Star Wars: Droids
From Wookieepedia, the Star Wars wiki.
| |
| Star Wars: Droids—The Adventures of R2-D2 and C-3PO | |
|---|---|
| Format |
Animated |
| No. of episodes |
15 |
| Run time |
approx. 24 min. per episode (30 with commercials) |
| Network | |
| Creator(s) | |
| Writer(s) |
Richard Beban |
| Director(s) | |
| Executive producer(s) | |
| Starring | |
| Timeline | |
| Era | |
| First aired | |
| Last aired | |
Star Wars: Droids—The Adventures of R2-D2 and C-3PO is an animated television series set in the Star Wars galaxy that ran from September 7, 1985 to June 7, 1986. It features the exploits of R2-D2 and C-3PO—the famous droid duo who have appeared in all six Star Wars feature films. Throughout the series, the droids face off against such threats as gangsters, pirates, Boba Fett, IG-88 and agents of the Galactic Empire. Over the course of their adventures, the duo often find themselves in the company of new masters—and in new dangerous and difficult situations as a result.
The series is set in 15 BBY—which is between the events depicted in the Star Wars films Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope. The series' opening theme—"Trouble Again"—was performed by Stewart Copeland of the band The Police and written by Copeland and Derek Holt.
Contents |
[edit] Episodes
| Season | Episodes | First airdate | Last airdate |
|---|---|---|---|
| One | 13 | September 7, 1985 | November 30, 1985 |
| TV special | June 7, 1986 |
[edit] Credits
[edit] Voice cast
- Don Francks as Jann Tosh
- Winston Rekert as Sise Fromm, Mungo Baobab
- Anthony Daniels as C-3PO
- Graeme Campbell as Proto One
- Peter MacNeill as Jord Dusat
- John Stocker as Vlix
- Rob Cowan as Thall Joben
- Stephen Ouimette as Narrator
- Dan Hennessey as Jord Dusat (ep4), Uncle Gundy, Jyn Obah, Vinga and Yorpa
The series featured Anthony Daniels as the voice of C-3PO, who also portrayed the character in the films, along with the voice talents of Graeme Campbell, Rob Cowan, Don Francks, Peter MacNeill, John Stocker and Winston Rekert. Several episodes of the series were written by Ben Burtt. The series was produced by Nelvana on behalf of Lucasfilm and broadcast on ABC. The cartoon series lasted one season and was made up of 13 regular episodes in 1985. There was also a two-part TV special entitled, The Great Heep in 1986. Following the original run of the complete series, the entire show was rebroadcast as part of The Ewoks and Droids Adventure Hour the same year, along with its series counterpart, Star Wars: Ewoks.
[edit] Crew
- Executive Producers: George Lucas, Miki Herman
- Produced by: Clive A. Smith, Michael Hirsh, Patrick Loubert
- Supervising Producer: Lenora Hume
- Based on the characters by: George Lucas
- Directed by: Raymond Jafelice, Clive A. Smith, Ken Stephenson
- Music by: Stewart Copeland
- Story Editors: Peter Sauder, Ben Burtt
- Unit Director: David Thrasher
- Assistant Director: Scott Glynn
- Animation Directors: Mike Fallows, Gord Stanfield, John Laurence Collins
- Voice Director: Rob Kirkpatrick
- Recording Assistant: Susan Phillips
- Casting Director: Arlene Berman
- Casting Assistant: Deborah Patz
- Production Designers: Jim Craig, Frank Nissen
- Designers: Charles Bastien, Richard Livingston
- Design Coordinators: John Pagan, Tony Eglill
- Design Assistants: George Elliott, Ross Campbell, Brian Foster, Mark Romza, Faye Hamilton, Steven Manning, Mark Harris
- Storyboard Supervisor: Arna Selznick
