Online Series: Star Wars: Ahsoka (August 23rd)

[MadDevil]

Yeah but now that you've mentioned it I think he could have had an awesome take on Stannis. Not that Dillane didn't kill it as well. I'm just imagining Stevenson's Stannis at the Battle of the Blackwater. Would've been something.

He seems more like a Robert than a Stannis to me, but I think he could have pulled either off.

 

[Scandale du Jour]

Old Mother witch can detect Ahsoka in hyperspace, in the mouth of a whale, but can't detect Ezra on her home planet. It's ok though, because Sabine found him in less than a day.

That's a weird complaint.

Old Mother certainly knows he is on her home planet... just like she feels someone is coming. She is not a god damn GPS

 

[Tawnos]

Old Mother witch can detect Ahsoka in hyperspace, in the mouth of a whale, but can't detect Ezra on her home planet. It's ok though, because Sabine found him in less than a day.

They know *where* Ezra is. They provided Sabine with a map.

 

[LarKing]

That's a weird complaint.

Old Mother certainly knows he is on her home planet... just like she feels someone is coming. She is not a god damn GPS

Star Wars fans will find anything to complain about.

 

[HanSolo]

Old Mother witch can detect Ahsoka in hyperspace, in the mouth of a whale, but can't detect Ezra on her home planet. It's ok though, because Sabine found him in less than a day.

While this cracked me up, in fairness, all the Great Mother said was that she was approaching. I don't think that's too far off from Obi Wan detecting the annihilation of Alderann or Yoda detecting Order 66. I don't think I've ever seen a Star Wars character use the force to track another down with pinpoint accuracy. Just that they sense one's presence.

 

[HanSolo]

Lol

 

[#37]

That's a weird complaint.

Old Mother certainly knows he is on her home planet... just like she feels someone is coming. She is not a god damn GPS

While this cracked me up, in fairness, all the Great Mother said was that she was approaching. I don't think that's too far off from Obi Wan detecting the annihilation of Alderann or Yoda detecting Order 66. I don't think I've ever seen a Star Wars character use the force to track another down with pinpoint accuracy. Just that they sense one's presence.

This should have been a cartoon, Rebels S05. Those appear to be the fans who are lapping this up. Correct? As live action goes, its not working because it is written on the level one would expect to find in an elementary school library. For fans of Rebels and Clone Wars it's great, for Disney It's an expensive mistake.

After watching the last episode, I thought about what the Ezra/Sabine reunion would have been like if this were a show on HBO. The back story here is that Ezra has had a crush on Sabine ever since day one. Sabine spent years moping around Ezra's tower drinking boxed wine, wearing his old sweat shirts as a night gown, etc... In the end, they might as well have just exchanged a hardy handshake when reunited on a distant world in a galaxy far, far away... But, hey, they had packing to do!

I have a few predictions moving forward:
1.) There will not be an Ezra/Sabine romance because it would be the first in the history of Disney's Star Wars (well, Hera/Kanan... but they killed him off after he showed signs of affection on screen). Color me shocked if I am wrong about this.

2.) This season will end with a cliff-hanger and not be renewed for season 2.

3.) Dave Filoni will never get to make a full length Star Wars film.

*I also have a feeling that the Ewoks, er, Noti will play a huge role in saving the galaxy.

 

[HanSolo]

This should have been a cartoon, Rebels S05. Those appear to be the fans who are lapping this up. Correct? As live action goes, its not working because it is written on the level one would expect to find in an elementary school library. For fans of Rebels and Clone Wars it's great, for Disney It's an expensive mistake.

After watching the last episode, I thought about what the Ezra/Sabine reunion would have been like if this were a show on HBO. The back story here is that Ezra has had a crush on Sabine ever since day one. Sabine spent years moping around Ezra's tower drinking boxed wine, wearing his old sweat shirts as a night gown, etc... In the end, they might as well have just exchanged a hardy handshake when reunited on a distant world in a galaxy far, far away... But, hey, they had packing to do!

I have a few predictions moving forward:
1.) There will not be an Ezra/Sabine romance because it would be the first in the history of Disney's Star Wars (well, Hera/Kanan... but they killed him off after he showed signs of affection on screen). Color me shocked if I am wrong about this.

2.) This season will end with a cliff-hanger and not be renewed for season 2.

