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Star Wars: Obi-wan Kenobi
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psmith2.0
Mr. Vieira
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Tennessee
 
2022-06-02, 18:01

Ah, cool. Nobody has to go out and buy it then. Magazines are expensive. As in $12.99+ expensive, for basic "country/farmhouse lifestyle" and "here's some new motorcycle and truck gear" titles.
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709
¡Damned!
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Purgatory
 
2022-06-02, 18:26

OK, first of all:

Spoiler (click to toggle):
When did Obi-Wan get a green lightsaber? Did I miss or mis-remember something after the final fight on Mustafar?

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Brad
Selfish Heathen
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Zone of Pain
 
2022-06-02, 18:28

Quote:
Originally Posted by kscherer View Post
That said, I'm hunting YouTube this morning and right on my front feed is this bullshit! These bastards just can't wait for their clicks.
Pro tip: never look at the YouTube homepage. It's full of utter garbage that the algorithm wrongly things I could ever give two shits about. I exclusively browse YouTube by the subscriptions feed page, leaning on my years-long cultivated collection of not-clickbait not-assholes, and I keep the viewer in "theater" mode so the recommended videos thumbnails on the sidebar get pushed down the screen, out of sight and out of mind.

The quality of this board depends on the quality of the posts. The only way to guarantee thoughtful, informative discussion is to write thoughtful, informative posts. AppleNova is not a real-time chat forum. You have time to compose messages and edit them before and after posting.
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psmith2.0
Mr. Vieira
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Tennessee
 
2022-06-02, 18:32

Quote:
Originally Posted by 709 View Post
OK, first of all:

Spoiler (click to toggle):
When did Obi-Wan get a green lightsaber? Did I miss or mis-remember something after the final fight on Mustafar?

Hmmm...odd.

Spoiler (click to toggle):
It's supposed to be blue. It is on the MacBook Pro I watch it on, and when I watch clips/reviews on YouTube the following day (MacBook or iPhone). Are your TV color settings off? There's not been a green lightsaber on this show, that I've seen. Either your eyes, or whatever you're watching it on, may be off. I'm not being flippant or saucy...Obi-Wan's lightsaber looks as blue as can be to me.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Brad View Post
Pro tip: never look at the YouTube homepage. It's full of utter garbage that the algorithm wrongly things I could ever give two shits about. I exclusively browse YouTube by the subscriptions feed page, leaning on my years-long cultivated collection of not-clickbait not-assholes, and I keep the viewer in "theater" mode so the recommended videos thumbnails on the sidebar get pushed down the screen, out of sight and out of mind.
Good approach!

Last edited by psmith2.0 : 2022-06-02 at 18:43.
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709
¡Damned!
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Purgatory
 
2022-06-02, 18:44

Quote:
Originally Posted by psmith2.0 View Post
Hmmm...odd.

Spoiler (click to toggle):
It's supposed to be blue. It is on the MacBook Pro I watch it on, and when I watch clips/reviews on YouTube the following day (MacBook or iPhone). Are your TV color settings off? There's not been a green lightsaber on this show, that I've seen. Either your eyes, or whatever you're watching it on, may be off.
What in the actual fuck . . . it's been bugging me all day.
Spoiler (click to toggle):
I just went and checked again and now it's blue. The teevee settings are all fine but apparently mine are glitchy.

So it goes.
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turtle
Lord of the Rant.
Formerly turtle2472
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Upstate South Carolina
 
2022-06-03, 08:02

Quote:
Originally Posted by 709 View Post
What in the actual fuck . . . it's been bugging me all day.
...
Less liquid lunches man...

Spoiler (click to toggle):
What a fun episode and yet so dark!
Vader was just downright cruel in trying to draw out Obi-Wan.
I also realized that wasn't shock on Obi-Wans face, but fear. He gets the power Anakin/Vader has. Tying into the Clone Wars and such he REALLY knows the power of the force Vader has.
Watching Vader toy with him was just wild. Obi-Wan plays beat down really well. During the fight scene at the quarry (or whatever it is) Obi-Wan was playing to part of survivalist. My daughter just binge watched all 9 main movie Episodes and noted how Obi-Wan's fight with Vader in New Hope was so calm and controlled. So clearly we should expect by the time this series is over that Obi-Wan is much more worthy of an opponent to Vader.

Of course in the back of my mind as I watch Leia get grabbed and Obi-Wan get burned I know that he makes it to Ep4 as an old dude and Leia lives on well beyond so this is all going to turn out well for them.

Also, why didn't Obi-Wan go around the check point gate rather than waste time breaking it open? I mean, why not?


