sponsors were surprised that all 4 were from one “Star Wars Crazy Family”.
That story was then carried by the editorial of the graphic novel based on the movie after I wrote to them our experience. Each of us (me, my wife, my son, and my daughter) won separately and individually by answering trivia questions about Ahsoka, the Padawan learner of Anakin that would-be Darth Vader. Most Star Wars fans didn’t know her nickname Snips, her surname of Tano, her species of Togruta, and her home planet of Shili. To be honest, the easier questions were asked of me and my son, but the harder ones were asked of my wife and daughter. But only a STAR WARS Crazy Family would know the answers to all of them . . . perfectly with no mistakes – including the spelling!!!
Consequently because of that, I established a record that could never be broken. I was featured in 5 editorials of different Star Wars graphic novel series of Dark Horse comics in one year.
Unfortunately, Star Wars: The Clone Wars animated TV series and Graphic novels were to be discontinued after Disney bought Lucasfilm. Fans were then advised to write Disney CEO Bob Iger on our family’s sentiments and to reconsider their corporate decision to cancel Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
So that’s what we did. We wrote directly to Disney Studios and told their CEO our feelings.
And to our surprise, he wrote back. And part of it was a personal letter from the newly-appointed President of Lucasfilm, Kathleen Kennedy (heir to George Lucas – the creator of Star Wars) with her signature, wherein she thanked our family for being faithful fans. Rest assured, she said that the animated TV series will be replaced by a newer version titled “Rebels” which would jive better with the new upcoming movies that will comprise the Sequel Trilogy of Episode VII, VIII, & IX.
At present, our family is looking forward to the horizon as a new day dawns and the sun rises as we pleasantly await the rest of the new trilogy.
Contact Info: yeltres@yahoo.com
Jedi Grand Master Doc Tore of Medstar 3
P.S. Very long afterwards, I received an “exclusive special invite” via e-mail from the Director of Consumer Insights at Lucasfilm to be part of their official Star Wars feedback community. I was to serve as part of a team of special advisors representing a limited spot for Non-America status.
Article by: JGM Doc Tore of Medstar 3
