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I think I might just not care about new things anymore.
I don't think I've really enjoyed a D+ Star Wars show since Andor.
Bad Batch 2 was rubbish, Kenobi was rubbish, Mando 3 was mediocre at best, and I just couldn't get into Ahsoka.
Maybe I'm just tired from work but I could not get into the first episode past about 15 mins.
I'll try again at the weekend, maybe with some models to paint but I don't have high hopes.

 Gert wrote:
I think I might just not care about new things anymore.
I don't think I've really enjoyed a D+ Star Wars show since Andor.
Bad Batch 2 was rubbish, Kenobi was rubbish, Mando 3 was mediocre at best, and I just couldn't get into Ahsoka.
Maybe I'm just tired from work but I could not get into the first episode past about 15 mins.
I'll try again at the weekend, maybe with some models to paint but I don't have high hopes.

If you would have told me 10 years ago I wouldn't be excited for new Star Wars and Marvel projects I would not believe you.

And yet here we are.

I feel like Dakka lacks media literacy.

That difference between ‘that wasn’t what I’d hoped for’ and “JEEBUS FLIP CAN YOU NOT FRAME A SCENE YOU HACK”.

Because there’s a world between the two.

No, I’m not therefore implying “anyone who disagrees is an idiot”. I’m just trying to encourage folk to Use Their Big Words”. Or at least explain why you didn’t enjoy a given offering.

Otherwise I’m gonna file you under everyone that watched Robocop and didn’t get it’s a satire. And a bloody good one at that.

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:

Otherwise I’m gonna file you under everyone that watched Robocop and didn’t get it’s a satire. And a bloody good one at that.

*tongue in cheek mode* why is it everyone keeps calling all the good things satire. At some point I feel like when we have fantasy creations satire starts to lose meaning because you can see real world messages in almost anything and if it isn't perfectly documenting current life; then its probably possible to say that a fantasy is a positive or negative satire on some aspect of current life. Most often because authors and creators are often inspired by the life around them. Even Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, which was built off the back of Norse legends - was in part a commentary on modern life and war during his life.

I just watched live action Rebels and I want more. So far, so good.

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
Oh that big old ring ship! Reminds me of the hyperspace rings used in the Prequels. Either this is a ship designed for a super long haul jump (which between galaxies, it would be) or something is gonna use it as a hyperspace ring.

You ain't no Grand Admiral without a flagship. The hyperspace ring is going to fit a Star Destroyer. Yeah, that one. It's a hyperspace ring/intergalactic tow truck for the Chimaera.

 LunarSol wrote:

 AduroT wrote:
I’m really curious to find out why an ancient map is pointing to the location of a recent individuals location.

I'll be very curious to see what the state of things are at the end of the road. Given why they're out there, it could be as simple as a map of space whale migration routes. Maybe a sect of Nightsisters worshiped them and put up a temple in their spawning grounds or something?

I'm confident that it's exactly what it looks like. Ezra calls purrgil to the rescue, purrgil migrate to their summer home with the Chimaera in tow, purrgil migration routes have been extensively studied by nature lovers of the past and can be traced accurately even in the present. Boom, there's Thrawn's location!

 Overread wrote:

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:

Otherwise I’m gonna file you under everyone that watched Robocop and didn’t get it’s a satire. And a bloody good one at that.

*tongue in cheek mode* why is it everyone keeps calling all the good things satire. At some point I feel like when we have fantasy creations satire starts to lose meaning because you can see real world messages in almost anything and if it isn't perfectly documenting current life; then its probably possible to say that a fantasy is a positive or negative satire on some aspect of current life. Most often because authors and creators are often inspired by the life around them. Even Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, which was built off the back of Norse legends - was in part a commentary on modern life and war during his life.

Very true, but Robocop is very very explicitly satire. I get we're in tongue in cheek mode, but I feel like that needs to be explicitly stated these days because no one seems to understand what that means either

My son loves Star Wars and my wife loves Baby Yoda, and I couldn’t convince either of them to start Mando3 or Ashoka. At this point I think Space Precinct would be an easier sell than another D+ Star Wars show.

There are just too many and too frequent releases, with many of them being outright disappointing. I'm going to watch Ahsoka tonight and I'm hoping for something on par with Andor.

 BertBert wrote:
There are just too many and too frequent releases, with many of them being outright disappointing. I'm going to watch Ahsoka tonight and I'm hoping for something on par with Andor.

It's not as good as Andor, but it's about as good as Rebels.

