Star Wars' small-screen live-action debut got off to a strong start with The Mandalorian, but by the time Lizzo showed up for Grogu cuddles in season 3, the series had become a meandering shadow of its former self. The shows that followed were a bit of a mixed bag overall (Andor is still rightly viewed as the best of the bunch), and while the most recent Disney+ Star Wars series, The Acolyte, certainly has its defenders, it was simply too disjointed to keep the majority of viewers engaged.
Coming off the tepid response to Leslye Headland's High Republic-set tale, there hasn't really been that much anticipation for Skeleton Crew. This is perfectly understandable, but old-school Star Wars fans might just be pleasantly surprised if they give the show a chance.
Lucasfilm is one again relying on nostalgia as a hook, but not in the way you might expect. Instead of a bunch of cameos and callbacks, showrunners Jon Watts and Christopher Ford attempt to recapture the sense of wonder and adventure an entire generation of fans felt the first time they saw George Lucas' original trilogy - and, based on what we've seen so far, they've succeeded.
The premiere begins with a group of space-pirates mutinying against their captain after he fails to deliver on their latest score. It's immediately obvious who this masked marauder is, and the show doesn't try to make it a big mystery (the "reveal" comes during a throwaway moment in episode 3). From here, we jump to a location we've yet to visit in the galaxy far, far away: the suburbs.
On an Earth-like planet, At-Attin, we meet our young protagonists: Adventure-seeking Jedi geek Wim (Ravi Cabot-Conyers); the tougher, more streetwise Fern (Ryan Kiera Armstrong), techie KB (Kyriana Kratter), and adorable elephant-faced alien Neel (Robert Timothy Smith). After first discovering a long-buried spacecraft known as the Onyx Cinder in the woods, the four kids encounter Nick Frost's malfunctioning droid SM 33 (and the rat that lives in his eye-socket) before inadvertently taking off and being launched to another part of the galaxy via hyperspace.
The second episode whips by at just 29 minutes, and primarily focuses on the group attempting to get home. We only meet Jude Law's enigmatic Jod Na Nawood in the final few minutes, when the children find themselves captured by the pirates from the opening scene and thrown in the brig (if the penny didn't drop before, we're sure it has now).
The next episode is by far the strongest of the three made available to critics, as the kids form an uneasy alliance with Nawood and convince him to return to rescue SM 33 from the pirates' ship. Nawood does appear to be able to use the Force, but is he actually a Jedi, and can our heroes trust him to help them find a way home?
Questions with obvious answers, but again, this show is not concerned with maintaining any mystery or keeping some major reveals from its viewers. It's a simple story told well, with Watts helming the premiere, and the next two episodes in the capable hands of David Lowery.
The next four instalments will be directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (aka The Daniels), Jake Schreier, Bryce Dallas Howard, and Lee Isaac Chung, respectively, with Watts returning for the finale. All fine filmmakers, but some previous Star Wars shows - The Acolyte, in particular - have suffered from a lack of narrative consistency which may at least partially be down to a conflicting mishmash of styles and tone. Hopefully, Skeleton Crew can avoid these same issues over the next few weeks.
It's always difficult to give a proper verdict on a series when you've seen less than half of the episodes, but we can say that Skeleton Crew shows a lot of promise. The show is clearly aimed at a younger audience (don't expect high stakes or edge-of-your-seat thrills), but if you check your cynicism at the door, you might find yourself being swept along by an Amblin-inspired adventure with infectious energy and compelling characters.