What was George Lucas Thinking?

This blog is 9, almost 10 years in the making. Also, this will further confirm my nerddom. See, I didn't have blog back in 1999 when "Star Wars Episode 1, The Phantom Menace" came out. You all remember that one. That's the one where George Lucas nearly ruined the Star Wars franchise with the introduction of Jar Jar Binks.

Why does this come up now you may ask? Well, yesterday, David and I watched Episode 1, because he really likes that movie. As I watched it for the umpteenth time, 2 things stood out...1) the pod race really was cool and 2) Jar Jar Binks nearly ruined the movie. "Mesa Jar Jar Binks..." is like fingernails on the chalkboard to me. It's as if George Lucas said "we need comic relief, so let's put in an ultra annoying character."

What I think Mr. Lucas was going for was the same type of comic relief provided by C-3PO and R2-D2 in the original trilogy. Where Lucas missed the mark was in the story. C-3PO and R2-D2 actually fit in the story, and they never overwhelmed it. Jar Jar Binks fit for about the first 15 minutes, but once they got done with the Gungan City, he was of no value for the next 2 hours. Thankfully, the error was corrected in Episodes 2 and 3, and Binks was a much more minor character. Unfortunately, Binks is back in the new series, "The Clone Wars", and he's very annoying there again.

But, my kids love Jar Jar Binks. Maybe that's the genius of this whole thing. Adults will tolerate the annoyance that is Jar Jar Binks because he makes the children laugh.