260: What about that one?

CAUTION: Yen's blog contains harsh language and even harsher notions of propriety. Reader discretion is advised.


I may have mentioned it before, but I love Star Wars. 'A New Hope'¹ especially. It was my introduction to the GFFA when I was four years old, and from that day on, it's been my favourite film of all time ever.

So why the hell did I only notice this for the first time last week?



So there we are, finally got round to breaking the seal on my BluRay Saga set, ice-cold Becks in hand, when I notice that ^^. It's not a BluRay change, it's always been there.

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Let me introduce you to a couple of chaps. The one on the left is R2-D2 (you probably already know him), and the one on the right is R5-D4*². Technically, the R5 unit is of a superior specification compared to an R2, even though his navigational stats are inferior. Anyway, that's not important. These two are the only astromechs being offered for sale by the Jawas in the sale of the droids scene.



See? 1. 2. That's all. Other droids, yes. Other astromechs, no.

So anyway, Owen Lars is in the market for some automated help, and after a bit of counter-intuitive baiting with C-3PO, he agrees to buy him. He also wants an astromech droid (for reasons best known to himself), and decides to go for R5-D4, who is presumably cheaper. R5, you'll remember, is on the far side of this line-up.



So, Owen picks him, and he trundles over towards Luke. There he goes...



...and he's left poor R2-D2 all on his own!



But it's okay, R5-D4 isn't nearly as robust as Owen is hoping, and he pops a coil before he's even off the forecourt!



"Not to worry", says Threepio, "the blue one will definitely be better! The blue one all on his own."
"Really?" asks Luke, "are you SURE about that?"
"Oh yes, I've worked with him before", confirms Threepio.
"No..." says Luke, "are you sure he's on his own?"



"Of course he's on his bloody own!" retorts Threepio, "We saw him just a minute ago-"



Oops.

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Oh, I know why it happened. A careless bit of editing, that's all. But there are two things I want to know:

A) Why has this never been fixed over the many iterations and releases of the film?

B) Why have I not noticed it before?



*¹ Before any of you mention it, it's had the title-header 'A New Hope' since 1979. Get over it.
*² Yeah, Luke calls R5-D4 "this R2 unit". The change was put in at a marketing level after the film's completion. It was easier to sell toys that way.

DISCLAIMERS:
• ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.

• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organizations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.