Being the sci-fi geek I am, I recently watched the entire Star Wars series on DVD. Again. And it struck me that George Lucas has a penchant for severed limbs. Seriously, in almost every movie, at least one character loses a hand or limb.

I don't think that I'm being OCD about this, because most other movies I watch don't have quite so many body parts hitting the ground. To make sure I wasn't imagining things, I compiled this handy list:

Star Wars I: Phantom Menace
Well, nobody lost limbs in this one. That I could see.

Star Wars II: Revenge of the Sith

• Obi-Wan cuts off bar patron's hand.
• Count Dooku cuts off Annikin's arm.

Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith
This one is a veritable limb-fest.

• Annikin cuts off both of Count Dooku's hands.
• A battle droid loses both arms aboard the ship.
• Annikin cuts off Mace Windu's hand.
• Obi-Wan cuts off Annikin's real arm. Then both legs.

Star Wars IV: A New Hope

• Tuskan raider rips off C3-P0's arm.
• Obi-Wan cuts off bar patron's arm (this is becoming a habit with him).

Star Wars V: Empire Strikes Back

• Luke cuts off the snow creature's arm.
• C3-P0 loses all limbs off-screen.
• Darth Vader cuts off Luke's hand.

Star Wars VI: Return of the Jedi

• Luke cuts off Vader's hand.

So there's my handy (heh!) list of lopped limbs. I put this question to George Lucas: What is your fascination with dismemberment? I should watch Lucas' other movies. Did anyone lose limbs in the Indiana Jones movies? Or maybe American Graffiti?