# From the Robot Chicken guys: Star Wars: Detours **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 25, 2012, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-the-robot-chicken-guys-star-wars-detours/632602 "2012-08-25T13:58:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2012, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-the-robot-chicken-guys-star-wars-detours/632602/1 "2012-08-25T13:58:01Z")
An officially sanctioned Star Wars parody by the guys form Robot Chicken. When I saw them at New York Comic Con a couple of years ago they hinted they were working on this and now it looks like it is coming soon. What isn’t clear to me is if it’s a series, a movie or a direct to dvd thing. Lucas is going to every single character in this thing into a toy. Trailer [here](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yRNXFhboBI&feature=player_embedded). ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2012, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-the-robot-chicken-guys-star-wars-detours/632602/2 "2012-08-25T14:49:59Z")
I really don’t like that expression about \ “raped my childhood,” but in this case I think I’m going to make an exception. As a single-shot parody it’s cute. As a series…yeah, no. I’ll pass. I’ll be off in the corner watching Episodes 4-6… Did Lucas learn _nothing_ from the Star Wars Christmas Special? (I apologize if this is threadshitting…since \*\*Quimby \*\*didn’t offer an opinion one way or another I’m assuming it’s okay to say I think this thing is a train wreck.) ---
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2012, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-the-robot-chicken-guys-star-wars-detours/632602/3 "2012-08-25T14:55:26Z")
Strange. I thought I recognized Palpy’s voice as the same from Robot Chicken, but this… well, God help me, I’m agreeing with a YouTube commenter: It’s like Robot Chicken without the funny. I’m really surprised to hear that they’re involved. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2012, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-the-robot-chicken-guys-star-wars-detours/632602/4 "2012-08-25T15:21:17Z")
All opinions are welcome. 🙂 For myself, I am really not sure what to think. My first impression is George okayed this just so he can resell new versions of all the same characters. I am guessing it won’t have as much bite as the Robot Chicken parodies but it could be decent. For what it’s worth, the Youtube video doesn’t make it clear (I don’t think) but it is by the same guys as Robot Chicken (Seth Green and Matt something or other). ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2012, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-the-robot-chicken-guys-star-wars-detours/632602/5 "2012-08-25T15:25:16Z")
[Senreich](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1803552/). ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2012, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-the-robot-chicken-guys-star-wars-detours/632602/6 "2012-08-25T15:27:48Z")
> [@LawMonkey](#): > > Strange. I thought I recognized Palpy’s voice as the same from Robot Chicken, but this… well, God help me, I’m agreeing with a YouTube commenter: It’s like Robot Chicken without the funny. I’m really surprised to hear that they’re involved. Agreed. I had to force myself to watch the entire preview because it seemed aggressively unfunny. It reminded me of the type of movie targeted at 8- to 10-year-olds where the creators just go for stupid, obvious jokes because they know their target audience has a really unsophisticated sense of humor. ---
**Author:** ![Vicullum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/6de8d8/32.png) [@Vicullum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vicullum)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2012, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-the-robot-chicken-guys-star-wars-detours/632602/7 "2012-08-25T15:38:38Z")
Ouch. Couldn’t even make it through the preview, and I liked the Robot Chicken parodies. It’s like they’re not even trying anymore. Now that I think about it, what happened to Robot Chicken? They haven’t had a new episode in ages. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2012, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-the-robot-chicken-guys-star-wars-detours/632602/8 "2012-08-25T17:33:40Z")
I got about halfway through when I figured out what this was reminding me of: _Tripping the Rift_, which also has a ratio of about one moment of funny to ten moments of stupid. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2012, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-the-robot-chicken-guys-star-wars-detours/632602/9 "2012-08-25T17:53:50Z")
> [@LawMonkey](#): > > Strange. I thought I recognized Palpy’s voice as the same from Robot Chicken, but this… well, God help me, I’m agreeing with a YouTube commenter: It’s like Robot Chicken without the funny. I’m really surprised to hear that they’re involved. It is Palpy’s voice, and it is unfunny. It also sounded like Boba Fett was the same voice and overconfident bullshitter personality from Robot Chicken. But the visual presentation and the fact that it’s ‘official’ really kills any possible humor. It’s not so much _sanctioned_ as it is _sanitized_, and the graphics are just not interesting. The stop-motion of Robot Chicken did amazing things for the comic timing, and of course not actually being under Lucas’s micromanaging eye helped with the writing. > [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > I got about halfway through when I figured out what this was reminding me of: _Tripping the Rift_, which also has a ratio of about one moment of funny to ten moments of stupid. Nailed it. ---