I wouldn’t put it quite on par with Andor, I feel it lacks the originality of that setting, but it’s definitely better than Obi/Boba and doesn’t yet display the level of absurdity those two did. The “worst” moment was probably

 AduroT wrote:
I wouldn’t put it quite on par with Andor, I feel it lacks the originality of that setting, but it’s definitely better than Obi/Boba and doesn’t yet display the level of absurdity those two did. The “worst” moment was probably

Spoiler:

Hera chasing an escaping ship in a shuttle without guns so her droid could physically throw a tracking device at it from a few feet away, and then no one stopping somewhere to check after they escaped to make sure such a device hadn’t been planted by the shuttle that chased and buzzed them.

Yeah, not to be too hopeful when we're only two episodes in, but if the show keeps it up, it'll be as good as Rebels, to whose story Ahsoka is a continuation. If you liked Rebels, you shouldn't be disappointed with Ahsoka. It's nowhere near the catastrophe that is Obi-Wan.

Also:

She specifically doesn't shoot down the ship so the Hyperdrive won't crash into the city below.

The interesting bit here to me (someone more Starwarsy than me can correct me if I am wrong) is that this is showing that Ezra jumped to another Galaxy.

If I remember correctly, with the exception of the Yuuzhan Vong, SW is entirely bound to a single galaxy. No extra galactic travel has ever been done.

So what else are they maybe introducing here?

I think Kamino was extra-galactic? The Rishi Maze being a proto-Galaxy in its own right?

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
I feel like Dakka lacks media literacy.

I love the assumption that just because people don't agree with you, they lack media literacy.

That difference between ‘that wasn’t what I’d hoped for’ and “JEEBUS FLIP CAN YOU NOT FRAME A SCENE YOU HACK”.

Who said that?

 Lance845 wrote:
The interesting bit here to me (someone more Starwarsy than me can correct me if I am wrong) is that this is showing that Ezra jumped to another Galaxy.

If I remember correctly, with the exception of the Yuuzhan Vong, SW is entirely bound to a single galaxy. No extra galactic travel has ever been done.

So what else are they maybe introducing here?

Correct. The Galaxy far far away has always remained an isolated galaxy. That's why the Vong feels like such a genre shift; its literally an "alien invasion" story despite being set in a world in which aliens are a pretty normal concept.

Whether they're introducing Vong (please no) or not, might just come down to the Thrawn story. He's always been absent from the OT because he was busy beyond the outer rim. Basically the same thing here; but now he's just unable to return on his own.

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
I feel like Dakka lacks media literacy.

That difference between ‘that wasn’t what I’d hoped for’ and “JEEBUS FLIP CAN YOU NOT FRAME A SCENE YOU HACK”.

Because there’s a world between the two.

No, I’m not therefore implying “anyone who disagrees is an idiot”. I’m just trying to encourage folk to Use Their Big Words”. Or at least explain why you didn’t enjoy a given offering.

Some people might not have the time to write a full review of every Star Wars show they didn't like every time a new one comes out, especially if they've already done so in this thread, however, I will humour you.

Kenobi


Mando 3


Bad Batch 2

Kenobi is obviously a "Star Wars Story" film script that go reworked and bloated into a D+ series. I think it might have had the best potential as film of the bunch but it definitely didn't benefit from the extra screen time.

Mando 3 is a series that was clearly made out of obligation rather than any sort of passion. It doesn't appear like anyone involved wants to be there.

Bad Batch 2 I honestly have no idea about, like at all. With the studio closing perhaps the people who actually championed the characters had already left? This one is just bad but I really don't know why its as bad as it is.

 Gert wrote:

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
I feel like Dakka lacks media literacy.

That difference between ‘that wasn’t what I’d hoped for’ and “JEEBUS FLIP CAN YOU NOT FRAME A SCENE YOU HACK”.

Because there’s a world between the two.

No, I’m not therefore implying “anyone who disagrees is an idiot”. I’m just trying to encourage folk to Use Their Big Words”. Or at least explain why you didn’t enjoy a given offering.

Some people might not have the time to write a full review of every Star Wars show they didn't like every time a new one comes out, especially if they've already done so in this thread, however, I will humour you.

Kenobi

Spoiler:

The story was not enjoyable. It felt like the writers were trying to come up with a convoluted reason as to why Leia would know Obi-Wan when it would have been fine if she'd just been brought up on bedtime stories while basically forcing Kenobi off of Tatooine for some reason because sitting on a planet for close to thirty years specifically protecting Luke was wrong somehow?
Reva was not an interesting enough character to have that much time dedicated to her.
The best bits were of Vader which isn't surprising because he's consistently done well in every show or movie he appears in.

