"Something, Something, Something, Dark Side" is a direct-to-video special of the animated series Family Guy which later served as the 20th episode of the show's eighth season and is the second part of the series' Star Wars parody trilogy Laugh It Up, Fuzzball. It originally was released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc on December 22, 2009, and later aired on Fox in the United States on May 23, 2010. The episode is a retelling and parody of the 1980 Star Wars film sequel The Empire Strikes Back, recasting characters from Family Guy into roles from the film.
The episode was written by Kirker Butler and directed by Dominic Polcino. It received high praise from critics for its accurate depiction of the original film, as well as its inclusion of many cultural references. According to Nielsen ratings, it was viewed in 6.13 million homes in its original airing. The episode featured guest performances by Jon Benjamin, John Bunnell, James Caan, Jackson Douglas, Joe Flaherty, Phil LaMarr, Kevin Michael Richardson, George Rogan and James Woods, along with several recurring guest voice actors for the series.
Plot
As the Griffin family is watching television, the power suddenly goes out again, leading Peter to retell the story of The Empire Strikes Back.
After the "opening crawl" an Imperial Star Destroyer deploys a series of probe droids in search of the Rebel Alliance. One of the probe droids (Joe) lands on the ice planet Hoth, where the Rebels have set up a base. Rebel commander Luke Skywalker (Chris) is patrolling when he is attacked by a large wampa (Cookie Monster) and taken back to its lair. At the base, Han Solo (Peter) announces his intention to leave the Rebellion to Princess Leia (Lois) and Carlist Rieekan (Dr. Hartman), with Leia objecting to his decision, however she denies it when confronted, saying she would rather kiss George Takei. When he finds out that Luke has not yet returned, Han sets out on his "Dondon" to find him. Luke escapes the wampa lair and has a vision of his late mentor Obi-Wan Kenobi (Herbert), who tells him to go to the Dagobah system to learn the ways of the Force from Jedi Master Yoda, after offering him a bowl of Zima soup. Han quickly locates Luke, and the two are rescued soon after.
Soon after, the Empire discovers the Rebel base, and Darth Vader (Stewie) orders an attack. The Imperial fleet exits hyperspace too early, giving the Rebels time to evacuate the base while Luke leads his squadron of snowspeeders to hold off the Empire's battalion of Imperial Walkers. Imperial stormtroopers break into the base, forcing Han to escape in the Millennium Falcon with Leia, C-3PO (Quagmire) and Chewbacca (Brian), while Luke escapes in his X-wing with R2-D2 (Cleveland), stopping to see R2's niece's violin recital. The Millennium Falcon enters an asteroid field and Han decides to dock inside a cave to repair the ship. They flee when they discover they have actually landed in the belly of a space slug (Meg). Meanwhile, Luke crash-lands in the swamps of Dagobah and finds Yoda (Carl) amid the foggy landscape. Yoda trains Luke, guiding him through a series of training exercises, including watching "sweet-ass DVD releases", and a training montage that parodies Rocky IV.
Darth Vader is ordered by the Emperor (Carter) to capture Luke and turn him to the dark side of the Force. Vader recruits bounty hunters to track down and capture Luke's friends, intending to use them as bait to trap Luke, including Raggedy Andy, whom he orders to leave. With the Millennium Falcons hyperdrive broken, Han and company escape by hiding amongst a field of disposed trash, but are tracked by Boba Fett (Ernie the Giant Chicken), after hitting a "space bum" collecting some of the garbage. Luke has a premonition that his friends are in danger and leaves Dagobah to save them, although he has not finished his Jedi training. Yoda initially doesn't want him to go, but encourages it after Luke suggests Yoda fight Vader himself.