Foram simplesmente 3,96 milhões de espectadores que assistiram ao programa, o que o tornou o maior sucesso de estréia nos 16 anos de existência do canal de desenhos. Mas se engana quem pensa que os maiores espectadores foram os fanáticos de longa data pelo universo de Star Wars, pois a faixa de idade predominante foi de crianças e adolescentes.

No seu dia de estréia, a série teve dois episódios exibidos, chamados de 'Ambush' e 'Rising Malevolence', e como muitos já devem saber, a história se passa depois dos acontecimentos do filme que foi lançado nos cinemas este ano, que por sua vez acontece entre os episódios II e III da série original, e representam a guerra entre os clones da República e os dróides dos Separatistas.

A série será exibida no Brasil apenas no próximo ano, em fevereiro.
O sucesso em sua estréia mostra mais uma vez que o universo de Star Wars ainda é extremamente interessante e bem visto, assim como foi mostrado com o game Star Wars: Force Unleashed, que também representou um grande sucesso entre gamers.

Fonte: Omelete

- By Leandro

Und Padme kommt darin vor! Nicht schwanger!

Also, alles wieder retour!

Was ich aus dieser Folge gelernt habe:

• "Malevolence" heißt nicht nur Bösartigkeit, sondern ist auch der Name des Flaggschiffs von Grievous (ja, das mit der Ionen-Kanone; übrigens es wirklich coole Waffe - ich frage mich, warum das Imperium die nicht weiterverwendet hat; naja, vielleicht erfahren wir das noch?!)
• Einer der Kampfdroiden spricht den legendären Satz: "I have a bad feeling about this!", was in mehrfacher Hinsicht paradox ist.
• Apropos Kampfdroiden: als Grievous einen davon im Jähzorn zu Klump haut warnt ihn Dooku, dass die Dinger teuer sind - sogar das SW Universum ist also von der Finanzkrise betroffen ("Galaktischer Senat stützt den Bankenclan mit 700 Mrd. Credits! San Hill warnt vor einer Verstaatlichung!" - OK, das kommt in der Folge nicht vor, passt aber irgendwie so gut in die aktuelle Situation).
• Apropos Gievous: wenn ich mich nicht verhört habe, hustet der General zu Beginn der Folge, was seltsam ist, da er hier eigentlich noch gar nicht husten sollte (zumindest wenn man davon ausgeht, dass diese Folge vor der Episode 25 der 2D Clone Wars spielt)?! Naja, vielleicht ist er einfach nur erkältet.
• Ein Klon-Soldat mit einer Glatze heißt "Matchstick" (wäre GL so etwas auch eingefallen? Und wofür werden im Weltall Streichhölzer gebraucht?)
• Die legendären Y-Flügler haben ihren ersten Auftritt. Sie sind so neu, dass sie noch nicht mal durch den TÜV durch sind (ab Seite 16).
• Apropos Y-Flügler: Die Kampfsequenzen sind meiner Meinung nach eine Hommage an den Angriff auf den ersten Todesstern am Ende von Episode IV, sowohl was die Dialoge, als auch die Kameraeinstellungen betrifft. Toll gemacht!
• Auch im Weltall lauern in Nebeln Kreaturen, denen man im Sonnenschein nicht unbedingt begegnen möchte! Eine visuell ungemein gut umgesetzte Szene!
• Und noch etwas ist mir aufgefallen: die Figuren wechseln ihre Kleidung nicht! Also entweder hat Ahsoka ihr Top (nennt man diesen Stofffetzen so?) und ihren Minirock palettenweise zum Großhandelspreis gekauft, oder ich sehe schwarz für ein echtes Rendez-Vous, wenn sie die ganzen Klonkriege lang damit rumläuft!

Alles in Allem war auch Folge 3 wieder ziemlich gut geschrieben und auch gut "gespielt"! Weiter so!

Read it here.

Continuing the "Malevolence" story arc, General Grievous and Count Dooku decide they could spread a little more maliciousness in the galaxy by attacking a medical space station. Not only will they whack 60,000 injured clones, there will be nowhere nearby to take any other battle casualties. Ha ha!

Well, not if Anakin and Co. have anything to say about that. He, Ahsoka, Artoo, and Plo Koon hop into their saddles along with a bunch of clone pilots to fight off the attack. Anakin decides to go through a nebula as a shortcut into beating Grievous. They encounter a bunch of giant flying creatures that do some damage to the fighters. But the small squad makes it there on time to take out the Malevolence's $700 billion ion cannon, sending Grievous limping back into Sep territory, Obi-Wan on his trail.

Certainly I'm biased, but I still can't get over how good this show is. It has made me aware of something that's missing from most shows on t.v., even the more popular high-concept shows: good old-fashioned excitement. There's so much plot and details you have to remember, it can get a bit onerous to keep up with a program. CW is free from a lot of that. Sure it's mostly because we know the SW universe already and it is a family program so it can't get too complicated, but that freedom is very refreshing.

