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Star Wars Prequels Movies

40 Years Ago, NPR Had To Apologize For Airing 'Return of the Jedi' Spoilers (npr.org) 56

Forty years ago, a young boy's review of "Return of the Jedi" on NPR's All Things Considered led to uproar from listeners, prompting an on-air apology from host Susan Stamberg for airing spoilers. NPR reports: This was part of the boy's review: "Han Solo and Luke Skywalker are about to go in the pit. And just as he was about to walk the plank, R2D2 fired a laser gun from his head, and Han catched it. And he blew up the whole ship. And the big guy -- the boss of the monsters -- well, he got choked and died." In fact, his review wasn't quite right. It was a lightsaber that R2D2 fired out, which Luke Skywalker caught.

At the time, though, these plot details really rankled NPR listeners. So much so that the next day Stamberg issued an on-air apology. Well, sort of. Here's what she said: "Well, the comic book was a goof, but we certainly goofed last night. We goofed so badly that we changed our program before rebroadcasting it to the West Coast, which means that you West Coast listeners won't know what I'm talking about. But enough of you on the East Coast called to complain that we want to apologize publicly to everybody. Calls -- there were more phone calls on this one than we ever got in the middle of the hottest Middle East disputes. Calls -- there were more phone calls than Richard Gere would get if he listed his number.

And all because last night on All Things Considered, we permitted a six-and-a-half-year-old boy to tell us everything -- and I mean everything -- about Return Of The Jedi. "You gave the plot away," you said. "I've been waiting for that movie for three years, and now you have ruined it for me. How could you do a thing like that?" Well, we are sorry. We're contrite, and we're fascinated. Usually you get angry when we get our facts wrong.

This time we got them right, and you got angry. It's the difference between fact and fiction, of course, and the power of fantasy in our lives -- the need for mystery, for wonderful stories that spill themselves out for us. Of course, if they are wonderful enough -- this may be an excuse, but I doubt it -- if they're wonderful enough, they will come to us new, even though we've seen them a hundred times. That's why people keep going back to see Romeo And Juliet over and over again or The Wizard Of Oz. We know how they end but find great pleasure and nourishment watching them proceed to that ending. Two years from now, that's how we'll feel about the Return Of The Jedi. For now, though, our apologies -- we will not do that again. But listen, I have just seen the new Superman III, and Superman and Lois Lane..."

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40 Years Ago, NPR Had To Apologize For Airing 'Return of the Jedi' Spoilers

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  • Logan Roy died.

    I know, but I wish I didn't yet.

    • Do not read Google News or Yahoo News or NY Times or... if you don't want to inadvertently encounter spoilers.

  • see topic, if you haven't fallen asleep already

    • by Entrope ( 68843 )

      What would have made it interesting? The inclusion of spoilers in an article about apologizing for those spoilers? The "revelation" that All Things Considered is more about schlocky heartstring-tugging than thoughtful consideration of things? Even the structure of this boring pseudo-nostalgia fits that very overplayed script.

  • Yep, they have butchered everything, miscast everything, terminated mini series that tanked. Apology? Nope.
    • by jd ( 1658 )

      Unlikely. The prequels had already ruined it.

    • by Zarhan ( 415465 )

      Agreed with Episodes 7-9, but, apart from that...well, Jon Favreau, Dave Filoni and Tony Gilroy have more or less rescued Star Wars. Mandalorian, Andor, to the lesser extent Boba Fett have all been enjoyable, Andor has pretty much been best Star Wars since Rogue One (which was best since the Empire).

      Even the Obi-Wan was good enough (though it rode mostly on Ewan McGregor's performance).

      • by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

        Boba Fett was terrible, apart from the one episode that was really The Mandalorian. And The Mandalorian just finished a pretty poor season, after having a decent first two.

        Andor ended up being great, but the first 5 or so episodes were extremely mediocre and poorly paced.

        Thing is, even the original trilogy was a mixed bag. Jedi, which TFA is about, is the weakest. The whole first act is basically terrible and makes little sense. I defy anyone to explain exactly what Luke's plan was. The Ewoks were just prod

  • Worst sci-fi world created. Xenomorphs for life.

    • by jd ( 1658 )

      Why bother clicking on a subject you don't like?

      • Ditto.

      • Comment removed based on user account deletion
        • by jd ( 1658 )

          I've been here since before UIDs - I only have a 4 digit cos it took me that long to register. Back in my day, we karma whored by posting links to relevant material. Haters were rare.

