Lets talk all things Star Wars

[Joek3rr]

BTW, from my little rant the other day about watching the 30 mins review of the whole Clone War thing.
For one, not that anyone took it this way, but still, not putting anyone down that does like it.
And I know myself, if I were to watch it, I'd probably enjoy all the character interactions and that main story parts, just some of the stuff mentioned about certain story or characters, like Maul surviving, I still just don't prefer that that had happened.
Like I hear rumors about Mace Windu possibly surviving. Knowing Disney, if they see money involved, they'll do it. I'd really prefer to know he died out the window. I mean, that was a pretty major turning point in Anakin turning to the dark side.
I really hate to see Disney keep watering down these big story parts and characters.

Gotta love the old Clone Wars Multimedia Project. No shoehorned Darth Maul with cybernetic spider legs.

 

[Psab keel]

Also I imagine that Luke wasn't exactly eager to face Yoda after disobeying him.

Or eager to have to confront Yoda or Obi-Wan about Vader being his father and why they hid that from him.

 

[pengbuzz]

Or eager to have to confront Yoda or Obi-Wan about Vader being his father and why they hid that from him.

Right?

Also, I think after the revelation made to Luke, as well as the loss of his hand, and the humiliating defeat at the hands of the same father he once idolized, Luke needed some time to recover from the psychological trauma. Even with a new limb, the fact that you know it's artificial is a stark reminder of how you lost that limb, and that alone is tough to recover from. I'm surprised it took Luke as little time as it did to recover from those traumas.

 

[Psab keel]

That would be a lot to process. Mark Hamill gives an outstanding performance in Empire. Career defining.

 

[pengbuzz]

The clips I've seen are painfully bad. Like my brain shuts off trying to watch because it feels so hollow, but people assume I have to like anything with that logo on it because I'm a fan. Having to explain to people where my interest lies (in casual conversation) is a chore because they assume if it's Star Wars, I must like it. So I try and avoid the subject because it's not worth getting into, or changing the subject to something more interesting. Fandom today is essentially brand loyalty and I'm not loyal to any brand. I got over that as a teenager. I just enjoy great fiction. It's really as simple as that.

I tried watching CW because people rave about it but I could barely get through an episode because the writing bored me. Rebels didn't hold any appeal either and this show is Filoni’s CW 3.0. It's all lore and iconography in place of story. The problem with Star Wars is that no one seems capable of committing to endings. No one dies that doesn't get resurrected. No one gets mortally wounded that doesn't survive. Everyone is related to a Skywalker or knew one personally and they retread the same events only to change the context and meaning of those events in the process, which robs it of any agency whatsoever. The same plots. The same themes, both narratively, musically, and visually.

For a series that prides itself on being infinitely vast, the amount of repetition is staggering. The same characters show up or need to in order to maintain the audience's interest. Notice how viewership spikes when Anakin or Luke show up? The reason for that is because those stories are the most interesting and the best developed ones in the series. Getting a glimpse of them brings on "the feels" and thats all it takes to make some people happy. It takes more than recognition to tell a story. Far more. But they rely on the central characters to maintain long term interest, often using them to prop up the new characters who are barely fleshed out.

I've come to realize that most SW fans are obsessed with the trappings and the story is secondary. It doesn't matter to them if continuity is broken, or if the same characters show up endlessly, despite their stories being long over. As long as it's got a recognizable element it's "good." In almost 50 years no one has been able to venture outside the known enough to revolutionize the franchise in a way that truly brings it out of its complacency. It's just continuation after continuation.

So I checked out a long time ago. I'm aware of the broad strokes of the series but I can't get into plot specifics because I don't have enough motivation to bother watching hours of this stuff. I'm only here because of my love for those original stories and to hang out with the friends I've made here. Maybe build some cool stuff along the way and outdo myself with each build, both in terms of accuracy and challenging myself creatively.

Despite what some think, my identity isn't wrapped up in Star Wars. It's a part of my life and work, but being the "Star Wars guy" within social circles is almost an annoyance because it's always around. It's like I can't get away from the association with brand loyalists. I'm not about that.

For me: it's like I went to a great feast and enjoyed the meal. Then, they hold another feast, but it's warmed up leftovers. Not bad, but still the same thing. Then another, only they made a hash out of the leftovers. By the ninth invite, it's been put into a food processor, poured into a pan, baked and then sliced and served.

At this point, I need Pepto-Bismo.

 

[batguy]

That would be a lot to process. Mark Hamill gives an outstanding performance in Empire. Career defining.

Not to mention having to spend 1/3rd of the movie (with some of his big emotional scenes) co-starring with . . . a puppet.

He was acting almost alone. The footage of Yoda was pieced together from zillions of takes & shots and adding the voice audio in post. Every inch of the Yoda dialogue & movements had to be pre-planned. The movements were limited by set practicalities. Mark had no room to improvise. And many times his acting performance would not have been the main priority when the crew was shooting & editing because they were trying to keep so many balls juggled in the air.

