It just impacted on the surface

So I am watching the last 20 minutes of "Star Wars" in high definition on HBO. It looks great, even if Peter Cushing looks ghoulish and Carrie Fisher has too much blush.

I have seen this sequence dozens of times, but it finally occurred to me what is weird about it: The rebels attacking the Death Star consist of a bunch of pasty and pudgy white chumps and one shaggy-haired kid. No women. Of course, most of the pasty guys die, and the kid is the hero.

Would it have hurt George Lucas to include a woman in that squadron? Sure, Princess Leia shows some spirit — and firepower — earlier in the movie, but she's relegated to listening and watching as the Death Star assault unfolds. She's a bystander at the most crucial time. At the very least, she could have led the briefing about how the attack would be done.

Maybe Lucas could change this for the next "edition."