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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00:00So, the Star Wars movies are some of the most influential pieces of cinema in history, with
00:05George Lucas' iconic galaxy inspiring many a creative to pursue their own filmmaking
00:10dreams.
00:11Therefore, it's no surprise then that Star Wars is probably the most referenced, parodied
00:15and ripped-off film series ever made, with so many different movies tipping their hat
00:19in their own unique ways, from recent hits like Free Guy to classics like Indiana Jones.
00:24But it isn't just the Hollywood stage where you need to find nods to droids, Death Stars
00:29and Dark Lords of the Sith, because the small-screen realm is also packed with countless awesome
00:34references of its own, and that's what we're here to talk about today.
00:37As I'm Jules, this is WhatCulture.com, and these are the 10 Best Times Star Wars Appeared
00:41in Other TV Shows.
00:4310.
00:44How I Met Your Mother
00:46With lead characters Ted, Marshall and Barney being huge fans of Star Wars, comedy juggernaut
00:51How I Met Your Mother contained dozens of references to the iconic sci-fi property throughout
00:56its nine-season run, from Lando Calrissian being used as Ted's fake name in the season
01:001 episode Drumroll, Please! to the life-size clone trooper armor visible in Barney's
01:05apartment.
01:06And one of the funniest Star Wars references in the show occurs in a season 7 episode,
01:10Field Trip, where Barney's girlfriend Nora comments,
01:12I hate the Ewoks.
01:14The only good thing about Ewoks in that movie, you got to see some of them die.
01:18This results in Barney creating a slideshow about all of those furry little Endor inhabitants,
01:22a graph called the Ewok Line, which theorizes that anyone born before the 25th of May 1973,
01:28meaning that they'd be at least 10 when Return of the Jedi released in 1983, will
01:32have a lower appreciation of the Ewoks than those born after.
01:36It is so tinfoil hat crazy that it kind of also makes sense.
01:409.
01:41Rick and Morty
01:42The zany sci-fi world of Rick and Morty is the perfect setting for some cheeky Star Wars
01:48references, and over the years creator Dan Harmon has indeed littered the show with more
01:53than a few nods to the famous galaxy far, far away.
01:55There are several awesome call-outs in season 3's The Rick, Curie and Morty Date, with
01:59Rick using a weapon that resembles a double-bladed lightsaber during his battle with the President,
02:04and another Rick moment where he brokers a ceasefire between Israel and Palestine by
02:08taking their leaders to a bar, which is described as,
02:11Sir Rick took them to a Star Wars cantina where they smoked perspective-enhancing alien
02:15pheromones through a laser hooker.
02:17Our favorite nod, though, has to go to a moment in season 3's Morty's Mindblowers, which
02:21is highly memorable because of how disturbingly hilarious it is.
02:25In a reference to Han Solo slicing open a Tauntaun in The Empire Strikes Back, this
02:29short gag sees Rick and Morty stuck on a planet that has a fatally cold temperature at night.
02:34To keep them both warm, Rick cuts open the belly of their adorable animal friend Bebo,
02:38and the two nestle themselves amongst its guts.
02:41Moments later, Rick realises that he's actually made a mistake, and that he and Morty are
02:44actually on a different planet, so Bebo's brutal death was completely and utterly needless.
02:49Poor old Bebo.
02:518. 30 Rock
02:53The Jedi in Star Wars are brave, noble, and wise keepers of the peace, who are respected
02:58throughout the galaxy, commanding authority wherever they go.
03:02On the other hand, the Jedi in Tina Fey's whip-smart sitcom 30 Rock run down the street
03:06naked, twirling their lightsabers, not an innuendo by the way, and yell at passing cars.
03:10Okay, sure, the character of Tracy Jordan may not be an actual Jedi, but the show's
03:14pilot does feature a cutaway gag where he's stripped down to nothing but his underwear,
03:18and running through the middle of the road shouting,
03:19I AM A JEDI!
03:21at the top of his lungs.
03:22It's easily one of the most memorable, uproarious Star Wars references in the show, with some
03:27other good ones including Liz Lemon's rather great Princess Leia cosplay, and Don Geist
03:31being frozen in a block that bears a strong, intentional resemblance to Han Solo's carbonite
03:36punishment in the original trilogy.
