TV Series Review: Skeleton Crew (2024) (Disney+) *No Spoilers*

TV Series Review: Skeleton Crew (2024) (Disney+) No Spoilers

If you saw the trailer for Skeleton Crew and decided the show looked too much like Star Wars for little kids, and didn't watch, you missed out on a real treat.

While I will say this show was definitely targeted at bringing in younger fans to the Star Wars universe, it is very much more like family viewing than kids only TV.

Not to mention, characters are literally gunned down or murdered on this show, but without the really graphic violence you might see on a more adult orientated show.

It's actually no more kid only orientated than the first series of Stranger Things (2016), or even the original Star Wars (1977) movie.

In fact the whole show is a not so subtle homage to original Star Wars (1977), Treasure Island (1950), and eighties movies like The Goonies (1985), ET (1982), Explorers (1985) and others.

The plot is very straight forward. A group of children, living in the Star Wars equivalent of the suburbs, find an abandoned spacecraft.

To their surprise the ship still works, blasting them off into space where they must somehow find their way home. Along the way they must contend with all manor of individuals, and determine who they can trust to help them.

Skeleton Crew does several things for Star Wars that it's needed for a long time.

First, and most importantly, it is an ideal jumping on board point for anyone who has never seen Star Wars. It's an entirely new story, with a completely new cast. While there are references to the wider Star Wars cannon, these are more Easter Eggs, than important things you should know. Any references that are key are explained through the dialogue.

Second, Skeleton Crew brings new ideas to Star Wars, like what would a regular city populated by middle class families look like? We've seen backwater towns that look like the wild west, or huge, sprawling metropolis' that don't even look that functional to live in, but we've never seen the sleepy outer suburbs where 'regular' people (and other middle class alien races) live.

The series also introduces a whole new legend to Star Wars lore that I can't really mention without it being a spoiler, but it's a very interesting idea.

It also brings back one idea, that I really like, in that Jedi are rare. It's not the first new Star Wars series or movie to do so, but I really appreciate it when the writers remember that Jedi were all but extinct by the time Episode IV made it's debut in 1977. Jedi are special. It really erodes that quality when you see lots of Jedi together, like you did in the prequels. It makes it seem like anyone can be a Jedi.

If you are concerned about the main cast being children with questionable acting ability don't be. The four leads are well cast and deliver strong, believable performances.

The adult cast is also great but specifically, Jude Law as Jod, a man with a questionable past, and Nick Frost voicing SM 33, a new droid character, also with a questionable past.

I must admit, I wasn't expecting much from this series. I initially started watching to see more of the Star Wars suburbs idea. What I got was a story that was fairly well paced, not too complex, but with enough intrigue, and rising stakes to hook me in. At no time did I feel like this was a 'kids only' show.

What's more, of the characters that make it through to the finale, the series did enough work to get me invested in them. If a season two is in the works, and I really hope it is, I'm on board.

Skeleton Crew is a real opportunity to start fresh in the Star Wars Universe. It's a strong base to build a new saga, featuring characters that have little to no relationship to anyone else in any of the other movies or TV shows.

My only major criticism is with the finale, which feels a little rushed. A lot happens in an impossibly short space of time. It's not bad, by any means, and it probably isn't of any concern to younger audience members who have no concept of how long space travel actually takes (even with light speed). I would've liked to see a longer episode, or perhaps more of a two parter, for the actual action sequences, than what we got.

While the show may start in the sleepy little suburbs of an entirely new planet in Star Wars cannon it packs a punch and is some of the best Star Wars in recent times. As I've mentioned already it's not for kids only, it's very much for families too.

I'm hoping for a second season, or at the very least, to see some of these characters pop up again in other Star Wars shows and movies.

Well worth your time.

Comments

TV Series Review: Wonder Man (2026) - Disney+ No Spoilers

F or those of you that aren't adverse to your superhero content being a little more character driven and a lot less big action set pieces then Marvel's TV series, under the 'Marvel Spotlight' banner, Wonder Man , is a real underrated gem. Wanna-be actor, Simon Williams (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) is a suspected superhero in hiding who believes, he was born to play the title role in a new superhero movie, Wonder Man. A chance meeting with fallen actor, Trevor Slattery (Ben Kingsley), formerly known as 'The Mandarin', at an audition, puts them both on a path to success but, everything isn't quite as it seems. While you will certainly relate very quickly to Trevor if you know his past from the movie Iron Man III , or, to a lesser extent, Shang-Chi , neither are essential viewing. You get all you need to know about Trevor as the series unfolds. That said, Ben Kingsley must have jumped at the chance to play Trevor a little less as the comic relief, and a little more ...

