It's a Trap!

Rating: ***1/2

I suppose it was inevitable, even the writers of Family Guy’s latest Star Wars parody seemed poised to agree. The Griffins are watching TV when the power goes out, to which Stewie immediately observes, “We’re doing Jedi, aren’t we?” Yes Stewie, yes you are. And despite the protests of the show’s staff, by this point the Family Guy renditions of the original Star Wars trilogy are more than a get rich quick gimmick by the good sports at Fox. Having said that though, one detects a hint of exhaustion. One Star Wars spoof let’s you get most of the funnier jokes out of your system, a second let’s you think about what you might have missed, but a third…

Well, to start of with, It’s a Trap is still pretty darn funny. Fans of Family Guy’s mix of pop culture cut away gags and no they didn’t just say or do that moments will be well rewarded. Written by Cherry Chevapravatdumrong and David A. Goodman, the episode gets a lot done. It stuffs in a lot of cameos from other Seth McFarlane shows like American Dad and The Cleveland Show, a lot of jokes at the Ewoks’ expense and a lot of roasts at the expense of Seth Green. Overall, it’s a solid effort with plenty of laughs, though a few of those jokes couldn’t have been more obvious. (Meg as the Sarlacc? A little on the nose, guys.)

So what works? First of all, the writers’ room clearly knows the material and, despite jokes to the contrary, are still passionate about it. This has to be the only time in history (aside from the three Robot Chicken Star Wars’ specials too, of course) where repeated, obsessive, detail-oriented viewing of George Lucas’ space saga has paid off. Aside from being an enthusiastic spoof, It’s A Trap is also a pain-staking homage to Return of the Jedi, at least artistically, and certain scenes seem practically rotoscoped from the original film. Family Guy is not typically cited for the skill of its animators, but for this they deserve kudos.

As for the gags, the Family Guy crew get things fairly spot on. Recasting the Rancor as Rush Limbaugh was an uproarious bit, especially considering that Rush himself cameos. The Chips Ahoy bit is also fun gag, but for pure pointless hilarity there’s an elongated sequence of the characters nodding to each other before the fight on Jabba’s Sail Barge. For innuendo laughs, it’s got to be the commercial for Han Solo’s staffing service called, not-so-appropriately, “Hanjobs.org,” but fortunately for fans that not the most risqué that the episode gets. (Hint: What did happen to those Imperial prisoners on Endor?)

On the downside, there was almost an over reliance on cameos. Conway Twitty appears in another cutaway, and I’ve got believe even his estate is getting sick of those royalties by now. I also felt that there was maybe a bit too many characters from the “McFarlane-verse” Casting American Dad’s talking fish Klaus as Admiral Akbar was great, but an appearance by Dad’s Roger the Alien as Moff Jerjerrod and The Cleveland Show’s Rolo as Nien Nunb was a little much. And sorry fans, but it’s my sad duty to report that despite Ernie the Giant Chicken’s reappearance as Boba Fett, there is no Giant Chicken Fight. I think we’re all feeling a little cheated there.

Still, I applaud the Family Guy cast and crew for their accomplishment with these Star Wars parodies. It’s kind of sad that it’s over, but I can’t help but think that having The Cleveland Show do parodies of the prequel trilogy is a better idea than the writers might think. As for It’s A Trap, it’s an improvement over the Empire spoof Something, Something, Something, Dark Side, with tighter gags and more energy, but it still can’t top the freshness and excitement of the original Blue Harvest. Regardless, this is a must have for Family Guy fans.