So you neglected to read the very next sentence of my post? Hey, I get it, it was all of two sentences long. 
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Sorry, I was indeed focused on the “throughout the U.S.” While many states did have the age set at 18, several other states had it set at 19, 20 and 21. It was, by no means, universal until 1984, I believe.
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That’s right, 1984… the year I turned 18. I was legally allowed to drink in NY for nine months, then had to wait 2.5 additional years. In contrast to neighboring VT, there was no grandfather clause in NY.
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Hold on, are you telling me the legal drinking age is now 21 in the whole US?
Jesus Christ, no wonder the country has slowly gone mad.
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I feel you. I had the same experience in Kansas.
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Yuuup. Thanks, Reagan.
In 1984, Congress passed the National Minimum Drinking Age Act, which required states to raise their ages for purchase and public possession to 21 by October 1986 or lose 10% of their federal highway funds. By mid-1988, all 50 states and the District of Columbia had raised their purchase ages to 21.
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I had the occasion to spend an hour with the three of them in 1977 in Chicago while they were on publicity tour for Star Wars. Good people.
There was a whole lot of camaraderie evident, but in retrospect now in light of Carrie’s revelations in “The Princess Diarist” it was clear that something “extra” was going on between her and Harrison Ford.
Hamill was geeked out over the whole thing, Ford wanted to find a bar, and Fisher wanted to follow Ford…
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Star Wars wasn’t a big-budget movie, so even today if we’re true to the production value a similar film would probably not demand a Vin Diesel.
On the other hand, gym bodies are a dime a dozen these days. Shit, it’s probably difficult to find a lot of leads that get cast that aren’t pretty buff compared to people then.
On the gripping-hand: Adam Driver played the lead antagonist (guild rules prohibit me from using the “V” word) and while he was a Marine he would not be described as buff or hunky in any part of the past 75 years of film. And that was obviously a big budget movie.
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Wonderful, but the best thing by far was having to Google Mark Hamill after seeing these and finding out he is still alive. 2016, you know.
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Speaking for Star Wars fans everywhere, please locate your nearest forest and start knocking.
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Why do you have to remind me of that, you insensitive clod. Worst miscast / miswritten SW character since JarJar. I hope they do the decent thing and “complete his training” by killing him off in ep.VIII. Driver is a decent actor and doesn’t deserve such a crappy role.
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I think he played the villain as whiny entitled brat pretty damn well. I took it as a direct attack on how Anakin was handled in the prequels. Like “here’s how you do emo badguy”. I think it worked, it fit, and it was rather refreshing. I’m also reasonably sure a fair bit of that comes directly from Driver. As written that could have been pretty standard commanding, scary bad guy stuff. Instead its all nuanced and awkward. Which is pretty much what Adam Driver is for.
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That would have actually, y’now, made sense… whereas a whiny kid half in charge of a Death Star simply doesn’t. He comes off as a joke character barely worth the comic relief, IMHO. But I guess de gustibus. I’m still rooting for his death, although it smells like he’ll go through another “redemption” trajectory.
I thought it was pretty great seeing a Sith before they are polished. He was clearly talented in his abilities and I hope we get to see him refined at the end of the trilogy…and then he dies. 
Luke was a whiny little bitch too. Have we forgotten about Tosche Station?
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1st that’s sort of old hat. And particularly in a movie that’s been roundly criticised for lack of originality it probably wouldn’t have helped.
2nd he’s basically in the place where Anakin was in the end of ep3. Half formed turbo villian. For a movie that was saddled with creating a new Darth Vader essentially an impossibility. And also saddled with this as the general public’s last glimpse of new Vader material. Well you gotta do something. And it was an interesting tact. If there’s a complaint its that its ceaselessly meta. I don’t think he’s meant to be anything but slightly pathetic. I don’t think you’re meant to buy him in a command position. In short I think Kylo Renn agrees with you.
And if they go the redemption arc on it I’ll probably come around to your side. That would basically flush everything novel about it down the toilet. If that approach is gonna work he’s got to go hard evil. End up in a place where he’s as frightening as he wishes he was. Or die in the attempt. Otherwise its a fail.
Actually it does make sense. Palpatine sabotaged his students as well as the Galactic Empire because it allowed him to maintain control and the chaos prevented any internal resistance. Vader was never meant to be more than a vessel for Sheev’s soul (Plageus’s original plan but commandeered by Sheev when he offed him) and when he ruined his body he constantly screwed him over.
