Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Clone Wars

If someone were to ask me what my most recent sci-fi indulgence is today, I would probably start raving about the Clone Wars animated series. One part of me is embarassed that I get so excited about a show on Cartoon Network that is most likely directed at young teenagers (I used to access the episodes on the Megavideo site, but it looks better on the official site). The other part is shocked at how little attention it gets. I suppose you have to be a Star Wars fan to begin with, but after that, what's not to like? The legacy of the Star Wars saga is its story telling power, which came primarily from the mind of George Lucas. We always knew he had only concocted 9 episodes and 6 have already been told. What the clone wars does is chronicle the war period between episodes 5 and 6 with a seemingly endless supply of new material. Since these episodes are kept consistent with their place in the overall saga, and since they are produced by Lucas himself, every one is like taking another peek into the world that exists in the mind of the original creator. New planets, races, weapons, creatures, and characters on both the good guy and bad guy sides all interacting with the characters you already know and love.
I imagine the new characters will need to be out of the picture by series end, and I have noticed interesting hints of a future conflict between Ventress and Ahsoka in some of the early episodes. We also see further exploration into the lives and personalities of already existing characters. So you see, this is more than just a disconnected set of situational plots like most series, but an expansion of an epic story. Lucas won't be around forever, and just like the Star Trek spinoffs, any attempt to add to this saga after he's gone just won't count.

To be fair, I should mention a few disappointments. Most of the voice overs are not the original characters (Anthony Daniels a notable exception as C-3PO), but they are generally ok except for Yoda - his voice sounds flat as a pancake. On the other hand, both the voice and acting ability of Anakin Skywalker seems to have improved since his film debut (wink). I originally thought the recap narration at the start of each episode was corny, until I realized that 1) the idea is the same as the words at the beginning of each film that famously move up and off into the distance, and 2) this was how Lucas imagined those words sounding all along because he's hearkening back to the old movie serials of his generation like Buck Rogers. As the emperor would say, so be it!

It can be a little annoying seeing the characters deliberately portrayed like 3-D cartoons, but it's better than the 2-D manifestation of clone wars they tried a while back. I have to admit, I have not seen a single episode of those and don't even know how closely they match the current series. I've heard they are 3 minutes long - how do you do anything in 3 minutes? But consider this... If part of the fun of Star Wars is realistic looking special effects, you can't really get that if they are hand drawn. At least with 3-D animation, you are working in the same medium as is now part of live action film. The ship battles and other effects in these 22 minute Clone Wars episodes look more legit than the characters, and that at least lends it some weight.

If you decide to dive in and watch this stuff, you don't even have to view the 2 hour pilot first. It is just one of many subplots in which Jabba the Hut's son gets kidnapped, and it probably would have worked better as a 22 minute short like the rest, but it does do a good job of introducing all the main characters. And be sure to catch the first episode of the short length series. It provides a rare showcase of Yoda's Jedi skills. That little dude really packs a punch!

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