Ian McDiarmid’s Fan X Panel

Learn how a lot of dead padawans got cut from ROTS and more from Palpie himself at last weekend’s Fan X convention in Utah.

H/T Naboo News

Clone Wars Leaving Netflix 3/7

Well, if you’re done with “The Crown” and you don’t care about anything else until “Stranger Things” comes back with another seasons, here’s a good reason to save $10 a month on Netflix for a while.

The series is available on Blu-Ray but for those of us without players or who just like to be able to see CW on the go, this is not great news.

Update:  Seasons 1-6 are still available on iTunes.

Got $$$? Acme & Etsy Have Some Ways To Spend It

At last Acme Archives Direct has some prequel planet travel posters by Steve Thomas!  Choose from Boonta Eve Classic or Coruscant Nightlife.  They’re $89 apiece unframed, $289 with frame.

Natela Datura Design’s shop on Etsy has a handknit Captain Rex sweater that can keep you warm this winter, starting at $250.

It’s Time For Another Ask SWPAS!

I haven’t done one in a long time so I guess it’s long overdue.  Ask away in the comments and I’ll give you my spit take!

(I’m busy writing stuff for another site as well as content for this site…)

Ask SWPAS 6/23/15

1) To what extent is peer pressure a role in creating haters? For instance the haters who say “I would have liked the prequels had it not been for x despite liking everything else” or whom keep saying “I like the PT except for x and y”

2) What expectations do you have for the Prequels Strike Back?

3) I know you(and starwarsdefender) are bit apphensive about a Sith as a villain for future movies, but could we have a new kind of sith not tied to the Rule of Two, and the Chosen one Prophecy be about destroying the Rule of Two?

1) In an essay I wrote years ago, I said the “bandwagon effect” was one of the main reasons why there are people who don’t like the prequels. If you see something said over and over enough times, you can start to believe it yourself especially if you had no strong opinion beforehand or if it’s important to you to be accepted.

2) I don’t know but I don’t think it’s going to be quiiiite the pro-PT rah-rah some fans seem to expect. But there are some interesting contributors involved.

3) No, the prophecy had no caveats or anything else to do with the Rule of Two. It was to bring balance to the Force by destroying the Sith.

What are your thoughts on Colin Hanks’ request for more female representation in Star Wars? Why do you think there’s been more demand for female representation in Star Wars?

I’m not real sure why Colin Hanks’s opinion is particularly relevant. In any case, there’s not a hell of a lot of “representation” of people who support the saga as a whole and that’s what I care more about. It would be nice to see them hire women to direct these movies and to see more novels/comics about the saga’s female characters but only if they’re good and not to serve some other agenda. Why is there a demand? Because people are always looking for “causes.”

How can we continue to differentiate ourselves from the very haters we fight against? How do we 1) explain to others why we’re different, and 2) how do we avoid proving them right by actually becoming what we hate?

Those are good questions and ones I struggle with sometimes. Art is subjective and Star Wars (or any fandom) is an emotional thing for us. It just is. So it becomes very difficult not to “lose it” around people who are baiting you or around a jerk who posts something stupid on a blog or publication’s web site. But I will say this…I have never personally encountered any prequel fan who is as bad as the very worst of the haters I’ve seen. So I reject any equivalence that some people try to make. I don’t go to their sites and bother them. I don’t follow them on Twitter just so I can jump on them whenever they offend me. Some of these guys though have no problem with trying to harass, bait, troll, or flame prequel fans.

Have you encountered SW fans that were not fans of the PT, but where you did not have any problems to “agree to disagree?” That is, real fans for whom the PT was not their cup of tea, and you had no problem accepting that?

Maybe one person.

Time For Another Ask SWPAS

It’s been a while since I’ve done an Ask SWPAS session, so here’s a new call for your burning questions on all things Star Wars!

Ask SWPAS 2/2/15

Gerardo asks:

Have you dealt with any haters off the internet?

About the site, no. About the prequels, yes. Not that often but it has happened. A couple were very obnoxious about it.

guile95x asks:

Hey! I always wondered how were the Gungans allowed to build such buildings under water and with the shield that I can’t remember its name now. They don’t seem that much intelligent and I don’t see any factory arround there or some other big facilities for scientific research etc…
Did you come up with an idea of why and maybe who gave them those technologies?
Thanks!

It was aliens, of course! Why stop with the pyramids and the Mayan civilization ;)?

The Gungans were plenty smart. They had those cool submarines, they figured out how to make a permanent bubble underwater, and unlike the Naboo, they had an actual army to protect themselves.

Overall, what are your feelings toward the ST? Are you excited or wary about them?

Wary.

evangelian007 asks:

What do you think of Star Wars Rebels now? You think the show it’s getting better or worse? And how much do you think it will last? Like 2 seasons or more if it captures public’s interest?

It’s a good show. Maybe not as grand, ambitious, or compelling as Clone Wars, and it’s not without fault but it’s solidly entertaining and the scripts have become better as the show goes along. Disney has already given it amnesty for another year, so there will be at least one more season.

peacetrainjedi asks:

An in-universe question a bit out of left field: You might have answered this before but, If you were a Padawan in a galaxy far, far away, who would you like for a Jedi Master? And if you were a Master, who would you want to take on as an apprentice?

For a master, Qui-Gon. For an apprentice, Luke or Ahsoka.

Ask SWPAS

Got any more questions about Star Wars, life, the universe, and everything? Send ’em on over! Comment below or e-mail to SWPASadmin@gmail.com

Ask SWPAS 11/13/14

From jarjarbacktattooguy

How likely do you think it is that Mortis and the legacy and mystery of The Ones will figure into The Force Awakens?

