Monday, April 8, 2013

Greedo

The guy on the right is Greedo (in case you didn't know). The animation in this show is
bar none the best I have ever seen from a syndicated cartoon series. Look at the detail.
Greedo is probably the most famous of the bounty hunters to appear in Star Wars canon outside of Boba Fett. And honestly, the only reason everyone liked Boba Fett was because he wore cool looking armor that's now copied by every first-person shooter from Crysis to Halo.

Greedo's race is Rodian and he lived in Mos Espa alongside the young Anakin Skywalker (who became Darth Vader) and he met his end by Han Solo, which is where we get the whole "continuity" controversy that I shall talk about below.

CONTINUITY:
This scene in the Mos Eisley cantina is probably the biggest controversy of the films.
Who shot first?

In the original 1977 release of Star Wars, Greedo did not shoot at Han at all. When Lucas re-released the film in 1997, Greedo gets a badly-aimed shot at Solo before Solo kills him. Lucas said that this change is to enhance Solo's overall heroism. But it pissed a lot of fans off...people who had lived with Han Solo being this complete roguish bad-ass for twenty years. So it forced Lucas to edit it yet again in 2004 to make it so the two shots are almost simultaneous, with Greedo shooting first. Thus Han is still a "hero" because he kills Greedo now in "self-defense" to match up with the morals of an unforgiving public.
Having "shot first" and not out of defense is what most die-hard fans of Han Solo
are so upset about. I personally don't care. It's amazing the implications a few seconds makes.

GREEDO'S APPEARANCE IN CARTOON NETWORK'S THE CLONE WARS:

Greedo takes center stage in the third season of this completely awesome t.v. show during episode four entitled "Sphere of Influence." Here's the plot summary:

Pantora in peril! The newly elected
Chairman of Pantora, Baron Papanoida,
is caught in a deadly political game.
The Trade Federation has blockaded
Pantora and suspended all commerce
with the system. Isolated from the
rest of the Republic, the people of
Pantora are beginning to rally
against the Senate, who have seemed
unsympathetic to their plight.

To make matters worse, Count Dooku
has come forward offering aid if
Pantora joins the Separatist Alliance.
Chairman Papanoida has dispatched
Senator Chuchi to Coruscant with the
hope that she can motivate the Senate
to act in favor of Pantora before
Lott Dod can legitimize the
blockade....

In this particular episode, Papanoida's daughter is kidnapped from their quarters. Papanoida discovers that one of the kidnappers is Greedo because of some blood left at the crime scene. He goes to Tattoine, enters Jabba the Hutt's palace, and traps Greedo. Evidence is presented before Jabba the Hutt and Greedo is forced to take Papanoida to a seedy bar in Mos Eisley where his daughter is kept. Here's a clip of the shootout that ensues.
Have a great Monday.

37 comments:

  1. I think it's crazy that Lucas would try to change a scene after 20 years, especially with something that was/is so immensely popular. Talk about having problems letting go. Anyway, I prefer the original, Han Solo is a bad-ass version and I've come to realize I like bad-asses in general. Even though I'm still not liking the way the series is going, as far as angels are concerned, Castiel is one bad-ass dude. I like him.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Don't know why Lucas thought it needed changing. Solo shouldn't be a 'hero', and it only makes his reversal at the end all the more powerful.

    mood
    Moody Writing

    ReplyDelete
  3. Changing that scene with Greedo was dumb.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I may be the outcast here, but I could never understand why anyone would get upset with the creator of a franchise for doing anything with his franchise. Having a preference is one thing, but mad?

    Dropping in from A to Z Challenge. It's my first year participating.

    Brett Minor
    Transformed Nonconformist

    ReplyDelete
  5. Lucas was a moron to change that scene and think people would actually buy it. It just makes Greedo look like a complete dumb-ass because he misses Han by like a yard at close range.

    ReplyDelete
  6. There's also that Boba Fett has the temerity to talk back to Vader... and Vader lets him live.

    @PT: Everyone always thought Greedo was a dumb-ass, so that's nothing new.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I saw Star Wars when it came out in the 70s. The opening totally blew my mind. How could it not be real?

    The graphics have only gotten better. What was jaw-dropping then have been replaced with new marvels. The difference in the first Toy Story and the last one is amazing.

    (Btw, I prefer the first version of Han's blaster scene :)

    CD Coffelt ponders at Spirit Called
    And critiques at UnicornBell

    ReplyDelete
  8. To me they should have left the scene alone. I loved Han just as he was from the start.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I understand why the revisions pissed people off, but like you, it never really bothered me that much. I mean, Han was a smuggler either way.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Huh! I never noticed the change - or it didn't register. My mind must have glossed over it. I've seen both versions but in my head Solo is the only one who shot. I think it fits his personality better. No one should try to go back and make it more politically correct. It is what it is.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I do get why changing it pissed people off, I don't think I had enough emotional investment to really care, but I don't think there character has as much of a story arc with the Greedo shooting thing.

