*** rec.arts.sf.starwars *** Frequently Asked Questions List (FAQ-L) Version 4.10 - 08/04/93 Introduction =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= This is the Frequently Asked Questions List (FAQL) for the newsgroup rec.arts.sf.starwars. The purpose of a FAQL is to compile authoritative answers to many commonly asked questions so that the group will not be cluttered with repetitive requests for the same information. This list will be posted to rec.arts.sf.starwars on a bi-weekly basis. Please read it before posting to see if your question has already been answered! The rec.arts.sf.starwars FAQL is currently being maintained by me - Gallandro. The original document was compiled by Christopher Wolf. Many others have also contributed to the information contained in this list. If you have any suggestions for corrections, modifications or additions to the list--especially new theories concerning the speculative questions at the end of the document--please e-mail them to me at dkemper@hacks.arizona.edu. If you have a question which you think should be added to the list it would be greatly appreciated if you could also provide the answer (with source references!). Thanks and May the Force be With You... Always. Table of Contents =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Changes for this Revision Commonly Used Abbreviations Archive Information Question: Topic: 001 Why is Star Wars titled Episode IV? 002 Were there scenes cut from SW after its release? 003 Was RotJ originally titled _Revenge_ of the Jedi? 004 Do scripts exist for the other trilogies? Will they ever be made into films? 005 Did Lucas "borrow" ideas from other films? 006 What else have the Star Wars stars done? 007 What/where is the "Fall of the Republic" script? 008 What other Star Wars novels exist? 009 What Star Wars related items have appeared on TV? 010 What about adaptations to other media? (comics, radio) 011 What sources are canon in the Star Wars universe? 012 What is Hardware Wars? 013 What are the hardware requirements for X-wing? 014 How can I participate in a Star Wars MUD? 015 Are the Star Wars toys/action figures valuable? 016 What is the "C-3PO penis card"? Is it valuable? 017 How can I contact Star Wars vendors? 018 Where is the infamous tennis shoe in RotJ? 019 Why are there yellow boxes surrounding TIEs? 020 What other editing/SPFX bloopers are there? 021 Why did Han Solo say parsecs? 022 How old is Yoda? 023 Is the Death Star capable of hyperspace travel? 024 Why does Vader's TIE fighter look different from the rest? 025 How can I understand incomprehensible dialog? 026 What is the Journal of the Whills? 027 What are the Clone Wars? 028 Why did Ben tell Luke it was "your father's lightsaber"? 029 What is the Sith? 030 Why didn't the Death Star blow up Yavin? 031 Why didn't it come out of hyperspace in a better spot? 032 Who was in the other Y-wing that survived the attack? 033 How did the Falcon get to Bespin? 034 Why doesn't C-3PO recognize Leia in the hologram? 035 Is C-3PO a good storyteller? 036 Is Captain Antilles related to Wedge? 037 Why did Darth Vader die? 038 Why didn't he disappear when he died? 039 Who is Uncle Owen related to? 040 Why is Owen's last name different from Ben's? 041 Why isn't Owen Force-sensitive? Changes for this Revision =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Added information on title change from Revenge of the Jedi Added information regarding 'The Hidden Fortress' Canon question has been rewritten entirely Added quote concerning the Sith Added Question 038 concerning Vader's lack of disappearance on death. A few new tidbits added on new books, old TV shows, and Captain Antilles Minor errors corrected throughout. Questions affected (excluding minor error corrections): 003, 005, 006, 008, 009, 011, 029, 036, 038 Commonly Used Abbreviations =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Some of these abbreviations are used within this document; the rest show up on the newsgroup fairly regularly. r.a.s.s rec.arts.sf.starwars ANH: A New Hope, the subtitle of the original movie CLV, CAV: Constant Linear Velocity and Constant Angular Velocity. These are laserdisc formats. CAV allows you do things like freeze-frame and slow-motion with better clarity, but limits you to half an hour of playing time per disc side. CLV can hold an hour's worth of video on each side, but your special effects are more limited. DE: Dark Empire DH, DHC Dark Horse Comics, comics publisher DFR: Dark Force Rising DS: Death Star ESB, TESB: The Empire Strikes Back HTTE: Heir to the Empire LBX: letterbox; a display format for video and laserdisc. Letterbox format preserves the aspect ratio of the original theatrical release by putting black bands at the top and bottom of the screen. Also known as Widescreen format. The alternative is to cut off the ends of the picture and pan back and forth between important elements. This is commonly called Pan & Scan. LS: more frequently represents lightsaber than Luke Skywalker Other characters are often referred to by initials, but these are fairly easy to figure out given the context (HS for Han Solo, DV for Darth Vader, etc.; GMT is probably Grand Moff Tarkin instead of the more familiar Greenwich Mean Time) MPC: model manufacturer. They have made models of many SW craft. POF, POTF: Power of the Force (a packaging Kenner used for action figures around 1984) ROJ, ROTJ: Return of the Jedi RPG: role-playing game SD: Star Destroyer SPFX: special effects SSD: Super Star Destroyer (Vader's flagship in ESB) SW: Star Wars (I hope that's fairly obvious...) TALS: The Adventures of Luke Skywalker THX: The name of the sound system for movie theatres that Lucas helped to develop. The name THX comes from the name of his first feature film, THX-1138, and also from the initials of the system's creator, Tomlinson Holman. TIE: Twin Ion Engine TLC: The Last Command Archive Information =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= There is an anonymous ftp site at wpi.WPI.EDU (130.215.24.1). In the /starwars directory there is all sorts of Star Wars material in electronic form. The site contains the complete scripts to Star Wars, Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, as well as the fake Fall of the Republic script. The site also has lots of other fan fiction, text files containing factual information and interviews, image files in a variety of formats, various files pertaining to the X-wing game, and other miscellaneous Star Wars related files. The Archive is maintained by Scott Streeter (ss@wpi.WPI.EDU), a regular reader of r.a.s.s. He posts directories of the entire Archive on a bi-weekly basis. He also rotates the GIF files, due to space limitations. If the one you want isn't there, it'll be back. As with most FTP sites, there is a directory called incoming (under the /starwars directory), where you can place items you wish to put on the Archive. Leave something here and Scott will place it in the appropriate place. Also, send him e-mail if it's not obvious what it is. If you need help with ftp or with decompressing or viewing the files on the Archive ask your local guru or system administrator. Please do NOT send e-mail to me or post to the rec.arts.sf.starwars group asking for help with ftp or unpacking files on the Archive - thanks! Frequently Asked Questions -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Q 001: Why does it say Episode IV in the scroll-text at the beginning of Star Wars, Episode V in The Empire Strikes Back and Episode VI in Return of the Jedi? Did the Episode IV sub-head appear in the original theatrical release or was it added at a later date? Answer: The Star Wars saga as