Skeleton Crew

This week, the final episode of Skeleton Crew, the newest Star Wars show, was released on Disney+. This show follows four children as they are whisked away on a new adventure when they accidentally activate a crashed ship. The four find help from a mysterious man and attempt to find their way home. Of course, being a Star Wars show, I had to check this out. The show was marketed as being like ET, the Goonies, and other 80s family movies so that sold me as well.

I found this show to be moderately successful at what it was trying to do. The show definitely has a Goonies feel to it which works very well with the story it is trying to tell. I like how the story is a tiny standalone tale about kids on an adventure. It isn't trying to be the next big Star Wars event like The Mandalorian or Ahsoka. It just wants to be a quaint show meant for a younger audience. I also like how this show decides to be more standalone as it explores new planets and lifestyles. It doesn't try to tie into the grander Star Wars lore other than the occasional reference to the New Republic or the Jedi. I also liked the whole treasure-hunting and pirates aspect of the show. Star Wars has done some pirates in the past but having a full pirates treasure show was a lot of fun and sends home the idea that this show is The Goonies in space. The child actors also did a good job. The banter between the kids perfectly nails how kids this age would react to being in a spaceship and trying to decide who the captain is with no adult present. Finally, I liked how the episodes were formatted as exploring a different planet each week. While the overall story is present, it is fun to have a little mini adventure at each of these planets.

The biggest issue I had was that I was not a fan of the direction in which the show took the Jude Law character. I was expecting him to be an exiled Jedi who has to be a grumpy captain/mentor to these kids. While there is some of that, I was not a fan of the direction they took his character in the later episodes. I can't go into too many details without spoiling the show but it just didn't go in the direction I thought it should have.

Overall, this is a fun Star Wars show. It achieves exactly what it is going for. It isn't trying to hit a home run with a big story and action. It is just trying to hit a single or a double with a small adventure story and I think the show achieves that.

Score: 7.5/10 Grade: B+ Recommendation: Check it out