Sean Foster (66)
"The First Step Towards Loyalty is Trust"
I hope the creative forces behind the show take note of this quote, because, after not airing a new episode last week, they really threw off my trust. Having to go 14 days without a new episode was not good on my psyche, and I was reduced to reenacting The Mortis Trilogy in my room with sock puppets and action figures. It was not a pretty sight, and, lucky for me, they aired a new episode right before I started constructing my very own 2-1B.
And, boy oh boy, was it worth the wait. If there is anything I've learned from Filoni and crew, it is that they will not disappoint. In Season 3, they pounded us over the head with political episodes about diplomacy and corruption, but then totally blew us out of the water with 3 back-to-back "trilogies" filled with awesomeness (Nightsisters, Mortis, and Citadel). So, now, after watching Gungans and 2 back-to-back Droid episodes, we get the first episode in a 4-part arc which looks incredibly promising.
"Who's the more foolish? The fool or the fool who follows him?"
Is this the first time we've seen a quote from the movies used as a fortune cookie? Methinks yes! And, rather fitting for this episode.
"Understanding is Honoring the Truth Beneath the Surface"
No Obi-Wan again? You're killing me, guys! C-3PO and R2-D2 are in the spotlight this time around, which led to a pretty fun episode.
It was interesting to see The Aleena. The only other time we ever saw them was in The Phantom Menace with the one Aleena crashing his pod racer with what was probably the most hilarious death scream ever captured on film. The Aleena are a strange looking bunch, but you can't help but think how adorable they are in their speaeh and mannerisms. Not too cutesy, but we're bordering on Ewoks, here. That's not a complaint, because they did actually make me laugh quite a few times. Especially at the very beginning with an Aleena flying up next to Commander Wollfe's ship, speaking in hilarious jibberish, and Wollfe stating, "Great. It's gonna be one of THOSE planets." I was cracking up.
With an awesome episode title like "Shadow Warrior" and having seen a clip ahead of time with Anakin and Dooku going head to head, I can honestly say the last thing I was expecting was more Gungans! I was kinda hoping that, after dedicating several episodes to Gungans already, the writers got them out of their system already. Apparently not. But, it did (kind of) answer a question I had in the previous episodes. Where the hell is Boss Nass?? We have a new Boss by the name of Boss Lyonie. Maybe Nass is on holiday, or getting the liposuction he so desperately needs. Why does Boss Nass looks nothing like the other Gungans? He doesn’t even look like an overweight Gungan either, more like a toad. But, I digress. I could go on about Nass for hours. Lyonie is obviously in these episodes, so that he can bring in the comedic stylings of Jar Jar Binks in a sort of Prince and the Pauper meets Intergalactic Civil War.
Season 4 of The Clone Wars is back in full force. Finally! The premiere consisted of 2 episodes of a 3-part arc. And, while I was a little concerned about the episodes taking place underwater, I was relieved to see that these episodes really delivered. Even though it had Gungans...
"Water War" and "Gungan Attack"
¨When Destiny Calls, The Chosen Have No Choice¨
The opening ¨fortune cookie¨ kinda made me laugh. When silly fish people are in trouble, the Jedi have no choice but to help. Never catch a break. But, in all seriousness, I have to say I was a little surprised that they decided to start the episode with the image of a Mon Calamari corpse floating in the water. Murder? In the first 5 seconds of the show? OK, I’m in.
So, last night was the big night. As I stated in my last post, there are very few things in this world that I love more than Star Wars. When my uncle called a month ago and asked if I wanted to see Star Wars in Concert, I didn't even give him a chance to finish his sentence. I didn't even know what the hell it was! I hear Star Wars and I'm there. So, it was me, my uncle, and my two younger cousins. The older of the two is obsessed with Star Wars, so we have a lot in common. While I do have a great deal of knowledge of the prequels, I haven't seen them nearly as many times as he has. And, although I feel like less of a man when someone younger than me knows more about Star Wars than I do, I just have to remind myself that he was raised on the prequels.