originally conceived by Lucas was much too large to be made into a single film or even a single trilogy so Lucas structured his ideas into three trilogies. He decided to make the middle trilogy (Episodes IV, V and VI) first because he believed it had the greatest chance of being a theatrical success. An interesting point is that the "Chapter IV: A New Hope" sub-title did not appear until the 1979 re-release of the movie. Randal Schwartz (merlyn@romulus.reed.edu) says the following about the '79 release: That was the one with the extended trailer for ESB, which came out the following summer. So the order was: summer of '77: SW [no IV] summer of '78: re-release of SW [no IV] (but Westgate was still playing it) summer of '79: retitled SW IV, with ESB trailer summer of '80: ESB The reference to "Westgate" was that the Westgate theatre (just a few blocks from where I am typing this) was *still* playing it. They set the record worldwide for the longest continuous run for SW [sans IV], something like 79 weeks. So, naturally, it wasn't a "re-release" for summer of '78. (We web-footed Oregonians see a *lot* of movies. :-) Empire Strikes Back (1980) was always sub-titled Chapter V and Return of the Jedi (1983) was always sub-titled Chapter VI. (Note: the name of the first FILM is Star Wars - the name of the CHAPTER is "A New Hope" In Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi the film name and chapter names just happen to be the same. All the films together are collectively referred to as the Star Wars saga.) Q 002: Were there scenes cut from Star Wars after its original theatrical release? I seem to remember a reunion scene on Tatooine between Luke and his friend Biggs on leave from the Academy. Answer: This scene never appeared in any theatrical release of Star Wars. The scene is described in the novelization of Star Wars and apparently was even filmed since images from it appear in the Star Wars picture-book adaptation. Perhaps is why so many people swear that they remember seeing the scene at one time. Also there was apparently a scene in the Rebel hangar which was filmed but not included where Red Leader speaks to Luke about having met Anakin Skywalker and what a great pilot he was. Another scene that was originally intended for Star Wars was an encounter between Han Solo and Jabba the Hutt at the spaceport on Tatooine. The scene was partially filmed but never finished because Lucas was dissatisfied with his options for portraying Jabba due to budget, FX technology and story constraints. Partial unfinished footage of this scene can be found on the VHS video titled From Star Wars to Jedi: The Making of a Saga. The only visual difference between any current print of Star Wars and the original theatrical release is the aforementioned addition of the "Episode IV" title in the roll-up. There are, however, minor differences in the soundtrack; in fact, because Lucas had more time to work on the sound before Star Wars was released internationally, the sound in non-U.S. releases is of slightly better quality. Some of the differences in the audio between the original release and currently available ones: 1) When the Stormtroopers are chasing Han & Chewie through the Death Star corridors in the original release they first say "Close the blast doors, close the blast doors!" and when they get trapped on the wrong side of the door they then say "Open the blast doors, open the blast doors!" In the VHS version the "Close the blast doors" line is not audible. 2) Aunt Beru's voice is distinctly different (lower in pitch) in the original movie. 3) The line spoken by the Stormtrooper who finds the door locked, behind which R2-D2 and C-3PO are hiding outside the cantina, in the original version is "The door is locked; move on to the next one." In VHS versions, the line is "It's secure; move on to the next one." Deborah Padgett (padgett@inyo.caltech.edu) adds two others: 4) Some of Chewbacca's "lines" as he leaves the cantina are deleted in the later versions. 5) The little chess critters on board the MF make more cute noises in the original. Another is contributed by Joe Stremick (redrum@carson.u.washington.edu): 6) The echo during the chasm fight/rope-swing scene is in some prints and not in others. The echo, which is on Luke and Leia's dialogue, is *really* cool. Elaborates Douglas Quale (quale@spock.cs.wisc.edu): Things are confusing because there were in fact two soundtracks, mono and Dolby surround stereo. The differences in the soundtracks are fairly minor, the most prominent changes being Aunt Beru's voice (so different sounding that it may have been dubbed by a different actor), the ``Close the blastdoors!'' line, and the bit with the droids hiding behind the door in Mos Eisley. Finally, a line spoken by C-3PO was added in later VHS and laserdisc releases. As R2-D2 is bringing up the plans of the Death Star to find the tractor beam, 3PO says "The tractor beam is coupled to the main reactor in 7 locations." Q 003: Wasn't Return of the Jedi originally titled Revenge of the Jedi? Why was it changed? Answer: Up until shortly before it was released ROTJ was indeed titled Revenge of the Jedi and some promotional materials (movie posters, patches etc.) were printed with that title. Materials saying Revenge of the Jedi are now collector's items. There are two explanations commonly given for why the title was changed: 1) Revenge isn't very Jedi-like. 2) The studio wanted to avoid confusion with Star Trek II which was due to be released at about the same time and was originally titled Vengeance of Kahn. Bantha Tracks, the newsletter of the now-defunct Official Star Wars Fan Club, printed the following blurb in issue #19: Both REVENGE OF THE JEDI and BLUE HARVEST were working titles for the third film in the STAR WARS Saga Trilogy, "The Adventures of Luke Skywalker." REVENGE OF THE JEDI was used during filming at EMI Elstree Studios in England, while BLUE HARVEST was used by our crews during filming in Yuma, Arizona and Cresent City, California, U.S.A. RETURN OF THE JEDI has always been the title of the film and appears on the first draft of George Lucas' script. Q 004: Does Lucas have scripts/stories already written for the other episodes in the saga? Will he ever make them into films? Answer: No one knows for sure how much development Lucas had done on the plots/scripts for the other trilogies at the time Star Wars was released. Some people believe that Lucas has scripts for ALL the films locked away in a vault someplace. Most people believe that he has lots of story ideas and possibly preliminary treatments for the films but not complete scripts. After Return of the Jedi, Lucas stated he would not make any more Star Wars films - he needed a creative break and had other projects going he wanted to concentrate on. Recently however Lucas has changed his mind and has publically stated that he will soon be starting work on new Star Wars films. The next films to be produced will be Episodes I to III of the saga. They will all be filmed simultaneously and will be released in consecutive years sometime before the year 2000. No one is sure of the exact release dates and to the best of our knowledge Lucas has not started actual work on the films yet. Episodes I to III are expected to take place about 20 years before Star Wars. The plot is expected to concern the fall of the Old Republic, the rise to power of the Emperor, the Clone Wars and the exploits of Ben Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker. No plans are currently being made to produce Episodes VII to IX. Apparently these episodes as conceived by Lucas take place about 20 years after ROTJ and may also involve a new set of