Anakin gets to kick a lot of butt and smirk while doing so, while his relationship with Ahsoka remains entertaining to watch. Plo Koon was cool of course. There is humor but they also don't pull any punches with the serious stuff. I don't know about you, but I was sad to see poor Matchstick blow up and take out another guy with him. Grievous is still an escape pod-hunting bastard, though we don't see if they are simply shot out of the sky or popped open like cans (as in last week's episode).

There are references galore to the other SW films: bits of dialogue ("cut the chatter!"), Y-Wings, shots right out of ANH, a Gonk with four legs. Some might find it a bit much at times, but it's all good. My only nitpick is that Anakin didn't have a headband comlink thing. With no helmet or any other device, how would he communicate with the other ships?

I was faked out into thinking this episode took place on Kamino; it turned out to be the medical facility. I guess it would make sense to keep a Kaminoan around who understands clones' special needs. Maybe they can clone body part replacements or switch around organ donations or something.

But as good as this episode was, I. Can't. Wait. For. Next. Week. PADME!!!! ANAKIN AND PADME!!! OMGZ, DIEZZ!!!1!!

Oh yeah, it'll be nice to see more Obi-Wan too.

Nä, George Lucas, bättre än så här kan du. Väl? Hellre tittar jag då på vår Måne och Venus. Ta dig i hampan därborta på Skywalker-ranch.

+ Det fanns en del riktigt coola grejer med. Dessvärre inget som kan rädda betyget i någon nämnvärd omfattning. Men vad sägs om några råtuffa scouts, Asajj Ventress och... Nä, det var nog det.

- George Lucas hamrar sönder sitt livsverk med en stor slägga genom att släppa igenom sådan här dynga. - Has the man gone Mental? Är frågan jag måste ställa mig själv. Mannen har hur mycket pengar som helst. Är det här det bästa han kan få fram? Börjar undra om det verkligen var han som låg bakom ursprunget. Sen var det ju det där med Jabba the Hutts son. En baby-hutt - som låter som en baby. Gonatt.

Nighters all,

Mr Onemountain

This has been gnawing away at me for a while now (beware Force Unleashed spoilers): as much as I like the Secret Apprentice, despite his SSJ4-like power levels, I find it hard to accept that, prior to ANH, Vader could take such a beating that he can be standing on the Death Star with nothing of his helmet left save for his harmonica whereas in ESB, he can't leave his chamber without the helmet and in RotJ, getting electrocuted and pulling the masque off does him for good. I don't see how the two events can co-exist...

...and speaking of breaking continuity, I realise I haven't mentioned the first two Clone Wars episodes yet. ^^

To sum up, I really loved Ambush, but wasn't so keen on Rising Malevolence.

Ambush is the kind of story that I already think of as 'a good Clone Wars story' - the focus was on military and political aspects of the war and it showed both Yoda and the clones in a fashion that made use of their strengths and characters. The two cartoon series also seem to be the only medium in which gymnastic!Yoda works, his fight sequences coming across as an extension of his character rather than a cheap attempt to throw in more CGI (as his duel in AotC appeared).

Rising Malevolence, whilst featuring Yularen and having an interesting focus on Mister Grievous was, for the most part, slightly less entertaining. Perhaps it's because the majority of the important parts already played out in the Preview's Sneak Peak segment.

I really like the clone veteran officer characters and it's nice to see one of them make an appearance during this episode but for the most part, I couldn't warm to Plo Koon and I found Ahsoka to be unusually subdued.

But as this is a multi-part storyline, there's still hope ~ hopefully tomorrow morning's episode will improve on the groundwork laid in this episode.

More on the series later!

Star Wars The Clone Wars: Lightsaber Duels is available at Amazon for $49.99. To Order click here
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Other Products of Interest

• Glo Sword for Nintendo Wii - Scorching Red
• Glo Sword for Nintendo Wii - Cool Blue
• Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
• Glo Sword for Nintendo Wii - Power Green
• LEGO Batman

A week ago today I moved away from home to Nottingham to begin university at Trent, Computer Science (Games Technology) in case you've all forgotten.

Apparently I need to mention Hannah because she misses me so much that she cries herself to sleep at night, but I can't tell Jordan, so if you are reading this Jordan stop now, and forget what I just said.

So, in other news the Star Wars TV show has aired in the US, I managed to find the first two episodes and can happily say that it is good to see that the future of the Star Wars saga is safe in the hands of Dave Filoni and the team he has working on this show.

There will undoubtedly be those who say that, as with the prequels, this is rubbish and George has ruined the originals to some extent by releasing this. The same will be said of the live action series when it airs and I'm sure there are those who hate what has been done with the Story of the Force Unleashed.

