Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Did You Know (or Care): A lapse of otherworldly proportions

The Star Wars franchise is predominantly defined by characters with whom people throughout the entire world have held a special affinity for over three decades.  Although never infatuated like the myriad of devotees I've encountered since childhood, understanding its cult-like allure was somehow never difficult.

Science fiction has maintained a following since the earliest days of cinema, but the unyielding enthusiasm (and resulting mass appeal) inspired by the vision of one George Lucas is, in and of itself, a love story between the practitioners of what ultimately grew into a pseudo-religion and their idealized heroes who live "in a galaxy far, far away" for which the mere fantasy of their existence makes these noble knights quite real to the hardcore loyalists whose hankering for more is never satisfied.

Among the most revered of these benevolent warriors, by far, is Obi-Wan Kenobi.  And like Master Yoda, his counterpart on the Jedi Council, little was known of Obi-Wan's home planet.  But that all changed last August during Celebration V in Orlando, Florida.  While being interviewed by The Daily Show's Jon Stewart, George Lucas revealed that Obi-Wan Kenobi's home is now known as "Stewjon" -- a tuckerization of Stewart's name.

As if Lucas purposely intended to anger even the most nostalgic fans, a man for whom money is no longer an issue threw his own franchise under the proverbial bus and named Obi-Wan's home after a guy who is best known for making strange faces and profanity-laced jokes.  And from this, I don't know what else there is to add to the story.

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