A theory for the saber debate

A lot of huff and puff in the other thread about the colour of the sabers. Here's a "Lucas pretends he intented it all along" type of possible explanation.

Did it ever occur to anyone that possibly sabers age and need maintenence to keep them in top condition? The one that Obi Wan give to Luke has been sitting there unused for 20 odd years. If you didn't power on TV in that long, odds are the picture wouldn't look so good right away. It might have originally been bright blue but many years after not being used, it starts out pale for a while (it gets much bluer by the time ESB rolls around).

This could explain why Vader's saber is also starting to lose intensity, and appearing "pink" sometimes. Whom did he have to use his sabre on until Luke came along? It sort of just sat in his belt as an ominous warning all that time.

All the PT sabers are presumably new and in top condition, and so is Luke's bright green one in ROTJ.

Just a theory.

 

Absolutely not. The sabers are fixed.

 

Darkfalz, I wondered that too. I'm sure they could come up with an explanaion like that. However, I doubt it.

 

I think the saber update isn't reall a problem. When movies are restored, coloring and enahancemetn always occurs. There are mor eimportant plot points that will potentially be tinkered with, that are much more important than updating the special f/x.

 

that there are much more important than updating the special f/x.

Not to Lucas.

 

I wish they would either standardize the Ep3/Ep4/Ep5 Anakin/Luke saber to be either the normal blue or the Ep4 aqua-blue color that was pretty cool.

 

Helmet, I guess that's the point. What's the bother if he's interested in the f/x. Updating them doesn't chnage the story. However, "Hayden as Anakin's ghost", "Ian McDiarmid as emperor with new dialogue in ESB", etc... does kind of change the original story a little.

 

This could explain why Vader's saber is also starting to lose intensity, and appearing "pink" sometimes. Whom did he have to use his sabre on until Luke came along? It sort of just sat in his belt as an ominous warning all that time.

Depends on if you're alking EU or canon. In the EU books, Vader trains with his saber often with war droids manufactured and brought to his castle. So technically, it was still in use.

 

"Did it ever occur to anyone that possibly sabers age and need maintenence to keep them in top condition?"

I'll bet it didn't occur to Lucas.

 

The_Chosen_One, In that case, the fading could be the result of overuse. I think the point they were trying to make is that the poor f/x can be explained away instead of updated.

 

I wish they would either standardize the Ep3/Ep4/Ep5 Anakin/Luke saber to be either the normal blue or the Ep4 aqua-blue color that was pretty cool.

They will all be the same color blue that we've seen in the PT.

 

If the color changes were consistent you might have a valid theory, but they change radically from shot to shot! It's ugly and sloppy.

 

Bob, I agree. No reason to explain away poor f/x when they can be upgraded without altering the storyline.

 

A crystal inside the hilt gives off the color.
As far as I know, crystals don't fade.

 

Billy Crystal's career kind of did.

 

JediSF just made my day, hahahaha.

 

Actually, again, if anyone's ever read TPM (the book) then they'd remember that Obi-Wan's lightsaber shorted out when he dove into the lake because he kept it on. Qui-Gon says something to the extent of "You kept the power on...and fully charged at that..." so I think sabers must also be charged to be used effectively. If you sit there with it on waving it around it'll eventually die out. So Obi-Wan probably had it charged to a good enough extent, because he knew he'd never use it and he probably thought when Luke came to the age of using it, he wouldn't use it up right away, yet he didn't keep the power on all that time.

 

Hilarious thread, thankyou !!!

Apart from characters, the only thing that appears in all six films are the sabers (planets not always used and ships differ a lot between OT and PT).

Trust Helmet.... the sabers look nothing like those RIP's

 

If Luke's was white because it hadn't been used, how come it goes from light blue in Ben's Hut, to a white in the falcon. Also how often did Did Obi-Wan use his?

 

Obi-Wan most likely never used his, but like I said, he probably kept it charged in case any Imperials found out his location for some crazy reason.

 

Man, am I glad I'm colour-blind. For the most part I never even knew there were different colours (sabers)until I started reading posts here.

 

Man, am I glad I'm colour-blind. For the most part I never even knew there were different colours (sabers)until I started reading posts here.

You can't tell in ANH. So if you've only seen that, don't feel bad.

But if you've seen the other two, feel very bad.

 

Green.

 

I'm surprised by this issue. The more I read what other SW fans have to say about Star Wars, the more surprised I am that it never mattered much to me.

I'm one of those "lucky" people who has no problem suspending my disbelief at the drop of a hat so when I see things in films that are inconsistent like that, I work out some reasonable explanation in the back of my head and move on.

It always seemed to me that the changing appearance of the lightsabers had a lot to do with how you were seeing it and the environment, the angle, the lighting around it, etc. That still seems, to me at least, the simplest and most satisfactory answer.