Ok, now that you break it down I better understand your ideas as well, and we are indeed on the same page. I still think "Always mind your surroundings" is a much better fit for Obi-Wan looking to the lightsaber than Anakin finding the right button in the starfighter. But the connection we'd be establishing here would be between Anakin and Qui-Gon, no one else.
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Right-- if it gets to be Qui-Gon and Anakin and Obi Wan-- then why not Yoda? Why not Mace? It gets too broad-- but keeping it on Anakin helps fix what's broken: namely, the spine of the story.
I think you're right about the line. I was just whipping it together, and "Always mind your surroundings" doesn't really work, especially after Qui Gon's fallen. Better and simpler would be to see Qui Gon struggling to hold on to life -- cut to Anakin struggling in the cockpit -- "ANAKIN!" yells Qui Gon's voice, desperate, unable to communicate everything he wants to-- "ANAKIN!" Anakin makes a decision on his own: I'll blast this mot**r f**ker! Is Qui Gon glad? Is Anakin showing his darker side? Leave it more emotionally charged and less logical and dot-dot-dot.
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Commander Courage:
That I like, but what about the explanation of the Force spirits? I believe TM's plan for that was to cut Yoda's mention of Qui-Gon on RotS and have his ghost appear ever so breifly as Obi-Wan walks back into the desert after delivering Luke (oh, and a way must be found to remove the Eopie from this scene!). Will that be enough? I hope so. More on that another time.
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I think that is a great solution -- visuals over exposition. I don't think it affects this storytelling choice in Episode I -- except to maybe explain how a dying Qui-Gon was shown powers he didn't know he had by being in communion with the chosen one as he died. Not that we have necessarily established that-- but it is there if you look for it. That's better than the "well, he just came back from the other side to give us a little help" explanation that's there now.