# Star Wars Episode VII anticipation thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 23, 2013, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-episode-vii-anticipation-thread/666936 "2013-08-23T02:11:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![Declan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Declan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declan)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2014, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-episode-vii-anticipation-thread/666936/201 "2014-11-28T23:47:07Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > So, Stormtroopers are still around? Makes sense, the republic is going to need a professional military after palpatine went down and the republic rose and the stormies would have evolved from imps to pubbies. Declan ---
**Author:** ![Declan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Declan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declan)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2014, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-episode-vii-anticipation-thread/666936/202 "2014-11-28T23:51:07Z")
> [@Mollie\_Magill](#): > > Okay, the x-wings flying over the water looked cool. I got a definite Galactica vibe from both the flying scenes and the stormies, very different troopers from those days of boarding consular vessels and bashing teddy bears. Declan ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2014, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-episode-vii-anticipation-thread/666936/203 "2014-11-29T00:00:23Z")
> [@Aeschines](#): > > Let me put it another way. Let’s say they just went with the EU story about the Emperor cloning himself and Luke fighting him and succumbing to the dark side. Speaking as a SW fan but not an EU reader… that sounds like a profoundly stupid story. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2014, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-episode-vii-anticipation-thread/666936/204 "2014-11-29T00:14:56Z")
> [@Declan](#): > > I got a definite Galactica vibe from both the flying scenes and the stormies, very different troopers from those days of boarding consular vessels and bashing teddy bears. > > Declan Looks cool, but I’m not sure it makes much sense. They were probably flying “under the radar” but in a universe with their technology, that sounds a bit lame. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2014, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-episode-vii-anticipation-thread/666936/205 "2014-11-29T00:16:52Z")
> [@Aeschines](#): > > It’s too early to conclude the movie will be bad. It’s not too early to point out things that weigh against its likelihood of being good. We already know a lot of things about the movie, actually. Another thing that is going to be tough to integrate in a cool way is old Luke, Leia, and Han. I get the nostalgia factor, but I don’t see it working in the story. > > Let me put it another way. Let’s say they just went with the EU story about the Emperor cloning himself and Luke fighting him and succumbing to the dark side. That story has its pluses and minuses, but I would say that it is likely to be a good watch and could even be a masterpiece if executed well. I would still doubt the execution would be good, however, based on Abrams’ past performance. > > I can’t say that about the new story based on what I know. At this point, I doubt both the story and the execution. That’s all fine, I just don’t think it’s any more or less likely to be crappy based on not using the EU. I like parts of the EU, but none of it blows me away, and none of it seems “essential” for telling a good story. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2014, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-episode-vii-anticipation-thread/666936/206 "2014-11-29T00:24:14Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > Looks cool, but I’m not sure it makes much sense. They were probably flying “under the radar” but in a universe with their technology, that sounds a bit lame. Maybe they’re flying under a force field or something. Who knows? ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2014, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-episode-vii-anticipation-thread/666936/207 "2014-11-29T00:32:06Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Maybe they’re flying under a force field or something. Who knows? I’ll go with it. Reminds me: someone here or elsewhere commented on how the Falcon hadn’t gotten any cool upgrades. I’d strongly caution against any significant advances in technology. They can play with style, which they do, and they can make things bigger and badder, but advancing the technology leads to the same trap Star Trek and SG-1 ran into. You keep advancing your technology to beat the bad guys’ technology, you eventually end up with God-like technology and everyone wonders why you don’t solve all your problems with a wave of the technology we’ve already seen. ---
**Author:** ![by-tor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/by-tor/32/266_2.png) [@by-tor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/by-tor)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2014, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-episode-vii-anticipation-thread/666936/208 "2014-11-29T00:56:53Z")
A lightsaber with a cross guard might be a good idea but not that one. Slide your lightsaber down that one and it would cut through the little nub emitter and straight on into the user’s hand. [![](http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/79374000/jpg/_79374599_sw8_lightsabre.jpg) ](http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/79374000/jpg/_79374599_sw8_lightsabre.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2014, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-episode-vii-anticipation-thread/666936/209 "2014-11-29T01:04:13Z")
> [@by-tor](#): > > A lightsaber with a cross guard might be a good idea but not that one. Slide your lightsaber down that one and it would cut through the little nub emitter and straight on into the user’s hand. > > [http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/79374000/jpg/\_79374599\_sw8\_lightsabre.jpg](http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/79374000/jpg/_79374599_sw8_lightsabre.jpg) Yeah! It would be better for the emitter to be a crystal flush with the hilt. I guess it’s more for in close fighting when the opponents are face to face with their weapons crossed. Slzzzt! Ow, my eye is gone! ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2014, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-episode-vii-anticipation-thread/666936/210 "2014-11-29T01:22:45Z")
