Sex themes in STAR WARS thread

[Ormus]

Yesterday all the discussion in the StarwarsScape thread made me stop and think. I said to myself, "Man, we have some StarWars lovin' fools on this site, myself included." I suppose that geekdom and Starwars go hand-in-hand. Long before I was a mini-war game geek, I was a StarWars geek, and damn proud of it.

So...I says to myself, "There should be a thread where all the StarWars fans here at HScapers can get together and talk about everything StarWars geeks talk about in real life." Any and all StarWars related topics are welcome, from the movies to the novels,games, etc. My plan is that this thread could be epic.

So, to get us started I thought I would pose ?'s and answers to some of my favorite questions Starwars geeks always talk about.
1. What is the best movie of all six episodes?
2. If you could be a Jedi or a Sith which would you choose? (be honest with your self here)
3. What is the best StarWars novel?
4. Which is the greatest of the LucasArts game?
5. What is the weakest part within all six episodes? (could be a character,actor,plot line, etc.)

Hopefully people's answers will include reason's or debates against other's choices, but just to get the ball a-rollin':
1.Strikes Back
2.Sith (I wish it weren't true)
3.Shadows of the Empire/Tales of the Bounty Hunters
4.Tie Fighter/Jedi Knight (PC)
5.the dude that plays Anakin(epidsodes 2&3)

COME StarWars fans and let us discuss any topic you can suggest, probably you can come up with better topics that me...

 

[markwars]

Well my name is markwars....

In May of 1977 my parents were both college students and I was four and a half years-old. We all went to the debut at a tiny theater in Norman, Oklahoma (where we lived) and missed all of the blocks long lines that so many reported. My mother said it was the first movie that I didn't ask to go the bathroom, I didn't ask for anything to eat or drink, I just sat and stared with my mouth wide open. My dad wasn't working that summer so instead he and I walked to the theater EVERY SINGLE DAY to catch the matinée. By the end of the summer I had seen the movie almost one hundred times. My father and I still to this day can't get enough of A New Hope.

In March of 1978 we went to a Walgreens and I saw my first Star Wars figure display. My dad said he would buy me one figure each week if I kept up my chores. That first time I chose Darth Vader. Twelve weeks later I had the full set (at that time) when I picked up Princess Leia.

Over the next two years I lived and breathed Star Wars at home, on the playgrounds at school, and even in my dreams at night. Then May of 1980 came along and The Empire Strikes Back blew my seven year-old mind all over again. There were tons of new characters, new toys, new everything to steep yourself in Star Wars 24/7. It was an amazing time. Especially when we got cable and HBO would actually show A New Hope.

For three years I collected every action figure I could get. I scoured the stores for playsets and vehicles. I couldn't get enough. And then when I was ten the whole thing crescendoed with Return of the Jedi. Life was indeed sweet. And from that point until I entered college I kept collecting figures and toys of all sorts - but the novels and comics really kept me going.

Fast forward to 1995. Hasbro relaunched the action figure line and I got hooked again. Then in 1997 Lucas released the Special Editions. Of course I waited in lines for days before each release (my poor wife by my side). And then in 1999 it was time to relive the entire experience all over again with the first of three movies.

Say what you will fellow fanboys, but I love the fact that Lucas gave us three more. Sure they weren't everything we expected, but nothing could have lived up to the hype. Episode 1 wasn't really good until Episode 2 more fully explained it. And all was forgiven when I completed the circle and took my five year-old son to see Episode 3 when it debuted. With him being my age when I first saw Episode 4 it just seemed perfect.

Now my son has a room full of action figures, mini ships, Legos, and Star Wars posters. The movies get regular play in our house still today. They are benchmarks in our lives. So many emotions and memories are built around these six movies that it astounds me. So I say huzzah for a Star Wars thread!




To answer the questions presented....

1. Episode 5: The Empire Strikes Back is the best in my opinion. Irvin Kershner's direction was superb. The dark middle act was just perfection.

2. I am a Jedi, like my father before me.

3. "Heir to the Empire"

4. Lego Star Wars II

5. Tie between Jar Jar and Ewoks

 

[Uprising]

Well, I'm not a huge Star Wars nut like others here, but I really enjoy the movies and some of the games are really good. If you were to rate on a 1-10, with 1 being completely ignorant of anything Star Wars, and 10 still wearing Star Wars underwear, than I would probably put my self at a 6, maybe a 7. That said, if there ever was a Star Wars Scape, I would be delighted.

