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The Clone Wars: Refocused [Complete] + Season one subtitles!

I one day hope to provide a more "official" review of this edit. For now, a comment will do.

This Clone Wars project took a monumental effort over the course of several years. Besides the Clone Wars, the edit includes the Ahsoka material from Tales of the Jedi and a portion of the Tartakovsky Clone Wars where Anakin is knighted.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed nearly all of the material (I had a few issues, but there is no such thing as 100% agreement). The editor accomplished removing nearly all of the excessively childish material.

I also like the spreadsheet the editor utilizes to organize all the content of the edit. Every single episode will have a corresponding link to a detailed description of the edit to the individual episode.

There is much more to be said, but I do note the editor has shown to be very receptive to feedback and willing to correct errors when pointed out. He handles disagreement with proper civility as well.
 
The absolute best way to experience the Clone Wars (and other material!!!)

The editing is clean and the passion is here. Even if you don't agree with all the changes made, you can see the strong vision behind the work put in which makes for a strong cohesive experience all the way through.

Definitely worth the time to watch the series!
 
It’s stunning what EddieDean has done with this project. It… actually got me into this show!

I love the companion spreadsheet to guide the viewer down several paths, from a set of episodes that closely center on material relevant to The Mandalorian to one which only excludes the worst.

This is a quality final product, and I’m grateful for it. If you’ve been a holdout on this show like me, you’ve run out of excuses with this.
 
I love Tartakovsky's 2003 'The Clone Wars' and I really enjoyed the edit of it! The narrative is much more coherent.
 
So far the journey in your new Clone Wars series has been incredible. But I did notice one thing watching your season 1: thinking about chronological order and animation-quality progression, while episodes from season 1 and season 2 are almost seamlessly interchangeable the Nightsisters episode does stick out as being out of chronological order (Anakin's hair being different and the CGI being much better than the one from previous episodes. I wonder if you might consider changing the episode order to accommodate this narrative progression...? Other than that, this is incredible and I'll make sure I do leave a review once I'm through it all!
 
It's a fair observation, and a decision I spent a lot of time going back and forth on.

When I was working out what was necessary to make a viewer's experience of the Clone Wars the best it could be, I observed that the anthology format (especially earlier in the show) was a major weakness, and the Maul/Mandalore/Ahsola story (and especially the finale which tied them all together) was a major strength.

Therefore, I decided to make the Maul/Mandalore story the "spine" of this show, with Maul a recurring villain (like Moff Gideon) and Mandalore a recurring location - rather than having these covered by a few arcs of many, as in the original presentation and some other edits. Having those plotlines kick off early - and returning to them early to help tell audiences that these plotlines will keep running throughout - was important in order to tell the audience that this edit won't be just a collection of anthology episodes in order. It also serves to get some of the great early-ish episodes in during the weak opening period of the show.

So, that's why it was important.

But you're right, the animation is slightly better there. And while we do have other season-three animation quality content in my season one (in the Domino Squad arc), that's less noticeable.

In my mind, I think the trade-off is fair. I don't see any reason why the Jedi wouldn't wear their robes (as opposed to their early half-robe half-armour looks) some of the time, and I tried to lightly hint at this by having them "interrupted from their meditations".

We also have to account for things like balance of the characters through the seasons (again so it doesn't feel too anthology and leave us missing certain characters for big stretches of time).

So yes, it's slightly noticeable, but ultimately I think the value gained by having this great introduction to the show's greatest running plotline early is worth it.
 
EddieDean said:
It's a fair observation, and a decision I spent a lot of time going back and forth on.

When I was working out what was necessary to make a viewer's experience of the Clone Wars the best it could be, I observed that the anthology format (especially earlier in the show) was a major weakness, and the Maul/Mandalore/Ahsola story (and especially the finale which tied them all together) was a major strength.

Therefore, I decided to make the Maul/Mandalore story the "spine" of this show, with Maul a recurring villain (like Moff Gideon) and Mandalore a recurring location - rather than having these covered by a few arcs of many, as in the original presentation and some other edits. Having those plotlines kick off early - and returning to them early to help tell audiences that these plotlines will keep running throughout - was important in order to tell the audience that this edit won't be just a collection of anthology episodes in order. It also serves to get some of the great early-ish episodes in during the weak opening period of the show.

