{"id":1849,"date":"2013-02-22T10:51:55","date_gmt":"2013-02-22T15:51:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/starwarz.com\/tbone\/?p=1849"},"modified":"2022-05-19T08:03:30","modified_gmt":"2022-05-19T13:03:30","slug":"biggs-darklighter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starwarz.com\/tbone\/biggs-darklighter\/","title":{"rendered":"Biggs Darklighter"},"content":{"rendered":"

Luke’s childhood friend, Biggs Darklighter, was a big influence on him. He was the friend that got away, joined the Academy, and did something with his life, leaving Luke at home on the farm. Luke longed to be like his friend. He wanted off the farm and to have his own adventures. He got them all right. The relationship between Biggs and Luke was quite lost in the final film, however. There are casual mentions of Biggs and another friend Tank. There’s the short reunion with Biggs during the end battle. That’s about the extent of it, though. Biggs’ missing scenes fill in a lot of those blanks in Luke’s backstory.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

BIGGS RETURNS<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"27\"<\/a>The first missing scene involving Biggs (according to the Star Wars<\/em> novelization<\/a>) occurred just after a scene that also ended up deleted featuring Luke and his Treadwell droid, his trusty helper out on the desert flats.<\/p>\n

Luke, full of excitement at having seen some starships in the sky above Tatooine, races towards the Toshi Station (located in Anchorhead) to tell his friends about the battle he’s just witnessed in the sky, which we all know is the capture of Leia and the Tantive IV<\/i>. In transit, Luke almost runs down an old woman with his landspeeder. She turns and yells at Luke to slow down. Luke hops out of his speeder and runs into the Toshi Station where he finds his friends Camie, Fixer, Deak, and Windy relaxing and enjoying the day. Deak and Windy are in the back area playing a game while Camie and Fixer nap at a desk, Camie in Fixer’s arms. Luke hastily scrambles in waking them up and then notices another guy in the room. It’s Biggs Darklighter, who had left Tatooine the previous season to join the Imperial Academy. Luke is overwhelmed with joy at seeing his old friend again.<\/p>\n

They start to talk a little but then Luke remembers the real reason he came by and urges everyone to come outside for a look. Deak and Windy remain inside, writing off the event as one of Wormie’s delusions. Luke’s nickname among his friends is “Wormie.”<\/p>\n

When they get outside, Luke points to where the action was and Biggs takes a look using Luke’s macrobinoculars. He sees two ships but no action and tells the little crowd so. Then Camie grabs the binoculars and has a look for herself. The disappointed group retreats back inside the station without Luke who remains outside looking (and feeling) embarrassed.<\/p>\n

Deak and Windy, while more prevalent in the earlier drafts of the script, are hardly seen here. They’re in the back of the station which serves as their hangout playing a game that resembles an electronic pool table or air hockey table of sorts. We don’t really get a good look at the table but my friend SKot has found what he believes to be a drawing by Ralph McQuarrie of this table. Here’s what he had to say along with the related picture:<\/p>\n

This was part of a large folder of drawings that Ralph discovered after moving some things around in his house, after The Art of Ralph McQuarrie<\/em> had already been published.\u00a0 So this was published in a smaller booklet called A Gallery of Imagination \u2013 The Art of Ralph McQuarrie<\/em><\/a> and sold at Celebration 5 at the art exhibit.<\/p>\n

\"pooltable\"<\/a>The caption for this sheet of drawings: This sheet of pen illustrations includes a holographic chess table [sic] that predates the cocktail-style arcade cabinets that would become barroom staples several years after the release of Star Wars, a very recognizable R2-D2, a thumbnail of R2 in the Tatooine canyon (above right), and a number of thumbnails of the Jawa Sandcrawler: scoop, treads, and interiors.<\/em><\/p>\n

I\u2019m almost 100% certain they were incorrect about the \u201cholographic chess table\u201d \u2013 it is most likely the electronic pool table that Deak and Windy were playing in the back of Tosche Station, and even has the joystick controllers on each end that you can see them using in the cut scenes video. So enjoy this long-sought-after evidence of the production work for the pool table.\u00a0 Relatively few people have ever seen this.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Here’s the script passage from The Art of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope<\/i><\/a>:<\/p>\n

EXTERIOR: TATOOINE – ANCHORHEAD SETTLEMENT – POWER STATION – DAY<\/b>
\nHeat waves radiate from the dozen or so bleached white buildings. Luke pilots his landspeeder through the dusty empty street of the tiny settlement. An old WOMAN runs to get out of the way of the speeding vehicle, shaking her fist at Luke as he flies past.<\/i><\/p>\n

WOMAN
\nI’ve told you kids to slow down!<\/p>\n

Luke pulls up behind a low concrete service station that is all but covered by the shifting desert sands.<\/i><\/p>\n

