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SW - Star Wars

TV's Frink

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Most folks didn't like the fact that it was so episodic?

Source?
 

matrixgrindhouse

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@"TomH1138"  - thanks.  I found what appears to be a more recent/updated version of the list by Will Aguillar and LostMan1093.  Skipping the Tartovsky Clone Wars for the time being, I went up to the end of the Second Battle of Geonosis arc.  So far, I find the show... watchable, but unremarkable.  None of the episodes have really grabbed me, but none have left me in the agony the 2008 feature film did, either.  I'll continue watching on and off whenever I'm subscribed to Disney Plus, but it really isn't a priority for me.


The episode you mentioned did raise an interesting ethical question, but failed to really do anything interesting with it.  
  The Clone traitor considers himself to be enslaved.  In front of Anakin Skywalker, born into slavery.  He has absolutely nothing to say about this.  Of course, the point of a defector/spy in a war that Palpatine is running both sides of just leaves me scratching my head.

Again, thanks for the recommendations.  This will be something of a long term project for me.
 

matrixgrindhouse

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And if people are doing lists, suppose I'll join in too.  Only counting wide release theatrical films.  No TV, Ewoks, Holiday Special, etc.
 
  • The Empire Strikes Back: An incomparable masterpiece.
  • A New Hope: A classic with just a few rough edges.
  • Rogue One: The biggest surprise of the bunch, I cared far more about the characters than I ever imagined I could.
  • The Force Awakens: Overly familiar perhaps, especially when it comes to planet design, but it makes me care about the new characters, and does justice to the returning cast.
  • Return of the Jedi: The best parts are some of the best in the series.  But there's some aspects that have lost their luster in my eyes over the years.
  • The Rise of Skywalker: Does the impossible task of reconciling two contradictory visions and sticking the landing where it matters most.  Would really benefit from an extended cut to let things breathe.
  • Solo: Murky cinematography and one derailing cameo aside, it's a solid adventure.
  • The Last Jedi: Most of my big problems have been fixed retroactively.  I expect this one's place to change the most when I next revisit it.  There's still a lot of squandered potential and baffling choices being made, but in the larger scheme of things, it's just okay, with a few moments of majesty that stand out among them.
  • Revenge of the Sith:  Still plagued by most of the typical prequel problems, but it has the least of them, and the most redeeming qualities of that bunch.  Other than high ground nonsense and "Nooo," the last act is really quite good.
  • Attack of the Clones:  Some of the most laughable dialogue ever, an overly convoluted and unsatisfying plot, but at least it dispensed with the most irritating aspects of its predecessor.  There's fun to be had on Corsucant and Geonosis, with some significant lulls in between.
  • The Phantom Menace:  It's a rough watch.  Jar Jar, young Anakin, midi-chlorians, Senatorial procedures, the pod race... but Liam Neeson carries the movie, elevating it in places.  And that lightsaber fight is pretty great.
  • The Clone Wars (2008 Animated Film): The pure distillation of everything wrong with the prequels, with all redeeming qualities removed.  Misery.
 

Nic

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Thought this was rather apt for our happy little website.

 

TomH1138

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Moe_Syzlak said:
TomH1138 said:
Moe_Syzlak said:
I did, however, enjoy The Mandalorian first season, though it felt more serialized than I had hoped.

That's surprising. Most folks didn't like the fact that it was so episodic! But, anyway, I'm glad you enjoyed it. So did I!

I think you misread the bit you quoted. I liked it despite it being more serialized—episodic—than I’d hoped.

Hmm, this is confusing. :) You're using those terms as synonyms, but I've only ever heard them as antonyms.

The way I've always heard or read it, serialized means every episode directly leads into the next one, like Lost. Episodic means that the stories are largely standalone, like The Simpsons. Here are a couple of examples of other people using the terminology this way (just the first couple of paragraphs; they diverge onto other points after that):

https://fistfulofwits.com/2013/05/18/take-five-episodic-vs-serial-works/

https://forums.superherohype.com/th...ed-television-which-is-more-effective.493209/

Granted, technically any TV series is episodic by the nature of it having episodes, and it's a little seralized by the fact that it's a series. But usually, whenever I see those terms used, they're used in a way to make a contrast between each other.

Under these definitions, I would say that The Mandalorian is mostly serialized, but there were a few standalone (episodic) stories in the middle. I thought you were saying that you didn't like the overarching story, and I thought that was an interesting and unique opinion. Now I'm not sure which idea you were referring to, but nonetheless, all I meant was that it's nice to see a broad spectrum of opinions. :)

(Original post edited to make my point a little clearer.)
 

TomH1138

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TVs Frink said:
Most folks didn't like the fact that it was so episodic?

Source?

Perhaps the term "many" is better. From what I gathered through online reading, most people love the show without reservation. Those who do have reservations (even those who still like the show) expressed disappointment that several episodes in the middle of the season didn't push the overall story arc forward.

