All in all, tonight yielded another great installment of Clone Wars (though I think 1.7 (Duel of the Droids) is the best so far still)…

With Padme having captured Nute Gunray in the last episode, Luminara Unduli and Ahsoka are tasked with escorting him back to Coruscant so he can stand trial for his war crimes.  This is obviously bad news for Count Dooku and he dispatches Asajj Ventress to retrieve him.  That’s basically how the episode plays out with a lot of cool lightsaber dueling all along the way.

Dooku was in the episode far too little and makes me wonder how far off an episode that is centric to Dooku can be.  What little he had to do in this episode was really good, though I doubt many who watched it picked up on the subtelty.  I mean, when Sidious calls him out on sending Ventress who fails pretty much all the time on this most important of assignments, it made me realize that Dooku is still as much a Jedi as a Sith.  He seems to have a much more nurturing demeanor than other Sith we’ve seen and it seems as though it stems from being a Jedi Master for so long.  The scene was well written enough to conjure images of Dooku training Qui-Gon and it was a good thing.

There was more great business with Ahsoka soaking in Anakin’s demeanor during Nute Gunray’s interogation.  And Luminara Unduli was a good temporary foil for her, but my biggest question is where the hell was Barris Offee?  Was there an off-handed line that explained that and I missed it? I’m I being too nerdy in caring?

The level of detail in the animation hasn’t ceased amazing me since the start of the series.  In this episode, I was blown away both by the quality of the lightsaber duels and the sets they happened on, but the architecture of the ship was great.  Even the cell block control room was about 90% the same as the cell block on the Death Star in A New Hope and it made me happy to see them officiating their scene from the same spot on the set that Han unsuccesfully conned his way into that reactor leak.

As good as this episode was though, the best part about tonight was the preview for next weeks episode which will pit Kit Fisto, his Mon Calamari of a former padawan, and some clone troopers doing mortal combat in the lair of General Grievous.  Seriously, the fleeting glimpses of the backgrounds and animation in this episode took my breath away.  I instantly wished it was next Friday already.

My only complaint?  The show is on too damn late for the kids…  10:00pm?  What are they thinking?

UPDATE: Here’s a trailer of next week’s episode:

Lucasfilm has been good enough to provide us with a clip of the 8th episode of Clone Wars.

I’m quite excited, Paul Dini is the mastermind behind writing this episode. That’s always good news.

From the press release:

Acclaimed animation-and-comics writer Paul Dini (the “Justice League,” “Superman,” “Batman” animated series) amps up the action for Jedi heroines Luminara Unduli and Ahsoka Tano in “Cloak of Darkness,” an all-new episode of the hit animated series STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS, premiering at 9 p.m. ET/PT Friday, Dec. 5, on Cartoon Network.

In “Cloak of Darkness,” Ahsoka and Jedi Master Luminara escort captured Viceroy Nute Gunray to trial – but they’re unaware that Count Dooku has dispatched his deadly assassin Asajj Ventress to free the prisoner and eliminate the Jedi.

Supervising director Dave Filoni, who also directed “Cloak of Darkness,” and story editor Henry Gilroy have made concerted efforts to grow the series’ expansive universe of characters throughout the first season. When the focus turned to the strong female fighters of the Star Wars galaxy – both heroes and villains – they felt writer Paul Dini was a perfect choice to create the scenario.

Dini’s work in animation and comic books have built him a strong following among enthusiasts, and he is noted for creating stunning, memorable female characters. Dini, who has taken time away from the animation realm to be a story editor on ABC’s “Lost,” said he didn’t hesitate to take the assignment from Lucasfilm Animation.

“It was interesting to take Ahsoka, who plays by her own rules, and put her under the tutelage of a more established Jedi,” Dini says. “She can’t get around Luminara the way she plays with Anakin and Obi-Wan. It’s not just their generational difference, it’s a difference in methods – Luminara is very much by the book, and expects any padawan to follow the rules. Ahsoka grabs a lightsaber and runs into battle, whereas Luminara wants to take a moment and assess the situation through her mastery of the Force. Throw in the wildcard of Ventress and you’ve got a very interesting mix.”

Filoni says the Star Wars galaxy is filled with compelling female characters, but many of them have not had major roles – so far. “This series gives us an opportunity to use them in a much larger capacity,” he says. “In this episode, the focus is on how Luminara, an old-school Jedi master, would work with a young padawan like Ahsoka. Putting Luminara and Ahsoka together offers a real contrast in learning for both characters.”

