Obi Wan's age

SVPD · Post by **SVPD** » 2005-06-13 11:33am

I'm thinking it's a combination of

A) Desert
B) 2 sun radiation
C) Obi-Wan hitting the bar

Seriously, why would he just stay in that hut for 19 years? It's not like he needed to watch Luke every second. Besides, that might partly explain Owen's dislike for the "Crazy old man". Maybe he thought Obi-Wan was a drunkard?

Also, as to the time between ESB and ROTJ, couldn't the 3 years be accounted for by the Millenium Falcon's trip from Hoth to Bespin under time compression?

Maybe it's 3 years from the beginning of ESB to ROTJ but only a few months from the end to ROTJ. The Falcon could have been flying under time compression while the imperials and the bounty hunters scoured the galaxy and Luke trained under Yoda.

There's also the fact that they took off to look for Han at the end of ESB, and given that Chewbacca knew about Han's debt to Jabba, it wouldn't have been a big stretch to figure out where Fett took him.

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2005-06-13 11:51am

SVPD wrote:Besides, that might partly explain Owen's dislike for the "Crazy old man". Maybe he thought Obi-Wan was a drunkard?

Meh, I don't think so. While it's all within possibility that Owen genuinely didn't like Kenobi, I think the "crazy old man" stuff was more an attempt to keep Luke safe. Besides, in the dinner scene, Owen actually does say to Luke "that wasn't just a crazy old man" in regards to Kenobi, possibly implying to Luke that he's actually dangerous. Afterall, Ben Kenobi does have the reputation on Tatooine to be powerful Wizard, so much that terrified Jawas occasionally leave trinkets to appease him and even Sandpeople are scared of him.

*snip stuff about ESB and RotJ*

What the hell are you talking about? The timespan between ESB and RotJ isn't an issue because it's known to be only a year. The only three year issue is with the time between ANH and ESB, and that's actually four years.

Cal Wright · Post by **Cal Wright** » 2005-06-13 11:59am

Spanky The Dolphin wrote:
Vympel wrote:
Spanky The Dolphin wrote:But that's overidden by the timeline used everywhere.
What timelines? Thye novels are more accurate than some vague timeline. Luke is 23 in ESB, indisputably.
I'm not arguing that he wasn't 23 in ESB, what I'm arguing is that he wasn't 20 in ANH, because RotS is set 19 years before ANH, which would make him 19 in ANH, and then four years later, 23 in ESB.

It states in the ANH novel that Luke is twice the age of a ten year old vaporator. 2x10=20. How is that so hard to figure out??? Unless you can come up with something of higher CANNON to dispute this point, then I fully accept your concession.

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2005-06-13 12:02pm

And the fact that Revenge of the Sith takes place only NINETEEN years before A New Hope isn't good enough for you? Movies outrank the novelisations, buckminster.

Besides, 19 is only one God damn year off from 20, or only five percent.

Shit, I forgot how fucking God damn draconian you can be with novel quotes. This better not be like the whole ESB gauntlet thing all over again.

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2005-06-13 12:12pm

Okay, point conceeded about the span of time between ANH and ESB. It is indeed three years, not four. I must have confused it and added the year between ESB and RotJ, then doubled another year for the time between ESB and RotJ. I fucked up, and conceed that issue.

However, my stance that Luke was only 19 in ANH and thereby actually 22 in ESB and not 23 as the novelisation states still is unwavered. Seems just like an overlooked continuity error. Luke can be 19 and the damn ANH novelisation quote still works.

GrandMasterTerwynn · Post by **GrandMasterTerwynn** » 2005-06-13 01:10pm

Stormbringer wrote:The one thing no one seems to have bothered considering is that Tatooine has two suns and thus a significantly higher than Earth-standard dose of stellar radiation. Twenty years of exposure to that on a very regular basis, the Lars being farmers and Obi-wan apparently being a wandering nut-job, is probably going to take one heck of a toll. Ever look at some one that's tanned too much over there life, they look prematurely aged; no doubt living under a binary sun did similar things to them.

I beg to differ on the incidence of stellar radiation falling on Tatooine. The flux of stellar radiation falling on Tatooine is only going to be slightly higher than the flux of radiation striking Earth. (If it were significantly higher, then Tatooine would be rapidly heated to the point where it becomes entirely uninhabitable. As it is, humans can live there, as can an entire ecology of native life. And there is clearly enough water and CO2 in the atmosphere to support photosynthesis in the quantities needed to supply sufficient oxygen to large creatures, like Humans, Gamorreans, Hutts, and Dewbacks, so the atmosphere isn't likely to be appreciably thinner than that of Earth's.

And, regardless of all that, even on Earth, it's been proven that excessive, chronic exposure to sunlight without proper protection will cause premature aging of the skin, menlanomas, bleaching of the hair, etc, etc, etc.

The Spartan · Post by **The Spartan** » 2005-06-13 01:34pm

Spanky The Dolphin wrote:Besides, in the dinner scene, Owen actually does say to Luke "that wasn't just a crazy old man" in regards to Kenobi, possibly implying to Luke that he's actually dangerous. Afterall, Ben Kenobi does have the reputation on Tatooine to be powerful Wizard, so much that terrified Jawas occasionally leave trinkets to appease him and even Sandpeople are scared of him.

Actually, Owen says, "That wizard's just a crazy old man." I think he definitely doens't like Kenobi. And Kenobi's later dialogue backs this up when he and Luke are talking in his hut. Something to the effect of, "He was afraid you'd follow old Obi Wan on some damn fool idealistic crusade."

