Star Wars (radio)
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A
radio drama Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine ...
tization of the original ''Star Wars'' film trilogy was produced in 1981, 1983, and 1996. The first two radio series, based on '' Star Wars'' and ''
The Empire Strikes Back ''The Empire Strikes Back'' (also known as ''Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back'') is a 1980 American epic space opera film directed by Irvin Kershner from a screenplay by Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan, based on a stor ...
'', were produced and broadcast by
National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
(NPR) as part of ''
NPR Playhouse ''NPR Playhouse'' was a series of radio dramas from National Public Radio. The series was a successor to the NPR series '' Earplay'' and was discontinued in September 2002. Beginning on March 1, 1981, the ''Playhouse'' production of the first of ...
''. A dramatization of ''
Return of the Jedi ''Return of the Jedi'' (also known as ''Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi'' is a 1983 American epic space opera film directed by Richard Marquand. The screenplay is by Lawrence Kasdan and George Lucas from a story by Lucas, who ...
'' was produced by most of the same team and it was also broadcast on NPR. The radio serials were made with the full cooperation of George Lucas, who, in exchange for a dollar each, sold the rights to
KUSC-FM KUSC (91.5 FM) is a listener-supported classical music radio station broadcasting from downtown Los Angeles, California, United States. KUSC is owned and operated by the University of Southern California, which also operates student-run Internet ...
, the public radio affiliate at his alma mater, the
University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...
(USC). Lucas also permitted the use of original sound effects and music from the films.


Overview


History

In the 1980s,
radio drama Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine ...
was in decline in the United States. An associate dean of the University of California School of the Performing Arts, Richard Toscan, was keen to champion this art form. Toscan was supported by John Houseman, the producer responsible for
Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...
's 1938 radio production of ''
The War of the Worlds ''The War of the Worlds'' is a science fiction novel by English author H. G. Wells, first serialised in 1897 by ''Pearson's Magazine'' in the UK and by ''Cosmopolitan (magazine), Cosmopolitan'' magazine in the US. The novel's first appear ...
''. He began with the dramatisation of short stories by
Raymond Carver Raymond Clevie Carver Jr. (May 25, 1938 – August 2, 1988) was an American short story writer and poet. He contributed to the revitalization of the American short story during the 1980s. Early life Carver was born in Clatskanie, Oregon, a mil ...
on
KUSC-FM KUSC (91.5 FM) is a listener-supported classical music radio station broadcasting from downtown Los Angeles, California, United States. KUSC is owned and operated by the University of Southern California, which also operates student-run Internet ...
, a campus radio station affiliated to NPR. Following this production, Toscan collaborated with Houseman and NPR producer
Frank Mankiewicz Frank Fabian Mankiewicz II (May 16, 1924 – October 23, 2014) was an American journalist, political adviser, president of National Public Radio, and public relations executive. Life and career Frank Mankiewicz was born in New York City ...
on a project to revive the fortunes of ''NPR Playhouse'', the umbrella title for drama productions on NPR. At the suggestion of one of Toscan's students, Joel Rosenzweig, they developed an idea for adapting the 1977 epic space opera film ''Star Wars'' for radio. The popularity of ''Star Wars'' would certainly attract new, younger listeners, but they feared that the production costs would be prohibitively high. However, the production team's academic connections proved to be advantageous: USC is the alma mater of the writer and director of ''Star Wars'', George Lucas, and Lucasfilm quickly granted the rights to KUSC, including the rights to the use of original ''Star Wars'' music and sound effects, for a token fee of one dollar. Despite Lucasfilm's generous offer, NPR was still faced with the costs of writing scripts, hiring actors and renting studio space. With no funding available to cover the $200,000 budget, NPR entered into a co-production deal with the British broadcaster, the
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...
, which had a long tradition of radio drama production. The BBC provided a production team, including director
John Madden John Earl Madden (April 10, 1936 – December 28, 2021) was an American football coach and sports commentator in the National Football League (NFL). He served as the head coach of the Oakland Raiders from 1969 to 1978, who he led to eight pl ...
, and in exchange received broadcasting rights in the United Kingdom. From the outset, the NPR producers felt that the script would lend itself well to an episodic treatment, drawing on the format of the 1930s movie serials such as '' Flash Gordon'' and ''
Buck Rogers Buck Rogers is a science fiction adventure hero and feature comic strip created by Philip Francis Nowlan first appearing in daily US newspapers on January 7, 1929, and subsequently appearing in Sunday newspapers, international newspapers, books ...
'' that had originally inspired Lucas when he wrote ''Star Wars''. The American science fiction novelist Brian Daley was brought in to write the script. Daley had access to Lucas's early drafts of the ''Star Wars'' scripts, and expanded the narrative to include material which had been cut from the final edit of the film so that the 13-episode radio adaptation ran approximately four hours longer than the film version. Casting the audio serial was not as easy as had been hoped; while the producers were able to secure the actors Mark Hamill and
Anthony Daniels Anthony Daniels ( ; born 21 February 1946) is an English actor and mime artist, best known for playing in 10 '' Star Wars'' films. He is the only actor to have either appeared in or been involved with all theatrical films in the series, and ...
from the original film, Harrison Ford was unavailable as he was filming '' Raiders of the Lost Ark'' at the time, and his place was taken by
Perry King Perry Firestone King (born April 30, 1948) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles on television and in films. King received a Golden Globe nomination for his role in the television film ''The Hasty Heart'' (1983), which is a rema ...
, an actor who once auditioned for the part of Han Solo in the 1977 film. Led by Mankiewicz, NPR promoted the ''Star Wars'' serial with a successful publicity campaign, attracting coverage in ''
Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's Lifestyle magazine, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from H ...
'', ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' and ''
Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...
'', who hailed the production with the headline, "Radio drama is making a resounding comeback". ''Star Wars'' was launched at a special NPR event at the
Griffith Observatory Griffith Observatory is an observatory in Los Angeles, California on the south-facing slope of Mount Hollywood in Griffith Park. It commands a view of the Los Angeles Basin including Downtown Los Angeles to the southeast, Hollywood to the sout ...
in
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
, in which the drama was played under a starry light show. Broadcasts began in March 1981 to critical acclaim, and the drama instantly attracted 750,000 new listeners, representing a 40 percent increase in NPR audiences and a quadrupling of the network's youth audience. On the basis of this success, KUSC went on to produce popular adaptations of the sequel, ''The Empire Strikes Back''. An adaptation of ''Return of the Jedi'' followed over a decade later, and it was produced by many of the same people who produced the KUSC/NPR productions.


