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Everyone loves Back to the Future! And the Wing Commander movie club is largely a subset of everyone. I was personally not sure how I would feel after it was so over-exposed in mid-2010s geek culture... but you can't help but smile when you're actually watching it. It's so beautifully structured and ceaselessly entertaining, the run time feels like nothing at all. I'd go so far as to say it's a better movie on its own than with the rest of the trilogy that was added later.

Now let's talk Wing Commander! Here's the very last shot of the movie where the Delorean switches to flight mode and shoots off into the future... and the Privateer animation that it inspired. Note that this was originally not a come on for Back to the Future but a final joke to end the movie. Crazy what it has since become!

We also have a full resolution clip available here for future car wheel historians.

And here's the great Biff

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This is a reminder that we have another fun #Wingnut movie night planned on Discord this evening! The ongoing theme will be movies that are referenced by Wing Commander in some way. Tonight's film is It's a Wonderful Life (1946) and you can find details on why we're watching it in the announcement post here. The movie will start at 7 PM PST/10 PM EST but feel free to drop by and hang any time!

And don't forget our fifth Wing Commander Cartoon party is early tomorrow!

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

This week's analysis of the influence held by key figures in the enclave has arrived, courtesy of Conrad Sterling of Vox Galactica.
His latest survey of system populations suggests the following five powers enjoy the largest sphere of influence:
Rank 1: A. Lavigny-Duval - 7 Systems
Rank 2: Aisling Duval - 6 Systems
Rank 3: Pranav Antal - 5 Systems
Rank 4: Nakato Kaine - 4 Systems
Rank 5: Yuri Grom - 3 Systems
Zemina Torval has lost her foothold in the enclave and is now eliminated from contention for control of the region. The remaining powers fight to cling on to their current systems as the battle continues.

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Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

It turns out we didn't have to wait very long for CountvonSchnaps next awesome take on a classic Wing Commander ship design! They're back with the F-104 Bearcat fighter from Wing Commander IV, one of the game's most delightful secrets (you can only fly the Bearcat if you complete a particular optional mission in the Speradon series). As with the Count's previous ship reworks, it's pretty nice:

Wing Commander IV: F104 Bearcat (DeviantArt)

Another design made for Shoguneagle showcasing my take of the F104 Bearcat.

A heavy fighter design it was intended, and created, as a pure aerospace fighter and is, in contrast to many of the other Confederation designs not a multirole unit. It did not see any action during the Terran Kilrathi War but did see active combat service during the Union of Border worlds Calamity.

Armed with 4x light tachyon cannons and 4x2 hardpoints it packs a punch and in combination with its

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

Here's a neat piece of ephemera: it's a gaudy advertisement that ran in the October 2008 issue of play³, a German PlayStation magazine promoting phone downloads. This was back when you could add things like ringtones, themes, backgrounds, games and other content to your pre-smart phones by sending a text message to purchase or rent it. And in this case, if you look past all the pornography, you'll find that the people at HandySMS were offering Wing Commander ringtones, both the overture from the movie and the Cobalt 60 Prophecy song! Did anyone ever use this service? It would be great to find these files today!

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

One year has passed since the destruction of Titan Cocijo in the Sol system brought the Second Thargoid War to an end.
The conflict cost tens of billions of lives and reshaped political, military, and economic priorities across every major civilisation. In the time since, stations and settlements once abandoned due to caustic damage have been successfully restored.
Trade routes have reopened, industries restarted, and newly colonised systems have seen communities flourish far from the scars of the war.
In Sol, visitors gathered at a beacon positioned near the wreckage site of Cocijo, a reminder of both the triumph and the sacrifice that ended the Thargoid advance.
Many still struggle with loss, while others have taken the opportunity to begin again by rebuilding and supporting colonisation efforts to expand humanity across the stars.
But the peace gained at such cost has proven fragile.
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