# Questions about Star Wars I can't get answers to **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 1, 2003, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-star-wars-i-cant-get-answers-to/172513 "2003-05-01T23:57:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2003, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-star-wars-i-cant-get-answers-to/172513/41 "2003-05-03T06:31:25Z")
Wasn’t it Vader who once said “I don’t get no respect. I don’t no respect at all. Huy!” I think that’s mostly it. Not everybody believes in The Force, and Tarkin is important enough to feel he can get away with mouthing off to Vader. I’d have to think about the “taking orders” stuff, but the Death Star wasn’t his baby and he wouldn’t know much about its operations. He was the second-in-command in that he was the second-most powerful Jedi, and the Emperor’s apprentice. ---
**Author:** ![Kang\_and\_Kodos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8baadc/32.png) [@Kang\_and\_Kodos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kang_and_Kodos)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2003, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-star-wars-i-cant-get-answers-to/172513/42 "2003-05-03T06:56:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Inky- \* > \*\*Okay, here are a few I’ve wondered about. > > Why didn’t Chewbacca or the droids get medals at that ceremony at the end of Star Wars? Even if the ceremony was for the Death Star battle alone, Shouldn’t Chewie have gotten one for bieng the Falcon’s co-pilot and all? > \*\* It was because of Chewbacca’s religious persuasion. He’s sort of an intergalactic Christian Scientist. Seriously. Light Day protocol is pretty strict. My beef in JEDI is, Boba Fett, the BEST bounty hunter in the galaxy, knew enough to cling himself to space garbage and follow the Falcon, but couldn’t discern Lando was a Jabba employee. For shame. ---
**Author:** ![BraheSilver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@BraheSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BraheSilver)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2003, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-star-wars-i-cant-get-answers-to/172513/43 "2003-05-03T08:12:31Z")
You can’t really blame Fett for that. He was busy using his tongue to try to unfold some crazy-straw contraption that was built into his helmet so he could hit the bar without taking off the mask. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2003, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-star-wars-i-cant-get-answers-to/172513/44 "2003-05-03T09:28:05Z")
Well, if it took at least a few weeks for the _Falcon_ to get to Bespin, I have to ask just one thing…is there a shower, or at least a toilet on that bucket of bolts? I mean, there _was_ a lady present. Not to mention a Wookie… ---
**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2003, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-star-wars-i-cant-get-answers-to/172513/45 "2003-05-03T14:56:40Z")
Yeah, in all of the books with the Falcon, they mention a refresher station, which is pretty clearly meant to translate to Toilet/Bathroom. The reason Chewie didn’t get a medal was because the only person he’d let close enough to him to put it on would be another Wookiee or Han. I think Vader was on the Death Star to keep Tarkin in line (scare him) as opposed to command him. Stormtrooper armour is _supposed_ to be a physical barrier, so while laser beams cut right through it, it’s technically supposed to be able to resist things like rocks/spears/bullets. However, I guess the Ewok’ success proved that wrong… ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2003, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-star-wars-i-cant-get-answers-to/172513/46 "2003-05-03T15:32:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Inky- \* > \*\*Why didn’t Chewbacca or the droids get medals at that ceremony at the end of Star Wars? Even if the ceremony was for the Death Star battle alone, Shouldn’t Chewie have gotten one for bieng the Falcon’s co-pilot and all? \*\* I think they just wanted to avoid the awkward issue of how to pin the medal on him. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2003, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-star-wars-i-cant-get-answers-to/172513/47 "2003-05-03T16:13:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*\*Not everybody believes in The Force, and Tarkin is important enough to feel he can get away with mouthing off to Vader. I’d have to think about the “taking orders” stuff, but the Death Star wasn’t his baby and he wouldn’t know much about its operations. \*\* > [@](#): > > **I think Vader was on the Death Star to keep Tarkin in line (scare him) as opposed to command him.** I just got the impression that Vader was taking orders from Tarkin from such lines as, for example, when Vader vador was using the force to choke the high ranking officer he was arguing with Tarkin says “Enough of this. Vader, release him. … This bickering is pointless.” Sounds like an order to me. Also, there’s the part where Leia says I should have expected to find you holding Vader’s leash." ---
