Why no cool funky names like Skywalker, Daklighter, Whitesun or Solo in the PT?

Ever ones name just seems to be either something from mythology in a different language or member of the crew having the letters of their name mixed around.

The name skywalker seems kind of out of place in the universe of Coleman trebor and adi Gallia and whatever else their names are.

 

I like Qui Gon Jinn and its not exactly the most normal name is it, lol. Mace Windu is a good one too.

 

Oh, duh! It took me waaaaay too long to understand the origin of Coleman Trebor! Trebor=Robert...

*smacks his head*

Yeah, it's true that few descriptive names have been heard in the prequels (Sleazebaggano?). But, if you look back, the names Darklighter and Whitesun were never uttered in the OT. Just Skywalker.

 

Hmm, I dunno. I think the PT has the more exotic names, IMO. You have a whole cast of Jedi with odd monikers, like Ki Adi Mundi, Luminara Unduli, Bariss Offee, Rancisis, etc, etc. Beru wasn't even given the last name "Whitesun" until the PT came out. And all of the Nubian characters, especially the women, have very similar epithets, which suggests a cultural naming pattern.

But if you want an explanation, I'd say it's because the OT is a more rough and tumble setting, focusing on a Rebel Alliance that brings people together from the entire galaxy. The PT focuses more on the political handlings of places like Coruscant and Naboo, where the elite have more "refined" sounding names.

 

"It took me waaaaay too long to understand the origin of Coleman Trebor! Trebor=Robert..."

Yeah. It took me a long time too. But I did know it before just now. You can believe me when I tell you that. I knew it. I didn't need you to point that out to me.



Mace Windy,
too windy for spoilers!

 

well I don't have a problem with names like quigon jinn, I assunme he is from the same planet as Obi-wan kenobi. Or any of the alien names for that matter.

It just fun to have names like skywalker and solo, and that kind of stuff as well. even with the first names its easier to be engaged by names like Han and Luke and Leia, Owen, Ben, Biggs, Wedge. Single syllable names that are the same or similar to real names. Its hard to throw around names like Obi-wan and Anakin. I mean is Padme really a great name? It sounds more like an instruction then a name. I always giggle when the fake queen says it for the first time in TPM. I thought she wanted the girl to pad her.

Mace is a pretty cool name. Wasn't there suppose to be a PT character named 'Deek'? Or was that something else.

 

what about Nute Gunray?

 

Passel Argente

 

lucas ran out of names obviously

 

I always thought Obi-Wan was Ben Kenobi's Jedi name, like Darth Vader is Anakin Skywalker's Sith name. And when I first read the name Qui-Gon it reinforced that belief. Until all the other Jedi names started coming out. And the name Yoda doesn't follow that pattern either. Although it could have turned out to have been his last name. Anyway, it would have been nice if Anakin was given a cool Jedi name with a dash in the middle.

 

Plo Koon and Saesee Tiin.There cool names!!

 

There are a couple of Skywalkers in the Prequels in case you missed them

I think Amidala is a cool name.

 

I never heard Whitesun before Episode 2, I think they made that up for the PT.

 

i thought Whitesun was created for ep II.She was beru lars in the OT... tehy were married

 

"I always thought Obi-Wan was Ben Kenobi's Jedi name, like Darth Vader is Anakin Skywalker's Sith name. And when I first read the name Qui-Gon it reinforced that belief. Until all the other Jedi names started coming out. And the name Yoda doesn't follow that pattern either. Although it could have turned out to have been his last name. Anyway, it would have been nice if Anakin was given a cool Jedi name with a dash in the middle."

I agree, because we found out that 'darth' was a title not a name, and so it seemed like 'Obi-wan' might be a title as well. Especially when we learned about the term 'padawan' I thought maybe he started as Padawan kenobi and became Obi-wan kenobi or something like that.

