
In 1987, the comedy icon Mel Brooks unveiled the spoof film Spaceballs, a lampoon of the famous space saga Star Wars. The characters included the renegade space pilot Lone Star (Bill Pullman), his hairy companion Barf (John Candy), and the wicked Darth Helmet (Rick Moranis). Although Star Wars fever was far from over at that time, with Return of the Jedi having been released four years earlier, it wasn’t until Spaceballs hit home video that it cultivated a devoted following. I recall watching this hilarious film as a young child in the 1990s, and interestingly enough, I may have seen Spaceballs before I watched Star Wars. To this day, it remains my favorite.