Canonicity and continuity

The ''Star Wars'' radio dramas were authorized adaptations of Lucas's scripts, and they were originally considered canon. Commentators argued that while the radio dramas varied somewhat from the film scripts, they should be considered canon insofar as they did not directly contradict the films. However, in 2012,
The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Disney Stud ...
acquired Lucasfilm and the rights to ''Star Wars''. In 1994, Lucasfilm's continuity editor, Allan Kausch, stated that "'Gospel', or 'canon' as we refer to it, includes the screenplays, the films, the radio dramas and the novelizations." In 2014 Lucasfilm announced that previous works which were set in the Expanded Universe (including comics, novels and videogames) were to be re-branded as ''Star Wars Legends'', and only the
Skywalker saga The '' Star Wars'' franchise involves multiple live-action and animated films. The film series started with a trilogy set '' in medias res'' which was later expanded to a trilogy of trilogies, known as the " Skywalker Saga". The 1977 self-ti ...
and ''The Clone Wars'' film and
television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...
were to be considered canon, in addition to new spin-off works. The first radio drama relates the
backstory A backstory, background story, back-story, or background is a set of events invented for a plot, presented as preceding and leading up to that plot. It is a literary device of a narrative history all chronologically earlier than the narrative o ...
which immediately precedes the narrative of the original 1977 film, and this backstory overlaps with the Legends novels ''Jedi Dawn'', '' Rebel Dawn'' and the 2016 film ''
Rogue One ''Rogue One: A Star Wars Story'' (or simply ''Rogue One'') is a 2016 American epic space opera film directed by Gareth Edwards. The screenplay by Chris Weitz and Tony Gilroy is from a story by John Knoll and Gary Whitta. It was produced by L ...
''. Commentators have since noted that the canon story which is introduced in ''Rogue One'' conflicts with episode 2 of the radio drama, "Points of Origin". In the radio drama, the Death Star plans are obtained after a Rebel attack on an Imperial convoy; Rebel agents then transmit the Death Star plans from the planet Toprawa to the ''Tantive IV''. In ''Rogue One'', the plans are transmitted from Scarif, where they were archived, to
Admiral Raddus This incomplete list of characters from the ''Star Wars'' franchise contains only those which are considered part of the official ''Star Wars'' canon, as of the changes made by Lucasfilm in April 2014. Following its acquisition by The Walt Dis ...
' flagship, the ''Profundity''. The plans are then taken on board the docked ''Tantive IV'', which launches before Darth Vader can recapture them. In 2015 another adaptation of ''A New Hope'' was published, ''The Princess, the Scoundrel, and the Farm Boy''. The author, Alexandra Bracken, stated that she was reading the Expanded Universe to try to "sneak elements in" to the canon and adapted material from the radio drama.


