Star Wars: ROTJ, and other news
Oct. 25th, 2004 07:40 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jedibuttercupI know some of you are waiting for new fic chapters from me. Sorry! I've gotten distracted; I'll have one ready for you sometime tonight or tomorrow, I promise.
No news on the job front yet. I'll keep you posted if anything happens.
So ... Return of the Jedi.
*facepalm* Let me just quote, "bDooo EE NGrwrrr Op dbooDEEop!" and "Arh Arhaghh shpahrgh rahr aurowwwrahrah grop rahp rah" and finally, "There were borning stars, breathing stars, pulsing stars, and dying stars. There was the Death Star." *groan*
The author was ... well, very detailed in his descriptions, I suppose is a kind way to put it. The events were easily followed, and the dialogue was all there, but I could have done without a description of just what Bib Fortuna's prehensile head-tails could do, the exact texture of Jabba's skin, the past histories of the various Ewoks, and Lando's endless speculations on bets and odds.
The problem with going into that kind of detail in a shared universe like this one is that you're going to get over-written by later authors, especially if half the detail you're cramming in is just stuff off the top of your head that you're trying to use to flesh out a script. I mean, I can understand "Jabba was the vilest gangster in the galaxy," as the rest of Hutt culture and Black Sun weren't invented until much later, and this could be chalked up to the narrator's point of view anyway. However, I choked when I read this: "[Jabba] had no hair -- it had fallen out from a combination of diseases." Was that Lucas' idea, or the author's? I suppose I shouldn't be surprised in either case, as Jabba had previously been imagined as a grotesque, corpulent humanoid. And the little clips of Lando's past history, Han's "twenty-seven piracies", the Gammorean's "racial hatred of droids" and so on ... How much of that is substantiated elsewhere? Certainly not Vader admiring the Death Star. *raised eyebrow*
Speaking of perspective changes: "Bargain rather than fight? He is no Jedi." Um. I wonder what Lucas originally imagined their role in the Old Republic to be, then? Obi-Wan's rank is probably an artifact of that; I'm interested in seeing how they work it into "Revenge of the Sith". And there was another quote, in Jabba's dialogue with Luke, that I can't remember hearing in the movie: "I was killing your kind when being a Jedi meant something." That caught my attention. Does that story ever get told anywhere? Or is it one more back-story that Lucas half-imagined and then discarded?
Something else ... Obi-Wan's insistence that Anakin's fall was because he thought he could be as good a teacher as Yoda makes no sense at all now, in light of the prequel trilogy. Yoda didn't even want Anakin to join the Jedi, and Obi-Wan was in no state of mind to be making critical decisions; his beloved, dying master had asked him to train the boy, so that was what he determined to do, no matter his own feelings on the matter. I suppose we can chalk it up to all those years he must've spent alone on Tatooine going over and over past events in his head; he lived through so much catastrophe and grief that it would be no wonder if he developed a guilt complex.
What if he hadn't upheld Qui-Gon's wishes, and instead let Yoda keep Ani from the Order? Madness. Palpatine was already aware of Ani by then, and dollars to doughnuts the boy would've been kidnapped within the year if Obi-Wan sent him to Naboo with Padmé, or back to Tatooine to his mother. Then nothing of the light within would have survived, and no-one could have turned him back, even if he did still produce twin Force-strong children. Obi-Wan might have been a little young and headstrong to make a good parental figure, but he did his best, and you can tell in "Attack of the Clones" that he cared a great deal for Ani; imagine if Darth Sidious had raised Ani instead! The true fault in this situation belonged to Palpatine, for deliberately tempting Ani, Ani himself for taking the easy road, and the Jedi Council for starting a pattern of negativity in Ani's relationship with the Jedi at large from the first moment they met.
Ah. Sorry; can you tell who my favorite prequel character is? =)
Back to the book -- some of the other detail in it read like a transparent jab at modern fans, especially the following characterization of Luke, speaking of how he'd matured since leaving Tatooine the first time: "... some would have said this shading gave a depth to his personality, where before it had been thin, without dimension -- though such a suggestion probably would have come from jaded critics, reflecting a jaded time. Nevertheless, there was a certain darkness, now." Well, yes, Luke is my favorite original-trilogy character, but please, it is true that he was a whiny little brat for most of the first two movies. I like him better with that human dimension, and I think that given all the impatience and other attributes he inherited from his father, it probably grounded him far better than the slave/Apprentice upbringing Ani had. You can take the boy out of the farm, but you can't take the farm out of the boy, as they say.