If you loved the film, you will love the TV show, if you liked the film you will probably love the TV show, if you hated the movie then you will hate this because there is nothing that can be done to change your mind.

Now I don't like parts of the prequel films, but I don't hate the films, I can't, it is Star Wars and it is some way hard wired into my system to like these films. They are all greater than the sum of their parts. Far greater.

The film was a feature length episode, it wasn't made for the big screen, however it translated well, and now it's a TV show it has come into its own.

And that's my rant done, hopefully my next post is less than a month away, but who knows, maybe I will be too busy drinking partying working to do anything earlier.

MTFBWY

SW ist nach 30 Jahren, nach dem "großartigen" Holiday Special wieder ins Fernsehen zurückgekehrt! Sieht man von den beiden Ewok Filmen Mitte der 80er Jahre (die in Amerika ja für's Fernsehen produziert wurden, in Europa jedoch in die Kinos kamen) und den "Droids" und der "Ewok" Zeichentrick-Serien ab, die jedoch nicht unter dem Titel " Star Wars" liefen.

Clone Wars tut dies jedenfalls!

Am 3. Oktober zeigte Cartoon Network die beiden ersten Folgen von insgesamt ca. 20 der ersten von (vermuteten) fünf Staffeln der SW Zeichentrick- (oder besser Animations) Serie in 3D: "Ambush" und "Rising Malevolence" (letztere heißt übrigens - ich musste nachschauen - soviel wie Bösartigkeit!).

"Ambush" ist eine Yoda Folge, in der er zusammen mit den spärlichen Resten seines Battalions versucht die Toydarianer (ja, die Rasse aus der auch Wattoo der Schrotthändler stammt) davon zu überzeugen, die Republik eine Basis in ihrem System bauen zu lassen. Ventress (hat mMn eine andere Stimme als im Film, aber die Frau ist immer noch unglaublich cool!!!) und Dooku versuchen dies zu verhindern, indem sie dem Jedi Meister und seinen drei Gefolgsleuten tonnenweise Droiden entgegenschicken. Im Laufe der Folge stellt sich der König der Toydarianer als durchaus netter Kerl heraus (Wattoo ist wohl keine Zierde seiner Rasse) und Yoda zeigt den Droiden und am Schluss auch Ventress wo der Bartl den Most holt. In der Mitte gibt es eine Szene, in der, wie bereits des Öfteren angesprochen die Klonsoldaten nicht nur als maskiertes (und somit anonymes) Kanonenfutter, sondern als (wenn auch äußerlich recht ähnliche) durchaus individuelle Wesen gezeigt werden.

In "Rising Malevolence" hat erstmals Plo-Koon eine sprechende Rolle (ich hätte eine etwas andere Stimme erwartet) und auch Grievous taucht endlich auf! Es geht im Prinzip um eine Rettungsaktion, die Anakin und Ahsoka gegen die Willen des Jedi Rates und auch gegen Palpatines Wunsch (warum wohl!?) durchführen, um Plo-Koon zu finden, dessen Flotte von Sternzerstörern von einer Ionen Kanone auf Grievous' Schiff zunächst kampfunfähig gemacht und anschließend in Stücke geschossen wurde (zimlich beeindruckend umgesetzt). Die Separatisten wollen keine Überlebenden, sodass niemand über die Existenz der neuen Superwaffe erfahren kann. Auch hier zeigt sich wieder, dass die Jedi den Klonsoldaten durchaus eine ziemliche Wertschätzung entgegenbringen.

Wer den Film im Sommer nicht gesehen hat, hat keinen Nachteil. Es gibt keinen inhaltlichen Zusammenhang zwischen den Geschehnissen in der Kino-Version und den ersten beiden Folgen der Serie.

Die Darstellung der einzelnen Szenarien, sei es im Weltall oder auf einem Planeten ist, wie schon im Kino außerordentlich gut gelungen und an das "hölzerne" Aussehen der Figuren hat man sich sehr schnell gewöhnt (Yoda hat übrigens eine Menge Haare am Hinterkopf!). Die Musik passt sich wieder sehr gut in die Handlung ein (so wird in "Ambush" wenig überraschend das Yoda-Thema recht intensiv bemüht!). Meiner Meinung nach sind die beiden Folgen auch deutlich weniger auf das sehr junge Publikum zugeschnitten als der Kinofilm (wiewohl die Kampfdroiden wieder für Slapstick Einlagen sorgen - scheinbar der Runnign Gag der Serie - ist aber nicht so intensiv, dass es einen wirklich nervt!) 

Die (im Vorfeld öfters gehörte) Aussage, dass zumindest diese beiden ersten Folgen besser sind als der Film hat eine gewisse Berechtigung, die Handlung ist zwar (naturgemäß - eine Folge hat 22 Minuten) "weniger", dafür aber intensiv und sehr gut umgesetzt. 

