Star Wars: The Clone Wars (animated)

[Dasquian Belargic]

http://www.starwars.com/video/

Just incase anyone hasn't seen it yet, there's a "sneak peek" video of the Clone Wars movie on the official site :D

[Spectre]

Very cool. :D

[Zem-El Vymes]

I gotta say, I'm impressed with the finished look of the animation in this. I didn't think much about the beginning stills, but this has a really neat look to it. It's sort of a bridge between Tartakovsky and the real thing.

[Karl Valten]

Oh hell yes

[Morgan Evanar]

Ehhhh I'm not convinced at all.

[Droo]

I'm with Morg on this. To me, it's just more of the same. Who knows?

[Droo]

<A HREF="http://playlist.yahoo.com/makeplaylist.dll?sid=64024599&sdm=web&pt=rd">New High-Def Trailer</A>

"I have a bad feeling about this."

Action action action. Great - we got bucketloads of that from the previous three films and I'm fairly sure history will regard that trilogy of prequels with a resounding "Meh". This is really not impressive at all. Lucasarts can orchestrate complex CG/animated battle sequences? Revelation! There's hardly any evidence of story other than "Kidnapped son Jabba's has what" and the quality of voice acting appears to be on par with the quality of writing. That is to say it's worse than the films. I'm really beginning to hate Star Wars.

[Jedi Master Carr]

<A HREF="http://playlist.yahoo.com/makeplaylist.dll?sid=64024599&sdm=web&pt=rd">New High-Def Trailer</A>

"I have a bad feeling about this."

Action action action. Great - we got bucketloads of that from the previous three films and I'm fairly sure history will regard that trilogy of prequels with a resounding "Meh". This is really not impressive at all. Lucasarts can orchestrate complex CG/animated battle sequences? Revelation! There's hardly any evidence of story other than "Kidnapped son Jabba's has what" and the quality of voice acting appears to be on par with the quality of writing. That is to say it's worse than the films. I'm really beginning to hate Star Wars.

It looks fine to me for a trailer. It is hard to say what the story will be like from it. Also it does seem aimed more at kids so that is something to consider.

[Droo]

The point is a trailer is supposed to convey a sense of what the movie is offering to its audience, hence selling itself. I got a sense of the film from that trailer and I'm just not sold and I'm not going to fall into the same trap I did with each of the prequels and believe it to be so much better than what it is just because it has the old fanfare and lightsaber play. The point about pitching it to kids is moot; children's films need not be brainless or lacking in plot and I feel this looks like it will be guilty of both. I know I'm assuming a lot based on a trailer but it's not just that, I'm also quite angry for being duped into thinking modern Star Wars productions, outside of certain computer games, are any good. When we see the words "Star Wars" we ought to expect, and quite rightly, quality story-telling and I'm afraid for me, that standard has slipped dramatically over the past years and this new film looks like it will do little to convince me otherwise.

All that said, I'd love to be wrong about this, it's just that I'm fairly sure I'm not.

[Dasquian Belargic]

I think it looks like it's gonna be fun :)

[JMK]

The point is a trailer is supposed to convey a sense of what the movie is offering to its audience, hence selling itself.

This is hardly an earth-shattering revelation, but Star Wars doesn't have to sell itself to anyone. The trailer could have been 3 minutes of Palpatine sitting on the loo, drawn by a 4 year old with crayons and people would still be stoked. Everyone knows what they're getting with Star Wars: action, clunky dialogue and more action, with the effects being somewhere between outstanding, cutting-edge and jawdropping.


I think it looks like it's gonna be fun :)
It's going to be a blast, I just hope it has some noteworthy items to add to the SW mythos.

[Droo]

This is hardly an earth-shattering revelation, but Star Wars doesn't have to sell itself to anyone.


I hope the day comes when George Lucas proves you wrong on that statement if the current state of Star Wars is a sign of what is to come. And this is exactly my problem:

Cue "A Long Time Ago In A Galaxy Far Far Away..." Cue fanfare. And audiences turn into gibbering lunatics just because an awesome few films were made decades ago. I think as Star Wars fans we have a right to demand better film-making from these guys, we just have to realise we also deserve it rather than settling for just action and special effects.

The thing that is curious is that in rounding up what Star Wars is all about to the audience you forgot one important thing; admist the "action, clunky dialogue and more action" with jaw-dropping effects, you failed to mention the story. And this is not surprising because it seems George Lucas has also forgot about the story which made his original trilogy so popular. The story of Star Wars is drowned in a frothing crucible of CGI and bad writing.

Clunky dialogue is not endearing to me. It is unnacceptable and I find it frustrating that the fans of Star Wars have become accustomed to lowering our standards just so that we convince ourselves we're getting the best we can get. We're not and it's become exactly the same scenario as the Batman and James Bond franchises. After seeing Casino Royale, I remember writing something on here like "finally, instead of saying 'That was a great Bond film,' I can now say 'What an excellent film!'"

This is the point I'm trying to make here: why should our standards or expectations be lowered just so we can go on loving something that used to be so much better than what it is now? Where's the Casino Royal or Batman Begins of Star Wars? I think we need one and would love to see it done, except with new characters and story, of course.

Maybe it will be fun. Maybe it will be a blast. But I remember when Star Wars was much more than that.

[Jedi Master Carr]

I think you are better off waiting for the Live action series if you want anything serious. This being a cartoon, I really don't expect anything serious.

[Morgan Evanar]

Why should we lower our standards because it's animated?

[Rutabaga]

All I know is, I saw the trailer today, and it made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I guess I'm not all that critical in a lot of ways, but all I was thinking was that the idea of going to a theater to see a new Star Wars movie is kind of neat. So I'll be going to see it. :)

And all the kids in the theater seemed to be excited, so that may be a good sign.

[Dasquian Belargic]

http://www.starwars.com/video/view/000636.html

^ Here's some additional footage, focusing mainly on the battles in the film.

[Kvettch]

I'm quite looking forward to this.

The only problem I foresee is how they managed to retcon Anakin's age, the fact that he suddenly has an apprentice, and about most of the the other continuity from the comics and books. Sure, it's a given that GL doesn't really care about whether his movies contradict EU continuity, but now this is a movie contradicting the other movies... crazy!

[Dasquian Belargic]

I guess they will probably kill the apprentice off, or send her somewhere into the Unknown Regions, before the movie ends.

[Tri'ahna Zylary]

According to an interview with Karen Traviss (who wrote the movie novelisation) Lucasarts wouldn't allow her and her co-writer for the series to have any backstory on the apprentice. Her entire background and history up to the point where she becomes Anakin's apprentice is left in the dark and cannot be developed.... whatever that might suggest for the series etc.

Well she either gets killed off during Order 66 or she turns dark.

[Ilias Nytrau]

I care not about the fact that it's animated and all that other drivel. I'm going to see it either in or out of theaters ANYWAY. :rolleyes

[Vipul Chandrashekar]

I'm sure I'll get it on DVD but I don't feel compelled to see it in theaters.

[Telan Desaria]

Nyeh.

I of course, love battles. That is what it is - Star WARS - not a love story. The human play is ok, dialogue is important, but again - WARS.

That said, I do enjoy some actual acting now and again. And from the trailers I've seen, none of the original voices are present nor is the animation as good as the CGI from Revenge of the Sith.

So, I guess I will see it, but my criticism will be singularly focused on combat and I am VERY hard to please...

[Travis North]

Walkers battles while scaling cliff faces.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

I saw this movie, midnight showing. I have to be honest, my expectations were not very high. I've heard very little buzz about the movie, and when we arrived at the movie theatre an hour or so before the showing the 'line' consisted of about ten people.

Pretty different from my last Star Wars movie experience, which was eighteen hours in alternating pouring down rain and blistering sun for the chance to see Revenge of the Sith from somewhere near middle middle. (Middle middle or back middle are the prime movie watching spots in the theater. Everyone who is anyone knows this.)


Regardless, the movie was pretty awesome!

As it is put out by Warner Bros. there was no Fox fanfare to start it off, and John Williams did not do the music for the movie. There was no opening scroll of synopsis. There was a narrative voice over in place of the scrolling words, complete with visual aids. It worked really well. I wish they'd done that in all the other movies too. Okay, maybe not, but in this format it was cool.

