[Helena]

This just came to me a short while ago. In TPM, if Tatooine really is so incredibly remote and isolated that no one there can even exchange Republic money (which I don't believe for a moment, but I'll leave that aside for now), how is it that Watto happened to sell exactly the right parts for a ship from Naboo? Come to that, why does he sell any ship parts? There can't be much of a business in it if a) ships hardly ever land there and b) no one from outside Tatooine can actually buy things there, short of working out some kind of weird barter arrangement.

Qui-Gon asks for a very specific type of ship part, and we know the parts can't be common to all ships because Watto claims to be the only person selling them (though how he knows this, I'm not sure). Look at this exchange:

QUI-GON: I need parts for a J-type 327 Nubian.

WATTO: Ah yes, ah yes. Nubian. We have lots of that. What kinda junk?

Presumably 'Nubian' means 'from Naboo', unless it's a specific type of ship. Regardless, why does Watto have 'lots of that'? The only reason for him to have it is if that type of ship lands there regularly, and Watto often services them - in which case the owners must have some way of paying him. Yet this is clearly impossible, since he won't accept anything except local currency. Honestly, did anyone actually think about this plot device for more than five seconds?

[WhoCares]

Obviously Lucas didnt.

[Helena]

Clearly. By the way, welcome to the forum, WhoCares

[Michel Orla]

Lucas isn't the only one to blame though. Not only is Tatooine in five of the six Star Wars movies (All indications it will be in ROTS), it's almost in every Star Wars videogame ever made, including the KOTOR. It stopped having the feeling of a remote, isolated world long ago. Seems almost every major event in the Star Wars world takes place on Tatooine!

[Just your average movie goer]

Ah, silly Luke with his "If there's a bright centre in the universe, you're on the planet that it's furthest from."

How wrong was he? Tatooine is the most hip and happening place in the entire galaxy.

And welcome to the forum, WhoCares. I think you've come here before as an unregistered user before, am I right?

This post has been edited by Just your average movie goer: 27 September 2004 - 10:58 AM

[WhoCares]

Clearly. By the way, welcome to the forum, WhoCares

Thank you. BTW i also hate, really hate harry potter

[Despondent]

Yes, Helena. I thought of that just last week!

Makes perfect sense. And then later, isn't Watto impressed with the starship hologram? I don't know. Maybe he's just bluffing all around and has gotten good at it.

Another thing is: why shouldn't QG feel a trembling of the force, or even "noticeably led" into Watto's shop. Or maybe he was, but in a so-subtle-I'd-never-expect-it kind of way?

[Give Me The Originals Dammit]

You know, all this talk about Tantooine got me thinking, was it even necessary to have Anakin come from Tantooine in the first place? Or was it just another weak way to somehow connect the prequels to the originals? If Tantooine is supposed to be as remote as it is, then it would make perfect sense to send Luke there, it would make a great hiding place. However now that Anakin is actually from Tantooine, it would be the worst place to hide a child from the father!

"Where should we hide Luke, Obi-Wan?"

"How about the birthplace of his father? And just for shit's and giggle's we'll hide him with this married couple Anakin and I met before he was seduced by the dark side! He'll never think of looking there!"

The prequels have made Obi-Wan a complete moron! Why would you hide Luke on a planet and with a couple Anakin has a history with? Wouldn't Vader think to look in these places first!???

Thank you for making me think of yet another reason to hate the prequels!! LOL

[jariten]

This just came to me a short while ago. In TPM, if Tatooine really is so incredibly remote and isolated that no one there can even exchange Republic money (which I don't believe for a moment, but I'll leave that aside for now), how is it that Watto happened to sell exactly the right parts for a ship from Naboo? Come to that, why does he sell any ship parts? There can't be much of a business in it if a) ships hardly ever land there and no one from outside Tatooine can actually buy things there, short of working out some kind of weird barter arrangement.

