Star Wars in Pop Culture Part Six: Television – Fantha Tracks

Ever been watching a television show that couldn’t be farther removed from Star Wars and then suddenly a Star Wars reference pops up? Well, when this happens, it absolutely has me grinning from ear to ear. The legacy and impact of the saga reverberates far and wide and filmmakers love to slot in references and Easter eggs where they can.

We conclude our look at Star Wars references on the small screen.

Phineas and Ferb (2007 – 2024)

This animated Disney show has proved a hit since it first launched and follows the adventure of two stepbrothers, Phineas and Ferb, on their summer vacations. The duo often ends up in madcap plots about how to spend their time and it’s all whimsical fun until we reach some serious crossover business in 2014 with the arrival of Phineas and Ferb: Star Wars: May the Ferb Be With You.

This special episode was a direct result of the Disney acquisition of Lucasfilm in 2012. The series co-creator heard the news of the takeover and immediately texted one of his producers with the words – “I smell a crossover.” There are some really creative moments throughout the episode with specific references to various points in the saga with the story involving Watto’s son, Blatto, and his finding of the Death Star plans. The real easter eggs come from the casting, however, as Dee Bradley Baker (a regular performer in Phineas and Ferb) portrays Chewbacca and Simon Pegg (Mr Unklar Plutt) is on voicing duties for C-3PO, in what is possibly the only time that Anthony Daniels didn’t portray the golden droid. (apart from Robot Chicken which we’ll see later)

Firefly (2002 – 2003)

This short-lived series only consists of 14 episodes but has all the hallmarks of a Star Wars-inspired space western and was created by Joss Whedon. The show did have a strong cult following, however, after its cancellation, which led to the production of a theatrical film titled Serenity, released in 2005. The obvious influence from a galaxy far, far away is that of the lead character – Captain Malcolm Reynolds. He’s clearly inspired by that of Han Solo and his ship, the Serenity, pays homage to the Millenium Falcon.

The real easter egg, however, lies in every single episode that has gone unnoticed for years unless you were a dedicated fan of this show. Its heavily rumoured, because fans are still searching, that a replica 12-inch Han Solo is featured in every single episode. This came about because Nathan Fillion, playing Captain Reynolds, was a huge Star Wars fanatic and the props department thought it would be a nice ‘in-gag’ to keep this joke going. Plenty of Han in carbonites have been found with only a few remaining but that’s the beauty of an Easter egg hunt.

Saturday Night Live (1975 – present)

This cornerstone of American comedy will celebrate is 50th year in 2025 and has launched the careers of Hollywood royalty and is responsible for the birth of everything from The Blues Brothers to Wayne’s World. It’s no surprise that Star Wars would feature heavily over the years and has featured in some of the sketch show’s most famous skits.

Kicking off in 1978, we saw Bill Murray as Nick the Lounge Singer doing all the moves and grooves to the Star Wars theme. It became so iconic that in 2015, Oscar Isaac did an acoustic cover of it. Next of the list that is simply hilarious is the 1997 series of ‘Audition videos.’ Featuring a whole host of famous names, these skits are devised as if they’re ‘special features’ on the home video releases. One well worth checking out is the late Norm MacDonald doing a spot-on impression of Burt Reynolds and the irreplaceable Christopher Walken doing what Christopher Walken does best. Adam Driver’s ‘Undercover Boss’ sketches show the actor’s playful side and spot-on delivery of ‘playing it straight’. Driver did a few of these sketches as the set-up proved so popular. Sticking with Driver and the sequels, SNL had a lot of fun with the release of The Force Awakens including a mock-trailer and poking fun at the fan’s obsession with merch. Finally, the ‘Shopping at Home Network’ sketch is a QVC-style send-up and features Mark Hamill helping Will Ferrell selling some toys but, in the end, simply badgering Mark about his time in the saga.

Here’s a list of all the Star Wars alumni who have hosted SNL over the years. In no particular order, we have; Adam Driver, Natalie Portman, Oscar Isaac, Liam Neeson, Donald Glover, Felicity Jones, Carrie Fisher and Pedro Pascal.

Whose Line Is It Anyway? (1998 – present)

This show is one of the most iconic and influential in the comedy world of the last few decades. It was originally conceived by Mike Myers at the Comedy Store in London, known as The Comedy Store Players, and now holds the record as the longest running stage show with the same cast. It had its original run on Channel 4 here in the 80s and 90s between transferring to Hollywood.

If you’re not familiar with the format, then it’s very simple. Performers work without a script or rehearsal of any kind, and they make up everything that they perform on the evening. It’s all total improvised chaos and brilliance. I confess, I’m a huge fan of this show and it was my reason for packing up everything and moving to America to study at The Second City Theatre in Chicago many years ago.

The improvised scenes come in various guises through theatre games and songs and the cast are masters of their craft. Star Wars has come up time and time again. (fact check: I researched heavily and found Star Wars is most cited film series in the show) One of most fun in-jokes for the performers was that Ryan Stiles, one of the lead comics, has never genuinely seen any of the films and has to improvise his way through skits in complete blindness. Another connection, of course, lies with Greg Proops who voiced Fode in The Phantom Menace.

There are simply too many references to write down so here’s a taster of the Star Wars jokes.

