Super 8 Theater Presents: Star Wars

Here is the silent home movie version that I cried for when we went to a department store right after seeing the movie for the first time when I was a kid. I wanted it so badly but alas, didn't get it until I was well into my 30s. Enjoy!

You Too Can Be A JEDI

Here's something that I find extremely cool. It's an official Honorary JEDI Knight Certificate from the 1983 release of "Return of The Jedi". It states that you are an honorary JEDI Knight! I have one of these that bears my son's name that has been hanging in his room since before he was born! It comes complete with Yoda's signature (although it looks like Yoda never had that much of an education in writing). Click on the image for a full size version. Print it out and hang it proudly on your wall! Enjoy!

The NPR Strikes Back: Part 5

Here is my final Empire Post (for now) and it can only be the final two episodes of the National Public Radio dramatization of the classic sequel to Star Wars. I hope you enjoyed this past week of Empire goodies. I hope to post more Star Wars related items in the future as well as the usual fun stuff! Also, I looking to making a new logo for the blog. If anyone has any ideas or even artwork please send it my way. As my time has become limited, I would love to have someone design a logo for me. Anyway, here are the final two episodes of NPR's The Empire Strikes Back. Enjoy!

The Empire Strikes Back Radio Drama Episode 9

The Empire Strikes Back Radio Drama Episode 10

The Lunchbox Strikes Back

The lunchbox was a standard must have every year when I was a kid and if you had a super cool one with the latest hit movie or tv show, it was a bonus. I always felt bad for the kids who had to buy the hot lunch or take their lunch to school in brown bags and just assumed the brown baggers were too poor to get their own lunch box. These were the days of the metal lunchbox. Not those flimsy plastic ones that broke with one drop. However, as the 80s began, the metal ones were on their way out with the plastic ones coming on full throttle. This was evidenced by the several different lunchboxes released for The Empire Strikes Back.
This one was mine. It was, by far, the coolest of all of the lunchboxes that year. Featuring a great photo of Luke discovering Yoda on one side and an amazing shot of the Snowtroopers on Hoth on the other. The original Star Wars lunchbox was cool but this blew the doors off of that one. It was almost like someone said, "We have to make this lunchbox the coolest lunchbox in the world. We have to make the lunchbox just as cool and awesome as the movie." They, of course, succeeded. The side panels (just as important as the main pictures) were pretty cool as well. How can you go wrong with good versus evil?! One one side was the good: a great picture of Yoda. The opposite side was the menacing Darth Vader flanked by two stormtroopers. Pure genius! And let's not forget the top and bottom strips. These sides and top and bottom pictures are what set the great metal boxes apart from their not-as-cool plastic off spring. Those would be just one picture (a sticker mind you!) plastered on the front and that was it. There would be no cool painting of Bespin on the bottom of the plastic lunch box. Nor would there be a picture of everyone's favorite droids on the top. Only if you had the mighty metal lunch box, would you get to enjoy these great pictures on a daily basis!

