History Radio / StarWarsRadioDramas

* TortureIsIneffective: In the ''Star Wars'' play we actually shown the torture scene left out of the 1977 film. Vader uses drugs and the Force to torture Leia, first trying to make her think he's on her side and that her adoptive father Bail Organa knows this and wants her to cooperate, then just inflicting pain in hopes of wringing the information from her. He nearly kills her but she doesn't crack.

** ''Return of the Jedi'' included Luke constructing his new lightsaber. Being that it was performed after the then-current EU got into full swing, we also got a CallForward to ''Literature/TheThrawnTrilogy'' in the form of a conversation between C-3PO and an undercover Mara Jade.

* GuileHero: In the movie, Luke winds up buying [=R2D2=] when the R5 unit he bought first immediately burns out. In this radio play, R2 ''sabotages'' the R5 unit to improve his own chances of being bought and thus having a shot to find Ben Kenobi. It ends up rubbing off on C-3PO, too, who gets more "flexible" in the last scenes on Tatooine during ''Star Wars'' by disguising himself and R2 [[NobodyHereButUsStatues as merchandise on a used droid lot]] and getting a brief respite from the stormtroopers by posing as canvassers for a fictitious repair service that Luke runs.

** In ''Return of the Jedi'' [=C3PO=] narrates Leia releasing Han from the carbonite, and many characters narrate the Rancor fight.

* NoodleIncident: Towards the end of ''Star Wars'' both Luke and Leia lean on Han pretty hard to help with the Rebel attack on the Death Star. Han finally snaps, saying "''LOOK, I '''PUT IN''' MY TIME!''", then, much more quietly, he says "Long ago." Nothing more of his backstory is ever explained. (This was obviously decades before the RetCon that was ''Film/{{Solo}}'', but it may be a MythologyGag to Brian Daley's ''Literature/TheHanSoloAdventures'' series.)

Creator/MarkHamill reprised his role of Luke Skywalker for both ''Star Wars'' and ''The Empire Strikes Back'', before being recast by Joshua Fardon for ''Return of the Jedi'' after the 13-year delay. Creator/AnthonyDaniels voiced C-3PO in all three dramas. Creator/BillyDeeWilliams played Lando in ''The Empire Strikes Back'' but was replaced by Arye Gross in ''Return of the Jedi''. All of the other roles were recast, with Perry King playing Han Solo, Ann Sachs as Leia, and Creator/BrockPeters (Admiral Cartwright in the ''Franchise/StarTrek'' films) as Darth Vader. Some of the more well-known actors in the production include Creator/EdAsner (Jabba the Hutt), Creator/JohnLithgow (Yoda), [[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons Yeardley Smith]] as a robot in Jabba's palace, Creator/AdamArkin as Fixer (one of Luke's acquaintances on Tatooine, not included in the films), and David Alan Grier as a supporting player.

* ColdBloodedTorture[=/=]MindProbe: The original ''Star Wars'' merely hints at Leia being tortured, with a shot of Vader entering her cell along with a scary-looking probe. In the radio drama, Vader injects her with a drug to make her more suggestible. When she resists the suggestion that Vader is a member of the Rebel Alliance who needs the stolen plans, Vader then uses the suggestibility to torture her by making her believe she's in agonizing pain. While she does succumb to this illusion, she still refuses to give up the information, and Vader finally has to put an end to it before he jeopardizes the life of a valuable prisoner.

All three series were adapted for radio by Creator/BrianDaley. The [[DevelopmentHell thirteen-year delay]] between ''The Empire Strikes Back'' and ''Return of the Jedi'' almost led to AuthorExistenceFailure--Daley died of cancer hours after the wrap party for ''Return of the Jedi'' in 1996.

** With the release of ''Film/RogueOne'', the entirety of Episode 2 and about half of Episode 3 of the ''New Hope'' series are no longer canon compliant.