Here are my answers:

1. I liked Return of the Jedi the most. Han has awesome lines in that movie.
2. I would probably be a Sith. They are bad@ss. I mean look at Luke. He's a Space Hick.
3. Never read a Star Wars novel.
4. Best Lucas Arts game for me are probably Knights of the Old Republic I and II. Republic Commando was pretty good. It had really good music.
5. Weakest part? I don't really know. C3PO annoyed me.

 

[Ormus]

Markwars I new that I could count on you to be the first to post in this thread. Your response was a little inspiring too. I agree with most all of your answers even if they were different from mine. And I have noticed before that most all TRUE SW fans say "Empire Strikes Back" is the best of all. And also, I, like you, was not disappointed in the new trilogy, personally I think the most disappointing of all the movies was Episode 2, though.

 

[Ormus]

4. Lego Star Wars II

This is funny, but, it really is a great StarWars game. I honestly didn't even think about this one, but you are right.

I was trying to think of some of the older games. I know when the first Jedi Knight game came out on PC, it was the greatest thing ever. Now of course there are tons of nextgen SW games but some of the original are still the best, solely because of how great they were when they first came out. Before Jedi Knight there was never a game like that, where you could BE a Jedi.

 

[markwars]

4. Lego Star Wars II

This is funny, but, it really is a great StarWars game. I honestly didn't even think about this one, but you are right.

I was trying to think of some of the older games. I know when the first Jedi Knight game came out on PC, it was the greatest thing ever. Now of course there are tons of nextgen SW games but some of the original are still the best, solely because of how great they were when they first came out. Before Jedi Knight there was never a game like that, where you could BE a Jedi.

There are a TON of great games out there. The old Super Nintendo had awesome games for each of the three original films. Tie Fighter on the PC was superb. The recent Rogue Squadron releases are great. Shadows of the Empire for the N64 was top notch. But none of them compare to those clunkly lil legos. Many folks never gave the Lego games a chance, but they are probably the truest of all of the Star Wars game to the actual movies. The follow the story lines pretty much from start to finish and they are even better because you can play them with your kids.

 

[RichardD]

Re: The STAR WARS thread

1. What is the best movie of all six episodes?

Episodes 1-3 are at best average, at worst poor. Ep 6 is also average, though it scores a few extra points for finishing the series off properly. Episode 5 - Empire - is good, but filmed back-to-front (it STARTS with the climactic battle. Daft).

For me, the best of the saga - by a very long margin - is Star Wars (Episode 4, A New Hope, whatever they're calling it these days).

It's got everything - Alec Guiness, an archetypal villain, Han shooting first, spaceships, explosions, everything. It's probably my favourite film of all time.

The best bit - and probably the best bit ever captured on celluloid - is near the start of the film, as Luke looks out onto a Tatooine sunset.

2. If you could be a Jedi or a Sith which would you choose? (be honest with your self here)

I'm a jedi. Officially. In the most recent nationwide census here in the UK, everyone had to put down a religion. THere was something of an underground movement at the time to get this question devalued by having as many people register as "jedi" as possible. So I'm officially a jedi. Now stop trying to tempt me with the dark side.

3. What is the best StarWars novel?

I read the first couple of trilogies in the late 80's/early 90s, when the universe started the official expansion. Pretty quickly I decided that I didn't want to keep up with them. I'm not some sort of fanboy.

4. Which is the greatest of the LucasArts game?

X-wing versus TIE Fighter on teh PC was pretty accomplished, but I actually preferred the two prequels; called X-Wing and TIE Fighter IIRC.

5. What is the weakest part within all six episodes? (could be a character,actor,plot line, etc.)

Jar Jar Binks. With teddy bears as a close second. And pod racing third (I'm sure that whole sequence was added just to sell video games).

 

[RichardD]

One more thing - OY, LUCAS! WHEN ARE WE GETTING EPISODES 1 TO 3 IN A DVD BOXED SET?

