Editing 1477: Star Wars


{{comic
| number    = 1477
| date      = January 23, 2015
| title     = Star Wars
| image     = star_wars_1.png
| titletext = A long, long time (plus 40 years) ago, in a galaxy far, far away (plus a corrective factor involving the Hubble constant) ...
}}

==Explanation==
This is another comic based on pointing out just how much time has passed since the release of a particular film. The same basis is found in [[1393: Timeghost]] and [[891: Movie Ages]], and a similar theme is used in [[647: Scary]] and [[973: MTV Generation]]. Many people remember going to see major films at the time of release, and in their mind it may seem like "just a few years ago". In reality however, many years have passed, and it comes as a shock to realise just how long ago it was.

In the first panel, [[Cueball]] states that we are approaching the ''Back to the Future'' date (October 21, 2015), which is the date that protagonist Marty McFly travels to in ''{{w|Back to the Future Part II}}'', released in 1989. Megan adds that we're even closer to May 13, 2015, the "''{{w|Star Wars}}'' tipping point".

The original first set of ''Star Wars'' films was released as a trilogy over the span of 6 years, with the third one, ''{{w|Return of the Jedi}}'' being released on May 25, 1983. After that, no films were released for 16 years until {{w|Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace|''The Phantom Menace''}} on May 19, 1999, the first in a trilogy of prequels. Thus up until now, the length of time between the two films, [http://www.timeanddate.com/date/durationresult.html?m1=5&d1=25&y1=1983&m2=5&d2=19&y2=1999&ti=on 5,839 days], has been greater than the time between the latter film and the present. Megan points out that May 13, 2015 will mark [http://www.timeanddate.com/date/durationresult.html?m1=5&d1=19&y1=1999&m2=5&d2=13&y2=2015&ti=on 5,839 days] after the release of ''The Phantom Menace'', meaning that for the first time the release date of the two films will be closer together than the latter film is to the present day.

In the final panel, Cueball points out how weird it is that he (along with most other people) are regularly surprised at the passage of time, given how predictable time is by its very nature. Megan's last line is a reference to the famous opening text used in all ''Star Wars'' films, "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...". It's also a reference to the many changes that have been made to the original Star Wars trilogy (e.g. new CGI effects) as it's been released and rereleased.

The title text repeats the opening text from the films, inserting Megan's suggestion for changing the duration, and extending it to include the {{w|Hubble constant}} for changing the distance. The Hubble constant is a value that describes an estimated rate of expansion of the universe. This expansion means that during the 40 years that have passed since the release of the first Star Wars movie, the "galaxy far, far away" has gotten even farther away due to expansion of the universe.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball and Megan are walking together.]
:Cueball: We're almost at the ''Back to the Future'' date.
:Megan: We're even closer to the ''Star Wars'' tipping point.
:Cueball: The what?

:[Diagram showing a timeline from before 1980 to about 2020. Markers on the line indicate the release date of ''Return of the Jedi'', the release date of ''The Phantom Menace'', and May 13th, with arrows showing the intervals in between these three points.]
:Megan: On May 13th, ''The Phantom Menace'' will have come out closer to ''Return of the Jedi'' than to the present
:Cueball: Wow.

:[Cueball and Megan stop walking. Megan is in a reflective pose with her hand on her chin.]
:Cueball: It's weird how I'm constantly surprised by the passage of time when it's literally the most predictable thing in the universe.
:Megan: You know, "A long time ago" should have "Plus four more decades" added in rereleases.

==Trivia==
[[File:star_wars.png|thumb|Original image.]] When the comic first went live, there was a white horizontal line through the dates due to a mistake on Randall's part while editing the image. It has since been fixed on the website, but the original is still available here. 

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics to make one feel old]]
[[Category:Star Wars]]
[[Category:Back to the Future]]