Star Wars To Air As Animated Sitcom

The Bastard writes "As if the Star Wars Holiday Special and Jar-Jar weren't insulting enough to fans, George Lucas has decided to turn the franchise into an animated sitcom. I have a bad feeling about this." The article says that Seth Green is involved, which either sets off your late April Fool's Day alarm, immeasurable dread, or excitement.

Comments

Let me guess.

[Anonymous Coward]

Seth Green will be a... Seth Lord.

Re:Let me guess.

[Sark666]

bah, clicked overrated by mistake...

on the up side

[butterflysrage]

It can't get much worse without showing up on MST3K.

Re:on the up side

[Yamata no Orochi]

MST3K was cancelled like 10 years ago.

Re:on the up side

[oracleofbargth]

If it's bad enough, I'm sure they'll add it in retrotemporicontinuitively. The time line can only take so much abuse without modifying itself to make fun of something that horrid.

Re:on the up side

[Anonymous Coward]

MST3K was cancelled like 10 years ago.

Don't worry, on the MST3K Special Edition versions they are going to digitally add in the Star Wars serials.

Re:on the up side

[dan_sdot]

Along the lines of MST3K, everyone should check out this long criticism of The Phantom Menace:

http://www.blancscreencinema.com/redlettermedia/phantom_menace.html

But be prepared: it is 70 minutes long. That's right... 7 ten-minute youtube videos.

It is impossible to explain to you why you should ever care about watching a movie criticism that is close to half the length of the movie itself. So all I can say is.... just watch the first video (or just half of the first video), and I'm pretty sure you will get it.

(And there is now an Episode II review up as well)

Re:on the up side

[ZekoMal]

It has. They all have, including the Holiday Special. It's called Rifftrax; brought to you by Mike, Kevin (Servo), and Bill (later season's Crow).

http://www.rifftrax.com/

Re:on the up side

[natehoy]

Yes. Sort of.

Mike Nelson, Bill Corbett, and Kevin Murphy are still around. They make MP3 audio tracks that can be played in sync with movies, instead of having to deal with licensing issues with altering the movies themselves. Their work can be found at rifftrax.com. It's usually a few bucks per track. You rent the movie and play it, and play the MP3 at the same time, and you still get great one-liners like "Honey Bunches... OF DEATH!" (<-- all time favorite MST3K line ever).

You have to provide your own cardboard cutout to stick on your computer screen if you want one.

Re:on the up side

[SwordsmanLuke]

There are Riff Trax for all of the Star Wars movies.

Re:on the up side

[bonch]

Couldn't sit through the annoying voice and lame for longer than 30 seconds. Confused Matthew's reviews of the prequels were shorter and funnier.

Re:on the up side

[Conspiracy_Of_Doves]

MST3K/Phantom Menace you say?

Re:on the up side

[Anonymous Coward]

Cool advertisement, bro.

MST3K was still canceled 10 years ago.

Re:on the up side

[TheRaven64]

Shorter, maybe. Funnier? Not a chance. I'm four minutes into Confused Matthew's review. He's said some stupid things, but nothing funny yet. I'll keep watching, but by this point in the RedLetterMedia review, I was laughing aloud. I suggest that you give it more than thirty seconds before making a judgement - if I'd only given the Confused Matthew review that long then I wouldn't even have passed the irritating intro - and realise that the reviews are delivered in character and that the voice is part of this.

Re:on the up side

[Cornflake917]

The people who did the commentary in MST3K are still making fun of movies. Look up "RiffTrax" on google. They have indeed made fun of all 6 episodes of Star Wars as well as the Star Wars holiday special.

Re:on the up side

[Yamata no Orochi]

Yes, I am aware. MS

Re:on the up side

[Yamata no Orochi]

-T3K was still canceled 10 years ago.

*: Curse you, javascript.

I Guess That's About All That's Left

[eldavojohn]

From the official site there's an announcement from April 5th. Probably not a late April Fools joke.

After Robot Chicken and Family Guy's parodies of Star Wars, I guess Lucas knows what the fans want: humor. And let's face it, they were funny. At least for me anyway. Star Wars used to be a religion to me until Phantom Menace. I distanced myself and have since had plenty of time to recover. Even though I had read all the expanded universe material in my youth and could recite from memory more about an Aqualish than even Wikipedia would tolerate (hooray for retroactive continuity!), I found Robot Chicken's sketch of Ponda Baba's Bad Day hilarious. Laugh for ten minutes hilarious. Re-enact for my friends hilarious.

And it saddens me that all he has left is humor. I mean, I'd rather see both serious material and humor. Futurama had a great way of making fun of itself but also baking in really serious themes that made me love it. I hope Star Wars manages to maintain some sort of integrity through all this. I agree with what the quotes said about this being a large intricate universe with a lot to work with. And I had always been hoping for a TV show similar to the Tales from ... series in both short story and comic book form. I mean, you have a whole invented universe just sitting there waiting for writers to discover new intricacies with it. And, aside from the expanded universe, all we've gotten in approved cannon is three really bad movies and some decent kids shows. Where are the Grand Admiral Thrawns and Admiral Daalas? Where is the fleshing out of a background story for each of the aliens you see in Mos Eisley and Jabba's Palace? Confined to books I guess. I just don't understand why TV writers haven't been solicited to explore the Star Wars universe in the same way the expanded universe books have. Sure some have been trash (Barbara Hambly's Children of the Jedi) but you'd think someone could write a really neat story line with new villains, new force sensitives and new characters that are distantly related to the movies.

Re:I Guess That's About All That's Left

[the Dragonweaver]

The comic books Star Wars Tales are pretty good; for example, one did a spoof of Judge Judy with the Emperor in the judge's seat, Darth Vader as the bailiff, and Hans Solo on trial for shooting Greedo. If they went that way, I could see it as being good.

That being said, the chances of them doing comedy in a way different than, say, Jar Jar are slim to none. That's not comedy as much as really bad slapstick, and given recent history, that's what they'll go for. Pity.

Re:I Guess That's About All That's Left

[GrumblyStuff]

Big fan of Futurama here. Was a fan of Family Guy until it was brought back. Never been a fan of Robot Chicken.

I can't imagine what sort of take they'll give it especially with Seth Green involved. Could Darth Vader do anything funny? Or is it just going to follow Luke growing up and dealing with being some sand farmer? Or, ooh ooh, will it just be in the same universe but following a completely new cast?!

I think that if the Jar-Jar and droid humor from 1-3 is any measure, it's gonna be baaaaad.

Re:I Guess That's About All That's Left

[Anonymous Coward]

Who knew that George Lucas was having money problems after his stint with Bernie Madoff

Re:I Guess That's About All That's Left

[e2d2]

Your lack of faith in the star wars franchise is disturbing. [force choke]

Re:I Guess That's About All That's Left

[MightyMartian]

After Robot Chicken and Family Guy's parodies of Star Wars, I guess Lucas knows what the fans want: humor.

What the fans want is the prequels rewritten and refilmed with good actors, compelling storylines, characters you can give a shit about, and most importantly, no Jar-Jar or midichlorians. As well, to reverse the pathetic attempt to rewrite Han as a total good guy be reinstitating the wanton and totally justified murder of Greedo (if anyone short of Jesus Christ was in Han's shoes, they would have shot first too).

Star Wars was an incredible space opera-fantasy mashup universe that has always had a serious flaw, and that's Lucas himself. As a sort of idea man, he's pretty good, but he's always had this knack for soiling his own bed, and the prequels are by far the best example of how Lucas just screwed the pooch. The latest animated series is bad on every level. It wouldn't surprise me at all if he was completely selling out now.

What Star Wars really needs is for Lucas to give up control, let someone else take over, and maybe bring out a new trilogy that returns the movies to the feel of the original trilogy.

Re:I Guess That's About All That's Left

[commodore64_love]

I suspect Star Wars during the Republic years would make a good Star Trek-style TV show, however television execs seem to have turned against science fiction. Ever since Star Trek was canceled they act as if audiences are sick of scifi, and now the only people producing new stuff is Syfy(lis) Channel.

Re:I Guess That's About All That's Left

[just_another_sean]

I'm not sure how I feel about this, will wait and see. However the Star Wars special that Robot Chicken did was hilarious. If you see it you will no longer need to ask "Could Darth Vader do anything funny?". And I'm not talking giant helmets here, I mean a good, satirical look at something that so many of us took so seriously as kids.

But then again that was a one shot, 30 minute special; I have a hard time imagining they can get a whole, multi-season series out of it. Again, wait and see!

Oh and ditto on both Futurama and Family Guy.

Re:I Guess That's About All That's Left

[ArcherB]

I can't imagine what sort of take they'll give it especially with Seth Green involved.

Watch some of the old Robot Chicken Star Wars skits. Well worth it.

Could Darth Vader do anything funny?

Yes! See above.

THIS is by far my favorite one.

"What the F#$@ is an aluminum falcon?"

Re:I Guess That's About All That's Left

[schm0]

Is this the "TV show" that has been in the pipelines forever? A @#!*#ing cartoon?!

Re:I Guess That's About All That's Left

[BJ_Covert_Action]

Where are the Grand Admiral Thrawns and Admiral Daalas?

More importantly, where is Mara Jade in a skimpy kick-ass undercover dancer's uniform? Don't get me wrong, Leia looked good in gold, but you just can't beat the idea of a piss-and-vinegar redhead in similar attire.

For that matter, let's throw Admiral Daala into that skimpy dancer's uniform mix too. Just for good measure.

Re:I Guess That's About All That's Left

[Captain Splendid]

What the fans want is the prequels rewritten and refilmed with good actors, compelling storylines, characters you can give a shit about, and most importantly, no Jar-Jar or midichlorians.

Uh yeah, good luck with that.

Don't get me wrong, I was as annoyed at the prequels as anyone else who had an actual social life, but shit, man, let's move on. The prequels sucked. It was almost a decade ago. Let it go.

Re:I Guess That's About All That's Left

[Tetsujin]

I found Robot Chicken's sketch of Ponda Baba's Bad Day hilarious. Laugh for ten minutes hilarious. Re-enact for my friends hilarious.

Perfect! Second post, looks like, and you've cited the Ponda Baba bit... That's one of my favorites, too - and to me really shows the potential of what Seth Green's talking about in the article - the mundane aspects of the characters' lives...

Re:I Guess That's About All That's Left

[FrigBot]

Hmm, I read most of that stuff too. Gave up about 10 years ago as it was getting to be too much.

Anyway this announcement reminds me of the South Park episode from last year, or the year before, about the new Indiana Jones movie. With George Lucas and Steven Spielberg butt-raping Indiana Jones. This new sitcom is all that this is about: raping the franchise for whatever more profit they can squeeze out of it and dumping the carcass.

Re:I Guess That's About All That's Left

[jellomizer]

Well if you took off the nostalgia blinders you can see that episodes 4,5,6 were bad too. Campy acting and a basic storyline... Heck I would credit the fall of the empire not to Luke Skywalker but to Admiral Ackbar for his keen military leadership.

Part of the problem is after people became nostalgic to Star Wars the new stuff just didn't seem up to par. Jar-Jar wouldn't be so bad if R2D2 and C3PO wasn't there. Also I think if Anakin Skywalker was more like Kirk in the new Star Trek movie, (where you can sence a dark side but you still root for him)

Re:I Guess That's About All That's Left

[Tetsujin]

Never been a fan of Robot Chicken.

I can't imagine what sort of take they'll give it especially with Seth Green involved.

"Robot Chicken Star Wars" may give you an idea of what Seth Green has in mind.

Could Darth Vader do anything funny?

If you mean "is it possible for Darth Vader to do anything funny?", I think the answer is definitely yes. Vader's built up to such legendary status that there's huge potential in undermining that reputation. Best example from Robot Chicken is probably Vader calling the Emperor to explain that the Death Star was destroyed (though Vader's not seen in that bit - we see the Emperor's side of the conversation...) As for whether they're going to do that... Don't know...

Re:I Guess That's About All That's Left

[MightyMartian]

I think it was David Brin who tore Lucas a new one over the (lack of) plotting in Episode VI. Episode IV, if approached as a campy 70s film with awesome special effects and a kick-ass space battle, is pretty good. Episode V, if for no other reason than the whole "I'm your father" aspect is still the dramatic high point of the series, though on rewatching, I find the first half of the film really drags and my temptation to fast forward through the whole Hoth sequence is very great. Still, it's a lot more even an affort than any of the other films.

Re:I Guess That's About All That's Left

[jedidiah]

Except the old Star Wars was not nearly as bad.

Plus, as George freely admitted to 40 years ago the middle trilogy represented a "simpler and more commercial storyline".

Thus the fall of the Republic requires a more Kazdan and less Lucas.

Many of us were expecting this.

Re:I Guess That's About All That's Left

[Anonymous Coward]

What the F*** is an Aluminum Falcon?

You should really see the Robot Chicken Star Wars special.

Re:I Guess That's About All That's Left

[camperdave]

Oh Jeez! He's crying

Re:I Guess That's About All That's Left

[Anonymous Coward]

One-shot 30 minute special? They made a second.

And both Family Guy Star Wars specials were great.

Re:I Guess That's About All That's Left

[Weaselmancer]

My favorite Robot Chicken bit is Boba Fett. It just destroys me. Especially this bit.

Absolutely killed me first time I saw it. Wiping tears away pointing at the screen.

Re:I Guess That's About All That's Left

[Weaselmancer]

You serve your master well. And you will be rewarded.

Re:I Guess That's About All That's Left

[Anonymous Coward]

As well, to reverse the pathetic attempt to rewrite Han as a total good guy be reinstitating the wanton and totally justified murder of Greedo (if anyone short of Jesus Christ was in Han's shoes, they would have shot first too).

I'm not sure you understand what wanton means.

Re:I Guess That's About All That's Left

[Anonymous Coward]

Meesa Likesa chokie-chokie. Yousa so kinky!

Re:I Guess That's About All That's Left

[Ubergrendle]

I call BS. There's alot of good dramas from the 1970s, but in terms of epics and sci-fi... Star Wars is among the best. These movies brought SF to the mainstream, had a broad appeal to many ages, and yes I'll argue it was well acted. If you compare Star Wars to its contemporaries in any genre, it was a fantastically well done film. The trench run alone is among the best action sequences of all time. The first movie works as a stand alone product. The Empire Strikes Back is a transitional film, but it definitely ugprades the mood, tone, and seriousness of the content. It has strong synergies with Die Valkure and Siegfried in terms of theme. It works as a straight forward SF / action film, but also has deeper themes if you're willing to look. I recently re-watched these films with my sons, and I was *surprised* at how good the movies were; they were BETTER than i remembered.

Re:I Guess That's About All That's Left

[Golddess]

Have you even seen the Star Wars sketches on Robot Chicken? Admittedly, I have no proof that they won't just do more like Jar Jar, but why bring in Seth Green then?

Re:I Guess That's About All That's Left

[The Archon V2.0]

Could Darth Vader do anything funny?

Toss Jar Jar in an airlock and cycle it.

See? Vader can do something funny without even BEING funny.

Re:I Guess That's About All That's Left

[BobMcD]

That's exactly the trouble with removing the nostalgia blinders, and the Parent knew it when he issued the challenge. It is as if to say, "compare the originals to modern films and you'll find them lacking also - this is totally fair."

Re:I Guess That's About All That's Left

[game kid]

More importantly, where is Mara Jade in a skimpy kick-ass undercover dancer's uniform? Don't get me wrong, Leia looked good in gold, but you just can't beat the idea of a piss-and-vinegar redhead in similar attire.

Fuck yeah. Given this announcement and the whole Jar Jar thing, they might as well just appeal to our (well, my) prurient interests already.

Re:I Guess That's About All That's Left

[kainewynd2]

What the fans want is the prequels rewritten and refilmed with good actors

The sad part is that almost all of those actors ARE good actors. Natalie Portman is *amazing* as is Ewan McGregor and even Hayden Christensen is pretty solid in every other role except Anakin Skywalker.

It's really sad, actually... it could have been so good...

Re:I Guess That's About All That's Left

[Anonymous Coward]

Where is the fleshing out of a background story for each of the aliens you see in Mos Eisley and Jabba's Palace?

In my opinion, if you want to see a terrifying amount of detail lavished on every frame of the original trilogy—and you're excluding fan fiction—you can't do better than the old Star Wars Customizable Card Game. The one by Decipher, not the later one by Wizards of the Coast. If you download the "Holotable" program that die-hards use to play the game nowadays, you can still browse all the cards. To keep printing new cards over a run of six years, they scraped every last bit of material out of the original trilogy, and Phantom Menace, like a starving man licking bean paste from the inside of the can.