''Star Wars''

''Star Wars'' is a 13-part (5 hour, 56 minute) radio serial originally broadcast on
National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
on March 2, 1981. It was adapted by Brian Daley from the 1977 film, and directed by
John Madden John Earl Madden (April 10, 1936 – December 28, 2021) was an American football coach and sports commentator in the National Football League (NFL). He served as the head coach of the Oakland Raiders from 1969 to 1978, who he led to eight pl ...
, with music by John Williams and sound design for Lucasfilm by
Ben Burtt Benjamin Burtt Jr. (born July 12, 1948) is an American sound designer, film director and editor, screenwriter, and voice actor. As a sound designer, his credits include the ''Star Wars'' and ''Indiana Jones'' film series, ''Invasion of the Body ...
. The serial was recorded in 1981 at Westlake Recording Studios in West Hollywood, California. Daley adapted the script partly using material from earlier drafts of Lucas's scripts, and restored several scenes cut from the final edit of the film, as well as adding original new scenes created specially for the audio version. The narrative of the first two episodes takes place entirely before the opening scene of the 1977 film, and expands the background to events leading up to the capture of the '' Tantive IV'' spacecraft above the planet
Tatooine Tatooine () is a fictional desert planet that appears in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. It is a beige-colored, desolate world orbiting a pair of binary stars, and inhabited by human settlers and a variety of other life forms. The planet was first ...
. Episode 1, largely based on cut scenes from the original, explores the life of
Luke Skywalker Luke Skywalker is a fictional character and the protagonist of the original film trilogy of the ''Star Wars'' franchise created by George Lucas. Portrayed by Mark Hamill, Luke first appeared in ''Star Wars'' (1977), and he returned in ''The E ...
on
Tatooine Tatooine () is a fictional desert planet that appears in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. It is a beige-colored, desolate world orbiting a pair of binary stars, and inhabited by human settlers and a variety of other life forms. The planet was first ...
. During the story, Luke's skyhopper (a vehicle seen in the background in Luke's garage during the film) is damaged during a desert race; Luke sees the distant
Star Destroyer Star Destroyers are capital ships in the fictional ''Star Wars'' universe. Star Destroyers were produced by Kuat Drive Yards, later Kuat-Entralla Engineering, and serve as "the signature vessel of the fleet" for the Galactic Republic, Galactic Em ...
battle in the sky; and he is reunited with his childhood friend,
Biggs Darklighter Rogue Squadron is a fictional starfighter squadron in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. Many surviving members of Red Squadron, the Rebel attack force that Luke Skywalker joins during the Battle of Yavin in ''Star Wars'' (1977). The squadron app ...
. Episode 2, made up of material written entirely by Daley, provides
backstory A backstory, background story, back-story, or background is a set of events invented for a plot, presented as preceding and leading up to that plot. It is a literary device of a narrative history all chronologically earlier than the narrative o ...
to Princess Leia's acquisition of the
Death Star The Death Star is a fictional space station and superweapon featured in the '' Star Wars'' space-opera franchise. Constructed by the autocratic Galactic Empire, the Death Star is capable of annihilating entire planets into rubble, and serves t ...
plans from agents of the
Rebel Alliance The Alliance to Restore the Republic (colloquial: Rebel Alliance; the Rebellion; the Alliance; or the Rebels) is a fictional stateless interstellar coalition of republican dissidents, imperial defectors, revolutionary factions and anti-imperi ...
on the planet Toprawa. In scenes set on the planet
Alderaan Alderaan () is a fictional planet featured in the '' Star Wars'' franchise. It is blue-green in appearance, depicted as a terrestrial planet with humanoid inhabitants, and characterized by a peaceful culture. It is the home planet of Princess ...
, Leia discusses the plans with her father,
Prestor Organa ''Star Wars'' is an American epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has been expanded into various films ...
, and determines to go in search of Obi-Wan Kenobi. Later episodes mostly follow the storyline of the film, but additional scenes expand the narrative. In one scene,
Han Solo Han Solo is a fictional character in the '' Star Wars'' franchise created by George Lucas. The character first appeared in the 1977 film '' Star Wars'' portrayed by Harrison Ford, who reprised his role in ''The Empire Strikes Back'' (1980) an ...
has a meeting with an agent of
Jabba the Hutt Jabba Desilijic Tiure, more commonly known as Jabba the Hutt, is a fictional character and minor antagonist in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. Created by George Lucas, Jabba is voiced by Larry Ward with several puppeteers inside a one-ton puppet po ...
called Heater; this dialogue is based on a scene in which Solo meets a humanoid Jabba in the docking bay, cut from the original film but later reinstated in the 1997 Special Edition in modified form. In another episode, Daley inserts a conversation in which Admiral Motti attempts to convince
Grand Moff Tarkin Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin is a fictional character in the '' Star Wars'' franchise, introduced as the main antagonist of the original 1977 ''Star Wars'' film (played by Peter Cushing). In the film, Tarkin is depicted as a high-ranking officer ...
to leverage the Death Star as a political tool. When the series was re-issued on NPR several years later, it was retitled ''The New Hope'' (as opposed to the official alternate title, ''A New Hope''), keeping in line with the subtitles of the episodes of the original trilogy films. Episode titles: # "A Wind to Shake the Stars" # "Points of Origin" # "Black Knight, White Princess, and Pawns" # "While Giants Mark Time" # "Jedi that Was, Jedi To Be" # "The Millennium Falcon Deal" # "The Han Solo Solution" # "Death Star's Transit" # "Rogues, Rebels and Robots" # "The Luke Skywalker Initiative" # "The Jedi Nexus" # "The Case for Rebellion" # "Force and Counter Force"


