Skeleton Crew premiered on Disney+ on December 2, 2024. The series was created by Christopher Ford and Jon Watts. Episode 1 is “There Could Be a Real Adventure”, it is directed by Watts and co-written by Ford and Watts. Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) was directed by Watts. Ford also worked on that film as well as creating the puppet crime comedy, The Fuzz (2014). The executive producers are Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni so the episode is FC-SC1. The music at the opening has a light piano like a Spielburgian fairy tale. Mick Giacchino is the composer and he also composed the music for The Penguin (2024) series. The title sequence explains that the New Republic has maintained order after the Empire.
Then, we get that hyperspace routes are still troubled by pirates. We saw the trouble with pirates in The Mandalorian. It is said that the pirates brand their ships with “Surrender or die.” This moves to a bluish planet as fragments pass in space, a freighter is about to pass, and then it falls under shadow. An alert, subdued in space, pulses. Suddenly, two rams smash into its hull! The crew assemble with their blasters, this is an echo of the opening scene to Star Wars (1977); GC-OT1. We see people scrambling across tubes in the rams. A vicious blaster battle begins. The freighter’s blaster cannon shreds one of the rams, but pirates in spacesuits fly over to place charges on the blaster cannon. The pirates huddle into the freighter corridors. The first space pirate that was in Star Wars was Crimson Jack who tangled with Han Solo in Star Wars #7 (1977), EC-SW7. Still, the pirates in this show have more of a feeling of the Pirates of the Caribbean films.
One of the pirates with dual blasters is a Shistavanen wolfman, we saw one briefly in the cantina scene, more of a creative design here with red eyes that makes him unique rather than a Halloween mask. We later find that this is Brutus voiced by Fred Tatasciore. He is a sharp shooter and then announces to Captain Silvo that the ship is taken. Captain Silvo walks up in his mask asking about the vault. He has a helmet like Halo video game and a coat with a bandolier. He picks up the Merchant Captain (Geoffrey Lower) again mirroring Star Wars with Vader and Captain Antilles. The captain says that they are protected by the New Republic, Silvo punches him, and orders the merchant captain to be thrown out of the airlock. We hear his scream as one of his men starts to cut into the vault. Captain Silvo says that his crew may have gone through tough times, they will have credits.
He kicks open the smoldering door and finds an empty vault! Brutus enters and finds only a single credit. The Merchant Captain seems to have sacrificed himself to keep the vault closed for no real reason. Brutus shows the captain the credit and the rest of the crew turn their guns on their former captain. Captain Silvo tries to fight the mutineers. It is obvious that this is the Jude Law character that we will see later. This moves to the bed of a kid playing with action figures. The scene is all too familiar with Star Warriors and makes me think of Dark Helmet in Spaceballs (1987)! This is Wim played by Ravi Cabot-Conyers who voiced Antonio in the animated movie, Encanto (2021). His earnestness as a dreamer is what carries the series. His father, Wendel (Tunde Ademimpe) fusses over him as Wim pours some cereal. He pours some credits on the table for his son since he will be busy with work. This reminds me of Bastian in Neverending Story (1984), a hard working father raising his son who is a dreamer on his own.
Wim rushes out to a suburban street. The strange, suburban setting that makes me think of A Wrinkle in Time (2018) that was based on the 1962 Madeleine L’Engle novel. He passes Mrs. Ikk, an Ithorian who is walking a frog-dog. An Ithorian was seen in the cantina known as the Hammerhead in action figures. The creature was seen in Return of the Jedi (1983); GL-OT3. I like the use of classic aliens. The bright sunlight on suburbia is very Spielberg. Wim plays with his starship toy and then comes upon a boy with his back turned, an blue, elephant like person like Max Rebo, who is Rotolan, but he is a Mykkian. Rebo is squat and less humanoid than the Mykkians who have hair on top. Their first appearance is here and realized through animatornic heads by Legacy Effect and facial capture by ILM. Neel is played by Robert Timothy Smith who starred in the comedy film, Dear Santa (2024). He is a favorite, the play by the rules kid who is loyal to this friend.
They face off with a pretend lightsaber duel, all relatable complete with whooshing noises, Neel uses a Cho mok to sever Wim’s arm and he turns in a Jung to slice open Neel’s “guts”! The school kids on the other side of the street just look at them, not understanding what is cool. The school tram appears so Neel and Wim scramble to join the others. An RX-series pilot droid, a good nod to Star Tours, is the school bus driver. A kid adds to the collection of what looks like gum to the back of the droid’s head! At the back of the bus, Neel talks about switching a table of nine while Wim is busy looking at Jedi on his datapad. Outside the window, Wim looks at two girls on a speeder vehicle. This is called a hoverbike side car, but looks like a swoop to me. Swoops were speeders from Legends with Han Solo’s Revenge (1979), EC-HSR, by Brian Daley. They were made canon with Anakin riding one in Attack of the Clones (2002), GL-PT2. The riders are Fern played by Ryan Kiera Armstrong. She starred as Charlie McGee in the horror remake, Firestarter (2022). Her character reminds me of Han Solo who in Legends was a swoop bike rider.
