The story so far: The attempt to rescue Princess Leia and escape from the Death Star is not going according to plan. This may be because they didn't actually have a plan.
It looks as though Harrison Ford must have really not liked his character's scripted dialogue, as it is quite a lot different here than in the film. For instance, he doesn't say
Y'know, kid -- getting back to the Falcon's going to be like flying thru the Five Fire Rings of Fornax!in the film. Nor does he describe Stormtroopers as "the boys in white".
Han's dialogue is very entertaining as he takes on all the Stormtroopers by himself, before deciding that he isn't as brave as Scary Cat and running away from them.
It is time for Ben Kenobi and Darth Vader to have their lightsabre fight. Note the way Ben's lightsabre extends out of the third panel there, as if to emphasise the fact that litter just got real.
This is an exciting sequence as they finally fight, although the dialogue from Ben Kenobi is incongruous to the situation:
You... only know... half "the Force"... Vader...!
You perceive its full power... as little as a spoon... perceives the taste of food!
Meanwhile,
The captions convey the drama much better, and the last panel on the page showing both their profiles is intense.
The fight reaches its climax as Ben Kenobi says
Heed my words!But before he can add "... they are backed by nuclear weapons!" Darth Vader says
Not this time!
I am the master now!
This is a very stylised, almost abstract depiction of Ben Kenobi being struck down by Darth Vader, and it is probably the strangest, and yet somehow most fitting, picture I have ever seen in a comic book.
I love the way Ben Kenobi's cloak hangs on Darth Vader's lightsabre in defiance, as a thousand Star Wars fans on the internet cry out in terror and are suddenly silenced.
Princess Leia has to stop Luke from swearing at the baddys when he calls Darth Vader "you dirty--"
They get on board the Millennium Falcon and escape.
There is then a scene between Governor Tarkin and Darth Vader where they discuss their plan and reveal to us that there is a "homing beacon" on the Millennium Falcon so the Death Star can follow it.
This completes the middle act of Star Wars so seems like the best place to leave it for today. Join me next time to find out what good snub fighters are going to be against that.
Appendix 3
The fourth and final set of adverts during the September 1983 broadcast of Star Wars on the Grampian region of ITV came after Darth Vader's line
"This will be a day long remembered. It has seen the end of Kenobi; it will soon see the end of the rebellion."These adverts are:
1. Bernard Matthews' Turkey Steaks
A short advert, part of a series of adverts popular in the 1980s featuring the colourful if rather unrealistic character of Bernard Matthews, a manny who thought turkey steaks were "bootiful." Other adverts from the series appear to be available on the internets, but not this specific one.
2. Robinsons drinks
A comedy sketch where a famous tennis player of the early 1980s goes unrecognised at a tennis club, this sadly does not appear to be on the internets as it is both funny and charmingly dated at the same time. However, this short advert appears to be a sort of sequel to it:
3. Cadbury's Dairy Milk
Similar to the above video, but with different visuals featuring a manny with chunky '80s headphones.
4. The Great Composers magazine (again)
Exactly the same as the advert from the second ad break. See Appendix 1.
5. TSB bank
Scotland-specific advert where TSB is said to stand for "Today's Scottish Bank". Wouldn't that mean it was called Today's Scottish Bank bank? It is a good fit for showing during Star Wars since it is quite sci-fi itself and features a robot who likes to say "affirmative" lol.
6. Wonderfuel Gas
I haven't found this advert on the internets, but the below video is also for Wonderfuel Gas and uses exactly the same music and the same manny singing (not as good as a cat singing) but with completely different lyrics and visuals:
The lyrics to the Wonderfuel Gas advert during Star Wars are:
Gas people are your people, helping when you want to know
How to keep your fuel bills low
Great value gas
And by design we've even planned
For those who need a helping hand
Gas is always there for you
For you to have all winter through
Reliable gas
While keeping out the chill
And earning your goodwill
And helping you to cut your bill
Wonderfuel Gas!
No comments:
Post a Comment