Cast

Several actors reprised their roles in the film. Mark Hamill and
Anthony Daniels Anthony Daniels ( ; born 21 February 1946) is an English actor and mime artist, best known for playing in 10 '' Star Wars'' films. He is the only actor to have either appeared in or been involved with all theatrical films in the series, and ...
returned to reprise their roles as
Luke Skywalker Luke Skywalker is a fictional character and the protagonist of the original film trilogy of the ''Star Wars'' franchise created by George Lucas. Portrayed by Mark Hamill, Luke first appeared in ''Star Wars'' (1977), and he returned in ''The E ...
and
C-3PO C-3PO () or See-Threepio is a humanoid robot character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise who appears in the original trilogy, the prequel trilogy and the sequel trilogy. Built by Anakin Skywalker, was designed as a protocol droid intended to assis ...
, respectively. The supporting cast included
James Blendick James Blendick (born 1941) is a Canadian character actor. He is perhaps best known for his 30-year-long association with the Stratford Festival. Career Among the productions in which he has performed leads are ''Much Ado About Nothing'', ''The ...
, Clyde Burton, Bruce French, David Alan Grier,
Jerry Hardin Jerry Hardin (born November 20, 1929) is an American actor. Hardin has appeared in film and television roles, including the character nicknamed Deep Throat in ''The X-Files''. Hardin was born in Texas and studied acting at London's Royal Academ ...
, John Harkins, Scott Jacoby,
Meshach Taylor Meshach Taylor (; April 11, 1947 – June 28, 2014) was an American actor. He was best known for his role as Anthony Bouvier on the CBS sitcom ''Designing Women'' (1986–93), for which he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstan ...
, Marc Vahanian, John Welsh, and Kent Williams. Ken Hiller provides the narration.