theres nothing in the film to suggest that one part of a ship cannot be used in another. and watto was probably the kind of guy who modified parts or whatever so that he could supply anyone who came to his shop with whatever they wanted. Theres also nothing to suggest that "Nubian" means "a ship from Naboo." also, while Tattoine obviously does no trading with the Republic, i imagine that there are plenty of planets in the outer rim territories which come and go from tattoine at will. arnt both mos espa and mos eisley spaceports? doesnt Anakin talk about "deep space pilots"? clearly a lot of ships do land there, just rarely from the Republic. thats why he has "lots of that", hes has parts for every thing, hes a dealer.

edit- i have no idea why a smilie appeared in the middle of my post. i cant get rid of it.

This post has been edited by jariten: 28 September 2004 - 12:59 AM

[SimeSublime]

Personally, I hate Tatooine for the fact that they always go there. Its boring. Go somewhere else. But that aside, I had no problem with having Anakin coming from there. My memories a bit sketchy, but did Vader know that he had children? I assumed he only found out later, especially as he never made any mention of Princess Leih being his daughter. As such, hiding Luke with his uncle and aunt didn't seem like such a stupid idea. And the fact that Obi Wan had been there before makes more sense, as it gives him more of a reason to return and live there. Lets face it, Anakin's mother died there, I can't see Darth Vader in much of a hurry to return.

[civilian_number_two]

jariten, if you don't click on the smiley icon in the menu on the left, you can enter the text that represents it. I think just about everyone here has made a list at some point and forgotten to offer it in the format a. b. c. or a ) b ) c) . See what happens if you leave no space between "b" and ")" is you create that smiley.

That's all I have to say. I agree with everything everyone says about Tatooine having no place in the prequels. Unless, of course, what they say is along the lines of "I disagree that Tatooine had no place in the prequels."

Anyway, keep it up.

[Helena]

theres nothing in the film to suggest that one part of a ship cannot be used in another. and watto was probably the kind of guy who modified parts or whatever so that he could supply anyone who came to his shop with whatever they wanted.

Actually, there very much is something to suggest this. Qui-Gon specifically asks for parts for a 'J-Type 327 Nubian' and later on he specifically asks for a 'T-14 hyperdrive'. If ship parts were interchangable, why would he bother asking for a particular type of part, and why would it be so difficult to get the right type of hyperdrive? As for 'modifying' parts from one ship to fit in another, surely it couldn't possibly be that easy!

Theres also nothing to suggest that "Nubian" means "a ship from Naboo." also, while Tattoine obviously does no trading with the Republic, i imagine that there are plenty of planets in the outer rim territories which come and go from tattoine at will. arnt both mos espa and mos eisley spaceports? doesnt Anakin talk about "deep space pilots"? clearly a lot of ships do land there, just rarely from the Republic. thats why he has "lots of that", hes has parts for every thing, hes a dealer.

Sigh... so now Tatooine is part of a cluster of planets that busily trade with each other, but have virtually no contact with the Republic. Right. If that is the case, why didn't the Jedi land on one of these other planets for repairs, rather than whining about having to take the Queen to a planet controlled by the Hutts? We know they didn't just happen to break down there because Qui-Gon states that they are deliberately heading for Tatooine. OK, so maybe it was the nearest planet, but you might think that someone would at least have suggested one of the others.

Come to that, how come Captain Panaka knows that Tatooine is controlled by 'an alliance of gangs called the Hutts'? What reason is there for a guy from Naboo to know about this small, isolated, non-Republic planet? Apparently, either he's made a study of it for some reason or they happen to have with them a database on the governmental system of every planet in the galaxy, including ones that aren't part of the Republic and don't trade with it.

Also, if these systems are so isolated from the Republic, how come people there use the same type of ship? Unless the planets were colonised relatively recently by Republic settlers (why? And wouldn't they still accept Republic money?), surely they would have their own ships. You certainly wouldn't expect Watto to have 'lots' of parts for a type of ship that obviously originates in the Republic.

