Star Wars: Droids

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Star Wars: Droids
Genre	animation/adventure/science fiction/serial/sitcom
Running time	approx. 0:30 (per episode)
Creator(s)	George Lucas Ben Burtt Raymond Jafelice Clive A. Smith Ken Stephenson
Executive producer(s)	Miki Herman George Lucas Peter Sauder
Starring	Anthony Daniels (voice)
Country of origin	United States
Original channel	ABC
Original run	September 7, 1985–June 7, 1986
No. of episodes	15
IMDb profile
TV.com summary

Star Wars: Droids (September 7, 1985 - June 7, 1986), also known as Droids: The Adventures of R2-D2 and C-3PO, was an animated television series that featured the exploits of R2-D2 and C-3PO, the droids who have appeared in all six Star Wars films. The series takes place between the events depicted in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith and Episode IV: A New Hope.

Over the course of the series, the droids team up with four different sets of masters. The first season is divided up into cycles; at the beginning of each, the droids usually run into their new masters in an accidental way, and at the end of each cycle, they usually are forced to leave their masters for one reason or another. The Great Heep, a television special following the first season, served as a prequel to one of these cycles.

Contents 1 Setting 2 Locations 3 Characters 4 Named starships 5 Cast and production 6 Cast listing (voice work) 7 Alleged continuity issues 8 Prequel trilogy references 9 Later EU appearances 10 Comic book series 11 Toy line 12 Episodes 12.1 Season I 12.2 Television special 13 Credits 14 DVD release 15 References 16 External links

[edit] Setting

Droids was set in the 19 year time period between the rise of The Empire in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, and the events of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. Many times during the show, agents of The Empire were shown to enforce this idea.

The famous droid duo faced off against gangsters, criminals, pirates, Boba Fett, IG-88, the Empire and other threats throughout the series. During their adventures, the droids always found themselves with new masters and new difficult situations as a result.

[edit] Locations

• Biitu
• Bogden
• Hosk Station (comic series)
• Indobok (comic series)
• Ingo
• Kalarba (comic series)
• Manda
• Nar Shaddaa
• Roon
• Tammuz-an
• Tarnoonga
• Tatooine
• Tyne's Horky

[edit] Characters

[edit] Named starships

• Caravel
• Demolisher
• Dianoga
• Roon Clipper
• The 'new' umboo light station

[edit] Cast and production

The series featured Anthony Daniels as the voice of C-3PO, who also portrayed the character in the films, along with the voice talents of Graeme Campbell, Rob Cowan, Don Francks, Peter MacNeill, John Stocker and Winston Rekert. Several episodes feature guest stars like Ken Campbell, Bob Hoskins, Chris Wiggins, Guilio Kukurugya, Darrin Baker and Colin Fox. The Narrator was Stephen Ouimette. Several episodes of the series were written by Ben Burtt. The series was produced by Nelvana on behalf of Lucasfilm and broadcast on ABC. The cartoon series lasted one season and was made up of 13 regular episodes in 1985. There was also a two-part TV special entitled, "The Great Heep" in 1986. Following the original run of the complete series, the entire show was rebroadcast as part of The Ewoks and Droids Adventure Hour the same year, along with its series counterpart, Star Wars: Ewoks.

[edit] Cast listing (voice work)

• Don Francks as Jann Tosh
• Winston Rekert as Sise Fromm, Mungo Baobab
• Anthony Daniels as C-3PO
• Graeme Campbell as Proto One
• Peter MacNeill as Jord Dusat
• John Stocker as Vlix, Greej, Zatec-Cha and Sollag
• Rob Cowan as Thall Jobin
• Stephen Ouimette as Narrator
• Dan Hennessey as Jord Dusat (ep4), Uncle Gundy, Jyn Obah, Vinga and Yorpa

[edit] Alleged continuity issues

There is some controversy in Star Wars fandom as to whether the "Droids" cartoon series should be considered canon in the Star Wars timeline. Though officially released by Lucasfilm, the overall premise of the series does not fully mesh with the storyline and consequences of the films Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope.

At the end of Episode III, Senator Bail Organa (adoptive father of Leia Organa) tells Captain Antilles on the Tantive IV consular ship, "I'm placing these droids in your care. Treat them well. Clean them up. Have the Protocol Droid's mind wiped." In Episode IV, C-3PO tells Luke Skywalker that their last master was Captain Antilles. However, in the Droids series, the droids have numerous masters after Captain Antilles is entrusted with them in Episode III, but before Captain Antilles is shown to have or regained care of them in Episode IV. The Star Wars Ultimate Visual Guide gives one official explanation for this continuity issue, mentioning that the droids were "accidentally separated" from Antilles "before returning to Captain Antilles' ship, the Tantive IV."

