WEBVTT - The Mighty Sarlacc 0:00:05.200 --> 0:00:06.960 And now for traffic, we take you to week Way 0:00:07.040 --> 0:00:10.960 Ray in the Channel five sky skiff. Hey, Jim, we're 0:00:10.960 --> 0:00:13.600 pretty clear of sandstorms across much of the dune seed 0:00:13.640 --> 0:00:16.040 this morning, so that's great news for skyhopper and land 0:00:16.079 --> 0:00:19.160 speeder traffic. So far, however, we're already seeing a bit 0:00:19.200 --> 0:00:22.960 of pre wunt to eve classic traffic heading into moss Aspec. Plus, 0:00:23.079 --> 0:00:25.279 things are grinding to a halt out near the Great 0:00:25.280 --> 0:00:27.760 Pit of Carcoon and the walp rats are play and 0:00:27.840 --> 0:00:30.200 as it looks like the huts are hosting another multi 0:00:30.240 --> 0:00:33.919 skiff Sarlac offering. Always best to steer clear unless you've 0:00:33.920 --> 0:00:38.160 got an invite, especially if you've got an invite. All 0:00:38.240 --> 0:00:41.320 too true. Ray. Now let's check in with Merge surgeon 0:00:41.440 --> 0:00:43.840 on for a look at this week's solar activity. Looks 0:00:43.880 --> 0:00:46.479 like we're in for a double helping of solar flares. 0:00:49.920 --> 0:00:52.280 Welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind production of My 0:00:52.400 --> 0:01:01.800 Heart Radio. Hey you, welcome to Stuff to Blow your Mind. 0:01:01.880 --> 0:01:04.959 My name is Robert Lamb and I'm Joe McCormick. And 0:01:05.000 --> 0:01:08.120 here we are finally here in a galaxy far far away. 0:01:07.959 --> 0:01:10.280 I did not think we would end up doing Star 0:01:10.319 --> 0:01:13.560 Wars content, especially so close to May fourth, but not 0:01:13.680 --> 0:01:18.680 on it. Things are getting strange. Yeah. Now, fittingly, we're 0:01:18.800 --> 0:01:22.560 recording this episode on May the fourth, but that that 0:01:22.640 --> 0:01:25.600 just benefits the two of us. The listeners are gonna 0:01:25.640 --> 0:01:28.640 get it a little later. However, since the May the 0:01:28.720 --> 0:01:34.280 fourth like sales begin before May the fourth, I think 0:01:34.640 --> 0:01:37.160 it's okay to assume that May the fourth is just 0:01:37.280 --> 0:01:40.440 generally a a you know, a multi day even multi 0:01:40.480 --> 0:01:43.960 week affair in which we celebrate Star Wars. Yeah, it's 0:01:44.000 --> 0:01:47.480 like Christmas gradually creeps out to the edges. Yeah, the 0:01:47.560 --> 0:01:51.640 thirty days of May the fourth or what have you. Uh. Now, 0:01:51.720 --> 0:01:54.280 so you've been going on a Star Wars expedition in 0:01:54.320 --> 0:01:58.360 your house, right, Yeah? Yeah, we've been watching all the 0:01:58.480 --> 0:02:01.840 all the movies. We also watched The Mandalorian. I think 0:02:01.880 --> 0:02:05.000 at this point we've watched everything except the most recent one, 0:02:05.320 --> 0:02:07.240 and we're going to catch that one tonight because it 0:02:07.320 --> 0:02:10.760 just dropped on Disney Plus. But yeah, we've been we've 0:02:10.800 --> 0:02:15.440 been full, full blown into the Star Wars um and 0:02:15.680 --> 0:02:19.280 it's been It's been pretty fun because I've i think 0:02:19.320 --> 0:02:23.080 I've been personally been like several different stereotypical Star Wars 0:02:23.160 --> 0:02:26.520 fans over the years. I was born in seventy eight, 0:02:26.560 --> 0:02:29.760 so the original trilogy and their associated toys were just 0:02:29.800 --> 0:02:32.560 a key part of my childhood and uh and just 0:02:32.600 --> 0:02:35.920 as aspects of their structure were based on you know, 0:02:36.040 --> 0:02:40.120 archetypes of comparative mythology. You know, these films introduced many 0:02:40.160 --> 0:02:43.680 of us to some of these mythic energies. So I 0:02:43.720 --> 0:02:46.960 remember loving these films as a child. I remember lapsing 0:02:47.080 --> 0:02:49.440 somewhat during what I think of as like the Star 0:02:49.520 --> 0:02:53.720 Wars dark Age of the early and mid nineties. I 0:02:53.760 --> 0:02:55.880 think that's when I was getting like the Star Wars 