[Helena]

I don't care how good Knights of the Old Republic is.  If the word 'padawan' was a building, I would burn it to the ground and salt the earth.

With some of Lucas's made-up words ('Moff', for example) I'd agree with you, but what exactly is so terrible about 'padawan'? It didn't really have any impact on me, good or bad, the first time I heard it.

[Just your average movie goer]

For me, the word "padawan" speaks for itself. Sounds like padding. Sounds like a silly word to rhyme with Obi Wan. Sounds like something notoriously childish. Sounds like something that may be at home in a Dr Seus book... but not something Dr Seus would be too happy about.

In short, it is a STUPID word. A STUPID, STUPID, STUPID word.


And we already had a perfectly good word for a Jedi's apprentice. That word was...

APPRENTICE.

This post has been edited by Just your average movie goer: 23 April 2005 - 09:40 AM

[CowboyCurtis]

Never mind.

This post has been edited by CowboyCurtis: 23 April 2005 - 12:01 PM

[Lord Aquaman]

This may be way out of the left field (and completely stupid) but I have to ask - should Anakin's mother have had blonde hair? One of the things that stood out to me about Pernilla August, who played Anakin's mom in Episodes 1 and 2, was that she not only bore no resemblance to Jake Lloyd & Hayden Christensen, but that she sported dark hair (if anything, she looked more like the mom of Natalie Portman). Seeing as how little Anakin had blonde hair and stalker Anakin had kind of this dirty blonde hair - which was passed on to Luke - I can't help wondering if they should have at least hired a blonde actress to play the mother of our favorite half maimed machine man.

[Despondent]

So he must have changed names quite some time back, and private friends, like Owen and Bail must have been among the few who he revealed this too.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

True. It's little known, but their original names were Ghana Organa and Cwone Lars.

[ernesttomlinson]

OK, crazy idea. Just thought it up five minutes ago while eating lunch.

Before I go on I should say that I don't mind borrowing scenes from the previous movies - so long as the borrowing is used cleverly. Here's what I'm thinking.

Episode I begins much as Episode IV does: we see a smaller Republic ship in a heavy firefight with a large Clone ship. (Not as great a mismatch in size, though.) Cut to the interior: soldiers are taking positions behind corners and down corridors to prepare to repel Clone boarders. But among them is a younger Obi-Wan Kenobi and possibly a few other Jedi as well. I figure that the Jedi, because one of their great strengths is being able to repel fire, would serve as cover behind which soldiers with ordinary blasters can shield themselves.

The clones break into the ship and the firefight ensues. Oh, no cute droids in this scene.

I imagine the Jedi knights as not being tied to any particular Republic vessel (except, perhaps, voluntarily) but serving on various ships as needed. They're like the Rangers, like Aragorn fighting both for Gondor and for Rohan in his youth.

The Republic ship succeeds in repelling the boarders and escaping from the Clone ship (ain't worked out how yet) through the skill of its pilot. Obi-Wan is impressed and takes an interest in this young pilot - Anakin Skywalker. Obi-Wan decides to continue his tour of duty on Skywalker's ship (instead of moving on to another, as I've indicated I think should be possible) and he and Skywalker build up a friendship. Obi-Wan senses that Skywalker is strong with the Force and suggests that with training he could become a Jedi knights as well...

Points to emphasise: Anakin is young but still an adult; he and Obi-Wan get along, at least at first, as fellow soldiers. There's no "too old to begin the training" nonsense and certainly no frickin' Jedi Academy. The Republic, at least in this first movie, is strictly in the background. There's a lot of combat in the movie - this is about a war.
Perhaps the movie ends with Anakin's deciding to cast in his lot with Obi-Wan and strive to become a Jedi. A seed of resentment could be sewn in that perhaps Anakin later regrets that Obi-Wan bulled him into, well, a career change, and forced him to give up his earlier career as a pilot. Eh, that's a weak idea.

So, what do you think?

[CowboyCurtis]

Homages are okay, but I'd like to see something a little different, a little fresher...

Sorry, it doesn't quite work for me, but that's just my 2 cents.

This post has been edited by CowboyCurtis: 24 April 2005 - 07:14 PM

[Just another wretched fan]

i'd agree with you that similarity done correctly could really make you feel like you're watching a star wars movie.

The perfect example is the visual of Anakin staring at the sunset before the Sand speech.