Interessant fand ich übrigens, dass zu Beginn anstelle von "A long time ago..." das "Motto" der jeweiligen Folge erscheint. In "Ambush" ist dies "Great leaders inspire greatness in others" und in "Rising Malevolence" "Believe is not a matter of choice but of conviction".

Alles in Allem ist die Rückkehr von SW ins TV aus meiner Sicht mehr als geglückt und wenn es den Machern gelingt, das hohe Niveau zu halten stehen uns fünf interessante Jahre mit einer wöchentlichen Dosis an Star Wars bevor!

Übrigens, Ahsoka Tano sieht im wirklichen Leben so aus:

Ashley Eckstein (Ahsokas' Stimme) - durchaus sehr niedlich!

Und auch Grievous ist ohne seine Maske gar nicht so furchterregend:

Mathew Wood (Sound Designer und die Stimme von Grievous)

I missed the first like 10 minutes of the first episode because my best friend Alicia and I were out geting Zonies (the Oswego term for calzone) and then we had to try to figure out what channel Cartoon Network was on, but once we found it Alicia and I sat in her chairs, glued to the tv screen. Well, I was glued anyway, and highly amused by the show. My first thought was how much tighter the story line of each episode was compared to the movie. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed the movie, saw it twice even, but I guess when someone only has 30 minutes plus commercials to tell a story their writing improves significantly.

I only have two complaints:

First, during the first episode of the night Yoda never actually faced off with Asajj Ventress. There's Asajj, two red lightsabers ignited and she swings, ready to kill the leader Toydarian of some planet, and suddenly Yoda appears and Force-grabs her lightsabers away from her. And then he makes fun of her a little bit, gives her back the lightsabers, she makes a quick retort, and then runs away. And then the show ends. Well, hey, where was our big climax? Slightly disappointing, but then maybe it was because I missed basically the first 1/3 of the show? Who knows, I'm going to watch it again Wednesday night at 7pm just to check it out.

Second, the Anakin and Ashoka interactions were so much better in the book of the movie than they were in this show. Don't get me wrong, I really, really like Ashoka, but for some reason in the second episode of the night their interactions were... weird. My biggest problem with Anakin having a Padawan is that it's going to make him mature. He can't help it, if he wants to keep her alive he's got to become more responsible, and in becoming more responsible he'll grow up, and then we won't have the whiny Skywalker we all know and love in Revenge of the Sith. So in the second episode when Ashoka speaks up to the Council about how she wants to go do a dangerous rescue mission, Anakin scolds her in front of the council. Um, excuse me?? Anakin, the guy who said "screw orders" and went to Tatooine to go rescue his mother, and who said "screw orders" again when he went with Padme to go rescue Obi-Wan on Geonosis, is scolding his Padawan for wanting to go on a rescue mission?? If I had been Ashoka I would've skewered him with my lightsaber then and there and then told the Council to shove its orders up their collective asses.

But maybe that's why I prefer the Mandalorians to the Jedi. It's a possibility.

Anyway, the fact that Anakin is kind of doing this double-act with Ashoka, pretending to be good to the Council and then turning around and doing what he wants anyway I guess in a way makes sense because he is still a little twirp who gets half the galaxy killed.

On a side note, I think it's a sign that I know way too much Star Wars considering the fact that I knew a lot of backstory that supposedly only was revealed in this episode and explained it all to Alicia about 5 seconds before the characters revealed it themselves. Oh, and then there's the fact that I know how the characters speak all too well because I was able to finish their sentences for them. Again, this is the first time it was being aired, and I already 'knew' the lines. Yep, I know far too much Star Wars for my own good.

Anyway, I still really liked it, it gives me something to watch other than Atlantis on Friday nights.

Angel: Being such a big Buffy fan I never really could get into Angel. I suppose it was mainly because I liked the dynamics of Buffy, the supporting cast and the dialogue. Angel just always seemed to try and be all gritty, urban and LA. However, it appears I was wrong, Angel is actually very good, the characters are great and I love Cordelia played by Charisma Carpenter. Her character has evolved so much since she started on Buffy. I'm not all convinced by some of the storylines in Angel though. Yes, I can understand and follow the arc in Pylea, but ever since Connor was born it has lacked. Everything that made the show good which is mainly how the characters work with each other isn't really there and the entire Cordelia ascension arc wasn't convincing.

Clone Wars: Liked it!

Desperate Housewives: Glad to see this back, but I'm not sure I actually like the show any more! They went all One Tree Hill, let's jump in the future, but the characters appear to have become unlikeable. Especially Susan which was such a great character. The mystery this season looks like it'll be good though, Edie and her new husband seem very intriguing.

