“The Clone Wars” was unceremoniously canceled by Disney in 2013, but almost without exception, the cast hasn’t let that shoddy treatment diminish their love of “Star Wars.” Most of them try to stay involved in the saga and entertain the fans. For example, James Arnold Taylor hosts a “Star Wars” debate web series called “A Certain Point of View.” The “Clone Wars” veterans have become part of a wide stable of performers who are also fans. Another prime example is David W. Collins, who has done voice acting and composing for “Star Wars” video games as a professional, and co-hosts the podcast “Star Wars Oxygen: The Music of John Williams” as a fan.
The most popular example of “Star Wars” professionals volunteering their time is the “Smuggler’s” series of live audio dramas, which continued in April with Chapter II, “Smuggler’s Bounty,” at Celebration Anaheim. The series debuted in 2012 with “Smuggler’s Gambit.” Both installments are written by F.J. DeSanto and Kyle Newman (who also directs), with Jimmy MacInerney serving as the sound and music technician. None of them have an official credit in the “Star Wars” fold, but Newman’s “Fanboys” is one of the most respected films ABOUT “Star Wars” and MacInerney co-hosts many “Rebel Force Radio” podcasts, including “Oxygen.”
As with “Smuggler’s Gambit,” a bevy of “Clone Wars” stars perform in “Smuggler’s Bounty.” Ashley Eckstein is absent (she was perhaps busy with “Rebels,” where she is continuing her role as Ahsoka), but Catherine Taber (Padme on “Clone Wars,” Leia here), Jaime King (Aurra Sing on “Clone Wars,” Treya Lanic here) and Taylor (Obi-Wan on “Clone Wars,” Horan Cha Croix here) are new additions.
This sequel is a step up from the original, as the writers have learned what works best in this unusual format. Smartly, Han Solo (Collins, nailing the laconic vibe) is featured in “Bounty” start to finish. Tom Kane (Yoda on “Clone Wars”) adds to his amazing skill set by doing a spot-on C-3PO here; he also narrates in that familiar “Clone Wars” bass. It’s nice to have Matt Lanter (Anakin on “Clone Wars”) back as Luke, and refreshing to see Taber take over as Leia. Although Carrie Fisher has a husky voice, Leia has a softer voice on a lot of audio dramas – including Ann Sachs on Brian Daley’s “Star Wars” trilogy – so I had no problem imagining Taber as Leia, even though she sounds almost exactly like Padme.
DeSanto and Newman are 75 percent of the way toward perfecting the rhythms of how Han and Chewbacca talk and interact with their surroundings. Daley would be proud of the exchange between Han and an Imperial shipyard official. “Trust me, you don’t want to deal with my supervisor,” Solo warns. “Uh-oh, here comes my supervisor.” And we hear a sound effect of Chewie roaring and knocking out the Imperial.
Unlike “Gambit,” “Bounty” hasn’t been released as a polished audio-only file, with the resets (when actors stumble over a line and then do it over) taken out in post-production. There aren’t a lot of resets in the live performance, so it’s not too distracting, but it would be nice to get a cleaner version.
On the other hand, there’s something to be said for watching the actors on stage. Collins shares smirks and grins with Taber and King as Solo interacts with his two love interests in “Bounty.” The audience occasionally applauds and cheers, and one of the actresses lets out an accidental giggle at the “supervisor” exchange. Interactivity is part of the fun.
For better or worse, the narrative of “Bounty” feels like many previous stories set between “A New Hope” and “The Empire Strikes Back.” It also has a bit of a “Rebels” feel as Leia dispatches Han and Chewie to meet up with a Rebel cell that hasn’t joined the Alliance. Tying into the old comics, the Rebel cell is on Zeltros; the highly sexualized Zeltrons – highlighted by Dani — were among the most popular inventions from the original Marvel comics run.
The idea of Han running into an old flame – in this case, Treya Lanic – is a common “Star Wars” trope: See Silver Fyre from the newspaper strips, Sheel Odala from Dark Horse’s “Empire” comics or Scarlet Hark from the novel “Honor Among Thieves.” I’ve said before that it’s frustrating that Han constantly runs into “old acquaintances” who are entirely new to the reader (or listener, as it were). But I suspect DeSanto and Newman might be having fun with this trope by adding to it.
A “Rebel Mission to Ord Mantell” parallel is also evident as one of the supposed good guys ends up being a turncoat. And the name of Dee Bradley Baker’s character, Taff Phaedros, calls to mind Phoedris from that Daley-penned 33-rpm record, which probably isn’t a coincidence.
“Bounty’s” narrative fits within the EU continuity fairly well. One exception is Leia’s reference to a new base on Hoth, to which Luke and Han claim unfamiliarity. (It’s a set-up for Han’s chuckle-worthy closing line: “As long as it’s warm, I’m sure we’ll be fine.”) That doesn’t fit with previous stories where Han knew Hoth was a smuggler’s outpost (the Blackthorne comics) or where Luke and the droids discovered it (the newspaper strips).
It seems the authors are aiming for familiar tropes more so than a fresh story; the result is something fun but forgettable. Also along these lines, the title “Smuggler’s Bounty” works as a “Star Wars” title, but not as something appropriate for this story, which includes no reference to a bounty. Further confusing matters, “Smuggler’s Gambit” DOES feature bounty hunters. It’s no wonder that fans mix up the titles more often than “The Force Unleashed” and “The Force Awakens.”
For the promised third installment, “Smuggler’s Revenge” (which quite possibly hasn’t been plotted out yet), I think Newman and DeSanto should approach the script with more confidence that they can tell a tight story rather than just connecting the dots on familiar “Star Wars” riffs.
That having been said, they’ve already done yeoman’s work in keeping this art form in the spotlight. It would be nice to see Disney reconsider audio dramas as a legitimate part of the “Star Wars” experience, rather than just a nostalgic piece of the past. Newman once mentioned an interest in doing prequel trilogy audio dramas with the “Clone Wars” cast. It’s a great idea, and hey, the cast isn’t busy with the TV series anymore. From what I hear, “The Force Awakens” could also benefit from a more in-depth exploration of the narrative. Novel and comic adaptations can serve this purpose too, but why limit the toolbox?
Comments
I know this post is months old, but found it as I was looking up information on the Smuggler’s titles.
I would like to suggest you check out Starkillersound.com/audiodramas. Here you’ll find a listing of several Star Wars fan audio dramas, some that date as far back as 2003.
My own production, Star Wars Codename: Starkeeper, was a finalist for a Parsec Award at DragonCon in 2009. The medium has been alive and well for some time, and as I’m currently working on the sequel, we need more people trying their hand at this! It’s great fun, but also great for building community.# Posted By Indiana Jim | 9/9/16 2:36 PM
Thanks for the comment. I will check those out.# Posted By John Hansen | 9/9/16 2:47 PM