In both comics and action-driven animation, Dini says, a preponderance of male characters provides a challenge to develop their underappreciated female counterparts with equal complexity and motivations.

“A lot of times, female characters – particularly the villains – come off as very one-dimensional,” Dini says. “They get the short shrift in that they’re only given the snappy comeback, or they’re relegated to a very stereotypical role. I want to know what’s driving them – that’s what’s really interesting. If you can find that human moment, then attach a human element of motivation, the character becomes more relatable and, even if she’s a villain, more sympathetic.”

But Dini says viewers won’t find much sympathy for Ventress – and not because she lacks crystal clear motives.

“Ventress has a savage desire to prove herself,” he explains. “She really wants to be the next Sith Lord, and she’ll do anything to achieve her goal. She’s as ruthless, cunning and merciless as any character in the series, and that intense, loose rage makes her a wild card. When she unleashes it, she becomes a berserker. When she fights, she’s like a snake, almost reptilian in some ways. If she kept her rage in check, she might win. But she gives in to that rage, and that is her undoing, her weakness.”

Also, this trailer for the show is rad:

Sorry it’s a little late, but I was due for some professional function upgrades in New York and wasn’t able to get my weekly dose of Clone Wars on time, so I went a little crazy.  To make up for it, I got drunk and watched Return of the Jedi in my hotel room.

But now I’m back and had a chance to watch the first Clone Wars appearance of Jar Jar Binks, “Bombad Jedi”.

This was not the best episode so far.  But that didn’t make it bad.  In fact, this episode was pretty damn good.  It set up what I think is going to be a really great continuing dynamic between Jar Jar and Threepio.  It fit into a structure of action and political intrigue with Padme on a diplomatic mission to Rodia in the Outer Rim.  Rodia has been under extreme strain because of the war and was interested in striking a deal with either the Republic or the Separtists for vital supplies for the survival of the Rodians.

Like many things in the Clone Wars, the Separatists are involved in the background and the whole thing was a ruse to kidnap Padme so that Nute Gunray could once again try to enact his revenge.

The only two people left to help Padme out of this sticky spot is Jar Jar and Threepio.  And they try very hard, but the results are hilarious…  It felt very much like Buster Keaton or Chaplin.  It was funny and worked really well for the episode.  Things get even funnier when Jar Jar finds one of Anakin’s cloaks, no doubt left behind from a forbidden rendezvous with Padme, and all of the droids on Rodia mistake him for a Jedi coming to make short work of them.

There are a lot of people who will reject this episode outright because it prominently features Jar Jar Binks.  I think these are the same idiotic masses that did the same thing for The Phantom Menace and that’s one of the coolest movies ever made.

Having said that, I would actually like to see more Kevin Rubio scripted episodes about this batch of characters.  I have no idea how he actually feels about the prequels, but I know he loves Star Wars almost as much as I do and it really came through in his writing.  There was an unspoken enthusiasm for the world there and I wish more people could have that for Star Wars.

Now if they could only get me writing and they would have all the Star Wars enthusiasm they could handle.  But I hope you guys are able to take my opinion about this show seriously.  If it was really bad, I’d tell you.  But it’s not.  It’s great.  Even the Jar Jar episodes.

So, in order to put some of you more tepid robots at ease, I’m extremely happy to report that the writer of the first ever Jar Jar episode of Clone Wars is comic genius Kevin Rubio.

I don’t know if many of you know Kevin Rubio, but he’s the bad-ass who directed Troops, he worked on The Simpsons and he wrote Tag and Bink are Dead, one of the coolest Star Wars comics ever.

Rubio had this to say:

Writer Kevin Rubio (creator of Dark Horse’s “Tag & Bink”) says he had fun crafting the first episode of the series that is driven by humor, and feels Jar Jar was the perfect character to anchor the episode.

“I wanted to find a middle ground between the funny side of Jar Jar and heroic redemption,” Rubio says. “He is a fish out of water, and, yeah, he can be goofy and stupid, but in context, it works.

“There’s a phrase that I think applies to almost every episode that I’ve seen, and I know it influenced me on this episode. It appears in the prologue to the original Star Wars novelization: ‘They were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Naturally they became heroes.’ I think that says it all for Jar Jar.”

And to put you further at ease, here’s the rest of the release sent out by Lucasfilm:

When Separatist forces mistake Jar Jar Binks for a Jedi Knight, humor and action come together in a new episode of STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS. “Bombad Jedi” premieres at 9 p.m. ET/PT Friday, Nov. 21, on Cartoon Network.

