Robot Chicken: Star Wars

"We have obvious parodies with Luke and Darth Vader, but it's the bizarre little ones that fans will really have to know their trivia. We did our research. After all, we're fans making a special for fans."

- Corey Campodonico, co-producer of the special

Robot Chicken: Star Wars is a Star Wars-themed double-length special of the show Robot Chicken that first aired on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim block on June 17, 2007. It features the voices of George Lucas, Mark Hamill, Ahmed Best, Tom Kane, Joey Fatone and Bob Bergen. It proved to be highly popular and spawned a sequel, which aired on November 16, 2008.

In addition to new material, the special also features several Star Wars-themed sketches from previous episodes.

Sketches
Between each sketch section, static flares across the screen to signify the change.

Chapter I

 * 1) The title sequence features a thematically altered version of the shows standard opening, in which a mad scientist turns a dead fowl into the titular "Robot Chicken". After "Not long ago in a galaxy not far enough away...." flashes on the screen in traditional blue, the opening parodies Anakin Skywalker's injuries on Mustafar with the scientist wearing Emperor Palpatine's robes discovering the chicken who has been burned by a stream of lava. The scientist grabs the chicken by the neck and holds its limp body in the air, laughing. He revives the bird by using Force lightning and a rotary saw. After Darth Vader-like armor is attached, the helmet is placed on its badly burned head. The operating table rises, mirroring the real Darth Vader's operation further. A fusion of the Robot Chicken theme and The Imperial March begins to play and Vader's distinctive breathing is heard. The scientist grabs "Darth Chicken" and binds him in a chair and forces him to watch a wall of television sets featuring clips from the special.
 * 2) During the Battle of Hoth, Luke Skywalker destroys an AT-AT by grappling onto it, and throws a grenade into a bathroom occupied by an unsuspecting Imperial Army pilot, reading a copy of Naboobies magazine. The pilot looks up at the last moment, wonders what the object that flew up through the floor is, and then dies in the explosion.
 * 3) While Emperor Palpatine is describing his duel with Yoda in the Grand Convocation Chamber and laughing about it with Mas Amedda and a Human Male, his desk phone rings and he presses a button activating the speakerphone. His phone informs him that it is a collect call from Darth Vader. Apologizing to his guests, he picks up the phone and warmly greets his apprentice. Palpatine's mood changes instantly and he tells Vader to repeat himself. After confirming Vader's words, he asks what he means by "They blew up the Death Star." Palpatine is incredulous and instantly leans back in his chair yelling a string of curses and pounds his desk with both arms twice. He then asks who is "they" and what the hell an Aluminum Falcon is. Momentarily calming himself down, he asks who survived. He swears again after hearing the answer and asks where Vader is while all of this is happening. Vader tells him that he's been flying in his TIE Advanced x1 for two weeks trying to find a signal for his communicator. Palpatine comments that he must smell completely like feet wrapped in leathery burnt bacon and fans his nose at the thought of it. Palpatine apologizes sarcastically and says that he thought his Dark Lord of the Sith could protect the small thermal exhaust port that was the Death Star's only weakness and reveals that the loan for the construction wasn't fully paid off and asks Vader if he fathoms what this incident would do to his credit. His rant is interrupted by another call on his other line. At first he angrily yells into the phone saying that he is busy, then instantly calms down when he finds out someone is going on a lunch run and wants to know if he wants anything picked up for him. Palpatine pauses verbally for a moment and then asks for a turkey club sandwich and coleslaw on the side, though he says he probably isn't going to eat it. He asks the person what they're getting because he always orders the wrong food. Mas Amedda and the other man are getting impatient. Amedda is tapping his thigh and the man is checking his watch. Palpatine says that he'll stick with his order and is about to hang up when the caller asks him what drink he wants. Palpatine asks for a Cherry Coke, thanks the person, and hangs up. He switches back to Darth Vader's line and sighs. Vader suggests that they rebuild it and Palpatine asks him where he'd get a loan and mockingly asks if Vader has an ATM on his "torso Lite-Brite." Palpatine then commands Vader to get his "seven-foot-two asthmatic ass" back to Coruscant or he would tell everyone how whiny Vader was about the death of his wife, who's name Palpatine can't remember. Palpatine tells his guests that Vader had started crying and the three of them start snickering. Palpatine tries to console and apologize to Vader about his anger; the loss of the Death Star was a big blow and he didn't mean to snap. Then he tells Vader calmly to just get back and says goodbye. Before he hangs up he hesitates, covers his mouth with his hand and tells Vader, "I love you too." Amedda and the man look at each other.
 * 4) When the bartender in Chalmun's Cantina asks for a Jawa's order, it responds by shouting "Martini!" in a squeaky voice.
 * 5) A janitor sweeps up the corpse of Darth Maul on Naboo, exclaiming that he's "gotta get that transfer to Coruscant".
 * 6) AckbarCereal.jpg commercial for "Admiral Ackbar Cereal" has two children eating plain oatmeal that the boy describes as "boring." Ackbar barges in and knocks their bowls off the table and shouts "Its a trap." The children, glad to see him, shout his name and the name of the cereal. Ackbar pours the cereal into new bowls and the children eat it. The cereal features colorful marshmallows, imitation crab meat and a prize in every box. Ackbar says "Your tongues can't repel flavor of this magnitude!" and dances for the kids, in a reference to the Captain Crunch commercial.
 * 7) In a flashback to parallel events surrounding the "Martini!" sequence, Industrial designer, Ponda Baba's, conflict with Luke Skywalker in the Mos Eisley Cantina is shown to be the result of a failure to communicate caused by an overly joking and intoxicated Evazan. After his arm is cut off by Obi-Wan Kenobi, he is fired from his job because he is unable to sketch even though he claims to be ambidextrous.