** The ''Star Wars'' play had the first in-story appearance (he was first mentioned in the {{novelization}} of Episode IV but did not appear) of Bail Organa, who would later appear in the prequel trilogy as the Republic senator from Alderaan. Although there is a bit of ContinuitySnarl as he is named "Prestor" instead of "Bail". A later EU novel, ''The Paradise Snare'', reconciled this by just calling him "Bail Prestor Organa".

* AdaptationExpansion: The plays are all quite a bit longer than the source movies--the ''Star Wars'' play is nearly six hours long. Consequently, they include several scenes that were either cut from the films or entirely new. The additional material provides most of the tropes listed on this page.

--> '''Bail Organa:''' But this is unthinkable!
--> '''Tion:''' It's ''progress''.

* GuileHero: In the movie, Luke winds up buying [=R2D2=] when the R5 unit he bought first immediately burns out. In this radio play, R2 ''sabotages'' the R5 unit to improve his own chances of being bought and thus having a shot to find Ben Kenobi.

** We are given a detailed description of the Empire's merciless crush of the Ralltir uprising, with random killings of civilians and concentration camps to hold real and alleged rebels. Lord Tion in particular is a 100% bastard with no redeeming traits who even has the nerve to [[ReminiscingAboutYourVictims boast about how skillfully the Imperials managed to torch alive a group of unarmed rebel leaders who thought they were going to negotiate a ceasefire]] in front of Bail Organa and his daughter Leia, known for their pacifistic views.

* ActionPrologue: ''The Empire Strikes Back'' opens with a Rebel supply convoy being ambushed and destroyed by the Empire.

Creator/MarkHamill reprised his role of Luke Skywalker for both ''Star Wars'' and ''The Empire Strikes Back'', before being recast by Joshua Fardon for ''Return of the Jedi'' after the 13-year delay. Creator/AnthonyDaniels voiced C-3PO in all three dramas. Creator/BillyDeeWilliams played Lando in ''The Empire Strikes Back'' but was replaced by Arye Gross in ''Return of the Jedi''. All of the other roles were recast, with Perry King playing Han Solo, Ann Sachs as Leia, and Brock Peters (Admiral Cartwright in the ''Franchise/StarTrek'' films) as Darth Vader. Some of the more well-known actors in the production include Creator/EdAsner (Jabba the Hutt), Creator/JohnLithgow (Yoda), [[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons Yeardley Smith]] as a robot in Jabba's palace, Creator/AdamArkin as Fixer (one of Luke's acquaintances on Tatooine, not included in the films), and David Alan Grier as a supporting player.

** ''The Empire Strikes Back'' showed the Battle of Derra IV, which was alluded to in several later EU materials including the first four books of the ''ComicBook/XWingSeries''. We also got a conversation between Han and Luke after he got the storm shelter put up in the Hoth wastes.

* GuileHero: In the movie, Luke winds up buying R2D2 when the R5 unit he bought first immediately burns out. In this radio play, R2 ''sabotages'' the R5 unit to improve his own chances of being bought and thus having a shot to find Ben Kenobi.

** Both Vader and Tarkin express pity over the deaths of the four TIE-Fighter pilots who were sacrificed in the fake attempt to stop the ''Millennium Falcon'' crew escaping.

** Both Vader and Tarkin express pity over the deaths of the four TIE-Fighter pilots who were sacrificed in the fake attempt to stop the ''Millennium Falcon'' crew escaping. Not that it fooled anybody.

** Both Vader and Tarkin express pity over the deaths of the four TIE-Fighter pilots who were sacrificed in order to let the ''Millennium Falcon'' crew believe they actually escaped whereas in fact they were allowed to.

** With the release of Film/RogueOne, the entirety of Episode 2 and about half of Episode 3 of the ''New Hope'' series are no longer canon compliant.

** With the release of [[Film/StarWarsRogueOne]], pretty much everything involving Leia prior to the point in time when the original film began is no longer canon compliant.