Stuck At Home. Sick.

     I have been out of work for the past few days with a lovely bout of bronchitis. I will return to work tomorrow. In the meantime, I am catching up on several movies I have been meaning to see. I sat down yesterday to watch the original Star Wars trilogy. It just came out on DVD and I was glad to see how well the film has held up! The original stories had style, something that the new films sadly lack.
     The stories were very well written for the first two films. I used to think Return of the Jedi was the best, but after seeing it again, I realized how much of a letdown it really was. The ending was a happy one albeit mediocre, but the story of the third film was pretty much a rehash of the first film. Come on, George! You couldn't think of something more interesting than a second Death Star?! It left me feeling just like I had walked out of Matrix: Revolutions. Well, I'll give George some more credit than that--at least his ending had a definite sense of finality to it. Still, I thought it could have been better.
     Plus, I was dissappointed with the lack of standards in the Star Wars universe. There were so many things that had no point or purpose; so many things that looked like they were placed there because George Lucas made them up as he went along. (Case-in-point: the harpoon guns on the Snowspeeders. Those were just too perfectly contrived for the story. No ship like that would only have a harpoon gun for it's aft weapons!) I can see this writing style echoed in the new films, which is one of the reasons why they are so lame. Not setting up a definite standard gives the illusion of freedom in a story, but in Lucas' case, it has opened more plotholes than "doors."

     I will always enjoy the original Star Wars trilogy, but I have to admit that I enjoy Star Trek much better for the reasons just described. There is a definite standard to that universe, and there are many more stories to enjoy. Farscape is another excellent show that does this. I admit, the newest Trek show, Enterprise, is pushing the envelope as far as canon goes, but it hasn't upset me enough to hate it entirely. It has kept inside the standards.
     As you can see, I've had a lot of time to think about these things. I should take my own advice and keep those poor writing elements out of my own story and posts. Oh! Did I forget to tell you about that? I'm sorry. I am writing a story, a sci-fi story. I am only a few paragraphs into the second chapter, but I have already planned most of the story out on paper. My goal is to finish it before I graduate from Drexel. I'll tell you more about it later, trust me. Right now, I feel a great disturbance in the Force... it's pulling me back to the couch... the TV...... it is my destiny...... at least until tomorrow.