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Star Wars Prequels Television Entertainment

Star Wars To Air As Animated Sitcom 268

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.
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Star Wars To Air As Animated Sitcom

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

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

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

      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
    • 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/

  • From the official site [starwars.com] 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 [adultswim.com] 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.
    • by the Dragonweaver ( 460267 ) on Tuesday April 06, 2010 @01:58PM (#31752118) Homepage

      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.

    • 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.

      • 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 bot

      • by ArcherB ( 796902 )

        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 [youtube.com] is by far my favorite one.

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

      • 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

    • by e2d2 ( 115622 )

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

    • by MightyMartian ( 840721 ) on Tuesday April 06, 2010 @02:20PM (#31752442) Journal

      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: (Score:3, Insightful)

        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.
      • by jellomizer ( 103300 ) on Tuesday April 06, 2010 @02:36PM (#31752698)

        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)

        • by MightyMartian ( 840721 ) on Tuesday April 06, 2010 @02:40PM (#31752758) Journal

          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: (Score:3, Insightful)

          by jedidiah ( 1196 )

          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.

      • 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 Gl

    • by commodore64_love ( 1445365 ) on Tuesday April 06, 2010 @02:24PM (#31752522) Journal

      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.

    • by BJ_Covert_Action ( 1499847 ) on Tuesday April 06, 2010 @02:30PM (#31752616) Homepage Journal

      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.

    • I found Robot Chicken's sketch of Ponda Baba's Bad Day [adultswim.com] 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: (Score:2, Informative)

      by FrigBot ( 1459361 ) *

      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.

  • There is no match (Score:5, Informative)

    by sjonke ( 457707 ) on Tuesday April 06, 2010 @01:49PM (#31751970) Journal

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

  • Yeah... (Score:5, Funny)

    by Spatial ( 1235392 ) on Tuesday April 06, 2010 @01:49PM (#31751974)

    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!

  • Or at least an imbalance in Goerge Lucas!!!
  • Yeah. (Score:3, Insightful)

    by dangitman ( 862676 ) on Tuesday April 06, 2010 @01:54PM (#31752046)

    The article says that Seth Green is involved,

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

  • 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.

    • 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

    • 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
    • by jo42 ( 227475 )

      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."

  • ...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.

    • by Gangis ( 310282 )

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

    • ...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 l

    • by nomadic ( 141991 )
      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... (Score:5, Insightful)

        by MBGMorden ( 803437 ) on Tuesday April 06, 2010 @02:15PM (#31752380)

        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.

    • by v1 ( 525388 )

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

      Oh I think Alec Guinness [wikipedia.org] (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.

      • 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)
    • ...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.

  • by Facegarden ( 967477 ) on Tuesday April 06, 2010 @01:56PM (#31752078)

    Its a Trap!

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

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

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

  • Unless, of course, you were looking for a Protocol Chicken Droid.
  • by rolfwind ( 528248 ) on Tuesday April 06, 2010 @02:00PM (#31752150)

    just in time.

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

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

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

  • by elrous0 ( 869638 ) * on Tuesday April 06, 2010 @02:00PM (#31752156)
    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.
    • Comment removed based on user account deletion
      • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

        by blair1q ( 305137 )

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

        > Fixed that for you ;)

        And yours.

    • 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.
  • 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.
  • ...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.

    • by andawyr ( 212118 )

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

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

    • by bit9 ( 1702770 )
      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.
    • 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 Luc

      • Re:Nope, all wrong (Score:4, Insightful)

        by MightyMartian ( 840721 ) on Tuesday April 06, 2010 @03:44PM (#31753710) Journal

        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: (Score:3, Funny)

        by ErikZ ( 55491 ) *

        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.

    • 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.
  • by aapold ( 753705 ) on Tuesday April 06, 2010 @02:04PM (#31752206) Homepage Journal
    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.
  • You mean the original Star Wars wasn't a comedy?!?
  • 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?"

    • 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.
  • If you put me in eyelid clamps like in "A Clockwork Orange."
  • I'd watch that. Especially if the concept and scripts are left up to him!
  • Is this related to the Star Wars babies rumor from a bit ago?
    Sheldon: Sheldon Talk forum: Star Wars Babies! GUHHHHHHHHHHH [sheldoncomics.com]
  • Either
    1. sets off your late April Fools Day alarm,
    2. immeasurable dread, or
    3. excitement.

    My vote goes to #2, immeasurable dread.

  • 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?

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

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

  • 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
  • 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. . .

  • 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.

  • 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."

  • by icannotthinkofaname ( 1480543 ) on Tuesday April 06, 2010 @03:30PM (#31753516) Journal

    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. [winterson.com]

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

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