Brilliant iambic pentameter marks the way of the Star Wars Shakespeare saga. To Star Wars fanatics the story is familiar, to Shakespeare lovers the phrasing is familiar, but to both there is a newness and a richness that only Doescher can provide.
The history of the United Federation of Planets, as seen in the Star Trek universe, is told through the stories of the men and women of the Federation’s galaxy renowned Starfleet. But just how did Starfleet, and the Federation, come to be?
Space western. Those two words usually bring to mind Joss Whedon’s Firefly or something like Cowboys and Aliens. Occasionally one might think of Star Wars, but Star Wars is more epic space fantasy. Star Wars: Kenobi is a classic western with all the elements: the natives, the outlaws, the farmers, the mysterious stranger and is thoroughly Star Wars at the same time.
Ian Doescher, a self-proclaimed lover of the Bard, re-wrote the first Star Wars film in iambic pentameter and in the style of Shakespeare’s popular plays. He rewrote classic Shakespearian passages to fit the Star Wars story. Familiar phrases and themes echo with new dimension and fresh perspective.
Alan Dean Foster returns to the world of Star Trek, no doubt following the screenplay, but this time around fails to enrich the story. Reading the Into Darkness novelization is exactly like watching the film, but with words.
What if Leia grew up with her father, an ordinary little girl in love with her caring, dark father? What if Leia’s teenage rebelliousness and fondness for scruffy-looking space smugglers ended up having unfortunate side effects on Daddy Vader’s job? What would that look like?
Created by the visionary storyteller Gene Roddenberry, Star Trek is a franchise that has endured for nearly fifty years. Alan Dean Foster holds the “story by” credit for the first ever Star Trek movie, The Motion Picture. It is therefore fitting that a man who was there at the beginning of Star Trek was present again for its new launch to write the novelization of the 2009 film, Star Trek.
They exist to die. The nameless drone, the faceless soldier, the girl who doesn’t have a name, the guy who isn’t in the credits – we’ve all seen them, and forgotten about them just as quickly. They must exist, albeit briefly, for us the audience to care about the leading women and men of what we are watching, or reading. Expendable characters prove why the story exists.
