"Save the Band" is finally OVER

[Lord Admiral Helden Ravensdorn]

http://freetheband.com/

Yup, the Eye-Nye-Kah have found the AAR ( a pity...) and the worst disgrace in all of BIONICLE history is finially over, praise be.

[Zane]

Bloody hell...that's the most American-ized piece of crap Bionicle has produced so far.

What the hell is the point in that rescue video? 'Yeah...the autocues a bit far away but I get the idea man.' and 'WOW BUY BIONICLEZ NOW!!!! And don't eat junk food...but go to McDonalds for the OTHER crappy promotion, sure....'

[Darkness Falls]

...I was kind of hoping they would die.

[Starwars4J]

...I was kind of hoping they would die.

I can arrange that ;-) :-D

[Zane]

People in the BZP topic seem to think it's real.

[Darkness Falls]

People in the BZP topic seem to think it's real.

... That's because people in the BZP topic also post theories that are along the lines of this:

"OMGZ c hurz wut happend once Makutta wuz angri at Maata-newy and desided to hit his H3ad! wit a HAMMER!"

SECOND RESPONSE:

People in the BZP topic seem to think it's real.

... That's because they're idiots.

[Lord Admiral Helden Ravensdorn]

...I was kind of hoping they would die.

Me too. StarWars4J? Please do arrange it :-D Meanwhile, i'll go draw the AAR getting horribly mutilated by Thok.

[Darkness Falls]

Seriously, though.. it's for the kids. We can go on reading the books, and comic books, and actually understand the story, but to keep buying the sets, Lego needs to make some sacrifices. Some humiliating sacrifices.

Now, if you need me, I'll be crying in my room.

[Lord Admiral Helden Ravensdorn]

Seriously, though.. it's for the kids. We can go on reading the books, and comic books, and actually understand the story, but to keep buying the sets, Lego needs to make some sacrifices. Some humiliating sacrifices.

Now, if you need me, I'll be crying in my room.

Hold the door, I want to join you :'-(

[JINZONINGEN73]

Seriously, though.. it's for the kids. We can go on reading the books, and comic books, and actually understand the story, but to keep buying the sets, Lego needs to make some sacrifices. Some humiliating sacrifices.

Now, if you need me, I'll be crying in my room.

Mmmmmm, I dunno.

I remember being a kid and HATING stuff like this.

I used to turn off tv shows when characters started singing. :-D

Needless to say, I despised most things Disney and (60's through 80's) Hanna Barbera as a result.

But hey, the retardation is dead at least now.

Non-Lego-like McDonald's toys. Some junk about a crappy teen rock group.

...if I didn't know any better, I'd say an exec from Megablocks has infiltrated Lego, dead set on making sure kids don't know jack about what Lego is.

[vahkimetru]

TOP STORY

Inika fail to capture crap Rock Group. Press gives raving response!

The Toa Inika were brought to court for a hearing today due to a complicated scandal between Hahli and Jaller (See page 13). When the AAR rescue mission became the topic of discussion, Matoro commented on the fact that Thok had accidentely beheaded AAR while cooking a TV dinner.

The judge forgot his worries and gave the Inika candy. People commented today "Heaven will have a headache I'm afraid."

EBNews also commented that several wars ended in correspondance with the AAR's death. "We couldn't decide who should kill the AAR and started fighting." One world leader said.

What does this say to Lego? I'm not sure, but next years Knight's Kingdom slogan "Defend the Castle Save Simon and Garfunkel."

:-P

[Ikki o' Moopyville]

Bionicle 2001 - 2005. Rest in peace.

At least they had the sense to end it rather quickly. Heck, the idea was sorta good, reminds me of Lost... then again, maybe not. I think I speak for us all, though, when I say this is merely the beginning.

On the bright side, it was good prizes, sorta.

-Ikk

[Sir Dillon]

On the bright side, it was good prizes, sorta.

Yeah, I actaully entered, because I wouldn't mind having that electric guitar but then realized you were allowed to enter every day, and decided to forget that. :-/

[shade]

Save the Band has to be the stupidest bionicle promotion ever. I like AAR ,but seriously don't ever mix a teen rock group with bionicle ever again.

[Zarkan]

Bionicle 2001 - 2005. Rest in peace.

I think that's taking it a little too far. Bionicle is still (mostly) going strong, and Free The Band is just a minor distraction.

