Family Guy: Blue Harvest

Thankfully the "Special Edition” DVD of Family Guy’s 2007 Star Wars spoof is more than just a cash cow designed to empty the wallets of North America’s geek population. The hour-long episode contains several minutes of unaired, unedited content and bonus features that will please fans of both Family Guy and Star Wars. When the power goes out in Quahog during primetime, the Griffin family settles down for a night of storytelling. Peter begins his story with "A long time ago, but somehow in the future...,” relating the familiar tale of Star Wars but replacing the characters with members of the Family Guy cast. Dubbed Blue Harvest in reference to the working title used to keep Return of the Jedi secret, the episode was fully sanctioned by Star Wars creator George Lucas, who admits to being a big Family Guy fan in the "Conversation with George” bonus feature. The humorous take on one of pop culture’s most beloved films is note perfect, using the actual John Williams score, distinctive sound effects, perfectly re-creating the visual effects and turning almost every scene of the original film on its head without losing any major story points. Other than the extra content included in the episode there’s a commentary track by Family Guy creator Seth McFarlane and friends that, sadly, doesn’t offer much insight into the creative process behind the show. The "Making Of” feature, however, takes a look at all the extra time and effort the crew put in to get the details perfect for this labour of love, and also has writer Alec Sulkin revealing that spoofs of Empire and Jedi are in the works. McFarlane’s unabashed fan boy enthusiasm is fun to watch during the interview with Lucas, which sees the two icons of pop culture sitting down for a friendly chat at the Skywalker Ranch in California. Though Family Guy: Blue Harvest contains only one episode, it’s a must-have addition to either the Star Wars or Family Guy section of anybody’s DVD shelf.