Turns out George Lucas himself is a fan of the animated series. "Lucasfilm is probably the only company out there right now that is progressive enough to allow this," Seth MacFarlane told the LA Times. "Certainly we would have a laugh doing this with Indiana Jones or Wrath of Khan. But I can't imagine in a billion years that Paramount would give us permission."

Fox ended up looking to clear rights with LucasFilm after MacFarlane and co. continued to make small Star Wars gags on the show. Worried the wrath of Lucas would hit the network, they groveled at the bearded one's throne and to MacFarlane's surprise, LucasFilm okayed any references to the franchise as long as Peter, Lois, Meg, Chris, Brian, Stewie and the rest of the characters looked just like the stars of the film.

When Family Guy's first Star Wars spoof, Blue Harvest, aired, George invited the show's team up to Skywalker Ranch to watch it with him and his son. How rad is that?

"He laughed a few times, yeah. He's a very muted guy."

Family Guy's feature length Star Wars spoof, Something Something Something Dark Side comes out on DVD & Blu-ray 12/22.

Q & A with Seth MacFarlane [LA Times]

We've featured Cédric Delsaux's mashups of Star Wars figures against urban settings in the past, but here he focuses particularly on Dubai. While many of Delsaux's photographs juxtapose Star Wars extraordinary visuals against a more gritty urban reality, the Dubai series is actually meant to show how utterly consonant Dubai's setting is with these science fiction elements. It invites us to ask whether the Dubai, for all its faults, is a truly modern city moving into the future, or a piece of urban planning fiction, every bit as contrived as the planets and space stations we see in the movies.

The Dark Lens — The Dubai Invasion [The Empty Quarter]

Episode I: The True Meaning of Life Day

Last month, some friends and I agreed to hold a traveling holiday party in our picturesque burg of Jersey City, with each person hosting a different type of holiday celebration in his/her home. It'd be like a wholesome 1950s progressive dinner but with less green bean casserole and more Night Train.

All the good winter fetes went quickly. My pals immediately called dibs on Saturnalia, druidic Solstice, and Festivus, and I was left with few palatable options. Hanukkah? Christmas? No way. I was moments away from signing up for Taiwanese Constitution Day, when an idea struck me like a bolt from the blue.

"Guys, I'm going to host a surprise Life Day party."

"Life Day? What the hell are you talking about?"

"It's from The Star Wars Holiday Special. Life Day is, uh, like Chewbacca's Christmas. All the Wookiees put on red bathrobes and, um, watch a stoned Princess Leia sing a song or something."

"Well, that's a wanting explanation."

Yes, for all my years of jaded fanboy aspersions cast towards the Holiday Special, I didn't actually know the true meaning of Life Day. Maybe I'd lost sight of an emotionally rich yuletide parable interwoven between scenes of Bea Arthur waltzing with Mos Eisley's scum and villainy and Harrison Ford delivering most his lines with a constipated grimace. It was time to give the Holiday Special another go.

Fortunately, the entire special is available on Google Video. Unfortunately, it took only 5 minutes of viewing to feel as if I was being skull-diddled with a lightsaber.

The Star Wars Holiday Special is guilty of the worst sin kitsch can commit – it's hella boring. Case in point: the opening 15 minutes are mainly devoted to Chewbacca's family yowling in their Wookiee tongue. Hell, most Z-grade scifi flicks are worth the slog for a fugitive glimpse of nudity. The most titillation the SWHS gives us is an interlude in which Chewie's father Itchy ogles VR porno starring Diahann Carroll. Ooh la la.

It wasn't until the 99 minute mark that my Life Day epiphany dawned on me. At this point in the special, Han Solo – who has eluded Imperial forces long enough to drop Chewbacca off on the Wookiee planet of Kashyyyk – turns to Chewie's clan and (without a whiff of that trademark Solo rakishness) gushes, "You're like family to me."

Normally this kind of Lucasian sincerity would've made me lose my shit, but I empathized with Han. The Empire had been chasing him all day; our favorite rogue was so hopped up on adrenaline and fatigue that it made perfect sense that he'd start doddering like a Hallmark Card. Likewise, I was so gonzo from 1.5 hours of Holiday Special that I became nostalgic for such banality as tile grout, riboflavin, and The Phantom Menace.

