CT Underused characters in Episodes IV-VI

The parallel thread to underused characters in Episodes I-III...

 

Grand Moff Tarkin. One of the best villians and he's iced by the end of the first movie.

Max Reebo too, just because I got a soft spot for the guy .

 

I think Luke and Vader were under used. (I know they are main characters, but I would have liked more development)

I feel there should have been more development in the father-son relationship.
I think they should make a movie between ESB-ROTJ. (Animated so they can use the cast voices)

 

Tarkin, singularly the most interesting Imperial in SW the film. Wulff Yularen, Needa, Jerjarrod, Biggs. I agree with SN, developmentally, Luke and Vader as well.

 

If you read the drafts to ROTJ, Teebo's part was of the same importance as Wicket's. Same goes for moff Jerjerrod. Shame that got slimmed down by the end, the story could have used two different kinds of unstable/odd.

 

I find it curious you describe those characters in such a way, Poet. I see nothing unstable or odd in what we see of Jerjarrod. Would you clarify?

 

The novelization shows Jerjerrod's relationship with the Rebel Alliance is that of a bully with their victim:

A bonus scene after the Emperor is dead (and the shield is down) - which was left out of the movie:

Commander Jerjerrod sat, brooding, in the control room of the Death Star, watching all about him crumble. Half of his crew were dead, wounded, or run off — where they hoped to find sanctuary was unclear, if not insane. The rest wandered ineffectually, or railed at the enemy ships, or fired their guns at all sectors, or shouted orders, or focussed desperately on a single task, as if that would save them. Or, like Jerjerrod, simply brooded.
He couldn't fathom what he'd done wrong. He'd been patient, he'd been loyal, he'd been clever. he'd been hard. He was the commander of the greatest battle station ever built. Or, at least, almost built. He hated this Rebel Alliance now, with a child's hate, untempered. He'd loved it once — it had been the small by he could bully, the enraged baby animal he could torture. But the boy had grown up now; it knew how to fight back effectively. It had broken its bonds.
Jerjerrod hated it now.
Yet there seemed to be little he could do at this point. Except, of course, destroy Endor — he could do that. It was a small act, a token really — to incinerate something green and living, gratuitously, meanly, toward no end but that of wanton destruction. A small act, but deliciously satisfying.
An aide ran up to him. "The Rebel fleet is closing, sir."
"Concentrate all fire in that sector." he answered distractedly. A console on the far wall burst into flame.
"The fighters in the superstructure are eluding our defense system, Commander. Shouldn't we—"
"Flood sectors 304 and 138. That should slow them up." He arched his eyebrows at his aide.
This made little sense to the aide, who had cause to wonder at the commander's grasp of the situation. "But sir ..."
"What is the rotation factor to firing range on the Endor Moon?"
The aide checked the compuscreen. "Point oh two to moon target, sir. Commander, the fleet-"
"Accelerate rotation until moon is in range, and then fire on my mark."
"Yes sir." The aide pulled a bank of switches. "Rotation accelerating. Point oh one to moon target. Sixty seconds to firing range. Sir, good-bye, sir." The aide saluted, put the firing switch in Jerjerrod's hand as another explosion shook the control room, and ran out of the door.
Jerjerrod smiled calmly at the view-screen. Endor was starting to come out of the Death Star's eclipse. He fondled the detonation switch in his hand. Point oh oh five to moon target. Screams erupted in the next room.
Thirty seconds to firing.

 

Wanting to blow the forest moon of Endor after the Emperor has been killed is a completely different set of motifs than what we see in the rest of the trilogy. That would be the equivalent of Germans bombing a major Alllies' base after Hitler's death. The last restor attempt that makes no sense and that makes him less human than everybody else. He's basically the Bellatrix Lestrange if the Emperor is Voldemort - a fanatic bully. Would've been interesting to see it at the same intensity as it is displayed in the ROTJ novelisation and the rough draft of the script.

On the other side, Teebo is unstable by his personality type and interests (trust me, I write poetry and I'm quite an abstract thinker) and in the draft of the script, he was supposed to steal the speeder and remain traumatised for a good while after that; plus there is the scene where Artoo saves his life, which was an interesting contrast to the bum zap scene which remained in the story. From what we did see in the film, the way he confronted Han Solo is quite remarkable, as it signifies that he had no idea what he was doing at that moment, yet he went ahead of his peers because he was larger and all. And if the ground battle was like the way it was described in the novelisation and the children's picture book, the horn would be used and there's a lot of symbolism there. This way, it was an useless prop that did not get a backstory for 30 years. Plus yeah, I'm quite big on the character.

 

The Emperor did order him to:

The Emperor hissed. "Your fleet is lost — and your friends on the Endor Moon will not survive..." He pushed a comlink button on the arm of his throne and spoke into it with relish. "Commander Jerjerrod, should the Rebels manage to blow up the shield generator, you will turn this battle station onto the Endor Moon and destroy it."
"Yes, Your Highness," came the voice over the receiver, "but we have several battalions stationed on—"
"You will destroy it!" The Emperor's whisper was more final than any scream.
"Yes, Your Highness".

But there's a strong theme of "petulant desire to hurt the Rebels one last time" rather than "undying loyalty to the Emperor" in that extract.

 

I'd say both and that the earlier was a consequence of the latter. Any cult, any strange, brainwashing ideology eventually results in that.

