Rogue Leader said:
Anyway, I would be glad to go head to head with you on this and if you're saying Mandalorian back story only goes back 7 years... well... That already tells me how much you know about their background and history. However, to an extent you're correct, their legend springs from some guy in an awesome costume in ESB. However, if you're gonna say that then it's good to keep in mind that everything about the Mandalore is added on anyway and only 7-years recent (which is also false btw), thus why should we care about any of this... Then why should we care about Star Wars at all? Afterall, it's ALL made up as well and added on over the decades anyway.
But that's the thing... We do care, and to imply that we shouldn't as much or at all because the simplicity of it's origin misses the point entirely. Why even be interested in Star Wars at all then? That's for the individual person to answer for themselves as I have my own reasons as I'm sure we all do.... However, my point was that Lucas doesn't know what the hell he's doing with his "toy box" anymore and thus creates situations and issues that are contradictory to things that were established previously. Yes, it's made up, it's ALL made up... Yet, I care cos it's a interesting story and all I really wish is that the consistency and quality of the universe is cared for at the level it should be.
Further more to mock the Mandalore by interjecting your dull Klingon comparison is unwarranted. They're different sci-fi and cultures with some similar ideals but only to an extent. I'd say Mandos would tear those ridge headed freaks a new one and won't act like dirty drunken sailors in a bad pirate movie doing so (but hey, that's me). But to say that they're the same/"hardly ground breaking sci-fi", it's been done etc etc etc... Again, the point is missed. EVERYTHING in Star Wars has been done before, it borrows from everything else and it's a different spin on stuff. It's how it's arranged that presented to us that has drawn a lot of to it as fans and even now.
However, it's the presentation NOW, that I have the most problems with... It's inconsistent, contradictory, and concepts to be done for profit rather than the integrity of the story or characters and so I don't buy those novels and/or games any longer. In fact I haven't bought anything that would profit LFL in a few years at least.
As for those notable authors you mentioned (I personally love Zahn and Stackpole's work...) Yeah? And? Is it wrong for these creative people to make money? I mean it's their living right? What sets them apart from Lucas however is that these authors are hardly the gajillionare power house Lucas is. They've not been corrupted by absolute power and not been surrounding themselves with yes men who are afraid to tell them "Hey, dude... that's like... retarded". Thus there is a certain integrity in their work that is based of struggle and meaning to make us more interested in each character (and expanded new characters, Mara Jade, Corran Horn, the Solo kids... etc) as opposed to the absolute pile of nothing that's in something like Episode 1 which had no meaning or struggle we could be drawn into or care about.
Hmmm... so because Lucas actually runs his own creation "Star Wars" and doesn't hand it off to other people to run for him, and he directed the PT when he would have made just as much money barely even being involved, that proves he doesn't care and is only about money, so he should hand off control to other people. Brilliant.
And the money Lucas (the creator) makes is somehow corrupt and immoral, but the money EU authors make (and you can slap "Star Wars" on the cover of just about anything and make it a best seller) is pure and honorable because they're great artists with integrity.
There's this odd mixing of what-is-liked and what-is-morally-good. When you liked the EU it was apparently not "done for profit" and now that you don't like it as much it is just a big money grab.
You don't like the PT or the CWS so they're just pipelines to line Lucas's evil pockets, but "Battlestar: Clone Medics" and "The Hand of Thrawn" were art for arts sake and worthy of our patronage. I'm sure Lucas, Zahn, and the publishers didn't care at all that "Heir to the Empire" sold more copies than God. They were all about integrity back then. To bad they sold out later.
And perhaps I haven't tracked down the right mid-90s comic back issue, or the right RPG supplement, or Abel Pena's blog, or wookiepedia article that somehow explains how the convuluted ret-con full history of the Mandalorian Space-vikings is so wondeful. I probably should have done extensive research before being bored to tears by Traviss's novels. Shame on me.
I should make me a flowchart of how Boba Fett was Jaster Mereel but wans't and how being a Mandalorian is a race, and a concept, and a clothing style, and how Flynn Shyssha in the old Marvel comics made perfect sense until big Evil Lucas came aong and ruined the flawless continuity.
OR I can roll that the EU is a muddled mess and always has been and parts of it are just as bad or worse than the PTs lowest moments (Crytals Star, Glove of Vader, Swarm War), and not dwell on these inconsistencies as I enjoy the product the creator of Star Wars is actually delivering to me on TV.
