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New Star Wars TV Series Confirmed
merauder writes to tell us BBC News is reporting that the new Star Wars TV series is set to run at least 100 episodes. From the article: "The series will be set between episodes three and four of the film saga. It would cover the 20 years in the life of Luke Skywalker growing up that remains a mystery to most film-goers. McCallum said there would be 'a whole bunch of new characters' and the series would be 'much more dramatic and darker.'"
In my youth (prior to eighth grade), I read every Star Wars book out there. I think it was half way through the Young Jedi Academy series when I lost interest (Episode One was the final nail on the coffin of my fondness for Star Wars).
... although I'm prepared for some colorful replies in response to this post.
Now breathe and get everything out of your system about me being a nerd without a life. I was, in fact, a farmboy without a permit or vehicle
Kevin J. Anderson & Timothy Zahn could write a story. In their books, they expanded on what Lucas first saw. I read everything and loved the rich histories and futures laid out in the books for characters in the Star Wars universe. Sadly, none of these characters were in the new movies. None of the Jedi were cloned. Everything alluded to in the Thrawn (Zahn) Trilogy was omitted from episodes one through three. There was no talk of Spaarti cloning cylinders or Joruus C'Boath being cloned from Jorus C'Boath.
Why? Because although these books were licensed by Lucas, they were not official parts of the story. These works became known as the Star Wars Expanded Universe meaning characters not in the movies. This material expands and continues the stories told in the films, taking place anywhere from 4,968 years before The Phantom Menace to about 130 years after Return of the Jedi. In fact, some of the works (like the Dark Empire comics and Zahn's Trilogy) conflict directly with other works.
Don't be deceived, some of these works (like Children of the Jedi by Barbara Hambly) sucked. But I heavily suggest the Thrawn and Jedi Academy Trilogy if you want to read some of the better stories from the Expanded Universe.
I would like to say that I remain optimistic about what Lucas can still do with the Star Wars Universe. I believe that he has made mistakes in giving himself supreme veto power over what is shown or added in the movies and I think this attitude has ruined Star Wars for me somewhat. I wish that Lucas would open his mind to other ideas as some of these books have proven that there are other people out there capable of helping Lucas create story lines. I shudder to think that he might attempt to write all 100 episodes without the help of coauthors. It has been my experience that television shows with multiple authors are less likely to grow old. I also hope that Lucas has finally realized that his fans don't want hilarious/annoying Jar Jar Binks but instead want the drama and emotion of Episodes Three and Five.
Episode One left me disinterested. Star Wars Galaxies left me angry. Hopefully this series will win me back although I think a lot of us will have a hard time adapting to the new actors in old parts. I hope a large part of Luke's Youth is omitted as I cannot think of one young child actor I have liked.
My work here is dung.
Great! It should be about as interesting as Enterprise's first season. Yay!
Would a slashdot subscriber please look into the "mysterious future" to make sure that this won't get rolled back like Futurama?
Ah well, I never watched Star Trek anyway.
McCallum said there would be 'a whole bunch of new characters'
Meesa cries a bit at that ominous remark
I'm not going to watch it, unless Han shoots a new bounty hunter (first) at the opening of every single episode.
Only that will atone for Lucas's past sins.
> It would cover the 20 years in the life of Luke Skywalker growing up that remains a mystery to most film-goers.
Ah, I see - the years when Luke started out as a whiny, snot-nosed kid to, umm...
Well, I guess there's nothing to see here, I'll move along.
It would cover the 20 years in the life of Luke Skywalker growing up that remains a mystery to most film-goers
I thought the whole point of the opening on Tattooine was that Luke was bored to tears on his home planet, and that his whole life up until this point was a choice between tendin' to the vaporators and picking up power converters at Tosche Station.
That said, if he hated his life enough to consider signing up for the Imperial military, why would it be of any interest at all to us?