Eureka: Eureka is a bit of a weird show, sometimes I feel like it doesn't quite know what it wants to do. The Sheriff annoys me more than he doesn't, I don't see why people like Allison Blake and it's too much of a weekly mystery show with no substantial arc. Well, that changed this season and they tried to implement a story arc which sort of worked, even though it felt extremely rushed at the end. And then there's the midseason break with a big cliffhanger. It's almost like it's an J. J. Abrams show!

Fringe: Meh. I don't like it. I don't like any of the characters, the show is incredibly boring and the only reason I'm still watching it is.. Well, I suppose I'm hoping for it to get better. The entire show doesn't make sense, it's a lot like Eureka apart from the light heartedness. The only thing I really like about the show is the superimposed lettering every time a new location is shown. It's a shame, I quite like Joshua Jackson.

Gossip Girl: The Bitch is back.. After all the 'It's not what you think' and 'I'm sorry' and the puppy dog eyes Serena and Dan are finally broken up. Serena is actually an interesting character now, but also quite unlikeable. Everyone apart from Jenny is incredibly boring and Dan gets more annoying with every episode. Can't they write him out or something?

Heroes: And another meh. Season 2 was ok ish at the end cause stuff actually happened and I liked some of the characters in it, but this season seems to have gone back to just being slow and boring. "Sylar, I'm your mother", Claire who is special [didn't we all know that from her you know, healing abilities and the 'Save the cheerleader, Save the world' crap anyway?], copper who is on a quest, Hiro and his mate doing the same as always and oh look, we've run out of storylines and have brought in a twin. Original.. It was nice seeing Veronica Mars' Francis Capra though, shame him and Kristen Bell didn't have any scenes together.

Jam and Jerusalem: What a brilliant show! It takes a while getting used to it and it is quite slow, but so, so brilliant. I have to admit, I don't like the main character at all, but her daughter is very good. As are the other women of the guild, the rich Caroline with her constant remarks of her son's friends, for example the Kaiser Chiefs or how an Arctic Monkey broke her dishwasher. The schizophrenic Dawn French or Joanna Lumley.. Everyone is great and I can't wait for the next season!

Lost in Austen: Great program, I love how it shows a completely new light to Jane Austen and Jemima Rooper is a great actress. I'm not too convinced by the ending of this, I don't think it suited the series well, but at the end of the day anything but a happy end would have come out wrong. And it had Alex Kingston which I already liked a lot in ER back when it was still good. And no one felt sorry for her boyfriend back in London?

No Heroics: BBC3's new attempt at a comedy show and three episodes in I'm still not sure if I like it or if it's funny. It's an interesting concept having a bar for heroes in London where they're not allowed to use their powers and things like the fan meeting was funny. But the characters don't really seem to work, there is no explanation why the same four people always hang out together and the chemistry between them doesn't work. However, there are some great powers!

One Tree Hill: I dislike this season's One Tree Hill. The characters are all over the place and there doesn't seem to be any friendship between any of them. There's the whole Brooke storyline which none of her friends cared about much. I can't believe they all believed she fell down the stairs and ended up with two perfect black eyes?! The Nanny Carrie and Dan storyline, please give me a break and I hope to God she's dead, although I half expect her to come back as a ghost a la Keith. Talking about death, could they make Quentin's death any more predictable? And what's the deal with Mouth leaving and no one caring? Or the amazing relationship Lucas and Peyton now have that we never get to see? Or Peyton's dad? I do hope the show turns itself around again. Soon!

Privileged: I'm actually really starting to like this show! The main character is really growing on me as she doesn't seem to be the Miss goody two shoes she originally came across as. Going to be interesting what this show develops into.

Rosemary and Thyme: So predictable, so lighthearted, but still nice to watch. Although they're a bit over the top and dare I say annoying in the last season.

Secret Diary of a Call Girl: It's like the episodes get shorter and shorter. Every episode is 22 minutes long, but seems so much shorter. This show desperately needs some additional characters. Bambi is annoying, very annoying even, but she was/is at least something new in the show.

Star Trek Voyager: I've continued watching Voyager and am now on S4E22. Before I started watching it all I was under the impression I had watched most of it in the last years and that there were only a handful of episodes I had missed. How wrong was I?! So far there were about 40 episodes that I hadn't seen before and I wasn't aware that there was some sort of story arc prior to the Borg. The entire Kazon and Seska storyline was excellent, as well as the first hints at the Borg.

The Office: Another show that started again and it was actually a quite funny episode. I think I've been liking the Office more since Steve Carell isn't the main focus of episodes as I don't like him in anything I've seen him in. Great to see Ryan's back, he's been one of my favourite characters since the start. Oh and the engagement, predictable much?

The Sarah Jane Adventures: Oh, look, they're writing out the main character and her family. Yeah, that will go down well..