Robot Chicken (2001 – 2022)

This stop-motion adult sketch comedy series from Seth Green and Matthew Senreich has become the stuff of cult legend. Originally conceived for the late-night programming on Cartoon Network, known as Adult Swim, it quickly gained a dedicated following thanks to its heavy satire and pop-culture references.

In 2007, shortly after the 30th anniversary of the franchise, the creators released the first of three specials dedicated to Star Wars comedy. Whereas Family Guy would redo the plot, the sketch format of Robot Chicken allowed for more ingenious jokes and more room to play around in a rapid-fire way.

Some of the most memorable include: an advert for Admiral Ackbar’s cereal, President George W. Bush discovers that he’s a Jedi, Ponda Baba is portrayed as an architect and after Ben slices his arm off – he’s laid off, Jar Jar returns as a Force Ghost to visit Vader and George Lucas attends a convention on a Tauntaun.

The episodes boasted an impressive list of talent from the acting world and some Star Wars legends too. These included: Ahmed Best, Tom Kane, Conan O’Brien, Mark Hamill, Hulk Hogan and George Lucas.

Speaking of Lucas, it was he himself who was responsible for getting this made. He had seen a skit involving a ‘collect call from Darth Vader to Palpatine about the destruction of the Death Star’ and Lucas liked it so much that he invited the creators to come up and work on a full 30-minute comedy. Green would later discuss how relaxed Lucasfilm were and noted that they realised “you could have fun and do a parody without compromising the dramatic integrity of the saga.”

Green would later go on to work with Lucas on the still unreleased Detours series and some of the action figures used in the stop-motion process for this show reside with Steve Sansweet at Rancho Obi-Wan.

Stranger Things (2016 – present)

This show needs no introduction. With one final season to go, presumably released next year, it has been a goliath phenomenon and certainly shows no signs of slowing down. The influences of Star Wars on the show are obvious for the 80s set pop-culture filled feast. The show’s fourth season was heavily influenced by The Empire Strikes Back with the villain seemingly winning, a hero in a coma (think Han in carbonite) and the final shot being that of the heroes staring out to Hawkins – much like Luke and the gang did at the end of Empire.

If we go way back to the first series (released on the weekend of Celebration Europe in 2016) then there were plenty of references to Star Wars toys. The most ingenious one being when Mike, who, along with the gang, have discovered Eleven, asks her to display her powers and levitate his Kenner Millenium Falcon. While we’re on the character of Eleven, there are obvious similarities between her supernatural powers and the Force. At the end of season one, she’s even described as “more like a Yoda” than a wizard.

In season four, the gang have started to grow up somewhat and leave the innocence of childhood behind. At one point, Mike and Dustin are hoping to arrange a game of D&D and they ask Eddie to postpone the meet up due to Lucas’ basketball game. Eddie, not happy with the sport, quickly replies; “You tellin’ me that Sinclair has fallen to the dark side?”

Much like the characters in Star Wars, the folks over at Stranger Things often “have a bad feeling about this” – just ask Murray who utters the words to Jim whilst their trying to escape their prison in Russia.

The story is set during the 80s and as the show progresses, we move into the late 80s, a time when Star Wars was really heading into its hibernation period. Never fear, however, as one morning the character Jonathan is enjoying an episode of Ewoks. It should be noted that Jonathan is well into his early twenties at this point but, like all respectable Star Wars fans, he doesn’t let that stop him enjoying some children’s entertainment.

Some of the best references that I enjoy most throughout films and television are the ones that are the most subtle. The ones where us Star Wars fans will know straight away but maybe the casual viewer wouldn’t really get. One of these comes in the guise of the Lando Easter egg in season one. Towards the end of the series, the gang are a little wary of filling Hopper in on the events of what’s happened. Dustin goes as far to say that he might be a ‘Lando’ – referring to Lando’s betrayal of Han in Empire. Classic stuff.

Stranger Things: The First Shadow is now playing in London’s West End and I can attest that it’s absolutely phenomenal.

Talk Shows

And finally, to finish this series off, we turn our attention to the ever-popular format of late night talk shows. Mostly hosted by stand-up comedians on both sides of the pond, they’ve become a brilliant way to see some of our favourite performers in the hot seat. Over here in the UK, Graham Norton and Jonathan Ross are still producing their weekly shows and over the years have paid host to pretty much every Star Wars actor going. Each time they’re on, no matter what project they’re talking about, there’s always fun to be had with asking about a galaxy far, far away. From Ewan McGregor showing off his lightsaber skills to Harrison Ford telling audience members ‘I know’ in response to ‘I love you’ there is never an opportunity missed to talk our beloved space western.

In the states, they tend to take things one step further and go heavy into pre-rehearsed sketches. My favourite, my absolute favourite of all time, is when Harrison Ford appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in November 2015 to “settle his long-standing feud with Chewbacca”. Ford, in my opinion, has always had a natural gift for comedy, timing and delivery and this sketch proves it.

This sketch was a pay off to a set-up that happened a few years before when Ford ‘wouldn’t answer any Star Wars questions.’ The moment that still makes me laugh out loud after all these years is when Ford, clearly still devastated by some of the Chewbacca’s past actions, begins to get emotional and is clearly ‘distraught’ with painful memories. Ford’s delivery of the line – “she was my wife” is simply comedy gold and the clip has garnered nearly eight million views on YouTube and it’s clear to see why.

So, as long as there are televisions and so long as there is Star Wars, I think it’s safe to say that the saga will be referenced for a long, long time to come.