''The Empire Strikes Back''

The success of the first series led to a 10-part (4 hour, 22 minute) series based on the 1980 film ''
The Empire Strikes Back ''The Empire Strikes Back'' (also known as ''Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back'') is a 1980 American epic space opera film directed by Irvin Kershner from a screenplay by Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan, based on a stor ...
'', again written by Daley and directed by Madden. It was recorded in 1982 at A&R Studios, New York City. The series debuted on NPR on February 14, 1983. Like the preceding series, ''The Empire Strikes Back'' expands on the movie's story and incorporates new scenes such an Imperial attack on a Rebel convoy taking place before the film's original opening scene and a tense conversation between Solo and Skywalker when the two are stranded in the
Hoth Hoth is an ice planet in the '' Star Wars'' fictional universe. It first appeared in the 1980 film '' The Empire Strikes Back'' and has also been a setting in ''Star Wars'' books and video games. Description Hoth is the sixth planet of a remote ...
wastelands. National Public Radio's promoted the series in part by getting
Craig Claiborne Craig Claiborne (September 4, 1920 January 22, 2000) was an American restaurant critic, food journalist and book author. A long-time food editor and restaurant critic for ''The New York Times'', he was also the author of numerous cookbooks and ...
to create his version of
Yoda Yoda () is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' universe, first appearing in the 1980 film ''The Empire Strikes Back''. He is a small, green humanoid alien who is powerful with the Force and is a leading member of the Jedi Order until it ...
's rootleaf stew recipe, which the
Jedi Master Jedi (), Jedi Knights, or collectively the Jedi Order are the main heroic protagonists of many works of the '' Star Wars'' franchise. Working symbiotically alongside the Old Galactic Republic, and later supporting the Rebel Alliance, the Jedi ...
serves Luke in the hut on
Dagobah Dagobah is a fictional planet and eponymous star system appearing in the ''Star Wars'' films ''The Empire Strikes Back'', ''Return of the Jedi'', and ''Revenge of the Sith'', and other media. It is depicted as a world of murky swamps, steaming ...
. The recipe ran in magazines and newspapers across the country. Episode titles: # "Freedom's Winter" # "The Coming Storm" # "A Question of Survival" # "Fire and Ice" # "The ''Millennium Falcon'' Pursuit" # "Way of the Jedi" # "New Allies, New Enemies" # "Dark Lord's Fury" # "Gambler's Choice" # "The Clash of Lightsabers"


Cast

Billy Dee Williams William December Williams Jr. (born April 6, 1937) is an American actor. He appeared as Lando Calrissian in the '' Star Wars'' franchise, first in the early 1980s for ''The Empire Strikes Back'' (1980) and ''Return of the Jedi'' (1983), and thir ...
reprised
Lando Calrissian Landonis Balthazar "Lando" Calrissian III is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. He was introduced in ''The Empire Strikes Back'' (1980) as an old friend of Han Solo and the administrator of the floating Cloud City on the gas p ...
, and John Lithgow played
Yoda Yoda () is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' universe, first appearing in the 1980 film ''The Empire Strikes Back''. He is a small, green humanoid alien who is powerful with the Force and is a leading member of the Jedi Order until it ...
at the same time Madden was directing Lithgow in the play '' Beyond Therapy''. Hamill and Daniels returned to voice Skywalker and C-3PO. The supporting cast again included David Alan Grier and also included
Sam McMurray Sam, SAM or variants may refer to: Places * Sam, Benin * Sam, Boulkiemdé, Burkina Faso * Sam, Bourzanga, Burkina Faso * Sam, Kongoussi, Burkina Faso * Sam, Iran * Sam, Teton County, Idaho, United States, a populated place People and fictional ...
, Steven Markle, Stephen D. Newman,
John Pielmeier John Pielmeier (born February 23, 1949) is an American playwright and screenwriter. Life and career Pielmeier was born in Altoona, Pennsylvania, the son of Louise (Blackburn) and Len Pielmeier. He was raised Catholic. He earned a Bachelor of Art ...
, Geoffrey Pierson, Gary Tacon, and
Jerry Zaks Jerry Zaks (born September 7, 1946) is an American stage and television director, and actor. He won the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play and Drama Desk Award for directing ''The House of Blue Leaves'', ''Lend Me a Tenor'', and ''Six Degre ...
. Ken Hiller provides the narration.


