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New Star Wars TV Series Confirmed 489

Posted by ScuttleMonkey from the i-hope-you-like-sandscapes dept.
merauder writes to tell us BBC News is reporting that the new Star Wars TV series is set to run at least 100 episodes. From the article: "The series will be set between episodes three and four of the film saga. It would cover the 20 years in the life of Luke Skywalker growing up that remains a mystery to most film-goers. McCallum said there would be 'a whole bunch of new characters' and the series would be 'much more dramatic and darker.'"
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New Star Wars TV Series Confirmed More

New Star Wars TV Series Confirmed

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  • A New Hope (Score:5, Interesting)

    by eldavojohn ( 898314 ) * <eldavojohn@noSpAM.gmail.com> on Tuesday March 21, 2006 @02:02PM (#14965412) Journal
    In my youth (prior to eighth grade), I read every Star Wars book out there. I think it was half way through the Young Jedi Academy series when I lost interest (Episode One was the final nail on the coffin of my fondness for Star Wars).

    Now breathe and get everything out of your system about me being a nerd without a life. I was, in fact, a farmboy without a permit or vehicle ... although I'm prepared for some colorful replies in response to this post.

    Kevin J. Anderson & Timothy Zahn could write a story. In their books, they expanded on what Lucas first saw. I read everything and loved the rich histories and futures laid out in the books for characters in the Star Wars universe. Sadly, none of these characters were in the new movies. None of the Jedi were cloned. Everything alluded to in the Thrawn (Zahn) Trilogy was omitted from episodes one through three. There was no talk of Spaarti cloning cylinders or Joruus C'Boath being cloned from Jorus C'Boath.

    Why? Because although these books were licensed by Lucas, they were not official parts of the story. These works became known as the Star Wars Expanded Universe [wikipedia.org] meaning characters not in the movies. This material expands and continues the stories told in the films, taking place anywhere from 4,968 years before The Phantom Menace to about 130 years after Return of the Jedi. In fact, some of the works (like the Dark Empire comics and Zahn's Trilogy) conflict directly with other works.

    Don't be deceived, some of these works (like Children of the Jedi by Barbara Hambly) sucked. But I heavily suggest the Thrawn and Jedi Academy Trilogy if you want to read some of the better stories from the Expanded Universe.

    I would like to say that I remain optimistic about what Lucas can still do with the Star Wars Universe. I believe that he has made mistakes in giving himself supreme veto power over what is shown or added in the movies and I think this attitude has ruined Star Wars for me somewhat. I wish that Lucas would open his mind to other ideas as some of these books have proven that there are other people out there capable of helping Lucas create story lines. I shudder to think that he might attempt to write all 100 episodes without the help of coauthors. It has been my experience that television shows with multiple authors are less likely to grow old. I also hope that Lucas has finally realized that his fans don't want hilarious/annoying Jar Jar Binks but instead want the drama and emotion of Episodes Three and Five.

    Episode One left me disinterested. Star Wars Galaxies left me angry. Hopefully this series will win me back although I think a lot of us will have a hard time adapting to the new actors in old parts. I hope a large part of Luke's Youth is omitted as I cannot think of one young child actor I have liked.

    • Re:A New Hope (Score:2, Insightful)

      by DorkusMasterus ( 931246 )
      I agree with this wholeheartedly. What do people NOT like right now about the franchise: Lucas' tinkering. With this show, he's going to probably have little if nothing to do with the daily content. I'm excited about this. I loved the books, especially the stuff with Thrawn, and while I know this is not the same time period plot-wise, it would be cool to see something along that same thematic idea. I'm excited for this and would give it a shot. (And NO, I'm not a fanboy. I like star wars, but have n

    • Re:A New Hope (Score:5, Insightful)

      by AlterTick ( 665659 ) on Tuesday March 21, 2006 @02:20PM (#14965568)
      I hope a large part of Luke's Youth is omitted as I cannot think of one young child actor I have liked.

      Indeed. Not only that, but the true story arc of the Luke character can't really even begin until Ep4. Too much of the character's development in ANH starts with the premise of Luke as an inexperienced farmboy. To have him do anything beyond shooting womp rats with his T-16 or wasting time at Tashi Station with his friends would bugger the existing canon. Not that I'd put it past Lucas to do just that...

    • It's simple (Score:5, Interesting)

      by sterno ( 16320 ) on Tuesday March 21, 2006 @02:33PM (#14965720) Homepage
      If Lucas mostly keeps his hands off of this it will be good. Lucas is really good when it comes to the big picture view of the Star Wars universe. He did a fantastic job of creating this rich world with all kinds of potential. But if you look at the output from his work, the more involved he is with the movie, the more it sucks, generally speaking.

      What is the best Star Wars movie of all time? Empire Strikes Back, the one he had the least involvement in. Lucas is bad at writing and directing. He really struggles to bring any sense of emotion to the characters. Whenever you see emotion it feels like Soap Opera camp. You look at the stilted dialogue of Padme and Anakin in Episode 2 and 3 and it's just painful.