[jariten]

Actually, there very much is something to suggest this. Qui-Gon specifically asks for parts for a 'J-Type 327 Nubian' and later on he specifically asks for a 'T-14 hyperdrive'. If ship parts were interchangable, why would he bother asking for a particular type of part, and why would it be so difficult to get the right type of hyperdrive?

we`re told that they need a new hyperdrive. Qui Gon first makes the decision to go to Tatooine, then he first tries "one of the smaller dealers", actions which suggest that the parts they need are fairly readily available. again, its possible that `J type 327 Nubian` or whatever is a fairly common type of ship. as for wattos comments about them being unable to find the parts elsewhere, they may or may not have been true. the reason that Qui Gon sticks with Wattos shop is because he wants to help Anakin and Shmi.

As for 'modifying' parts from one ship to fit in another, surely it couldn't possibly be that easy!

why not? that stikes me as the kind of thing Watto could do, and the kind of place where you would expect that kind of thing to happen.

Sigh... so now Tatooine is part of a cluster of planets that busily trade with each other, but have virtually no contact with the Republic

thats what i think, yes. the galaxy is a big place. even when we were talking about this last month, i never suggested that Tatooine was anything else. both Mos Espa and Mos Eilsley are spaceports right? read the stuff i gave as evidence again.

Right. If that is the case, why didn't the Jedi land on one of these other planets for repairs, rather than whining about having to take the Queen to a planet controlled by the Hutts?

Tattoine was the closest planet to them. the hyperdrive was leaking. and the Jedi didnt complain about the Hutts, only Panaka did.

We know they didn't just happen to break down there because Qui-Gon states that they are deliberately heading for Tatooine

?? after their ship got damaged they were forced to make a choice about where to land, Tattoine was the closest option.

Come to that, how come Captain Panaka knows that Tatooine is controlled by 'an alliance of gangs called the Hutts'? What reason is there for a guy from Naboo to know about this small, isolated, non-Republic planet? Apparently, either he's made a study of it for some reason or they happen to have with them a database on the governmental system of every planet in the galaxy, including ones that aren't part of the Republic and don't trade with it.

"its small, out of the way, poor. The Federation have no presence there"

"How can you be sure?"

"Its controlled by the Hutts"

"You cant take her Royal Highness there, the Hutts are gangsters!"

so, not only had Panaka never heard of Tatooine, but the Jedi hadnt either. Qui Gon read the Hutt info off the screen, and Obi had to explain about it to Panaka. Panaka had heard of the Hutts, granted, but their reputation was obviosuly fairly far flung, and of course they must have operated on worlds other than Tatooine.

OK, so maybe it was the nearest planet, but you might think that someone would at least have suggested one of the others.

"its small, out of the way, poor. The Federation have no presence there"

Tatooine was the best option they had. they had to act quickly.

Also, if these systems are so isolated from the Republic, how come people there use the same type of ship? Unless the planets were colonised relatively recently by Republic settlers (why? And wouldn't they still accept Republic money?), surely they would have their own ships. You certainly wouldn't expect Watto to have 'lots' of parts for a type of ship that obviously originates in the Republic.

again, we are given zero information on this. but i think its reasonable to assume that theres some kind of standardisation in the way hyperdrives or whatever are created, and that a lot of people would need them to repair their ships, and so watto, being a dealer, made it his buisiness to aquire these parts.

[HK 47]

The thing that ticks me off the most with minor inconsistecies such as the one being discussed here, (I say minor because I feel there are far worse crimes in the PT) is that they could have been fixed so very easily. It is beyond me how Lucas can miss details like this. Doesn't he review the script? Doesn't anyone? This is one of the main reasons I think the man is simply stupid. He seems incapable of logic reasoning. And it isn't quantum physics were talking here. It's everyday common sense.

[Michel Orla]

He'll always fall back on his patented: They're Science Fiction movies, don't take them so seriously.

Wish we can say the same thing to him about the money he makes off these movies...