0:02:55.960 --> 0:02:59.400 Insider fan magazine. Oh cool, yeah, and he'd kind of 0:02:59.440 --> 0:03:02.160 gone uh underground. I mean, I don't want to say 0:03:02.240 --> 0:03:04.680 undergund because obviously there was there was still tons of 0:03:04.720 --> 0:03:08.480 content coming out and the you know, the Expanded Universe 0:03:08.560 --> 0:03:11.040 and so forth. There were books, there were comics, there 0:03:11.040 --> 0:03:15.640 were there were games, but it wasn't as as prevalent 0:03:16.080 --> 0:03:18.960 uh in the pop culture at that time. But of 0:03:18.960 --> 0:03:22.040 course it was gearing up because then came, uh, the 0:03:22.400 --> 0:03:26.480 the prequels, right um uh. Now, I I too remember 0:03:26.480 --> 0:03:28.760 reading some of the extended Universe stuff and getting into 0:03:28.800 --> 0:03:31.920 that and the like the late nineties but then we 0:03:31.960 --> 0:03:35.720 had Phantom Menace, and I remember being first of all, 0:03:35.760 --> 0:03:38.240 like super excited for it, and then I was a 0:03:38.240 --> 0:03:41.080 bit of a prequel apologist there for a bit regarding 0:03:41.080 --> 0:03:43.280 the Phantom Menace, and then I became kind of a 0:03:43.280 --> 0:03:45.880 snarky fan who focused only on the flaws of the 0:03:45.920 --> 0:03:49.320 prequel films. And I'd say I didn't fully recover from 0:03:49.320 --> 0:03:53.720 that until I watched The Mandalorian with my family, uh, 0:03:53.760 --> 0:03:55.440 and we all loved it. And then we started watching 0:03:55.440 --> 0:03:58.160 all the films again. And and now I'm I'm leaning 0:03:58.200 --> 0:04:01.640 into the force. I'm I'm I'm just saying, I'm enjoying 0:04:01.680 --> 0:04:05.280 all of them. I've enjoyed each film that I've watched, 0:04:05.320 --> 0:04:07.760 and and she really kind of tried to watch them, 0:04:07.800 --> 0:04:09.920 you know, with my son, but also kind of threw 0:04:10.040 --> 0:04:13.640 his eyes. And it's been a blast. What are his favorites? 0:04:14.000 --> 0:04:16.840 He tells me that his favorites are the Phantom Menace 0:04:17.640 --> 0:04:21.440 and let's see Phantom Menace and Return of the Jedi, 0:04:21.520 --> 0:04:24.720 but especially Phantom Menace. He in fact requested that we 0:04:24.760 --> 0:04:27.800 watched that one again, and so we watched half of 0:04:27.839 --> 0:04:32.279 it last night. Those it does not escape my attention 0:04:32.320 --> 0:04:34.560 that those are the two that have the highest quotient 0:04:34.720 --> 0:04:38.000 of cuteness content they do, they have they have cuteness, 0:04:38.000 --> 0:04:40.120 But then also they just have a ton of creatures. 0:04:40.160 --> 0:04:43.720 And I think that's also key because like The Phantom Menace, 0:04:44.080 --> 0:04:47.720 most of it takes place on like a dinosaur ridden uh, 0:04:47.960 --> 0:04:51.039 you know planet where there's just you know, monster after 0:04:51.120 --> 0:04:54.159 monster after monster, and and yeah, you have the comic 0:04:54.240 --> 0:04:56.960 elements as well, and you have an actual child in it, 0:04:57.440 --> 0:05:00.520 which I think also is adds this kind of anchor 0:05:00.680 --> 0:05:03.479 for younger viewers, the going against what I was just 0:05:03.480 --> 0:05:05.800 saying about cuteness. Obviously, Return of the Jedi is where 0:05:05.839 --> 0:05:08.400 we get the the e Walks, the classic Teddy Bear planet. 0:05:08.440 --> 0:05:11.640 But the first half of Return of the Jedi its 0:05:11.720 --> 0:05:14.640 just when we rewatched it not too long ago, I 0:05:14.680 --> 0:05:16.520 was like, man, I love this wasn't when I was 0:05:16.560 --> 0:05:19.080 a kid. But the first half of this movie is gross. 