The Star Wars comedy show

If you haven't heard about it yet, you will. Star Wars will be made into a comedy series. But if that isn't odd enough, it will be animated. Still need more? Seth Green will be one of the key minds behind the project.

If you are suddenly thinking of the Robot Chicken episodes dedicated to Star Wars, you are on the right path. Seth Green is one of the executive produicers of Robot Chicken. And George Lucas has been impressed enough with the specials that he is going to on a path touched on once, during the rarely spoken about Christmas special.

The concept is 'what do the characters in the Star Wars universe do when not saving the universe or fighting dark forces'? The proposal is some form of hijinks, in animated colors sure to amuse any 5 year old (or more than a few smokers, in college or not).

I understand why Lucas and Green are doing this. It will make tons of money. The merchandising could be incredibly lucrative. For Seth Green it gives him a chance to be part of one of the greatest media sucesses of perhaps all time.

But as a fan of Star Wars, and mostly of the original 3 films, I'm not as enthused by the idea. I see it as more of a trend to make a profit. Kind of like how Jar-Jar was meant to draw in children, though most anyone older only wanted to see the character get killed from the moment it was introduced.

Could Star Wars make a good comedy? Will watching Boba Fett do pratfalls week after week be endearing? Could the animated Yoda become Jerry Lewis to an Animated Jedi Mater Windoo? Will we ever see Emperor Palpatine get a pie in his face? Or will it just be characters we never heard of doing things that don't matter in a hopefully funny way?

No matter which direction is taken, I just can't get excited. Maybe I grew up with the best part of the story (the middle 3 chapters), or I've read too many of the novels continuing the story. Maybe I like the characters as they were, or fear even more Jar-Jar-esque characters. But if I feel like that, and my age range is the true support of the bulk what is the Star Wars franchise, what success does this new idea have?

Do you want to see an animated Star Wars comedy? Do you think it's a good or bad idea?

Random items - 4.30.2007.1

So it was another week of surprising events. Mr. Alec Baldwin captured the attention of the nation. Whether it was the anti-spanking crowd or father rights groups, virtually all of the pundits seemed to have a comment. Perhaps the surprising talking head was that of Ms. Rosie O’Donnell who surprisingly was on Mr. Baldwin’s side. That was unexpected.

The announcement by Ms. O’Donnell that she would be leaving the View was hardly a surprise though. I think most non-extreme left of center individuals were expecting this, and obviously Disney was considering this on almost a daily basis. I can truly say I won’t miss her often unfounded rants. And just for the record it seems obvious to me that she was fired.

In more entertaining news, Star Wars fans take note. Mr. George Lucas, and Mr. Mark Hamill have agreed to work on an adaptation of the Star Wars storyline for a special episode of Robot Chicken. For those not familiar with the Robot Chicken series, it’s on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim program block. The series parodies everything from movies to television shows to everyday events or unique items from the surprisingly inventive minds of co-creators Mr. Seth Green and Mr. Matthew Senreich. Fans of the show have seen several parody skits of the Star Wars movies, but this new project will be a full half-hour and will also include the actual Chewbacca and R2D2 soundfiles. Isn’t that interesting. What may happen is really anyone’s guess but I have no doubt it will be funny and very different. Keep an eye out for this one.

I have to ask, is NASCAR really that big a deal? I hadn’t known a single person who ever watched more than a highlight of this before I moved to this small town of Binghamton. Now I see many who ask about people I’ve never heard about. To be honest 90% of those who discuss NASCAR scare me, and it’s not because of their sports preference. Anyway, the reason for even mentioning racing is that Mr. Tony Stewart likened NASCAR to pro wrestling. In essence he stated that a portion of the caution flags that have been used in races were staged thus altering the outcomes. This is similar to the massively staged wrestling programs that seem to have infectiously propagated cable television in recent years. The suggestion by Mr. Stewart is that this use of flags somehow intensifies the enjoyment of racing fans. I don’t get it.

First of all it’s a bunch of guys going around making left turns. For hours. While I can understand the need for endurance, I wouldn’t call it athletic. While it is difficult driving at such high speeds, I hardly equate it with the levels of skill needed to play professional football, soceer, or other such sports. F-1 racing at least has some right turns. What can I say, I find it slightly more mind-numbing than wrestling. That is a hard thing to be. But maybe some of the readers will be glad to know this news, if they don’t already. I’m sure it will be a big controversy in racing.

But since I’m on the subjects of gratuitous violence and numbing minds, I should also mention I noticed a bit dealing with the FCC. The Federal Communication Commision seems to want to influence the violent programs on TV, something they don’t currently have regulation over. I fear if they get the authority to do this. Besides the schizophrenic attitudes that the FCC has, as seen by the amount of flesh shown in various soap operas and primetime television shows for decades now yet the insane freakout that the FCC has after 5 seconds of Ms. Janet Jackson’s breast being exposed, the First Amendment is at issue. That goes without saying that parents need to be involved with what their kids see, and lack of viewers will determine what stays on television. Even if that means the public chooses programs like WWE Raw, American Idol, The Apprentice and their ilk. In my opinion.

Seriously, name one thing the government regulates well. Ma Bell (the old AT&T) was broken up to lower telephone costs and the cost went up. The FDA screws up medications on a regular basis. The Department of Education hasn’t done well for 40 years and the DMV speaks for itself (ok, that’s on the states but you get the point). If the FCC regulates any more on television kiss NFL footage good-bye.

Pay attention. It’s like what I say about Presidential candidates, ask questions or you’ll get stuck with something you can’t do anything about. Just a few late night thoughts.

This is what I think, what do you think?