Classic Trilogy Forum Rules, Thread Index, and FAQs (Last Updated 2-9-05)

I finally got around to getting the stuff to do this and doing it. Go me. There's still more issues, but I'm about to eat dinner at the moment. More later.

Answers from Issue #69

What year is the setting for the Star Wars movies? I know it's "a long time ago," but what year exactly?

There is no specific date assigned to the events of the Star Wars movies, and there will likely never be. That famous introductory line is supposed to inform audiences that the following two-hours-and-change are pure escaptist fantasy, and that the rules and preconceptions of the dreary real world do not apply. Asking how long "a long time ago" is akin to asking "once upon WHAT time?" at the start of a fairy tale.

Which Grand Admiral was in the conference room with Darth Vader and Grand Moff Tarkin in Episode IV?

Despite what looks like a white uniform, that severe-looking silver-haired man was not a Grand Admiral. At a convention, bestselling author (and creator of the first Grand Admiral) Timothy Zahn once quipped that he hoped to see that Imperial enhanced with digitally rendered gold epaulettes in a hoped-for special edition. As revealed in the first Star Wars Customizable Card Game, that guy was Colonel Wullf Yularen, a member of the Imperial Security Bureau.

In The Empire Strikes Back, what is that thing that swallows up R2-D2 on Dagobah?

That droid-gulping horror was a dragonsnake, a large omnivorous predator that lurks beneath the muddy waters of Dagobah. Because of its tendency to stay mostly submerged, it is often mistaken for a swamp slug. Only the oily, black hide of its knobby-spined back was visible in the film--because that was the extent of the creature's fabrication. Without the rest of its impressive form built, the practical model used on set resembled a big bloated leech. It was controlled by underwater divers during the shoot, and was simply referred ot as the "swamp creature."

In "The Essential Guide to Alien Species," it says that space slugs are usually only 10 meters long. Why is one the Millennium Falcon flies down so big?

No one knows. The slug the Falcon encounters is supposed to be a wonder. Its inexplicable off-the-charts size was meant to evoke salty tales of unimaginably huge sharks, whales, or other fishes lurking off the edge of the map in the seafaring days. Space slugs ordinarily split my mitosis when they reach their upper size. Occasionally, through freak mutation, they don't and just keep growing. The Expanded Universe has played up on the rarity of truly colossal slugs. The one the Falcon encounters is estimated to be over 800 meters long.

 

Great. Thank you.

 

Wow.

JMO, one question. If you continue posting these FAQs, what else is there going to be to discuss? All discussion could be "go here and read the FAQ."

 

We could have a "Frequently Asked Questions Discussion Thread" where we pick an FAQ from the list and discuss it.

Actually, perhaps if simpler questions are answered via SW Insider, the more difficult and in depth questions could be discussed more.

EDIT: Plz remove teh scroll of death.

Kthxbye.

EDIT 2: Much better.

 

Answers from Issue #70

In the novelization of Star Wars, Luke and his fellow starfighter pilots are called Blue Squadron. Why was this changed to Red Squadron?

In the finished film, you'll notice the Red Squadron X-wings have red markings while the Gold Squadron Y-wings have gold markings. If the X-wings had remained Blue Squadron as originally written, it would have been impossible at the time to decorate the starfighters with the appropriate colors. The limitations of optical compositing in the mid-1970s meant that no model or subject photographed in front of bluescreen could have any blue on it. Otherwise, those blue areas would appear transparent and show the background plate behind the foreground element. This is why in some shots of the original trilogy R2-D2 has black panels instead of blue when in space. Nowadays, digital compositing allows for a wider range of blues to be photographed against bluescreen, and also allows for greenscreen use that preserves all the blue shades intact.

Just after the Ewoks begin to bow to C-3PO in Return of the Jedi, he translates something that he believes means "hello." In the next shot it shows two Ewoks. Are my ears deceived, or does the Ewok on the left say, "That guy's wise"?

Those are your ears playing tricks on you. While some Ewokese words find their origins in terrestrial tongues, you're more likely to run across an out-of-context Tibetan word or two than an English proclamation regarding Threepio's wisdom. Other fans swear they hear the next Ewok say "more than I am short," but again, it's just from picking up unintended patterns.

Exactly how old is Darth Vader in Return of the Jedi? By my calculations, he's only about 45 or 46? Is that right? He looks a LOT older than that when his mask is removed. Why is that? Did the dark side devour him or something?

