Mike's emotions get the better of him and turns to the SOMETHING (x3) DARK SIDE!

By Michael J Edwards / July 1, 2011

By now I think it's safe to assume that everyone knows Family Guy. It's been praised, criticised, cancelled and claimed to have been written by manatees. Now it has continued its Star Wars fixation with a follow up to Blue Harvest, the imaginatively-titled Family Guy: Something, Something, Something Dark Side.

Available at Amazon on DVD for £9.98 or on Blu-ray for £14.98. From the get-go, you know this is going to be another pop-culture heavy, plot-lite affair with plenty of nods to previous gags and characters, and playful jibes at the sci-fi trilogy (let's forget the prequels, shall we?) that is officially the favourite cinematic experience of 94.3% of the globe (I made that up). The story, as much as there is one, is identical to The Empire Strikes Back. Starting on Hoth, the rebels are forced to flee an Empire attack. Sent spinning in separate directions, Luke goes to Dagobah on instruction from Obi Wan to learn the ways of the Jedi, while Han, Leia and co head off to Cloud City to get help from Han's old friend Lando Calrissian: where they soon find themselves in more trouble than they expected. It's pretty obvious that Seth McFarlane is a Star Wars nut, because Something, Something, Something Dark Side is not so much a Family Guy interpretation as a complete frame-by-frame remake in places, with the odd wry observation added here and there for good measure. For instance, how many fellow Star Wars geeks out there realised that when Lando Calrissian flew the Millennium Falcon out of Cloud City, he was wearing Han Solo's clothes? And did anyone notice/care about the health and safety risks of the rebel base on Hoth? Whether your answer is yes or no, the key thing is that you think it's funny to point this stuff out; and I suspect that many a movie buff will enjoy just that.

For those of you less obsessed with film than myself and my geek brethren, there's always the handy game of spot-the-cameo. Whether it's elderly American comedians of Family Guy mainstays popping up in amusing alter-egos, there's plenty of appearances to keep you interested. What's more, they're all delivered with the trademark randomness that shot the series to fame, and angered its rivals so much. It's laugh-out-loud funny in places but, as with the other feature versions produced, the format can wear a little thin. Any longer than it's hour duration and I certainly would have been shuffling in my seat. Overall it's an entertaining watch for Family Guy and Star Wars fans alike, outside of that niche you're on troubled grounds and newbies (if there are any) to either franchise would be best advised to look elsewhere for their comedy capers.