Chapter II

 * 1) C-3PO and R2-D2 encounter problems at an airport screening line. Artoo is sent through X-ray screening but 3PO goes through the metal detector and it activates. He reaches in his pocket, exclaiming that he forgot about his keys.
 * 2) Qui-Gon Jinn attempts to pass his ignited lightsaber to Obi-Wan and drops it through every floor of the Saak'ak, the Trade Federation flagship. It hits many people and things on the way down.
 * 3) An officer reports to Darth Vader's meditation chamber and cringes at the sight of Darth Vader's helmet-less head. When the helmet is put in place, the claw recedes, still holding the helmet, and Darth Vader is hoisted into the air. While he hangs there helplessly, he asks the officer to assist him.
 * 4) New officer recruits receive orientation in a conference room on board the Death Star I explaining that Vader's Force Choke is all in his head and instructing the recruits in proper (and ultimately life-saving) behavior and he calls Commander Winston to show them the proper form. When Vader holds his hand up, they are to hold their hands to their neck, make choking sounds, roll their eyes back, then fall to the floor where they will be dragged away by attendants and given a new identity; Winston becomes Lieutenant Leopold and is given a mustache to hide his identity at the end of the demonstration. The teacher then points out Private Perkins who has been strangled over thirty times, the brown-haired man is adorned with fake glasses, a black mustache, and a long white beard.
 * 5) After destroying the Death Star I, Luke can't wait until he can tell his aunt and uncle, Owen Lars and Beru Whitesun Lars, so he tells R2-D2 to patch him through to them, only to remember, mid-request, that they were killed.
 * 6) Boba Fett Fan.JPG George Lucas is in an elevator and a nerd, a regular character on Robot Chicken, walks in with a large paper bag. The nerd recognizes him and calls out his name, much to Lucas's discomfort, Lucas guesses the fan is there for the same reason he is, to attend a Star Wars convention. He is right and he asks if George wants to see his costume, taking it out of the bag and putting it on before he can respond, he dresses as a tauntaun. He then tells Lucas to listen to his "tauntaun call" and lets out a long garbled imitation of one from Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back. Lucas walks out of the elevator hurriedly, saying "Nicely done" to the boy, and into a hall filled with Star Wars fans. A man dressed as Boba Fett calls out his name and points at him, Lucas runs and the large mob of people chases him. He again meets the nerd, still in costume, who says to hop on his back. Lucas is unsure but obliges saying that he has "a bad feeling about this" and the boy rushes through the halls, running so fast that Lucas's feet become dislodged, and drops him off in front of a podium in a large auditorium. Lucas begins to talk into the microphone, which has loud interference. When he can't think of anything to say, he quotes a remark form Han Solo saying, "And I thought they smelled bad on the outside." The room erupts with laughter and he reaches to he nerd, who takes his hand, and they bow twice. The nerd later refers to this as the greatest day of his life, the day his grandson was born was "not even close."
 * 7) After Ben Kenobi puts a helmet with the blast shield down over Luke's head, Luke asks him how he is supposed to fight with it over his eyes. Ben responds by checking if he can see and then swiftly kneeing Luke's crotch. Luke recovers and blindly swings the lightsaber in the air in an attempt to hit Kenobi, who kicks his crotch a second time.