So, that's why it was important.

But you're right, the animation is slightly better there. And while we do have other season-three animation quality content in my season one (in the Domino Squad arc), that's less noticeable.

In my mind, I think the trade-off is fair. I don't see any reason why the Jedi wouldn't wear their robes (as opposed to their early half-robe half-armour looks) some of the time, and I tried to lightly hint at this by having them "interrupted from their meditations".

We also have to account for things like balance of the characters through the seasons (again so it doesn't feel too anthology and leave us missing certain characters for big stretches of time).

So yes, it's slightly noticeable, but ultimately I think the value gained by having this great introduction to the show's greatest running plotline early is worth it.
Click to expand...
I perfectly see what you mean, as the way you ultimately structured these seasons is impeccable as far as story-points layering and narrative curves go, so bonus points. This is quickly becoming my favourite way to watch this great series 😋
 
I’ve watched five of your episodes so far and I’m really enjoying what you’ve done with them - the elements which kept bouncing me off the series over the years seem to have been successfully excised.

The end titles in the painted concept art style of the Mandalorian are very cool, and also the only part of your edits which I could take (a very minor) issue with - the credits are on-screen for too long in my opinion. Looking at a typical Mando episode, the text is on screen for perhaps 3 seconds at a time and several names cycle through per background image - on your CW episodes, names are up for 10 seconds or more and it makes the titles seem to draaaaaaaggg onnnnn foreverrrrrrrr :)
 
It's a fair observation, though probably not something I'm going to re-render all 50 episodes for! I'm kinda used to it myself - having a bit more of a mournful, meditative vibe over the end credits was something I really wanted to do, rather than the original bombastic version. This show is a tragedy, after all! But still, I don't disagree. An earlier version may have been a little quicker, but for 2.0 (this version) I realised I was better served by hitting the beats of the music, at least. I'm especially always struck by the moment when the theme shifts to John Williams elements just as his name appears onscreen.
 
Thank you so much for the approval! It's an honour to be able to list my own edit amongst such greats.

I joined this community seven years ago, but I'd been a consumer of edits a long time before that. This is a wonderful community and I'm so glad to be able to give something back.
 
What, you thought I’d stopped making new episodes?

RELEASED - S03E00 - Dreams of Destiny (Interlude) (v2.1)​

  • RELEASE VERSION.
  • An all-new interlude episode bridging seasons two and three.
  • Comprising the original Tales of the Jedi episode Practice Makes Perfect, and the Forces of Destiny episodes Unexpected Company, The Starfighter Stunt, The Imposter Inside, Teach You, I Will, and The Padawan Path.
  • Running 22 minutes.
  • DOWNLOAD LINK is in the tracker spreadsheet, PM me for access.
  • Note: It’s recommended that you download this before watching, rather than streaming it directly from Google Drive.
This is an experimental little interlude I’ve had cooking for a while, that I’m very proud of. It satisfies a few important goals:
  • It contains the final content from Tales of the Jedi that I hadn’t yet included in TCW:R
  • It contains the Forces of Destiny episodes featuring Ahsoka during this timescale
  • So, now, we have 100% of Ahsoka’s story (that’s available in video format, and set in this timeframe) within this edit, in near-chronological order.
  • It bridges Ahsoka’s costume change (seasons two and three in TCW:R) nicely
  • It highlights her journey so far, through her early appearances and maturation, and hints a little at her destiny without spoilers
What I’ve done here is compile a story out of both sources of content, elegantly using the fact that Ahsoka is frequently stunned to unconsciousness in TOTJ’s Practice Makes Perfect episode as a framing device for the FoD shorts. This ‘unconsciousness’ device also works nicely as an excuse for why the animation style and tone of the FoD shorts are a little different from what we’re used to from TCW.

It’s a little odd, a little experimental, a little fun, but it’s also got a suprising amount of valuable content in it for what it is - most notably Anakin training Ahsoka to resist Clones, and Ahsoka becoming aware of Anakin and Padmé’s relationship. This content doesn’t really work on its own, but combined I think it heightens both and makes a worthy episode.

The ‘Ahsoka’s dream’ format also givs us some flexibility over the timeframe and reality - are these events a little earlier, recent, or during this timeframe? Are they exactly real, fantasy, canon, or not canon? This allows the viewer to take only what they want from this.