Despite the lack of John Williams, I did enjoy the soundtrack to the movie. However, if John Williams had composed the score I think it would have felt just a bit more like an authentic Star Wars movie to me.

The voice actors did a decent job. Anakin's voice was pretty different from Hayden Christensen's, but the voice actor for Obi-Wan did a really good job mimicking Ewan McGregor's delivery from the movies. Samuel L. Jackson, Christopher Lee, and Anthony Daniels were the only actors from the Star Wars live action movies that did voice work in The Clone Wars. There was a bit of a... weirdness with one of the Hutt characters, which I alternately loved and hated. I can't explain why without giving away some plot points and looking like a huge nerdy geek, so I'll keep it to myself for now.

The action... was... awesome! There are several huge battle sequences that are really cool, paticularly one involving storming up a giant cliff which was my favorite.

And lastly, the animation was great. Obviously the guys at Lucasfilm have been animating things in CGI for years and years now, so someone over there knew what they were doing. The 'look' of the movie is fairly fresh, although some people may not care for the stylized look of the characters. Its a mix between the Cartoon Network Clone Wars mini-cartoons and life-like. I think it works well, especially with Count Dooku.

Go see The Clone Wars in theatres, especially if you have any little Star Wars fans in the house. There are quite a few clone deaths on screen, however, so if your young kids are sensitive (or you want them to be) to that sort of thing, you may want to hold off. But, on the other hand, its Star Wars!

[Dasquian Belargic]

Nice review. I'm going to see this next week, and I don't have much of a hyped feeling either - which like you say is weird, compared being "OMGOMGOMG!!! :crack" about the other movies.

But yeah... I'm glad to hear it didn't suck.

[Ryan Pode]

There was a bit of a... weirdness with one of the Hutt characters, which I alternately loved and hated. I can't explain why without giving away some plot points and looking like a huge nerdy geek, so I'll keep it to myself for now.



I can explain it with minimal spoilage. Think Capote.

[Crusader]

I watched it too today in a pretty nice theater in Copenhagen where I am for a summer school course right now. I was not expecting much from this movie...I have to admit that I even went as far as buying one ticket for the clone wars and one for the dark knight that is running in Denmark for a few weeks now while it has not been released in Germany yet.
The plan was to cheer myself up after this movie with a movie that everyone considers to be a great movie...but in fact this choice was not really necessary since I enjoyed watching both.

so what I liked about this movie was:
The way the clones were treated. I really liked the fact that many clones tried to win back their individualism by defining themselves through their hair.
Characters like Rex and Cody help you a lot to start caring about the clones. I really loved the way how they fought even when they were outnumbered or when they had to use their fists.
The battles were well done and I really liked the choreography of the lightsabre battles.
The "chemistry" between Anakin and his student surprised me since it actually worked for me. I am looking forward to see more of that in the series.
Obiwan's voice was great and he had some nice dialog in the beginning of the film.
I think this movie had more dialog during lightsabre duels than most of the prequels and I think this is very iconic for SW and I often missed this in the prequels. A Jedi should battle more than just his opponents but his inner demons that might lure him to one or the other side of the force. I loved the way Obiwan was playing with the ventress inner struggle.
The small Hutt was cute.
The gay Hutt was funny.
I am a huge fan of aquarel painted textures.
I like the funny droids.

What I did not like was:
The Padme plotline was not really necessary while on the other hand I liked uncle Ziro.
Some of the animation in the slower scenes were pretty wooden.
Some explosions did not look volumenetric.
Somebody should buy the poor aprentice something to wear that has got more style than her top which made her look kind of cheap.
The beginning of the movie looked like the opening of a TV series...they did not hide that we were paying for the pilot of a TV series :D

So all in all I liked this movie and I think that this movie gave the clone wars a lot of their dignity back by proofing that Anakin really was an incredible pilot and by letting the clone troopers kick some....

[Rutabaga]

I will be seeing it Sunday with my mum...I'm glad to hear that it's not nearly as suckalicious as the critics have made it out to be. I'm not expecting greatness equaling the original trilogy, that's for sure, but as long as I'm entertained and have fun, then it's okay by me. :)

[A'na]

There is no such thing as a gay hutt. Hutts reproduce asexually and therefore do not use partners to procreate. Over the course of a hutt's life they switch genders to reproduce. I told you it makes me look like a total nerd. :p

[Dasquian Belargic]

There is no such thing as a gay hutt. Hutts reproduce asexually and therefore do not use partners to procreate. Over the course of a hutt's life they switch genders to reproduce. I told you it makes me look like a total nerd. :p

I knew that too. lol, we are awful.

Still, what?! Gays in Star Wars?? Never thought I'd see the day...

[Ryan Pode]

Whether or not he is, that's how the voice acting portrays him.

[A'na]

The hutt in question, Uncle Ziro, has a... well he's all covered in makeup and has a feathery headdress and a feminine New Orleans accent. More like Aunt Ziro, if you ask me. But he's firmly called Jabba's uncle.

He's the first hutt I've ever heard of in Star Wars that spoke Basic too, but I suppose it could happen. From a movie stand point it made sense because all the translation would have added ten minutes to the running time of the movie.

[Telan Desaria]

Hey hey now, Dasq. Gays in Star Wars.......really. The Imperial Military - - - exlusively male.......come on, now!


HAHAH


Going to see it now. Will report back.

[Telan Desaria]

Ok, I am back.

My entire review I'm afraid cannot be done with spoilers so, here goes.



My review is scathing to say the least. The movie had its ups and downs; unfortunately there were more of the latter than the former. Much has been made about the need for strong dialogue and acting in the movie to make it a good film. Star Wars is however, an action movie. More than that, it is supposed to be epic, grand in every scale. It is a movie that has riveting action - not always necessarily effects - supported by dialogue. This movie was lacking in both areas.

To pick apart action, I speak as a connoisseur of battle scenes and combat of all kinds. Explosions were lacking significantly in realism and during the approach of the Droid army up the promenade, you can see as no less than three of the explosions are copied, cut, and pasted one after the other. The Techno Union Rollertanks were horribly disproportionate from what we came to expect in the last two of the Prequals.

There was action for the sake of action, but it wasnt good action. Attacjking up a cliff was a great idea, and I enjoyed the premise. But droids failing to obey orders and cracking jokes removed the seriousness of the situation. When watching a great movie, you are able to put yourself on the screen from shot to shot, feeling the sneering heat of an explosion or dreading each beat of an advancing army. Here, you merely chuckled at this line or that.

Dialogue. Nyeh. Again, we have too many jokes and slap-stick humor and not enough interaction, seriousness, or purpose. Continual references to the Huttling as 'stinky' were fun once or twice, but throughout the movie? Made it seem more farcical than epic.

Probably the biggest disappointment for me was the beginning. I grew up with three Star Wars movies and then three prequals bolstered my faith in the saga. Every time you were shocked in your chairs by the massive Fox fanfare, to be followed by blaring trumpets as the theme music fills the theater. Here, the was no fanfare, and narration replaced three paragraphs we have come to expect.

Now, music. Sir John Williams is part of Star Wars. Why he didn't do this is beyond me. Whomever re-worked the music to this, especially the theme, raped it and then crossed the border ahead of the vengeful. The way notes were drug out and then jazzified made me think was a spook like Meet the Spartans or Hot Shots part Duh. From the beginning, my hope for epic-ness, ebbed.

Voices. Christopher Lee was the only salvation which made it a watchable movie. However, one can imagine, from seeing the way he played Dooku in live action and the way he spoke in this feature, you can see the Director making him add inflections here and there which, again, took some of the edge off. Dooku was a sinister creature, and here he is more of a comic villain than this aristocratic Republic-hating Dark Jedi we've come to expect.

Animation. We saw in TPM and ROTS just how excellent effects can be. They are damned close to cinematic and also allow the humongous battles we've come to love be fought in any environment. More importantly, they look close to real. you could tell they were effects, but ignored it. This looked more like a Very long intro to a new Lucasfilm game. Pixelation is unavoidable but you can see where they saved money by matching shades, making features plain, and using the same shots over and over again. The stylized way the characters were portrayed were also more game-ish than movie-worthy. Again, Dooku suffered the most, his pointy beard a throw-back to the cackling villians of silent-picture fame who tied damsels to railroad tracks. I expected him at the end to twist a mustache-hair and say 'curses, foiled again!'