- Storyboard Artists: Scott Caple, Jim Caswell, Sam Dixon, Jim Craig, Sam Agro, Laura Sheperd, Jim Miko, Dave Cox, Joe Holdor
- Assistants: Ted Ravn, Nicholas Campbell
- Layout Artists: Rick Allen, Roger Jakublec, John Alrd, Brian Lee, Rick Bentham, Dawn Lee, Peter Biellold, Mark Marren, Eric Chu, Chris Minz, Rick Corriganm Tom Nesbitt, Nancy Easun, Dave Pemberton, John Flagg, Rob Sadler
- Character Posting: Shane Doyle, Paul Riley, Mike Girard, Shawn Seles, John Hooper, Linda Williams, Ronald Migliore, Lynn Yamazaki, Rolf Zondag
- Background Stylist: Barry Atkinson
- Assistants: Keith Slache, Judy Mathews
- Special Effects Director: David Marshall
- Special Effects Designers: Trevor Davies, Jan Steel Moffati, Alexis Wallrich, Peter Yamasaki
- Graphics: Kim Cleary
- Color Designers: Jan Leitch, Eileen Middleton, Carol Bradbour, Margaret Rol, Parker McIntyre
- Associate Producers: Dana Orlando, Peter Sauder, Paul Dini
- Associate Supervising Producer: Peter Hudecki
- Production Coordinators: Heather Walker, Judy Nelson
- Production Manager: Barbara Fish
- Production Assistants: Steve Chadwick, Paul Hogarth, Julie Fener, Garth Roerick, Barbara Bjarhasan
- Production Secretaries: Joy Folla, Nancy Shenton
- Quality Control: Evelyn Baker, Rose Nangle, Brenda Kelly, Betty Oldham, Diana Lyle, Lisa Ratke, Rhyette Zazinski
- Supervising Editor: Rob Kirkpatrick
- Coordinator: Steve Fraser
- Pre-Production: John Broughton
- Editors: John Baktis, Gordon Kidd, Richard Bond, Paul McGowan, Peter Goodale, Michele Moses, Mac Holyoke, Sheila Murray, Stephen Hudecki, Philip Stilman, Chris Hutton, Keith Traver
- Assistants: Dave Allman, Ian Jeans, Mike Bass, Al Maciulis, Peter Branton, Kathy Nicholaichuk, Stephanie Crawford, Mike Reid, Steve Fitch, Cindy Romanovich, Tim Griffin, Jamie Whitney, Eric Hurlbut
- Additional Production: Hanho Heung Up Co. Ltd, Minan Inc.
Feature Edition
- Producer: Rick McCallum
- Editor: T.M. Christopher
- Main Title Sequence: Kirk Henderson
- Assistant Editor: Mike Jackson
- Music Editor: Robin Lee
- Re-Recording Mixer: Gary A. Rizzo
- Machine Room Operator: Al Nelson
- Lucasfilm Ltd: Tim Fox, Des Carey
Several people who worked on the original trilogy returned to lend their talents to the series:
| Person | Role in the films | Role in the series |
|---|---|---|
| Ben Burtt | sound designer | writer, Mungo Baobab arc |
| Anthony Daniels | actor, C-3PO | reprised his role as C-3PO |
| Miki Herman | executive producer | |
| Joe Johnston | art director | writer, "Coby and the Starhunters" |
| George Lucas | creator/co-writer/co-director/executive producer | executive producer |
[edit] Appearances
| Characters | Creatures | Droid models | Events | Locations |
| Organizations and titles | Sentient species | Vehicles and vessels | Weapons and technology | Miscellanea |
|
|
Creatures
|
|
Droid models
|
Events
|
|
Locations
|
|
Organizations and titles
|
Sentient species
|
Vehicles and vessels
|
Weapons and technology
|
|
Miscellanea
|
|
[edit] Behind the scenes
[edit] Release
[edit] Television airings
C-3PO and R2-D2 appeared on a Saturday morning preview show in 1985 on ABC entitled The ABC Saturday Sneak Peek and Fun Fit Test. The special was designed to promote their new show Star Wars: Droids. The host of the special was Tony Danza. While they were on stage, the chest from The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo showed up, allowing for a brief, if non-canon, Star Wars/Hanna-Barbera crossover.
