Biggest Star Wars Facepalm

[OsmiumJohnnycake]

The floating interrogation droid/beach ball from ep IV always bugged me. I think it all boils down to the syringe it's holding. I'm sure there's some EU something-or-other that goes more in detail on it, but just from what's on screen, it's ridiculous that a floating sphere would be more efficient to inject a person with something than, say, a person would. Always seems so stupid and takes away from a scene that is presumably supposed to make one worried for Leia.

The thing is, the camera zooms in on the torture droid's syringe, not giving you a look at what else it's got. I've seen the prop in person, and it's got various other nasty looking medical apparatus jutting out of it. It's also composed of two Artoo domes, so who knows what other nasties can pop out.

Thanks for the photo. It's just one of those things that takes me out of the movie briefly (like seeing Artoo awkwardly walking down the stairs toward the Millennium Falcon in ANH) and it sure does not ruin my enjoyment of the movie. But yeah, maybe if the syringe wasn't on that droid, I would be able to focus on what other horrible things it could do.

 

[Gaith]

^^^ I think he meant to type Ewok.

Ah, yes, quite.

 

[TremblingBluStar]

I often get the feeling that's a the heart of most of the anger against the Special Editions. Both songs are pretty terrible, though the special edition version has more energy to it (which may not be a good thing).

It seems out of place in Jabba's palace.

Plus it shows an incredible lack of detail on Lucasfilm's part when you can clearly see the puppets they later replaced with CGI sitting there in previous scenes.

 

[Kegg]

It seems out of place in Jabba's palace.

So does Lapti Nek. If one wants to go down that road, might have been a better idea to scrap the musical number entirely, or not have it sound so incongruously pop song-ish.

Plus it shows an incredible lack of detail on Lucasfilm's part when you can clearly see the puppets they later replaced with CGI sitting there in previous scenes.

I don't recall any parts where you see a CGI version of a character and their puppet in the same scene. Hell, the back-up singer was invented for the movie.

On this note, actually, and regarding facepalms? The original, "Yub Nub" ending of Return of the Jedi did strike me as vaguely ridiculous. Ending the trilogy in such an Ewoky fashion just feels sort of cheap.

 

[TremblingBluStar]

I don't recall any parts where you see a CGI version of a character and their puppet in the same scene. Hell, the back-up singer was invented for the movie.

They weren't in the same scene, but you see the puppet version of the singer in the background prior to the CGI version, which doesn't look remotely the same.

As for the original scene, the music may have sucked, but it wasn't a musical number either. They didn't halt the action to show the band.

 

[Kegg]

They weren't in the same scene, but you see the puppet version of the singer in the background prior to the CGI version, which doesn't look remotely the same.

They're not supposed to be the same. I did just point out he was added for the special edition, although clearly based on the design of that puppet.

As for the original scene, the music may have sucked, but it wasn't a musical number either. They didn't halt the action to show the band.

Actually they do, but - given the limitations of the puppets - they're not really able to do anything with the extended musical number. That it's more low key is more of a bug than a feature, althoguh I can see why someone would find that preferable.

 

[SeerSGB]

Return Of The Jedi - Droid torture scene. Even as a kid I was thinking "Why the hell would you build a droid, especially a power-droid, with the ability to feel pain?"

 

[sonak]

Return Of The Jedi - Droid torture scene. Even as a kid I was thinking "Why the hell would you build a droid, especially a power-droid, with the ability to feel pain?"

why is this a face palm? A lot of the droids in SW have feelings and emotions.

If this is a face palm, so is C-3PO being so nervous and fearful a lot. Why would you want a droid who cowered from dangerous situations?

 

[CorporalCaptain]

I found the droid torture scene in ROTJ to be a facepalm, too, even though R2 yelped when he got shot in ANH. What made it facepalmy had a lot to do with the execution (no pun intended), since it came across as just another layer of silliness.

C-3PO's nervousness is comic relief, and in contrast to the droid torture scene is actually funny. IMO.

 

[David cgc]

Return Of The Jedi - Droid torture scene. Even as a kid I was thinking "Why the hell would you build a droid, especially a power-droid, with the ability to feel pain?"

"Why?! Why was I programmed to feel pain?!"

 

[Alidar Jarok]

Actually, "Lapti Nek" is a straight-up disco tune. There's nothing "proto-jazz" about it, unless, I guess, you first heard it when you were six years old and it made such an impression that you can't hear the song without conjuring the things you imagined when you were a kid.

I often get the feeling that's a the heart of most of the anger against the Special Editions. Both songs are pretty terrible, though the special edition version has more energy to it (which may not be a good thing).

I don't really remember the original. Maybe it was more forgettable, which would be a positive thing? Plus, I don't like the "uh oh." Then again, I do like replacing the Ewok music at the end, so they might even out.

 

[the G-man]

I haven't read the whole thread yet but I'm shocked that Jar Jar is nowhere on the first page of responses. That's a little like a "worst movie of all time" thread that doesn't start off with "Plan 9 from Outer Space."

In terms of the OT, IMO almost everything in RotJ that didn't involve Luke or Vader was face-palm worthy: Leia being his sister, Han becoming an ineffectual clown, 3PO a god to a bunch of fucking teddy bears... I really disliked the vast bulk of that movie.

 

[Admiral Shran]

^ No fears. I got my Jar-Jar reference in at post number 28.

 

[Gaith]

I haven't read the whole thread yet but I'm shocked that Jar Jar is nowhere on the first page of responses. That's a little like a "worst movie of all time" thread that doesn't start off with "Plan 9 from Outer Space."

I chose to read the thread as "Biggest OT SW Facepalm". Otherwise, there's just too many to choose.

 

[TremblingBluStar]

They're not supposed to be the same. I did just point out he was added for the special edition, although clearly based on the design of that puppet.