The ending. What ending? Here we can see the Director watched Episode IV and decided to create a new spin on it. To play my violin again, we lack the epic-ness expected.

Now, the good points.

The cliff battle was very good, minus the points noted above.

Republic troopers were beginning to individualize, which was a nice touch. Also, most importantly, we see that the Imperial Navy is manend by non-cloned personnel and commanded by actual naval officers. Bravo. We also see the difference between the Venator and the Acclamator-class Cruisers, even though we do not get to see them fight an engagement together.

Whomever did Ewan McGreggor did an excellent job of impersonating his mannerisms. Very well done.

We see artillery, legged versions of the German 88m get their barrels depressed and used as anti-tank weapons. My favorite part.



Altogether, it was quite a let-down as far as Star Wars movies. Something I now regret spending money on seeing, considering the skyrocketing cost of popped corn and carbonated beverages. This will NOT receive a venerated spot in my collection, but it is not bad enough for me to flip the channel if I ever happen to be surfing the tele. But, if TPM is on, I'm afraid even for that, I'll have to click over.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Owch!

Like I said, I didn't have very high expectations, and so I was pleasantly surprised. This is an entertaining kids Star Wars animated movie, not a cinematic masterpiece. Plus, it totally inspired me for future rping, so... :)

[Telan Desaria]

They even raped the B-wing!!! That 'bucket of bolts' transport wasn't even original. It inspired me with the stand-up holo-display on the bridge, but that's about it.

[Rutabaga]

I went into the movie not having any expectations that it would be anywhere near the quality of the feature films. This is basically the pilot of the animated series premiering this fall, shown on the big screen, so that's all I was expecting. And with that being the intention, it mostly worked for me. I enjoyed it enough that there is absolutely no question that I will tune in for the series and continue to follow the adventures as they play out on the small screen.

I think one of the best scenes in the movie was definitely the vertical battle played out on the cliffside...I don't think they could have ever convincingly pulled that off in a live-action movie. Plus I never, ever thought I would live to see the Truman Capote verson of a Hutt, complete with day-glo body paint :lol.

The couple of things that bothered me a little were constant references to Anakin as "Master," since it was clearly established in ROTS that he never attained the rank of master before his fall to the dark side. And I also thought the Padme storyline was somewhat forced and awkward. But like I said, overall, I'm glad I saw it, and my mother had a fun time too. And all the little kids in the audience seemed to enjoy it quite a bit.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Well, its proper for a padawan to refer to their teacher as 'master' regardless of whether they are a Knight or an actual Master in rank. So that doesnt' bother me. :)

[Telan Desaria]

I agree with Vice-Admiral Laran on this one, the padawan would refer to their teacher as Master - its rather Generic, just like all Imperial officers being referred to as "Commander" despite their rank.

I can see it being pulled off - it would be tough and GCI intensive, but do-able.


I do like that the movie, unintentionally perhaps, spells the way for the Jedi Purge. When Anakin 'commands' the Admiral to lower his shields - against all military advice - the exposed area is decimated by fire and numerous soldiers die. Were I a soldier/sailor, the Jedi's careless and self-important behaviors would make me want them eliminated.

I suppose we shall see what the series holds, but I would call for the removal of the 'stylized' faces and such. Too cartoonish, not enough Star Wars

[Dasquian Belargic]

I just saw this tonight and, not going in with any real expectations, I thought it was fun. I did feel like movie was 90% action, but then for a film with 'Wars' in the title twice, I guess that's to be expected.

I found myself laughing a lot - especially at the droids, jawas and the little Hutt. Obi-Wan also had some pretty funny lines.

It didn't give me the same chills as the live-action Star Wars movies did, which I think was in part down to the lack of Williams soundtrack. During the cliff-side battle, I'm sure I heard some electric guitars which was a little bit bizarre and jarring at first, but it didn't detract from the scene.

[Sanis Prent]

Attack of the Clones had electric guitars in the soundtrack too.

That being said, I'm not a musical prude. One of my favorite westerns (in the operatic Ennio Morricone style) had a major theme that used mostly electric guitar too. It can sometimes work, even for stodgy soundtrack duty.

[Dasquian Belargic]

It did? I don't remember that. Either way, I don't think that an electric guitar shouldn't be used on a soundtrack - it just seemed quite noticeable for me at first, because I wasn't expecting it.

[Droo]

It did? I don't remember that.


In the speeder chase scene featuring Obiwan, Anakin and Zam on Coruscant, there is the odd electric guitar chord here and there but it's quite ambient.

[Sanis Prent]

Dru, you complete me sonny jim :love

[Droo]

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[Liam Jinn]

I'm sorry, but you sir are not permitted to use guy love. That is all.

[Miranda Tarkin]

Ok I really didn't think I would like this movie and I loved it! anakin had a personality, I loved his Padawan and the story was done well. It was a nice localized mission that happened in the Clone Wars. The only thing that was out of place was Padme. it was like your halfway through the movie and the writers suddenly remembered she existed XD

[Dasquian Belargic]

I didn't realize until now, but it's only a month until the new TV series starts airing on Cartoon Network! The first episode airs on October 3rd. A couple of quick facts:

"There will be episodes with nothing but clone troopers (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clone_troopers)"
"There will be an episode just about Kit Fisto (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kit_Fisto)"
Each of the planets in the series has its own theme music
39 episodes of the series have been completed39 :eek and apparently it's going to run for 100? I hope they don't run out of content, especially when there is the live-action TV series to consider also. Then again, the EU is so freaking huge that I guess they will never be lacking in stories to tell.

[The Message]

So the first episode is about to roll out in Canada today. I think its started Oct 3rd in the U.S?

Has anyone been watching it? Good? Bad? I admit to never going to see the movie but one of the main complaints I heard was that people went expecting a large scale movie and were let down. Mostly due to the fact that it felt like a premiering tv show and didn't belong on the large screen. I'm wondering if maybe seeing on tv has changed anyone who didnt like it in theaters but dig the tv episodes.

Hopefully seeing new star wars content will revitalize the SW Rp section of the forums too;)

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Dagnabbit I forgot to start taping this!!

[Ryan Pode]

The first epsiode from last week was eh. Really didn't do much for me, but the second episode, I got into it. So, I'll give it a chance this week.

[The Message]

I just caught the first episode with Yoda. I actually really enjoyed it. Although I think having expectations of what it is (kids show) really helped. This show would have been awesome when I was a kid for Saturday morning cartoons.

Watching Yoda was a ton of fun and the overall episode was just packed with entertainment from start to finish. I found myself rolling my eyes at the droids comments at points but overall I liked some of the jokes they pulled. I wish these were an hour long...

[Rutabaga]

What you just have to keep reminding yourself is that, overall, this is a series created for children. So it's not going to be the caliber of the live-action movies. But I did enjoy the 2 episodes last week and will definitely be continuing to watch it.

The one thing that did wear thin really quickly was the battle droid dialogue. A little of that really does go a long way. But I did laugh out loud when I saw the preview for tonight's episode, where the one droid says something like, "This is a lot easier when they're not shooting back at us," and then Grievous clocks him right in the head. That was actually pretty funny. :)

[Ryan Pode]

I've enjoyed the malevolence arc and I will definately continue to watch.

[Rutabaga]

I thought Friday's episode, part 3 of the Malevolence storyline, was the best episode so far. :thumbup

[JMK]

The 2 episodes about the Malevolence were fantastic. So far this series has exceeded my expectations. I only wish the episodes were an hour long.

[Karl Valten]

Just watched a few episodes and holy crap, I actually like this show. I think what sells this for me is giving each clone a personality. I mean DAMN, I was cheering the one guy who ran out of ammo and went after a super battledroid with his fists before getting shot. They're starting to show that despite being clones, and good number of them were heroes in their own right and got far less recognition than they deserve.

[jjwr]

I didn't even realize this was on yet...I hadn't heard a word about it. Can you catch the first episodes online?

[The Message]

Good question. I'm not sure to be honest but I bet if you did some snooping its out there for the americans. Usually us Canadians get shafted for online episode viewing.

I'm liking Grevious a lot in these episodes. I can't wait until we start following some of the bad guys in the show and taking the war from their perspective.