In terms of the FoD shorts, I begin with the episode where Ahsoka learns of Anakin and Padmé’s relationship, which leads nicely into Ahsoka deciding to spend quality time with Padmé after. We then see Ahsoka using and training with her second lightsaber (also a feature of her season three CG model update), around the time in the framing episode where she switches to using it too.

The final FoD short is Ahsoka’s formal rise in rank, and Yoda and Anakin’s pride, showing her maturity. But this is in FoD style (is this now reality?) I like this, because I then decided to include a CG-style glimpse into her future (is this now the dream?) as we see her and Rex preparing to walk through a door together, with his gun to her back, reflecting back on her training. I cut away before the door opens (unlike the original version of this), so it doesn’t spoil what’s within - hopefully that’s the right balance between flash-forward and force vision/dream, and a tease without actually spoiling what’s going on there.

Noteworthy changes:
  • This episode is titled ‘Dreams of Destiny’, as a nod to its Forces of Destiny origins, and to play up the dreaminess.
  • Regarding placement, as stated, it naturally fits here.
  • No opening text as it’s a special episode - more on that in the following post.
  • Structurally it’s a simple intercutting using fade-to-white, with the transitions smoothly polished.
  • The final fade - to the flash-forward, is a traditional fade to black, to add more mystery.
  • As stated, the final scene remains, with the spoiler of what’s behind the door minimised. I felt I needed to keep this scene because it pays off the present day training plot - albeit with a tease.
(This also brings the total number of episodes required to tell Ahsoka's story, and the story of the Clone Wars, to 50, which I find very pleasing.)

And for those keeping track, that does make my ‘Tales From the Clone Wars’ mini anthology of Tartakovsky leftovers a bit more moot now (since it used to host the Forces of Destiny shorts) - but I will eventually include that episode in the ‘very least important’ category.
 
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RE-RELEASED - ALL ‘SPECIAL’ EPISODES​

So, while I was creating the new episode mentioned in my previous post, I also took the opportunity to review and refine the standards for my ‘special’ episodes, those being the ones I’d called prologues and codas.

Now, they all feature a standardised format for the show titles, with the same timing and other conventions. So while they differ slightly from the main normal episodes, they’re at least consistent with each other.

I also changed their definitions slightly. Inspired by Brandon Sanderson’s novel ‘The Way of Kings’, which begins with both a prelude and a prologue, I opted to do similar. These words are mostly interchangeable, but there is a little subtlety I enjoyed applying here.

Therefore, we now have:
  • PRELUDE Dark Force Rising. A prelude sets up an entire story. (Also, since this episode’s primary source is the Tartakovsky content, it uses the special Tartakovsky variant of the TCW:R logo.)
  • PROLOGUE Life and Death. A prologue introduces a specific character (Ahsoka, in our case).
  • INTERLUDE Dreams of Destiny. An interlude interrupts a story for a short diversion that’s loosely related.
  • INTERMISSION Tales from the Clone Wars. An intermission is a short break to functionally do something else. I haven’t yet finished this episode (it’s very unimportant) but when I have, it’ll use the ‘Intermission’ label. (This one will also use the Tartaovsky variant.)
  • EPILOGUE Resolve. An epilogue shows either the conclusions - or the beginnings of a new journey - for a specific character (Ahsoka, in our case). This episode does both, transitioning Ahsoka into her post-TCW status.
  • CODA Old Wounds. A coda, unlike an epilogue, is used ONLY to conclude a part of a story. This one, of course, does that for Maul.
Anyway, it’s not super important, and the updates to the episodes are just these titles, but it’s nice to have consistency, and it’s also nice to play with language!
 

RELEASED - S03E06b - The Citadel Rescue (v2.0)​

By popular request, i've added the Citadel arc as a bonus episode. It's not part of my recommended viewing, but enough people have asked for it that I wanted to have it available as an optional extra.

I haven't edited it much - almost every sequence is linked to another in some way, which makes it tricky - but I also figured that if you like this arc enough to seek it out, then you're OK with it pretty unedited. I did trim the opening though, as it contains a lot of redundant info already covered by the newsreel, so I replaced both with my usual introduction text.
 
