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Star Wars Radio Dramas - a general discussion thread

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Still the best version of Star Wars out there, in my opinion. I’m just mad that they aren’t (yet) making radio dramas for Episodes 1-3.

Anyone else like these as much as I do?
 
 

 
Star Wars Radio Dramas Info - Wikipedia Page : Wookieepedia Page : Open Culture Page : NPR 2019 article : TV Tropes Page

The original and full Radio Dramas (at ‘Coach’s Archives’ YouTube channel) - Star Wars : Empire Strikes Back : Return Of The Jedi

Which is the more foolish, the fool (the OT) or the fool who follows (the PT)?

"Stay back, or Mr...Fett gets it!"
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I do. As far as Story goes, the Radio Dramas have it all over the movies. They'll never be able to match the pure viceral experience the OT is, but they're certainly my favourite versions of the story. Jedi I'm not as keen on as the first two. I think that doing it 20 years later with less money and less time really hurt the production. The descriptive dialogue is much more noticable and intrusive, and the absence of Mark Hamill really hurts things. It surprises me they couldn't get him, seeing as he does mostly voicework anyways.

As far as the PT goes, I doubt it'll ever happen, and honestly I'd be happy if it didn't. Jar Jar is almost completely unbearable on film, I'd hate to deal with so much more of him, especially when he has to be conveyed purely through his voice *shudder*.

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I agree Dushku, Jedi was a little bit sucky in the way it felt it had to describe everything that was about to happen visually and without Mark Hamill, but I loved the way the first two expanded so much on the backstories, especially early in Star Wars, where you get all the back story of Luke applying for the Imperial academy and threading the needle in his skyhopper, and Leia's backstory on Alderaan, Brian Daley was a genius.

I think one of the reasons why ROTJ didn't work so well is because it was so visual and so many story threads, which is why i don't think the prequals would translate well either, and we colud well do without extended scenes of the Anakin Padme courtship. peeyoosa!
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I just finished getting them all, I'd try WinMX if I were you...the DL rate wasn't bad for most of them, and all the parts are available. ANH is way easier to get than ESB, though.

ANH was great, and expanded hugely on the film, ESB had some bizzare work by Mark Hammil, though...awfully "Prince Valliant" like crap during the duel ("See how YOU like it, Vader! The Fire of a LIGHTSABER!"), but was still pretty good. RotJ was pointless. Pretty much a longer, straight retelling of the film, with the lamest Emperor ever ("HaHA! See how the SON has struck of the hand of the father, just as the father had struck off the hand of the SON!!!!").
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Get them off of Suprnova if you want high quality MP3s (search for Star Wars in Misc category). Or you could get lower quality Real Audio versions from www.scenebyscene.net
"I don't mind if you don't like my manners. I don't like them myself. They're pretty bad. I grieve over them during the long winter evenings."
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Originally posted by: INv8r_ZIM
ANH was great, and expanded hugely on the film, ESB had some bizzare work by Mark Hammil, though...awfully "Prince Valliant" like crap during the duel ("See how YOU like it, Vader! The Fire of a LIGHTSABER!"), but was still pretty good. RotJ was pointless. Pretty much a longer, straight retelling of the film, with the lamest Emperor ever ("HaHA! See how the SON has struck of the hand of the father, just as the father had struck off the hand of the SON!!!!").


OK, so it's like an Orson Welles radio version of a Sheakespeare play, but with a Star Wars plot?
“Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.” — Nazi Reich Marshal Hermann Goering
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Originally posted by: TheSessler
Get them off of Suprnova if you want high quality MP3s (search for Star Wars in Misc category). Or you could get lower quality Real Audio versions from www.scenebyscene.net


Nice 1..

My mp3's will be D/L in 56 hours....

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I LOVE the radio dramas. My dad rented them for a road trip one time and made copies, so I have all 3 of them in my posession. My two biggest qualms would be no James Earl Jones and Mark Hamill's absence from RotJ. Come to think of it, the guy who replaced Billy Dee as Lando in RotJ was pretty bad too. I wonder what Jones was doing at the time that made him unavailable, as he pretty much IS Vader, it's a real shame he was unable to be in the series. Brock Peters does a servicable job in his place, but NOBODY beats JEJ. As for the rest of the cast, I loved the guy who did Solo and Leia was great too (and props to Anthony Daniel for voicing 3P0 in all 3).

I'd always wished for Prequel radio dramas, but you guys make good points about Jar-Jar and such. I'll pass for now, but I'm sure there's someone out there who could make a good adaption.
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Glad to know I'm not the only one who's experienced these. I stumbled on them at my old library, and dubbed off my own copies. Some things worked so much better then in the films(Alderaan's destruction, Leia's interrigation, etc.) Han meeting Heater in docking bay 94(I seem to remember it being him) made so much more sense than Jabba himself walking around. It even added to the story, giving details on why Han owed Jabba, not just him getting an extension. Personally, I liked ROTJ as well. Though it sounds like Billie Dee got replaced by a white guy. The Emperor was nuts, I loved it(though no McDermid"Glooorius"). I love some of the new lines in Jedi:

After the DSII Destruction

Han: Hey Lando! You kept your promise, right? Not a scratch?

Lando: Well, what's left of her isn't scratched. All the scratched parts got knocked off along the way.