          • by Reeses ( 5069 )

            Haters were rare.

            Clearly they've been here long enough that their memory is starting to fade. Haters were so common Slashdot built the meta-moderation system to manage it. Maybe they didn't see much hate because there was a lot more comment traffic back then, so the hate just got outnumbered.

      • Because I enjoy complaining about it, obviously.
  • Back when people still gave a shit about the Star Wars franchise.

  • by Eunomion ( 8640039 ) on Saturday May 27, 2023 @06:44AM (#63555103)
    If you tried to go back in time to yell spoilers at people waiting in line for The Empire Strikes Back, would someone else go back in time to stop you?
  • Comment removed (Score:5, Interesting)

    by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Saturday May 27, 2023 @07:06AM (#63555137)
    Comment removed based on user account deletion
    • by battingly ( 5065477 ) on Saturday May 27, 2023 @08:54AM (#63555257)

      I always wondered why there was, among some Americans, such a rabid, foaming at the mouth absolute HATRED of NPR. Do they hate tote bags? Vegetarians? People who read? What can explain the sheer animosity and desire to de-fund NPR and watch it die? I think this may be it.

      They are looking for somebody, no matter how irrationally, to blame for the misfortune in their lives. That's why they like Donald Trump. He's willing to feed the fantasy that everything bad that happens to them is somebody else' fault, never their own fault. Anybody with an education is a common target for this crowd.

      • Also for a lot of people, both left and right, decades of 24/7 talk radio style news really can fuck with your head I think. It's nonstop dopamine hits and sensationalism. Conflict pornography.

      • They are looking for somebody, no matter how irrationally, to blame for the misfortune in their lives. That's why they like Donald Trump.

        Do you lack self awareness in all areas, or just this one, lol?

        Trump is your Emmanuel Goldstein. Trump is literally the person who you blame, however irrationally, for the misfortune in your life.

    • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

      by timeOday ( 582209 )
      I used to listen to NPR but now it's mostly a special-interest channel for minority issues. Women and minority grievance is their guiding philosophy in the interpretation of everything. They just hit the same note, over, and over, and over, forever. If they can't find a good grievance story for the day, they'll dredge up one of their 'greatest hits' grievance issues from anytime in the history of the USA and revisit that. I'll still turn it on in the car sometimes, and they do still have some fine stories
    • Everything about this story has the same issues.
      "You care about some stupid movie more than you care about Middle East disputes?"
      "Whatever, you're idiot proles. We'll say 'we are sorry' even though its obvious that we're not and then imply you're dumb for being angry at us for giving away the plot to a movie."
      "We obviously cannot comprehend how people would be fascinated by a realm where working class heroes can accomplish great things, and have grand adventures, while we report on a corrupt existence w
  • ... that All Things Considered listeners would have gone in for movies with lots of fast action, loud noises, etc.
  • I never got it. I enjoy a movie as much knowing what is going to happen as otherwise. Possibly even more: that's why I tend to make a point of reading about the plot in detail before watching a movie. The surprise and the unexpected twist elements do very little for me, unless they are very well made - in which case, knowing them in advance even adds to the enjoyment. I did not know about the twist in The Sixth Sense, and started to suspect it only near the end, but the revelation did not add to my enjoymen
    • Besides, the only important revelation in The Return of the Jedi was the final resolution of the big twist from The Empire Strikes Back, and it wasn't mentioned in this "spoiler".

    • I enjoy a movie as much knowing what is going to happen as otherwise.

      I take it you don't like thrillers then. There's an entire genre dedicated to keeping the viewer on the edge not knowing what is about to happen.

      Seriously that shows a level of emotional stuntedness. The anticipation of a scene is one of the story teller's few controls over the viewing experience, often carefully curated so that the viewer either predicably knows what will happen, can cleverly deduce from earlier clues (i.e. Chekov's Gun), or is completely in the dark and has their mind blown.

      That control i

      • I enjoy a movie as much knowing what is going to happen as otherwise.

        I take it you don't like thrillers then.

        I do. That is the point: I enjoy thrillers as much when I know what is going to happen as when I do not. In some ways even more. The general idea of not knowing what is going to happen does very little for me. The revelation that Vader was Luke's dad did not change the enjoyment that I got from the movie.

  • ...now they just never bother to apologize when they're wrong.

  • But listen, I have just seen the new Superman III, and Superman and Lois Lane..."

    and it sucks! Run for your lives!

If the facts don't fit the theory, change the facts. -- Albert Einstein

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