 * 8) After an Australian-accented space slug loses the Millennium Falcon, he complains that he is never able to catch spaceships. To comfort him, his friend, a second space slug in the next hole over, asks him if he wants Chinese food instead. He says yes, and his friend uses a headset phone to order five million pounds of kung-pao chicken, three million pot stickers, an order of scallion pancakes, and five million tons of fried rice. When asked cash or charge, the friend asks if they are just going to eat the delivery boy. After the first slug says "yeah, of course", he tells the person that "it'll be cash then".
 * 9) The janitor from the sketch in Chapter I sweeps up the corpse of Mace Windu after it falls from Palpatine's office on Coruscant, now claiming that he's "gotta get the transfer to the Death Star".
 * 10) Then-President George W. Bush visits a doctor who tells him that his midi-chlorian count is abnormally high, Bush wonders if this means he is a Jedi and uses the Force to pull down the doctor's pants. Later, while in bed with his wife, Laura Bush, she rebuffs his attempts to have sex with her, saying that she is tired. The president uses the Jedi mind trick to convince her that she is not tired and wants to have a threesome. After she repeats his words, he picks up the phone by his bedside and says "Get me Condi." The president drives to a fast food restaurant and his parking space is stolen by former president Bill Clinton who says that he is having a "Big Mac attack." President Bush then uses the Force to lift Clinton's car into the air, drops it in a lake, and takes the space. While wearing one of Luke's outfits from Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (The one he wore during the early stages of the Battle of Endor, Bush vandalizes the Lincoln Memorial by carving "W wuz hear" on the side of Lincoln's statue. The stature raises itself off the ground and a top hat descends upon the head of Abraham Lincoln, just as Darth Vader's helmet does in his meditation chamber. Lincoln asks who has disturbed him, but is interrupted by Bush who challenges the late president to a lightsaber duel. Lincoln responds by igniting a red colored lightsaber. The two fight their way to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial where Lincoln is disarmed. Lincoln attempts to quote Obi-Wan Kenobi's line from before his death in battle with Darth Vader, but he is interrupted and silenced by Bush. Lincoln becomes one with the Force and all that is left is his clothing, which Bush kicks, mirroring Darth Vader. The next scene, in Cloud City, is a parody of the scene where Darth Vader reveals to Luke Skywalker that he is his father. George Bush's daughter, Jenna Bush, is acting out and having trouble keeping herself from falling off the platform. After the president quotes Darth Vader's famous line, she says "That's not true. That's impossible! My real father would let me go clubbing as late I want!" Jenna flips him off and he uses his lightsaber to cut off her middle finger. He quickly apologizes but she still falls off the platform saying that he "sucks." Bush yells in despair. The president wakes up in a meeting with one of his advisers who tells him that the US has still not discovered any Weapons of Mass Destruction. He attempts to use the Jedi mind trick on the man but, as he does not actually have Force powers, it does not work. While his advisor is in mid-sentence, Bush again waves his hand and says "Bring me a taco." The man immediately leaves to perform the task the president assigned him. Bush proceeds to say that "Tacos rule."