Re:I Guess That's About All That's Left

[h_thrilz]

Somehow I doubt Lucas has a funny bone in his body. The thought of the stale, flat, and not-even-hilariously-UNfunny jokes is already making me cringe. But then again, maybe he could get Leno and his *crack* team of writers on the job. Jay-Walking on Tatooine, anyone? I imagine this will be about the equivalent...

Re:I Guess That's About All That's Left

[Blakey Rat]

All Ackbar does in the movie is continually ask to retreat, and have to be talked out of it. I think this happens, 3-4 times. He's not just a giant squid, he's a coward.

Re:I Guess That's About All That's Left

[Anonymous Coward]

No, he has to release all six movies in 3D now that Avatar has proved it's popular.

I give it three years.

Re:I Guess That's About All That's Left

[MightyMartian]

I'll grant you that McGregor is good, but Portman and Christensen... ug. I hated Awake, and why they ever cast Portman for V For Vendetta, when there are probably twenty British actresses that could out-act her with their eyes closed is quite beyond me.

Re:I Guess That's About All That's Left

[Adam Heine]

It wouldn't surprise me at all if he was completely selling out now.

Now?

Re:I Guess That's About All That's Left

[geminidomino]

...the only people producing new stuff is Syfy(lis) Channel.

FSVO "new stuff" approaching "remaking old stuff"

Re:I Guess That's About All That's Left

[aldwin]

If you haven't already, you might want to check out the new series of Doctor Who, the new companion is a rather attractive and feisty young redhead. While she doesn't wear a slave outfit, her policeman's uniform is decidedly not regulation ....

Re:I Guess That's About All That's Left

[kainewynd2]

why they ever cast Portman for V For Vendetta, when there are probably twenty British actresses that could out-act her with their eyes closed is quite beyond me.

I'll give you that... I love Natalie Portman as an actress, but while I thoroughly enjoyed her in V for Vendetta it seemed odd that they put yet another American into a British actress role. Actors 'across the pond'--as the kids say--must be getting pretty fed up with that by now.

As for Hayden Christensen... I have a soft spot for him for some movie that I just can't remember the name of. He was emo and, technically, a male prostitute and I thought he nailed the role. Most of the others--including Jumper--were disappointing, though they all had various redeeming scenes.

Oh well...

/me sighs...

Re:I Guess That's About All That's Left

[Anonymous Coward]

All Ackbar does in the movie is continually ask to retreat, and have to be talked out of it. I think this happens, 3-4 times. He's not just a giant crustacean, he's a coward.

Fixed that for you!

Re:I Guess That's About All That's Left

[sznupi]

What, no mention of Liam Neeson?

Re:I Guess That's About All That's Left

[kainewynd2]

What, no mention of Liam Neeson?

Liam Neeson isn't an actor. He's a god. I thought it was implied.

There is no match

[sjonke]

... for the comedy that is Episodes I, II and III.

Re:There is no match

[blair1q]

Consider it matched, gamed, and set upon:

http://www.blancscreencinema.com/redlettermedia/plinkett.html

The review of Episode II is widely considered to be much better than the $120-million production it is based upon.

Re:There is no match

[Palshife]

NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

Re:There is no match

[0100010001010011]

DO NOT WANT!!!!!!!

Does anyone have a torrent or nzb to the chinese translated english subtitled version of Star Wars? From the screen caps they look hilarious.

Re:There is no match

[ZekoMal]

http://thepiratebay.org/torrent/3512887/Star_Wars_3__Backstroke_of_The_West_(ROTS_mistranslation)

Re:There is no match

[beukerc]

Well, here are some good reviews of Star Wars Episodes 1 and 2 if you can get by the serial killer aspect, but, I guess that's what happens when you watch the first three Star Wars movies.

(Part 1 of 7) Star Wars I - Phantom Menace - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxKtZmQgxrI
(Part 1 of 9) Star Wars II - Attack of the clones - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MYAwEUal7M

Re:There is no match

[Anonymous Coward]

Only with all 3 episodes is it comedy, two was tragic, and one was just plain bad!

Yeah...

[Spatial]

George Lucas has decided to turn the franchise into an animated sitcom.

Slashdot is so far behind. The Episode 1/2/3 movies have been out for years!

Re:Yeah...

[tomhudson]

George Lucas has decided to turn the franchise into an animated sitcom.

Slashdot is so far behind. The Episode 1/2/3 movies have been out for years!

Nah - the acting in those episodes could hardly be called "animated" ... "wooden" is more like it.

Color me randomized

[Anonymous Coward]

"April Fools Day alarm, immeasurable dread, or excitement."

How about all of the above. If true, it will be simultaneously horrible, hilarious, and mind-numbingly painful

Obligatory...

[Anonymous Coward]

NNNNOOOOOOOoooooooooo!

Re:Obligatory...

[DarKnyht]

I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of fanboys suddenly cried out in terror

Re:Obligatory...

[corbettw]

What the hell is wrong with you and the mods? You can't get a simple quote right? It's "...as if millions of voices cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced."

And you call yourself a nerd. Turn in your card!

Re:Obligatory...

[the_one(2)]

Are they silent yet? No? Then stfu=)

Re:Obligatory...

[DarKnyht]

If you want to get technical about it. The exact quote is: "I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced. I fear something terrible has happened."

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0076759/quotes

But then, this only takes place in the movie and not the novel. However, I think you might want to go back and watch the movie again.

Re:Obligatory...

[corbettw]

Dur, I wasn't going for the full quote. I think you need to go back to 5th grade English class and relearn what an ellipsis means.

(Have I done a good enough job of pretending to be a rabid fanboi yet? Or are people still not getting the joke?)

Re:Obligatory...

[DarKnyht]

I guess I need to make myself very clear since you seem to believe you are intellectually superior to those around you. I will try to use the small words that you learned in 5th grade.

The joke might have been funny if you had not screwed up (misquoted) the actual quote.

"I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced. I fear something terrible has happened."

Re:Obligatory...

[corbettw]

The joke might have been funny if you had not screwed up (misquoted) the actual quote.

Or maybe that was the point? Dur.

Penny-arcade already covered this.

[Kenja]

http://www.angryzenmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/pennyarcadestarwarscw.jpg

Re:Penny-arcade already covered this.

[Chris Mattern]

In fact, they covered it in more general terms some five and half years ago.

I Sense a disturbance in the Force!

[The Assistant]

Or at least an imbalance in Goerge Lucas!!!

Re:I Sense a disturbance in the Force!

[shadowbearer]

  The disturbance in the Force you are sensing IS Darth Lucas, and yes, it is also the Dark Side. Be afraid, young padawan. Be very afraid.

SB

Re:Lucas just wants more money

[el3mentary]

I assume you mean canon.

Seth Green aka Robot Chicken and part of FamilyGuy

[kaptink]

Well Seth Green aka Robot Chicken and part of the Family Guy team has made some pretty funny piss takes on Start Wars. As long as its just that it could be ok. I dont know how far you can really stretch it out tho. Guess we'll have to wait and see.

Fanboys!

[Mekkah]

FANBOYS + Animation should = Sitcom hilariousness

But it's never that easy.

Yeah.

[dangitman]

The article says that Seth Green is involved,

I'm going to go with "immeasurable dread."

Re:Yeah.

[clone53421]

Wired reported that he’ll be “steering” the sitcom...

Dread Pilot Seth Green?

Pfff. No one would surrender to the Dread Pilot Seth Green.

Re:Yeah.

[An ominous Cow art]

"I have a bad feeling about this" would also have been acceptable.

Re:Yeah.

[An ominous Cow art]

Yes, I did miss that line being used in the summary. Sigh.

I find my lack of attention disturbing.

Re:Yeah.

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm going to go with "Star Wars died with the release of Episode I" and not give a fuck what they do with it now. :-/

Re:Yeah.

[Barny]

Could be worse, it could be George Lucas steering it ;)

Robot Chicken vs Clone Wars?

[lorg]

Concidering we already have Star Wars - the Clone Wars do we really need another one? I doubt a "playful and irreverent tone" is what the fans want. I don't really want Yoda to start cracking wise about force.

As much as I think Seth is funny I do hope it won't be Robot Chicken - Star Wars episodes on steroids. Those little bits are very hit and miss and once a season is quite enough.

Re:Robot Chicken vs Clone Wars?