Louis L'Amour, “To make democracy work, we must be a nation of participants, not simply observers. One who does not vote has no right to complain.”
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709
¡Damned!
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Purgatory
 
2022-06-03, 08:38

Spoiler (click to toggle):
Couple other short notes before I start rabbit-holing conspiracy theories about how Disney+ is using their massive platform to perform some twisted mind-altering tests by showing a very small sliver of viewers a green lightsaber instead of blue but changing it to the proper color upon rewind:

• It's mostly been covered by others above, but the actress that plays young Leia is delightful - and plays the rebellious yet wise for her age child we would expect Leia to be to a tee.
• Threepio! At least I think it was him at the meet and greet.
• The beggar Clone Trooper - was he someone Obi-Wan would recognize from the 501st? I thought that they all got absorbed into the Stormtrooper armies, but it's interesting that some could've gone that route much like some of today's war vets.
• Reva definitely has some conflict going on. Maybe planning some payback for her friends/teachers getting slaughtered?
• Vader definitely has some conflict going on. He totally felt something as he watched a burned Obi-Wan get dragged away... and he let them all go.
• Obi-Wan and the fake Imperial Officer woman have chemistry...


Really enjoying this so far.

So it goes.
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psmith2.0
Mr. Vieira
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Tennessee
 
2022-06-03, 08:45

Spoiler (click to toggle):
I assume they'll meet again, and, due to whatever recuperating/focusing/encouragement (Qui-Gon? Yoda?) he'll hold his own and come out a bit more on top. Which would make sense...four duels, with 1 and 3 going to Obi-Wan (Mustafar and the final episode(?) of this show), while 2 and 4 (this past episode and A New Hope going to Vader). Nice little tit-for-tat/back-and-forth?

It's like poetry, it rhymes.

But I'm betting episode 4 (and maybe 5) sees him finally being able to reach Qui-Gon, and that leading him to work on getting his skills and confidence back, and if/when he and Vader meet up again in the final few episodes, Vader will have his hands full this time. We all want to see Obi-Wan in prequel mode...the one who walked up to General Grievous and about 150 guards and started some shit, without a care in the world. It'll be neat to see a more confident, less fearful Obi-Wan face Vader one more time before their Death Star duel. Give Vader something to think about, the next 9-10 years.

"Holy crap, he nearly beat my ass...I kinda hope I don't run into him again!"

Also, I'm hoping we get a helmet-less Vader with some dialog. I'd like to see Hayden Christensen unmasked, but in that makeup/prosthetics actually delivering some lines, without the James Earl Jones voice synthesizer and all. Would be eerie to see that, and those yellow-red eyes. I have to believe they brought Christensen back for more than just wearing a mask, a 1-second shot of his made-up face and then that vision/hallucination of Obi-Wan's. There may be more of those. But, aside from that brief scene at the end of ROTJ with a dying Vader talking to Luke, we've never seen a younger, unmasked Vader talking/delivering lines. Not sure when it would be, but at some point between the bacta tank and being fully suited up, maybe an underling enters with some news/info and we see/hear the real Vader speak?

And aside from that, I wonder if we’ll get some sort of brief flashback of Obi-Wan and Anakin, pre-Vader/Order 66? That seems like a given, obi-wan thinking/dreaming about happier, better times. I assume all along that was one of the reasons Christensen was brought in (because anyone can wear the suit/mask and the injury makeup). Somewhere in all this has to be straight up Hayden Christensen, no mask or makeup, via hallucination or flashback?

Can't believe we're already halfway through. They've packed in quite a bit in these first three episodes, so I'm expecting the same, if not more, in the final three.

Knowing that Obi-Wan and Leia had this little adventure together ~10 years earlier kinda makes you see some of those scenes in A New Hope with different eyes.

"Years ago you served my father...". He did a little more than that. He left Tatooine for the first time in 10 years to come save/rescue you! We think of Luke being all sad on the Falcon after they escape the Death Star. Leia being Leia doesn't really seem affected. But, having seen this show, you know Obi-Wan's "death" hurt her too. The man who saved her life 10 years earlier being killed by her father (which she didn't know at the time). One could even make the case that Leia probably knew Obi-Wan (Ben) better than Luke ever really did? By the time this series wraps up in three weeks, the two of them will have spent more time together than the few days(?) Luke and Ben were together. Not allowing for any passing days/time jumps (which we never saw), from the moment "Ben" scared off the Sandpeople until Vader struck him down couldn't have been more than 24 or so hours, when you think of how everything flowed between the two above bookends...finding the slaughtered Jawas, Mos Eisley, realizing Alderaan has been destroyed and captured by the Death Star. Plays out like a single day to me.