Given that he's nine years old in The Phantom Menace and freshly turned 20 in Attack of the Clones, Anakin's age is about 45 years old. We can't get too exact, because we don't know exactly where in the calendar year are Anakin's birthday and the day of his death. You're right; he does look like hell when Luke removes his mask. But considering what Anakin's in for in Episode III, it's a wonder he looks even that good.

Does Return of the Jedi take place only four years after A New Hope or six? I always thought three years went by between each movie in the first trilogy.

It was three long years for fans to wait between the 1980 release of The Empire Strikes Back and the 1983 release of Jedi, but the characters in the universe didn't have to wait as long. Current timelines place the events of Return of the Jedi during year four after the Battle of Yavin. Exactly how much time transpires between the Falcon's departure from the medical frigate to Vader's arrival aboard the second Death Star has yet to be revealed. The Return of the Jedi novelization states that Han spent "six of this desert planet's months" in carbon-freeze, but no source has ever established how long a month is on Tatooine.

How did Boba Fett and Darth Vader get to Cloud City before Han Solo and the others? Did they find short cuts or something?

Since the hyperdrive on the Millennium Falcon wasn't fully functionable, Han had to coax his beloved freighter from the Anoat system to Bespin at a dreadfully slow speed. Boba Fett spotted them making their departure. The crafty bounty hunter figured that since the Falcon wasn't on the other side of the galaxy by now, its hyperdrive must have been faulty. Armed with that supposition, he was able to calculate their likely destination: Bespin.

Slave I had no engine problem,

 

Done.

Oh and JMO, I was trying to fit the link in, but I never did. So I had to go with something else.

 

Now for something relating to the forum as a whole before I go do some other stuff:

Following something that YodaJeff brought up in the SWC thread in Comms, should threads such as "Favorite Palpatine Quote!" really be in SWC?

This forum is for discussion of the Classic Trilogy, yet Palpatine is in the prequel trilogy as well. Therefore, quotes from all over the saga could be posted, and the thread end up halfway in the wrong forum.

Plus, SWC is MADE for just such threads, so it would make more sense if they were contained there instead of here.

Just thought I'd post this here instead of PM so I could get opinions of anyone who might be lurking in the thread as well.

EDIT: Dangit, didn't mean to kill the whole forum.

 

I posted about this in Comms. I think a few light threads are good for community in a forum, as long as they don't overwhelm the other stuff. Look at the Senate if you want to see what happens when most regulars of a forum feel little affinity for one another.

 

It is so easy to miss a new post in this thread, since no one ever posts in it.

Anyways, I pretty much agree with Mara in that it really is not a good idea for all of the light-hearted topics to be kicked out and moved into SWC. Some need to at least stay in CT.

 

I missed it too.

I guess I wasn't talking about all lighthearted threads as much as I was about ones that could discuss both the CT and the PT.

Anyway, I'll try to get some more FAQ stuff typed today.

 

So, any news on the new FAQ?

 

I've been a bit busy elsewhere, and haven't had the patience to sit down and type them. Plus, I'm somewhat leary of the new LFL Insider policies, even if they seem to only apply to Episode III info. I don't want to get the site in trouble by posting info from the issues that were released after their Cease and Desist orders were issued.

 

That's the first I've heard of it. What's the nature of that order?

 

It is mainly in relation to the Episode III pics from Insider; they're not allowed to be posted on the boards anymore. I don't know if it applies to other info as well, and I didn't want to get the boards in legal trouble by posting it.

 

Changed mods to DamonD and myself. It hurt doing that. But I'm glad CT didn't implode.

 

I strongly feel that CT is in good hands. Congrats once again Jedi.

Oh, and yes, I am testing out a new smilie in this post....

 

The new smilies are fun.

 

I'm working on revamping this thread. Hopefully by mid-June or so you all will have something new and shiny to look at.

 

That is most excellent news!

 

Almost all the threads in the index are auto-locked, meaning I'll pretty much have to completely recompile it.

 

this is an awesome thread !

 

Yes it is.

 

I have a question about the CT forum itself. Why isn't there an individual forum each for A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi?

I rarely visit the OT forum because it covers too much and it can be hard to keep track of the threads. I'd rather talk about the movies on a film by film basis.

 

Because there isn't any real new CT information, and there aren't enough threads for each individual movie to warrant new forums.

 

Plus, CT only has 1 page worth of upped threads per day.

If you want to discuss something, see whether there is a thread on the last 3 or 4 pages, up it if there is one or create a new one if not.


TPM and AotC aren't even that busy anymore these days, so one forum for each OT movie would be almost dead. Especially since quite a few topics deal with the whole trilogy. And where would the DVD thread go?