**Author:** ![Skeezix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/839c29/32.png) [@Skeezix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skeezix)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2003, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-star-wars-i-cant-get-answers-to/172513/48 "2003-05-03T16:59:49Z")
A thought: Tarkin was a regional governor. The political muckie-muck in charge. Ostensibly, he’s running the show. By extension, pr’haps this made him the top of the military totem pole, in a “commander in chief” sense, as well. Vader was the Emperor’s Hand (so to speak) in this, outside the political and military chain of command, but a high muckie-muck in his own right. And of course, when he did issue commands (Get the crews to their fighters) people jumped, and no questions asked. ---
**Author:** ![Roadwalker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e19b73/32.png) [@Roadwalker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roadwalker)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2003, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-star-wars-i-cant-get-answers-to/172513/49 "2003-05-03T17:04:10Z")
Regarding the medal for Chewie: The Marvel comic says he got one, buty would have to put it on himeself. And Stormtrooper armor: you know what they say about the lowest bidder… ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2003, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-star-wars-i-cant-get-answers-to/172513/50 "2003-05-03T18:00:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by BraheSilver \* > \*\*You can’t really blame Fett for that. He was busy using his tongue to try to unfold some crazy-straw contraption that was built into his helmet so he could hit the bar without taking off the mask. \*\* Well, that and trying to land Oola in the sack. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2003, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-star-wars-i-cant-get-answers-to/172513/51 "2003-05-03T18:06:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Joel \* > \*\*Does that mean that in the origional script, maybe he wasn’t ment to be second in command, or that Palpentine was thought up after the first movie and it was decided to make DV his right hand man, or…? \*\* I think in the first movie, the Emperor was supposed to be corrupt and hedonistic, but not neccesarily evil. In the introduction to the novelization of the first movie, the emperor is described this way: > [@](#): > > Aided and abetted by restless, power-hungry individuals within the government, and the massive organs of commerce, the ambitious Senator Palpatine caused himself to be elected President of the Republic. He promised to reunite the disaffected among the people and to restore the remembered glory of the Republic. > > Once secure in office he declared himself Emperor, shutting himself away from the populace. Soon he was controlled by the very assistants and boot-lickers he had appointed to high office, and the cries of the people for justice did not reach his ears. > > Having exterminated through treachery and deception the Jedi Knights, guardians of justice in the galaxy, the Imperial governors and bureaucrats prepared to institute a reign of terror among the disheartened worlds of the galaxy. Many used the imperial forces and the name of the increasingly isolated Emperor to further their own personal ambitions. So, the emperor is described as isolated and shut away from the populace, while he allowes all this evil to happen. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2003, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-star-wars-i-cant-get-answers-to/172513/52 "2003-05-03T18:11:16Z")
I think that’s what most people in the Empire are lead to believe-that the Emperor is a good man, but he is deceived by evil doers. They don’t know the REAL Emperor! ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2003, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-star-wars-i-cant-get-answers-to/172513/53 "2003-05-03T18:39:41Z")
> [@](#): > > Stormtrooper armour is supposed to be a physical barrier, so while laser beams cut right through it, it’s technically supposed to be able to resist things like rocks/spears/bullets. However, I guess the Ewok’ success proved that wrong… SOmeone added up the numbers and realize the Ewoks were chucking 100+ pound rocks on the Stormtroopers. At that point, armor is pretty much no help to poor guy inside. Anyway, the novelization is a lot clearer on the “battle”. The stormtrooper were outnumbered a hundred to one and with all the underbrush and their forces scattered, could not respond very effectively. They simply had no ide what was going to happen. Regardless, it was the REBELS who actually won the day, as the white-suited goons actually did turn the fight around. God alone knows how the furry beans set up several huge traps in ten minutes, but hey, I’m not complaining. Then Chewie took over the AT-ST, and that was that. > [@](#): > > Stupid question, but here goes. In V and VI Darth Vader is shown as being Emperor Palpatine’s right hand man. But in IV he’s taking orders from Governor Tarkin, and he doesn’t seem to be that much of a leader himself. Does that mean that in the origional script, maybe he wasn’t ment to be second in command, or that Palpentine was thought up after the first movie and it was decided to make DV his right hand man, or…? This is a very good question. The whole of the SW reveals that a grand Moff is a politial title. We don’t know if Tarkin was ever a miltary man or not, but it is irrelevant. Vader was Palpatine’s right-hand man. However, Tarking was much beloved by the EMporer for being damned effective and very loyal. He introduced doctrines and tactics for political rule that proved useful in supressing rebellion and subversion. Tarkin was a brilliant, if rather evil man. In essence, he was co-equal with Vader, and the pair respected each other. Respect is not something Vader gives out lightly; Tarkin was a genius and earned his place. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2003, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-star-wars-i-cant-get-answers-to/172513/54 "2003-05-03T18:47:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Guinastasia \* > \*\*I think that’s what most people in the Empire are lead to believe-that the Emperor is a good man, but he is deceived by evil doers. > > They don’t know the REAL Emperor! \*\* Yeah, because otherwise Lucas would just be making it all up as he goes along, and that could never happen. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2003, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-star-wars-i-cant-get-answers-to/172513/55 "2003-05-04T01:30:01Z")
One more dinky little question. The electricity the Emperor was using on Luke in Return of the Jedi, did that come from his mastery of the force, or was that an abilty of whatever alien race he was from? ---
**Author:** ![Silentgoldfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Silentgoldfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silentgoldfish)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2003, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-star-wars-i-cant-get-answers-to/172513/56 "2003-05-04T02:09:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Joel \* > \*\*One more dinky little question. The electricity the Emperor was using on Luke in Return of the Jedi, did that come from his mastery of the force, or was that an abilty of whatever alien race he was from? \*\* Mastery of the dark side. Dooku did it too. ---
**Author:** ![maikai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/53a042/32.png) [@maikai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maikai)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2003, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-star-wars-i-cant-get-answers-to/172513/57 "2003-05-04T05:08:03Z")
This one has been bugging me for a while. In ROTJ, the Emperor’s force lightning looked purple to me. Then I read in a book that it was blue, and I couldn’t figure out why they would say that, since it was clearly purple. But others concurred with the book, and the new movies have clearly(to me) blue lightning. Did anyone else see purple lightning? ---
**Author:** ![Icerigger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icerigger/32/432_2.png) [@Icerigger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icerigger)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2003, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-star-wars-i-cant-get-answers-to/172513/58 "2003-05-04T12:08:00Z")
How the Force was turned from a minor plot device in SW to being the pivot on which the entire galaxy turns. I may be a SW heretic but I don’t like the Force (magic by another name) Darth as Tarkin states “you my friend are all that’s left of their religion” shows it was not very important in the scheme of things. As others have mentioned Tarkin was Vader"s superior in SW, I liked the fact a mortal was in charge of the wizard and the Emperor had nothing to do with the Force. I want to know how SW changed to a story of Galactic civil war to a conflict of Force sensitive elites battling over who has the stronger “magic” powers. BTW, Wedge who the force is not with is a better pilot than Luke. So there!!! ---
**Author:** ![Reverse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@Reverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reverse)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2003, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-star-wars-i-cant-get-answers-to/172513/59 "2003-05-04T12:38:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by pulehoopo \* > \*\*This one has been bugging me for a while. In ROTJ, the Emperor’s force lightning looked purple to me. Then I read in a book that it was blue, and I couldn’t figure out why they would say that, since it was clearly purple. But others concurred with the book, and the new movies have clearly(to me) blue lightning. Did anyone else see purple lightning? \*\* Skeletor shoots purple lightning in the _Master of the Universe_ movie (which was clearly “influenced” by Star Wars), but never have I seen the lightnings that the Emperor shoots to be of any other colour than blue. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2003, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-star-wars-i-cant-get-answers-to/172513/60 "2003-05-04T18:02:40Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Joel_ > **One more dinky little question. The electricity the Emperor was using on Luke in Return of the Jedi, did that come from his mastery of the force, or was that an abilty of whatever alien race he was from?** > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Silentgoldfish \* > \*\*Mastery of the dark side. Dooku did it too. \*\* Was Dooku from the Clone Wars movie? I didn’t watch that one because of how disappointed I was with The Phantom Menace. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-star-wars-i-cant-get-answers-to/172513.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-star-wars-i-cant-get-answers-to/172513.md?page=4)