In A Race To The Finish, C-3PO claims that another droid graduated from the same "production academy" as he had. This may be a continuity issue, as in Episode I it is revealed that C-3PO was built by Anakin Skywalker, although this contradiction could be explained by the fact that his memory was erased at the end of Episode III.

Another continuity problem is Jann Tosh flying an A-Wing, which was not introduced in the films until Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, and according to Expanded Universe sources, not developed until after the events of A New Hope. The intermediate, but very similar R-22 Spearhead was later invented to explain this discrepancy.

[edit] Prequel trilogy references

In several places, the prequel trilogy references elements from the Droids animated series. Most likely, this was due to Ben Burtt's large involvement in both story elements for the animated series, and his involvement in the prequels.

• In the fourth episode of the series A Race to the Finish, the Droids end up at a race known as the "Boonta Race." A similar name was used for the podrace in The Phantom Menace, which was known as the "Boonta Eve Classic."
• The swamp planet of Bogden is a planet visited by the droids in the series. In Attack of the Clones, Jango Fett says that he was "recruited by a man called Tyranus on one of the moons of Bogden."
• As confirmed on StarWars.com, Jann Tosh's wheel bike was was the vehicle of choice for General Grievous in a chase with Obi-Wan Kenobi on Utapau.[1]
• Toong from the series was mentioned in the prequels.
• In the episode "The Pirates of Tarnoonga", the pirate caves on Tarnoonga bear a striking resemblance to the sinkhole grottos of Utapau, seen in Revenge of the Sith.

[edit] Later EU appearances

• The New Jedi Order (1999-2003) - At the beginning of Balance Point, New Republic forces engaged the Yuuzhan Vong over Kalarba. The Yuuzhan Vong use the Yo'gand's Core tactic on Hosk Station, using it to devastate Kalarba. Hosk Station originally appeared in Droids. Also, Kalarba was the subject of some of the Droids comics.
• HoloNet news - In several issues of the HoloNet news, Admiral Screed makes an appearance.
• Star Wars: Rebellion - In this strategy video game, Admiral Screed makes another appearance.
• Boba Fett: The Fight to Survive (2002) involves the planet Bogden, as seen in Droids.
• In the liner notes of the Shadows of the Empire soundtrack, Ben Burtt references in-universe the Baobab Archives regarding the source which the lyrics of Dha Werda Verda (also written by Burtt) were discovered.
• Admiral Screed was referred to in passing in The New Essential Guide to Characters and Force Heretic I: Remnant. In the latter, it was established that he was executed by Warlord Zsinj shortly after the Battle of Endor, which explains his absence from the post-ROTJ EU.
• The planet of Bogden was seen in the video game Star Wars: Bounty Hunter.

[edit] Comic book series

In 1986, Marvel Comics' Star Comics imprint published a comic book based on the cartoon series under the name Star Wars: Droids.

The bi-monthly series ran for eight issues. Significant issues include #4, which crossed over with the Ewoks comics series, and # 6-8, whose story was titled "Star Wars: According to the Droids", retelling the original film complete with new scenes told from the perspective of the droids. For more on this series, see this link.

[edit] Toy line

In 1985, Kenner produced a toy line based on the series, including action figures, ship models, and other items. For more on the toy line, see this link.

[edit] Episodes

[edit] Season I

Episode	First airdate
1. The White Witch	September 7, 1985
2. Escape Into Terror	September 14, 1985
3. The Trigon Unleashed	September 21, 1985
4. A Race to the Finish	September 28, 1985
5. The Lost Prince	October 5, 1985
6. The New King	October 12, 1985
7. The Pirates of Tarnoonga	October 19, 1985
8. The Revenge of Kybo Ren	October 26, 1985
9. Coby and the Starhunters	November 2, 1985
10.Tail of the Roon Comets	November 9, 1985
11.The Roon Games	November 16, 1985
12.Across the Roon Sea	November 23, 1985
13.The Frozen Citadel	November 30, 1985

[edit] Television special

Episode	First airdate
14. The Great Heep (part 1)	June 7, 1986
15. The Great Heep (part 2)	June 7, 1986

[edit] Credits

• Executive Producers: George Lucas, Miki Herman
• Produced by: Clive A. Smith, Michael Hirsh, Patrick Loubert
• Supervising Producer: Lenora Hume
• Based on the characters by: George Lucas
• Directed by: Raymond Jafelice, Clive A. Smith, Ken Stephenson
• Music by: Stewart Copeland
• Story Editors: Peter Sauder, Ben Burtt
• Unit Director: David Thrasher
• Assistant Director: Scott Glynn
• Animation Dorectors: Mike Fallows, Gord Stanfield, John Laurence Collins
• Voice Director: Rob Kirkpatrick
• Recording Assistant: Susan Phillips
• Casting Director: Arlene Berman
• Casting Assistant: Deborah Patz
• Production Designers: Jim Craig, Frank Nissen
• Designers: Charles Bastien, Richard Livingston
• Design Coordinators: John Pagan, Tony Eglill
• Design Assistants: George Elliott, Ross Campbell, Brian Foster, Mark Romza, Faye Hamilton, Steven Manning, Mark Harris
• Storyboard Supervisor: Arna Selznick
• Storyboard Artists: Scott Caple, Jim Caswell, Sam Dixon, Jim Craig, Sam Agro, Laura Sheperd, Jim Miko, Dave Cox, Joe Holdor
• Assistants: Ted Ravn, Nicholas Campbell
• Layout Artists: Rick Allen, Roger Jakublec, John Alrd, Brian Lee, Rick Bentham, Dawn Lee, Peter Biellold, Mark Marren, Eric Chu, Chris Minz, Rick Corriganm Tom Nesbitt, Nancy Easun, Dave Pemberton, John Flagg, Rob Sadler
• Character Posting: Shane Doyle, Paul Riley, Mike Girard, Shawn Seles, John Hooper, Linda Williams, Ronald Migliore, Lynn Yamazaki, Rolf Zondag
• Background Stylist: Barry Atkinson
• Assistants: Keith Slache, Judy Mathews
• Special Effects Director: David Marshall
• Special Effects Designers: Trevor Davies, Jan Steel Moffati, Alexis Wallrich, Peter Yamasaki
• Graphics: Kim Cleary
• Color Designers: Jan Leitch, Eileen Middleton, Carol Bradbour, Margaret Rol, Parker McIntyre
• Associate Producers: Dana Orlando, Peter Sauder, Paul Dini
• Associate Supervising Producer: Peter Hudecki
• Production Coordinators: Heather Walker, Judy Nelson
• Production Manager: Barbara Fish
• Production Assistants: Steve Chadwick, Paul Hogarth, Julie Fener, Garth Roerick, Barbara Bjarhasan
• Production Secretaries: Joy Folla, Nancy Shenton
• Quality Control: Evelyn Baker, Rose Nangle, Brenda Kelly, Betty Oldham, Diana Lyle, Lisa Ratke, Rhyette Zazinski
• Supervising Editor: Rob Kirkpatrick
• Coordinator: Steve Fraser
• Pre-Production: John Broughton
• Editors: John Baktis, Gordon Kidd, Richard Bond, Paul McGowan, Peter Goodale, Michele Moses, Mac Holyoke, Sheila Murray, Stephen Hudecki, Philip Stilman, Chris Hutton, Keith Traver
• Assistants: Dave Allman, Ian Jeans, Mike Bass, Al Maciulis, Peter Branton, Kathy Nicholaichuk, Stephanie Crawford, Mike Reid, Steve Fitch, Cindy Romanovich, Tim Griffin, Jamie Whitney, Eric Hurlbut
• Additional Production: Hanho Heung Up Co. Ltd, Minan Inc.

Feature Edition

• Producer: Rick McCallum
• Editor: T.M. Christopher
• Main Title Sequence: Kirk Henderson
• Assistant Editor: Mike Jackson
• Music Editor: Robin Lee
• Re-Recording Mixer: Gary A. Rizzo
• Machine Room Operator: Al Nelson
• Lucasfilm Ltd: Tim Fox, Des Carey

[edit] DVD release

Star Wars Animated Adventures: Droids was released on DVD November 23, 2004, containing eight episodes of the series, edited together as two full length movies. Episodes 5-8 were edited together to make "The Pirates and the Prince," and Episodes 10-13 were edited together to make "Treasure of the Hidden Planet."

The entire original series has yet to be released on any home video format. Some of the original episodes were released in the eighties and nineties on VHS. Star Wars prequel trilogy and DVD producer Rick McCallum, along with Lucasfilm head of fan relations, Steve Sansweet, have reportedly stated that a future release of the series in its entirety on DVD is possible.

[edit] References

• Star Wars: Droids 1985, George Lucas, Ben Burtt
• Star Wars Insider #27
• A Guide to the Star Wars Universe,
• The Star Wars Encyclopedia by Stephen J. Sansweet, ISBN 0-345-40227-8 Del Rey; first edition (June 30, 1998)

[edit] External links

• Star Wars: Droids at the Internet Movie Database
• Star Wars: Droids at TV.com
• Star Wars: Droids at the Big Cartoon DataBase
• starwars.com DVD "Closer look"
• A very informative fan site
• An article from the Star Wars Insider on the series
• The official Star Wars site details "R2-D2's Greatest Gadgets" from the series.
• A fan blog at Star Wars.com, detailing elements of the show
• Bantha Tracks #29 - An interview with Executive Producer Miki Herman
• An interview with series animator Paul Dini
• A history of home video releases of Star Wars: Droids
• Episode review of The White Witch
• A fan "Droids encyclopedia" blog at StarWars.com
• Exploring Droid Adventures at StarWars.com

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