... That's because they're idiots

No, that's because the ones making those statements are 10 year olds trying to make an impression (same goes for the fake theories). Don't forget that BZP is not a almost entirely 13+ forum like Eurobricks is. And, there may be a lot of young members, but there's still a lot of intelegent and thoughtful members on their forum as well. And, BTW, I think it's wrong to call anybody an idiot because of a few remarks, just like I thought it was wrong to call Megabloks members "without taste" back in that Megabloks forum discusion topic here.

Seriously, though.. it's for the kids. We can go on reading the books, and comic books, and actually understand the story, but to keep buying the sets, Lego needs to make some sacrifices. Some humiliating sacrifices.

Exactly. Free the band is not for the average 18 year old who wouldn't care if Free The Band was canceled. It's for just who TLC was aiming at: kids.

Neither the less, I really think people should stop acting all Doom's Day about this, as one promotion and a few kids meal toys do not equal The End Of Bionicle. Not at all. Bionicle is still going really strong, and just those two things will not send it crashing down. The only thing that would send it crashing down is "4+ Bionicle" Picture this: 6 Piece Toa figures and 12 Piece Titans! That's a true picture of The End Of Bionicle. ;-)

Either that, or a storyline that is like Free the Band, only offical and real. X-D

[Zane]

6 Piece Toa figures and 12 Piece Titans!

Pffft. They're heading that way.

Either that, or a storyline that is like Free the Band, only offical and real.

See Bionicle Heroes on GBA.

[Darkness Falls]

No, that's because the ones making those statements are 10 year olds trying to make an impression (same goes for the fake theories). Don't forget that BZP is not a almost entirely 13+ forum like Eurobricks is. And, there may be a lot of young members, but there's still a lot of intelegent and thoughtful members on their forum as well. And, BTW, I think it's wrong to call anybody an idiot because of a few remarks, just like I thought it was wrong to call Megabloks members "without taste" back in that Megabloks forum discusion topic here.

...When I was ten years old, I knew where to draw the line between making an impression and sounding stupid.

But hey, if you don't want them to be called idiots, whatever. I guess I was a little harsh. A little.

[Zarkan]

Pffft. They're heading that way

See Bionicle Heroes on GBA.

Zane, I really think you should be a little more positive about Bionicle! Seems every time you say something about Bionicle these days, it happens to be really negative! I hardly call 200 piece Titans and 40 piece Toa <insert that tiresome argument> and 4+! (Bionicle speaking). That's really quite how Bionicle was in 2001 (the so called best year) as well! And as for Bionicle Heroes, remember that Bionicle games are never main cannon and are more for gameplay and graphics than story. Bionicle heroes is still fun, and it still has lots of bionicle and lego in it, AND is not part of the offical storyline, so why are you complaining?

...When I was ten years old, I knew where to draw the line between making an impression and sounding stupid.

Well, unfortunately, some of the young members on BZP do spam and make pointless theorys just for the fun of it (they really should not be on a forum). But, Eurobricks has ALSO had spamming and inmature members before, just as it has a lot of good members. BZP and Eurobricks can relate in that manor. ;-)

[Zane]

Zane, I really think you should be a little more positive about Bionicle! Seems every time you say something about Bionicle these days, it happens to be really negative! I hardly call 200 piece Titans and 40 piece Toa <insert that tiresome argument> and 4+! (Bionicle speaking). That's really quite how Bionicle was in 2001 (the so called best year) as well! And as for Bionicle Heroes, remember that Bionicle games are never main cannon and are more for gameplay and graphics than story. Bionicle heroes is still fun, and it still has lots of bionicle and lego in it, AND is not part of the offical storyline, so why are you complaining?

Bionicle is using bigger pieces to make the figures seem bigger. 2001 had a more complex construction. With the gears, hands/shields etc. And the Rahi were challenging, and took more than 30 minutes to build. When you compare 2001 sets to 2006 sets, you can see a massive difference. I prefer 2001's style. No gimmicky light-up swords, no annoying launchers. I'm not saying Heroes isn't fun, I'm saying Lego has considered putting humans into Bionicle before, and it might actually happen at some point.

[Zarkan]

I'm not saying Heroes isn't fun, I'm saying Lego has considered putting humans into Bionicle before, and it might actually happen at some point.

I find that nearly impossible to believe. As long as GregF stays and the current bionicle story team stays, that has about a 0% chance of happening. I'm dead sure that they will never voluntarily suggest putting them into bionicle other than as a completely unserious thing like the Free The Band promotion.

