Star Wars: Andor (September 21st, 2022)

[ZE_501]

Agreed. Total lack of diversity.

And I don't think George would approve.

*George isn't here*

Well I don't approve.

Oh come on, it's not like aliens are people.

 

[jaztermareal]

Honestly, the way aliens are handled in current disney era lucasfilm they do not feel alien anyway.

Andor had some (big dude who is paid to intimidate Cassian, the two who give him a lift after prison escape etc) and honestly they were a distraction from the story, with the way they talked.

I prefer most aliens stay background characters so we can imagine what they sound like rather than have bad voice acting dubbed over and avoid too many "man in mask and gloves" aliens which just look cheap anyway. Also, would love if less of them spoke English and for some protocol droids to actually do what they are supposed to and translate for characters instead of alien going "skwkkkk kljmbkkk ashkktrkj (click noise) grrrkk (gutteral growl)" and another character go "nah, Coruscant sucks this time of year".

If you have aliens speaking some incomprehensible alien language, have doids translate. It seems that after Han understanding chewie they think that everyone can just understand alien languages. In the case of Han he kinda makes sense having spent many years with chewie and their friendship may be at a point where they do not really need words to communicate, they understand how the other thinks. Peli Motto being absolutely cringeworthy speaking jawa unconvincingly is not what I want to see, it just pulls me right out.

Anyway, rant over.

 

[ajp4mgs]

Agreed. Total lack of diversity.

And I don't think George would approve.

*George isn't here*

Well I don't approve.

I would've liked to see more aliens as well, but the use of them in Andor did make sense if you think about it. We don't see many on Ferrix, but why would we? If it's the native planet of Cassian's parents, a mostly human native population works, and it's not a place where there seems to be much lucrative opportunity for off-worlders. And we don't see any aliens on the prison colony either, but that would be a logical strategic decision by the Empire to divide species according to common language, tolerance for the climate-controlled environment, or vulnerability to the charged floors.

But when Cassian arrives at Miami, uh... I mean "Niamos," we see a bunch of different aliens because it's a resort destination. This not only makes logical sense (something other recent SW haven't been using), but meshes with aliens appearing in the OT. We see a ton of them at Mos Eisley because it's a spaceport, and at Jabba's palace because gangsters are gathered there from around the galaxy. But no aliens among the Rebels on the Tantive IV or on Yavin. And Ugnaughts (laborers) are the only non-human residents of Bespin that I can recall. A bunch of Mon Calamari in ROTJ, but that's because it was their ships being used to lead the attack. The Endor moon was all Ewoks, Hoth and Dagobah were desolate, and every Imperial setting was all human (until the bounty hunters were called upon, again making total sense).

I bet there'll be a lot more of an alien presence in Season 2. SEASON 2!!!

 

[Otomofan]

Brothel in the first episode...all humans.

Security company....all humans.

Andor's friends on home planet....all humans.

ISB meetings...all humans.

Coruscant antique store....all humans.

Val Sepsis's raiding party....all humans.

Imperial outpost and weird hippie mountain people....all humans.

Imperial inter-office politics...all humans.

Prison planet....all humans.

Mon Mothma's dreadful dinner party...all humans.

Marching band at Andor's mom's funeral....all humans.

And other than the ONE droid that rolls around following Andor, and the other droid that arrests him in Miami, I don't recall any droids.

All of these characters and locations are so same-y that it barely feels like they are in the Star Wars universe. More like some kind of super-serious and humorless future society from Doctor Who.

 

[ajp4mgs]

Brothel in the first episode...all humans.

Security company....all humans.

Andor's friends on home planet....all humans.

ISB meetings...all humans.

Coruscant antique store....all humans.

Val Sepsis's raiding party....all humans.

Imperial outpost and weird hippie mountain people....all humans.

Imperial inter-office politics...all humans.

Prison planet....all humans.

Mon Mothma's dreadful dinner party...all humans.

Marching band at Andor's mom's funeral....all humans.

And other than the ONE droid that rolls around following Andor, and the other droid that arrests him in Miami, I don't recall any droids.

All of these characters and locations are so same-y that it barely feels like they are in the Star Wars universe. More like some kind of super-serious and humorless future society from Doctor Who.

No one is going to dispute the relative lack of aliens and droids, but it definitely didn't give me the sense that the locations felt too same-y or not belonging in the SW universe. I actually think that one of the (many) strengths of the show was the use of contrasting the settings for storytelling effect.

When they cut between the grittiness of places like Ferrix and the opulence of the Coruscant locales, the stark contrast drove home why rebellions are more likely to start in places where freedom is just about the only precious commodity they have, and seeing it get taken away would be so demoralizing. Meanwhile, even well-meaning bureaucrats and other kindhearted well-to-do are going to drag their feet more because of the comfort and luxury they'll have to risk, not only for themselves but for their families.

And another contrast to both of those was the sterility and uniformity of each Imperial facility, including the data management offices. You can see from that how it would be more likely to foster a hivemind where Imperials would end up believing in the cause of maintaining law and order to "protect peace and prosperity."

I thought all of the settings had enough unique flavor, and more importantly, had a *story purpose* behind their design and portrayal. Sticking aliens everywhere wouldn't have made as much sense from a practical perspective, compared to having them in the settings that *did* make sense. Loading scenery with tons of different aliens, no matter the lack of logic behind it, would be the sort of thing you'd get from fan fiction, IMO.

As for the list you composed, there shouldn't be aliens in any Imperial setting if you want it to jibe with the OT. And the prison colony was basically a labor camp, so it's not a stretch that the Empire isn't going to accommodate multiple translators and proper facilities for each species to be able take a dump when prisoners are there to build Death Star parts as efficiently as possible. I understand your point about the other locales, and I concede that's all fair enough, but you're exaggerating a little bit on a few of them being all human:

Sorry for the long rant, but this show is basically all of Star Wars for me right now. I couldn't have much higher regard for it.

