– Spoiler Review –
Over two years since its initial announcement, Jon Watts and Christopher Ford’s Skeleton Crew has finally arrived on Disney+ with a two-episode series premiere, “This Could Be a Real Adventure” & “Way, Way Out Past the Barrier.” Enjoyable leads, an intriguing mystery, and a wistful sense of adventure, all despite some pacing issues, mark Skeleton Crew’s fulfilment of its 80’s-inspirations yet its ability to grow into its own thing at the same time.
Set roughly in the same timeframe as shows like The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, and Ashoka aka the “Mando-verse,” Skeleton Crew follows a group of ordinary kids on a seemingly ordinary planet who find something hidden in the woods and end up on an adventure of a lifetime. The barrier to entry is really low, as the setting of the kids’ home planet and its not-too-dissimilar-to-our-own-suburbia aesthetic can act as a gateway to fans of all-ages, as it makes it seem like our galaxy without it being our galaxy, while its kid-focused stakes make the adventure feel grand yet approachable, as if it was one we could’ve dreamt up as a kid ourselves or viewers could reasonable believe younger kids in the Star Wars galaxy might find themselves on. Releasing the first two episodes together gives a much better view on the overall tone of the series, as while the opening episode “This Could Be a Real Adventure” is heavy on the 80’s Amblin adventure vibes, “Way, Way Out Past the Barrier” feels more like Treasure Planet, still with those 80’s influences, yet it also brings out more of the Star Wars of it all as well. The overall pacing was off at times, sort of stopping and starting before taking off again without much warning, at least in the opening episode, while I felt the second, though shorter, had a more cohesive sense of vision. I do think we’ll need more time with the kids overall, as the pacing lets them mainly be archetypes for now, and Wim’s father Wendle almost feels too cold, even if it’s on purpose given the mysteries of their planet. For someone who wasn’t terribly hyped for Skeleton Crew before release, especially after the bum-inducing non-renewal of The Acolyte, I walked away pleasantly surprised and delighted, endured to the leads and eager to see what came next.
One of the more intriguing yet potentially polarizing aspects to Skeleton Crew is At Attin, the kids’ supposed home planet, and its distinctly space suburbia setting. When this setting was initially revealed in the trailers, I wasn’t so sure about it, as while it looked appropriately space-y, it still felt too close to home. After watching the show, while initially I was still unsure, the greater mysteries surrounding At Attin, and a deeper, longer glimpse inside its aesthetics really changed my tune towards it. I really loved the interior of the homes we saw as I’d honestly love a home which looked like any of theirs, so overall I loved the design choices. Overall, due to what we saw of At Attin, my wife said it reminded her of what Disney thought Epcot would look like and I honestly love the comparison, as it manages to work on two levels: a quick reference to a design ideal and yet also a utopic future which never came to pass/isn’t totally real. I’m not saying At Attin isn’t real, we know it’s a physical place and totally real, but its many growing mysteries are what point to it being forced, a utopia achieved through suppressive tactics which hide reality rather than embrace it. The first big hint things were off about the planet was the glimpse of the sky, a swirling vortex with a grid-like pattern of lights, denoting something sort of blocking the sky/keeping them hidden, while a subtler outlier is the way vehicles are on rails, as if they are always being told where and how to go/can’t stray from the path selected for them. Undersecretary Fara (Kerry Condon), Fern’s (Ryan Kiera Armstrong) mother, has some interesting interactions, first her very clearly false claim about having a busy schedule, secondly having her mentioning the kids will grow up to contribute to the Great Works, a reference to Chancellor Lina Soh’s efforts in the time of the High Republic, and the way she loses her smile when her daughter is out of sight in their home. The fact they have pristine Old Republic credits is another smaller, yet still strange quirk. The droids telling Wim’s (Ravi Cabot-Conyers) father Wendle (Tunde Adebimpe) that spacecraft are prohibited from arriving for leaving the planet sounds like more efforts of control. The way the kids are worried about a “barrier” aka the strange sky we saw earlier, and how easily they slip out of the planet despite it, as well as their surprise at what the galaxy looks like outside their planet, shows how truly, deeply isolated they are; so too does their fear over the hyperspace jump, a fun change of pace from how it usually gives most characters a sense of wonder their first time seeing it. And of course the most intriguing reality is At Attin is considered a myth/fairy tale by the pirates the kids end up running into, supposedly holding a lost ‘eternal treasure,’ so are they really on this mythical planet or is it all part of whatever is really happening there? It’s a fun bit of irony for kids like Fern and Wim, so eager to find adventure or fun elsewhere, that their home planet might’ve been the real treasure all along. This last bit, At Attin holding some secret treasure, combined with the on-rails society, for the briefest moments gave me a wild theory relating the show to The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, where it’s revealed Earth’s a giant experiment by mice, and I wondered if, in a less humorous way, the planet’s all some sort of experiment for…something. First Order’s first steps? Someone’s reluctance to deal with the galaxy’s never-ending cycle of war again? Truly hiding some great secret within the planet itself? While there’s no answer yet to the theorizing, one thing seems clear: At Attin feels purposefully made to look off from the rest of Star Wars because something is off about it. Whatever it may be, I’m intrigued enough to find out!
