Outline/Guide to the Star Wars films

[Goblin King]

Okay apologies for glossing over loads of important vehicles, characters, and gross mispellings of character names.

I did this for a friend who like the Star Wars Lego video game and wants to be able to hold a conversation with her niece. She knows some of the basics like Darth Vader/Anakin is Luke's father and so on.

So I've tried my best to put her off with the following guide.

Anyway ... onwards

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If you are ever challenged on line to a Star Wars quiz you can always swot up by looking everything up on Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STAR_WARS

I am the author of the official Star Wars Quiz Quest packs – but we will never mention this fact ever again.

There’s a few plot spoilers here but this is my take on the overall “big picture” of the disjointed Star Wars 6 episode “saga”. Again I recommend watching the films in the order in which they came out at the cinema: the original trilogy, then the prequels.

Guide and Introduction to the Star Wars films
(mild spoilers)


Original Trilogy (episodes 4 to 6 )

Themes/background:

• Empire controls the galaxy.
  
• Jedi Knights are extinct.
  
• The last hope for the galaxy is with a small band of rebels.
  

Main ”essential narrative” protagonists:

Luke Skywalker, a farm boy, who trains to become a Jedi. (Apprenticed by Obi-wan Kenobi and Yoda)
C3-PO, R2-D2 – a pair of robots “droids” – who are in all of the films, including the prequels.

Notes:
Throughout these films are small revelations which set the scene for the prequels.



Prequel Trilogy (Episodes 1 to 3)

Ha ha I wouldn’t bother reading any of this until you’ve watched the original trilogy – it doesn’t make much sense and I’ve missed loads of stuff out.

Themes/Backstory:

• Transformation of Anakin Skywalker into Darth Vader.
  
• Age of the Old Republic
  – This is the time in which the Jedi Knights still have power (a sort of police force and UN rolled into one.)
  
• “The Clone Wars” (referred to in Star Wars IV)
  - The Republic defends itself from a Separatist league of worlds, vanguarded by the robotic Trade Federation.
  
• Rise of the Empire – Senator Palpatine (alias Darth Sidious) becomes the Emperor. The Clone Troopers become Imperial Stormtroopers.
  
• Doomed romance: Anakin and Padme who are the parents of Luke and Leia.
  

Main protagonists:

Obi-wan Kenobi and young Anakin Skywalker
Padme (Queen Amadala)
R2-D2 and C3-PO are present throughout.

"Good and Evil" is vaguer in the prequels.





Family themes and continuities through all of the films

• Boba Fett who is in the original trilogy appears as a boy with his father, Jango Fett, in Attack of the Clones.
  
• Chewbacca is 200 years old in Star Wars New Hope. He appears in Revenge of the Sith in the Battle of Kashyyk.
  
• Yoda is 800 (900?) years old by the time of Return of the Jedi.
  
• Droids R2-D2 and C3-PO don’t age because they are robots – George Lucas considers these characters to be the lynch-pin which holds the six films together. Ideally it is an epic saga and war viewed through the eyes of these low status characters.
  
• The desert planet of Tattooine (Luke Skywalker’s home) appears in 5 of the 6 films with the exception of Empire Strikes Back. Pop quiz fact: Tattoine has two suns – inhabited by midget Jawas and Sandpeople.
  

There’s lots of other stuff like this, hopefully you get the gist – the prequels refer to the original trilogy.


Hope I haven’t put you off. Ha ha ha.
Oh just kill me. …

[dratsucalex]

thats really confusing...or am i just stupid?

[Tinkerbell]

You need to be a special type of person to understand it...some people call them 'nerds'

*hides from GK*

[dratsucalex]

ha.
i think the first one that they made in '99 is really poo. need more action and killing of baddies

[Goblin King]

It had Darth Maul I guess, but that's really just one really evil baddie who gets the chop.
But this is my point (well, many people's points) - the whole good vs. evil thing is very mixed up in the latest films - but not even in a clever way.