0:05:19.279 --> 0:05:23.240 It is full of like just like like nasty, slimy 0:05:23.279 --> 0:05:27.800 critters everywhere and and and horrible monsters and uh. And 0:05:28.040 --> 0:05:30.240 I would say, actually, the thing maybe that stands out 0:05:30.279 --> 0:05:32.240 the most in my mind is going to be the 0:05:32.240 --> 0:05:36.360 subject of today's episode, which is the Sarlac. Yes, yes, 0:05:36.400 --> 0:05:40.480 the Sarlac features heavily into this portion of the film, 0:05:40.920 --> 0:05:44.240 and it is it's just something that just captures. Uh. 0:05:44.240 --> 0:05:47.240 It certainly captures the young imagination, you know, here's this pit, 0:05:47.680 --> 0:05:50.080 here is this thing. And I think it it also 0:05:50.160 --> 0:05:52.960 played well with the action figures growing up, because you 0:05:53.000 --> 0:05:55.520 could you could pretty much make a star lack there was. 0:05:55.680 --> 0:05:57.960 I don't think there was a star lak Um like 0:05:58.040 --> 0:06:02.000 action play set or anything, because how wrong you are, 0:06:02.560 --> 0:06:04.640 really they had one because I was just thinking you 0:06:04.680 --> 0:06:06.839 just had You had dirt, you had holes, you had 0:06:07.520 --> 0:06:09.520 things you could do with like a bedspread, and you 0:06:09.600 --> 0:06:12.320 had instant Sarlac Robert. I want you to scroll all 0:06:12.320 --> 0:06:14.120 the way down to the bottom of our notes and 0:06:14.120 --> 0:06:16.480 have a look at the images I've attached for you. 0:06:16.560 --> 0:06:19.120 I thought these would fill you with joy. This comes 0:06:19.160 --> 0:06:22.039 from a board game that I found evidence of on 0:06:22.080 --> 0:06:25.279 the internet late last night. I think. Uh. It's called 0:06:25.560 --> 0:06:29.719 Battle at Sarlac's Pit. It was released at the same 0:06:29.760 --> 0:06:32.200 time as the movie, or sometime around the movie, I guess, 0:06:32.200 --> 0:06:34.880 to help promote it. And it is a It is 0:06:34.920 --> 0:06:38.800 a board game with a Sarlac, like a cardboard Sarlac 0:06:38.960 --> 0:06:41.760 cone set up, and then it's got a little barge 0:06:41.839 --> 0:06:44.200 or skiff on top where it looks like you you 0:06:44.200 --> 0:06:49.320 you play with miniatures of Han Solo, Luke, Skywalker, Chewbacca, 0:06:49.440 --> 0:06:51.679 and I guess maybe that's also it's supposed to be Leiah. 0:06:51.760 --> 0:06:53.640 It's kind of hard to tell. The miniatures are not 0:06:53.960 --> 0:06:57.240 super detailed, and you have to fight your way through these, 0:06:57.520 --> 0:07:00.760 you know, green pig face guards and Boba that to 0:07:00.760 --> 0:07:03.040 to confront Jab of the Hut, and I guess if 0:07:03.040 --> 0:07:05.960 you lose, you fall off into the star Lack's mouth. Ha. 0:07:06.200 --> 0:07:09.080 Well that it looks beautiful. I mean, especially the cover 0:07:09.200 --> 0:07:12.200 art in this box looks incredible, and then the set 0:07:12.240 --> 0:07:15.160 itself is is pretty ingenious, especially given the time. I 0:07:15.200 --> 0:07:18.880 can't obviously, I can't speak for the the actual gameplay, 0:07:18.960 --> 0:07:21.560 but it looks intriguing. Yeah, I've never seen this before. Well, 0:07:21.600 --> 0:07:23.920 I know you're a miniatures guy, so I was wondering 0:07:23.960 --> 0:07:26.200 if you might end up looking this thing up. I 0:07:26.280 --> 0:07:29.040 might have to the miniatures. It looks like the miniatures 0:07:29.040 --> 0:07:33.240 are supplied poorly painted, or perhaps they're supplied unpainted, and 0:07:33.280 --> 0:07:35.360 what we're looking at here is the work of a 0:07:35.440 --> 0:07:39.840 child roughly painting them. I can't tell, but yeah, I'm 0:07:39.880 --> 0:07:42.360 gonna have to look into this more. This this is interesting. 0:07:42.440 --> 0:07:44.360 If I had known this existed when I was a kid, 0:07:44.360 --> 0:07:47.760 I would have insisted on it. So I guess we should. 