Star Wars: The Original Radio Drama

An early version of the "Star Wars" expanded universe, this radio version of the story (broadcast over but not taxpayer funded by NPR, thank goodness; why should I pay for Lucas' work?) incorporates material from George Lucas' original script and the novelization, as well as daring to connect a few dots on its own, leading to nonsense like the second-hand droid lot.

Some adjustment is needed for listeners who have seen the movie too many times.

Despite being full of John Williams' brilliant music, Mark Hamill and Anthony Daniels are the only voices from the movie (and R2D2, of course). Though Perry King, playing Han Solo, was up for the film role, you can gauge for yourself why he didn't get it.

Bernard Behrens isn't bad as Ben Kenobi, though he lacks Alec Guinness' unique qualities. Keene Curtis, familiar from many contemporary TV shows, is a suitably imperious Grand Moff. Brock Peters, always a first-rate actor, eerily fills out the voice of Darth Vader. I'm unfamiliar with the actress playing Leia but she makes no effort to sound like Carrie Fisher. Why should she? She's shockingly effective when "given the needle." The narrator is very good and moves the story right along.

I like the original "Star Wars" movies, but I like lots of movies and I've only seen the original trilogy perhaps half a dozen times in 40 years. I've seen all the other "Star Wars" movies once. Therefore, I think I'm more the audience for this radio dramatization than obsessive fans: I like "Star Wars" and eant to know a bit more about its plot-holes, but it's not sacrosanct. If you're the type who has to know everything 'Star Wars," try it on for size.

Warning: some of its material conflicts with "Rogue One."

BTW, some reviewers call radio drama a lost art but radio dramatization never died in Britain and is still going strong. Don't miss the original radio version of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy." The BBC has provided much radio sci-fi, where your imagination provides its own CGI.

Some original voices, original sound effects, deleted scenes, original music... this was a kid & fan dream come true! 43 years later and I still enjoy it, but I couldn't tell you how much of my pleasure is derived as a Star Wars fan who eagerly devoured the first novels splinter of the mind eye and Han Solo's revenge (plus the rest of Brian Daly's excellent trilogy). I feel like the Star Wars trilogy radio plays were the last gasp of the Old Time radio shows like gunsmoke and Dragnet and X minus one. I think people today are more focused on the visuals, and I find many folks I speak with about the radio plays dismiss it out of hand BECAUSE It's only the audio. They seem to have forgotten how to let their imaginations paint the rest of the picture.

I sat in my bedroom and listened at night after night as it was broadcast on New Hampshire Public radio. As a 12-year-old I was in enthralled. 15 years later I purchased the CDs of all three radio dramas (& the BBC production of the hitchhikers guide to the galaxy) & still loved it. In the 21st-century I made digital copies of my CDs to listen to on my iPod... I still loved it.

This is very Star Wars of the time. Of course the more that Star Wars went on more was revealed. Return of the Jedi wasn't even out when this was made. And this suffers from every Star Wars thing that George Lucas didn't write: it doesn't feel like Star Wars. It feels like expanded universe or Disney. In other words, someone trying to be Star Wars.

It goes deeper into a world that isn't designed to go deeper into. So more sci-fi elements come out. And they go into a world that was more realized in the prequels. But this doesn't fit in with those.

But it's fun. It's well done, well acted, good sound effects and a fun way to experience Star Wars. And this is either the first or only radio drama a lot of people will hear. So it's good for people to experience this lost art. With podcast being what the are these days I could really see this art form coming back.