I’ve gotten to the point where nothing surprises me about George Lucas and any decisions he makes regarding the Star Wars franchise. Tomorrow he could announce that he’s converting the original trilogy to smellovision and I wouldn’t bat an eye lash. Between all of the merchandising, the spin-offs, and, of course, the prequel trilogy, I’m no longer phased by anything the billionaire filmmaker-cum-toymaker does. That’s why it makes perfect sense to me that LucasFilm has announced that its putting together an untitled Star Wars sitcom with TV veterans from the likes of The Daily Show and Robot Chicken. Oh, don’t get me wrong, if you asked me yesterday to make a prediction of where Star Wars would be heading next, I probably would have guessed “This Ain’t Star Wars XXX” over a damned animated sitcom. But, hey, I’m still not surprised; either make perfect sense now that we live in a post-Jar Jar Binks universe.
No one knows what kind of animated sitcom it will be, though. That to me is more frustrating than the actual knowledge that there will be a sitcom of any kind. I enjoy Robot Chicken well enough and would likely follow anyone involved with writing The Daily Show into television hell, but I can easily imagine a Star Wars sitcom somehow burrowing itself even deeper than hell and into the special ring of TV torture where shows like the Geico Caveman Sitcom reside. Since I severely do not want to see a repeat of a sitcom about a fleeting commercial fad nor anything resembling the dreadfully unfunny web series-turned-Sci-Fi Channel series Tripping the Rift, I offer up three Star Wars-set situational comedies I’d actually consider watching on a regular basis.
It’s Always Sunny on Tatooine
When I think of Star Wars, the first things that leap to mind are along the lines of Jedis or the Force or Darth Vader. When I try to visualize Star Wars, however, there’s always one image that jumps right out: the cantina on Tatooine. I imagine a smokey bar filled with aliens of all shapes and sizes doing Yoda knows what it in every shady corner of the joint. I imagine an oddly lawless place where patrons really aren’t all that bothered by one stranger loping off another’s arm with a lightsaber. I imagine shrimp faces and sweet, intergalactic lounge bands. Why not head to the Mos Eisley Cantina?
Take the It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia route and just follow a group of four helpless Tatooine farmers who decide to buy a bar in Mos Eisley. The creators would then get to bank on a familiarity all older Star Wars fans share without having to lock themselves down with bringing back big characters like Luke, Leia, or that one droid who looks like a praying mantis. (Okay, so maybe that last character isn’t exactly one of the biggies, but damn did he creep me out as a kid.)
Buffy the Sith Slayer
Granted Buffy the Vampire Slayer wasn’t exactly a sitcom, though it certainly had its fair share of comedy every week, but it is a great example of how one can take the Scooby Doo gang formula and mature it. And I know that Star Wars isn’t big on prophecies and chosen ones and what not (I’m excluding the prequels here), but I can’t help but think its vast universe of alien weirdos is a perfect match for the monster-of-the-week formula. Just keep things light and breezy, kind of like how the short-lived CW show Reaper did recently, and you’re good to go. The animators can have a ton of fun with the alien side of things while the writers can have a blast fleshing out all of the smaller, glossed over characters from films past. It certainly wouldn’t be my top pick for a Star Wars sitcom, but if Buffy the Sith Slayer keeps a sitcom about how Jawas were mistreated a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away off our back, I’m all for it.
Parks and Recreation: Endor
Faux-documentary shows are all the rage these days and just because this untitled Star Wars project is animated, that doesn’t exempt it from the trend. Watching a bunch of office workers aboard the Death Star might be a little too boring, but I’m game for a Parks and Recreation-style show set on Endor. We can watch as a few inept employees battle how to best clear away Ewoks from the future site of a new rebel bunker. That may not sound all that riveting at first, but neither does the sales pitch for any of the faux-documentaries kicking ass these days. Plus, just re-watch the video of drunken Ewoks on The Today Show and you’ll be instantly reminded how ripe for comedy those harry little bastards are.