 

The other Jerjerrod POV scene is at the start:

The shuttle sat quietly, dwarfed by the cavernous reaches of the huge docking bay. Hundreds of troops stood assembled in formation, flanking the base of the shuttle ramp - white-armored Imperial stormtroopers, gray- suited officers, and the elite, red-robed Imperial Guard. They snapped to attention as Moff Jerjerrod entered.
Jerjerrod - tall, thin, arrogant - was the Death Star commander. He walked without hurry up the ranks of soldiers, to the ramp of the shuttle. Hurry was not in Jerjerrod, for hurry implied a wanting to be elsewhere, and he was a man who distinctively was exactly where he wanted to be. Great men never hurried (he was fond of saying); great men caused others to hurry.
Yet Jerjerrod was not blind to ambition; and a visit by such a one as this great Dark Lord could not be taken too lightly. He stood at the shuttle mouth, therefore, waiting - with respect, but not hurry.
Suddenly the exit hatch of the shuttle opened, pulling the troops in formation to even tauter attention. Only darkness glowed from the exit at first; then footsteps; then the characteristic electrical respirations, like the breathing of a machine; and finally Darth Vader, Lord of the Sith, emerged from the void.
Vader strode down the ramp, looking over the assemblage. He stopped when he came to Jerjerrod. The commander bowed from the neck, and smiled.
'Lord Vader, this is an unexpected pleasure. We are honored by your presence.'
'We can dispense with the pleasantries, Commander.' Vader's words echoed as from the bottom of a well. 'The Emperor is concerned with your progress. I am here to put you back on schedule.'
Jerjerrod turned pale. This was news he'd not expected. 'I assure you, Lord Vader, my men are working as fast as they can.'
'Perhaps I can encourage their progress in ways you have not considered,' Vader growled. He had ways, of course; this was known. Ways, and ways again.
Jerjerrod kept his tone even, though deep inside, the ghost of hurry began to scrabble at his throat. 'That won't be necessary, my Lord. I tell you, without question this station will be operational as planned.'
'I'm afraid the Emperor does not share your optimistic appraisal of the situation.'
'I fear he asks the impossible,' the commander suggested.
'Perhaps you could explain that to him when he arrives.' Vader's face remained invisible behind the deathly black mask that protected him; but the malice was clear in the electronically modified voice.
Jerjerrod's pallor intensified. 'The Emperor is coming here?'
'Yes, Commander. And he will be quite displeased if you are still behind schedule when he arrives.' He spoke loudly, to spread the threat over all who could hear.
'We shall double our efforts, Lord Vader.' And he meant it. For sometimes didn't even great men hurry, in time of great need?
Vader lowered his voice again. 'I hope so, Commander, for your sake. The Emperor will tolerate no further delay in the final destruction of the outlaw Rebellion. And we have secret news now' - he included Jerjerrod, only, in this intimate detail - 'The Rebel fleet has gathered all its forces into a single giant armada. The time is at hand when we can crush them, without mercy, in a single blow.'
For the briefest second, Vader's breathing seemed to quicken, then resumed its measured pace, like the rising of a hollow wind.

 

Poet: Thank you for explaining though I don't see any basis for that assessment on the film he's in.

 

That's what novelizations are for - to help us get inside a character's head, without having to rely on things like facial expression, "eyes", body language and so forth - which can sometimes be misleading.

 

Yes, and in cases of these two things being in dissonance, it makes the whole thing even more entertaining.

 

I love Tarkin but I don't think he was underutilized. He was a pretty major part of ANH and his death provides a satisfying conclusion to that film. Some sort of prequel involving him would have been cool while Cushing was alive. However, I can't picture anyone else in that role for live action unless he was way younger.

 

I think there are much more interesting deleted scenes and things in the novelization of ROTJ like the scenes with Jerjerrod .
It's a pity that they weren't in the film.(But I don't complain)

 

Some of us prefer not to be spoon fed such things and rather rely on our own interpretations of the aforementioned facial expressions, body language, etc.

That's one of the great things about cinema as an art form.

 

Boba Fett.

 

I can't think of one off the top of my head, but I can think of a few whose thrifty use works in their favour and the favour of the films. Yoda and The Emperor would be the list toppers.

 

Boba Fett and the other bounty hunters. Introduced as a big part of the story, and summarily dismissed. A big part of why "Shadows of the Empire" feels like such an organic part of the Saga, IMO.

Id say the judicious use of Tarkin was a good thing. One or two more scenes wouldve been good, but his death at the end worked.

Lando was a bit underused in RotJ, I think. And who doesnt want to know more about Lobot???

 

My first exposure to Star Wars was books (I read the ANH novel long before watching the ANH film) - so I have a preference for books as an art form over cinema as an art form.

 

There's a literature forum that might be better suited to your taste.

Ya Lobot is the one that came to mind for me as well.

 

Just because I tend to prefer the way books do things, doesn't mean I won't watch the movies and cartoons.

And, despite the "film forums" label, discussion of the novelizations of films is permitted, after all:

 

Actually it says "permitted to a certain extent." Funny how you left that part off.

Hey, I'm just trying to give some helpful advice. I don't care if you post here, there or everywhere. It just seems you'd be much happier spending more time over there.

 

If anyone has any concerns regarding that they should feel free to make a complaint via the appropriate channels. If not, shall we move along with the topic under discussion?