You thought moisture farming was fun and exciting before, wait until you see it in HD! Plus, I can't wait to see a permiere for the new season of the O.C. during the last five minutes of a Star Wars television episode!
Bryan R.
The price of freedom is eternal vigilance, or $12.50 as seen on eBay.....
It will be interesting to see if they create the new characters with the ultimate eye towards plot development or whether they are simply created in order to sell merchandise.
Given Lucas' focus in the last 5 years, I'd guess merchandising.
"Chances of RHIC-induced Armageddon are exceedingly rare, but... you never know." - MIT Physicist Bob Jaffe
luke just hung out on his uncle's farm. if he actually did anything interesting, that would fly in the face of everything he says and does in ep 4.
It's hard to believe that's how Micronians are made. Why don't we see it right now by having you both kiss one another?
Star Wars stopped being "art" when the first Star Wars Happy Meal was sold.
I feel A New Pessimism about the story that leads to A New Hope.
It seems like a silly timeframe for a star wars show. Jedis when theyre hiding, luke when he doesn't know anything about the force, dark side ruling without any serious opposition.. The way they described it makes it sound like there won't even be any light sabers.
Seems like theyre trying to clone the success of Smallville, except Superman found out his powers on his own-- Luke didn't know about them until taught.
Attack of the clones, indeed.
Pain lasts, kid. Its how you know you're alive. Sometimes I think this growing up thing is just pain management-TheMaxx
"But I was going to [location] to pick up some [items]!"
</whine>
ad nauseum
of... what exactly?
20 years of Luke growing up? Call me crazy, but Episode IV points to Luke's childhood being quite boring, comparatively. It sounds as if he raced a lot, argued with his parents, and generally did "kid stuff" with little to no understanding of precisely what the force was and only the ocassional trip beyond the confines of his farm to spice things up. His caretakers obviously were not on the run to avoid detection, as he was dropped off at the same place he grew up and left in Episode IV.
I think this will turn quickly into Lucas's "Smallville" and, as such, fail to connect with "true" fans.
The long, slow, painful death of Jar-Jar should make for a great first season... but what are they going to do for the second season?
I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
Will Wheaton is too old to play the part now! ;)
--Not to be worried, Pitr fix.
Each episode of the new starwars movies was supposed to be 'darker' then the last, and each one was ridiculous.
Still, if it means that someone else will be doing the directing, it will have to be an improvement.
autopr0n is like, down and stuff.
Everyone remembers how wonderful the previous starwars TV shows have been. I hope this lives up to the brilliance of "droids", and the Christmas special. I would like to see a "Luke in the Middle" sitcom style... except without any brothers... perhaps they could adopt a jawa.
later on, it could morph into a "the OC" style show, set in Mos Eisley... "the ME"
'Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader' shows that there's still plenty of mileage in Vader's post ROTS and pre-New Hope years. Hunting down rogue Jedi, dealing with the rebel resistance etc - more fun than Luke Skywalker's life would be.
It would cover the 20 years in the life of Luke Skywalker growing up that remains a mystery to most film-goers.
I am confused - just HOW much of a mystery could his life have been? Growing up on the moisture farm, rise early to avoid the heat, dust off the droids, whine to Uncle Ben, lots of sand on Tattoine...
Lucas should not milk this cow any longer, prequels are not his strength! I'd root for something that picked up twenty years after Ep VI, the books are full of the political intrigue and scandal Lucas adored so much for Ep's I, II, and III...
Ok, maybe even that would suck.
Try not. Do... or do not. There is no try. ~Yoda
Like a side story, just bringing him into the story.
That type of character is what was missing from #1-3.
People aren't just good or bad, some people walk the line between the two.
Does that mean that even more people will have their hands amputated? What does Lucas have against hands anyway?
"The White House is not an intelligence-gathering agency," -- Scott McClellan, Whitehouse spokesman.
