Geek Issues: Star Wars, The Holy Trinity

I want to talk about the fundamental issues for geeks, at least for geeks who include# science fiction and fantasy. Most of us have some intense feelings about Star Wars, Doctor Who, and Star Trek. In my neck of the woods, discussions about Star Wars have a tendency to turn ugly. I saw this article on CNET recently about a documentary about Lucas work on the Star Wars series, The People vs. George Lucas. You can see the film's website here and the first teaser trailer here on Youtube.

I saw Star Wars the year it was released with my parents. I was two or three years old. It changed my life forever. It was one of the last things I remember that we did as a family. My parents separated the next year and eventually divorced. This film was a part of my story well before I was rolling d20s or reading Asimov. I saw it many times that year, and it was my constant companion throughout my childhood.

I saw The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi as they were released in the theater. Like Star Wars IV A New Hope, I saw these films over and over. They just never got old. I had the actions figures, the X-Wing, a Tie Fighter, the Milenium Falcon and the Death Star play set. I even had the action figure case shaped like Darth Vader's head, which was probably a bad idea. Darth Vader gave me nightmares. Later I ran campaigns in the Star Wars role playing game that West End Games published. I still have the oversized Star Wars comic book that I got not long after seeing the movie.

I don't think George Lucas "raped" my childhood. Far from it. I owe Mr. Lucas a great debt and thank him for the things he created that changed my life. In my next post I want to compare the original trilogy and the prequels. I hope you'll join me.