actors and characters (the descendants of the original heros?). Lucas has stated many times that the only characters which would appear in all 9 episodes are the droids R2-D2 and C-3PO. Q 005: Isn't Star Wars a rip-off of a Japanese film called The Hidden Fortress or ? Answer: Lee Campbell (elwin@ai.mit.edu) writes: It's pretty clear there *is* a connection between 'Star Wars' and a Japanese film called 'The Hidden Fortress' made by Akira Kurosawa. Not that SW is a copy of THF, just that THF was *one* of the inspirations for SW. [In] this Japanese epic, a lord has been defeated, his empire overrun, but his daughter the princess is still free. Some samurai and retainers are trying to bring her back across a hostile land to another lord's domain where she will be safe. Mike Rosenlof (mike@neopath.wa.com) adds: In 'The Hidden Fortress', there is a samurai general who is escorting a princess with a large stash of gold (a.k.a. something very valuable to her family that the enemies are trying to take from her). There are also two farmers who argue a lot, one short and fat, one tall and thin. There is a duel between the general (played by Mifune Toshiro) and one of the enemies that is reminiscent of the Vader-Kenobi duel (except I believe Mifune wins). Story elements are closer than the FAQ currently indicates. But it is true the Star Wars in not simply a remake of this film. It's been a while since I've seen "Kakushi Toride no San Akunin" (Three villains in a hidden fortress), but I do recall the similarity of the way wipes and fades were used between scenes to indicate the passage of time. Some people who have seen both films say that there are also similarities in the dialog, film-making techniques, camera angles, etc. To answer the more general question about parallels between Star Wars and other films (in this case Wizard of Oz) Teri (teri@sdd.hp.com) writes: I think it is not so much that plots were ripped off but that both movies express the ancient archetype of the hero who goes on a quest. In this sense they are very similar. The "plot" is really an old, old one that goes back to the first storytelling days of man. The hero is usually aided by supernatural forces against perilous dangers and ultimate evils. Joseph Campbell (comparative religion/mythology) has a lot to say about archetypes like this. See "The Hero of a Thousand Faces," or some such. This theme appears across many cultures and many different times. You might argue that the Indiana Jones series partook of this as well. Or "Clash of the Titans," a greek myth brought to the screen. Steve (sdt8s@poe.acc.Virginia.EDU) adds: I would add that one of George Lucas's original plots for Star Wars is even more remarkably similar to Hidden Fortress than is Star Wars as it was released. For a complete synopsis of this original story see Dale Pollock's 1983 biography of George Lucas, Skywalking. Star Wars, if made using this plot, might well have been open to a lawsuit by the authors of Hidden Fortress; the only point of divergence is that Star Wars occurs in outer space. Q 006: What other movies have Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, or Harrison Ford been in? What are they doing nowadays? Answer: A list of all the movies that Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford, and Sir Alec Guiness have been in is available on the Archive, called actors_film_list.Z. Harrison Ford, of course, has a quite successful movie career. Recently he has made a special guest appearance on an episode of "The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles." Mark, in addition to the few movies he's appeared in since Jedi, has done a lot of Broadway and off-Broadway plays. He also played the Trickster on a couple of episodes of "The Flash," and is currently the voice of the Joker and of Robin in the animated "Batman" series. Carrie has published a bestseller or two, and has translated one of those to the big screen. Q 007: I've heard of a movie script that is supposedly for Episode III of the Star Wars saga. Is it real? Where can I get a copy? Answer: It is entitled Fall of the Republic and is not a complete script but more of a plot outline. It is generally agreed that it was NOT written by Lucas or anyone with inside knowledge and therefore should be treated purely as speculative fiction. It is available on the Archive. Q 008: What novels have been created that are set in the Star Wars universe? Answer: The official novelizations of the movies are: Star Wars by George Lucas (ghostwritten by Alan Dean Foster) Empire Strikes Back by Donald F. Glut Return of the Jedi by James Kahn There are also several official picture-book adaptations of each of the movies. Additionally many other authors have written books set in the Star Wars universe with the permission of LucasArts. The most recent such works are a cycle of three novels by Timothy Zahn which are set after Return of the Jedi. These novels are NOT episodes VII, VIII, and IX of the Star Wars movies. What follows is a list of various books, loosely organized by category, compiled from my own collection and from the Star Wars bibliography being maintained by Erik Olson (olsone@rpi.edu). The books containing stories outside of the movies are all listed (to the best of my knowledge), but the coverage of other books (sketchbooks, Art Of books, etc) is somewhat, well, sketchy. This list does not include the many children's books based on adaptations of parts of the movies, comics series (see Question 010) or the Saturday-morning cartoon series (see Question 009). It also does not include any of the books published by West End Games (associated with the role-playing game; see Question 010). Novels: 1976 Star wars: from the adventures of Luke Skywalker: a novel by George Lucas [ghostwritten by Alan Dean Foster] 1978 Splinter of the mind's eye: from TALS / Alan Dean Foster 1979 Han Solo at Stars' End: from TALS / Brian Daley 1979 Han Solo's revenge: from TALS / Brian Daley 1979 Han Solo and the lost legacy: from TALS / Brian Daley 1983 Lando Calrissian and the mindharp of Sharu / L. Neil Smith 1983 Lando Calrissian and the flamewind of Oseon / L. Neil Smith 1983 Lando Calrissian and the starcave of ThonBoka / L. Neil Smith 1983 Return of the Jedi / James Khan 1987 Star Wars--the first ten years--storybook trilogy 1991 Heir to the empire / Timothy Zahn 1991 Dark Empire (limited series) (Dark Horse Comics) 1992 Dark force rising / Timothy Zahn 1993 The last command / Timothy Zahn Children's books: 1979 The Maverick moon / illustrated by Walter Wright 1979 Mystery of the Rebellious Robot / ill. by Mark Corcoran 1979 The Wookiee storybook / ill. by Patricia Wynne 1980 The Empire strikes back storybook / Steneman, Shep 1984 Wicket finds a way / Melinda Luke 1984 Three cheers for Kneesaa! / Jane E. Gerver 1984 The Ewoks' hang-gliding adventure 1984 The baby Ewoks' picnic 1985 The Ewoks and the lost children (The Ewok Adventure) 1986 The ring, the witch, and the crystal (The Battle for Endor) Young adult books (by Paul and Hollace Davids): 1992 The glove of Darth Vader 1992 The lost city of the Jedi 1992 Zorba the Hutt's revenge 1993 Mission from Mount Yoda 1993 Queen of the Empire 1993 Prophets of the Dark Side Books with additional info: 1977 The Force of Star Wars / Frank Allnutt 1980 The Empire strikes back sketchbook 1980 Once upon a galaxy: A journal of the making of TESB / Alan Arnold 1982 The Jedi master's quizbook / Rusty Miller 1983 Making of Return of the Jedi / John Phillip Peecher (ed.) 1983 Skywalking / Dale Pollock 1983 The Art of Return of the Jedi (with movie script by Kasdan/Lucas) 1984 A guide to the Star Wars universe / compiled by Raymond