The 7 very best Star Wars parodies ever!

Rob Mclaughlin


Everyone on Earth has parodied, quoted, or otherwise referenced Star Wars at some point in their lives. Rob rounds up the best parodies out there in other media...

Published on May 20, 2008

Star Wars is one of the most parodied movies of all time. How could it not be? - it's totally iconic and completely changed the face of sci-fi forever. Here's a definitive list of the best Star Wars parodies ever:

The Adam and Joe Show
Back in the mid-1990s, before the onslaught of Star Wars nostalgia, before YouTube and before George Lucas did something unmentionable to most people's childhoods by creating episodes 1-3, Adam Buxton and Joe Cornish were still messing about in their toy box.

Dusting off and setting up their old Kenner Star Wars figures, Adam and Joe produced numerous parodies, routinely casting R2D2 and C3P0 as a gay couple and Obi-Wan as a drunken Geordie. The most unmissable episode contained a classic Crystal Maze parody that had the cast of toys trying their very hardest to beat the Crystal Dome and win the pony trekking holiday in Wales.

Robot Chicken
Ever wondered what was in the hatch Luke opens in the bottom of the At-At in Empire? Well, Seth Green and co. revealed that and so much more in a special episode of Robot Chicken from last year. A bone of contention with the makers of Family Guy (taken in good humour - check out Peter and Chris' chat in Blue Harvest) that Green got out his special before Seth McFarlane, this is a cheap and cheerful take on all six Star Wars films.

Blue Harvest - Family Guy
Airing a few weeks later than the aforementioned Robot Chicken special, the producers of Family Guy went to town with this fantastic take on Star Wars. Having Chris as Luke and Horace ( the creepy old guy) as Obi-Wan was fantastic, if disturbing, but casting Peter and Brian as Han and Chewie was a stoke of genius. I'd be hard pushed to pick the best moment of the episode - Peter singing along to the John Williams score ("Mr John Williams, everybody") while tackling tie-fighters? Orr trying to get a discarded sofa on the Millennium Falcon on their escape? Regardless, this double act is what makes this one of the best planned and funny parodies of the first Star Wars. Roll on their take on Empire!

Spaceballs
While not Mel Brooks' best work, there are still some great jokes in Spaceballs. While some of the gags are obvious and puerile, for every miss there are a hundred and one hits to make you smile - like Ludicrous Speed, Dark Helmet playing with his figures or the insane Spaceballs The Movie being filmed live and watched on the video by the guys making the film (you know the bit). Plus there's John Candy as Barf the Dog and an unexpected capture of stunt doubles all wrapp up in the usual Mel Brooks insanity.

Star Wars Holiday Special
Okay, it's not a parody. But the Star Wars Holiday Special was really just a beer-fuelled cash-in on the insane popularity of Star Wars - surely no-one did this for any reason beyond the paycheck? For those of you who've tried to watch it, I salute you. Really, this is for hardcore fans only - watch with care (and through your fingers!).

Cops
One of the earliest pieces of online viral marketing, this great Star Wars parody replaces the cops from, um, Cops with Stormtroopers. With superb special effects and a great script the ten minute show takes a look at Jawa society, and finds out what really happened to Aunt Beru and Uncle Owen with the help of a handy thermal detonator. (Check it out here.)

Tag & Bink Are Dead
This Dark Horse comic features two inept rebels who unwittingly are part of each and every main turning point in the Star Wars movies. Whether it's telling Anakin how to woo Padme with bad poetry and professions of love, or taking a tie-fighter for a joyride (in the ‘that’s no moon’ speech in episode 4), Tag and Bink are, according to the comics anyway, responsible for the fall of the Empire every bit as much as the rebels from the movie. So if you ever wondered who nicked Chewbacca’s medal at the end of Star Wars or who was really under the cool-looking Red Imperial Guard uniforms in Jedi then this mini series will keep you informed.

 

Users Comments

Re: The 7 very best Star Wars parodies ever!
Posted By SebPatrick 1 May 21, 2008 10:43:59 AM

Can't believe you missed the ending to the sixth episode of series two of Spaced - one of the absolute finest moments in that show's history, a brilliant parody that actually fit within the context of the show rather than stepping out of it. "There must be a hundred off licenses in this area - she could be in any one..."

Re: The 7 very best Star Wars parodies ever!
Posted By RonHogan 1 May 21, 2008 12:31:55 PM

If you really want to enjoy the Star Wars holiday special, you should be doing coke, not drinking beer. That's what the cast did to get through it!

Re: The 7 very best Star Wars parodies ever!
Posted By christhomas 1 May 21, 2008 02:34:47 PM

NOOOOO! Never ever EVER watch the Star Wars Holiday Special! Step away from the badly copied pirate video! For once down the dark path, forever will it sully your memory of the original trilogy! Honestly, that's 90 minutes of your life that you'll never get back! I wanted to scratch my eyes out... it is THAT BAD!

Re: The 7 very best Star Wars parodies ever!
Posted By cjlines 1 May 21, 2008 04:21:02 PM

Hello? Weird Al Yankovic!?

Re: The 7 very best Star Wars parodies ever!
Posted By WeakLemonDrink 1 May 22, 2008 01:07:32 AM

No Thumb Wars? Boo!

Re: The 7 very best Star Wars parodies ever!
Posted By cljohnston108 1 May 22, 2008 09:13:23 AM

FYI: It's called "Troops", not "Cops".

Re: The 7 very best Star Wars parodies ever!
Posted By NickGillies 1 May 23, 2008 03:44:21 AM

How could you omit the I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue team's performance of the handbag scene in The Importance of Being Earnest, with Obi Wan Kenobi as Jack and Darth Vader as Lady Bracknell?

Re: The 7 very best Star Wars parodies ever!
Posted By Robmac 1 May 23, 2008 12:11:29 PM

Keep them coming guys - the more parodies there are that I havent seen the more I will have to watch via youtube over the bank holiday! - cheers

Re: The 7 very best Star Wars parodies ever!
Posted By kronik 1 May 7, 2009 01:39:46 PM

You forgot Hardware Wars! "You'll laugh! You'll cry! You'll kiss three bucks goodbye!" At least replace the Holiday Special with Hardware Wars.
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