Spot the Gadgets in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope

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In honor of Star Wars Month, I volunteered to painstakingly watch all six Star Wars movies and compile a list of gadget-like devices I spot in each one. I can promise you I will miss a few and I won’t know what some of them are supposed to be called, but I’ll be damned if I don’t watch all six episodes of one of the greatest film franchises of all time in the name of “work.”

And so we dance.

04:43 – Diskette

diskette

Princess Leia, seen here, inserts a super thin diskette-type object into R2D2’s built-in floppy drive. In 1977 when the movie was filmed, no ordinary diskette would have been able to hold Leia’s entire video message.

11:45 – High Voltage Stun Gun

stun

stun2
Used to incapacitate meddlesome droids, this highly-charged apparatus creates cool blue squiggly lines around its target and fits into a holster that appears to double as a power supply.

18:08 – Motivator, Bad

motivator

Luke is right. This R2 unit does indeed have a bad motivator. It can be seen jutting out of its head once all that pesky fire dies down.

20:17 – R2D2’s Built-in Holographic Pico Projector

pico

Used, used, and overused in the first three episodes, here’s the famous holographic projection scene that set the pico projection craze in motion.

25:37 – Digital Binoculars

binocs

Used by Luke to try to spot the runaway R2D2. Shouldn’t have removed that restraining bolt, Luke. He tricked you. Tricked you good.

39:45 – Mind Probe

syringe

As syringe-equipped medical devices go, this one’s a bit over the top. And assuming it’s prohibitively expensive like most medical devices, it’ll do nothing to keep insurance premiums low. As a bonus, though, it looks like it doubles as some sort of torture weapon for the Empire. And it flies!

56:50 – Spikey Shootey Ball

spikey

It’d return as the ultimate light saber training aid for small children in the Episode II prequel. Here we find Luke trying his hand at a little swordplay. Seriously, does anyone out there know what this thing is actually called?

57:24 – Monster Chess Game

chess

And in the background of the Spikey Shootey Ball scene, we get a glimpse at the very-awesome holographic monster chess game. Someday this will be a real game, everyone. Someday.

1:14:35 – Communicator

com

Bingo marker? No! Glue stick? No! It’s a communications device. Whereas the first three episodes featured communicators that looked like a cross between a cell phone and a woman’s razor, future generations enjoy smaller, simpler technologies. But how do you download apps? It’s all about the apps.

1:25:08 – Grappling Hook

hook

Ah, the grappling hook. An unlimited length of super strong wire that fits neatly onto a belt that every protagonist seems to always be wearing.

1:31:17 – R2D2’s Fire Extinguisher

fire

If you can build your own droid, you should absolutely do it. It’s like if a Home Depot did it with a Best Buy and the resulting kid had wheels.

1:34:26 – Handheld Ship Identification Doohickey

pewpew

“Pew, pew… Gotcha.”

1:35:51 – The First 3D TV Ever Made

3DTV

No glasses required! Sure, nothing actually appears in 3D but this big TV can display 3D-type objects on its flat surface. In an age when everything’s displayed in holographic form, it’s nice to see the Rebel Alliance is still getting by with older technology. You’ve got to keep an eye on your spending when you’re starting up a rebellion.

1:45:43 – Targeting Computer

computer

“Switch to targeting computer.” Little did George Lucas know that Nintendo would invent Virtual Boy almost 20 years later and it’d look an awful lot like the targeting computer from the movie. And just like Luke didn’t use his own targeting computer to blow up the Death Star, nobody bought a Virtual Boy.

That’s it. Stay tuned for Episodes V and VI.

More on Techland:

Spot the Gadgets in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace

Spot the Gadgets in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones

Spot the Gadgets in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith

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