3.) Dave Filoni will never get to make a full length Star Wars film.

*I also have a feeling that the Ewoks, er, Noti will play a huge role in saving the galaxy.

Hard to take the rest of your post seriously when this is where your argument is at.

 

[#37]

Hard to take the rest of your post seriously when this is where your argument is at.

Yeah, its not really an argument. I mean, whose mind am I going to change here? Opinions are already entrenched. It was more of me capturing my stream of consciousness when I had a spare moment. Thanks for stopping by!

 

[HanSolo]

Yeah, its not really an argument. I mean, whose mind am I going to change here? Opinions are already entrenched. It was more of me capturing my stream of consciousness when I had a spare moment. Thanks for stopping by!

You're welcome.

Outside of Empire and Andor, Star Wars has always had very basic storytelling replete with plot conveniences, tropes, and contrivances. I don't know why it's suddenly bothering you with the Ashoka program.

 

[Scandale du Jour]

You're welcome.

Outside of Empire and Andor, Star Wars has always had very basic storytelling replete with plot conveniences, tropes, and contrivances. I don't know why it's suddenly bothering you with the Ashoka program.

Even Empire was pretty much by the numbers.

It is very well-directed movie and it is a "non-traditional" down ending.

Andor, now, yes, I agree.

 

[Tawnos]

You're welcome.

Outside of Empire and Andor, Star Wars has always had very basic storytelling replete with plot conveniences, tropes, and contrivances. I don't know why it's suddenly bothering you with the Ashoka program.

Even Empire was pretty much by the numbers.

It is very well-directed movie and it is a "non-traditional" down ending.

Andor, now, yes, I agree.

I would argue that Andor is no less tropey than Ahsoka is. What makes it stand out is that it uses different tropes and contrivances than typical Star Wars media and it wraps it in a grim package. That grim package itself is somewhat tiresome this far past BSG/GoT where everything has been influenced by them and in terms of wider media, Andor isn’t doing anything new.

And don’t get me wrong. I enjoyed Andor immensely, but I feel like a lot of people don’t see it for what it is because it’s new for SW.

 

[#37]

You're welcome.

Outside of Empire and Andor, Star Wars has always had very basic storytelling replete with plot conveniences, tropes, and contrivances. I don't know why it's suddenly bothering you with the Ashoka program.

Maybe its a generational thing? We're you born into a world where your dad already knew Darth Vader was Lukes father? I wasn't.

Did you accidentally leave the first movie off of your list? Because it was filmed on a shoe-string budget and introduced novel concepts that are responsible for all the rest. Nobody thought it would be a hit, let alone a phenomenon. Lucas dreamed of a trilogy, but he only had the backing to make the one movie.

Andor was interesting, but you could take the same exact script, change the death star plans to ... lets see, the battleship Bismark's plans. Now make Andor be a member of the French resistance. It's plug and play.

Aside from a weak script, poor casting, a lot of bad acting, and horrendous pacing... sure, Ahsoka is just fine.

 

[Tawnos]

Maybe its a generational thing? We're you born into a world where your dad already knew Darth Varder was Lukes father? I wasn't.

Did you accidentally leave the first movie off of your list? Because it was filmed on a shoe-string budget and introduced novel concepts that are responsible for all the rest. Nobody thought it would be a hit, let alone a phenomenon. Lucas dreamed of a trilogy, but he only had the backing to make the one movie.

Andor was interesting, but you could take the same exact script, change the death star plans to ... lets see, the battleship Bismark's plans and have Andor be a member of the French resistance. It's plug and play.

Aside from a weak script, poor casting, a lot of bad acting, and horrendous pacing... sure, Ahsoka is just fine.

A New Hope introduced novel technical concepts to filmmaking and its only other novelty was marrying traditional storytelling to those concepts. The story itself is incredibly archetypical.

 

[Scandale du Jour]

A New Hope introduced novel technical concepts to filmmaking and its only other novelty was marrying traditional storytelling to those concepts. The story itself is incredibly archetypical.

Yeah, ANH is "hero's journey 101". Heck, it is basically just a DnD quest

The world-building AND the technical concepts are where it distinguished itself.

 

[#37]

A New Hope introduced novel technical concepts to filmmaking and its only other novelty was marrying traditional storytelling to those concepts. The story itself is incredibly archetypical.

