A Big-ass STAR WARS quiz thing!

Jason did a Star Wars quiz thing, and you can bet I'm gonna do it too! Let's jump right in!

1. Which film is your favorite of the Original Trilogy?

The one that started it all, Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. I know, most people consider The Empire Strikes Back to be the greatest of the Star Wars films, but for me, it's the first one that always has that special something, the one that took us into that amazing universe for the first time. All the conflicts are laid out in the first forty minutes or so. The swashbuckling fun, which gives way to that amazing Battle of Yavin...as much as I love ever single Star Wars movie, A New Hope is the one at the end of which I always find myself smiling with a sigh of contentment and the thought that if I could once, just once, tell a story that makes someone feel the same way at the end...I'll be a happy man.

2. If you enjoy the prequels, which one is your favorite?

I'm on record as loving the Prequels. The one I enjoy watching most? Attack of the Clones. I love its changes in mood, its structure as a mystery story, and that incredible battle at the end, when the battlefield is shrouded in dust and smoke and the whole field is a hellscape of blasterfire blazing through it all. I love that movie, the weakness of the Anakin-and-Padme lovestory notwithstanding.

3. How old were you when Episode 1 came out?

I was 27.

4. Which of the movies have you seen in the theater?

Every single damn one! A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back, I saw at the Westgate Theater in Beaverton, OR, which is long-since demolished (but whose long run of showing the first movie is something of legend. By the time Return of the Jedi opened, we had moved to Western New York, so I saw that one at the Cinemas III at the Olean Center Mall in Olean, NY. I would later see all of the Prequels, all three of them, at the Regal Cinemas in Orchard Park.

Where will I see Episode VII? We'll see!

5. Did you go to any of them on opening night?

It's interesting. A New Hope was out for several months before we saw it, but I was five, so I had no idea. I'm not sure how long The Empire Strikes Back was out before I saw it, but it was a couple of weeks, at least. Jedi, I saw in its third day of release. We saw TPM on opening day, after seeing a stage production of The Phantom of the Opera the night before, so we've always called that "Phantom Weekend". AotC and RotS? Both of those, I attended midnight showings. Both were unforgettable.

6. Who is your favorite character from the Original Trilogy?

Who else? Han Solo.

7. Who is your favorite character from the prequels, if you have one?

Who else? Obi Wan Kenobi.

I also like Anakin and Padme a lot more than most do, apparently. And Mace Windu. And Queen Jamilla.

And I don’t hate Jar Jar.

8. Have you read any of the books or comics?

I was reading the Marvel series way back while the original films were coming out. I should do a longer blog post on those someday, but some of those stories still hold up pretty well, especially the ones they did between ANH and TESB, when nobody knew anything. The Marvel writers did things like have Han pay off Jabba, only to learn when they got the TESB script that they had to reinstate the price on Han’s head, and so on. Fun stories, from the days when Star Wars was more swashbuckling space opera adventure than the Campbellian fantasy it would turn out to be.

As for novels, I read one of Brian Daley’s Han Solo books back then, and then some of the “Expanded Universe” novels, when that started up. I quickly fell behind and then stopped entirely when they got to the point of releasing three or four novels a year. It just got to be too much. But I’ll never forget walking into Walden Books, seeing a new Star Wars book sitting there by some guy named Zahn, and thinking, “Wow, Star Wars is a going concern again?”

9. Favorite book or series? Favorite SW author?

Timothy Zahn, I think.

10. Favorite comic?

As mentioned above, the Marvel series, most likely. I haven’t read that many of the comics since then, and as I write this, Dark Horse Comics’s long history of Star Wars comics is coming to a close, which is a shame. All those comics will still exist, of course.

11. Favorite character from the Expanded Universe (EU)?

Mara Jade.

12. Favorite villain from the EU?

The standard answer here is probably Admiral Thrawn, but you know who I really liked? Captain Pellaeon. I liked how he wasn’t really evil, so much as a guy who just couldn’t find a reason to do anything other than just keep working at his job, even when it was unlikely that his job even existed anymore.

13. If you had your own ship from the Star Wars Universe (SWU), what would it be? It could be a mash-up/ugly.

The Millennium Falcon. Is there another possible answer?

14. Would you rather be Sith or Jedi?

Sith are evil and Jedi are stilted and a bit dull. Can I be a Corellian instead?

15. Would you rather be a Rebel or a member of the Imperial Navy? What would your role be?

I’d like to be a Rebel mechanic, one of the guys who fills and fixes the ships. That would be cool.

16. If you could be any species from the SWU which would you be?

If I have to be non-human, probably a Twi’lek. You can wear those tentacle things like a scarf.

17. If you could date any species from the SWU which would you pick?

A Twi’lek, obviously!

18. If you could date/marry any character from the SWU who would you pick?

Yeesh, this is getting a little fan-service-like, innit? If I didn’t think that Domina Tagge would kill me, then...maybe Domina Tagge.

19. If you were going to bone just one Star Wars character and you never had to see them again, who would you pick?

Oh, come on.

20. If you could BE one SW character, EU or not, who would you be?

You know who I like? Dex, the giant fat alien who runs the diner on Coruscant and has information. That would be cool.

21. What would your SWU name be?

Darth D. McDartherson III. (Sorry, this quiz is getting a bit silly.)