Has that ever been revealed/discussed? Capella would know.

Starts to get all tragic, nuanced and layered after a while, doesn't it? There’s a way to fill in some of those blanks and gaps that feels natural and “well, of course”. And then there’s the more heavy-handed, contrived approach. This franchise has done both, but, fortunately, right now seems to be more of the former. Knowing Obi-Wan and Bail’s history, and what they (and Yoda) all know, of course Bail is going to ask Obi-Wan to find/rescue his daughter. It would be strange if he didn’t.

Last edited by psmith2.0 : 2022-06-03 at 09:25.
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psmith2.0
Mr. Vieira
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Tennessee
 
2022-06-03, 09:43

Real quick, going back to one of 709's observations above...

Spoiler (click to toggle):
Leia, by design or otherwise, is kinda the Grogu of this show. Tiny, cute, overflowing with personality/watchability, introduced in the very first episode, out of nowhere/no hints of it happening, and with ties - visual or actual - to the OT, kinda drives the plot/motivates the lead character (bringing out their softer, fatherly instincts)...and that has to be protected by said lead character over many/all episodes.

Nobody was expecting, 2-3 years ago, for a little baby Yoda head to pop up from that cradle at the end of the very first episode of The Mandalorian. And I know damn well nobody was expecting this show to feature a young Leia so prominently! We all thought 10-year-old Luke would be getting the screen time, but the show, as with baby Yoda, threw everyone a curveball surprise.

And now, like Grogu, she's getting a lot of the attention and Internet "awwww".

If you follow this out, does that mean Andor and/or Ahsoka will adhere to the same pattern? I don't see it as much for Andor, but you never know. Will the pattern be that something little and cute gets introduced, as a surprise, in episode one and becomes the sidekick to the star? I kinda hope not, because that could get played out/predictable really quick. Considering Ahsoka's timeline (~30 prior to the sequel trilogy), is she going to wind up with toddler Poe Dameron under her protection? Let's all hope not.
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709
¡Damned!
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Purgatory
 
2022-06-03, 10:23

Spoiler (click to toggle):
Funny, because the instant that Leia ran into Reva at the end of this latest episode, I thought "Man, they're pulling a Grogu on us." Just like he was abducted in the penultimate episode of the first season of The Mandalorian - leaving us all to worry for a full week.

So it goes.
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Frank777
Veteran Member
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Toronto
 
2022-06-03, 12:18

Spoiler (click to toggle):
Obi-wan's upcoming training montage is going to be epic. Hopefully more like Rocky and less like Green Lantern.
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psmith2.0
Mr. Vieira
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Tennessee
 
2022-06-03, 14:18



We can certainly hope.

Something hit me earlier. It's not plot-specific, but I'll put it into spoiler tags just to be on the safe side...

Spoiler (click to toggle):
Is this show capable of a second season/installment? Because, speaking for myself, I'd love to see more. Even if it time-jumped ahead a few years, with a slightly older, but more-like-his-old-self Obi-Wan, and a 13-14 year old Luke? But I don't think he needs to be the focus (he got three full movies, after all). But just Obi-Wan ducking danger and avoiding detection while hiding out on Tatooine (which I thought this show was going to center on, but they've been everywhere but Tatooine, it seems.

I'd like to see how/why Obi-Wan said what he did about Mos Eisley to Luke on that ridge in A New Hope. Lots of story ideas to mine there...smugglers, bounty hunters, inquisitors, traders, farmers, droids, Jawas, Sandpeople, cantina low-lifes and scoundrels. In my mind there's certainly room for Cad Bane, Boba Fett, Ahsoka, Tarkin, etc. if they wanted to explore those avenues. Those people were all alive and active during that period from this show to Episode IV. People like Bane and Fett might be out looking for Obi-Wan and others like him, Ahsoka and Obi-Wan certainly have a connection/history, Tarkin would be running things on the Death Star as the events of A New Hope drew nearer, etc.

The writing, acting, stakes, the thrill of seeing Obi-Wan and Vader going at it, etc. just seems too good to limit to a one-off six-episode thing. I hope we hear, in the coming weeks/months, that we're going to get a second installment of this show in late 2023/early 2024. If it's anything like these first three, I think everyone would love to hear that news. And I'm betting both McGregor and Christensen are game.

