'Star Wars: The Radio Drama' Episode Review: 'Black Knight, White Princess, and Pawns'
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| (C) 1981 National Public Radio (NPR) and Lucasfilm, Ltd. |
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| Brian Daley (1947-1996) |
One of the most interesting adaptations of the original Star Wars film was Brian Daley's 13-part radio drama, which was produced for National Public Radio by KUSC-FM Los Angeles with the cooperation of Lucasfilm, Ltd. Known in sci-fi circles for his best-selling trilogy of Han Solo novels, Daley became a metaphrast - someone who takes a literary work (say, a film script) and changes into another form, such as a radio play.
Because the radio drama has a running time of 5 hours and 57 minutes, Daley had three times as much time as the original film (which was then 121 minutes long) in which to tell the story of Luke Skywalker and how he joins the Rebellion against the evil Galactic Empire. This allowed the author to expand the story to include a few deleted scenes from the film (including Biggs Darklighter's brief reunion with Luke at Tosche Station). It also permitted Daley to delve a bit into the back story of Princess Leia's involvement in the Rebel Alliance and the acquisition of the Death Star plans.*
The third episode of the series, Black Knight, White Princess, and Pawns, is the link between the back story and the beginning of A New Hope. The first scenes are no longer canonical, but most of the episode's content is derived from the opening sequence of the 1977 film.
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| (C) 1977 20th Century Fox |
Cast
- See-Threepio (Anthony Daniels)
- Princess Leia Organa (Ann Sachs)
- Captain Antilles (David Ackroyd)
- Artoo-Detoo
- Lord Darth Vader (Brock Peters)
- PA System Voice
- Rebel Voice
- Comlink
- 1st Officer
- Commo Officer
- Overseer
- Imperial Commander
- 1st Trooper
- 2nd Trooper
- 3rd Trooper
- 4th Trooper
- Narrator (Ken Hiller)
Announcer: OPENING CREDITS.
Music: Opening theme.
Narrator: A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away there came a time of revolution, when Rebels united to challenge a tyrannical Empire. High among the Rebel councils stood the Royal House of the planet Alderaan, whose members had always supported the Old Republic before it was subverted and overthrown by the Empire. The dedication of the Royal House to the return of piece and justice was total and fierce. Ordinary individuals, swept along by the fervor of Rebels like the Princess Leia Organa, found themselves enmeshed in critical events. The center stage of galactic history was sometimes occupied by the unlikeliest of men and women, and non-humans..and even machines.
Black Knight, White Princess, and Pawns begins aboard the Tantive IV, Princess Leia Organa's (Ann Sachs) Corellian corvette (Rebel Blockade Runner) en route to the planet Toprawa via hyperspace. In a humorous interlude that takes place in the ship's droid labor pool, we meet See-Threepio (Anthony Daniels) and Artoo-Detoo as they complete a recharging session and bicker comically.
Artoo: RECHARGE SOMNOLENCE, MUCH LIKE A SNORE.
Threepio: Artoo Detoo, wake up, you little slacker!
Sound: Threepio's hand striking Artoo's dome.
Artoo: SQUEALS IN ALARM AND COMES TO, GROGGY AND INQUIRING.
Threepio: What do you mean, "Have you missed anything?" I'm straining my programming as it is, watching over myself, without worrying about you as well.
The ship's droid labor pool overseer informs the two droids to report to Captain Antilles on the bridge and to do whatever the Captain tells them to. As Artoo and Threepio turn to leave, the ship's PA crackles unexpectedly with this message:
PA: Attention, all personnel and automata. The Tantive IV will revert from hyperspace to normal space in fifteen minutes. Dock gangs Alpha and Beta report to stations.
Overseer: Reversion? Now? We're nowhere near our scheduled destination. Oh, well. (MOVING OFF) Get moving, Three-Seepio; you're late already.
Threepio: Moving out, sir. We'll do our best, rest assured. And the name's See-Threepio! That's See-Threepio....
We then cut to the ship's bridge, where Leia and Captain Antilles (David Ackroyd) are discussing the risky mission that's about to begin: the retrieval of the Death Star plan transmissions over Toprawa. Antilles is opposed to the operation, code-named Skyhook. but Leia carries the day by telling the veteran ship's captain, "Antilles, we either act now or lose any chance the Rebel Alliance has to stop the Empire. There's no time for caution!"