As for being a drunkard? I agree and find it doubtful. It would have made him less able to tap into the Force had he been enibriated. I think it's more likely a combination of etching out a living in such a harsh environment and having the weight of the galaxy upon you.

Chardok · Post by **Chardok** » 2005-06-13 01:39pm

Sorry for the quick hijack, but this is on the subject of age. When Obi-Wan and Yoda's ghosts are chit-chatting on Dagobah and Obi-Wan says "The boy is our last hope" "No, there is another" Blah blah blah...I find it interesting how, Luke was "Too old. Yes. Too old to begin the training." well, wouldn't that make Leia "Way to frigging old." ? Or is it possible Leia had even more latent force abilities than even Luke?

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2005-06-13 01:42pm

The use of the term "last hope" should make the situation clear.

Stravo · Post by **Stravo** » 2005-06-13 01:46pm

Chardok wrote:Sorry for the quick hijack, but this is on the subject of age. When Obi-Wan and Yoda's ghosts are chit-chatting on Dagobah and Obi-Wan says "The boy is our last hope" "No, there is another" Blah blah blah...I find it interesting how, Luke was "Too old. Yes. Too old to begin the training." well, wouldn't that make Leia "Way to frigging old." ? Or is it possible Leia had even more latent force abilities than even Luke?

I imagined it was Yoda looking for a reason not to train Luke. 20 years in that swamp by yourself gets you thinking and second guessing all the decisions you made over the years in particular the ones that got you living in a swamp in the first place.

He was embarking on a path never taken by a Jedi in his age - training a full grown man as quickly as possible to face two Sith Lords - a man that happens to be one of the most powerful Force users ever BTW.
Yoda imagined what it would be like if he fucked up with Luke the way he did with Anakin and he got gun shy.

Afterall if he were worried about age for training why didn't he simply take baby Luke with him. They parted ways on ROTS with the understanding that the will of the Force would let them know when it was time and that they had abandoned the system of training from childhood as it obviously failed the Order.

And don't underestimate him not feeling so hot about training Luke alone without Obi Wan's help. Yoda was probably counting on Obi Wan to do alot of the actual teaching with Yoda handling the philosophical/harder skills. Yoda spent a long time just teaching kids the basics. He was probably very rusty when it came to full on padawanship.

Cal Wright · Post by **Cal Wright** » 2005-06-13 01:51pm

Spanky The Dolphin wrote:And the fact that Revenge of the Sith takes place only NINETEEN years before A New Hope isn't good enough for you? Movies outrank the novelisations, buckminster.

Besides, 19 is only one God damn year off from 20, or only five percent.

Shit, I forgot how fucking God damn draconian you can be with novel quotes. This better not be like the whole ESB gauntlet thing all over again.

Might as well be. You as usual won't take the cannon facts, and NO WHERE in the movies or the novels does it state 19 yrs between the two. The only timeframe we have to go on is the birth at the END of RotS and the novel quote from ANH stating Luke to be 20.

Christ man, you can say I'm uptight about novel quots all god damn day, but the fact of the matter is it's movies, NOVELISATIONS and then on.

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2005-06-13 01:56pm

So then what the hell are we supposed to do with this:

Episode I: The Phantom Menace: 32 BBY
Episode II: Attack of the Clones: 22 BBY
Episode III: Revenge of the Sith: 19 BBY
Episode IV: A New Hope: 0 BBY
Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back: 3 ABY
Episode VI: Return of the Jedi: 4 ABY

That's the official version of the timeline, which is followed and repeated everywhere, including the official site and the various publications. I refuse the ignore it just because of some quote from the novelisation that allows a 5% wiggle room on Luke's age.

Noble Ire · Post by **Noble Ire** » 2005-06-13 05:37pm

Might as well be. You as usual won't take the cannon facts, and NO WHERE in the movies or the novels does it state 19 yrs between the two. The only timeframe we have to go on is the birth at the END of RotS and the novel quote from ANH stating Luke to be 20.

Christ man, you can say I'm uptight about novel quots all god damn day, but the fact of the matter is it's movies, NOVELISATIONS and then on.

Why the hell are you so caught up on semantics? Approximations are very often made in literature, especially relating time passing, and 19 is damn close to 20. If the 19 supposition is supported by an inordinante amount of Official info, and it is in no way contradicted by the book, then the 19 wins. Overwhelming evidence>your agenda.

SVPD · Post by **SVPD** » 2005-06-14 02:05am

Spanky The Dolphin wrote: Meh, I don't think so. While it's all within possibility that Owen genuinely didn't like Kenobi, I think the "crazy old man" stuff was more an attempt to keep Luke safe. Besides, in the dinner scene, Owen actually does say to Luke "that wasn't just a crazy old man" in regards to Kenobi, possibly implying to Luke that he's actually dangerous. Afterall, Ben Kenobi does have the reputation on Tatooine to be powerful Wizard, so much that terrified Jawas occasionally leave trinkets to appease him and even Sandpeople are scared of him.

No he doesn't. He says "That wizard's just a crazy old man." (Yes, I checked it on the DVD) I'm not saying Obi-Wan is a drunk, I'm saying he goes to the bar often enough, and is unusual enough anyhow, that Lars possibly thinks he's a drunk.

*snip stuff about ESB and RotJ*

What the hell are you talking about? The timespan between ESB and RotJ isn't an issue because it's known to be only a year. The only three year issue is with the time between ANH and ESB, and that's actually four years.[/quote]

Never mind, I got the 3 year 1 year thing mixed up somehow