40 years ago this week – on Sunday 24th October to be precise – Star Wars arrived on UK TV screens as a network television premier for the very first time, bringing the saga from a galaxy far, far away to screens across the country and for many signifying the start of their very own Star Wars adventure.
Star Wars historian Craig Stevens dug into the behind-the-scenes happenings of the time, revealing a far more complicated picture of where Star Wars sat in the minds of George Lucas and Lucasfilm than one might imagine.
This magnificent event, along with the release of the film on video earlier in the year breathed considerable new life into Star Wars in Britain ahead of the release of Return of the Jedi. The majority of fans had not seen Star Wars since its initial release at the cinema in 1977/78 – something that is unthinkable today. A great many people had their first experience of Star Wars on television.
In January 1982 an article in issue 43 of Starburst reported that Lucasfilm had been displeased with sale of Star Wars to America’s CBS TV network. Sid Ganis was quoted as saying, “If it were up to Lucasfilm we wouldn’t sell Star Wars to TV. There is considerable theatrical life in the film. And that’s why Lucasfilm will not sell the TV rights of The Empire Strikes Back or Revenge of the Jedi.” In truth Lucasfilm had provided approval for the release of Star Wars on TV and home viewing formats during the complex final negotiations with 20th Century Fox over Return of the Jedi. Lucasfilm had previously insisted that renting the film to cinemas was far more lucrative.
Fans of a certain vintage will remember well the TV Times cover for the week of 23rd – 29th October 1982, a superb piece accompanied by a one-page comic strip by Martin Asbury which clearly influenced the art of Cam Kennedy nine years later in Dark Empire.
1982 had already been an amazing year with the Star Wars and Empire Strikes Back Double Bill, Star Wars on video and new merchandise in the shops. Star Wars on television was the icing on the cake.
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