'Star Wars' on Public Radio Kills the Video Style

"Star Wars" has been the defining cultural entity of my entire existence. I've angrily pitched a remote control across the room during yet another viewing of the trilogy when it didn't pause or rewind to the piece of information I needed. No longer. Now, thanks to some good person at National Public Radio and the Ballantine publishing group, the radio script is mine to peruse in the peaceful sanctum of my own room, and in some ways it's even better. It has truly made my Millenium.

There is roughly half an hour of dialogue in "Star Wars," but the radio series aired in thirteen half-hour-long parts. I'll admit it, there are some holes in the first movie. Why did Luke mention only once that he was applying to the Imperial Space Academy when Uncle Owen thwarted his plans? I always thought Owen was such a bad guy, I was almost pleased when he was exploded, but he was saving Luke from being a lackey of the Empire.

The radio program itself wasn't all that true to the actors; the only one we recognise is Mark Hamill. Poor Luke: he has no career. Perhaps it's better to read the scripts than to hear the words spoken by scabs and loser actors who couldn't get other jobs.

Devotees of the "Star Wars" novels, which have continued the saga for ages, know that even if George Lucas isn't directly involved, he makes sure "Star Wars" spinoffs contain the quality thinking we expect The radio script is no exception.

Because the script has so much room for explanation, it goes deep into the story in ways the movie couldn't. Just how did Leia and the rebels get those plans for the Death Star? The radio script takes you to their schemes. If it wasn't powerful enough to watch Alec Guiness reel in pain on the Falcon when he said. "I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror," you can experience that disturbance by forming an attachment of your own to the citizens of Alderaan. We've met them, made them our friends, and then they blow up at the whim of the Empire.

On one level, it's a pity the radio scripts pad the dialogue so much. The movie was good, in fact, it was the best movie ever!!! All the extra banter tends to drag things down. The parts of the script based in Tatooine and Alderaan are nifty because we have little or nothing to compare them to. The lengthening of the ride on the Milennium Falcon is gratuitous because we know exactly how it should sound. Obi Wan wouldn't have expounded at such length on the nature of Han's character, and the new condition of the ship. Ben Kenobi's charm was that he always said enough, but never too much. Writer Brian Daley has given him too much baggage dialogue.

Sometimes the script is just plain cheesy. Alderaan is depicted as a hippie commune where hunting is forbidden unless ecologically appropriate. For goodness sake, no matter what kind of a threat the Empire is, the people of Alderaan would never dream of taking up arms to defend themselves. Is it a wonder, with this PC weirdness, that Leia joined the rebel alliance? They don't do her character any favors either, but at least the script makes clear all the ambiguities between her and Luke and Han which were so baffling to me as a child.

OK, so the radio script lacks the special effects of the movies, the plot development of the novels and the immediacy of those great but long-lost action figures. It's still so very much fun to relive! Try committing obscure references to memory to wow your friends at the next showing. ("What I really need is a droid who understands the binary language of moisture vaporators... Does this droid speak Bocce?")

Think about it. Shakespeare was great, but to really appreciate him you need to study the text as well as see the performance. In order to enjoy "Star Wars" fully, since no one has published a movie script, you have to read the NPR Star Wars Radio Dramatization, the next closest thing. It's another quality installment in the great wealth of "Star Wars" paraphernalia. It doesn't wholly satisfy a Jedi craving--I find it more fun to read about Han and Lein's kids (twins, of course), but until Lucas directs the Clone Wars, this will help keep you smiling. It's a quick read, it brings back many memories and it enhances your life. As procrastination material. I can't recommend it enough. You've seen the movie, now read the book (or the radio script) I May the Force be with you. God that looks good in print!