0:07:47.920 --> 0:07:50.840 We can assume that most listeners have probably seen Return 0:07:50.880 --> 0:07:53.200 of the Jedi, don't the star Lack doesn't need a 0:07:53.200 --> 0:07:56.160 lot of explaining, but just to do the very basics, 0:07:56.200 --> 0:07:58.800 we should explain what happens in the movie. So the 0:07:58.920 --> 0:08:02.240 role in the plot is you remember our heroes Luke Skywalker, 0:08:02.320 --> 0:08:06.120 Han Solo, Chewbacca. Uh, they are sentenced to death by 0:08:06.120 --> 0:08:08.440 the gangster Job of the Hut. He's the big slug 0:08:08.440 --> 0:08:11.560 guy and Job Job of the Hut says the method 0:08:11.600 --> 0:08:14.520 of execution for these three heroes is going to be 0:08:14.600 --> 0:08:18.440 a kind of alien desert version of the Pirates walking 0:08:18.480 --> 0:08:20.600 of the plank, Right, you know, they're gonna be forced 0:08:20.600 --> 0:08:24.040 to walk the plank off of this floating barge or 0:08:24.360 --> 0:08:28.040 this floating boat type thing into this hole in the desert, 0:08:28.440 --> 0:08:31.040 and the Droid C three p O translates job as 0:08:31.080 --> 0:08:34.520 execution order. He says, you will therefore be taken to 0:08:34.600 --> 0:08:38.040 the dune sea, this big desert and cast into the 0:08:38.080 --> 0:08:41.880 pit of Carcoon, the nesting place of the all powerful 0:08:41.960 --> 0:08:45.679 Sarlac in his belly. You will find a new definition 0:08:45.760 --> 0:08:49.480 of pain and suffering as you are slowly digested over 0:08:49.520 --> 0:08:53.559 a thousand years. And I'm not gonna lie that concept 0:08:53.679 --> 0:08:57.599 haunted me as a child. I was like, slowly digested 0:08:57.640 --> 0:09:00.520 over a thousand years? Wouldn't it be over? Are sooner 0:09:00.559 --> 0:09:06.160 than that? Yeah, there's this idea that it extends your suffering, 0:09:06.240 --> 0:09:08.400 that it is to enter into the star Lack is 0:09:08.400 --> 0:09:12.599 to kind of enter into an underworld or an afterlife 0:09:12.600 --> 0:09:16.240 of pain. It's like going to hell. Yeah, yeah, a 0:09:16.240 --> 0:09:20.599 hell of digestion. And I also love how in C 0:09:20.840 --> 0:09:24.480 three pos translation there's this idea, Yeah, that's that's not 0:09:24.520 --> 0:09:27.760 only the Sarlac, it is the all powerful Sarlac. There's 0:09:27.760 --> 0:09:30.080 this idea that it is a thing that is revered, 0:09:30.120 --> 0:09:34.120 that it almost has a divine quality to it. And certainly, 0:09:34.200 --> 0:09:36.040 as we see in the film, it's not something that 0:09:36.200 --> 0:09:40.200 is defeated. It is not something that is really truly overcome. 0:09:40.240 --> 0:09:43.960 It is just avoided and escaped at best. Well, it's 0:09:44.000 --> 0:09:46.640 not really the enemy, right, it's kind of the setting. 0:09:46.760 --> 0:09:48.640 It's the threat in the setting. It's kind of in 0:09:48.640 --> 0:09:51.800 the way that in most zombie movies the zombies are 0:09:51.840 --> 0:09:55.960 not really the enemy. They're more like a hostile environment 0:09:56.320 --> 0:09:59.200 in which the drama between the characters is set. Usually 0:09:59.200 --> 0:10:02.160 in a zombie MOVI, you've got a human villain, and 0:10:02.240 --> 0:10:04.760 the same is true here. Clearly the villain is Jab 0:10:04.760 --> 0:10:07.120 of the Hut, not the not the Sarlac. And of 0:10:07.120 --> 0:10:10.440 course so it's very satisfying when when Leah chokes out 0:10:10.880 --> 0:10:12.520 Jab of the Hut, that's like a great you know, 0:10:12.600 --> 0:10:15.280 defeat of the villain scene. But there's no need to 0:10:15.360 --> 0:10:17.760 kill the Sarlac. It's just doing its thing in the desert, 0:10:18.120 --> 0:10:21.640 that's right. Yeah, there's this It has this quality where 0:10:21.679 --> 0:10:24.160 the star Lac is kind of like a pet. It's 0:10:24.200 --> 0:10:27.400 kind of like a pampered pet of of javas much 0:10:27.480 --> 0:10:29.600 like the rain corps is that we see earlier in 0:10:29.600 --> 0:10:32.640 the film. But it also feels like something that is 0:10:32.679 --> 0:10:35.679 greater than job and certainly it's something that will will 0:10:35.760 --> 0:10:39.959 outlive Java. Yeah. So one thing I really liked about 0:10:39.960 --> 0:10:43.199 this monster when I was a kid um was something 0:10:43.240 --> 0:10:46.079 about the way that the monster was presented visually the 0:10:46.360 --> 0:10:48.800 pit of Carcoon and the Sarlac. It was that the 0:10:48.840 --> 0:10:55.040 monster wasn't just in a pit. The monster was the pit. Uh. 0:10:55.080 --> 0:10:57.120 And and so to explain this a little bit more, 0:10:57.240 --> 0:11:00.640 it's kind of like a presented visually as a bio 0:11:00.880 --> 0:11:05.040 geological hybrid, like a cave or a hole in the 0:11:05.080 --> 0:11:08.840 ground that has tentacle tongues and eats bounty hunters alive. 