I wish they would just leave the entire storyline of the movies out of it. The universe he has created is so textured and interesting- why do we need to see Young Skywalker? Can't we just go to a new world and witness all new characters struggle with life under the Empire? More forced connections to the films just makes the narrative clumsy and self concious. Let's see an action series about a rebel resistance group, or the exploits of a Han Solo type anti-hero/outlaw (Oh wait, that was Firefly).
Rather than post and post, about why this is a fucking stupid idea. Lets just all post the words:
Worst. Idea. Ever.
And mod each other +5 insightful.
http://skeptobot.blogspot.com/ - A site for the Renaissance man and woman
A TV Series would be a perfect opportunity for this idea.
Actually, I was trying to be Insightful, not Funny.
"Next week, New Found Glory guest stars on a very special Star Wars...."
... and I'm not the only one, see paragraph 6: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/03/15/star_wars_ tv_spin_off/
If Lucas mostly keeps his hands off of this it will be good. Lucas is really good when it comes to the big picture view of the Star Wars universe. He did a fantastic job of creating this rich world with all kinds of potential. But if you look at the output from his work, the more involved he is with the movie, the more it sucks, generally speaking.
:)
What is the best Star Wars movie of all time? Empire Strikes Back, the one he had the least involvement in. Lucas is bad at writing and directing. He really struggles to bring any sense of emotion to the characters. Whenever you see emotion it feels like Soap Opera camp. You look at the stilted dialogue of Padme and Anakin in Episode 2 and 3 and it's just painful.
So I believe that if Lucas is willing to keep his hands mostly off of this project and let it become it's own thing it stands a chance of not sucking. But it does fascinate me how things have come full circle. Star Wars set a bar and Battlestar Galactica came out shortly after trying to meet that bar and failing quite specatcularly. Now Star Wars comes to television and we have a very high bar set by Battlestar Galactica for what a sci-fi television show can be. Can Star Wars hold up? Probably not, but there's always hope I guess
This sig has been temporarily disconnected or is no longer in service
If the photo accompanying the BBC article is any clue, Lucas is working hard to transform himself so he can guest star as Jabba in the series.
I have a bad feeling about this.
When you get to hell -- tell 'em Itchy sent ya!
Why not track the story of how Leah became a key player in the Alliance. More on her and her family on Alderan would be more entertaining than anything about Luke.
Or Grand Moff Tarkan and the construction of the Death Star.
Or Han Solo and Chewey smuggling and fighting bounty hunters, or AS bounty hunters. Throw in a little Lando. Works every time...
Or Boba Fett's adventures as a bounty hunter, and perhaps an akward relationship with Vader.
Or the further slauter of Jedi by Darth Vader. Have him track down Jedi and kick the crap out of them. Show him get more and more evil. This can be be supplimented with yoda training a few of the better Jedi that are fugitive.
Any of this is better than tracking Luke or Obi-Wan. Putting Luke into forced adventures on Tatooine will really ruin the whole story, it doesn't fit well with A New Hope.
Hmm...somehow, I think this is going to end up very similar to "Smallville." Luke had no knowledge of his abilities before Obi-Wan Kenobi told him. Although there is a plethora of non-canonical information on what exactly happened before Episode 4, is it really going to keep Star Wars fans entertained? I have my doubts, I'd rather see a show about Leia's childhood, or perhaps a show dealing with both.
If you can read this, it means that I bothered to log in.
Luke is the last character we wanna see as an adolescent. C'mon, he was a farmer on a desert planet, snore. Even leia would be more interesting. Her dad was a senetor in the imperial senate. And anyone whos read the illustrated starwars universe knows how kickass alderran is. The character that me, and im sure everyone else would like to see grow up between epIII and IV... Boba Fett. C'mon, his father gets killed in front of him, thats gonna make for an extra angsty teen. From kid to the biggest badass in the universe. Now that would be a cool show. Not Dawsons Creek with landspeeders and Jawas like this is gonna be.
"Sic Semper Tyrannosaurus Rex."
