'Blue Harvest' (Family Guy Star Wars spoof) review

(C) 2007 20th Century Fox 

"Blue Harvest"

Episode 99 of "Family Guy"

Original Air Date: Sept. 23, 2007

Writers: Alec Sulkin, Seth McFarlane, David Zuckerman

Directed by: Dominic Polcino

Starring: Seth McFarlane, Alex Borstein, Mila Kunis, Seth Green, Adam West

Chris (Luke Skywalker): [Luke destroys a TIE Fighter] I got one! I got one!

Peter (Han Solo): Great kid! Don't get penis-y!

George Lucas’s “"Star Wars"” space saga has inspired spoofs in print and film media since the original movie premiered in 1977. When “Star Wars” was in its first theatrical run, MAD and Crack’d  magazines published print parodies,  Notably, Mel Brooks spoofed it in 1987’s “Spaceballs” on the big screen. On TV, "Saturday Night Live" has also aired "Star Wars" skits.  Other television shows, including “The Simpsons,” have incorporated gags thematically linked to that story set “a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.”

One of the best – if sometimes uneven – “Star Wars” spoofs is "Blue Harvest," the 99th episode of Seth MacFarlane’s irreverent animated series "Family Guy".

“Family Guy” fans know that the show’s writers often insert lots of throw-away "Star Wars" references and gags in many episodes. In addition, McFarlane and his crew also created \three  parodies based on the Classic "Star Wars" Trilogy  with the collaboration of Lucasfilm Limited: “Blue Harvest,” “Something Something Darkside,” and “It’s a Trap!”

A long time ago, but somehow in the future…..

“Blue Harvest” first aired nearly four months after the 30th Anniversary of "Star Wars" Episode IV: "A New Hope"’s theatrical premiere.  It begins with the Griffin family (voices of Seth MacFarlane, Alex Borstein, Mila Kunis and Seth Green) watching a golf tournament on TV.

The power goes out, and paterfamilias Peter decides to pass the time telling stories.  Family dog Brian suggests reading something, but Peter has something else in mind: he wants to retell the story of "Star Wars"

Peter Griffin: This is a story of love and loss, fathers and sons, and the foresight to retain international merchandising rights. This is the story of "Star Wars". Let's begin with part four.   

The rest of "Blue Harvest" – which is a reference to the code name used by Lucasfilm to try and conceal the fact that it was doing location shooting for Return of the Jedi – is a loving (if at times somewhat quirky and even vulgar) and abridged rendition of "A New Hope" as interpreted by the "Family Guy" characters.

In this version of "Star Wars", Peter is Han Solo, his wife Lois is Princess Leia, older son Chris plays Luke Skywalker, Brian the dog portrays Chewbacca the Wookiee, Meg is relegated to a cameo as the dianoga in the Death Star trash compactor, and Stewie is the evil Lord Darth Vader.

Supporting characters Cleveland and Quagmire play R2-D2 and C-3PO, while the show’s pedophiliac Herbert plays a very creepy Obi-Wan Kenobi.  Other "Family Guy" characters play Uncle Owen, Aunt Beru, Grand Moff Tarkin, Greedo, and other minor players from "A New Hope" (as well as some invented for this episode.

In 48 minutes or so, "Blue Harvest" presents most of the plot of "A New Hope", replicating the original film’s visuals very closely – the sequences of spacecraft in flight and many of the shots of Tatooine, the Death Star and Yavin Four are lovingly done, and George Lucas’s cooperation made the use of John Williams’ original score legally possible, thus lending the episode that certain panache which other spoofs often lack.

"Blue Harvest", being a "Family Guy" presentation, takes potshots at "Star Wars" and its distinctive features even as it pays homage to the original film.

Peter (Han Solo): We'll be safe enough once we make the jump to hyperspace. Besides, I know a few maneuvers. We'll lose 'em.

[the Falcon starts listing lazily to the left]

Chris (Luke Skywalker): Uh, that was your maneuver? Moving slightly to the left?

Peter (Han Solo): Well, I mean we're not in the same place we were, huh? That ought to confuse 'em.

Chris (Luke Skywalker): Yeah, but you hardly did anything. You just started listing lazily to the left. I'm pretty sure they can keep up.

Imperial Officer 1: Where did they go?

Imperial Officer 2: There they are! They're listing lazily to the left. Go left, left!

Imperial Officer 1: Boy, this guy knows some maneuvers.

My Take:  Even though I am not a regular viewer of Fox’s "Family Guy", I did catch the 2007 broadcast of "Blue Harvest" and thought that even though I didn’t know the show well enough to determine whether the supporting characters fit their assigned "Star Wars" roles, the Griffins certainly fit theirs.

Pete and Lois, of course, had to be Han and Leia – they are husband and wife in their “reality” so to have cast them otherwise would have been a bad idea.  Chris is perfect as Luke – even though his whininess is way more annoying than the “real” Luke’s in "A New Hope".  Brian is hilarious as Chewie, and the evil Stewie is great as a pint sized version of everyone’s favorite Sith Lord.  Meg…well, she gets no dialog in the movie sequences but is briefly seen as that weird monster in the Death Star’s garbage masher.

Because "Family Guy" is geared more for adults than for kids, much of the humor tends to be racy.  Herbert’s Obi-Wan Kenobi apparently has a thing for Chris’ Luke, so there are quite a few sex-related jokes involving the dirty old man.  (I am not sure if the version seen on Fox had so many sex-related gags, but the DVD/Blu-ray release of "Blue Harvest" is issued with a parental guidance advisory about language and adult-oriented references.)

As in most spoofs, the humor sometimes gets uneven and not every gag will amuse every viewer.

For instance, during the escape from the Death Star sequences, Peter’s Han Solo finds an abandoned couch in the garbage masher and wants to take it aboard the Millennium Falcon; some viewers might find the joke hilarious since it is very Monty Python-like, while others may not be amused by it because it goes on too long.

Peter (Han Solo): [Han has installed the couch in the Falcon's cockpit] See how much more comfortable we are shooting stuff!

Of course, if you are familiar with the "Star Wars" saga, some of the humor will be funny and spot-on.  It’s tough for a die-hard fan not to crack a smile when hearing some of the familiar bits of dialog being given a very irreverent twist, or to see an animated version of John Williams leading the London Symphony Orchestra slightly off camera providing the “movie soundtrack” for "Blue Harvest".

On the whole, "Blue Harvest" and its sequels ("Something Something Dark Side" and "It’s a Trap!")the obvious affection that MacFarlane and his zany "Family Guy" crew have for the Classic Trilogy.  As I said earlier, the production design team draws heavily from the original films: the title card and crawl mimic their “real” counterparts while hilariously skewering them, and many of the “special effects shots” look like the artists absorbed every detail and painstakingly recreated them.

If you’re a "Family Guy" fan, you probably don’t need me to convince you that this is worth getting - ideally in the Laugh It Up. Fuzzball boxed set.

If you’re a "Star Wars" fan and are not too thin-skinned about the ribbing "A New Hope" is subjected to here, "Blue Harvest" is a must-have for your home video library.  Yes, the jokes in the home video version are racier than in the Fox broadcast one, and there are no sacred cows left untouched (watch what happens to John Williams in it and you’ll see what I mean), but beneath all the gags and visual puns, you’re bound to enjoy this zany but loving tribute to the classic space-fantasy movie.