Would you consider making posts or a new page dedicated to other underappreciated Lucas films?

How about:

The Willow Appreciation Society

The Captain Eo Appreciation Society

The Maniac Mansion (TV series) Appreciation Society

The Land Before Time Appreciation Society

What, no Tucker Appreciation Society?? I only have 24 hours in a day and not much to spare aside from Star Wars.

As for your question on Mortis and TFA, I’ll be shocked (in a good way) if it figures into the film. I don’t know if they’ll go there with the kind of people working on the film. Lucas definitely would though.

From BansheeGun

Question: Where were you when you heard the news of The Clone Wars’ cancellation and what was your immediate reaction?

Also: What sites do you consider “Pro-Prequel” vs. the “Anti-Prequel”?

I was on the internet and I’d been hearing from other sources the cancellation was coming days before it was announced. Rebel Force Radio was the first to warn people Disney suits wanted to ax the show and like many fans, I didn’t really believe it at first but then I heard from Bryan Young that the rumor was true. I tried to rally the troops here to write in ASAP to convince Disney to change its mind but obviously the cake was already baked. As you might imagine, I was furious but less so with Disney than with the fan base that was at least at first taking it lying down.

The blogroll sites are pretty pro-PT, which is why they are linked. As far as news sites go, I think Coffee With Kenobi, Making Star Wars.net, and Furious Fanboys are varying degrees of PT friendly. TFN’s editorial isn’t anti-PT anymore but there are yucky bashers who are all over the Disqus comments. I have mixed feelings about Jedi News in terms of tone/content, but it’s not anti-PT overall.

From peacetrainjedi:

Do you think there’s a possibility that George Lucas might once again write (or direct) a Star Wars or Indiana Jones film even though he’s sold the company and has supposedly retired from blockbuster film-making?

Besides Anakin/Vader, is there any villain from the Star Wars saga that you sympathize with (or secretly root for) when watching the films?

It may not be likely but as long as Lucas is living and breathing, it’s always a possibility. Seeing other people in his sandbox might make him itchy to come back.

I’d have to say I kinda like Jango Fett. He’s ruthless, cunning, and has no problem with whacking someone yet there’s this part of him that wants somebody he could love and would love him back.

And now a spoilerific Ep. 7 question from Daniel Xie:

Ask SWPAS 6/16

Here it is, another edition of Ask SWPAS!

From Adam:

What is the airspeed velocity of an unlaiden Toydarian?

Okay, the actual question is: which SW film has your favorite soundtrack (and if it’s not I-III, which is your favorite of those).

Mine’s Phantom. I can hear the gasps of shock.

Favorite soundtrack? That’s a tough one. I love all of them, they’re all great. I’d have to say ANH or AOTC might have a teensy tiny bit more listening value for me.

From James:

WHAT do you think would have been the fate of Eeth Koth had TCW continued? Also do you think they would have retconed Oppo Rancisis’s fate, there was no hint at other “dark jedi” in the series?

I have no idea if Eeth Koth’s fate would ever be addressed on the show. They would certainly have felt free to deviate from the expanded universe had the show continued.

From evangelian007

Why did Barriss betrayed Ahsoka? Or to be more specific why would she go as far as frame Ahsoka?

I could understand why she would betray the Jedi Order but I never understood her motivation in backstabbing Ahsoka. Because by framing Ahsoka Barriss was still allowed being a Jedi yet she hates what the Jedi Order became.

Was Barriss trying to motivate Ahsoka to leave? Maybe she was trying to show Ahsoka how the order changed for the worse(I mean the order pretty much handed her to the Republic in a silver platter just to protect their image).
I also heard from Filoni that she and Barriss still had unfinished business in the supposed cancelled season 7.

Anyway what are your thoughts on that?

It was really surprising to see Barriss Offee turn on the Jedi and on her friend like that. She’d been portrayed as a good Jedi in the expanded universe, in fanon, and of course earlier on the show. Dave Filoni’s very big on how the war and the Dark Side have corrupted the Jedi and Barriss’s turn seems to reflect that view. (Though if it was me, I would have been a tad bit more judicious about turning Jedi. Dooku’s turn was shocking and surprising to the Jedi and Anakin’s turn is supposed to be even more so. It sort of dilutes the power of their betrayal when so many other Jedi are turning too, but it’s not my call.)

Unfortunately we may never know all of Barriss’s motives. Obviously they were going to address her story somewhere down the line and give more answers, but the plug got pulled.

In one of the early drafts of Episode I, Anakin was a little older than he ended up being in the final film and had the type of personality that portrayed a ‘older than his years’ type vibe, and because of his age the romance between Anakin & Padme was begun a little earlier, in the sense that you got the feeling he really liked her, rather than it being portrayed as more of the childlike infatuation that it was in the final film. The movie overall also had a darker vibe to it as well. (you got to see the invasion of naboo, a lot more as well etc)

I think it’s obvious Lucas changed Anakin into a younger character in the final movie because he wanted to make a movie for his young son, at the time, Jett Lucas, but do you think this was the best choice for the trilogy as a whole, and if so, what are your reasons?

I’m fine with Anakin as a nine/ten-year-old in the film. He wasn’t really psychologically ready to leave his mother because he was still a little boy and that separation from her is what screws him up for life. He was too young to appreciate what she was sacrificing for him, and he leaves his mother’s love for a bunch of strangers who preach no attachments and who obviously don’t trust him.

That Lucas might have also wanted to appeal to kids isn’t a big deal to me. Star Wars was always for the kids.