Topic: Is it fair to say Star Wars is completely dead yet?

[sirean_syan]

Because I'm pretty sure it's totally dead now. Robot Chicken and Family Guy specials were one thing as they are essentially parody shows, but this, man.

[Quemaqua]

I can't even watch it. The preview is enough.

I never loved Star Wars as much as most, but it's been shit on so much over the last few years I really just can't stomach any part of the franchise anymore.

[Cools!]

I liked it ... more than the new movies.

[Cobra951]

I kinda liked that.  But SW is pretty much dead, really.

[Pugnate]

Yup, it is pretty dead sadly.

[Xessive]

"What happened to the Star Wars that I used to know?"

[angrykeebler]

isnt that from the Robot Chicken guys? It's clear that Seth McFarlane and Seth Green are voicing a bunch of the characters

[scottws]

Is it officially licensed, or is it protected under fair use doctrine as a parody?

[sirean_syan]

It's the Robot Chicken folks and is officially licensed. It's not just that they got permission to do a special episode or two of their usual show, this is something being made by Lucasarts. It's probably more akin to something like the Ewok movie or Christmas Special.

[Xessive]

I recognize a lot of the voices! Breckin Myer as Boba Fett is the Robot Chicken standard and I'm almost certain it's Seth MacFarlane as the Emperor.

It's cheesy and lame, I'm surprised it's Lucasarts! It feels like an indie animation. Whatever, it might be fun for kids.

If anything I think this is a testament to how Lucasarts can artificially prolong the life (or rather undeath) of an intellectual property it has killed and defiled.

[scottws]

I often find myself wondering if I'd still be a Star Wars fan if the prequels never came out.  I wonder if with time it would have just worn off by itself anyway, or if the prequels just sucked it out of me.  I still have a fondness in my heart for the originals and some of the characters in the prequels, but the new ones were just so bad that I couldn't take it.

I wonder how much of it was bad casting and how much of it was just asking too much of the actors who were basically working solo inside a big green box.  There is nothing to interact with!

[Xessive]

Haha I think Patton Oswalt represented it best best, rock salt!!

[gpw11]

I just don't get why its not funny.

[scottws]

I thought it had a couple of promising jokes.  I'll probably try to catch at least a couple episodes.

[Pugnate]

I have to say I was a huge Star Wars fan and I have just grown out of it. Every time I think of Obi Wan in the new movies, he reminds more of a dull professor than the Obi Wan from the old movies. And this was the main hero of the films, so that sucks.

If you think about it, what really killed the prequels was Obi Wan. He was OK, and that wasn't enough. I think we could have all put up Jar Jar etc, had we had a charismatic Obi Wan. The fact that he was so dull, made the prequels feel more like weird political films than fantasy films.

The original trilogy had not one, but two likable heroes. Han Solo and Luke. Both were charismatic and could carry the films.

The prequels had not one character who could carry the burden. Ewan McGregor was a real miscast. A more magnetic actor, and we'd be talking about the prequels in a better light.

The third prequel was better than the first two though. I liked the first prequel a bit. The child actor was fun in his own way.

[Xessive]

I don't know, man. I don't think I could tolerate Jar Jar regardless of the cast. That character was redundant and extremely annoying.

I generally like Ewan McGregor and I didn't mind him as Obi Wan. I always envisioned a young Obi Wan to be somewhat stern and a bit of a square.

[Pugnate]

He could be stern and square, but the films needed a hero. Someone to carry them. There wasn't one! That's just weird if you think about it.

[Xessive]

He could be stern and square, but the films needed a hero. Someone to carry them. There wasn't one! That's just weird if you think about it.

Yeah, I think that was supposed to be Anakin but sadly that role was played by a subpar actor. Not to put the blame on the actor alone, the script and direction were not top-notch either.

Redeeming qualities? Amidala (Natalie Portman), Mace "Bad Motherfucker" Windu, and the short-lived Qui-Gon Jinn.

[scottws]

You liked the first one? I watched it again when it was re-released in "3D" and it is a really, really bad movie. I think Jake Lloyd was the biggest miscast of the entire series of movies. He doesn't have an acting bone in his body and is almost as distractingly bad as Jar-Jar Binks. It's a major problem when one of the primary actors is basically unwatchable.

As far as Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan, I thought it was great casting. Obi-Wan might be a little boring in the prequels, but think of his character in the original:even more boring. I thought he nailed a young Sir Alec Guiness perfectly.

Sure, the newer films could have used a more charismatic character or actor, but that is more a failing in the development of the film and it's story and a failed casting decisions in Jake Lloyd and Hayden Christensen than a failing of Ewan McGregor.

[Pugnate]

That's true. Less of a failing of Ewan, and more of the development. It's simple really. You have a film like this, you need a hero. How did Lucas not realize that?

You have a villain (Anakin) and you have his mentor (Obi Wan). The failing is that the story is about the villain of the series I guess.

But Alec Guiness had so much character. I don't think he was dull at all. McGregor was dull.

I only saw Phantom Menace once when I was 18 and caught with Star Wars fever. I've seen the final fight many times on DVD though. I remember it was fun. I mean they were all fun in their own way with nice special effects, but at best they are 7/10 films. The storytelling, characterization were just not good enough.

Yeah, I think that was supposed to be Anakin but sadly that role was played by a subpar actor. Not to put the blame on the actor alone, the script and direction were not top-notch either.

Redeeming qualities? Amidala (Natalie Portman), Mace "Bad Motherfucker" Windu, and the short-lived Qui-Gon Jinn.

I know what you guys are saying about Anakin, but he was always supposed to be this evil dude, no?

[Xessive]

I know what you guys are saying about Anakin, but he was always supposed to be this evil dude, no?

Yeah, eventually. It was his the story of his descent. Although, if you think about it SPOILER ALERT

(click to show/hide)

Darth Vader does save the day in the end

I always figured the prequels were trying to get us to empathize with Anakin and to understand the underlying issues that led him to the dark side. Problem is it felt way too sudden (for me anyway). It was like

(click to show/hide)

Man, the Jedi don't understand my feelings. Time to kill some younglings!"

[scottws]

Well, Liam Neeson as Qui-Gon Jinn was pretty awesome as a hero.  Too bad they killed him off in the very first movie, though I suppose I understand why they had to.

And yeah Episode III was the best of the new movies, but it was still really bad.  Anakin's conversion to The Dark Side was basically like Harvey Dent's conversion to being evil in The Dark Knight.  It just happens so suddenly in both films that I just basically utterly reject the concept.  I know they tried.  They did have Palpatine in his ear in all of the movies to portray the manipulation of Anakin, but the sudden switch... yeah there is just no way.  He goes from feeling wary of Palpatine because of how he maliciously kills Windu, and then the next instant is kneeling before him and then killing kids.

Oh yeah and midiclorians...

[Cobra951]

Yeah, eventually. It was his the story of his descent. Although, if you think about it SPOILER ALERT

(click to show/hide)

Darth Vader does save the day in the end

I always figured the prequels were trying to get us to empathize with Anakin and to understand the underlying issues that led him to the dark side. Problem is it felt way too sudden (for me anyway). It was like

(click to show/hide)

Man, the Jedi don't understand my feelings. Time to kill some younglings!"

Worst quote ever from SW:

(click to show/hide)

"I'm going to be a Jedi. Woohoo!"

[Xessive]

Worst quote ever from SW:

(click to show/hide)

"I'm going to be a Jedi. Woohoo!"

Haha seriously!

Most popular quote: "...and I thought they smelled bad on the outside!"

[sirean_syan]

Back to the original question...

[idolminds]

Its two sharks jumped with one stone. Or something.

[Pugnate]

Its two sharks jumped with one stone. Or something.

hahaha brilliant!

[angrykeebler]

I'd actually make the argument that Star Wars is more alive than ever.

1. If something were dead, then no one would make any merchandise for it since no one would buy it.
2. They keep making things so obviously people are buying it.
3. Come on. Be real. Just due to the first 3 films, this franchise will never really die as long as civilization is around. Are you going to tell me you AREN'T going to let your kids watch the original 3 films because everything after was crap?

[Pugnate]

I will record my kid watching the point where Vader reveals he is Luke's father. Though I suppose it is a spoiler that will be hard to avoid growing up.

[sirean_syan]

Okay fine. It's soul is dead, crushed, and stuffed in a nice cubical. You wouldn't understand though because you already lost whatever soul you had to Neopets.

[angrykeebler]

You son of a bitch.

[K-man]

[gpw11]

This actually makes no fucking sense.