Star Wars Dark Forces Collector's Trilogy
After you've seen theStar Warsmovies enough times, certain unmistakable sounds get hardwired into your brain: the warbly snicker-snack of dueling lightsabers; the signature fwoosh of hatches opening and closing (whichStar Treknever did as well); the sharp, metallic bangs of blaster fire; even Han's trademark "yee-haw!"  as he and Chewie lay into Imperial ships with theFalcon. If any advantage sets audio CDs apart astheformat for telling dramatizedStar Warsstories, this is it. In theStar Wars: Dark Forces Collector's Trilogy, all these audio tropes get employed to their full effect--along with John Williams's stirring score, of course--to convincingly transport you to that galaxy far, far away.A CD drama based on a graphic novel series, based on a video game, and based on ... well,Star Wars, may sound a little suspect, but even derivative work can excel when the original source is strong (Lucas), the writing skills proficient (long-time sci-fi author William Dietz), and the voice talent able (dozens of workman actors, with credits ranging fromThe FugitivetoShinetoFargo).The story arc of the set's threeDark Forcesstories (Soldier for the Empire,Rebel Agent,Jedi Knight) spans roughly the same time period asNew Hope-Empire-Jedi, following Kyle Katarn, a young Imperial officer turned Rebel operative turned (nearly) Jedi Knight. Old favorites like Han, Lando, Luke, and even Chewie pass in and out of the story, a classicStar Warstale of honor, love, loyalty, and revenge, which sets Kyle against the evil Imperial pretender Lord Jerec. Good fun, well done. (Running time: six hours over six discs; two discs per title.)--Paul Hughes