''Return of the Jedi''

NPR's plans for a ''
Return of the Jedi ''Return of the Jedi'' (also known as ''Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi'' is a 1983 American epic space opera film directed by Richard Marquand. The screenplay is by Lawrence Kasdan and George Lucas from a story by Lucas, who ...
'' radio serial were put on hold when federal funding for NPR was dramatically reduced; however, NPR was never the producer of the radio series nor was it ever granted the rights to produce the radio adaptations nor did NPR fund any of the radio productions. Plans for a ''Jedi'' radio adaptation fell apart in the 1980s due to a disagreement (believed to be financial) between KUSC, Los Angeles (the producer of the two previous radio adaptations and to whom the rights were granted for the production) and Lucasfilm. NPR was granted limited rights to air the two previous radio series because KUSC, Los Angeles provided the radio adaptations to NPR as part of NPR's National Program Service that allows any NPR member station rights to air the series as part of the annual dues already paid (rather than the third party Extended Program Service where KUSC could have charged each station a fee for rights to air cutting out NPR). It was not until 1996 that a six-part adaptation of ''Return of the Jedi'' was made by
Highbridge Audio Recorded Books is an audiobook imprint of RBMedia, a publishing company with operations in countries globally. Recorded Books was formerly an independent audiobook company before being purchased and re-organized under RBMedia, where it is now an ...
, the company that had released the first two series on tape and CD. The production returned to the Westlake Recording Studios, where the original series had been recorded. Like the preceding series, ''Return of the Jedi'' expanded its story by incorporating new scenes. One depicts Luke Skywalker constructing a new
lightsaber A lightsaber is a fictional energy sword featured throughout the '' Star Wars'' franchise. A typical lightsaber is depicted as a luminescent plasma blade about in length emitted from a metal hilt around in length. First introduced in the o ...
on Tatooine, based on a deleted scene from the movie. A scripted scene between
C-3PO C-3PO () or See-Threepio is a humanoid robot character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise who appears in the original trilogy, the prequel trilogy and the sequel trilogy. Built by Anakin Skywalker, was designed as a protocol droid intended to assis ...
and
Boba Fett Boba Fett ( ) is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. First appearing in the ''Star Wars Holiday Special'' (1978), where he was voiced by Don Francks, he is an armored bounty hunter featured in both the original and prequel fi ...
in Jabba the Hutt's palace was rejected by Anthony Daniels, who felt that the golden droid should not be on friendly terms with a bounty hunter. Fett was replaced by the dancer "Arica" (actually
Mara Jade Mara Jade Skywalker is a fictional character in the '' Star Wars'' franchise. She appears in the now non-canon ''Legends'' series as the wife of Luke Skywalker and mother of Ben Skywalker. She has been voiced by Heidi Shannon, Edie Mirman and K ...
in disguise) from
Timothy Zahn Timothy Zahn (born September 1, 1951) is an American writer of science fiction and fantasy. He is known best for his prolific collection of ''Star Wars'' books, chiefly the ''Thrawn'' series, and has published several other series of sci-fi and f ...
's '' Tales from Jabba's Palace'' short story. The audio play's adapter Brian Daley died only hours after its recording was concluded; "additional material" was contributed by John Whitman, who introduced changes that were required so the series could have continuity with the newly developed plan for the prequels, as well as changes that were identified by its director and cast. The series was dedicated to the memory of Brian Daley. The show's cast recorded a special get well message for Daley after the author left the studio, unaware that he would never hear it. The message is included as part of the collector's edition box set. Episode titles: # "Tatooine Haunts" # "Fast Friends" # "Prophecies and Destinies" # "Pattern and Web" # "So Turns a Galaxy, So Turns a Wheel" # "Blood of a Jedi"


