# Obvious things about a creative work you realize after the millionth time (OPEN SPOILERS POSSIBLE) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 24, 2009, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117 "2009-07-24T13:20:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 334
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2025, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/6667 "2025-10-17T14:36:15Z")
> [@Sitnam](#): > > The camera only follows Force wielders and their friends, we don’t ever get to see how these Stormtroopers put their boot heel on every planet in the Galaxy. We do in Andor, though. The season two episode where they engineer a “riot” and a massacre shows the Stormtroopers as being pretty damn effective. ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2025, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/6668 "2025-10-17T16:30:31Z")
In Clone Wars where the clones are still the heroes there’s a running joke that the droids they fight against have faulty programming so they almost always miss ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2025, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/6669 "2025-11-07T19:05:11Z")
Inna and I are (re)watching Breaking Bad and are 1 episode from finishing. In one scene, the neo-nazis drive away, their license plate clearly visible. It says… NZ45B8 Obviously, NZ=Nazi. And B8 is 88 (Heil Hitler). And after thinking about it, it’s obvious what 45 is - Trump (45th President). Not bad for an episode released in 2013! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2025, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/6670 "2025-11-07T20:43:45Z")
Last weekend, was watching **Star Wars: A New Hope** with someone (two someones, in fact) who’d never seen it before. And I _think_ I spotted something. Early on, when Luke and Owen are checking out the Jawas’ wares, which of course includes R2D2 and C-3PO, Owen chooses the **red** droid, and calls to it. Red starts trundling across the sand, then abruptly shorts out. “Guess we gotta take the blue one!” I could be wrong, but I think Artoo **caused** the red number to short out. Am I right? ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Knig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@Typo\_Knig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Knig)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2025, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/6671 "2025-11-07T21:00:11Z")
Yes, and made obvious in the Star Wars radio drama that was released about a year after A New Hope. BTW, the radio drama is well done. It includes a scene where Vader is interrogating Leia, using drugs that make her think he’s a person she trusts. Creepy AF! ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2025, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/6672 "2025-11-07T21:07:22Z")
> [@Rilchiam](#): > > Early on, when Luke and Owen are checking out the Jawas’ wares, which of course includes R2D2 and C-3PO, Owen chooses the **red** droid, and calls to it. Red starts trundling across the sand, then abruptly shorts out. “Guess we gotta take the blue one!” I could be wrong, but I think Artoo **caused** the red number to short out. Am I right? Probably not - R2 doesn’t seem to have any wireless capability. Throughout the series, if he wants to interact with a computer, he has to trundle up to it and physically interface with it. Also, at this point he still has a restraining bolt, which probably limits his ability to destroy his owner’s other possessions. Of course, Star Wars being Star Wars, the red droid has a whole backstory. Presented in _Star Wars Tales_, a comic anthology of stories set in the Star Wars universe, [“Skippy the Jedi Droid”](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Skippy_the_Jedi_Droid) describes the red unit as a force-sensitive droid who, just as he’s being purchased by Uncle Owen, has a vision of a future in which Luke doesn’t buy R2, never gets off the farm, and the Rebellion is crushed when he’s not there to destroy the Death Star before it blows up Yavin. Realizing that the fate of the galaxy is at stake, he sabotages his own motivator, so Uncle Owen has to buy R2 instead. (The story was never actually canon - a lot of the stories in the _Star Wars Tales_ series were satirical takes on the setting. “A Death Star is Born” is, for my money, [the highlight of the series](https://i.postimg.cc/cCdHgKsw/Screenshot-20230217-150931-Comics.jpg), but it would also canonize Huckleberry Hound as a thing that exists in-universe. Or maybe it was Snagglepuss? I can’t find a scan of the page on line.) ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2025, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/6673 "2025-11-07T21:20:53Z")
Interesting. Both those explanations are believable, but of course they can’t both be true! ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2025, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/6674 "2025-11-07T23:10:18Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Presented in _Star Wars Tales_, a comic anthology of stories set in the Star Wars universe,… Anything in there about all the innocent, independent contractors who were killed when the second Death Star was destroyed? ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2025, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/6675 "2025-11-08T00:53:23Z")
Hey, they knew what they were getting into. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/iQdDRrcAOjA/hqdefault.jpg "Clerks - Death Star Contractors") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQdDRrcAOjA) ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2025, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/6676 "2025-11-08T01:10:39Z")
