20 Questions about Star Wars

01. Who is your favorite character from the original trilogy?

Han Solo. He's got the coolest ship, the coolest weapon that isn't a lightsaber, and I like his character arc from outsider who doesn't believe in anything to full-fledged member of the cause.

02.How would you rank the original trilogy, in order from favorite to least favorite?

A New Hope
The Empire Strikes Back
Return of the Jedi

03. What are two of your favorite action scenes from the original trilogy?

The rescue of Luke and the escape from Vader at the end of TESB, and you know what? I'm gonna stick up for the Ewok battle, which I've never disliked (although it could have used a bit less broad comedy).

04. What do you consider the most emotional scene from the original trilogy?

Darth Vader's rejection of the Dark Side. In fact, I think that scene is even more powerful in light of the Prequel trilogy, because now we have some idea of what must be going through his head as he watches his son there, writhing on the ground from the same Dark Side lightning that the Emperor used to kill Mace Windu at the time that he first rejected the Good Side. The scene is edited together so brilliantly -- Vader stands there, watching; Luke screams "Father, please!"; Vader watches some more; the Emperor starts to get caught up in his own glee; Vader glimpses at the Emperor and sees the joy in Palpatine's eyes; Vader looks back at his son; Vader looks back at the Emperor...and then decides that he can't do this Dark Side thing any longer. That scene packs an amazing wallop for me.

05. Do you have any favorite toys or collectibles based off the original trilogy?

Mostly ships. (I should probably do a post of my Star Wars toys one of these days. It wouldn't be a terribly long post, really.)

06. Which character had the most unsatisfying death in the original trilogy?

None of them are particularly "unsatisfying", really -- I'm not even bothered by Boba Fett's demise, although a little more of a bad-ass exit wouldn't have been unwarranted. Maybe a bit of a fight with Han before Han manages to set off the jet-pack, or something like that.

07. What’s your favorite ship or vehicle from the original trilogy?

The Millennium Falcon.

08. Who is your favorite character from the prequel trilogy?

Obi Wan Kenobi.

09. How would you rank the prequel trilogy, in order from favorite to least favorite?

Revenge of the Sith
Attack of the Clones
The Phantom Menace

10. What are two of your favorite action scenes from the prequel trilogy?

Obi Wan's fight with Jango Fett on Kamino and his subsequent pursuit of him through the asteroid belt of Geonosis; Obi Wan versus Darth Vader on Mustafar.

11. What do you consider the most emotional scene from the prequel trilogy?

I found Revenge of the Sith almost emotionally overwhelming, starting with Anakin's turn to the Dark Side. His subsequent acts of betrayal were terribly sad. One moment stands out: when Plo Koon is leading a contingent of clone troopers into battle, and they receive the go-ahead for Order 66. He turns to them, yells "Come on!", and then looks on in shock and bewilderment as they aim their weapons at him. John Williams's music for this sequence is some of the best of the entire Saga.

12. Do you have any favorite toys or collectibles based off the prequel trilogy?

Again, mostly ships. I never did much with action figures, although I do have a couple.

13. Which character had the most unsatisfying death in the prequel trilogy?

We're straying into Fixing the Prequels territory here, aren't we? I don't have a problem with Padme dying essentially of a broken heart, since she hasn't just lost Anakin but her beloved Republic -- she has lost the very world in which she wanted to raise her children. I think Lucas was striving for something very operatic here, and deaths from broken hearts aren't unheard-of in opera. But it should have been drawn a bit more clearly, I think.

14. What’s your favorite ship or vehicle from the prequel trilogy?

There are wonderful ships all through the Prequel Trilogy; I love just about all of them. Picking just one...oh geez, I don't know. Maybe the Jedi starfighters in Revenge of the Sith, the ones that are on the way to being TIE Fighters.

15. If you could get a personalized Star Wars themed license plate for your car, what would it say?

E CHU TA. (Points to whomever can identify that!)

16. Do you have a favorite Star Wars based video game?

I really need to start playing some Star Wars games. I haven't played any of 'em. Yeesh!

17. Have you read any of the Star Wars books (expanded universe), and if so, what are your favorites?

I haven't read any in a long time. I started following them eagerly when they started coming out in the early 90s, but too many were coming out too quickly and the quality tended to be very uneven, so I eventually stopped. I wouldn't mind reading a few now, but I'm not sure which are the "good" ones.

I loved Timothy Zahn's novels, though.

18. Are you a fan of the “Clone Wars” cartoon series?

I don't have Cartoon Network, so I haven't seen any of it. I need to.

19. What (or who) do you hope to see in upcoming Star Wars TV series?

I'd like to see stories that take place well outside the scope of the "Big Story". Maybe follow some Corellian pirate around, or something like that. I'd like to see tales that follow characters who aren't Sith or Jedi or tied somehow to the fate of the Republic. Small-scale stories, perhaps. It's a big galaxy!

20. If you were stranded on a desert island with one Star Wars character, who would you want it to be and why?

R2-D2. Seriously, he's an intergalactic Swiss army knife. He can start fires, cut firewood, stun game so I can kill it, scan for passing ships, and so on.

Of course, if my choice was between R2 and Princess Leia, then....