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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

CT Why didn't this happen at the end of ANH?

Discussion in 'Classic Trilogy' started by Wookiee_Vader, Jan 31, 2014.

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  1. Wookiee_Vader

    Wookiee_Vader Jedi Master star 2

    Registered:
    Aug 21, 2007
    *The desperate Rebel attack on the Death Star has been completely swept aside. Their only hope now is the one remaining pilot in the trench, pursued by Vader and his wingmen.*

    Imperial Officer: Sir, we have a Corellian freighter on an intercept course with Lord Vader's flight group. It appears to be the ship we captured in the Alderaan System.

    Tarkin: Are there any other enemy vessels?

    Officer: No sir, all enemy fighters have been neutralised or put to flight.

    Tarkin: Good. I want all available squadrons to intercept that ship. Do not let it near the trench. And alert all turbolaser crews to target it, I want it obliterated.

    *moments later*

    Officer: Sir, Alpha Group reports that the Corellian ship has broken off and fled to hyperspace. And - word from Lord Vader, sir, the remaining enemy fighter has been destroyed.

    Tarkin: Excellent. Have the fighters return to their hangers.

    Intercom: Rebel base in range.

    Tarkin: You may fire when ready...

    Leia: WTF??? *boom*
     
  2. CommanderDrenn

    CommanderDrenn Jedi Knight star 4

    Registered:
    Oct 19, 2013
    Why didn't the Death Star launch a dozen squadrons? It's not like 3 fighters was all they could manage. Anyway, I have no answer to your question, nor do I think there is a logical one.
     
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  3. Seagoat

    Seagoat Former Manager star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Jan 25, 2013
    In-universe logic: Will of the Force

    Real world logic: Protagonist Armor
     
  4. sharkymcshark

    sharkymcshark Jedi Knight star 3

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    Dec 12, 2013
    So is this going on the heap with the rest of the "the force did it" stuff then?
     
  5. May_The_Force_Be_With_You

    May_The_Force_Be_With_You Jedi Master star 1

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    Jan 21, 2014
    Haha...that pile seems to grow and grow and grow.
     
  6. V-2

    V-2 Jedi Grand Master star 5

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    Dec 10, 2012
    I always thought the Falcon jumped in practically on top of the DS....
     
  7. Binary_Sunset

    Binary_Sunset Force Ghost star 5

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    Oct 28, 2000
    The Falcon swooped in with less than a minute before the destruction of the Rebel base. If someone had dared to mention to Tarkin that a freighter was approaching, I think it clear that Tarkin would have basically told him to shut-up: "We're seconds away from the annihilation of the Rebellion, and you want to tell me about a freighter? Are you serious?"

    Remember that Tarkin did not consider the Rebel ships a threat. He was basically right, too. 90% of the Rebel ships were destroyed within 15 minutes, and "reinforcements" consisting of a single small ship would hardly have interested Tarkin.

    The entire Rebel attack was a hopeless gesture. Only because Luke knew the Force did the attack succeed. If it wasn't for that factor, the Rebel attack would have failed.
     
  8. TX-20

    TX-20 Force Ghost star 4

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    Jun 21, 2013
    It happened because it was awesome.
     
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  9. Loupgarou

    Loupgarou Jedi Knight star 3

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    Jan 19, 2010
    Binary Sunset is right, the imperials were far too confident. And they weren't completely unjustified in this, they just didn't count on dealing with a Skywalker or his friends.
     
  10. Beezer

    Beezer Jedi Master star 4

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    Jul 5, 2013
    Or they could have just used the same tractor beam they used when they originally captured it. It's pretty silly to think a military organization wouldn't have reactivated the darn thing - and please don't anyone give me the ridiculous EU explanation for why they didn't do that. It's a plot hole, pure and simple. You can love a movie but admit the occasional plot hole or two.
     
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  11. squir1y

    squir1y Jedi Master star 3

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    Feb 1, 2003
    Because if it had happened, it wouldn't have been the greatest movie ending of all time.
     
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  12. Kenneth Morgan

    Kenneth Morgan Chosen One star 5

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    May 27, 1999
    In the "Death Star" book, it's explained that the Imperials were so confident they didn't even put most of their pilots on alert. The only ones who actually launched were Vader's personal fighter group. By that reckoning, the other TIEs wouldn't have had time to get prepped and launched before Han had opened fire.

    Makes sense, I guess.
     
  13. Yanksfan

    Yanksfan Force Ghost star 5

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    Nov 3, 2000
    It didn't happen that way because that would make for a really unsatisfying ending. Also, you'd be wiping out any chance for a sequel.
     