That clip is perfect for this thread. That roofer explains that he turned down a job because of the risk involved, but passed it along to a friend. What an asshole! He got his friend killed. Before the body was cold he probably stole the friend’s tools and was banging his wife. “What a wookie!” ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2025, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/6677 "2025-11-08T01:27:39Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Anything in there about all the innocent, independent contractors who were killed when the second Death Star was destroyed? Or- were they? Because it seems like it was complete, but had the appearance of half completed, as a trap. Also droids were mostly used- > **[DS-2 Death Star II Mobile Battle Station](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/DS-2_Death_Star_II_Mobile_Battle_Station#Construction)** > > The DS-2 Death Star II Mobile Battle Station, codenamed Second Sun and DS-2, also known as the Death Star MK. 2, the Death Star Mark 2, Battle Station DS-II, or simply the second Death Star, was a partially completed moon-sized battle station... _As was confirmed during development of the first Death Star, construction advanced most efficiently when the working surface allowed for sufficient space for the greatest possible number of self-replicating [construction droids](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Construction_droid "Construction droid")._ ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2025, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/6678 "2025-11-08T01:31:24Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > That clip is perfect for this thread. That roofer explains that he turned down a job because of the risk involved, but passed it along to a friend. What an asshole! He got his friend killed. Before the body was cold he probably stole the friend’s tools and was banging his wife. You are correct if the roofer never told his friend who the job was for and why he turned it down. If he did inform him and his friend went ahead and accepted the job anyway, he was aware of how it could turn out for him. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2025, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/6679 "2025-11-08T02:16:45Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Because it seems like it was complete Hardly. Yes the main power core was operational along with the superlaser. But it had no shields and no engines. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2025, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/6680 "2025-11-08T02:27:48Z")
The original was also, well, a space station. It had hangars for ships and barracks for troops and so on, all of the things you’d need for a functioning (mobile) military base. The skeleton of the second one couldn’t have had all of that. Also, while the superlaser was at least somewhat functional, it might not have been entirely so. It’s a lot easier to destroy a Mon Calamari cruiser than an entire planet. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2025, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/6681 "2025-11-08T04:52:28Z")
> [@NDP](#): > > You are correct if the roofer never told his friend who the job was for and why he turned it down. If he did inform him and his friend went ahead and accepted the job anyway, he was aware of how it could turn out for him. It’s still a pretty jerkish thing to do. “I think I’ll give this rabid wolverine to a friend of mine. If he decides to pet it and dies a horrible, painful death, it has nothing to do with me.” ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2025, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/6682 "2025-11-10T02:15:20Z")
On the tv show _30 Rock_ Tracy had an entourage of Dot Com and Grizz. I was aware that the character Grizz was played by actor Grizz Chapman. I had always assumed that Grizz was a nickname the actor chose to use as his screen name. Today I learned that the actor’s legal name is Grizzwald. Just to keep it weird, the character’s real name is Griswold. But it’s his last name not his first name. ---
**Author:** ![De\_La\_Rue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@De\_La\_Rue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/De_La_Rue)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2025, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/6683 "2025-11-10T02:47:23Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > I can’t find a scan of the page on line. [I can](https://worldwideinterweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/exceedingly-sorry-my-emperor-my-daughter-must-have-taken-one-my-holo-projectors-by-mistake.jpg), and it is in fact Yogi Bear. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2025, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/6684 "2025-11-10T22:26:35Z")
That looks oddly prescient… “Your honor, I would like to state that I am not a cat.” ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2025, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/6685 "2025-11-11T15:34:39Z")
I just noticed that “No Time at All” from _Pippin_ has a quick nod to “Put on a Happy Face” from _Bye Bye Birdie_: > Now when the drearies do attack > And a siege of the sads begins > I just throw these noble shoulders back > And lift these **noble chins** ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanubv.2/32/3260_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUBv.2)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2025, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/6686 "2025-11-11T18:41:08Z")
This isn’t about a creative work, exactly, but at my ripe old age I just realized the joke behind Addams Family’s Uncle Fester’s name 🤦‍♀️ To the extent that I thought about it, I just thought it was funny sounding. I’ve certainly known the meaning of the word ‘fester’, and have even used it as an insult - “you’re a festering boil upon the buttocks of humanity” - but somehow never connected the two. Duhhhh. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117.md?page=333) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117.md?page=335)