Star Wars : Top 100 Characters - A Commentary

I don't think that we will ever see "Good" Star Wars movies, and certainly not written, produced or directed by Lucas. When Lucas says that the original Trilogy would be "too expensive" to put on blu ray and restored and Lucas is worth a nice 4 billion dollars, you know hes lost it completely. I read most of the Timothy Zahn books and I really like Dark Empire.

Actually Lucas just announced that all of the films will be released on blu-ray next year, including deleted scenes (I think under special features). That's good news for us! I don't think Lucas would ever release restored versions of the original versions of the original trilogy because he views these movies as his babies and he wants them seen a certain way. I suspect cost is just an excuse. I kind of can't blame him, as much as I'd like to see the originals restored, because he is the artist after all. I liked Dark Empire the first time I read it, although after seeing the prequels I felt like Dark Empire really cheapened Vader's sacrifice in killing the Emperor. However, Lucas was known to give copies of Dark Empire out to friends and supposedly said that if he ever made sequels, they would be based on or like Dark Empire.

I think Tim Zahn wrote the best Star Wars books though it's been years since I've read them. Good points!

I heard the bluray announcement too but it also came with the tack on that the old GOOD movies won't be on bluray for the limp wrist reason of it costing too much. If I don't see original editions, I don't see myself buying it. He sees the Special Editions as his babies, thats fine but in that same vein, they're HIS babies and they're only going to be really special to him. Lucas likes Dark Empire, that shows he has SOME taste and I think the Prequels ruined Dark Empire with Lukes exploration of the Dark Side and why did his father make that choice and then showing the Prequels and seeing Vader as a huffy little hothead who I couldn't stand.

Although we both know cost isn't really the issue... "sigh." I should reread Dark Empire again and see what I think of it now. It's been many, many moons ago. I'm sure a debate about the prequels would get a lot of attention on Lunch.com! I think somebody already said they wanted to do a comparison of the two trilogies. I'm personally ambivalent about the prequels - they could have been a lot better, but they have their moments (Order 66 and the killing of the Jedi was one of the greatest sequences in the entire saga).

Yeah, I said this on other forums and here too that I'm not buying Special Editions again. Phantom Menace was fun and had action but really gaping logic flaws. Attack of the Clones was odious and boring and one of my least favorite movies and Revenge of the Sith was to me now a better Phantom Menace. I'll respect your opinion about Order 66, but for a powerful race with ESP like powers, all those Jedi to me were pretty slow on the draw in realizing the clones were about to betray them. "Always emotion is the future" Yoda said, well since Clones don't have emotion (or almost anything else in the prequels short of boring, annoying and complaining) that could be why they didn't sense them. I just hope some comic or book doesn't explain that away. I like Star Wars, but nothing is more irritatin in hearing the fans explain bad movie writing away by pouring through comics and novels.

Frankly, I like the Order 66 scene more for the cinematic and dramatic effect (the combination of the soundtrack, visuals, and chilling off-screen deaths). I think the prequels built the Jedi up way too much, which then leaves the obvious plot whole of why were they so oblivious as to be slaughtered like lambs. I wouldn't try to justify that contradiction. The real problem is that the prequel Jedi were too powerful, almost omnipotent. By contrast, in the original trilogy, the Jedi and their abilities under the force were much more muted. One scholar of the Star Wars movies has described the original version of the Force as almost like a confidence booster (you can do it if you have faith, Luke). Vader, Obi-Wan, and Luke never jumped 50 feet in the air whilst swinging their lightsabers and juggling R2 units. Not everybody could shoot lightning out of their fingertips or lift starfighters with their mind. Yoda and the Emperor were supposed to be particularly awesome force adepts, but in the prequels those powers became almost blase. In my mind, the Order 66 scene is a return to that more limited vision of Jedi who are have special gifts, but have weaknesses as well. I frankly think it makes sense that Jedi who are in the midst of fighting would have blind spots and that only Super Yoda would be prescient enough to avoid extermination. I agree with you that I find it annoying when people try to come up with convoluted theories to describe plot holes. I'm strangely at peace with the notion that the Star Wars universe has plot holes, inconsistencies, and internal contradictions. I personally like to think that the earlier prequels are plot holes and Order 66 started to put the saga back on track.

I agree with you in reverse, I always thought that the OT made the Jedi the invincible people. When PM came around and you see Obi and Jinny slicing and dicing they're way through crappy droids, but then you see those SAME droids kill off Jedi by the handful in episode II and III with three having the clones do it.

I could see both actually - the Jedi were kind of selectively pathetic. If you're interested in this stuff, I highly recommend the "Secret History of Star Wars" by Michael Kaminski. He looks at a lot of the plot holes, changes with the various scripts, and other fascinating issues behind the development of the Star Wars plots. Oh, and it's not authorized by LucasFilm, so he's honest.

If I buy his book, will he send me a pizza roll?

Ha! That I don't know. I had a long flight to Hong Kong once and finished it entirely during the flight.