Snoke probably also adhered to a Rule of Two and would similarly try and limit the growth of a rival. Darth Weak Moustache has a ton of raw power from just being third generation Jesus, but if Snoke plays his emotions it keeps him off-balance but also powerful because of the DS depending heavily on emotions.
We don’t need any more “cool” people.
None of that is “on the page” as it were though, and runs into to too much non-canon EU stuff. Also Snoke has been explicitly called out as not Sith. Repeatedly. So no rule of two (something I vaguely remember some one from LucasFilm explicitly discounting for Snoke).
It still makes plenty of sense though. Hux is in command of the Starkiller Base, and most of the troops it seems. Not Ren. Ren has a lot of authority in the New Order. But you’ve got a Dark Side controlled Faction, ruled by Snoke. And Ren as Snoke’s apprentice/lieutenant/whatever. However inadequate Ren might be he’s a powerful Dark Side user, under direct command of the guy who runs the show. In a vast bureaucracy run on a basis of fear and violence.
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I still feel they are going to do some sneaky side-step around the Sith issue. Call me jaded after I screamed “Purgatory” three episodes in to Lost and was called dumb and forgotten by many.
But either way, sabotaging your competition seems to be a common trait of villain types of all stripe. Really, just removing Ren from the other team is a big enough move.
I think the Plageus stuff is canon isn’t it? I have Clone Wars and Rebels on file but I have no time. Certainly Maul was misled about what the boss had in mind for him, I mean I just read Lockdown last month. Don’t tell me it’s not canon. That book was supposed to introduce Blueboy and the uglies from the outer reaches.
I’m entirely unsure how much of that material is canon, though I know some of it is. But I try to ignore most things prequel. I’m mostly caught up on Rebels, and their doing about as well as you can with some of this stuff (Especially Maul). But that’s as far as I’m willing to go. The EU was never really my strong suit either. Too much of it is your average 80’s-90’s serial fantasy with Jedi and Chewbacca subbed in for wizards and barbarians.
I’m sure Snoke is not on the up an up, even with his own people. That’s sort of a Star Wars given. But Ren and his “Knights of Ren” are apparently? Near as we can tell? Their own thing. Independent of Sith or Snoke. I dunno, not enough information. And Abrams especially is known to out and out lie about that sort of thing. Not even play games around it. Or weasel his way out of past firm statements. But just to lie.
But given the Knights of Ren as a thing. The whole Church of The Force angle, and the non-Jedi Samurai in Rogue One they seem to be trying to bring The Force out of a the whole Jedi/Sith dichotomy. They haven’t yet. In the main movies brought too much from the old EU directly in. But they’ve taken some base concepts and presented new spins on them. So it wouldn’t surprise me if they moved to Snoke being from whatever inspired or created The Sith. Something older and more mysterious but directly related. It would fit with what they’re already doing. And its been hinted (at least) in interviews that Snoke is not a force user.
But like I said. Ren isn’t in charge of that base. And neither was Vader in charge of the Death Star. Tarkin was in charge of Death Star 1, and Vader was subservient to him. And the Emperor took command of number 2 himself. Vader and Ren are both in command of their own ship/destroyer. Which ranges around the galaxy doing the real leaders bidding. Apart from command structure of where ever they go. They outrank who ever they outrank. But they are both out ranked by others. However inadequate, the Leader’s envoy is gonna have some rank. And if it behooves the Leader to have a Force user to do his bidding, well for Snoke that’s gonna be Ren. Both Vader and Ren are thugs, they run death squads. These are not guys who run large operations, or set policy, or who are in charge of everyone else in The Empire/New Order save the Emperor/Snoke.
Ren and Hux seem to rank about the same. So while Hux is in command of Starkiller Base. Ren can order around those who he outranks, provided Hux isn’t hanging around. Or undercut Hux with Snoke’s authority. But both seem to have Snoke’s ear. Hence their adorable rivalry.
Lindelof. Who’s not involved with Star Wars at all. Bad as Abrams can be with some of this stuff. Lindelof made a career out of selling horrible cliche as startlingly original mystery. I can’t think of a single thing he’s been involved with that didn’t wind up with a wet fart.
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