Star Wars: Skeleton Crew
I’m going to be honest. After the disaster that was The Acolyte, I wasn’t sure if I was going to bother watching any more Disney Star Wars. That show was such a dumpster fire that it essentially turned me off from the entire franchise. Considering that I grew up watching and loving Star Wars – that’s really saying something! But, a few weeks ago I actually found myself at home with nothing to do, so I decided to bite the bullet and see if Skeleton Crew (that latest Star Wars spin-off) was worth my attention. I’m happy to say that it was.
If you haven’t been paying attention to world of Star Wars lately, you may be wondering just what the premise of Skeleton Crew is. To best describe this show, I would say the following: Take classic Star Wars and mix it with Stranger Things, then garnish with a little bit of The Goonies, and finally add just a dash of Fallout. – That’s Skeleton Crew. No, really. That’s exactly what you’re in store for with this mini-series.
Skeleton Crew takes place about five years after the events of Return of the Jedi. The New Republic is in its infancy. But, you wouldn’t know that when the series begins. In fact, if you know your Star Wars history, the planet presented at the start of the show has a very Old Republic vibe to it. The show focuses on a group of children living on the world of At Attin. This planet is unlike anything we’ve ever seen in the Star War universe before. It is extremely manicured, you could almost say it looks suburban. And the society there is very structured. Every adult is assigned a specific job within the planet’s governmental system. The show begins with a group of mischievous youth who skip school and stumble upon an ancient shipwreck in the forest outside of town. During their exploration of the derelict vessel, they accidentally manage to activate the ship and are whisked away from their home world. It is then, out among the stars where the adventure begins.
Unlike some of my previous reviews, I don’t want to give away too much of the plot in this writeup. The twist that comes at the end of the show, while somewhat predictable, is still pretty clever. What I will say is that once the kids experience a taste of life in the galaxy, they soon learn that their home planet isn’t exactly as it seemed. Once the wrong people learn where the children came from, it’s a race to see who can find the hidden location of At Attin (and the secrets it hides) first.
Skeleton Crew is a true space-faring adventure. It’s unique in the Star Wars universe as it draws plenty of inspiration from classic pirate tales like Treasure Island. I found the whole “space pirate” vibe to be quite different compared to usual “sword and sorcery” motif that lies at the root of the original films. Another thing that I appreciated about this show is that it didn’t try to hook into an existing story. Yes, there’s talk of Jedi, etc. But nothing about the story here is directly dependent on something for one of the films or a previous show. You can watch Skeleton Crew having never seen any other Star Wars product. This is what I want to see from Star Wars spin-offs. Exactly that, spin-offs – not spin-ons.
Final thoughts: This show was a breath of fresh air in a franchise that had grown stale quite some time ago. We need more of this and less of crap like The Acolyte. Don’t let the kid-heavy cast fool you. This isn’t strictly a kid’s show. This is one that can be enjoyed by everyone. I really hope this is the future of Star Wars media.
Mature Content: Some violence.
Number of Episodes: 8
Score (1 out of 4): 3
