Question: "What minor character most captured your imagination and made you want to see their story spun off?"
Andrew's Answer: I would have picked Boba Fett, except Lucas ruined him. Lando Calrissian would have been cool too. But I’m going a different direction. I want to see Captain Needa. I’d love to see things from the Empire’s perspective, and Needa is trapped in that rough spot between an impossible job and a difficult boss.
Scott's Answer: If Lucas hadn't used the characters in the prequels, I would've said Boba Fett. So instead I will say Admiral "It's a Trap!" Ackbar. Now that I think of it, it's too bad the prequels didn't include a young Ensign Ackbar on one of the hero ships! He just shows up in Return of the Jedi - no fanfare, no mention of him in the previous two films... he's just there, commanding a fleet of ships against a technologically-advanced and determined enemy. Who wouldn't want to see HBO's Band of Squid Aliens with Ackbar and the rest of his company? [smile]
57 comments:
Darth Maul. He didn't get much time in Phantom Menace and really could have made an excellent ongoing villain. Even with as little time he got, he was the best thing offered in the prequels.
I'd like to see a young Luke head out on the road with the cantina band from the original film in a galactic Almost Famous as we watch their hard won success and inevitable fall.
shawn -
Good answer! I might've mentioned him as well but it never occurred to me. I'm sure Maul (along with most of these characters) has been featured in novels, and/or the Clone Wars series, though I've never seen it.
Floyd -
Ha!! Does that make Obi-Wan Lester Bangs? :-)
What
No Jar Jar Binks
*ducks*
I agree with Scott
The Mon Calamari would be interested
Indi -
No Jar-Jar. And I can't possibly imagine why. :-)
My favorite: Hoth assault commander General Maximilian Veers from Empire, played by Julian Glover, who was the chief bad guys Kristatos in For our Eyes Only and Donovan in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
Why him? Of all the high-ranking Imperial generals, admirals, captains, moffs and Sith Lords, Gen. Veers was the only one who was competent, effective and deadly at his craft. And he was the only one not killed in the movies. (The others were killed by either the rebels or Vader.) In the expanded SW universe Veers is portrayed as a fanatic adherent to the Emperor's new order, but in my mind, I liken him to Germany's Erich van Manstein, a brilliant tactician and strategist who was not a Nazi and was the only high-raking officer who could tell Hitler he was absolutely wrong and still have a job.
And -- raising shields here -- I actually like the back story of Boba Fett, because it involves one of my two favorite characters from the prequels, Jango Fett (the other being the underused Darth Maul). Getting to see Jango in action with all of the cool toys and ship was a treat and the best part of Attack of the Clones. In a major story arc in the animated show, Boba Fett takes up his father's armor and attempts to kill Mace Windu. Jango Fett's story as told in the SW comics is darn good, as we learn why he hated Jedi, why Count Dooku left the order, and how Dooku recruited Jango to be the clone template.
(When I started collecting display-only figures last year from SW, Star Trek, Batman, 24, etc. two of the three SW characters I most wanted (and got) were General Veers and Jango Fett.)
Behind The Music: The Max Rebo Band
Having found out recently that, no I am not the only one who saw sparks between her and Qui Gon in TPM, I think Shmi Skywalker is a fascinating, over-looked character. From her life as slave prior to TPM, her virgin birth story (a great missed flashback opportunity), there is so much unexplored territory.
And then, as also pointed out, Anakin doesn't even bother to free her (Thanks Son), and she just shows up to die in AOTC (I wonder if Ms.August's agent got her a percentage deal, if so that would be the best money for amount of work since Brando's 8 minutes in Superman)
I've always felt the mutual attraction between her and Qui Gon as very understandable, as the celibate Jedi must often still fight tempation, and as she said, "there has been no other man in her life"
There is some fan fic on the pairing, and all of it very PG. Guess Star Wars fans aren't as sex-obsessed as Trek fans.
A few more:
Doctor Evazan - just how did he get the death sentence on 12 systems?
Jek Porkins - the untold struggle of a fat man squeezing into an X-wing cockpit.
Biggs Darklighter - growing up with Luke Skywalker on Tatooine, he probably has some tales to tell. Of course, they all involve womp rats. But the real story is about that impressive 'stache!
I'd like to know more about the guy who, in Return of the Jedi, holds his gun at Han and Co. at the shield generator station, and growls "you rebel scum".
He's my hero.
BIG MO -
Interesting history lesson! And as much as I make fun of Lucas for giving every last extra in these films their own backstory and action figure, some of the supporting characters (like Veers) actually deserve it. Too bad he didn't return for Jedi but better to not see him than have him killed off by Ewoks.
tryanmax -
I like the Max Rebo idea!
As for Porkins, I always refer to that actor (William Hootkins) as Porkins, even in other movies he's in. Tim Burton's Batman? He's not Lt. Eckhardt - he's still Porkins. :-)
Pike -
Yeah, we Trekkies can be pretty sex-obsessed, though that only applies to my own life and not my interest in the show (I refuse to read that kind of fan fiction - it feels blasphemous to me).
