Nerd tip: how to watch Star Wars Episode IV – A New Hope in ASCII
Still no plans for Sunday? Have no fear! You’re about to get a nerdy movie recommendation for the weekend: Star Wars Episode IV, entirely in ASCII on Windows. And it won’t cost you a cent.
On 9 January 2024, Disney and Lucasfilm revealed there would be a new Star Wars movie. The plot will be based on TV series The Mandalorian and its protagonists Din Djarin and Grogu.
The release date is still a while off, though. You shouldn’t expect the movie to come out before 2025 – and even that’s an optimistic estimate. So, to shorten the wait, I’ve got a very special Star Wars movie recommendation for you: the classic, Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope. Already seen it a thousand times, you say? Not the version I’m talking about, you haven’t! A couple of people (who apparently have a lot of time on their hands) have recreated the entire movie in ASCII. You can watch it for free on Windows.
Step 1: install Telnet
To be able to watch the film, you’ll need Telnet, an old, text-based client/server protocol. Back in the day, it could establish a connection with other computers via the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP). This used to be part of the standard Windows repertoire, but it’s usually deactivated these days. You’ll need to change that.
- Open the command prompt by pressing the Windows key and typing «cmd». After that, click on «Open as administrator».
- Then, type pkgmgr /iu: "TelnetClient", once again pressing «Enter» after you’ve done so.
- Once you’ve done that, just type «Telnet» into the command line and press «Enter».
Watch Star Wars – Episode IX in ASCII
- You’ll now have Telnet up and running. It looks similar to the command line, the only difference being that the first line says «Welcome».
- Type the letter «o» into the line and hit Enter. This is the command to open a Telnet connection.
- You’ll then see a new word: «to». Type «telehack.com» and hit Enter.
- Once the connection’s established, type «starwars» and press Enter.
- Daaa daaa dadada daaaaaa!
Port 23: connection failure
You might get a message saying that the connection to the host couldn’t be established. This usually means your firewall is blocking the TCP connection via port 23. If that’s the case, you’ll need to explicitly allow your firewall to accept the connection. Here’s how:
- Press the Windows key and type «Firewall». Select «Windows Defender Firewall».
- Click on «Advanced settings»
- Click on «Incoming rules»
- On the right, you’ll see the action «New rule». Click on that too.
- Select «Port» and click «Next».
- Click to «TCP», then «Specific local ports». This is usually already selected. Type «23» into the text bar, then click «Next».
- Select «Allow connection», then double click «Next».
- Give the rule a meaningful name like «Port 23» and click «Finish».
- Restart your PC.
Side note: if the connection still doesn’t work after you’ve implemented this fix, your router might be blocking port 23. You can approve the connection, but the method for doing so will depend on your router model.
Header image: Florian Bodoky
I've been tinkering with digital networks ever since I found out how to activate both telephone channels on the ISDN card for greater bandwidth. As for the analogue variety, I've been doing that since I learned to talk. Though Winterthur is my adoptive home city, my heart still bleeds red and blue.
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