These aren’t the droids you’re looking for…
R2-D2 and C-3PO seem to always find trouble. Bouncing around from master to master, the two droids cross the galaxy while evading gangsters, bounty hunters, evil robots, the Empire, and a litany of dangers. The stakes have never been hire, and R2-D2 and C-3PO might be headed to the scrapheap if they make a misstep.
Star Wars: Droids (also known by the longer title of Star Wars: Droids: The Adventures of R2-D2 and C-3PO) was a Star Wars animated spin-off science-fiction action-adventure cartoon. Broadcasting on Saturday mornings on ABC as part of The Ewoks and Droids Adventure Hour, the series aired from September 7, 1985 to November 30, 1985 with a one hour “Season 2” special airing on June 7, 1986.
Hey, it’s Boba Fett!!!! …and some bad guy we’re supposed to care about
I remember learning that there was going to be Star Wars cartoons on Saturday mornings. Star Wars: Return of the Jedi had marked the end of the series as far as we knew then and the idea that any Star Wars was coming was exciting. With Ewoks, you knew you were getting cute little critters along the vein of the Monchhichis. Star Wars: Droids promised a return of R2-D2 and C-3PO and a continuation of their adventures…and then I saw Droids.
Star Wars: Droids was a prequel. It didn’t have any of the other classic Star Wars characters and simply had R2-D2 and C-3PO hanging out with random (and generic) cartoon characters. Occasionally the series would spice things up with someone like Boba Fett, IG-88, or simply Stormtroopers showing up (I do like the Sy Snootles and the Reebo Band cameo), but largely, the series just kept with bland adventures that all seem to blend together.
Love some IG-88!!!
What was rather unusual about Droids (watching it now, years later) is that Droids had story arcs…even if they were rather undefined and simple. While you didn’t need to be completely up to date with what had happened the prior week, the basic set-up often had C-3PO and R2-D2 with a new master ever few episodes. The hope as a viewer is that it would have either led up to Star Wars or at least given some more hints of the adventures that C-3PO and R2-D2 would have in the future (and sometimes it didn’t make much sense with C-3PO referencing Jabba the Hutt although he hadn’t met him yet…he was a notorious gangster, but the reference seemed personal).
What was also odd was the art for Droids. It has a much more Heavy Metal feel to it than Ewoks which feels more like a traditional Saturday morning cartoon. Looking up the origin of the series, the makers of Heavy Metal were approached to do the show, but turned the offer down…but it still has the look and style of Heavy Metal which is kind of cool to watch as an adult (as a kid I didn’t appreciate that). Plus, it did have the theme song “In Trouble Again” written and performed by Stewart Copeland of the Police.
I would have been all over the Adventures of Sy Snootles and Rebo Band!
The series with its disappointments didn’t really take off, and Ewoks flew solo the next season. Rewatching Droids, it still isn’t the best series, but it does have some admirable traits that I couldn’t recognize as a child. It is shocking to think that a Star Wars series would fail at that time, but Star Wars had kind of died off. Talk of prequels and sequels were things of myth and rumor. With the purchase of Star Wars and other franchises by Disney, Droids finally has returned and serves as a strange oddity in the post-original trilogy and pre-prequel trilogy time period…take the series with a grain of salt and don’t put too much thought into it or how it connects to the bigger picture. With so many streaming service options and Disney pumping out companion stories and series, maybe someday Droids will live again.
Star Wars: Droids—Season 1 Complete Episode Guide:
“The White Witch”
1.1 The White Witch Airdate: 09/07/85
R2-D2 and C-3PO are dumped by a smuggler on a desert planet of Ingo and encounter the racing team of Thall Joben and Jord Dusat. Thall and Jord become the targets of the Fromm Gang when they come close to uncovering Tig Fromm’s Trigon One, and Jord must be rescued by Thall, C-3PO, R2-D2, and a girl named Kea Moll when he is taken prisoner.
“Escape Into Terror”
1.2 Escape Into Terror Airdate: 01/14/85
A breakdown has Thall, Jord, and Kea headed to Kea’s home planet of Annoo. There, C-3PO and R2-D2 discover that Kea and her mother are members of the Rebel Alliance. Meanwhile Sise Fromm has learned of his son Tig’s failure and vows to stop Thall, Jord, and Kea from revealing the secret location of their base and their weapon the Trigon One.
“The Trigon Unleashed”
1.3 The Trigon Unleashed Airdate: 09/21/85
Thall, Jord, and Kea decide the Trigon One is too dangerous and must be destroyed. The plans to keep the Trigon One out of Tig Fromm and Sise Fromm get harder when the Fromm Gang kidnaps Jord and Kea’s mother Demma and demand the Trigon One for ransom.
