1/4 cup all-purpose flour for coating
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - pounded 1/4 inch thick
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup sliced baby portabello mushrooms
1/2 cup Marsala wine
1/4 cup cooking sherry
recipe yields 4 servings
Directions
In a shallow dish or bowl, mix together the flour, salt, pepper and oregano. Coat chicken pieces in flour mixture.
In a large skillet, melt butter in oil over medium heat. Place chicken in the pan, and lightly brown. Turn over chicken pieces, and add mushrooms. Pour in wine and sherry. Cover skillet; simmer chicken 10 minutes, turning once, until no longer pink and juices run clear.
really? is all some people care about griping at P.W. and STO? and you are ALLREADY griping for free stuff? show some god-**** respect for the STO team!!!
this is not a flame, if you consider it a flame, i apologize. it is not meant as such.
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
LLAP, everyone.
Star Wars is an American epic space opera franchise centered on a film series created by George Lucas. The film series has spawned a media franchise outside the film series called the Expanded Universe including books, television series, computer and video games, and comic books. These supplements to the film trilogies have resulted in significant development of the series' fictional universe. These media kept the franchise active in the interim between the film trilogies. The franchise portrays a galaxy that is described as far, far away in the distant past. It commonly portrays Jedi as a representation of good, in conflict with the Sith, their evil counterpart. Their weapon of choice, the lightsaber, is commonly recognized in popular culture. The fictional universe also contains many themes, especially influences of philosophy and religion.
The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year intervals. Sixteen years after the release of the trilogy's final film, the first in a new prequel trilogy of films was released. The three prequel films were also released at three-year intervals, with the final film of the trilogy released on May 19, 2005. In October 2012, The Walt Disney Company acquired Lucasfilm for $4.05 billion and announced that it would produce three new films, with the first film, Star Wars Episode VII, planned for release in 2015.[1] 20th Century Fox still retains the distribution rights to the first two Star Wars trilogies, owning permanent rights for the original film Episode IV: A New Hope, while holding the rights to Episodes I?III, V and VI until May 2020.[2]
Reactions to the original trilogy were mostly positive, with the last film being considered the weakest, while the prequel trilogy received a more mixed reaction, with most of the praise being for the final movie, according to most review aggregator websites. All six of the main films in the series were also nominated for or won Academy Awards.
All of the main films have been box office successes, with the overall box office revenue generated by the Star Wars films (including the theatrical Star Wars: The Clone Wars) totalling $4.49 billion,[3] making it the third-highest-grossing film series.[4] The success has also led to multiple re-releases in theaters for the series.
Contents [hide]
1 Setting
2 Theatrical films
2.1 Plot overview
2.1.1 Cast and characters
2.2 Crew and other
2.3 Themes
2.4 Technical information
2.5 Production history
2.5.1 Original trilogy
2.5.2 Prequel trilogy
2.5.3 Sequel trilogy
2.5.4 Stand-alone films
2.5.5 3D releases
3 Box office performance
4 Critical reaction
4.1 Academy Awards
5 Expanded Universe
5.1 Other films
5.2 Animated series
5.3 Literature
5.4 Games
5.5 Fan works
6 Attractions
7 Legacy
8 See also
9 Notes
10 References
11 Further reading
12 External links
Setting
"Star Wars galaxy" redirects here. For other uses, see Star Wars Galaxy (disambiguation).
The events depicted in Star Wars media take place in a fictional galaxy. Many species of alien creatures (often humanoid) are depicted. Robotic droids are also commonplace and are generally built to serve their owners. Space travel is common, and many planets in the galaxy are members of a Galactic Republic, later reorganized as the Galactic Empire.
One of the prominent elements of Star Wars is the "Force", an omnipresent energy that can be harnessed by those with that ability, known as Force-sensitives. It is described in the first produced film as "an energy field created by all living things [that] surrounds us, penetrates us, [and] binds the galaxy together."[5] The Force allows users to perform various supernatural feats (such as telekinesis, clairvoyance, precognition, and mind control) and can amplify certain physical traits, such as speed and reflexes; these abilities vary between characters and can be improved through training. While the Force can be used for good, it has a dark side that, when pursued, imbues users with hatred, aggression, and malevolence. The six films feature the Jedi, who use the Force for good, and the Sith, who use the dark side for evil in an attempt to take over the galaxy. In the Star Wars Expanded Universe, many dark side users are Dark Jedi rather than Sith, mainly because of the "Rule of Two" (see Sith Origin).[5][6][7][8][9][10]
Theatrical films
The original trilogy (left) and the prequel trilogy (right) DVD box sets of the film series in Costco.
The film series began with Star Wars, released on May 25, 1977. This was followed by two sequels: The Empire Strikes Back, released on May 21, 1980, and Return of the Jedi, released on May 25, 1983. The opening crawl of the sequels disclosed that they were numbered as "Episode V" and "Episode VI" respectively, though the films were generally advertised solely under their subtitles. Though the first film in the series was simply titled Star Wars, with its 1981 re-release it had the subtitle Episode IV: A New Hope added to remain consistent with its sequel, and to establish it as the middle chapter of a continuing saga.[11]
In 1997, to correspond with the 20th anniversary of A New Hope, Lucas released a "Special Edition" of the Star Wars trilogy to theaters. The re-release featured alterations to the three films, primarily motivated by the improvement of CGI and other special effects technologies, which allowed visuals that were not possible to achieve at the time of the original filmmaking. Lucas continued to make changes to the films for subsequent releases, such as the first ever DVD release of the original trilogy on September 21, 2004 and the first ever Blu-ray release of all six films on September 16, 2011.[12]
More than two decades after the release of the original film, the series continued with the long-awaited prequel trilogy; consisting of Episode I: The Phantom Menace, released on May 19, 1999; Episode II: Attack of the Clones, released on May 16, 2002; and Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, released on May 19, 2005.[13]
On August 15, 2008 Star Wars: The Clone Wars was released theatrically as a lead-in to the weekly animated TV series of the same name. Episode VII is scheduled to be released in 2015.
In 2013 it was announced the original Star Wars film will be the first Hollywood movie to be dubbed into Navajo.[14]
Plot overview
A figure of Darth Vader in Amsterdam, who is considered to be one of the most iconic characters of the Star Wars franchise.[15]
The prequel trilogy begins with the Trade Federation blockading the planet Naboo, in response to the Galactic Republic's taxation of trade routes. The Sith Lord Darth Sidious had secretly planned the blockade to give his alter ego, Senator Palpatine, a pretense to overthrow and replace the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic. At the Chancellor's request, the Jedi Knight Qui-Gon Jinn and his apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi are sent to Naboo to negotiate with the Federation, but are forced to instead help the planet's monarch, Padm? Amidala, escape from the blockade and plea her case before the Galactic Senate on Coruscant. When their spaceship is damaged during the escape, they land on the desert planet Tatooine for repairs, where Qui-Gon discovers a young slave named Anakin Skywalker. Qui-Gon comes to believe that Anakin is the "Chosen One" foretold by Jedi prophecy to bring balance to the Force, and he helps liberate the boy. The Jedi Council, led by Yoda, reluctantly allows Obi-Wan to train Anakin after Qui-Gon is killed by Palpatine's first apprentice, Darth Maul, during the Battle of Naboo.[6]
The remainder of the prequel trilogy chronicles Anakin's gradual fall to the dark side of the Force as he fights in the Clone Wars, which Palpatine secretly engineers to destroy the Republic and lure Anakin into his service.[7] Anakin and Padm? fall in love and secretly wed, and eventually Padm? becomes pregnant. Anakin has a prophetic vision of Padm? dying in childbirth, and Palpatine convinces him that the dark side holds the power to save her life; desperate, Anakin submits to the dark side and takes the Sith name Darth Vader. While Palpatine re-organizes the Republic into the tyrannical Galactic Empire?appointing himself Emperor for life?Vader participates in the extermination of the Jedi Order, culminating in a lightsaber battle between himself and Obi-Wan on the volcanic planet Mustafar.[8] Obi-Wan defeats his former apprentice and friend, severing his limbs and leaving him for dead. Palpatine arrives shortly afterward and saves Vader, placing him into a mechanical suit of armor that keeps him alive. At the same time, Padm? dies while giving birth to twins Luke and Leia. The twins are hidden from Vader and are not told who their real parents are.[8]
The original trilogy begins 19 years later as the Death Star space station nears completion, which will allow the Empire to crush the Rebel Alliance, an organized resistance formed to combat Palpatine's tyranny. Vader captures Princess Leia, who has stolen the plans to the Death Star and hidden them in the astromech droid R2-D2. R2, along with his protocol droid counterpart C-3PO, escapes to Tatooine. There, the droids are purchased by Luke Skywalker and his step-uncle and aunt. While Luke is cleaning R2, he accidentally triggers a message put into the droid by Leia, who asks for assistance from Obi-Wan. Luke later assists the droids in finding the Jedi Knight, who is now passing as an old hermit under the alias Ben Kenobi. When Luke asks about his father, Obi-Wan tells him that Anakin was a great Jedi who was betrayed and murdered by Vader.[16] Obi-Wan and Luke hire the smuggler Han Solo and his Wookiee co-pilot Chewbacca to take them to Alderaan, Leia's home world, which they eventually find has been destroyed by the Death Star. Once on board the space station, Obi-Wan allows himself to be killed during a lightsaber rematch with Vader; his sacrifice allows the group to escape with the plans that help the rebels destroy the Death Star. Luke himself fires the shot that destroys the deadly space station.[5]
Three years later, Luke travels to find Yoda, now living in exile on the swamp-infested world Dagobah, to begin his Jedi training. However, Luke is interrupted when Vader lures him into a trap by capturing Han and the others. During a fierce lightsaber duel, Vader reveals that he is Luke's father and attempts to turn him to the dark side.[9] Luke escapes, and, after rescuing Han from the gangster Jabba the Hutt a year later, returns to Yoda to complete his training. However, now over 900 years old, Yoda is on his deathbed. Before he passes away, Yoda confirms that Vader is Luke's father; moments later, Obi-Wan's spirit tells Luke that he must face his father before he can become a Jedi, and that Leia is his twin sister. As the Rebels attack the second Death Star, Luke confronts Vader as Palpatine watches; both Sith Lords intend to turn Luke to the dark side and take him as their apprentice.[10]
During the subsequent lightsaber duel, Luke succumbs to his anger and brutally overpowers Vader, but controls himself at the last minute; realizing that he is about to suffer his father's fate, he spares Vader's life and proudly declares his allegiance to the Jedi. An enraged Palpatine then attempts to kill Luke with Force lightning, a sight that moves Vader to turn and kill his master, suffering mortal wounds in the process. Redeemed, Anakin Skywalker dies in his son's arms. Luke becomes a full-fledged Jedi, and the Rebels destroy the second Death Star.[10]
Cast and characters
Further information: List of Star Wars films cast members and List of Star Wars characters
Cast and characters by film
Character Star Wars Episode IV:
A New Hope Star Wars Episode V:
The Empire Strikes Back Star Wars Episode VI:
Return of the Jedi Star Wars Episode I:
The Phantom Menace Star Wars Episode II:
Attack of the Clones Star Wars Episode III:
Revenge of the Sith Star Wars:
The Clone Wars
Darth Vader / Anakin Skywalker David Prowse
James Earl Jones (voice only) Vader: David Prowse
James Earl Jones (voice only)
Anakin: Sebastian Shaw
Hayden Christensen (2004 DVD release) Jake Lloyd Hayden Christensen Anakin: Hayden Christensen
Vader: James Earl Jones (voice only) Matt Lanter
Obi-Wan Kenobi Alec Guinness Ewan McGregor James Arnold Taylor
R2-D2 Kenny Baker Kenny Baker (credit only)
C-3PO Anthony Daniels Anthony Daniels (voice only) Anthony Daniels
Yoda Frank Oz (voice and puppeteering) Frank Oz (voice and puppeteering / voice only; 2011 3-D re-release) Frank Oz (voice only) Tom Kane
Palpatine / Darth Sidious Mentioned only Elaine Baker
Clive Revill (voice only)
Ian McDiarmid
(2004 DVD release) Ian McDiarmid Ian Abercrombie
Leia Organa Carrie Fisher Aidan Barton
Luke Skywalker Mark Hamill Aidan Barton
Owen Lars Phil Brown Joel Edgerton
Beru Shelagh Fraser Bonnie Piesse
Grand Moff Tarkin Peter Cushing Wayne Pygram
Chewbacca Peter Mayhew Peter Mayhew
Han Solo Harrison Ford
Greedo Paul Blake
Maria De Aragon (close-up shots)
Larry Ward (voice only)
Jabba the Hutt Uncredited actor (voice only; 1997 Special Edition) Mentioned only Larry Ward (voice only) Uncredited actor (voice only) Kevin Michael Richardson
Boba Fett Silent cameo; 1997 Special Edition Jeremy Bulloch
Jason Wingreen (voice only)
Temuera Morrison (voice only; 2004 DVD release) Daniel Logan
Wedge Antilles Denis Lawson
Admiral Piett Kenneth Colley
Lando Calrissian Billy Dee Williams
Bib Fortuna Michael Carter
Erik Bauersfeld (voice only) Matthew Wood
Admiral Ackbar Timothy M. Rose
Erik Bauersfeld (voice only)
Wicket Warwick Davis
Qui-Gon Jinn Liam Neeson Liam Neeson (voice only) Mentioned only
Nute Gunray Silas Carson
Padm? Amidala Natalie Portman Catherine Taber
Captain Panaka Hugh Quarshie
Sio Bibble Oliver Ford Davies
Jar Jar Binks Ahmed Best (voice only)
Boss Nass Brian Blessed (voice only) Silent cameo
Sab? Keira Knightley
Darth Maul Ray Park
Peter Serafinowicz (voice only)
Watto Andy Secombe (voice only)
Sebulba Lewis MacLeod (voice only)
Shmi Skywalker Pernilla August
Chancellor Valorum Terence Stamp
Mace Windu Samuel L. Jackson
Ki-Adi-Mundi Silas Carson
Captain Typho Jay Laga'aia
Bail Organa Jimmy Smits
Zam Wesell Leeanna Walsman
Jango Fett Temuera Morrison
Dexter Jettster Ronald Falk (voice only)
Cliegg Lars Jack Thompson
Count Dooku / Darth Tyranus Christopher Lee
General Grievous Matthew Wood (voice only)
Ahsoka Tano Ashley Eckstein
Asajj Ventress Nika Futterman
Crew and other
Crew/Detail Film
The Phantom Menace Attack of the Clones The Clone Wars Revenge of the Sith A New Hope The Empire Strikes Back Return of the Jedi VII
Director George Lucas Dave Filoni George Lucas Irvin Kershner Richard Marquand J. J. Abrams
Music John Williams Kevin Kiner
Theme:
John Williams John Williams
Writer George Lucas Screenplay:
George Lucas,
Jonathan Hales
Story by:
George Lucas Henry Gilroy,
Steven Melching,
Scott Murphy George Lucas Screenplay:
Leigh Brackett,
Lawrence Kasdan
Story by:
George Lucas Screenplay:
Lawrence Kasdan,
George Lucas
Story by:
George Lucas Michael Arndt
MPAA Rating PG PG-13 PG
Running time 136 minutes 142 minutes 98 minutes 140 minutes 125 minutes 129 minutes 136 minutes
Themes
See also: Philosophy and religion in Star Wars and Force (Star Wars)
Star Wars features elements such as knights, witches, and princesses that are related to archetypes of the fantasy genre.[17] The Star Wars world, unlike fantasy and science-fiction films that featured sleek and futuristic settings, was portrayed as dirty and grimy. Lucas' vision of a "used future" was further popularized in the science fiction-horror films Alien,[18] which was set on a dirty space freighter; Mad Max 2, which is set in a post-apocalyptic desert; and Blade Runner, which is set in a crumbling, dirty city of the future. Lucas made a conscious effort to parallel scenes and dialogue between films, and especially to parallel the journeys of Luke Skywalker with that of his father Anakin when making the prequels.[6]
Technical information
All six films of the Star Wars series were shot in an aspect ratio of 2.40:1. The original trilogy was shot with anamorphic lenses. Episodes IV and V were shot in Panavision, while Episode VI was shot in Joe Dunton Camera (JDC) scope. Episode I was shot with Hawk anamorphic lenses on Arriflex cameras, and Episodes II and III were shot with Sony's CineAlta high-definition digital cameras.[19]
Lucas hired Ben Burtt to oversee the sound effects on A New Hope. Burtt's accomplishment was such that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences presented him with a Special Achievement Award because it had no award at the time for the work he had done.[20] Lucasfilm developed the THX sound reproduction standard for Return of the Jedi.[21] John Williams composed the scores for all six films. Lucas' design for Star Wars involved a grand musical sound, with leitmotifs for different characters and important concepts. Williams' Star Wars title theme has become one of the most famous and well-known musical compositions in modern music history.[22]
Lucas hired 'the Dean of Special Effects' John Stears, who created R2-D2, Luke Skywalker's Landspeeder, the Jedi Knights' lightsabers, and the Death Star.[23][24] The technical lightsaber choreography for the original trilogy was developed by leading filmmaking sword-master Bob Anderson. Anderson trained actor Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker) and performed all the sword stunts as Darth Vader during the lightsaber duels in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, wearing Vader's costume. Anderson's role in the original Star Wars trilogy was highlighted in the film Reclaiming the Blade, where he shares his experiences as the fight choreographer developing the lightsaber techniques for the movies.[25]
Production history
Original trilogy
"Original trilogy" redirects here. For the video game, see Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy.
