Star Wars debuts part 2: The first work of the people behind the film

The principal heroes of Star Wars

Last time, I looked back at the earliest work of some of the older people behind Star Wars. We found that the earliest film to share personnel with George Lucas's film was probably Rookery Nook, the 1930 British movie which had Gilbert Taylor as assistant cameraman.

Today, we move into the 1960s and 1970s for the film debuts of some of the film's principals.

The best books about the original Star Wars - part two

Today, I'm finishing my look at some of the most enjoyable or informative books for lovers of the original, 1977 Star Wars.

Its a chronological list, and I'm resuming with the weighty tome that marked the film's 30th anniversary.

The best books about the original Star Wars: a guide

George Lucas's own library. A comprehensive Star Wars collection would surely be as big

Last week, we looked at Craig Stevens' new book The Star Wars Phenomenon in Britain, and I recommended it to anyone interested in the impact Star Wars had, in the UK or elsewhere.

But what other books belong on the shelves of anyone interested in the original Star Wars the first time around?

Here's the first part of a chronological list of those I'd recommend. Watch for longer reviews of some of them in due course.

As Dave Prowse retires: a tribute to the original Darth Vader

Dave Prowse as Darth Vader

As Dave Prowse, makes his final public appearance this weekend, Episode Nothing considers the legacy of the original Darth Vader.

Star Wars on TV: how Britain's TV Times celebrated its arrival on the small screen

A chance to win Empire Strikes Back toys in
TV Times as Star Wars came to television

When Star Wars reached British television in 1982, the listings magazine TV Times gave it an unprecedented amount of space. It even commissioned short comic strip telling us something of how the Rebel Alliance stole the plans to the Death Star – and almost certainly contradicting the forthcoming film Rogue One. Episode Nothing takes a trip back to October 24 1982.

Star Wars Annual No. 1: The UK gets the Marvel comic in colour ... or color

The cover of Star Wars Annual no. 1 from 1978

Episode Nothing looks at the first Star Wars Annual, from 1978.  It was the book which gave UK fans behind the scenes features about the film, plus a taste of something Americans had already had – Marvel's Star Wars adaptation in colour. (Or, if you prefer, color.)

Those Star Wars mini-posters from 1970s Look-In magazines

Star Wars makes the cover of
Look-In on March 11, 1978

The last in our short series of posts about the British weekly magazine Look-In focuses on the mini-posters that adorned many a bedroom wall after the release of Star Wars.

Peter Cushing: a birthday tribute

Peter Cushing reunited with Dave Prowse in Star Wars

The presence of Alec Guinness ensured the critics would pay some attention to Star Wars – but the name that would have attracted the interest of genre fans was that of Peter Cushing.

Cushing would have been 101 today. (Thanks to the fundraisers of @UKGarrison for reminding me of that on Twitter this morning and inspiring this blog post.) So it's a fitting time to consider his contribution to the most successful film of his long career.