What do you HATE about the EU? — Page 28

IMO, instead of going with Ancient Aliens as an explanation behind the origins of hyperdrive technology, a SW equivalent of the Spacing Guild from Dune should have been created for the EU -- a third major power existing independant of the Republic/Empire and Rebel Alliance/New Republic which builds and maintains a monopoly on hyperdrive technology they sell to the other civilizations of the galaxy.

SilverWook said:

With Star Wars having a desert planet in Tatooine, and spice smuggling, that might be one step too far to avoid a letter from lawyers representing the Frank Herbert estate. ;)

 If they managed to dodge it so far...

DuracellEnergizer said:

IMO, instead of going with Ancient Aliens as an explanation behind the origins of hyperdrive technology, a SW equivalent of the Spacing Guild from Dune should have been created for the EU -- a third major power existing independant of the Republic/Empire and Rebel Alliance/New Republic which builds and maintains a monopoly on hyperdrive technology they sell to the other civilizations of the galaxy.

Pre-Republic humans or Duros inventing hyperdrives would have done the job for me.

Ah, this is suddenly reminding me of something else I hate about the EU -- something I acutely hate.

According to Wookieepedia, the peoples of the galaxy don't understand the physics behind hyperspace; they don't know if it's some form of higher dimensional space, a completely separate parallel universe, or the regular universe simply viewed from a FTL perspective, but they still know how to build functioning hyperdrives.

If they don't understand any of the physics behind hyperspace, how the hell can they constuct an engine that allows them to travel through it? It's like saying the creator(s) of the electrical generator learned how to build the technology without any knowledge of electricity, electromagnetism, etc.

It's stupid -- utterly, completely stupid.

It's a cop-out to avoid explaining the technology when there doesn't need to be a cop-out.

How the Cult of KOTOR hates the OT.

The Rakata. 

The Merchant said:

The Rakata. 

Why? (just curious)

I never liked the idea that only Force-sensitives could build lightsabers. The reason Jedi/Dark Jedi/Sith/etc. construct and use lightsabers when others do not is rooted in their specific traditions and cultures -- traditions and cultures common folk don't hold/belong to -- not because they have a magical ace up their sleeves the genetic untermensch don't. 

This picture

sucks.

I haven't played or read much of the EU, but I have been far from impressed with what I've seen. Tales of the Bounty Hunters is a mixed bag - mostly pretty bad. I hated the tendency to give every minor character some Really Important Role in the big story (a wider EU problem) - e.g. IG88 merging with the Death Star II computer. Not sure how I felt about elderly Boba "arthritic knees" Fett and Han Solo trying to outwit each other by hobbling around a greenhouse. I'm sure there was worse, but I've blanked it out.

I never read the story, but I hate that Boba Fett escaped the Sarlaac only to fall in again (due to bad Jawa driving, as I understand it!). I thought that was hilariously bad. Already in stitches, I practically hit the floor when I found out it happened to him again after that in a later story. I suppose this is combines the problems of fan service and multiple authors working on one universe - all the characters end up with ludicrous life stories.

Most of all, though, I hate how badly the EU is written. I'd really like to read some good Star Wars fiction, so I tracked down Heir to the Empire - it's nearly universally agreed to be one of the very best (if not the best) stories of the EU. I found it to be terribly written, and with Thrawn being one of the biggest Mary Sue characters in professional writing (the first few pages are basically everyone saying how awesome he is; one subordinate wishes Thrawn was at the Battle of Endor leading the fleet instead of Vader because they'd definitely have won, etc. etc.!). The hubris is amazing.

DuracellEnergizer said:

This picture

sucks.

It seems you come back as a Force ghost as the age you were when you died. But Anakin comes back at the age he was when he turned. So... if you want a long life, and to have your youthful form when you become a Force ghost, you should turn to the Dark Side, be evil for ages, and then, just before you die, throw another evil person down a reactor shaft (or push them under a hover bus). Then you get to come back as the age you were when you began your killing rampage. Sounds like a plan!

grainger said:

I never read the story, but I hate that Boba Fett escaped the Sarlaac only to fall in again (due to bad Jawa driving, as I understand it!). I thought that was hilariously bad. Already in stitches, I practically hit the floor when I found out it happened to him again after that in a later story. I suppose this is combines the problems of fan service and multiple authors working on one universe - all the characters end up with ludicrous life stories.

Ah, yes ... this. This is what you get when you retroactively make a story from the Marvel comics canon even when it conflicts with the "official" history you've already been running with for the past couple decades. 

Crap like this is one of the reasons why the concept of an "official" canon for fictional universes has become anathema to me; the dignity of a universe gets sacrificed for the sake of making everything "real" and "true" and "relevant".

