When Dominic Polcino, the director of "Family Guy: Blue Harvest," starts chatting about Star Wars, it's obvious that his fandom stems all the way back to his childhood. "I remember hearing about Star Wars on the school yard before I saw it and it made no sense at all, the way the other kids would describe it," Polcino says. "Star Wars was so different than anything else at the time. There were laser swords and blasters and a Death Star -- a space station that was completely spherical. So it was really strange and I didn't really understand it until I saw the movie when I was 13."
"We tried to get our parents to take us to the theater every weekend," Polcino adds. "So I probably ended up seeing it five times that summer, which is probably a quarter of the amount of times most of my more wealthy friends saw it."
Not only did Polcino wear a Star Wars shirt in his school ID photo, but he made sure his appreciation was obvious during one of the best holidays of the year. "I had a Tusken Raider costume that I made for Halloween," Polcino smiles. "I built the mask using paper mache and pieces of metal. And my mother made the cloth part of the costume. It was pretty sophisticated."
His toy collection contained quite a few diverse items. "I had the Hammerhead figure which was pretty cool looking," Polcino recalls. "The Cantina creatures were well sculpted. In the old days I also got the cards, and the Kenner hand-crank movie projector, but lately I have a few Queen Amidala toys since I like her design -- if you know what I mean."
Even seeing the "Star Wars Holiday Special" when it debuted on CBS in 1978 didn't alter his love for the films. "I remember seeing the 'Star Wars Holiday Special' when it aired," Polcino says. "Even at the time it didn't seem good. I just don't see Chewie as a family man."
Speaking of family men, Polcino can't wait to see what the fans will think of the upcoming Star Wars special "Family Guy: Blue Harvest" which he and the rest of the "Family Guy" crew showed a sneak peak at both Celebration IV and Comic-Con. "Celebration IV was a lot of fun," Polcino says. "You had fans who liked 'Family Guy' and Star Wars, and so it was the best audience for this special. We showed 10 minutes of clips from 'Family Guy: Blue Harvest.' It was really nice to see the instant positive reaction from fans. I won't say I'm surprised since that is the ideal audience, so I'm hoping that the rest of America who aren't hardcore fans will embrace the show as well. There's definitely something for everybody."
When Polcino had originally been asked to direct the special he was more than thrilled. "The "Family Guy" team approached Lucasfilm after the idea came up to give a whole dedicated episode of the show a shot," Polcino says. "I suppose George Lucas wasn't bothered by our previous Star Wars jokes so it worked out. I was fortunate to be asked to direct "Family Guy: Blue Harvest" because I was immediately aware it would be a historical episode."
And what's Polcino's favorite part of the special? "Stewie playing Darth Vader is a delight -- it's great to see all that evil boil down into one tiny little character," Polcino laughs. "That's going to be a lot of fun for fans to see."
Polcino's no stranger to seeing Star Wars spoofs in "Family Guy." In fact, one of his favorites that aired before the special included an epic battle amongst two characters. "Cleveland and Quagmire were having a fight in front of the house, and then it cuts to the Emperor and he's cheering them on," Polcino says. "And then Lois punches him. The Emperor is always funny."
However the funny bone on the Dark Lord of the Sith might be fractured. "After Amidala died he lost his sense of humor," Polcino jokes.
