Star Wars - clone wars
I’m getting old. I still remember seeing the original Star Wars on (or close to) opening day in 1977. It was amazing then. It was still amazing when my buddy Morgan and I watched it over 100 times on the old video disc player in the 80s. I saw all the other movies too, with decreasing enthusiasm. When one of my vendors at work suggested I check out the Clone Wars episodes (showing on Cartoon Network), I was dubious.Both I and Cathy have the feeling that there is a huge gap of story void between episode 2 and the upcoming episode 3 which cannot satisfactorily be filled in a single movie and apparently so does George Lucas, because Clone Wars - an animated series of shorts that are only about 3 minutes in length each, seems aimed to make up for lost story ground before the new (and final) third movie premiers. It reminds me of another animated series mentioned here before.
I wasn’t able to catch any of the episodes on TV. I’m simply not willing to even try to sit around watching cartoons until the 3 minute commercial, err… episode aires. I figured maybe the ultra rich Lucas would have the episodes for download on the official site. Indeed he did! Unfortunately, you have to have a pay membership to watch them! $39.95 for US membership!!! HAHAHAH! You’re kidding. This king of cash, the richest director in history wants me to fork over $40 for what amounts to an hour of crappy cartoon video? Gimme a break.
To be fair, the episodes are available for purchase on Amazon for less than that, but holy smokes. The episodes *are* entertaining, though they seem aimed squarely at prepubescent boys with enough explosions and battles and spaceships zooming hither and yon to satisfy the most ADHD afflicted amoung us.
However, if you think you might need to fill in some of the gaps in the story line between episode II and the new one, and you know where to look - you can find all the episodes for free in the no-so-wild-west of the internet thanks to lots of folks who feel they were ripped off!
Comment posted on 5-9-2005
A guy I work with who is a big SW fan has seen them and speaks
highly of them. I have to cut him off because much of the content is
unknown to me at this point, and it’s not all stuff that will not be
revealed in the new flick.
I’m excited about EPIII, preliminary reports are that it is dark and
wonderful! Tickets have been bought, and the food reviewing
engineers are going at 9:00am on opening day.
My kid, on her trip out here two weeks ago was bit by the Star Wars
bug. A whole bunch of her friends are into it, and we sat and
watched EPIV and she was hooked! I was a bit surprised but, hey,
most of the really big SW fans I have known have been girls. We
watched a Dada edited version of EPV, and then a great time was
had with EPI. What does it take to appreciate jar-Jar? It takes a five
year old. (which is more than an observation, but a complaint!)
Comment posted on 5-9-2005
I guess when I got old enough to realize that it wasn’t the story,
acting or direction that made Episode I so awsome in 1977 but the fact
that I was 11 years old, I became less of a fan (OK, I still think Alec
Guinness is awesome). I just can’t get excited about Star Wars anymore
but I will watch it, if only because I’ve watched all the others. Emily
hasn’t shown much interest in the series although she can identify some
of the characters (she still calls one robot CP3CO though), she is much
more of a Star Trek fan - a show that is perhaps not as truly geek-worthy
as her grandmother’s favourite: Dr. Who, but far less hokey than
anything with a Jar-jar binks. On the topic though: Clone Wars is
everything that takes place in those ‘oft-referred-to’ clone wars. The
intervening period between episode II and III - and you get to see some
(admittedly minor) character development of Anakin Skywalker which
Cathy and I think is very necessary to the story since it is just way too
much of a leap from episode 2 (where he is basically a good little boy)
to episode I where he’s wearing black robes and breathing heavy.
Comment posted on 5-15-2005
Wow. Season 1 was a half hour of 3 minute episodes, Season 2 was the
same. Season 3 (which I *did* catch parts of on Cartoon Network last
night) was 2 hours long! I couldn’t stay awake for most of it, but Cathy
and Emily did. Emily’s review: "What did you think about the Star Wars
cartoon you watched last night?" I asked. "good." she said. "Funny!
Funny is good."
OK. Well, I’ll go as far as downloading parts 21 to 25 if only to
complete the collection, but I don’t know when I’ll get another 2 hours
of waking consciousness to devote to a George (Megabucks) Lucas
cartoon. Oh, I admit it - I liked it… kinda.