Cast

The adaptation used many of the original radio cast, though Joshua Fardon took over as Luke and
Arye Gross Arye Gross (; born March 17, 1960) is an American actor, who has appeared on a variety of television shows in numerous roles, most notably Adam Greene in the ABC sitcom ''Ellen''. Personal life Gross was born on March 17, 1960, in Los Angeles ...
replaced Billy Dee Williams as Lando. Ed Begley Jr. was the voice of Boba Fett and
Edward Asner Eddie Asner (; November 15, 1929 – August 29, 2021) was an American actor and former president of the Screen Actors Guild. He is best remembered for portraying Lou Grant during the 1970s and early 1980s, on both ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' a ...
, speaking only in Huttese, voiced
Jabba the Hutt Jabba Desilijic Tiure, more commonly known as Jabba the Hutt, is a fictional character and minor antagonist in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. Created by George Lucas, Jabba is voiced by Larry Ward with several puppeteers inside a one-ton puppet po ...
. The only actor who starred in all the
feature films A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...
as well as all three radio dramas was
Anthony Daniels Anthony Daniels ( ; born 21 February 1946) is an English actor and mime artist, best known for playing in 10 '' Star Wars'' films. He is the only actor to have either appeared in or been involved with all theatrical films in the series, and ...
. The supporting cast included
Rick Hall Roe Erister "Rick" Hall (January 31, 1932 – January 2, 2018) was an American record producer, songwriter, and musician who became known as the owner of FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. As the "Father of Muscle Shoals Music", he was in ...
, Andrew Hawkes,
Sherman Howard Sherman Howard (born June 11, 1949) is an American actor. He is best known for his performance as the zombie Bub in George A. Romero's ''Day of the Dead'' (1985) and Lex Luthor on ''Superboy'' (1990–92). He also voiced Derek Powers (a.k.a. Bli ...
, Karl Johnson,
John Kapelos John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...
, Ron Le Paz, Joe Liss, Paul Mercier, Steven Petrarca,
Jonathan Penner Jonathan Lindsay Penner (born March 5, 1962) is an American actor, screenwriter, television personality, and film producer, known for producing and starring in the film ''The Last Supper'', as well as acting in the television series '' Rude Awa ...
, Gil Segel,
Nia Vardalos Antonia Eugenia Vardalos (born September 24, 1962) is a Canadian actress, director, producer and screenwriter. She is best known for starring in and writing the romantic comedy film ''My Big Fat Greek Wedding'' (2002), which garnered her nominati ...
and Ron West. Ken Hiller provides the narration.


Other broadcasts and releases

Existing radio promos, deleted scenes, and additional music tracks are available which originated on previous releases of this collection and in the NPR broadcast versions. * "Radio Promo No. 1 – Anthony Daniels" * "Radio Promo No. 2 – Ann Sachs" * "Radio Promo No. 3 – Mark Hamill" * "Additional Music" * "''Star Wars'' Radio Drama – Alternate Take of 'Your Father's Lightsaber'" * "''Star Wars'' Radio Drama – Alternate Take 'Bail and Leia'" * "Return of the Jedi Radio Drama – Alternate Take 'Speederbike Chase'" * "The Making of The Radio Dramas" * "The Making of ''Star Wars'' for Radio: A Fable for the Mind's Eye"


Spin-off merchandise

In 2013, two special sets of
Topps The Topps Company, Inc. is an American company that manufactures chewing gum, candy, and collectibles. Formerly based in New York City, Topps is best known as a leading producer of American football, baseball, basketball, ice hockey, soccer, a ...
trading cards were released called ''Star Wars Illustrated'', which featured illustrations of scenes from the first ''Star Wars'' radio drama. The Topps artwork was also used to illustrate two collectors' editions of the Original Radio Drama released at the same time by HighBridge Audiobooks.


International broadcasts and releases

In July 1981, the ''Star Wars'' radio adaptation was broadcast by
BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...
.


See also

* *


References


Sources

* *


External links


''A New Hope'' at archive.org''The Empire Strikes Back'' at archive.org''The Return of the Jedi'' at archive.org''Star Wars'' radio drama article
at '' Wookieepedia''
''The Empire Strikes Back'' radio drama article
at ''Wookieepedia''
''Return of the Jedi'' radio drama article
at ''Wookieepedia''
'' The Making of 'Star Wars' for Radio: A Fable for the Mind's Eye ''
at ''Internet Archive ''
'' That Time NPR Turned 'Star Wars' Into A Radio Drama — And It Actually Worked''
at NPR.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Star Wars (Radio) American radio dramas NPR programs
Radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmi ...
1996 audio plays American science fiction radio programs
Radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmi ...
Radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmi ...
Radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmi ...
BBC Radio 1 programmes 1981 audio plays 1983 audio plays