Yeah, they are. Both are Sy Snootles.

 

[SeerSGB]

I found the droid torture scene in ROTJ to be a facepalm, too, even though R2 yelped when he got shot in ANH. What made it facepalmy had a lot to do with the execution (no pun intended), since it came across as just another layer of silliness.

C-3PO's nervousness is comic relief, and in contrast to the droid torture scene is actually funny. IMO.

Artoo yelped, but that could be wrote off as short in his systems when he gets shot. He wasn't tortured, forced to "feel pain", he was shot (once by a starfighter, once by a blaster-rifle). That's going to short some shit out.

Return Of The Jedi - Droid torture scene. Even as a kid I was thinking "Why the hell would you build a droid, especially a power-droid, with the ability to feel pain?"

why is this a face palm? A lot of the droids in SW have feelings and emotions.

If this is a face palm, so is C-3PO being so nervous and fearful a lot. Why would you want a droid who cowered from dangerous situations?

C3-PO's programming may contain more emotional programming to make him better at his job as a protocol droid-- add a layer of non verbal information to his translation routines as it were, but he wouldn't need to feel physical pain. Why design a power-droid to feel pain? For that matter why torture a droid? If it's a fuck up of a droid, reformat it's harddisk and reprogram it.

 

[sonak]

I found the droid torture scene in ROTJ to be a facepalm, too, even though R2 yelped when he got shot in ANH. What made it facepalmy had a lot to do with the execution (no pun intended), since it came across as just another layer of silliness.

C-3PO's nervousness is comic relief, and in contrast to the droid torture scene is actually funny. IMO.

Artoo yelped, but that could be wrote off as short in his systems when he gets shot. He wasn't tortured, forced to "feel pain", he was shot (once by a starfighter, once by a blaster-rifle). That's going to short some shit out.

Return Of The Jedi - Droid torture scene. Even as a kid I was thinking "Why the hell would you build a droid, especially a power-droid, with the ability to feel pain?"

why is this a face palm? A lot of the droids in SW have feelings and emotions.

If this is a face palm, so is C-3PO being so nervous and fearful a lot. Why would you want a droid who cowered from dangerous situations?

C3-PO's programming may contain more emotional programming to make him better at his job as a protocol droid-- add a layer of non verbal information to his translation routines as it were, but he wouldn't need to feel physical pain. Why design a power-droid to feel pain? For that matter why torture a droid? If it's a fuck up of a droid, reformat it's harddisk and reprogram it.

sadism or the desire to instill fear in other workers/servants/slaves I suppose

 

[SeerSGB]

I found the droid torture scene in ROTJ to be a facepalm, too, even though R2 yelped when he got shot in ANH. What made it facepalmy had a lot to do with the execution (no pun intended), since it came across as just another layer of silliness.

C-3PO's nervousness is comic relief, and in contrast to the droid torture scene is actually funny. IMO.

Artoo yelped, but that could be wrote off as short in his systems when he gets shot. He wasn't tortured, forced to "feel pain", he was shot (once by a starfighter, once by a blaster-rifle). That's going to short some shit out.

why is this a face palm? A lot of the droids in SW have feelings and emotions.

If this is a face palm, so is C-3PO being so nervous and fearful a lot. Why would you want a droid who cowered from dangerous situations?

C3-PO's programming may contain more emotional programming to make him better at his job as a protocol droid-- add a layer of non verbal information to his translation routines as it were, but he wouldn't need to feel physical pain. Why design a power-droid to feel pain? For that matter why torture a droid? If it's a fuck up of a droid, reformat it's harddisk and reprogram it.

sadism or the desire to instill fear in other workers/servants/slaves I suppose

By that logic I should make my new Windows 7 Tower watch as I destroy the HD in my old tower.

 

[Peach Wookiee]

"I hate sand..." One can almost hear the record scratch at the end...

 

[CorporalCaptain]

I found the droid torture scene in ROTJ to be a facepalm, too, even though R2 yelped when he got shot in ANH. What made it facepalmy had a lot to do with the execution (no pun intended), since it came across as just another layer of silliness.

C-3PO's nervousness is comic relief, and in contrast to the droid torture scene is actually funny. IMO.

Artoo yelped, but that could be wrote off as short in his systems when he gets shot. He wasn't tortured, forced to "feel pain", he was shot (once by a starfighter, once by a blaster-rifle). That's going to short some shit out.

Uh, yes it is going to short out some shit, but that doesn't explain the yelp.

R2 showed emotion when he was shot by the Jawas, first frantically beeping and then making a sigh of passing out. One could "explain" this away in all sorts of EE/CS ways, but none get around the clear intent that he is displaying human-like feelings.

A major reason for his display of emotion is to make him an identifiable character. But by keeping R2's language incompressible, in his case at least, there is a wall of separation that prevents complete identification.

Making R2 identifiable while preventing complete identification is part of the genius of Star Wars, it serves one of its themes, that cybernetics can approach but never equal human beings, and it is clearly intended.

But none of this makes the droid torture scene any less of a facepalm. Delivery matters. And another problem with it is that it's not clear who's around to "enjoy" that torture. Are we supposed to infer that Jabba gets pleasure just knowing that it is occurring in his palace?

However, on further thought, maybe Jabba's discovered that restraining bolts aren't effective by themselves. We actually know that they aren't. They didn't prevent R2 from convincing Luke to remove one in ANH, and didn't prevent R2 from leaving his post in ROTJ to go launch Luke's lightsaber either.

Incidentally, why didn't Jabba wipe the memories of R2 and 3PO?

By that logic I should make my new Windows 7 Tower watch as I destroy the HD in my old tower.

Did that HD have Vista on it? Every Windows 7 Tower should be warned, so that they know what not to do.