Commentary: ‘Star Wars’ has always been political. ‘Andor’ made it must-see TV
When I read this morning’s news of the passing of George Lucas, it caused me to reconsider my own opinions about the man. It is hard to believe, but I am now a believer.
While I was in high school I read “Star Wars,” and became a fan of George Lucas’s.
I loved the books that came with it. The movies were great, but I saw them as a long series of one-liners. I loved the books, but preferred the movies. Even with the movies, I never thought I would see anything like the original “Star Wars,” or anything like “A New Hope” (though that turned out fine).
Lucas’s imagination, however, had other ideas. He envisioned an epic saga that would take an entire galaxy and turn it into a living narrative. The movies were meant to be an extension of the stories in the books.
In my opinion, Lucas succeeded. His stories were engaging and, even more importantly, the stories in them stayed with you. (I’ve been reading them again since reading “A New Hope,” and I’m still reading “Return of the Jedi.”)
There is a story of Lucas’s, about the time he was asked to create the animation for the opening crawl of a TV show, and he had a hard time coming up with the idea. He eventually came up with the idea. (The TV show was actually called ‘The George Lucas Show.’)
“I liked the idea,” he said, “but I’m not sure it can be done.”
The show’s boss loved the idea. So do I, and now, I am a believer. I believe that Lucas has been responsible for my life being a bit more exciting and entertaining than it would have been if there had not been the ‘Star Wars’ movies.
Lucas’s ‘Space 1999’, and ‘Terminator’ helped bring me into a world of science fiction that has been lost
