New Animated Show: Star Wars: Forces of Destiny

[Christopher]

First off: always remember it's space fantasy, not science fiction.

Obviously, which is why I mentioned the possibility of evolution working differently. Just because I take the time to identify the issues raised by a question, that doesn't mean I'm blind to the answers. It just means I'm thorough in laying out the terms of the discussion. And comparing the in-story phenomenon to what we know about real-world evolution gives us a starting point, so we can work from there toward a theory of how the fictional version differs.

Secondly, there's plenty of precedent for this kind of thing going all the way back to the dianoga in ANH and the mynocks & space slug in tESB.

I thought of the dianoga, but it didn't seem to me that it actually fed on the trash -- otherwise why bother to compact the trash, instead of just letting the critter digest it? Besides, one would assume that the Death Star's trash would include a lot of organic waste, like leftover food and such -- quite possibly the source of the incredible smell Leia discovered.

I thought of the mynocks too, and I did have the impression they posed a threat to the integrity of the Falcon, but the film was unclear on whether they actually digested the inorganic matter or if it was more of a burrowing instinct, like rats chewing through wiring and insulation.

As for the space slug, one could presume it gets its nourishment from the crews of the ships it eats -- or that it usually eats some kind of spacegoing life form and the only reason it tried to chomp on the Falcon was because the Falcon had already flown into its gullet. After all, given that the odds of successfully navigating an asteroid field are approximately 3,720 to 1, it stands to reason that very few space pilots are crazy or reckless enough to attempt it, and it's therefore unlikely that spacecraft are the creature's primary form of sustenance. (Although, okay, Wookieepedia says that Exogorth mainly feeds on minerals from other asteroids, which would make sense, since there's probably not a lot of organic matter even in a fantasy asteroid field like that one.)

 

[Reverend]

Obviously, which is why I mentioned the possibility of evolution working differently. Just because I take the time to identify the issues raised by a question, that doesn't mean I'm blind to the answers. It just means I'm thorough in laying out the terms of the discussion. And comparing the in-story phenomenon to what we know about real-world evolution gives us a starting point, so we can work from there toward a theory of how the fictional version differs.

Relax mate, it was just a caveat.

I thought of the dianoga, but it didn't seem to me that it actually fed on the trash -- otherwise why bother to compact the trash, instead of just letting the critter digest it? Besides, one would assume that the Death Star's trash would include a lot of organic waste, like leftover food and such -- quite possibly the source of the incredible smell Leia discovered.

I seriously doubt that thing is in there by design. They're most likely just common vermin that always find their way into waste disposal systems. and yeah, most of it was clearly non-organic. The water is either condensation run-off or something nastier like hydraulic fluid, flushed oil from the droid baths or just what happens to certain plastics when they begin to break down (possibly by design.) Organic waste would be on a separate closed system for reasons that should be self evident.
As for "why compact": well obviously to make the trash into denser blocks that are easier to manage before disposal. What else did you think it was for? Mass doesn't magically vanish when you squeeze it.

I thought of the mynocks too, and I did have the impression they posed a threat to the integrity of the Falcon, but the film was unclear on whether they actually digested the inorganic matter or if it was more of a burrowing instinct, like rats chewing through wiring and insulation.

Mynocks don't chew on power cables because the insulation is yummy; they're after the power itself. They're a common pest on ships and stations for exactly that reason. (See Also: conduit worms)
I imagine they're not native to the space slug's ecosystem but the slug got infested with them from eating passing ships over the centuries. That they survived probably means they burrowed into the space slug's nervous system (which given the size of it is probably laced with gold or something to aid conductivity) and leeched what little they could.

As for the space slug, one could presume it gets its nourishment from the crews of the ships it eats

Seriously? That would be like a whale trying to subsist on four individual plankton once every couple decades. Even for a space fantasy the notion is ludicrous on the face of it. They live in asteroids. On average they probably see one ship every couple centuries. Obviously they eat minerals and a ship is just a tasty package of highly refined minerals. Premium stuff next to the low grade ores they usually chomp on, no wonder it didn't like the Falcon getting away. (See Also: duracrete slugs & stone mites.)