Indeed. Disney paid $4,050,000,000 for all that it spawned.

 

[#37]

The first movie doesn't get enough respect.

Do a lot of younger fans assume that Lucas signed a 3 picture deal and just made a trilogy? It was a one picture deal. The other movies were made based on the success of the first one.

Lucas founded Industrial Light and Magic in order to do the effects. The legacy of that first film sent ripples throughout the industry... ILM completely revolutionized movie making.

 

[HanSolo]

I would argue that Andor is no less tropey than Ahsoka is. What makes it stand out is that it uses different tropes and contrivances than typical Star Wars media and it wraps it in a grim package. That grim package itself is somewhat tiresome this far past BSG/GoT where everything has been influenced by them and in terms of wider media, Andor isn’t doing anything new.

And don’t get me wrong. I enjoyed Andor immensely, but I feel like a lot of people don’t see it for what it is because it’s new for SW.

It's pretty hard to be free of tropes in this day and age with so many narrative avenues, elements, structures already explored. I'd argue that Andor may not reach the heights of the best prestige dramas, but it's in a fairly high tier in its own right and certainly more mature in it's storytelling than the rest of the Star Wars catalogue. I don't want to say it's disingenuous to reduce the show's strengths to "it's dark and gritty."

Its not a flawless show by any means but if we're talking about simplicity/complexity of a narrative, script, and plot structure, Andor is on a much higher level compared to the rest of the filmography.

Maybe its a generational thing? We're you born into a world where your dad already knew Darth Varder was Lukes father? I wasn't.

Did you accidentally leave the first movie off of your list? Because it was filmed on a shoe-string budget and introduced novel concepts that are responsible for all the rest. Nobody thought it would be a hit, let alone a phenomenon. Lucas dreamed of a trilogy, but he only had the backing to make the one movie.

Andor was interesting, but you could take the same exact script, change the death star plans to ... lets see, the battleship Bismark's plans and have Andor be a member of the French resistance. It's plug and play.

Aside from a weak script, poor casting, a lot of bad acting, and horrendous pacing... sure, Ahsoka is just fine.

Andor had nothing to do with the Death Star plans aside from the implication that the prison arc showed prisoners working on Death Star construction components. I think you're confusing titles and look to be working from Rogue One there.

No I didn't leave the first movie off the list. From an objective standpoint, not from a movie that is beloved by me standpoint, it's an incredibly simple premise marked with a very basic script, and is heavily derivative of prior works. You want to talk about how Andor or Rouge One is plug and play right after backing a film that is, at its bones, a repainted and repurposed Kurosawa imitation?

I love A New Hope and maintain that it's a time tested and enduring hero's journey (and my second favorite work in the Star Wars anthology behind Empire) but there's nothing particularly remarkable, deep, or complex about the script or the narrative.

As to the last paragraph, mileage varies there. Personally I think the casting is a mixed bag. Thrawn (so far) and Baylan being terrific. Elsbeth, Ashoka, Huyang, Mon Mothma, Anakin (voice acting counts) good to fine depending on the episode. Sabine, Ezra, Hera, Jacen, and Baylan's apprentice are fine for my taste. The only character that I see that has notably poor acting is that x-wing pilot that's shown up in multiple Disney+ shows. I don't know whose buddy that is but he's not a good actor. The script is nothing special, but not it's worse than Book of Boba Fett, Mando S3, and Obi Wan. The pacing is not perfect but I haven't seen anything truly egregious.

 

[HanSolo]

The first movie doesn't get enough respect.

Do a lot of younger fans assume that Lucas signed a 3 picture deal and just made a trilogy? It was a one picture deal. The other movies were made based on the success of the first one.

Lucas founded Industrial Light and Magic in order to do the effects. The legacy of that first film sent ripples throughout the industry... ILM completely changed movie making.

Apples and oranges. We're not talking about the cultural impact it had or the impact on filmmaking innovations. The point was in regards to complexity or lack thereof of the story from you comparing Ashoka to a children's book. If you cut out or dilute the exposition from A New Hope to a short story it's simplistic enough to be an adventure story fit for children too.

The lasting impact of the film has absolutely zero to do with the complexity of its script or the presence of plot contrivances in a hallowed and beloved work, if we're looking at things objectively.