The Simpsons: Loved the intro with Bobba Fett and the carbonite, but that was about it. It was a lot of 'been there, done that', sadly. This is the 20th season though, so I am wondering if there is any originality left that most importantly doesn't mess up the continuity somehow.

True Blood: Still not fully convinced if I like this or not, but it's very addictive at the same time. The accents are so very incredibly annoying though and the main character I look forward to now is Tara as everyone else doesn't appear to have more to them.

Weeds: Loved the season finale and definitely didn't see that coming which is something I've said about the last few finale's as well, I believe! Bring on the next season where everything should be very different all over again!

And then there's Strictly Come Dancing which I've really enjoyed so far! It's the first time I've watched it and it sort of makes me regret not having watched it the last years.

And I've watched a great documentary on Jacqueline du Pré who played on of my favourite classical pieces, Elgar's Cello Concerto in E Minor.

Also can't wait for CSI to start again soon!

Ok, so, for the record, I TOLD YOU SO.  Hot on the heels of the less-than-enthusiastically received Clone Wars  movie, comes the innagural episode of the series, "Ambush" (which aired last Friday on Cartoon Network).   Remember how I asked all of you to give the show a chance, no matter how you felt about the movie?  Because with all the episiodes they're going to produce, chances are some good ones were inevitable?  Well guess what?  It freakin' already happened.

"Ambush" was awesome.  The story is fairly simple (remember, this show is geared towards a younger audience) but the devil - or, in this case, a little green angel - was in the details.  Yoda was the episode's focus and not since The Empire Strikes Back  has the pint-sized Buddha felt more like... well, like Yoda!  

One of the things that bugged me about the prequels was Yoda's "demotion" to little more than an army chief; all he did was bark lame orders like "concentrate your firepower on the big round thing."  Gone was the wise, whimsical Jedi Master who earned the love and respect of everyone around him.

Well, in "Ambush," he's back to his old self.  Yes, we see him in prequel-style combat, but this time he shows us how his size puts him at a unique military advantage (and it works).   However, the real charm of the episode was in his interaction with the Clone Troopers.  Yoda befriends, protects and teaches these "mere clones" as if they were brothers, and his scene with them in the cave brought to the surface everything you have ever loved about the character.  Between the intelligent, memorable dialog and the use of  "Yoda's Theme" music, I actually got a chill.  It flet like Star Wars.

When was the last time THAT happened?

Go watch it.  Now.

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As Guerras Clônicas recomeçaram! Ao menos para os expectadores da Cartoon Network norte-americana... “The Clone Wars”, o mais novo produto ligado a marca “Star Wars”, estreou no hemisfério norte com a exibição - especial - dos dois primeiros episódios, “Ambush” e “Rising Malevolence”, em continuidade ao recente filme animado - lançado nos cinemas e disponível em DVD no início de novembro. Contudo, apesar da atração estar programada para chegar ao Brasil apensas em 2009, jedimaníacos brazucas poderão curtí-la sem ter que pestanejar por tantos meses, uma vez que os capítulos estarão disponíveis para compra on-line no iTunes, logo depois da pronta exibição nas telinhas gringas. Ou seja, as duas primeiras partes da “temporada” já estão acessíveis para download. Assim sendo, vamos conferir se o desenho consegue, enfim, honrar a tradição de “Guerra nas Estrelas” ou aumentar (ainda mais) o descontentamento dos fãs desgostosos com os rumos dados pelo criador (e aqui, produtor-executivo) George Lucas para a tal “galáxia muito, muito distante”.

Diferente da chiadeira provocada pelo longa homônimo, “Clone Wars” se torna especialmente agradável de se ver na telinha - até pelos mesmos motivos que alavancaram as críticas durante o lançamento cinematográfico. O título foi planejado para a TV e sua rápida passagem pelos cinemas escancarava justamente esta lamentável “falha comercial” - que obviamente não tem qualquer importância agora que a produção encontra-se em seu verdadeiro “formato”. Extremamente bonito, o (agora) écran televisivo - digitalmente preenchido pelo 3D - proporciona um espetáculo visual vistoso e muito superior aos concorrentes no mercado, frutos da competência técnica da Lucasfilm Animation, empresa criada especialmente para o desenvolvimento deste projeto “independente” (bancado integralmente pelo bolso de Mr. Lucas). Num ritmo bastante dinâmico, cada (curto) episódio despeja muito da conhecida fórmula aventureira das antigas “Matinês de Sábado” (os “precursores” dos seriados atuais, que inspiraram “Star Wars” até mesmo nas estranhas locuções que abrem cada sessão de “Clone Wars”). Tudo resumido em capítulos semanais de menos de meia-hora, sem qualquer embromação (e privilegiando a ação, portanto).

