Feature Article Star Wars: Return of the Jedi Radio Drama Written By Brian Daley Published By: Highbridge Audio and Lucasfilm Ltd.   By Melissa Minners               When the Star Wars Original Radio Drama first aired, I was in my glory, listening to my favorite heroes rebel against the Empire and destroy the Death Star once again.  The fact that additional scenes had been added was icing on the cake.  Years later, I discovered that Brian Daley had written scripts for two more radio dramas based on the sequels to Star Wars.  The Empire Strikes Back Radio Drama premiered in 1983.  Unfortunately, with the dramatic reduction of federal funding for National Public Radio, plans for the Return of the Jedi Radio Drama were put on hold…for thirteen years!  In 1996, Highbridge Audio, the company responsible for releasing the first two radio dramas on audio tape and CD, decided to record the six-part adaptation of the final movie in the original trilogy.             The Star Wars: Return of the Jedi Radio Drama never aired on radio.  It was created to go straight to tape and CD release.  Based upon the script by Brian Daley (some scenes were altered to protect continuity thanks to Lucas’ new prequel films), the Return of the Jedi Radio Drama featured quite a few scenes not in the film.  These included Luke’s return to Obi-Wan Kenobi’s home to construct his own lightsaber, a scene in which C-3P0 discusses Jabba the Hutt with a dancer named Arica (best known to Star Wars Expanded Universe fans as Mara Jade) and some additional lines between Han and Leia.             Ann Sachs, Perry King, Anthony Daniels, Bernard Behrens, John Lithgow, Paul Hecht and Brock Peters returned to reprise their roles in the radio drama, but Mark Hamill and Billy Dee Williams were unavailable for the project.  Instead, the parts of Luke Skywalker and Lando Calrissian were portrayed by Joshua Fardon and Ayre Gross respectively.  Also joining the cast were Ed Asner as Jabba the Hutt, Ed Begley, Jr. as Boba Fett, David Dukes as Bib Fortuna, Mark Adair Rios as Admiral Ackbar and Jon Matthews as Wedge Antilles.              As stated in my review of The Empire Strikes Back Radio Drama, John Lithgow has no business portraying Yoda.  He has no clue how to recreate the voice and he often slips when talking for the dying Yoda.  Ann Sachs is terrific as ever as Princess Leia, but I just can’t seem to stomach Perry King as Han Solo, try as I might.  Anthony Daniels, having the distinction of being the only actor to have been in all of the Star Wars films and radio dramas, was perfect as always in the role of C-3P0.  I particularly enjoyed the scenes in which Threepio found new and inventive ways to describe Jabba the Hutt.  I couldn’t help but laugh each time.              Ayre Gross was adequate as Lando, but he just didn’t have the style of Billy Dee Williams.  Surprisingly, there wasn’t much difference between the acting style or vocals of Mark Hamill and his replacement Joshua Farden.  In fact, at times, I forgot it was a different actor in the role of Luke Skywalker.  I found it interesting that they used Brock Peters as Darth Vader, then replaced him with David Birney when Luke Skywalker removes Vader’s helmet.  The change in vocals signified the change in the man as Anakin Skywalker was finally allowed to gaze upon his son with his own eyes.             The script mostly stuck to the movie with a few lines added in to help describe the action.  I wasn’t too keen on the dungeon scene.  I laughed when Han berated the guards, but his threats thrown at Boba Fett were ineffectual and downright stupid - I’m gonna rip your helmet off with your head inside?  Please!              The sound quality of this recording was just as irritating, if not worse, than that of The Empire Strikes Back Radio Drama.  I kept having to raise the volume just to hear some of the characters say their lines.  It sounded as if they were yards away from their microphones while others sounded like they were yelling in my ear.             That aside, I truly enjoyed this adaptation of Return of the Jedi.  I also enjoyed the extras thrown in on each CD, such as interviews with the cast members, scenes performed with and without Ben Burt’s sound effects and John Williams’ musical score, and promotional material featuring R2-D2 and C-3P0.  I particularly enjoyed the Get Well message sent by the cast to Brian Daley.  The cast mostly remained in character while offering their best wishes towards Daley’s speedy recovery, creating a cheerful and downright funny presentation that would make anyone who was ill forget their troubles for a little while.              It’s unfortunate that Brian Daley passed away shortly after the recording of this radio drama.  It would have been interesting to see what he could have done with the prequels.  As of this moment, there are no further Star Wars radio dramas planned, but perhaps we can persuade George Lucas to give us another radio drama trilogy featuring the prequels in the near future.  One can only hope: May the Force Be With Us!   For feedback, visit our message board or e-mail the author at talonkarrde@g-pop.net.