Posted by Negative Creep at 1cust139.tnt9.atl2.da.uu.net on August 27, 2001 at 23:47:29:
In Reply to: I don't get the "greedo shoots first" joke posted by Bo Steil on August 27, 2001 at 23:05:05:
In the original Star Wars epic.
Greedo, was a bounty hunter, looking to collect the big reward put on
Han Solo's head by Jabba The Hutt. Han not wanting to go to jail, pulls off a blaster shot underneath the table. frying poor Greedo.
In the Star Wars roleplaying epics By West End Games, a backstory was created, later redone in the Bantam Books Novel, Tales from Mos Eisley Cantina where Greedo wasn't even a real bounty hunter, just a snot nosed kid, who idolized Han, (even dressed like him) but Han treated him like a total dickwad. So when Greedo died, you kinda felt sorry for him.
All this seemed a little cold blooded, to george Lucas, who originally intended, Han to be quite the bad ass drug smuggler. And over the course of the trilogy, became a dashing pirate type.
So when time came for the Star Wars : A New Hope Special Edition.
George added a lame laser shot from Greedo's gun, so that it would seem that Greedo fired the first shot, exonerating Han from his earlier dastardly deed.
What George didnt realize is that by doing so he ruined the scene
and Han's character. it looks hokey now, seeing as Han nor Greedo, react to the first shot.