George Lucas, the creator of Star Wars
In 1971, Universal Studios agreed to make American Graffiti and Star Wars in a two-picture contract, although Star Wars was later rejected in its early concept stages. American Graffiti was completed in 1973 and, a few months later, Lucas wrote a short summary called "The Journal of the Whills", which told the tale of the training of apprentice C.J. Thorpe as a "Jedi-Bendu" space commando by the legendary Mace Windy.[26] Frustrated that his story was too difficult to understand, Lucas then began writing a 13-page treatment called The Star Wars on April 17, 1973, which had thematic parallels with Akira Kurosawa's The Hidden Fortress.[27] By 1974, he had expanded the treatment into a rough draft screenplay, adding elements such as the Sith, the Death Star, and a protagonist named Annikin Starkiller.
For the second draft, Lucas made heavy simplifications, and introduced the young hero on a farm as Luke Starkiller. Annikin became Luke's father, a wise Jedi knight. "The Force" was also introduced as a supernatural power. The next draft removed the father character and replaced him with a substitute named Ben Kenobi, and in 1976 a fourth draft had been prepared for principal photography. The film was titled Adventures of Luke Starkiller, as taken from the Journal of the Whills, Saga I: The Star Wars. During production, Lucas changed Luke's name to Skywalker and altered the title to simply The Star Wars and finally Star Wars.[28]
John Williams, composer of the musical scores for all six films of the original and prequel trilogies.
At that point, Lucas was not expecting the film to become part of a series. The fourth draft of the script underwent subtle changes that made it more satisfying as a self-contained film, ending with the destruction of the Empire itself by way of destroying the Death Star. However, Lucas had previously conceived of the film as the first in a series of adventures. Later, he realized the film would not in fact be the first in the sequence, but a film in the second trilogy in the saga. This is stated explicitly in George Lucas' preface to the 1994 reissue of Splinter of the Mind's Eye:
It wasn't long after I began writing Star Wars that I realized the story was more than a single film could hold. As the saga of the Skywalkers and Jedi Knights unfolded, I began to see it as a tale that could take at least nine films to tell?three trilogies?and I realized, in making my way through the back story and after story, that I was really setting out to write the middle story.
The second draft contained a teaser for a never-made sequel about "The Princess of Ondos," and by the time of the third draft some months later Lucas had negotiated a contract that gave him rights to make two sequels. Not long after, Lucas met with author Alan Dean Foster, and hired him to write these two sequels as novels.[29] The intention was that if Star Wars were successful, Lucas could adapt the novels into screenplays.[30] He had also by that point developed an elaborate backstory to aid his writing process.[31]
When Star Wars proved successful, Lucas decided to use the film as the basis for an elaborate serial, although at one point he considered walking away from the series altogether.[32] However, Lucas wanted to create an independent filmmaking center?what would become Skywalker Ranch?and saw an opportunity to use the series as a financing agent.[33] Alan Dean Foster had already begun writing the first sequel novel, but Lucas decided to abandon his plan to adapt Foster's work; the book was released as Splinter of the Mind's Eye the following year. At first Lucas envisioned a series of films with no set number of entries, like the James Bond series. In an interview with Rolling Stone in August 1977, he said that he wanted his friends to each take a turn at directing the films and giving unique interpretations on the series. He also said that the backstory in which Darth Vader turns to the dark side, kills Luke's father and fights Ben Kenobi on a volcano as the Galactic Republic falls would make an excellent sequel.
Later that year, Lucas hired science fiction author Leigh Brackett to write Star Wars II with him. They held story conferences and, by late November 1977, Lucas had produced a handwritten treatment called The Empire Strikes Back. The treatment is very similar to the final film, except that Darth Vader does not reveal he is Luke's father. In the first draft that Brackett would write from this, Luke's father appears as a ghost to instruct Luke.[34]
Brackett finished her first draft in early 1978; Lucas has said he was disappointed with it, but before he could discuss it with her, she died of cancer.[35] With no writer available, Lucas had to write his next draft himself. It was this draft in which Lucas first made use of the "Episode" numbering for the films; Empire Strikes Back was listed as Episode II.[36] As Michael Kaminski argues in The Secret History of Star Wars, the disappointment with the first draft probably made Lucas consider different directions in which to take the story.[37] He made use of a new plot twist: Darth Vader claims to be Luke's father. According to Lucas, he found this draft enjoyable to write, as opposed to the yearlong struggles writing the first film, and quickly wrote two more drafts,[38] both in April 1978. He also took the script to a darker extreme by having Han Solo imprisoned in carbonite and left in limbo.[9]
This new story point of Darth Vader being Luke's father had drastic effects on the series. Michael Kaminski argues in his book that it is unlikely that the plot point had ever seriously been considered or even conceived of before 1978, and that the first film was clearly operating under an alternate storyline where Vader was separate from Luke's father;[39] there is not a single reference to this plot point before 1978. After writing the second and third drafts of Empire Strikes Back in which the point was introduced, Lucas reviewed the new backstory he had created: Anakin Skywalker was Ben Kenobi's brilliant student and had a child named Luke, but was swayed to the dark side by Emperor Palpatine (who became a Sith and not simply a politician). Anakin battled Ben Kenobi on the site of a volcano and was wounded, but then resurrected as Darth Vader. Meanwhile Kenobi hid Luke on Tatooine while the Republic became the Empire and Vader systematically hunted down and killed the Jedi.[40]
With this new backstory in place, Lucas decided that the series would be a trilogy, changing Empire Strikes Back from Episode II to Episode V in the next draft.[38] Lawrence Kasdan, who had just completed writing Raiders of the Lost Ark, was then hired to write the next drafts, and was given additional input from director Irvin Kershner. Kasdan, Kershner, and producer Gary Kurtz saw the film as a more serious and adult film, which was helped by the new, darker storyline, and developed the series from the light adventure roots of the first film.[41]
By the time he began writing Episode VI in 1981 (then titled Revenge of the Jedi), much had changed. Making Empire Strikes Back was stressful and costly, and Lucas' personal life was disintegrating. Burned out and not wanting to make any more Star Wars films, he vowed that he was done with the series in a May 1983 interview with Time magazine. Lucas' 1981 rough drafts had Darth Vader competing with the Emperor for possession of Luke?and in the second script, the "revised rough draft", Vader became a sympathetic character. Lawrence Kasdan was hired to take over once again and, in these final drafts, Vader was explicitly redeemed and finally unmasked. This change in character would provide a springboard to the "Tragedy of Darth Vader" storyline that underlies the prequels.[42]
Prequel trilogy
After losing much of his fortune in a divorce settlement in 1987, Lucas had no desire to return to Star Wars, and had unofficially canceled his sequel trilogy by the time of Return of the Jedi.[43] Nevertheless, the prequels, which were quite developed at this point, continued to fascinate him. After Star Wars became popular once again, in the wake of Dark Horse's comic book line and Timothy Zahn's trilogy of novels, Lucas saw that there was still a large audience. His children were older, and with the explosion of CGI technology he was now considering returning to directing.[44] By 1993 it was announced, in Variety among other sources, that he would be making the prequels. He began outlining the story, now indicating the series would be a tragic one examining Anakin Skywalker's fall to the dark side. Lucas also began to change how the prequels would exist relative to the originals; at first they were supposed to be a "filling-in" of history tangential to the originals, but now he saw that they could form the beginning of one long story that started with Anakin's childhood and ended with his death. This was the final step towards turning the film series into a "Saga".[45]
In 1994, Lucas began writing the first screenplay titled Episode I: The Beginning. Following the release of that film, Lucas announced that he would also be directing the next two, and began working on Episode II at that time.[46] The first draft of Episode II was completed just weeks before principal photography, and Lucas hired Jonathan Hales, a writer from The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, to polish it.[47] Unsure of a title, Lucas had jokingly called the film "Jar Jar's Great Adventure."[48] In writing The Empire Strikes Back, Lucas initially decided that Lando Calrissian was a clone and came from a planet of clones which caused the "Clone Wars" mentioned by Princess Leia in A New Hope;[49][50] he later came up with an alternate concept of an army of clone shocktroopers from a remote planet which attacked the Republic and were repelled by the Jedi.[51] The basic elements of that backstory became the plot basis for Episode II, with the new wrinkle added that Palpatine secretly orchestrated the crisis.[7]
Lucas began working on Episode III before Attack of the Clones was released, offering concept artists that the film would open with a montage of seven Clone War battles.[52] As he reviewed the storyline that summer, however, he says he radically re-organized the plot.[53] Michael Kaminski, in The Secret History of Star Wars, offers evidence that issues in Anakin's fall to the dark side prompted Lucas to make massive story changes, first revising the opening sequence to have Palpatine kidnapped and his apprentice, Count Dooku, murdered by Anakin as the first act in the latter's turn towards the dark side.[54] After principal photography was complete in 2003, Lucas made even more massive changes in Anakin's character, re-writing his entire turn to the dark side; he would now turn primarily in a quest to save Padm?'s life, rather than the previous version in which that reason was one of several, including that he genuinely believed that the Jedi were evil and plotting to take over the Republic. This fundamental re-write was accomplished both through editing the principal footage, and new and revised scenes filmed during pick-ups in 2004.[55]
Lucas often exaggerated the amount of material he wrote for the series; much of it stemmed from the post?1978 period when the series grew into a phenomenon. Michael Kaminski explained that these exaggerations were both a publicity and security measure. Kaminski rationalized that since the series' story radically changed throughout the years, it was always Lucas' intention to change the original story retroactively because audiences would only view the material from his perspective.[8][56] When congratulating the producers of the TV series Lost in 2010, Lucas himself jokingly admitted, "when Star Wars first came out, I didn't know where it was going either. The trick is to pretend you've planned the whole thing out in advance. Throw in some father issues and references to other stories ? let's call them homages ? and you've got a series".[57]
Sequel trilogy
Main article: Star Wars sequel trilogy
The sequel trilogy was a reportedly planned trilogy of films (Episodes VII, VIII and IX) by Lucasfilm as a sequel to the original Star Wars trilogy (Episodes IV, V and VI) released between 1977 and 1983.[58] While the similarly discussed Star Wars prequel trilogy (Episodes I, II and III) was ultimately released between 1999 and 2005, Lucasfilm and George Lucas have for many years denied plans for a sequel trilogy, insisting that Star Wars is meant to be a six-part series.[59][60] In May 2008, speaking about the upcoming Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Lucas maintained his status on the sequel trilogy:
"I get asked all the time, 'What happens after Return of the Jedi?,' and there really is no answer for that. The movies were the story of Anakin Skywalker and Luke Skywalker, and when Luke saves the galaxy and redeems his father, that's where that story ends."[61]
In January 2012, Lucas announced that he would step away from blockbuster films and instead produce smaller art-house films. In an interview regarding whether or not the scrutiny he received from the prequel trilogy and the alterations made on the original trilogy were a factor in his retirement, Lucas stated:
"Why would I make any more,... when everybody yells at you all the time and says what a terrible person you are?"[62]
In October 2012, The Walt Disney Company agreed to buy Lucasfilm and announced that a new Star Wars Episode VII film will be released in 2015. The co-chairman of Lucasfilm, Kathleen Kennedy became president of the company, reporting to Walt Disney Studios chairman Alan Horn. In addition, Kennedy will serve as executive producer on new Star Wars feature films, with franchise creator and Lucasfilm founder Lucas serving as creative consultant.[63] The screenplay for Episode VII will be written by Michael Arndt.[64] On January 25, 2013, The Walt Disney Studios and Lucasfilm officially announced J.J. Abrams as Star Wars Episode VII's director and producer, along with Bryan Burk and Bad Robot Productions.[65]
On November 20, 2012, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Lawrence Kasdan, writer of Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, and Simon Kinberg will write and produce Episodes VIII and IX.[66] Kasdan and Kinberg were later confirmed as creative consultants on those films, in addition to writing stand-alone films.