    But, maybe all that will get dealt with in episode 7 when that comes out.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Now that's interesting. I didn't know Lucas bowed to public pressure over that scene.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I never minded that Han shot first. He was a dangerous-but-lovable rogue. The movie needed him to balance the rather saccharine sweetness of Leia and Luke. It's kinda weird that Lucas changed it. I don't think artists should bend to public pressure, especially with something that's successful.
    Fascinating post! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  14. No way! Never knew this. Adding it to my Star Wars gee whiz collection. ;-) You always have entertaining posts, Michael. Keep em coming!

    :D

    ReplyDelete
  15. As far as I'm concerned....Han -always- shot first and I could care less what Lucas says!! :)

    Still, as a scumbag bounty hunter, Greedo was top notch.

    Left and Write

    ReplyDelete
  16. My son is obsess with SW and right now all he talks about is bounty hunters. I need to show him this post.

    ReplyDelete
  17. I think it's interesting how one bullet could change a character's image. That is what's so cool about writing!

    ReplyDelete
  18. I personally think it works better the original way. After all, the other reason we all love Han is because he evolves into hero.

    ReplyDelete
  19. I love that there's controversy about that. It's the only scene in the entire trilogy where Han is actually a scoundrel, and fans cling to it like he's like that the entire time!

    ReplyDelete
  20. I think that once a creative work is done, it's done. I have a slight issue with changing to suit an audience. So what if Han shot first!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Greedo was n interesting character. Too bad he met such a quick demise. I was unaware of the controversy. But Lucas should've just left it alone.

    ReplyDelete
  22. You are definitely knowledgable about Star Wars and such. Pretty cool, man!

    ReplyDelete
  23. I wonder if my husband knows that tidbit. He's a Star Wars fanatic. I'm going to test him out this afternoon--maybe I now know something about SW that he doesn't :-)

    ReplyDelete
  24. All things Star Wars. Holy carp, Michael you do know your Star Wars. I'm seriously impressed.

    ReplyDelete
  25. It's awesome to learn more about Greedo! And I had no clue Lucas tried to change that scene later on. Wow.

    ReplyDelete
  26. I had no idea Lucas changed the scene. That's interesting.

    ReplyDelete
  27. I never watched the animated series but Hans Solo was always my favorite. I never knew about the shootout controversy.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Ah yes, the Greedo controversy. I understand why Lucas tinkered (I remember the whole how-could-the-explosion-of-a-planet-be-smaller-than-the-explosion-of...shoot. I forgot what the bigger bang was). If it were me, I would totally change things. But I get why the fans are upset.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Until today, I never knew what the actual controversy was. I'm sure we all remember how the Internet was dominated a while back by some blogfest that featured fanfic on the theme of "Han Shot First." Whatever happened to the guy who hosted THAT? Probably relaxing in Hawaii or something and certainly not freezing his butt off in Wisconsin while trying vainly to recapture his old glory days when he led an entire blogging community.

    Where was I?

    Oh: Consider: Han's journey from shooting first to a general in the Rebellion is like an antimatter universe of Walt's descent in "Breaking Bad." Or so says a guy who wasn't fully versed on the "Han Shot First" controversy until today and who hasn't watched any "Breaking Bad" since the second episode ever.

    Tomorrow: I will discuss how "Downton Abbey" actually is a shot-by-shot remake of "The Electric Company's" third season, sans Morgan Freeman.

    ReplyDelete
  30. I was one that liked the original version. I kinda go by the adage of if it ain't broke don't fix it. :-)

    The animation is well done. wow.

    ReplyDelete
  31. I always liked the original where Han shot first. Didn't actually know they'd messed with it until now.

    The "Do unto others before they do unto you" mentality seemed to fit Han perfectly. He was only ever a reluctant hero, after all.

    ReplyDelete
  32. The badass Hans Solo is the classic one if fell for (of COURSE I had a crush on him), and Lucas performing revisionist history on the original classic Star Wars is just plain wrong. Why mess with perfection?

    ReplyDelete
  33. Star Wars really has the dumbest names. Papanoida, really? Doesn't surprise me about Lucas' changing the fight. He effd with his entire mythology when he went back did the prequels. They are the worst films in all of creation, make no sense in the Star Wars canon at all and our collective consciousness should be bleached.

    ReplyDelete
  34. It's amazing how a tiny little change to a scene like that can get a whole bunch of people up in arms! ;)

    ReplyDelete
  35. I loved that original scene. Han was so cool!

    ReplyDelete