[Ryan Pode]

It's online at certain websites which I don't believe I'm allowed to link to. But my screen name is in my profile.

[Crusader]

Just watched a few episodes and holy crap, I actually like this show. I think what sells this for me is giving each clone a personality. I mean DAMN, I was cheering the one guy who ran out of ammo and went after a super battledroid with his fists before getting shot. They're starting to show that despite being clones, and good number of them were heroes in their own right and got far less recognition than they deserve.

That's the reason why I liked the clone wars movie and why I think it is a great addition to the SW lore.

[Rutabaga]

I'm pretty sure you can see previous episodes online at the Cartoon Network website.

[Rutabaga]

I liked this week's new episode since it was mostly clone-based. Those new droids that seemed to be a model in between the regular battles droids and the super battle droids were pretty neat. And I liked the idea of one of them actually dressing up in clone armor as a disguise. :)

[Lilaena De'Ville]

The commando droids were great! Fantastic episode. :D

[The Message]

You guys seem to be an episode or two ahead of us. (canada) Least on the space channel anyway. We're only 3 episodes in with the next episode looking to be Padme gets stuck in the middle of a battle.

How far ahead are you guys?

[JMK]

Episode #4 (I think the one that aired in the U.S. on Friday about Clones) was on CTV in Canada on Sunday night. For some stupid reason Space Channel didn't air it on Monday night.

[Dragon]

Wow, the latest two-parter (Downfall of a Droid + Duel of the Droids) was great. It honestly felt more like Star Wars than any of the prequels did. Nothing too unexpected about the plot, nothing ground-breaking or mind-bending; it's just a rollicking good adventure with some genuinely likable characters. Ahsoka has sort of grown on me. I haven't seen the movie, but from some of the descriptions of her characterization, I'm wondering if they've dropped her more annoying mannerisms.

I haven't watched every episode, but, from what I've seen, there's a lot more life in this series than there was in the prequels. I have to think some of that is George Lucas taking a step back and letting some fresh creative minds reimagine the universe.

Honestly, if the Abrahams Star Trek movie is as good as that two-parter was, I'll be ecstatic.

[Hartus Kenobi]

The series is definitely a winner. Very impressed with it so far.

[Rutabaga]

I agree, this 2-parter about the lost R2 was fabulous. The final showdown between R2 and R3 was great! I just had to laugh at how long it took everyone to realize that R3 was a traitor :). And you know what? I'm really, really starting to like Ahsoka, she's turning into a great character.

Next week is a Jar-Jar episode...my first instinct was to cringe, but seeing how good the quality of this series is turning out to be, I have some expectations that they'll actually be able to pull off a good Jar-Jar episode :).

[JMK]

This past 2 parter captured everything that made Star Wars great...minus John Williams of course. It's amazing to me that the same team that did this summer's movie and this current show have got one so very right, and the other so very....blah.

[Dragon]

I think they actually paid attention to the negative reviews and learned from them. Plus, as most of the people here who RP can attest, it takes a while for a writer (and, by the same token, for directors, actors, and animators) to get comfortable with a character and to establish the chemistry and dynamic you expect in a finished product. The movie was, essentially, the pilot episode, and I think the creative team were still finding themselves.

If they're able to keep up this level of quality, I'm going to seriously consider picking up the series on DVD whenever they release it. But that is genuinely a tall order, since it's so much easier to settle into a formula and simply let the scripts write themselves (see Voyager, see Stargate).

But even if that happens, so far they've managed to do what George Lucas couldn't. They've made Star Wars fun again.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

I'm really really enjoying this series! The astromech showdown was hilarious - and we get to see R2 employing the attack he uses later in RotS. ;)

[Ryan Pode]

Episode 8 was not good, not at all.

[JMK]

The one with Jar-Jar? As soon as people heard that he would be in it, it would have had to be a mind-blowing episode just for it to have a chance at being accepted by fans. And putting Jar-Jar in an episode with 3P0 and Padme made for a pretty lame supporting cast. Throw in Gunray and a bunch of idiot droids...yeesh. Let's hope the writers got their crap episode out of the way and we can get back to normal now.

Episode 9 looks like it will be great.

[Rutabaga]

Yeah, it wasn't that great...the biggest nitpick for me was that it made absolutely no sense for Jar-Jar to be in the story in the first place.

But considering the quality of what's come before, I consider this to just be a bump in the road for them :).

[JMK]

I guess they put Jar Jar in just to say they did. I suspect we won't see him again for a while, and if we do, it will be in a much lesser role.

I wonder if the little kids who apparently looooooved him in The Phantom Menace still like him now, nearly 10 years later (sheesh...I can't believe it's already been nearly 10 years)...

[Rutabaga]

They definitely rebounded well from the Jar-Jar silliness. This week's episode was quite good. :thumbup

[Lilaena De'Ville]

I have to admit I enjoyed the Jar-Jar episode. Yeah, it was silly, but it was fun. This weeks episode was great. I love Luminara though. :D

[Ryan Pode]

I enjoyed this weeks episode too. I'm almost starting to like Asoka. Almost.

[JMK]

I didn't get the new episode this week. Ticked off am I.

[Dragon]

Neither did I, but I'm waiting for it to come up on starwars.com/video. They've been putting up the most recent four episodes, which is good, because I keep forgetting to catch them on TV.

[Crusader]

I enjoyed this weeks episode too. I'm almost starting to like Asoka. Almost.

What is the big deal with Asoka. She is a great addition to the characters as a comic relief. She had some great lightsabre choreographys so far and her smart ... replies remind me of the kind of humor Lucas used for Han Solo in the OT.
I like this character and I hope that she will have an honorable death once they bring the show to the starting point of Episode 3.

[JMK]

I don't think they'll kill off Ahsoka. While the lore of Star Wars says that all Jedi were killed off, I think this one will be left open-ended. It will probably be left to debate whether she narrowly escaped what should have been her demise, or if she actually bought the farm. I have my doubts as to whether or not we will her death on screen.

[Crusader]

So the season 1 is over. Who kept on watching it to the end?

I think it was great that the last episode was centered around Mace Windu and that he could really show off all of his skills in negotiation, lightsabre fighting and in using the force like a bad ass.
The scene on the bridge was awesome! The sound, the movement and the timing was really well done.

I am really looking forward to see more.

[Rutabaga]

Hold yer horses, there's one more episode coming up this Friday :). They've really been hyping it, with the appearance of this Cad Bane character.

Overall, I've really enjoyed season 1, and am looking forward to season 2. I have just one request for season 2, though...NO MORE JAR JAR EPISODES PLEASE. :shakefist

[Miranda Tarkin]

...NO MORE JAR JAR EPISODES PLEASE. :shakefist

Quoted for much needed emphasis :x

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Did you notice how they changed his voice actor after his first appearance? I think they had 'the guy' doing his voice, and then suddenly it changed and now Jar Jar sounds like he just had his wisdom teeth pulled or something. It was... jarring. ;)

I don't hate the Jar Jar episodes, but they could do like... maybe one... a season. I'd be fine with just one Jar Jar appearance. ;)

[Ryan Pode]

I've enjoyed it thus far. I was afraid after the movie this past summer, it be very kid oriented. But I've felt that they've made it somewhat adult oriented and that's been enough to hook me.

[Tear]

I've enjoyed them immensely. Finding the stories are all very entertaining and its just plain fun to watch.

I do agree on the Jar Jar bit, less jar jar. The droids being goofy and retarded took some getting used to but now I like them that way and they provide enough comic relief. We don't need slap stick Jar Jar.

[Ergo]

I've enjoyed them immensely. Finding the stories are all very entertaining and its just plain fun to watch.

I do agree on the Jar Jar bit, less jar jar. The droids being goofy and retarded took some getting used to but now I like them that way and they provide enough comic relief. We don't need slap stick Jar Jar.

well i think being able to slap Jar Jar would be a fun game....any one else??:twak......see it's funny

[Aree Ankarta]

Anyone wants some more (non-animated), there's a CLone Wars webcomic around over at the SW site... just started slogging through the episodes on that.... http://www.starwars.com/clonewars/comic/

[Dasquian Belargic]

I didn't get to see the cartoon when it originally aired, so I'm just catching up now... and enjoying it so far :) It's surprisingly good.

