Star Wars: Droids

Star Wars: Droids – The Adventures of R2-D2 and C-3PO is a 1985 animated television series spin off from the original Star Wars trilogy. It focuses on the exploits of droids R2-D2 and C-3PO between the events of Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope. The series was produced by Nelvana on behalf of Lucasfilm and broadcast on ABC with its sister series Ewoks (as part of The Ewoks and Droids Adventure Hour).

The series ran for one season of 13 half-hour episodes; an hour-long special broadcast in 1986 serves as the finale.

The opening theme, "Trouble Again", was performed by Stewart Copeland of the Police. During their adventures, the droids find themselves in the service of successive new masters, and encounter minor characters from the original trilogy such as Boba Fett and IG-88.

## Premise

*Droids* follows the adventures of R2-D2 and C-3PO as they face off against gangsters, criminals, pirates, bounty hunters, the Galactic Empire and other threats. During their adventures, the droids find themselves in the service of successive new masters and in difficult situations as a result.

The series was retroactively placed four years after *Revenge of the Sith* and fifteen years before the events of *A New Hope*. In the latter film, C-3PO states that his and R2-D2's "last master was Captain Antilles." The droids are placed in Antilles' care by Bail Organa at the end of *Revenge of the Sith*, creating an apparent continuity error. This is explained by the droids being accidentally separated from Antilles during the events of the animated series.

## Cast and characters

### Main

* Anthony Daniels as C-3PO; Daniels also portrayed the character in the films
* R2-D2

### Recurring/Guest

* Don Francks as Jann Tosh, Boba Fett, Kybo Ren-Cha
* Winston Rekert as Sise Fromm, Mungo Baobab
* Graeme Campbell as Proto One, Admiral Terrinald Screed, Lord Toda
* Peter MacNeill as Jord Dusat
* Taborah Johnson as Jessica Meade
* John Stocker as Vlix Oncard, Greej, Zatec-Cha and Sollag
* Rob Cowan as Thall Joben
* Dan Hennessey as Jord Dusat (ep4), Uncle Gundy, Jyn Obah, Vinga, Yorpa, Governor Koong, and Captain Cag
* Cree Summer as Princess Gerin
* Jan Austin as Auren Yomm
* Long John Baldry as the Great Heep
* Lesleh Donaldson as Kea Moll
* Chris Wiggins as Mon Julpa
* Stephen Ouimette as the narrator
* Winston Rekert as Tig Fromm

Other guest stars include George Buza, Andrew Sabiston, Eric Peterson, Jamie Dick
, Donny Burns, Alan Fawcett, Don McManus, and Gordon Masten.

## Production and broadcast

The series was produced by the Canadian company Nelvana for Lucasfilm. Several episodes were written by *Star Wars* sound designer Ben Burtt. Hanho Heung-Up Co. was the Korean company hired to animate the series.

In the UK, BBC Television bought rights to screen the series in its entirety between 1986 and 1991 as part of the Children's BBC programming strand. The entire series was shown twice within this time (in 1986 and 1988 to coincide with the full release of the *Star Wars* trilogy as well as Droids on VHS). *The Great Heep* only made one showing in 1989 on BBC's *Going Live!*, which was a Saturday morning children's show—it was split into two parts over two weeks.Template:Citation needed Different episodes from different cycles were also screened across the five-year licence, with the Trigon cycle being shown in full in early 1991 on another Saturday morning children's show called *The 8:15 from Manchester*.

The opening theme, "Trouble Again", was performed by Stewart Copeland of the Police and written by him and Derek Holt.

The series was broadcast on ABC with its sister series *Ewoks* (as part of *The Ewoks and Droids Adventure Hour*). It debuted in 1985 as part of a fitness special hosted by Tony Danza and live-action versions of the droids. It ran for one season of 13 half-hour episodes; an hour-long special broadcast in 1986 serves as the finale. *Droids* and *Ewoks* were later shown in reruns on Sci-Fi Channel's Cartoon Quest in 1996, although somewhat edited for time.Template:Citation needed, The Series Premired On Toon Disney/Jetix On September 24, 2020.

## Merchandising

In 1985, Kenner produced a toy line based on the series, including action figures, ship models, and other items. Two action figures, Boba Fett and A-wing Pilot, were repackaged figures from the main *Star Wars* line. The toy line was canceled after the first group of 12 figures due to decreasing popularity with *Star Wars*. In 1987 and then 1988, Glasslite of Brazil issued remaining Kenner stock and produced a very limited run of remaining *Return of the Jedi* and *Droids* toys from a sell off. Certain vehicles, mini-rigs and action figures were issued by the company in new packaging. The character Vlix (Tig Fromm's henchman) was an action figure exclusive from unused molds by Kenner. Like the remainder of the Glasslite line, very few were made, even less were sold and most were recycled due to the failing economy when money was tight across the country. Vlix was the most valuable *Star Wars* action figure (at about $6,000 carded or $1,200 loose), until a Fett figure sold for £69,000 ($USD 92,000) at an auction.