It was then that my Life Day miracle hit me – The Star Wars Holiday Special was such a train wreck of existential horror that it made my boring-ass life seem like a cornucopia of wonders, and Life Day was simply the gnarled track, the tetanus-soaked philosophical underpinning that caused this prime-time disaster to run off the rails.

Now I knew the true meaning of Life Day. It isn't a day for family, friends, or fellowship. It's a day to dive into that oubliette you call your soul and almost asphyxiate yourself on the darkness. The Star Wars Holiday Special had taught me this, and after my Life Day party, my pals would never take the other 364 days of the year for granted ever again.

Episode II: No Blue Milk At This Party

Of course, if you're going to put your mates through psychological duress, you need a suitable sop so that, y'know, they talk to you again someday. My sop was free booze.

According to Star Wars lore, the traditional Life Day foodstuffs are Hoth Chocolate and Wookie-ookies. Sadly, the official recipes I found online were ho-hum, so I deviated from canon and dubbed this potent NY Times cocktail "Hoth Chocolate" (Absolut Peppar is a suitable proxy for Tauntaun blood). My roommate Jenny was dear enough to donate "Wookiee Coconut Rhombi."

I also added two new bromides to the Expanded Universe. To commemorate Boba Fett's debut in the Holiday Special, I made him a microbrew by relabeling some mediocre beer "Mandalorian Panther Piss." I always pictured Boba as a light-beer-swilling douche, so I added Twi'lek babes and Boba bleating drunken frat boy threats to the bottle art.

The second cocktail I invented was "Salacious B. Crumb's Rancor Gamete Extract," which was a 3:1 ratio of Hawaiian Punch to chilled Spirytus Rektyfikowany (i.e., 192 proof Polish rectified spirit). It tastes like the Death Star exploding in your mouth.

Episode III: Like Eyes Wide Shut, But Hairier

If I was going to make my pals truly miserable, my decorations and party favors would have to tease out the creepy sexual dynamics of the Holiday Special, such as Grandpa Itchy's erotic interlude, the hirsute androgyny of Wookiee society, and, according to Wookieepedia, the wholesale celebration of procreation.

In order to fissure the bedrock of my guests' sexual identities, I first printed out 20+ genderless Wookiee masks. Hopefully these disguises would force my friends to question not only their sexuality, but their very humanity.

Next, I labeled my bathroom "Grandpa Itchy's VR Experience" and hung a blacklit mural of his leering mug on my shower curtain. It would've made sense to play Diahann Carroll's "This Minute" (her song from the SWHS), but I instead opted to play Aphex Twin's "Come to Daddy" on infinite loop. The shrieking techno and soulless gaze of Grandpa Itchy will scar my guests psychosexually and invoke pee shyness.

Similarly, I put on an annoying loop of unsexy Star Wars themed disco. My guests' primordial id would command them to dance, but their super-ego would stop them – after all, it's impossible to look sexually attractive if you're bebopping to a remix of the Ewok chant. Their libidos will be confused, and they will despair.

Here was my playlist:

1.) The Max Rebo Band – Lapti Nek (Club Mix)
2.) Bea Arthur – Good Night, But Not Good-Bye
3.) Meco – Ewok Celebration (the rapping C-3PO kills me every time)
4.) Koto – Jabdah
5.) Meco – The Empire Strikes Back
6.) The Cantina Theme. Six times in a row.

I blasted this exact same playlist – but five seconds off – in an abutting room 10 feet away. I did this for no other ulterior motive other than to confuse folks.

Episode IV: The Day of the Party

After weeks of anticipation, Life Day finally arrived! There was a blizzard outside, but that didn't stop me from donning my Life Day bathrobe and Wookiee beard. At 9:30 PM EST, the traveling partiers showed, and I was raring to stare into the abyss with them.

Here's a log from my party. As you can see, things didn't exactly go as planned.

9:30 PM – My first guests arrive. I hand them their Wookiee mask. The seeds of sorrow have been planted.

9:49 – The revelers have donned the Darth Vader masks I left out. Good. These should exacerbate any preexisting father complexes.

10:17 – A guest complains that the Rancor Gamete Extract burnt his esophagus. Taste the void!

10:33 – My apartment is jam-packed with 50+ people. Tensions should be running high. This place will be a Hobbesian state of nature in minutes.