      So I believe that if Lucas is willing to keep his hands mostly off of this project and let it become it's own thing it stands a chance of not sucking. But it does fascinate me how things have come full circle. Star Wars set a bar and Battlestar Galactica came out shortly after trying to meet that bar and failing quite specatcularly. Now Star Wars comes to television and we have a very high bar set by Battlestar Galactica for what a sci-fi television show can be. Can Star Wars hold up? Probably not, but there's always hope I guess :)

      • Re:It's simple (Score:3, Informative)

        by qeveren ( 318805 )
        The only thing the new Battlestar Galactica has done is made me wish every last character would suffer a horrible, horrible, slow, agonizing death. All of them. oO;
      • Actually I am not sure if Empire is better, or Clone Wars season 2 - really a whole movie by itself, and a damn good one.

        One of them is a close second to the other, at any rate.

        That the Clone Wars project was so good is further proof of your statemnent that Star Wars TV will be pretty successful if Lucas backs away from it a bit.

      • Re:It's simple (Score:5, Funny)

        by WCityMike ( 579094 ) on Tuesday March 21, 2006 @06:36PM (#14967843)
        Lucas is bad at writing and directing. He really struggles to bring any sense of emotion to the characters. Whenever you see emotion it feels like Soap Opera camp.

        "Oh, Ani, hold me! Hold me like you did at the lake on Naboo!"

        Indeed.

    • Re:A New Hope (Score:5, Interesting)

      by Venyce ( 161118 ) on Tuesday March 21, 2006 @02:35PM (#14965744)
      Timothy Zahn wrote some excellent Star Wars, I agree. I'm a little amazed that anyone could read something like the Jedi Academy series and find them to be anything better than grade D trash. They had to have Michael Stackpole (of X-Wing / Rouge Squadron books) come in and basically re-write it so it was partially believeable.

      The Dark Empire comics where relativly OK, as comics go. However they were trash compared to the good books. Most of the writers had to spend a lot of time ignoring the "Reborn Emperor, and Luke goes to the dark side blah blah. It was shit, but it had to be considered 'canon' for the sake of expanded universe books.

      Now we have the New Jedi Order books. I read 2 or 3 and that was the end. Just too cheesey. Other than Zahn, Stackpole, and a couple of others (whoever adaped Episode 3 and the guy who wrote Shadows of the Empire) I ignore Star Wars books now.

      Stackpole was right when he wrote his main character telling Luke that you can't take a guy who blows up a whole star system and say he's a great Jedi Knight. Good ole Kevin J. invented the super-weapon of the week club. The Deathstar 3, the Sun blaster who whatever that little twit jedi character he wrote used to blow up a star. It was just lame.

      And don't even get me started on the "Wonder Twins" saving the day through any number of books before they were even 12 years old. All of our main characters from the 1st triligy are standing around like assholes, so the kids can do it all.

      No thanks. Star Wars has become questionable. I approach anything writen or done for the screen with skepticism.

      On a good note, look around on the internet and see if you can find "Stuff". A piece of Star Wars fan fiction that was written to try and fix all the dumb shit various authers had done to the story after Zahn's books. It's very well written and pretty funny to boot.

      • Good ole Kevin J. invented the super-weapon of the week club. The Deathstar 3, the Sun blaster who whatever that little twit jedi character he wrote used to blow up a star. It was just lame.

        Yeah, I sure did enjoy it when I was an grade school farm hand. I liked the part where stuff 'sploded! I didn't have the luxery of owning the movies but I had seen them and the books were freely available at the library.

        You (and a number of other posters) seem to be highly critical of my grade school interests.

    • Re:A New Hope (Score:4, Insightful)

      by Klivian ( 850755 ) on Tuesday March 21, 2006 @02:36PM (#14965755)
      >Kevin J. Anderson & Timothy Zahn could write a story. Agree 50%, but not with the Kevin J. Anderson bit. I would rather have Michael A. Stackpole work with Timothy Zahn, he is better than Anderson. They are the best writers that has worked on the Star Wars novels, their respective works are in a class above all the others. And they already have experience working thogether in the Star Wars universe. The 'Side Trip' story from Tales From the Empire, are one of the best short stories in the series.
      • Stackpole was pretty good (the X-Wing/Rogue Squadron series is the best Star Wars I've read aside from Zahn), I tried reading one of Anderson's books and it was pretty bad. Zahn's are definitely the best of the Star Wars books by far (and his other books are pretty damn good, too - try the Conquerors series, or Icarus Hunt). I remember when Heir to the Empire came out, it was just awesome - it was the first non-Lucas Star Wars book out there (that I'm aware of) and it was very well written. Zahn has cons

    • Not just Star Wars - Trek too (Score:3, Insightful)

      by DG ( 989 )
      I was in a similar boat, but with Trek instead of Wars. Bought and read every single paperback that came out, starting with Blish's novelizations of the TV eps, then moving to Alan Dean Foster's novelizations of the animated series, then all the other paperbacks up to about #100 or so, when I finally gave up.