03:387. South Park
03:41South Park has made a mockery of just about everything in pop culture since it started
03:45in the late 1990s, so it's really no surprise that Trey Parker and Matt Stone's adult
03:50animation has taken aim at Star Wars on several occasions.
03:53From Randy Marsh's Darth Vader scream of NOOOOO in season 15's The Last of the Mohicans,
03:59to the ridiculous Chewbacca defense in season 2's Chef Aid, George Lucas' brainchild
04:04has been roasted to Mustafar and backed by the potty-mouthed South Park gang.
04:08A particularly notable reference occurs in the 10th season premiere, The Return of Chef,
04:13where Chef falls from a bridge to his apparent death, he's then restored in a sequence
04:17that's reminiscent of Anakin Skywalker's transformation into Darth Vader from Revenge
04:21of the Sith.
04:22And just in case that reference wasn't clear enough, Chef is ultimately stuffed inside
04:26a Vader suit, complete with that iconic breathing sound.
04:29Brilliantly Darth Chef is even voiced by Peter Serafinowicz, who lent his pipes to Darth Maul
04:34in The Phantom Menace.
04:35Well played South Park, well played.
04:386. The Office
04:40The American version of The Office rarely relied on pop-culture references for a quick
04:44and easy laugh, but on occasion, Scranton's Finest did indeed mention various movies and
04:49TV shows in conversation, with Star Wars being one of the properties that was brought up
04:53the most often.
04:54Pass curvy metal piece, you will.
04:59But The Office's funniest Star Wars shout-out has to be in the season 2 episode Halloween,
05:03where Dwight dresses up like a Sith Lord, complete with a red lightsaber.
05:07Later, in a conversation where he tries to convince Michael not to fire him, Dwight is
05:10shot in a side profile that is a clear homage to how Palpatine is often framed in Star Wars,
05:15an inspired creative decision that makes the scene roughly 66 times funnier.
05:205. Doctor Who
05:23With Doctor Who and Star Wars being two of the biggest sci-fi properties in the universe,
05:26it would be a genuine shock if they didn't cross paths at some point.
05:30But of course they have, and in some rather surprising ways as well.
05:33From Bosk's outfit in The Empire Strikes Back being a recycled Doctor Who prop, to
05:38some visible text from one of the alien languages which is prolific in the Star Wars world,
05:42in the Who episode Face the Raven, there are dozens of connections between the two juggernauts,
05:46spanning at least several decades of pop culture.
05:49There's a particularly cool and easy to miss nod in The Rings of Akhaten, an episode featuring
05:54the 11th Doctor, who in a bonus scene from the fifth series also describes himself as
05:59the little green one in Star Wars.
06:01The space mopeds used by the Doctor and Clara in this story were inspired by the speeder
06:05bikes used on Endor in Return of the Jedi.
06:08The alien marketplace in this episode also took its cues from Star Wars, with the wide
06:12variety of creatures mingling together intended to echo the many alien species seen in the
06:17Mos Eisley Cantina.
06:194. The Thick of It
06:21Speaking of Doctor Who, 12th Doctor star Peter Capaldi is famous for having a remarkable swearing
06:26ability, which he definitely honed on his comedy series The Thick of It.
06:30Running for 23 episodes between 2005 and 2012, the show satirised the behind-closed-doors
06:35drama of the British government.
06:36It's not exactly the place where you'd expect to find a Star Wars reference, but
06:40there are indeed a few, with an absolutely hysterical one residing in the second episode
06:44of season four.
06:45Here Malcolm Tucker attempts to describe Star Wars, which he does in the most profane, bizarre,
06:50and hilarious way you could possibly imagine.
06:52His father's a robot and he's f***ing f***ed his sister.
06:56The guy, he's got a tinfoil pal and a pedal bin, definitely stands out as being the line
07:01of this absolutely mad tirade.
07:033. The Simpsons
07:06With Star Wars and The Simpsons both being part of the Fox family, Matt Groening has
07:10been free to pull from the Star Wars pond since The Simpsons began in 1989, and in a
07:15much more direct way than many other shows on this list.
