'Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back - The Radio Drama' Episode Review: 'A Question of Survival'
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| "Recovery is total." (C) 1980 Lucasfilm Ltd. (LFL) |
Cast:
- Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill)
- Princess Leia Organa (Ann Sachs)
- Han Solo (Perry King)
- See Threepio (Anthony Daniels
- Artoo Detoo
- Lord Darth Vader (Brock Peters)
- Chewbacca
- General Carlist Rieekan (Merwin Goldsmith)
- Deck Officer (Ron Frazier)
- Crewman
- Zev/Rogue Two
- Too-Onebee (Russell Horton)
- P.A. System
- Controller (James Hurdle)
- Admiral Ozzel (Peter Michael Goetz)
- Captain Piett (David Rasche)
- General Veers (Gordon Gould)
- Narrator (Ken Hiller)
Reviewer's Note: All quoted material is from the 1995 Del Rey book Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back - The National Public Radio Dramatization. This edition contains Brian Daley's complete radio play, which differs slightly from the version of the Radio Drama which aired on National Public Radio in 1983 and the original 1990s HighBridge Audio cassette and compact disc editions. The version in Daley's script was recorded, but as with the original 1981 Star Wars Radio Drama, edits were made at the request of NPR due to the needs of the radio format. The longer version is available in HighBridge Audio's more expensive Limited Edition CD collection of Star Wars: The Complete Radio Drama Trilogy.
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.
Sound: Hoth winds.
Narrator: Now, it is a dark time for the Rebellion. At bay on the ice planet of Hoth, the Rebels are attempting to reorganized their harried, scattered forces. And somewhere on the frozen landscape, Luke Skywalker and Han Solo have been stranded in an emergency shelter through the long and bitter Hoth night.
Sound: Winds begin to fade.
SCENE 3-1 REBEL HANGAR
Sound: Hangar noises rise.
Narrator: Now, sunrise is near. Within the ice caverns of the Rebel base, the Princess Leia Organa watches preparations for the effort to rescue the two men who are her allies, and more.
Sound: Base noises louder.
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| Echo Base concept art by Ralph McQuarrie. (C) 1980 Lucasfilm Ltd. (LFL) |
Leia: General Rieekan, what's the status of the snowspeeders?
Rieekan: The techs have fitted them out for the Hoth climate, Your Highness. The last modifications have been made.
Leia: Has there been any contact with Luke or Han?
Rieekan: No, Princess Leia. But the outside temperature is beginning to rise. We're going to open the shield door and launch as soon as we can.
A Question of Survival is the third episode of NPR's Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, a 10-part radio series adapted by Brian Daley from the screenplay by Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan. It was directed by film, stage, and radio drama veteran John Madden, who also helmed NPR's 1981 Star Wars radio series.
The episode begins with a hopeful note as the Rebels in Hoth's Echo Base prepare to mount a search-and-rescue for Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) and Han Solo (Perry King), who have been missing out on the frozen wastes of the remote ice world during a long, cold night. As morning finally breaks, Princess Leia Organa (Ann Sachs) and Echo Base commander General Rieekan (Merwin Goldsmith) discuss the progress of the modifications to the T-47 "snowspeeders."
Leia also asks Rieekan if there's been any reports about the still-missing Luke and Han; the general replies that no news about Skywalker or Solo have come in, but that the patrols will be launched as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, in a hastily built shelter out in the icy, wind-swept surface of Hoth, the two Rebels that Leia is most worried about await an uncertain fate:
SCENE 3-2 HOTH SHELTER
Sound: Muted Hoth winds come up. Point of view is inside the emergency shelter.
Han: Repeat, Hoth Base, this is Solo. Hoth Base, this is Solo! What, is everybody takin' a nap back there?
Luke: (WEAK, WEARY) Yelling into the comlink isn't going to help, Han. Why don't you just try choking it?
Han: Why don't you just put a plug in it and leave alone? I'm trying to hitch us a ride, here.
Luke: What is it like outside?
Han: The door sensor says ii's gettin' lighter and gettin' warmer.
Luke: Maybe we should send out for room service, get some breakfast.
Han: Stay still; those injuries won't get any better with you jumpin' all over the place.
Sound: The shelter creaks.
Luke: Right. I'll need all my strength when this shelter caves in on us from the weight of all that ice.
Han: Look, I don't need you to depress me. I can depress myself. At least the door's still clear. (TO COMLINK) Solo to base. Are you guys really lookin' for us, or are we just kind of a hobby?
Luke: You should have been a salesman, Solo. (GROANS WITH PAIN)
Han: Luke, you all right?
Luke: After a fight with a wampa ice beast and a stroll through a Hoth blizzard? No, buddy, I'm not all right at all. I think I'll ask the Rebellion for a raise.
As their stress levels rise, Han and Luke get into an argument which ends when their comlink finally comes to life:
Rogue Two: (OVER COMLINK) Echo Base, Echo Base, this is Rogue Two. I think I've got something! Not much, but it could be a life-form; it could be them.