> [@by-tor](#): > > A lightsaber with a cross guard might be a good idea but not that one. Slide your lightsaber down that one and it would cut through the little nub emitter and straight on into the user’s hand. > > [http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/79374000/jpg/\_79374599\_sw8\_lightsabre.jpg](http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/79374000/jpg/_79374599_sw8_lightsabre.jpg) I agree that this design is dumb. And what’s with the rough, flame-like blade? That is not how a lightsabre has looked heretofore. It’s things like this that make me doubt Abrams’ “vision.” ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2014, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-episode-vii-anticipation-thread/666936/211 "2014-11-29T01:34:25Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > The Extended Universe wasn’t “tossed in the trash” – it’s just that… another Universe. We tell the King Arthur story, or the Batman story, or dozens of others, in many different ways and many different universes… I see no reason why Star Wars (or Star Trek, or Game of Thrones, etc.) has to only have one “legitimate” canonical Universe. They’re all legitimate, and all canonical, in my view – they just don’t all happen in the same universe. Hear, hear. Reboots happen all the time in Japanese anime and American comic books for that matter. This isn’t Shakespeare. Although “Canon” is a meaningful concept in the US, it’s taken far less seriously in Japan. It’s a sterile, limiting concept. > [@wolfman](#): > > My complaint is… > Not fucking Tatoonie again! There is literally a whole galaxy of exciting and exotic places you can have fun with, more places than could be explored in a million lifetimes. That’s the best part of this kind of huge-scoped Sci-fi, why do we constantly get dragged to that piece of shit backwater nothing of a planet? > It’s like telling the story of the Earth, but having half of every story set in an Indiana bowling alley restroom. Well, it’s a reasonable locale to start off in, but I hope in future episodes they won’t feel obliged to stick with the same tired settings. If they’re wise, they will create some spinoff characters and material. It’s also a good sign that the trailer shows a storm trooper with his helmet off. (I _did_ see that, right?) > [@by-tor](#): > > A lightsaber with a cross guard might be a good idea but not that one. Slide your lightsaber down that one and it would cut through the little nub emitter and straight on into the user’s hand. I seem to recall that colliding light sabers tended to stick together, so protecting the nub should be doable. I understand though that credible onscreen sword fights are vanishingly rare anyway. And we probably shouldn’t judge the aesthetics until we see longer clips. **Use the force Luke** As I see it the real problem would be wielding such a wide hilt without setting your Jedi robe on fire. Then again maybe the hilt can be turned up or down like a Bic lighter. ETA: Flamethrower! ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2014, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-episode-vii-anticipation-thread/666936/212 "2014-11-29T01:42:17Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > Yeah! It would be better for the emitter to be a crystal flush with the hilt. As a fencer, I say “no it wouldn’t”. Not unless it had a guard below the crystals for the sake of the owner’s hand. But really, does it matter? It’s how you use it that counts. Darth Maul’s electro-quarterstaff looked good, but that really didn’t help improve Darth Maul or the movie he was in. Obi-Wan Kenobi’s lightsaber was weak and flickery and badly rendered on the screen, but Star Wars is still Star Wars. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2014, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-episode-vii-anticipation-thread/666936/213 "2014-11-29T01:46:21Z")
Style over technology creep. ---
**Author:** ![Battle\_Pope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@Battle\_Pope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Battle_Pope)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2014, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-episode-vii-anticipation-thread/666936/214 "2014-11-29T01:47:47Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > I’ll go with it. > > Reminds me: someone here or elsewhere commented on how the Falcon hadn’t gotten any cool upgrades. I’d strongly caution against any significant advances in technology. They can play with style, which they do, and they can make things bigger and badder, but advancing the technology leads to the same trap Star Trek and SG-1 ran into. You keep advancing your technology to beat the bad guys’ technology, you eventually end up with God-like technology and everyone wonders why you don’t solve all your problems with a wave of the technology we’ve already seen. It may have had some upgrades, I noticed the round sensor dish wiped off during _Jedi_ has been replaced by a rectangular one. Who know what else is under the hood? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2014, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-episode-vii-anticipation-thread/666936/215 "2014-11-29T01:53:43Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > Style over technology creep. Who are you calling creep? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2014, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-episode-vii-anticipation-thread/666936/216 "2014-11-29T01:59:39Z")
> [@by-tor](#): > > A lightsaber with a cross guard might be a good idea but not that one. Slide your lightsaber down that one and it would cut through the little nub emitter and straight on into the user’s hand. > > [http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/79374000/jpg/\_79374599\_sw8\_lightsabre.jpg](http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/79374000/jpg/_79374599_sw8_lightsabre.jpg) I suppose it’s possible that they are being emitted from the center of the lightsaber and those little nubs are just guards. An opponent’s lightsaber might go through the top of the guard but still be stopped by the beam inside. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2014, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-episode-vii-anticipation-thread/666936/217 "2014-11-29T02:01:01Z")
> [@Battle\_Pope](#): > > It may have had some upgrades, I noticed the round sensor dish wiped off during _Jedi_ has been replaced by a rectangular one. Who know what else is under the hood? I read it’s a nod to the nitpickers who noticed the round dish got knocked off in whatever movie it was. OMG it’s not there, lame! ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2014, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-episode-vii-anticipation-thread/666936/218 "2014-11-29T02:41:08Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > So, Stormtroopers are still around? Yea that made go huh, especially since the guy wasn’t a clone of Jango. I thought the prequels and Clone Wars show retconned that all the ST we saw in the original movies were still clones since we never see them with a helmet off? ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2014, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-episode-vii-anticipation-thread/666936/219 "2014-11-29T02:50:14Z")
> [@grude](#): > > Yea that made go huh, especially since the guy wasn’t a clone of Jango. I thought the prequels and Clone Wars show retconned that all the ST we saw in the original movies were still clones since we never see them with a helmet off? Wouldn’t be the first person to don a Stormtrooper suit to get away with something or other. ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2014, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-episode-vii-anticipation-thread/666936/220 "2014-11-29T03:02:35Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > Wouldn’t be the first person to don a Stormtrooper suit to get away with something or other. “Aren’t you a little black for a Stormtrooper?” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-episode-vii-anticipation-thread/666936.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-episode-vii-anticipation-thread/666936.md?page=12)