[Facegarden]

Concidering we already have Star Wars - the Clone Wars do we really need another one? I doubt a "playful and irreverent tone" is what the fans want. I don't really want Yoda to start cracking wise about force.

As much as I think Seth is funny I do hope it won't be Robot Chicken - Star Wars episodes on steroids. Those little bits are very hit and miss and once a season is quite enough.

I agree entirely. I think the success of the Family Guy and Robot Chicken pieces has been related to their rarity, and that they weren't forced.

Trying to recreate that repeatedly seems like it would be pretty likely to fail.
-Taylor

Re:Robot Chicken vs Clone Wars?

[RevWaldo]

Genndy Tartakovsky's Star Wars: Clone Wars was the definition of awesome, which used much of the same Japanese cinematic styling (not anime styling) that made Samurai Jack a breath of fresh air. It was this same influence from Japanese cinema that made Star Wars IV the film that it was (check out The Hidden Fortress if you don't know what I mean.)

Star Wars: The Clone Wars, the 3D-CGI-ified version of this series, done without Tarakovsky's involvement but purloining his character design, is what Episodes 1-2-3 are to Episodes 4-5-6.

Re:Robot Chicken vs Clone Wars?

[jo42]

I don't really want Yoda to start cracking wise about force.

Come on, who doesn't want to hear Yoda say "My finger, pull youngling."

Re:Robot Chicken vs Clone Wars?

[MightyMartian]

Fine by me. Tartakovsky should get back to finishing off Samurai Jack, one of my all-time favorite animated series.

Of course Lucas wants more money

[Anonymous Coward]

George Lucas has a fetish for butt plugs made out of bank rolls. He's a large man with insatiable, carnal appetites and a cavernous rectum, so the more bank rolls the better. He's squealing all the way to the bank.

See...

[Pojut]

...I think Lucas is so pissed the he will forever be remembered for Star Wars and nothing else that he is purposely driving it into the ground...yet somehow, it still makes him a ton of money.

It's a shame...oh well, at least THX-1138 isn't getting this kind of attention. The "modernization" of it was actually really well done, minus the unnecessary car-chase and CGI scorpion.

Re:See...

[Gangis]

I think it's pretty much time to just kill the franchise, leave it with SOME dignity.

Re:See...

[gstoddart]

...I think Lucas is so pissed the he will forever be remembered for Star Wars and nothing else that he is purposely driving it into the ground...yet somehow, it still makes him a ton of money.

Or, is he desperately trying to still be remembered, and he's flogging his cash-cow for all it's worth? I'm not sure here purposely driving it into the ground, or if that's just happening on its own.

Other than Lucas Arts doing technical work for other people ... has Lucas himself even had a non-Star Wars idea in the last few decades?? If he wants to be remembered for something else, then make something else.

Cheers

Re:See...

[nomadic]

I think Lucas is so pissed the he will forever be remembered for Star Wars and nothing else

Indiana who and the lost what?

Re:See...

[MBGMorden]

While Indiana Jones may be REMEMBERED, I don't think it's too often associated with George Lucas. As a matter of fact if you told 20 people on the street that he was even involved with that franchise at all I'd bet that 18 of them would be incredibly surprised to find that bit of info out.

The reality is when people think George Lucas they think Star Wars, and not much else.

Re:See...

[v1]

I think Lucas is so pissed the he will forever be remembered for Star Wars and nothing else

Oh I think Alec Guinness (Obi Wan Kenobi) has him beat a country mile. That absolutely drove him crazy, he was an actor on stage and played roles like Hamlet, and yet his role in Star Wars is what 99% of the people that know the face will remember him for.

Re:See...

[camperdave]

Star Wars is what 99% of the people who have seen him have seen him in, so that's not really a shocker is it? It's like that Bobby McFerrin guy who sang "Don't Worry, Be Happy", or Leonard Nimoy, or Natalie Schafer (Mrs Thurston Howell III)

Re:See...

[Rob the Bold]

...I think Lucas is so pissed the he will forever be remembered for Star Wars and nothing else that he is purposely driving it into the ground...yet somehow, it still makes him a ton of money.

It's a shame...oh well, at least THX-1138 isn't getting this kind of attention. The "modernization" of it was actually really well done, minus the unnecessary car-chase and CGI scorpion.

Whatever keeps Lucas busy and away from American Graffiti, I'm cool with.

Re:See...

[Keebler71]

That's odd... I think of "Howard the Duck"

Re:See...

[Anonymous Coward]

or you can just ask 10 people and save some time...

Re:See...

[Macrat]

While Indiana Jones may be REMEMBERED...

As a Spielberg movie.

Re:See...

[Anonymous Coward]

That may be true now, but that might just be because Indiana Jones has a less fanatical fanbase than Star Wars. Even as a little kid, I knew Indiana Jones was made by Lucas/Spielberg.

Re:See...

[v1]

Although star trek comes obviously to mind with Nemoy, I also remember In Search Of. But I suppose that puts me a bit off the curve.

Re:See...

[Anonymous Coward]

I would say many Indiana Jones fans in here know he was involved because LucasArts released the best Indiana Jones stories. I liked the old trilogy, but Indy is only really awesome in LC and TFoA for IBM PC.

Re:See...

[ConceptJunkie]

has Lucas himself even had a non-Star Wars idea in the last few decades

Three words: Nuke the Fridge.

Re:See...

[Anonymous Coward]

Is the reason you chose 18/20 because it doesn't scale linearly?

Re:See...

[mrchaotica]

Leonard Nimoy was in Star Trek?! Wow, I loved his singing, but I had no idea!

Re:See...

[gstoddart]

Three words: Nuke the Fridge.

Wow, thanks for that one. Fortunately, I never saw that Indiana Jones -- glad I didn't. :-P

Cheers

I think I speak for everyone when I say...

[Facegarden]

Its a Trap!

Re:I think I speak for everyone when I say...

[Anonymous Coward]

It's a crap. Fixed that for ya.

Re:I think I speak for everyone when I say...

[Anonymous Coward]

May the farce be with you.

Mmmmmm excuse me but there allready exist one

[hviniciusg]

I have watched it whit my son on Discovery Kids or some of those child channels.

It was an animated Star Wars

Re:Mmmmmm excuse me but there allready exist one

[Facegarden]

I have watched it whit my son on Discovery Kids or some of those child channels.

It was an animated Star Wars

The article mentions that there have been others. This is going to be a sitcom, which is probably worse than anything before it.

Re:Mmmmmm excuse me but there allready exist one

[hallucinogen]

Yes grandpa. We know there is an animated SW series.

Thanks Lucas...

[decipher_saint]

For filling my youth with wonder and then crapping all over it in my adulthood.

Re:Thanks Lucas...

[gstoddart]

For filling my youth with wonder and then crapping all over it in my adulthood.

But ... that's what becoming an adult means. ;-)

This is not the Robot Chicken you're looking for.

[tpstigers]

Unless, of course, you were looking for a Protocol Chicken Droid.

Anonymous Coward

[Anonymous Coward]

I thought they already animated "Spaceballs"? That wasn't enough?

And Mike of Milwaukee releases his AoTC critique

[rolfwind]

just in time.

http://www.movieline.com/2010/04/attack-of-the-clones-eviscerated-by-famous-phantom-menace-hater.php

(1st of 9 parts is pulled for copyright, but rest are up)

Obligatory...

[blcamp]

I've got a bad feeling about this...

The world just sucks

[elrous0]

Good men die every day. And yet Lucas keeps on living and living. If there is a god, he's not even *trying* to be fair.

Re:The world just sucks

[Shakrai]

And yet Lucas keeps on living and living. If there is a goddess, she's not even *trying* to be fair.

Fixed that for you ;)

Re:The world just sucks

[blair1q]

>> And yet Lucas keeps on living and living. If there is a Chthulhu--wait, no, i mean, AIEEEEEEE!

> Fixed that for you ;)

And yours.

Re:The world just sucks

[ZenDragon]

Aww poor pitiful emo fan boy. *rolls eyes* It is truly pathetic that you would wish death on somebody simply because you doing like the direction they are going with their own media franchise. Get a life, or just stop trying.

Re:The world just sucks

[ZenDragon]

*dont like the direction... that is

Re:The world just sucks

[BJ_Covert_Action]

Get a life, or just stop trying.

Hehe, that was a rather belligerent statement for someone whose UID starts with the word Zen. =P

Re:The world just sucks

[euxneks]

If there is a god, he's not even *trying* to be fair.