After the show ended, all of the episodes were re-played along with new episodes of Star Wars: Ewoks as part of the Ewoks and Star Wars Droids Adventure Hour.
In the early and mid 1990s, beginning in 1994, the US Sci-Fi Channel ran episodes of the series, along with those of its counterpart, Star Wars: Droids, on its "Cartoon Quest" and "Animation Station" blocks of programming.
[edit] Home video releases
The series received its first home video release in 1990 when J2 Communications released The Star Wars Trilogy Animated Collection. The collection consisted of three VHS tapes; one tape contained one episode, while the other two tapes contained two episodes each—with one of those repeating the episode from the single-episode tape. Each tape began with a Star Wars Animated Classics trailer promoting the "Special Double Length Edition" volumes. However, for the single volume tapes, the white box covers were shown, but differing content was advertised. CBS/Fox Video also released the complete series on Region 2 VHS in the UK, with the exception of "Coby and the Starhunters".
In 1997, Lucasfilm and 20th Century Fox released an animated film, The Pirates and the Prince, which was a compilation VHS of four episodes from the series. Fox created a commercial advertising the newly-edited film, along with its counterpart Ewoks animated film, The Haunted Village. The commercial was included on the release, and was later hidden on the 2004 DVD release of the series. The initial shipments of the tapes were sent to many stores in a display bin that featured a Star Wars Animated Classics header. Several stores also received a merchandising kit with shelf danglers, shelf talkers, countertop displays, mobiles and buttons.
Star Wars: Droids was released on Region 1 DVD on November 23, 2004 as an edited compilation under the title Star Wars Animated Adventures: Droids. It contains eight episodes of the series, edited together as two full length films. Episodes 5-8 were edited together to make The Pirates and the Prince (which was previously released on VHS in 1996[1][2]), and Episodes 10-13 were edited together to make Treasure of the Hidden Planet. The Pirates and the Prince combines four of the five episodes of the Mon Julpa arc into one story, while Treasure of the Hidden Planet combines the four episodes of the Mungo Baobab arc into one story. Though "Coby and the Starhunters" was originally part of the Mon Julpa story arc, the episode isn't included in the feature version. The opening sequence of Treasure of the Hidden Planet features clips from the "The Great Heep" television special, although the complete special isn't seen. The original opening credits and theme song are not included as part of the films, and were replaced with simple credit sequences and new scores by Marco D'Ambrosio. Besides cutting the theme song of the series, many other small modifications were made for the home video releases, most notably changes to the soundtrack.[3] These compilation films were later released in several Region 4 countries, such as Brazil (the Brazilian edition was released in 2005 with the Region 1 and 4 Codes on the same disc) and Australia.
Along with other changes to the soundtrack on the The Pirates and the Prince episodes, Sy Snootles and the Max Rebo Band are seen singing a different song than they sang in the original series. Some dialog has been changed/added for each episode to better lead into the next. While the first installment has the character of Uncle Gundy dubbed by a different actor, the other two feature new lines by the character of Mon Julpa. The original codas for the first three episodes of the feature are cut short. From the first episode ("The Lost Prince") only a few seconds are cut, but the second ("The New King") and third ("The Pirates of Tarnoonga") are each missing an entire scene. One involves C-3PO and R2-D2 talking about their newly received medals, while the other sees them sharing an oil bath and playing with toy Bantha's. These omissions and the added dialog were intended to make the story into a consistant whole, in order to give it more of a feature film feeling.
Along with other changes to the soundtrack on the Treasure of the Hidden Planet episodes, the song that R2-D2 plays on the jukebox is now the song that the Max Rebo Band plays in The Pirates and the Prince. A new prologue is narrated by Alex Lindsay (digital effects artist for The Phantom Menace), as the voice of Mungo Baobab.[4]
The entire original series has yet to be released on any home video format. However, some of the original episodes were released in the eighties and nineties on VHS. On June 26, 2002, prequel trilogy producer Rick McCallum respnded to a question about a complete DVD release on StarWars.com's now defunct "Ask the Jedi Council" feature, in which he said "I hope so. Definitely. At some point after we're finished with Episode III, we'd really like to make all of that material available to our fans on DVD. Unfortunately, we won't be even thinking of making any firm plans until we're finished with this trilogy."[5][6] However, in 2005, at McCallum's Celebration III "Spectacular", he and Lucasfilm's Vice President of marketing Jim Ward dodged questions about a complete DVD release of the series.[7]
According to Steve Sansweet at 2007's Celebration IV, Lucas himself cut together the film versions from his favorite episodes. The 1996-1997 VHS releases were meant to present that, and for the 2004 DVD release, the DVD team assumed that the re-edits were what Lucas wanted on the DVD. Sansweet says that Lucasfilm has many materials they have yet to release that will be released in the coming years, and that with the upcoming animated and live-action series, a complete DVD release of Star Wars: Droids is possible if the fan support is there. In the meantime however, there are currently no plans to release the entire series on DVD.
[edit] Merchandising
[edit] Books and comics
Random House published a series of children's books based on various episodes of the series.
In 1986, Marvel Comics' Star Comics imprint published a Droids comic book, which was based on the cartoon series. The comic also had the name Star Wars: Droids. The comic series took place about 10-6 BBY, unlike the TV series which was placed around 15 BBY. The bimonthly series ran for a year, ending with issue #8. Significant issues include #4, which crossed over with the Ewoks comics series, and # 6-8, whose story was titled "Star Wars According to the Droids", retelling the original film complete with new scenes told from the perspective of the droids. It is of note that the series was drawn by comic legend John Romita.
Dark Horse Comics also ran a couple of Droids mini-series in 1994 and 1995.
The beginning of The New Jedi Order (1999-2003) novel Balance Point references the planet Kalarba and Hosk Station, both of which originally appeared in the Droids comics. In the novel, New Republic forces engage the Yuuzhan Vong over Kalarba. The Yuuzhan Vong then use the Yo'gand's Core tactic on Hosk Station, which they use to devastate Kalarba.
[edit] Toys and video games
In 1985, Kenner produced a toy line based on the series, including action figures, ship models, and other items. For more on the toy line, see this link.
A Star Wars: Droids computer game, known as Droids: Escape from Aaron, was released in 1988 for the ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC home computers.
In 2007, Gentle Giant released an animated maquette of Boba Fett based on Fett's appearance in the series. It was a Celebration exclusive; out of the 1000 produced, 700 were sold at Celebration IV, while the remianing 300 were sold at Celebration Europe.[8] Other Star Wars: Droids merchandise was also offered at Celebration IV; for instance, items from the Lucas Licensing archives were auctioned off, including a complete set of the rare line of vintage Kenner action figures based on the series. The rarest of the figures—the Boba Fett figure—held a starting price of nearly $2000.
On June 4, 2007, a previously unreleased original Mungo Baobab prototype action figure for the original toy line was sold on an eBay auction for $4,075.[9]
[edit] Continuity
[edit] Alleged continuity issues
Star Wars: Droids is set in the 19 year long time period between the rise of the Galactic Empire in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, and the events of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. Many times during the show, agents of The Empire were shown to enforce this idea. The show was later given an approximate date 15 years before the droids ran into Luke Skywalker in A New Hope 15 BBY.
In times past, there had been a minor controversy in Star Wars fandom as to whether the Star Wars: Droids cartoon series should be considered canon in the Star Wars timeline. Though officially released and endorsed by Lucasfilm Ltd. and endorsed by Star Wars creator George Lucas, the overall premise of the series hadn't been initially explained within the storyline and consequences of the two films, Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope until some time later.
At the end of Revenge of the Sith, Senator Bail Organa (adoptive father of Princess Leia Organa) tells Captain Antilles of the Tantive IV consular ship, "I'm placing these droids in your care. Treat them well. Clean them up. Have the protocol droid's mind wiped." In A New Hope, C-3PO tells Luke Skywalker that their last master was Captain Antilles. However, in the Droids series, the droids have numerous masters before Captain Antilles is shown to have or regained care of them in A New Hope, while the setting is after the (later conceived) Revenge of the Sith where they are entrusted to him. Star Wars: The Ultimate Visual Guide gives an official explanation for this continuity issue, mentioning that the droids were "accidentally separated" from Antilles, which is when the Droids cartoon happens, "before returning to Captain Antilles' ship, the Tantive IV." This explanation was further detailed when Corla Metonae's backstory was developed by Billy Buehler (AKA The2ndQuest) for Hyperspace's What's The Story? feature, according to which, she was the responsible for this separation.
In "A Race to the Finish", C-3PO claims that another droid graduated from the same "production academy" as he had. This may be a continuity issue, as in Episode I it is revealed that C-3PO was built by Anakin Skywalker, although this contradiction could be explained by the fact that his memory was erased at the end of Revenge of the Sith.
A more persistent problem arises with the dating of the series at 15 BBY. This is not an internal date, as it was given by LFL years later. However, several internal issues seem to suggest that it actually takes place much later.
One is the fact that Jann Tosh is flying an A-Wing, which was not introduced in the films until Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, and according to Expanded Universe sources, not developed until after the events of A New Hope. In-universe, the A-Wing along with the B-Wing were not developed until well after the Battle of Yavin. The A-Wing and B-Wing don't show up in the films until the Battle of Endor in Return of the Jedi. The intermediate, but very similar R-22 Spearhead was later invented to explain this discrepancy.
Another is C-3PO's usage of the term "Rebel Alliance" (which wasn't being discussed until at least 4 or 5 BBY).
The other is IG-88, whose creation in Therefore I Am: The Tale of IG-88 takes place a relatively short time before the destruction of the Death Star, perhaps a few years at most.
These internal pieces of evidence seem to suggest that the cartoon series and subsequent comics such as Droids: Rebellion which feature a cameo by Han's droid Zee-Zee (and likely Han himself) take place around 4 or 3 BBY.
[edit] Prequel trilogy references and similarities
See also: List of C-canon elements in the films
The Star Wars prequel trilogy films contain many elements which appear to reference and/or resemble elements from the Star Wars: Droids animated series. This was possibly due to Ben Burtt's large involvement in both story elements for the animated series and his involvement in the prequel films. However, these references/resemblances may have simply been unused concepts that Lucas allowed to be inserted into the series, and then reused the concepts for the prequel films.
- In the fourth episode of the series "A Race to the Finish", the Droids end up at a race known as the "Boonta Race." A similar name was used for the podrace in The Phantom Menace, which was known as the "Boonta Eve Classic".
- On a related note, a two-headed announcer similar to the Pod Race announcers Fodesinbeed in The Phantom Menace appeared in an episode of the series. One speaks basic and one speaks an unidentified alien language.[10]
- The swamp planet of Bogden is a planet visited by the droids in the series. In Attack of the Clones, Jango Fett says that he was "hired by a man named Tyranus on the moons of Bogden." This locale was further expanded upon in the video game Star Wars: Bounty Hunter.
- As confirmed by StarWars.com, the wheel bike, which was Jann Tosh's vehicle, and was seen in the animated series, was also the type of vehicle that was the vehicle of choice for General Grievous in Revenge of the Sith, when in a chase with Obi-Wan Kenobi on Utapau.[11][12]
- The diner in an episode of the series has a strong similarity to Dex's Diner as seen in Attack of the Clones. The cook/owner of the Diner also resembles Dex.[13] Additionally, a waitress droid can be seen dancing with an old prospector.
- A member of the Toong species from the series made an appearance in The Phantom Menace. On a related note, the film also mentions Tund—the species' second homeworld, which first appeared in the novel series The Adventures of Lando Calrissian.
- In the episode, "The Pirates of Tarnoonga", the pirate caves on Tarnoonga bear a striking resemblance to the sinkhole grottos of Utapau as seen in Revenge of the Sith. Tarnoonga is also a planet completely covered by water, with a few synthetic structures. This is later reflected in the planet Kamino in the prequels.
- During a scene in Revenge of the Sith, Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi and R2-D2 are captured by General Grievous' forces. To allow Anakin and Obi-Wan to retrieve their lightsabers, R2-D2 creates a distraction by opening all his panels, extending his tools, and "screaming" while moving wildly about. R2 performs this same maneuver several times during the series.
- The Naboo sea creatures in The Phantom Menace seem to be reminiscent of the Miridon sea monster, as seen in the episode "The Pirates of Tarnoonga".
- In the series, the area of space known as the Cloak of the Sith is mentioned and seen. Although not a direct reference, the dark force-users known as the Sith play a large role in the prequel films.
- In the episode "A Race to the Finish", R2-D2 is shown wheeling himself around on the outside of the ship in order to repair it. He also does this in The Phantom Menace.
- The yellow speeder that Anakin and Obi-Wan on Coruscant in Attack of the Clones resembles a speeder from the series.[14]
- Darth Maul's DRK-1 Dark Eye probe droids in The Phantom Menace resemble similar probe droids seen in the series.[15]
- R2-D2 uses a flashlight/searchlight in Attack of the Clones that he first used in the series.[16]
- The Tusken Raiders' huts in Attack of the Clones resemble similar huts seen in the series on Tyne's Horky.[17]
- Cliegg Lars's Power chair that he uses in Attack of the Clones resembles a similar hover chair from the series.[18]
- The Geonosians in Attack of the Clones resemble Gaff's Kobok in the series.[19]
- In Attack of the Clones, exploding asteroids are seen. They were first seen in the series.[20]
- R2-D2 uses a magnet tool of his to pull C-3PO's head in the arena in Attack of the Clones. R2 uses a hidden suction magnet of his in the series on 3PO.[21]
- A weapon used in Attack of the Clones resembles a similar weapon used in the series.[22]
- The "arm" R2-D2 uses to hold the comlink in Revenge of the Sith is used many times in the series.
- The planet Kamino from Attack of the Clones is similar to the planet Roon from the series. They are both mysterious planets unknown to most of the galaxy.
[edit] Expanded Universe references
- HoloNet news In several issues of the HoloNet news, Terrinald Screed makes an appearance.
- New Essential Chronology Screed makes a significant appearance in the Siege of Foerost, a battle created specifically for the NEC.
- Star Wars: Rebellion In this strategy video game, Admiral Screed makes another appearance.
- Boba Fett: The Fight to Survive (2002) involves the planet Bogden, as seen in Droids.
- Ben Burtt references in-universe the Baobab Archives regarding the source which the lyrics of Dha Werda Verda (also written by Burtt) were discovered.
- Admiral Screed was referred to in passing in The New Essential Guide to Characters and Force Heretic I: Remnant. In the latter, it was established that he was executed by Warlord Zsinj shortly after the Battle of Endor, which explains his absence from the post-Return of the Jedi EU.
- The planet of Bogden was seen in the video game Star Wars: Bounty Hunter.
- Michael P. Kube-McDowell based the Defender starfighter off of the ATL Interceptor that appears in the series when writing his The Black Fleet Crisis trilogy of novels.
- The Shadows of the Empire soundtrack liner notes contain references to the planet Roon from the series.
- The novel Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter also mentions Roon.
- The video game Star Wars: Racer Revenge features similar racing tunnels to those found in the episode "A Race to the Finish".
[edit] Notes and references
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
