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How did Vader and Yoda get force ghosts then? They didn't vanish. Just seems a little inconsistent to me.

 

Um, Yoda did vanish. And Anakin vanished off-screen.

 

Opinion is heavily divided on whether Anakin vanished leaving all his armour and cybernetics behind, or not. EU says he did:
The Essential Guide to The Force: p85:

After my father died on the Death Star his body vanished. I brought his armor, and his mechanical remains, to Endor and burned them. It seemed like the right thing to do. Maybe the best thing. The idea of burial just felt wrong. I could only imagine what it must have been like for him, trapped within that armor for so many years. I guess I hoped the flames would somehow liberate him.

following a reference to him doing that, in Champions of the Force.

RoTJ commentary, I've been told a few times, at least implies he does not, and there have been arguments that "it doesn't make sense to just cremate the armor".

There's also a published script entry, which says he burned Anakins body, not just the armor.

137 EXT ENDOR FOREST - NIGHT 137

Luke sets a torch to the logs stacked under a funeral pyre where
his father's body lies, again dressed in black mask and helmet.
He stands, watching sadly, as the flames leap higher to consume
Darth Vader -- Anakin Skywalker.

I think the one of the first semi-G-canon sources to hint that it was just the armor Luke was burning, was the RoTJ Radio Drama, in 1996:

"I burn his armor and with it the name of Darth Vader. May the name of Anakin Skywalker be a light that guides the Jedi for generations to come… rest well, father. The Force is with you."

And when I googled the subject, I got:

According to Steve Sansweet of Lucasfilm and the script for the Return of the Jedi Special Edition, Anakin's body disappeared at death in the same way as Obi-Wan's and Yoda's bodies.
with links to StarWars.com forums (which unfortunately are now defunct).

As well as:

http://forum1.aimoo.com/thehomepage...d-Anakin-disappear-when-he-died-1-875118.html
According to Pabs on hyperspace today, George Lucas insisted that the starwars.com databank and the encylopedia state that Anakin disappear.

 

This discussion reminds me of a question I had been pondering...was there ever any explanation as to Vader's reaction and understanding of what actually happened to Obi-Wan at the end of their duel in ANH? We see Vader going over to where Obi-Wan had stood and stamping his boot on his yet remaining robe but never are given any insight into Vader's POV of what happened in that final moment.

 

The Death Star novel sheds light on this:

And later...

 

Thanks timmoishere. That's exactly what I needed to hear.

 

I wonder if Obi-Wan technically died before "ghosting", or he disappeared in the split second before Vader's strike connected. With Yoda and Obi-Wan, you could make the case that their bodies were preserved in their current state into the afterlife, but obviously, things get confusing with Vader (both with the Shaw and Christensen tellings).

 

In regards to the first part of your post, some rare great yogis in the Far East are said to have the ability to give up their bodies when they choose at their own free will. I guess I saw Obi-Wan's departure in this context that yes technically he had died, but at his own discretion.

 

What you saw in the movies was Sublimation - conversion of a Solid to a Gas.

 

So if the Sarlacc "Slowly digests you over a 1000 years" does that mean it keeps the person alive for 1000 years while also digesting them or do they just die from being all strung up the Sarlacc without any water (and then the Salacc takes 1000 years to eat their corpse)?

 

It's difficult to explain, but the Sarlacc basically absorbs its victims while keeping them alive. Read Boba Fett's tale in Tales From Jabba's Palace to see Boba's experiences inside the Sarlacc's belly.

 

IIRC, the Sarlacc digests its victim through the use of its tendrils to first immobilize and control the victim by injecting a neuro-toxin. Then, the Sarlacc digests the victim by injecting caustic blood which has a dual function - 1) To digest the victim from the inside 2) To provide nutrients to the victim to keep alive for future use. This process can take as you mentioned over 1000 years, throughout which the victim is kept alive, immobilized and in constant pain.

Terrifying eh?

 

Is there anything more disturbing in SW than the ANH radio drama version of Vader interrogating Leia on the Death Star?