10:52 – Someone unironically compliments me on "a great party." What is this shit?

11:10 – As a last ditch attempt to unleash the horrors of Life Day, I rally my guests to sing "Happy Life Day" in the key of Carrie Fisher, who was rumored to be bombed out of her brainpan when she filmed the SWHS. I pray that the cacophony will rouse the neighbors and we all get arrested.

11:15 – No dice. The guests shuffle off to the next party. All the Hoth Chocolate, Wookiee Coconut Rhombi, and Mandalorian Panther Piss have been consumed. Oddly enough, I am left with a full bottle of Rancor Gamete Extract.

Episode V: So What Went Wrong?

As I cleaned up the following morning, I ruminated on my total failure as a Life Day host. None of the guests appeared to be in the agony I was in when I watched the Holiday Special – in fact, most of the gang was convivial and laughing. Were they laughing to hide an inner sadness? I doubt it.

For next year's Life Day party, I plan on doing a few things differently. First, I'll definitely screen the Holiday Special – this will force my guests to wallow in the anguish of Life Day firsthand. Also, I'll only serve Rancor Gamete Extract – this beverage tastes the way Life Day should feel. Finally, I'll require all my guests communicate solely in Wookiee absolutely for no reason whatsoever.

In conclusion, Happy Life Day from io9. To you and yours, AUGHGHRUHGGHGGH.

Additional photography by Dave Digioia, Ian MacAllen, Laura Parry, and Lauren Rath.

Big Daddy from Kotaku
Alien from azhrialilu
Tentacle alien from Swishrelic
The Light Knight from batsax
Batman by birdsigh
Cthulhu by demona_hw
Dalek by UT Events
Dalek by Afraid Of Ducks
Master Chief from sleepi_tama
Jabba from Godlesswanderer
Optimus Prime from dalangalma
Snobot from frauclouds
Robot from gremlindog
Space Invader from gremlindog
TARDIS from MommaHeva
Temple of Doom from Geektopia
Totoro from Super Punch
Darth Vader from greycap
An alternate universe where we're all snowmen from VoIP

The Imperial Entanglements expansion for Star Wars Miniatures gave us Leia, Bounty Hunter - the damsel-creating-distress (for Jabba, that is) was wearing Boushh's old armor, but not his mask. Wizards of the Coast is giving us the real thing in the latest expansion, The Dark Times. This is Boushh in the good old days, before he died and his identity (not to mention gender) obscuring armor got passed to Leia Organa.

So who was Boushh? He was a member of the Ubese race, a desert-dwelling people with slender builds (thus making Leia's ruse possible, along with her facility with the Ubese language). Perhaps his most well-known quality as a bounty hunter was a seeming disregard for his own life. Always equipped with several thermal detonators, he loved to activate them and watch his opponent squirm through negotiations. Was he bluffing?

At 26 points, Boushh actually seems like a pretty useful figure. He doesn't depend on allies or command effects to do his job - in fact, he works best alone, stalking your opponent's leaders and unique figures and attacking them with a +4.

If a squad of Rebel guards (or Stormtroopers, depending on who's paying the most for his services that day) gets in his way, his Grenade 40 ability can deal out massive amounts of damage. He'll quickly clear the field of all those low-cost units that like to run around in packs.

The Dark Times expansion will hit store shelves on January 26, 2010. The set is focused on the period between episodes III and IV - the Galactic Empire is gaining strength, and many of the classic characters are present but not necessarily on-stage yet. It's something of a Dark Age for the galaxy, with crime and chaos the dominant themes. Along with some familiar faces, The Dark Times will build off of the Dark Horse comic book series (called simply Dark Times).

You can check out an entire gallery of other Dark Times miniatures and their stat cards over at Robot Viking. Plus, you can find reviews for two new Star Wars RPG books, Galaxy at War and Scavenger's Guide to Droids.

Sold Out: Harry Potter And The Half Blood Prince Toys or DVD
Instead: Homemade Butter Beer

Can't find the right Harry Potter DVD or wand? Quick - brew up some of your own Butter Beer. There are over 10 Recipes right here. Plus it's cheap and people will think you care more because you made it with your hands.