Last edited by psmith2.0 : 2022-06-03 at 14:30.
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kscherer
Which way is up?
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Boyzeee
 
2022-06-03, 15:35

That's all nice, but we have to allow for Obi-Wan to get old and tired so that he fits with the Obi-Wan that Vader faces in A New Hope. He can't get too good at being a Jedi, again. Otherwise, the story arc will come apart. Personally, I could see him popping in and out of the stories of other characters as they pop in and out of Tatooine, or something to that affect. Perhaps playing the part of rescuer of various personalities.

And, as much as I like this show so far, I'll be okay with it coming to a graceful end so it doesn't over-play itself. There are lots of other characters whose stories are untold, and I'll be fine learning about them. There are lots of folks from the Rebels series that have plenty left going for them, and lots of new characters to explore.

I think Disney has so many options to explore that they aren't going to run out of ideas, at least so long as the current production staff is at the helm — and passes their passion on to others.

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psmith2.0
Mr. Vieira
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Tennessee
 
2022-06-05, 17:25

On a somewhat-related note, TBS is showing the prequels today (well, at least episodes 2 and 3, from what I've seen).

Despite the presence of McGregor, Smits, McDiarmid and others, these things have not aged well.

The acting by so many is really bad, and you can tell Lucas didn't want to travel anywhere to shoot anything "real". It's green screen city, and it's so apparent. Nothing looks real. I watched part of Attack of the Clones (until 2019 my least favorite Star Wars movie) and ROTS is now at the Kenobi/Grievous fight on Utapau. It's like a video game (that's not a compliment).

I know these movies set up so much of what came to be later, and what we enjoy. But man...they're pretty shaky in terms of some of the dialogue and acting. Everyone other than McGregor, Smits, McDiarmid and Jackson are pretty tough to watch. It's played so...broad, as though they assumed their audience would be nothing but third-graders and that they must hit them over the head with everything - everything - for it to get through; these might be the least-nuanced, most unsubtle movies I've ever seen. I thought so in 1999, 2002 and 2005. And nothing I've seen this afternoon has changed any of that. It's a wonder the franchise survived some of this nonsense.

The overall outline/gist is there, it's just...the execution and details were kinda all over the place. I've often wondered, as I have the sequel trilogy, what would've/could've been with a better writer/director and some better casting. Such missed, lost opportunity across six movies.

This Obi-Wan show is helping with some of that, but it's not enough. I couldn't sit through any of these prequel entries, on purpose, again. But, hey...at least Lucas kept it consistent. Nobody playing Anakin - Jake Lloyd or Hayden Christensen - can act worth a shit in any of this. So, yeah...I suppose there's some believable continuity there!

"You were unbelievably wooden as a child, my Padawan; and you still are. You haven't changed at all, Anakin! Your hair is longer and you're a bit taller, perhaps...but, you really suck".

I watch these scenes between Palpatine and Anakin (pre-Vader/Order 66) and all I can think is "they probably didn't pay Ian McDiarmid enough to slum it here...". The imbalance between acting chops on display...it's like watching Anthony Hopkins sharing a scene with Pauly Shore. "One of these things doesn't belong...".

PS - They’re weirdly fun(?) to watch, though, because I can remember everything upon first seeing them in the theater. It’s a great “time capsule” vibe, and such a marked, well-remembered period of my life. 1 and 2 in California, midnight shows, wall-to-wall costumed fans, etc. And then episode 3 back in my hometown in 2005. I remember the theaters, the buildup, the hype and merchandising, that gut thrill of hearing those blaster and lightsaber noises once again, etc. Everything surrounding the movies was a good time and exciting. The movies, unfortunately, simply didn’t hold up their end of the deal.

But when I see Ewan McGregor in this roll again, that all comes rushing back.

Last edited by psmith2.0 : 2022-06-05 at 17:51.
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psmith2.0
Mr. Vieira
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Tennessee
 
2022-06-06, 08:45

Well, well...

Perhaps I was on to something a few posts up?

Or this show has hit bigger than they planned, and they realized they aren't quite done?

Either way...yay!
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psmith2.0
Mr. Vieira
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Tennessee
 
2022-06-07, 11:02

Episode (chapter?) 4 tonight. I have no idea what to expect, which is really nice. I love that I refrain from seeking anything out on the front end. When I go into this stuff at 3am, MacBook propped on my knees in bed and my earbuds in, anything is possible! When stuff happens, it's a genuine surprise and ""ooh, I wasn't expecting that!", watching in the dark. I love that ~45 minutes between 3-4am with this stuff.

I have some hopes/guesses (nothing blatantly spoiler below, but if you've not watched the first three episodes, you may want to avoid). But if you've seen all the installments so far, then feel free to click below...just speculation/wondering on my part).

