Ever since Return of the Jedi, everything related to Star Wars has been “pretty good” at best. The prequel trilogy seemed aimed at a younger demographic than the original trilogy, and Disney’s sequel trilogy started strong but ultimately collapsed in on itself due to both corporate and fan pressure. The Mandalorian was good for only part of its run and the same goes for The Clone Wars. (I’ll admit I haven't watched Andor, though I hear good things.)

From my perspective, only Star Wars project that has risen to the level of “masterpiece” in the past four decades, and that’s Weird Al Yankovic’s brilliant Star Wars parody, “The Saga Begins.” So when he performed it recently as part of a 23-minute recorded set for NPR's Tiny Desk series, it was a brutal reminder that Lucasfilm still hasn't managed to produce anything at this level in the 27 years since its initial release.

A perfect Star Wars parody

Like most of Weird Al’s best work, “The Saga Begins” is a direct parody of a beloved song rewritten to lampoon something else entirely, not the original song itself. In this case, Weird Al mocked Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace by rewriting Don McLean’s 1971 masterpiece “American Pie.” The original folk rock song ran over eight minutes long and was largely about “the day the music died,” which is the term used to describe February 3, 1959, the day rock stars Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper, and........

© Polygon