Libre: ‘Star Wars’ reboot

IN 1977, I was bitten by the radio bug and it got me disc jockeying in commercial radio stations. I took the name “Free Mel” to sound as American as my idols whom I had come to work with like Ralph Dooley (Ralph Ding), Ned Nelson (Emmanuel Bayot Jr), Cousin Steve (Steve Alfafara), Sunshine Susie (Sandy Javelosa) and the only exception, Mario Lopez.

During that year two movies made an impact in pop culture. On May 25, 1977, George Lucas made “Star Wars,” which told of a tale from a “long time ago in a galaxy far, far away." In December that same year, “Saturday Night Fever” brought disco to the stratosphere.

I’d like to touch on “Star Wars,” as “Episode VII: The Force Awakens” has reset gross receipt records since its release on Dec. 18, 2015. When the original film, “Star Wars: A New Hope” came out, there was no escaping from the cultural upheaval it sparked, though I had always thought the TV series, “Star Trek,” was more stylish, realistic and socially-relevant.

Though I was handling a regular slot on dyLV (at the Lion’s Club House near Fuente Osmeña), I took weekend gigs in two other pop stations where I had to use a name other than “Free Mel.” On dyUL located in Osvel Building along Osmeña Blvd, I took the name “Bambam Star Eyes.” On dyRE in Cabangcalan, Mandaue City, I was known as “Flash Star Child.” In both instances, the “Star” part was influenced by Star Wars.

While “Buck Rogers” and “Flash Gordon” combined science fiction and swashbuckling adventure, “Star Wars” introduced a more complex plot. It had Jedi knights with light sabers, mind-blowing space dogfights, and out-of-this-world beings.

There were Darth Vader, Yoda and R2-D2. Many fell in love with Princess Leia, but it was Paul Simon (of the band Simon & Garfunkel) who married the actress who starred as Leia, Carrie Fisher. Harrison Ford established himself as an action star through the character Han Solo. George Lucas became the Cecil de Mille of space adventure and there was no stopping him from conquering the world. Then the trilogy ended in 1983 with “Return of the Jedi.”

While nobody was looking, George Lucas had another card up his sleeve, something unheard of – a prequel and three episodes (from 1999 – 2005) at that. And we were back again on a roller coaster ride for the back story of Darth Vader. By then, the “Star Wars” films had earned more than US $4 billion. Then Lucas did the unthinkable – he sold “Star Wars” for $4.06 billion to The Walt Disney Company.

So here we are in 2015, with a re-ignition of “Star Wars” for three more episodes that should take us until 2019. Director JJ Abrams (who did the TV series, “Alias” and “Lost” and rebooted ‘Star Trek’) while adopting elements of the original films has introduced new characters and a number of gaps enough to keep us interested for the next four years.

“Star Wars” has mesmerized us for nearly 40 years and the only other franchise that could follow its steps is my personal favorite, James Cameron’s “Avatar.”

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