Jar Jar Binks and C-3PO team up to save Padmé Amidala from doom at the hands of evil Viceroy Nute Gunray. But the task becomes infinitely more complicated when the Separatists assume that the Gungan is a Jedi.

Director Jesse Yeh says Jar Jar’s overstated mannerisms and physicality make him a natural for THE CLONE WARS’ animated format.

“Jar Jar’s looks, expressions and his characteristic personality allow us to animate him to levels of exaggeration that really stand out from the other human characters or two-legged creatures,” Yeh says.

“To me, his character is almost right out of the classic Disney or Warner Bros. cartoons. He is not always completely ‘there,’ he is clumsy and he seems to have a talent for making mistakes that really matter – sometimes in a constructive way, sometimes in a destructive way. I think it’s easy to be attracted by his innocent, childlike, naive side. He’s like a loveable, well-meaning friend – one you don’t want around when it’s a matter of life and death. But once you’ve lived through the crisis, you definitely want to invite him to the celebration party.”

Yeh directs action and comedy with equal skill, but he says it’s easier to find inspiration for the latter in his daily activities.

“If you pay more attention to the people around you, you will realize there’s a funny side to everyone – no matter who that person normally appears to be,” Yeh says. “I actually did put in a lot of ‘everyday’ gags into the episode, and some of the reactions Jar Jar has were actual reflections of people whom I know in real life. But I am not telling who they are, of course.”

I don’t know about you, but I’m twice as excited for this episode as I was last week…

It’s getting a little ridiculous for me to say this every week, but I think this is my favorite episode so far. There’s a number of reasons for it, but allow me to get to that after I bring you up to speed about what happened first.

This episode, Duel of the Droids, is a continuation of last weeks episode where Artoo had been captured by a Trandoshan scavenger after Anakin lost both Artoo and his ship in a battle with General Grievous. This episode starts with Obi-wan ordering Anakin to NOT go after Artoo (much to his disappointment) and find the Separatist listening post that is causing them problems. Predictably, when they intercept a scattered transmission from Artoo, Anakin disobeys orders and goes after his droid.

That’s basically when all the kick-ass stuff happens. Artoo leads them right to the listening post right before he is taken apart by the Trandoshan. Before they arrive, Obi-wan once again informs Anakin that he is, under no circumstance, to concern himself with rescuing Artoo. His only mission is to destroy the listening post. Even more predictably, Anakin tells Ahsoka to take care of the mission by herself with the aid of Rex and a handful of clones.

This led to all of my favorite parts of this episode and they all kick-ass. Basically, Anakin instills into Ahsoka the trust he wanted from Obi-wan and the Jedi Council and sends her on a suicide mission. He’s reckless in a way that makes so much sense for his character in his forbidden attachment to things, in this case Artoo. He’s willing to risk his men, his mission, and his padawan for something that has even the most tenuous of connections to Padme and it’s fascinating to watch. You can even see in his fighting style and hear in his voice a tinge of anger and hatred when he down’s Grievous’ Magna Droids when he takes Artoo back.

And the best part of the episode? The horror-film bits. Since Anakin foolishly abandoned his mission to rescue his droid, Ahsoka needs to command the clones to complete the mission while she has to distract Grievous by herself. In a scene reminiscent of the one in Jurassic Park (you know, the one in the kitchen with kids and the raptors?) Ahsoka is in a darkened storage room, dodging Grievous back and forth. It’s scary and Grievous has her dead to rights. As a member of the audience, I was terrified that Ahsoka’s moments were numbered. She’s obviously not in Revenge of the Sith and Anakin loses her somehow between now and then. The thought that she can go at any moment is exhilarating in much the same way you are concerned by acrobats performing at a circus without a net.

But the more I see of “Snips” (as she’s called by Anakin) the more I think she’s the perfect foil for him. And the direction the animators and directors have taken her is great. She has started adapting some of the types of movements and lightsabers techniques that we’ve seen Anakin use. In fact, there’s a moment where Grievous is about to cut Rex down and she jumps in and intercedes with her lightsaber in exactly the same way Anakin does on Obi-Wan’s behalf against Count Dooku at the end of Attack of the Clones…

I guess I’ve gone on far too long about this episode, but the long and short of it is that this episode worked for me on a lot of levels and quite a few more than the others have. It felt like this episode (even more than the others) was directed by a person who has as much love for Star Wars as I do and with an attention to detail that I would insist on if I were in charge of an episode in any creative capacity.

So, until next week, May the Force Be With You.

(Also: Next week is a Jar Jar episode, so if you’re going to watch, make sure you do it with the kids.  That is, if you’re one of those jerks who can’t get behind Jar Jar.  Jerk…)

First off. Beginning this Saturday, Nov. 15, Cartoon Network will add an encore presentation of STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS on Saturday mornings! All-new episodes of STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS premiere at 9 p.m. Fridays. And now, at 9:30 a.m. each Saturday, Cartoon Network will re-air the previous evening’s 30-minute episode.

So, that’s good news.

Now, onto the episode news Lucasfilm provided me with:

What is R2-D2 made of? Audiences will find out, both literally and figuratively, in “Duel of the Droids,” an all-new episode of the hit animated series STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS, premiering at 9 p.m. ET/PT Friday, Nov. 14, on Cartoon Network.

In the episode, Anakin, Ahsoka and replacement droid R3-S6 (aka “Goldie”) embark on a dual rescue/sabotage mission when they discover R2-D2 is being held at General Grievous’s secret enemy listening post.

Writer Kevin Campbell (”Disney’s House of Mouse,” “Jackie Chan Adventures”) created a little extra work for the Lucasfilm Animation crew when he used the unusually vivid word “splayed” to describe how R2-D2’s internal mechanisms would be removed and exhibited across an examining table. That gave the production team ample opportunity to delve into Artoos’s inner workings, as well as to have a little fun at director Rob Coleman’s expense.

“Dave (Filoni) and the designers – particularly Killian Plunkett – figured out what was actually inside Artoo,” Coleman says. “He’s the ultimate Swiss Army knife, and we all love the myriad things that come out of him, but having to build and animate all of that is another story. Lucasfilm Animation’s Gary Scheppke got a box full of ‘Artoo bits,’ and the modelers – basing it off the actual hardware – crammed it into the model inside the computer. There are definitely some recognizable pieces on that table from the films, as well as all the things that show up for the first time in this episode – a cutter wheel, suction cups, etc. Then they animated in a few things like a pea shooter and a boxing glove just to get my attention. They’re funny guys.”

Campbell says he took pride in the opportunity to add some history for Artoo and his capabilities, showing some aspects of the droid that audiences haven’t seen before.

“I love that we’re adding back story to the back story. We discover that when Princess Leia hides the Death Star plans inside Artoo in Episode IV, it’s not the first time he’s been entrusted with important information,” Campbell says. “I also like that we get to play with Anakin’s emotional side. The Jedi are saying he gets too attached, that he’s willing to risk everything to get Artoo back. He’s a Jedi, and yet he assigns sentimental value to an inanimate object. I can relate to that, because that’s real loyalty.”

They’ve also provided us with a really cool picture. Apparently, Ahsoka gets to show down with General Grievous, which I’m terribly excited to see:

Downfall of a Droid was the name of tonight’s episode and it was another solid entry into the series. It starts with Anakin and Ahsoka guarding a planet from Separatist attack when, of course, Grievous arrives. Hopelessly outgunned, Anakin conceives a tactic that’s really quite cool that he leads Grievous into. (I won’t spoil the actual trap since it’s pretty cool.) And although the trap Anakin springs is successful, Grievous escapes in his ship after disabling Anakin’s fighter.

Anakin wakes up on his flagship to be told that Rex had to rescue him, he was knocked unconscious and Artoo was left in the wreckage. Obi-wan tells Anakin that it’s not a big deal until Anakin lets him know that his memory hasn’t been wiped and Artoo has a complete readout of the Republics tactics and a list of bases. Which leads Anakin and Ahsoka to a Trandoshan salvage ship that’s trawling the wreckage of the battle. They board his ship looking for Artoo, but find themselves in a pretty bad-ass showdown with a trio of IG-Assasin droids.

Needing to get back to the battle to try to hunt Grievous down, they leave, confident Artoo isn’t aboard the Trandoshan’s ship, but they were wrong and he’s plotting to sell Artoo to Grievous. Some more action ensues and Anakin’s new droid, a brand spankin’ new R3 unit dubbed Goldie repeatedly tries to inadvertently kill him.

I was taken a little bit off-guard with this episode since I figured that they would retrieve Artoo by the end of the episode, but he’s not even close to being rescued. The episode ended with a cliffhanger and the tease for the next episode where we see the Trandoshan disassembling Artoo and learning his secrets. That’s intercut with footage of Anakin being a badass and looking extremely pissed that he doesn’t have his droid.

All in all, this episode was another good one. There was a great action sequence for every section of the episode. Before the first commercial break, we had the great capital ship combat sequence where Anakin outwits Grievous, the middle segment featured that kick-ass fight between Anakin and Ahsoka and the IG-droids and the third had Anakin single-handedly holding his own against both his defective droid and three Separatist capitol ships.

