The thing i was trying to get across is that in the Ot the designers and set builders did a great job making things look like they didn't come from our time and universe even with the limitations of what stuff could be used, whereas the PT many things look like we actually could have these things on your desktop PC or car etc. I don't think that any of the sets in the OT look dated at all. from a design point of view they work perfectly. you have to remember a few words that start the movie...."a long time ago......" . everything in the OT universe had that lived in look which went against the grain of usual sci-fi. The PT could have been any old or modern day sci-fi using character names from Star Wars. The PT will date a lot worse than the OT ever will. All the buttons and switches gave the sets character which most of the PT sets sorely lacked.
I remember when i was a kid and i always wanted to redecorate the rooms in my house into sets from the movies. i actually still would love to do something like that now. But there isn't a single set piece in the whole PT (accept fro reused sets from the OT like the stardestroyer bridge or the Tantive IV etc) that i would even want to recreate. i found that kinda sad. The whole design element in the PT is very forgettable
Octorox said:As someone who uses my ipod touch everyday, I think the PT starfighters seem a lot easier to use. I wouldn't know where to start with the Falcon, the PT ships probably have a step by step set-up wizard and nifty one-touch autopilot. :)
and there is the problem. wasn't Anakin supposed to be a great pilot but if everything is so easy to pilot then that means anyone could pilot a starship. the OT ships all looked like you would have to actually learn how to fly them and not rely on a computer and idiot proof interface to do all the work for you.
But that's just it. It's a freighter. Wouldn't a freighter be designed so they could get any idiot to pilot it and pay them minimum wage? Wouldn't, in an age where intergalactic travel is a click away, automation be used as much as possible to make things more efficient and cost effective? not need as many workers and pilots? have cute and intelligent astromech droids when practical AI could just be built into the ship? Wouldn't cloning be more expensive than mass creation of droids? Wouldn't an empire, which can rape the galaxy of it's riches, have ships and costumes designed with reckless extravagance rather than bar bones minimalism? does the emperor have some better motivation for being even than just ya know, cuz he's evil? Shouldn't he have a big plasma tv and staff waiting on him hand and foot with a droid to scratch his ass?Do the laws of economics even apply in the Star Wars universe?
But that's not a serious argument. Star Wars is fantasy, not sci-fi for this reason. It's fantasy set in space. Therefore it need not make sense and the ship designs in the OT are fine :).