Blue Milk Special

We will be returning to Endor on Friday with Princess Leia and Wicket the Ewok. Back to Return of the Jedi parody. But before we do, one last comment via webcomic…

A little background… When Denis Lawson was asked about whether he would be returning to Star Wars Episode VII The Force Awakens in the role of Wedge Antilles he responded: “They asked me but it just would have bored me.”

Many fans were disappointed, others turned that disappointment into criticism of Lawson himself for being egotistical. But to be honest, now that most of us have seen the Force Awakens, we can surmise that Lawson had good reason to be bored with a script that he had seen at least twice before, in the form of A New Hope and Return of the Jedi. Who can really hold it against him for passing on the resurrected franchise, given the nature of it’s return?

Here is something Leanne drew to help herself heal from the film…

Illustration is how Leanne helped herself process the conflicting feelings after seeing the new film. For me, it’s writing and creating this webcomic.

Given that BMS has often made observational criticism of the franchise, in the spirit of good humor, I felt the need to use this strip to make the comment now, while the moment is hot. And, I truly believe that humor can help heal.

The only other issue I had with the film, is the treatment of Han Solo. So, for those of us who were hurt by Force Awakens, we have one final strip that we hope will go a small way toward helping our fellow Han Solo fans recover. And remember, nobody can erase 30 years of Expanded Universe canon. It’s still there for everyone who wants to explore it and live it. Wedge Antilles is still the commander of Rogue Squadron, and Han and Leia are together (not estranged). And I’m also pretty sure Han has used Chewie’s bowcaster prior to going gray. I digress.

A few more objective criticisms of the film are starting to appear online, but it is against a tide of excitement for the new film and may take a long time to be heard. One of Leanne’s childhood inspirations as an artist is Tom Lyle. He recently shared his thoughts via Facebook.

“Okay … I am going to make some enemies, but … The new STAR WARS movie was okay, but predictable. Just good fun, but not all that. If you do not agree … Get over it! You are wrong!!
Some bad dialogue in places and some bad acting in places!
Glad for Fin and Rey, but they could be MUCH more!” – Tom Lyle, comic artist

Many readers have emailed us with support and thanking us for letting them know they are not alone. Here are a few excerpts I wanted to share. I am not sharing these to be provocative. I’m sharing these because they offer some comfort to those who feel conflicted, or have been in a funk over the new film. You are not alone.

Thank you for your comment of the film – and to have included comments from others that share views similar to yours (and mine, in fact), I feel less alone about this…
The good guys are decently written, but the bad guys just look like a bunch of retarded Nazis (re: the lack of subtlety in the First Order rally with General Hux)…
The death of Han Solo was sad, especially when it appears that he was estranged of Leia – which almost taint the ending of the episode 6… What to add about this? That the whole scene was predictable, that Kylo Ren doesn’t make much sense, or too much sense if you accept him as a poorly written character? It’s an anticlimactic end for a well-written character…
Sorry for this long e-mail. I am relieved to know that I’m the only one to think this way. I almost wish I had read it sooner so that I wouldn’t have seen the film in the first place.
– Mimetaster, BMS reader

I couldn’t bring myself to leave right away, I was still in a state of despair, and had to listen to a 10 year old boy toss aside and all but cheer about Han’s death. I found myself hanging onto a shred of hope that I would at least get some form of closure for Han and Leia, a relationship I’ve been emotionally invested in since I was 13. That never came. I’m crushed. Now, I’ll definitely not receive any such closure. – Sharon, BMS reader

The characters were irrelevant to the plot. no one, at any moment, made a decision that steered the storyline. It was a pre-baked apple pie. You can change the temperature, but not the taste or structure.
Summed up: I felt more empty than more filled. – René, BMS reader from the Netherlands