 

It is pretty grim. And oddly, it is included in books aimed at younger ages:

The Rise & Fall of Darth Vader
Looming over the prisoner, Vader said "And now, Your Highness, we will discuss the location of your hidden Rebel Base."
There was an electric hum from behind Vader, then a spherical black interrogator droid hovered slowly into the cell. The droid's midsection was ringed by a repulsorlift system, and its exterior was festooned with devices that included an electroshock assembly, sonic torture device, chemical syringe, and lie determinator.
Leia's eyes went wide at the sight of the droid, and Vader could practically taste her terror. She said "Keep it away from me!"
Vader seized his prisoner, pinning her arms to her sides while the interrogator droid moved in closer. There was a brief hiss from the droid's injector arm, then Leia cried out and fell backward, slumping against the cell wall with a thud. "You can't ... she said. "You c —"
"Your Highness," Vader said in his most soothing tone. "Listen to my voice."
Leia's eyes rolled in their sockets, unable to focus on anything. She stammered, "V-voice ..."
"That's right. Listen ... I am your friend."
"Wha — friend?" Leia said, then winced. "No ..."
"Yes!" Vader insisted, watching her plunge deeper into a hypnotic state. "You trust me, you can confide in me. All your secrets are safe with me."
"Mmmm?" Leia licked her lips. "Safe?"
"That's right, safe. You are safe here. You're among friends. You can trust me. I am a member of the Rebel Alliance, like you."
A look of relief swept over Leia's face as she muttered "Rebel?"
"What did you do with the Death Star plans, Leia? Where are they? The Rebels need to know! Help us, Leia!"
"No," she moaned, closing her eyes. "Can't!"
"It's your duty," Vader urged. "Your duty to our Alliance. Your obligation to Alderaan and to your father. It's your duty to tell us where those tapes are!"
"Father?" Leia said, her eyes still shut.
"Yes," Vader said. "Your father commands you to tell us!"
"Father ... wouldn't."
Growing impatient, Vader used his own psychic powers to make Leia believe she was in excruciating pain, but after several minutes, he ended the interrogation. He sensed that her willpower was formidable but must have been augmented with certain physical and mental disciplines. She would not be broken easily.
Leaving the detention cell, he went to report to Grand Moff Tarkin in the Death Star control room. Vader said. "Her resistance to the mind probe is considerable. It will be some time before we can extract any information from her."

 

Is the Hyperdrive used to get from one planet in the system to another planet? Like flying from earth to Jupiter?

 

While it can be (this is called a "microjump" in the EU) - this is not very safe, and not very good for the hyperdrive.

Most of the time, ships fly at sublight speeds within star systems. Given that this can be on the order of 1/10 the speed of light (in some books) its not too long a wait to arrive.

 

How does Darth Vader know Luke is his son in TESB?

 

He found out Luke's name by torturing a captured Rebel pilot shortly after ANH. At the time, Vader assumed Luke was not related to him, but that it was another person adopting the Skywalker name, perhaps out of reverence to Anakin's Clone Wars heroics. Vader resolved to find Luke and ask him about his parentage. Later in ESB, the Emperor confirmed that Luke was Vader's son.

 

That ought to kill the complaints about having added to the dialog between Vader and Palpatine

 

Anyone know who played Vader during the brief scene in which he walks over the bridge in Cloud City to his shuttle? It's obviously not Prowse as the scene was recorded almost 20 years later

 

I was watching Return of the Jedi recently and I thought about something. In the sail barge scene when Jabba pulls Leia's chain and forces Leia to run to him I thought there were several odd things about this

1 - Why does Leia run to Jabba?
2 - When Leia reaches Jabba she punches him in the stomach apparently to steady herself. Why does she need to do this and doesn't Jabba mind his slave punching him?
3 - Why does Jabba want Leia to drink from his goblet?

 

Jabba yanks on her chain. The punch is an error you're not supposed to notice. Jabba is a sick bastard.

 

Jabba's not the most decent of fellows if you haven't yet noticed.

 

Merging with the CT 'Questions' thread

 

Loosely inspired by the "misconceptions you had as a kid" thread: why exactly do so many people try to read understandable words into cases of untranslated alien or droid language?