# What was Lucas thinking with the Porkins character in Star Wars? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 16, 2009, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-lucas-thinking-with-the-porkins-character-in-star-wars/510349 "2009-09-16T19:10:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2016, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-lucas-thinking-with-the-porkins-character-in-star-wars/510349/101 "2016-01-20T01:23:39Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > This scene was filmed, but ended up on the cutting room floor. So was the scene where Luke was out checking the condensers and caught a glimpse of the battle taking place overhead. I bet that cut piece of film would be worth millions today. ---
**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:** [January 20, 2016, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-lucas-thinking-with-the-porkins-character-in-star-wars/510349/102 "2016-01-20T01:48:06Z")
They’re on YouTube. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2016, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-lucas-thinking-with-the-porkins-character-in-star-wars/510349/103 "2016-01-20T02:35:40Z")
I’m not sure what his actual character name was, but to me Greg Grunberg’s [del]rebel[/del] resistance pilot’s name is Porkins Jr. I like GG, btw, but just found that cameo (one of JJabrams’s signature moves) to be a little jarring. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2016, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-lucas-thinking-with-the-porkins-character-in-star-wars/510349/104 "2016-01-20T02:51:45Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > When Episode I came out in 99 I remember reading a few articles about how some characters were racist - for example the guy who owned Anakin’s mother had a hooked nose so that was making fun of Jews. And the Trade Federation bad guys were supposed to be Asian. > > I just watch these type movies for fun and I don’t really look for all these “hidden” messages. The blatant ethnic stereotyping is hardly “hidden.” ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2016, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-lucas-thinking-with-the-porkins-character-in-star-wars/510349/105 "2016-01-20T03:49:20Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > They’re on YouTube. That entire scene with Biggs, all I could hear in my head was Edna Mode saying, “NO CLOAKS!” ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2016, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-lucas-thinking-with-the-porkins-character-in-star-wars/510349/106 "2016-01-20T04:09:03Z")
> [@TBG](#): > > I’m not sure what his actual character name was, but to me Greg Grunberg’s [del]rebel[/del] resistance pilot’s name is Porkins Jr. > > I like GG, btw, but just found that cameo (one of JJabrams’s signature moves) to be a little jarring. My biggest disappointment with _The Force Awakens_ was that the fat pilot didn’t get blown up. ---
**Author:** ![standingwave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@standingwave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/standingwave)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2016, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-lucas-thinking-with-the-porkins-character-in-star-wars/510349/107 "2016-01-20T05:06:04Z")
> [@Death\_of\_Rats](#): > > I actually watched this again yesterday. Porkins does not have a chinstrap at all and Gold 5 is the one who is flying with the chin strap dangling. So it may just be a lack of disapline in the Rebel fighter corps (or a one-size-fits-all mentality in the costume department). I’m telling you, it’s the same reason Leia [doesn’t wear a bra](http://www.thegeektwins.com/2010/08/why-princess-leia-went-commando-in-star.html#.Vp8V47y37tR).(Lucas) explained that in space you get weightless, and so your flesh expands. What? But your bra doesn’t, so you get strangled by your bra. That’s why I couldn’t wear a bra in the first Star Wars.Think about it. It’s a weightless environment. If your bra doesn’t kill you, your chin strap will! ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Q](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/898d66/32.png) [@Johnny\_Q](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Q)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2016, 9:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-lucas-thinking-with-the-porkins-character-in-star-wars/510349/108 "2016-01-20T09:52:04Z")
I remember reading the comic adaptation of Star Wars and after Porkins bites it, the next panel shows Biggs thinking “So long, Piggy.” Even in universe, Porkins got no respect. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2016, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-lucas-thinking-with-the-porkins-character-in-star-wars/510349/109 "2016-01-20T20:05:40Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > What did you do with the rest of the 2 hours 4 minutes when Porkins wasn’t on screen? > > 🙂 Pined. 😀 ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2016, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-lucas-thinking-with-the-porkins-character-in-star-wars/510349/110 "2016-01-20T21:33:37Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > I bet that cut piece of film would be worth millions today. Here you go. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2016, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-lucas-thinking-with-the-porkins-character-in-star-wars/510349/111 "2016-01-21T04:02:01Z")
I think Lucas just wanted an easy fat-guy joke. It was 1977, after all - not unusual in movies back then. All these years, I had no idea Porkins from _Star Wars_ and the Army Intelligence “Top men” guy from _Raiders of the Lost Ark_ were played by the same actor! Ignorance fought. > [@CalMeacham](#): > > I was at the Arisia science fiction convention this weekend, and saw a T-shirt advertising _Porkins Ribs_ – “Red Sauce Standing By!” Here you go: [http://www.offworlddesigns.com/porkins-bbq/](http://www.offworlddesigns.com/porkins-bbq/) ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2016, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-lucas-thinking-with-the-porkins-character-in-star-wars/510349/112 "2016-01-21T04:23:55Z")