So, I’m eagerly looking forward to next week’s episode.

Until then, May the Force be with You.

(And in case you missed it, here’s a preview clip that Lucasfilm was gracious enough to provide us with of this episode.)

Lucasfilm and Cartoon Network have been kind enough to give us this clip of a scene from this Friday’s episode of Clone Wars.

I don’t care how jaded most of you are, I’m really loving this series.

Here’s the Quicktime Version…

Last night’s episode of Clone Wars was called Rookies and centered around a small group of “shiny” brand new clones on a remote listening post.  They have what is perhaps the most boring job in the Republic, or at least they believe.  But that all changes when a crack group of droid commandos (bad-ass droids we’ve never seen before) catches them unawares in the midst of a meteor shower.

Their seasoned seargent is killed and they’re all that’s left to protect Kamino from a full-blown assault by General Grievous.

This episode reminded me a lot of the most fun parts of the Republic Commando game, and when Commander Cody and Rex show up for an inspection all hell breaks loose.  This was a great action/adventure story and there weren’t any Jedi to get in the clones’ way.

I think this episode had a lot of the bad-ass kinds of moments people wanted in the movie that made them dislike it a little bit…  There was one great moment where Rex (maybe it was Cody) shot a droid disguised as a clone in the face at point blank range.   It was pretty bad-ass.

Where as episode 1.3 (Shadow of Malevolence, I think) was the World War II bomber-plane movie, this was more like the Dirty Dozen, minus all of the planning stages…  In fact, it ends with a cool explosion and sacrifice much the same way The Dirty Dozen did.

I would like to see more clones-only episodes like this in the series, as this one was great.

I want to say bad things about this show, just to prove that I’m not unbiased, but this show is really kicking ass and taking names and I can’t find anything bad to say about it.

Unfortunately, the next new episode isn’t for two weeks (predictably, they’re skipping Halloween), but here’s hoping it’s as good as the first five have been.  It looks great.  The preview explains that Anakin lost Artoo in a fire-fight and the enemy has captured him.  This is really bad news for the Republic since Artoo’s mind hasn’t been wiped.  I’m assuming they launch a rescue mission for Artoo.

As a reminder to catch up, the last two weeks of episodes are available for free at www.starwars.com and this episode will be available today on iTunes (though it’s also being re-run on Cartoon Network throughout the week.)

This weeks episode, Destroy Malevolence, was the end of this three part arc as well as the Clone Wars debut of Padme and Threepio.

I’ve been saying it everytime I’ve seen a new episode, and it’s a good thing if I can go on saying it, but this episode was the best so far.  I know last weeks was good, and the two before that were good, but this has been the best.  If they can keep making them better on a rising curve, then we are in for some total bad-assery.

Last episode ended with Anakin and his squadron of clone pilots disabling the ion cannon on Grievious’ ship, The Malevolence, which is left in shambles and racing from a trio of capital ships led by General Kenobi.  Destroy Malevolence opens (essentially) with Count Dooku admonishing Grievous for his failure and reminding him that the Separatists require The Malevolence to reach the rendezvous point in one piece, which is why he’s organized some insurance.

He faked a situation that would put Padme on a diplomatic mission that left her hyperdrive path directly in the way of the crippled ship and then explains to Grievous that once on board, the Jedi will cease their attack and they’ll have a valuable hostage.

Predictably, Anakin insists on racing to her aid, sneaking aboard The Malevolence with Obi-Wan.

Basically, a whole bunch of cool shit goes down, including a great showdown between Obi-Wan and Grievous and some cool business between Anakin and Padme.  Threepio also gets into some trouble that’s somewhere between Attack of the Clones and Empire. (I laughed more than I wanted to, but not harder than the kids.)

I’m still really impressed by how much better the pacing of the episodes in a 2-commercial break format works than the scotch tape approach they took with the movie.  As much as I loved seeing Clone Wars on the big screen (repeatedly) I sort of wish that I had seen it on TV instead.  And, quite frankly, I think the Destroy Malevolence arc would have made a better movie.

I just hope you guys are actually keeping up with this series, because it’s been getting better and better.  As a reminder to catch up, the last two weeks of episodes are available for free at www.starwars.com and this episode will be available tomorrow on iTunes.

So, I’ll see you next week (which might be a little late since I’m traveling). And next week’s episode looks rad.  The preview was very “clone-commando” centric, which pleases me greatly.

So until then, May the Force Be With You.