Spoiler (click to toggle):
- I assume, at some point, Leia gets returned and they finish things up back on Tatooine? For a show called Obi-Wan Kenobi, I never dreamed we would've spent this much time away from the one planet I assumed he spent that entire ~20 years living on, watching over Luke. Instead it's been he's actually kinda watching over/helping Leia, and traveling to a new planet every week! I would not have predicted any of that, going into this show four weeks ago.

- With the way this show zigs and zags, and does the unexpected (see above), part of me is now wondering if that's the only encounter with Vader we'll get? I know everyone (myself included) is expecting Obi-Wan to recuperate and rediscover his mojo and face off against Vader again, where he holds his own a bit more. But maybe their rematch is actually on the Death Star, 10 years later? We'll still get more Vader (and maybe flashbacks of pre-Vader Anakin), but maybe that one, lopsided duel in the mining town was it for this series? You never can tell, and nothing would surprise me...I've been absolutely wrong about no fewer than six aspects of this show in my assumptions/predictions! What's a few more at this point?

- We know, just from Episode IV, who survives and makes it another 9-10 years, so the next three episodes can't really shock us with any good guy deaths (we all know Obi-Wan, Owen, Beru, Luke, Bail and Leia aren't going anywhere) or the usual "OMG!" cliffhangers, so anything "shocking" will be limited to the Empire, IMO. In other words, I think Reva is living on borrowed time and will not make it out of the final episode alive. I think she'll die, but it won't be at the hands of Obi-Wan. I think she, true to form she's displayed across all episodes so far, will sass off/yell at Vader in a moment of frustration. "You can pull that shit with others, Third Sister, but you've apparently forgotten who you're talking to. *SNAP*" Or, like so many others before (and after) her, she fails/disappoints Vader and he offs her. Or maybe she betrays him, helping Obi-Wan by the final episode, and pays the price? No matter what, I believe she's dead before it's all over. And by Vader. Too easy/predictable that she duels with Obi-Wan, IMO. I would've thought that 2-3 weeks ago. But seeing how at odds she is with everyone, even her own side, I think it's her own people (Vader) who'll do away with her. I'll be shocked if she survives. They might soften/humanize her a bit in the next few episodes, confirming that she was that youngling in the Jedi temple at the start of first episode (that has to factor in/pay off somehow, these next three episodes, or they never would've shown that sequence; I do believe that young girl was Reva, and her Jedi roots may eventually override what she's become), and how her (short) life was full of upheaval and tragedy. That would make for a bigger impact, if/when she dies. Nobody's that relentlessly mean and scream-y without some looming redemption arc. They've been telegraphing this one since the opening episode, IMO.

- Whatever happens tonight has to start setting the stage for the final two episodes. They don't have 4-5 more episodes to drag it out, as they might've done with The Mandalorian. That's the good thing about having six episodes. No room for filler or dilly-dallying around. Every episode has to count (yeah, I know...The Book of Boba Fett; but this is already a far better show).

Last edited by psmith2.0 : 2022-06-07 at 11:33.
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709
¡Damned!
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Purgatory
 
2022-06-07, 11:53

Spoiler (click to toggle):
I'm still hoping we get a visit - however short - to the Death Star. Somehow, for whatever reason, this old desert hermit knows in Episode IV that "That's no moon. It's a space station." while the space-hopping pirate poo-poos the idea. I think Obi-Wan has been there before and maybe even had to pull the tractor beam switch to escape.

Or maybe they're saving that for Season 2.

So it goes.
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kscherer
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Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Boyzeee
 
2022-06-07, 12:06

That's a nice thought, actually. I can handle me some Death Star sleuthing.

Last edited by kscherer : 2022-06-07 at 12:30.
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turtle
Lord of the Rant.
Formerly turtle2472
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Upstate South Carolina
 
2022-06-07, 12:12

Spoiler (click to toggle):
With the revelation there will be a Season 2 and knowing who makes it to Ep4.
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psmith2.0
Mr. Vieira
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Tennessee
 
2022-06-07, 17:01

Quote:
Originally Posted by 709 View Post
Spoiler (click to toggle):
I'm still hoping we get a visit - however short - to the Death Star. Somehow, for whatever reason, this old desert hermit knows in Episode IV that "That's no moon. It's a space station." while the space-hopping pirate poo-poos the idea. I think Obi-Wan has been there before and maybe even had to pull the tractor beam switch to escape.

Or maybe they're saving that for Season 2.
Spoiler (click to toggle):
If they're going to do that this go-around, they better hop to it! As in tonight (or first thing next week). Such a thing would surely warrant an entire episode, and they're running out of ones to use. It would be cool to see, no doubt.

