Empire Minute 42: RoboCamels

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Date

March 11th, 2014

Summary

Suddenly, there is a cracking sound as if limbs were being broken off trees and then a tremendous jolt as the spacecraft stops. Luke pulls a switch and his canopy pops open.

Guests

Dan McCoy and Elliott Kalan

Notes

Film

• Starts with Luke and R2-D2 plummeting through the atmosphere towards a watery end; ends with Luke and R2-D2 cautiously exiting the crashed X-wing onto Dagobah.

Podcast

• A minute of travelling through fog and tree branches via a windshield's eye view.
• Referenced: Planet of the Apes (similar 'low-rent' crash scene).
• Why do they crash and not just land normally? Because of the fog? Is Yoda crashing the ship so that Luke and R2-D2 are near him?
• Referenced: The Far Side comic strip.
• Luke's only response to crashing is to say "hang on!".
• Luke clearly still needs Jedi training. Pete discusses his theory that up until this point Luke's action has been controlled by Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan as the ghost puppet-master of Star Wars.
• Luke crashes his second spaceship in ten minutes.
• Luke throws his gloves away in disgust - hope he doesn't need them.
• Luke takes a guess that Dagobah has an oxygen based atmosphere.
• Luke can detect life on Dagobah from the planet's outer atmosphere even though the rebels couldn't find Luke on Hoth when he was only 20 minutes away.
• R2-D2 pops himself out of the X-wing. He should have used his rocket jets to do this (R2's rocket jets are shown in the prequels).
• R2-D2 should have stayed in the X-wing given all the mud and water on Dagobah.
• Who owns the X-wing?
• Luke as a privileged rebel - he gets to do whatever he wants regardless of who it inconveniences.
• Two bat-winged creatures fly past; clear composite shot using puppets and showing the greenish shadow around them (due to special effect limitations at the time).
• Saying AT-ATs versus A-T-A-Ts. AT-ATs could have been called RoboCamels. Camels elsewhere in the Star Wars universe.
• Discussion of [[[Leigh Brackett]].
• From the draft script - Vader force chokes Luke as Luke is leaving Hoth in Leia's spaceship. Luke passes out and R2-D2 then flys the ship to Dagobah - which is why the spaceship crashes, R2-D2 can't land spaceships.
• Referenced - Saved by the Bell. The Star Wars cast as the Saved by the Bell cast.
• Vader not recognising Luke Skywalker as his son (even though he has the same surname).
• Luke's false bragging and lack of respect.

Meta Minute

• 20:24 podcast episode length.
• Cold-open: 8-DAY-GREEDO call - R2-D2's noise after arriving on Dagobah.
• Support the show.

Quotes

• Elliott: The Jackie Robinson minute; 42.

Link

http://www.starwarsminute.com/2014/03/11/empire-minute-42-robocamels/

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