0:11:09.240 --> 0:11:13.599 You can't tell where the animal stops and the earth begins. 0:11:14.040 --> 0:11:17.040 And as a point of comparison, I think i'd i'd 0:11:17.120 --> 0:11:20.120 use the appeal of like the bio mechanical artwork of 0:11:20.320 --> 0:11:23.040 hr Geiger that and how that influenced the creation of 0:11:23.080 --> 0:11:27.560 the xenomorph in the Alien films. Xenomorph is basically supposed 0:11:27.559 --> 0:11:30.160 to be an animal, but it has tons of body 0:11:30.200 --> 0:11:34.079 features that look like parts of industrial machines. It's an 0:11:34.120 --> 0:11:38.880 animal made out of tubes and hoses and hinges and pistons. 0:11:39.080 --> 0:11:41.480 And I think I always thought the Starlac was cool 0:11:41.559 --> 0:11:46.120 because it was like this, but with geology instead of machinery. Uh. 0:11:46.120 --> 0:11:48.600 It's it's a mouth that is the earth. It looks 0:11:48.640 --> 0:11:51.080 like the teeth are coming out of rock or coming 0:11:51.080 --> 0:11:54.160 out of the sand. And Uh. Of course this is 0:11:54.200 --> 0:11:56.319 all predicated on the fact that I grew up watching 0:11:56.400 --> 0:11:59.599 the versions of these movies before the special edition remasters. 0:12:00.040 --> 0:12:02.040 So the version I'm used to seeing is the original, 0:12:02.080 --> 0:12:04.840 where it's just the gaping mouth that blends into the 0:12:04.880 --> 0:12:08.160 earth and has these rings of inward facing teeth and 0:12:08.200 --> 0:12:10.840 the tentacles that reach out from who knows where and 0:12:10.880 --> 0:12:14.079 grab things. When the remasters came, of course, they added 0:12:14.120 --> 0:12:16.480 a big c g I beak poking up out of 0:12:16.520 --> 0:12:19.040 the pit, which sort of eliminates some of that bio 0:12:19.160 --> 0:12:22.719 geological magic. I try these days not to be one 0:12:22.720 --> 0:12:26.120 of the guys who's just constantly shrieking about how Lucas 0:12:26.200 --> 0:12:29.600 ruined things and complaining about remasters and prequels and all that, 0:12:29.720 --> 0:12:32.800 but I will say I do not like this change. 0:12:32.840 --> 0:12:35.520 I think it's creepier in the original version without the 0:12:35.559 --> 0:12:37.480 c g I beak. I like it when it's just 0:12:37.920 --> 0:12:41.160 the hole in the earth, the cave with teeth. Yeah. 0:12:41.320 --> 0:12:45.040 I I certainly grew up with the the unedited version 0:12:45.080 --> 0:12:47.720 as well, and so that's that's probably the version that 0:12:47.840 --> 0:12:50.760 was It's cemented in my mind the most, and I 0:12:50.840 --> 0:12:52.880 used to feel I think a lot stronger about it 0:12:52.880 --> 0:12:56.880 where I'm like, Nope, original Starla only, but I don't 0:12:56.920 --> 0:13:00.920 know I can I'm okay with the the redesign I 0:13:00.960 --> 0:13:03.719 just wish that the c G I would maybe get another, 0:13:03.960 --> 0:13:05.520 you know, a fresh coat of paint to make it 0:13:05.520 --> 0:13:08.640 look a little sleeker. But but still like I also, 0:13:08.679 --> 0:13:11.400 I understand that they are part of the original concept 0:13:11.480 --> 0:13:14.079 was that it would have those elements, but they weren't 0:13:14.080 --> 0:13:16.280 able to make it happen because they just didn't have 0:13:16.320 --> 0:13:21.079 the budget of the technology to implement it at the time. Um. 0:13:21.240 --> 0:13:24.520 But but I and I also think that the addition 0:13:24.600 --> 0:13:28.280 of the plant like elements doesn't completely take away from 0:13:28.360 --> 0:13:31.600 what you were describing, this idea of the monster as 0:13:32.000 --> 0:13:37.120 as pit, the monster as Earth. Um, there's something very primal, 0:13:37.240 --> 0:13:41.839 