Resigned to an uncertain fate, Antilles helps Leia program See-Threepio and Artoo-Detoo to obey her commands. Convinced that Threepio and Artoo will "do whatever you tell them to, without fail," the Princess tells Artoo to go out on the ship's hull once the Tantive IV is in normal space while Threepio maintains communications with him via comlink.
After Leia lets Antilles in on the secret - her mission is to receive and store the plans to the Death Star - the ship comes out of hyperspace...and into the sights of Darth Vader's Imperial Star Destroyer, the Devastator. But using the droids as part of a clever cover story of an "extravehicular malfunction" that needs repair, Leia manages to get the valuable data before the Imperial ship can get within boarding range.
Leia: I'm finished! Get us out of here!
Antilles: Imperial cruiser Devastator, we are on a diplomatic mission and are not to be detained or diverted. (ASIDE TO INTRASHIP COMLINK) Attention, alternate command center!
Comlink: Alternate command here.
Antilles: Battle stations! All defensive shields up! Accelerate to full speed and get us into hyperspace!
My Take
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| (C) 1977, 20th Century Fox Film Corporation |
Because Black Knight, White Princess, and Pawns segues into the first 10 minutes of Star Wars - Episode IV: A New Hope, we know that, as Threepio says (in the movie), "There will be no escape for the Princess this time." The Tantive IV comes out of hyperspace near the desert world of Tatooine - with the Devastator in hot pursuit.
Daley gives us a more in-depth look at the battle on Leia's doomed blockade runner from the point of view of Captain Antilles and Princess Leia herself. We are privy to the brave captain's attempt to jettison all the ship's escape pods to make it easier for the droids to escape in one of those space lifeboats without attracting Imperial attention. We are also privy to Leia's hurried recording of a hologram message intended for a certain personage on the planet below, as well as her capture and first interrogation by Darth Vader himself.
Though you might think that nothing can top the dramatic impact of Star Wars - Episode IV: A New Hope's visually stunning opening sequences, Star Wars: The Radio Drama proves that the power of storytelling is strong in any medium. Series director John Madden, a veteran of many radio productions for the BBC in his native Britain, coined a phrase that fits this successful project perfectly: You may think you've seen the movie; wait till you hear it.
As I have said in previous Star Wars: The Radio Drama episode reviews, this series makes up for the audience's inability to see the drama on a screen by adding more nuances to the characters, their motivations, and their various actions. The creative team of writer Daley, director Madden, sound mixer Tom Voegeli, and casting/production coordinator Mel Sahr manage to capture the spirit of George Lucas's ground-breaking space-fantasy film and expand it outward a bit by the simple act of adding more details that explain plot points that the movie simply didn't have time to address.
For instance, in Black Knight, White Princess, and Pawns, Daley shows us why See-Threepio doesn't tell Luke who the "mystery woman" in the hologram is when the young farmboy stumbles upon the recording while cleaning Artoo-Detoo in the Lars homestead's garage. (Remember that he describes her vaguely as "a passenger on our last voyage...a person of some importance, I believe.") In the movie, it does look like our favorite protocol droid is a bit daffy and doesn't recognize Leia.
But in an early scene in this episode, we know that Princess Leia herself programmed both droids to carry out whatever orders she gave. These orders include the use of subterfuge and even self-destruction before giving out any information during an interrogation. (Of course, Leia is well acquainted with See-Threepio and knows that his loquaciousness is his weak spot. As a result, she makes sure to entrust the Death Star plans to Artoo-Detoo - and doesn't tell the protocol droid about the secret mission!)
Obviously, like most radio dramas, Star Wars has to use "extended" bits of descriptive dialogue to tell a story known best for its visuals. So sometimes you'll hear a character like Vader say something in the radio version that he didn't say in the original movie:
Vader: Your life is in my hand, Captain, just as your throat is. Don't struggle or I'll close my fist. Now, what about those transmissions you intercepted?
Daley uses this technique from time to time so that he can keep the Narrator (Ken Hiller) off the main stage, as it were, and not like the Chorus in many of Shakespeare's plays. It sounds a bit awkward when you listen to the Star Wars Radio Drama at first, but you get used to it because the writing is well-done.
