I have lately been mocking my old friend The British Cowboy for his enthusiasm for the Star Wars series of films. I am at the opposite pole in my feelings for them: I so dislike the idea of them that I have made a point of never watching any of them. I don't think that debars me from criticising and deriding them, since I am well aware of their place in our popular culture (and, indeed, I have a pretty good idea what happens in them).In digging out this Star Wars-themed cartoon, I was suddenly reminded of The Adam & Joe Show, one of the better late-night offerings on the UK's Channel 4 back in the late '90s. It followed the Wayne's World premise of two goofy friends (the comedians Adam Buxton and Joe Cornish), stuck in a perpetually teenaged mindset, hosting a homemade TV show from their bedroom. However, where the appeal of Wayne & Garth, such as it was, was mostly about the wackiness of their characters, Adam & Joe actually created a worthwhile show - apparently on a shoestring budget - full of endearingly daft content, including some very sharp parodies of films and TV programmes. One regular feature was a pastiche of a recent cinema blockbuster acted out with stuffed toys: I remember their Trainspotting and Saving Private Ryan (Saving Private Lion!) with particular fondness. Another weekly highlight (this is why they came to mind now) was a spoof of a popular TV show using Star Wars action figures: my favourites were Jedi Springer and Channel 4 game show The Crystal Maze (Yoda as Richard O'Brien - brilliant!). [Embedding disabled, unfortunately.]
Enjoy.
4 comments:
You have to remember, Froog, that I am significantly younger than you (and better looking too). Star Wars came at a formative time of my life, when you were already a cynical teen (or close enough to make no difference).
And the best "remake" of Saving Private Ryan must surely be the 'adult' version, Shaving Ryan's Privates.
I have heard of, but never seen Ryan's Privates. Thank you for lowering the tone yet again, Cowboy!
I was cynical well before I hit my teens. I think I may have been born cynical.
Please do not mention my age again. I may cry.
I don't object to anyone enjoying Star Wars as a flash-bang romp and/or a childhood-nostalgia binge. I just don't think the films are worth discussing as serious cinema (much less getting all snooty and reverential over them!).
I assume you missed out on Adam & Joe, Cowboy? I doubt if they ever made it across The Pond, even on PBS. Have you checked out the links yet? Jedi Springer is a stroke of genius.
What the Star Wars movies show you is George Lucas' huge strengths and his huge weaknesses. He tells a good story, in an entertaining way, with wonderful visuals. He is also utterly, utterly incapable of creating credible three dimensional characters or writing dialogue of any kind.
Oh, and do a Google search for Robot Chicken Star Wars.
Robot Chicken is Seth Green's show on the cartoon network late night block. It is generally very hit or miss, but they did a couple of episodes of Star Wars spoofs. It's all appallingly badly done animation with dolls - stop-motion I think it is called.
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