Star Wars

Dak Ralter was dead in every way that a rebel pilot could be dead. He got blasted early in the Battle of Hoth, his body sizzling and smoking in the cockpit behind a wide-eyed Luke Skywalker. Then, in case there was any doubt about the matter, an Imperial AT-AT stomped his snowspeeder with a hoof the size of a satellite dish. The desecration didn't end there. Sometime after the movie, The Empire Strikes Back, hit theaters in 1980, he was robbed of his name - it was changed to Dack, possibly due to a copyright conflict with the Dak ham brand.

Defense planners have seized on the threat of nuclear attack from nations other than the Soviet Union as a way of pumping new life into the "Star Wars" anti-missile program.But critics of the program, formally known as the Strategic Defense Initiative, say SDI supporters are exaggerating a threat that could be dealt with in more conventional ways.The debate comes at a time when another, unrelated anti-missile system, the Patriot, is enjoying marked success against Iraqi "Scud" missiles being fired at Israel and Saudi Arabia.

Senator Theatre owner Tom Kiefaber found out Wednesday that the historic York Road theater has been selected as one of the showcase engagements for "Star Wars: Episode One -- The Phantom Menace," which opens May 19. The deal will be finalized after the movie is screened for exhibitors the first week in May."Based on the record-setting engagement of the `Star Wars' trilogy we had in 1997, and the fact that we have been selected on this initial list of showcase engagements, we are very optimistic about coming to terms with Fox and inking a deal with them," Kiefaber said yesterday.

ALONG TIME AGO in a galaxy far, far away, the force was not with us. It had seemed almost to die out, a lost vapor of a dead world.It was a confused time. Old empires had fallen as new technologies came to the fore. The ancient formulas had lost their magic; the palaces of the great cities were disintegrating and only crude outstations remained as keepers of the tradition. The people grumbled; many had lost faith. It wasn't the best of times, it was the worst of times.By the way, I'm talking about 1977, for crying out loud, and the empire of the movies.

Aphalanx of Imperial Stormtroopers, Darth Vader, two R2-D2 droids and a model who posed for a collectible Star Wars card game will walk the red carpet tonight at Baltimore's Senator Theatre. The film they're celebrating features awe-inspiring ruins, a bar crammed with colorful rogues, vertiginous cityscapes streaked with undulating lights and the last remnant of saber-bearing Jedi knights. But this isn't a sneak peek at visionary filmmaker George Lucas' next Star Wars installment, Revenge of the Sith - that's due out May 19. This is the world premiere of Revelations, a Star Wars "fan film," made for less than $20,000 by Shane Felux of Gainesville, Va. The 40-minute digital creation is part of a global phenomenon.

At the rate "Star Wars" fans are salivating over next May's prequel to the original trilogy, you'd think they'd had nothing to swing their lightsabers at since 1983's Ewok-infested "Return of the Jedi."Not so.More recent "Star Wars" stories abound. Dozens of books take fans forward in time, not backward, and they're closer to George Lucas' vision than the rumors flying around the Internet. (You'll find that accurate information about the new movies is as limited as Mark Hamill's acting ability, unless you go to the official Lucasfilm Ltd. site -- http: //www.

The New Yorker for Jan. 6 has an excellent, well-rounded piece on Hollywood, George Lucas and his "Star Wars" industry, which thrives 20 years after the first installment of the futuristic trilogy hit theaters. The article, written by John Seabrook, is occasioned by the rerelease of a digitally enhanced version of the trilogy, beginning with "Star Wars" Jan. 31, "The Empire Strikes Back" three weeks later, and "The Return of the Jedi" two weeks after that. Also, Lucas is now at work on a second "Star Wars" trilogy for release in 1999, 2001 and 2003.

Near, the end draws. Cry or cry not, there is no more. Forgive us the Yoda-speak, but come today the final installment of Star Wars does. Filmmaker George Lucas is ending his epic six-part tale of good vs. evil, the story of how a young Jedi Knight named Anakin Skywalker became the heavy-breathing poster boy for the Dark Side. For many fans, it's also the story of their lives. They packed the multiplexes over and over in the summer of 1977, bought the pajamas and the action figures and headed down a path that led them to this moment - 40 years old and camping out on a sidewalk to get prime seats to a science fiction movie.

Of the 1,200 performances that Charlie Ross has given of his One-Man Star Wars Trilogy, the most memorable might have been a show he performed in Dubai in early 2006. "Some people in the audience were in full Lawrence of Arabia gear, with flowing robes and head-wraps," he says. "It was quite strange to see that mixed crowd genuinely enjoying themselves. I shudder to think that there might be people living in the desert who watch Star Wars on televisions in their tents, but it's completely possible."

Anthony Daniels admits that being a pop icon can get old. But the man who played the gleaming gold robot C-3PO in all six "Star Wars" movies is by no means complaining. When hundreds of thousands of people have been so touched by your work, it's hard to stay too down. "Yes, there were times when it felt old, and almost - I'm going to use the word 'embarrassing,' without meaning to be unkind," says the 63-year-old British actor, who will be at 1st Mariner Arena Wednesday night to serve as narrator for "Star Wars in Concert," a multimedia presentation of John Williams' Oscar-winning scores, complete with orchestra, a huge movie screen and all manner of light effects.