KB, Kyriana Kratter, is her co-pilot. Kratter was Nadine in the Disney teen comedy, Bunk’d (2021). Her cyborg visor character just reminds me of Marcie, the sidekick to Peppermint Patty! Wim slumps into school, directed by droids, alongside Neel who is cheery. He spots Fern and KB hanging out too cool for school. A droid teacher drones about algorithms, almost like the Peanuts’ adults, wah-wah-wah-wah. Listening is Roona (Iliana Castillo), a Vazooan, a new alien with a bush baby-like head, two knobs on the head, and green fur. Looking at her is Neel, the object of his affection! Wim is only paying attention to his table, turning knobs to form the image of a Jedi. He notices too late, the “special visitor” of the class, Undersecretary Fara (Kerry Condon). F.R.I.D.A.Y., Tony Stark’s A.I. in Avengers: Endgame (2019) is voiced by Condon. She announces the Career Assessment Test for the next day. It sets the career for the test taker, never works, so they can contribute to the Great Work and help the New Republic.
Roona tells the Undersecretary that she wants to be a senior accountant, Neel watches her dreamily, his character is so fun. Then, Fara selects Wim, who wants to help people. The droid teacher says that is for Safety Droids. After class, Neel wonders if Wim will fail, and says he will fail to join him, loyalty! Still, he secretly says he wants to be in the same class as Roon, Neel whispers, “I like her.” Wim can’t believe it since his friend hasn’t worked up the courage to talk to her. Neel walks and says that Wim said to the class he “basically” wanted to be a Jedi. This moves to Fern and KB racing on the hoverbike. Fern slips through two trams, but her hoverbike begins to sputter. Wim walks Neel over to his house who gives him some encouragement. Neel is happily greeted by his family. Wim enters his darkened house. At her garage, KB is working on the hoverbike, probably with a hydrospanner, and removes the corroded power converter. Fern is drifting off. but they are mocked by Bonjj Phalfa (Shané Almagor). The comedy, The List (2023), had Almagor play Hesher the Skateboarder.
He tries to act tough with a Youngling Rodian and a lil’ girl riding with him. Bonjj challenges them to a race on the weekend. Fern then runs changing into her school clothes to a house at the top of the hill. She is greeted by the family droid and tells her that she was studying upstairs with a memory override! Fern starts up the stairs and then turns to see her mother, Undersecretary Fara! Her mother brings her a pendant for head of the class, but Fern stomps away. Her mother pulls the strings, but really doesn’t know her daughter. At home, Wim is busy with the datapad, when his father arrives, he asks to be tested on the Basic Table of Five. He’s not quite right, but Wendel encourages him. Wim is restless and wants a story like his mother had read to him. Again, Neverending Story. Wim gets out his datapad to look at the Jedi stories. The music again goes violin and tinkling piano like a John Williams score for a Spielburg film. This goes up to the night sky that has a swirl of green.
Pirates, including Vane from The Mandalorian (right), from Skeleton Crew, Ultimate Disney Fan Experience, 2024, photo by the author.
The next day has Neel screaming out of the back window for Wim. He is late for the school tram. Wim shouts to Neel that he is taking a shortcut. He goes to his garage to ride his hoverbike. Wim does an Akira-like sliding turn to stop at a blocked off road. He lifts his hoverbike over the barrier and hurtles through the forest like Return of the Jedi (1983)! The school is a mass of desks with a teacher droid going over test rules. Neel sits next to Wim’s empty desk. Strange, that the droids overlook a missing student. Wim hurtles through the forest, towards the city tower, but rolls into a ravine! He picks himself and calls for help, no comlink? Wim tries to scramble up a muddy hill and uncovers a circular structure. Giacchino’s score hints at the Dave Gruisin music from The Goonies (1985), the synthesizer at the end of “One Eyed Willy” where Mickey connects with the pirate. Wim wipes away reeds from the surface and then is surprised by a safety droid at the top of the ravine.
In the school hall, Wim taps on his datapad watched by a safety droid, waiting for The Proctor. He sees a symbol from his Jedi story. Next to him, Fern takes a seat, this made me laugh since she is posed with her arm out like Han Solo! Wim says he missed his Assessement Test and Fern says the droids didn’t like her hoverbike racing. He says her bike is “totally wizard”, a nod to Annie and his podracer! Wim gets up to see the Proctor, but is faced by his father who is disappointed that he skipped the test. He tries to say that he found something in the woods, a “lost Jedi temple”, holding up his data pad. This gets Fern’s interest. Wendle says he talked to the Proctor to have his son retake the test with a 50 point penalty so he has to have a perfect score. His father is serious in taking Wim to school himself. No interest in why his son looks like he had fallen and Wendle leaves for work. Fern asks Wim about the Jedi temple, but Wim says he was lying. Then, we see the holograph of a circus performer, a nudge to the Star Wars Holiday Special (1978), EC-HS.
From the window, Wim gets the attention of Neel’s brother, Tuloo watching the holo show. He climbs up the roof to see through a window at Neel taking a bubble bath, that is just wrong, and asks about the tools of Neel’s father. They open a garage and Wim starts picking up tools while Neel wants to know why they don’t tell the Supervisor. Wim says the title of the episode excited about an adventure. He promises that they won’t get in trouble.
Four Hoverbikes out of Five!
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