While the mystery and pirate-focused adventure are pulling me in, Skeleton Crew’s young cast really impressed, though I hope Kryiana Kratter will have more time to shine as KB soon. Ravi Cabot-Conyers’ performance as Wim, who is more interested in adventure than the doldrums of his current peaceful existence, and often acts without thinking, let me easily connect his feelings and actions to my own youth, helping me sink into Skeleton Crew with such a relatable audience surrogate. Robert Timothy Smith as Neel, Wim’s blue, long snouted friend, absolutely stole the show, as his worry-wort attitude and quick conformity, with a bigger heart than any of the characters deserve, lead to plenty of earnest laughter and someone we all need to protect (his little siblings are sooo cute!!). Ryan Kiera Armstrong captures a lot of nuance for the rebellious Fern, who seemingly has everything besides a parent who actually cares, and while her teasing rudeness is a little off-putting, how Armstrong sneaks in the hints it’s more about a cry for attention than true maliciousness reveals there’ll be an interesting journey for Fern to take. As I said before, I think Kratter’s KB gets the overall short end of the stick in the first two episodes, but she’s clearly the smartest of the bunch, regardless of her implants, and isn’t against calling Fern on her bullshit, which was a nice change of pace for the quiet friend of the loud, rebellious one, but she serves more to help move the kids along the plot so far. We got a lot of Neel and Wim’s friendship in focus, especially in the opening episode, and I hope we’ll get more of KB and Fern’s too, of course all while the four end up likely becoming friends along the way. Either way, the cast is great and the characters written believable for their age, and I’m a fan of the group and want to make sure they see this adventure through.
One thing has been clear lately, especially in Andor and The Acolyte, but Lucasfilm is putting some funds behind these shows and Skeleton Crew is right up there with some great effects across the board. When the kids end up on Port Borgo thanks to their stolen ship’s resident droid, SM-33 (Nick Frost), it’s such a memorable sequence, as it takes that wonder at seeing all the aliens in the bar in A New Hope and refreshes it with its own spin, first with the various models of ships parked in front of the port and then with the absolutely busy and packed port itself, with such an eye-watering variety of species new and old, I was glad our streaming was stuck buffering a few times so I could take it all in more, as my wife wouldn’t like how I long I would’ve wanted to pause and stare. There’s a sterile nature to At Attin, and its ever-watchful security droids are unsettling in their robotic nature, so the cramped and dirty confines of the Onyx Cinder and the grubby, packed, and bustling port felt like a return to Star Wars form thanks to the special and practical effects teams. And what ties it all together, like any Star Wars story, is the score from Mick Giacchino (whose father Michael Giacchino scored Rogue One!), who sneaks in some familiar themes every so often, but creates and a new and compelling soundscape that left me eager to hear more, especially as the pirates come into focus as the series goes on. The main theme, or what is called “The Kid’s Suite” had both my wife and I bobbing our heads back and forth without realizing it, giving us a sense of youthful adventure.
Episode 1: This Could Be a Real Adventure
Ever wanted to see the Star Wars version of pirates boarding and plundering another ship? The opening segment to the first episode is a brutal, quick, and cool looking scene where pirates board and raid a New Republic freighter, complete with pirates on ropes swinging over to the other ship, in space suits of course, blowing up their cannons to stop them destroying their planks aka airlock tubes. The supposed treasure inside the New Republic ship turns out to be a bust, leading to a mutiny against the current pirate Captain, Silvo. I don’t think this is the last we’ve seen of Silvo because…I’d take good money on Silvo being Jod Na Nawood, the character we know Jude Law plays. I can’t be the only one who believes this, I’m sure, though I arrived on it the moment Silvo started talking because, if they were really trying to mask Law’s voice, they didn’t mask it enough, while the character isn’t mentioned in the credits. It would also track why we see Jod in chains and in the current pirate captain’s brig at the end of the second episode, as he was banished there for his failure as Silvo. How he got into pirating, including his information on New Republic ships and their loot, will be an interesting thing to uncover as the show goes on, I think.
We don’t return to the pirates for the rest of the episode, instead the focus rightfully shifts over to At Attin and the kids, which includes several scenes of Wim, and even Neel, play acting with toys or fake lightsabers, a big yet important shift to ground us in their world quickly after the more explosive opening. I feel bad for Wendle, Wim’s dad, as he’s not able to help fill in the gap of Wim’s mother, who I’m assuming must have died prior to the start of the show, and is seemingly busy at work because of it, making him an absent parent. He definitely cares about Wim, there’s no doubt about it, but At Attin’s environment has it in his head he has to work, work, work, which tracks given the kids are taking a career assessment test at 12, and I feel like, without getting more time with him in the episode besides being the mostly absent and stern parent, Wendle comes off a little too cold at this point. I hope more time with the adults like him and Fara in future episodes will both flesh them out and unlock more about At Attin’s secrets, as it won’t be just the kids who will likely be learning what’s really going on and having to grapple with the truth.
