There are few things that stick in my craw more than when Darth Media or Darth Fanboy or an ad campaign proclaims something "the new Star Wars." Or, it's country cousin, "this is what Star Wars should have been."

Perhaps on some level one should be flattered that despite six years' plus worth of steady bashing by the press and by the internet haters, and with nearly 30 years of existence under its belt, Star Wars is still the standard by which other "franchises" are measured.

But attempting to crown anything in the sf/f kingdom as "the new Star Wars" shows little understanding of its unique value and place in film history. It's just as ridiculous as proclaiming someone as "the new James Dean," "the new Beatles," "the new Bob Marley," or "the new Elvis." Nobody will ever be the same as those people; they were unique performers and what they gave to the world is unique. They cannot and will not ever be replaced, even by those who were clearly influenced or inspired by them.

Similarly, nothing will ever be the same as the Star Wars phenomenon. The films not only have crafted perhaps the first mythology from the relatively-new motion picture medium, they have also had a very far-reaching effect on world culture as a whole. There are few aspects of life that haven't been touched in some way by Star Wars and few stories that have reached so many people. The closest thing today there is to something like Star Wars is Harry Potter, and even that phenomenon is relatively new. We don't know how Harry Potter will play in 20-30 years and even so, it's still a unique phenomenon based on a different medium. Star Wars's effect on the movies, t.v., video games, and other technology as we know them today cannot be overstated (much of this is chronicled in the new book Droidmaker). Much of what we see on the big screen (or the little screen), hear on our home theater systems, or buy in tie-in merchandise is because of the technical and marketing breakthroughs pioneered by the Star Wars series.

I was a kid when A New Hope, which was known back then as simply "Star Wars," was released and there has been absolutely nothing like the excitement and insanity of that time (1977-1978). Given how popular culture has divided itself into niches, it's not likely to happen again in my lifetime, just as it's not likely we'll ever see a t.v. miniseries as popular as "Roots" or have another pop or rock album that could sell as well as Fleetwood Mac's "Rumours" or Michael Jackson's "Thriller." Someone is going to have to reinvent the wheel to make a film that will kick start the medium into the future, and even that will have been built on foundations laid by Star Wars in the past.

So why the hurry to find a so-called successor to Star Wars? Part of it is the short memory of a fickle public. As Harlan Ellison once said, "Nostalgia is what you had for breakfast." As is the case with youth, fancies change at the drop of a hat. Fandom has become about running for whatever's the bright new shiny at the moment and forgetting about it as soon as something else comes along. Add to that a strange obsession among some fans to "punish" Papa George because the saga didn't turn out the way they wanted; they really want something "better" to take the saga's place so they could be smug in the knowledge they were right. Fans like being a part of something bigger than themselves in any case and lots of them will run for whatever's the flavor of the moment.

Regardless of what that flavor is though, none of them will ever be anything like Star Wars.