CT "This R2 unit has a bad motivator!"

So R5-D4 was sold to Owen just to suffer a blown motivator seconds later, prompting the quick sale of R2-D2 in his place. According to Wookieepedia, the R5 line was "plagued with malfunctions". But the article also says, "Aboard the sandcrawler, the new arrival R2-D2 sabotaged R5-D4's motivator, acting under the orders of Princess Leia aboard the Tantive IV to find Obi-Wan Kenobi by any means possible, even if it involved modifying other droids, an action usually prohibited by basic droid programming laws."

When watching ANH, I'm never quite sure how to interpret what happens here. I can see the sabotaging angle being reasonable, except how is R2 to know that R5 will likely be sold anytime soon anyway? Is he the only other Astromech droid onboard, so R2 figures he's the only competition (if they want to buy a power droid, for example, they wouldn't be interested in R2 anyway)? The only other potential options I could see are a) the will of the Force, and b) luck. Thoughts?

 

When I was a little boy, I always believed that R2 was responsible for the other droid breaking. Having seen R2's exploits in the PT, it wouldn't surprise me if he sabotaged the other droids on the Sandcrawler.

 

R2 is certainly capable of it, at the very least.

 

I'd be happy if that was the case. Definitely works for me, not a stretch at all if he had damaged R5-D4

 

When in doubt - the Force did it.

Another explanation:

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Skippy_the_Jedi_Droid

 

Interesting read at any rate, thanks for posting!

 

Either explination is believable.

R2 doing it himself could be why because he has been known to be mischievous in the PT and TCW.

But R5 did look pretty beat up, and him actually breaking down is also possible. That's what I always thought had happened.

Also, I don't know if It's considered canon or not, but wasn't R5 also reffered to as "Skippy the Jedi droid"? If I remember correctly, one theroy was that the droid had sensed that R2 was special and purpously malfunctioned to make sure R2 fufilled his mission.

 

"R5 was later destroyed while in a coma by a stray stormtrooper bolt when Darth Vader commanded the attack on the Jawa's transport vessel."

Okay...

 

Why's he call it an R2 unit?

 

I suspect the name 'R5-D4' was given to the droid when Kenner needed a specific name for the action figure.

Prior to that it didn't have a name, the shooting script only calls it a 'red astro-robot' (astro-droid in the published version), then 'R-2 unit'.

It looked like R2-D2, therefore it was an R-2 unit.

 

Oh, my...

DX

I blame the Force. Final answer.

 

Don't we see R5 right after R2 is dumped in the Sandcrawler? Doesn't R5 turn his head slowly and emit a sick, warbling beep? I think R5 was on the verge of breakdown long before R2 came along. Besides, I don't like the idea of R2 sabotaging a fellow droid. It would have been far more likely for R2 to escape the Sandcrawler should he have become separated from 3PO, much like how he escaped from Luke's garage.

 

Funny how the littlest things get way over thought. I never questioned this scene. R5 blows his top, Luke responds about the bad motivator. Believable. Why is it everything needs to be spelled out to the younger generation of Star Wars fans?

 

See the thing always got me as a kid is the classic "what if?" situation. Would that red astromech droid have shutdown all the garbage smashers on the detention level? Would have it talked to the Cloud City computer and fixed the Falcon's hyperdrive? It's always fun to imagine those things. Still to this day I think he could of but with less of R2's flourish and a world without R2-D2 saving the day is not a world I want to live in.

 

It's not overthinking, it's just fun discussion of the details amongst fans. And is the "younger generation" comment directed at me or just in general? I'm 36, so I'm part of the "original" generation of fans.

 

I prefer the non-canonical story of Skippy the Jedi droid. It was so damn tragic.

 

According to the ANH radio drama... After the droids are lined up outside the sandcrawler, C-3PO asks R2 what he is doing to R5, and then tells him that "droids aren't supposed to modify other droids without human supervision," or something to that effect. Then he says, "Here come the humans! Get back in line, Artoo." So, overall, it sounds like R2 modified R5.

 

So your parents took you to see ANH when you were one?

 

Being 36 means I was born in '74, so it was either in '77 when I was three or in '78 when I was four.

 

Wookieepedia is still like Wikipedia where random people off the street write the articles. SO I wouldn't take too much stock in what it has to say. We'll have to ask George

 

You need to read the "Discussion" pages if you think people don't take Wookiepedia a whole lot more seriously than they probably should.

 

That's the way I've always thought of it too. When I was younger, watching the scene, it appeared that R2 did something to make the other droid explode. (In my young imagination, I always thought R2 shot out some invisible force beam at the poor droid )

These days, I just chuckle over the moment. I don't think R2 would intentionally sabotage every droid except Threepio. I'd chalk it up to pure chance.....or the Force.

 

interesting. never thought of that.

 

"When a droid comes to me and wants to discuss his character, I say, 'It's in the script.' If he says, 'But what's my motivation?', I say, 'You have a bad motivator!'" -- Alfred Hitchcock on directing droids

 

Would Red have engaged in such witty banter with Threepio?

And most importantly, does Red secretly have a rocket launcher mounted in his head like my favorite action figure of him does?