10 Best Times Star Wars Appeared In Other TV Shows
Dwight Schrute: top salesman, beet farmer, and Dark Lord of the Sith.
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00:00 So, the Star Wars movies are some of the most influential pieces of cinema in history, with
00:04 George Lucas' iconic galaxy inspiring many a creative to pursue their own filmmaking
00:10 dreams. Therefore, it's no surprise then that Star Wars is probably the most referenced,
00:14 parodied, and ripped off film series ever made, with so many different movies tipping
00:18 their hat in their own unique ways, from recent hits like Free Guy to classics like Indiana
00:23 Jones. But it isn't just the Hollywood stage where you need to find nods to droids, Death
00:28 Stars and Dark Lords of the Sith, because the small screen realm is also packed with
00:32 countless awesome references of its own. And that's what we're here to talk about today.
00:37 As I'm Jules, this is WhatCulture.com, and these are the 10 Best Times Star Wars Appeared
00:41 in Other TV Shows.
00:43 10. How I Met Your Mother
00:46 With lead characters Ted, Marshall, and Barney being huge fans of Star Wars, comedy juggernaut
00:51 How I Met Your Mother contained dozens of references to the iconic sci-fi property throughout
00:55 its nine-season run, from Lando Calrissian being used as Ted's fake name in the season
01:00 1 episode Drumroll, Please! to the life-size clone trooper armor visible in Barney's
01:05 apartment. And one of the funniest Star Wars references in the show occurs in a season
01:09 7 episode, Field Trip, where Barney's girlfriend Nora comments, "I hate the Ewoks. The only
01:14 good thing about Ewoks in that movie? You got to see some of them die." This results
01:18 in Barney creating a slideshow about all of those furry little Endor inhabitants, including
01:22 a graph called the Ewok Line, which theorizes that anyone born before the 25th of May 1973
01:28 - meaning that they'd be at least 10 when Return of the Jedi released in 1983 - will
01:32 have a lower appreciation of the Ewoks than those born after. It is so tinfoil hat crazy
01:38 that it kind of also makes sense.
01:40 9. Rick and Morty
01:43 The zany sci-fi world of Rick and Morty is the perfect setting for some cheeky Star Wars
01:47 references, and over the years creator Dan Harmon has indeed littered the show with more
01:52 than a few nods to the famous galaxy far, far away. There are several awesome call-outs
01:57 in season 3's The Rick, Curie and Morty Date, with Rick using a weapon that resembles a
02:01 double-bladed lightsaber during his battle with the President, and another Rick moment
02:05 where he brokers a ceasefire between Israel and Palestine by taking their leaders to a
02:09 bar which is described as "So Rick took them to a Star Wars cantina where they smoked
02:13 perspective-enhancing alien pheromones through a laser hooker."
02:17 Our favorite nod, though, has to go to a moment in season 3's Morty's Mindblowers, which
02:21 is highly memorable because of how disturbingly hilarious it is. In a reference to Han Solo
02:26 slicing open a Tauntaun in The Empire Strikes Back, this short gag sees Rick and Morty stuck
02:30 on a planet that has a fatally cold temperature at night. To keep them both warm, Rick cuts
02:35 open the belly of their adorable animal friend Bebo, and the two nestle themselves amongst
02:40 its guts. Moments later, Rick realises that he's actually made a mistake, and that he
02:43 and Morty are actually on a different planet, so Bebo's brutal death was completely and
02:48 utterly needless. Poor old Bebo.
02:51 8. 30 Rock
02:53 The Jedi in Star Wars are brave, noble, and wise keepers of the peace, who are respected
02:58 throughout the galaxy, commanding authority wherever they go. On the other hand, the Jedi
03:02 in Tina Fey's whip-smart sitcom 30 Rock run down the street naked, twirling their
03:07 lightsabers - not an innuendo, by the way - and yell at passing cars. Okay, sure, the
03:11 character of Tracey Jordan may not be an actual Jedi, but the show's pilot does feature a
03:15 cutaway gag where he's stripped down to nothing but his underwear and running through
03:18 the middle of the road shouting "I am a Jedi!" at the top of his lungs. It's
03:22 easily one of the most memorable, uproarious Star Wars references in the show, with some
03:26 other good ones including Liz Lemon's rather great Princess Leia cosplay, and Don Geist
03:31 being frozen in a block that bears a strong, intentional resemblance to Han Solo's carbonite
03:36 punishment in the original trilogy.
