"May the fourth be with you."
For years and years, Star Wars fans the world round have celebrated their love for the iconic franchise on May 4, a shoutout to the series' famous line, "May the Force be with you."
Well, it appears that two nerd-tastic sitcoms want to get in on the action this year, as The Big Bang Theory (which already had its Xbox One vs. PS4 episode this year) and The Goldbergs will be airing special Star Wars-themed episodes in honor of Jedis everywhere. The Hollywood Reporter has the scoop:
"In 'The Proton Transmogrification' -- the episode set to air May 1 and timed to the annual May 4 Star Wars Day -- the gang gets together to celebrate the annual geek holiday, while Sheldon (Jim Parsons) is guided by visions of his childhood idol and mentor, Professor Proton (Emmy winner Bob Newhart), who appears to the socially challenged genius as his own Jedi master," THR reports.
So what exactly is in the cards for this special episode? Well, it appears that Sheldon will be making a pilgrimage to Dagobah, much like Luke Skywalker did in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.
"For the episode, the CBS comedy teamed with a group of special effects technicians from Lucasfilm's Industrial Light & Magic to re-create Dagobah -- the remote world of swamps and forest that served as a refuge for Yoda during his exile -- and provide props for the episode, including a light saber," THR reports. "Lucasfilm experts consulted on the episode and visited the Big Bang Theory set to oversee the production, with the final touches completed at its San Francisco headquarters."
So, that sounds awesome. Good to see that CBS went out of their way to get in touch with the right people for this episode. Wait, or was it the other way around?
"We were approached by the Lucasfilm people to do something to celebrate Star Wars Day, which was nice," Big Bang co-creator Chuck Lorre told THR.
Oh, huh. So Lucasfilm actually brought up the idea, not the other way around. I find that interesting, since Lucasfilm is owned by Disney now, which also owns ABC. You'd think that CBS would've had to knock on Lucasfilms' door, not the other way around. Perhaps since Big Bang is one of the top comedies on TV at the moment, Lucasfilm figured the exposure would be worth more than helping a competing network.
But ABC isn't going to be left out, either. The Goldbergs will be getting their own Star Wars-centric episode as well. Main character Adam is a known Star Wars fanatic on the show, and the show will be playing off of that.
"As part of the tie-in, Lucasfilm partnered with studio Sony Pictures Television and ABC for the May 6 episode titled 'A Wrestler Named Goldberg,'" THR reports. "Lucasfilm will help promote the episode in the lead-up to the broadcast. The episode sees Adam (Sean Giambrone) and Erica (Hayley Orrantia) encounter elaborately costumed Star Wars fans, including Reno 911's Thomas Lennon, while waiting in line at the Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi opening."
So that all sounds fun as well. Which episode has you the most "geeked?" Let us know in the comments!