07:18From the Imperial March being played over a Mr. Burns scene in season six as a star
07:22is Burns, to Santa's little helper wearing a Vader mask in season 23's Replaceable
07:26You, there are so many great nods that it's actually difficult to pick just one.
07:30But pick just one, we shall, with season 10's Maed to the Mob featuring quite possibly the
07:34most famous Star Wars connection in The Simpsons' long history.
07:38In this episode, the titular family visits a convention called Bymon Sci-Fi Con, where
07:43Mark Hamill, who is actually voiced by the real Mark Hamill, appears as a guest.
07:47The citizens of Springfield then break out into a riot, decapitating poor old 3PO and
07:51terrifying Hamill, who is quickly saved by an enraged Homer.
07:55Hamill later returns in the episode, instructing Homer to use the forks in a fight against
08:00a knife-wielding opponent.
08:02Star Wars puns, you gotta love them.
08:042.
08:05Friends
08:06Though it's only brought up once or twice throughout Friends, it's clear that Ross
08:10Geller is a massive fan of Star Wars, with his cousin even mentioning that she saw him
08:14camping in line to see Return of the Jedi.
08:17Like a lot of Star Wars fans his age, Ross also has a bit of a thing for Princess Leia
08:21in her golden bikini, which led to a funny Star Wars reference, possibly the best one
08:25in the entire show, in a season 3 opener.
08:28Now, that iconic costume was famously worn by Leia when she was captured by Jabba the
08:32Hutt in episode 6.
08:33In Friends, Ross brings it up when Rachel asks him about his biggest sexual fantasy,
08:37and at the end of the episode, she puts on the golden garb herself, complete with a Leia-style
08:41hairdo while Ross excitedly hums the main Star Wars theme.
08:45Unfortunately, Chandler had previously told Ross that he sometimes inadvertently pictures
08:49his own mother's face during sex.
08:51Remembering this conversation, Ross' Leia fantasy is ruined when Rachel morphs into
08:55his mum before his very eyes, which stops the bedroom magic dead in its tracks.
09:001.
09:01Family Guy
09:02When you think of Star Wars references in pop culture, Family Guy is probably one of
09:06the very first things that comes to mind.
09:08Not only are there countless Star Wars references throughout the regular show, but Seth MacFarlane
09:12and his team even produced a trio of specials parodying the original Star Wars trilogy.
09:17Each of these episodes loosely retells the story of its respective Star Wars movie, with
09:21the Family Guy characters playing various Star Wars roles, including Peter Griffin as
09:24Han Solo and Stewie as Darth Vader.
09:27Elsewhere, there are some truly outrageous Star Wars call-outs in normal Family Guy episodes,
09:32including Peter telling Chris about his great-great-great-great-uncle Jabba the Griffin, which comes with the
09:36completely unforgettable phrase, Wookie Nipple Pinchy, and Darth Vader writing parking tickets
09:41in a Season 5 cutaway gag.
09:43Our favourite definitely comes from a cutaway gag in the third season, though, where Obi-Wan
09:47instructs Luke Skywalker to use the Force while conducting laser eye surgery, only for
09:52the young Jedi to send his lightsaber sinking into his patient's eye.
09:55Yeah, best probably stick to bullseye womp rats in your T-16, eh, Luke?
10:00And there we go, my friends.
10:01Those were the 10 best times Star Wars appeared in other TV shows.
10:04I hope that you enjoyed that, and please let me know what you thought about it down in
10:07the comments section below.
10:08As always, I've been Jules, you can go follow me over on Instagram at RetroJ, but the O
10:12is a zero, and it'd be great to see you over there.
10:15But before I go, I just want to say one thing.
10:17Hope you're treating yourself well with love and respect, my friend.
10:20Hope that you're using that force of positivity in order to make your life a healthy and happier
10:25one, because at the end of the day, that's all I want for you, my friend, alright?
10:27I want you to go out there and smash your life goals today, because you are a massive
10:31ledge, and never ever forget that, okay?
10:33As always, I've been Jules, you have been awesome, and I'll speak to you soon.
10:37Bye.