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Informationen zum Autor Daniel Wallace Klappentext DIFFERENT KIND OF HEAVY METAL SUPERSTAR Whether they're doctors or diplomats, soldiers or secretaries, translators or nightclub waiters, the myriad mechanical marvels known as droids are an indispensable part of what keeps the Star Wars galaxy humming. The varieties and classes of droids are nearly as infinite as their designated specialties. In this updated and expanded nuts-to-bolts survey, each and every droid receives its due-from the simplest drones to the most sophisticated automatons, from heroic protocol model, C-3PO, and his multitasking sidekick, R2-D2, to the insidious Separatist leader General Grievous. Inside you'll discover: • All the newest droids: from The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, and Revenge of the Sith to the Knights of the Old Republic video games and the Clone Wars animated TV series, plus the bestselling multinovel series Star Wars: The New Jedi Order-all catalogued here for the first time • Detailed histories and capabilities of nearly one hundred droids along with full-color computer-generated illustrations and schematics of their construction highlights • Special sections, including "A Layperson's Guide to Droids,” "Major Manufacturers,” and "A Short History of Droids” • An easy reference at your fingertips-each entry is arranged by Droid Type, including medics and scientists, repair units, battle units, and cyborgs-plus special expanded entries for R-series astromechs, the 3PO protocol series, and battle droids For the definitive debriefing on droids, there's only one official, authoritative, and absolutely essential technical guide!"Did you hear that? They've shut down the main reactor. We'll be destroyed for sure. This is madness!"--C-3PO to R2-D2 When Star Wars: A New Hope unspooled across theater screens over two decades ago, the audience's first glimpse of the strange denizens inhabiting this "galaxy far far away" wasn't of a hot-tempered princess or a black-garbed Dark Lord. It wasn't of a self-assured smuggler or a wide-eyed farmboy. It wasn't even of a Jawa, Ewok, or Wookiee. The individuals George Lucas chose to inaugurate his epic space saga looked like a stiff golden statuette and a squat, warbling fireplug. They were droids, and as See-Threepio and Artoo-Detoo, the peculiar pair would become one of the most beloved movie duos of all time. The word "robot," derived from a Czech term meaning "forced labor," was coined in 1920. It wasn't long before the silver screen took notice. In 1926, Fritz Lang's silent classic Metropolis introduced the first--a statuesque stunner named Maria whose graceful art-deco lines would later help inspire the conceptual design of C-3PO. A number of memorable movie mechanicals followed, including the mute brute Gort from The Day the Earth Stood Still, the delightfully deadpan Robby the Robot in Forbidden Planet, HAL 9000, the coldly calculating computer from 2001, and Yul Brynner's turn as a haywire theme-park attraction in Westworld. All were unforgettable characters, but their advanced silicon brains couldn't hide the fact that they were hardware without heart and software without soul. Lacking personalities audiences could identify with, movie robots fell into two neat categories: subservient drones and emotionless menaces. Star Wars broke that mold. Artoo and Threepio were bickering buddies more akin to Laurel and Hardy than clockwork and cogwheels. Thanks largely to the men inside the metal, actors Kenny Baker and Anthony Daniels, the droids were just as human as anyone else in the cast--and they got all the best lines, too. Threepio might be a sophisticated translation machine fluent in over six million forms of communication, but it is his exasperated response to a door slamming shut in his face ("how typical!") that elicits a sympathetic laugh. And despite the fact that Artoo could speak only in whistles, so...
