Star Wars is a film franchise consisting of multiple feature films, starting with Star Wars (1977), which was directed and written by George Lucas. This space opera story is about freedom fighters rebelling against an evil empire ruling over a distant galaxy. The original Star Wars was followed by The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983), and then by the prequels The Phantom Menace (1999), Attack of the Clones (2002), Revenge of the Sith (2005), and Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008). Disney produced a sequel trilogy and started an anthology series. The films inspired tremendous merchandizing and gained a large fan base.
Star Wars and 30 Rock
Star Wars is frequently referenced in the TV series 30 Rock, beginning with the Pilot, where the insane actor Tracy Jordan is seen thinking he is a Jedi, which is a special knight from the films. Like the show's creator Tina Fey, [1] 30 Rock's lead character Liz Lemon (played by Fey) is a huge fan of Star Wars, admitting to watching it many times with her friend Pete Hornberger in the episode "Fireworks" and saying she dressed up as the Star Wars character Princess Leia during four recent Halloweens ("The Source Awards").
Liz also uses said costume to get out of having to do Jury Duty. She wears it to the selection, and is almost never picked. The only time she was, was when Cerie changed her address on the electoral role to one in New York, rather than Chicago. When Liz goes to the court, she doesn't even seem like the weirdest person there.
She has used Star Wars metaphors to describe her life, acknowledging that she needs new DVDs. In contrast, Liz is not a fan of Attack of the Clones, singling it out as her least favourite Star Wars film ("Corporate Crush").
Other Star Wars references include Tracy taking on the identity of the character Chewie in "Tracy Does Conan."
Carrie Fisher, who co-starred in the original three Star Wars films as Princess Leia, eventually guest starred on 30 Rock as Rosemary Howard in the second season episode "Rosemary's Baby" in which she screamed, "Help me Liz Lemon! You're my only hope!", parodying a line from the film.