The Star Wars Holiday Special

Star WarsHeavily promoted and given a prime-time slot on a Friday night in a world starved for more Star Wars, The Star Wars Holiday Special unfolds on CBS, enveloping millions of viewers in the slowly-dawning horror that the promise of a new adventure for Luke, Han and friends has lured them into watching a third-rate variety show, albeit one in which the character of Boba Fett makes his first appearance. George Lucas disowns the Holiday Special almost immediately, and it is never allowed to be repeated again. Read more Hear about it on the Sci-Fi 5 podcast

Star Wars: Clone Wars: Chapter 1

Clone WarsBridging the gap between Star Wars Episode II and Episode III, Cartoon Network premieres the first three-minute mini-episode of The Clone Wars, with character design and direction by animator Genndy Tartakovsky. Executed in a cel-animation style (rather than the full CGI of the later Clone Wars series), the shorts chronicle the battles between the Republic Clone Army and the Jedi vs. the Droid forces of the Separatists. Read more

Star Wars: Clone Wars: Chapter 10

Clone WarsBridging the gap between Star Wars Episode II and Episode III, Cartoon Network premieres the tenth mini-episode of Genndy Tartakovsky’s The Clone Wars animated shorts. This concludes the 2003 run of The Clone Wars; the series resumes in spring 2004. Read more

Star Wars: Clone Wars: Chapter 20

Clone WarsBridging the gap between Star Wars Episode II and Episode III, Cartoon Network premieres the 20th mini-episode of Genndy Tartakovsky’s The Clone Wars animated shorts. The Clone Wars shorts return – in a slightly less short format – in the spring of 2005, running up to the theatrical release of Episode III; on DVD, this is also the end of Volume One. This installment marks the first appearance of General Grievous. Read more Hear about it on the Sci-Fi 5 podcast