 

Just to reiterate its not that those other names aren't cool, they are cool. I just meant it would be cool if there were also some more of those funky skywalker type names, though you might be right about Beru Whitesun being a ep2 invention, though i think it has roots in old drafts of ANH

 

I am not certain that I understand why names such as Daklighter and Whitesun are inherently more "cool" than some of the names that people keep reminding me are terrible, such as Jango Fett or Padme Amidala. I won't dispute the point that Elan Sleazebaggano is a wretched name, because frankly, it is banal and unimaginative, but for the most part I am not bothered by the names used in the prequels thus far. Does "Jango" sound too much like "tango" for some people? I don't know. Does "Tyranus" conjure up unfortunate prehistoric references? Can't say. If we are to extrapolate that logic and apply it to characters in the original films, wouldn't the name "Greedo" seem a tad obvious, particularly for a bounty hunter? How about Wicket W. Warrick - is it entirely necessary for an Ewok to have a middle initial, let alone a last name? I could go on: Prune Face, Walrus Man, Paploo, etc. The last thing I attend a "Star Wars" film for is subtlety, and indeed, the movies themselves are pretty straightforward and obvious, told with grand, operatic flourishes and pulp giddiness, not understatement and introspection. One of the many things that I admire about the "Star Wars" pictures is that the alien creatures who inhabit the various landscapes of this imaginative plane, are personified and adorned with very specific human qualities; the names that they are given, however silly, seem to support and further enrich this notion. Please understand that I do not mean to rag on any particular film, I am simply trying to consider the matter in a slightly more callous and probing fasion, largely in order to make a point.

There seems to be, interestingly, a double-standard at work which has neutralized all content pertaining to the original films, however clunky or flawed it might be, while the prequels are under constant observation, only to be held in scorn and endlessly vivisected. My assertion is that the names used in the OT have integrated themselves into our culture, and due to the protectiveness that we might (collectively) feel for the films themselves, transcend or escape a realm of objective critical thought. This is fascinating because if indeed there is no intrinsic clunkiness in the prequel character names that cannot be found, upon careful consideration, in many of the respective figures who inhabit the original pictures, than the matter in question is ultimately rather moot.

By the way, while it might actually help support the initial claim suggested in this thread, I believe that the name and character (albeit in a slightly different incarnation) of Mace Windu was conceived in the 1970s as Lucas was writing "A New Hope". I think at one point, Windu was intended to be the narrator of the story. Perhaps I am mistaken.

 

I never said the names were bad, nor that the OT names are brilliant. The only name I think is not particularly good is Padme. Watto is a great name.

 

I apologize if I made it seem as though my comments were directed specifically at you, Rebel Scum, as they ultimately were not. In a general way, I tried to address some very common complaints that people seem to articulate rather vociferously, to which I retort that there does appear to be an underlying double-standard at work when you consider all of the films more objectively. The only part which might have been directed at the proposed idea behind this thread was my mention of "Daklighter" and "Whitesun" as the starting point for my argument (which was, admittedly, exaggerated slightly for dramatic effect), in addition, of course, to the Mace Windu anecdote.

 

well no offense taken. And its true those names are not said out loud, but then I suppose most of the PT names are not either. I'm not sure I really even have a valid point with this thread.

 

The only names I don't really like are Count Dooku and Darth Tyranus.

 

Why didn't you notice the cool funkey names in the PT?

 

I love Dooku if they pronounced it Dough-Koo. That sounds rad! Dooooo Kooo sounds coookooo. Also, FYI it is DARKLIGHTER not DAKLIGHTER.

 

ah yes, just a typo I'm afraid.

 

"I thought maybe he started as Padawan kenobi and became Obi-wan kenobi or something like that."

I was thinking more along the lines of it actually being a name though, not a title. One that a Padawan takes once training is completed and he or she is knighted. "Padawan Ben Kenobi, I dub thee Obi-Wan, Jedi Knight," or something. Like how in Dune Paul Atreides adopts the Fremen name Muad'Dib when he's accepted into the seitch. Or like a Confirmation name in Christianity. One you choose that has a special meaning or comes from a saint or something like that. I think it would have added more weight to old Ben Kenobi saying that he hasn't heard the name Obi-Wan in a long time.