Spike TV Enters a New Galaxy With the Complete Star Wars(TM) Saga

NEW YORK, March 24 /PRNewswire/ -- The Force is with Spike TV this April as the complete Star Wars Saga comes to basic cable. Airing Friday, April 4 through Sunday, April 6, and Friday, April 11 through Sunday, April 13, the two-weekend event includes the broadcast premiere of Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith and the basic cable premieres of Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace and Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones. Spike TV's Star Wars presentation marks the first time that all six movies will be presented together on a basic cable network.

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Spike TV's presentation of the Star Wars Saga will feature digitally re-mastered versions of the films, shown uncut and presented in HD where available. Throughout each weekend, Spike TV viewers will be treated to special Star Wars features provided by Lucasfilm Ltd., including a behind-the- scenes look at the making of Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith. Spike TV will also premiere an exclusive clip of LucasArts' highly anticipated new videogame, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, which is scheduled for release this summer.

    Spike TV's Star Wars schedule is as follows:

    -- Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace (1999, PG*)
       Premieres Friday, April 4 (8:00 - 11:00 PM, ET/PT; Encore Saturday,
       April 5 (5:00 - 8:00 PM, ET/PT) & Sunday, April 20 (8:00 - 11:00 PM,
       ET/PT & 11:00 PM - 2:00 AM, ET/PT).

       Stranded on the desert planet Tatooine after rescuing young Queen
       Amidala from the impending invasion of Naboo, Jedi apprentice Obi-Wan
       Kenobi and his Jedi master discover nine-year-old Anakin Skywalker, a
       young slave unusually strong in the Force. Anakin wins a thrilling
       Podrace and with it his freedom as he leaves his home to be trained as
       a Jedi. The heroes return to Naboo where Anakin and the Queen face
       massive invasion forces while the two Jedi contend with a deadly foe
       named Darth Maul. Only then do they realize the invasion is merely the
       first step in a sinister scheme by the re-emergent forces of darkness
       known as the Sith.

    -- Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones (2002, PG)
       Premieres Saturday, April 5 (8:00 - 11:00 PM, ET/PT); Encores Sunday,
       April 6 (4:30 - 8:00 PM, ET/PT) & Sunday, April 27 (8:00 - 11:00 PM,
       ET/PT & 11:00 PM, ET/PT & 11:00 PM - 2:00 AM, ET/PT).

       Ten years later, the galaxy is on the brink of civil war. Under the
       leadership of a renegade Jedi named Count Dooku, thousands of solar
       systems threaten to secede from the Galactic Republic. When an
       assassination attempt is made on Senator Padme Amidala, the former
       Queen of Naboo, twenty-year-old Jedi apprentice Anakin Skywalker is
       assigned to protect her. In the course of his mission, Anakin discovers
       his love for Padme as well as his own darker side. Soon, Anakin, Padme,
       and Obi-Wan Kenobi are drawn into the heart of the Separatist movement
       and the beginning of the Clone Wars.

    -- Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith (2005, PG-V)
       Premieres Sunday, April 6 (8:00 - 11:00 PM, ET/PT); Encore Monday,
       April 7 (4:30 - 8:00 PM, ET/PT).

       Three years after the onset of the Clone Wars, the noble Jedi Knights
       have been leading a massive clone army into a galaxy-wide battle
       against the Separatists. When the sinister Sith unveil a
       thousand-year-old plot to rule the galaxy, the Republic crumbles and
       from its ashes rises the evil Galactic Empire. Jedi hero Anakin
       Skywalker is seduced by the dark side of the Force to become the
       Emperor's new apprentice -- Darth Vader. The Jedi are decimated, as
       Obi-Wan Kenobi and Jedi Master Yoda are forced into hiding. The only
       hope for the galaxy are Anakin's own offspring -- the twin children
       born in secrecy who will grow up to become Luke Skywalker and Princess
       Leia Organa.

    -- Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope (1977, PG)
       Premieres Friday, April 11 (8:00 - 11:00 PM, ET/PT); Encore Saturday,
       April 12 (5:00 - 8:00 PM, ET/PT).

       Nineteen years after the formation of the Empire, Luke Skywalker is
       thrust into the struggle of the Rebel Alliance when he meets Obi-Wan
       Kenobi, who has lived for years in seclusion on the desert planet of
       Tatooine. Obi-Wan begins Luke's Jedi training as Luke joins him on a
       daring mission to rescue the beautiful Rebel leader Princess Leia from
       the clutches of the evil Empire. Although Obi-Wan sacrifices himself in
       a lightsaber duel with Darth Vader, his former apprentice, Luke proves
       that the Force is with him by destroying the Empire's dreaded Death
       Star.

    -- Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back (1980, PG)
       Premieres Saturday, April 12 (8:00 - 11:00 PM, ET/PT); Encore Sunday,
       April 13 (5:00 - 8:00 PM, ET/PT).

       Three years after the destruction of the Death Star, Imperial forces
       continue to pursue the Rebels. After the Rebellion's defeat on the ice
       planet Hoth, Luke journeys to the planet Dagobah to train with Jedi
       Master Yoda, who has lived in hiding since the fall of the Republic. In
       an attempt to convert Luke to the dark side, Darth Vader lures young
       Skywalker into a trap in the Cloud City of Bespin. In the midst of a
       fierce lightsaber duel with the Sith Lord, Luke faces the startling
       revelation that the evil Vader is in fact his father, Anakin Skywalker.

    -- Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi (1983, PG)
       Premieres Sunday, April 13 (8:00 - 11:00 PM, ET/PT); Encore Monday,
       April 14 (5:00 - 8:00 PM, ET/PT).

       In the epic conclusion of the Saga, the Empire prepares to crush the
       Rebellion with a more powerful Death Star while the Rebel fleet mounts
       a massive attack on the space station. Luke Skywalker confronts his
       father Darth Vader in a final climactic duel before the evil Emperor.
       In the last second, Vader makes a momentous choice: he destroys the
       Emperor and saves his son. The Empire is finally defeated, the Sith are
       destroyed, and Anakin Skywalker is thus redeemed. At long last, freedom
       is restored to the galaxy.

Lucasfilm, the Lucasfilm logo, STAR WARS(TM), and related properties are trademarks and/or copyrights, in the United States and other countries, of Lucasfilm Ltd. and/or its affiliates. TM & (C) Lucasfilm Ltd. All rights reserved. All other trademarks and trade names are properties of their respective owners.

About Spike TV:

Spike TV is available in 96.1 million homes and is a division of MTV Networks. A unit of Viacom NYSE: VIA NYSE: VIA.B, MTV Networks is one of the world's leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms. Spike TV's Internet address is www.spike.com.

* Ratings are TV ratings; MPAA ratings of each film differ.