INTERIOR: POWER STATION – DAY<\/b>
\nLuke bursts into the power station, waking THE FIXER, a rugged mechanic and CAMIE, a sexy disheveled girl who has been asleep on his lap. They grumble as he races through the office, yelling wildly.<\/i><\/p>\n

FIXER
\nDid I hear a young noise
\nblast through here?<\/p>\n

CAMIE
\nIt was just Wormie
\non another rampage.<\/p>\n

Luke bounces into a small room behind the office where DEAK and WINDY, two tough boys about the same age as Luke, are playing a computer pool-like game with BIGGS, a burly, handsome boy a few years older than the rest. His flashy city attire is a sharp contrast to the loose-fitting tunics of the farm boys. A robot repairs some equipment in the background. <\/i><\/p>\n

LUKE
\nShape it up you guys!
\n…Biggs?<\/p>\n

Luke’s surprise at the appearance of Biggs gives way to great joy and emotion. They give each other a great bear hug.<\/i><\/p>\n

LUKE
\nI didn’t know you were back!
\nWhen did you get in?<\/p>\n

BIGGS
\nJust now, I wanted to surprise you, hot shot.
\nI thought you’d be here… certainly didn’t
\nexpect you to be out working. (he laughs).<\/p>\n

LUKE
\nThe academy didn’t change you much…
\nbut you’re back so soon?
\nHey, what happened,
\ndidn’t you get your commission?<\/p>\n

Biggs has an air of cool that seems slightly phony.<\/i><\/p>\n

BIGGS
\nOf course I got it. Signed aboard
\nTHE RAND ECLIPTIC last week. First mate
\nBiggs Darklighter at your service… (he salutes)
\n…I just came back to say good-bye to
\nall you unfortunate landlocked simpletons.<\/p>\n

Everyone laughs. The dazzling spectacle of his dashing friend is almost too much, but suddenly he snaps out of it.<\/i><\/p>\n

LUKE
\nI almost forgot.
\nThere’s a battle going on!
\nRight here in our system. Come and look!<\/p>\n

DEAK
\nNot again! Forget it.<\/p>\n

EXTERIOR: TATOOINE – ANCHORHEAD SETTLEMENT – POWER STATION – DAY
\n<\/b>The group stumbles out into the stifling desert sun. Camie and The Fixer complain and are forced to shade their eyes. Luke has his binoculars out scanning the heavens.<\/i><\/p>\n

LUKE
\nThere they are!<\/p>\n

Biggs takes the binoculars from Luke as the other strain to see something with the naked eye. Through the binoculars Biggs sees two small silver specks.<\/i><\/p>\n

BIGGS
\nThat’s no battle, hot shot…
\nthey’re just sitting there!
\nProbably a freighter-tanker refueling.<\/p>\n

LUKE
\nBut there was a lot of firing earlier…<\/p>\n

Camie grabs the binoculars away banging them against the building in the process. Luke grabs them.<\/i><\/p>\n

LUKE
\nHey, easy with those…<\/p>\n

CAMIE
\nDon’t worry about it, Wormie.<\/p>\n

Fixer gives Luke a hard look and the young farm boy shrugs his shoulders in resignation.<\/i><\/p>\n

FIXER
\nI keep telling you, the rebellion is a long way
\nfrom here. I doubt if the Empire would even fight
\nto keep this system. Believe me Luke, this planet
\nis a big hunk of nothing …<\/p>\n

Luke agrees, although it’s obvious he isn’t sure why. The group stumbles back into the power station, grumbling about Luke’s ineptitude.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

As you can see, in the filmed version some of these lines were switched around or deleted entirely. Take note that in some of the photos, Fixer is seen holding the binoculars and appears to be involved in the dialogue. In the deleted scene that’s been made available to us, Fixer never takes a look for himself.<\/p>\n

T-note:<\/b> For trivia fans – the picture of the standalone building from a distance is the Toshi Power Station. This shot was used in the original version of Episode IV<\/em> in the shot where Luke, Obi-Wan and the droids ride into Mos Eisley. It’s the only part of this deleted scene that made its way into another part of the film via editing. Many of the Tatooine locations in Tunisia were used and reused from different angles.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"46\"<\/a> \"Anchorhead\"<\/a> \"26\"<\/a> \"31\"<\/a>\u00a0 \"25\"<\/a> \"24\"<\/a> \"23\"<\/a> \"22\"<\/a> \"37\"<\/a> \"39\"<\/a> \"32\"<\/a> \"51\"<\/a> \"28\"<\/a> \"44\"<\/a> \"43\"<\/a> \"42\"<\/a> \"52\"<\/a> \"41\"<\/a> \"40\"<\/a> \"30\"<\/a> \"49\"<\/a> \"38\"<\/a> \"48\"<\/a> \"53\"<\/a> \"47\"<\/a> \"45\"<\/a> \"36\"<\/a> \"35\"<\/a> \"34\"<\/a> \"50\"<\/a> \"29\"<\/a> \"33\"<\/a><\/p>\n