Star Wars (radio)

Star Wars, a radio adaptation in thirteen parts, reimagines the initial Star Wars movie for audio. It stands as the first in a series of Star Wars radio dramatizations that adapt the original trilogy. National Public Radio produced it in 1981 as a component of its NPR Playhouse program. The concept of adapting Star Wars for radio originated with Richard Toscan, who also served as the executive producer. George Lucas fully supported the series, granting the rights and permitting the utilization of sound effects and music taken directly from the films. Brian Daley transformed the movie into a radio-ready script, John Madden guided the voice actors' performances, and Tom Voegeli expertly blended the dialogue, sound effects, and musical score. Due to scheduling conflicts, most of the original film's cast could not reprise their roles (for example, Harrison Ford was busy with Raiders of the Lost Ark), but Mark Hamill and Anthony Daniels did return to voice Luke Skywalker and C-3PO, respectively. Following the triumph of the Star Wars radio adaptation, two additional radio dramas were created: The Empire Strikes Back (1983) and Return of the Jedi (1996). HighBridge Audio released recordings of all three dramas.

Synopsis

The radio drama mirrors the storyline of the film A New Hope, recounting the events of Princess Leia's capture by Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker's unexpected entry into the Rebellion against the Empire, the princess's subsequent rescue, and the ultimate destruction of the Death Star. The narrative is skillfully adapted for the auditory format of radio. The dialogue is expanded to describe action sequences that are visually presented in the films. Radio's narrative pace is more relaxed compared to cinema, affording Daley the chance to further develop the characters and delve into events that occurred before the initial movie.

The initial pair of episodes - "A Wind to Shake the Stars" and "Points of Origin" - consist entirely of original content, whereas the third episode - "Black Knight, White Princess, and Pawns" - commences with fresh material before transitioning into an adaptation of the movie's opening scene. The Star Wars radio drama introduced various characters and concepts that would later be referenced in Legends stories, including a skyhopper race through Beggar's Canyon, the Subjugation of Ralltiir, and the Battle of Toprawa. It also provides more depth to scenes that are only alluded to in the film. As an illustration, A New Hope depicts Threepio and Artoo emerging from a locked door in Mos Eisley; the radio drama elaborates on how they gain entry to the building by masquerading as employees of a fictional maintenance company. In another significant example, while the film suggests that Vader tortures Leia, the radio episode "Death Star's Transit" portrays this explicitly.

Development

Conception

NPR aimed to broaden its audience reach. Facing financial difficulties, the network feared even greater budget reductions in the future. Presidential candidate Ronald Reagan advocated for budget cuts in areas like public broadcasting. Frank Mankiewicz, the president of NPR, thought that reviving radio drama could attract new listeners. Toscan, a theatre professor at the University of Southern California, had already produced dramas on KUSC, an NPR-affiliated station operated by the university, for the program NPR Playhouse. He credits one of his students with suggesting a Star Wars adaptation. Toscan believed this could "create a scandal," something attention-grabbing and outrageous. Adapting Star Wars, renowned for its elaborate visual effects, for radio seemed impossible. However, its rich, innovative, and recognizable sound design and music were well-suited for a radio adaptation.

KUSC's university connection facilitated gaining the support of George Lucas, an alumnus. Lucas sold the movie rights, along with access to its music and sound library, for a mere dollar. An agreement was established to secure support and additional funding from the BBC. Initially, an experienced BBC radio scriptwriter was hired. However, Carol Titelman, the Lucasfilm director co-executive producing the drama with Toscan, felt the first draft suffered from the writer's unfamiliarity with Star Wars. Instead, she chose Brian Daley, who lacked radio experience but possessed extensive Star Wars writing experience, having penned The Han Solo Trilogy. This led to the breakdown of the deal with the BBC, which subsequently withdrew its support. Toscan's role then became ensuring Daley's script adhered to a radio-appropriate approach, using dialogue and sound to compensate for the film's visual elements.