I bet the little kid who plays Luke was thrown for a loop. When cast for the role, surely he assumed "the show is about Obi-Wan Kenobi, watching over Luke Skywalker all that time. I'm gonna get all kinds of screen time!"

Uh...nope. About six seconds, by my calculations. Leia, however, has slid into the Grogu slot, out of nowhere.

Better luck next time (or these final 2-3 episodes, maybe).
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kscherer
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Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Boyzeee
 
2022-06-07, 17:10

Yeah, with all the secrecy around these shows, I bet some of the actors/actresses get pretty disappointed with the tiny part their character actually has on-screen. That way, they get to know how Mark Hamill feels.

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psmith2.0
Mr. Vieira
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Tennessee
 
2022-06-07, 17:22

It's beyond stupid how excited and wound up I find myself on Tuesday evenings. I even shoot for a 9-10pm bedtime, knowing I'm going to be waking up at 3am. But I love that. I love knowing, as I'm drifting off tonight, that I'll hear my iPhone alarm at 2:55 and that I've got just enough time to get up and pee, pour Jasper a few pellets of Cat Chow , grab the MacBook and earbuds, get back in bed, position/hook up everything, etc. just as the clock hits 3am and I see that new episode waiting.

It's the simple things, folks.

These shows have made me love Star Wars again. That's all I could ask for.
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kscherer
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Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Boyzeee
 
2022-06-07, 17:35

Quote:
Originally Posted by psmith2.0 View Post
These shows have made me love Star Wars again. That's all I could ask for.
No doubt. The film crew responsible is just amazing. I want these guys to go back and remake a few things.

Something tells me that had they been responsible for everything Star Wars over the last twenty years, a lot of things would be very different/make better sense.

- AppleNova is the best Mac-users forum on the internet. We are smart, educated, capable, and helpful. We are also loaded with smart-alecks! :)
- Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. (Mat 5:9)
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psmith2.0
Mr. Vieira
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Tennessee
 
2022-06-07, 17:53

BTW, is it just me or do the lightsabers on this show look really good? The vibrancy, glow, etc.? They sound great too, as always.
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kscherer
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Join Date: Aug 2004
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2022-06-07, 17:56

They do look good. LucasFilm has developed some incredible CGI tech, and that they are putting it on display for what is basically a weekly TV show is just

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psmith2.0
Mr. Vieira
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Tennessee
 
2022-06-08, 03:10

Decent episode, #4...

Spoiler (click to toggle):
...albeit a bit short (39 minutes) and pretty much a rescue/escape episode. And its share of narrative or stylistic WTF?!-isms, perhaps a bit more than the other three?

- Obi-Wan partially heals from his wounds in a bacta tank, but he (and Vader) both have images and disturbances as they're in their respective tanks. Nice cross-cutting scene of both of them kinda freaking out underwater, remembering back to their skirmish on the mining planet.

- Speaking of water, the bulk of the episode is set on that Imperial facility on the water/ocean planet, which, as it turns out, is a moon of Mustafar. The lady from last week, Tala, uses her security clearance/role as an officer to get Obi-Wan into the facility. Nice underwater shot of Obi-Wan swimming, with a breather, to access the joint from under the waves.

- Lots of Reva in this episode, with her interrogating little Leia. Leia tells them nothing, and royally pisses Reva off as the episode progresses

- Snowspeeders! Haven't seen them since 1980, and we get two on a rescue mission! Cool shot to see them come roaring out of the sky and blowing shit up. A proper Star Wars Moment™, for sure. Two things: a) they seemed a bit small or oddly-scaled, and b) I had no idea they could stop and hover, mid-air, like that. We didn’t see that on Hoth.

- Obi-Wan goes to work with his lightsaber a good bit...offing stormtroopers directly, or, as shown many times in the prequels, deftly deflecting their blaster bolts back to them and killing them with their own weapon firing. And he does that little wrist spin/twirl move at one point. The nostalgia.

- Vader appears briefly at the very end. He's huge...that scene where he walks up to Reva, he looms over her (and she doesn't strike me as particularly short). Great visual. He's fed up with everyone under his command.

- Lots of great visuals of that Imperial facility, especially the underwater parts (seeing the ocean life in the greenish windows in the background). That, contrasted with all the glossy black walls and floors with the little stabs of red lighting all made for a cool look.

- The "basement" of that facility, with all the entombed, on-display bodies...WTF?! I suppose I should know/recognize some of them? Or were they just random people the Empire has made examples of/collected? There was a helmeted youngling among them, and you can tell it affected Obi-Wan to see that. I didn't recognize any of the 4-5 others shown, but that's not saying much...my only real Star Wars knowledge centers around the feature films. I know nothing of the novels, comics, video games, etc. Were these prominent Jedi and/or Rebels (although the Rebel Alliance wasn't fully a thing at this timeframe, right? But the seeds were in place). Once again, this is me saying “Capella would know”.