He probably watched a few episodes of CHIPS with the Grossman character. ---
**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:** [January 21, 2016, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-lucas-thinking-with-the-porkins-character-in-star-wars/510349/113 "2016-01-21T04:49:42Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > All these years, I had no idea Porkins from _Star Wars_ and the Army Intelligence “Top men” guy from _Raiders of the Lost Ark_ were played by the same actor! Ignorance fought. Bonus trivia I just learned: General Veers, the AT-AT commander from _Empire_, was the same actor who played Donovan, the Nazi-collaborating industrialist in _Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade_. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2016, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-lucas-thinking-with-the-porkins-character-in-star-wars/510349/114 "2016-01-21T04:59:47Z")
> [@TBG](#): > > I’m not sure what his actual character name was, but to me Greg Grunberg’s [del]rebel[/del] resistance pilot’s name is Porkins Jr. [Temmin ‘Snap’ Wexley.](http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Temmin_Wexley) ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2016, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-lucas-thinking-with-the-porkins-character-in-star-wars/510349/115 "2016-01-21T05:25:39Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Bonus trivia I just learned: General Veers, the AT-AT commander from _Empire_, was the same actor who played Donovan, the Nazi-collaborating industrialist in _Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade_. Yes. He’s also Grand Maester Pycelle on _Game of Thrones_ these days. [![](http://img.lum.dolimg.com/v1/images/databank_generalveers_01_169_ed056bbf.jpeg?region=0%2C0%2C1560%2C878&width=768) ](http://img.lum.dolimg.com/v1/images/databank_generalveers_01_169_ed056bbf.jpeg?region=0%2C0%2C1560%2C878&width=768) [http://www.wearysloth.com/Gallery/ActorsG/6648-9434.gif](http://www.wearysloth.com/Gallery/ActorsG/6648-9434.gif) [http://www.pedestrian.tv/images/article/2013/08/17/pycelle\_got-642-380.png](http://www.pedestrian.tv/images/article/2013/08/17/pycelle_got-642-380.png) ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2016, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-lucas-thinking-with-the-porkins-character-in-star-wars/510349/116 "2016-01-21T13:44:54Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > Here you go. I like how, in the final scene in that video, Red Leader tells Luke, “I met your father once, when I was just a boy.” I wonder if that was before or after his father slaughtered a bunch of innocent children? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2016, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-lucas-thinking-with-the-porkins-character-in-star-wars/510349/117 "2016-01-21T14:30:22Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Bonus trivia I just learned: General Veers, the AT-AT commander from _Empire_, was the same actor who played Donovan, the Nazi-collaborating industrialist in _Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade_. Hey – Julian Glover’s a well-known actor, not trivia. He was also Kristatos, ultimately revealed as the Bad Guy in the James Bond film **For Your Eyes Only**. Way back in 1967 he was the officious Coloenel Breen in **Quatermass and the Pit/Five Million Years to Earth** , who maintained that the alien space ship found at Hobb’s End subway station was a Nazi propaganda weapon, until he got his comeuppance when it activated. He’s in lots of other stuff (most recently Maester Pycxelle in _Game of Thrones_, as noted above). ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2016, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-lucas-thinking-with-the-porkins-character-in-star-wars/510349/118 "2016-01-21T14:37:34Z")
General Rieekan is also the Colonel who gives private Joker a hard time in “Full Metal Jacket” when they’re examining all the dead bodies. As well as the rich American who wanted a Waldorf Salad on “Fawlty Towers”. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2016, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-lucas-thinking-with-the-porkins-character-in-star-wars/510349/119 "2016-01-21T16:28:03Z")
> [@MrAtoz](#): > > I like how, in the final scene in that video, Red Leader tells Luke, “I met your father once, when I was just a boy.” > > I wonder if that was before or after his father slaughtered a bunch of innocent children? 🙂 In the SW:ANH special edition, that bit is snipped, although Luke’s reunion with Biggs, and Biggs’ vouching for Luke’s piloting skills, stayed in. ---
**Author:** ![Lorne\_Armstrong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@Lorne\_Armstrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lorne_Armstrong)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2016, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-lucas-thinking-with-the-porkins-character-in-star-wars/510349/120 "2016-01-22T07:41:44Z")
Three things I never understood about the end of Star Wars: 1. Why is there a rebel pilot from Texas? Is there a Texas in outer space? 2. Who is the Y-Wing pilot who survives the battle? I have never figured that out. 3. Why does Luke appear to have an orgasm after the torpedo enters the port? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-lucas-thinking-with-the-porkins-character-in-star-wars/510349.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-lucas-thinking-with-the-porkins-character-in-star-wars/510349.md?page=7)