      Some of these, especially later ones, sucked really REALLY hard. But there were some landmark books in this series with some solid writing and adult tones and themes.

      FASA latched on to some of this mate

    • Re:A New Hope (Score:3, Interesting)

      by RzUpAnmsCwrds ( 262647 )
      Why? Because although these books were licensed by Lucas, they were not official parts of the story.

      Actually, most EU content is considered cannon, unless it disagrees with the films or other Lucas-produced works. Indeed, much of the content used in the prequels came from the EU.

  • snark of the day :) (Score:3, Funny)

    by B3ryllium ( 571199 ) on Tuesday March 21, 2006 @02:03PM (#14965416) Homepage
    Great! It should be about as interesting as Enterprise's first season. Yay!

    • Re:snark of the day :) (Score:5, Funny)

      by flyingsquid ( 813711 ) on Tuesday March 21, 2006 @02:08PM (#14965454)
      I think I speak for geeks everywhere when I say that I just can't wait to see a younger, whinier Luke Skywalker.

      • Re:snark of the day :) (Score:5, Funny)

        by Golias ( 176380 ) on Tuesday March 21, 2006 @02:15PM (#14965523)
        Heh.

        It would cover the 20 years in the life of Luke Skywalker growing up that remains a mystery to most film-goers.

        Great. At last! 100 episodes of a farm boy fixing vaporators, shopping for power converters, and shooting at womp rats for cheap thrills.

        And you just know that every last goddamn character that had anything to do with the ultimate destiny of the Empire will pass through Luke's parcel of desert before the series run is over. I've got ten bucks that says we see Fett before season 1 is over.

        • Re:snark of the day :) (Score:5, Funny)

          by iphayd ( 170761 ) on Tuesday March 21, 2006 @06:12PM (#14967676) Homepage Journal
          Of course, this is going to be a sitcom, detailing the wacky adventures of Owen, Beru, Luke, and that crazy hermit Ben. Be ready for these episodes:

          - Luke visits the cantina. Hilarity ensues.
          - Luke buys drugs from the Jawas. Hilarity ensues.
          - Luke goes through puberty. Hilarity ensues.
          - Owen and Beru go out of town, Luke has a party. Hilarity ensues.
          - Luke finds a lightsaber at Ben's, pretends it a sword. Meaningful life lesson ensues.
          - Luke gets a girlfriend. He then wakes from his drug-induced dream.
          - Luke and family go to Hoth on vacation. Luke licks cold weather maintenance droid. Hilarity ensues.
          - Luke questions his sexuality. Steals Ben's Lightsaber again.

          Of course, these are not all of the episodes planned, but they will account for most of the 100 episodes, due to slight retelling of the same story, with the same jokes, over and over again.
    • What I don't get: 100 episodes of Star Wars?!

      Firefly cancelled after one season (okay before the end of the first season)
      Babylon 5 struggled each and every season to get renewed
      Farscape killed off before its time
      Enterprise got killed off as it started getting reasonable (the last episodes were shot when they knew they were dead, and it showed)
      And don't get me started on Birds of Prey

      Why would this series run that long?! (Yes, I know - it's the hype that surrounds a new series and all, but really - 100

      • Tune in next week to Meesa Binks get incinerated ... )

        Ive seen some scripts for the New ST Series, and the whole series is constructed around the idea that Jar Jar gets stuck in a time bubble. Every episode starts with him arriving on Tatooine, and ends with his death, then the time bubble collapses and hes alive and well and about to die in the next eposode.

        One particularly touching script had him run over by a speeder in the opening sequence, with the rest of the episode charting his slow painful progress

  • Mysterious Future (Score:5, Funny)

    by kevin_conaway ( 585204 ) on Tuesday March 21, 2006 @02:03PM (#14965417) Homepage
    Would a slashdot subscriber please look into the "mysterious future" to make sure that this won't get rolled back like Futurama?

    Ah well, I never watched Star Trek anyway.

    • Re:Mysterious Future (Score:5, Funny)

      by minginqunt ( 225413 ) on Tuesday March 21, 2006 @02:11PM (#14965476) Homepage Journal
      I predict that six episodes in, we'll be marching on the Lucas Ranch and Jar Jar Hater Re-education Centre, waving burning sticks demanding this atrocity be pulled from our screens for the sake of humanity, trying to fight our way through legions of brainwashed Lucasites dressed in Ewok suits brainwashed and tooled up with chainsaws disguised as Light Sabres to protect The Bearded One from the angry marching Hordes.

      As George Lucas climbs into his reproduction ATAT and shouts out the order to charge, "Yousa People Gonna Die! Dangah Ewoks" will be the last words YOU'LL EVER HEAR.

      This will come to pass.

      • Re:Mysterious Future (Score:5, Interesting)

        by greysky ( 136732 ) on Tuesday March 21, 2006 @03:28PM (#14966290)
        Fox will have first dibs at the rights to air the seires, and we all know what fox does with scifi series in the post-x-files world. The series will be aired versus the superbowl, or some other mega-draw, the episodes will be run out of order, and they will not even bother airing the pilot. It will be cancelled by the time the sixth episode airs, and all the fanboys out there will start a "save starwars tv" website, asking for donations to privately fund the production of more episodes. Rich Macullum will write to the fans on his blog thanking them for their dedication and support. And it will all be covered here on slashdot...
  • Funny... That's exactly what I was going to say.

    Now I can dust off my Chief Chirpa dolls. W00t.

  • Oh noes (Score:5, Funny)

    by voice_of_all_reason ( 926702 ) on Tuesday March 21, 2006 @02:03PM (#14965421)
    McCallum said there would be 'a whole bunch of new characters'

    Meesa cries a bit at that ominous remark

  • only if (Score:5, Funny)

    by tubbtubb ( 781286 ) * on Tuesday March 21, 2006 @02:04PM (#14965424)

    I'm not going to watch it, unless Han shoots a new bounty hunter (first) at the opening of every single episode.

    Only that will atone for Lucas's past sins.

    • Re:only if (Score:5, Funny)

      by Matimus ( 598096 ) <mccredie&gmail,com> on Tuesday March 21, 2006 @02:33PM (#14965717)
      I'm not going to watch it, unless Han shoots a new bounty hunter (first) at the opening of every single episode. Only that will atone for Lucas's past sins.

      Only if by "New" you mean an infant he suspects might one day become a bounty hunter in addition to it being a different infant every week. In fact, I won't watch unless that is the plot for the entire series. They can call it "Star Wars: Han Solo Baby Bounty Hunter Hunter Chronicles".

    • Follow Han, not Luke (Score:5, Interesting)

      by Pfhorrest ( 545131 ) on Tuesday March 21, 2006 @03:28PM (#14966297) Homepage Journal
      That's something I'd be far more interested to see. The history of Han Solo leading up to ANH. Luke, as has been said everywhere, was a boring farm boy on a backwater planet. Han Solo was a riotous space cowboy smuggling for the Fetts. His story would be far more interesting.

      Besides, Han is about the only character from the original trilogy whose ancestry/history/whatever aren't talked about in the prequels already...

  • The wrong 20 years. (Score:5, Funny)

    by Tackhead ( 54550 ) on Tuesday March 21, 2006 @02:05PM (#14965439)
    Show me the 20 years of Anakin Skywalker between Episode III and IV. Show me the 20 years of Luke Skywalker following Episode VI. But this...

    > It would cover the 20 years in the life of Luke Skywalker growing up that remains a mystery to most film-goers.

    Ah, I see - the years when Luke started out as a whiny, snot-nosed kid to, umm...

    Well, I guess there's nothing to see here, I'll move along.

    • That was my first reaction too. We had a high-tech universe full of jedi doing great deeds until episodes 1-3, and then we already know there's a quiet patch full of evil empireness until a few years later, and then we have episodes 4-6 telling the story of how the rebels fixed it. Prequels or sequels might have had potential, but something in the middle, when the older generation's original favourite characters are still in kindergarten and there are no jedi not in hiding? Zzzzzzz.

  • Could've picked a better setting (Score:5, Insightful)

    by voice_of_all_reason ( 926702 ) on Tuesday March 21, 2006 @02:07PM (#14965445)
    It would cover the 20 years in the life of Luke Skywalker growing up that remains a mystery to most film-goers

    I thought the whole point of the opening on Tattooine was that Luke was bored to tears on his home planet, and that his whole life up until this point was a choice between tendin' to the vaporators and picking up power converters at Tosche Station.

    That said, if he hated his life enough to consider signing up for the Imperial military, why would it be of any interest at all to us?
    • But we'll be able to watch Luke bulls-eye womprats in his T-16. Plus more epic and grand adventures!
      • It'll be like the Dukes of Hazzard... In Space. Luke & Biggs Duke. I can almost hear the song. Just the good old boys never meanin no harm... They steal Uncle Owen's land speeder and always get in trouble with the local dim witted imperials. Those crazy kids. Tuskan Raiders/Jawas/Hutts/Wamprats loads of fun for the whole family. How many times will the Blue Milk gag work? I started of in sarcastic mode now I'm looking forward to seeing it. oh well...

    • Re:Could've picked a better setting (Score:5, Interesting)

      by mcc ( 14761 ) <amcclure@purdue.edu> on Tuesday March 21, 2006 @02:31PM (#14965696) Homepage
      That said, if he hated his life enough to consider signing up for the Imperial military, why would it be of any interest at all to us?

      The answer is obvious and, unfortunately, terrible. They're almost certainly going to pack luke's early life with exciting star-flung adventures, cameos of star wars characters, and a constant use of the force powers he supposedly didn't know he had. By the time the series ends, whatever suspension of disbelief the once-powerful opening scenes of A New Hope originally conjured will have been totally destroyed by the knowlege that Luke Skywalker is in fact just as experienced and battle-hardened as any character from Sailor Moon.

      An alternate possibility is that when they say "the 20 years luke skywalker was growing up", they don't mean luke will be the focus of the series-- they just mean that is the period over which the series will take place. That is, perhaps the action will all follow Bail Organa, Mon Mothma et al, who have exciting and dangerous space adventures while Luke Skywalker is repainting the grain silo. This would make for an interesting and believable series-- and putting Leia through complex and traumatic adventures (while Luke sits at home and watches the news dispatches depicting the Empire's party line propaganda version of those same adventures) would be totally consistent with what we see in the movies. But I do not consider this likely to happen. Over 100 episodes, the temptation of somehow dragging Luke in every other plot will be too great to resist.

      Oh-- and expect a long and drawn-out plot arc in which Obi-Wan takes increasingly dangerous journeys into the underworld in a desperate attempt to make the last three clumsy minutes of dialogue in Return of the Sith seem dramatic and important instead of just being a hastily composed plot band-aid. Expect Luke to feature in these semifrequently, although he supposedly had never met Old Ben before the beginning of A New Hope.

  • I Can't Wait (Score:5, Funny)

    by BRock97 ( 17460 ) on Tuesday March 21, 2006 @02:07PM (#14965447) Homepage
    You thought moisture farming was fun and exciting before, wait until you see it in HD! Plus, I can't wait to see a permiere for the new season of the O.C. during the last five minutes of a Star Wars television episode!

  • New Characters? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by magicsquid ( 85985 ) on Tuesday March 21, 2006 @02:08PM (#14965449) Homepage
    It will be interesting to see if they create the new characters with the ultimate eye towards plot development or whether they are simply created in order to sell merchandise.

    Given Lucas' focus in the last 5 years, I'd guess merchandising.

  • i thought (Score:5, Insightful)

    by stoolpigeon ( 454276 ) * <bittercode@gmail> on Tuesday March 21, 2006 @02:08PM (#14965451) Homepage Journal
    luke just hung out on his uncle's farm. if he actually did anything interesting, that would fly in the face of everything he says and does in ep 4.

    • Re:i thought (Score:5, Insightful)

      by AeroIllini ( 726211 ) <aeroillini@NOSpam.gmail.com> on Tuesday March 21, 2006 @03:27PM (#14966280)
      if he actually did anything interesting, that would fly in the face of everything he says and does in ep 4.

      Like George Lucas has ever given a damn about continuity. Didn't Yoda mention that he taught Obi-Wan? How does Vader not recognize R2-D2 and C3P0?

      Lucas doesn't care about the story. He puts in familiar characters just so you'll say, "Hey! I recognize him!" and go buy the action figure. If you thought any further than that about it, you're out of Lucas's league. This TV show will be no different.

      • Re:i thought (Score:4, Insightful)

        by viking099 ( 70446 ) on Tuesday March 21, 2006 @04:37PM (#14966895)
        "How does Vader not recognize R2-D2 and C3P0?"

        Do you recognise the Lego blocks you played with as a child? Or maybe the Apple IIe you might have used around 20 years ago? How about the little "robot in a kit" you might have assembled back then?

        What about the vacuum cleaner your mom used when you were 10? The hammer your dad might have used?

        No? Why not? Oh, because they were beneath the level of attention you gave other, more important, things. The Star Wars world is FULL of such things. In ANH there are like 3 or 4 protocol droids shuffling around in Princess Leia's ship, and I'm sure it's the same with R2 units.

        Just because important things happened to people while some "things" are around doesn't necessarily mean that they'll be remembered decades later. Not even the contexts were the same.

        Lucas is guilty of a lot of stuff when it comes to plot holes, retconning storylines, and dumb editing, but this one is always trotted out as a prime example of his hubris, when to me it's just another statement of the ubiquitous nature of robotic assistants in his world.

        There is no reason for Vader to remember R2D2 or C3P0, because they're just tools, despite their personalities or presence during important events.

        • But.. (Score:3, Insightful)

          by Makarakalax ( 658810 )
          Isn't that missing the point that vadar built C3PO? I'd recognise everything I ever built. Even if I built it from a kit that half a million other kids used. There's always a scratch or badly done part that I'll recall a story about or something.

  • Heh (Score:5, Funny)

    by Moby Cock ( 771358 ) on Tuesday March 21, 2006 @02:08PM (#14965460) Homepage
    I feel A New Pessimism about the story that leads to A New Hope.
  • I think TV Star Wars just jumped the shark [jumptheshark.com] before it even started...
  • I just re-read the original Thrawn/Zahn trilogy (one of my favorite canned sci-fi series actually) about 3 weeks ago and had a dream a few weeks back about Star Wars coming to TV. Very freaky.

    My better half and I were debating how much we would hate to see an Ender's Game movie but how much we'd prefer to see Star Wars come to the small screen format -- especially a darker Star Wars a la Episode IV. Star Wars was better when it was made in an older film format and everything was "dirty" so hopefully they

  • Least interesting part? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by irc.goatse.cx troll ( 593289 ) on Tuesday March 21, 2006 @02:11PM (#14965477) Journal
    It seems like a silly timeframe for a star wars show. Jedis when theyre hiding, luke when he doesn't know anything about the force, dark side ruling without any serious opposition.. The way they described it makes it sound like there won't even be any light sabers.

    Seems like theyre trying to clone the success of Smallville, except Superman found out his powers on his own-- Luke didn't know about them until taught.

    Attack of the clones, indeed.

    • Re:Least interesting part? (Score:5, Interesting)

      by bckrispi ( 725257 ) on Tuesday March 21, 2006 @03:03PM (#14966040)
      It seems like a silly timeframe for a star wars show. Jedis when theyre hiding, luke when he doesn't know anything about the force, dark side ruling without any serious opposition.. The way they described it makes it sound like there won't even be any light sabers. Silly timeframe? The 20 years between RotS & ANH are arguably the *darkest* period in the whole saga. There are plenty of interesting plot threads that can be covered:
      1. The subjugation & enslavement of resistant worlds by the Empire
      2. Vader "hunting down and destroying" any Jedi who survived Order 66
      3. Bail Organa & Mon Mothma stirring the seeds of rebellion.
      4. Obi-wan's early relationship with Luke and Uncle Owen. We know from ANH that there is history between these characters.
      5. Palpatine consolidating his power away from the Imperial Senate to his hand-picked regional governors.

  • 60 Second Version (Score:4, Funny)

    by ndansmith ( 582590 ) on Tuesday March 21, 2006 @02:12PM (#14965487)
    <whine>
    "But I was going to [location] to pick up some [items]!"
    </whine>
    ad nauseum

  • 100 episodes... of... (Score:4, Insightful)

    by ChePibe ( 882378 ) on Tuesday March 21, 2006 @02:12PM (#14965489)
    of... what exactly?

    20 years of Luke growing up? Call me crazy, but Episode IV points to Luke's childhood being quite boring, comparatively. It sounds as if he raced a lot, argued with his parents, and generally did "kid stuff" with little to no understanding of precisely what the force was and only the ocassional trip beyond the confines of his farm to spice things up. His caretakers obviously were not on the run to avoid detection, as he was dropped off at the same place he grew up and left in Episode IV.

    I think this will turn quickly into Lucas's "Smallville" and, as such, fail to connect with "true" fans.

  • Great idea! (Score:5, Funny)

    by Locke2005 ( 849178 ) on Tuesday March 21, 2006 @02:12PM (#14965491)
    The long, slow, painful death of Jar-Jar should make for a great first season... but what are they going to do for the second season?
  • George Lucas has absolutely nothing to do with it.

  • They should have done this sooner! (Score:3, Funny)

    by Pitr ( 33016 ) on Tuesday March 21, 2006 @02:13PM (#14965501)
    Will Wheaton is too old to play the part now! ;)

  • MONEY MONEY MONEY MONEY!!!! (Score:3, Insightful)

    by autopr0n ( 534291 ) on Tuesday March 21, 2006 @02:13PM (#14965507) Homepage Journal
    Each episode of the new starwars movies was supposed to be 'darker' then the last, and each one was ridiculous.

    Still, if it means that someone else will be doing the directing, it will have to be an improvement.

  • It has a lot to live up to (Score:5, Funny)

    by blibbler ( 15793 ) on Tuesday March 21, 2006 @02:14PM (#14965516)
    Everyone remembers how wonderful the previous starwars TV shows have been. I hope this lives up to the brilliance of "droids", and the Christmas special. I would like to see a "Luke in the Middle" sitcom style... except without any brothers... perhaps they could adopt a jawa.
    later on, it could morph into a "the OC" style show, set in Mos Eisley... "the ME"

  • Sounds like they're following the wrong Skywalker (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Channard ( 693317 ) on Tuesday March 21, 2006 @02:16PM (#14965538) Journal
    'Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader' shows that there's still plenty of mileage in Vader's post ROTS and pre-New Hope years. Hunting down rogue Jedi, dealing with the rebel resistance etc - more fun than Luke Skywalker's life would be.

  • I Have a Bad Feeling About This... (Score:3, Interesting)

    by malikvlc ( 889549 ) on Tuesday March 21, 2006 @02:17PM (#14965541) Homepage

    It would cover the 20 years in the life of Luke Skywalker growing up that remains a mystery to most film-goers.

    I am confused - just HOW much of a mystery could his life have been? Growing up on the moisture farm, rise early to avoid the heat, dust off the droids, whine to Uncle Ben, lots of sand on Tattoine...

    Lucas should not milk this cow any longer, prequels are not his strength! I'd root for something that picked up twenty years after Ep VI, the books are full of the political intrigue and scandal Lucas adored so much for Ep's I, II, and III...

    Ok, maybe even that would suck.

  • Han better be in there somewhere... (Score:3, Interesting)

    by mobiux ( 118006 ) on Tuesday March 21, 2006 @02:18PM (#14965545)
    Like a side story, just bringing him into the story.

    That type of character is what was missing from #1-3.

    People aren't just good or bad, some people walk the line between the two.

  • much more dramatic and darker (Score:3, Funny)

    by Expert Determination ( 950523 ) on Tuesday March 21, 2006 @02:21PM (#14965577)
    Does that mean that even more people will have their hands amputated? What does Lucas have against hands anyway?

  • Skywalker story is already told (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Cy Sperling ( 960158 ) on Tuesday March 21, 2006 @02:21PM (#14965579)
    I wish they would just leave the entire storyline of the movies out of it. The universe he has created is so textured and interesting- why do we need to see Young Skywalker? Can't we just go to a new world and witness all new characters struggle with life under the Empire? More forced connections to the films just makes the narrative clumsy and self concious. Let's see an action series about a rebel resistance group, or the exploits of a Han Solo type anti-hero/outlaw (Oh wait, that was Firefly).

  • Worst. Idea. Ever. (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Lave ( 958216 ) on Tuesday March 21, 2006 @02:24PM (#14965616)
    It would cover the 20 years in the life of Luke Skywalker growing up [on a farm, doing nothing, with no powers]

    Rather than post and post, about why this is a fucking stupid idea. Lets just all post the words:

    Worst. Idea. Ever.

    And mod each other +5 insightful.

  • Kurosawa (Score:3, Interesting)

    by corporatemutantninja ( 533295 ) on Tuesday March 21, 2006 @02:28PM (#14965652)
    I've been thinking for years that Lucas should do a Star Wars version of the Yusagi Yojimbo story. It got retold as a Clint Eastwood Western (For A Few Dollars More), so why not as Sci Fi? Lone Jedi on a remote mining colony, two alien races in conflict, light saber vs. blaster. "My mistake, make that 4 cryogenic suspension tubes."


    A TV Series would be a perfect opportunity for this idea.

  • Lucas "image" (Score:3, Funny)

    by wolfponddelta ( 922904 ) on Tuesday March 21, 2006 @02:33PM (#14965721)
    If the photo accompanying the BBC article is any clue, Lucas is working hard to transform himself so he can guest star as Jabba in the series.

  • Uh-oh (Score:5, Funny)

    by Reducer2001 ( 197985 ) on Tuesday March 21, 2006 @02:33PM (#14965726) Homepage
    I have a bad feeling about this.

  • Why choose Luke? There is another... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 21, 2006 @02:35PM (#14965743)
    Why not track the story of how Leah became a key player in the Alliance. More on her and her family on Alderan would be more entertaining than anything about Luke.

    Or Grand Moff Tarkan and the construction of the Death Star.

    Or Han Solo and Chewey smuggling and fighting bounty hunters, or AS bounty hunters. Throw in a little Lando. Works every time...

    Or Boba Fett's adventures as a bounty hunter, and perhaps an akward relationship with Vader.

    Or the further slauter of Jedi by Darth Vader. Have him track down Jedi and kick the crap out of them. Show him get more and more evil. This can be be supplimented with yoda training a few of the better Jedi that are fugitive.

    Any of this is better than tracking Luke or Obi-Wan. Putting Luke into forced adventures on Tatooine will really ruin the whole story, it doesn't fit well with A New Hope.

  • Uhg... (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Cyno01 ( 573917 ) <Cyno01@hotmail.com> on Tuesday March 21, 2006 @02:44PM (#14965837) Homepage
    Luke is the last character we wanna see as an adolescent. C'mon, he was a farmer on a desert planet, snore. Even leia would be more interesting. Her dad was a senetor in the imperial senate. And anyone whos read the illustrated starwars universe knows how kickass alderran is. The character that me, and im sure everyone else would like to see grow up between epIII and IV... Boba Fett. C'mon, his father gets killed in front of him, thats gonna make for an extra angsty teen. From kid to the biggest badass in the universe. Now that would be a cool show. Not Dawsons Creek with landspeeders and Jawas like this is gonna be.

  • Artistic license with story... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by catdevnull ( 531283 ) on Tuesday March 21, 2006 @02:45PM (#14965850)
    I wonder if there will be an "amnesia" plot device that has made the E4 Luke forget all the "Young Indiana Jones" mis-adventures set for this series? I mean wamp rats and moisture farming on a desert planet would make such an interesting show and all, but they're gonna have to punch it up and figure out a way to tie into "A New Hope."

    Maybe Lucas can just finally move on to another universe outside of Star Wars now that he's milked it dry.

  • 100 episodes, eh? (Score:4, Funny)

    by Rob T Firefly ( 844560 ) on Tuesday March 21, 2006 @03:10PM (#14966114) Homepage Journal
    I predict that by the time episode 100 premieres, Lucas will have already re-released heavily re-edited "Special Editions" of episodes 1-47.

  • Product Placement (Score:3, Funny)

    by MrSteveSD ( 801820 ) on Tuesday March 21, 2006 @04:20PM (#14966752)
    Darth Vader: "I see you have constructed a new lightsaber." Luke: "That's right. And I power it with new Duracell Ultra-Life Batteries." Darth Vader: "I see. wwwwhoooor poooooow" Luke: "You sound a bit congested. Why don't you try new Lemon-Flavor Beecham's Flu Powder?" Darth Vader: "I will, but later my son. Now I must text the Emperor on my new Blackberry 7100r." etc etc

  • There was a good Star Wars TV series (Score:4, Informative)

    by wickedj ( 652189 ) on Tuesday March 21, 2006 @04:24PM (#14966788) Homepage
    It's called Clone Wars and was animated by Genndy Tartovsky. Mace Windu and Yoda were badass. Even Anakin was cool. Yeah, here's hoping Lucas will give control to someone as talented as Tartovsky.

  • Smallville Tatooine Graffiti County (Score:4, Funny)

    by YHZ_MadMonk_CAN ( 929776 ) on Tuesday March 21, 2006 @04:28PM (#14966821)
    Great, we're going to see Berman try to recreate what people think is American teen culture (The OC, Fast'n'Furious, Clerks) on Tatooine using Luke Skywalker instead of Superman.

    Watch Luke drag race his tricked-out Accura Skyhopper in Beggar's Canyon.

    Watch Luke not get any at the Lookoff.

    Watch Luke pine about the girl he never gets (who looks mysteriously like his sister) while some girl (probably a strong-willed red head) pines about Luke.

    Watch Luke avoid disaster after disaster while the mysterious Imperial Governor's son lurks around and insists he and Luke are best friends.

    I was going to say that Luke would battle giant carnivorous beavers but I don't think he's going to even get that close to getting any.

  • Drama (Score:5, Funny)

    by pete-classic ( 75983 ) <hutnick@gmail.com> on Tuesday March 21, 2006 @04:43PM (#14966955) Homepage Journal
    It would cover the 20 years in the life of Luke Skywalker growing up that remains a mystery to most film-goers.

    McCallum said there would be "a whole bunch of new characters" and the series would be "much more dramatic and darker".


    It seems only natural that the adolescent antics of a farm boy would be darker and more dramatic than his subsequent struggle to free the galaxy from the tyrannical grip of his father and an evil wizard.

    (I want to drown George Lucas in Rick McCallum's blood.)

    -Peter

  • "More dramatic and darker"? B.S. (Score:3, Insightful)

    by stlhawkeye ( 868951 ) on Tuesday March 21, 2006 @05:34PM (#14967329) Homepage Journal
    McCallum said there would be 'a whole bunch of new characters' and the series would be 'much more dramatic and darker.'"

    Yeah, whatever. When the prequels were in the queue, this is what they said about them. They'd be more dramatic. Darker. Lucas was even going to pitch the familiar theme music and do something different. It all sounded wonderfully original and artistic until somebody said, "George, nobody wants that. People want the same score, the same movies all over again." So George, 20 years older and basically living off the technology royalties from ILM, having not written anything worth watching (note that Indiana Jones is basically a really awful movie that is saved by an enchanting combination of a fun score, the kinetic influence of Spielberg, and chemistry among the actors), writes Episode 1. I don't want to rehash the myriad complaints about Star Wars, but Episodes 1-3 were supposed to be "much darker". Well, the watered-down scene where Anakin kills the Tusken raiders elicited a yawn from me. I still get uneasy watching the scene of Han Solo of being tortured for no reason other than the Empire delights in torture. "They never even asked me any questions." Yeah, they do'nt care, they just enjoy inflicting pain and suffering. Then Lando walks through the corridors of his city arguing with Vader with the sounds of Solo screaming in inhumane pain behind him ... that's dark. Nothing about Anakin's fall from grace was dark. It barely even made sense, nor did Padme's perplexing passion for him. The films were written by a guy in his 60's who has clearly forgotten whatever he once knew about the passionate love of youth.

    So now they're going to make a "darker" TV series. Well, bullshit. Sorry. Their last attempt at "darker" gave us the slapstick antics of Jar Jar Binks flopping around a virtual soundstage and spouting sentence fragments and stepping in crap and tripping over shit and basically irritating the hell out of everybody.

    There's also a tendancy among bad writers to assume that "dark = deep". If I'm really depressing and dark and morbid and whatever, it means I'm deep and insightful and consumed by the pain that wracks our world in shuddering convulsions, blah blah. This misattribution of insight to misery is probably what fuels the Goth kids. Easy to sit around hating the world and thinking you're above it all simply because you're unhappy. Anyway, when I read, "this is goign to be dark" I hear, "weighty subject matter is going to substitute for insightful writing."

    But I'm cynical.

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