In addition to Star Wars Celebration V 2010, I’d like to share some of my favorite highlights about the Star Wars franchise.
Darth Vader has a unique method of deep breathing. If you listen closely, it sounds like he’s saying, “Bummer, bummer.”
Before the Storm Troopers were revealed to be an army of clones, I used to think they were all robot soldiers like the Foot Soldiers from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (80s version) because none of them ever took their helmets off.
And let’s certainly not forget General Grievous. Sure he’s a tough droid, but he coughs a lot, which makes him appear less threatening. I wonder what he’s been smoking? Then it becomes more exciting when Grievous reveals that he was trained in the Jedi arts by Count Dooku (Christopher Lee) and presents four arms with a light saber in each hand. It’s difficult enough for a Jedi knight to go up against Darth Maul’s (Ray Park) double sided light saber.
The Star Wars franchise has become so big that other franchises wanted a piece of it. For example, did you also know that Mark Hamill was once on The Muppet Show as both Luke Skywalker and himself? That’s right. In fact, C-3P0 (Anthony Daniels) , R2-D2, and Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew) also made appearances in that episode. C-3P0 insists that he and R2-D2 are not song and dance droids, but they’re actually quite good at it.
C-3P0 and R2-D2 also made an appearance on Sesame Street. The only segment I remember was when they helped Big Bird with his numbers using only a series of beeps. “We are computerized robots. We’re experts in numbers.”
Back in 1997 when the original Star Wars trilogy was releasing its 20th anniversary addition VHS set, there was a two part sketch on Saturday Night Live with other actors at a screen test. Kevin Spacey played Christopher Walken as Han Solo, Walter Matthau as Obi-Won, and Jack Lemmon as Chewbacca. I’ll tell ya, he’s a hilarious impressionist. Other impressionists included: Norm Macdonald playing Burt Reynolds as Darth Vader, Darrell Hammond playing Richard Dreyfuss as C-3P0, and Ana Gasteyer playing Barbra Streisand as Princess Leia. Can any of you image what would’ve happened if any of those actors had actually gotten those roles?
Last, but not least, there’s the Star Tours ride from Disney’s Hollywood Studios. It was one of the first motion rides I’ve been to where you’re seated inside a confined room with seatbelts. The pilot is a small droid named Rex-1 that’s out on his first flight. I can’t help but think that ever since this ride first opened in the early 90s, every flight was Rex-1’s first flight. He just didn’t seem to get any better.
There you have it. Star Wars has come a long way since its premiere in the 70s. George Lucas was a real artistic writer/director. Jedi warriors seem to lead interesting and exciting lives. The only part that I dislike is that Jedis are not allowed to have relationships. I’m sure that would explain part of Anakin’s frustration when he became a Jedi.
Yes, I know. This was way before my time. But believe it or not, Rowan and Martin’s Laugh In (1968-1973) was actually the inspiration for some of the variety/sketch comedy series’, such as Saturday Night Live, Hee Haw, The Muppet Show, and possibly Monty Python’s Flying Circus.
and 
. One of my favorite segments is the cocktail party. It’s a great way to use a whole bunch of different one-liners in the same scene together. Sometimes they’re all based on a similar topic, but not very often. Either way, I think it’s terrific.