[Darven]

Yeah it's quite addictive as a marathon. I've yet to determine why but I really am liking it.

[Captain Untouchable]

I didn't like the movie the first time I watched it, but after rewatching it and marathoning my way through the series, I now think is fantastic. I dunno if its the spoonful installments that make it so addictive, but bar a handful of episodes (the ones with Jar Jar in >_< ) I was hooked from start to finish.

And man, that bounty hunter guy towards the end is awesome. :D

[Darven]

Oh hell yeah. And the BHs apparently shall be in the second season quite a bit

[Tear]

New season lookin' good. Can find the trailer here
(http://io9.com/5323147/new-clone-wars-trailer-shows-the-violent-side-of-lucas-aliens)

[Ryan Pode]

New season lookin' good. Can find the trailer here
(http://io9.com/5323147/new-clone-wars-trailer-shows-the-violent-side-of-lucas-aliens)


Oooo. I like the Mandolorians at the end.

[Captain Untouchable]

I cast Summon Bigger Fish!

So, the Season 2 premiere airs this Friday. I think someone posted a link to the trailer already, and if they didn't I'm too lazy to find it. From the sounds of it though, we've got more Bounty Hunters, some Mandalorians, and General Grevous turning up this year. Oh, and Obi Wan may potentially get bizzeh with some royalty type person from a planet I can't remember, but think begins with an F. Felucia, maybe?

Who else survived Season 1, and is going to be tuning in?

[Rutabaga]

Me! :)

Cad Bane is supposed to be back in the second season too. As long as they don't do any more Jar-Jar centered episodes, I'll be a happy camper.

[Miranda Tarkin]

I want to watch too! I hope it doesn't interfere with others things on the DVR ... :ohno

[Crusader]

My bro and I can't wait for next saturday :)
We have been counting the days lately :)

[Rutabaga]

I've liked the first 3 episodes of the new season...that Cad Bane is a really great character. :evil

[Crusader]

This week's episode had some of the most amazing backgrounds and camera angels. Some scenes just look too good for an animated series.

[Crusader]

So is anyone still watching? I so enjoyed the "Dawn of the Dead" episode. The lighting was awesome but this is definetly not a show for kids.

[Rutabaga]

I'm definitely still watching and enjoying it very much. The zombie episode did catch me by surprise, it was so un-Star Wars-like in a lot of ways.

[Tear]

Anyone catch the last two episodes, Grievous intrigue and Deserter? By far the best I've seen so far. The animation, textures, lighting, it all just keeps getting better. The Story and action were fantastic as well. Truly Star wars.

[Rutabaga]

Because I was sick last week, I actually fell asleep halfway through the Deserter episode. I'll have to catch it online or on a rerun. But the Grievous episode was terrific. The look of this show is so wonderful that I can't take my eyes off it when it's on screen...yes, it truly is Star Wars!

[Tear]

Found this neat article (http://io9.com/5459378/jon-favreaus-mandalorian-battle-debut-in-star-wars-clone-wars)on the upcoming Mandalorian episode.

[Crusader]

Thanks, I have been looking forward to this episode and I love it when they do 3 episode story archs. They are like little SW movies :)

[Crusader]

OK the Mandalorian society is gouverned by Sissis now...Do I have to feel bad about the fact that I was at first disgusted by what the great warriors of Mandalor have become.
In real life I would never like to see any society like Sparta to still exist but in SW I would be OK with this.

[Crusader]

I enjoyed yesterday's episode. It had some great moments and the creators have proofen once again that they like to scare the shit out of children.

Obiwan was great and Anakins solution to the dilema was very entertaining.

[Rutabaga]

I got the biggest kick out of realizing that Obi-Wan had been so in love with Satine that he had been willing to leave the Jedi order if only she had asked him to. :love

And the assassin droids were wicked cool. :shootin

[Darth Gravis]

I understand that star wars is centered around the central characters and all, I just wish they focused more on the characters in the background. More background Jedi over the anakin/obi/ahsoka stuff. Granted I will admit I like the stories involving them but I just want something different on a consistant basis.

[Crusader]

Well they already made a lot of episodes about the clones and some of the other Jedis.

[Darth Gravis]

That is true but I guess I'm looking for a little more oomph when it comes to the other Jedi / Clones. Every BIG story arch the series has had thus far (multi-episode story archs) centered on anakin/obi/ahsoka. I'd like to see a story arch based on a different Jedi. Granted the Eeth Koth angle was a step in the right direction, it still held a massive amount of anakin/obi.

[Crusader]

http://starwars.com/video/view/000982.html
So this is how the Gestapo looks like in a galaxy far far away!

[Crusader]

ROFL a seven samurai episode on Clone Wars :)

[Rutabaga]

ROFL a seven samurai episode on Clone Wars :)

I know, I was a little confused by the Kurosawa dedication until I realized the episode was the SW version of the Seven Samurai. :lol

The final episodes of the season are focusing on li'l Boba Fett, that should be fun!

[Rutabaga]

I love it! Last week it was The Seven Samurai, this week (and next week), it's Godzilla! :eee

[Rutabaga]

So the second season has ended, and overall it was an entertaining season. The visual look of the series continues to be stunning, it's just beautiful.

Just a couple of nits about the hour-long season finale...can't help but wonder how squeamish little Boba Fett grows up to be allegedly one of the best bounty hunters in the galaxy. Plus I was surprised to see that the Slave I has apparently been destroyed. Hopefully Aurra Sing ejected or something before it hit, because she was kinda cool :cool.

[Crusader]

I was kind of disappointed by the season final. The first season ended with a much bigger bang. Overall this season was great but I just expected a bigger bang at the end like in the first season.

[Crusader]

COMIC CON TRAILER FOR SEASON 3<object width="480" height="385">


<embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ScytvZ7Wp_k&hl=de_DE&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></object>

[Captain Untouchable]

Oh my! :eek

That space battle, with all those fighters, looks beastly awesome. :ohno

[Droo]

I have to admit, I didn't think I'd like this, I thought I'd hate the film itself and while it was nothing spectacular I did thoroughly enjoy it and I am up to episode seven of season one and... it's great! :D

[Crusader]

Season 1 is badass and season 2 starts even more badass.

[Droo]

Oh man, why didn't they have Anakin, Obiwan, and Dooku lassoed together in the films? This is hilarious! :lol

[Charley]

I ordered season one of this the other day, and if it's awesome, I'll pre-order season two. I keep hearing good things.

[Droo]

Mace Windu is badass!!

[Droo]

Finished season one and I'm onto season two now. After watching this series it makes me realise just how much of a waste Episode I and II were, and also, it makes the Order 66 scene absolutely heartbreaking!

[Drin Kizael]

The lengths that writers have had to go to in order to make Order 66 as portrayed in the movie make ANY kind of sense at all is truly breathtaking. Tragically there is no way to do it, but I applaud them for trying.

The nonsense of so many Jedi simply being gunned down aside... As far as I'm concerned, the whole thing was only possible through genetically programming the clones to follow the order. Screw the alleged explanation in wookipedia. I know that the Clone Wars novels established that at least one unit of Troopers disobeyed the order. I can only hope that Cody and Rex were among them. I choose to believe so no matter what EU canon claims.

Season 2 was okay, but not nearly as good as season 1. It had a strong start, but the ending was kinda weak. Season 3 looks frickin awesome.

[Droo]

Well, we know Commander Cody ordered the attack on Obiwan in RotS. Sadly. It really does piss on everything that is developed in the Clone Wars episodes.

[Drin Kizael]

Oh yeah that's right. Then I fall back on genetic programming. No other explanation.

[Crusader]

Well, we know Commander Cody ordered the attack on Obiwan in RotS. Sadly. It really does piss on everything that is developed in the Clone Wars episodes.


Or makes it a lot more heartbreaking. Isn't there a blue Clone Trooper next to Anakin when he assaults the Jedi Temple :)

For me the clone wars series so far is a way to make my peace with the prequels. If you watch the commentaries on starwars.com what I highly recommend to you you will realize that this show is made by fans of the old and new movies for fans.

The action and especially the slower episodes add so much to the lore that you get a much better understanding of the period the characters live in.

One of my favorite episodes is the Deserter because it allows you to look into the head and the consciousness of a clone.

