Verily A Sequel: The Empire Striketh Back & The Jedi Doth Return

Good evening fair gentles! I am greatly pleased to report again upon the fantastic work of Ian Doescher. His second installment of his great work William Shakespeare's The Empire Stiketh Back, is as equally good as his first work. The cast of voices remains the same, with Jeff Gurner joining the cast for additional voice talent. His credits include the first Max Payne video game as well as Alan Wake.  Again Doescher does an excellent job in weaving the two worlds of Shakespeare and Star Wars together into one cohesive tapestry. Furthermore, he continues to make references to different works of Shakespeare including The Merchant of Venice adapting one of Shylock's more famous soliloquies. There are several new wrinkles to spice up the narrative, including a singing Wampa, singing ugnauts, more imaginative acting, and Yoda speaking in modified haiku form rather than iambic pentameter. Lando even maintains the swagger in his voice while still speaking in verse!

In Jedi we have more classic renditions of our great opus. Ewoks speak a form of pidgin English, the Salacious Crumb speaks plain English, and Jabba in any form is still a slimy piece of filth. Yet in the completion of the trilogy, I took heart and smiled. I found that this Shakespearean retelling of my childhood joy brought the same joy as watching the films with or without re-shoots and extra content. Any fan of any level will truly love these renditions. Star Wars was never known for its script, often the lines are bad and the acting is occasionally worse and we love it. The words of George Lucas rewritten in to prose, add warmth, depth, and even more comedy to what we know and love.

If any of this strikes you as odd, just listen to the authors note at the end, then listen a little longer beyond that for a special treat. So with that I leave you until the next article.
Exunt stage right.

David is a local historian, techie, home brewer, stage hand, and geek. He loves Star Wars and Shakespeare with equal passions and is prone to quoting it at random!

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