Chapter III

 * 1) The Bespin 4 Weather Tracker reports for Cloud City predicting more clouds. The ticker also tells that Tatooine will be hot, Hoth will be cold, Endor will be "cuddly," and Kamino will be rainy.
 * 2) A vagrant has already taken up residence in the tauntaun that Han Solo slices open in an attempt to save Luke.
 * 3) During their confrontation on the Death Star II Luke and the Emperor engage in a "Yo Momma" fight with Darth Vader as the judge. The Emperor loses and Vader throws him into the shaft.
 * 4) Palpatine falls after Darth Vader throws him into the shaft, causing the janitor from earlier sketches to exclaim "Oh, come on! What are they doing up there all the time?"
 * 5) Han's radio conversation about reactors in the detention level becomes even more complicated when it necessitates a call to Vader's office and an examination of the schematics.
 * 6) Darth Vader commands Private Perkins to report to the Emperor that the Jedi Temple was destroyed and is then paid a visit by Jar Jar Binks, who insists on calling him "Ani." Darth Vader, who has less patience for Jar Jar than he used to, throws him out of an airlock. Jar Jar later returns as an annoying Force Ghost in Vader's bedchamber.
 * 7) Luke sits close to the stage in "Toshi Station" while a group of exotic dancers called "The Power Converters" come onstage.
 * 8) Boba Fett celebrates the capture of Han aboard Slave I first by bragging and then by having an intimate moment with the statue.
 * 9) Chewbacca re-enacts Fonz's hair-combing gag from the intro to Happy Days.
 * 10) Darth Vader tries to win Luke over to the dark side in Cloud City by revealing some secrets from the Star Wars movies. These include that he is Luke's father, Leia is his sister, the Empire would be destroyed by Ewoks, that he had built C-3PO, and finally that the Force is not mystical, it is a bacteria in the blood called midi-chlorians. Luke, fed up with his unprofessional behavior, leaves.
 * 11) The Emperor's taunting of Luke is interrupted by noisy ongoing construction of the second Death Star. He tries to repeat his words loudly but when that fails, he strides over to talk with the foreman. He attempts to get the attention of the crew and taps the foreman on the shoulder. The man raises his hand and the team immediately stops. Palpatine sees that he is drinking a latte and tries to lighten the mood by suggests that he try the hazelnut macchiato. The crew grows impatient and crosses their arms. Palpatine guesses that the man's name is Tony and he responds by saying "Ray." Palpatine apologizes for the mix-up and asks if anyone on the team's name is Tony, to which they remain silent. He then asks Ray if he could finish this section of the Death Star later. Ray responds by saying "Look, Mr. Saltine, I don't tell you how to threaten your blond kid, so why don't you go back over there to your sit and spin and let me do my job?" Palpatine agrees and leaves to tell Luke and Darth Vader that they are almost done and says that he "would tell them to stop but 'No speak-o minimum wage-o.'" He continues from where he left off in his speech, speaking five words before the noise completely mutes his voice. Luke and Darth Vader look at each other and Vader shrugs.

Chapter IV

 * 1) Lobot's cybernetic implants are actually headphones and he dances to Force Theme in Cloud City's halls.
 * 2) A commercial for Max Rebo's new album containing his greatest hits, all of which reiterate that he is absolutely not an elephant.
 * 3) Mid-Nite with Zuckuss features a guest appearance by Palpatine on a syncro-vox screen "Palpatine" starts saying inappropriate things and leaves afterward. Zuckuss welcomes Darth Vader to the show and "Yakety Sax" begins to play. A dwarf in a replica of Vader's armor runs on stage, does a backflip, and swings a red lightsaber at the host wildly. Zuckuss holds him back with one hand and takes the lightsaber. The show continues until a Death Star appears in the background, charges up, and fires a bolt into the studio, ending the show with a technical difficulties banner.
 * 4) Luke and Princess Leia are in bed together. Luke is leaning on one arm and looking at a distressed Leia. Leia turns her head slowly towards Luke and then looks away saying, "That was so wrong." To which, Luke smiles.
 * 5) An ice show version of Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, called Empire on Ice, is shown with many songs from the movies such as the Imperial March.
 * 6) End credits - chickens "bawk" the Star Wars credits music.
 * 7) After the end credits, there is an extra scene with Jar Jar Binks continuing to annoy Darth Vader while he futilely tries to sleep in his Star Wars merchandise filled room.

