Friday, May 4, 2012

May The 4th Be With You

Thirty-five years ago, Star Wars was released, and changed this Star Kid's life in countless ways - for one thing, without George Lucas' space fantasy, I doubt this blog would exist. Sure, I was a Six Million Dollar Man, Planet of The Apes and Star Trek fan even before my trip to that far off galaxy, but without the Wars, there would have been so much less to celebrate from that era. No Galactica, no Quark. Probably no Logan's Run TV series or revived Buck Rogers, either.

Thanks, George.

11 comments:

  1. I thought it was released on May 25th. Where did you get your date information?

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  2. You're probably right - but for whatever reason, Lucasfilm and Star Wars fandom have chosen May 4th as "Star Wars Day." Who am I to argue?

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  3. I agree! Star Wars was the seminal act that launched the science fiction/fantasy revolution in television and cinema that we still enjoy today. Clearly, Star Wars had predecessors (some of which I artisticly prefer) but nothing remotely approached its bankability. Star Wars and the avalanche of "fantasic" film and television that followed in it's wake made my childhood a magical one. Star Wars was a godsend for everyone who loved Sci fi. I will always cherish it!

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  4. It's today because of "May the 4th be with you."

    And tommorrow.... wait for it.... Revenge of the fifth.

    Star Wars is ok. Being 10 in '77, Star Wars was huge, I liked it, of course, though even back then I wasn't a uber-fan, still not. Comic books were more my thing then.

    Great blog. Glad you included superheroes. Do you remember Otherworld? It's a little outside your timeframe for the blog (?84?), though.

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  5. '77 was one hell of a summer. I only read the novelization back then and didn't get to see SW in the theaters until years later, but there was no missing its repercussions throughout American society that year. Much more than just a simple science fiction blockbuster, it was a cultural phenomenon that seemed to touch every aspect of life. Was there a red-blooded American boy who didn't know about SW that summer? Who didn't hear Meco's disco version of the theme on the radio? I wonder what the ratings were for the Making of Star Wars TV special.

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  6. Thanks for the Star Wars universe George, but please please stop tinkering with them everytime you put a new version out. Enough is enough. Leave 'Star Wars' and 'ESB' alone. 'ROTJ' though, you can do what you like with. That was always rubbish

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  7. Never saw that picture before! I'm a big fan of scenes of monsters, aliens, robots and what have you carrying girls, pretty cool to see Chewie and Leia in that pose.

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  8. I was a boy that Summer of 1977. I will never forget the disappointing departure of SPACE:1999 after it's two seasons and the happy arrival of STAR WARS that ultimately was the catalyst of there being a STAR TREK:THE MOTION PICTURE and THE BLACK HOLE et.al.
    SGB

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  9. I agree with the other anonymous poster who wants George to stop tinkering and leave them as the were. Still, Star Wars was such a huge part of my childhood and then again in my early 20's with the rereleases that I can not help but have a very large love for the orginal three movies. The prequels... eh, in my Star Wars universe they don't exist!

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    1. Cheers for the agreements. Let me clear up 'ROTJ'. I really really wanted to like it in 1983 and I even tried to convince myself that I did, but as the years have passed, I've had to admit that I always found it a let down. It just re-hashes bits from the first two (Dagobah, Death Star, duel with Vader) and adds Jabba the Hut and the Ewoks, neither of which were good additions. However, Star Wars was also a huge part of my childhood and my memories (until 1983 at least) remain fond ones

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  10. Let's face it, if it hadn't been for Star Wars, then most of us wouldn't be Star Kids--at least not in the same sense. I think it's safe to say that no other work of popular culture since 1977 has had quite the same impact.

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