Category: National Public Radio

After barely surviving a night stranded on the surface of Hoth, Han and Luke are rescued by search teams in Rebel snowspeeders. But as Luke recovers, Han and Chewie are assigned a new mission – sensor readings indicate something suspicious on the surface, transmitting a signal. What they find is an Imperial probe droid, perfectly capable of defending itself, and yet it blows apart even with a glancing shot from a blaster. The Empire is now aware of the Hoth base, and even though the probe droid didn’t have time to specifically pinpoint a rebel presence, it’s enough to convince Darth Vader – now commanding the Imperial Starfleet after surviving the Death Star battle – that the Rebels are there. And the Dark Lord of the Sith now has a personal score to settle with Luke Skywalker.

written by Brian Daley
based on the screenplay Star Wars by George Lucas
directed by John Madden
music by John Williams

See the first episode for cast information.

A botched attempt to bring Imperial Star Destroyers into the Hoth system quickly tips the Rebels off to the impending attack – and costs an Imperial admiral his life when Vader learns of it. Now a less efficient ground assault must be mounted if Vader’s forces are to prevent the Rebels from evacuating Hoth in one piece. Massive mechanical walkers are deployed to the surface, and Luke leads Rogue Squadron on a desperate mission to fend off the attack and buy time for the evacuation. But when Luke’s tail gunner is taken out by enemy fire, his snowspeeder becomes a sitting duck in the battle.

written by Brian Daley
based on the screenplay Star Wars by George Lucas
directed by John Madden
music by John Williams

See the first episode for cast information.

Thanks to the valor of Rogue Squadron, most of the Rebel forces are able to escape Hoth. Luke and Wedge are among the last Rebels to evacuate, but instead of following Wedge to the rendezvous point, Luke instead follows Ben Kenobi’s call to the Dagobah system. In the meantime, Leia’s escape is cut off by an Imperial attack, and Han manages to get her out of harm’s way aboard the Falcon, with Threepio in tow. But escape is no easy task: the Imperial forces seem to be paying special attention to the Falcon. Han plunges his ship through an asteroid field to evade Imperial TIE fighters, briefly setting down in a cavern inside one particularly large asteroid to make hasty repairs. As it turns out, the cavern isn’t a cavern at all, but the gaping – and now rapidly closing – maw of a gigantic space slug. And aboard the flagship of the Imperial fleet, Darth Vader orders his men to continue hunting for the Falcon, despite the danger of the asteroid field. Vader is now acting under new orders from the Emperor – capture Luke Skywalker and turn his growing prowess with the Force to the dark side…or kill him.

written by Brian Daley
based on the screenplay Star Wars by George Lucas
directed by John Madden
music by John Williams

See the first episode for cast information.

Luke arrives at the cloud-shrouded swamp world of Dagobah, where he loses control of his X-Wing and crashes it into a marsh. He and Artoo are able to swim to safety as their only means of escape sinks into the bog. As they recover what survival supplies they can and try to figure out what to do next, Luke senses a presence nearby – and draws his blaster on a small green humanoid creature who has been watching him for some time. The strange being, who seems to be amused by everything from Luke’s presence to his predicament, invites him to share a meal. Only when Luke’s host reveals knowledge of Luke’s father does it become clear that Luke has found Yoda, the Jedi Master. Soon, his diminutive mentor is opening Luke’s mind to new ways of harnessing the Force – but when Luke ventures into a cave which Yoda warns is inhabited by the energy of the dark side, he encounters an image of Darth Vader. In the ensuing lightsaber battle, Luke cuts his foe down – only to be shocked when Vader’s mask is cut away to reveal Luke’s own face within.

written by Brian Daley
based on the screenplay Star Wars by George Lucas
directed by John Madden
music by John Williams

See the first episode for cast information.