Behind the scenes
At the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the creators have immortalized themselves by inserting their names in the place of some of the veterans, including Seth Green (quite clearly) and Matthew Senreich (partially obstructed). Senreich is also seen in a portrait hanging over the fireplace in the Oval Office, replacing the portrait of George Washington.

In the segment where a ghostly Jar Jar Binks haunts Darth Vader while he sleeps, four Star Wars Miniatures (a stormtrooper commander, a scout trooper, a Stormtrooper and an R2-D2) can be seen on Vader's nightstand. Vader is also sleeping under "Star Wars" sheets and the bed frame that resembles his Meditation chamber.

During the sketch featuring then president Bush and former president Clinton, the restaurant is denoted by a single yellow arch on a red bar. This is an obvious reference to the double arches of McDonald's. As well, former president Clinton wanted a Big Mac, a main dish of the restaurant.

The Power Converters seem to be the dancers in the Max Rebo Band.

Over its four airings, the special received 5.7 million viewers ages 12 and up. It helped Adult Swim regain the status as the #1 cable network for total day delivery of young adults ages 18-34 and 18-24.

In the sketch with Ponda Baba, a few objects are what seems to be IG-88's head: the water cooler in Ponda's office and some machines in the cantina seen behind the counter. These are in reference to the pieces used in A New Hope from which IG-88's head was later made. Also, in Ponda's bedroom there is a picture of Ponda on his left wall.

During the sketch with Mid-Nite with Zuckuss, a mug in the shape of Boushh's helmet is visible on the desk as a reference to Conan O' Brian's Eisenhower mug.

There is no skit based on Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, although Kamino is mentioned.

The show contains at least half a dozen censored uses of the word "f**k," most of them from the second sketch.

The second sketch "Vader Calls the Emperor" was featured in a regular episode of Robot Chicken, which had the voice of Darth Vader with an uncharacteristically deep voice. It has been redone in the Star Wars special so the voice of Vader sounds to the liking of James Earl Jones.

In the space slugs sketch, the Millennium Falcon's cockpit is on the left side, instead of right.

This special was alluded to at the end of the Family Guy Star Wars special, Blue Harvest, as an in-joke as Seth Green, one of the creators of Robot Chicken also plays Chris Griffin on Family Guy. Chris breaks the fourth wall by saying "But, didn't Robot Chicken do this a few months ago?" His father, Peter Griffin, then starts saying how bad Robot Chicken is and that no one knows about the show. Angered by this, Chris runs from the room.

DVD release
On July 22, 2008, Warner Home Video released Robot Chicken: Star Wars on DVD. The single-disc release includes the special itself plus many special features:


 * Seven different audio commentaries, including actors, writers, production crew and Jett and Katie Lucas.
 * "Chicken Nuggets" sketch by sketch video commentary - previously available on adultswim.com


 * Animation Meeting
 * On-Air Bumps
 * Trailers
 * Behind-the-Scenes Featurette
 * Deleted Scenes
 * Alternate Audio
 * Time Lapse Sequences
 * Photo Gallery
 * STAR WARS Celebration IV Convention Panel Presentation
 * Production Design Featurette
 * a hidden Easter Egg in the language selection which features a short film about the crew's trouble in composing proper musical scores for the Empire On Ice sketch

Notes and references

 * Star Wars Insider 94