Stand-alone films
On February 5 2013, Disney CEO Bob Iger confirmed the development of two stand-alone films, each individually written by Lawrence Kasdan and Simon Kinberg.[67] On February 6, Entertainment Weekly reported that Disney is working on two films featuring Han Solo and Boba Fett.[68]
3D releases
At a ShoWest convention in 2005, Lucas demonstrated new technology and stated that he planned to release the six films in a new 3D film format, beginning with A New Hope in 2007.[69] However, by January 2007, Lucasfilm stated on StarWars.com that "there are no definitive plans or dates for releasing the Star Wars saga in 3-D." At Celebration Europe in July 2007, Rick McCallum confirmed that Lucasfilm is "planning to take all six films and turn them into 3-D," but they are "waiting for the companies out there that are developing this technology to bring it down to a cost level that makes it worthwhile for everybody".[70] In July 2008, Jeffrey Katzenberg, the CEO of DreamWorks Animation, revealed that Lucas plans to redo all six of the movies in 3D.[71] In late September 2010, it was announced that The Phantom Menace would be theatrically re-released in 3-D on February 10, 2012.[72][73] The plan was to re-release all six films in order, with the 3-D conversion process taking up to a year to complete for each film.[74] However, the 3D re-releases of episodes II and III have been postponed to enable Lucasfilm to concentrate on Episode VII.[75]
Box office performance
Film Release date Box office revenue Box office ranking
United States Non-US Worldwide Adjusted for
inflation (US)[77] All-time US All-time worldwide
Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope[78] May 25, 1977 $460,998,007 $314,400,000 $775,398,007 $1,275,650,843 #6 #41
Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back[79] May 21, 1980 $290,475,067 $247,900,000 $538,375,067 $728,808,996 #49 #92
Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi[80] May 25, 1983 $309,306,177 $165,800,000 $475,106,177 $702,477,833 #37 #117
Original Star Wars trilogy totals $1,060,779,251 $728,100,000 $1,788,879,251 $2,706,937,672
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace[81] May 19, 1999 $474,544,677 $552,500,000 $1,027,044,677 $678,225,508 #5 #11
Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones[82] May 16, 2002 $310,676,740 $338,721,588 $649,398,328 $402,490,646 #35 #61
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith[83] May 19, 2005 $380,270,577 $468,484,191 $848,754,768 $447,007,448 #18 #30
Prequel Star Wars trilogy totals $1,165,491,994 $1,359,705,779 $2,525,197,773 $1,527,723,602
Star Wars: The Clone Wars[84] August 15, 2008 $35,161,554 $33,121,290 $68,282,844 $37,492,977 #1,857 ?
Complete Star Wars film series totals $2,261,432,799 $2,120,927,069 $4,382,359,868 $4,272,154,251
Critical reaction
Film Rotten Tomatoes Metacritic
Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope 94% (67 reviews)[85] 91 (13 reviews)[86]
Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back 97% (71 reviews)[87] 78 (15 reviews)[88]
Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi 79% (66 reviews)[89] 52 (14 reviews)[90]
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace 57% (186 reviews)[91] 51 (36 reviews)[92]
Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones 67% (218 reviews)[93] 53 (39 reviews)[94]
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith 80% (253 reviews)[95] 68 (40 reviews)[96]
Star Wars: The Clone Wars 19% (153 reviews)[97] 35 (30 reviews)[98]
Academy Awards
The six films together were nominated for 25 Academy Awards, of which they won ten. Three of these were Special Achievement Awards.
Award Awards Won
A New Hope The Empire Strikes Back Return of the Jedi The Phantom Menace Attack of the Clones Revenge of the Sith
Actor in a Supporting Role Nomination
(Alec Guinness)
Art Direction-Set Decoration Win Nomination Nomination
Costume Design Win
Director Nomination
(George Lucas)
Film Editing Win
Makeup Nomination
Music (Original Score) Win Nomination Nomination
Picture Nomination
Screenplay ? Original Nomination
Sound Editing Nomination Nomination
Sound (Mixing) Win Win Nomination Nomination
Visual Effects Win Nomination Nomination
Special Achievement Award Win
(Alien, Creature and Robot Voices) Win
(Visual Effects) Win
(Visual Effects)
Expanded Universe
Main article: Star Wars Expanded Universe
Cosplay of the Star Wars character, Boba Fett. The popular character was first incorporated in the Expanded Universe in the television film The Star Wars Holiday Special until appearing in the main film series.[99]
The term Expanded Universe (EU) is an umbrella term for officially licensed Star Wars material outside of the six feature films. The material expands the stories told in the films, taking place anywhere from 25,000 years before The Phantom Menace to 140 years after Return of the Jedi. The first Expanded Universe story appeared in Marvel Comics' Star Wars #7 in January 1978 (the first six issues of the series having been an adaptation of the film), followed quickly by Alan Dean Foster's novel Splinter of the Mind's Eye the following month.[100]
George Lucas retains artistic control over the Star Wars universe. For example, the death of central characters and similar changes in the status quo must first pass his screening before authors are given the go-ahead. In addition, Lucasfilm Licensing devotes efforts to ensure continuity between the works of various authors across companies.[101] Elements of the Expanded Universe have been adopted by Lucas for use in the films, such as the name of capital planet Coruscant, which first appeared in Timothy Zahn's novel Heir to the Empire before being used in The Phantom Menace. Additionally, Lucas so liked the character Aayla Secura, who was introduced in Dark Horse Comics' Star Wars series, that he included her as a character in Attack of the Clones.[102]
Lucas has played a large role in the production of various television projects, usually serving as storywriter or executive producer.[103] Star Wars has had numerous radio adaptations. A radio adaptation of A New Hope was first broadcast on National Public Radio in 1981. The adaptation was written by science fiction author Brian Daley and directed by John Madden. It was followed by adaptations of The Empire Strikes Back in 1983 and Return of the Jedi in 1996. The adaptations included background material created by Lucas but not used in the films. Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, and Billy Dee Williams reprised their roles as Luke Skywalker, C-3PO, and Lando Calrissian, respectively, except in Return of the Jedi in which Luke was played by Joshua Fardon and Lando by Arye Gross. The series also used John Williams' original score from the films and Ben Burtt's original sound designs.[104]
Other films
In addition to the two trilogies and The Clone Wars film, several other authorized films have been produced:
The Star Wars Holiday Special, a 1978 two-hour television special, shown only once and never released on video. Notable for the introduction of Boba Fett.
Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure, a 1984 American made-for-TV film?released theatrically overseas.
Ewoks: The Battle for Endor, a 1985 American made-for-TV film?released theatrically overseas.
The Great Heep, a 1986 animated television special from the Star Wars: Droids TV series.
Lego Star Wars: The Quest for R2-D2, a 2009 official comedy spoof primarily based on The Clone Wars film.
Animated series
Following the success of the Star Wars films and their subsequent merchandising, several animated television series have been created:
Star Wars: Droids, also known as Droids: The Adventures of R2-D2 and C-3PO, which premiered in September 1985, focused on the travels of R2-D2 and C-3PO as they shift through various owners/masters, and vaguely fills in the gaps between the events of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith and Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.
Star Wars: Ewoks, also known as Ewoks, was simultaneously released in September 1985 and focused on the adventures of Wicket and various other recognizable Ewok characters from the original trilogy in the years leading up to Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi.
Star Wars: Clone Wars, an animated micro-series created by Genndy Tartakovsky, which aired on Cartoon Network from November 2003 to March 2005.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars, a CGI-animated series based on the animated movie of the same name, which aired on Cartoon Network from October 2008 to March 2013.
Star Wars: Detours,[105] an animated comedy series written by Brendan Hay, who is a writer for the comedy news show The Daily Show, and with creative consulting from the co-creators of Robot Chicken: Seth Green and Matthew Senreich. The series will take place during the original trilogy and the setting will be remote from the front line of war.[106]
Literature
Main articles: List of Star Wars novels and List of Star Wars comic books
Star Wars-based fiction predates the release of the first film, with the 1976 novelization of Star Wars (ghost-written by Alan Dean Foster and credited to Lucas). Foster's 1978 novel, Splinter of the Mind's Eye, was the first Expanded Universe work to be released. In addition to filling in the time between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back, this additional content greatly expanded the Star Wars timeline before and after the film series. Star Wars fiction flourished during the time of the original trilogy (1977?1983) but slowed to a trickle afterwards. In 1992, however, Timothy Zahn's Thrawn trilogy debuted, sparking a new interest in the Star Wars universe. Since then, several hundred tie-in novels have been published by Bantam and Del Rey. A similar resurgence in the Expanded Universe occurred in 1996 with the Steve Perry novel Shadows of the Empire, set in between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, and accompanying video game and comic book series.[107]
LucasBooks radically changed the face of the Star Wars universe with the introduction of the New Jedi Order series, which takes place some 20 years after Return of the Jedi and stars a host of new characters alongside series originals. For younger audiences, three series have been introduced. The Jedi Apprentice series follows the adventures of Qui-Gon Jinn and his apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi prior to The Phantom Menace. The Jedi Quest series follows the adventures of Obi-Wan and his apprentice Anakin Skywalker in between The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones. The Last of the Jedi series follows the adventures of Obi-Wan and another surviving Jedi almost immediately, set in between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope.
Marvel Comics published Star Wars comic book series and adaptations from 1977 to 1986. A wide variety of creators worked on this series, including Roy Thomas, Archie Goodwin, Howard Chaykin, Al Williamson, Carmine Infantino, Gene Day, Walt Simonson, Michael Golden, Chris Claremont, Whilce Portacio, Jo Duffy, and Ron Frenz. The Los Angeles Times Syndicate published a Star Wars newspaper strip by Russ Manning, Goodwin and Williamson[108][109] with Goodwin writing under a pseudonym. In the late 1980s, Marvel announced it would publish a new Star Wars comic by Tom Veitch and Cam Kennedy. However, in December 1991, Dark Horse Comics acquired the Star Wars license and used it to launch a number of ambitious sequels to the original trilogy instead, including the popular Dark Empire stories.[110] They have since gone on to publish a large number of original adventures set in the Star Wars universe. There have also been parody comics, including Tag and Bink.[111]
Games
Main articles: Star Wars computer and video games, List of Star Wars video games, Star Wars trading card, and Star Wars role-playing games
Since 1977, dozens of board, card, video, miniature, and tabletop role-playing games, among other types, have been published bearing the Star Wars name, beginning in 1977 with the board game Star Wars: Escape from the Death Star[112] (not to be confused with another board game with the same title, published in 1990).[113]
Star Wars video games commercialization started in 1982 with Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back published for the Atari 2600 by Parker Brothers. Since then, Star Wars has opened the way to a myriad of space-flight simulation games, first-person shooter games, role-playing video games, RTS games, and others.
Three different official tabletop role-playing games have been developed for the Star Wars universe: a version by West End Games in the 1980s and 1990s, one by Wizards of the Coast in the 2000s and one by Fantasy Flight Games in the 2010s.
The best-selling games so far are the Lego Star Wars and the Battlefront series, with 12 million and 10 million units respectively [114][115] while the most critically acclaimed is the first Knights of the Old Republic.[116]
The most recently released games are Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga, Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II, for the PS3, PSP, PS2, Xbox 360, Nintendo DS and Wii. While The Complete Saga focuses on all six episodes of the series, The Force Unleashed, of the same name of the multimedia project which it is a part of, takes place in the largely unexplored time period between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope and casts players as Darth Vader's "secret apprentice" hunting down the remaining Jedi. The game features a new game engine, and was released on September 16, 2008 in the United States.[117][118] There are three more titles based on the Clone Wars which were released for the Nintendo DS (Star Wars: The Clone Wars ? Jedi Alliance) and Wii (Star Wars: The Clone Wars ? Lightsaber Duels and Star Wars: The Clone Wars - Republic Heroes).