I wonder if there will be an "amnesia" plot device that has made the E4 Luke forget all the "Young Indiana Jones" mis-adventures set for this series? I mean wamp rats and moisture farming on a desert planet would make such an interesting show and all, but they're gonna have to punch it up and figure out a way to tie into "A New Hope."
Maybe Lucas can just finally move on to another universe outside of Star Wars now that he's milked it dry.
I might know what I'm talkin' about, but then again, this is Slashdot...
I was in a similar boat, but with Trek instead of Wars. Bought and read every single paperback that came out, starting with Blish's novelizations of the TV eps, then moving to Alan Dean Foster's novelizations of the animated series, then all the other paperbacks up to about #100 or so, when I finally gave up.
Some of these, especially later ones, sucked really REALLY hard. But there were some landmark books in this series with some solid writing and adult tones and themes.
FASA latched on to some of this material for their Trek-based role playing game, but Paramount explicitly ignored it when they did Next Gen... and it was around that time that the quality of the writing did an absolute nose-dive and they became downright juvenile.
Shortly thereafter, I "grew out" of Trek, and with a couple of exceptions (a few Next Gen eps, and most of DS9) the quality of the work being produced validated that decision.
Somewhere I've got a big box full of Trek paperbacks. I wonder what they'd fetch on EBay?
DG
Want to learn about race cars? Read my Book
I predict that by the time episode 100 premieres, Lucas will have already re-released heavily re-edited "Special Editions" of episodes 1-47.
Slashdot Burying Stories About Slashdot Media Owned
jar jar binks die at the beginning of every episode, where by the beginning, i mean everything before the closing credits. each week, we are shown new and creative ways for jar jar to die slowly and painfully. For the first episode, I propose the use of any combination of at least 4 of the following: chain saws with dull rusty teeth, bolt cutters, horse syringes, ewoks, various acids and bases, hot molten stuff, pixie cups, and/or freddy kreuger.
In the second season, they kill George Lucas.
That's something I'd be far more interested to see. The history of Han Solo leading up to ANH. Luke, as has been said everywhere, was a boring farm boy on a backwater planet. Han Solo was a riotous space cowboy smuggling for the Fetts. His story would be far more interesting.
Besides, Han is about the only character from the original trilogy whose ancestry/history/whatever aren't talked about in the prequels already...
-Forrest Cameranesi, Geek of all Trades
"I am Sam. Sam I am. I do not like trolls, flames, or spam."
http://www.themovieblog.com/archives/2004/10/star_ wars_tv_series_a_go.html o n/f20050419/indexp17.html
and
http://www.iesb.net/tv/tvt92804.htm
and
http://www.starwars.com/community/event/celebrati
not to say that lucas won't decide to do everything himself, but i'm hopeful
-Eric
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
Ack... revoke my geek card and s/Fetts/Hutts. Gah.
-Forrest Cameranesi, Geek of all Trades
"I am Sam. Sam I am. I do not like trolls, flames, or spam."
Timothy Zahn came first, and wrote that part of Vader's history, and Lucas screwed it up.
Oh yeah, George Lucas really screwed things up by not having Anakin in his 20~30's when Episode 1 came around. Timothy Zahn is a great storyteller, but in terms of timeline continuity, you can't fault George Lucas for overriding Timothy Zahn.
Pre-Episode 1, 2 and 3 stories + Anakin != Blame George Lucas
Seriously, the guy places his stories PRIOR to Episodes 1, 2 and 3 and you blame George Lucas for the inconsistancies? Timothy Zahn flat-out screwed up in using Darth Vader in his stories. Anyone who watched the original Episodes 4, 5 and 6 knew Episodes 1, 2 and 3 would simply be 'how it all started' stories. (Where did the Emperor came from? What happened to the Jedis? Where did the stormtroopers come from? How is Darth Vader Luke's father? Etc.)
