The Family Guy team is back for a second round of mockery with the first sequel in their hilarious Star Wars parody series: Something, Something, Something Darkside.
First, for the uninitiated: Family Guy is a hugely popular (though sometimes controversial) animated TV show from Fox (screened here on C4), famous for its twisted humour, excessive cutaway gags and incessant pop culture references. One such reference which has been ruthlessly mined throughout the show's run is George Lucas's cultural phenomenon, Star Wars. This reached its height with 2007's ‘Blue Harvest', Family Guy's take on the original Star Wars film. And it was only a matter of time before Star Wars' brilliant sequel, The Empire Strikes Back, was given a Family Guy makeover, and that's what we have here: the verbosely named Something, Something, Something Darkside.
The cast of Family Guy are recast in the appropriate Star Wars roles of course: Chris as Skywalker, Peter as Han Solo, Lois as Leia, Stewie as Vader and Brian as Chewbacca, not to mention The Giant Chicken, perfectly cast as fan favourite Boba Fett.
Needless to say, Something, Something, Something Darkside is weird and wonderful. From Imperial Walkers that wear Crocs and skin knees, to glib Storm Trooper recruitment advertisements (“Join the Empire!”), to Han Solo mooning the crowd as he's frozen in carbonite, Something spoofs the original film in Family Guy's typical low-brow yet wry fashion.
One thing that's obvious from watching the Family Guy retakes on the Star Wars franchise is that these guys definitely grew up loving these films. In fact, the in-jokes are sometimes so close to the reference material that you may find yourself tempted to go back and watch the original again, just to make sure you're getting it.
Needless to say, this means that Something probably comes across as a little impenetrable to the viewer not at least slightly familiar with the Star Wars films (if such a person exists!).In essence, if you like Family Guy or Star Wars, you're bound to love Something, Something, Something Darkside. If not, you may find yourself feeling like you're missing out. And as any hardcore fan will tell you, you are.