Just a quick hijack – Curtis, have you read the X-Wing series? (If not, you should – they rock!)
In The Seven-Percent Solution, Nicholas Meyer presents Professor Moriarty as being largely a delusion on the part of Holmes. There was a real Professor Moriarty in the book, but he was very different from the villain depicted in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s stories.
Count Dracula has been dealt with sympathetically in a number of works, perhaps most famously the 1992 film version of Dracula. He still commits most of the evil deeds from the book, but his behavior towards Mina at least is motivated by love for her (or her past incarnation) and Mina willingly allows him to bite her.
Check out Sauron’s Blog for the Dark Lord’s perspective on choir practice, the headaches of creating a world, and dealing with incompetent bosses and ungrateful Children.
Curtis, I started not to respond to this thread, because my initial reactions to your earlier posts would rightfully get me mod-smacked. But I have a question for you, one I mean entirely seriously. I am not trying to trap you; I just want to know what you think.
What do you think Jesus Christ–Son of God, Savior of Humanity, and so forth–would think of Emperor Palpatine?
Vader murdered a roomful of grade-schoolers who trusted him and looked to him for guidance. He was not redeemable. I know Lucas wants us to think so, but Lucas is a nincompoop.
I agree that by Magua’s lights, his quest to avenge his family is noble. I disagree that he’s not blameworthy for it. Villainous actions do not become non-villainous because the perpetrator had a genuine beef.
I don’t even think Christ could find love or forgiveness for the prequel trilogy.
Said this before, but the “heroes” in Jurassic Park 2 were mostly villains, particularly Vince Vaughn’s character and the scientist chick. They weren’t just villains, they were completely incompetent villains. The “villains,” meanwhile, were exercising their legal right to claim property in which they had sunk billions of dollars and were going out of their way to NOT hurt the “heroes.” even though they richly deserved it.
I can’t quite agree. It’s clear that Vince Vaughn’s character is a villain by any reasonable lights; he is as responsible for the deaths-by-dinosaur as Dennis Nedry was in the first film. But the Julianne Moore character is less culpable. She does not assist him in the sabotage of the captive lizards; nor does she have foreknowledge of his colosally reckless “rescue” of the infant T-Rex, and even tries to dissuade him. That situation was forced upon her. The Jeff Goldblum character, Ian Malcolm, even less culpable; he doesn’t want to be there in the first place, and his motives for going to the island are entirely good.
Sam, I honestly want to know what Curtis thinks. My question about the Son of Mary was one of those rare times when I’m utterly serious.
The crew of L&O: SVU are either champions seeking justice for victims, or dangerously rogue cops, depending on your point of view. The very ADAs who work with them have their doubts.
I know I should.
Not very well to be mild. However if the Yuuzhun Vong invasion caused more suffering due to the break-up of the Empire than Palpatine’s survival may in the long run minimize sentinent suffering. And there were plenty of good men like Gilad Pellaeon who served the Empire.
That’s quite true. Up until that moment in Revenge of the Sith when Anakin Skywalker kills Mace Windu instead of Palpatine that’s the best possible course for the Galaxy but once the Empire’s in place, the Galactic Civil War reduced it’s military might. For one a fleet of 25,000 Imperial Star Destroyers was reduced to 200 (!) and the Imperial Remnant proportionally was less suspectible to Yuuzhun Vong infiltration and did better in battle against them.