 

[fireproof78]

^Evolved? In 29 years? Unless evolution works very differently on Jakku, they'd need remarkably short lifespans to evolve that quickly.

And how long has Jakku been a junkyard?

Another possibility is that it is a species of worm that eats metal that was introduced to manage the scrap, and like other non native species, became unmanageable.

 

[Christopher]

I seriously doubt that thing is in there by design. They're most likely just common vermin that always find their way into waste disposal systems. and yeah, most of it was clearly non-organic.

Most of the waste in a landfill is non-organic, but they still attract plenty of rats, birds, and other creatures that don't feed on inorganic matter. As long as there's some organic waste in the mix, that's enough.

 

[Reverend]

Most of the waste in a landfill is non-organic, but they still attract plenty of rats, birds, and other creatures that don't feed on inorganic matter. As long as there's some organic waste in the mix, that's enough.

Not relevant. We *saw* the inside of that trash compactor and aside from whatever that liquid was, it was all plastic and metal.
No rotting penne all'arrabbiata leftovers from the canteen, no used nappies from the daycare centre and no dismembered body parts of officers that pissed off Vader.

And how long has Jakku been a junkyard?

Another possibility is that it is a species of worm that eats metal that was introduced to manage the scrap, and like other non native species, became unmanageable.

More likely they're an on-board pest like dianogas that was released into environment when the ships fell. Maybe on ships those things don't grow bigger than a few feet before the exterminator droids catch them, but given free reign on a junkyard with few if any predators, they grow to massive sizes.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

Episode two is up.

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Well played, Rey. Killing two birds with one stone and further emphasizing her empathy.

 

[Christopher]

It's hard for me to hear these well, since my laptop's external audio jack isn't working and I have to settle for the laptop speakers, but it seems to me that Daisy Ridley's voice acting is a bit weak. Her voice is less expressive here than I remember it being in the movie.

Then again, it's possible they want to keep the performances relatively subdued. This is clearly aimed at younger viewers, with the bad guys always being knocked safely off their bikes before they get destroyed, and so far it looks like there's an emphasis on nonviolent problem-solving -- which seems pretty weird for a franchise called Star Wars, though I'm not complaining.

 

[Reverend]

^Daisy Ridley is a screen actor, not an experienced voice actor. It's about as different a set of skills a theatre and TV acting, so this is far from unusual.

 

[Christopher]

^Daisy Ridley is a screen actor, not an experienced voice actor. It's about as different a set of skills a theatre and TV acting, so this is far from unusual.

As a lifelong fan of Star Trek: The Animated Series, I am very well acquainted with the fact that screen actors aren't always good voice actors. But they can generally be trained to be, with the right voice director or simply with practice. (William Shatner's acting in season 2 of TAS was enormously better than his acting in season 1.) What I'm saying is that Ridley could've used more training or practice in this particular discipline. Unless, as I said, the more subdued acting style is a deliberate choice to keep things less intense for the young target audience.

 

[Ithekro]

Which also means the Ahsoka episodes will have basically perfect voice work.

 

[fireproof78]

It's hard for me to hear these well, since my laptop's external audio jack isn't working and I have to settle for the laptop speakers, but it seems to me that Daisy Ridley's voice acting is a bit weak. Her voice is less expressive here than I remember it being in the movie.

Then again, it's possible they want to keep the performances relatively subdued. This is clearly aimed at younger viewers, with the bad guys always being knocked safely off their bikes before they get destroyed, and so far it looks like there's an emphasis on nonviolent problem-solving -- which seems pretty weird for a franchise called Star Wars, though I'm not complaining.

I love the nonviolent solutions and the voice acting is just fine for me. I always prefer things like this, especially in animated shorts.

 

[Ithekro]

Something must be said though...we are getting Disney cartoons....and liking them. 2D cartoons.

For the collector, things like this might help get more toys out there, particularly since this cartoon focuses on the females, an area that the toys have annoyingly been light on, historically.

 

[Reverend]

As a lifelong fan of Star Trek: The Animated Series, I am very well acquainted with the fact that screen actors aren't always good voice actors. But they can generally be trained to be, with the right voice director or simply with practice. (William Shatner's acting in season 2 of TAS was enormously better than his acting in season 1.) What I'm saying is that Ridley could've used more training or practice in this particular discipline. Unless, as I said, the more subdued acting style is a deliberate choice to keep things less intense for the young target audience.

