Episode Nothing: the blog about Star Wars in the 1970s is back

Star Wars the first time around, in 1977

It's been a while, but we're back. 

Episode Nothing, the site about the original, unaltered, 1977 Star Wars, and its first release, has returned, with plenty to say about the movie 40 years on.

If you've been here before, welcome back, and please read on for some details of what's coming up. If you're new, here's what it's all about. 

Luke Skywalker and his father figures: What Star Wars has to say about dads

Some Star Wars Father's Day cards from 2016

The pictures above are the Father’s Day cards I received from my two sons last weekend. There are no festivals that Star Wars does not reach. 

They set me thinking about the role of fatherhood in Star Wars. Released at a time of sharply rising marital break-up, the 1977 film was the tale of a fatherless young man looking to find his place in the universe. Today, Episode Nothing considers how Star Wars dealt with the subject of fatherhood.

Star Wars: what is the 'definitive', original 1977 edition anyway?

An ad for Star Wars in 70mm at the
Granada, Santa Barbara, September 1977.
Source: fromscripttodvd.com 

Ever since the Star Wars Special Editions came out in 1997, people like me have been repeating the same tedious question: Will we ever see the original, 1977 version of the film again?

Looking back at Star Wars Weekly – issue 8

The cover of Star Wars Weekly issue 8, March 29 1978

Episode Nothing's guide to the Marvel Comics adaptation of Star Wars, as reinvented for British readers, continues with a look at issue 8, from March 29 1978.

Star Wars Letraset transfers: The fun that never wore off – part two

The front of the second set of Star Wars Letraset
Action Transfers, 'Escape from the Death Star'

My last post looked at Letraset, the British company that invented a massively useful way of getting different fonts onto paper in the 1960s – and which  later found a way to take part in Star Wars mania.

The second of the three original Letraset Action Transfers Star Wars scenes from 1978 was titled 'Escape from the Death Star'.  It showed the action in the Death Star docking bay as Luke and co. battled their way to the Millennium Falcon, while Obi-Wan Kenobi did battle with Darth Vader.

Laughing at Star Wars: the Top 10 funniest jokes in the original movie - part one

Big laughs: the original Star Wars had more jokes than people think

Here's a fact that's sometimes forgotten about the original Star Wars: It had some very good jokes.

I don't just mean in-jokes, i.e. references to other films and literature that made critics and movie buffs feel clever when they spotted them.  (I wrote about some of those references here.) No, I mean genuine jokes which prompted audiences to laugh out loud.  I remember some of the laughter quite vividly from that first viewing all those years ago.

Selling Star Wars: Fox boss Peter Myers on the film's original release

Audiences outside Mann's Chinese Theater in Hollywood,
the cinema most associated with Star Wars

Did 20th Century-Fox know what it had on its hands with Star Wars?

Many books and articles written about the film's first release have insisted that George Lucas had a much better idea than Fox about how to market the movie. 

Biggs Darklighter - the original Rebel

"The Rebellion's spreading, Luke": Garrick Hagon as Biggs confides in Luke Skywalker

I can distinctly remember a thought that crossed my mind about half an hour into my first viewing of Star Wars, one fateful Saturday afternoon in February 1978.

It was at just about the point when Luke, Obi-Wan Kenobi and the droids were arriving at Mos Eisley, heading for their first meeting with Han Solo.

Darth Vader, intergalactic man of mystery

Darth Vader demonstrates his sad devotion to that ancient religion in Star Wars

Episode Nothing's occasional look at the characters of Star Wars continues with a look at the series' then-mysterious villain.

Princess Leia: Damsel in distress or feminist icon?

Giving the orders: Princess Leia changes the rescue plan

The third in an occasional series of posts about the characters of Star Wars looks at the only young woman in the galaxy.  

The 5 things some people don't get about Star Wars

Star Wars first time around

I sometimes speak to people – especially young people – who just don't get Star Wars. It's not just that they don't particularly like it; it's that they can't comprehend why it looms so large in the lives of the first generation of fans.

Star Wars on the small screen: The Making of Star Wars TV documentary

The Making of Star Wars

When a film has already broken all box office records and has been packing out cinemas for more than three months, it isn’t in desperate need of a free hour-long advert on prime time television. But that’s just the boost Star Wars received on September 16 1977, when ABC aired The Making of Star Wars. 

The UK reviews of Star Wars: "Less than meets the eye"

A queue to see Star Wars in London's Leicester Square. Picture from starwars.com

In December 1977, the London film critics were, in many people's estimation, among the luckiest people in Britain. They had seen Star Wars long before it reached most of the country. 

'A new classic': Contemporary reviews of Star Wars

A Twentieth Century-Fox trade ad announces that Star Wars will be released in Dolby Stereo.
Source: theswca.com

After Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace garnered the kind of notices usually given to war crimes, George Lucas said: "Everything that was said about The Phantom Menace was said about Star Wars, almost verbatim."

But in fact, the early reviews of Star Wars were almost unanimously positive.

Britain in space: the UK release of Star Wars

Advance poster for the intensely anticipated
UK release of Star Wars at the end of 1977

The arrival of Star Wars in Britain was very different from its release on an unsuspecting US public in May 1977. The US didn't know what had hit it; the UK, however, had been desperate to see the film for months.

Did everyone really think Star Wars would be a flop?

Star Wars: The At Long Last Love of science fiction?

Who knew Star Wars would be a hit?

Most written accounts suggest that Fox was bracing itself for a $10 million flop.

John Dykstra, ILM and the special effects of Star Wars

The special effects of Star Wars – 
fine just the way they were

On its first release, the thing reviews of Star Wars seemed to dwell on more than anything else was, perhaps inevitably, the special effects.

It's not that films hadn't had great visual effects before. 2001: A Space Odyssey almost certainly contained individual effects shots of higher quality than those of Star Wars. But films had never had so many great effects, flitting by so fast.

Writing Star Wars: "The story of Mace Windy"

The opening of George Lucas's handwritten
"idea fragment" that became Star Wars

"This is the story of Mace Windy [sic], a reviered [sic] Jedi-bendu of Ophuchi,as related to us by CJ Thorpe, padawaan learner to the famed Jedi."

George Lucas actually wrote that sentence. 

The release of Star Wars: You never forget your first time

At last: Ads like this announced the long-awaited 
opening of Star Wars in the UK regions

I don't suppose anyone has ever forgotten the first time they saw Star Wars.