Hal 9000

The Lars homestead might not have gotten a droid that fits the bill, but they wouldn't have been murdered. They probably would have had a less-than-stellar harvest, Owen would have been cranky, and Leia would have put the Death Star plans into that silver 3PO droid. That droid was an imperial spy. Leia gets executed, but the Death Star never finds the rebel base. The films go on, without Luke or Leia, or anything. 

WHAT IT IS, MY DOGE?

Hah, SuperShadow is always good for a Star Wars related laugh. Only there have I seen ideas worse than what we got in the prequels themselves. 

http://electiondayistuesday.ytmnd.com/

Maybe Hayden's ghost appears to apologize to Luke and Leia like in one of the books. 

Picture it, edited together from ROTS outtakes. Hayden looks off to one side, laughs, and says, "I'm sorry!" 

I was just summing up the concern; I don't care what it's called in the menus.

I think the concern is that seeing the title "Despecialized Edition" in the menu right before watching the film only reminds them that the Special Editions exist. 

bump

Maybe it's a garbage compactor stain?

I know that within much of Protestant Christianity, there are two approaches to the apparent ancient cosmology in the Old and New Testaments. (Things like the sky being viewed as a solid dome with waters above it, and the stars being literally within the sky as opposed to far above it.) 

Some choose concordism, that is to say that a proper interpretation of both scripture and science will ultimately harmonize. Some see things like the Big Bang being described within scripture. 

Personally I do not find that interpretation tenable, so I elect for the concept of divine accommodation. This view suggests that God was evidently not interested in giving the ancient Israelites a science lesson, but rather chose to reveal things in terms they could understand. (And hey, if God did want to give us a science lesson today, I'm sure we would be just as ill-equipped to receive it.) For a good resource about this issue, see this lecture: http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&ved=0CCAQtwIwAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Dtel7eJGTF8I&ei=bIZ1UMnaOufWyQGlrYHwAw&usg=AFQjCNHlKMY4Dioq_JmAcC-qP6K5rwqgyg&sig2=Y9sUr8j9UEp04jEPIyS3rg

So then, I wonder if something like this could be workable for the apparent "problem" Mormonism has about God's supposed fleshy body somewhere. Does it seem to you that such a concept could be an accommodation, or does it truly need to point to something objective somewhere in the physical universe? That point doesn't seem to be incidental, but rather is a central message being communicated. (i.e. the object being described, not a metaphor to describe something else)

I thought this idea was more central to Mormonism than you make it sound like. Isn't one of the core goals of a Mormon to achieve a similar reign on another planet/world with one's family?

Thanks; I appreciate the time spent addressing my questions. 

Star Trek V always reminded me of Mormonism. 

God has a body of flesh and bone, right? I know the concept of the 'burning in the bosom' has historically been important to Mormons. 

I do have an earnest question, though. The Mormons (or LDS, I apologize if I use terms or titles that would not be preferred) in recent decades have pitched Mormonism as being basically another Christian denomination. What say you about this? Isn't classical Christianity an abomination according to LDS doctrine, indeed another gospel that Paul said should be cursed? If Smith was to restore the gospel, doesn't that mean historical Christianity was hopelessly wrong? I guess my real question is... should Mormonism be lumped in the Christian camp with all its historical inheritance, or be considered something different (restoration or otherwise)? 

As a case example, classical Christianity (at least the Protestant tradition) maintains the principle of sola gracia and sola fide, or salvation by grace alone through faith alone. Can Mormonism really hold to these in order to be considered Christian in the classical sense? If something like celestial marriage is required, which is an essential element that is absent from historic Christianity, aren't the two things fundamentally distinct?

I'm not trying to get at which is true, if either. Rather, I just want to be clear about what's what. 

What does God need with a starship?

SGT-Crakers said:

OK, so I don't know if these are plot holes or what (I really hope not haha)...but any here are my questions:

1) If midi-chlorian counts are highly correlated to force sensitivity, why can't sentients induce more rapid midi-chlorian replication? Like what prevents everyone in the galaxy from being force sensitive? I read somewhere on Wookiepedia that deathly injured organisms can be given a blood transplant of another for their midi-chlorians, but no force sensitivity would be passed on. Why would no force sensitivity be passed on?

2) Why did Darth Vader continue to help the emperor when he knew Padme was dead? Wasn't Padme is only motivation for being on the dark side?

3) How does "the high ground" mean Obi-Wan will have an advantage in Episode III?

Welcome to the forum! I think most of us would say that these are difficulties brought on by the prequels. 

BUT, since you asked...

1) No clue. I guess maybe they are linked with a person in some non-transferable way.

2) Once you've murdered children for a cause, it's hard to just go back on it. He's all in.

3) He knew Anakin would do a triple front-flip over his head, and that he'd be able to, y'know, like swing... up at him. I don't know. 

Tyrphanax said:

But I like ESB and ROTJ. =(

How else will I get my Boba Fett fix?

:P

Also relieved to hear the good news. I hope you get to feeling better. Suicide is never the answer. Glad you're back. 

I throw my condolences on the pile, though I hope they are unnecessary. 

bilditup1 said:

Here ya go guys...

https://files.nyu.edu/eb1167/html/works/misc/StarWars_DE_Comparisons.zip

 

Thank you!

Hey, that's pretty cool! Harmy deserves to feel proud of this. 

Can't wait, dude!

Cool; thanks. If I'd have waited I could have seen them in HD. Oh, well.

I'll post a review for Episodes II and III later, but for now here's my thoughts in brief. I thought you gave Episode I a quick pace that made the film more tolerable, though that approach made II and III feel thin. The pacing was fast, and made all of the prequel trilogy feel the way that the last half of III did, like a power-point presentation. 

Anakin and Padme's relationship overall felt much better in this cut than others, since it is not meant to be seen as secretive or forbidden. Good! 

The droids aren't emphasized or seen much at all. This is a good thing, and I think it works well enough. I still think 3PO could be dubbed for his two or three remaining lines to really sell it. 

These films really are a difficult watch, but I'd recommend Q2's edits as a substitute. Especially if you won't want to invest as much time. 

Have you considered collapsing them into a single 2 1/2 hour prequel film? Given how short they ended up, that might be feasible.

For the prequel trilogy as a whole, I'd rate it 8.5 out of 10. (TPM - 9/10 for fast "get in, get out" pacing. AOTC - 8/10 for removal of awful thematic material, which leaves the film feeling gutted. ROTS - 8/10 for the same reasons as AOTC.) Interestingly, my opinion seems to be the inverse of the consensus at fanedit.org; I liked TPM the best out of your edits.  

In your case, by checking your PMs.

Thanks; that'd be great. 

That's cool, and I'll admit that the virgin birth in isolation isn't *so* bad without the prophecy stuff making more out of it. 

Also, about the final space battle, I wonder if there is a video game or some other source out there to lift dialogue from to create some "chatter" from the mystery pilot. He could say something like, "I'm going in... target acquired... it's a hit!" or something along those lines. Might help sell the idea. I do like the idea, as it helps shift the role of protagonist for Episode I to Obi-Wan (and Qui-Gon). Anakin can take over later in Episodes II and III. 

Again, I enjoyed this edit more than I have any other, and look forward to seeing II and III when my wife and I get the chance.