 

[Otomofan]

Huh. Didn't notice the guy in the marching band had weird head tentacles. I was too distracted by his off-the-rack costume. Knda like Dr. Pershing's glasses on Mando. God, I hate those glasses.

And come to think of it....why is he called "doctor" anyway? There were never any doctors in the OT...just medical droids. The whole point of all my nerd whining is that all of these elements add up to make the SW universe feel way too much like Earth and way less special and extraordinary. Seeing a guy in his cramped apartment with his mother, sadly eating a bowl of cereal in the breakfast nook....that belongs on an AMC drama, not Star Wars.

People are supposed to live in weird domed holes in the desert, or on their spaceship. They shouldn't have sad dumpy apartments that look like mine.

 

[ajp4mgs]

Huh. Didn't notice the guy in the marching band had weird head tentacles. I was too distracted by his off-the-rack costume. Knda like Dr. Pershing's glasses on Mando. God, I hate those glasses.

And come to think of it....why is he called "doctor" anyway? There were never any doctors in the OT...just medical droids. The whole point of all my nerd whining is that all of these elements add up to make the SW universe feel way too much like Earth and way less special and extraordinary. Seeing a guy in his cramped apartment with his mother, sadly eating a bowl of cereal in the breakfast nook....that belongs on an AMC drama, not Star Wars.

People are supposed to live in weird domed holes in the desert, or on their spaceship. They shouldn't have sad dumpy apartments that look like mine.

Fair enough. Everyone has their SW preferences and what "Star Warsy" means to them.

 

[abake]

(...) this show is basically all of Star Wars for me right now. I couldn't have much higher regard for it.

Agreed.

 

[ZE_501]

Seeing a guy in his cramped apartment with his mother, sadly eating a bowl of cereal in the breakfast nook....that belongs on an AMC drama, not Star Wars.

People are supposed to live in weird domed holes in the desert, or on their spaceship. They shouldn't have sad dumpy apartments that look like mine.

The OT had the outlandish settings you like, but it also had a lot of very familiar elements scattered throughout that made it feel familiar and somehow human. Aunt Beru's kitchen looked a little weird but those could have been Braun kitchen appliances, and remember her funky 70s blouse?

Luke Skywalker's 'garage' on Tatooine was greasy and grimy in a very familiar way -- you could smell the oil and concrete -- and filled with machine parts that wouldn't have been out of place at an Earth mechanic's shop. Even the Falcon and the droids are filled with mundane looking, colourful insulated wires and transistors.

You just see a little more of this stuff on a show like 'Andor' because it's not all taking place at military bases, capital ships and barren planets. I think they've pulled it off very well for the most part, like a Ralph Mcquarrie painting come to life.

 

[Zurdo95D]

I felt somewhat fearful that Luthen was gonna get caught and killed when the Cantwell Class Arrestor Cruiser appeared behind him, but of course sighed in relief when he outwitted them and got away.

This scene was just so ba!!

 

[Prime Clone]

Nice piece by Aussie artist Hugh Fleming (he did a lot of Dark Horse's comic covers back in the day for both SW and Indy). Be interested to hear his thoughts on Disney Wars overall, don't think he was much of a fan of the PT...

Edit: He appears to have a gig with Disney AUNZ right now so I guess any negative opinions will be off the record!

 

[chrisstbh]

Huh. Didn't notice the guy in the marching band had weird head tentacles. I was too distracted by his off-the-rack costume. Knda like Dr. Pershing's glasses on Mando. God, I hate those glasses.

And come to think of it....why is he called "doctor" anyway? There were never any doctors in the OT...just medical droids.

Just because you didn’t see something in the OT doesn’t mean it can’t exist.

The whole point of all my nerd whining is that all of these elements add up to make the SW universe feel way too much like Earth and way less special and extraordinary. Seeing a guy in his cramped apartment with his mother, sadly eating a bowl of cereal in the breakfast nook....that belongs on an AMC drama, not Star Wars.

People are supposed to live in weird domed holes in the desert, or on their spaceship. They shouldn't have sad dumpy apartments that look like mine.

Big galaxy. Lots of different planets, locations, cultures, aesthetics, living conditions.

You complained that all of the locations are too samey yet you want everything to be the same as what you saw 45 years ago?

 

[a-dev]

This one's for @ZE_501

 

[ZE_501]

This one's for @ZE_501

[snip video]

• What a woman.
  
• Being surrounded by a mob of sweaty nerds waving plastic lightsabers can't be easy.
  
• Time jump one year every 2 episodes??
  
• The weathering on that stage/forge rig was a touch crude and heavy handed.

 

[choombaz]

Not sure how reputable this story is:

https://thedirect.com/article/andor-season-2-disney-andy-serkis-return

 

[RandomHero]

I certainly hope he comes back. He was awesome in his role. Had the most memorable monologue in Star Wars history until Stellan one upped him five minutes later.

 

[choombaz]

Obviously he can swim

Or R2 flew in and rescued him

 

[ZE_501]

I certainly hope he comes back. He was awesome in his role. Had the most memorable monologue in Star Wars history until Stellan one upped him five minutes later.

If so, it probably isn't going to end well for him.

 

[Johnny Utah]

Yeah Luthen probably kicks it in season 2. Doesn't matter though he's already up there as one of the greatest Star Wars characters ever.

 

[Chainedstream]

Yeah Luthen probably kicks it in season 2. Doesn't matter though he's already up there as one of the greatest Star Wars characters ever.

Stellan is a good actor. See chernobyl