There - I thought that was worth shouting for. I am *not* buying everything again on HD-DVD or Blu-Ray, and I'm not interested in waiting another 3-5 years until Uncle George thinks that I will. Eps 1, 2 and 3 are all available on DVD - why not give us a boxed set to match the 2004 DVD release of 4, 5 and 6?

 

[kenjib]

Not just 1-3. I want a big boxed set with all 6 including bonus discs with the pre-special-edition versions of 4-6.

1. What is the best movie of all six episodes?
The Empire Strikes Back

2. If you could be a Jedi or a Sith which would you choose? (be honest with your self here)
I'd have to go with Luke, the last of the Jedi.

3. What is the best StarWars novel?
I haven't read any.

4. Which is the greatest of the LucasArts game?
Tie Fighter

5. What is the weakest part within all six episodes? (could be a character,actor,plot line, etc.)
Midichlorians, the pod racing scene (imagine if Ep. IV had 45 minutes of Luke shooting womp rats while racing his T-16 through Beggar's Canyon), and the completely non-threatening nature of the droids (until Ep. IV the comic relief had rightly been confined to the good guys)

 

[Ormus]

I am glad to see that many agree with me that Tie Fighter is a one of the greatest games. It was the first I can remember where you could be an Imperial~catering to my evil nature

And Markwars, I totally forgot about the SNES games. Man, those were great games! In the final boss stage of Bespin when the screen is all black at the start... and then the aqua lung SFX kick in. It was awesome!

And so far I think my theory that all true SW fans think Empire Strikes Back is the best, has held true.

 

[Aldin]

This is one of those "I know I shouldn't do this" threads, but...

1. What is the best movie of all six episodes?
Empire Strikes Back. Really a cut above for both cinematics and storytelling. None of the other films have stuck with me in the same way. I still have a thrill run through me when I contemplate Yoda's "no, there is another".

2. If you could be a Jedi or a Sith which would you choose?
Jedi. Yes, I want to save the cheerleader, save the world (sorry, couldn't help myself).

3. What is the best StarWars novel?
I'm picking the Thrawn trilogy. Talk about an amazing "villain"!

4. Which is the greatest of the LucasArts game?
I'm really tied here - X-Wing was simply incredible - generations ahead of its time. On the other hand, Lego Star Wars II has consumed much of my father/son gaming time over the last six months. I'm gonna pick X-Wing for the nostalgia I guess.

5. What is the weakest part within all six episodes?
The teddy bear picnic from the original three. The prequels were just so poor in general that it's difficult to pick a particular weakness.

~Aldin, who thought the X-Wing novels were very fun reads

 

[PochoMan]

1. What is the best movie of all six episodes?
Return of the Jedi.

2. If you could be a Jedi or a Sith which would you choose?
Sith. Its easier to think of myself before others...

Peace is a lie, there is only passion.
Through passion, I gain strength.
Through strength, I gain power.
Through power, I gain victory.
Through victory, my chains are broken.
The Force shall free me.

3. What is the best StarWars novel?
Graphic Novel-Dark Empire II

4. Which is the greatest of the LucasArts game?
KotoR I & II
Beat each one as a Dark/Light/Gray, Male/Female, and Love intrests. Loved playing as Sith and CRUSHING the Jedi Order beneath my heal.

5. What is the weakest part within all six episodes?
Giving Ep 1-3 better everything than 4-6. Damn its a PreQuel, make everything look crapy?

 

[johnny139]

Never seen any, sadly.

 

[kenjib]

Never seen any, sadly.

Rent or borrow episodes 4-6 and lock yourself in a room for 6 1/2 hours.

 

[jcb231]

Re: The STAR WARS thread

1. What is the best movie of all six episodes?

#1 is Empire Strikes Back, hands down. #2 is A New Hope, then there's a small step down and #3 is a tie between Return of the Jedi and Revenge of the Sith, then there's a bigger step down and #5 is Attack of the Clones, and then a frickin' huge step down and #6 is The Phantom Menace. I enjoyed Phantom Menace for what it was, and love it visually, but the script and story were weak weak weak.

2. If you could be a Jedi or a Sith which would you choose? (be honest with your self here)

I'd be a Rogue Jedi....not a Sith, cuz then I'd have to worry about jedi tracking me down and killing me. I'd train as a Jedi, get all the nifty powers, and then quit to make my way in the Universe. Boom. Rogue Jedi.