Is AI Art 'Art'? The Say NO to AI Art Movement, and Why Human Artists Will Adapt

AI Art No T-Shirt by TET Also available on other items . Right now there is a big debate over not just whether AI art is 'art' but whether AI's are actually ripping off the work of actual human artists, without their consent, to create their images - particularly images 'in the style of' specific artists. From my own observations this debate started to get more traction when artist's signatures began appearing in the output of AI Art image generators. Is It Art? Cool Froyd the Cat Sketch by TET. My style is very much influenced by classic Disney and WB character styles. To get some clarity on how real human artists work (of which I am one)... we, that is all of us... take influences from the art that has come before. i.e. whatever artists we like, have studied, seen etc. we are influenced by. It shows up in our work, intentionally or not. If you really study my own cartoony art style you'll see I'm heavily influenced by early Disney and Warner Bros cart...

The Lego Man - He's got all that!

Who would have thought that owning one of the worlds largest, private Lego collections could take you so far. Tom Lucieer of Angaston, South Australia, not only has met the Queen (of England) but is a frequent guest of her majesty and family when they are in Australia. He's also met Prince Charles, Lady Diana and Camila Parker-Bowles. Not only that, he grew up with TV Vet, Dr Harry, and is a friend of the Irwin family (yes, that's Steve Irwin's family). Tom will happily tell you all this as part of the guided tour of his collection, which, aside from Lego, includes much railway memorabilia and colourful anecdotes about days gone by, his achievements and more. Frequently he will finish each particular monologue with the phrase, "Have you got that?", just to check that he hasn't confused you because, as he points out, his display and the stories behind it are a lot to take in at once. In the photo you can see Tom holding a special award, which I think is for bei...

How to Transfer Any Line Art to Your Griptape - Easy Skateboard Griptape Art Tutorial

Dog Star Griptape Art by TET Griptape art is once again gaining popularity amongst modern skateboarders. For those of us who have tried to create our own griptape art, using paint pens, you'll know reproducing your design onto the grip, without making any mistakes is incredibly challenging. Mostly because you just have to go for it and draw the design freehand, with paint pens, directly onto the griptape. You can make the odd mistake here or there but if you get the proportions of the design completely wrong, it can be very difficult to fix. Often you just have to live with the mistake. To address the problem I've come up with an easy way anyone can transfer a line art design to their griptape, removing almost all the anxiety of getting the proportions wrong. In fact, you could do this with any line art design, even if you have no drawing skill at all. Watch the video below to see my technique in action and/or skip past the video where I highlight the basic steps to get your de...

Jimmy Barnes, Working Class Man 40th Aniversary Tour - Barossa Valley, Peter Lehmann Wines

D espite being in the middle of Summer, and experiencing some record temperatures across the state, we got a perfect day for the South Aussie leg of Jimmy Barnes' Working Class Man 40th Aniversay Tour. Lightly overcast. Almost no chance of rain. The cloud cover taking all the edge out of the sun, which was still quite fierce during the brief moments when it did break through the clouds for a little while. Guest artists supporting the show included, Jon Rooney, Kate Ceberano, Ian Moss, and Ice House. Unfortunately, while my partner and I had every intention of being at the concert when the show actually started, so did quite a lot of people. We didn't quite anticipate the traffic getting into the venue, Peter Lehmann Wines, Barossa Valley, and we certainly didn't expect the 5-10 minute hike from the carpark to the concert area itself. Kate Ceberano By the time we found our seats, Kate Ceberano was already part way through her set. Prior to this concert, I certainly knew w...

Boom Crash Opera Born Classic But Not Again

Boom Crash Opera are an Australian Band that reached the peak of their popularity in the mid to late nineteen eighties. They are a band that I knew about at that time but was never really excited by until they released their ill fated double album Born and Born Again in 1995 (Album cover pictured). At the time of its release I was very much into emerging Australian musical acts and was also looking out for new sounds that were different and had kind of a futuristic/electronic sound. Artists that I was buying at the time included; Swoop , Nine Inch Nails and Pop Will Eat Its Self . As well as a really interesting release by David Bowie, the concept album, Outside . Born was a fairly radical departure for Boom Crash Opera (BCO). The first single, Gimme , was often compared to the sounds of Gary Glitter, particularly his single, Rock n Roll part 2 , because of the pounding drum loops. Watch the video below. My favorite single from the album is dissemble which probably went now...

New TET Painting: Cat Amongst the Pigeons - Prints Available

Cat Amongst the Pigeons by TET 2026-02-22 Original Acrylic Painting on Canvas (15.5" x 12"). I n my previous post, Painting Whimsical Cats (and probably other stuff) Again After Almost a Decade Away From Traditional Art , I, obviously, mentioned I'm painting cats again. It wasn't an empty promise. As you can see I've created my first official, new cat painting - since the previous one was actually a test piece - titled Cat Amongst the Pigeons . This painting features two firsts; the first time I've painted a cat with pigeons, and the first time I've broken the edge of my white border with the image. (In case I'm not explaining that well, the cat's ears extend into the white border that is usually masked off with tape during painting). I just didn't want to clip the cat's ears! WIP Collage of Cat Amongst the Pigeons painting. Images from sketch to finished art. What Does It Mean? While this can mean anything you want it to mean, I was think...

TET.Life (The Extraordinary Tourist Life)

Search This Blog