primordial even about about the star lac And you know, 0:13:42.000 --> 0:13:43.920 some people, I think a lot to like to criticize 0:13:44.000 --> 0:13:45.839 Lucas and you know that they want to go all 0:13:45.880 --> 0:13:49.000 in on this idea that well, Lucas depended on all 0:13:49.000 --> 0:13:51.560 these other creative people and anything that he got right 0:13:51.600 --> 0:13:55.360 he only did accidentally. But I suspect that you know 0:13:55.480 --> 0:13:57.600 that he was really onto something with this idea of 0:13:57.640 --> 0:14:01.000 the star Lac. Um. I think they're there is something 0:14:01.600 --> 0:14:04.040 intentionally primordial about it. And well, and we'll get into 0:14:04.080 --> 0:14:06.120 that as we go. Well, I think it just it 0:14:06.480 --> 0:14:10.280 suggests the magical thinking that that that is so common 0:14:10.320 --> 0:14:14.240 in human culture that characterizes caves and pits in the 0:14:14.240 --> 0:14:16.800 earth as a mouth. I mean that kind of that 0:14:16.880 --> 0:14:20.560 kind of language is extremely common. Yeah, So before we 0:14:20.560 --> 0:14:23.200 get a little bit more into some mythic parallels for 0:14:23.240 --> 0:14:25.240 the star Lac, I want to talk just a little 0:14:25.280 --> 0:14:29.160 bit more about its presumed biology and its biology is 0:14:29.200 --> 0:14:32.360 presented uh in Cannon, and also just a little interpretation 0:14:32.400 --> 0:14:36.080 on our part. So obviously, the vast majority of the 0:14:36.120 --> 0:14:40.400 star Lacks bulk is hidden beneath the sand, leaving only 0:14:40.440 --> 0:14:45.400 its spiked, entacled mouth exposed. Now, presumably the star Lac 0:14:45.520 --> 0:14:47.960 just normally, you know, waits there. It doesn't move. It 0:14:48.040 --> 0:14:51.560 just waits first, you know, some creature to fall into it. 0:14:51.640 --> 0:14:54.120 You know, some of the mega fauna of tattooings, such 0:14:54.120 --> 0:14:56.720 as the do back or the bantha. You know, it 0:14:56.760 --> 0:14:58.720 just waits for them to wander close enough to fall 0:14:58.880 --> 0:15:03.560 in or succumb to the fast moving grasping tentacles. And 0:15:03.680 --> 0:15:06.160 if this, you know, seems a rare enough occurrence, we 0:15:06.240 --> 0:15:09.600 have to consider that it's it has an alleged one 0:15:09.640 --> 0:15:13.280 thousand year digestive cycle. So presumably it has a slow 0:15:13.360 --> 0:15:17.400 enough metabolism that it doesn't need just regular feedings. It 0:15:17.440 --> 0:15:20.880 can get by on the odd banthera that just falls in. 0:15:21.760 --> 0:15:23.400 And then on top of that, we have to consider 0:15:23.480 --> 0:15:26.800 that this star lac might be in a privileged situation 0:15:26.880 --> 0:15:31.000 as well, sustained by regular feedings from Job as pleasure barges, 0:15:31.240 --> 0:15:33.760 because let's face it, Job is the type of fellow 0:15:33.800 --> 0:15:36.680 that's liable to just throw people into the sarlac on 0:15:36.880 --> 0:15:40.040 a weekly or bi weekly basis, So we may not 0:15:40.280 --> 0:15:43.920 be observing the sarlac in its natural environment. This this 0:15:43.960 --> 0:15:47.840 could be a domesticated sarlac of sorts. Yeah, yeah, I 0:15:48.080 --> 0:15:51.480 think we have to take that into into account now. Um, 0:15:51.920 --> 0:15:55.000 in terms of, like, you know, turning to the literature 0:15:55.280 --> 0:15:59.720 for you know, explanations of something like the sarlac, uh, 0:15:59.800 --> 0:16:02.200 that can be a bit confusing because, first of all, 0:16:02.280 --> 0:16:04.080 you know, it's presented as it is in the movie, 0:16:04.280 --> 0:16:06.640 and I think a fair amount of mystery about it 0:16:06.680 --> 0:16:09.680 is ideal. Like, for instance, C three Po doesn't turn 0:16:09.760 --> 0:16:12.280 to you and explain everything about the star lack. He 0:16:12.280 --> 0:16:14.920 doesn't go into a big ten minute monologue about it, 0:16:14.960 --> 0:16:17.240 because you're supposed to do some of the work, right 0:16:17.280 --> 0:16:20.520 it's supposed to inspire you, right, Yeah, I mean what's 0:16:20.560 --> 0:16:22.720 cool about it is that you can't see so much 0:16:22.720 --> 0:16:24.760 of it. It's a mystery, it's hidden under the earth. 