I was intrigued by the Ewok Council dialogue; it's been awhile since I saw the film, but I don't remember Han making any heart-felt declarations about helping the Alliance because of friendship, or Leia asking them to help "because of the trees", or Wicket's long discourse comparing the Empire to a forest fire. All I remember is Threepio's speechifying and sound-effects, and then their being declared part of the tribe. Maybe my memory's just getting dim, but the book version was long-winded, and fascinatingly philosophical despite that. Luke's goodbye to Leia - "my sister has it" - felt a lot longer, too, as did the Emperor's first speech to Luke aboard the Death Star II, and Vader's death scene.
One additional thing that I appreciated was that Luke's venture to see Vader is clearly stated by Leia and Han as a way to distract Vader. I've seen AU post-ROTJ fan fiction that tried to assert Luke was abandoning his post, turning traitor, etc., when he gave himself up to Vader's guards -- but a mission of distraction semi-authorized by an Alliance leader and an Alliance general makes a lot more sense. I don't know if they ever dealt further with that in the later books ... and I can't remember how/if the twins' descent from Vader impacts on the rest of the New Republic bigwigs, either. Guess I'll have to wait and see.
Next up in the timeline: The Mandalorian Armor, first of the Bounty Hunter Wars trilogy.
No news on the job front yet. I'll keep you posted if anything happens.
So ... Return of the Jedi.
*facepalm* Let me just quote, "bDooo EE NGrwrrr Op dbooDEEop!" and "Arh Arhaghh shpahrgh rahr aurowwwrahrah grop rahp rah" and finally, "There were borning stars, breathing stars, pulsing stars, and dying stars. There was the Death Star." *groan*
The author was ... well, very detailed in his descriptions, I suppose is a kind way to put it. The events were easily followed, and the dialogue was all there, but I could have done without a description of just what Bib Fortuna's prehensile head-tails could do, the exact texture of Jabba's skin, the past histories of the various Ewoks, and Lando's endless speculations on bets and odds.
The problem with going into that kind of detail in a shared universe like this one is that you're going to get over-written by later authors, especially if half the detail you're cramming in is just stuff off the top of your head that you're trying to use to flesh out a script. I mean, I can understand "Jabba was the vilest gangster in the galaxy," as the rest of Hutt culture and Black Sun weren't invented until much later, and this could be chalked up to the narrator's point of view anyway. However, I choked when I read this: "[Jabba] had no hair -- it had fallen out from a combination of diseases." Was that Lucas' idea, or the author's? I suppose I shouldn't be surprised in either case, as Jabba had previously been imagined as a grotesque, corpulent humanoid. And the little clips of Lando's past history, Han's "twenty-seven piracies", the Gammorean's "racial hatred of droids" and so on ... How much of that is substantiated elsewhere? Certainly not Vader admiring the Death Star. *raised eyebrow*
Speaking of perspective changes: "Bargain rather than fight? He is no Jedi." Um. I wonder what Lucas originally imagined their role in the Old Republic to be, then? Obi-Wan's rank is probably an artifact of that; I'm interested in seeing how they work it into "Revenge of the Sith". And there was another quote, in Jabba's dialogue with Luke, that I can't remember hearing in the movie: "I was killing your kind when being a Jedi meant something." That caught my attention. Does that story ever get told anywhere? Or is it one more back-story that Lucas half-imagined and then discarded?
Something else ... Obi-Wan's insistence that Anakin's fall was because he thought he could be as good a teacher as Yoda makes no sense at all now, in light of the prequel trilogy. Yoda didn't even want Anakin to join the Jedi, and Obi-Wan was in no state of mind to be making critical decisions; his beloved, dying master had asked him to train the boy, so that was what he determined to do, no matter his own feelings on the matter. I suppose we can chalk it up to all those years he must've spent alone on Tatooine going over and over past events in his head; he lived through so much catastrophe and grief that it would be no wonder if he developed a guilt complex.