Production

Daley penned the script while residing in North Hollywood between December 1979 and March 1980. John Madden was brought on as director in May. Mel Sahr handled casting the voice actors during the same period. Recording commenced in late June at Westlake Audio Studios in Los Angeles.

Sound design

A key strength of radio lies in its ability to stimulate listeners' imaginations, prompting them to create mental visuals. The drama succeeds through auditory associations with the movies, leveraging the subliminal power of John Williams's incidental music, Ben Burtt's sound design, and, of course, the voices of the lead actors, Mark Hamill and Anthony Daniels, from the big screen. Director John Madden stated, "Anyone who's ever listened to radio drama will testify to the fact that a play you hear will (remain) in your mind—twelve years later you'll remember it vividly. And the reason you'll remember it vividly is because you've done the work... it lives in your imagination."

Tom Voegeli in Minnesota devoted extensive hours to blending the recorded dialogue with Burtt's sound effects and Williams's musical score. Utilizing reel-to-reel audio tape and pre-digital tools like razor blades, Voegli could spend hours mixing just a few minutes of runtime.

Promotion

NPR initiated a comprehensive campaign to promote the radio series. The promotional tagline read, "You may think you've seen the movie; wait 'til you hear it!" NPR commissioned an original poster by Celia Strain featuring C-3PO wearing headphones and standing before an old-fashioned microphone, connecting imagery from the film with imagery from the radio drama's golden age. The series was launched at a special event held at Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles. The series's debut was considered a significant triumph, establishing records for total NPR listeners, young listeners, and listener engagement through calls and letters.

Release

Broadcasts

The initial episode, A Wind to Shake the Stars, was initially broadcast on March 2, 1981, and then weekly on Mondays for a total of thirteen weeks, concluding on May 25. Some local NPR affiliate stations broadcast the episodes on different days. A half-hour documentary, The Making of Star Wars For Radio: A Fable For the Mind's Eye, aired in February to promote the upcoming series; some stations opted to air it the week following the final episode.

Recordings

HighBridge Audio released all three series on cassette and CD in the US; the first version retained NPR's edits. In 1996, HighBridge issued a Collector's Limited Edition of the complete radio trilogy that restored the previously removed dialogue.

In October 2013, HighBridge Audio released two limited-edition, mp3 Collector's Volumes: Star Wars: A New Hope - The Original Radio Drama, "Light Side" and "Dark Side." Each volume features the original Star Wars: A New Hope radio drama, an exclusive trading card from Topps, and rare audio content and interviews from the radio drama's production.

Script

In 1994, the complete radio script was published as a book titled Star Wars: The National Public Radio Dramatization. Brian Daley's introduction to the book detailed aspects of the drama's production. The script of the first episode, "A Wind to Shake the Stars," was republished in an article of the same name in Star Wars Galaxy Magazine 2, accompanied by illustrations and an interview with Daley.

Canonicity and continuity

Radio scenes absent from the original film are considered part of the Legends continuity, with many referenced in other Legends stories. The 1999 one-shot comic book "Luke Skywalker's Walkabout" portrays a story Luke recounts about his childhood from the radio episode "Jedi that Was, Jedi to Be." The 2003 two-part comic arc Princess... Warrior adapts a portion of the episode "Points of Origin". The 2013 trading card set Star Wars Illustrated: A New Hope depicts numerous scenes from the drama not present in the film.

Certain elements from the radio drama have been integrated into Star Wars canon. Aspects of Luke and Leia's backstories are retold in the 2015 novel The Princess, the Scoundrel, and the Farm Boy. Artoo-Detoo's sabotage of R5-D4, first introduced in the radio episode "While Giants Mark Time," is featured in the canon story "The Red One," written from R5's perspective. The story "Verge of Greatness" incorporates a subplot from the radio drama centered on Admiral Motti and Grand Moff Tarkin, using some of the exact dialogue from the radio episodes "Death Star's Transit" and "Force and Counterforce." Both stories were published in the 2017 anthology From a Certain Point of View.

Episodes

Media

Editions

Credits

Cover gallery

Sources

Notes and references

External links

Appearances