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part onepart twopart threepart four Before resuming with Attack of the Clones, I note the existence of Darths and Droids, a comic strip not unlike Shamus Young’s DM of the Rings, which even now, more than a year after its completion, still brings a few visitors to this blog every day, owing to his link to me in the commentary on this installment. The notion of Darths is simple: what if the story of Star Wars, beginning with The Phantom Menace, actually came about via a role-playing campaign? I’ve actually looked in on Darths before, but I haven’t been followingDown the rabbit hole….

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Kevin Drum on Liam Neeson: Neeson is, after all, our greatest living actor. How do I know this? Consider: every single actor directed by George Lucas in the second Star Wars trilogy gave a performance that could only charitably be called embarrassing. The lone exception was Liam Neeson, who, against all odds, managed to overcome Lucas’s leaden dialog and clunky direction and turn in an appealing, understated performance anyway. If that’s not evidence that he’s our greatest living actor, I don’t know what is. Oh, come now. I know that most folks think that Hayden Christensen and Natalie Portman turnDown the rabbit hole….

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part onepart twopart three Okeyday, wesa back! Continuing with our script-doctoring of Attack of the Clones, Obi Wan and Anakin have just apprehended the assassin who was trying to kill Padme, only to have that assassin killed by the toxic dart possibly fired by someone wearing a rocket jet pack. After that sequence is done, we cut to the next morning, when Obi Wan and Anakin report to the Jedi Council on what’s been going on: INTERIOR: JEDI TEMPLE, COUNCIL CHAMBER – DAY OBI-WAN and ANAKIN stand in the center of the Council Chamber. The members of the Jedi CouncilDown the rabbit hole….

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part onepart two Wow, it’s been a while, hasn’t it? The hectic nature of the holiday season put this, and a couple of other ongoing blog projects, on hold, but now we’re into January and it’s time to get back to business. Before I do, though, a reader wrote in regarding the Fixing the Prequels project: Hello. Out of curiosity: The prequels ranked high on your Favorite Movies list, yet you’ve expended quite a bit of effort in making extensive changes. What gives? I only ask this because The Phantom Menace and Revenge of the Sith are two of myDown the rabbit hole….

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part one Returning to Attack of the Clones, we’ve just left the Chancellor’s office where Palpatine has just prevailed upon Senator Amidala to accept the protection of the Jedi for the time being, after the attempt on her life. We also have already fleshed out the political situation a little more, giving more of a face and feel to the Separatist movement that threatens the Republic. Now, we’re ready to meet our heroes: Obi Wan Kenobi, now a Jedi Master, and his Padawan learner, Anakin Skywalker. In the film, we cut from the Chancellor’s office to the elevator on SenatorDown the rabbit hole….

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Well, I suppose I’ve waited long enough, so it’s time to return to a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away to pick my way through the second of the oft-derided, and in my view unfairly unappreciated, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy. So, bring ’em on: Attack of the Clones! First, a couple of reminders from Fixing the Prequels: TPM: 1. I will be using these abbreviations throughout: TPM = The Phantom MenaceAOTC = Attack of the ClonesROTS = Revenge of the SithANH = A New HopeTESB = The Empire Strikes BackROTJ = Return of the JediPT = PrequelDown the rabbit hole….

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Here’s something I haven’t done in a while: ranted about a smug anti-Star Wars article that shows up online somewhere. Seen via SFSignal, the article is about Where Star Wars Went Wrong. (I, of course, don’t even grant the premise that it went wrong at all, but hey, we’ve covered that before.) Rather than trash the whole thing, I’m just going to cull out a few nuggets of particular contention for me: The Ewoks were over-used and certainly over-marketed, but they didn’t ruin the movie in and of themselves. Return of the Jedi was the first Star Wars movie whereDown the rabbit hole….

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part onepart twopart threepart fourpart fivepart sixpart sevenpart eightpart nine (The entire series can be read by clicking the Post Label at the bottom of each individual post in the series.) And now we come at last to the end of The Phantom Menace. The final battle is, of course, the best executed portion of the entire film, owing as it does to George Lucas’s skills at film editing. But there are some changes I’d make herein, mainly dealing with two particular fronts: Anakin’s conduct in the battle, and Jar Jar’s. Remember, when last we’d left, I’d shifted things soDown the rabbit hole….

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part onepart twopart threepart fourpart fivepart sixpart sevenpart eight (The entire series can be read by clicking the Post Label at the bottom of each individual post in the series.) And now at last we return to our repairs on The Phantom Menace. When last we left our heroes, we had just finished discussing the Midichlorians while our heroes are en route back to Naboo for…whatever it is the Queen is planning. At this point I’d have a quick little bit with Darth Sidious and Darth Maul: INT: SITH SPACECRAFT – MEDITATION CHAMBER Darth Maul is kneeling in meditation inDown the rabbit hole….

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I was just reading a post on some other blog, and I saw the umpteenth assertion that the Star Wars Holiday Special was Godawful dreck, and I got to wondering, “Hmmm…is it possible that it really wasn’t quite that bad? Could it have been kind of good, in a kitschy way?” So it was off to YouTube, and… Hoo boy. If you’ll excuse me, I have to go lay down in bed and quiver in existential horror. Share This PostDown the rabbit hole….