I, just like you, ignore the movie's deficiencies because it is a classic and because it is a well told hero's journey. A work of filmmaking can be flawed and still be entertaining/effective/enduring.

 

[#37]

It's pretty hard to be free of tropes in this day and age with so many narrative avenues, elements, structures already explored. I'd argue that Andor may not reach the heights of the best prestige dramas, but it's in a fairly high tier in its own right and certainly more mature in it's storytelling than the rest of the Star Wars catalogue. I don't want to say it's disingenuous to reduce the show's strengths to "it's dark and gritty."

Its not a flawless show by any means but if we're talking about simplicity/complexity of a narrative, script, and plot structure, Andor is on a much higher level compared to the rest of the filmography.

Andor had nothing to do with the Death Star plans aside from the implication that the prison arc showed prisoners working on Death Star construction components. I think you're confusing titles and look to be working from Rogue One there.

No I didn't leave the first movie off the list. From an objective standpoint, not from a movie that is beloved by me standpoint, it's an incredibly simple premise marked with a very basic script, and is heavily derivative of prior works. You want to talk about how Andor or Rouge One is plug and play right after backing a film that is, at its bones, a repainted and repurposed Kurosawa imitation?

I love A New Hope and maintain that it's a time tested and enduring hero's journey (and my second favorite work in the Star Wars anthology behind Empire) but there's nothing particularly remarkable, deep, or complex about the script or the narrative.

As to the last paragraph, mileage varies there. Personally I think the casting is a mixed bag. Thrawn (so far) and Baylan being terrific. Elsbeth, Ashoka, Huyang, Mon Mothma, Anakin (voice acting counts) good to fine depending on the episode. Sabine, Ezra, Hera, Jacen, and Baylan's apprentice are fine for my taste. The only character that I see that has notably poor acting is that x-wing pilot that's shown up in multiple Disney+ shows. I don't know whose buddy that is but he's not a good actor. The script is nothing special, but not it's better than Book of Boba Fett, Mando S3, and Obi Wan. The pacing is not perfect but I haven't seen anything truly egregious.

You're right, I must have been thinking about Rogue One.

Apparently I can't remember what Andor was actually about... though I remember particular scenes. I guess I can just leave it at that.

 

[HanSolo]

Even Empire was pretty much by the numbers.

It is very well-directed movie and it is a "non-traditional" down ending.

Andor, now, yes, I agree.

I would argue that the spiritual elements of Luke's journey and the revelation that Vader is his father lends a little more complexity. And having said that I suppose the prequels featured Lucas trying his hand at political intrigue and the internal struggles of a pre-Vader Anakin Skywalker but both elements were executed so poorly I don't really count it. Clone wars did some mature stuff amidst the writing tailored for children, now that I'm thinking about it. Can't say any of it was particularly complex, but there's some commendable narrative choices in there. But it's still thrust in a package targeted for children.

 

[#37]

I know what I would like to watch...

A show based in the Old Republic. One off episodes, a bit like Visions.. but more controlled by canon. Break Star Wars out of the Palpatine era (which is becoming a bit of a rut) and go somewhere else.

Give me pure fan service involving Jedi, Sith, and Mandalorians .Everything gets solved in one episode, like Adam West's Batman. Or Barney Miller, for that matter. Have a stable of reoccurring characters that randomly show up. (Think Inspector Lugar, but as a Jedi Master.)

Why does everything have to be a long running soap opera now? I'd love media to go back to a fast pace where you get 45 minutes of bang for your buck.

 

[Scandale du Jour]

I know what I would like to watch...

A show based in the Old Republic. One off episodes, a bit like Visions.. but more controlled by canon. Break Star Wars out of the Palpatine era (which is becoming a bit of a rut) and go somewhere else.

Give me pure fan service involving Jedi, Sith, and Mandalorians .Everything gets solved in one episode, like Adam West's Batman. Or Barney Miller, for that matter. Have a stable of reoccurring characters that randomly show up. (Think Inspector Lugar, but as a Jedi Master.)

Why does everything have to be a long running soap opera now? I'd love media to go back to a fast pace where you get 45 minutes of bang for your buck.

I just want the entire Revan arc.

 

[#37]

I just want the entire Revan arc.

Why can't we have both?

 

[Scandale du Jour]

Why can't we have both?

Fair enough!