Star Wars trading cards have been published since the first 'blue' series, by Topps, in 1977.[119] Dozens of series have been produced, with Topps being the licensed creator in the United States. Some of the card series are of film stills, while others are original art. Many of the cards have become highly collectible with some very rare "promos", such as the 1993 Galaxy Series II "floating Yoda" P3 card often commanding US$1000 or more. While most "base" or "common card" sets are plentiful, many "insert" or "chase cards" are very rare.[120]
From 1995 until 2001 Decipher, Inc. had the license for, created and produced a collectible card game based on Star Wars; the Star Wars Collectible Card Game (also known as SWCCG).
The board game Risk has been adapted to the series in two editions by Hasbro: and Star Wars Risk: The Clone Wars Edition[121] (2005) and Risk: Star Wars Original Trilogy Edition[122] (2006).
Fan works
Main article: Star Wars fan films
The Star Wars saga has inspired many fans to create their own non-canon material set in the Star Wars galaxy. In recent years, this has ranged from writing fan-fiction to creating fan films. In 2002, Lucasfilm sponsored the first annual Official Star Wars Fan Film Awards, officially recognizing filmmakers and the genre. Because of concerns over potential copyright and trademark issues, however, the contest was initially open only to parodies, mockumentaries, and documentaries. Fan-fiction films set in the Star Wars universe were originally ineligible, but in 2007 Lucasfilm changed the submission standards to allow in-universe fiction entries.[123]
While many fan films have used elements from the licensed Expanded Universe to tell their story, they are not considered an official part of the Star Wars canon. However, the lead character from the Pink Five series was incorporated into Timothy Zahn's 2007 novel Allegiance, marking the first time a fan-created Star Wars character has ever crossed into the official canon.[124] Lucasfilm, for the most part, has allowed but not endorsed the creation of these derivative fan-fiction works, so long as no such work attempts to make a profit from or tarnish the Star Wars franchise in any way.[125]
Attractions
The original Star Tours ride at Disneyland in 1996.
Before Disney's acquisition of the franchise, George Lucas had established a partnership in 1986 with Disney and its Walt Disney Imagineering division to create Star Tours, an attraction that opened at Disneyland in 1987. The attraction also had subsequent incarnations at other Disney Parks worldwide, with the exception of Hong Kong Disneyland.
The attractions at Disneyland, Disney's Hollywood Studios and Tokyo Disneyland closed on July 27, 2010, September 7, 2010 and April 2, 2012, respectively, in order to allow the rides to be converted into Star Tours: The Adventures Continue. The successor attraction opened at Disney's Hollywood Studios on May 20, 2011 and June 3, at Disneyland. The Japan version is expected to open in 2013.
The Jedi Training Academy is a live show where children are selected to learn the teachings of the Jedi Knights and the Force in order to become Padawan learners. The show is present at the Rebels stage at Disney's Hollywood Studios and at the Tomorrowland Terrace at Disneyland.
The Walt Disney World Resort's Disney's Hollywood Studios park hosts an annual festival, Star Wars Weekends during specific dates from May to June. The event began in 1997.
Legacy
Main article: Cultural impact of Star Wars
Just like the franchise, its fictional weapons contained in it, such as the lightsaber and the blaster, have been used in popular culture and have been an iconic part of the franchise.
The Star Wars saga has had a significant impact on modern American pop culture. Both the films and characters have been parodied in numerous films and television.
Notable film parodies of Star Wars include Hardware Wars, a 13-minute 1977 spoof which Lucas has called his favorite Star Wars parody, and Spaceballs, a feature film by Mel Brooks which featured effects done by Lucas' Industrial Light & Magic.[126][127]
Lucasfilm itself made two mockumentaries: Return of the Ewok (1982), about Warwick Davis, who portrayed Wicket W. Warrick in Return of the Jedi; and R2-D2: Beneath the Dome (2002), which depicts R2-D2's "life story".[128][129]
There have also been many songs based on, and in, the Star Wars universe. "Weird Al" Yankovic recorded two parodies: "Yoda", a parody of "Lola" by The Kinks; and "The Saga Begins", a parody of Don McLean's song "American Pie" that retells of The Phantom Menace from Obi-Wan Kenobi's perspective.[130]
In television, the creators of the Robot Chicken series have produced three television specials satirizing the Star Wars films ("Robot Chicken: Star Wars", "Episode II", and "III"), and are developing an animated comedy series based in the Star Wars universe.[131] The creators of the Family Guy series have also produced three Star Wars specials titled "Blue Harvest", "Something, Something, Something, Dark Side", and "It's a Trap!".[132]
During the 2012 Emerald City Comicon in Seattle, Washington several prominent cartoon voice-over actors including Rob Paulsen, Jess Harnell, John DiMaggio, Maurice LaMarche Tara Strong and Kevin Conroy performed a parody reading of A New Hope as a radio play in cartoon character voices that they perform on other animated series, i.e. Jess Harnell and Rob Paulsen as Wakko and Yakko Warner from Animaniacs, Tara Strong as Bubbles from The Powerpuff Girls and Princess Clara from Drawn Together, Maurice LaMarche and John DiMaggio as Kiff Kroker and Bender Rodriguez from Futurama and Kevin Conroy narrating as Batman.[133]
When Ronald Reagan proposed the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), a system of lasers and missiles meant to intercept incoming ICBMs, the plan was quickly labeled "Star Wars," implying that it was science fiction and linking it to Ronald Reagan's acting career. According to Frances FitzGerald, Reagan was annoyed by this, but Assistant Secretary of Defense Richard Perle told colleagues that he "thought the name was not so bad."; "'Why not?' he said. 'It's a good movie. Besides, the good guys won.'"[134] This gained further resonance when Reagan described the Soviet Union as an "evil empire".
I suppose I shouldn't expect better from a company that brought us, and failed at, City of Heroes. Star Trek should have gone to the guys who do EVE Online.
i protest City of heroes was run better after Cr*ptic left.......Less outages
So glad i stopped spending in my first week of starting this game and even though i WANT to spend more i keep holding back because of these so called issues they are unable to solve because they hire monkeys instead of people that know what they are doing.
Anyway pointless staying here ad writing TRIBBLE they dont read it, nor care what there players think nor say about them but they have my vote for worst company.
I don't think its the monkeys, its the monkeys PC they are using for the server. Latest update stated they are going to make some hardware changes before they bring it back up again. Does this mean that they called home and asked Benny to bring his PC over so they can network two together? One for STO and the other one for Neverwinter?
This seems quite fitting, no idea how many of you know about "The Great Smog"? It happened in London in the 1950s and killed more people than I'd care to say. Fascinating stuff, I encourage you to read all about it!
Intro
The Great Smog of '52 or Big Smoke[1] was a severe air pollution event that affected London during December 1952. A period of cold weather, combined with an anticyclone and windless conditions, collected airborne pollutants mostly from the use of coal to form a thick layer of smog over the city. It lasted from Friday 5 to Tuesday 9 December 1952, and then dispersed quickly after a change of weather.
Although it caused major disruption due to the effect on visibility, and even penetrated indoor areas, it was not thought to be a significant event at the time, with London having experienced many smog events in the past, so called "pea soupers". However, government medical reports in the following weeks estimated that up until 8th December 4,000 people had died prematurely and 100,000 more were made ill because of the smog's effects on the human respiratory tract. More recent research suggests that the total number of fatalities was considerably greater at about 12,000.[2]
It is known to be the worst air pollution event in the history of the United Kingdom,[3] and the most significant in terms of its effect on environmental research, government regulation, and public awareness of the relationship between air quality and health.[2] It led to several changes in practices and regulations, including the Clean Air Act 1956.
Events
Sources of pollution
The weather preceding and during the smog meant that Londoners were burning more coal than usual to keep warm. Post-war domestic coal tended to be of a relatively low-grade, sulphurous variety (economic necessity meant that better-quality "hard" coals tended to be exported), which increased the amount of sulphur dioxide in the smoke. There were also numerous coal-fired power stations in the Greater London area, including Battersea, Bankside, and Kingston upon Thames, all of which added to the pollution. Research suggests that additional pollution prevention systems fitted at Battersea may have actually worsened the air quality, reducing the output of soot at the cost of increased sulphur dioxide, though this is not certain. Additionally, there were pollution and smoke from vehicle exhaust?particularly from diesel-fuelled buses which had replaced the recently abandoned electric tram system?and from other industrial and commercial sources.[4] Prevailing winds had also blown heavily polluted air across the English Channel from industrial areas of Continental Europe.
Weather
On 4 December 1952, an anticyclone settled over a windless London, causing a temperature inversion with cold, stagnant air trapped under a layer (or "lid") of warm air.[5][6] The resultant fog, mixed with chimney smoke, particulates such as those from vehicle exhausts, and other pollutants such as sulphur dioxide, formed a persistent smog, which blanketed the capital the following day. The presence of tarry particles of soot gave the smog its yellow-black colour, hence the nickname "peasouper".[4] The absence of significant wind prevented its dispersal and allowed an unprecedented accumulation of pollutants. When the smog eventually lifted there was a black-grey covering of slimy soot particles on all of the top surfaces out of doors. This sooty grime stayed there until a few days later when the first rains came. This soot covering was then washed off the surface of evergreen leaves, buildings and pavements, etc., into gutters and down the drains in dirty black rivulets. The pungent smell about in the atmosphere was of acrid wet soot, which made the eyes and nostrils smart for those unfortunate to be caught out in the open.
Effect on London
Although London was accustomed to heavy fogs, this one was denser and longer-lasting than any previous fog.[7] Visibility was reduced to a few yards ("It's like you were blind", commented one observer),[8] making driving difficult or impossible.
Public transport ceased, apart from the London Underground; and the ambulance service stopped functioning, forcing sick people to transport themselves to hospital.[8] The smog even seeped indoors, resulting in the cancellation or abandonment of concerts and film screenings as visibility decreased in large enclosed spaces, and stages and screens became harder to see from the seats. Outdoor sports events were also affected.
In the inner London suburbs and away from town centres there was no disturbance by moving traffic to thin out the dense fog in the back streets. The result was that visibility could be down to a metre or so in the daytime. Walking out of doors became a matter of shuffling one?s feet to feel for road kerbs, etc. This was made even worse at night because each back street lamp at the time was fitted with an incandescent light-bulb which gave no penetrating light onto the pavement for pedestrians to see their feet, or even the lamp post. Fog-penetrating fluorescent lamps did not become widely available until later on in the Fifties. ?Smog masks? were worn by those who were able to purchase them from chemists.
Near railway lines, on which 'fog working' was implemented, loud explosions similar to the report of a shotgun were a common feature. These explosions were made by 'detonators', a form of large percussion cap placed on the track and activated by the wheels of trains. These were placed by certain signals to provide an audible warning to match the visual indication provided by the signal for the driver.
Health effects
There was no panic, as London was renowned for its fog. In the weeks that ensued, however, statistics compiled by medical services found that the fog had killed 4,000 people.[9] Most of the victims were very young or elderly, or had pre-existing respiratory problems. In February 1953, Lieutenant-Colonel Lipton suggested in the House of Commons that the fog had caused 6,000 deaths and that 25,000 more people had claimed sickness benefits in London during that period.[10]
Most of the deaths were caused by respiratory tract infections from hypoxia and as a result of mechanical obstruction of the air passages by pus arising from lung infections caused by the smog. The lung infections were mainly bronchopneumonia or acute purulent bronchitis superimposed upon chronic bronchitis.[11]
More recent research suggests that the number of fatalities was considerably greater, at about 12,000.[2]
Environmental impact
The death toll formed an important impetus to modern environmentalism, and it caused a rethinking of air pollution, as the smog had demonstrated its lethal potential.
New regulations were implemented, restricting the use of dirty fuels in industry and banning black smoke.
Environmental legislation since 1952, such as the City of London (Various Powers) Act 1954 and the Clean Air Acts of 1956 and 1968, led to a reduction in air pollution. Financial incentives were offered to householders to replace open coal fires with alternatives (such as installing gas fires), or for those who preferred, to burn coke instead (a bi-product of town gas production) which produces minimal smoke. Central heating (using gas, electricity, oil or permitted solid fuel) was rare in most dwellings at that time, not finding favour until the late 1960s onwards.
Despite improvements, insufficient progress had been made to prevent one further smog event exactly ten years later in early December 1962.
Twice in one evening... thats TRIBBLE. I was gonna do the tour for ec that I can't really think of a use for right now but I guess instead I'll go sit in front the tv in my underpants eating beans out of the tin.
This whole process has been nothing but a disaster for me. First of all, I started doing the updates required to get into the Open Beta yesterday afternoon at about 4:30 p.m. EDT. It is now 5:30 p.m. EDT and I am only halfway through it. The launcher has been cut off several times due to "timeouts" and servers not responding. I've tried using both the EU and US proxies, with no change. At this rate, I expect to finally have access to the Open Beta just in time for it to end.
I am a subbie who has dumped a considerable amount of cash into this game in a relatively short period of time. (BranFlakes, you know me as the friend of Gurny who gave him a list of suggestions, including the Canon Legacy Registry and the Z-Axis console.) I'm not asking for anything special out of this, only the opportunity to experience the Open Beta before the time expires.
hmm friend just called me
"What are you playing?"
me-"STO"
him "Ah Star Trek Online still?"
me-"Nope Star Trek Offline.......it's the newest thing."