Though I regret that some of the plot points in this episode are now considered non-canonical after the release of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Black Knight, White Princess, and Pawns is still a riveting story. It works well, and the ingenuous stratagem used by Leia to fool the Imperials over Toprawa is so true to the character established by Carrie Fisher in Lucas's original film. Even better, we're now in the main story of A New Hope, with Vader confronting Leia aboard her shattered ship and the droids literally on their way down to Tatooine.
Daley gives us a more in-depth look at the battle on Leia's doomed blockade runner from the point of view of Captain Antilles and Princess Leia herself. We are privy to the brave captain's attempt to jettison all the ship's escape pods to make it easier for the droids to escape in one of those space lifeboats without attracting Imperial attention. We are also privy to Leia's hurried recording of a hologram message intended for a certain personage on the planet below, as well as her capture and first interrogation by Darth Vader himself.
Though you might think that nothing can top the dramatic impact of Star Wars - Episode IV: A New Hope's visually stunning opening sequences, Star Wars: The Radio Drama proves that the power of storytelling is strong in any medium. Series director John Madden, a veteran of many radio productions for the BBC in his native Britain, coined a phrase that fits this successful project perfectly: You may think you've seen the movie; wait till you hear it.
 |
| (C) 1993 HighBridge Audio and Lucasfilm, Ltd. (LFL) |
As I have said in previous Star Wars: The Radio Drama episode reviews, this series makes up for the audience's inability to see the drama on a screen by adding more nuances to the characters, their motivations, and their various actions. The creative team of writer Daley, director Madden, sound mixer Tom Voegeli, and casting/production coordinator Mel Sahr manage to capture the spirit of George Lucas's ground-breaking space-fantasy film and expand it outward a bit by the simple act of adding more details that explain plot points that the movie simply didn't have time to address.
For instance, in Black Knight, White Princess, and Pawns, Daley shows us why See-Threepio doesn't tell Luke who the "mystery woman" in the hologram is when the young farmboy stumbles upon the recording while cleaning Artoo-Detoo in the Lars homestead's garage. (Remember that he describes her vaguely as "a passenger on our last voyage...a person of some importance, I believe.") In the movie, it does look like our favorite protocol droid is a bit daffy and doesn't recognize Leia.
But in an early scene in this episode, we know that Princess Leia herself programmed both droids to carry out whatever orders she gave. These orders include the use of subterfuge and even self-destruction before giving out any information during an interrogation. (Of course, Leia is well acquainted with See-Threepio and knows that his loquaciousness is his weak spot. As a result, she makes sure to entrust the Death Star plans to Artoo-Detoo - and doesn't tell the protocol droid about the secret mission!)
Obviously, like most radio dramas, Star Wars has to use "extended" bits of descriptive dialogue to tell a story known best for its visuals. So sometimes you'll hear a character like Vader say something in the radio version that he didn't say in the original movie:
Vader: Your life is in my hand, Captain, just as your throat is. Don't struggle or I'll close my fist. Now, what about those transmissions you intercepted?
Daley uses this technique from time to time so that he can keep the Narrator (Ken Hiller) off the main stage, as it were, and not like the Chorus in many of Shakespeare's plays. It sounds a bit awkward when you listen to the Star Wars Radio Drama at first, but you get used to it because the writing is well-done.
Though I regret that some of the plot points in this episode are now considered non-canonical after the release of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Black Knight, White Princess, and Pawns is still a riveting story. It works well, and the ingenuous stratagem used by Leia to fool the Imperials over Toprawa is so true to the character established by Carrie Fisher in Lucas's original film. Even better, we're now in the main story of A New Hope, with Vader confronting Leia aboard her shattered ship and the droids literally on their way down to Tatooine.
*For many years, Lucasfilm considered Daley's version of the events leading up to A New Hope to be semi-canonical because the radio drama was an adaptation of the original Star Wars film. However, the 2016 Anthology film Rogue One: A Star Wars Story depicts how the Rebellion got its hands on the Death Star plans and passed them on to Leia. Now, per the new Disney/Lucasfilm edict on what is canon and what is not, the only material in the Radio Drama that is considered canonical is what Daley adapted from the original script by George Lucas. Which, to be fair, is a lot!
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