Author(s): Mark O'Connell

Entertainment

From the untold magic (and fear) of an uncle's VHS recording of Close Encounters of The Third Kind to childhood crushes on Christopher Reeve, bedroom remakes of Return of The Jedi, meeting Darth Vader in a department store, the profound trauma of losing every Star Wars figure on the island of Crete, and the terror of watching Poltergeist way too young, Watching Skies is about how Hollywood helped a kid from the frozen planet of Britain come to terms with a broken home and a lack of siblings, and how that 1980s Californian galaxy of BMX bikes, M&Ms, Atari arcade games and a backyard full of Star Wars toys was ultimately just too far, far away.