:P
so i notice that a lot of people are saying things about different servers????? wouldnt you think that perfect world/cryptic would have them any way???? this is just bad I.T.
Comments
ya, apparently.
BTW, snip that TRIBBLE instead of a blind reply
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - pounded 1/4 inch thick
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup sliced baby portabello mushrooms
1/2 cup Marsala wine
1/4 cup cooking sherry
recipe yields 4 servings
Directions
In a shallow dish or bowl, mix together the flour, salt, pepper and oregano. Coat chicken pieces in flour mixture.
In a large skillet, melt butter in oil over medium heat. Place chicken in the pan, and lightly brown. Turn over chicken pieces, and add mushrooms. Pour in wine and sherry. Cover skillet; simmer chicken 10 minutes, turning once, until no longer pink and juices run clear.
I like to serve it with Garlic Mashed potatoes.
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
LLAP, everyone.
Sup?
Star Wars is an American epic space opera franchise centered on a film series created by George Lucas. The film series has spawned a media franchise outside the film series called the Expanded Universe including books, television series, computer and video games, and comic books. These supplements to the film trilogies have resulted in significant development of the series' fictional universe. These media kept the franchise active in the interim between the film trilogies. The franchise portrays a galaxy that is described as far, far away in the distant past. It commonly portrays Jedi as a representation of good, in conflict with the Sith, their evil counterpart. Their weapon of choice, the lightsaber, is commonly recognized in popular culture. The fictional universe also contains many themes, especially influences of philosophy and religion.
The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year intervals. Sixteen years after the release of the trilogy's final film, the first in a new prequel trilogy of films was released. The three prequel films were also released at three-year intervals, with the final film of the trilogy released on May 19, 2005. In October 2012, The Walt Disney Company acquired Lucasfilm for $4.05 billion and announced that it would produce three new films, with the first film, Star Wars Episode VII, planned for release in 2015.[1] 20th Century Fox still retains the distribution rights to the first two Star Wars trilogies, owning permanent rights for the original film Episode IV: A New Hope, while holding the rights to Episodes I?III, V and VI until May 2020.[2]
Reactions to the original trilogy were mostly positive, with the last film being considered the weakest, while the prequel trilogy received a more mixed reaction, with most of the praise being for the final movie, according to most review aggregator websites. All six of the main films in the series were also nominated for or won Academy Awards.
All of the main films have been box office successes, with the overall box office revenue generated by the Star Wars films (including the theatrical Star Wars: The Clone Wars) totalling $4.49 billion,[3] making it the third-highest-grossing film series.[4] The success has also led to multiple re-releases in theaters for the series.
Contents [hide]
1 Setting
2 Theatrical films
2.1 Plot overview
2.1.1 Cast and characters
2.2 Crew and other
2.3 Themes
2.4 Technical information
2.5 Production history
2.5.1 Original trilogy
2.5.2 Prequel trilogy
2.5.3 Sequel trilogy
2.5.4 Stand-alone films
2.5.5 3D releases
3 Box office performance
4 Critical reaction
4.1 Academy Awards
5 Expanded Universe
5.1 Other films
5.2 Animated series
5.3 Literature
5.4 Games
5.5 Fan works
6 Attractions
7 Legacy
8 See also
9 Notes
10 References
11 Further reading
12 External links
Setting
"Star Wars galaxy" redirects here. For other uses, see Star Wars Galaxy (disambiguation).
The events depicted in Star Wars media take place in a fictional galaxy. Many species of alien creatures (often humanoid) are depicted. Robotic droids are also commonplace and are generally built to serve their owners. Space travel is common, and many planets in the galaxy are members of a Galactic Republic, later reorganized as the Galactic Empire.
One of the prominent elements of Star Wars is the "Force", an omnipresent energy that can be harnessed by those with that ability, known as Force-sensitives. It is described in the first produced film as "an energy field created by all living things [that] surrounds us, penetrates us, [and] binds the galaxy together."[5] The Force allows users to perform various supernatural feats (such as telekinesis, clairvoyance, precognition, and mind control) and can amplify certain physical traits, such as speed and reflexes; these abilities vary between characters and can be improved through training. While the Force can be used for good, it has a dark side that, when pursued, imbues users with hatred, aggression, and malevolence. The six films feature the Jedi, who use the Force for good, and the Sith, who use the dark side for evil in an attempt to take over the galaxy. In the Star Wars Expanded Universe, many dark side users are Dark Jedi rather than Sith, mainly because of the "Rule of Two" (see Sith Origin).[5][6][7][8][9][10]
Theatrical films
The original trilogy (left) and the prequel trilogy (right) DVD box sets of the film series in Costco.
The film series began with Star Wars, released on May 25, 1977. This was followed by two sequels: The Empire Strikes Back, released on May 21, 1980, and Return of the Jedi, released on May 25, 1983. The opening crawl of the sequels disclosed that they were numbered as "Episode V" and "Episode VI" respectively, though the films were generally advertised solely under their subtitles. Though the first film in the series was simply titled Star Wars, with its 1981 re-release it had the subtitle Episode IV: A New Hope added to remain consistent with its sequel, and to establish it as the middle chapter of a continuing saga.[11]
In 1997, to correspond with the 20th anniversary of A New Hope, Lucas released a "Special Edition" of the Star Wars trilogy to theaters. The re-release featured alterations to the three films, primarily motivated by the improvement of CGI and other special effects technologies, which allowed visuals that were not possible to achieve at the time of the original filmmaking. Lucas continued to make changes to the films for subsequent releases, such as the first ever DVD release of the original trilogy on September 21, 2004 and the first ever Blu-ray release of all six films on September 16, 2011.[12]
More than two decades after the release of the original film, the series continued with the long-awaited prequel trilogy; consisting of Episode I: The Phantom Menace, released on May 19, 1999; Episode II: Attack of the Clones, released on May 16, 2002; and Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, released on May 19, 2005.[13]
On August 15, 2008 Star Wars: The Clone Wars was released theatrically as a lead-in to the weekly animated TV series of the same name. Episode VII is scheduled to be released in 2015.
In 2013 it was announced the original Star Wars film will be the first Hollywood movie to be dubbed into Navajo.[14]
Plot overview
A figure of Darth Vader in Amsterdam, who is considered to be one of the most iconic characters of the Star Wars franchise.[15]
The prequel trilogy begins with the Trade Federation blockading the planet Naboo, in response to the Galactic Republic's taxation of trade routes. The Sith Lord Darth Sidious had secretly planned the blockade to give his alter ego, Senator Palpatine, a pretense to overthrow and replace the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic. At the Chancellor's request, the Jedi Knight Qui-Gon Jinn and his apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi are sent to Naboo to negotiate with the Federation, but are forced to instead help the planet's monarch, Padm? Amidala, escape from the blockade and plea her case before the Galactic Senate on Coruscant. When their spaceship is damaged during the escape, they land on the desert planet Tatooine for repairs, where Qui-Gon discovers a young slave named Anakin Skywalker. Qui-Gon comes to believe that Anakin is the "Chosen One" foretold by Jedi prophecy to bring balance to the Force, and he helps liberate the boy. The Jedi Council, led by Yoda, reluctantly allows Obi-Wan to train Anakin after Qui-Gon is killed by Palpatine's first apprentice, Darth Maul, during the Battle of Naboo.[6]
The remainder of the prequel trilogy chronicles Anakin's gradual fall to the dark side of the Force as he fights in the Clone Wars, which Palpatine secretly engineers to destroy the Republic and lure Anakin into his service.[7] Anakin and Padm? fall in love and secretly wed, and eventually Padm? becomes pregnant. Anakin has a prophetic vision of Padm? dying in childbirth, and Palpatine convinces him that the dark side holds the power to save her life; desperate, Anakin submits to the dark side and takes the Sith name Darth Vader. While Palpatine re-organizes the Republic into the tyrannical Galactic Empire?appointing himself Emperor for life?Vader participates in the extermination of the Jedi Order, culminating in a lightsaber battle between himself and Obi-Wan on the volcanic planet Mustafar.[8] Obi-Wan defeats his former apprentice and friend, severing his limbs and leaving him for dead. Palpatine arrives shortly afterward and saves Vader, placing him into a mechanical suit of armor that keeps him alive. At the same time, Padm? dies while giving birth to twins Luke and Leia. The twins are hidden from Vader and are not told who their real parents are.[8]
The original trilogy begins 19 years later as the Death Star space station nears completion, which will allow the Empire to crush the Rebel Alliance, an organized resistance formed to combat Palpatine's tyranny. Vader captures Princess Leia, who has stolen the plans to the Death Star and hidden them in the astromech droid R2-D2. R2, along with his protocol droid counterpart C-3PO, escapes to Tatooine. There, the droids are purchased by Luke Skywalker and his step-uncle and aunt. While Luke is cleaning R2, he accidentally triggers a message put into the droid by Leia, who asks for assistance from Obi-Wan. Luke later assists the droids in finding the Jedi Knight, who is now passing as an old hermit under the alias Ben Kenobi. When Luke asks about his father, Obi-Wan tells him that Anakin was a great Jedi who was betrayed and murdered by Vader.[16] Obi-Wan and Luke hire the smuggler Han Solo and his Wookiee co-pilot Chewbacca to take them to Alderaan, Leia's home world, which they eventually find has been destroyed by the Death Star. Once on board the space station, Obi-Wan allows himself to be killed during a lightsaber rematch with Vader; his sacrifice allows the group to escape with the plans that help the rebels destroy the Death Star. Luke himself fires the shot that destroys the deadly space station.[5]
Three years later, Luke travels to find Yoda, now living in exile on the swamp-infested world Dagobah, to begin his Jedi training. However, Luke is interrupted when Vader lures him into a trap by capturing Han and the others. During a fierce lightsaber duel, Vader reveals that he is Luke's father and attempts to turn him to the dark side.[9] Luke escapes, and, after rescuing Han from the gangster Jabba the Hutt a year later, returns to Yoda to complete his training. However, now over 900 years old, Yoda is on his deathbed. Before he passes away, Yoda confirms that Vader is Luke's father; moments later, Obi-Wan's spirit tells Luke that he must face his father before he can become a Jedi, and that Leia is his twin sister. As the Rebels attack the second Death Star, Luke confronts Vader as Palpatine watches; both Sith Lords intend to turn Luke to the dark side and take him as their apprentice.[10]
During the subsequent lightsaber duel, Luke succumbs to his anger and brutally overpowers Vader, but controls himself at the last minute; realizing that he is about to suffer his father's fate, he spares Vader's life and proudly declares his allegiance to the Jedi. An enraged Palpatine then attempts to kill Luke with Force lightning, a sight that moves Vader to turn and kill his master, suffering mortal wounds in the process. Redeemed, Anakin Skywalker dies in his son's arms. Luke becomes a full-fledged Jedi, and the Rebels destroy the second Death Star.[10]
Cast and characters
Further information: List of Star Wars films cast members and List of Star Wars characters
Cast and characters by film
Character Star Wars Episode IV:
A New Hope Star Wars Episode V:
The Empire Strikes Back Star Wars Episode VI:
Return of the Jedi Star Wars Episode I:
The Phantom Menace Star Wars Episode II:
Attack of the Clones Star Wars Episode III:
Revenge of the Sith Star Wars:
The Clone Wars
Darth Vader / Anakin Skywalker David Prowse
James Earl Jones (voice only) Vader: David Prowse
James Earl Jones (voice only)
Anakin: Sebastian Shaw
Hayden Christensen (2004 DVD release) Jake Lloyd Hayden Christensen Anakin: Hayden Christensen
Vader: James Earl Jones (voice only) Matt Lanter
Obi-Wan Kenobi Alec Guinness Ewan McGregor James Arnold Taylor
R2-D2 Kenny Baker Kenny Baker (credit only)
C-3PO Anthony Daniels Anthony Daniels (voice only) Anthony Daniels
Yoda Frank Oz (voice and puppeteering) Frank Oz (voice and puppeteering / voice only; 2011 3-D re-release) Frank Oz (voice only) Tom Kane
Palpatine / Darth Sidious Mentioned only Elaine Baker
Clive Revill (voice only)
Ian McDiarmid
(2004 DVD release) Ian McDiarmid Ian Abercrombie
Leia Organa Carrie Fisher Aidan Barton
Luke Skywalker Mark Hamill Aidan Barton
Owen Lars Phil Brown Joel Edgerton
Beru Shelagh Fraser Bonnie Piesse
Grand Moff Tarkin Peter Cushing Wayne Pygram
Chewbacca Peter Mayhew Peter Mayhew
Han Solo Harrison Ford
Greedo Paul Blake
Maria De Aragon (close-up shots)
Larry Ward (voice only)
Jabba the Hutt Uncredited actor (voice only; 1997 Special Edition) Mentioned only Larry Ward (voice only) Uncredited actor (voice only) Kevin Michael Richardson
Boba Fett Silent cameo; 1997 Special Edition Jeremy Bulloch
Jason Wingreen (voice only)
Temuera Morrison (voice only; 2004 DVD release) Daniel Logan
Wedge Antilles Denis Lawson
Admiral Piett Kenneth Colley
Lando Calrissian Billy Dee Williams
Bib Fortuna Michael Carter
Erik Bauersfeld (voice only) Matthew Wood
Admiral Ackbar Timothy M. Rose
Erik Bauersfeld (voice only)
Wicket Warwick Davis
Qui-Gon Jinn Liam Neeson Liam Neeson (voice only) Mentioned only
Nute Gunray Silas Carson
Padm? Amidala Natalie Portman Catherine Taber
Captain Panaka Hugh Quarshie
Sio Bibble Oliver Ford Davies
Jar Jar Binks Ahmed Best (voice only)
Boss Nass Brian Blessed (voice only) Silent cameo
Sab? Keira Knightley
Darth Maul Ray Park
Peter Serafinowicz (voice only)
Watto Andy Secombe (voice only)
Sebulba Lewis MacLeod (voice only)
Shmi Skywalker Pernilla August
Chancellor Valorum Terence Stamp
Mace Windu Samuel L. Jackson
Ki-Adi-Mundi Silas Carson
Captain Typho Jay Laga'aia
Bail Organa Jimmy Smits
Zam Wesell Leeanna Walsman
Jango Fett Temuera Morrison
Dexter Jettster Ronald Falk (voice only)
Cliegg Lars Jack Thompson
Count Dooku / Darth Tyranus Christopher Lee
General Grievous Matthew Wood (voice only)
Ahsoka Tano Ashley Eckstein
Asajj Ventress Nika Futterman
Crew and other
Crew/Detail Film
The Phantom Menace Attack of the Clones The Clone Wars Revenge of the Sith A New Hope The Empire Strikes Back Return of the Jedi VII
Director George Lucas Dave Filoni George Lucas Irvin Kershner Richard Marquand J. J. Abrams
Music John Williams Kevin Kiner
Theme:
John Williams John Williams
Writer George Lucas Screenplay:
George Lucas,
Jonathan Hales
Story by:
George Lucas Henry Gilroy,
Steven Melching,
Scott Murphy George Lucas Screenplay:
Leigh Brackett,
Lawrence Kasdan
Story by:
George Lucas Screenplay:
Lawrence Kasdan,
George Lucas
Story by:
George Lucas Michael Arndt
MPAA Rating PG PG-13 PG
Running time 136 minutes 142 minutes 98 minutes 140 minutes 125 minutes 129 minutes 136 minutes
Themes
See also: Philosophy and religion in Star Wars and Force (Star Wars)
Star Wars features elements such as knights, witches, and princesses that are related to archetypes of the fantasy genre.[17] The Star Wars world, unlike fantasy and science-fiction films that featured sleek and futuristic settings, was portrayed as dirty and grimy. Lucas' vision of a "used future" was further popularized in the science fiction-horror films Alien,[18] which was set on a dirty space freighter; Mad Max 2, which is set in a post-apocalyptic desert; and Blade Runner, which is set in a crumbling, dirty city of the future. Lucas made a conscious effort to parallel scenes and dialogue between films, and especially to parallel the journeys of Luke Skywalker with that of his father Anakin when making the prequels.[6]
Technical information
All six films of the Star Wars series were shot in an aspect ratio of 2.40:1. The original trilogy was shot with anamorphic lenses. Episodes IV and V were shot in Panavision, while Episode VI was shot in Joe Dunton Camera (JDC) scope. Episode I was shot with Hawk anamorphic lenses on Arriflex cameras, and Episodes II and III were shot with Sony's CineAlta high-definition digital cameras.[19]
Lucas hired Ben Burtt to oversee the sound effects on A New Hope. Burtt's accomplishment was such that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences presented him with a Special Achievement Award because it had no award at the time for the work he had done.[20] Lucasfilm developed the THX sound reproduction standard for Return of the Jedi.[21] John Williams composed the scores for all six films. Lucas' design for Star Wars involved a grand musical sound, with leitmotifs for different characters and important concepts. Williams' Star Wars title theme has become one of the most famous and well-known musical compositions in modern music history.[22]
Lucas hired 'the Dean of Special Effects' John Stears, who created R2-D2, Luke Skywalker's Landspeeder, the Jedi Knights' lightsabers, and the Death Star.[23][24] The technical lightsaber choreography for the original trilogy was developed by leading filmmaking sword-master Bob Anderson. Anderson trained actor Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker) and performed all the sword stunts as Darth Vader during the lightsaber duels in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, wearing Vader's costume. Anderson's role in the original Star Wars trilogy was highlighted in the film Reclaiming the Blade, where he shares his experiences as the fight choreographer developing the lightsaber techniques for the movies.[25]
Production history
Original trilogy
"Original trilogy" redirects here. For the video game, see Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy.
