1985 9:00 on ABC: EWOKS (AKA "STAR WARS: EWOKS", AKA "THE ALL-NEW EWOKS ADVENTURES")

[captain-slinky.livejournal.com]

At 9:00 on Saturday morning in 1985 was a cartoon that lasted only 2 seasons but went by up to 4 different names and had no less than 2 different theme songs, "Ewoks" (which also aired as "Star Wars: Ewoks), "The All-New Ewoks Adventures" and "The Ewoks & Droids Adventure Hour"). Depending on your geographic location, you may have seen an opening for the show that looked more like this:

(This is the one I always saw, and I think it has something to do with having watched on a Canadian TV station).

Produced by Canadian animation studio Nelvana, there were 35 different half-hour episodes produced that were meant as a continuation/sequel to the wildly popular made-for-TV live-action movies "Caravan Of Courage" and "Battle For Endor". The first season seems to have been written for actual Star Wars fans with intricate relationships, cross-over storylines and recurring characters that actually added to the mythology and history of the Ewoks and their little moon of Endor. The second season, supposedly at the request of the network and against the wishes of Lucasfilm, was aimed more at younger kids.

Ewoks had three things going for it that really elevated it from the gutters of having been the "Jar Jar" of the pre-prequels Star Wars universe* - it had continuity, it had no laugh-track, and it had an actual Series Finale.

The final episode, "Battle For The Sun Star", was actually aired out-of-order on Saturday mornings and was then later re-aired as a stand-alone special that officially marked the end of the series. The plot, which depicts the Empire discovering the moon of Endor and deciding to build the new Death Star in the same orbit around Endor, firmly places the Ewoks cartoon in official Star Wars cannon right between Empire Strikes Back and Return Of The Jedi (which is pretty darned cool if you ask me).

So what do you think? Any memories regarding the Ewoks? Leave 'em in the comments below :)

*(I had always wondered if Jar-Jar Binks could have somehow been redeemed with a single season of a "The Gungans" cartoon series...)

Comments

[volare.livejournal.com]

Good to have you back!

Ewoks and Droids is the only one I have any lasting memory of. (And no to Jar Jar!)

[captain-slinky.livejournal.com]

But don't you rememberhow HATE the Ewoks were back then? Just as much as Jar Jar is hated in the modern age. Now if they had done a cartoon series all about the Gungans, with Jar-Jar specifically being the comic relief and the rest of Gungan culture being showcased? I think it could have worked...

[volare.livejournal.com]

Oh I remember, very much so. I think the thing of it is that memory is precisely WHY a Gungan cartoon would have tanked, though I'm speaking from my own recoil factor here; you could well be right in that it would have had the same trickle-down effect for younger fans, but it wouldn't have helped us old farts who saw the first three in the theaters ... the same clash happening all over again of the younger fanbase versus the grownups?

[captain-slinky.livejournal.com]

I see your point... all I remember back in the day was that I loved Star Wars, HATED Ewoks, would only watch when there was nothing else on, and then it... they... they grew on me. Suddenly I was seeking out the very few Ewoks figures I had seen discounted for so long (never did see any of the Ewoks Animated figures come through my local toy shop) to create my own adventures using a Winnie The Pooh Weeble-Wobble Tree House Playset. Whe ROTJ finally came out on VHS I was able to see those Ewok scenes again with new understanding and appreciation... the Ewoks were redeemed! I haven't watched any of the Clone Wars cartoons, so I'm not sure if they redeemed the Gungans in a similar way (I assume that they didn't).

[rustlingragazza.livejournal.com]

You might want to look for an awesome 10 DVD collection on Myspleen, the closest thing we can get to the original.

And hell yes to your comment about the first season - incredible story arcs, ideas, a lot of loose ends that the second season mended in a blunt, annoying way. :(

[captain-slinky.livejournal.com]

Wait minute - MYSPLEEN IS BACK IN ACTION?!?!?! This changes *EVERYTHING*!!!