A design inconsistency I've noticed...

[RooJay]

Has anyone else seen pictures of the Aqualish senators as they appear in AOTC? I have, and I'm a little concerned with Lucasfilm's decision to redesign this race from what we were shown in ANH. Ponda Baba (aka Walrusman) had only TWO eyes, and flippered hands in wide shots and furry, clawed hands when his arm was severed by Obi Wan (a well known and documented mistake from the OT). The Aqualish delegates we will see in AOTC ALL have FOUR eyes (with a second smaller set having been added below where Bonda's single set would be), and hairless, three digit hands with fingernails. I wonder, what was behind this decision? Seems like a strange and unneccesary alteration to me. Also, did anyone manage to get a close up look at the original Ponda Baba mask at any of the travelling exhibitions? I did, and I was shocked to see that "Walrusman's" tusks were apparently NOT tusks, but some kind of clear membrane with little squiggly, vein-like features embedded in it (something which obviously didn't translate very well to film!). What do you guys think?

[Lord Tenebrous]

There were some pictures of Aquilish senators that were cut from TPM, and some have two eyes, some have four eyes.


It might be explained, it might not. But it adds some diversity.

[Jargo]

I saw the new design and although I actually do like the new Aqualish I find that all of the new masks created for the prequels are terribly overdone. the detail is too perfect. I know that's because of the digital camera picking up more detail but they now don't match the OT masks and puppets. check out the difference between Momaw Nadon from ANH and senator Tendau Bendon from episode one. The ithorian head is completely different. same with the Sullustans. The AOTC Sullustan is horrible looking when compared to Nien or Ten Nunb from ROTJ. Absolutely ghastly looking. So what will georgie do - rewrite the bio's to say that they're different subspecies of the same creature like he did with the Nikto, or just digitally replace all the OT aliens that actually look better? I can see him changing the cantina again that's for sure. Rick mcCallum will justify it to us fans as saying that it's just like a painter repainting a work of his art over the original to improve upon what went before. An artist never knows when to stop sort of thing. I used to be okay with it all but the more digital it all gets the more I dislike it. I prefer the puppets because they seem more solid and real. Digital enhanced characters just seem to float above the surface of the movie the way that Jerry Mouse did when he danced with gene kelly all those years ago. There's no difference in the way the film looks other than the amount of detail in the design and the lighting.
I think it's a bit crappy actually.

[Lord Tenebrous]

It's our faults really, for supplying George with enough money to redesign a few major cities. Or actually, it's Hasbro's fault for taking the licence. Bad Hasbro, bad!

I brightened the picture, and it looks like all three of those Aquilish have four eyes. Hmmm. Maybe it's a caste system, like how Geonosian drones don't have wings?


I have to agree some with Jargo, however, the set design is secondary to the story. Lucas could be using the money to purchase the best writers in the country to form his story. But it's his game. When I'm in his situation, I'll act as I speak currently.

[RooJay]

I don't think we need to go that far Emperor Jargo, and I honestly don't think we have to worry about that happening. Contrary to what seems to be becoming the popular belief, Uncle George DOESN'T hate us.

Thanks for posting the pics Tenebrous!

[LTBasker]

Well species do evolve over time, maybe they go through some heavy evolution period?

[Jargo]

Hmmm, according to Ricky McC, george doesn't give a patooey what we think because it's his money and his movies. So no matter what we say or think it's going to end up being revised several times by the looks of it. And each time there'll be a new pressing of the saga that mugs like us will go and buy. George is in a win win situation really.

Actually I probably wouldn't have noticed the Aqualish changing unless someone pointed it out like the OS. The face I can deal with but the hands are just crap! They should have stuck with the dark hairy ones that we saw in ANH. The flippers never worked for me. They looked more like horses hooves than flippers anyway.

[Beast]

From StarWars.Com:

The Movies:
A bellicose humanoid species with some superficial properties both aquatic and arachnid, the Aqualish of Ando can be found the galaxy over. They have hair-lined faces with large, glassy eyes and mouths dominated with inwardly-pointing tusks.

During the final days of the Galactic Republic, Andoan Senator Po Nudo seceded from the Republic, bringing his people and worlds into the Confederacy of Independent Systems.

Expanded Universe:
Ando is a marshy planet with very little solid land. The Aqualish developed two predominant races: the Quara who have clawed, five-fingered hands, and the Aquala who have fins for hands. The timely arrival of a Republic spacecraft interrupted a racially-fueled war, and prompted the xenophobic Aqualish to band together in attacking these offworld interlopers.

Some legends say it was the Corellians who first came to Ando, while other tales say it was the Duros. Either way, they were defeated, and the Aqualish took the gift of advanced technology, and brought their belligerence and war-like nature to space. The Aqualish ravaged Ando's sister planet, and were eventually stopped by the Republic.

The Republic set an arrangement in place wherein Republic teachers would help assimilate the Aqualish into galactic society, and stripped all Aqualish hyperdrive-equipped starships of weaponry. When the Empire took over Ando, they turned it into a police state designed to quell the various Aqualish uprisings.

The Aqualish hated the Empire, but showed no interest in the Rebel Alliance. The few Aqualish that bothered leaving Ando have found purpose in the fringe of the galaxy, as smugglers and bounty hunters.

Behind the Scenes:
The first Aqualish seen on screen was Ponda Baba, the brutish thug that accosts Luke in the Mos Eisley Cantina. The rushed and often incomplete production of A New Hope resulted in a visible continuity error in that Ponda Baba had two different types of hands during the cantina sequence -- hairy clawed hands and smooth, fin-like hands. This resulted in the development of two distinct Aqualish species in spin-off lore. The Aqualish gained a species name in the late 1980s through roleplaying game sourcebooks, and the name was used by the production crews of Episodes I and II to identify newly crafted Aqualish masks. These new masks were much more detailed than the late-70s original, and featured more spider-like characteristics, including pincer-like tusks and a second set of glassy eyes.

MTFBWY and HH!!

Jar Jar Binks