George Lucas, the creator of Star Wars
In 1971, Universal Studios agreed to make American Graffiti and Star Wars in a two-picture contract, although Star Wars was later rejected in its early concept stages. American Graffiti was completed in 1973 and, a few months later, Lucas wrote a short summary called "The Journal of the Whills", which told the tale of the training of apprentice C.J. Thorpe as a "Jedi-Bendu" space commando by the legendary Mace Windy.[26] Frustrated that his story was too difficult to understand, Lucas then began writing a 13-page treatment called The Star Wars on April 17, 1973, which had thematic parallels with Akira Kurosawa's The Hidden Fortress.[27] By 1974, he had expanded the treatment into a rough draft screenplay, adding elements such as the Sith, the Death Star, and a protagonist named Annikin Starkiller.
For the second draft, Lucas made heavy simplifications, and introduced the young hero on a farm as Luke Starkiller. Annikin became Luke's father, a wise Jedi knight. "The Force" was also introduced as a supernatural power. The next draft removed the father character and replaced him with a substitute named Ben Kenobi, and in 1976 a fourth draft had been prepared for principal photography. The film was titled Adventures of Luke Starkiller, as taken from the Journal of the Whills, Saga I: The Star Wars. During production, Lucas changed Luke's name to Skywalker and altered the title to simply The Star Wars and finally Star Wars.[28]
John Williams, composer of the musical scores for all six films of the original and prequel trilogies.
At that point, Lucas was not expecting the film to become part of a series. The fourth draft of the script underwent subtle changes that made it more satisfying as a self-contained film, ending with the destruction of the Empire itself by way of destroying the Death Star. However, Lucas had previously conceived of the film as the first in a series of adventures. Later, he realized the film would not in fact be the first in the sequence, but a film in the second trilogy in the saga. This is stated explicitly in George Lucas' preface to the 1994 reissue of Splinter of the Mind's Eye:
It wasn't long after I began writing Star Wars that I realized the story was more than a single film could hold. As the saga of the Skywalkers and Jedi Knights unfolded, I began to see it as a tale that could take at least nine films to tell?three trilogies?and I realized, in making my way through the back story and after story, that I was really setting out to write the middle story.
The second draft contained a teaser for a never-made sequel about "The Princess of Ondos," and by the time of the third draft some months later Lucas had negotiated a contract that gave him rights to make two sequels. Not long after, Lucas met with author Alan Dean Foster, and hired him to write these two sequels as novels.[29] The intention was that if Star Wars were successful, Lucas could adapt the novels into screenplays.[30] He had also by that point developed an elaborate backstory to aid his writing process.[31]
When Star Wars proved successful, Lucas decided to use the film as the basis for an elaborate serial, although at one point he considered walking away from the series altogether.[32] However, Lucas wanted to create an independent filmmaking center?what would become Skywalker Ranch?and saw an opportunity to use the series as a financing agent.[33] Alan Dean Foster had already begun writing the first sequel novel, but Lucas decided to abandon his plan to adapt Foster's work; the book was released as Splinter of the Mind's Eye the following year. At first Lucas envisioned a series of films with no set number of entries, like the James Bond series. In an interview with Rolling Stone in August 1977, he said that he wanted his friends to each take a turn at directing the films and giving unique interpretations on the series. He also said that the backstory in which Darth Vader turns to the dark side, kills Luke's father and fights Ben Kenobi on a volcano as the Galactic Republic falls would make an excellent sequel.
Later that year, Lucas hired science fiction author Leigh Brackett to write Star Wars II with him. They held story conferences and, by late November 1977, Lucas had produced a handwritten treatment called The Empire Strikes Back. The treatment is very similar to the final film, except that Darth Vader does not reveal he is Luke's father. In the first draft that Brackett would write from this, Luke's father appears as a ghost to instruct Luke.[34]
Brackett finished her first draft in early 1978; Lucas has said he was disappointed with it, but before he could discuss it with her, she died of cancer.[35] With no writer available, Lucas had to write his next draft himself. It was this draft in which Lucas first made use of the "Episode" numbering for the films; Empire Strikes Back was listed as Episode II.[36] As Michael Kaminski argues in The Secret History of Star Wars, the disappointment with the first draft probably made Lucas consider different directions in which to take the story.[37] He made use of a new plot twist: Darth Vader claims to be Luke's father. According to Lucas, he found this draft enjoyable to write, as opposed to the yearlong struggles writing the first film, and quickly wrote two more drafts,[38] both in April 1978. He also took the script to a darker extreme by having Han Solo imprisoned in carbonite and left in limbo.[9]
This new story point of Darth Vader being Luke's father had drastic effects on the series. Michael Kaminski argues in his book that it is unlikely that the plot point had ever seriously been considered or even conceived of before 1978, and that the first film was clearly operating under an alternate storyline where Vader was separate from Luke's father;[39] there is not a single reference to this plot point before 1978. After writing the second and third drafts of Empire Strikes Back in which the point was introduced, Lucas reviewed the new backstory he had created: Anakin Skywalker was Ben Kenobi's brilliant student and had a child named Luke, but was swayed to the dark side by Emperor Palpatine (who became a Sith and not simply a politician). Anakin battled Ben Kenobi on the site of a volcano and was wounded, but then resurrected as Darth Vader. Meanwhile Kenobi hid Luke on Tatooine while the Republic became the Empire and Vader systematically hunted down and killed the Jedi.[40]
With this new backstory in place, Lucas decided that the series would be a trilogy, changing Empire Strikes Back from Episode II to Episode V in the next draft.[38] Lawrence Kasdan, who had just completed writing Raiders of the Lost Ark, was then hired to write the next drafts, and was given additional input from director Irvin Kershner. Kasdan, Kershner, and producer Gary Kurtz saw the film as a more serious and adult film, which was helped by the new, darker storyline, and developed the series from the light adventure roots of the first film.[41]
By the time he began writing Episode VI in 1981 (then titled Revenge of the Jedi), much had changed. Making Empire Strikes Back was stressful and costly, and Lucas' personal life was disintegrating. Burned out and not wanting to make any more Star Wars films, he vowed that he was done with the series in a May 1983 interview with Time magazine. Lucas' 1981 rough drafts had Darth Vader competing with the Emperor for possession of Luke?and in the second script, the "revised rough draft", Vader became a sympathetic character. Lawrence Kasdan was hired to take over once again and, in these final drafts, Vader was explicitly redeemed and finally unmasked. This change in character would provide a springboard to the "Tragedy of Darth Vader" storyline that underlies the prequels.[42]
Prequel trilogy
After losing much of his fortune in a divorce settlement in 1987, Lucas had no desire to return to Star Wars, and had unofficially canceled his sequel trilogy by the time of Return of the Jedi.[43] Nevertheless, the prequels, which were quite developed at this point, continued to fascinate him. After Star Wars became popular once again, in the wake of Dark Horse's comic book line and Timothy Zahn's trilogy of novels, Lucas saw that there was still a large audience. His children were older, and with the explosion of CGI technology he was now considering returning to directing.[44] By 1993 it was announced, in Variety among other sources, that he would be making the prequels. He began outlining the story, now indicating the series would be a tragic one examining Anakin Skywalker's fall to the dark side. Lucas also began to change how the prequels would exist relative to the originals; at first they were supposed to be a "filling-in" of history tangential to the originals, but now he saw that they could form the beginning of one long story that started with Anakin's childhood and ended with his death. This was the final step towards turning the film series into a "Saga".[45]
In 1994, Lucas began writing the first screenplay titled Episode I: The Beginning. Following the release of that film, Lucas announced that he would also be directing the next two, and began working on Episode II at that time.[46] The first draft of Episode II was completed just weeks before principal photography, and Lucas hired Jonathan Hales, a writer from The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, to polish it.[47] Unsure of a title, Lucas had jokingly called the film "Jar Jar's Great Adventure."[48] In writing The Empire Strikes Back, Lucas initially decided that Lando Calrissian was a clone and came from a planet of clones which caused the "Clone Wars" mentioned by Princess Leia in A New Hope;[49][50] he later came up with an alternate concept of an army of clone shocktroopers from a remote planet which attacked the Republic and were repelled by the Jedi.[51] The basic elements of that backstory became the plot basis for Episode II, with the new wrinkle added that Palpatine secretly orchestrated the crisis.[7]
Lucas began working on Episode III before Attack of the Clones was released, offering concept artists that the film would open with a montage of seven Clone War battles.[52] As he reviewed the storyline that summer, however, he says he radically re-organized the plot.[53] Michael Kaminski, in The Secret History of Star Wars, offers evidence that issues in Anakin's fall to the dark side prompted Lucas to make massive story changes, first revising the opening sequence to have Palpatine kidnapped and his apprentice, Count Dooku, murdered by Anakin as the first act in the latter's turn towards the dark side.[54] After principal photography was complete in 2003, Lucas made even more massive changes in Anakin's character, re-writing his entire turn to the dark side; he would now turn primarily in a quest to save Padm?'s life, rather than the previous version in which that reason was one of several, including that he genuinely believed that the Jedi were evil and plotting to take over the Republic. This fundamental re-write was accomplished both through editing the principal footage, and new and revised scenes filmed during pick-ups in 2004.[55]
Lucas often exaggerated the amount of material he wrote for the series; much of it stemmed from the post?1978 period when the series grew into a phenomenon. Michael Kaminski explained that these exaggerations were both a publicity and security measure. Kaminski rationalized that since the series' story radically changed throughout the years, it was always Lucas' intention to change the original story retroactively because audiences would only view the material from his perspective.[8][56] When congratulating the producers of the TV series Lost in 2010, Lucas himself jokingly admitted, "when Star Wars first came out, I didn't know where it was going either. The trick is to pretend you've planned the whole thing out in advance. Throw in some father issues and references to other stories ? let's call them homages ? and you've got a series".[57]
Sequel trilogy
Main article: Star Wars sequel trilogy
The sequel trilogy was a reportedly planned trilogy of films (Episodes VII, VIII and IX) by Lucasfilm as a sequel to the original Star Wars trilogy (Episodes IV, V and VI) released between 1977 and 1983.[58] While the similarly discussed Star Wars prequel trilogy (Episodes I, II and III) was ultimately released between 1999 and 2005, Lucasfilm and George Lucas have for many years denied plans for a sequel trilogy, insisting that Star Wars is meant to be a six-part series.[59][60] In May 2008, speaking about the upcoming Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Lucas maintained his status on the sequel trilogy:
"I get asked all the time, 'What happens after Return of the Jedi?,' and there really is no answer for that. The movies were the story of Anakin Skywalker and Luke Skywalker, and when Luke saves the galaxy and redeems his father, that's where that story ends."[61]
In January 2012, Lucas announced that he would step away from blockbuster films and instead produce smaller art-house films. In an interview regarding whether or not the scrutiny he received from the prequel trilogy and the alterations made on the original trilogy were a factor in his retirement, Lucas stated:
"Why would I make any more,... when everybody yells at you all the time and says what a terrible person you are?"[62]
In October 2012, The Walt Disney Company agreed to buy Lucasfilm and announced that a new Star Wars Episode VII film will be released in 2015. The co-chairman of Lucasfilm, Kathleen Kennedy became president of the company, reporting to Walt Disney Studios chairman Alan Horn. In addition, Kennedy will serve as executive producer on new Star Wars feature films, with franchise creator and Lucasfilm founder Lucas serving as creative consultant.[63] The screenplay for Episode VII will be written by Michael Arndt.[64] On January 25, 2013, The Walt Disney Studios and Lucasfilm officially announced J.J. Abrams as Star Wars Episode VII's director and producer, along with Bryan Burk and Bad Robot Productions.[65]
On November 20, 2012, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Lawrence Kasdan, writer of Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, and Simon Kinberg will write and produce Episodes VIII and IX.[66] Kasdan and Kinberg were later confirmed as creative consultants on those films, in addition to writing stand-alone films.