Nerd eh?
Well, at least someone eventually commented. I was worried for a moment.
It's funny, because the confusion creates itself. I thought I was writing something which was intended help someone understand the films and in fact created a monster of incomplete notes and generalisations. D'oh.

[dratsucalex]

they should make a new verision, make people even more confused ;D

[Goblin King]

Don't worry - we're working on it ...

[dratsucalex]

woo!

[Goblin King]

I've just had a look at this page on Wikipedia again. It lists all of the changes which have been made to all of the different releases of the original Star Wars films*

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_changes_in_Star_Wars_re-releases

*Star Wars, Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi

[dratsucalex]

A 3-D re-release of the saga is planned for 2007

woo

[Goblin King]

Curious - I thought the 3-D stuff was going to be realted to the propsed TV series. You imagined that this would all happen - just not so fast.

[dratsucalex]

would of thought they would make more when episode 3 came out, there was star wars stuff everywhere, more people into it

[Goblin King]

Hey Alex did you know I made money out of the Star Wars franchise?- around the time they re-released the classic movies (just before Episode One came out)
Star Wars quizquest packs ... freespace.virgin.net/william.meddis/books/index.htm

Before each new release Lucasfilm sell the rights to book, toy and novelty companies. Those companies "buy the right" to purchase photos, clip-art and art from the movies. It used to be really expensive but I think in recent years Lucasfilm has been less restrictive and reduced the cost of those rights - because it's all a form of marketting and advertising for the films. It's interesting stuff, everything has to be approved by Lucasfilm lawyer-types before it's published/goes to the shops to make sure that the Star Wars image is not being abused or misrepresented.

[dratsucalex]

so you made that quiz thing???

[Goblin King]

I wrote the questions and chose some of the photos. For a mere pittance I might add...

[dratsucalex]

wow....goblin genius

[Goblin King]

Ha ha no, more like the wrong nerd in the wrong place at the right time* and I had some help. DAT500 dragged me through most of it as I kicked and struggled, videos on pause ("What goddamn colour is Greedo?!")...
(*The editors were all the worst kind of girls - all My Little Pony-but ew-not-sci-fi etc.)
It was very restrictive and they changed quite a few of the questions. I wasn't allowed to ask questions about actors / directing - everything had to be in the film itself.
Try writing 150 simple questions on any subject - especially a subject you love. The first 30 are very easy - after that it's a real struggle. My name isn't on the packs either, but it's interesting to think the a few copies end up on a Lucasfilm/Lucasarts copyright-approved merchandise vault - possibly under Skywalker Ranch, where the mighty George Lucas resides, counting his money.

Cheap writing work.

[dratsucalex]

how much did you get?
not fair not having your name on the packs..

[Goblin King]

It would be ungentlemanly for me discuss for how little money I sell my soul Actually I can barely remember.

Writing contracts are strange - nearly everything I've done is much more like a project where you have to do lots of research, which I enjoy, but then to be paid so-much-per-word always feels like a let down, but I guess that's what freelance journalists have to put up with all the time. Without regular contracts it certainly doesn't cover the hours.

[DAT500]

What is Ben talking about?

[Goblin King]

Yes, but ... what is Ben talking about? ;D

[dratsucalex]

ben?
have i missed something?

[Goblin King]

An in-joke.
Ben Kenobi - Obi-wan - There was a quote about the Force and the Quiz Quest question was "What is Ben talking about?" but we always said it like "What is he going on about?" As if Obiwan or Lucas was insane or something. They were strange times, you had to be there to get the joke I guess.

[dratsucalex]

mm...

[Goblin King]

*Sends force powers to crush Alex's trachea!*

[dratsucalex]

my what?? is that that thing in the throat that helps me breathe n shit?

[lollipop]

Yes. Hopefully it doesn't help you to breathe shit though. That's really quite difficult. (Ahem, no, I haven't tried.)

[dratsucalex]

lol. The Evil Destructive Lollipop is not Evil and Destructive as i thought.

[Goblin King]

Don't tempt her.

Explanation: Vader uses the force to strangle people.

[dratsucalex]

oh yea...w*nker...


[Random swear edit by GK ]