**Author:** ![JKilez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e5b9ba/32.png) [@JKilez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKilez)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2012, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-the-robot-chicken-guys-star-wars-detours/632602/10 "2012-08-25T18:09:24Z")
It’s a crap(py parody)! Seriously, I agree with the other posters: Robot Chicken without the funny. I would be OK with it having an unsophisticated sense of humor, as long as there was some humor. Maybe this is some sort of meta-commentary. They are demonstrating that the prequels were so lame that even a spoof of that property will be as equally lame. They deliberately made it fail at parody in the same way the movies failed at giving us engaging stories or characters. It works on so many levels. Very deep, very deep… ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2012, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-the-robot-chicken-guys-star-wars-detours/632602/11 "2012-08-25T18:34:32Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > But the visual presentation and the fact that it’s ‘official’ really kills any possible humor. It’s not so much _sanctioned_ as it is _sanitized_, and the graphics are just not interesting. The stop-motion of Robot Chicken did amazing things for the comic timing, and of course not actually being under Lucas’s micromanaging eye helped with the writing. Yeah, it reminded me of the “Blah-blah presents” attempts at corporate humor on the Colbert Report. Painfully unfunny stuff designed to offend nobody and equally unable to entertain anyone. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2012, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-the-robot-chicken-guys-star-wars-detours/632602/12 "2012-08-25T19:05:00Z")
My guess is that getting Lucas’ permission will hurt the project. He’ll want the parody to be “safe”. So we’ll get funny voices and pop culture references instead of real satire. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2012, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-the-robot-chicken-guys-star-wars-detours/632602/13 "2012-08-25T19:07:52Z")
> [@JKilez](#): > > Maybe this is some sort of meta-commentary. They are demonstrating that the prequels were so lame that even a spoof of that property will be as equally lame. They deliberately made it fail at parody in the same way the movies failed at giving us engaging stories or characters. It works on so many levels. Very deep, very deep… No no no. Turn back now. If you go down this path you’ll end up arguing that _Showgirls_ is really a great movie that people don’t get. ---
**Author:** ![Paranoid\_Randroid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paranoid_randroid/32/18_2.png) [@Paranoid\_Randroid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paranoid_Randroid)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2012, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-the-robot-chicken-guys-star-wars-detours/632602/14 "2012-08-26T00:40:24Z")
Eh. Would it reveal too much about my poor taste to admit that I found some of the trailer, although not exactly funny, at least inoffensively cute? Probably. Maybe it helps if you’ve never much liked _Star Wars_ in the first place. > [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > No no no. Turn back now. If you go down this path you’ll end up arguing that _Showgirls_ is really a great movie that people don’t get. Well, _Showgirls_ is okay, but it’s no _Starship Troopers_. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2012, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-the-robot-chicken-guys-star-wars-detours/632602/15 "2012-08-26T01:10:56Z")
> [@Paranoid\_Randroid](#): > > Well, _Showgirls_ is okay, but it’s no _Starship Troopers_. Neither’s a patch on _Deathstalker_. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2012, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-the-robot-chicken-guys-star-wars-detours/632602/16 "2012-08-26T01:28:18Z")
> [@Paranoid\_Randroid](#): > > Eh. Would it reveal too much about my poor taste to admit that I found some of the trailer, although not exactly funny, at least inoffensively cute? Probably. Maybe it helps if you’ve never much liked _Star Wars_ in the first place. Cute’s not a bad thing. Heck, Disney movies are cute and I like Disney movies in a completely non-ironic way. But there’s a difference between “inoffensive because we want to reach everyone” and “inoffensive because we don’t want to upset the executives”. Fred Rodgers acting normally was great (the man was a genius). Richard Pryor trying to behave himself so he could host a network show was wrong. We’ve seen _Robot Chicken_ and _Family Guy_ and _Titan Maximum_ - we know what kind of humor Seth Green and Matthew Senreich can do. So if they give us inoffensive cuteness in _Detours_ it’ll be because they were pulling their punches so they wouldn’t upset George Lucas. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2012, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-the-robot-chicken-guys-star-wars-detours/632602/17 "2012-08-26T01:40:02Z")
_Robot Chicken_ is Adult Swim. _Star Wars Detours_ is regular Cartoon Network. It’s intended for a general audience, so the humour will be less provocative. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-the-robot-chicken-guys-star-wars-detours/632602/18 "2012-08-27T05:22:49Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > My guess is that getting Lucas’ permission will hurt the project. He’ll want the parody to be “safe”. So we’ll get funny voices and pop culture references instead of real satire. I think both _Family Guy_ and _Robot Chicken_ had Lucas’s permission, too. I know the former did, and since the two shows are so incestuous, it would seem odd if the latter didn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-the-robot-chicken-guys-star-wars-detours/632602/19 "2012-08-27T06:29:08Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > _Robot Chicken_ is Adult Swim. _Star Wars Detours_ is regular Cartoon Network. It’s intended for a general audience, so the humour will be less provocative. Yeah, I’ll rescind my snobbish irritation and instead say it just looks like I’m not in its target audience. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Doom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Dr\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Doom)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-the-robot-chicken-guys-star-wars-detours/632602/20 "2012-08-27T14:14:09Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > _Robot Chicken_ is Adult Swim. _Star Wars Detours_ is regular Cartoon Network. It’s intended for a general audience, so the humour will be less. fixed. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-the-robot-chicken-guys-star-wars-detours/632602.md?page=2)