This is why I like how the Star Trek EU is handled more than the way the SW EU is handled. None of it is considered canon, so there's no inane effort put into making each and every story ever published in the past, present, and future part of the same continuity.

grainger said:

I haven't played or read much of the EU, but I have been far from impressed with what I've seen. Tales of the Bounty Hunters is a mixed bag - mostly pretty bad. I hated the tendency to give every minor character some Really Important Role in the big story (a wider EU problem) - e.g. IG88 merging with the Death Star II computer. Not sure how I felt about elderly Boba "arthritic knees" Fett and Han Solo trying to outwit each other by hobbling around a greenhouse. I'm sure there was worse, but I've blanked it out.

I never read the story, but I hate that Boba Fett escaped the Sarlaac only to fall in again (due to bad Jawa driving, as I understand it!). I thought that was hilariously bad. Already in stitches, I practically hit the floor when I found out it happened to him again after that in a later story. I suppose this is combines the problems of fan service and multiple authors working on one universe - all the characters end up with ludicrous life stories.

Most of all, though, I hate how badly the EU is written. I'd really like to read some good Star Wars fiction, so I tracked down Heir to the Empire - it's nearly universally agreed to be one of the very best (if not the best) stories of the EU. I found it to be terribly written, and with Thrawn being one of the biggest Mary Sue characters in professional writing (the first few pages are basically everyone saying how awesome he is; one subordinate wishes Thrawn was at the Battle of Endor leading the fleet instead of Vader because they'd definitely have won, etc. etc.!). The hubris is amazing.

 Was Alexander a Mary Sue?

DuracellEnergizer said:

grainger said:

I never read the story, but I hate that Boba Fett escaped the Sarlaac only to fall in again (due to bad Jawa driving, as I understand it!). I thought that was hilariously bad. Already in stitches, I practically hit the floor when I found out it happened to him again after that in a later story. I suppose this is combines the problems of fan service and multiple authors working on one universe - all the characters end up with ludicrous life stories.

Ah, yes ... this. This is what you get when you retroactively make a story from the Marvel comics canon even when it conflicts with the "official" history you've already been running with for the past couple decades. 

Crap like this is one of the reasons why the concept of an "official" canon for fictional universes has become anathema to me; the dignity of a universe gets sacrificed for the sake of making everything "real" and "true" and "relevant".

This is why I like how the Star Trek EU is handled more than the way the SW EU is handled. None of it is considered canon, so there's no inane effort put into making each and every story ever published in the past, present, and future part of the same continuity.

 Trek made an effort recently to make the old continuity fit better and the new movies don't contradict the comics. So, you are screwed.

Koryo Songhay said:

DuracellEnergizer said:

grainger said:

I never read the story, but I hate that Boba Fett escaped the Sarlaac only to fall in again (due to bad Jawa driving, as I understand it!). I thought that was hilariously bad. Already in stitches, I practically hit the floor when I found out it happened to him again after that in a later story. I suppose this is combines the problems of fan service and multiple authors working on one universe - all the characters end up with ludicrous life stories.

Ah, yes ... this. This is what you get when you retroactively make a story from the Marvel comics canon even when it conflicts with the "official" history you've already been running with for the past couple decades. 

Crap like this is one of the reasons why the concept of an "official" canon for fictional universes has become anathema to me; the dignity of a universe gets sacrificed for the sake of making everything "real" and "true" and "relevant".

This is why I like how the Star Trek EU is handled more than the way the SW EU is handled. None of it is considered canon, so there's no inane effort put into making each and every story ever published in the past, present, and future part of the same continuity.

 Trek made an effort recently to make the old continuity fit better and the new movies don't contradict the comics. So, you are screwed.

So you're saying the people-that-be are going back to the Gold Key comics, the old '70s/'80s novels, the original Marvel comics, DC's TOS & TNG comics, the various comics produced by Marvel in the late '90s, so on and so forth, etc, etc, etc. and trying to weave the events of all of it into one cohesive continuity?

You'll forgive me if I remain skeptical. 

As long as that novel's canon, I'll remain stuck between the Second and Third Circles of Hell.

Tobar said:

Koryo Songhay said:

Trek made an effort recently to make the old continuity fit better and the new movies don't contradict the comics. So, you are screwed.

 Actually there's a pretty big discrepancy between the Abramstrek comic and films. In STID Kirk makes a big deal about having never lost a crewmember in the time he's been captain. Yet he lost crew in just about every issue of the comic leading to the film.

There's also the issue of the official tie-in game not agreeing with the official tie-in comic or film. Despite all three being written by the same people.

 The thing you mentioned first is easy to ignore the same way the Anakin doubling his powers stuff is. What is the game, movies canon mess?

I guess Koryo's become so accustomed to the slipshod mess that was the old SW EU that he assumes all Expanded Universes work that way.

edit: wrong thread