Skeleton Crew is not your father's Star Wars... but it has the same tone and themes as your father's Star Wars, because it was made by your father.
Theoretically, this will make sense before I finish.
The original Star Wars was inspired by the serials shown in movie theaters in George Lucas's youth, as well as war pictures, westerns and samurai films of those times. Skeleton Crew's Star Wars creatives are about my age and made this based on movies from our childhood: The Goonies, E.T. , Treasure Island... etc.
This was a fun ride, fully embracing the idea that, since it's inception as George Lucas stated, Star Wars was made for kids. Sure the rest of us are welcome to enjoy it too, but its for them.
That means, while there's excitement, suspense and danger, we know these kids are going to be all right. (Just HOW in some cases, is where the suspense comes from.) And while there are always evil people pursuing them in one form or another, there is also "a new hope" (wa- ha ha!) at every location that there ARE good and altruistic folks willing to help them. (And learning how to tell the difference is part of the wisdom of growing up.)
It has all the elements Star Wars needs.
A group of diverse heroes (an over achieving girl who never feels like she does enough, a boy lost in his imagination that doesn't live up to his potential, a cyborg who clearly needs a hug and an adorable blue elephant) that bicker endlessly, but truly care about each other, and pull off some incredible stunts with team work.
A hopelessly bureaucratic support structure for those heroes that occasionally gets it together.
Ruthless villains (pirates!)
Weird, fun aliens. (Crazy Owl Lady!!! Woo!)
Wild worlds with oddly specific purposes.
Awesome space ships and vehicles, in the classic, call back and original varieties
A new eccentric droid to fall in love with. (Nick Frost as a cantankerous, banged up, pirate droid with a space rat living in his head is overqualified for this, I believe)
Morally ambiguous characters that always keep you guessing about their actions. (Jude Law steals every scene he's in and often makes you love and hate him simultaneously.)
The back drop of the (no matter the type or quality of the government) organized crime ridden galaxy Star Wars takes place in.
In short. It's old fashioned Star Wars!
I was truly impressed by them working in the references to some "less loved" portions of the franchise in outstanding ways:
Reusing a hologram from the Holiday Special was a reminder that this is a franchise for kids, and that kind of stuff can work in context.
Making the "wolf man mask head" last minute cantina alien (that George Lucas removed from the special edition) into a terrifying opponent for the main characters as Pirate Captain Brutus shows it isn't the make up or CGI, its the writing and performance that makes a character shine.
One of the coolest aspects of the show for me was, given the aspects of the sheltered lives these kids had, they got to experience the Star Wars universe with the same wide eyed wonder that I did when it first began.
And the kids are what makes this show fantastic. All four of the leads show varying types of bravery and resourcefulness that allow them to complete each section of the crazy tasks they need to accomplish to return home and then save it. Sometimes they fail epically, but always in character and in fun ways.
Bring on the next season!
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