Mando 3

Spoiler:

It was directionless. There was one overarching background plot that kept getting dropped and picked up all over the place in favour of one-shot episodes.
We are now seeing too much of Baby Yoda to the point where instead of being an active hindrance to Mando because he's a baby in combat, the little frog just yeets around and looks stupid when it does so.
The best part was Gideon essentially being the Star Wars equivalent of a Weeb for the Mandolorians and even then his legitimate threat was ended within the span of an episode.

Bad Batch 2

Spoiler:

Again, directionless and felt like they were just doing things that weren't ending up going anywhere.
The episodes that focussed on Crosshair were better than every other episode in the series.

Ooo! Ooo! Do Boba!

 AduroT wrote:

 Gert wrote:

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
I feel like Dakka lacks media literacy.

That difference between ‘that wasn’t what I’d hoped for’ and “JEEBUS FLIP CAN YOU NOT FRAME A SCENE YOU HACK”.

Because there’s a world between the two.

No, I’m not therefore implying “anyone who disagrees is an idiot”. I’m just trying to encourage folk to Use Their Big Words”. Or at least explain why you didn’t enjoy a given offering.

Some people might not have the time to write a full review of every Star Wars show they didn't like every time a new one comes out, especially if they've already done so in this thread, however, I will humour you.

Kenobi

Spoiler:

The story was not enjoyable. It felt like the writers were trying to come up with a convoluted reason as to why Leia would know Obi-Wan when it would have been fine if she'd just been brought up on bedtime stories while basically forcing Kenobi off of Tatooine for some reason because sitting on a planet for close to thirty years specifically protecting Luke was wrong somehow?
Reva was not an interesting enough character to have that much time dedicated to her.
The best bits were of Vader which isn't surprising because he's consistently done well in every show or movie he appears in.

Mando 3

Spoiler:

It was directionless. There was one overarching background plot that kept getting dropped and picked up all over the place in favour of one-shot episodes.
We are now seeing too much of Baby Yoda to the point where instead of being an active hindrance to Mando because he's a baby in combat, the little frog just yeets around and looks stupid when it does so.
The best part was Gideon essentially being the Star Wars equivalent of a Weeb for the Mandolorians and even then his legitimate threat was ended within the span of an episode.

Bad Batch 2

Spoiler:

Again, directionless and felt like they were just doing things that weren't ending up going anywhere.
The episodes that focussed on Crosshair were better than every other episode in the series.

Ooo! Ooo! Do Boba!

Second.

Book of Boba Fett

I'd argue that they had so little interest in Boba Fett that they just abandoned him and made two more episodes of The Mandolorian before reluctantly going back to finish off the Boba Fett "storyline".

 AduroT wrote:
Ooo! Ooo! Do Boba!

The story was non-existent and it was massively overhyped.
It should have been titled "The Mandolorian: The Book of Boba Fett". I think then it would have tempered expectations at bit but it wouldn't have saved the poor show it was.

 LunarSol wrote:
Bad Batch 2 I honestly have no idea about, like at all. With the studio closing perhaps the people who actually championed the characters had already left? This one is just bad but I really don't know why its as bad as it is.

I'd argue season two of the Bad Batch doesn't work because it actively avoids putting the main characters in focus. It spends a lot of time on a smorgasbord of ideas that never get resolved on the clones' end. The main characters help out all manner of side characters with their problems, but precious little happens to advance their own story. They already spent all of the first season paying off an imaginary debt and it still takes them forever until they finally part ways with Cid, except they don't. Not really. They saw how the galaxy becomes a worse place already in the first season. It's the reason they defected in the first place. Yet the second season spends an inordinate amount of time making the same point over and over, to little extra effect on the Bad Batch. They just keep bumbling along instead of resolving how they want to deal with the situation. They keep flip flopping between running and fighting the Empire, which they've done plenty of during season one.

It's highly problematic to use the second season to set up things already set up and partially resolved in the first season, while managing to decrease overall plot resolution compared to the first season. The audience wants to see progress but doesn't get it, and gets that fact rubbed in their face. I can only assume that the motivation was to have the second and third season as a single story arc, what with the second one ending on a cliffhanger like that. So we got all setup and no resolution, and that's just not satisfying.

