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Musings of my Inner Star Wars Fanboy
May. 31st, 2005 01:12 amOver the long weekend I listened to all the Timothy Zahn Star Wars novels which I have on audio book tapes: the Heir to the Empire triology and the Hand of Thrawn series. They are probably some of the best SW novels out there and capture the essence of the SW epic better than most.
In fact, like many franchise settings, the writers of the novels tend to 'get' the material even more than their original creator. I wonder what Ep 1-3 might have been like had Lucas realized the limits of his abilities as a writer and director and instead had turned over those roles to someone else, someone who's real talent lay in those areas. Perhaps they could have been brilliant works that stand the test of time like those first movies, but sadly no.
In the Star Wars universe, the women tend to be strong-willed, complicated, empowered. Leia set the stage for some of that in the original stories as a leader of the Rebellion, and many of the follow characters come from the same mold. Mara Jade, one of the cooler characters Zahn created, is such a woman. I like to think my own contribution to the Extended Universe via my Living Force character is also such a woman.
So why does Lucas have Padme become such a simpering wimp in Ep 3? That is probably the main thing about Revenge of the Sith I find most disappointing. Here was the woman who should have set the mold for Leia, and they have her hanging around her apartment on Couriscant crying, combing her hair, and sitting around helpless. Just dumb. Does Lucas think pregant women become stupid, or has it just been too many years since he actually lived with one?
It's probably just as well that Lucas is done with making Star Wars films. The universe he created has grown beyond him, and in ways that he either doesn't see or doesn't appreciate. I appreciate Uncle George's original vision, but perhaps it is past time he let control of it pass to someone who actually 'gets' it. Sadly, it is more likely to end up in the hands of people who just want to exploit it for how much money they can squeeze from the super-fans.
In fact, like many franchise settings, the writers of the novels tend to 'get' the material even more than their original creator. I wonder what Ep 1-3 might have been like had Lucas realized the limits of his abilities as a writer and director and instead had turned over those roles to someone else, someone who's real talent lay in those areas. Perhaps they could have been brilliant works that stand the test of time like those first movies, but sadly no.
In the Star Wars universe, the women tend to be strong-willed, complicated, empowered. Leia set the stage for some of that in the original stories as a leader of the Rebellion, and many of the follow characters come from the same mold. Mara Jade, one of the cooler characters Zahn created, is such a woman. I like to think my own contribution to the Extended Universe via my Living Force character is also such a woman.
So why does Lucas have Padme become such a simpering wimp in Ep 3? That is probably the main thing about Revenge of the Sith I find most disappointing. Here was the woman who should have set the mold for Leia, and they have her hanging around her apartment on Couriscant crying, combing her hair, and sitting around helpless. Just dumb. Does Lucas think pregant women become stupid, or has it just been too many years since he actually lived with one?
It's probably just as well that Lucas is done with making Star Wars films. The universe he created has grown beyond him, and in ways that he either doesn't see or doesn't appreciate. I appreciate Uncle George's original vision, but perhaps it is past time he let control of it pass to someone who actually 'gets' it. Sadly, it is more likely to end up in the hands of people who just want to exploit it for how much money they can squeeze from the super-fans.
