Figure of the Day: Day 444: Greeata

GREEATA Jabba's Dancers
Power of the Force Cinema Scenes
Item No.: Asst. 69650 No. 69849
Number: n/a
Includes: Base, two other figures
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $19.99
Availability: Mid-Late 1998
Appearances: Return of the Jedi: Special Edition

Bio: Greeata Jendowanian was a female Rodian vocalist, musician and dancer. (Stolen from Wookieepedia.)

Image: Adam Pawlus' toy shelves.

Commentary: As a figure from 1998 or so, Greeata suffers from the design aesthetic of her day-- which was to give Rodians really small heads. A big head Greedo would be released in 1999, but unfortunately, it would come too late for this dancer, who is cursed with a small noggin. The figure has the usual articulation of her day (read: not much) and surprisingly good bumpy skin. Actually, the only things that make this figure really dated are the oddly sized head and the skin deco-- were Hasbro to rerelease this one with new paint and a new head, I think it'd do rather well. Of course, she can only be as good as the source material, which is a little odd-- a quasi-mohawk/mullet of bright yellow, an orange bikini, and warty skin can only take you so far in the dancing business, or for that matter, in the collector's game. Since she's from a somewhat controversial addition to the saga, a lot of fans are content to ignore her entirely, but as she is a resident of Jabba's Palace, I felt obligated to buy her with a smile. The figure is more or less solid-- she's not going to have pieces flying off (a novelty, I know) nor is she going to bust in half if you play with her-- she's just a good, solid action figure with a ridiculous mane of hair. How could you not want one?

Collector's Notes: As one of the first Cinema Scenes with three totally original characters never before released in any form, this set didn't fare too well. Along with Rystall and Lyn-Me, the three-pack was a great way to crank out new characters in a hurry, but fans and kids flocked to sets like Purchase of the Droids, Mynock Hunt, and the Jedi Final Duel which presented far more popular figures and showed, when it's all said and done, the market for the "core characters" is far greater than the minor ones. Which is a pity as I'm mostly interested in the weirder stuff these days. This set is a great example of the risks Kenner took during 1998, which was a fantastic year for new figures. From the Special Editions to the comics, there was something for almost every fan niche-- of course, it was easier to please when there were so many as-of-yet unmade figures plus far less source material from which to work. If you still want this set, some retailers still have it in stock for about ten bucks-- you should totally get one.

Day 444: July 24, 2007