Han: "Not much"?
Luke: Don't knock it.
Han: (TO COMLINK) Hey, Rogue Two, Rogue Two! Do you copy? This is Solo!
Rogue Two: This is Rogue Two. I hear you. Do you copy?
Han: Yeah, Zev! Gotcha loud and clear. Good morning! Nice of you guys to drop by; why don't you come down and pay us a call?
Rogue Two: (LAUGHS) It's a date! I've got your homing beacon on my screen. Be right with you!
Luke: Then again, Solo, maybe you're not so bad at this rescue stuff after all.
Han: That's more like it. Practice; the secret is practice, my friend.
As in director Irvin Kershner's 1980 film, there is a segue (Scene 3-3) to the Rebel Medical Center in which Luke is treated for his wounds by Too-Onebee, a medical droid with a soothing bedside manner and apparent empathy for his organic patients. Although Too-Onebee didn't get too many lines of dialogue in Star Wars - Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, in Daley's Radio Drama we learn that he served as a medical droid in an Imperial facility before joining the Rebellion.
Scene 3-3 also recreates the comedic (and vaguely unsettling) sequence where Han, Leia, Chewbacca, See Threepio (Anthony Daniels) visit a convalescing Luke. In essence, it's an expanded version of the conversation between the two Heroes of the Rebellion ("You look strong enough to pulls the ears off a Gundark...That's two you me owe me now, junior.") and the now-unsettling kiss Princess Leia gives Luke in front of the others.
(Of course, Daley wrote the Radio Drama in 1982 and the series premiered before the release of Star Wars - Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, so no one at the time knew that Luke and Leia were siblings. Still....)
Leia also asks Rieekan if there's been any reports about the still-missing Luke and Han; the general replies that no news about Skywalker or Solo have come in, but that the patrols will be launched as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, in a hastily built shelter out in the icy, wind-swept surface of Hoth, the two Rebels that Leia is most worried about await an uncertain fate:
SCENE 3-2 HOTH SHELTER
Sound: Muted Hoth winds come up. Point of view is inside the emergency shelter.
Han: Repeat, Hoth Base, this is Solo. Hoth Base, this is Solo! What, is everybody takin' a nap back there?
Luke: (WEAK, WEARY) Yelling into the comlink isn't going to help, Han. Why don't you just try choking it?
Han: Why don't you just put a plug in it and leave alone? I'm trying to hitch us a ride, here.
Luke: What is it like outside?
Han: The door sensor says ii's gettin' lighter and gettin' warmer.
Luke: Maybe we should send out for room service, get some breakfast.
Han: Stay still; those injuries won't get any better with you jumpin' all over the place.
Sound: The shelter creaks.
Luke: Right. I'll need all my strength when this shelter caves in on us from the weight of all that ice.
Han: Look, I don't need you to depress me. I can depress myself. At least the door's still clear. (TO COMLINK) Solo to base. Are you guys really lookin' for us, or are we just kind of a hobby?
Luke: You should have been a salesman, Solo. (GROANS WITH PAIN)
Han: Luke, you all right?
Luke: After a fight with a wampa ice beast and a stroll through a Hoth blizzard? No, buddy, I'm not all right at all. I think I'll ask the Rebellion for a raise.
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| "I've got your homing beacon on my screen. Be right with you!" (C) 1980 Lucasfilm Ltd. (LFL) |
As their stress levels rise, Han and Luke get into an argument which ends when their comlink finally comes to life:
Rogue Two: (OVER COMLINK) Echo Base, Echo Base, this is Rogue Two. I think I've got something! Not much, but it could be a life-form; it could be them.
Han: "Not much"?
Luke: Don't knock it.
Han: (TO COMLINK) Hey, Rogue Two, Rogue Two! Do you copy? This is Solo!
Rogue Two: This is Rogue Two. I hear you. Do you copy?
Han: Yeah, Zev! Gotcha loud and clear. Good morning! Nice of you guys to drop by; why don't you come down and pay us a call?
Rogue Two: (LAUGHS) It's a date! I've got your homing beacon on my screen. Be right with you!
Luke: Then again, Solo, maybe you're not so bad at this rescue stuff after all.
Han: That's more like it. Practice; the secret is practice, my friend.
As in director Irvin Kershner's 1980 film, there is a segue (Scene 3-3) to the Rebel Medical Center in which Luke is treated for his wounds by Too-Onebee, a medical droid with a soothing bedside manner and apparent empathy for his organic patients. Although Too-Onebee didn't get too many lines of dialogue in Star Wars - Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, in Daley's Radio Drama we learn that he served as a medical droid in an Imperial facility before joining the Rebellion.
Scene 3-3 also recreates the comedic (and vaguely unsettling) sequence where Han, Leia, Chewbacca, See Threepio (Anthony Daniels) visit a convalescing Luke. In essence, it's an expanded version of the conversation between the two Heroes of the Rebellion ("You look strong enough to pulls the ears off a Gundark...That's two you me owe me now, junior.") and the now-unsettling kiss Princess Leia gives Luke in front of the others.
(Of course, Daley wrote the Radio Drama in 1982 and the series premiered before the release of Star Wars - Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, so no one at the time knew that Luke and Leia were siblings. Still....)
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| (C) 1980 Lucasfilm Ltd. (LFL) |
The balance of A Question of Survival is a more detailed version of the Rebels' discovery that an Imperial probe droid is lurking somewhere near Echo Base and is transmitting signals to the Imperial fleet. Daley's script also includes the destructive encounter between Han, Chewie, and the probe droid, the Rebels' realization that they must evacuate, and, finally, the first appearance on scene by the evil Lord Darth Vader (Brock Peters) aboard his Super Star Destroyer, the Executor.
My Take
A Question of Survival is one of the best "setup" episodes in the entire Radio Drama trilogy. I think that the late Brian Daley outdid himself as a storyteller and adapter from one medium (film( to another.(radio). His radio play has a little bit of everything for Star Wars fans. The script contains great "buddy" scenes between Han and Luke that show their friendship has grown since the events of A New Hope, scenes that make their inevitable parting of ways more poignant.
I especially like how he saves the appearance of Vader for last to end the episode on a chilling cliffhanger. Yes, most of the Radio Drama episodes end in cliffhangers because they are told in classic serial form. But till now, the Dark Lord has been merely a "phantom menace" who is mentioned but not heard. Now, with John Williams' Imperial March as a fanfare, we know Vader and the Empire have arrived in the Hoth system, and they are out for Rebel blood.
Director John Madden deserves lots of credit for the success of the episode (and the series). He had done several radio dramas for the BBC in his native England before being hired to helm the first Star Wars adaptation for NPR; his experience served him well here. He got great performances from Star Wars film vets Mark Hamill and Anthony Daniels, as well as the other radio series' main cast members, including Perry King (Han), Ann Sachs (Leia) and Brock Peters (Vader).
Of course, this series' success depended on the skills of a professional post-production editor and sound mixer, and Tom Voegeli stepped up to the plate and hit a home run with this episode. His team of sound mixers and engineers worked hard to blend the actors' vocal performances with Ben Burtt's library of sound effects and composer John Willams' Grammy-winning symphonic score.
All in all, A Question of Survival is an entertaining audio adventure full of drama (leavened occasioned with some witty comedic scenes) and space-fantasy adventure. It also adds depth to the iconic characters because the medium - radio - allows Brian Daley to spend more time with Han, Luke, and Leia in scenes that were not in the original Empire film due to the limits of cinema.
If you have not heard Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back - The Radio Drama, you've missed out on a great retelling of one of the best stories in the storied franchise. It truly is an adventure worthy of the Star Wars name.
My Take
A Question of Survival is one of the best "setup" episodes in the entire Radio Drama trilogy. I think that the late Brian Daley outdid himself as a storyteller and adapter from one medium (film( to another.(radio). His radio play has a little bit of everything for Star Wars fans. The script contains great "buddy" scenes between Han and Luke that show their friendship has grown since the events of A New Hope, scenes that make their inevitable parting of ways more poignant.
I especially like how he saves the appearance of Vader for last to end the episode on a chilling cliffhanger. Yes, most of the Radio Drama episodes end in cliffhangers because they are told in classic serial form. But till now, the Dark Lord has been merely a "phantom menace" who is mentioned but not heard. Now, with John Williams' Imperial March as a fanfare, we know Vader and the Empire have arrived in the Hoth system, and they are out for Rebel blood.
Director John Madden deserves lots of credit for the success of the episode (and the series). He had done several radio dramas for the BBC in his native England before being hired to helm the first Star Wars adaptation for NPR; his experience served him well here. He got great performances from Star Wars film vets Mark Hamill and Anthony Daniels, as well as the other radio series' main cast members, including Perry King (Han), Ann Sachs (Leia) and Brock Peters (Vader).
Of course, this series' success depended on the skills of a professional post-production editor and sound mixer, and Tom Voegeli stepped up to the plate and hit a home run with this episode. His team of sound mixers and engineers worked hard to blend the actors' vocal performances with Ben Burtt's library of sound effects and composer John Willams' Grammy-winning symphonic score.
All in all, A Question of Survival is an entertaining audio adventure full of drama (leavened occasioned with some witty comedic scenes) and space-fantasy adventure. It also adds depth to the iconic characters because the medium - radio - allows Brian Daley to spend more time with Han, Luke, and Leia in scenes that were not in the original Empire film due to the limits of cinema.
If you have not heard Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back - The Radio Drama, you've missed out on a great retelling of one of the best stories in the storied franchise. It truly is an adventure worthy of the Star Wars name.
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