You (and a number of other posters) seem to be highly critical of my grade school interests. Isn't it amazing that low grade science fiction is entertaining to someone who has to geld piglets and pick rock? Hell, Kilgore Trout would have satisfied me then. Now I read James Joyce, Herman Hesse or any number of various real authors. That's not to say I fail to recognize my roots in reading.
Do I feel like a smarter person now? Do I reject reading and liking Star Wars paperbacks on the grounds that they're literary trash? Not at all. I remember them. I remember liking them. And I always will. Laugh and jeer all you want, I'll defend Anderson because he gave me something to enjoy as a kid.
Call me crazy but I'll also always find the original Tetris to be more sacred than any religious work due to the amount of time I invested in stacking bricks. It was like
So go ahead and trounce Kevin J. Anderson and Stephen King and Michael Chrichton and a number of other authors I read in grade school. I'm not really concerned about what literary snobs have to say about them. I don't care if you think Madeline L'Engle, Ray Bradbury, Brian Jacques or Laura Ingals Wilder suck as authors, I still love them--even though I've met people here and there that have a good time picking them apart and laughing at their simple plot lines.
My work here is dung.
It'll be like the Dukes of Hazzard... In Space. Luke & Biggs Duke. I can almost hear the song. Just the good old boys never meanin no harm... They steal Uncle Owen's land speeder and always get in trouble with the local dim witted imperials. Those crazy kids. Tuskan Raiders/Jawas/Hutts/Wamprats loads of fun for the whole family. How many times will the Blue Milk gag work? I started of in sarcastic mode now I'm looking forward to seeing it. oh well...
TODO create witty sig.
Darth Vader: "I see you have constructed a new lightsaber." Luke: "That's right. And I power it with new Duracell Ultra-Life Batteries." Darth Vader: "I see. wwwwhoooor poooooow" Luke: "You sound a bit congested. Why don't you try new Lemon-Flavor Beecham's Flu Powder?" Darth Vader: "I will, but later my son. Now I must text the Emperor on my new Blackberry 7100r." etc etc
It's called Clone Wars and was animated by Genndy Tartovsky. Mace Windu and Yoda were badass. Even Anakin was cool. Yeah, here's hoping Lucas will give control to someone as talented as Tartovsky.
Great, we're going to see Berman try to recreate what people think is American teen culture (The OC, Fast'n'Furious, Clerks) on Tatooine using Luke Skywalker instead of Superman.
Watch Luke drag race his tricked-out Accura Skyhopper in Beggar's Canyon.
Watch Luke not get any at the Lookoff.
Watch Luke pine about the girl he never gets (who looks mysteriously like his sister) while some girl (probably a strong-willed red head) pines about Luke.
Watch Luke avoid disaster after disaster while the mysterious Imperial Governor's son lurks around and insists he and Luke are best friends.
I was going to say that Luke would battle giant carnivorous beavers but I don't think he's going to even get that close to getting any.
That is the sound of my childhood crying out as it is abused again and again.
They also released a synopsis of the first few episodes:
1 - Luke helps out on the farm, collecting moisture for the harvest.
2 - Luke helps out on the farm, collecting moisture for the harvest.
3 - Luke helps out on the farm, collecting moisture for the harvest.
4 - Luke helps out on the farm, fixing the family landspeeder.
5 - Treadwell goes on a rampage, and Luke and Owen have to put him down.
Sounds like gallons of fun.
Jar Jar: "Ooo, Meesa horny! Whe'r da white woman at!"
"We shall party like the Greeks of old! You know the ones I mean." - HedonismBot
It seems only natural that the adolescent antics of a farm boy would be darker and more dramatic than his subsequent struggle to free the galaxy from the tyrannical grip of his father and an evil wizard.
(I want to drown George Lucas in Rick McCallum's blood.)