Not Out Yet: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs DVD
Instead: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs The Book

Judi Barrett and Ron Barrett's childrens' book is a classic tale. If you wanted to give the DVD, only to find it won't be out until January, give the book instead. It's inexpensive and a wonderful hardback children's book any light-hearted person would enjoy, kids or no kids.

Sold Out: Star Wars Clone Wars Toys
Instead: Knit Your Own Leia Wig

I'm not sure how fast you can knit, but just try to start the project and you're in the clear. Heck maybe it can be "a project the both of you work on." The pattern is available at Etsy.
But if knitting is too complicated, try these Star Wars papercraft models. Nothing sweeter than waking up Christmas morning to a house filled with Star Wars decorations.

Not Out Yet: Jennifer's Body DVD
Instead: Jennifer's Body Earrings

Any monster movie fan will love you for these jewelry nods to the horror flick. It's like secret cosplay - only the "cool kids" will get the reference. And they are a cute and inventive alternative to the DVD, which fans will most likely purchase themselves. Worst case scenario, you can pick up the Jennifer's Body soundtrack which has tracks by Screeching Weasel, and of course, the film's warbling emo ballad: Low Shoulder's "Through The Trees."

Earrings available at ETSY soundtrack available at Amazon.

Not Available: David Tennant
Instead: The Original Doctor Who Scarf

What better way to remind or console a David Tennant Doctor Who fan than with a homemade reminder that there have been plenty of other Doctors who have regenerated over the years, and that this fan pain too will pass? This Doctor Who Scarf Website has just about every pattern around, and breaks down exactly how long/thick each scarf stripe should be.

Canceled: SGU Christmas Day Marathon
Instead: BSG Series DVD Set or Netflix Subscription With Instant Watch

Planning on spending Christmas Day snuggled up with some SGU only to find out it's canceled? Purchase the entire Battlestar Galactica series instead. It's been out long enough that you can get a pretty sweet deal on the internet or at a local store, or simply buy a Netflix instant watch membership. Not only is instant watch full of films, but is has all of the Lost seasons ready for instant viewing. It's something you can buy online and watch immediately on a computer or video game console.

Sold Out: Latest New Scifi Novel
Instead: Go Classic

You cannot go wrong with buying classic literature if the trendy new novels are sold out, or if you aren't sure which new books are good. Check out used book stores to see if they are carrying any of the classics. And here's a tip: If the dust jacket looks too beaten up, just take it off and gift the original cover with a bow. You can always give them the cover later.

In fact, it's almost better to go used and get a ton of paperbacks for the person who has always wanted to read Ursula K. Le Guin, so they can read her serial work one after the other. Still, if you want a crisp new gift try an older story compilation like, The Complete Stories of J. G. Ballard. Here's a list of our nerdy book recommendations.

[via The Hollywood Reporter]

For gallery-free viewing, click here.

Part 1

Part 2 - And FINALLY Someone breaks down the horrible space taxes plot.

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

The British Court of Appeals upheld the original British verdict that the familiar white-and-black costume couldn't be considered copyrighted because it wasn't art. Instead, the costume has been considered "industrial design," and therefore only allowed to keep copyright for 15 years after creation. British Lord Justices Rix, Jacob and Patten considered the look of the Empire's cloned warriors to have a "utilitarian," rather than artistic, purpose, and denied Lucasfilm the right to enforce their US copyright in the United Kingdom.

It'll be interesting to see how this ruling could affect future British copyright cases. Can British companies now produce merchandise based on any movie or television designs, as long as they're older than 15 years, and use this as a defense? The Cybermen have been around for almost three times that long, let's see if someone's brave enough to test the BBC's legal wrath.

George Lucas loses court appeal over Star Wars costume copyright [Times Online]

Probably O'Bannon's biggest contribution to science-fiction movies is his work on the screenplay of Alien, which started life as his script Star Beast. According to Empire Magazine, O'Bannon's script was the movie's first draft, although others later worked on the screenplay. And Empire says he brought over several of his colleagues from Alejandro Jodorowsky's abortive film Dune to Alien.

But prior to Alien, O'Bannon was co-writer and visual effects supervisor on John Carpenter's loopy Dark Star. And he also played Sgt. Pinback, as seen in the clip above. And O'Bannon worked on the original Star Wars, helping to craft those great computer graphics of the Death Star plans and the attack run — and according to this poster at IMDB, he's also in the movie, as one of the technicians in the Rebel Base during the Battle of Yavin.