Specially trained for a bunch of two minute shorts? I think you're vastly overestimating the budget for this little show. Also, something tells me she may be a tad busy of late.

Look, really speaking her voice acting is just fine. Not perfect, but fine. You're really just nitpicking for the sake of it at this point.

 

[Ithekro]

I imagine we are done with Rey for the time being. With only eight shorts for now and eight more in the fall, I would think they'd move on to Jyn, Leia, Sabine, and Ahsoka now. Maybe Padme, but given how many costume designs we see for Leia, I figure she will be the most used of the characters, even if she's mostly crossing over with others like Sabine or Chewbacca.

 

[Reverend]

I imagine we are done with Rey for the time being. With only eight shorts for now and eight more in the fall, I would think they'd move on to Jyn, Leia, Sabine, and Ahsoka now. Maybe Padme, but given how many costume designs we see for Leia, I figure she will be the most used of the characters, even if she's mostly crossing over with others like Sabine or Chewbacca.

Yeah, that plus we appear to have covered this particular blank spot in the movie: the next we see of Rey after she rescues BB-8, she's depositing him at Neema outpost. So unless something else happens on the ride in, we're about caught up.

 

[JD]

These have been pretty fun. I like the way they've worked these two Rey episodes in between the scenes of TFA. It feels like we got a couple new deleted scenes.

 

[Turtletrekker]

Part 3-- "Ewok Escape".

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[Christopher]

Part 3-- "Ewok Escape".

Ah, okay. This is what's happening while Luke, Han, Chewie, and the droids are failing their roll against trap detection. And of course, count on Star Wars to create a whole story just to explain the origin of a character's costume change between movie scenes.

But where did the Ewoks get a human-sized dress? Considering that they're known to be willing to eat humans, there are some disturbing implications there. (Although I think maybe the Ewok TV movies offered a possible explanation, presumably now decanonized.)

Anyway, this is the first episode to be driven more by a male character than a female one, since Wicket did most of the action stuff while Leia was more passive aside from that one move. Let's hope that isn't the case with her other appearances.

And how long will it be before we get a chapter that isn't set between scenes of a movie?

 

[Reverend]

Ah, okay. This is what's happening while Luke, Han, Chewie, and the droids are failing their roll against trap detection. And of course, count on Star Wars to create a whole story just to explain the origin of a character's costume change between movie scenes.

Congrats, you entirely missed the point of a two minute short aimed at children.
This isn't the "Leia got a new outfit" story, it's the "Leia learned to appreciate the courage and ingenuity of the seemingly powerless" story. It foreshadows their alliance with the tribe and explains why she was playing dress-up when everyone else showed up for dinner: she was playing diplomat. Generally it's the done thing in diplomacy to graciously accept a proffered gift as a prelude to a dialogue.

But where did the Ewoks get a human-sized dress?

Obviously they made it after she showed up. It's a simple thing that wouldn't take a skilled seamstress very long. An hour or two at most.
And to answer your next stupid question: obviously they have reams of material on hand, or did you think those gliders built themselves?

Considering that they're known to be willing to eat humans, there are some disturbing implications there. (Although I think maybe the Ewok TV movies offered a possible explanation, presumably now decanonized.)

The Ewok TV show was a Saturday morning cartoon. It was never canon, nor was it meant to be (and no, neither was the EU either. No, not ever.)

Anyway, this is the first episode to be driven more by a male character than a female one, since Wicket did most of the action stuff while Leia was more passive aside from that one move. Let's hope that isn't the case with her other appearances.

I can't tell if you're being facetious or not, so I'm going to be charitable and pretend this was an attempt at ironic humour.

And how long will it be before we get a chapter that isn't set between scenes of a movie?

Presumably when Ahsoka and/or Sabine show up? I mean what did you expect? A re-enactment of something we've already seen? What would be the point in that?

 

[The Nth Doctor]

Nice little vignette. Loved Leia's compliment regarding the outfit with a spear.

Was going to say more, but Reverend beat me to it.