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  14. Tornado Wrangler

    Tornado Wrangler Jedi Padawan star 1

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    Apr 22, 2013
    Space is big.

    I think one of the most hilarious scenes in the whole saga is the opening TPM, where the Trade Federation ships are in a formation supposedly making a "blockade" of the entire planet. Lets be generous and say they are about 10 miles apart, giving each of them a zone of responsibility of about 100 square miles. The surface area of Naboo is about 178 million square miles (based on a diameter of 7530 miles, which will give us a low number since the blockade is actually many miles off the surface, but we don't know how high). So, the Trade Federation would have needed more than 1.78 million ships to successfully blockade the planet. There's a plot hole for you.

    What does that have to do with the Falcon and the Death Star?

    The Death Star is big. A diameter of 160km gives it a surface area of about 31,000 square miles. That means watching the Death Star sky is like watching the sky over the entire state of South Carolina. Wouldn't be too hard for one little ship to sneak by if they weren't looking for it. Even if they did see the Falcon, they still would need to get to it. We already know the Falcon is fast. If Han took it in a full sub-light speed, or even punch it into hyperdrive for a nanosecond and appear right in position, the TIE fighters would be hard pressed to get to him in time.

    Combined with the overconfidence other people have mentioned, I do not think it is unreasonable that the Falcon got to that position. Also, who's to say they didn't fight off some TIE's on the way in?
     
  15. Sarge

    Sarge Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Oct 4, 1998
    Another factor to consider is Han's angle of approach. He swooped in on a direct line from the sun. Visual scans and passive sensors have a hard time tracking things in line with the sun. Active sensors like radar can be jammed; as a professional smuggler, Han is sure to have jammers on the Falcon.
     
  16. DRush76

    DRush76 Jedi Master star 4

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    Jan 25, 2008

    Judging by the number of pilots seen during the medal ceremony at the end of the movie, I could say the same about the Rebel Alliance.
     
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  17. Sith-Mullet

    Sith-Mullet Jedi Master star 3

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    Aug 2, 2003
    Tarkin was too busy putting away Vaders leash.
     
  18. Iron_lord

    Iron_lord Chosen One star 10

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    Sep 2, 2012
    Currently, the official diameter of the first Death Star is 120km again - in Death Star Owners Workshop Manual.
     
  19. DARTHLINK

    DARTHLINK Force Ghost star 4

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    Feb 24, 2005
    It would have been one hell of a depressing movie ending, and Star Wars would not have been as famous as it is today.

    Also, as Binary_Sunset said, they were seconds away from exploding the Rebel Base entirely. The sudden arrival of one more ship would have been nothing for Tarkin. Had Luke not been able to use the Force, then bye-bye Rebel army and Tarkin is hailed as the hero who saved the Empire. It would have been him, Vader, and Guy Vader Choked getting the medals from Palpatine himself. The final scene would have been the four looking at the applauding Empire citizenry, then Guy Vader Choked making a guttaral sound because his windpipe is still sore from previous Force Choking.

    Star Wars would go down as the most depressing, and stupid, sci-fi movie of the 1970s.
     
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  20. DRush76

    DRush76 Jedi Master star 4

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    Jan 25, 2008
    Why didn't we see Leia mourn over the loss of Alderaan during the movie's second half?
     
  21. Iron_lord

    Iron_lord Chosen One star 10

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    Sep 2, 2012
    Maybe Leia's the kind of person who suppresses her grief.

    The first thing she says to the person greeting her at Yavin "We have no time for our sorrows, Commander."
     
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  22. Beezer

    Beezer Jedi Master star 4

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    Jul 5, 2013
    It's actually worse than that. If the surface area of the planet is 178 million square miles, then the surface area of the imaginary sphere where the Trade Federation Ships are patrolling is actually quite a bit higher.

    Anyways, I kind of overlook the poor visuals of that opening scene and consider that the blockade is such that when they detect a ship, they move to intercept. We have satellites that can detect when another country launches an intercontinental missile.... so I figure the Trade Federation has sensors and gear, etc, that can detect if the Naboo launch a craft and then move to intercept.
     
  23. Tornado Wrangler

    Tornado Wrangler Jedi Padawan star 1

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    Apr 22, 2013


    Good point!
     
  24. darth-sinister

    darth-sinister Manager Emeritus star 10 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Jun 28, 2001

    You've been watching "Family Guy" again?
     
  25. Binary_Sunset

    Binary_Sunset Force Ghost star 5

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    Oct 28, 2000
    I assume that the 30 Rebel ships were all that were combat-ready on short notice.
     
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