I'd have been down for Fett's show being a Dances with Wolves type thing, to help transition him to being a 'good guy'. I'd also would've been happy for Fett to be a 'Bad guy with a code of honour'. What ruined it for me was slow speeder bikes, Fett trying to run a crime syndicate with two people and the splicing of another TV show.

Kenobi's show was fine-ish. Obi-Wan getting out of his fug and coming to terms that his old student and friend was lost to him...that's a story. But Reva, long coats and dodgy speeders took the gloss off it.

The Mandalorian has reduced itself to being a 'Baby Yoda' toy commerical. No wonder Favreau killed himself off.

Ahsoka has started well. A text scroll at the start, light sabres, threat of Empire. And I haven't seen the cartoons. The extra-galactic stuff has made me go 'wut?' though. Star Wars should be in it's own self contained galaxy. It give's me the dreadful feeling that they might threaten to find Earth., and then someone will link to that stupid comic panel where Chewie becomes bigfoot.

The biggest problem with Bad Batch Season 2 was how repetitive it is.

1. Go to a planet to get something for Cid.
2. Something bad happens (usually with Omega).
3. The Bad Batch have to give up the thing they were after to survive/rescue Omega.
4. They return empty handed.

Over and over and over again.

Am I the only one who didn't particularly care for Andor?
I didn't hate it, but it was just too slow with not enough happening.
Obi-Wan I thought was fine except for not focusing enough on the titular character; I didn't hate Mando 3 either, though I do agree with a lot of the criticism.

Andor worked for me because whilst undeniably Star Wars, it was far from Star Wars by the numbers.

I’m not sure “dark and gritty” or “mature” are suitable terms (not least because both terms have been used so much they’ve lost all meaning), but perhaps sober is the right term?

The classic elements are there, but dialled down to pretty much realistic levels. Or at least as realistic as we can hope for space opera.

And Maarva’s speech absolutely nails the reason for rebellion. For untold centuries, Ferrix has kept its head down and done what it does. It’s a happy enough status quo. Then, at the slightest excuse, The Empire comes in mob handed and trying to dictate everything.

That early scene with the hammering? Absolutely amazing tension building, with again Maarva doing some heavy narrative lifting. The fear in the CorSec troopers is absolutely palpable. They don’t know what’s coming next, and until that guy opens fire, they were doing everything they could to get their job done, without escalating it further than absolutely necessary.

Even when they’re planing and executing the heist, we get different flavours of Rebels, including an honest to goodness wide eyed True Believer, complete with manifesto of dearly held beliefs.

We even get further Imperial Nonsense when Cassian is lifted and imprisoned when he actually had nothing to do with that particular crime.

For me it was a refreshingly bleak look at the Galaxy near the zenith of Imperial Power.

Not to mention a universally brilliant cast. I loved every single actor and performance.

Kenobi and Boba are clearly just movie scripts that got a bunch of filler material to give it enough runtime to justify being a TV show without the budget it was intended for. Kenobi made a better go of it, largely on the back of a wildly overqualified lead.

With Boba you can see a pretty decent, Solo level film. You might even be able to edit the film back together with a bit of effort. Quick plot outline:
- Movie opens with Boba attacking the palace Jabas palace, sits on the throne, put up the title.
- Boba tours his empire, subordinate warns him they're pushing into Pike territory, Boba ignores the warning.
- Evil Chewie attacks Boba. He survives and is put into a bacta tank to heal.
- Flashback of Boba escaping the sarlacc, being rescued by sand people, dances with wolves, comes back and finds them dead.
- Boba recovers declares war on the Pikes. Big battle scene riding the rancor in.
- Boba corners the Pikes leader who has some speech about how crime is run.
- Boba tells him he's not interested in running Jabba's empire and just wanted revenge for the death of his family.
- Bobba kills the Pike leader and is last seen walking off into the twin sunset.

That's enough for a 90 minute action film It just doesn't work for 6ish hours of television.

MarkNorfolk wrote:

Ahsoka has started well. A text scroll at the start, light sabres, threat of Empire. And I haven't seen the cartoons. The extra-galactic stuff has made me go 'wut?' though. Star Wars should be in it's own self contained galaxy. It give's me the dreadful feeling that they might threaten to find Earth., and then someone will link to that stupid comic panel where Chewie becomes bigfoot.

The truly weird part about it is the Star Wars galaxy has this big 'Unknown Regions' scrawled across roughly a third of the map, other regions (like Hutt Space) that (bar a few set worlds) aren't visited all that often, and a plethora of hidden things. It doesn't really need to go extra-galactic, that just becomes a burden to explain (and meta-explain why).