I hesitated on where to post this thread, considering the radio dramas seem like they'd be kind of EU, but, at the same time, they're adaptations of the OT, too, so, eh, I just took a gamble. If anyone disagrees, feel free to move the thread.
So what does everyone think of the radio dramas? So far I've only really given Jedi's a listen, and I have to say the results are... middle of the road, particularly where the voice acting is concerned. Brock Peters (who I know from my childhood as Dark Kat in SWAT Kats) is an excellent Vader, although by no means a James Earl Jones. Ed Begley Jr. makes a surprisingly creepy Boba Fett, and I particularly like Joshua Fardon as Luke and Ann Sachs as Leia. Perry King as Han sounds weird, like someone attempting to imitate a 1930s gangster (!), and although I generally like Ed Asner, not only can I not tell at all that that's him as Jabba, the weird filter they gave his voice makes Jabba sound like a malfunctioning soundboard and not a giant obese space slug.
The necessity of having to describe things makes presenting the story awkward. I was expecting an audiobook-style presentation with a narrator, but instead we have situations of out-of-place exposition and characters describing their own actions or the actions of others. The one time this hasn't been out of place so far is during the scene at the Pit of Carkoon, where the still mostly blind Han is uncertain of his surroundings and other characters need to describe what's happening around him for him.
So far there's some alterations I found noteworthy. Firstly, a dancing girl Threepio speaks to (who is apparently a disguised Mara Jade) explicitly mentions all the girls get paid, even Oola, with the disagreement that leads to Oola's death being that there's "one dance" (ahem!) Oola refuses to do no matter how much extra money he offers her. Despite this, Leia is explicitly described as being enslaved when she's caught, making her the only girl kept there against her will. I dunno why but this stuck out to me as making Jabba seem less monstrous somehow; he comes off as slightly less revolting if he actually pays the girls who perform for him as opposed to enslaving them and forcing them. I'd say this change was made to make the story more kid-friendly, but it still explicitly describes Leia as being enslaved, so, I dunno.
When entering the palace, Luke reassures the guards who try to block his way that he isn't there to harm them. Even when they refuse to budge, he is very apologetic and calmly reassuring as he uses the Force to get past them. And when he and the guard (Jubnuk) fall into the pit, Luke actually shows concern for the guard unlike in the movie, and attempts to persuade him to team up to increase their chances of survival, only for the guard to prove to be too panicky to listen and get himself killed. Over and over, it's made clear the only one in the palace Luke actually has any animosity towards is Jabba himself. Even when he's killing the guards in battle with his lightsaber, he shows no malice. I like my heroes like this. They kill when they have to, and only then.
And Leia's takedown of Jabba is epic, too, with her taunting him as she strangles him, including pointing out the irony that now he knows what it's like "to have cold iron around your throat!"
And lastly, apparently, Vader killed a whole bunch of underperforming Imperial construction guys in-between his arrival and Palpatine's. Yikes. But upon arriving Palpatine praises him for having gotten the Death Star construction back on schedule without killing too many people, so apparently this is a good day for Vader.
Oh, and now I know how to pronounce "Jerjerrod!" :grin:
So what does everyone think of the radio dramas? So far I've only really given Jedi's a listen, and I have to say the results are... middle of the road, particularly where the voice acting is concerned. Brock Peters (who I know from my childhood as Dark Kat in SWAT Kats) is an excellent Vader, although by no means a James Earl Jones. Ed Begley Jr. makes a surprisingly creepy Boba Fett, and I particularly like Joshua Fardon as Luke and Ann Sachs as Leia. Perry King as Han sounds weird, like someone attempting to imitate a 1930s gangster (!), and although I generally like Ed Asner, not only can I not tell at all that that's him as Jabba, the weird filter they gave his voice makes Jabba sound like a malfunctioning soundboard and not a giant obese space slug.
The necessity of having to describe things makes presenting the story awkward. I was expecting an audiobook-style presentation with a narrator, but instead we have situations of out-of-place exposition and characters describing their own actions or the actions of others. The one time this hasn't been out of place so far is during the scene at the Pit of Carkoon, where the still mostly blind Han is uncertain of his surroundings and other characters need to describe what's happening around him for him.
So far there's some alterations I found noteworthy. Firstly, a dancing girl Threepio speaks to (who is apparently a disguised Mara Jade) explicitly mentions all the girls get paid, even Oola, with the disagreement that leads to Oola's death being that there's "one dance" (ahem!) Oola refuses to do no matter how much extra money he offers her. Despite this, Leia is explicitly described as being enslaved when she's caught, making her the only girl kept there against her will. I dunno why but this stuck out to me as making Jabba seem less monstrous somehow; he comes off as slightly less revolting if he actually pays the girls who perform for him as opposed to enslaving them and forcing them. I'd say this change was made to make the story more kid-friendly, but it still explicitly describes Leia as being enslaved, so, I dunno.
When entering the palace, Luke reassures the guards who try to block his way that he isn't there to harm them. Even when they refuse to budge, he is very apologetic and calmly reassuring as he uses the Force to get past them. And when he and the guard (Jubnuk) fall into the pit, Luke actually shows concern for the guard unlike in the movie, and attempts to persuade him to team up to increase their chances of survival, only for the guard to prove to be too panicky to listen and get himself killed. Over and over, it's made clear the only one in the palace Luke actually has any animosity towards is Jabba himself. Even when he's killing the guards in battle with his lightsaber, he shows no malice. I like my heroes like this. They kill when they have to, and only then.
And Leia's takedown of Jabba is epic, too, with her taunting him as she strangles him, including pointing out the irony that now he knows what it's like "to have cold iron around your throat!"
And lastly, apparently, Vader killed a whole bunch of underperforming Imperial construction guys in-between his arrival and Palpatine's. Yikes. But upon arriving Palpatine praises him for having gotten the Death Star construction back on schedule without killing too many people, so apparently this is a good day for Vader.
Oh, and now I know how to pronounce "Jerjerrod!" :grin:
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