While the movie did a great job in sets and costuming to emulate the style of the original trilogy, it seemed to me that they forgot the most important part of the old style–actually stopping to take a break. So much action in this film (SO MUCH). And what got cut in order to fit all the action in? Exposition.
Where is Jakku? Where is the planet where the orange lady lived? Where are those planets in relation to each other? Who is the first order? How many systems do they control? Who runs the republic? How many systems do they control? Is this even an underdog fight like in New Hope? Why are they called “rebels”? Where did the rebels get plans to the Starkiller? Who made the map to Luke Skywalker? Which star system was destroyed? Was that Coruscant?
All of these (and many more) questions were never, at all, answered by the movie because it was too caught up in action sequences to bother. Throughout the entire experience, I was just struck by the carelessness of it all. “It’s Star Wars!” J.J. seemed to be saying, “They’ll get it!” Well I, for one, can say that I did not at all get it, and it ruined the entire movie for me because I was just sitting there agonizing over who was what and what was where.
What makes this even worse is that it would have taken just 30 seconds of effective dialogue and visuals to establish everything we needed to go on. We wouldn’t need to sit in on the Senate, we’d just need to hear Leia or Han being angry about it. – H.C. BMS reader

Elation at new Star Wars turned to depression at the announcement of the Director as I already disliked Abrams for his appalling treatment of Star Trek (Yes, I am one of those rare, or not so rare? fans of both Sci Fi Universes). I again got my hopes up on hearing that Abrams was supposedly a huge fan of the original trilogy and planned to do away with the CGI abuse that was the prequels… I have been a long, long time fan of Star Wars. I have gone to the theater to see every single film up to TFA upon Release… For Han Solo, who cheated death so many times, and whom I personally felt had more of a connection to the Force then the Smuggler would ever want to admit, to die and to die a meaningless death is not a fairy tale, and certainly not Star Wars… For me, and it sounds like for you as well, That Long Time Ago In a Galaxy Far, Far Away has become a lot more distant. – David B., BMS reader

I wanted to like the movie and they would have really had to screw up to change that. And they didn’t screw up THAT bad. I cringed at some of the same stuff you did – but I didn’t want to dislike it – I just focused on what I liked. And in some ways – it was like I was 6 years old all over again. The new characters were great and I’m happy to have any closure on the old characters. – Dave S. BMS Reader who, overall, loved the movie

Although I liked the movie better than you did – the way you like a one night stand; have fun during, feel really bad about the whole experience afterward — I am feeling your pain, sans only one thing.
I don’t think I’d be so quick to ascribe the death of Solo to Harrison Ford this time. He’s said some pretty rough-to-take things over the years, but he signed on immediately when Lucas asked him, before the Disney sale, to come back, and at that point there was no script. It also seems to me, more and more, like he is somehow involved in the next film.
To me, this has JJ Abrams hacky little lacking-creativity pawprints and Kasdan’s natural bent toward darkness (and continuing hostility toward what Lucas required he do on ROTJ) all over it.
How does JJ make the franchise his own? Kill the character everyone loves — oh, and introduce a new version of him, in Poe, because that’s what JJ Abrams does.
How does Kasdan assert himself? Do what he wanted to do in 1983 by creating a dystopian world where NOTHING ends up right. Does Harrison Ford get what he wanted in 1983? Yes, I suppose, but at a much larger personal cost than the others — for an actor who does not like personal publicity, he’s just walked straight into it for the rest of his days. – Kelleher, BMS reader

I really just wish they hadn’t screwed over the old characters so hard to make room for underdeveloped new ones. No need to reset Han back to pre New Hope character and then rush through a meaningless death scene. – Brendan, BMS reader

Just wanted to drop a line saying that if you’re in the minority, so am I. Your entry summed up just about everything I was thinking re: Ep.7, better than I had been able to. I hope the rest of your holidays are great, and thank you for continuing to make such an amazing webcomic/tribute. – Sean, BMS reader

Something went definitely wrong with this movie and I have a hard time admitting it, but I keep bringing it up with my friends. I wrote a small rant about the storytelling shortcomings to an unsuspecting friend. I tell myself I would like to rewatch it, but I guess it’s a reflex. The magic died in the second half when it all turned into a big remix. After being wowed and reassured by how Star Wars it looked and felt, it then broke down. – Oliver, BMS reader