The Empire Luchbox also paved the way for the future with a brand new invention called the flip-top thermos. Before, you had the usual thermos that you had to open and pour and then drink from the attached cup if you were dainty or drink right from the thermos if you were cool and manly. I was neither. I put a straw in mine and drank it that way. With the advent of the flip top, all you had to do was take the cup off, flip the top and you were good to go!!! Spill proof! (sort of - kids will always find a way to spill their drink) And what was cooler was as you were drinking from your cool new flip top, you got to show off your love of the great Jedi Master by showing his image before you. (a good lunchboxer always had the image on the thermos facing out so their friends could see!)
This lunchbox also featured one of the first plastic latches to hold the front on and prevented all of your edible goodies from falling on the ground as you walked to school in the morning. Some of you are probably saying, "but Dartman, I had the cool metal lunchbox but mine was completely different from the one you had". That's because there were two. The other metal lunch box featured super cool paintings from scenes in the film. Though not as cool as the photos, these were still pretty cool images to sport on a lunchbox. The photo of Luke with Yoda is represented in artistic form from a different angle and gives the great Jedi master an air of greatness by use of perspective. And it also appears that Luke has already started his traning here as his hand is extended and his eyes are closed, thus willing you to eat your lunch through the use of the Force. The flip side features a magnificent painting of the goings on in the cockpit of the mighty Millenium Falcon. This is cool as Han Solo is not represented at all on the photo model. It seems odd to me now that he wasn't. If I remember correctly, my friends and I all thought Han was the coolest of the cool but yet none of us minded that he wasn't on our metal status symbol. It might have been the fact that we were in awe of the majestic coolness of Yoda at the time. The sides of this box featured a collage of various characters from the film and some scenes that were non-existent on the other box. The sides showed Luke on a Tauntaun and Vader surrounded by stormtroopers, bounty hunters and Lando. (I wonder why they threw Lando in with the bad guys?) While the top had a nice painting of the Hoth battle complete with At-Ats and the bottom had a nice space shot of the fleet of Star Destroyers. (couldn't find any great pictures of those) The thermos was pretty much exactly the same as the other one except it was blue and the image of Yoda was reversed. I'm not sure if that one came with the flip top. Along with these two great metal lunchboxes, there was also two plastic lunchboxes released as well. Both of them were red and were nowhere near as cool as the metal ones. The first and better of the two plastic boxes featured a strange, posed promo shot of our heros somewhere in the inner corridors of the rebel base on Hoth with their weapons drawn and pointed right at you. Kind of like, "eat your lunch or we'll blast you into kingdom come". This whole scene seems very strange to me. It doesn't happen in the film at all. Even the painted box features scenes from the actual film. Not to pick on anyone who had this one but I think it's kind of a cheap substitute for the cooler metal ones. At least put one of the photos from the metal on on the box! Come on. If you think that one's bad, there was another that was even worse. This time around, it was sticker of an X-Wing fighter approaching a planet with small shots of scenes from the film. While this does sport scenes from the actual film, it just looks cheap and horrible. Not to mention the main image just doesn't make any sense at all. Are we to conclude that the X-Wing pictured is Luke's as he is approaching Dagobah? I don't remember that scene looking like that! If you had this one, I'm sorry. There's nothing else I can say.

The NPR Strikes Back: Part 4

Here are episodes 7 and 8 from the great radio dramatization of The Empire Strikes Back. National Public Radio did a great job with these. The added lines of dialogue are quite interesting. The voices don't always seem to fit the characters but maybe that's because I'm jaded by hearing the story albums over the years. Anyway, here are the next two episodes. Enjoy!

The Empire Strikes Back Radio Drama Episode 7

The Empire Strikes Back Radio Drama Episode 8

Darkhorse Strikes Back

A few posts ago I shared the Marvel Super Special comics adaptation of The Empire Strikes Back with you. In 1997, Darkhorse Comics released what they called "The Empire Strikes Back Special Edition" comic. It sported a new cover featuring a portrait of Han Solo against the backdrop of Bespin. Other than that, it was pretty much the exact same comic book. They brightened it up a bit and added what I can only call "color correction" to make it look a lot nicer, but it is still the same comic book. See if you can spot any other differences when you check out "The Darkhorse Empire Strikes Back Special Edition". Enjoy!

Dark Horse Comics-The Empire Strikes Back Special Edition

The NPR Strikes Back: Part 3

Here are the next two episodes in the great NPR radio dramatization of "The Empire Strikes Back". Complete with the original music and sound effects from the film. It's kind of like listening to one of those read along records. Enjoy!

The Empire Strikes Back Radio Drama Episode 5

The Empire Strikes Back Radio Drama Episode 6

MECO Strikes Back (re-post)

One of the most popular downloads here at the World of Wonder is MECO's Star Wars and Other Galactic Funk. Since then, I have posted MECO's version of the Wizard of OZ and that holds a place in the top twenty most popular sharities as well. Well, as we all know, after "Star Wars" came "The Empire Strikes Back" and MECO was there to put his take on the sequel. Although not as popular as the first Star Wars record he made, it is still pretty good. A little bit shorter but just as disco-y, here is MECO's The Empire Strikes Back. Enjoy!