After Alien, he wrote the great helicopter movie Blue Thunder plus two episodes of the spin-off TV series, and he wrote Lifeforce, "one of the movies that I still make people sit down and watch against their will," according to novelist Richard Kadrey on Twitter. O'Bannon also wrote two Philip K. Dick adaptations, Screamers and Total Recall. He wrote and directed the Romero-inspired zombie comedy, Return Of The Living Dead. And he worked on both the Heavy Metal comic as well as the movie, writing the "Soft Landing" and "B17" segments of the film. Some claim his work on the Heavy Metal comic influenced the visual style of Blade Runner.

O'Bannon changed science-fiction on film forever, and he'll be missed. [Empire via Ain't It Cool News]

The official name for the Empire Strikes back spoof is Something Something Something Dark Side, and it'll be on DVD & Blu-ray 12/22.

Deluxe Editions Of Science Fiction/Fantasy Classics

Should you wish to view this in non-gallery format, click here.

Discover The Art Of Science Fiction, And Drool Over Collectibles

View this in non-gallery format by clicking here.

Explore The Wonders Of Science!

Also in non-gallery format, if you click here.

Additional reporting by Mary Ratliff.

For Whedonites, there's a simple choice of Single Issue Of The Week, and that's Angel: A Hole In The World #1, the first issue of a mini-series adapting the episode of the television series where Fred said goodbye and Illyria said hello. In a week weirdly quiet on the single issue front, it'd be a strong contender for everyone else as well.

Other single-issue choices would include DC's two Batman anthologies, Batman 80-Page Giant and Batman: Arkham Asylum Special, and IDW's Transformers: Bumblebee #1). But then there's also the first issue of Boom! Studios' Incorruptible, a companion to their Irredeemable series that asks what happens when a bad guy decides to go good (Clue: It's not as easy as you'd hope). Superhero thrills and spills will be yours.

Elsewhere, take out the credit card for some impressive trades and collections: Dark Horse Comics has a couple of coffee table art books (The Art of Emily The Strange and Drawing Down The Moon: The Art of Charles Vess). But there's also Star Wars: The Thrawn Trilogy, a hardcover collecting the comic versions of Timothy Zahn's three follow-ups to George Lucas' better cinematic threesome.

But while we're mentioning art books, IDW also has a great collection of mid-century sci-fi in the oversized The Art of Steve Ditko hardcover.

In similar media mode, Dynamite's Battlestar Galactica: Cylon War fills in some backstory of the Sci-Fi Channel incarnation of the show, and DC's Fringe collection does the same for those wondering what the deal was with William Bell and Walter Bishop in their younger days.

Those looking for violent superheroics can find their fill with Marvel's output for the week, which includes paperback versions of Secret Warriors Vol. 1 and the demonic X-Men book X-Infernus, as well as a hardcover collection of Thunderbolts: Widowmaker. Tis the season, after all.

Just like last week, next week and every other week of the year - well, except the week after next, because of the holidays - the complete list of everything hitting stores tomorrow is right here for your perusal, and you can find your local comic store here. Just remember: Start planning your skip week activities right now, before it's too late.

This trailer was released at the Spike TV Video Game Awards, revealing that there will be a Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2, canon be damned...

How the hell is he still alive? There were two options at the end of the game: death, or life as a half-robot half-creature thing, Sith Stalker, pictured here....

Not that we are complaining, Sam Witwer's Secret Apprentice rage and scowl are the things dreams are made of 00 but no thanks to the robot head and claw hands. This just doesn't work, or make sense. We liked the dark endings that tied up this character's fate with existing canon. Please do explain, LucasArts. More Force Unleashed concept art here.

But other spacey gaming news, we've got a new trailer from Star Trek Online, which also announced today that Zachary Quinto would be lending the game his voice! Here's the new Klingon-heavy trailer:

While this lovely contraption isn't for sale, you can become a fan of it over at their Facebook Page. And yes it IS from the same minds of the hamburger bed!

Just in case you are unfamiliar with the Uncanny Valley, we've added the 30 Rock Clip which expertly illustrates this phenomenon.

Additional reporting by Julia Carusillo.