The Empire Strikes Back (radio)

The Empire Strikes Back, adapted from the film Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back, exists as a ten-part radio show. As the second installment in the Star Wars radio dramatizations that bring the original trilogy to life, it was initially broadcasted in the U.S. on National Public Radio on February 14, 1983. It was featured as part of the NPR Playhouse program.

Following the triumph of the initial radio series, Star Wars (1981), which achieved unprecedented audience numbers and engagement for NPR, this drama was created. Similar to the first series, George Lucas granted the rights for a symbolic dollar, providing NPR complete access to the movie's sound effects and music. The majority of the original drama's key personnel returned, including scriptwriter Brian Daley, director John Madden, sound engineer Tom Voegeli (also credited as co-director), and casting/production coordinator Mel Sahr. Almost the entirety of the Star Wars radio cast reprised their respective roles in The Empire Strikes Back, with film actors Mark Hamill and Anthony Daniels among them. Billy Dee Williams joined the cast to play Lando Calrissian, a role he had previously portrayed. Also, John Lithgow voiced Yoda.

Synopsis

The storyline of the movie The Empire Strikes Back is retold in this radio drama, which centers on Luke Skywalker's rescue by Han Solo, the events of the Battle of Hoth, Luke's training with Master Yoda, and Darth Vader's's relentless pursuit of Solo, Princess Leia, and Luke, which culminates in their duel on Cloud City. The audio drama format necessitates a significant amount of additional dialogue in each episode to describe actions that are visually communicated in the films.

There are a few scenes that are exclusive to the radio drama. As was done with Star Wars, it starts with fresh content that accounts for roughly half of the first episode, called "Freedom's Winter." The opening scene features the destruction of Renegade Flight and a Rebel supply convoy during the Battle of Derra IV. The episode then shows the launch of the Imperial probe droid from the Star Destroyer Avenger and the attempts made by the Rebels Alliance to create Echo Base. The additional scenes found beyond the first episode are generally short; they include Luke and Han spending the night in an emergency shelter after getting stranded in the Hoth wasteland; the Rebel preparations for the Battle of Hoth; Luke reuniting with the pilots of Rogue Squadron prior to his departure for Dagobah; and a pair of conversations between Lando Calrissian and Lobot.

Development

Production

While Star Wars was structured as 13 weekly episodes to align with NPR's quarterly schedule, The Empire Strikes Back was designed to be a more concise 10 episodes. Madden oversaw the recording process at A&R Studios in New York City, which spanned ten days.

Voegli again oversaw the post-production process, combining the newly recorded dialogue with the film's soundtrack and sound effects library. Voegli had access to cutting-edge equipment that wasn't available for the first Star Wars. As the end credits of each episode proudly state, "Post-production was realized at Studio M in St. Paul on the 3M digital mastering system." The dialogue recording took only 10 days, but Voegli's work in St. Paul spanned 150 days, nearly as long as the film's post-production phase.

Music

The creators of the radio drama were granted complete freedom to utilize the film's score, as was the case with the first radio drama. Instead of receiving the condensed OST album, they were given the original session masters. As a result, the radio drama includes a significant amount of previously unreleased music, some of which is still exclusive to this medium (such as the clean opening to the End Credits cue).

Promotion

NPR once again invested significantly in promoting the radio play, commissioning a poster reminiscent of movie posters with artwork by Ralph McQuarrie. Another unique promotional strategy involved hiring food writer Craig Claiborne to develop a recipe for Yoda's rootleaf stew, which the Jedi Master serves to Luke in his Dagobah hut. This recipe was featured in magazines and newspapers nationwide just before the series was broadcast.

NPR celebrated the premiere of the first episode with an event at New York's Hayden Planetarium.

Release

The initial episode, "Freedom's Winter," was initially transmitted on February 14, 1983. Subsequent episodes were broadcast weekly on Mondays, with the final episode, "The Clash of Lightsabers," airing on April 18. However, certain local stations adhered to alternative schedules.

HighBridge Audio released the recorded radio dramatization. HighBridge published a Collector's Limited Edition of the complete radio trilogy in 1996. The radio drama's original script was published in 1995 in a book titled The Empire Strikes Back: The National Public Radio Dramatization.

Canonicity and continuity

The Empire Strikes Back incorporates some original elements into the film's events, although not to the same extent as its predecessor, Star Wars. Similar to the other NPR radio dramas, any content beyond what was included in the original film is regarded as part of the Legends continuity. Later Legends stories referenced some elements from the radio broadcasts. The drama's opening scene, which depicts the Battle of Derra IV, was presented in flashbacks in the 1997 comic X-Wing Rogue Squadron 25. The episode "The Millennium Falcon Pursuit" introduced Tarrin Datch, a Rogue Squadron pilot whose backstory and role would be further explored in subsequent sources.

Episodes

Credits

Media

Editions

Cover gallery

Sources

Notes and references

External links

Appearances