I got news for you.

Re:The world just sucks

[ZekoMal]

Hi, non-fan of Star Wars here. Lucas still sucks and makes horrible movies. His cult fan following only makes that even worse. Don't let the door hit your ass on the way out.

Re:The world just sucks

[elrous0]

I don't wish death on anyone. Just making the observation that no sane god would decide to let Jim Henson die while this assclown gets to keep making movies.

Re:The world just sucks

[Anonymous Coward]

Where's the news? I just found a lot of conjecture.

The only thing "Star Wars" on the horizon...

[The Living Fractal]

Star Wars: The Old Republic.

I am prepared to lose several hours on this... TV Sitcom? Pass.

There's probably 100 Star Wars novels written that I haven't read. Would much rather read those than watch TV.

Re:The only thing "Star Wars" on the horizon...

[BobMcD]

Get ready to be sad. It has Jedi in it.

No game has successfully mixed Jedi and non-Jedi characters to date. None.

I suspect this is because it cannot be done. Jedi are all-powerful gods with plot-based limitations. That doesn't translate well into a video game format without a linear plot. (And yes I realize KoTR seemed branching, but it wasn't. It just had several off-shoots that always eventually merged back with the original plotline.)

In an MMO setting you'll have one of three things:

1) Jedi so powerful that no one plays anything else. Developers start using heavy-handed tactics to make people play characters that suck in comparison to Jedi.

2) Jedi are so weak that they have no distinct advantages over normal characters. This will rob the magic of the struggle.

3) Everyone turns a blind eye at the problem for as long as the human brain will safely allow, and then they give up and play something that doesn't strain their brains so much.

Anyone see any other options here?

Re:The only thing "Star Wars" on the horizon...

[Mister_Stoopid]

4) Jedi are more powerful than anything else if you're good enough to use them skillfully; The average player will not be good enough and will get destroyed by other classes if they try to use a jedi without practicing first.

"good enough" here should reflect some actual player skill, not "how many hours are you willing to grind".

Re:The only thing "Star Wars" on the horizon...

[BobMcD]

Good luck with that. Latency will be an issue.

Re:The only thing "Star Wars" on the horizon...

[Slider451]

Since SWTOR is an RPG, not a FPS, "skill" would have to be defined as tactics rather than twitch. If Bioware includes some of the mechanics from Mass Effect, such as cover and targeted shots, there might be room for individual talent. If not, once people figure out their action queues I doubt we'll see much variation in player ability.

The Fonz may have been the first...

[andawyr]

...but Star Wars will be soon (or is it already?) part of the list of those shows that 'Jumped the Shark'.

With Lucas at the helm, the death spiral has been been underway for a while, and how it's accelerating.

Re:The Fonz may have been the first...

[andawyr]

D'oh! That should have been "now it's accelerating".

(sigh) I don't know why I bother to preview :-)

Re:The Fonz may have been the first...

[bit9]

Star Wars hit rock bottom with Episode I, and has been bouncing and skidding along in the gutter ever since. Then again, I haven't actually seen the Christmas special. But given how truly awful Episode I was, I can't imagine the Christmas Special could really be all that much worse. At this point, I'm guessing that even the Star Wars erotic fan fiction is, on average, of a higher caliber than any of the franchise's official releases.

Re:The Fonz may have been the first...

[MightyMartian]

It hit rock bottom with the souped-up 1990s rereleases of the first three films. The alteration of the Han Solo-Greedo sequence was a clear shot across the bow that Lucas was going to supremely fuck things up, and he certainly didn't disappoint. Episode I is a trainwreck, Episode II... fuck, I have to think for a minute to even remember what Episode II was about, and Episode III managed to find a way to make Anakin's fall from grace both boring and unbelievable. Capped with probably the most stullifingly dull saber duel in the entire series.

Lucas sucks, plain and simple.

Re:The Fonz may have been the first...

[qwerty_forever]

Episode 1!? The whole business is bloody awful from beginning to end.

Re:The Fonz may have been the first...

[Mordok-DestroyerOfWo]

I find your lack of faith in the horror that is the Christmas Special disturbing.

Re:The Fonz may have been the first...

[camperdave]

I never had a problem with Jar-Jar. Midichlorians, Greedo shooting first, C3P0 and a battle droid swapping heads... bad, bad, bad, bad, bad. Yet bad as they were, the moment R2D2 sprouted leg rockets and flew was the moment it jumped the shark for me.

Re:The Fonz may have been the first...

[BJ_Covert_Action]

The only good part about the prequel trilogy was watching Samuel Jackson get chucked out of a skyscraper window. Other than that one scene, I think most of us could have done without all of it.

Re:The Fonz may have been the first...

[Anonymous Coward]

Star Wars hit rock bottom with Episode I, and has been bouncing and skidding along in the gutter ever since.

That's what I thought, until I saw Episode II. :(

Re:The Fonz may have been the first...

[natehoy]

Yes, there was certainly a moment when the Daleks started flying when I went "what the hell? This isn't the Doctor Who I remember!"

Oh, wait, sorry wrong "character who suddenly gets massive powers in the new series that were part of the plot of the old series"

Re:The Fonz may have been the first...

[camperdave]

The Daleks have been hovering since the episode "Revelation of the Daleks" (sixth doctor - Colin Baker's regeneration). That was back in 1985.

Re:The Fonz may have been the first...

[Anonymous Coward]

You thought the 90s rereleases were bad wait for the 2010s rerelease NOW IN 3D!!!11one

Re:The Fonz may have been the first...

[lennier]

Am I a bad person if I'm seriously considering going to watch those?

Not the prequels, but the originals 3D-ised... maybe.

Mostly just to see just how a 2D movie could be dimensionalised. I don't know how well it could be done, but that technical stuff is the sort of thing Lucas is good at. Just not writing.

Re:The Fonz may have been the first...

[Anonymous Coward]

Well it might work just as long as they don't add anything new. Just take the old stuff and make it 3D. The only problem is I hear 3Difying old movies just makes them look layered sort of like one of those old viewmaster things.

Re:The Fonz may have been the first...

[Anonymous Coward]

Maybe the GP is just really old school...

Re:The Fonz may have been the first...

[Anonymous Coward]

just what i was thinking. the film series jumped the shark about a year after the first film was released, when Lucas probably started to have wet dreams about endless reams of cash to wad up his butt. i saw that sucker 6 times at the Coronet in SF with a puffy nylon/polyester down jacket on, and wore a jedi nights lapel pin for a bit. i got a "luke skybunny" character drawing from artist Ken Macklin at BayCon III. but, you see, i grew up, and george didnt, and the franchise has kept a significant portion of the world population in arrested development. i blame the franchise for "star wars" defense thinking, Reagan, Bush, and every other plague perpetrated on us since then. (well, maybe thats a little harsh). it was fun, but 2001 is still to date one of the only sf films ever made (add the quiet earth, original solaris, maybe ai, 2010, twelve monkeys, the last mimzy). the fun stopped when george started believing he was an auteur.

Star Wars Christmas Special

[waterford0069]

Didn't we have something like this already... it was called the Star Wars Christmas Special. Some of us are even old enough to have had to experience it.

Re:Star Wars Christmas Special

[Anonymous Coward]

... the rest of us downloaded it from TPB.

Re:Star Wars Christmas Special

[Midnight Thunder]

Didn't we have something like this already... it was called the Star Wars Christmas Special. Some of us are even old enough to have had to experience it.

After hearing about it, I decided to do a search for it, and then watched as much as could bare. Its really bad, and I don't mean that in a good way. Its on Google Video: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=323909610753051544#

Re:Star Wars Christmas Special

[waterford0069]

But why? Don't you want to know what happened to Mallatobuck, Attichitcuk, and Lumpawarrump? At least stay until you get to the Boba Fett Cartoon.

Re:Lucas just wants more money

[ElectricTurtle]

Spaceballs 2: The Search for More Money.

"isn't going to suck as much as you think it is?"

[aapold]

Seth Green says:

"Let us assure you this isn't going to suck as much as you think it is."

It couldn't possibly.

But it could still suck a great deal without reaching that level.

Wait...

[Locke2005]

You mean the original Star Wars wasn't a comedy?!?

Re:Wait...

[BatGnat]

It was a serious set of movies, until we learned that R2D2 used to be able to fly...

Re:Wait...

[Locke2005]

There you have it: positive proof that R2D2 was built by Sony! As if the extremely bad user interface, static-filled, flickering 3D video and product overall shape stolen from a vibrator weren't big enough clues...

Re:Lucas just wants more money

[PitaBred]

Unless he was thinking of Jar-Jar, and then a cannon is an appropriate word...

Maybe a cross of "Happy Days" and "Star Wars"

[PolygamousRanchKid]

The Fonz tells Darth Vader to "sit on it." Yoda as Arnold the wise force wielding burger flipper. Joanie Loves Chewbacca. Maybe a bit of "Gilligan's Island" on the side . . . the Skipper and Gilligan as Storm Troopers . . . the Skipper pulls off Gilligan's Storm Trooper Helmet and whacks him over the head with it . . . Princess Leia arrives by train in "Petticoat Junction" to flirt with all of the "My three Ewok Sons."

With Colonel Klink and Schultz behind the wheel of the Death Star, what couldn't be funny?

"Two and a half Jar Jars?"

Re:Maybe a cross of "Happy Days" and "Star Wars"

[snspdaarf]

I was thinking "Gilligan's Island" as well, but with Han as the Skipper, Jar Jar as Gilligan, R2D2 as the Professor, Jaba the Hut as Thurston Howell III, and C3PO as the radio. Not sure how to cast the women.

Re:Maybe a cross of "Happy Days" and "Star Wars"

[Anonymous Coward]

With Colonel Klink and Schultz behind the wheel of the Death Star, what couldn't be funny?

OK. THAT I would go see.

I might watch it...

[snspdaarf]

If you put me in eyelid clamps like in "A Clockwork Orange."

If Seth Green is involved?

[Drakkenmensch]

I'd watch that. Especially if the concept and scripts are left up to him!

Re:If Seth Green is involved?

[BatGnat]

It is pitch black. You are likely to be shot by a Vin Diesel.

I'll take my chances with a Grue.

Star Wars Babies

[pgn674]

Is this related to the Star Wars babies rumor from a bit ago?
Sheldon: Sheldon Talk forum: Star Wars Babies! GUHHHHHHHHHHH

Wasn't it originally an...

[Anonymous Coward]

animated comedy sitcom?

Re:Wasn't it originally an...

[Yamata no Orochi]

You mean an animated comedy Situational Comedy?

Redundant qualifiers are redundant.

Voting On The Question:

[Kozar_The_Malignant]

Either

1. sets off your late April Fools Day alarm,
2. immeasurable dread, or
3. excitement.

My vote goes to #2, immeasurable dread.

Re:Voting On The Question:

[Anonymous Coward]

You forgot #4; Cowboy Neal.

Re:Voting On The Question:

[John Hasler]

4. Yawn.

Re:Voting On The Question:

[silverglade00]

No Cowboy Neal?

Wasn't this tried?

[Animats]

I vaguely remember a trailer from a year or two ago for some Star Wars like movie that looked like a bad game trailer. Did that ever come out, or was it just killed as embarrassing?

Who tagged this "wantnot"?

[Tetsujin]

I mean, I guess you're doing a Yoda-mode version of "do not want"?

But "do not want" was already from Star Wars...

Re:Lucas just wants more money

[ChefInnocent]

I don't know; it might be fun to see a reconfigured R2D2 launch Lucas & young Mark Hamill into the stratosphere. Perhaps, C3P0 will join the dark side, have his arm rebuilt as a laser cannon which fires at Anikan Skywalker whenever he does something stupid.

I might consider watching those variants; otherwise, Star Wars is a franchise I have long stopped supporting.

Colorful Marshmallows!

[Tetsujin]

Its a Trap!

Wow! Admiral Ackbar!

Clone Wars Again?

[BJ_Covert_Action]

Yeah, so when the whole Star Wars: Clone Wars thing came out, it took the dead horse that was left over after Revenge of the Sith and just beat it into a bloody awful mess. I didn't think you could do worse than that to the Star Wars namesake until this came along. I suppose George Lucas just had to ask, 'Will it blend as well?"

On the bright side, Seth Green is, far and away, a sci-fi Star Wars nerd so he certainly will try to do the franchise justice. I would be excited to see him pull it off well.

On the not so bright side, Matt Stone and Trey Parker wrote a whole episode of South Park dedicated to Lucas's raping of Indiana Jones in the fourth movie of the franchise. It looks like they may have just found a little more material for a new episode.

Okay everyone

[Anonymous Coward]

April Fool's day is over, wait until next year.

Star Wars erotic fan fiction

[ClosedSource]

"I have felt him."

Re:Star Wars erotic fan fiction

[natehoy]

"You came in that thing? You're braver than I thought!"

Re:Star Wars erotic fan fiction

[Anonymous Coward]

I don't care what you smell! Get in there!

IMDB is reporting it too.

[Anonymous Coward]

Announced on IMDB as a work in progress.

I'm Seth Green!

[Plastic Pencil]

Hi, I'm Seth Green! I'm cool because I like the things you like. I like toys and Star Wars. I like making shows about toys and Star Wars.

I've never had an original idea my entire life, but I sure know how to recycle tired jokes.

I'm Seth Green. I came to fame by riding Mike Meyers and Joss Whedon's coattails. And I named my production company after a monkey. Ain't I clever? A MONKEY!

I'm so clever in fact that George Lucas, director of the New Star Wars Trilogy and executive producer of 'Howard the Duck' has chosen ME to be a consultant on a Star Wars comedy. A COMEDY about Star Wars! Nothing says comedy like scouring the net and repeating all the Star Wars jokes that you've all been making for decades, but you'll laugh at them again because I'm regurgitating your digested food and getting paid for it! RIGHT!?

Re:I'm Seth Green!

[BatGnat]

Zip it!

Re:I'm Seth Green!

[Plastic Pencil]

Nice, I got down voted to 0.

Tell me what I say isn't true.

Scott Evil?

[ClosedSource]

Well, at the end of Austin Powers III he was totally evil.

Re:"isn't going to suck as much as you think it is

[Anonymous Coward]

Seth Green says:

"Let us assure you this isn't going to suck as much as you think it is."

So what you're saying is it's still going to suck.

All Hail the Star Wars Comedy Suck-tacular.

Breaking: Lucas continues to milk old franchise

[noewun]

In other news, water wet and sun bright and hot.

When Star Wars came out, I thought it was the most amazing movie I'd ever seen.

I was nine years old.

Having watched it as an adult, I've realized it really is quite bad. Unfortunately, Lucas hasn't gotten that memo. . .

Re:Breaking: Lucas continues to milk old franchise

[Anonymous Coward]

The original is quite bad? What the hell is wrong with you?

Re:Seth Green aka Robot Chicken and part of Family

[BJ_Covert_Action]

Granted. I would be happy to see more scenes of Boba Fett flying around and slaughtering ewoks just for kicks. Legend.

Re:"isn't going to suck as much as you think it is

[MightyMartian]

All Hail the Star Wars Comedy Suck-tacular.

Many Bothan spies died to bring us... Whookie porn!

Base it on the Death Star....

[BatGnat]

and they could end every episode with "OH MY GOD, They blew up the Death Star! YOU BASTARDS!"

Just kidding, but this will be awesome, Robot Chicken and Family Guy's Starwars are brilliant!

Star Wars Kid Redux...

[Xin Jing]

I still say that Lucas should make his own "Star Wars Kid" character, maybe this is the vehicle for that opportunity.

Jedi-in-training, with a dance in his pants.

Sounds like Watchmen inspired someone

[roland_mai]

It looks like "Watchmen" inspired someone, to make toys and become the richest person on earth. Hail George Lucas!

Re:"isn't going to suck as much as you think it is

[Plastic Pencil]

Of course, Seth's statement pretty much agrees it will firmly suck.

Re:Lucas just wants more money

[TubeSteak]

I think we need a Spaceballs: The Flamethrower so we can torch the idea of a Star Wars sitcom.

Cojones the size of the Death Star

[Sir Realist]

Say what you like about Seth Green; man's got serious balls taking on a project that he knows is going to be villified from day dot by its own purported fanbase.

I'm not saying it isn't a terrible idea, but he gets a tip of the hat for courage.

Re:Cojones the size of the Death Star

[BJ_Covert_Action]

Well of course he does, he piloted the Normandy against Sovereign during the battle of the Citadel. =P

Re:"isn't going to suck as much as you think it is

[dan_sdot]

You are unwise to lower your defenses. You don't know the POWER of the DARK SIDE!