Velasco For a longer listing (including complete card catalog references, descriptions etc. for each work) or to make contributions to this list please write to Erik directly at olsone@rpi.edu. Also, a long list (also including card catalog references, etc.) from Dan Abend (abend@skink.cis.ohio-state.edu) is available on the Archive. Concerning upcoming books, the following information is from the Dark Empire trade paperback: "For Bantam Books and Lucasfilm, Ltd., I myself [Kevin J. Anderson] am writing three Star Wars novels, working with the other authors who are also telling the saga that takes place in the years following ROJ... Kathy Tyers tells the story of Rebel and Imperial troops forced into an uneasy alliance against an even greater alien threat. Kenneth C. Flynt brings Luke back to Tatooine in search of an artifact that once belonged to Obi-Wan Kenobi. Dave Wolverton shows us Han Solo's complicated courtship of Princess Leia. My own trilogy tells the story of Luke's attempts to reestablish the order of Jedi Knights, founding a Jedi 'academy' of self-discovery and training." A recent issue of Locus also reported: ROGER MACBRIDE ALLEN has contracted to do three Star Wars novels for Bantam, via agent Eleanor Wood. Q 009: What Star Wars related items have appeared on TV? Answer: For each of the movies there was a "making of" TV special aired on network television. Approximately 48 minutes each, they are: The Making of Star Wars -- hosted by C-3PO and R2-D2 (1977) SPFX: The Empire Strikes Back -- hosted by Mark Hamill (1980) Classic Creatures: Return of the Jedi (1983) In 1979, "The Star Wars Holiday Special" (involving Chewie visiting his family on the Wookiee home planet) aired for its first and last showing. Most of the major movie characters had cameos. There was also a short cartoon in the middle which was the first appearance of Boba Fett. The show clocks in at 1:34 without commercials. Bootleg copies of the show (there are no legal copies available) can be found at many SF conventions, and some SF dealers. Characters from Star Wars have done guest shots on the likes of Sesame Street and the Muppet Show. The years immediately following Return of the Jedi saw two TV-movies about Ewoks: The Ewok Adventure: Caravan of Courage, and The Ewoks: Battle for Endor. There was also a Saturday morning Ewok & Droids cartoon. The first season it was "The Ewoks and Droids Adventure Hour," which was split into two half-hour episodes, one concerning the adventures of R2-D2 and C-3PO and the other those of Wicket and his friends. For its second and last season the cartoon was shortened to a half-hour and called simply "Ewoks," eliminating the droids from the show entirely. Around 1985, PBS aired a special entitled "From Star Wars to Jedi: the making of a saga" which is now available with the boxed set of the trilogy. More recently, this past March, PBS aired a special called "American Masters." This was more of a biography of George Lucas than information pertaining particularly to the Star Wars trilogy. Q 010: Has the Star Wars series been adapted to any other form of media? Answer: There are several comic book series. The first series was by Marvel Comics and started with an adaptation of Star Wars and continued on past the end of ROTJ for a total of 107 issues. Marvel also did official comic adaptations of Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi as limited series. Star Comics, a division of Marvel aimed at younger readers, put out two short lived series, one based on the Ewoks cartoon and the other on the Droids cartoon. Blackthorn also did 3 Star Wars 3-D comics. Andy (hummel@vms.cis.pitt.edu) adds: In addition to the 107 issues of the Marvel comic, Marvel published 3 Annuals and at least two paperbacks (the paperbacks may have been reprints of UK Star Wars comics or from the newspaper strip, but they were not part of the 107 issue run). Of the 107 issues, numbers 1-6 adapted Star Wars, and numbers 39-42 adapt ESB. RotJ was a 4 issue mini-series. The Star Wars newspaper strip has been reprinted in a 3-volume hardbound set by Russ Cochran Publishing. A new limited series (6 issues) of Star Wars: Dark Empire comics was recently produced bi-monthly by Dark Horse Comics. They are supposed to be consistent with Zahn's novels but take place at a later date. These also are NOT Episodes VII to IX of the Star Wars saga. Dark Horse has announced plans to produce additional series set in the Star Wars Universe, and you can find previews of one called "Tales of the Jedi" in both Dark Horse Comics and Dark Horse Insider. Dark Horse has also started publishing "Classic Star Wars," another reprint of the newspaper strip, in slightly modified form to fit the comic book medium rather than the newspaper, and with color added. There is a Star Wars role playing game produced by West End Games. They produce a lot of supplemental source books for the game containing tons of interesting info about the characters/history/technology of the Star Wars universe. National Public Radio also did radio broadcast adaptations of Star Wars and Empire Strikes Back. The voices of Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, and Billy Dee Williams (for Empire) are used in this series; the other characters have relative unknowns doing the readings. The script for the adaptation was written by Brian Daley. See Question 017 for information on ordering this set. No radio drama was ever produced for Return of the Jedi. Several Star Wars computer games also exist. There were several coin-op arcade games and ports of these games to various computers and consoles. Most recently, there is a new computer game called X-Wing. It uses realistic 3d-graphics to allow the player to simulate flying X-Wing, Y-Wing and A-Wing fighters in missions against the Empire. See Question 013 for more information on this. Also, recently released is the Star Wars pinball game. Q 011: What does "canon" mean? What sources are considered canon in the Star Wars universe? Answer: First, a little background. Nathan Hill tells us: "Canon" is a term borrowed from theology. In reference to scripture, it denotes those writings which are considered "the word of God". Other spiritual writings may be considered helpful but not 100% reliable; these are "apocraphal writings", and some are held in higher esteem than others. Basically, you are supposed to accept canon as true and look on apocrapha with some skepticism. Brian Panulla (BJP108@psuvm.psu.edu) adds: The word "canon" in this case is most directly related to the CanonWars(tm) that occur weekly on the StarTrek groups. Yes, it was derived from the religious definition by a few overzealous Trekkers a few years back to account for the various YATIs (Yet Another Trek Inconsistency). They decided that some of the shows just plain "didn't happen". Most of the Trek novels likewise "didn't happen." In the Star Wars universe, there is no defined canon. A common misconception is that the movies (and, some say, ONLY the movies) are canon. This cannot be true, because then we have to accept as canon the fact that Luke yelled "Carrie!", that there are yellow lines around the TIE Fighters, etc. (see questions 019-020) The canon issue is further complicated by the fact that some of Lucas' ideas changed between Star Wars and Jedi. If we take "canon" to mean "won't be contradicted by any subsequent movies" (another common misconception) then the entire concept remains undefined until the final movie is released. This definition also ignores slight inconsistencies between the already-existing movies. Tom Veitch, author of the Dark Empire comic, has said: The comics that Dark Horse is (and will) be