0:16:25.080 --> 0:16:27.200 I think some of that would be spoiled if you've 0:16:27.200 --> 0:16:29.440 got a better look at it, or you've got c 0:16:29.640 --> 0:16:32.160 three po explaining its whole life history. As much as 0:16:32.240 --> 0:16:33.880 I would have wanted that when I was a kid, 0:16:33.920 --> 0:16:37.280 and we were talking recently about like children, you know, 0:16:37.360 --> 0:16:40.280 being obsessed with Cannon and the stories they love and 0:16:40.320 --> 0:16:42.920 like wanting to know all the details, I mean, I 0:16:42.960 --> 0:16:44.800 bet when I was like eight, I would have just 0:16:44.920 --> 0:16:48.400 wish that the Star Wars movies included like Star Wars 0:16:48.600 --> 0:16:53.720 illustrated encyclopedia pages as as like scenes throughout them. But yeah, 0:16:53.880 --> 0:16:55.920 it works better as a mystery. I think that's my 0:16:55.960 --> 0:16:59.840 adult mind. Yeah. Now that being said, it this, this 0:17:00.040 --> 0:17:02.840 sort of mystery has inspired lots of people, and so 0:17:02.880 --> 0:17:06.199 you have you have a number of different, uh you know, 0:17:06.680 --> 0:17:10.960 expanded universe treatments of the Star lac as well as 0:17:11.400 --> 0:17:14.840 compendiums that attempt to explain to some degree what the 0:17:14.840 --> 0:17:17.520 Star Lack is. And you're gonna deal with, you know, 0:17:17.560 --> 0:17:20.680 conflicting accounts and uh, and and so forth if you 0:17:20.720 --> 0:17:23.360 start looking at all of those. But I do want 0:17:23.359 --> 0:17:26.240 to touch on some ideas that were presented in a 0:17:26.280 --> 0:17:29.880 relatively new book that came out, Star Wars Alien Archive, 0:17:30.240 --> 0:17:32.840 which I've been reading with my son. Uh. It's you know, 0:17:32.840 --> 0:17:35.840 it's basically a you know, a monstrous compendium, a monster 0:17:35.920 --> 0:17:39.359 manual of Star Wars aliens, and it's pretty fun. It 0:17:39.480 --> 0:17:43.720 has these fabulous illustrations in it, and it you know, 0:17:43.800 --> 0:17:47.119 doesn't have everything that shows up in the Star Wars 0:17:47.200 --> 0:17:50.040 films and TV shows, but it has quite a bit, uh, 0:17:50.080 --> 0:17:54.320 you know, everything from you know, from from major characters 0:17:54.400 --> 0:17:57.520 and and and major aliens to even a few things that, 0:17:57.560 --> 0:17:59.520 for instance, only show up in one of the e 0:17:59.640 --> 0:18:03.560 Walks movies. So it's a fun collection. Naturally, of course 0:18:03.560 --> 0:18:05.760 there's an entry on the Mighty Sarlac. So I just 0:18:05.760 --> 0:18:08.240 want to touch on a few of the key points, 0:18:08.680 --> 0:18:11.880 uh that that are that are made in this Lucasfilm 0:18:11.960 --> 0:18:16.120 Press book. First of all, it's described as quote terrifying 0:18:16.240 --> 0:18:20.159 carnivorous beast, and this seems to fall more on the 0:18:20.200 --> 0:18:23.880 animal side of interpretation. Some people try, and I guess, 0:18:23.920 --> 0:18:27.200 explain the Starlac as being more of a plant. Uh, 0:18:27.200 --> 0:18:32.200 and it is sometimes described as reproducing by spores, which 0:18:32.280 --> 0:18:35.080 leads in list to more of a you know, fungal explanation. 0:18:35.400 --> 0:18:37.720 But of course none of this is exactly limiting when 0:18:37.720 --> 0:18:40.840 we're ultimately talking about an alien life form that may 0:18:40.960 --> 0:18:43.840 you know, easily skew the lines that we draw on 0:18:43.920 --> 0:18:47.840 Earth between one kingdom and another. That's exactly right, I mean, yeah, 0:18:47.840 --> 0:18:51.040 if we want to be real technical sticklers, the difference 0:18:51.080 --> 0:18:54.879 between plants and animals is an evolutionary division that you know, 0:18:54.920 --> 0:18:58.040 there they are different clades. You can sort their histories