Em “Ambush”, o 1º episódio, Mestre Yoda precisa lutar contra Asajj Ventress e suas forças separatistas para garantir certo acordo estratégico com um dos planetas que (até então) se mantiveram neutros no conflito galáctico. Visitando uma linda Lua tomada por florestas de corais, o general Jedi - acompanhado de seus soldados clones - precisa provar porque é o membro mais forte e respeitado na Ordem, enfrentando todos os desafios que lhe são colocados, com valente galhardia. Centrado em Yoda, essa “abertura” mostra muito do potencial de “Clone Wars” dentro das possibilidades abertas pelo “Universo Expandido”, contudo, pena que sua “Força” motriz se relativiza pelo excessivo tom humorístico conferido aos patéticos dróids da Federação de Comércio - abobalhados até nos momentos onde poderiam se tornar uma real ameaça.

Já em “Rising Malevalonce“, o 2º episódio, os andróides “do mal” estão menos “engraçadinhos”, assumindo o teor sério/sombrio do capítulo, que coloca os sobreviventes da - destroçada - fragata comandada pelo Mestre Plo Koon a deriva numa cápsula salva-vidas - e a espera de um improvável resgate, este, impossibilitado pela mesma “ameaça” que quase os destruiu. Com Anakin e sua Padawan, Ahsoka, voltando ao foco principal, “Malevalonce” também apresenta Grievous (de “A Vingança dos Sith”) no bojo desta “Guerras” em computação gráfica. Além de inventar uma “poderosa arma secreta” pros vilões comandados por Conde Dookan, algo que deverá ecoar por ademais desdobramentos, dando continuidade ao desfecho deste aparente arco introdutório.

Interessantes e bem realizados, ambos, “Ambush” e “Rising Malevalence” são suficientemente capazes de despertar o interesse dos telespectadores - isso, sem precisar tirar qualquer “super trunfo” da carteira ou entregar o jogo. Quase como se avisassem: “o melhor ainda está por vir”. Superiores (mesmo que levemente) ao longa-metragem que os precede, o derivado televisivo, por enquanto, passa longe das bobagens “Jar-Jar-Binkianas” e ganha (inclusive) fôlego para atrair um público mais velho do que apontado pelo seu (aparente) direcionamento infanto-juvenil. Resta torcermos para que os vindouros episódios possam (ao menos) sustentar esse ritmo e/ou (quem sabe) aprimorá-lo - gradativamente - até o ranking Jedi de qualidade.

Vi såg den i Emporium, där finns en något mindre biograf än Paragon. Men i Emporium är det nästan aldrig fulla salonger och man har möjligheten att ta med kaffe, varmkorv och nachos in i biomörkret. Detta tillsammans med att det är mycket närmare från vårt böle gör valet lätt.

Och just nu har Emporium "Lost World"-jippo. Det är som en liten oas full med plastdinosaurier, skelett, stora träd och riktiga, levande djungeldjur. Det håller på till den 12:e oktober så passa på!

Tyvärr hade vi ingen kamera med för att vi skulle på bio, vill ju inte förväxlas med pirater! Lyckades däremot knäppa en bild när vi åkte förbi igår:

The Star Wars Clone Wars animated TV series has finally started this week and even though I was very disappointed with the film, I was looking forward to this and I'm quite happy to see that it's actually better than I expected. Maybe Star Wars animation doesn't translate well on the big screen or it was a lack of story and not enough going on that ruined the film.

There were many things I disliked about the film, the music wasn't great, the animation wasn't great and the facial expressions particularly the eyes seemed very wrong. And it was all about Obi-Wan and Anakin again which to be fair are the main focus of Star Wars, but I was under the impression the series was meant to focus on characters we hadn't seen before. Of course then there was the introduction of what I assume will be a main protagonist in the series: Ahsoka.

Moving on to the series, so far it has concentrated on Yoda, Anakin and Ahsoka, but I don't think it actually has as such, but rather on the Clones and their relationship to the Jedi. None of the films ever concentrated on the Clones as they were only brought in at the end of Episode 2 and Episode 3 was already packed full with other essential storylines. Commander Cody and Obi-Wan Kenobi did have a scene which implied they had spent some time together in episode 3 though just before Order 66 was given.

I don't claim to know Jango Fett's backstory or his character as there is a lot about him in the extended universe, but he does come across as very ruthless so seemingly the Clones would be as well. This series has shown them to be more than that, given them feelings. Yoda's attempt to show his Clones they're more than they think they are was great as was Plo-Koon convincing his Clones help was on the way.

Clone Commander: Do you think we've got a chance, General?
Plo-Koon: I don't believe in chance, Commander. I know if we work together we will stay alive and someone will find us.
Clone Seargeant: With all due respect, General, strategically it doesn't make any sense for someone to come and look for us. If I was in command, I'd be hunting that weapon down.
Plo-Koon: I value your life more than finding that weapon.