MECO-The Empire Strikes Back

The NPR Strikes Back: Part 2

Here are the next two episodes of the National Public Radio dramatization of The Empire Strikes Back! Enjoy!

The Empire Strikes Back Radio Drama Episode 3

The Empire Strikes Back Radio Drama Episode 4

Marvel Strikes Back

I remember being a kid and going shopping at a mall with my parents. My dad and I hit the record and book stores while my mom and sister went looking for girlie items. At the book store, I used my allowance money that I had saved up to purchase the paperback version of the Marvel Super Special of The Empire Strikes Back. A book I still own to this day. When I excitedly showed my mom and sister, my sister's response was "Why would you waste your money on that?". At this, my dad came to my defense with "He found a bargain. It was on sale and he saved a dollar. That's smart shopping." In all fairness, that was coincidence. I just bought it because I wanted it and I had money in my pocket. But I still appreciated my dad coming to my defense. Now that my sister has a 6 year old who is obsessed with Star Wars, I always smile smugly and get a great feeling when I happen to see the occasional Star Wars item that she spent HER money on. Anyway, I share that incredible Marvel comic super special with you now! Enjoy!

Marvel Super Special Comic-The Empire Strikes Back

The NPR Strikes Back

After the giant success of the Star Wars films, National Public Radio got on board the Force Train with their own radio adaptations of the films. They did one for each of the films and The Empire Strikes Back got the royal treatment with a full ten episodes containing not just the original film plot but also scenes that the movie never showed you. Such as; The Imperials discover the planetary probe evidence that leads them to the Rebel base; Luke Skywalker and Han Solo await rescue in an emergency shelter on the frozen surface of Hoth; Han Solo and his first mate, Chewbacca, fix the Falcon—and demolish each other's egos; Luke encounters a medical droid that could match See-Threepio for politesse anytime; The Rebel control room on Hoth during the rescue of Han and Luke and the desperate battle against the Imperial walkers; Luke's last-minute rendezvous with his X-wing squadron during the Battle of Hoth—on foot and inside Yoda's cave on Luke's first morning of training in the mysterious ways of the Jedi. Behind-the-scenes details come to light as well in an informative introduction by the script's author, Brian Daley—who wrote the episodes, reworked scenes on the spot in the recording studio, creating the National Public Radio dramatization broadcast on stations nationwide. The story of The Empire Strikes Back comes to life again in these original scripts—this time with more background, more scenes—more Star Wars! Over the next couple of days I will be sharing these episodes with you. Here now are the first two. Enjoy!

The Empire Strikes Back Radio Drama Episode 1

The Empire Strikes Back Radio Drama Episode 2

The Empire Strikes Back 30 Years Later

"Obi-Won Never Told You What Happened To Your Father!" (re-post)

Since today is the 30th anniversary of the greatest Star Wars movie ever, I thought I would repost this gem from my collection. Enjoy!


Here is the Original Soundtrack Story Album for The Empire Strikes Back. This goes in my book as the best album cover in the history of the world! It is an original painting that features the duel between Luke and Darth Vader surrounded by a border of various scenes from the movie. Even though this is the album that features the soundtrack, voices and sound effects from the film, it is not called The Story of The Empire Strikes Back. Instead, RSO Records decided to call it "The Adventures of Luke Skywalker". Why they did this I don't know. But I do know that it is super cool! Here it is for you to enjoy!

The Adventures of Luke Skywalker

Ring In The New Year With Star Wars!