doing are just as "official" as Zahn's books and WEG roleplaying materials. Ultimately EVERYTHING that is licensed takes place in an "alternate universe" and is subject to being blown away by films originating from the source (George Lucas). My advice is to ignore the entire debate over what is canon and what is not - form your own interpration of the Star Wars universe based on the source material YOU enjoy and don't worry about what is "official" and what is not. Q 012: What is Hardware Wars? How can I view a copy? Answer: Hardware Wars is a thirteen-minute, very funny, very low budget parody of Star Wars. It has been spotted for rent at some Blockbuster Video stores, on a tape called "Hardware Wars and other film farces," which also contains three other short films: "Closet Cases of the Nerd Kind," "Bambi Meets Godzilla," and "Porklips Now," which, like Hardware Wars, was made by Ernie Fosselius. (Thanks to David Gray (dxg6476@hertz.njit.edu) for info on this tape.) Q 012.5: Is Hardware Wars canon? Answer: Very funny. Q 013: What are the hardware requirements for the X-wing Simulator? Will it ever be available on anything other than PC clones? Answer: The performance on a 386 is more than adequate. A 286 will work too, but you will want to turn off all the extra options to make the speed bearable. Although the game does not require one, most people have found that a joystick is necessary to get an adequate amount of control over the game. Adds Rene Borowski (boro@colorix.ph2.uni-koeln.de): I saw X-Wing on a 286 20Mhz with 1Meg RAM at a friend of mine. I would say - you can't play, because your reactions with the joystick are to slow calculated and realized from the computer. Maybe you know this effect from "old" C64 times: You pull the stick, but nothing happens, a second later the plane flies a looping, because you tried to pull again and again. There are no plans to port the game to any other computers. The flight engine was written specifically for the PC architecture, and LucasArts says that porting it would not be cost-effective. Q 014: How can I participate in a Star Wars MUD? Answer: First for those of you who don't know what a MUD is it stands for Multi User Dungeon and is a multi-player on-line interactive role-playing game. The Star Wars MUD described below allows you to role-play a character in the Star Wars universe. Thanks to Steven Parks (nudnik@camelot.bradley.edu) for the following info: This MUD is in the Netherlands. For a good proportion of the world, this is long-distance. Be nice to the world, the phone companies, and yourselves and don't abuse our MUD-ding privileges. This is a MUD. You will have to telnet to the location and connect to a specific port ("telnet "). The location and port is , or, as i understand for a better connection or something, use the IP numbers: <130.161.144.22 8888>. Once connection is complete, you will be asked for a name, which you can choose to be an alias. Then you will enter a password, to be repeated for verification. (On my first time, a lot of information passed the screen, and I wasn't ready to pause to read it all. this shouldn't happen to _you_ now... =) As I previously stated, this is a MUD; but not just any MUD, such as a social MUD. This is an LP-MUD, which means you start at the beginning and continue until you win... ...or die trying, I guess. The object is to become a jedi, running around and using the force. You _can_ save your position, therefore allowing you to return at a later time. A more recent Star Wars MUD (MUSH actually) is located at durrance.colorado.edu (128.138.253.120) port 4402, says Mike (strwrs@durrance.colorado.edu). Simple instructions are given when you log on. (Note that the commands are CASE-SENSITIVE.) Q 015: Are the action figures/toys worth anything as collectors items? Answer: Chris Georgoulias (cmgeorg@eos.ncsu.edu), a USENET guru on Star Wars collectibles, writes the following long-winded response: Because the toys were produced in such vast numbers, collectors generally like to acquire toys that are in the best possible condition, with the most to offer. Usually this entails toys that have surpassed their purpose of play and have kept their original store appearance by remaining mint in their packaging. The action figures were the strongest point of the entire toy line and were produced for more than 8 years. As a result, the number of "common" figures outnumbers the rarer ones by 20:1. In general, the average loose figure isn't considered "collectible" because it is widely available. But the inclusion of the original package, "card," causes the value to increase significantly. The price can further increase depending on the particular card the figure is packaged on, with some mint carded figures worth up to $400 nowadays. Loose playsets seem to fare better in the collectors market, but again with more loose toys available, the boxed toys still command higher respect for the simple fact that kids, who were the target consumers, usually threw out all the packaging. In fact, if one thinks about it, it's actually the package that is the rarity and not the toy. The line of 12" dolls seems to be have the best value of all the loose toys, with values of up to $250 with all the accessories. There were also special sets that were available only at major retailers such as Sears and JCPenny. These sets, even loose, command high prices because of their limited availability. Kenner produced many different toys for the Star Wars saga and it is difficult to account for each one in a format such as this. It is recommended that a anyone who is interested in the current values of the toys seek out "Toy Shop" magazine. This magazine exists as the toy collector's marketplace and is the very best place to see the current retail (selling) values of toys. Price guides are a great way to see all of the toys that were made, but the values are only guides and not selling prices. Attending toy shows is also another great way to find out the current values of the toys. But, like anything else, it pays to check out many dealers and do some comparative shopping. You WILL find large fluxuations in prices from dealer to dealer and city to city. Do yourself a favor and get as informed as possible before you journey into the world of toy collecting. You have to be alert so you won't get burned, but you'll have a blast while you're amassing a collection. Speaking from experience I can say that it is truly a joy to participate in, and when 1997 rolls around we can all watch the market for Star Wars toys hit the roof! Q 016: What is the "C-3PO penis card"? Is it valuable? Answer: Card #207 of the green Topps series is a picture of C-3PO, modified by a prankster at Topps to give the droid an extra appendage. This was corrected in later prints of the cards. The original card generally sells for about $15, and the corrected one, while actually rarer, is much less sought after and not worth much more than any other card in the series. A GIF of this card is sometimes on the Archive; see "Archive Information" above for further information on GIF availability. Q 017: How can I contact the LucasFilm fan club? Who do I contact to order the Star Wars radio drama? What is the address of West End Games? Answer: The Lucasfilm Fan Club puts out a quarterly newsletter, along with offering assorted memorabilia from Star Wars and other Lucasfilm projects (Indiana, Jones, Young Indy, etc.) Their address is: The Lucasfilm Fan Club P.O. Box 111000 Aurora, CO 80011 USA Membership in the Fan Club costs $9.95 a year. Highbridge Company is producing the Star Wars radio drama. You can probably find it in a local bookstore. Failing