I dread to think how long the shooting contest is going to take...

Unless they have really really big targets!!

This bloke is obviously an imposter, throw the book at him.

Any fule kno that Darth was born a long time ago, in a galaxy far away and died in the rebel insurrection at the hands of his son.

A thousand pardons, guv'nor, but that should be "possessing an unregistered replica of a fictional weapon that does not yet exist", shouldn't it ?

I mean really, the only way to harm someone with a blaster these days is to bludgeon them over the head with it, right ?

Doesn't that put it in the same category as a . . . baseball bat ?

Never mind, too much sun down there - and the hole in the ozone layer must be widening again.

"an unregistered replica of a fictional weapon that does not yet exist" - to be fair, most of the ray guns in Star Wars were based on real-life weapons, presumably because Pinewood had lots of James Bond props lying about. The Stormtrooper blasters were cut-down blank-firing Sterling SMGs, and Han Solo's Greedo-killer was a Mauser C96 with accessories. Also, the AT-ATs were miniature schnauzer dogs with metal suits (this is a lie).

It's not explicitly clear from the story that the fan was dressed as Darth Vader - surely Darth would not have been carrying such a clumsy, random weapon as a blaster. Unless a friend had asked him to look after it, but then again Darth Vader had no friends

That "Sith" is an anagram of "Shit"

"Episode IV was followed in 1980 by The Empire Strikes Back - arguably the best of the bunch. The subsequent films have attracted criticism for not actually being very good..."

I'll have you know that Episode VI was in fact the best. I won't have it bundled together in the mediocrity of I, II and III!

I believe the expression you are looking for is:

"The ewoks made Ja Ja Binks look like fucking Shaft!"

(Thankyou Messers Pegg and Bailey)

err...really?

if that blaster were functional, the guy would have vanished quite some time ago.

all the world's intelligence agencies would compete to bury the owner of next-gen destructive technology (without necessarily killing him first, they're not that picky), and grab the goods.

dealing with police would be the least of his problems.

this is an absurd, ignorant overreaction by law enforcement. as a US resident (many such silly twits here too), i am very impressed (unfavorably). as a Soviet expatriate, i am, again, very impressed (again, unfavorably).

is it possible to live in the English-speaking West and not recognize the iconic figure of Darth Vader ("please return forthwith to underside of rock you have recently vacated...")? is it reasonable to believe that a Star Wars blaster is a functional energy weapon, or a firearm, while still retaining sanity and sense? i have read that recent studies indicate a significantly higher statistical incidence of dementia and psychotic episodes among professional law enforcement, but this is a bit much.

when they do this sort of thing, they "protect and serve" whom, exactly?

Actually it was a good thing it happened in Victoria , OZ Downunder as the local cops would say it's easier to use the gun any time , however the paperwork regarding where the fired bullets went is a real killer!

However , in the UK , given the gung ho "fill em all full of lead" that is all pervasive , with all the local armed police squads , who are notoriously known for the unknown irregular "shoot to kill" without a warning on the first shot , then empty several pistols worth of bullets into the innocent victim at the same time , so the questions become somewhat redundant , the poor bugger would have been shot to death before he could have crossed "Trafalgar Square" in the UK!

Further these Armed UK Police Squads , have racked up an impressive score of innocent victims!

Strange times and even more stranger are the so called popular democratically elected government leaders , who routinely tell lies to both their own populace and the UN !

Now , in what country where were those so called "weapons of mass deception" hidden again? , perhaps our man Colin ( a former army major since promoted , who has more than a few well hidden Vietnam coverup skeletons in one closet) could be able to tell us?

The fictional blaster was a real fire-arm disguised as a fictional blaster?

Before I get my coat, the law classes anything as a fire-arm if it is used in a way as to cause distress and alarm in the way a real fire-arm would. (Masked Man + Possible Fire-arm + Arrest) = Good Policing.

... my PC seems to be infected by a virus that prepends the letters "h", "e", and "y" to his tag...

heystoopid, you are quite right, in the UK someone would have reported it as a suicide bomber dressed in a burkha carrying a gun.

The story has been skewed somewhat.

He was actually a stormtrooper and his name is Kim.

He belongs to the 501st Legion in Melbourne.

This explains having a replica blaster rifle.

You've run out of tin foil again haven't you.

call me a geek, but didnt darth vader say " dont underestimate the power of the dark side" not "the force"?

Fraser: Darth Vader surely died IN the hands of his son, but AT the hands of the Emperor?

I don't know what the blasters were made from, but the light sabres were based around flashguns for the Speed Graphic and MPP press cameras.

And my 5 year old son certainly thinks "Return of the Jedi" is the best of the bunch...