The clones are really the true heros of this show. This is already shown in the first episode where Yoda is adressing all the differences between his clones turning them from the "better than droid troops into real characters".

This show is pure fan service and I love that: The General Grievieous Vs Kit Fisto episode is one of the best examples for that.

And new characters like Cat Bane are just badass and ten times more exciting than Dex and Jar Jar Binks since they just let the Jedi look even more badass.

[Captain Untouchable]

Like Crusader said, I'm pretty sure that Rex is meant to be one of the 501st Legion troopers participating in Operation: Knightfall, so he ultimately stayed loyal to Anakin, which fits with his portrayal in the series, I think.

Unfortunately, we know that Cody didn't resist his programming / orders. He's the one that specifically ordered the clones to open fire on Obi Wan.

One thing that people don't seem to notice in Clone Wars though is that, despite the fact that they intensively humanise the clones, Obi Wan always treats them like flesh-covered droids. Think about how callous he was saccrificing those clones in the ARC-170s at the start of Episode III. Sure, he's friendly enough with them when it suits him... but at the day, he doesn't really seem to think of them any differently from R2.

Most of the Jedi - aside from Anakin - seem to share that detatchment. If you were indoctrinated from birth to follow orders, and you were treated as sub-human by your superiors half the time, I'm not sure that you'd be more attatched to General Kenobi's orders than you are to Chancellor Palpatine's.

[Droo]

I have to disagree with your assessment of the clones and their relationship with the Jedi. Do you remember the conversation Master Yoda has with the clones in the cave in the very first episode? Or what Plo Koon says to them in the first of the Malevolence episodes about them not being expendable to him? Or the faith and praise Obiwan has for Cody? And as for his remark to Anakin about them doing their job so they can get on with their own, I don't think he was sacrificing them like droids, it was just a military operation in which their objective was to rescue the Chancellor while the clones were there to simply clear the way. Yes, it's harsh, but it certainly wasn't anything personal.

Frankly, I just think it boils down to the fact that with the animated series its creators were able to pull the focus away from the likes of Anakin, Padme, and Obiwan, and develop clone troopers far beyond what we saw in the films, which is probably why it's a hard pill to swallow when Order 66 is executed and they so casually do away with so many of their Jedi comrades.

Then again, this is yet just another example of how Lucas failed, missing a golden opportunity to expand upon the human element to the tragedy, instead I think he was more interested in showing off all the pretty planets in the background as each of the Jedi met their end.

[Captain Untouchable]

I have to disagree with your assessment of the clones and their relationship with the Jedi. Do you remember the conversation Master Yoda has with the clones in the cave in the very first episode? Or what Plo Koon says to them in the first of the Malevolence episodes about them not being expendable to him? Or the faith and praise Obiwan has for Cody? And as for his remark to Anakin about them doing their job so they can get on with their own, I don't think he was sacrificing them like droids, it was just a military operation in which their objective was to rescue the Chancellor while the clones were there to simply clear the way. Yes, it's harsh, but it certainly wasn't anything personal.

Obviously yes, there are scenes when the Jedi treat the clones like people. But there are also scenes when Anakin and Obi Wan treat R2 like people, too.

That's the point I'm making. You can disagree all you want, and blame it on Lucas' shortfallings if it makes you feel better; but there are times, even in the Clone Wars where the Jedi are indifferent about the death of Clones. And it goes far beyond a simple "they're soldiers" mentality.

I'm reluctant to quote specific examples, because I'm not sure how far through you are. :\

[Droo]

I suppose I'd better plough on with the episodes then. And I assure you, it has nothing to do with making me feel better: George Lucas was a selfish idiot when it came to the prequels, he should've just contributed his story ideas and stepped back to allow better writers and directors to helm his vision.

[Tear]

I suppose I'd better plough on with the episodes then. And I assure you, it has nothing to do with making me feel better: George Lucas was a selfish idiot when it came to the prequels, he should've just contributed his story ideas and stepped back to allow better writers and directors to helm his vision.

hear hear!

[Anbira Hicchoru]

I don't see any problem with this meshing with order 66 honestly.

[Crusader]

I suppose I'd better plough on with the episodes then. And I assure you, it has nothing to do with making me feel better: George Lucas was a selfish idiot when it came to the prequels, he should've just contributed his story ideas and stepped back to allow better writers and directors to helm his vision.

hear hear!

hear hear!

I think ESB is the best example for this. Kershner really refined a lot of stuff that Lucas came up with. If you watch the audio commentary of ESB you will notice that Kershner unfortunately does not get enough credit for his work on ESB.

I think SW is a lot more than George Lucas' baby but a collaberation of him, Ralp McQuaren and his amazing vision, John Williams and his score that still gives us goose bumps, Ben Burt and his memorable sound work, the two talented directors that he got for ESB and RotJ and certainly the pioneers at ILM that redefined how a blockbuster looks like.

[Tear]

Holy shit. The new season looks amazing. New trailer. Night sisters. Zabrak. C-c-ch-ch-check it out.

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[Crusader]

OMG my nipples just got hard because of this :)

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Chills! :D

That looks so totally awesome.

We missed the last half of season two to DVR problems and switching cable providers. I'm guessing the DVD version will come out...soonish? I hope? ^_^;

[General Dan]

October. I've checked on Amazon like a dozen times. I'm suffering withdrawals badly.

[Crusader]

I hate to ninja through TV shows just to come to the point where you don't get your constant fix anymore.
BTW is super natural any good? My Bro gave me like 5 seasons to watch.

[Ceto Rübezahl]

BTW is super natural any good? My Bro gave me like 5 seasons to watch.

Supernatural is fantastic. At least, in my opinion it is. It starts off very monster-of-the-week (though there is a plot that links them), but becomes intricately arc-driven pretty quick, and has a really well planned out mythos that escallates season by season.

I'd certainly suggest trying to make it through the first season. If the show hasn't hooked you by then, it probably won't be your cup of tea. (Though, it'll probably hook you at about episode 7... :mischief)

[Crusader]

According to this article season 3 is going to be epic:

http://www.starwars.com/fans/events/clone_wars_season_3_revealed/index.html

Apparently Lucas daughter has written one the plot archs. This is kind of cool since it is stated that she actually went through a lot of EU stuff for that instead of just ignoring it.

Oh and it seems like Delta Squad from Republic Commando gets it's own episode.
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<object height="385" width="640">


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[Captain Untouchable]

A Delta Squad episode? Awesome!

I loved that game. Well, okay, maybe loved is an exaggeration, but it was always good fun; and the quality of the AI and automation of your squad mates was pretty impresssive for the time; and the characterisation of your squad mates was pretty fun. It'll be interesting to see what the player character is actually like; he's the only one that you (obviously) didn't get to know all that well.

[Crusader]

Just a little reminder to all of you. The cease fire is nearly over and the clone wars continue on friday with 2 new episodes.

[Captain Untouchable]

Friday? :eee

[Rutabaga]

Very good start to the season. Plus I'm about ready to Force-choke Comcast since Cartoon Network is not offered in HD.

But why are they giving us a Jar-Jar episode so soon? Travesty! :shakefist

[Lilaena De'Ville]

p.s. we have Comcast and it is in HD :uhoh

[Rutabaga]

Not in our area for some reason :cry

[Crusader]

Hey this was great! I loved the way they used the first episode as a prequel and then bound one of season 1's best standalone episodes into the plot for this one.

Once again I am really happy with the way they handle and expand the lore. I really like the idea of clones that do not develop as planned.

Oh and having one of Anakin's dark side moments already in an early episode was great.




But why are they giving us a Jar-Jar episode so soon? Travesty! :shakefist


Actually I consider the handling of Jar-Jar in the series is pretty well done. He is always the wrong guy in the right place and the timing in his slapstick is always spot on.

[Rutabaga]

Was it just me? Last night's episode sounded like it was recorded in a public bathroom. It was really distracting and made it hard to concentrate on the show.

[Crusader]

Sound was OK for me but except for the last stand of the Jedi and his clone commander this episode was pretty weak.

[Dasquian Belargic]

We had a marathon of Clone Wars at BN. I'm just starting on Season 3 now :)

[Crusader]

For the record season 3 episode 10 was awesome. The visuals and the plot were perfectly refined.
Oh and I really like Asoka's new more mature look.