Making a mad dash for safety through an asteroid belt, the Millennium Falcon sustains serious damage, disabling the hyperdrive. Han rushes a Star Destroyer head-on, tricking the Imperial ship’s crew by attaching the Falcon to its hull when the smaller ship is too close for sensors to detect it. When he admits that he lost track of the Falcon, Captain Needa is killed by Darth Vader, who then turns the hunt over to a motley gang of bounty hunters. Han manages to slip away from the Star Destroyer fleet by allowing the Falcon to drift away with garbage dumped before the fleet jumps to light speed, and then sets his course for Bespin and its floating Cloud City mining operation. Han believes his friend Lando Calrissian will help repair the Falcon and give the Rebels a temporary safe haven. But on Dagobah, while training with Yoda, Luke senses a darker turn of events on Cloud City – and abandons his Jedi training to save his friends, despite Yoda’s objections.

written by Brian Daley
based on the screenplay Star Wars by George Lucas
directed by John Madden
music by John Williams

See the first episode for cast information.

Suspicious things begin happening soon after Han and Leia arrive at Cloud City. Threepio is blasted to bits after wandering off on his own, and Leia is worried when repairs to the Falcon seem to be proceeding slowly. Lando Calrissian escorts Han, Chewie and Leia to dinner – where Darth Vader is waiting. Han and Chewie attempt to challenge Vader in hand-to-hand combat, but when the Sith Lord threatens to use the Force to kill Chewbacca, Han gives up the fight. As it turns out, Vader’s only motive for capturing the Rebels is to use them as bait to trap Luke Skywalker. But one of Vader’s captives won’t be so lucky: Han Solo is to be handed over to bounty hunter Boba Fett, to be taken back to Jabba the Hutt – for which Lando promises to kill Fett.

written by Brian Daley
based on the screenplay Star Wars by George Lucas
directed by John Madden
music by John Williams

See the first episode for cast information.

Luke arrives in Cloud City, suspicious by the lack of any official greeting or acknowledgement of his arrival. He spots Boba Fett and an entourage of stormtroopers, giving chase until they drive him back – and even when he sees Leia and hears her warning that he’s walking into a trap, Luke presses on toward the carbon freezing chamber and an inevitable confrontation with Darth Vader. In the meantime, Lando turns the table on the Imperial troopers, freeing Leia and Chewbacca and leading them toward the Falcon. But he hasn’t quite gained Leia’s trust – a situation which isn’t helped by Boba Fett’s hasty departure with the frozen Han Solo aboard his ship.

written by Brian Daley
based on the screenplay Star Wars by George Lucas
directed by John Madden
music by John Williams

See the first episode for cast information.

On Tatooine, Luke Skywalker is occupying Ben Kenobi’s old desert hut, preparing a new lightsaber for himself – to be wielded in the artificial hand that has replaced the one Darth Vader cut off at Cloud City. A carefully orchestrated plan to rescue Han Solo from Jabba the Hutt is finally set into motion, despite Lando Calrissian and Chewbacca having seemingly vanished after coming to Tatooine themselves. Luke sends R2-D2 and C-3PO to Jabba, with orders for Artoo to play a message Luke has recorded for Jabba’s eyes only. But when Artoo plays that message, Threepio is horrified to hear Luke’s voice offering the droids to Jabba as a gift – as a token of his esteem in hopes that a deal regarding Han Solo can be worked out. Artoo is pressed into service as a waiter aboard Jabba’s sail barge, and Threepio is forced to serve as the sluglike ganglord’s interpreter. A new bounty hunter, Boussh, arrives – with Chewbacca in chains. Jabba is delighted by the new arrival and allows Boussh to stay in his palace, but the bounty hunter is not all that he – or she – appears.

written by Brian Daley
additional material by John Whitman
based on the screenplay Return Of The Jedi by Lawrence Kasdan and George Lucas
directed by John Madden
music by John Williams

Season Three Cast: Joshua Fardon (Luke Skywalker), Perry King (Han Solo), Ann Sachs (Princess Leia Organa), Anthony Daniels (C-3PO), Bernard Behrens (Obi-Wan Kenobi), Ayre Gross (Lando Calrissian), Edward Asner (Jabba The Hutt), Paul Hecht (The Emperor), John Lithgow (Yoda), Brock Peters (Lord Darth Vader)

