Mad #203 (Albert Feldstein) - Star Wars Musical Issue - December 1978

Frank Jacobs was again the dominant writer in this issue.  In addition to his excellent parody that recasts Star Wars as a musical, he also wrote the best parody of Sesame Street ("If Sesame Street Branched out into Specialized Avenues of Education") that I have seen in a black-and-white magazine.  This is the second parody of Star Wars in the same year.  The first ("Star Roars") appeared in Mad #196.  I was surprised that Harry North was chosen to draw Star Roars instead of Mort Drucker but my wish was fulfilled in #203.  Drucker added his touch with excellent caricatures and a few cameos including Lucy Van Pelt, Kermit the Frog, Fred Flintstone, B.C., the Tin Man and Star Trek's Kirk & Spock. 

Jack Davis was the perfect artist for the Sesame Street parody.  His drawings added the class that the article deserved.  [JAM 9/24/2010]

Television writer, Dennis Snee had two articles in the issue: "Easily-Computed Human Factors" and "Amazing Facts About the Animal World ..."

Exotic bird is smoking a cigarette in "Fantasy 'Buy' Land."

Departments:
Space Opera - The Force And I
Don Martin - One Morning at Max's Novelty Shop; One Afternoon at Rocky's Diner; One Evening at the Bus Terminal
Hokey-Focus - More Candid Snapshots of Historical Celebrities
Write On! - If Freedom of the Press Applied to High School Papers
Formula Equation - Easily Computed Human Factors
Berg's-Eye View - The Lighter Side of Rip-Offs
Auto-Suggestion - How To Read a New Car Ad
Clothes Encounters - A Mad Look at the "Clorox" Commercial
Sic Transit Gloriously - Mad Specialized Tours for You And Your Neurosis
Opened Sesame - If "Sesame Street" Branched out into Special Avenues of Education
The Nerds And the Bees - Amazing Facts About the Animal World vs. Amazing Facts About the American Scene
Paying Atoll - Fantasy "Buy" Land

Fold-In - Sick Dollar