Futurama could have fun with this.

[The Bastard]

Could you see Bender in a crossover episode?

Solo yanking open floor panel: "The hyperdrive isn't working again!! What's wrong!?"
Bender under panel: "Hey, we're cuddling in the afterglow here!"

or

"Bite my shiny metal hyperdrive."

Re:Futurama could have fun with this.

[DryGrian]

"That's no moon! Cheese it!"

Re:This is not the Robot Chicken you're looking fo

[Anonymous Coward]

Unless, of course, you were looking for a Protocol Chicken Droid.

I am looking for a Protocol Chicken Droid. I need one that speaks bawk-bawk-bawki.

Nope, all wrong

[SmallFurryCreature]

Star Wars did not jump the shark. A vital ingredient is missing for that. The audience is NOT tired of the same old same old. That is EXACTLY what they crave. MORE episode 4-6.

For something to jump the shark, it must attempt to go overboard in order to keep intrest. But people were intrested in more Star Wars. There was no need for Jar Jar and slapstick space combat to sell it. Happy Days was loosing popularity and so they added the shark jump to boost viewer ratings. For Fonz to have done that same as Lucas did, he would have had to jump the shark in the first couple of seasons.

This is ultimately worse then jumping the shark. It is a producer not producing what the fans want, fans who got plenty of cash to buy anything at all. It would be like McD suddenly deciding that it is going to sell tofu burgers only, at 3am. To cats. With platinum credit cards.

Re:Nope, all wrong

[MightyMartian]

This has long been Lucas's problem. The best of all the films, Episode V, was the best in large part because Lucas was relatively uninvolved. Kershner had a lot more independence, and thus could mute the Lucasisms. As well, there was some outside writing talent on that film which allowed for better dialog and tighter plotting. You get to Episode VI, and all of sudden we're seeing the worst Lucasisms creeping back in; the Ewoks, the crappy plotting which means when you actually see who did what, Luke had dick-all to do with the second Death Star's destruction (I recall the novel tried to explain this by making Palpatine into a Sauron-like figure who dominated and controlled his servants, and his death released that control).

In fact, look at Episode VI, it has a second Death Star. Lucas has such a famine of ideas that he tends to repeat the same Macguffins; Episode IV - Death Star, Episode V - Super Star Destroyer (which really played no meaningful part other than giving Vader the biggest ship), and then another Death Star for Episode VI.

His theme worlds are another big gripe. Frozen world, forest world, gas world, metal/city world, fire world. Lucas is like of those pre-Renaissance painters who could do faces okay, but couldn't do hands and screwed up body proportions. He only knows how to paint in broad strokes, which means that the more involved he is in the writing and directing aspects, the more caricaturistic it all becomes. The plots became pointless, the characters one-dimensional, even the worlds lack any kind of depth. The prequels suffer the most because he was basically running the whole show. Star Wars was better when other folks had some say and could moderate him.

Another aspect of the differences between the two trilogies is the gap. The George Lucas who created the first three films wasn't the same guy who made the last three. The first three had a more mythical quality, the good father turned to evil, the Arthurian son who seeks to reclaim the sword. You could put up with Ewoks and the goofy comedy interludes involving the droids, because there was some sense of a great story unfolding. The prequels were hamfisted attempts at political analysis. The mysticism is mythic qualities are largely sacrificed, and the characters and the story line lose their depth. There's nothing wrong with using SciFi to make comments about politics, Gene Roddenberry did and often did it with great success. But Star Wars wasn't that way in the beginning, and there is a profound thematic break between the original trilogy and the prequel trilogy.

Re:Nope, all wrong

[ErikZ]

The elusive "Platinum cat" market! No one has managed to crack that nut yet.

Find a way to sell to them, and the world is your oyster.

Re:Nope, all wrong

[Anonymous Coward]

You get to Episode VI, and all of sudden we're seeing the worst Lucasisms creeping back in; the Ewoks, the crappy plotting which means when you actually see who did what,Luke had dick-all to do with the second Death Star's destruction (I recall the novel tried to explain this by making Palpatine into a Sauron-like figure who dominated and controlled his servants, and his death released that control).

I concede your other criticisms of VI, but what was wrong (especially from a plot perspective) with Luke trying to redeem his father? Even supposing Luke could do this without the death of Palpatine, at the least it removes a powerful and dangerous enemy of the Rebel Alliance, Darth Vader, who is arguably more of a threat to the good guys than even a weapon like a Death Star. Furthermore, even if he had stayed with the Rebel commandos Luke would have at best an indirect contribution to the destruction of the Second Death Star. It was would still be Wedge, Lando, and the crew on the Millennium Falcon that directly caused DS MkII to go boom.

Finally, even in the novelization and the later EU books, the death of Palpatine didn't have the same catastrophic consequences as Sauron. The Emperor was supposedly enhancing the effectiveness of his forces around Endor using the force (particularly in the area of command and control), and in any event news of his death would be a serious blow to the Imperial forces morale as soon as it was discovered. Yet that doesn't mean Imperials couldn't put up an organized fight without him, or that that the DS MkII was basically held together by his will; but things like that were true for Sauron...

Re:Nope, all wrong

[MightyMartian]

The problem was that even if Luke had turned to the Dark Side, the actual battle had already been won by a bunch of teddybears on the moon below. The shield generator was gone, so no matter how freeky scary the Emperor's powers were, it was all meaningless. Regardless of what happened in the Throne Room, Vader, Luke and the Emperor were all dead anyways. It was crappy plotting, pure and simple. The writers (mainly Lucas as I recall), didn't find a consistent way to tie up the two major plots at the end of the film; the final battle between the Rebels and the Empire and the redemption of Anakin Skywalker and the destruction of the Emperor. Whether Luke stuck with the rest of the company on the moon or went to the Death Star was pretty much irrelevant to the victory.

I'm not complaining about Luke's final scenes in the film, which satisfyingly completed the story arc that had begun in Episode V. The Emperor was an incredibly scary and compelling character, and Vader was never more frightening. The duel between Vader and Luke was thrilling and somehow more realistic, and not overdone like the saber duels in the prequels.

But the whole movie fell of the rails with the Ewoks. If they had just been cute asides to make toys from, a sort of Disneyfication, I could have accepted that well enough. But he totally destabilized the story by basically making them the defeaters of the Empire. Worse, even if that's what he intended, he failed to properly plot out how the Ewok battle subplot essentially minimized, if not outright made irrelevant, the Luke-Vader-Emperor subplot, the latter of which was much more interesting.

As an idea man, Lucas excels. As a storyteller, he sucks.

This could work if done right

[Rude Turnip]

If you have a sitcom that happens to take place in the Star Wars universe, it could work as long as the story doesn't try touch the events of the films too much. I'm thinking a bunch of guys, in the spirit of the humour found in Red Dwarf, but in the Star Wars galaxy.

Who needs comedy when you can make films or series

[Anonymous Coward]

In all the Star Wars books there is TONS of material for a good film or show. Just the six movies already made just cover the Civil War period...barely. How about a new trilogy dealing with the heights of the Old Republic, or the struggles of the New Republic and the Jedi Academy? What about all those fragments of the Empire after it collapsed?

Why kill of such a great franchise when it has such great potential. What better way to kill it off than a goddamn sitcom...

Do Not Want!

[icannotthinkofaname]

Never has the donotwant tag ever been more appropriate. Not only do we not actually want this, Star Wars is the origin of the phrase.

I'm not sure if this is "ironic" or "inevitable".

A return to Star Wars roots, ala "Droids"

[Anonymous Coward]

I apologize for bringing up that bad suppressed memory.

Kill JarJar

[Johnny_Longtorso]

Idea: Every week JarJar gets killed through his own stupidity, much like Kenny on South Park.....

Oh Boy! Comedy!

[CorporateSuit]

I'm gonna say here what I said in the focus group for Episode 1, back when I was hired, more or less, to give George Lucas a true fan's feedback before his film would be sent off to post-production. What we need is more Jar Jar! He's seriously crazy! Ha ha ha! I mean... when I watch him, I'm just laughing. Great movie. Great character in a great movie!

Re:"isn't going to suck as much as you think it is

[Gryle]

Talk about your furry fetish...

Wasn't it always a sitcom?

[John Hasler]

n/t

Re:Judge for yourself - but I prefer Spaceballs!