Han(exasperated): Knocked off?!

Emperor's Death

Vader(reacting to Luke's pleas): MY SON!!!!

Emperor: Vader, What are you doing? Put me down!

Vader: Yes, I'll put you down! Down the reactor core shaft! Down to your death!!

Emperor: Vader, you can't do this!! I am your master!

Vader: Darth Vader's master! But not Anakin Skywalker's!!!

Not to mention the fact that you get to hear Mara Jade's voice and I think it salvages it pretty well.


Made for IE Forum's Episode III theme month - May 2005.

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Reminds me of that Monty Python sketch, where there is a radio broadcast of "Death of Mary, queen of Scotts":

"And now, we present... Death of Mary, Queen of Scotts. Episode 1..."


"Are you Mary, queen of Scotts?"

"I am."

(sound of beating, screaming and things breaking for 30 seconds)

"... I think she's dead."

"No I'm not."

(sound of beating, screaming and things breaking for more 30 seconds)
“Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.” — Nazi Reich Marshal Hermann Goering
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Originally posted by: Klingon_Jedi

Han: Hey Lando! You kept your promise, right? Not a scratch?

Lando: Well, what's left of her isn't scratched. All the scratched parts got knocked off along the way.

Han(exasperated): Knocked off?!

Yeah, that was some great dialogue; I was glad they adressed Lando's damage to the Falcon. The "Shadows of the Empire" references were a nice touch too. Come to think of it, howabout a a radio drama of THAT?
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Yeah I always thought it was weird that they used Arye Gross as Lando Calrissian, you might remember him from the original series of Ellen (the Ellen Degeneres show) he also does the annoying voiceovers on the papparazzi show Celebrites Exposed (or whatever it's called)
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" Not to mention the fact that you get to hear Mara Jade's voice and I think it salvages it pretty well. "

really, I don't remember this at all? I'll have to go listen to them again.
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on the subject of Audio adaptions of Star Wars, does anyone know where I can download the old Story adaptions of the trilogy featuring original dialogue and effects from the actual movies, I don't think they ever made it to CD but someone may have converted them from vinyl to mp3 format? I'm sure I wore out the casette years and years ago.
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I have the one's with "you will know it's time to turn your page, when you hear R2-D2 beep like this" ?

I have the ESB, ROTJ and Ewok Join the Fight one's on tape. Might get round to converting them one day soon. Anyone got "Planet of the Hoojibs" and "Droid Word"? Wasn't there another one too with a shot of Han or Luke riding a small shuttle type ship?

I don't think I have the 'official' Storybook ones on vinyl anymore. From what I can remember though the ESB one included the line "you're lucky to get out of there" (rather than "You're lucky you don't taste very good" from Luke on Dagobah).

J

Creator of Star Wars Begins, Building Empire and Returning to Jedi
Follow me on twitter @jamieSWB. Please support me at - http://www.patreon.com/jamiebenning/

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Originally posted by: buddy-x-wing
" Not to mention the fact that you get to hear Mara Jade's voice and I think it salvages it pretty well. "

really, I don't remember this at all? I'll have to go listen to them again.


She's there alright. If you read the complilation "Takes from Jabba's Palace", you'll know from Timothy Zahn's story that Jade infitrated the palace posing as a dancer named Arika(sp?). Early in the RD, C-3PO talks to a person who refers to herself as Arika.


Made for IE Forum's Episode III theme month - May 2005.

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Does anyone have the 15 disc CD set?

IF you do have it PLEASE let me know via email HERE PLEASE!

“My skill are no longer as Mad as the once were” RiK

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Rik,
I e-mailed you to let you know that I have the original 15 disc set (well, actually two sets, one for ANH and ESB and one for ROTJ). They are absolutely great and were bought for a cross country trip that the family took years ago.
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Wait ...


ARYE GROSS played Lando in the ROTJ radio drama???


Arye Gross was my drama teacher at USC ! He's a great guy. Why the hell he's playing a black Corellian smuggler, I don't know, but geez.

He's in a lot of movies. Was just in Minority Report and Gone in 60 Seconds.
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Actually, we don't know where Lando is from.
"I don't mind if you don't like my manners. I don't like them myself. They're pretty bad. I grieve over them during the long winter evenings."
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i ALWAYS THOUGHT Lando WAS CORRELLIAN ,

it was interesting to see Perry King who played Han Solo in the radio dramas, auditioning for the same movie part in the original screen tests on the Empire of dreams doco. Not to mention seeing Terri Nunn (lead singer of 80's band BERLIN-that had the hits:- Take my breathe away, No more Words, dancing in Berlin, they were my favourite band in the 80's and I had such a crush on her, it was a real shock to see her auditioning for the part of Leia, she would have been a very slutty princess.

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I remember listening to my friend's ANH set on cassette. And I bought a ROTJ set on cassette on clearance at Barnes & Noble. They were both good, but the ANH was better. It was awesome. I don't think I've heard the ESB set.

Anyone know where one can buy these sets on CD, new preferably? And preferably other than Ebay.

Now, I know there were separate CD sets of each one, but was there one big set or something too? Meloveu mentions a combined ANH and ESB set. What sets are available?
"What is best in life Conan?"
"To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentations of their women!"