Stand-alone films
On February 5 2013, Disney CEO Bob Iger confirmed the development of two stand-alone films, each individually written by Lawrence Kasdan and Simon Kinberg.[67] On February 6, Entertainment Weekly reported that Disney is working on two films featuring Han Solo and Boba Fett.[68]
3D releases
At a ShoWest convention in 2005, Lucas demonstrated new technology and stated that he planned to release the six films in a new 3D film format, beginning with A New Hope in 2007.[69] However, by January 2007, Lucasfilm stated on StarWars.com that "there are no definitive plans or dates for releasing the Star Wars saga in 3-D." At Celebration Europe in July 2007, Rick McCallum confirmed that Lucasfilm is "planning to take all six films and turn them into 3-D," but they are "waiting for the companies out there that are developing this technology to bring it down to a cost level that makes it worthwhile for everybody".[70] In July 2008, Jeffrey Katzenberg, the CEO of DreamWorks Animation, revealed that Lucas plans to redo all six of the movies in 3D.[71] In late September 2010, it was announced that The Phantom Menace would be theatrically re-released in 3-D on February 10, 2012.[72][73] The plan was to re-release all six films in order, with the 3-D conversion process taking up to a year to complete for each film.[74] However, the 3D re-releases of episodes II and III have been postponed to enable Lucasfilm to concentrate on Episode VII.[75]
Box office performance
Film Release date Box office revenue Box office ranking
United States Non-US Worldwide Adjusted for
inflation (US)[77] All-time US All-time worldwide
Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope[78] May 25, 1977 $460,998,007 $314,400,000 $775,398,007 $1,275,650,843 #6 #41
Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back[79] May 21, 1980 $290,475,067 $247,900,000 $538,375,067 $728,808,996 #49 #92
Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi[80] May 25, 1983 $309,306,177 $165,800,000 $475,106,177 $702,477,833 #37 #117
Original Star Wars trilogy totals $1,060,779,251 $728,100,000 $1,788,879,251 $2,706,937,672
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace[81] May 19, 1999 $474,544,677 $552,500,000 $1,027,044,677 $678,225,508 #5 #11
Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones[82] May 16, 2002 $310,676,740 $338,721,588 $649,398,328 $402,490,646 #35 #61
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith[83] May 19, 2005 $380,270,577 $468,484,191 $848,754,768 $447,007,448 #18 #30
Prequel Star Wars trilogy totals $1,165,491,994 $1,359,705,779 $2,525,197,773 $1,527,723,602
Star Wars: The Clone Wars[84] August 15, 2008 $35,161,554 $33,121,290 $68,282,844 $37,492,977 #1,857 ?
Complete Star Wars film series totals $2,261,432,799 $2,120,927,069 $4,382,359,868 $4,272,154,251
Critical reaction
Film Rotten Tomatoes Metacritic
Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope 94% (67 reviews)[85] 91 (13 reviews)[86]
Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back 97% (71 reviews)[87] 78 (15 reviews)[88]
Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi 79% (66 reviews)[89] 52 (14 reviews)[90]
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace 57% (186 reviews)[91] 51 (36 reviews)[92]
Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones 67% (218 reviews)[93] 53 (39 reviews)[94]
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith 80% (253 reviews)[95] 68 (40 reviews)[96]
Star Wars: The Clone Wars 19% (153 reviews)[97] 35 (30 reviews)[98]
Academy Awards
The six films together were nominated for 25 Academy Awards, of which they won ten. Three of these were Special Achievement Awards.
Award Awards Won
A New Hope The Empire Strikes Back Return of the Jedi The Phantom Menace Attack of the Clones Revenge of the Sith
Actor in a Supporting Role Nomination
(Alec Guinness)
Art Direction-Set Decoration Win Nomination Nomination
Costume Design Win
Director Nomination
(George Lucas)
Film Editing Win
Makeup Nomination
Music (Original Score) Win Nomination Nomination
Picture Nomination
Screenplay ? Original Nomination
Sound Editing Nomination Nomination
Sound (Mixing) Win Win Nomination Nomination
Visual Effects Win Nomination Nomination
Special Achievement Award Win
(Alien, Creature and Robot Voices) Win
(Visual Effects) Win
(Visual Effects)
Expanded Universe
Main article: Star Wars Expanded Universe
Cosplay of the Star Wars character, Boba Fett. The popular character was first incorporated in the Expanded Universe in the television film The Star Wars Holiday Special until appearing in the main film series.[99]
The term Expanded Universe (EU) is an umbrella term for officially licensed Star Wars material outside of the six feature films. The material expands the stories told in the films, taking place anywhere from 25,000 years before The Phantom Menace to 140 years after Return of the Jedi. The first Expanded Universe story appeared in Marvel Comics' Star Wars #7 in January 1978 (the first six issues of the series having been an adaptation of the film), followed quickly by Alan Dean Foster's novel Splinter of the Mind's Eye the following month.[100]
George Lucas retains artistic control over the Star Wars universe. For example, the death of central characters and similar changes in the status quo must first pass his screening before authors are given the go-ahead. In addition, Lucasfilm Licensing devotes efforts to ensure continuity between the works of various authors across companies.[101] Elements of the Expanded Universe have been adopted by Lucas for use in the films, such as the name of capital planet Coruscant, which first appeared in Timothy Zahn's novel Heir to the Empire before being used in The Phantom Menace. Additionally, Lucas so liked the character Aayla Secura, who was introduced in Dark Horse Comics' Star Wars series, that he included her as a character in Attack of the Clones.[102]
Lucas has played a large role in the production of various television projects, usually serving as storywriter or executive producer.[103] Star Wars has had numerous radio adaptations. A radio adaptation of A New Hope was first broadcast on National Public Radio in 1981. The adaptation was written by science fiction author Brian Daley and directed by John Madden. It was followed by adaptations of The Empire Strikes Back in 1983 and Return of the Jedi in 1996. The adaptations included background material created by Lucas but not used in the films. Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, and Billy Dee Williams reprised their roles as Luke Skywalker, C-3PO, and Lando Calrissian, respectively, except in Return of the Jedi in which Luke was played by Joshua Fardon and Lando by Arye Gross. The series also used John Williams' original score from the films and Ben Burtt's original sound designs.[104]
Other films
In addition to the two trilogies and The Clone Wars film, several other authorized films have been produced:
The Star Wars Holiday Special, a 1978 two-hour television special, shown only once and never released on video. Notable for the introduction of Boba Fett.
Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure, a 1984 American made-for-TV film?released theatrically overseas.
Ewoks: The Battle for Endor, a 1985 American made-for-TV film?released theatrically overseas.
The Great Heep, a 1986 animated television special from the Star Wars: Droids TV series.
Lego Star Wars: The Quest for R2-D2, a 2009 official comedy spoof primarily based on The Clone Wars film.
Animated series
Following the success of the Star Wars films and their subsequent merchandising, several animated television series have been created:
Star Wars: Droids, also known as Droids: The Adventures of R2-D2 and C-3PO, which premiered in September 1985, focused on the travels of R2-D2 and C-3PO as they shift through various owners/masters, and vaguely fills in the gaps between the events of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith and Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.
Star Wars: Ewoks, also known as Ewoks, was simultaneously released in September 1985 and focused on the adventures of Wicket and various other recognizable Ewok characters from the original trilogy in the years leading up to Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi.
Star Wars: Clone Wars, an animated micro-series created by Genndy Tartakovsky, which aired on Cartoon Network from November 2003 to March 2005.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars, a CGI-animated series based on the animated movie of the same name, which aired on Cartoon Network from October 2008 to March 2013.
Star Wars: Detours,[105] an animated comedy series written by Brendan Hay, who is a writer for the comedy news show The Daily Show, and with creative consulting from the co-creators of Robot Chicken: Seth Green and Matthew Senreich. The series will take place during the original trilogy and the setting will be remote from the front line of war.[106]
Literature
Main articles: List of Star Wars novels and List of Star Wars comic books
Star Wars-based fiction predates the release of the first film, with the 1976 novelization of Star Wars (ghost-written by Alan Dean Foster and credited to Lucas). Foster's 1978 novel, Splinter of the Mind's Eye, was the first Expanded Universe work to be released. In addition to filling in the time between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back, this additional content greatly expanded the Star Wars timeline before and after the film series. Star Wars fiction flourished during the time of the original trilogy (1977?1983) but slowed to a trickle afterwards. In 1992, however, Timothy Zahn's Thrawn trilogy debuted, sparking a new interest in the Star Wars universe. Since then, several hundred tie-in novels have been published by Bantam and Del Rey. A similar resurgence in the Expanded Universe occurred in 1996 with the Steve Perry novel Shadows of the Empire, set in between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, and accompanying video game and comic book series.[107]
LucasBooks radically changed the face of the Star Wars universe with the introduction of the New Jedi Order series, which takes place some 20 years after Return of the Jedi and stars a host of new characters alongside series originals. For younger audiences, three series have been introduced. The Jedi Apprentice series follows the adventures of Qui-Gon Jinn and his apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi prior to The Phantom Menace. The Jedi Quest series follows the adventures of Obi-Wan and his apprentice Anakin Skywalker in between The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones. The Last of the Jedi series follows the adventures of Obi-Wan and another surviving Jedi almost immediately, set in between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope.
Marvel Comics published Star Wars comic book series and adaptations from 1977 to 1986. A wide variety of creators worked on this series, including Roy Thomas, Archie Goodwin, Howard Chaykin, Al Williamson, Carmine Infantino, Gene Day, Walt Simonson, Michael Golden, Chris Claremont, Whilce Portacio, Jo Duffy, and Ron Frenz. The Los Angeles Times Syndicate published a Star Wars newspaper strip by Russ Manning, Goodwin and Williamson[108][109] with Goodwin writing under a pseudonym. In the late 1980s, Marvel announced it would publish a new Star Wars comic by Tom Veitch and Cam Kennedy. However, in December 1991, Dark Horse Comics acquired the Star Wars license and used it to launch a number of ambitious sequels to the original trilogy instead, including the popular Dark Empire stories.[110] They have since gone on to publish a large number of original adventures set in the Star Wars universe. There have also been parody comics, including Tag and Bink.[111]
Games
Main articles: Star Wars computer and video games, List of Star Wars video games, Star Wars trading card, and Star Wars role-playing games
Since 1977, dozens of board, card, video, miniature, and tabletop role-playing games, among other types, have been published bearing the Star Wars name, beginning in 1977 with the board game Star Wars: Escape from the Death Star[112] (not to be confused with another board game with the same title, published in 1990).[113]
Star Wars video games commercialization started in 1982 with Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back published for the Atari 2600 by Parker Brothers. Since then, Star Wars has opened the way to a myriad of space-flight simulation games, first-person shooter games, role-playing video games, RTS games, and others.
Three different official tabletop role-playing games have been developed for the Star Wars universe: a version by West End Games in the 1980s and 1990s, one by Wizards of the Coast in the 2000s and one by Fantasy Flight Games in the 2010s.
The best-selling games so far are the Lego Star Wars and the Battlefront series, with 12 million and 10 million units respectively [114][115] while the most critically acclaimed is the first Knights of the Old Republic.[116]
The most recently released games are Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga, Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II, for the PS3, PSP, PS2, Xbox 360, Nintendo DS and Wii. While The Complete Saga focuses on all six episodes of the series, The Force Unleashed, of the same name of the multimedia project which it is a part of, takes place in the largely unexplored time period between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope and casts players as Darth Vader's "secret apprentice" hunting down the remaining Jedi. The game features a new game engine, and was released on September 16, 2008 in the United States.[117][118] There are three more titles based on the Clone Wars which were released for the Nintendo DS (Star Wars: The Clone Wars ? Jedi Alliance) and Wii (Star Wars: The Clone Wars ? Lightsaber Duels and Star Wars: The Clone Wars - Republic Heroes).