that, you can contact Highbridge Audio at: 1-800-775-3175 or 1000 Westage Drive St. Paul, Minnesota 55114 Copies of the Star Wars adaptation are available on tape and CD; also, on CD, you can get a deluxe edition which contains both Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back. ESB won't be released by itself for a few quite a while yet; October is what the current rumors say. You can contact West End Games at: West End Games RD 3 Box 2345 Honesdale, PA 18431 (717) 253-6990 Q 018: Is it true that a tennis shoe appears in one of the space battle scenes in ROTJ? If so where? Answer: Page 120 of the book "Industrial Light and Magic: The Art of Special Effects," by Tom Smith, says: In Return of the Jedi, there were some shots where scores of ships were seen at the same time. Needless to say, it was very complicated and painstaking work. Once Ken got so frustrated by all of the ships in Jedi that he took off his tennis shoe and put it in the film as part of the Rebel fleet. The shoe actually ended up in the final film, though you have to know exactly where to look in order to see it. Despite the claims of several people to have found the infamous tennis shoe in several different frames examination of these frames on high-end video equipment has always resulted in the conclusion that no shoe was actually in those frames. It's possible that the shoe is not identifiable as such from whatever part of it is on the screen. Q 019: Why do the TIE fighters in the VHS versions of ROTJ have very faint hazy yellow boxes surrounding them? Answer: It's an artifact of the special effects process used to matte the space-ships. This happens to be more visible on home VHS-TV set-ups than it is in the movie theatre. Here with additional information is Dan Goldman (dgoldman@CS.Stanford.EDU): The answer given to me by employees of both ILM and Home THX (which does video transfer quality assurance nowadays, too) was that these artifacts were due to poor video transfer. Had the light levels been correctly set during the transfer process, the garbage matte lines would be truly invisible. The THX folks also mentioned that the artifacts appeared because the dynamic range of a videotape was so much smaller than that of film (20:1 vs. 2000:1, with LaserDisc around 200:1), but that is a pretty weak answer to me. After doing some work in color correction myself, my hunch is that the transfer process does not adequately compensate for the different response characteristics of film vs. video. Darkening your TV screen can compensate to a certain extent, but not very accurately. Q 020: What other editing/SPFX bloopers appear in the films? Answer: Far too many to list here. A separate list, called "The Bad Guide to Star Wars" is kept by Brandon Gillespie (brandon@cc.usu.edu). This list is available on the Archive and is posted to the group periodically. It also contains bits of trivia and things to watch for in the trilogy. Some of the more "famous" bloopers: In the first movie, in the scene where the Stormtroopers break into the room on the Death Star where C-3PO and R2-D2 are holed up, one of the troopers bumps his head on the door. (This isn't technically a blooper but it's fun to watch anyway.) Also, during the saber duel between Vader and Kenobi, in some frames they forgot to colorize Kenobi's saber (use single frame advance to see this clearly). And after the final battle, when Luke arrives back in the Rebel hangar, he yells out "Carrie" instead of "Leia." In Return of the Jedi during the scene in Jabba's palace, the dancer with the twin head-tails falls out of her costume for several frames right before Jabba opens the trap door dropping her into the pit. (You probably need a single frame VCR to see this.) In the throne room scenes there is a dark-blotch that looks like bad touch-up work consistently visible on the left of the Emperor's face near the shadows of his hood. This, like the yellow lines, is not apparent in film versions, only on video. Q 021: Why does Han Solo say that the Millennium Falcon made the Kessel Run in under 12 parsecs when parsecs are a unit of distance instead of time? Answer: The following letter and response appeared in issue #6 of the Marvel Comic series: ...someone made an astronomical error. On page 16, panel 5 [of issue #2], Han Solo says his ship "made the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs." I'll bet he can run the mile in less than 100 yards, too. A parsec is a measure of distance, approximately 3.26 light years. (A light year is about six trillion miles.) I expect my goofy, gilded no-prize by earliest mail. Michael Blue Calgary, Alberta, Canada We'd love to present you one, Mike, since you're right on target. However, we asked George about it, and he says he wrote that line for the movie on purpose, partly as an in-joke and partly to show that Han Solo was something of a bull artist who didn't always know precisely what he was talking about. So, we're afraid you'll have to take it up with Mr. Lucas himself! --Roy [Roy Thomas, writer and editor for the comic at the time] I've seen this explanation elsewhere too, but for the life of me I can't find the source. Some choose not to believe this explanation, feeling instead that Lucas screwed up and came up with that explanation later to cover it up. While this doesn't sound like something he would be likely to do, only Lucas himself knows for sure. If you want an explanation that makes sense in context of the movie, the following have been proposed: 1) During the oddities of hyperspace travel time and distance are interchangeable. 2) Han was boasting that he had discovered a new physically shorter route to make the Kessel Run. Also note that the novelization uses "standard timeparts" instead of "parsecs." Q 022: How old is Yoda? As I recall, he stated he was 800 in Empire Strikes Back but 900 in Return of the Jedi. Answer: In Empire, his actual words are "For 800 years have I trained Jedi." The only thing this tells us about his age is that he is over 800 years old. In Jedi he has a line that says "When 900 years old you reach, look as good you will not." Some trading cards released after Empire list Yoda's age as 973. While this is not an official source, note that it is not inconsistent with what is said in the movie, since he never comes right out and says he is EXACTLY 900 years old. Q 023: Is the Death Star capable of travelling through hyperspace? It doesn't look like it has any engines. Answer: It would have to be to be of any use to the Empire. If it were restricted to sublight travel (or no travel) it could hardly be considered a threat to anything but a very small part of the galaxy. No specific mention is made of its hyperspace capabilities in the movies, but the role-playing game source material discusses this more. As far as the lack of engines, there are two possibilities: 1) It doesn't have conventional engines for propulsion; it merely has the necessary hardware to enter hyperspace, which could possibly require no exterior engines. 