Between 1999 and 2009 Lightsabre.co.uk brought news, fanfic, podcasts and much, much more to the masses. Our thirty-fourth guest was behind Star Wars Fanworks, the Star Wars Timeline and contributed to Dark Horses Star Wars Tales – Nathan P. Butler.
Lightsabre – Nathan, welcome to Lightsabre.
NPB – Glad to be here. And congratulations, by the way, on getting Setnin Radio off the ground. As I like to say when new people join the fan audio community: welcome to the family.
Lightsabre – Star Wars has had a profound effect on all of us – it’s why we’re here talking about it, but what was it that started you off on your Star Wars journey?
NPB – In my case, it was a who, rather than a what. My mother got me into it when I was very young, both with the films and the toys. After that, it just sort of emerged as the main element of my “media experience” while growing up.
Lightsabre – You’ve been involved in Star Wars fandom for over five years and in that time have amassed an impressive body of work, from Timelines to Radio Shows, acting in fan productions to writing a story in Dark Horses Star Wars Tales magazine. How does it feel to have carved yourself such a prominent niche in the Star Wars fan community?
NPB – To be honest, I usually try not to think about it. I have a feeling that if I really let myself obsess over it, I’d end up either dumbfounded or egotistical about it. Instead, I just tend to consider myself very fortunate to have found audiences for the type of things I like to create. My timeline has been probably the most visible and well-received of my various fan projects, but I’m gratified to see the fan audio community rally around some of my audio works and StarWarsFanworks.com. I can’t even begin to describe how blown away I was at having the chance to write an official Star Wars story for Tales, so that experience, by itself, is one huge pat on the back that sort of makes me feel validated after so many projects.
Lightsabre – Which of the six episodes stands out as your favourite?
NPB – My favorite would have to be Revenge of the Sith. For me, it has all the elements that made the Classic Trilogy so good, while also bringing in elements of tragedy, manipulation, and all that we expected from Anakin’s fall. Yeah, the fall happens pretty quickly, but it helped that I walked into it having already listened to the unabridged audiobook of Stover’s excellent novelization of the film.
Lightsabre – The rise of the internet helped Star Wars explode into even more of a phenomenon, and the rise of radio shows have allowed shows such as ChronoRadio to literally speak to the masses. Do you think that the radio shows are now equal to written sites, or supplemental to them?
NPB – At this point, I’d say that we’re still basically supplemental to websites. Not everyone has yet embraced the concept of online audio shows, even though “podcasting” is growing in popularity. We’re just a reflection of the media outside, though. I’d imagine that more people watch TV news (comparable to Fan Films) or read text (newspapers, magazines, internet, etc.) than listen to talk radio programs (Hannity, O’Reilly, Limbaugh, etc.). We’re a sort of specialized niche, at least for now.
Lightsabre – As a fellow fan you must have many golden Star Wars memories. Tell us about some of them.
NPB – My most unique would have to be receiving the email where Jeremy Barlow at Dark Horse had asked me to write the story for Tales. My earliest would be listening to The Empire Strikes Back radio drama by Brian Daley in my living room at the first house my family had lived in. One of my other most memorable would have to be being able to return the favor (my mom taking me to see The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi as a kid) by taking my mom to see The Phantom Menace in 1999.
Lightsabre – Which of the Star Wars characters is the closest to you?
NPB – Well, as far as having an affinity for one, I guess it’d have to be Kyle Katarn, wouldn’t it? Personality-wise, though, I’d probably more relate to someone among Wraith Squadron, as I tend to be serious when necessary, but still toss around a fair amount of sarcasm, no matter what the situation might be.
Lightsabre – What would you change about Star Wars if you could go back in time and make alterations?
NPB – I’d put something like the Holocron Continuity Database that is now run by Leland Chee in place, starting in 1976 with the ANH novelisation release. Imagine how many continuity flubs would’ve been stopped before they could even hit print.
Lightsabre – Now the prequels have been and gone and are sting on millions of shelves across the globe, what is the next chapter for your websites?
NPB – Well, for my timeline site, the Star Wars Timeline Gold will keep growing and being updated, as the saga continues to grow in terms of books, comics, and the like. As for Fanworks, that’ll keep growing as the fan audio genre grows. The films don’t really determine the life of either of those.
Lightsabre – And where do you think Lucas will take us next on our trip through the Star Wars galaxy?
NPB – I’m hoping that the next Star Wars product directly from LFL will be the TV series that we’ve been told about, but moreover, I’m hoping those TV series will fit within established continuity, learning from the horrible mistake that was Clone Wars: Episodes 21 – 25.
Lightsabre – What do you foresee for yourself in the future?
NPB – Well, professionally, I intend to continuity teaching for the time being. From a Star Wars perspective, I expect to continue with the timeline and continue with Fanworks, but once we hit the latter half of 2007, I’m intending to be much more of a patron to fan audio than a participant. My second radio show (Other Voices) is already over. My first (ChronoRadio) is ending in May 2007. My third (Fan Audio Made Easy) is ending in January 2007. That’ll leave me with just the newest show, The Butlerniverse, and any non-Star Wars audio projects I decide to do, such as the podcast novel I’m working on right now, Echoes. I’m hoping that I’ll be able to flex my creative muscles for a while and see where that takes me online.
Lightsabre – A quick question about our site. Any comments?
NPB – I’m intrigued, especially by the volume of fan audio materials that I hadn’t known about. Good to know that there were more folks out there in the 1980s that were playing around in the audio realm. Here I thought there were only a few of us nutballs out there.
Lightsabre – It’s been a great interview, and thanks for being our guest. Just one final question. George Lucas summons you into his office at Skywalker Ranch and asks you to sit down. He’s auditioning for a new ongoing Star Wars radio series, much in the vein of the Star Wars Radio Drama, and would like you to choose a role. Your choice is the following:
- Jar Jar Binks
- The Mouse Droid from A New Hope
- Sy Snootles
Remember, you’re in the inner sanctum of the Star Wars universe and you wouldn’t wish to offend, so which role would you take?
NPB – Well, Sy’s a female, and the Mouse Droid wouldn’t do much more than squeak. I’d have to go with Jar Jar. Perhaps I could try to work an air of respectability into that otherwise abused character. (He was well-used in Attack of the Clones, and it made his blundering in The Phantom Menace a good counterpoint and a good setup for his actions in Attack of the Clones, but did we really need poop and fart jokes to pull that off?)
This interview was originally posted on lightsabre.co.uk on 29th January 2006.
