Now that we've entered the dead zone of TV, I've started pulling out DVDs on my shelf that I haven't yet watched. I felt like seeing the "special editions" of the original "Star Wars" trilogy, and while watching the original "Star Wars" (aka "Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope"), I noticed some things that bothered me on this viewing. And I don't mean the ridiculous Greedo scene. . . .
1) Let's start with the lack of safety designs in the Death Star. This thing has some kind of power coupling that's built into a column that's in the middle of some deep abyss, and yet there are no guardrails to keep users from falling to their deaths. Think of the products liability lawsuits that would generate.
2) In addition to the bizarre lack of guardrails by the power coupling station, the Death Star has these catwalks (also missing guardrails) that retract. Why? If it's for security purposes, why not just have a door?
3) Having tracked our heros to the moon of the planet Yavin, where the rebel base is located, the Death Star ponderously manuevers itself into position to blast the moon. This adds 29 minutes to the process. Why not just blast Yavin? If the resulting shockwave and planetary fragments don't destroy the rebel base, it won't take long before the remaining fragments scatter, and with the resulting loss of gravitational attraction, the moon would spin into space (ala "Space: 1999").
4) As the rebel fighters attack the Death Star, an Imperial trooper tells Darth Vader that the fighters are too quick for the Death Star's conventional lasers to hit. So Vader says the solution is to chase them in TIE fighters. Does it really make sense to go from trying to hit moving targets from a fixed platform (i.e., the Death Star) to trying to hit moving targets from a moving platform (i.e., the TIE fighter)?
5) What happened to Princess Leia's British accent? She had it during the scenes with Vader and Grand Moff Tarkin, but sounded American when talking with Han Solo and Luke Skywalker.
Finally, this goes outside the original "Star Wars," but why doesn't Kenobi remember C-3PO and R2D2? After all, in "Revenge of the Sith," Kenobi is giving orders to R2 -- who ultimately saves him and Anakin from the falling elevator! (Not to mention, why, in "The Empire Strikes Back," is Kenobi surprised by Yoda's statement that "there is another"? Didn't he remember that he, Yoda, and Senator Organa split up Luke and Leia as babies?)
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