Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi

Hey, Do You Remember...?

Christopher Schrader

Tv & Film, Comedy

4.8 • 676 Ratings

🗓️ 18 January 2019

⏱️ 162 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

It's time to bring this saga to a close. We conclude our retrospective of the original Star Wars trilogy by trying to decide how successfully Return of the Jedi sticks the landing. For some, this is still an above-average entry in the franchise. For others, it's the first sign of George Lucas' worst impulses as a storyteller and a harbinger for what was to follow.

No matter which camp you fall into, there's probably a lot about how this concluding chapter came together that might surprise you. So buckle up and prepare for the jump to lightspeed... this one goes deep.

Topics include: the early drafts of the original Star Wars that Lucas mined for ideas when writing this film, why they settled on another Death Star as the central threat when there were more intriguing options, all of the lingering story threads from The Empire Strikes Back that were just abandoned, Lucas' first choice for a new director, the real problem with the Ewoks, the truly great story that's peeking out from around the edges of this script, and much more!

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About The Show

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, do you remember Return of the Jedi?
0:06.5	Hello and welcome, Hey, do you remember, Hey Do You Remember, a show where we reminisce about a movie or TV series we grew up with, then take off the rose-tinted glasses to see how it holds up.
0:32.0	I'm Chris.
0:32.6	I'm Donna.
0:33.3	And I'm Carlos.
0:34.1	And today we're revisiting Return of the Jedi.
0:53.5	Yeah. And I'm Carlos. And today we're revisiting Return of the Jedi. As the third Star Wars movie was gearing up for production,
0:56.7	George Lucas had this to say about his original trilogy.
1:00.4	The reason I had to keep going on these three movies
1:03.2	was because I had sets gathering dust, I was paying rent,
1:06.8	and my actors were getting older and were vulnerable to accidents.
1:10.6	Creatively, I wanted it to be
1:12.4	finished and perfect. So there was a lot of tension there all the time. I have to finish this next
1:17.5	film. Financially, we have to do it. Nothing really goes on to the next trilogy. So once I finish with
1:23.8	this group, I can start fresh again, and I'm not forced to do one every other year.
1:28.9	He was more blunt when some of the licensees of Star Wars merchandise were invited to visit
1:32.8	the set. He told one of them, the only reason I'm doing this is because I started it, and now I
1:38.4	have to finish it. When the original Star Wars became a gigantic success, Lucas was suddenly
1:43.7	going on and on about
1:45.0	his grand design for as many as 12 films in this saga. By the time production was winding down
1:50.2	on Jedi, he seemed pretty confident this one might be his last. As fans, journalists, and even
1:56.4	his own cast and crew speculated about the proposed prequel and sequel trilogies, Lucas told one reporter
	...

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