22. What color would your lightsaber be, what kind would it be (double-bladed, single blade), would you dual-wield, and what kind of grip would it have?

How about yellow? Nobody did anything with yellow.

As for grip...just a standard straight grip, I guess. Or the curved one like Darth Tyrannus’s.

I wonder why they only had lightsabers? Why not light-daggers or light-lances? A teeny Jedi-army knife with a three-inch lightblade might be cool!

23. Do you own SW merchandise?

Yup.

24. How much, to date, do you think you’ve spent on SW merchandise?

Books and a few toys and some art...maybe a couple hundred bucks. Not all that much, since it’s been spread over thirty years or so.

25. What is your favorite SW possession?

My die-cast Millennium Falcons, most likely. Or my copy of The Art of Star Wars, which dates back to the late 80s. JW Rinzler’s three Making Of... books are indispensible.

26. Do you have a favorite SW artist? If so, who?

Ralph McQuarrie, obviously. Honorable mentions to Drew Struzan and the Brothers Hildebrandt for their poster art.

27. Are there items you do not own but covet? What are they?

It might be memory playing tricks on me, but I remember seeing in 1980 or so a die-cast Millennium Falcon in a toy store that was about four or five inches in diameter. (The ones I own now are two inches.) I’d love to have one.

28. Are there items that are not made but that you wish were made? What are they?

No idea, really. I’m not much into collecting that kind of thing, really – I’m mostly happy with what I have.

29. Did Han shoot first?

Yes, but in all honesty, I don’t really care all that much. I object to Lucas changing this because it destroyed one of the movie’s biggest laughs. I reject, completely and utterly, any notion that this somehow changes Han Solo’s character in any way.

30. Did Boba Fett, in your opinion, ever leave the Sarlacc or did he die there?

Maybe once, but I’d hate to think he was some kind of superhuman who kept surviving anything and everything ever thrown at him.

31. Are there things about the movies you wish you could change? If so, name three.

Erm...see my Fixing the Prequels series: The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, and Revenge of the Sith. As far as the original movies go, maybe change Boba Fett’s demise a bit to give Han some intentional action that does him in, as opposed to an accident. Other than that, not really. Maybe cut out a little of the “funny” stuff with the Ewoks.

32. Which era would you want to live in?

There doesn’t seem to be huge difference between the eras in the films (and why would there be, they’re only separated by about twenty years), so sometime in there would be fine. Preferably on one of the outer worlds where the Empire hasn’t quite got ‘round to totally taking over yet.

33. What SW games have you played?

None, since the arcade games. I’m a terrible gamer.

34. Do you play/own Star Wars Miniatures?

No.

35. Favorite SW costume for men?

Han’s get-up in TESB. He had a jacket on in that movie, not the vest.

36. Favorite SW costume for women?

Honestly, while everyone else is ogling Princess Leia in the gold bikini, the dress the Ewoks made for her always stunned me. Still does, actually.

37. Have you ever dressed up as a SW character? Who/When/Why?

No. Cosplay isn’t really my thing. I could do it, but I just don’t have the time to invest in it.

38. Do you ever have SW sex fantasies? If so, have you ever acted them out?

Like I’d tell you.

39. Do you Ship any SW characters who aren’t together? Who/why?

No.

40. Have you ever written SW fan fiction? Can we read it?

Funny you should ask, because in a way, you CAN read it!

41. Have you been to a Celebration or plan on going to one?

Haven’t, but would love to. They’re never anywhere near Buffalo, though.

42. Have you ever been to Star Wars Weekends at Walt Disney World?

No, but I would, if the stars aligned!

43. Do you wish they had Star Wars Weekends at Disneyland?

No. (Simply because California’s on the other end of the country from me. I have no problem with them having them, I just don’t care.)

44. Best section you’ve experienced on Star Tours?

I don’t recall it much, other than the ominous feeling when you’re falling toward the Death Star.

45. What initially brought you to the SW fandom?

I saw the original when I was six years old. I was done-for from that moment on. Everything since then for me, creatively, has been colored by Star Wars. I see the world through Star Wars-colored glasses!

46. Do you consider yourself a SW Fanboy or Fangirl?

“Fanboy” tends to be a term of derision, so no. I prefer “geek”.

47 Have you seen Fanboys? Favorite character and/or quote?

Nope.

48. Do you wish they would make 7, 8, and 9 or do you think they should be done with it?

Obviously this quiz originated before the Disney sale and the announcement of Episodes VII, VIII, and IX. I’m fine with it, but at the same time, it feels like an add-on to me. I’ll see it, you bet, but I could have lived perfectly happily with Star Wars being done.

(Interestingly, it’s always worth going back to George Lucas’s actual thoughts on Episodes VII, VIII, and IX from back in the late 70s. The “He always said it would be nine movies!” trope isn’t quite accurate.)

49. If they ever made 7, 8, and 9, do you think it should continue the Skywalker Legacy or use entirely new characters? Or something different?

As long as there are Star Wars stories being filmed under that include “Episode [number]” in the title, they should be about some generation of Skywalkers. Other tie-in movies? Fine. But I want Skywalkers. They’re totally central.

50. Do you watch The Clone Wars?

I’ve watched several episodes and been impressed with them. I need to watch more, obviously.