A few more Star Wars thoughts came to mind during the past several days:
I was channel surfing last weekend and happened upon my favorite of the "Prequel Trilogy" movies, Attack of the Clones, which was on FX. I love this film ... so much that it hurts to watch it because Hayden Christensen just kills me every time. I watched the on-air segment (another fave scene between Anakin and Padme on the refugee ship to Naboo) until the commerical and then ... made myself switch the channel. Why? Because I own the DVD, of course. Why should I watch the movie on TV?
Do you do this, too? I have a very strict rule when channel-surfing: If I come across a movie or TV show that I own on DVD, then I have to change the station. If Spider-Man 2 is on TV, I switch the channel. Mrs. Doubtfire? Change it. Lord of the Rings? Star Trek? James Bond? The Matrix? Harry Potter? All strictly forbidden on TV. Quite simply, it would be a waste of my TV time ... which explains why I haven't purchased any Seinfeld DVDs (yet?).
Here's something I've never seen addressed in print or interviews: Have you noticed the correct spelling of "Padme"? There's an accent mark over the "e," which means the name should be pronounced "pad-MAY." But it isn't, is it? No ... everyone always says "PAD-may." So what's with the accent? Hello, LucasFilm? I've been a professional editor for 14 years. I can help you with these things.
This past Tuesday, I began reading the Star Wars: The Clone Wars novelization by Karen Traviss, and it reminded me of a couple things that bother me about the animated TV series on Cartoon Network:
First, why do Anakin and Obi-Wan wear armor instead of Jedi robes? Did they wear armor during the Battle of Geonosis in Attack of the Clones? No. During the first animated TV series? No (well, Obi-Wan did once, but that's it). In Revenge of the Sith? No. So what's with the Jedi armor?
Well, as with most things in this world, it's part of a revenue scheme whereby Hasbro creates "robeless" versions of the characters as action figures so that parents don't feel like they're buying the same toys for their kids over and over again. "No, Mom, this Anakin has a different suit than in the movies with the people!" So, yeah, this makes perfect business sense, but it still rankles me for its "inconsistency."
Speaking of feeling rankled, what's with Anakin being addressed by the rank of "general" when he's only a Jedi Knight? You see, Star Wars has this long-standing reputation of being "careless" when it comes to handing out military ranks to its characters. Ideally, only Jedi Masters would be generals and Jedi Knights would be ... commanders, similar to how inductees into the Order of the British Empire are given the title "knight/dame commander." So, in my own little "Star Wars world," where all ranks are distinctive, it would be "Master/General Kenobi," "Knight/Commander Skywalker" and "Padawan Ahsoka Tano." Someone tell George Lucas, please. I'll send him my card.
I was channel surfing last weekend and happened upon my favorite of the "Prequel Trilogy" movies, Attack of the Clones, which was on FX. I love this film ... so much that it hurts to watch it because Hayden Christensen just kills me every time. I watched the on-air segment (another fave scene between Anakin and Padme on the refugee ship to Naboo) until the commerical and then ... made myself switch the channel. Why? Because I own the DVD, of course. Why should I watch the movie on TV?
Do you do this, too? I have a very strict rule when channel-surfing: If I come across a movie or TV show that I own on DVD, then I have to change the station. If Spider-Man 2 is on TV, I switch the channel. Mrs. Doubtfire? Change it. Lord of the Rings? Star Trek? James Bond? The Matrix? Harry Potter? All strictly forbidden on TV. Quite simply, it would be a waste of my TV time ... which explains why I haven't purchased any Seinfeld DVDs (yet?).
Here's something I've never seen addressed in print or interviews: Have you noticed the correct spelling of "Padme"? There's an accent mark over the "e," which means the name should be pronounced "pad-MAY." But it isn't, is it? No ... everyone always says "PAD-may." So what's with the accent? Hello, LucasFilm? I've been a professional editor for 14 years. I can help you with these things.
This past Tuesday, I began reading the Star Wars: The Clone Wars novelization by Karen Traviss, and it reminded me of a couple things that bother me about the animated TV series on Cartoon Network:
First, why do Anakin and Obi-Wan wear armor instead of Jedi robes? Did they wear armor during the Battle of Geonosis in Attack of the Clones? No. During the first animated TV series? No (well, Obi-Wan did once, but that's it). In Revenge of the Sith? No. So what's with the Jedi armor?
Well, as with most things in this world, it's part of a revenue scheme whereby Hasbro creates "robeless" versions of the characters as action figures so that parents don't feel like they're buying the same toys for their kids over and over again. "No, Mom, this Anakin has a different suit than in the movies with the people!" So, yeah, this makes perfect business sense, but it still rankles me for its "inconsistency."
Speaking of feeling rankled, what's with Anakin being addressed by the rank of "general" when he's only a Jedi Knight? You see, Star Wars has this long-standing reputation of being "careless" when it comes to handing out military ranks to its characters. Ideally, only Jedi Masters would be generals and Jedi Knights would be ... commanders, similar to how inductees into the Order of the British Empire are given the title "knight/dame commander." So, in my own little "Star Wars world," where all ranks are distinctive, it would be "Master/General Kenobi," "Knight/Commander Skywalker" and "Padawan Ahsoka Tano." Someone tell George Lucas, please. I'll send him my card.
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