3. What is the best StarWars novel?

I have read several, and my favorites are the original Timothy Zahn trilogy (kind of awkward in sections but overall good) and the Dark Horse comics Dark Empire series (again, awkward in parts but overall good).

4. Which is the greatest of the LucasArts game?

So many good ones...hard to pick because there have been so many genres represented. I'd have to go with TIE Fighter (best spaace dogfighting game ever), Star Wars Battlegrounds (Age of Empires II converted to Star Wars), both LEGO Star Wars games, and the original Dark Forces (a pretty hi-tech FPS for its day). The Dark Forces sequels (Jedi Knight, etc) strayed too far from the run and gun fun of the original. I like force powers and all, but I'm still waiting for a true Dark Forces sequel where I can be a Rebel of Imperial agent and kick some booty wihtout the force or a lightsaber. Blasters are awesome.

5. What is the weakest part within all six episodes? (could be a character,actor,plot line, etc.)

Phantom Menace was pretty weak overall. Jar Jar Binks was a disaster, and I wasn't too fond of the introduction of Anakin as a wee boy. I would have preferred Episode II as Episode I, the Clone Wars cartoon series as Episode II, and Episode III remain almost unchanged. Much better trilogy that way, giving real time to the Clone Wars.

All the movies have at least one weak spot though....even the great ESB. That guy that asks "Two fighters against a star destroyer?" is probably the worst deliverer of a line ever. There's some cornball acting like that throughout. Makes me actually hope that someday when I'm an old old man fifty or sixty years from now the entire series is remade, completely, with new actors, by some new wunderkind upstart artsy director. I'd watch in the home, just to see something different....a new take on an awesome universe. People poo poo remakes but being a theatre nut I see nothing wrong with them...I'm used to dealing with umpteen million restagings of stories and think the good ones can hold up to it and show us something new each time. I've always thought it would be cool to see someone re-do the series in a bit of a time-shifting fashion....the events of the prequels modified and shown through flashbacks, interspersed with the "present" of the original trilogy...if anything it would be fun to watch.

I actually like Ewoks. A lot.

 

[NecroBlade]

Re: The STAR WARS thread

1. What is the best movie of all six episodes?

Tough choice. The entire original trilogy is classic, and I really liked Ep. III.

2. If you could be a Jedi or a Sith which would you choose? (be honest with your self here)

Jedi, hands down. Kicking good-for-nothing Sith arse would be great.

3. What is the best StarWars novel?

The NJO series, although Republic Commando was extremely good. RC 2 was good, but I didn't like the love story crap. NJO rocked hard, and I'm thinking about rereading it soon. Anything after NJO, though, doesn't count IMOO.

4. Which is the greatest of the LucasArts game?

I'll get back to you on that once I've actually played a significant humber of them

5. What is the weakest part within all six episodes? (could be a character,actor,plot line, etc.)

Hayden Christiansen.

 

[kenjib]

I am glad to see that many agree with me that Tie Fighter is a one of the greatest games. It was the first I can remember where you could be an Imperial~catering to my evil nature

Come to think of it, I'd wager that one of the reasons why it is remembered so fondly is that it was the best of the last generation of space combat flight sims that came out before the entire genre all but disappeared from gaming history. Since nothing better has come out incorporating more advanced technology and design principles to make it look dated it still is, effectively, a state of the art game.

 

[markwars]

Re: The STAR WARS thread

I actually like Ewoks. A lot.

[shoots jcb as an act of euthanasia]

 

[jcb231]

I am glad to see that many agree with me that Tie Fighter is a one of the greatest games. It was the first I can remember where you could be an Imperial~catering to my evil nature

Come to think of it, I'd wager that one of the reasons why it is remembered so fondly is that it was the best of the last generation of space combat flight sims that came out before the entire genre all but disappeared from gaming history. Since nothing better has come out incorporating more advanced technology and design principles to make it look dated it still is, effectively, a state of the art game.

Very true. Xwing vs TIE Fighter was kind of a let-down, and S-Wing Alliance was very good, but neither came anywhere close to the amazing quality of TIE Fighter.

 

[jcb231]

Re: The STAR WARS thread

I actually like Ewoks. A lot.

[shoots jcb as an act of euthanasia]

I only like Ewoks in ROTJ. I don't like them in the Ewok movies or cartoons or comics or so on.