03:38 7. South Park
03:40 South Park has made a mockery of just about everything in pop culture since it started
03:45 in the late 1990s, so it's really no surprise that Trey Parker and Matt Stone's adult
03:49 animation has taken aim at Star Wars on several occasions. From Randy Marsh's Darth Vader
03:54 scream of "Noooooo!" in season 15's The Last of the Mohicans, to the ridiculous Chewbacca
04:01 defence in season 2's Chef Aid, George Lucas' brainchild has been roasted to Mustafar and
04:06 backed by the potty-mouthed South Park gang. A particularly notable reference occurs in
04:10 the tenth season premiere, The Return of Chef, where Chef falls from a bridge to his apparent
04:14 death. He's then restored in a sequence that's reminiscent of Anakin Skywalker's
04:18 transformation into Darth Vader from Revenge of the Sith. And just in case that reference
04:23 wasn't clear enough, Chef is ultimately stuffed inside a Vader suit, complete with
04:27 that iconic breathing sound. Brilliantly, Darth Chef is even voiced by Peter Serafinowicz,
04:31 who lent his pipes to Darth Maul in The Phantom Menace. Well played, South Park, well played.
04:37 6. The Office
04:40 The American version of The Office rarely relied on pop culture references for a quick
04:44 and easy laugh, but on occasion, Scranton's Finest did indeed mention various movies and
04:49 TV shows in conversation, with Star Wars being one of the properties that was brought up
04:52 the most often. But The Office's funniest Star Wars shout-out has to be in the season
05:02 2 episode "Halloween", where Dwight dresses up like a Sith Lord, complete with a red lightsaber.
05:06 Later, in a conversation where he tries to convince Michael not to fire him, Dwight is
05:10 shot in a side profile that is a clear homage to how Palpatine is often framed in Star Wars.
05:15 An inspired creative decision that makes the scene roughly 66 times funnier.
05:20 5. Doctor Who
05:22 With Doctor Who and Star Wars being two of the biggest sci-fi properties in the universe,
05:26 it would be a genuine shock if they didn't cross paths at some point. But of course they
05:30 have, and in some rather surprising ways as well. From Bosk's outfit in The Empire Strikes
05:35 Back being a recycled Doctor Who prop, to some visible text from one of the alien languages
05:40 which is prolific in the Star Wars world, in the Who episode "Face the Raven", there
05:43 are dozens of connections between the two juggernauts, spanning at least several decades
05:48 of pop culture. There's a particularly cool and easy to miss nod in The Rings of Akhaten,
05:53 an episode featuring the 11th Doctor, who in a bonus scene from the fifth series also
05:57 describes himself as "the little green one" in Star Wars. The space mopeds used by the
06:02 Doctor and Clara in this story were inspired by the speeder bikes used on Endor in Return
06:06 of the Jedi.
06:07 The alien marketplace in this episode also took its cues from Star Wars, with the wide
06:12 variety of creatures mingling together intended to echo the many alien species seen in the
06:16 Mos Eisley Cantina.
06:19 Number 4. The Thick of It
06:21 Speaking of Doctor Who, 12th Doctor star Peter Capaldi is famous for having a remarkable
06:25 swearing ability, which he definitely honed on his comedy series The Thick of It. Running
06:30 for 23 episodes between 2005 and 2012, the show satirized the behind-closed-doors drama
06:35 of the British government. It's not exactly the place where you'd expect to find a Star
06:38 Wars reference, but there are indeed a few, with an absolutely hysterical one residing
06:43 in the second episode of season four. Here, Malcolm Tucker attempts to describe Star Wars,
06:47 which he does in the most profane, bizarre, and hilarious way you could possibly imagine.
06:56 The guy, he's got a tinfoil pal and a pedal bin, definitely stands out as being the line
07:01 of this absolutely mad tirade.