Once the kids all fight for claimses over the find in the foods, and start investigating it once they get the mysterious door open, I really enjoyed the dusty, broken, and decrepit state of the interior, as well as our first glimpse at SM-33 abandoned to time. I was very much Wim as a kid, trying to press any and all buttons, looking to see what they could do, so I wouldn’t blame him in the slightest and I wouldn’t have been mad like the other kids were with him. The eventual reveal of the whole thing being upside down, and therefore having the ship flip over as they get ready to take off, felt like the most literal way to say their expectations/lives are being turned upside down. Having the kids screaming in fright over jumping into hyperspace, like I mentioned earlier, was such a fun and fresh twist on a characters usual reaction, like Ezra Bridger in Star Wars Rebels or Han Solo in Solo when he gets to do so in the Millennium Falcon for the first time.
Episode 2: Way, Way Out Past the Barrier
Sm-33 (Smee, because of course) is a really fun design, as his overall look is intimidating yet very functional with the extendable arms, while the limp, other broken aspects to him, and the weird, yet cute little creature named Snowball living in his eye-socket is a memorable addition. He seems eager to do his programming so it made sense how easily he accepts Fern and her obvious lie about killing the previous captain, which turns out to be extremely helpful when he comes in to rescue the kids at the end from the pirates. Her shocked look when he appears says a lot about how little she’s able to rely on other people to help her, especially without judging her actions. When SM-33 opened up and starting beating down the pirates, I was very impressed and really enjoyed the intensity of his abilities, though I’m not surprised Captain Brutus (Performed by Stephan Oyoung, voiced by Fred Tatasciore) the Shistavanen who takes over after Silvo’s failure, still managed to bring him down as he is a very old, still somewhat broken, model. Hopefully we’ll get some time to learn about the ship’s past, maybe even see what happened between the two dead crew members, as part of me is wondering if someone on At Attin killed them, as SM-33 referencing Aldhani as a bog world either means the Imperials slagged it after Cassian Andor visited it as part of a team to rob Imperial credits, or the ship is so old it once used to be a bog world, but the former seems far more likely than the latter.
Brutus and the pirate situation overall seems like a great way to start laying the seeds of how the First Order could creep back into relevance, something I hope the show manages to find some time to cover over the course of its season. It’s not all bad out in the Outer Rim, as the girls meet a Theelin woman named Melna (Paloma Garcia-Lee) who is willing to help them, even if they can’t believe it, so while the pirates rule the roost, the galaxy is still full of people who care. I don’t think Jod will be as caring as she is, as if he’s really Silvo, he’ll be more self-serving to start, likely seeing the chance at finding At Attin as his ticket back to being captain, but I’m sure the kids will get him to have a change of heart. His Force-sensitivity, at least apparently from how he gets the key (could it be a trick, though?), makes one wonder about his history even more and I look forward to Law joining the show in earnest.
Here are a few other things:
- Curious what all the Aurebesh said in Wim’s little story books? Star Wars Explained was on the case and translated them all!! At this moment, besides a Jedi named Lina which sort of references Lina Soh again (though she wasn’t a Jedi), there doesn’t seem to be anything which gives away any secrets…yet.
- Also curious about all the ships in space above Port Borgo? Someone else has a thread on their concept art inspirations or where we’ve seen them before!
- As we reported when the first trailer dropped, there were references to a now defunct musical at Walt Disney Parks which starred Michale Jackson and executive produced by George Lucas, and they aren’t being subtle about it now: Fuzzball, Captain EO’s sidekick is not only in the second episode, but the trivia gallery specifically states this is an intended reference. Neel’s species seems to be one as well, judging by the film’s poster. Expect more as the show goes, I think.
- The episode guides, with trivia reveals, new stills, and behind-the-scenes looks are already out for episode 1 and 2!
- The moment the weird dancing holo started playing in front of Neel’s siblings, I immediately knew they were referencing the original and much-maligned Holiday Special. Get a drink and find it on YouTube, it’s a hoot of weird time.
- Don’t forget, Skeleton Crew will begin releasing as originally scheduled, on Tuesday at 8pm CST, for its remaining 6 episodes, even releasing on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve (so my reviews for those episodes might be a little delayed due to the holidays/hangovers).
Skeleton Crew‘s two-episode series premiere, “This Could Be a Real Adventure” & “Way, Way Out Past the Barrier,” made this unsure fan a convert, leaving me intrigued for more.
+ Engaging cast brings to life fun characters to watch
+ At Attin’s mysteries
+ Sense of adventure
+ Looks gorgeous and sounds delectable
– Pacing starting and stopping too much
– Characters could use more time to shine over plot
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website on Bluesky, Twitter @MynockManor, and Instagram @mynockmanor.