Since there seems to be a general consensus that Ep1 should begin with some sort of battle to arrange a meet up between Obi-Wan and Anakin and Owen Lars, most likely on Tatooine, I think you have a good thing going. Let me throw out a few modifications to the scene you spoke of.

Start off with a similar scene involving two battleships squaring off over tatooine, just like ANH. and

i) shoot down obi-wan's ship...maybe even crash it into the Dune Sea. Show an SFX heavy scene of Owen and Anakin standing in the desert watching this massive flaming and damaged battleship, emergency reentry engines blasting, slam into the desert sending up a tidal wave of dust. Anakin and Owen ride over to investigate, Anakin unwittingly uses the force, Obi-Wan notices, etc....

ii) Maybe Anakin is in a planetary militia that sends up a squadron of fighters to the firefight.(Although i think a scene like this should occur later in the film, just like TPM or ANH...Only instead of blowing up the friggin command ship by accident he uses the force.)

Anakin is young, i don't think he should be the pilot of a large ship. Definately a fighter pilot. Any pod racing and or/speeder racing should be kept to a minimum.

[CowboyCurtis]

Just curious, what is the reason for them being near Tatooine... the very place Anakin is from?

What I mean is it an accident that they arrived over Tatooine? Was their mission directed here?

This post has been edited by CowboyCurtis: 24 April 2005 - 11:14 PM

[Just another wretched fan]

Just curious, what is the reason for them being near Tatooine... the very place Anakin is from?

What I mean is it an accident that they arrived over Tatooine?  Was their mission directed here?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The best answer is that we don't need to explain it because its too much stupid information. I use ANH as my defense. We never know why the Tantive IV and Vader's Star Destroyer are orbiting Tatooine. Even the EU freaks at the starwars.com databank haven't made up a backstory to it. Yeah, she was getting death star plans....but why is Leia over such a backwater world? We don't know, and we don't care! It worked out perfectly.

So, if there is a clone wars battle going on above tatooine, we shouldn't need to explain it. Just get Obi-Wan on Tatooine to meet up with Anakin and Owen, get amazed with how strong Anakin is with the force, and convince Anakin to come on a damn fool crusade. That's all we want, right?

This post has been edited by Just another wretched fan: 25 April 2005 - 12:22 AM

[Helena]

For me, the word "padawan" speaks for itself.  Sounds like padding.  Sounds like a silly word to rhyme with Obi Wan.  Sounds like something notoriously childish.  Sounds like something that may be at home in a Dr Seus book... but not something Dr Seus would be too happy about.

Funny, it never struck me like that. On the other hand, 'Moff' immediately makes me think of cuddly toys and bunny rabbits, whereas other people don't seem bothered by it. I guess it's a personal thing...

[Just your average movie goer]

Maybe. I guess we'll agree to disagree on this one.

Although if I may try a last desperate attempt to bring you over to my side of the argument, the word 'padawan' is also another painful reminder of the prequels.

[Helena]

Maybe.  I guess we'll agree to disagree on this one.

Although if I may try a last desperate attempt to bring you over to my side of the argument,  the word 'padawan' is also another painful reminder of the prequels.

I know, but the last time I saw one of the Prequels was several years ago, whereas the last time I played KOTOR was... ooh, Saturday? And KOTOR has Padawans, so that settles it as far as I'm concerned. Sorry.

However, I will make one concession. I will not, under any circumstances, accept the crap about the Dark Side 'growing stronger' and 'clouding our perceptions' - even though that's mentioned, albeit very briefly, in KOTOR. So you see, I still have at least some sense of perspective where that game is concerned...

[snaithbert]

Just curious, what is the reason for them being near Tatooine... the very place Anakin is from?

What I mean is it an accident that they arrived over Tatooine?  Was their mission directed here?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I always assumed that they were there because Princess Leia had come to there to get Obi Wan.

In her recording she says "my mission to bring you to Alderann has failed," so I assumed that meant she'd been intercepted by the Empire right as she arrived at Tatooine, etc.

If that's not the reason her ship is at Tatooine- I can't think of any earthly idea why she'd be there.

Unless she just wants to vacation on the home world of the hottest podracer of all time.

You know, that guy who won the Boonta 500?

[ernesttomlinson]

Maybe she just knew that Tatooine was where the action was. The Union Station of the Universe. Every other character in all of Star Wars went through Tatooine, why should Leia be left out?