What if he hadn't upheld Qui-Gon's wishes, and instead let Yoda keep Ani from the Order? Madness. Palpatine was already aware of Ani by then, and dollars to doughnuts the boy would've been kidnapped within the year if Obi-Wan sent him to Naboo with Padmé, or back to Tatooine to his mother. Then nothing of the light within would have survived, and no-one could have turned him back, even if he did still produce twin Force-strong children. Obi-Wan might have been a little young and headstrong to make a good parental figure, but he did his best, and you can tell in "Attack of the Clones" that he cared a great deal for Ani; imagine if Darth Sidious had raised Ani instead! The true fault in this situation belonged to Palpatine, for deliberately tempting Ani, Ani himself for taking the easy road, and the Jedi Council for starting a pattern of negativity in Ani's relationship with the Jedi at large from the first moment they met.
Ah. Sorry; can you tell who my favorite prequel character is? =)
Back to the book -- some of the other detail in it read like a transparent jab at modern fans, especially the following characterization of Luke, speaking of how he'd matured since leaving Tatooine the first time: "... some would have said this shading gave a depth to his personality, where before it had been thin, without dimension -- though such a suggestion probably would have come from jaded critics, reflecting a jaded time. Nevertheless, there was a certain darkness, now." Well, yes, Luke is my favorite original-trilogy character, but please, it is true that he was a whiny little brat for most of the first two movies. I like him better with that human dimension, and I think that given all the impatience and other attributes he inherited from his father, it probably grounded him far better than the slave/Apprentice upbringing Ani had. You can take the boy out of the farm, but you can't take the farm out of the boy, as they say.
I was intrigued by the Ewok Council dialogue; it's been awhile since I saw the film, but I don't remember Han making any heart-felt declarations about helping the Alliance because of friendship, or Leia asking them to help "because of the trees", or Wicket's long discourse comparing the Empire to a forest fire. All I remember is Threepio's speechifying and sound-effects, and then their being declared part of the tribe. Maybe my memory's just getting dim, but the book version was long-winded, and fascinatingly philosophical despite that. Luke's goodbye to Leia - "my sister has it" - felt a lot longer, too, as did the Emperor's first speech to Luke aboard the Death Star II, and Vader's death scene.
One additional thing that I appreciated was that Luke's venture to see Vader is clearly stated by Leia and Han as a way to distract Vader. I've seen AU post-ROTJ fan fiction that tried to assert Luke was abandoning his post, turning traitor, etc., when he gave himself up to Vader's guards -- but a mission of distraction semi-authorized by an Alliance leader and an Alliance general makes a lot more sense. I don't know if they ever dealt further with that in the later books ... and I can't remember how/if the twins' descent from Vader impacts on the rest of the New Republic bigwigs, either. Guess I'll have to wait and see.
Next up in the timeline: The Mandalorian Armor, first of the Bounty Hunter Wars trilogy.
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Ewok Council
Date: 2004-10-26 08:38 am (UTC)"[Jabba] had no hair -- it had fallen out from a combination of diseases." Was that Lucas' idea, or the author's?
Believe it or not, one of the Glove of Vader series books featured Zorba on the cover, and he had long white braids. Sort of like an old Viking warrior look, if that makes sense. I don't remember a ton of details about those books, but that definitely stuck out!
Next up in the timeline: The Mandalorian Armor, first of the Bounty Hunter Wars trilogy
I've actually never read those. Now I have to go pick these up at the library so I can keep up with you! ;)
Re: Ewok Council
Date: 2004-10-26 09:50 pm (UTC)Weird. According to today's definiton of Hutts, that would make Zorba a mutant. About as out of place as a Hutt Jedi. Which I hear there's one of in the EU somewhere; bizarre. How could a being resistant to the Force manage to grasp and wield it?
I've actually never read those. Now I have to go pick these up at the library so I can keep up with you! ;)
Out of curiosity, what's your reading speed? I can usually manage about a hundred paperback pages per hour if it's a normal sized font and I'm not interrupted.
Reading Rainbow
Date: 2004-10-27 06:52 am (UTC)Hmm, I've never actually figured it out. I'm betting you're quicker, but I could probably manage to keep a reasonable pace. Whenever
Username
Date: 2004-10-26 08:41 am (UTC)Re: Username
Date: 2004-10-26 09:54 pm (UTC)Re: Username
Date: 2004-10-27 06:49 am (UTC)Hooray for insight! I feel special. :)