I've updated a few episodes:

There were a couple of shots in the newscast of the Younglings arc showing baby Ahsoka first meeting Plo Koon (her introduction to the Jedi order). It didn't come up in that story, and it didn't have any dialogue - but it was a lovely couple of shots showing a key moment in Ahsoka's journey. I always wanted to include it, and I just found its home. In the Malevolence arc (our second episode), Ahsoka not only explains to Anakin that Plo is the one that found her, but also, her seeking him is a major part of the plot, and at one point she reaches out through the force. That scene, where she reaches out, I always had an issue with because it was very badly cut. So now, I've killed two birds with one stone, and made a new scene, where she uses her memory to help reach out to Plo. I think it's a really cute solution, that adds a lot of value.

For the recent 'Dreams of Destiny' episode, I've fixed an errant frame, and made the fade-to-white transitions do a better job of switching us between the two aspect ratios of the merged content.

For the Citadel arc, by popular request, I've gone back and re-edited it to make it tighter, trimming 15 minutes and vastly improving the pacing:
  • Sped up the overly drawn out scanning section.
  • Removed some of Osi Sobeck’s scenes, mainly redundant ones or ones where he gives exposition for the audience. He appears more competent now, though still cruel, and still fearful of Dooku. He’s less stupid too, making fewer mistakes and fewer dumb decisions (like shooting a droid for saying the word “escaped”).
  • Trimmed the electromines sequence. They get through it quicker now, and without being suprised that a locked door “wasn’t in the plan”.
  • Removed most of the other goofy traps in the Citadel (energy field, magnetic ceilings, bisecting doors). With the sentry system and the advanced droids, we have more than enough - and there’s very little jeopardy here. The prison’s security is in its remoteness, hostile environment, lifesign scanners, and defensive fleet.
  • The team still split, and Kenobi’s diversion works, but then we see very little more of Obi-Wan while he’s travelling, keeping the focus on Anakin/Tarkin and Ahsoka.
  • Removed the dead-end wall sequence, and the commando droid attack here (they have enough presence - and better threat - elsewhere).
  • Trimmed R2’s storyline quite heavily, and the scenes which made people suspicious of their craft. Now, they pass the lifeforms check, set the team down, wait, then head to pick up Obi-Wan.
  • Obi-Wan’s team don’t get captured (or subsequently rescued). There isn’t a trap, and he doesn’t expect one, since they all expected the R2 droid squad plan to work - and it did. Instead, when he gets close to the landing platform, we also see R2’s team successfully land (“we’ll pick up Obi-Wan”), then instead of calling Anakin, Obi-Wan calls R2, and receives affirmative beeps. They meet up (offscreen) then fake a prisoner transfer to try to trick some guard droids into letting them back on the ship. It’s only once the alarm is raised due to Anakin’s actions and Sobeck working out their plan that it all kicks off.
  • I’ve made less of a point about plan A failing (since Obi-Wan isn’t captured). Now, the only real issue is that Obi-Wan was a little slower than expected, and switching to plan B (meet at the landing pad) is a much more casual switch, one that they’d clearly considered a likelihood.
  • After the fight on the platform, and retreat, the fleeing Jedi call the Jedi council, for just one scene. We assume that the backup extraction point is well-known by all characters as part of the plan.
  • We then cut a whole load of the good guys just milling about talking about how bad the situation is (but with no jeopardy), and a lot of mindless combat. Instead, Sobeck’s immediate reaction is to send out the Anooba hunting dogs (sensible!), which quickly track the party down, and are our only real combat in this section until Sobeck catches up with his larger force.
  • Trimmed about a minute of the final combat, so the focus is on where the story is.
That's much much tighter now, with the focus strongly on Anakin/Tarkin and Ahsoka, with far snappier pacing.
 
I'm new to this project and can't wait to watch it this way!
I'm wondering if you would be open to adding a column in your spreadsheet with a streaming-service-style episode synopsis? This would be a great asset to anyone organizing in Plex!
 
pizzaboy314 said:
I'm new to this project and can't wait to watch it this way!
I'm wondering if you would be open to adding a column in your spreadsheet with a streaming-service-style episode synopsis? This would be a great asset to anyone organizing in Plex!
Click to expand...
I saw there's kind of a version of this in the changes tab of the database listing, but it would be cool to have an official, newbie friendly, episode description
 
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