[Chancellor Thrule]

Good because up to this point, season three has kinda been a letdown. I had a feeling they were holding back some better stuff for later.

[Rutabaga]

For the record season 3 episode 10 was awesome. The visuals and the plot were perfectly refined.
Oh and I really like Asoka's new more mature look.

I completely agree about Asoka, I really liked her new outfit. Every week I kept waiting for her to pop out of that damn tube top. O_o

[Crusader]

Good because up to this point, season three has kinda been a letdown. I had a feeling they were holding back some better stuff for later.

The last two episodes were a huge improvement but a lot of the episodes so far were a let down compared to the season start but the Nightsister episodes have yet to come.

[Crusader]

Last night's episode really maintained the quality of the episode before. I really love the way they bring Coruscant to live.
The shots of the street chase and the speech were really impresive.

[Crusader]

Without words:
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[Karl Valten]

Without words:
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Fucking Epic!

[Charley]

Sweeeet! I can't wait!

[Crusader]

The nightsister trilogy starts tonight!

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

Oh, they're back to doing new episodes then?

[Dasquian Belargic]

Katie Lucas (George's daughter) is behind a lot of the new episodes/storylines apparently - seems to be a lot of positive response to what she's doing.

[Crusader]

Yeah I am excited about this too, Jenny. Will Katie be able to carry on the SW torch once Lucas is gone?

[Crusader]

So Darth Maul is alive?! and Qui Gon Jinn is going to be in the next episode plus the clone commandos were in the last one. They do a lot of fan service lately.

[Crusader]

Did you realize that the original actors voiced Shmi and QuiGon Jinn in the last clone wars episodes? This was really Liam Nieson and he was amazing like always.

[Rutabaga]

I thought last night's episode was fabulous, I can't wait to see more in this story arc.

I had no idea that Qui-Gon Jinn was going to make an appearance, and I knew right away that it was really Liam Neeson doing his voice. His voice is so distinctive, it would take a true artist to imitate it perfectly. So that was a huge welcome surprise! :eee

[Atreyu]

I've never watched this series, so forgive my dumb question but ... how are both Qui-Gon and Shmi appearing if they're both dead? o_O Flashback? Dream sequence?

[Crusader]

It is a dream sequence.

[Crusader]

Episode 3.17 Preview:
http://www.starwars.com/theclonewars/?video=v001222#vid

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BTW what do you guys think about the Overlord episodes? So far the second half of season 3 has been a lot more mystical and contained a lot more magic while the first half was a lot more about politics.

Do you think that this is a good thing? Personly I always hoped that the prequels would be a lot more spiritual and mystic.

I pretty much enjoy the symbolism in these episodes. They remind me of Luke's journey through the cave on Dagobah.

[Crusader]

The last episode was pretty sad to me because...now Echo from the Rookies is dead as well. So the only one left from the Rookies is Fives. The bodycount in this series of episodes was actually pretty high so far... the poor clone trooper that got cut into half by a blast door.

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

The last two episodes have been brutal and in a very good way. Season three has needed a good kick in the pants with a few military arcs, and I'm liking what I'm now seeing.

[Crusader]

OMG the season final was kick ass and one of the best styled and animated episode in an overall much improved animated season.

I would have never thought that I would see a youngling get shot in the back on screen in a kids TV show.

I am amazed how much this show has improved in story telling and animation over the last year especially after watching season one again lately.

[Rutabaga]

The season finale doesn't air here in the US until Friday. :\

[Atreyu]

They just restarted screening The Clone Wars down under from the very beginning, giving me the opportunity to catch this series for the first time. I'm liking it a lot. :)

In related news, here's an article on why the show is awesome:

Star Wars: The Clone Wars – You (Might) Underestimate the Power of the Animated Series… (http://www.moviethrashers.com/star-wars-the-clone-wars-you-might-underestimate-the-power-of-the-animated-series/)

[Tear]

Here it is:
<object height="390" width="640">


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[Captain Untouchable]

Has anyone been watching the episodes thus far?

I've just finished 1 and 2... and I gotta say: aside from being mildly disappointed that a certain someone didn't say their catchphrase yet, (there was even an actual trap :() I am pretty bowled over by how good things are getting.

Clone Wars has been fantastic all along... but I'm really getting the sense that the series is maturing in step with it's audience: it looks like they're edging towards some fairly "grown up" issues this year.

And for the first two episodes specifically... is it me, or was Jar Jar Binks actually useful for a minute there?!

[Crusader]

^^
Jar Jar has been always usefull in the clone wars so far. Actually I consider Jar Jar in the clone wars TV series as enjoyable. His slapstick always saves the day and is always walking this thin line of being too over the top and just being hilarious.

[Captain Untouchable]

Yeah; he's always blundered his way to victory before... but in these three episodes, he was useful sans the blundering, for the most part.

Frustratingly, I now find myself wanting to introduce a Gungan character on Fans... >_<

[Crusader]

OMG Yesterday's episode was a blast. The last two episodes had been so much childish fun. Nomad droids should one day make it into my clone wars top 10 episode list(If I ever make one) since it is Droids in good!

[Captain Untouchable]

I didn't enjoy the last two episodes as much. They had some fun moments, but they tried to cram three or four mini adventures into one episode and it felt (to me) a little rushed. If they'd cut out the silly little aliens bit and had gone straight to the Pit Droids of Oz, they could have gained an extra couple of scenes to flesh out the rest of the story. Robot fight club the incinerator room in particular felt a little "Here's what's happening... oh wait, no, they conveniently escaped".

That said... Artoo flying a Y-Wing scores them bonus points. :D

[Crusader]

Actually the fact that they basicly rushed through those mini episodes made it so enjoyable. This episode is the essence of R2D2 and C3PO. They guide us through all those stories, they always get themselves into trouble, they sometimes save the day but most of the time they have no idea what is really going on. This episode really captured all of that.

[Captain Untouchable]

I can see where you're coming from. And yeah, that fits with R2 and 3PO like you say. But I think they could have achieved the same effect while still going into a little more depth with the story.

It felt like the original Clone Wars movie in some respects: great concept, but a little lacking in substance, IMO.

[Crusader]

OK who watched the last 4 part story line and did not think more than once that the days of Rex and Fives are over?

This is definetly not a kids show anymore because the last few episodes were intense.

And after this fallen Jedi the Clone Rebellion the black and white star wars perspective from the prequels is gone now. Whoever wrote the script for this should go on and write scripts for the new TV show.

Once again I have to tip my hat in respect to Dave Filloni and his team. This guy really gets SW and I really hope that once he is done with the 5th season of Clone Wars he will move on to the other SW project.

[Crusader]

I think yesterday's episode had the most badass shot ever!
Beheading 4 Mandalorians in one hit! Ahsoka is truely the only Padawan that could have ever kept up with Anakin.

I think this episode leaves some room for speculation about Ahsoka's fate. Lux, her love interest might be a solution for her absence in episode 3. I really loved the chemistry here.

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[Rutabaga]

I'm so far behind, I should be ashamed of myself :o. Thank goodness for my DVR.

[Captain Untouchable]

I'm intregued by the fact that we didn't see Starbuck the Mandalorian's face. Even in the dinner scene, she was in the background with her helmet on. I wonder if that's significant - maybe she's someone that Lux / R2 / Ahsoka / the audience would recognise... or maybe she's hiding some badass scars or somesuch?

If not, I'm left wondering why they got Katee Stackhoff in to do so few lines. Surely if you had Katee coming to your office, you'd make sure she was there for as long as possible... :mischief

Also, was anyone else impressed by how real the fire looked? Flames are one of the hardest things to animate, but they did a damned awesome job!

As for next week's episode... I wonder who is under the sheet. The obvious guess is Obi Wan, but if they were going to do one of those sorts of episodes, I would have expected them to show that it's him in the teaser. Maybe it's another Jedi that Anakin was close with, or perhaps he just thinks that it's "his fault"? :huh


Edit:

After re-watching the clone-centric four-parter from before the season break, I only just realised that the clones in space are flying Z-95 Headhunters. That is a completely unnecessary and yet completely awesome minor detail. I love it when they do that. :3

[Cor Leonis]

Since the SW:TOR servers are down for maintenance, I've started rewatching The Clone Wars from the beginning... and with a new found respect and appreciation, I might add.