:-)
Wait, where was I? Oh... I completely agree with you. I haven't seen Phantom Menace in its entirety in years but chalk it up to another missed opportunity on Lucas' part. I'd actually forgot about the virgin birth aspect of the story.
annoyed -
I'm sure that guy has his own action figure by now. And his image on a t-shirt with "You Rebel Scum" emblazoned across the chest. :-)
Maybe we can get a movement going. Boba Fett is a beloved character; why can't this guy be, too?
The cantina band. Definitely the cantina band.
Oh, and f**k Admiral Ackbar. Stupid talking squid.
Nothing to say here... (I'll) move along now.
I can't even remember much of the originals and I've never seen the prequels so I think I will enjoy take-off Tuesdays for a while. I'll check in to read and be impressed with youse guys.
darski -
No worries. We'll most likely do Star Wars for a few months, then move on to another topic. :-)
T-Rav -
He might be a stupid talking squid but he was victorious in battle!
And yeah, the cantina band needs their own Hard Day's Night kind of movie. :-)
Sorry I'm late folks. I've been struggling with the article at the main site today.
Shawn, I felt really ripped off by Darth Maul. He would have been a really top notch bad guy in the first film, but you barely saw him and you learned nothing about him. Talk about a huge flaw in the writing!
Floyd, LOL! How about a Star Wars road trip film?
General Greivous has alway been my favorite. He's featured prominently in the Clone Wars animated series, but his back story must be spectacular! How little of a living being do you need to have left and still survive? He makes Vader's survival suit look wimpy.
djskit
Indi, If we ever meet, I will beat you savagely for that! LOL! Just kidding. Arg... Jar Jar Binks.
Indi, It is hard to look at Ackbar without think of calamari isn't it?
Mo, Veers is a good choice too. I'll bet he's got some great stories.
Let me rephrase "ruined him." That's the wrong choice of words. I should have said, "squandered." To me, Lucas picked a really great character and then kind of did nothing with him even though he made a whole movie about him (or his father who serves as a proxy). If you're going to do a Boba/Jango Fett story, then I'd like to see it have a lot more complexity and depth than the story Lucas gave him.
Ditto on Maul. I felt Lucas totally wasted the character. He could have replaced him with random stormtroopers without missing a beat. He really should have worked to build some mystery and depth around the character.
As an aside, I think it shows horrible writing that you need to read the comic books to learn such a key point about the film as why Dooku left the order. Lucas really sucks as a writer.
tryanmax, LOL! "We were famous before we knew what had happened... then we started snorting Batha white... it all fell apart."
The Ewoks!!! How did they manage to build a society with T-Rex arms??? and why did they wear clothes on their heads but generally nowhere else? lol :D
Or the Hoth Ice Monster - poor misunderstood fella!
Since the "prequels" do not exist, then some backstory on Luke and Leia would be nice...
OK - seriously - where does Han Solo come from? How about Wookies' home planet? How did Han and Chewy meet? Why can Han understand that whining grunting?
PikeBishop, There's a lot of sexual fan fiction out there in the Star Trek universe!
I really liked Neeson's character and I wanted to see more of him. A romance may or may not have helped, but it would have been interesting if he was Anakin's father...
No Scott, Lando Calrissian was victorious in battle by blowing up the Death Star. And so were Han Solo and friends on Endor, and Luke in the Death Star. Ackbar didn't do anything but tell his crew to concentrate firepower on a ship or something, and then fall back into his chair like he'd been exhausted after a great ordeal or something. Which he hadn't.
I am just not giving any credence to a character who looks like he should be a menu item at Red Lobster. Not doin' it.
I could agree with you guys about Darth Maul, even though I was never really interested in him as a character. One interesting suggestion I read for how the prequels could've been better is if trying to hunt down Maul and avenge Qui-Gon's death becomes an obsession for Obi-Wan over the second and into the third movie, and so he doesn't recognize that Anakin's turning to the dark side. Hey, it beats that pointless fight with Grievous, doesn't it?
And for those aware of the "Clone Wars" series on Cartoon Network, Maul does come back...sort of. I'm sorry, but I really don't see how you can cut a guy in two and let him fall down a very deep shaft, and then bring him back because, "he got artificial legs so he's okay now." And they say the series is better written than the movies....
tryanmax, I think you win the thread!
How indeed did he get those death sentences?! And how in the world did the only fat guy in the universe become an X-Wing pilot?
annoyedelephants, Do I detect some sarcasm? LOL!
T-Rav -
Then we'll just have to agree to disagree. But without Admiral Ackbar, it would've taken someone else an extra two seconds to shout, "It's a trap!"
:-D
Andrew we are on the same page, before I read your comment I thought, "Captain Needa". They made him look like a nice guy, and professional to boot.
