The ANH script on the Kessel run

[Vympel]

Has anyone seen this before? I thought it was hilarious:

HAN: It's the ship that made the Kessel run in less than twelve
parsecs!

Ben reacts to Solo's stupid attempt to impress them with
obvious misinformation.

Looks like George Lucas knows nonsense when he writes it, eh?

[Kurgan]

CANON!!

Except now Lucas is contradicting himself then by saying it's this special blah blah blah contest blah blah blah limiting the distance whatever-he-said-on-the-DVD-commentary thing.

[Lord Poe]

Has anyone seen this before? I thought it was hilarious:

HAN: It's the ship that made the Kessel run in less than twelve
parsecs!

Ben reacts to Solo's stupid attempt to impress them with
obvious misinformation.

Looks like George Lucas knows nonsense when he writes it, eh?

I saw that YEARS ago, newbie!

I wonder if Lucas edited that in before publication of the scripts after people started chuckling at him as they read the script?

[Spanky The Dolphin]

Well, the official site also indicates that it was Lucas' original intention for Solo's statement to be a completely bogus statement intending to impress "the local boys," which IIRC, the novelisation might support. But script stuff like that isn't always easily accessible public information (we're actually lucky that the available versions of the script even say it, since they aren't true scripts; they're actually more like post-hoc transcipts).

Kessel first appeared in dialogue in A New Hope, where subjects such as its spice mines and the Kessel Run were mentioned in passing. The Kessel Run has been the topic of much speculation given Solo's confusing boast of completing the Kessel Run in "less than 12 parsecs." Given that a parsec is a unit of measurement and not of time, it hardly seemed like a speed record.

The Star Wars Technical Journal came up with a workable explanation that saw a Kessel Runner have to deposit smuggled spice shipments in between freighters traveling at a fixed speed, so that the shorter distance covered by said freighters during a Run was worth bragging about. Another version of the Kessel Run, spun out of the Jedi Academy Trilogy, required a smuggling ship to skirt close to the black holes of the Maw Cluster, shortening the distance only through skillful piloting and powerful engines.

Of course, the simplest solution is the one favored by George Lucas, and the one that appeared in the screenplay for A New Hope. Han's boast was nothing more than a lie, meant to hoodwink provincial customers. Obi-Wan's knowing glance suggests he saw right through Solo's meaningless bragging.

I suppose that this is one of the few truly major retcons in Star Wars, where despite Lucas' original intentions, even his stance on the issue has changed and reflects the EU explenation relating to superior Hyperspace astrogation.

[Mad]

Looks like George Lucas knows nonsense when he writes it, eh?

I do know that the "obvious misinformation" phrase was repeated on the back of a Topps "Widevision" ANH trading card. In the movie, Ben does give a disbelieving expression as a reaction.

[SPOOFE]

There's more than one way for Han's comment to be "disinformation". As deplorable as the Jedi Academy Trilogy was, I thought KJA handled the Kessel Run history pretty well, both by coming up with a good explanation AS WELL AS maintaining the bullshit aspect.

[CaptainChewbacca]

There's more than one way for Han's comment to be "disinformation". As deplorable as the Jedi Academy Trilogy was, I thought KJA handled the Kessel Run history pretty well, both by coming up with a good explanation AS WELL AS maintaining the bullshit aspect.

Its the one good thing he did.

[The Spartan]

... which IIRC, the novelisation might support.

My copy of the novel actually has Han saying "12 standard time parts."

[Galvatron]

Am I the only one who sees that the "obvious misinformation" refers to the achievement itself rather than the misuse of parsec?

[Noble Ire]

Am I the only one who sees that the "obvious misinformation" refers to the achievement itself rather than the misuse of parsec?

No, I think that Solo is testing Obi-wan in a way. If he was just the average Tatooinian layman, he wouldnt know a parsec from a bantha, and would likely buy most anything Solo would say. This is obviously not the case.

[SPOOFE]

No, I think that Solo is testing Obi-wan in a way. If he was just the average Tatooinian layman, he wouldnt know a parsec from a bantha, and would likely buy most anything Solo would say. This is obviously not the case.

I disagree. Space travel is common in SW. That would be like trying to see if a local country boy knows what "MPH" means.

No, I feel it's pretty obvious that Han is trying to fluff up a mildly impressive feat into a majorly impressive feat. He doesn't want his fares to know that he has a clunker (because that's what he has), so he brags about its one good quality.

I mean, look how much Luke - Luke, whiny little farmboy that knows shit about shit! - dislikes the ship immediately upon seeing it. Han is obviously a little sensitive about it.

[Noble Ire]

No, I feel it's pretty obvious that Han is trying to fluff up a mildly impressive feat into a majorly impressive feat. He doesn't want his fares to know that he has a clunker (because that's what he has), so he brags about its one good quality.

The MF is hardly a clunker. In addition to its prodigious FTL, it has exibited very high sublight speeds and manuverablity, signifacant shielding, and armament powerful enough to effectively particpate at the Battle of Endor, just to name the film sources.

[SPOOFE]

The MF is hardly a clunker.

