10 Things I love about Star Wars...

As promised...these are in no particular order, and the source can be from a movie or the Expanded Universe...

1. Jabba the Hutt - how a bloated slug creature became the basis for a race of crime lords escapes me, but it is cool. The effects of the original Hutt in Return of the Jedi was a great look that CGI only made slightly better. But the truth is, the movie has only a small part; it's the stuff in the novels and comics that truly flesh out the character than makes things better.

2. Prince Xizor- the backstory to this character is fascinating; and the Shadows of the Empire novel was well written and shows this character's ambition in all abandon. His bodyguard android Guri gets honourable mention for being awesome, (and gorgeous to boot; take a look: http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Guri .)

3. The Force - the concept of the Force is the single most interesting thing about the whole Star Wars universe. The balance of good and evil (Light and Dark), an all-encompassing "energy field" (no, this isn't an allegory for anything....), and the fact that all the characters who dedicate their lives to the "will of the Force" makes it the focus point of the whole thing, no matter what cool other stuff (like what follows is...) is available.

4. The AT-AT. - A walking tank, with a few vulnerabilities. But, a walking TANK!

5. Princess Leia's Bikini - need I say more, other than this is every heterosexual male Star Wars fans life-turning point.

6. The Millennium Falcon - this ship make point 5 past lightspeed, she's the fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy. This ship would save my life if it was real. (It's always about speed for the boys, eh?) This ship is probably better than any palace ever built on any other world.

7. The fact that every planet seems to have ONE environmental type. Unlike Earth which has everything (except a planet-spanning city.)

8. Star Destroyers - any ship that looks like a slice of pizza is cool in my book. The firepower behind them is awesome as well.

9. Obi-wan Kenobi - The Peacemaker, and the generational link from the original trilogy and the prequels. Dignified in one, noble in the other, and in the Expanded Universe, wise and just. Intelligent. Self-sacrificing, and of course, the necessary mentor and bridge between the old and the new.

10. Darth Vader - his sad devotion to the Dark Side of the Force is nothing short of noble. The true tragic hero of the whole shebang. There is a reason that he is mentioned or starring in about half of the Expanded Universe novels and comics from the 1970's. The most popular character in the whole saga (although maybe Boba Fett is close...), I personally think that nothing else can beat him as the most tragic anti-hero ever. His character can do anything...or be anything...

Honourable mentions to R2-D2, IG-88, the Emperor, Yoda, the TIE fighter, the X-WIng, Wedge Antilles and Darth Bane. Especially R2-D2, he managed to save everyone's ass at least once per movie.

Next time, back to our regularly scheduled program...