Audio-Based Hyperspace Features
on Official Star Wars Website
(source: Official Star Wars Website, 02-01-05)

Okay, so, yeah, we're a bit behind on this, but . . .

Visitors of StarWars.com, the official home of Star Wars on the internet, were greeted with several audio-based features recently. (Well, at least for those with Hyperspace memberships.)

First came a feature on August 13, 2004 (just before Fanworks' first anniversary, so it would've been great to have noticed back then, wouldn't it?). That feature was in the Kessel Mines: Mining the Corners of the Star Wars Universe area. The feature, entitled Channeling the Force: Star Wars Radio Collectibles, is a three-part article by Pete Vilmur. The first portion, Based on Characters and Situations... is a brief summary of how the original Brian Daley Star Wars radio dramas came to be. THe second part, Don't Touch That Dial features information about a series of radio spots released in 1977 to promote the release of A New Hope for its first time in theaters, along with a series of recorded interviews with ANH and ESB stars, used to promote the first two films of the Classic Trilogy. What's even better is that Hyperspace members can listen to all of these materials on the site! (That's right! Six original ANH radio spots, plus interviews with Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams, Anthony Daniels, David Prowse, Irvin Kershner, and Gary Kurtz.) Finally, the feature ends with a look at Radioland Merchandise, radio-based Star Wars collectibles.

More recently, in January 2005 (yup, the month that just ended, so we're not that far behind this time!), the Hyperspace area's "Exclusive Video" area was updated with a new video documentary from Random House Audio, It's a Big Universe: The Making of a Star Wars Audiobook, which features a look behind the scenes are the mixing and voice work that has gone into the creation of the audiobook adaptation of Matthew Stover's Revenge of the Sith novelization. Fans of fan-made audio drams or ChronoRadio's prose Serial Editions should definitely enjoy this one.

(Returning briefly to the first feature mentioned: For those who want more information about the "behind the scenes" story of the NPR Star Wars radio dramas, the scripts for all three are available from Del Rey, and each one features an extensive look behind the scenes before the actual episode scripts start. Definitely worth a look.)