- We’ve seen, twice now, TIE fighters hanging in the ceiling of that pyramid Imperial base in the ocean. Weird that they weren’t scrambled to engage/pursue the snowspeeders. Are they just there for for show/hangar decoration? Were all the pilots just sitting around, smoking and watching TV? “You people have one job…when other ships come out of the sky and attack us, you - all of you! - are supposed to get in your ships and go pew-pew-pew at them for a while! You’ve never seen a Star Wars movie? WTF are we paying you for?!”

- Some genuinely tense moments (Tala making her way through security, not fully knowing if her cover has been blown or not, Obi-Wan sneaking around the facility looking for Leia). Very reminiscent of A New Hope...detention areas, Obi-Wan sneaking around, having to put on Imperial uniforms for disguise, etc. This might be as close as we get to 709's desire to see the Death Star (unless it appears in the next two, final episodes). But it's a very close stand-in and gives off the same type of vibe. It’s about as Empire-y as a place can be, mouse droids and all. I’d wager there’s a trash compactor somewhere, along with impossibly high walkways with zero railing!

- I realize she’s precocious and all, but WTF is a 10-year-old little girl going to know about pathways, underground networks, pockets of resistance or any other anti-Empire groups, movements, facilities, operations, etc.? What was Reva truly expecting to extract from her? “The girl gave us everything, Lord Vader.” I highly doubt it.

- The stage is now set for the final two installments. Obi-Wan retrieved Leia and they're on their way back(?), but they're not out of the woods yet. There was a reason Reva was shown holding Lola...and it's the one thing that saved her life from Vader's anger. You'll see.

- Great shot of Obi-Wan offing the two Stormtroopers guarding Leia...totally dark room (he killed the lights) and then you see that blue saber igniting out of nowhere, twice. The look on Leia’s face when she sees him (after she’d been told by Reva that he was dead and that nobody was coming for her) was great. He’s her hero, for sure.

- Not a bad episode at all, but a bit by-the-numbers and lean, I thought. Primarily a single location after the first five minutes or so, and basically a "sneak around and rescue someone" mission. But some good tension/nailbiting in a few spots.

- We know Stormtroopers are lousy shots. We now know it’s because they’re blind! How did those two, in a straight, unobstructed hallway, not see Obi-Wan duck out of sight, just 30 feet in front of them? He was right there! I can suspend my disbelief with the best of them, but sometimes shit’s gotta make some level of realistic sense. Could they not have been standing still, facing the other direction? But now everything re: their marksmanship is made clear…they’re actually blind! That explains so much in the OT.

- I think if you put those three main inquisitors in a room together, there would soon be three dead people. I've never seen co-workers/people on the same side who hate each other so much!

- Reva is very smart, and scary. And it pretty much confirms that was her in the opening minutes of the first episode, that child. Not blatantly, but she talks a bit about her childhood to Leia and you're meant to put that together, I think. I can't get a read on her. She's mean as hell, but there's something there. I think she's re-evaluating her current gig (and the low-lifes she hangs out with/answers to). Hey, we've all been there! But she holds the screen when she's on it. She's like no other SW character I've seen...deliciously hateful and bossy, but cool and calculating and changes on a dime, her demeanor. You never know quite what to expect, or how she's going to respond. She kinda scares me. But I also think she's a bundle of raw nerves and not entirely sure of her place or actions. She's been the second best part of the show, IMO, after Obi-Wan himself. Sometimes her acting is a bit broad and jarring, but, when she's on the screen, I'm kinda transfixed. It's different. It's like they took someone from Philadelphia or Cleveland and dropped them into Star Wars (not a slam at all, just an honest, “that’s a different tone/approach we’ve not really seen” observation). So much Star Wars villainy is seething and coiled (Vader, Maul, Palpatine, Tarkin, Boba and Jango, Krennic), while she's more on the outwardly angry/yelling side of the scale, which is a departure. It reminds me of a performance/role from Forrest Whittaker some years back, and I can’t recall the movie. But he baited/toyed with with people to unsettle/confuse them, then exploded into such volume and rage. And also a bit of Tom Cruise’s hitman character from Collateral…ruthless, always in charge, no qualms/hesitation re: violence. Sometimes it veers into cringe-y (when she Batman-growls an order), but often I'm just like "damn, she's absolutely had it with everyone and is about to lose her shit; give her what she wants so she doesn't cut off your head…you know she’ll do it!" It's been interesting, overall. She makes a good villain, even though it's a bit of a departure from the norm. I would not want to wind up on her bad side; she seems to constantly be looking for an excuse to ignite her saber and use it! That makes her scary/dangerous. Hell, I thought she was going to personally start laying a beating on Leia...the little princess was working her last nerve!