Happy New Year's Eve everyone! I hope you are all welcoming 2010 in the best way possible! Here at the World of Wonder, we are bringing in the new year by celebrating Life Day! Here is the soundtrack to the classic (?) Star Wars Holiday Special complete with all of the songs including the great Bea Arthur number and, of course, Carrie Fisher's classic song! Enjoy! We'll see you in 2010 for the start of a new decade and the fifth (can you believe it) year of Dartman's World of Wonder! HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Star Wars Holiday Special OST

Tricks & Treats 09: Star Wars Halloween Fun (repost)

These masks are originally from Random House Publishing's 1983 book, The Star Wars Book of Masks. Choose a mask, print them out, and party hard on Halloween! (click on the image to get the full size pic)

Christmas In The World of Wonder: A Long TIme Ago, In A Wishbook Far, Far Away

Since the last wishbook post was all about Star Trek toys, I figured that it was only fair that this one be about Star Wars toys. Let's face it, the original Star Wars toys were the coolest toys ever. The best figures, the best playsets . . . just really cool toys! I still have my figures and have them prominently displayed in our "movie themed" room downstairs. Still have the super cool carrying case that's in this picture as well. I wish I still had the Millenium Falcon. I had the original release that came with a little tiny remote for Luke's lightsaber training. It wasn't long after that they stopped including that due to the fact that it was so small! Again, I wish I still had this. Unfortunately, my mom sold it at a tag sale. I think she made a clear profit of 50 cents on the deal. What a crime!

Sears had a weird deal with the Star Wars franchise where they would release cardboard playsets that featured a set of figures that came with it. Mine was the Mos Eisley Spaceport playset. It was basically just a piece of cardboard that stood as a backdrop for the figures to play in front of. I think it lasted about a week before it started to tear. The cool thing about this particular play set is that it featured a figure of Snaggletooth that was twice the size of the regular carded snaggletooth. At the time I felt like I was screwed out of the "real" Snaggletooth figure. Now, I realize that I had the cooler one.

Christmas in The World of Wonder: Wishbook Memories

Here's a continuation of a tradition that I started two years ago at the holiday season. It's items from the Sears Wishbook from when I was a kid. Back then, gearing up for Christmas meant breaking out the latest Sears Wishbook and writing out a 3+ page list of all of the goodies inside that I wanted for Christmas. I then gave it to my Mom who of course sent it to Santa who we all knew used the Sears Wishbook for all of his shopping! As in the past, I thought that I would share some of those great items that made the list and eventually made it under the tree. Today we have the golden age of talking alarm clocks. I owned several as a kid. The first one I owned was a Bugs Bunny Alarm Clock complete with the voice of Mel Blanc. It was pretty cool! It said something to the effect of "It's time to wake up Doc". I wasn't able to dig up a wishbook ad for that one so as you can see I just posted a picture of the clock.
I was able to find the Wishbook ad for the clock my sister had.When I received the Bugs Bunny clock, she got the Raggedy Ann and Andy clock (above). I don't remember what that one said at all. I do remember what my second talking alarm clock said. It was a Star Wars clock and it rocked. It had C-3PO and R2-D2 waking you up and yes, it was the voice of Anthoney Daniels! I recently picked up this clock on E-Bay only to find that it didn't work. I sadly returned it and got my money back. But I'm still looking for a replacement (I just don't want to spend a fortune getting it!)

Political Flair

The Costumed Youth of The Dartman Part 4

By the time The Empire Strikes Back had come out, the art of "customising" my store bought costumes had come to new heights. When I donned my Ben Cooper Yoda costume, I had a cane once owned by my great grandfather. This was no ordinary cane. It had decorative polish writing carved into it thus making it look like it could possibly belong to an aging jedi master. I think this was the last time I wore a store bought costume. It was fun while it lasted!

All Good Stories Come To An End

Here is my last Star Wars post for a while (probably for this year)seeing as how this weekend marks the 30th anniversay! I am choosing to end the run with the final "Story" album from the trilogy. This one doesn't stand up to the other two. First off, the cover is just plain blah. It looks like they just took a picture from the film, slapped the logo on it and added the words "The Story of". It is obviously not as grandiose as the Empire album. Secondly, they had to cut a lot out of the story as there was just way too much visual stuff in Jedi that couldn't be put onto record without cheezy descriptions. And speaking of descriptions, my description of the narrator is boring! He sounds like this is the last gig he ever thought he would get. But, for completeists like myself, this is a must have. Let me know what you think as you listen to "The Story of Return of The Jedi". Enjoy!

The Story of Return of The Jedi