A book was issued in the UK of the Episode "A Race to the Finish" as well as another book that had limited print runs.
Plans to release a storybook and cassette of the Trigon cycle for the publishing company Rainbow were abandoned after they lost the rights to re-issue their *Star Wars* run which included *A New Hope*, *The Empire Strikes Back*, *Return of the Jedi*, *Planet of the Hoojibs*, *Droid World* and *Return of the Jedi: The Battle of Endor* due to poor reflective sales of Buena Vista's "Further Adventure" series overseas which included *Mission to Ord Mantell*, *An Ewok Adventure* and *Ewoks: The Battle for Endor*.

A computer game was released in 1988 for the ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC and Commodore 64 by Mastertronic. The game went largely unnoticed and was pulled from production due to licensing rights of the end title theme tune being used.Template:Citation needed

### Comic book series

In 1986, Marvel's Star Comics imprint published a *Star Wars: Droids* comic series spun off from the cartoon. The Template:Nowrap series ran for eight issues. Four issues and issue 5's cover of the series were drawn by John Romita, Sr. The "Lost in Time" crossover story from *Droids* #4 was continued in an issue of *Ewoks*. The last three issues are part of an arc recounting the original *Star Wars* film from the droids' point of view. Additionally, Spanish comics publisher Editorial Gepsa produced two-page *Droids* comics as part of an anthology series.

## Home media

Along with *Ewoks*, the entire series has yet to be released on home video. Almost all episodes (except "Coby and the Starhunters") were released on VHS in the 1980s and 1990s, most notably the UK PAL releases over four cassettes (*Droids* 1–3 and *The Great Heep*), which had the opening sequences and credits edited out. In 1996, Rick McCallum produced *The Pirates and the Prince*, a direct-to-video movie compiled from four episodes, and while working on the *Star Wars* prequel trilogy, expressed hope for an eventual release of the series on DVD. In late 2004, McCallum and 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment produced a DVD titled *Star Wars: Animated Adventures – Droids*, which featured *The Pirates and the Prince* and *Treasure of the Hidden Planet*, a new compilation film including narration from Mungo Baobab (voiced by Alex Lindsay). Both titles included some soundtrack changes. McCallum retired from Lucasfilm in 2012, making the future of its release uncertain.

## Legacy

Ben Burtt wrote liner notes for the *Shadows of the Empire* soundtrack, which referenced the Roonstones he had written about in *Droids*; Burtt made a cameo appearance in *Episode I – The Phantom Menace*, and named his character after the Baobabs. Several references to the animated series are made in the prequels, such as the Boonta Eve Classic in *The Phantom Menace*, the planet Bogden and a four-armed cook in *Attack of the Clones*, and General Grievous' wheel bike design in *Revenge of the Sith*.

Genndy Tartakovsky gave C-3PO moving, expressive eyes in *Clone Wars* (2003) to pay homage to his previous animated appearances in Nelvana's *Star Wars Holiday Special* (1978) and *Droids*. While *Droids* was excluded in the 2014 rebranding of *Star Wars* canon, recurring villain Admiral Screed—"the Emperor's right-hand man during the early days of the Empire"—makes appearances in canon novels such as *Tarkin* (2014) and *Aftermath: Life Debt* (2016). Additionally, possible sources of inspiration for sequel trilogy main characters Rey and Kylo Ren have been noticed.

1. ↑ Chee, Leland (Tasty Taste) (June 14, 2006). Star Wars: Message Boards: Books, Comics, & Television VIPs.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Greene, Jamie (January 18, 2018). Everything you'd ever want to know about Star Wars: Droids.
3. ↑ Gonzales, Dave (November 9, 2015). R2-D2 is the biggest scumbag in Star Wars.
4. ↑ The Droids Re-Animated, Part 1 (en-US) (2013-06-13).
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 Greene, Jamie (January 18, 2018). Everything You'd Ever Want To Know About Star Wars: Droids.
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 Ewoks And Droids Adventure Hour: The Cries Of The Trees / The White Witch {Series Premieres} (TV). Paley Center for Media (September 7, 1985).
7. ↑ Seastrom, Lucas (November 15, 2018). The Star Wars Holiday Special and the Debut of Boba Fett.
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `Woolery`
9. ↑ The Star Wars Collector's Archive
10. ↑ Bucktin, Christopher (July 21, 2019). Rare Star Wars toy sells for a world record £90,000 at auction.
11. ↑ Ewoks #10 - The Demons of Endor (February 21, 2012).
12. ↑ Droids and Ewoks Return: Spain's Lost Star Wars Comic Strips (April 10, 2013).
13. ↑ Cargo Bay: Droids: The Pirates and the Prince. *StarWars.com*.
14. ↑ Star Wars: Community - Ewoks on DVD? (June 26, 2002).
15. ↑ Peña, Abel G. (July 5, 2013). The Droids Re-Animated, Part 2.
16. ↑ From Boonta to Baobab: Droids and the Star Wars Prequels. *StarWars.com* (April 1, 2014).
17. ↑ Audio commentary tracks on the official *Star Wars* website and the "Volume One" DVD
18. ↑ The Legendary *Star Wars Expanded Universe* Turns a New Page (April 25, 2014).
19. ↑ Template:Cite book
20. ↑ White, Brett (December 2, 2016). Wait, Is Star Wars' Rey A Copy Of A Character From The Droids Cartoon?.