- Beautifully shot, as always. Just a bit short and not particularly memorable or revelatory aside from 1-2 moments. But it definitely tees up the next two installments.

One final thing: as much as I do enjoy this show (and that's 95% Ewan McGregor, why lie?), it feels a bit loose and undercooked, and inconsistent in places. I'm wondering if the writers know as much as they should? And, at its worst (which still isn't bad), it almost feels a bit "gotcha"...we're going off on this big four-episode detour of Star Wars Greatest Hits, vs. the small, tight show, set on Tatooine, that I'd hoped for. I've enjoyed it far more than The Book of Boba Fett, but I would've done about six things differently. For a show called Obi-Wan Kenobi, I've been surprised, at times, just how little he sometimes shows up or factors in. They've felt the need to put in all these other characters and sub-plots - Tala, Leia, Reva - at the expense of a full-on Obi-Wan and Vader/Anakin thing, which I bet most folks were expecting/hoping for. That's my only real beef...it just seems to have wandered off a bit from its implied premise. Still fun to watch, but there's nowhere near the pure Obi-Wan/Vader angle I was expecting (and, frankly, we were kinda led to believe in some of the lead-up interviews and marketing). Maybe this has all been needed setup, and we'll get that payoff in the final two episodes. And, you know...some sort of involvement from Liam Neeson?

Last edited by psmith2.0 : 2022-06-08 at 14:19.
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Frank777
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2022-06-08, 16:11

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Star Wars TV/Movie Rules: Every Episode Four requires rescuing Leia from a heavily-guarded Imperial fortress.

Last edited by Frank777 : 2022-06-08 at 16:29.
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psmith2.0
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2022-06-08, 16:36

Ha!
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709
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Join Date: May 2004
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2022-06-09, 07:13

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Too short!

Some fun Episode IV nods like the needle-torture-tech (it even made the same electro-warbly noise... obviously they found a way to fit it inside a floating ball 10 years later) and the 'fake-out' letting them escape while unknowingly being tracked.

There's a lot left to fit into just a couple of final episodes.

So it goes.
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psmith2.0
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Join Date: May 2004
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2022-06-09, 08:19

Yep, everything you said.

Spoiler (click to toggle):
it flew by. Was listed at 39 minutes but I figure a good 4-5 of that are credits, so probably not much over 30 minutes of actual show. These last two should be pretty packed and I’m hoping they’re a solid 55 minutes each, like a couple of those Mando and Boba Fett installments.

Another moment I remember/liked: hearing Vader yell that way was a first, I think? He’s certainly bellowed menacingly or slightly raised his voice for impact a few times, but usually he’s pretty low-key and understated vocally, calmly hissing while letting his presence do the scaring.

When he fast-walked into that room and air-choked Reva (“YOU WERE WARNED…”) I was like “damn, he’s pissed! She should probably figure out a way to off herself real quick and spare herself whatever’s coming from him!”

How quick can someone cut their own head off with their lightsaber? Because that’s what I would’ve done when I heard those approaching fast, heavy footsteps!

“Oh shiiiiiit…”.

I noticed that torture rack sound effect too! The exact same one from the ball droid in Leia’s cell in 1977. Also that general alarm sound as well. I think that was in episodes 4 and 5 (when the two Star Destroyers were about to collide chasing the Falcon).

The visuals of Star Wars (rightfully) get such acclaim and attention, but man…they own a bunch of sounds that also say just as much. Blasters/lasers in Star Wars sound like nothing else from any other property/franchise.

Not gonna lie…when I heard those again at the midnight showing of The Phantom Menace in 1999, I got a little something in my eye. “Ohmigosh, I’m sitting in a movie theater watching a Star Wars movie again - which I never thought could happen - and it sounds like I remember!”

You can’t help things like that hitting you a certain way when you spent all your childhood/early teens immersed in this stuff ~20 years earlier.

Powerful stuff, all those sounds Ben Burtt and others put into our heads decades ago. There are sounds/noises that are absolutely 100% Star Wars, and they carry over from movie to movie, trilogy to trilogy, one medium to another. And you recognize them immediately.

They’re like an old friend, or your favorite pair of jeans or slippers.

Last edited by psmith2.0 : 2022-06-09 at 08:48.
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