But Vader ruthlessly killing him, just doesn't fit the rebooted Vader. NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!Padme, NOOOOOOOOOO!!!! WAAAAHH! Padme, I'm such a moody wuss.
Andrew: Yes my comment was on the Star Trek fan fic, that gets really hot and heavy from Kirk Spock to Scott-Uhura, and mixing alien races in to the soup as well.
The love story could have worked as "doomed, we'll never pass this way again" type thing between two lonely souls, and that seems to be reflected in the fan fic, which goes no further than a passionate kiss between them before Anakin leaves his Mother forever.
Qui Gon as father? Wow, that's a good one.
Scott, It's funny you should say that because he's always been Porkins to me too -- just like Brion James was always Leon.
T-Rav, You have something against talking squids?
I'm on the Ackbar bandwagon. Dude knows a trap when he sees one. There's a story behind that.
djskit, I agree. Greivous must be a fascinating story. I love how you can see his lungs beneath the robot body -- why cling to those?
rlaWTX, LOL! "Since the "prequels" do not exist, then some backstory on Luke and Leia would be nice..." You get major points for that!
Excellent question about the Ewoks and their clothing? Maybe they keep their genitals on their heads?
T-Rav, Excellent point, Akbar led the rebels into a trap. Lando and Han saved their butts.
T-Rav, I've only seen a couple of the cartoons. They're generally ok.
Scott and tryanmax, That's become quite the internet meme let me tell you!
Max, I agree. The original Vader would kill him without a problem. The new Vader wouldn't. He's just not the same person.
And I totally agree Needa. He seems to be quite a real character and I think it would be fascinating to see his career brought to film.
Pike, I hadn't thought of Qui Gon as father until this thread, but now it makes a ton of sense. He's trying to save Padme, they land on Tatooine. He meets a slave woman. He becomes obsessed with her and tries to free her, but fails because he needs to save Padme. But he sleeps with her before he leaves. Bam... little Vader. He's got Jedi blood and no father. He's born into slavery and is angry at the universe.
Obiwan comes along to free him later, but doesn't free the mother because he doesn't care. Anakin grows up as Obiwan's friend seemingly ok. He goes back to free his mother, but she's been killed. He blames Obiwan. The emperor uses that to turn him.
I've speculated that Palpatine was Anakin's father, given his Episode 3 talk with Anakin at the opera. Talking about "Darth Plagueus" (presumably Palpatine's own Sith master), he said the Sith lord was able to manipulate the midichlorians "to create life." ("Midichlorians"? good grief, Lucas.)
It would explain why Palpatine had such an intense interest (and role)in Anakin's life as a Jedi.
Djskit -- according to the comics, Grievous was a fierce warlord in a war between local systems. Dooku arranged to have his craft shot down so that the Techno Union could recreate him as a cyborg -- controlled by Dooku. The count trained him in the Jedi arts to lead his armies.
Max, Andrew - Yep, pre-prequel Vader was quite the bad ass. The first original SW novel, Splinter of the Eye's Mind, which came out in 1978 (?), featured Vader executing the hapless local Imperial commander named Grammel. Vader does the deed deep in the jungle while they're riding on a speeder. Tired of the officer's excuses and incompetence, Vader says, "Your existence befouls me." And he cuts the man clean in two vertically.
Funny, isn't it, how the comic back stories & other expanded universe stuff is generally better than what Lucas actually writes?
Big Mo, It makes sense that Palpatine or Plagueus would be the father, though why they chose her I have no idea. Still... as with all things Lucas... it's never explained. I have to wonder how much better the prequels would have been if Lucas at least tried to fill all these gaps with some story. Well, actually, no I don't. You'd just have to people standing around telling you what you needed to know. The man just can't write.
I think we need a documentary entitled Midichlorians and You.
LOL! That's like one of those "how to avoid VD" films they used to show in health class.
Yep! That's what I had in mind. Complete with the animated diagrams and warbly soundtrack.
Exactly and an announcer with only one tone.
Either that, or use Vader to narrate a la "The Vader Sessions." Some clever joker took James Earl Jones audio clips from his other 1970s movies to give Vader some jazzed up funky lines in A New Hope. If you've never heard of/seen this, look it up on YouTube. You won't be sorry.
Big Mo, I'll have to look that up, it sounds pretty creative!
First and foremost I'd say Wedge Antilles, he is the only minor character to be in all three original movies and he is the only person to survive both Death Star attacks. Also he is the star of the X Wing series of books which I hope they make into a movie (or series) with the new deal as they are exciting. Also for some trivia the actor that play Wedge (Denis Lawson) is Ewan McGregors uncle.
I also found Grand Moff Tarkin very interesting, he doesn't get much screen time but he, not Vader runs the Death Star and he gives Vader orders and they are followed. I want to know more about the guy who tells Vader what to do and doesn't get force choked for the affront.
Scott.
Scott, Me too. Tarkin was an interesting character. It was interesting to me too that Vader actually seemed to answer to him too.
Post a Comment