The fighter jolted as a torpedo was launched, a series of loud explosions were then heard, signaling the destruction of the deadly station, the Death Star. This scene from Star Wars: A New Hope can be interpreted differently when crossing through different versions. Three of these mediums, Doescher’s play, a radio drama, and the screenplay of this movie will be compared and contrasted, revealing the uniqueness of each interpretation. By the end of this essay, the similarities and differences between the radio drama, play, and screenplay will be revealed, ultimately proving that the play is the best medium. Between the screenplay, play, and radio drama, there are many similarities. The most noticeable similarity is the fact that all of the versions tell the same story in a script format. In addition to this, they all have similar pacing. …show more content…
One noticeable difference is the amount of narrative in each medium, as both the play and radio drama has a less narrative compared to the screenplay. In addition, the three mediums also express the emotions of the characters differently. One example of this is seen in Doescher’s play, “O be thou safe, dear R2, and return! For thou wouldst not that my existence should become a bore! O Fate, I prithee, keep them safe-my Master and my only friend-else should I find a lonely, tragic end” (Doescher 150). In this excerpt, Doescher is able to tell the inner thoughts and feelings of a certain character, as compared to the radio drama, where the thoughts and feelings are only suggested through dialogue. Another difference between the mediums is the language. The screenplay translates certain alien character dialogue into English, whereas the radio drama and play leave the all alien languages by itself, forcing readers/listeners to infer what they are saying. Therefore, the radio drama, screenplay, and play have many