 

[Psab keel]

Not to mention having to spend 1/3rd of the movie (with some of his big emotional scenes) co-starring with . . . a puppet.

He was acting almost alone. The footage of Yoda was pieced together from zillions of takes & shots and adding the voice audio in post. Every inch of the Yoda dialogue & movements had to be pre-planned. The movements were limited by set practicalities. Mark had no room to improvise. And many times his acting performance would not have been the main priority when the crew was shooting & editing because they were trying to keep so many balls juggled in the air.

Absolutely! Which is all a testament to his performance.

 

[Halliwax]

In ROTJ Luke is shot on the back of his hand, not his wrist.
Granted, in the X-Wing the damage overlaps hand and wrist.

Never realized that!!

 

[Laspector]

Has there ever been anything that actually shows what deflector shields look like? I've never seen a schematic or diagram of them. Being as how, in ANH, they are always saying things like "Angle the deflector shield" I've never thought of them as just a force field surrounding the ship, but more of an invisible flat shield of some sort. Maybe something that tilts in certain ways to maybe ricochet laser blast off of it?

 

[Darth Lars]

Has there ever been anything that actually shows what deflector shields look like?

The only time I think we could see the actual shield was in Episode 1 when Anakin had flown into the Trade Federation ship.
R2 restored power and Anakin raised the shields, which shimmered a little before going transparent.

As to shield emitters, in ROTJ there was of course the big one on Endor, and an emitter (that looked like a RADAR dome) on top of the Executor's bridge tower that got hit by Rebel pilots before one of them crashed into the bridge.

 

[ghostryder]

https://x.com/TheSpaceshipper/status/1710320629033910476?s=20

 

[VanPersie]

A lot hinges on the parents. Call us old-fashioned. But my wife and I have already decided that our kids will get phones once they start driving. Not before. It's going books and toys to keep them entertained.

Good luck with that….

 

[VanPersie]

. Chrysler/Dodge lost money on the Viper for years because it helped offset the company's 1980s minivan image. Etc.

Didn’t go so well for them in the end though did it considering it filed for bankruptcy and was taken over by Fiat.

 

[batguy]

Didn’t go so well for them in the end though did it considering it filed for bankruptcy and was taken over by Fiat.

Kinda inevitable because of its size. Chrysler has never been quite big enough to survive on its own so it's always getting passed around. Their minivan era came after they needed a govt loan bailout to keep them afloat in the early 1980s. In the 2000s they were bought by Daimler/Benz for a while before Fiat.

But losing money on a prestige product like a Viper, in order to help the larger product line . . . . that is standard procedure in the business world.

Chevrolet has been making their beloved Corvette since the 1950s. I doubt that model is truly profitable either. Not by itself. They get away with it because it uses a lot of components from the Chevy/GM parts bin. And they use it as a testbed for new things like fiberglass & carbon fiber parts.

 

[VanPersie]

Kinda inevitable because of its size. Chrysler has never been quite big enough to survive on its own so it's always getting passed around. Their minivan era came after they needed a govt loan bailout to keep them afloat in the early 1980s. In the 2000s they were bought by Daimler/Benz for a while before Fiat.

But losing money on a prestige product like a Viper, in order to help the larger product line . . . . that is standard procedure in the business world.

Chevrolet has been making their beloved Corvette since the 1950s. I doubt that model is truly profitable either. Not by itself. They get away with it because it uses a lot of components from the Chevy/GM parts bin. And they use it as a testbed for new things like fiberglass & carbon fiber parts.

Yes I know what a loss leader is. Their issue was quality, well the lack of it not their size. No point having a loss leader when the rest of your products aren’t selling, which also applies to toy makers now.

 

[ConvergencePro]

Seen this going around lately. So much pure unadulterated cringe…

The no-name A-Wing Pilot that kamakazi’d the SSD Executor’s shieldless bridge had more meaningful character and story impact than she did

 

[Joek3rr]

View attachment 1748778

Seen this going around lately. So much pure unadulterated cringe…

The no-name A-Wing Pilot that kamakazi’d the SSD Executor’s shieldless bridge had more meaningful character and story impact than she did

"No-name A-wing pilot"? Excuse me! That's the one and only Arvel Crynyd.

(Okay to be fair he's isn't named on screen.)

 

[Psab keel]

What a shame too. Laura Dern is one hell of an actress.

 

[ConvergencePro]

"No-name A-wing pilot"? Excuse me! That's the one and only Arvel Crynyd.

(Okay to be fair he's isn't named on screen.)

No-name Arvel definitely had the biggest “impact” in the film, thats for sure. I think he ended up having his own Rogue Squadron missions in the long run too? Absolutely deserved it if so

 

[ConvergencePro]

What a shame too. Laura Dern is one hell of an actress.

I honestly really like her in most roles and it was very hard seeing not only her, but so many other great actors, both established and new, get the poor writing/execution treatment that they did in the end.
Cant build a house without first having a solid foundation (writing in this case)