How often have you wondered whether Luke could have defeated Anakin in his prime? How many other such never-possible Star Wars match-ups have you played out in your head, trying to determine how certain characters or creatures would fare against one another? Well, Pablo Hidalgo has written a book that will satisfy some of those ponderings of combat superiority: Star Wars: Head-to-Head, due out this May from Scholastic.

There was a recent article on Yahoo! News about filmmakers predicting 3D to become the standard for filmmaking in the near future. Among the most notable voices speaking in favor of more widespread use of 3D was Martin Scorsese, who said, “We see in depth, for the most part. We go to the theater -- it's in depth. Why couldn't a film like Precious be in 3D?

I realized, as I sat down to write this article, that the ideas I had prepared in my head were all centered around a big win or two for Avatar -- whether said win(s) was/were a good thing, what that means for science fiction, etc. Despite the fact that I did not think, consciously, that it would take Best Picture, perhaps some deeper part of me did think it would get the win. There is no doubt that this pseudo-expectation was the result of the enormous hype surrounding the film, as well as its phenomenal monetary success.

What is your opinion of George Lucas? For anyone who grew up on the original Star Wars films, either in the theater or on video, that can be a tricky question to answer. Many sci-fi fans idolized Lucas for years ... until he started making his long-awaited prequel trilogy, at which point those fans became disillusioned and, in some cases, angry. Thus began the great cognitive dissonance of Star Wars fandom: the loving of George for the original trilogy and the disappointment with him for the prequels.

You probably recall the hubbub over The Dark Knight not receiving an Oscar nomination for “Best Picture” at last year's awards. In response to the disappointment many film fans felt, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences expanded the “Best Picture Category” (and only that category) to a field of ten nominations. This was probably a bad move. The Academy’s aim is to highlight great achievements in cinema and, in so doing, to build and reinforce appreciation for the cinematic medium. “These movies are special,” the Academy effectually says with its nominations.

How coincidental is it that practically all of my pleasure-viewing this week dealt with characters having various problems with their fathers? Maybe my goal from now on should be to try to find a common thread in the random consumption of the week. That probably won’t last too long, but it's worth a try, right? This week I visited all three of my favorite “Casual Consumption” works: Invincible, Battlestar Galactica, and The Venture Bros. “What about Dune?” you may ask. I’ll explain at the end.

I’ve got a slightly scant “Casual Consumption” for you this week. My consumption was actually up this week, but there was not a lot to write about. However, what I do have is good. Especially the first: an EC comic. Here’s my casual consumption for the week of February 14-21, 2010: