hen Star Wars: The Radio Drama aired on National Public Radio in 1981, its impact on the audio world was stunning. An average of 750,000 listeners tuned in to each episode, nearly doubling NPR's usual audience. But the story they heard was more than just a retelling of George Lucas's 1977 masterwork...
In this version of Star Wars, events begin on the surface of the desert planet Tatooine, where young Luke Skywalker (Hamill) dreams of joining hometown hero Biggs Darklighter in the Imperial Space Academy. It seems Luke just doesn't fit in with the crowd at the local power station, even when he beats hotshot Fixer in a speed run through Beggar's Canyon. The townies don't understand Luke's yearning for something more, and no one -- not even Luke -- thinks the ongoing rebellion against the Empire will affect their remote planet.
Meanwhile, Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan (Ann Sachs) uses her position as an imperial senator to fly mercy missions to the many planets being crushed under the heel of the Empire. While openly denouncing the Empire's tyrannical rule she secretly aids the rebellion, at the same time fending off the advances of the high-ranking imperial Lord Tion (John Considine). When Tion mysteriously disappears on Alderaan, it's not long before the emperor's evil right hand, the dark Jedi Knight Darth Vader (Brock Peters), is on to Leia.
When Vader realizes that Leia has intercepted the schematics for the Empire's new mega-weapon, the Deathstar, he orders her arrest. Before capture, Leia is able to send the stolen plans down to Tatooine in the care of two mismatched droids, who are about to fall into the hands of the unsuspecting but more-than-ready Luke Skywalker...
Listen to the real story
As scripted by SF author Brian Daley, this NPR broadcast plays like the real story of Star Wars, the one that Lucas didn't have time to tell. Mucking around with someone else's characters -- especially ones that have become cultural icons -- is a bold undertaking, but Daley pulls it off with style and confidence. He uses the length of this 13-episode series to good effect, delving deeply into the inner workings of many of the more familiar Star Wars characters, and adding a few new ones of his own. By necessity he covers much of the same ground that Lucas trod in the movie, but with both large additions and subtle alterations, Daley's is an entirely new work in many ways.
The sounds are also a mix of new and old, with most of the effects and music having been lifted wholesale from the movie. In the pure-audio format, these acoustic wonders often have exquisite impact. Unfortunately, the same can't be said for the dialogue. While Hamill and Daniels effectively reprise their roles as Luke Skywalker and C3P0, some of the new cast members are clearly not matched well to their characters.
Leia's voice tends toward that of a whiny, 13-year-old girl, which often undercuts the deadly seriousness of her character's position. To her credit, Sachs is able to pull off most (but not all) of the more demanding scenes. But Perry King as Han Solo is a disaster. With his tone and style King swiftly turns one of the galaxy's most dashing heroes into a goofball who is long on flying ability but short on all else, most notably brains.
But despite these few flat notes, in the end this ambitious radio drama soars to great heights and provides plenty of enjoyable listening, with a few fun surprises thrown in for Star Wars fans.