2) Since we only see it from one view (facing the disk containing the planet-buster), we don't know what's on the back, and it actually does have engines there. Q 024: Why does Darth Vader's TIE fighter look different from the others? What are those other TIE fighters that look like his in Empire and Jedi? Answer: While this is never discussed in the films, various other sources, such as the MPC model kits and the role-playing game sourcebooks, tell us that Darth Vader's TIE fighter was a prototype model, the bent-wing design providing better solar collection capabilities than the regular straight-wing design. Two other types of TIE fighters appear in the last two movies using the bent-wing design. In the asteroid sequence in Empire, there are vessels called TIE bombers, which look very similar to Vader's TIE except that they have two pods between the solar panels. In the final space battle in Jedi, vessels known as TIE interceptors appear. These have the bent wings and a single pod, but the wings have large cut-outs down the front to provide greater visibility. Q 025: In scene _____, _____ says something like "__ _____ ___," but I can't understand (him/her) clearly. What is (he/she) saying? Answer: Questions of this sort are best answered by consulting the script to the film in question. All three scripts are available on the Archive; however, be aware that there ARE differences between the scripts and the actual movies. If, after consulting the script, you cannot find the lines, or you are convinced that what the character actually says is different from the script, then AND ONLY THEN should you post the question to the net. The remainder of the questions are ones to which the answers are pure speculation. It may seem somewhat silly, then, to include them in the list of Frequently Asked Questions, but these still fit that definition. Hopefully, by including these here, people will get a sense of what topics come up repeatedly on r.a.s.s and some idea of the speculation that has taken place in regards to the answers. Q 026: What is the Journal of the Whills? Answer: This is mentioned in the intro to the Star Wars novelization and hardly anywhere else. Its significance is unclear, but it might be similar in concept to the Red Book of Westmarch, the ficticious book from which Tolkiens's Lord of the Rings story supposedly comes. Q 027: What are the Clone Wars? Answer: No one knows for sure. All that is known is that they were fought around the time of the fall of the Old Republic and that Ben Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker fought in them. It is generally believed that these wars had something to do with the Emperor's ascendancy to power and extermination of the Jedi. A common (but unsubstantiated) claim is that the war was between the Jedi and genetically cloned soldiers created by the Emperor - who later became known as Stormtroopers. (Although there is little evidence from the movies that Stormtroopers are clones, you can find an article of questionable validity on the Archive which explains in detail how the cloned troopers are raised and trained.) Q 028: When Ben gave Luke his first lightsaber, he said "Your father wanted you to have this when you were old enough." Why would Vader have wanted his son to have a lightsaber? Answer: Many believe that at the time of the filming of Star Wars, Lucas hadn't decided to make Darth Vader Luke's father. In that context, the statement makes sense. Some ideas for a reason that fits in the context of the rest of the trilogy: 1) what Ben said to Luke was only true "from a certain point of view." 2) Ben was extrapolating what Anakin would have wanted, had he not turned to the Dark Side (a variation on the first idea). 3) Before Anakin became Darth Vader, he told Ben that if he ever had a son, he would want his son to have the lightsaber. Q 029: I've seen Darth Vader referred to as "Dark Lord of the Sith." What does that mean? Answer: Again, only Lucas knows for sure. The novelization implies that he was only one of several Dark Lords of the Sith. This phrase is rarely used to describe Vader in anything written after ESB, so again it may be something Lucas changed his mind about. As an extra bit of trivia, Afzal Ballim (afzal@divsun.unige.ch) adds: I remember when SW:ANH was first realised in Ireland I went to see it during the first week. In the cinema you could buy various memorabilia. One of these was a glossy magazine (on matt paper) that contained stills from the film as well as explanations of various characters in the film. I remember them describing Vader as being a Dark Lord of the Sith, creatures who need special breathing apperatus to live in our atmosphere. Since ROTJ reveals Vader to be human, this has obviously been invalidated, but perhaps shows an early idea. Q 030: Why did the Death Star take the time to orbit the planet of Yavin to get to the moon? Couldn't it have just blown up the planet? Answer: First, keep in mind that the Tarkin felt that the Death Star was invulnerable. To him, there was no particular hurry to get to the moon. Possible answers that have been suggested on the newsgroup are: 1) Because Yavin was a gas giant (according to the RPG materials) the Death Star's weapons wouldn't have worked on it; there was no solid matter to "blow up." 2) Also derived from the RPG, where money is an important factor, is the idea that the operating cost of the super laser was too high to make it worthwhile. 3) Preparing the weapon to fire may have taken some time, possibly more than the half hour it would have taken just to orbit the planet. 4) Yavin, due to its size, would have probably destroyed the Death Star in its explosion. (This is mutually exclusive with #1, since it assumes the planet could be destroyed.) 5) The Marvel comic reveals that the Empire has certain interests in the planet itself, which would be upset by its destruction. Most likely, the real reason was simply dramatic license. Q 031: Okay, then so why didn't the Death Star just come out of hyperspace on the other side of the planet, where the moon was? Answer: This is almost certainly dramatic license, but there are some other possibilities (surprise!): 1) The homing beacon wasn't that accurate and couldn't pinpoint the Rebel Base's location with enough precision. 2) It would have taken too much time, because they would have had to take an indirect route. This borrows from the RPG's idea of hyperspace shadows of realspace objects. 3) They thought they could sneak up on the moon this way. Solution #1 above leaves the question about why they didn't reenter hyperspace when they realized their mistake, but that can be answered by #2 or by ideas from the previous question (too great a cost, too long to reactivate hyperdrive, etc.) Q 032: After the attack on the first Death Star, four ships fly away: two X-wings (Luke and Wedge), The Millennium Falcon, and a Y-wing. Who was in the Y-wing? Answer: It could have been anyone who we didn't see die in the battle. If you watch carefully you'll notice that most of the action presented on-screen is carried out by X-wing pilots. An Imperial officer states at one point that thirty ships are attacking the Death Star. Thus, a squadron of Y-wings may have been drawing the Imperials' fire or attention away from where their goal really was. Q 033: In ESB, after their escape from the Star Destroyer Fleet the Falcon's hyperdrive is still not working. How do they make it to Bespin and how long does it take? Answer: There are two possible answers: 1) According to the Star Wars role-playing game most ships have a back-up hyperdrive which can be used in emergencies. It is slower than normal hyperdrives, has a shorter range, is more easily tracked and is only good for a few uses. It takes a while to switch to back-up which is why Han couldn't use it escape the Star Destroyers. 