Bionicle is using bigger pieces to make the figures seem bigger. 2001 had a more complex construction. With the gears, hands/shields etc. And the Rahi were challenging, and took more than 30 minutes to build. When you compare 2001 sets to 2006 sets, you can see a massive difference. I prefer 2001's style. No gimmicky light-up swords, no annoying launchers.

Maybe, but I've noticed you've also been more negative lately then near the begining of the year:

On Axonn:

It may surprise you to hear that Axonn actually has no axonn, sorry, action feature. While some may dislike this, I think it'ss a step in the right direction. It means the figure can be posed more, and, in my opinion, have more playability.

I'm pretty fond of Axonn, and, although I can see a few people disliking him, once you have the set, I think you'll change your mind. I'd personally like to see him stay with the Toa Nuva throughout the next few years.

On Brutaka:

The hands are the only problem in the whole set, though. Be assured that this guy is definitely worth your money. It's possibly my favorite set in recent years, and I recommend it to you all. Yes, even those people who don't like 2006 so far. This set will very probably change your opinion. Hold on a few months before you make your final judgment. You might well be very surprised...

I'm seeing a big contratiction between what you said then, and what you are saying now. *wacko*

Another thing: I think the light up swords and eyes are pretty darn cool, and many of the bionicle loving members HERE like them too (especially JINZONINGEN 73). I don't see anything wrong with them (I do agree on the Zamor though. Mask packs would be much more welcome to me as well.)

[prateek]

i really wish that it still ran for 1 month more... but the rescue video was pretty funny

[Zane]

Yeah, well, opinions change. I just see 2006 and 2001 as completely different things. The way that it's being dumbed-down into a generic action figure line makes me feel it's losing it's brilliance.

People are accepting any crap, such as the FtB promo of McDonalds promo. It just makes it all seem dumbed down to me...

You don't hate me, do you???

[Zarkan]

No, I don't hate you. You can have a different opinion if you want, and I'm not saying that mine is the only right one. I'm just saying that there is still a lot of good in Bionicle IMO, and that it's much less generic than other action figure lines or other lines that I've seen (Pokemon is very generic now, as is GI Joe Sigma 6). But, no hard feelings. I enjoy having a friendly debate. ;-)

[vahkimetru]

Pros and cons, we need a chart!

2001

Pros

New-Bionicle was new and introduced NEW concepts

Mystery-The story was so mysterious, the island so unexplored, the tiki style/robotic future really mixed well

Masks-No, not the rubber and soft plastic crud we get today, real masks with a collecting aspect

Affordability-C'mon Lego, the Toa are freaking 10 bucks! And these Toa were $5.99

Technicishness-Real build. You didn't need to just connect two pieces to get a Titan

Comics-Good then, good now, better artisrt then in my opinion

Promo-This was sweet, masks in rare colors with real characters that had real playability

Cons

Articulation-Sorry, but this sucked. Seriously, can Tahu at least bend his legs?!

Un-Affordability-Tell me again Lego, did you really expect kids to buy a set of Rahi?

2006

Pros

Tiki Island-YES! No more stupid city!

Launchers-Yes masks would be better, but the rapid fire launchers (no pun) really hit the spot!

No Gears or action Features-Whoo, whoo, no wobbely arms *coughsidorakcough*!

Affordibilitey-More affordable sets in the Titans area, and you can actually buy a set of villains and still have life savings

Comics-New artist who draws stick figure Bionicles? Yep, but the writing has stayed the same

Books-These are a great expansion to the story

Story- No mystery really, but heck is it action packed

Cons

Masks-So many rubbery and reused masks, give me a break

Promo- I liked it but it is still a disgrace standing next to a 2001 Tohunga

Toa-Great sets as they are, I'd rather dish out six bucks for an un gimmicky Toa

Untechnicalness-Ugh... Ball joints...

Mystery-Gone is the mystery of 01-02, and it will never return I'm afraid...

[Ikki o' Moopyville]

Articulation-Sorry, but this sucked. Seriously, can Tahu at least bend his legs?!

At that time, the Toa's articulation was quite revolutionary. Besides the Slizers and to an extent the RoboRiders, few if any sets had had such features.

Launchers-Yes masks would be better, but the rapid fire launchers (no pun) really hit the spot!

No Gears or action Features-Whoo, whoo, no wobbely arms *coughsidorakcough*!

Story- No mystery really, but heck is it action packed

These would most definitely go under Cons, I say. Action just for action's sake is a sure story-killer.

Of course 2006 has its great points... but they are just so overwhelmed by the terrible points, I'm afraid.

-Ikk