I've seen many comments of that nature in the "Mandalorian" thread on this forum, and I've seen many people on Star Wars and Disney groups on Facebook make similar comments. I don't have a poll or anything to refer to; it's just a general observation.

Mind you, I don't agree with the opinion. I think that the show is terrific just as it is. But the opinion I mentioned above doesn't seem to be an unusual one, which is why it surprised me when Moe seemed to say the opposite (although apparently that was a misunderstanding over terminology).
 

TomH1138

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matrixgrindhouse said:
The episode you mentioned did raise an interesting ethical question, but failed to really do anything interesting with it.  
  The Clone traitor considers himself to be enslaved.  In front of Anakin Skywalker, born into slavery.  He has absolutely nothing to say about this.  Of course, the point of a defector/spy in a war that Palpatine is running both sides of just leaves me scratching my head.

Fair enough. "The Hidden Enemy" did more to address the issue in the saga than anything else I'd seen, but I suppose it still isn't super in-depth. Sorry!

As for the issue of...
...a war being run on both sides by the same person, that's a problem inherent to the series, since we have no one to root for. I thought it was an odd choice to make a series based around that idea, but many people seem to love it anyway, so I keep watching every now and again, trying to see if I can finally understand it myself. (I don't know why '03 Clone Wars doesn't bother me as much. Maybe because, when it was released, there were still some unanswered questions as to how the story would resolve?) 

Anyway, I hope you're able to find something that you connect with soon!
 

Moe_Syzlak

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Sorry if I caused confusion. I can see how the use of serialized could be read that way. I simply meant that it was largely a series of standalone episodes with only a tenuous connection between episodes. I think you could virtually eliminate half the episodes (at least) and still have the full story. It reminded me of X Files in that some episodes were a standalone story-of-the-week and some were telling the larger story. I’d be happier if they did away with the story-of-the-week episodes for future seasons.
 

matrixgrindhouse

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It's been enjoyable enough, @"TomH1138" .  I wouldn't retroactively put myself in that crowd going nuts at the announcement of the seventh season just yet, but I don't dislike the show.  It's watchable.  I'll be returning to it any time I resub for Plus, and eventually I might become a proper fan.
 

Gaith

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The YouTube algorithm just kicked this up, from around the time of Solo's release. That's some seriously high production value (plus Abrams cameo!) for a cut sketch... and it's not even half bad! I mean, it's no classic, but I've seen much lamer from the SNL channel lately. :s


Also, the first great life-size Baby Yoda replica is here (to pre-order). Looks great, but for $350, the lack of any articulation, even for the arms (where the socket would be covered by fabric anyway!), is disappointing.

vgafgktx4wohzz5ju0ln.jpg
 

reave

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Gaith said:
The YouTube algorithm just kicked this up, from around the time of Solo's release. That's some seriously high production value (plus Abrams cameo!) for a cut sketch... and it's not even half bad! I mean, it's no classic, but I've seen much lamer from the SNL channel lately. :s

Oof. If thats a good recent skit, I would hate to see a bad one. It might have had some goofy charm if it was actually... live.
 

TV's Frink

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Concur.  I bailed after about 90 seconds.
 

hbenthow

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There are indeed many far worse recent SNL sketches, but it's not really a particularly good one, either. As far as recent SNL sketches go, this one is probably about as good as it gets:


But back on topic, test footage from the scrapped 2010 Star Wars television series "Underworld" has been released.

 

TomH1138

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Moe_Syzlak said:
Sorry if I caused confusion. I can see how the use of serialized could be read that way. I simply meant that it was largely a series of standalone episodes with only a tenuous connection between episodes. I think you could virtually eliminate half the episodes (at least) and still have the full story. It reminded me of X Files in that some episodes were a standalone story-of-the-week and some were telling the larger story. I’d be happier if they did away with the story-of-the-week episodes for future seasons.

Ah, I see better what you mean now. Thanks for explaining!  :) Also, sorry if I added to the confusion.
 

TomH1138

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hbenthow said:
But back on topic, test footage from the scrapped 2010 Star Wars television series "Underworld" has been released.


That was awesome! I had no idea that anything was ever shot for the show. (I guess none of us did.)

At five minutes, there isn't much of a story (nor could there be), but I appreciate the fact that the story that is there is told mostly silently through visuals. That's some good cinematic storytelling. 

I think that Lucas couldn't afford the show 10 years ago because, back then, it was still expected that TV shows would have 20+ episodes a season, and he couldn't make them all look like that on a reasonable budget. These days, though, with streaming series regularly producing 10 episodes or less a year, and audiences being very receptive to it (due to the tighter storytelling), Disney+ might be able to pull it off. I wonder if the studio let the footage leak to test audiences' appetite for such a story...?
 

TM2YC

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I watched this random first-time reaction video on ANH, which turned up on my timeline. It's really funny:

"Why is (Threepio) such a d*ck?!"
"What is that haircut...?! SO bad"
"Why has he got a p*nis on his face?!"
"Does no one know how to aim in this film?!
"This is such an anticlimactic sword... I mean lightsaber fight"

 
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