“A Race to the Finish”
1.4 A Race to the Finish Airdate: 09/28/85
An attack by the Fromm Gang forces Thall, Jord, and Kea to crash land on the planet Boonta and injures Jord. With Boba Fett hired by Sise Fromm, everyone seems to be targeting Thall Jord, and Kea and with Jord injured, Thall must replace him in the race…but winning could bring death!
“The Lost Prince”
1.5 The Lost Prince Airdate: 10/05/85
Having left Thall, Jord, and Kea to let them explore their racing future, R2-D2 and C-3PO arrive on Tyne’s Horky. When C-3PO, R2-D2, and a strange android are taken in by a miner named Jann Tosh, they discover the android isn’t what he seems…and local mobster Kleb Zellock will stop at nothing to get the reward for the wanted Prince Mon Julpa!
“The New King”
1.6 The New King Airdate: 10/12/85
Travelling with Mon Julpa to his kingdom on the planet Tammuz-an, R2-D2, C-3PO, Jann Tosh, and pilot Jessica Meade discover that Mon Julpa’s rival Zatec-Cha from overthrowing his rule. Unfortunately, Zatec-Cha has hired IG-88 to capture Mon Julpa’s scepter and time is running out to restore Mon Julpa to the throne.
“The Pirates of Tarnoonga”
1.7 The Pirates of Tarnoonga Airdate: 10/19/85
A fuel run for King Mon Julpa by Jessica Meade, C-3PO, and R2-D2 is disrupted by the arrival of the pirate Captain Gir Kybo Ren-Cha. With Jessica and the droids as his prisoner, Jann must go on a rescue mission, but Ren has a secret weapon that could stop all of King Mon Julpa’s forces.
“The Revenge of Kybo Ren”
1.8 The Revenge of Kybo Ren Airdate: 10/26/85
Captain Gir Kybo Ren-Cha is prisoner of King Mon Julpa, but it might not be for long. When Ren escapes, he takes Mon Julpa’s rival Lord Toda’s daughter Gerin as a prisoner…leading to a rescue mission before the peace pact between Mon Julpa and Lord Toda is broken.
“Coby and the Starhunters”
1.9 Coby and the Starhunters Airdate: 11/02/85
While accompanying Prince Coby to the Imperial Academy, C-3PO, R2-D2, and Jann Tosh find Coby has gone missing in an attempt to find his stolen pet Ingey. With R2-D2 and C-3PO in tow, Coby pursues the Starhunter’s to a planet in the Dandelo system…and an encounter with the natives could be dangerous.
“Tail of the Roon Comets”
1.10 Tail of the Roon Comets Airdate: 11/09/85
After leaving Jann Tosh after he is accepted into the Imperial Academy, C-3PO and R2-D2 find themselves in the employment of Mungo Baobab. Baobab is searching for Roonstones in the Cloak of the Sith to save his father’s business. When Baobab and his crew are mistaken for an envoy of Imperials by Governor Koong on the New Umboo Lightstation, they could be in real trouble with Admiral Terrinald Screed shows up.
“The Roon Games”
1.11 The Roon Games Airdate: 11/16/85
Mungo Baobab has reached Roon, but Governor Koong’s fighters are hot on his tail. Saved from a wreck by Yomm and his daughter Auren, Mungo Baobab finds himself forced to compete in the Roon Colonial Games…but C-3PO finds himself in an awkward situation when the team is poisoned.
“Across the Roon Sea”
1.12 Across the Roon Sea Airdate: 11/23/85
When Auren and Nilz Yomm present Mungo Baobab with a Roonstone, he learns of a family history that might finally allow him to determine the source of the Roonstones. Pursued by Koong, Mungo Baobab might have to choose between the treasure of his dreams or his friends.
“The Frozen Citadel”
1.13 The Frozen Citadel Airdate: 11/30/85
Governor Koong engages in biological warfare by releasing Rooze Disease in an attempt to flush out Mungo Baobab and his crew but finds himself infected in the process. With Auren’s mother Bola infected as well as many of her people, Mungo and the droids are in a desperate race against time to cure the disease and uncover the location of the Roonstones.
Star Wars: Droids—Season 2 Complete Episode Guide:
“The Great Heep”
2.1 The Great Heep Airdate: 06/07/86
Assigned to a new master in Mungo Baobab, R2-D2 and C-3PO find themselves in immediate danger when the Empire and a giant power eating droid called the Great Heep capture Mungo and take over a planet.
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