Season Three Supporting Cast: Ed Begley Jr. (Boba Fett), Samantha Bennett (Arica), David Birney (Anakin Skywalker), Peter Dennis (Moff Jerjerrod), David Dukes (Bib Fortuna), Peter Michael Goetz (General Madine), Ian Gomez (Salacious Crumb), Martin Jarvis (Barada), Jon Matthews (Wedge), Natalija Nogulich (Mon Mothma), Mark Adair Rios (Admiral Ackbar), Yeardley Smith (9D9), Tom Virtue (Major Derlin), Ken Hiller (Narrator), with Samantha Bennett, Rick Hall, Andrew Hawkes, Sherman Howard, Karl Johnson, John Kapelos, Ron Le Paz, Joe Liss, Paul Mercier, Steven Petrarca, Jonathan Penner, Gil Segel, Nia Vardalos and Ron West

Sentenced to die by digestion in the belly of the Sarlacc, Luke and his friends stage their last stand in a desperate battle aboard Jabba’s sail barges. After blasting their way out of captivity, the Rebels have a new obstacle to contend with – Imperial star destroyers have blockaded Tatooine. Artoo signals the surviving bounty hunters and mercenaries at Jabba’s palace to convince them that the Empire is here for them, and a fierce firefight ensues – during which the Millennium Falcon and Luke’s X-Wing are able to slip away without firing a shot. Luke, with Artoo in tow, splits off to visit Jedi Master Yoda on Dagobah, while the Falcon rejoins the Rebel fleet. Darth Vader arrives aboard the still unfinished second Death Star, and while his presence is enough to stir terror in the heart of the Imperial officer overseeing the station’s construction, Vader brings even darker news: Emperor Palpatine himself is en route to the Death Star as well, intent on personally witnessing the destruction of the Rebellion. And perhaps the Emperor is closer to his goal than he realizes, for across the galaxy, before Luke’s eyes, and before he has completed his training, the last Jedi Master has become one with the Force.

written by Brian Daley
additional material by John Whitman
based on the screenplay Return Of The Jedi by Lawrence Kasdan and George Lucas
directed by John Madden
music by John Williams

See the first episode for cast information.

Notes: A bit of throwaway dialogue in this episode – written well after Timothy Zahn’s Thrawn trilogy of novels – tries to set one foot into the expanded universe when Han says he heard that Lando “almost wrecked the Falcon on Coruscant” – which seems like an insanely dangerous place for anyone to take the Falcon if, as implied in the prequel trilogy, it becomes the seat of the Imperial government. Then again, maybe it’s a different Coruscant, as here the planet’s name is pronounced “chorus can’t.”

Gathered near the planet Sullust, the Rebel fleet is preparing for an all-out, last-ditch attack against the Imperial forces. Lando, piloting the Falcon, will lead Rebel fighters in a direct assault on the new Death Star, while Han will lead a ground assault on the third moon of Endor to take out a shield generator protecting the space station. Chewie, Leia, Luke and the droids join Han’s team bound for Endor in a stolen Imperial shuttle. Once there, the Rebels find the Empire is guarding its installation more heavily than expected – Imperial scout troops on speeder bikes spot Han and Chewie and take off to sound the alarm. Luke and Leia give chase on a leftover speeder, and Luke “liberates” a speeder of his own from one of the Imperial troops in midair. But when Luke finishes off the last of the troops, he returns to Han, only to discover that Leia hasn’t returned.

written by Brian Daley
additional material by John Whitman
based on the screenplay Return Of The Jedi by Lawrence Kasdan and George Lucas
directed by John Madden
music by John Williams

See the first episode for cast information.

Notes: As Mon Mothma, Natalija Nogulich is on familiar ground – in her previous recurring role as Admiral Nechayev, she had been directing Starfleet strategy in Star Trek: The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine.