Star Wars: Skeleton Crew feels like every '80s trope put into a blender
Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, the latest Disney+ series set in a galaxy far far away, is very clearly made for younger audiences.
Its main characters are all children and the adult players in the story are broadly drawn caricatures: a dashing pirate, a funny robot, stern but supportive parents.
The plot's outline is also classic children's entertainment stuff. A group of neighbourhood kids discover a spaceship on their very pleasant New Republic home planet and, over the first two episodes, we watch them get whisked away via autopilot to a space-port where the adventure of a lifetime begins.
On paper, it's a totally passable instalment in the Star Wars franchise for young fans – and might even be a nice entry point for those who don't know the ins and outs of the Skywalker Saga.
But even that tepid endorsement comes with a major caveat – namely, everything you see in Skeleton Crew has been done a thousand times before.
In fact, the tropes deployed here are some of the most overdone narrative beats of recent pop-culture history. We've lived through more than a decade of 1980s pastiche, where every Gen X director has taken their turn at recreating the films and shows of their childhood, and in the 13 years since JJ Abrams made Super 8, we're left wondering, 'Aren't we done yet?'
It's actually kind of extraordinary just how familiar Skeleton Crew feels – there's so much more 1980s family movie DNA in the show than even the most cynical viewer might expect.
It's got the suburban, middle-school hijinks of films like ET and The Goonies, and desperately wants to capture the magic of something like Neverending Story all while cashing in on the visual language of Star Wars itself.
The problem is that these influences have already permeated so much of modern pop culture that it feels flat; we're basically immune to this particular strain of nostalgia now.
That's compounded by the fact that the show's main influence seems to be the ultimate '80s remix machine, Stranger Things. There's nothing novel about watching these kids ride around on bikes, find a mystery in the woods and cause trouble at school, all while getting either ignored or coddled by their parents.
And it all adds up to a peculiar feeling that you’re watching a photocopy of a photocopy.
To cut Skeleton Crew some slack, we've certainly never seen Star Wars paint with this particular palette before. There's a novelty in seeing suburban Star Wars, and getting a glimpse of what life might look like in different corners of the galaxy. If you've ever wondered how public transport in this universe works, or what the state of home robotics might be, the show's got you covered.
There are other elements that work too. In the show's second episode, we get introduced to a mysterious Jude Law, playing a loveable rogue with just as much charm as you’d expect.
The show's production design is also pretty cool, and there's a ton of practical costumes and strange-looking aliens packed into the background of every scene.
The most dedicated Star Wars fans might also find some interesting tidbits in the show's margins. The core group of children hail from a planet called Atatan, which appears to be isolated from the events of the original Star Wars trilogy.
The idea that a planet could be so off-grid as to be living in the past is certainly exciting, and may yet unfold in some unexpected ways.
The show also joins The Mandalorian, Ahsoka and the events of the sequel trilogy in teasing us with sparse details of the New Republic. Whether the show can do anything with these ideas is another question.
Aside from the sensation that you’ve definitely seen it all before, the show's other big flaw is its pacing. The varied episode length results in some scenes feeling far too long and overstuffed, which is especially noticeable in episode two, basically one, long set-piece. It’s a criticism that gets leveled at lots of streaming-era shows and seems especially prevalent on Disney+.
The rigidity of broadcast schedules might have helped bring some structure to the show, but honestly by the time the credits on the third episode roll it really felt like a story that would have been better as a movie.
Skeleton Crew doesn’t quite have the magic or the moments of wonder that make the stories it's pulling from persist in the zeitgeist – the extent to which that'll hinder your journey depends on just how much nostalgia you can handle.
Skeleton Crew is available to stream now on Disney+
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