This is the first time I've rewatched the "movie", and it holds up a lot better when you watch it as part of the series rather than a stand alone: it feels like one of the awesome multi-episode arcs. I feel genuinely bad for not having enjoyed this in the cinema: it's a fantastic piece of television, and was only let down by the way they chose to present it.

You've all seen it, so I won't go on about how great it is - but I did spot some new bits this time around. Ahsoka seems to be foreshadowing some of Anakin's lines from Episode III, which helps tie things into the trilogy. Similarly, there are elements of Obi Wan's portrayal that not only echo Episode III; they hint at Alec Guinness too.

Since I know Droo is [meant to be :shakefist] watching, I've been paying extra attention to the music. I love how the Clones get electric guitars and rock themes mixed in with their classic Star Wars music, while Zero gets thirties / fourties swing music. Plus, there are some new brand new pieces that are atmospheric enough to be worthy of Bear McCreary, and that sound brilliantly alien.

If you haven't (re)watched it yet, I sincerely recommend that you do!

[Crusader]

It was a poor decision to make the pilot an exclusive for the movies since a lot of viewers felt that the first episode with master yoda was a let down. If you compare the animation in the movie with current episodes it makes you wonder how good a second clone wars movie would look like with a comparable budget.

I personaly consider the clone wars the best thing SW related that happened in the last 15 years because it really tries to build a bridge between the OT and the PT.

To me the PT just did what it had to do to eventually connect the films. I still consider Order 66 as one of the worst plot devices ever since it basicly kills of the Jedi Order in less than 5 or 10 minutes and this is supposed to explain us why Han considers Obi Wan as a superstitious old man... 2 millenias of keeping the peace in the galaxy and then 5 minutes of Order 66 and all the memory of this time is gone... seriously!

The TV show puts a lot more thought into this by showing the Jedi as "occupation forces" on Ryloth. The struggle between the new class of Republic officers and the Jedi is shown by Tarkin and others. On Umbara we have seen the Jedi not as liberaters but as invaders and we saw another Jedi like Dooku fall to the dark side.

My favorite detail that you will never notice if you do not know that it is there is a speech of Palpatine on a video display that is shown during a chase sequence. In this short excerpt of a longer speech Palpatine defends the Jedi against accusations that the Jedi use this war to gain more political influence.

[Cor Leonis]

I'm not sure that's an entirely fair criticism. The prequels basically out to tell the backstory of Anakin and Obi Wan, and had seven hours of screen time in which to do it. The Clone Wars meanwhile set out to expand on all of the elements you pointed out, and has had more than thirty hours so far in which to do it. Saying that the prequels didn't focus enough on Order 66 is like saying that Captain America didn't focus enough on VE-Day: the event took place, but since none of the main characters were there they didn't go into detail.

Don't forget: the EU was well established by the time the prequels were made. They didn't have to cater to the super-fans with their lust for information on every single detail, because they could rely on novels and games to provide them with that: they just had to cater to the less-hardcore movie-goers.

If it had been "Episode III: Rise of the Empire", I'd probably agree with your sentiment... but alas, as fantastic as the movie might have been with less Anakin Angstwalker and more Order 66, that isn't the story that they set out to tell.

[Crusader]

As for next week's episode... I wonder who is under the sheet. The obvious guess is Obi Wan, but if they were going to do one of those sorts of episodes, I would have expected them to show that it's him in the teaser.

Good call! Cad Bane is back! My fourth favorite character in the clone wars behind Ahsoka, Fives and Rex.

[Agent Procyon]

...did Obi-Wan just refer to himself as "Ben"? :eee

I didn't even recognise Boba Fett at first either. I love the design of the prison, and seeing clones both in the red paint job from Episode 3, and in the Imperial-style caps was pretty cool.

[Crusader]

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Darth Maul is back!

[Rutabaga]

Holy crap! :eek

[Jedi Master Carr]

It is shocking, but I guess not surprising. They did bring Boba Fett back in the EU after realizing how popular he was. I am kind of curious how he survived.

[Rutabaga]

Fasten your seatbelts, here comes season 5:

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[Zeke]

Is there someplace I can get the movie? All I ever see are season boxsets.

[Crusader]

Unfortunately the Movie is never sold with the series in a bundle.

Since they changed boxset designs in the middle of the show I am kind of glad that I have not purchased the show yet. According to Lucas this show was supposed to run for around 100 episodes. So now the question is: Do they do more than that many episodes or not because depending on this there might be a good chance that you can get a complete bundle of the series around next Christmas.

[Captain Untouchable]

Oh shit, I am totally joining team Maul. :ohno

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[Crusader]

GO Team Maul!

[Crusader]

The ressurection of our warrior past is about to begin!

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Go Team Mandalor!

[Captain Untouchable]

Sorry Team Maul - I may have to switch my allegiance back to Team Jedi, considering that Obi Wan in Mandalorian armour is pretty much the most badass thing in the history of ever. :ohno

Also... three-way Sith duel? Yes please. :eee

[Crusader]

Sorry Team Maul - I may have to switch my allegiance back to Team Jedi, considering that Obi Wan in Mandalorian armour is pretty much the most badass thing in the history of ever. :ohno


What Team Jedi? Didn't you hear that some people think that the Jedi Order is not what it used to be and this proofs it! What is next? A Jedi using a blaster to kill a seperatist general?

[Captain Untouchable]

Exactly! The Jedi Order isn't what it used to be. They're suddenly more badass. :smokin

[Rutabaga]

So the series is switching to Saturday mornings with tomorrow's season premiere. I wonder if that's a good thing or a bad thing?

[Captain Untouchable]

I would think it's a good sign. The Saturday morning slot is considered prime time for cartoons, normally. I'm pretty sure that DC Nation is on Cartoon Network on a Saturday morning as well (Clone Wars is on CN in the States, right?), which is a biiiiiig audience draw. After having watched Young Justice and Green Lantern (both of which handle adult issues in a child-accessible way, just like Clone Wars), there's a good chance that the audience will stick around for an extra half-hour (or whatever) to catch some Star Wars.

It sounds like the network is trying counter the inevitable drop in viewers after so many years: that bodes well, because it seems like the network is trying to justify the series' continued production.

[Dasquian Belargic]

News regarding this series following on from the Disney acquisition:

http://www.themarysue.com/clone-wars-cartoon-network/


We now know it will end its run on the Cartoon Network, but will it continue elsewhere?

The answer is thankfully, yes. Good thing Walt Disney had that Disney XD network just lying around.

The Hollywood Reporter writes, “Sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that Turner, a division of Time Warner, has the license for Star Wars: The Clone Wars only through the end of the 2012-13 season. Each year it has renewed its deal with Lucasfilm, and reps for both companies say they will make a decision on continuing the show around the end of the season. In reality, Disney is very likely to move Clone Wars to one of its own networks, most likely Disney XD, an advertiser-supported cable TV channel targeted at boys.”

[Captain Untouchable]

Disney XD looks like it's going to have one hell of a line-up next year. They've got Ultimate Spider-Man on the go already, plus a new Avengers and Hulk: Agent of SMASH cartoon in the pipeline from the Marvel side of things... and I guess they've got Clone Wars and Retours in the bag too.

I wonder if this is part of why Cartoon Network pulled Green Lantern and Young Justice without any warning: waiting until the new Batman series next year, so they've got a bit more DC available to compete with what Disney has?

[Rutabaga]

Oh boy, David Tennant is voicing a character on an upcoming episode!!!

http://www.themarysue.com/david-tennant-clone-wars/

[Crusader]

Alonsy little younglings!

[Dasquian Belargic]

I wish they would put this on Netflix

[Crusader]

Why you can watch the last episode online on SW.com for a week!

[Dasquian Belargic]

I'm so behind now, there are a lot of episodes I need to catch up on

[Captain Untouchable]

If it's catching up that you want to do, I can probably help you out if you don't mind a little moral greyness.

[Dasquian Belargic]

I'd rather go with the Paragon option if I can.

Christmas is coming up, I'll see if I can blag a boxset or two :)

[Captain Untouchable]

...wait. Does that mean I went Renegade? :ohno

I feel so much cooler now. :cool

[Crusader]

Five Epic Years of Clone Wars! Enjoy!

06S3f_dGPdY