-Peter
Stackpole was pretty good (the X-Wing/Rogue Squadron series is the best Star Wars I've read aside from Zahn), I tried reading one of Anderson's books and it was pretty bad. Zahn's are definitely the best of the Star Wars books by far (and his other books are pretty damn good, too - try the Conquerors series, or Icarus Hunt). I remember when Heir to the Empire came out, it was just awesome - it was the first non-Lucas Star Wars book out there (that I'm aware of) and it was very well written. Zahn has consistently lived up to it, alhtough I have to say his latest book in the Star Wars universe wasn't nearly as good. Outbound Flight just felt rushed, and a littel bit stilted - but part of that might be due to Zahn trying more to fit in with episodes I-III. The parts where Zahn stays with his own characters (Thrawn, etc.) are much better than the parts where he includes Ben and Anakin et al.
That said, it is still a hell of a lot better than most of the Star Wars crap that is out there now. The whole "expanded universe" thing is really, really lame - if there was ever a case of "Too many cooks ruins the soup", it is Star Wars (at least the books - the movies, strangely enough, seem to exhibit the reverse).
On a somewhat related note, Give Me Another Tie Fighter (or X-Wing - I loved those games)!
Actually I am not sure if Empire is better, or Clone Wars season 2 - really a whole movie by itself, and a damn good one.
One of them is a close second to the other, at any rate.
That the Clone Wars project was so good is further proof of your statemnent that Star Wars TV will be pretty successful if Lucas backs away from it a bit.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
Bail Organa & Mon Mothma stirring the seeds of rebellion.
Man, using metaphors is not rocket surgery.
Yeah, whatever. When the prequels were in the queue, this is what they said about them. They'd be more dramatic. Darker. Lucas was even going to pitch the familiar theme music and do something different. It all sounded wonderfully original and artistic until somebody said, "George, nobody wants that. People want the same score, the same movies all over again." So George, 20 years older and basically living off the technology royalties from ILM, having not written anything worth watching (note that Indiana Jones is basically a really awful movie that is saved by an enchanting combination of a fun score, the kinetic influence of Spielberg, and chemistry among the actors), writes Episode 1. I don't want to rehash the myriad complaints about Star Wars, but Episodes 1-3 were supposed to be "much darker". Well, the watered-down scene where Anakin kills the Tusken raiders elicited a yawn from me. I still get uneasy watching the scene of Han Solo of being tortured for no reason other than the Empire delights in torture. "They never even asked me any questions." Yeah, they do'nt care, they just enjoy inflicting pain and suffering. Then Lando walks through the corridors of his city arguing with Vader with the sounds of Solo screaming in inhumane pain behind him ... that's dark. Nothing about Anakin's fall from grace was dark. It barely even made sense, nor did Padme's perplexing passion for him. The films were written by a guy in his 60's who has clearly forgotten whatever he once knew about the passionate love of youth.
So now they're going to make a "darker" TV series. Well, bullshit. Sorry. Their last attempt at "darker" gave us the slapstick antics of Jar Jar Binks flopping around a virtual soundstage and spouting sentence fragments and stepping in crap and tripping over shit and basically irritating the hell out of everybody.
There's also a tendancy among bad writers to assume that "dark = deep". If I'm really depressing and dark and morbid and whatever, it means I'm deep and insightful and consumed by the pain that wracks our world in shuddering convulsions, blah blah. This misattribution of insight to misery is probably what fuels the Goth kids. Easy to sit around hating the world and thinking you're above it all simply because you're unhappy. Anyway, when I read, "this is goign to be dark" I hear, "weighty subject matter is going to substitute for insightful writing."
But I'm cynical.
"I have never won a debate with an ignorant person." -Ali ibn Abi Talib
Actually, I can think of an even worse idea: 101 episodes.
Too much of the character's development in ANH starts with the premise of Luke as an inexperienced farmboy.
There won't be any conflict... The series will just be "Little House on the Tatooine Prairie".
Isn't that missing the point that vadar built C3PO? I'd recognise everything I ever built. Even if I built it from a kit that half a million other kids used. There's always a scratch or badly done part that I'll recall a story about or something.