07:03 Number 3. The Simpsons
07:06 With Star Wars and The Simpsons both being part of the Fox family, Matt Groening has
07:10 been free to pull from the Star Wars pond since The Simpsons began in 1989, and in a
07:15 much more direct way than many other shows on this list. From the Imperial March being
07:19 played over a Mr. Burns scene in season six's A Star is Burns, to Santa's little helper
07:23 wearing a Vader mask in season 23's Replaceable You, there are so many great nods that it's
07:28 actually difficult to pick just one. But pick just one, we shall. With season 10's Mayard
07:32 the Mob featuring quite possibly the most famous Star Wars connection in The Simpsons'
07:37 long history.
07:38 In this episode, the titular family visits a convention called Baymon Sci-Fi Con, where
07:43 Mark Hamill, who is actually voiced by the real Mark Hamill, appears as a guest. The
07:47 citizens of Springfield then break out into a riot, decapitating poor old 3PO and terrifying
07:52 Hamill who is quickly saved by an enraged Homer. Hamill later returns in the episode
07:56 instructing Homer to "use the forks" in a fight against a knife-wielding opponent.
08:02 Star Wars puns, you gotta love 'em.
08:04 Number 2. Friends.
08:06 Though it's only brought up once or twice throughout Friends, it's clear that Ross
08:09 Gellar is a massive fan of Star Wars, with his cousin even mentioning that she saw him
08:14 camping in line to see Return of the Jedi. Like a lot of Star Wars fans his age, Ross
08:19 also has a bit of a thing for Princess Leia in her golden bikini, which led to a funny
08:23 Star Wars reference, possibly the best one in the entire show, in a season three opener.
08:27 Now, that iconic costume was famously worn by Leia when she was captured by Jabba the
08:32 Hutt in episode six. In Friends, Ross brings it up when Rachel asks him about his biggest
08:36 sexual fantasy, and at the end of the episode, she puts on the golden garb herself, complete
08:40 with a Leia-style hairdo, while Ross excitedly hums the main Star Wars theme. Unfortunately,
08:45 Chandler had previously told Ross that he sometimes inadvertently pitches his own mother's
08:50 face during sex. Remembering this conversation, Ross' Leia fantasy is ruined when Rachel
08:54 morphs into his mum before his very eyes, which stops the bedroom magic dead in its
08:59 tracks.
09:00 At number one, Family Guy.
09:02 When you think of Star Wars references in pop culture, Family Guy is probably one of
09:06 the very first things that comes to mind. Not only are there countless Star Wars references
09:10 throughout the regular show, but Seth MacFarlane and his team even produced a trio of specials
09:14 parodying the original Star Wars trilogy. Each of these episodes loosely retells the
09:18 story of its respective Star Wars movie, with the Family Guy characters playing various
09:22 Star Wars roles, including Peter Griffin as Han Solo and Stewie as Darth Vader.
09:26 Elsewhere, there are some truly outrageous Star Wars call-outs in normal Family Guy episodes,
09:31 including Peter telling Chris about his great-great-great-great-uncle Jabba the Griffin, which comes with the
09:36 completely unforgettable phrase "Wookiee nipple pinchee", and Darth Vader writing
09:40 parking tickets in a season 5 cutaway gag. Our favourite definitely comes from a cutaway
09:44 gag in the third season, though, where Obi-Wan instructs Luke Skywalker to "use the force"
09:49 while conducting laser eye surgery, only for the young Jedi to send his lightsaber sinking
09:53 into his patient's eye. Yeah, best probably stick to bullseye womp rats in your T-16,
09:58 eh Luke?
09:59 And there we go, my friends, those were the 10 best times Star Wars appeared in other
10:03 TV shows. I hope that you enjoyed that, and please let me know what you thought about
10:06 it down in the comments section below. As always, I've been Jules, you can go follow
10:09 me over on Instagram @retroj but the O is a zero, and it'd be great to see you over
10:14 there. But before I go, I just want to say one thing. Hope you're treating yourself
10:17 well with love and respect, my friend. Hope that you're using that force of positivity
10:22 in order to make your life a healthy and happier one, because at the end of the day, that's
10:26 all I want for you, my friend, alright? I want you to go out there and smash your life
10:29 goals today because you are a massive ledge, and never ever forget that, okay? As always,
10:33 I've been Jules, you have been awesome, and I'll speak to you soon. Bye.
10:37 [BLANK_AUDIO]