While I had fun watching the movie on immediate retrospect it’s beginning to sour on me. Kylo Ren straight up shanking Han Solo was not a delight. I’m glad Ford got what he wanted, a way out of these movies I have to agree with you that the scene didn’t evoke as much as it did for others. I felt for Solo much like I felt for Obi-Wan but I didn’t feel anything for Kylo, Ben Solo… guess, when he shanked him… Here Solo’s never before seen whiny brat shanks a loving father.
Other scenes also bother me. It’s apparent that this movie was being edited and worked on to the last minute. I know this is not that unusual but it felt rushed to get it out on Christmas. What the hell was up with Captain Phasma? Where’s Constable Zuvio? That I like the three new leads is a testament to the actors’ abilities and to an extent Abrams’ talent with actors that Lucas never had.
On Ford. Maybe he like Lucas never fully understood his character’s hidden depths like others did. Or maybe he did and never liked it. He’s also been bombarded with Star Wars and Indiana Jones questions for 35 years so I guess that led to his fatigue. – Oceloti, BMS reader

You are not alone… On the flip side, I love your comic. Please hurry past all this Disney stuff and get back to the real Star Wars. – Justin, BMS reader

Look, I’m not saying Force Awakens IS a BAD film. It is good on many levels and has some genuinely great moments. Even the self-plagiarism used in the plot at least draws on a plot that worked in the past for a good reason… attack runs on giant planet destroying battle stations are exciting. Just like a rollercoaster ride is exciting. You can ride it lots of times and always get a thrill. But with a movie, you generally want more than a rollercoaster ride. Otherwise, why go to the theater? Why not just go to your local theme park?

The script made very superficial efforts to disguise the fact this was practically a remake. Given what happened to Harrison Ford’s character, perhaps Lawson spared Wedge Antilles fans similar pain. Although, to my knowledge, Lawson has never said he hates Wedge, or wants to see him killed off, unlike Ford.

A word or two on calling us snobs…

To all the assholes out there that want to categorize myself and others who were hurt and disappointed with the new film as snobs, you have no idea who people like myself are. I love the Star Wars characters. Any criticism and objectivity that I express toward Star Wars comes from my deep passion for it, its universe, and its characters. If someone isn’t over the moon about the film it does not mean they are sitting on some high horse, thinking they know movie making better than the professionals, or who thinks it is cool to simply buck trends.

I’m already seeing dickish internet memes appearing, poking fun at fans who are critical of the new film. We who are critical are already being treated like we should be ostracized from the Star Wars community, or that we’re not true fans.

I wish that we could all stop and remember that we are ALL Star Wars fans. Most of us at least have the Original Trilogy in common. For me, that remains the pinnacle and center of Star Wars and it means that however our opinions differ on the broader Star Wars franchise, we still have something very strong in common. Right now we need to be accepting of each other’s differences and supportive. Do you like seeing a friend dealing with depression because of what happened to Han Solo? Is it funny to you? We need to remember that passion and protectiveness towards the world we spend so much time escaping into can elicit a wide range of emotions. We don’t need to be combative or argumentative. We don’t need to try to convert each other to Force Awakens “lovers” or “haters”.

In my mind, the best story has already been told, and that was Luke Skywalker’s “hero journey”. However, there have been many other great stories since. Most of these have respected the characters and the playground that is the Star Wars galaxy.

Like the Expanded Universe canon, nothing any executive says or decrees can erase the hard work produced by the thousands of people creating the previous films, books, comics, or video games. The same goes with the Special Editions, try as Lucas did, to remake his own films due to his unnecessary embarrassment at aging effects. This led him to cut and replace whole segments of model and creature effects, as well as performances, that were contributed by artists who worked hard to create the original trilogy. Star Wars, the Original Trilogy, is a classic, and it is a historical document of the film making skill and artistry of the time. If people can’t view it in the context of the era it was produced then they are idiots. Do effects in films like Metropolis, Dracula, Frankenstein, The Day the Earth Stood Still, Forbidden Planet and 2001 A Space Odyssey need to be updated? No. They are classics and were ahead of their time. Well, not so much Dracula…

Disney / LucasFilm can say the Expanded Universe is no longer canon. But that statement only matters in regard to the new Disney Star Wars franchise. The pre-Disney Star Wars can’t be erased. It will always be there. So, somewhere out there, Han and Leia are doing fine. And I like knowing that.

Finally, for Star Wars, I suggest that everyone takes and treasure those parts that mean the most to you. Don’t let anyone make you feel like you have to give anything up. And anyone that calls you names… send them to me.