The car ride there was pretty funny, because my uncle and I kept singing Bill Murray's lounge singer version of Star Wars from Saturday Night Live. My cousins were not as amused. For those unfamiliar, here's the video.
Ahhh, where do I begin? I should start by saying that I was in no way all that excited to see this movie. My first beef was that Cameron had a bit of a dispute over changing the name of his movie, so that it wouldn't be confused with the live action Avatar: The Last Airbender movie. Cameron, of course, got his way; his name stuck, and theirs needed to change. So, already this dude is rubbing me the wrong way. Not only that, but when I was in elementary school, I was obsessed with the Titanic. I had read so many books on the subject, it could make your head spin. But, did I see the movie? Nope. Looked lame to me. I did catch parts of it on TBS sometime this past year or so and wasn't impressed. Terminator 2 was the last flick of his that I enjoyed.
When my Twitter was blowing up about James Cameron's motion picture epic Avatar, I just kind of rolled my eyes and said, "Whatever." I can't be fooled by super amazing CGI. I need story! Why is it that we can't have a visually-brilliant movie with story to back it up? Because the general public doesn't care about story anymore. This is really sad. I get grief for liking the Star Wars prequels sometimes. Fine! I will be a Star Wars geek until the day I die. I hope my friends fulfill my dying wish to be cremated and my ashes scattered across the Tunisia Desert.
First and foremost, since I didn't mention it in my first review, I HAVE to point out how awesome and heavy the Drums are during the opening Star Wars theme! Sounds so epic and gives Clone Wars its own vibe. Plus, it's the only John Williams-type score from the movies that was put into the show. Then, we get, as we fans refer to it, "The Fortune Cookie." The words of wisdom placed before us at the beginning of each episode. This week’s Fortune Cookie says, "Evil Is Not Taught, It Is Learned..." Some people don't give enough attention to the Fortune Cookie and how it relates to the episode. This one is a major one...
In last week’s episode, Dooku was deceived into believing it was the Jedi who attacked him, so that he would look for a new assassin from Mother Talzin; a male assassin this time. I've poked around the internet forums to see if people thought Dooku was aware he was being manipulated or if he actually had no idea. Turns out most think the same way I do. Dooku may be powerful, but it seemed he honestly had no idea he was being deceived. And, what is the past between Mother Talzin and the Nightsisters/brothers? There is a past they aren't telling us. Also, Dooku was not in the least hesitant to drink the beverage Talzin so casually conjured up with her Witchcraft. There has to be some sort of past bond here.
The final chapter in the Savage Opress arc. Sorry for the delay, folks, but I went on vacation and then had A LOT of work to catch up on! So, on with Part 3 entitled “Witches of the Mist!!”
Our "fortune cookie," as we refer to it in the Clone Wars community, at the beginning of this episode is "The path to evil may bring great power, but not loyalty." And, this episode proves it. First and foremost, we get a glimpse at Republic Commandos! Oh yeah! They only make an appearance, but it's exciting to think about how much we will see them in the future. Republic Commandos was a favorite X-Box game of mine, so it was cool to see them incorporated into the show. Upon looking on the dead bodies Obi-Wan says to Plo-Koon, "This is not the work of a Sith Lord, or a Jedi, but a reckless impulsive animal." I LOVED that description of Savage. They still have no idea what they are up against.
A few months back, I had the privilege of attending the special Star Wars: Clone Wars movie screening of the Savage Opress story arc. Here I was, able to see awesome new Clone Wars episodes on the big screen, months before they would air on TV! Needless to say, I was blown away. Season 3 of the Clone Wars has been kind of hard to take in. It was basically politics, politics, politics. If I had to hear the word "corruption" one more time, I was going to tear my hair out. But, after seeing the Savage "movie," my faith was restored.
The first episode, entitled "Nightsisters," is the first in the three-part arc, all of which was written by Katie Lucas. Yes, that's right, George Lucas' daughter! And, let me tell you, she is definitely her father's daughter. I will refrain from reviewing the whole arc since we still have two more episodes to go, but let me just say that Katie brings an amazing talent to this series and gives Season 3 the kick it needed. This is what Clone Wars should be, and it only gets better from here.