2) The time interval between the Falcon's escape from the Imperial fleet and its arrival at Bespin is a lot longer than it originally appears to be. (1 & 2 are not necessarily mutually exclusive) This also allows sufficient time for Luke's training on Dagobah to occur. According to someone who's name I accidentally deleted: I figure it takes at least one year for Luke's training and for the Falcon to get to Bespin. In Star Wars, Han says that the Millennium Falcon can "make it to point five past lightspeed". I take this to mean that the Falcon has a top speed of 1.5c without using hyperdrive. Interstellar distances are usually between 2 and 5 lightyears (Alpha Centauri is 4.3 lyrs away from the sun). That could mean it would take anywhere from one to three years assuming a galactic star density similar to ours. It's also possible that travel at near-light speeds in realspace produces relativistic effects, slowing down time for those on board the Falcon. So, for example, to those aboard the Falcon, the trip may seem to have lasted for a couple of weeks, while Luke spent a year on Dagobah training with Yoda. Q 034: At the very opening if Star Wars, C-3PO utters "There'll be no escape for the Princess this time." Later, when Luke asks who is in the hologram R2-D2 plays, 3PO says "I'm not quite sure." Why didn't he know who she was? Answer: The obvious answer is that he knew the Princess was aboard the ship but had no idea what she looked like. Another explanation is offered by the Star Wars radio series (episode 3), where C-3PO and R2-D2 are instructed to "restrict and protect all references to Leia Organa's identity and presence aboard this vessel." Q 035: Earlier in that same scene, C-3PO claims he's not a good storyteller. In ROTJ, on Endor, however, he certainly seems like quite a good storyteller, when he tells his story to the Ewoks. Why the discrepancy? Answer: The most logical answer is that this isn't really a discrepancy at all. If you listen carefully to the story he tells the Ewoks, you can pick out enough English words and sound effects to follow it, and you'll discover that he sums up everything that happened between the beginning of Star Wars until the end of ESB in less than thirty seconds. By most standards this would hardly be considered good storytelling. Some people still believe that this is a blooper. Still others offer alternative explanations: 1) 3PO downplayed his storytelling ability to Luke because he didn't want to tell a bunch of stories. 2) 3PO was not aware of his storytelling ability until he was actually required to use it. 3) His storytelling ability improved between when he first spoke with Luke and when he addressed the Ewoks. Q 036: Still regarding the same scene in the garage, C-3PO tells Luke that his and R2's last master was Captain Antilles. Who is this person, and is he related to Wedge Antilles? Answer: Not only is there not a satisfactory answer to this question, there isn't even any agreement between sources as to what was said. In the novelization, C-3PO tells Luke that their last master was Captain Colton. To further complicate things, the name Antilles pops up again, in a (questionable) source: The Jedi Master's Quizbook. Here, Leia's adopted father is called Bail Antilles, while in the novelization (and most other sources) he is Bail Organa. He isn't named in the movie. It should be noted that Leia is referred to as Leia Antilles in earlier drafts of the original screenplay. Perhaps Lucas had some plans for the Antilles connection that he later scrapped. (Thanks to Devin R. Clancy (DC4109A@auvm.american.edu) for this info.) In the radio series, Captain Antilles appears in the second and third episodes as a close friend and Rebel consort of Leia's. He is the one fatally questioned by Vader when Leia's ship is attacked. This is probably unrelated to the idea of Leia being an Antilles, since the radio show was written some time after the movie came out. Q 037: What was the cause of Vader's death at the end of Jedi? He wasn't critically wounded in the lightsaber duel. Answer: Possibilities: 1) It was the Emperor's lightning that did him in; it may have interfered with his mechanical life support systems. It didn't kill Luke immediately, but as Vader picked the Emperor up, he may have turned up the juice. Also, just before Vader makes his move, the Emperor says, "Now, young Skywalker, you will die." This is after he has already been zapping Luke for a few minutes, implying he didn't have his electricity at death-intensity until that moment. 2) The turn from the Dark Side of the Force back to the good side was too much for him. He is the only being known to have accomplished this. Q 038: When Obi-Wan and Yoda died, they both disappeared, but when Darth Vader died he didn't. Why not? Answer: A semi-authoritative answer to this is provided in issue #26 of Bantha Tracks, during an interview with Richard Marquand, who directed ROTJ, and Howard Kazanjian, ROTJ's producer: Q. Why is it Vader didn't disappear and Ben and Yoda did? Richard Marquand: Sure wish George was here. Howard Kazanjian: Dramatic license, a great deal of Vader was machine. Machines wouldn't disappear. If you don't like that answer (and it begs the question "why didn't the non-machine part of Vader disappear?"), you may prefer one of these: 1) Vader didn't actually die at the moment when he closes his eyes on the shuttle ramp. He may have been brain-dead at that point, and the machinery that comprised most of his body kept him alive longer after that than a normal person would be. 2) Not all Jedi disappear when they die. Ben and Yoda may have been particularly powerful Jedi and were able to transcend death in that manner, but Vader was not powerful enough to do so. There are other possible reasons why he might not have been able to disappear; perhaps he was still too tainted by the Dark Side, and only pure-hearted Jedi are able to pull off that trick. Perhaps he simply didn't know the necessary mental preparations. It has been suggested by several people that perhaps it was Luke's burning his body that freed his spirit and allowed him to appear with Ben and Yoda at the end, since he didn't disappear. Q 039: Who is Uncle Owen related to? Answer: A common, but flawed, line of reasoning is that, since Owen is Luke's uncle, he must also be Anakin's brother. This is invalid for two reasons: 1) if Beru were Anakin's sister, Owen could still be Luke's uncle, by marriage instead of by blood, or 2) it's possible that neither one of them is related to Luke or Anakin in any way; he simply calls them "aunt" and "uncle." (This is not uncommon in our own galaxy.) Luke may actually believe them to be blood relations even if they aren't. The novelization and the script for Return of the Jedi both reveal the Owen is Ben Kenobi's brother. This is met with skepticism by some readers of this group, but is no less likely than any other theory floating around. Q 040: So, if they're brothers, why do they have different last names? Answer: The novelization and various other sources tell us that Owen's last name is Lars. Perhaps Owen changed his last name so he wouldn't be associated with Ben. Perhaps, according to the customs of their galaxy, Owen took Beru's last name when he married her. (Regarding these customs: while there is no information from the movies about it, when Leia and Han get married in Zahn's trilogy, she changes her last name to Organa-Solo.) Perhaps they're not brothers at all; Lucas changed his mind about it, and removed that part of the scene from Jedi for that very reason. Q 041: If Owen IS related to Ben, or even Anakin, shouldn't be be Force- sensitive? Answer: Perhaps. Perhaps he chose to ignore that part of his life, associating it with "damned-fool idealistic crusades." Perhaps being related to a Jedi or other Force-sensitive does not guarantee that one will be Force-sensitive (recessive genes and the like). Perhaps he realized that with the Empire in power, it was wise to hide any Force abilities he might have. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- End of File -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=