[Moryath]

Hey wait a second - didn't they already do this one?

Re:Oh Boy! Comedy!

[Lunoria]

Jar Jar may have been annoying, but he had more personality then almost anyone else in the prequels.

If wishes came true...

[TiggertheMad]

What Star Wars really needs is for Lucas to give up control, let someone else take over, and maybe bring out a new trilogy that returns the movies to the feel of the original trilogy.

GL decides to retire and become a recluse. He gives up all rights to SW to Steven Spielburg. Spielburg decides to remake episodes 1-3 and hires Joss Wheedon to re-write them from scratch. It could happen....

Re:If wishes came true...

[BobMcD]

Joss Wheedon's Star Wars is NOT something I'd want to see. Have you never noticed how all the characters with lady parts are awesome, and all them with man parts are tragically flawed? In every single Joss production? Skywalker would be a total train wreck, Amidala would end the Clone Wars single-handedly, and Yoda would be an impotent clown.

Joss's work can be great, don't get me wrong, but he selects the stories he does for a reason. There's also a reason why his stuff gets canceled. It simply strains disbelief for too long for general consumption that the genders would be so lopsided and the characters so one-dimensional.

If he does go on a gender-bending spree, it would easily make his version of the Star Wars prequels WORSE than Lucas's, and that's saying a lot.

Re:If wishes came true...

[Doctor_Jest]

Joss Wheedon has a secret desire to be beaten up by a hot chick. And dear God, he'd make a "hip" Star Wars and I'd have to take a hostage...

Re:If wishes came true...

[geminidomino]

"All men?"

Ok, so Mal has the whole "Noble thief with a tortured past" thing going. Jayne is the "violent and stupid" archetype.

What's Wash's tragic flaw, tho?

Re:If wishes came true...

[icebrain]

What's Wash's tragic flaw, tho?

His propensity to utter deep-sounding philosophical phrases instead of paying attention to his surroundings.

All kidding aside, I did like the character, and loved the one-liners... but a lot of his acting seemed a bit... forced... compared to the others.

Re:If wishes came true...

[BobMcD]

Wash is a childish weenie married to a warrior woman.

But he is the closest to normal, I'll give you that.

Re:If wishes came true...

[Jade_Wayfarer]

He's childish, submissive to his hot wife, and dead? Does this count?

Re:If wishes came true...

[geminidomino]

He's childish, submissive to his hot wife, and dead? Does this count?

I'll give you "childish" as a flaw, but not a "tragic" flaw.

Whether "submissive to his hot wife" is a flaw is subjective (or just a survival trait!), but even so, it's still not tragic.

As to the last, I'm part of the minority that has fan-wanked that abomination out of our loosely-named "reality" :)

Re:"isn't going to suck as much as you think it is

[Anonymous Coward]

Exactly. My reaction is: "Seth Green did not see the 'Star Wars Christmas Special' as a kid, as I did, so he doesn't know the true level of suck that I'm thinking about." You can watch it as an adult on YouTube or whatever, but you won't experience the weeks of advertising buildup beforehand, the begging of your parents to stay up and watch it (because recording and watching at your leisure was not an option), and the incredible disappointment when you realized you went to all that trouble to watch a piece of [insert expletive here]. The horror.

It's like the difference between reading about history and actually being there. How ever bad you think I could be imagining, it's worse.

Re:And Mike of Milwaukee releases his AoTC critiqu

[Anonymous Coward]

Part 1, for now:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MYAwEUal7M

Re:And Mike of Milwaukee releases his AoTC critiqu

[skine]

Honestly, the review would be much, much better without the "that's what he said!" segments.

I can just imagine George Lucas at the table

[ross.w]

"Squeeze harder! I'm sure there's still some juice left in that lemon."

Eh? from the start Star Wars was made for kids...

[DABANSHEE]

....& adults with a metal age of 12 at the very most, & that includes the original 3 films from the 70's 'n early 80's.

Just compare the original Star Wars flick with Leone's "Once Upon a time in America", that were both made around the mid 70's. They definitely weren't both made for adults of the same intellect.

The 'later' episodes didn't get worse...

[garyisabusyguy]

you grew up!

Unfortunately, I enjoy the animated series' because I am entering my second childhood.

How about screech as the irritating neighbor of young jango fett? Surely that will give them plenty of reasons to light up the laff track

Not even new news

[rickb928]

And this is different from this how?

Re:Oh Boy! Comedy!

[aquila.solo]

What, this isn't personality?

or, maybe this?

robot chicken the sitcom..

[Anonymous Coward]

I found the robot chicken parodies pretty funny.. Isn't that what this sitcom is going to be?

Re:And Mike of Milwaukee releases his AoTC critiqu

[Anonymous Coward]

I can't take him seriously, he sounds retarded. He's not funny, either.

Re:Judge for yourself - but I prefer Spaceballs!

[coolsnowmen]

wow.
who ever modded you up is either dick, or clearly didn't click your link.

Ugh

[Zorque]

Seth Green being involved means the entire show is going to consist of YELLING REALLY LOUD because the louder you say something the funnier it is! Oh, and swearing is a great replacement for actual humor!

Why does anyone watch this retard's shows?

"Stepping Softly, In a Danger Zone...

[s0litaire]

...No Weapon in my hand
it's just this brain,
designed by man, got me
in trouble again,
in trouble again...

Ahhh! Remember that intro? ;)
The origional cartoon!!

Re:"isn't going to suck as much as you think it is

[lennier]

Or as Han Solo said:

"I dunno, I can imagine quite a bit."

Yousa say series going to suck?!

[Anonymous Coward]

Because I sure do.

Re:Judge for yourself - but I prefer Spaceballs!

[keeboo]

Rickroll.
(-1 Asshole)

Star Trek

[Registered Coward v2]

The Animated Series. It had the original voices, added greatly to the cnon, and look what it did - it was followed by many more movies and series. Maybe SW:TAS will rejuvinate SW in the same manner.

Take a cue from Obiwan

[El Fantasmo]

Lucas should allow himself be defeated in some long coming battle (making Star Wars funny) and then haunt some 17 year old (I don't care who). Then the remaining 6 billion won't be able to complain about his continual efforts toward eroding Star Wars.

Re:"isn't going to suck as much as you think it is

[drerwk]

I read the summary as saying Sith Green was involved, and just thought there was yet another character I can t place. Must be getting old and blind.

Don't blame the actors

[jamrock]

What the fans want is the prequels rewritten and refilmed with good actors, compelling storylines, characters you can give a shit about, and most importantly, no Jar-Jar or midichlorians.

Everything you said is spot on, except that the actors aren't bad: their performances were. All the leads in the prequel trilogy have proven in other films that they are in fact quite talented. I've posted a couple times in defense of Hayden Christensen, who showed off his acting chops in "Life as a House" and "Shattered Glass", and it's a shame that he turned in a crappy performance in such a high-profile film. I also posted about the fact that Lucas is not an actor's director. Blame him for their performances as well.

The best actors in the world couldn't have saved those turkeys. The story, script, and direction were insulting, laughable, and incompetent, in that order.

Let's just find the guys

[rogerdr]

who made "Troops" and give them and "Robot Chicken" the whole damned franchise. Oh, and pull your lightsabers on Lucas if he says ANYTHING about it. Otherwise nuke it from space. It's the only way to be sure (meta-allusions are fun).

No!

[Anonymous Coward]

Nooooo! My childhood is being ravaged before my very eyes.

Re:"isn't going to suck as much as you think it is

[Anonymous Coward]

I dunno.....the Star Wars Christmas Special was pretty damn bad, and this has the earmarks of that monstrosity already.

WWJCD?

[Anonymous Coward]

(Joseph Cambell)

Five words -

[eeCyaJ]

Space Balls! The Animated Series! (Jar Jar not included)

Re:Judge for yourself - but I prefer Spaceballs!

[August_zero]

Star Wars needs to get a restraining order against George Lucas. That man should not be allowed within 500 feet of it.

I don't know. I can imagine quite a bit...

[tekrat]

You'll get it.

I'd better!

The press release just got out late right.

[mr_java66]

Please tell me someone was lazy and forgot to release this on the 1st.

What's this about you libelling others here?

[Anonymous Coward]

http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=1591778&cid=31744018

There has been an animated star wars series before

[AlgorithMan]

There has been an animated star wars series before... and (at least as a kid) I kinda liked... WAIT... SITCOM!?