differently, 0:18:58.440 --> 0:19:01.520 and you know, animals arising on other planets might be 0:19:01.720 --> 0:19:04.439 animal like and that they might move around quickly or 0:19:04.440 --> 0:19:06.399 something like that. Or they might be plant like in 0:19:06.440 --> 0:19:10.720 that their sessile and the photosynthesize or whatever. But uh, 0:19:10.760 --> 0:19:13.680 but yeah, they would not be descended from these kingdoms, 0:19:13.680 --> 0:19:17.479 so those sortings wouldn't necessarily even make sense. Yeah. Plus, 0:19:17.520 --> 0:19:20.679 oh man, there's a whole additional, uh deep end we 0:19:20.680 --> 0:19:23.320 could get into if we tried to figure out how 0:19:23.400 --> 0:19:26.960 we consider life in the Star Wars universe, a universe 0:19:26.960 --> 0:19:30.159 where not only do we have um life you know, 0:19:30.520 --> 0:19:34.520 certainly arising on a plethora of different worlds. But also 0:19:34.680 --> 0:19:39.160 you have interstellar life still life that is clinging to asteroids. 0:19:39.280 --> 0:19:43.280 You have pan spermia and colonization taking place that you 0:19:43.320 --> 0:19:46.600 know at you know, at various points in galactic history. 0:19:46.840 --> 0:19:50.000 There's a lot to unpack their deep space evolution. Yeah, 0:19:50.080 --> 0:19:52.960 that's right, the minox they live in a vacuum. How 0:19:53.040 --> 0:19:56.040 is that possible? I don't think a large animal would 0:19:56.080 --> 0:19:57.959 do that. Yeah. Well, that would be a fun one 0:19:58.000 --> 0:20:00.359 to come back to at some point, maybe maybe, maybe 0:20:00.520 --> 0:20:04.040 some some people have written on that topic. Um okay. 0:20:04.040 --> 0:20:06.879 A few other points from the Alien Archive book. Uh. 0:20:07.000 --> 0:20:09.560 They to point out that the star lac of Carcoon 0:20:09.680 --> 0:20:13.160 is sustained at least in part by sacrifices and executions 0:20:13.200 --> 0:20:16.160 by the huts. But they also say that adults are 0:20:16.280 --> 0:20:19.440 lacks such as this one can also release an odor 0:20:19.760 --> 0:20:24.000 that attracts nearby herbivores to the pit. Oh okay, So 0:20:24.040 --> 0:20:26.760 that answer I I that would answer a question that 0:20:26.840 --> 0:20:29.720 I had because I was thinking about how a sarlac 0:20:29.760 --> 0:20:33.360 would normally eat if it's just this, you know, sessile 0:20:33.440 --> 0:20:37.560 pit in the desert. Most sessile trap predators have some 0:20:37.680 --> 0:20:40.760 way of assuring that prey will fall in like sessile 0:20:40.800 --> 0:20:44.400 predators in the ocean will often try to maximize their 0:20:44.440 --> 0:20:47.320 catch by doing their best to latch on in places 0:20:47.359 --> 0:20:52.640 where the current will carry unfortunate prey animals right by them. Otherwise, 0:20:52.640 --> 0:20:55.280 trap predators like some that we'll talk about in a bit, 0:20:55.359 --> 0:20:58.320 like insects that that lay traps in the ground, need 0:20:58.400 --> 0:21:00.760 to find a place where, you know, places that are 0:21:00.840 --> 0:21:03.800 naturally trafficked by prey, places where you know, ants or 0:21:03.840 --> 0:21:07.320 beetles or whatever going to be walking by. Another option 0:21:07.440 --> 0:21:10.680 is to look more at the realm of of plants, 0:21:10.760 --> 0:21:13.159 which you know, let's say, like carnivorous plants like the 0:21:13.200 --> 0:21:15.719 picture plant that's not an animal, but it is a 0:21:15.760 --> 0:21:19.960 predatory organism that functions as a trap pit. And yeah, 0:21:20.000 --> 0:21:23.720 it uses smells to attract animals to it. Yeah, so 0:21:23.760 --> 0:21:26.720 perhaps we might imagine that, um, you know, say that 0:21:26.880 --> 0:21:31.320 the sarlac releases uh uh, some sort of odor that 0:21:31.920 --> 0:21:35.000 mega fauno would associate with an oasis, you know, or 0:21:35.240 --> 0:21:38.520 with with with plant life, and therefore it brings them in. 0:21:38.560 --> 0:21:40.119 It doesn't have to bring them in all the way, right, 0:21:40.160 --> 0:21:42.840