I think they were a cool little wacky tribal village and didn't mind them at all...afun addition to the series I thought. It's the wacky aliens that I enjoy in this series. If the Ewoks had spoken annoying pidgin english, I'd have hated them like I do the Gungans.

Speaking of Gungans, I don't get my new title...."I Love Gungans"....I don't mind having a title but that one makes no sense.

 

[wicked cool]

where is the other thread?

id want to be a sith. not over the top like papls or maul but someone cool like Dooku.

best game so far is Kotor but force unleashed right now is on my want list based on previews.

 

[jaques]

1. The Empire Strikes Back. The asteroid field sequence is probably the greatest combination of cinematics, music, characterization and romance I've ever seen.

2. Jedi, but a Luke Skywalker type of Jedi, not an Obi Wan or Yoda.

3. The only original novels I ever read were Splinter of the Mind's Eye and the first set of Han Solo novels. I guess I vote for Splinter just because I loved it so much as a kid. Of course, it made me kind of bummed when Empire came out and had nothing to do with what I thought was supposed to be the first sequel.

4. Again, very limited experience here. My son has been forcing me to play Lego Star Wars II since he bought it last week, and it's pretty cool.

5. The failure of Episode III to deliver on the Obi-wan-Padme-Anakin triangle. A careful viewing of Episode II makes it pretty clear that Padme has something going for Obi-wan, and there are some things I consider a pretty clear indication that Anakin is swaying Padme's emotions with the force (possibly subconsciously). Even some of the lines in Episode III suggest that Lucas meant to use jealousy of Obi-wan as a motivator for Anakin to join the dark side. But I think he just chickened out rather than put any kind of infidelity into the last film.

 

[NecroBlade]

2. Jedi, but a Luke Skywalker type of Jedi, not an Obi Wan or Yoda.

So, a wuss instead of a badass or...a badass?

4. Again, very limited experience here. My son has been forcing me to play Lego Star Wars II since he bought it last week, and it's pretty cool.

The LEGO Star Wars Games actually are a lot of fun.

5. The failure of Episode III to deliver on the Obi-wan-Padme-Anakin triangle.

You did not just say that. My girlfriend's going to pay this thread a visit later and rip you a new one. You've been warned.

 

[Sweetcurse]

Re: The STAR WARS thread

I actually like Ewoks. A lot.

[shoots jcb as an act of euthanasia]

I only like Ewoks in ROTJ. I don't like them in the Ewok movies or cartoons or comics or so on.

I think they were a cool little wacky tribal village and didn't mind them at all...afun addition to the series I thought. It's the wacky aliens that I enjoy in this series. If the Ewoks had spoken annoying pidgin english, I'd have hated them like I do the Gungans.

Speaking of Gungans, I don't get my new title...."I Love Gungans"....I don't mind having a title but that one makes no sense.

Well, I like Gungans and have no shame in it. Their cities are awesome. They ride dinos and create force fields and energy weapons through natural means. Also, they are fierce and fearful warriors. Not to mention good swimmers and acrobats. What's not to like?

Ewoks are cool too. I love the small tribal aspect and love to think of silly fanboys groaning every time they defeat the empire with sticks and stones, classic Lucas!

Ahhh, an Obi-Annie-Padme triangle is a silly idea, not to mention out of the overall theme. Obi never strays from his honor code in the prequels and the whole point is precisely that it's all in Annie's head. See, some people just don't get the story.

 

[Wilkerson74]

Being born in the 70,s star wars is genetically encoded in my DNA. I remember seeing it in the theater several times, and if I remember correctly, it seems like it was re-released a few times, and me and my brother would always convince a parent to take us. This was long before VCR's.

Lucas was smart to hang onto the licensing rights, its my understanding that tying in merchandise, toy lines, underwear, toothpaste, whatever, was not done untill the star wars phenomenon. Which opened the door to several toy lines being spawned from movies.

My favorite movie though has to be Empire Strikes Back, specifically the lighting in the last scene on the carbon freezing chamber...just awesome.

AND..as a side note, I don't think a day goes by where me our one of my friends throws out some random star wars line.

I could go on and on and on...but thanks for starting the thread for us star wars geeks. Now Im going to go play with my lightsaber.