Monday, October 20, 2014

Star Wars Rebels [TV Review]

Well if I have to give anything to Disney for their acquisition of Lucas Film, and the Star Wars franchise, it will be this. They will produce it. They will milk that IP for everything it can produce, and since it is in a Galaxy that is Far Far away, there is a lot of territory to cover.

The crew of the Ghost from left to right:
Sabine, Chopper (lower), Kanan, Ezra, Zeb, Hera.
I was skeptical about Rebels at first. It just looked too childish. I was a big fan of Clone Wars (despite not seeing season 6 yet. I will eventually watch it).

4.5 out of 5 stars
Yes. It is more childish, but not by a huge amount. The subject matter of Star Wars is just necessarily set to a certain level. There will always be the whole Manichean aspect of it, which naturally lends itself to somewhat simpler (and therefore more childish) stories. That is just the heart of Star Wars. It is inescapable, even though there have been attempts to broaden the aspect (Clone Wars). 
Ezra, our new hero. Probably. Jedi talent.

The whole series of Rebels is based on the original Star Wars Saga artwork by Ralph McQuarrie. Which all told is pretty cool.

Ok, so here's the basic cast.

Kanan (Specter 1) is a Jedi who somehow survived Order 66. He is the leader of this small band of rebels. I am really hoping for an explanation of his past. I'd love to see how he avoided death at the hands of Clone Troopers.

This was the original artwork for Chewbacca?!?
Hera (Specter 2) is the Twi'lek pilot of Ghost. She also seems to be the second in command.

Ezra (Specter 6) is the newest member of the Ghost crew. He appears to be the main character, at least after 3 episodes. He's a teenage thief and possible force user (although he does not know that right away).

Zeb (Specter 4) is a Lasat enforcer who is a seasoned fighter. His problem is that he acts just as mature as Ezra... this might be one of my biggest gripes about the show right now.

Sabine (Specter 5) is obviously a Mandalorian. She is also an artist and explosives expert, two things every team needs, right? No idea how old she is, but obviously younger than Kanan and Hera, but older than Ezra (by a few years at best). Ezra obviously finds her attractive, so I'm expecting some romantic comedy stuff eventually between the two (even though I think she views him merely as a little brother character). Of course I could just be trope trawling. Her hair is vibrantly colored, as is her armor. That is her signature - color.  
Ah, more Mandalorians.

But wait there is still one more crew member.

Chopper (Specter 3) is the irritable and irritating astromech droid. C1-10P is his call number, and he was modeled on McQuarrie's original artwork for R2-D2. He is the most uppity droid ever, making even R2's back-chat seem minor. Destructive, angry, and spiteful... he does not actually seem to care about anyone.

So far in three episodes we've already seen three cameos. R2-D2 and C-3P0 had fairly large parts in the second episode, and Bail Organa has a small bit.

Darth Vader is said to appear in the ABC broadcast of the first episode (the double length mini-movie) on the 26th of October 2014.

It is fun. It is Star Wars. I will continue watching. I encourage all Star Wars fans to check it out. Heck, I encourage anyone who enjoys science fiction to check it out. You can even watch online at Disney XD.

See, I told you Bail Organa was in an episode.

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