The Family Guy Star Wars Saga

The sixth season of Family Guy started with an hour-long (including commercial time) special to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Star Wars franchise; Blue Harvest saw the Family Guy characters recast into roles from Star Wars: A New Hope and was the beginning of the successful Family Guy: Star Wars saga.

Blue Harvest – Star Wars IV: A New Hope

Casting Chris as Skywalker, Peter as Han Solo, Brian as Chewbacca, Lois as Leia, Quagmire and Cleveland as C3PO and R2D2, and Stewie as Darth Vader, Blue Harvest began the saga on September 23rd, 2007; the title of the episode coming from the working title of The Empire Strikes Back. The episode marked the 30th anniversary of the Star Wars franchise as well as the start of the sixth season of Family Guy. The episode was officially endorsed by Lucasfilm, especially George Lucas.

Another notable casting was Herbert as Obi-Wan Kenobi for the saga. Meg just got to make a brief appearance as the dianoga skulking in the murky waters. Guest voices included: Luke Adams, Chevy Chase as Clark Griswold, Beverly D’Angelo as Ellen Griswold, Mick Hucknall, Rush Limbaugh, Helen Reddy, Alex Thomas, Don Tai, and Judd Nelson.

Blue Harvest was very well received by both fans and critics. It won a Saturn Award for Best Presentation on Television, but sadly missed out on an Emmy to South Park’s “Imaginationland”. It’s success (a real ratings winner), led to the sequel being put into production…

Something, Something, Something, Dark Side – Star Wars V: The Empire Strikes Back

Something, Something, Something, Dark Side picks up the saga taking on Star Wars V with Carl as Yoda and Mort Goldman as Lando. Ernie the Giant Chicken was cast as Boba Fett, Carter Pewterschmidt as the Emperor, and again Meg just makes a brief appearance as the space slug! The episode was shown as the eigth season finale on May 23, 2010. However, unlike Blue Harvest, Something, Something, Something, Dark Side was released prior to transmission on DVD in time for Christmas on December 22nd, 2009.

Guest stars for Something, Something, Something, Dark Side included H. Jon Benjamin as Carl/Yoda, John Bunnell, James Caan, Jackson Douglas, Joe Flaherty as Western Union worker, James Greene, Phil LaMarr, Dolph Lundgren, Brigitte Nielsen, Michael Pataki, Kevin M. Richardson, George Rogan, Tom Selleck, and James Woods as General Veers.

It’s A Trap! – Star Wars VI: Return of the Jedi

The saga will end as the season 9 finale with It’s A Trap which will, like the previous episode, be released on DVD prior to broadcast in time for Christmas 2010 on December 21st, 2010. Characters from American Dad and The Cleveland Show will turn up for the final installment.

Known guest stars include Michael Dorn as Worf, Carrie Fisher, Rush Limbaugh as The Rancor, and Patrick Stewart as Capt. Jean-Luc Picard.