Or at a later part:

Plo-Koon: Sergeant, why are you so certain no one is coming?
Clone Sergeant: We're just Clones, Sir. We're meant to be expendable.
Plo-Koon: Not to me.

The series also seems to contain very dark storylines from both sides attempting to negotiate treaties with allies, injured Clones with scratched and dirty armour and the terrible way to kill the survivors in space. However, that doesn't mean that it's bad, it's nice to see a different angle.

Not everything is great about the series either though; the music continues to be very irritating at times and intrusive when it shouldn't be which goes to show how important the correct music is to set a scene. The narrator at the beginning of each episode is annoying to put it lightly, the fight scenes are typically overdone and whoever picked Anakin's voiceover artist made a terrible, terrible mistake, as did the person who came up with the idea of droids joking with each other.

But, this is a show that is primarily aimed at children, even if it claims not to be. After all, the last Star Wars film was released in 2005 and whilst the Live action TV series is still in planning [I'll believe it when I see it], most Star Wars fans are inevitably getting older and the next generation needs to be drawn in. As such I think it works well and it has enough to keep existing fans interested.

Either way, anything new about the extended Star Wars universe is good to me as there's so much still unexplored. I am looking forward to the next episode.

CW kicked off with "Ambush," where Yoda and a trio of clonetroopers find themselves in a bizarre contest with Asajj Ventress and Co. to see whether Toydaria remains with the Republic. It's a great little character study of Yoda, where we see the Wise Old Jedi Master from TESB and ROTJ combined with his PT-era persona. Interestingly enough, he shows his clone guys a lot of respect for them as individuals. But make no mistake, he's not THE Jedi Master for nothing. He takes the droid armies to town. At one point, he's leaping around and forcing the battle droids to shoot at each other, all of the while he's giggling in that Yoda-ish way. It hearkens back (forward?) to the occasional impishness Yoda showed in TESB. Naturally, Yoda saves the day and wipes the floor with Ventress's rear end. You know how villains in old movies and cartoons would throw a smoke bomb or something, then run out the back door? Ventress pulls the same distract-and-run trick, making me wonder why Ventress wasn't fired before the end of the CW. Really, if you were an Evil Overlord, would you want to keep employing a cowardly henchwoman who never seems to win any battles and has to run away all of the time?

This had a lot of funny lines, "but I just got promoted" being my favorite. That's followed by an exasperated Ventress explaining to a dimwitted battle droid what Yoda looks like: "He'll be the small, shriveled green one...with a lightsaber!"

The second episode "Rising Malevolence" brings back the A-Team of Anakin, Ahsoka, and Artoo. And it marks the t.v. debuts of Plo Koon and General Grievous!

Plo Koon's ship gets blasted by a new secret weapon called the ion cannon, leaving it and the rest of the Republic floatilla as target practice for Grievous and Count Dooku's ship. Everybody runs for the escape pods and the battle droids are sent out to kill every survivor in each pod because the Seps don't want anyone to know about their awesome new weapon. Whew, that's cold! The Jedi Council assigns Anakin to have his ship protect a convoy. Ahsoka, worried about Plo Koon (he brought her to the Temple), asks if they can go rescue him. Anakin bitches out Ahsoka for her big mouth, then essentially sneaks out with her on the Twilight on a "scouting mission." He tells her she has to learn to play the system his way, wink wink.

Even though we all know who's going to make it, there's plenty of suspense. Plo Koon gets to be wise and awesome, so it's no surprise his #1 fan Dave Filoni directed this episode ;). It was also cool to see obscure references like Abregado get mentioned as well as a few nods to ANH and TESB: the Death Star-style shot of the ion cannon going off, the lines copped from Han and Chewie trying to fix the Falcon in TESB, and of course, the ion cannon that helped the Rebels get away in TESB. See, all of that Sep secret weaponry did some good after all!

Anakin shows shades of Obi-Wan in this but I guess they say it's true you turn into your parents once you have a kid. That he likes to bend the rules is very much in character, though it's telling that he starts to give up on the rescue mission when Palpatine tells him to do so. Of course it was Plo Koon, not Obi-Wan or Padmé, who was out missing. Ahsoka shows she is a chip off of the old master's block when she senses Koon and immediately seizes control of the Twilight.

My only quibble is how these clone guys were heard screaming as they were floating into space. I know in SW, there are explosions, ka-booms, laser pew-pews, and so forth but even that stretches credulity ;). Otherwise, another winner of an episode.

The animation is fantastic. Curse you Cox for not having Cartoon Network available on my HD service!! The vocal talents of many of the actors improved from the theatrical release and the replacements for Samuel L. Jackson and Christopher Lee did decently.

I also thought the little sayings at the beginning of the episodes were pretty cool. I see on starwars.com they call those the "Jedi Fortune Cookies."