Star Wars trading cards have been published since the first 'blue' series, by Topps, in 1977.[119] Dozens of series have been produced, with Topps being the licensed creator in the United States. Some of the card series are of film stills, while others are original art. Many of the cards have become highly collectible with some very rare "promos", such as the 1993 Galaxy Series II "floating Yoda" P3 card often commanding US$1000 or more. While most "base" or "common card" sets are plentiful, many "insert" or "chase cards" are very rare.[120]
From 1995 until 2001 Decipher, Inc. had the license for, created and produced a collectible card game based on Star Wars; the Star Wars Collectible Card Game (also known as SWCCG).
The board game Risk has been adapted to the series in two editions by Hasbro: and Star Wars Risk: The Clone Wars Edition[121] (2005) and Risk: Star Wars Original Trilogy Edition[122] (2006).
Fan works
Main article: Star Wars fan films
The Star Wars saga has inspired many fans to create their own non-canon material set in the Star Wars galaxy. In recent years, this has ranged from writing fan-fiction to creating fan films. In 2002, Lucasfilm sponsored the first annual Official Star Wars Fan Film Awards, officially recognizing filmmakers and the genre. Because of concerns over potential copyright and trademark issues, however, the contest was initially open only to parodies, mockumentaries, and documentaries. Fan-fiction films set in the Star Wars universe were originally ineligible, but in 2007 Lucasfilm changed the submission standards to allow in-universe fiction entries.[123]
While many fan films have used elements from the licensed Expanded Universe to tell their story, they are not considered an official part of the Star Wars canon. However, the lead character from the Pink Five series was incorporated into Timothy Zahn's 2007 novel Allegiance, marking the first time a fan-created Star Wars character has ever crossed into the official canon.[124] Lucasfilm, for the most part, has allowed but not endorsed the creation of these derivative fan-fiction works, so long as no such work attempts to make a profit from or tarnish the Star Wars franchise in any way.[125]
Attractions
The original Star Tours ride at Disneyland in 1996.
Before Disney's acquisition of the franchise, George Lucas had established a partnership in 1986 with Disney and its Walt Disney Imagineering division to create Star Tours, an attraction that opened at Disneyland in 1987. The attraction also had subsequent incarnations at other Disney Parks worldwide, with the exception of Hong Kong Disneyland.
The attractions at Disneyland, Disney's Hollywood Studios and Tokyo Disneyland closed on July 27, 2010, September 7, 2010 and April 2, 2012, respectively, in order to allow the rides to be converted into Star Tours: The Adventures Continue. The successor attraction opened at Disney's Hollywood Studios on May 20, 2011 and June 3, at Disneyland. The Japan version is expected to open in 2013.
The Jedi Training Academy is a live show where children are selected to learn the teachings of the Jedi Knights and the Force in order to become Padawan learners. The show is present at the Rebels stage at Disney's Hollywood Studios and at the Tomorrowland Terrace at Disneyland.
The Walt Disney World Resort's Disney's Hollywood Studios park hosts an annual festival, Star Wars Weekends during specific dates from May to June. The event began in 1997.
Legacy
Main article: Cultural impact of Star Wars
Just like the franchise, its fictional weapons contained in it, such as the lightsaber and the blaster, have been used in popular culture and have been an iconic part of the franchise.
The Star Wars saga has had a significant impact on modern American pop culture. Both the films and characters have been parodied in numerous films and television.
Notable film parodies of Star Wars include Hardware Wars, a 13-minute 1977 spoof which Lucas has called his favorite Star Wars parody, and Spaceballs, a feature film by Mel Brooks which featured effects done by Lucas' Industrial Light & Magic.[126][127]
Lucasfilm itself made two mockumentaries: Return of the Ewok (1982), about Warwick Davis, who portrayed Wicket W. Warrick in Return of the Jedi; and R2-D2: Beneath the Dome (2002), which depicts R2-D2's "life story".[128][129]
There have also been many songs based on, and in, the Star Wars universe. "Weird Al" Yankovic recorded two parodies: "Yoda", a parody of "Lola" by The Kinks; and "The Saga Begins", a parody of Don McLean's song "American Pie" that retells of The Phantom Menace from Obi-Wan Kenobi's perspective.[130]
In television, the creators of the Robot Chicken series have produced three television specials satirizing the Star Wars films ("Robot Chicken: Star Wars", "Episode II", and "III"), and are developing an animated comedy series based in the Star Wars universe.[131] The creators of the Family Guy series have also produced three Star Wars specials titled "Blue Harvest", "Something, Something, Something, Dark Side", and "It's a Trap!".[132]
During the 2012 Emerald City Comicon in Seattle, Washington several prominent cartoon voice-over actors including Rob Paulsen, Jess Harnell, John DiMaggio, Maurice LaMarche Tara Strong and Kevin Conroy performed a parody reading of A New Hope as a radio play in cartoon character voices that they perform on other animated series, i.e. Jess Harnell and Rob Paulsen as Wakko and Yakko Warner from Animaniacs, Tara Strong as Bubbles from The Powerpuff Girls and Princess Clara from Drawn Together, Maurice LaMarche and John DiMaggio as Kiff Kroker and Bender Rodriguez from Futurama and Kevin Conroy narrating as Batman.[133]
When Ronald Reagan proposed the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), a system of lasers and missiles meant to intercept incoming ICBMs, the plan was quickly labeled "Star Wars," implying that it was science fiction and linking it to Ronald Reagan's acting career. According to Frances FitzGerald, Reagan was annoyed by this, but Assistant Secretary of Defense Richard Perle told colleagues that he "thought the name was not so bad."; "'Why not?' he said. 'It's a good movie. Besides, the good guys won.'"[134] This gained further resonance when Reagan described the Soviet Union as an "evil empire".
DPS Channels / League Info (STO Forums)
i protest City of heroes was run better after Cr*ptic left.......Less outages
Hahaha ok that made me laugh
seriously though...
we do have to take into consideration that the mirror universe wants to play sometimes too...
just think about all the time our servers are actually up theirs are all down...
Why? STO is a business and the Team is currently doing a rather bad job at running it.
<leans back in rocking chair, taps pipe on knee and stares thoughtfully at the horizon>
I remember the great lag of '08, back in the paid days of City of Heroes. Rubber banding got so bad folks were actually nauseous...
I don't think its the monkeys, its the monkeys PC they are using for the server. Latest update stated they are going to make some hardware changes before they bring it back up again. Does this mean that they called home and asked Benny to bring his PC over so they can network two together? One for STO and the other one for Neverwinter?
Probably...:rolleyes:
LOL>. common... we know these guys do get it anyway.
Intro
The Great Smog of '52 or Big Smoke[1] was a severe air pollution event that affected London during December 1952. A period of cold weather, combined with an anticyclone and windless conditions, collected airborne pollutants mostly from the use of coal to form a thick layer of smog over the city. It lasted from Friday 5 to Tuesday 9 December 1952, and then dispersed quickly after a change of weather.
Although it caused major disruption due to the effect on visibility, and even penetrated indoor areas, it was not thought to be a significant event at the time, with London having experienced many smog events in the past, so called "pea soupers". However, government medical reports in the following weeks estimated that up until 8th December 4,000 people had died prematurely and 100,000 more were made ill because of the smog's effects on the human respiratory tract. More recent research suggests that the total number of fatalities was considerably greater at about 12,000.[2]
It is known to be the worst air pollution event in the history of the United Kingdom,[3] and the most significant in terms of its effect on environmental research, government regulation, and public awareness of the relationship between air quality and health.[2] It led to several changes in practices and regulations, including the Clean Air Act 1956.
Events
Sources of pollution
The weather preceding and during the smog meant that Londoners were burning more coal than usual to keep warm. Post-war domestic coal tended to be of a relatively low-grade, sulphurous variety (economic necessity meant that better-quality "hard" coals tended to be exported), which increased the amount of sulphur dioxide in the smoke. There were also numerous coal-fired power stations in the Greater London area, including Battersea, Bankside, and Kingston upon Thames, all of which added to the pollution. Research suggests that additional pollution prevention systems fitted at Battersea may have actually worsened the air quality, reducing the output of soot at the cost of increased sulphur dioxide, though this is not certain. Additionally, there were pollution and smoke from vehicle exhaust?particularly from diesel-fuelled buses which had replaced the recently abandoned electric tram system?and from other industrial and commercial sources.[4] Prevailing winds had also blown heavily polluted air across the English Channel from industrial areas of Continental Europe.
Weather
On 4 December 1952, an anticyclone settled over a windless London, causing a temperature inversion with cold, stagnant air trapped under a layer (or "lid") of warm air.[5][6] The resultant fog, mixed with chimney smoke, particulates such as those from vehicle exhausts, and other pollutants such as sulphur dioxide, formed a persistent smog, which blanketed the capital the following day. The presence of tarry particles of soot gave the smog its yellow-black colour, hence the nickname "peasouper".[4] The absence of significant wind prevented its dispersal and allowed an unprecedented accumulation of pollutants. When the smog eventually lifted there was a black-grey covering of slimy soot particles on all of the top surfaces out of doors. This sooty grime stayed there until a few days later when the first rains came. This soot covering was then washed off the surface of evergreen leaves, buildings and pavements, etc., into gutters and down the drains in dirty black rivulets. The pungent smell about in the atmosphere was of acrid wet soot, which made the eyes and nostrils smart for those unfortunate to be caught out in the open.
Effect on London
Although London was accustomed to heavy fogs, this one was denser and longer-lasting than any previous fog.[7] Visibility was reduced to a few yards ("It's like you were blind", commented one observer),[8] making driving difficult or impossible.
Public transport ceased, apart from the London Underground; and the ambulance service stopped functioning, forcing sick people to transport themselves to hospital.[8] The smog even seeped indoors, resulting in the cancellation or abandonment of concerts and film screenings as visibility decreased in large enclosed spaces, and stages and screens became harder to see from the seats. Outdoor sports events were also affected.
In the inner London suburbs and away from town centres there was no disturbance by moving traffic to thin out the dense fog in the back streets. The result was that visibility could be down to a metre or so in the daytime. Walking out of doors became a matter of shuffling one?s feet to feel for road kerbs, etc. This was made even worse at night because each back street lamp at the time was fitted with an incandescent light-bulb which gave no penetrating light onto the pavement for pedestrians to see their feet, or even the lamp post. Fog-penetrating fluorescent lamps did not become widely available until later on in the Fifties. ?Smog masks? were worn by those who were able to purchase them from chemists.
Near railway lines, on which 'fog working' was implemented, loud explosions similar to the report of a shotgun were a common feature. These explosions were made by 'detonators', a form of large percussion cap placed on the track and activated by the wheels of trains. These were placed by certain signals to provide an audible warning to match the visual indication provided by the signal for the driver.
Health effects
There was no panic, as London was renowned for its fog. In the weeks that ensued, however, statistics compiled by medical services found that the fog had killed 4,000 people.[9] Most of the victims were very young or elderly, or had pre-existing respiratory problems. In February 1953, Lieutenant-Colonel Lipton suggested in the House of Commons that the fog had caused 6,000 deaths and that 25,000 more people had claimed sickness benefits in London during that period.[10]
Most of the deaths were caused by respiratory tract infections from hypoxia and as a result of mechanical obstruction of the air passages by pus arising from lung infections caused by the smog. The lung infections were mainly bronchopneumonia or acute purulent bronchitis superimposed upon chronic bronchitis.[11]
More recent research suggests that the number of fatalities was considerably greater, at about 12,000.[2]
Environmental impact
The death toll formed an important impetus to modern environmentalism, and it caused a rethinking of air pollution, as the smog had demonstrated its lethal potential.
New regulations were implemented, restricting the use of dirty fuels in industry and banning black smoke.
Environmental legislation since 1952, such as the City of London (Various Powers) Act 1954 and the Clean Air Acts of 1956 and 1968, led to a reduction in air pollution. Financial incentives were offered to householders to replace open coal fires with alternatives (such as installing gas fires), or for those who preferred, to burn coke instead (a bi-product of town gas production) which produces minimal smoke. Central heating (using gas, electricity, oil or permitted solid fuel) was rare in most dwellings at that time, not finding favour until the late 1960s onwards.
Despite improvements, insufficient progress had been made to prevent one further smog event exactly ten years later in early December 1962.
Kirk's Protege.
I am a subbie who has dumped a considerable amount of cash into this game in a relatively short period of time. (BranFlakes, you know me as the friend of Gurny who gave him a list of suggestions, including the Canon Legacy Registry and the Z-Axis console.) I'm not asking for anything special out of this, only the opportunity to experience the Open Beta before the time expires.
"What are you playing?"
me-"STO"
him "Ah Star Trek Online still?"
me-"Nope Star Trek Offline.......it's the newest thing."
:P
hey navy isn't that bad they have great food, thats the one thing i will remember about the navy... that i'll put on the internet
I'd be really impressed if you typed that from memory instead of copy-pasting it
Instead of a copy/paste wall, just link the page, sheesh
You say that. But Dark Souls has a way of sneaking up behind you....and hitting you with an insanely large hammer before giving you THE FEAR @_@"
Nepht and Dr Deflecto on primus
We should compose complaint poems instead!
Literary Challenges Entries- Star Trek Online: Lord English
Dramatis Personae of Star Trek Online: Lord English
Hey I ACTUALLY PAY for this free thing that isn't working so yeah.... I'm frosty.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3MnoR7-vYs