"What a piece of junk!" - Luke

"You flew here in that thing? You're braver than I thought!" - Leia

I rest my case.

it has exibited very high sublight speeds and manuverablity, signifacant shielding, and armament powerful enough to effectively particpate at the Battle of Endor, just to name the film sources.

None of these were displayed in ANH.

[Noble Ire]

"What a piece of junk!" - Luke

"You flew here in that thing? You're braver than I thought!" - Leia

I rest my case.

Looks can be decieving, obviously.

None of these were displayed in ANH.

The escape from the IMperial blockade force around TAtooine. I'm not saying its an epic feat, but certainly it does show the MF's above average speed capablities in and out of hyperspace.

[Stark]

I disagree on the 'SW has FTL, therefore everyone knows what a parsec is'. Look at todays world, where most people don't know how to change their oil or read a map. Who's to say your average SWian commutes interstellar anyway? Luke and his family had obviously never left Tatooine. Even if they taught such shit at 'school', it's naive to think that a bunch of nerf herders and bantha farmers are going to know terms that are, to them, utterly meaningless and useless.

Pure Sabacc, the MF can't outrun SHIT in realspace. It gets overhauled by 1600m ISDs, for fucks sake. Give me some movie evidence for exceptional FTL speed, while you're at it: ROTS shows us that ridiculous speeds are pretty standard.

[Quadlok]

Give me some movie evidence for exceptional FTL speed, while you're at it: ROTS shows us that ridiculous speeds are pretty standard.

You do realize that since their isn't any movie evidence that th MF isn't exceptional at supralight speeds, and all the EU agrees that it is just about the speediest thing out there, that no one has to give you jack shit?

[Noble Ire]

Pure Sabacc, the MF can't outrun SHIT in realspace. It gets overhauled by 1600m ISDs, for fucks sake. Give me some movie evidence for exceptional FTL speed, while you're at it: ROTS shows us that ridiculous speeds are pretty standard.

.....crap. I suppose your right, I had forgot about the establishing scene for the ESB asteroid chase. And it is true that many SW military craft have insane speed capability. However, the MF is a modified friegther, a civilian craft, and yet it is able to fight alongside the best of the Alliance's fighter craft, is able to manuver through an extremly dense and active asteroid field while being fired upon, and has fairly impressive weapons systems. It's no ISD, but for a civilian looking to hire a private cargo hauler, or to transport contraband, the MF is a cut above the competition.

[Spanky The Dolphin]

... which IIRC, the novelisation might support.

My copy of the novel actually has Han saying "12 standard time parts."

I was refering to Kenobi's reaction to Han's statement.

[Vympel]

The Falcon is impressive because of its hyperdrive speed- nothing more.

[Noble Ire]

The Falcon is impressive because of its hyperdrive speed- nothing more.

Please provide evidence to support this statement against the reasons I have listed why the Falcon is above par.

[Vympel]

Please provide evidence to support this statement against the reasons I have listed why the Falcon is above par.

Above par for what? It can travel through an asteroid field? That's the skill of the pilot, not the ship. As for fighting alongside the Rebels at Endor, a larger craft like the Falcon is of course going to be able to hold its own against fighters, simply because it has heavier deflector shields. That doesn't mean its above par. Not to mention the constant breakdowns and maintenance. It's a good smuggler's freighter, but that's about it. As a regular freighter it would suck too, it can't possibly have large cargo holds.

[Noble Ire]

Upon consulting the OT ISC and the New Essetial guide, I have found that the MF is heavily modified and improved over ther basic model of the frieghter (although these many modifications do account for the Falcon's infamous penchant for mechanical failure.)

The significant improvements noted:
- Contraband military grade sensor suite, highly illegal in civilian hands.
- Added "thruster packs" for increased sublight speed.
- The .5 class hyperdrive unit (obviously)
- Improvements in power capacity for the weapons systems and shield generators.

Now certainly these improvements do not make the Falcon equivelant to a capital ship or some ridiculous claim like that, but it is improved over the average smuggling frieghter significantly.

[Uraniun235]

... which IIRC, the novelisation might support.

My copy of the novel actually has Han saying "12 standard time parts."

Alan Dean Foster ghostwrote that novel, so he might have percieved "12 parsecs" as an unintentional technical blunder on GL's part and changed it to fall more in line with the "this ship is hot shit" concept rather than the "this ship is a piece of shit" line of thought.

[Stark]

You do realize that since their isn't any movie evidence that th MF isn't exceptional at supralight speeds, and all the EU agrees that it is just about the speediest thing out there, that no one has to give you jack shit?

Yeah thats right, because hours to cross the galaxy is SO FAST in SW. Oh, wait... it's normal speed. Whoops.

More to the point, I'm not arguing with the EU (which is crap, I've never read any, but canon so whatever) merely an attempt to make the MF an uber ship.

@Pure Sabacc, does it say if the 'thruster packs' are external devices, or some internal component?

@Vympel - isn't the MF type supposed to carry shit in it's 'mandibles'? Doesn't seem very effiencent, but calling the MF a 'frieghter' otherwise is wierd, since it's more of a courier van.

[SPOOFE]

Pure Sabacc, you ARE aware that none of the special feats in the Falcon's repertoire keep it from being identified as a "clunker", right?