http://www.starwars.com/theclonewars/video/

There's a preview trailer there that, I believe, differs from the one from a while back.

Two words: Incredibly uninspired.




Give it up George. Just give it up.

It looks (aside from the fact that it's 3D) no different than the Tartakovsky shorts... which I liked. I'm looking forward to this.

Methinks the better animators and CG filmmakers have moved on to better and bigger things.

Star Wars is dead, George.

Just let it be, man. Let it be.

If I were a cynic, I would say that the animation looks the way it does so that the video game tie-in will look exactly like the series.

But I am not a cynic.

Am I?

Speaking of Star Wars, did anyone see those Prequels? Did they suck or what!

Quasar wrote:Speaking of Star Wars, did anyone see those Prequels? Did they suck or what!

I still wonder why there is such a fixation (by Lucasfilm LTD) with the prequel universe.

Bad animation and dialgoue aside, I was turned off as soon as I heard the sound of those dumb clonetrooper ships in the CG "trailer".

Star Wars fans (and I am one of them) are such suckers.

Twelve new video profiles are up for the team working on the CGI Clone Wars.

Dave has a cool fedora, Gary has a bad-ass shirt.

You see some George, you see snippets of animation.

Plo Koon will have a speaking part.

They're all working in the PT world, but all any of them ever talk about (on the videos, at least) is the OT.

ABC News: First Look: The Next 'Star Wars' Is Animated 'War'

Don't shoot the messenger.

I can't believe Star Wars fans can tolerate this shit.

Fucking awful.

Star Wars fans can tolerate all kinds of shit: Holiday Special, C3PO's Breakfast Cereal, "Jedi Rocks," the EU. . . .

You name it, we've tolerated it.

The Prequels...

Not sure if anyone mentioned this, but Cartoon Network picked it up.

And everyone, everywhere... wasn't surprised one bit.

Look, Hicks (and anyone else out there that shares his opinion), I think it's time to treat Star Wars the way I now treat Star Trek. Let me explain...

Star Trek died in 1999. It was a peaceful death. Deep Space Nine ended and so did the story... and that universe. I mourned for a few years, then I went and paid my respects at the Star Trek Experience in Vegas (I call it the Star Trek Mausoleum, now) and a few months later, there was a nice eulogy (a really good documentary during the auction at Christie's [did I spell that right?]).

Now I've said goodbye. I can reminisce any time I want to (with the DVDs), but it's done.

Now the important part: EVERYTHING that had the "Star Trek" name on it after 1999 doesn't count. Sure, it may resemble it in some way... but it's the same as if you saw some dude on the street that kinda looked like your grandpa. It's not your grandpa. You know he's passed, and you've accepted it.

The point is, let go of Star Wars. Mourn for it's passing. Acknowledge that the two of you had a lot of good memories. If you see someone on the street that resembles Star Wars, don't get mad because it's not. You know it's not. Star Wars is gone. How could this possibly be Star Wars?

This way, you might be able to go up to that guy who kinda looks like your grandpa and buy him a cup of coffee... and you might just enjoy the experience for what it's worth.

Ipsilon wrote:This way, you might be able to go up to that guy who kinda looks like your grandpa and buy him a cup of coffee.

See, now, that would just be creepy.

Thurston McQ wrote:

Ipsilon wrote:This way, you might be able to go up to that guy who kinda looks like your grandpa and buy him a cup of coffee.

See, now, that would just be creepy.

No shit.


Plus, I like the idea that Star Wars is dead, but I also like the idea of continuing to kick Star Wars while it lies dead, just in case it can, you know, still feel it. Cause sometimes they come back, you know. Sometimes . . .

Sometimes They Come Back . . . Again.

And Sometimes They Come Back . . . for More.

I was waiting for the end of that story, where you take the old guy who looks like your grandpa back home with you, tie him up, dress him up in your grandpa's clothes, force him to eat your grandpa's favorite foods, and yell "YOU NEVER LOVED ME THE WAY GRANDMA DID!"

Thurston McQ wrote:Star Wars fans can tolerate all kinds of shit: Holiday Special, C3PO's Breakfast Cereal, "Jedi Rocks," the EU. . . .

You name it, we've tolerated it.

Well that is what bothers me.

I don't think the fanboys and, especially, Lucas, realize just how popular Star Wars was.

A large percentage of those fans do not even acknowledge the Holiday Special, or "Jedi Rocks" and so on.

They are aware of them, to be sure.

They were also completely burned by the prequel trilogy, and what drives them nuts is that now everytime Star Wars is mentioned in conversation, they feel like they have to defend it.

Seriously, there are people (quite of few of them) who think Star Wars "sucks" based off of the prequels and this new cartoon bullshit Lucas is trying to pull. And that pisses fans like me off, because Star Wars, inherently, DOESN'T suck.

Now we've got fans like Ipsilon telling us that it's just like Star Trek.

Fuck that.

Truth be told, I knew we were fucked back in '98 when I read a quote from GL that said something along the lines of, "Star Wars is SUPPOSED to be bad".

FUCK. THAT.

---------------------------------------------

And I know, I *KNOW* that not one of you fuckers can honestly sit down and watch TESB and then put in Attack of the Clones and feel good with yourself as a fan.

It's impossible.

Yet, too many have bought in to the rhetoric.

I love how Lucas now says "There are so many stories left to tell" yet he waited 20 years and the best he could come up with over those 20 years was Jango fucking Fett.

Attack of the Clones should not be watched without the RiffTrax.

At this point, Mike Nelson might as well be paying me to spread the word.

Jack's Sorrow wrote:Plus, I like the idea that Star Wars is dead, but I also like the idea of continuing to kick Star Wars while it lies dead, just in case it can, you know, still feel it. Cause sometimes they come back, you know. Sometimes . . .

Quasar wrote:I was waiting for the end of that story, where you take the old guy who looks like your grandpa back home with you, tie him up, dress him up in your grandpa's clothes, force him to eat your grandpa's favorite foods, and yell "YOU NEVER LOVED ME THE WAY GRANDMA DID!"

Corporal Hicks wrote:Now we've got fans like Ipsilon telling us that it's just like Star Trek.

Fuck that.

This is why I shouldn't bother talking to the three of you.

It's not just like Star Trek, but maybe if you looked at Star Wars the way I now look at Trek, maybe you wouldn't go into cardiac arrest at the first sign of Anakin's padawan (meaing, trouble).

Ah, forget it.

Ipsilon wrote:This is why I shouldn't bother talking to the three of you.

It's not just like Star Trek, but maybe if you looked at Star Wars the way I now look at Trek, maybe you wouldn't go into cardiac arrest at the first sign of Anakin's padawan (meaing, trouble).

Ah, forget it.

So essentially you are saying Star Wars has now become extremely mediocre.

Some fans, like you, have accepted that.

What irks the shit out of me (and a LOT of others) is that Lucas is (and has been) pandering to those who DO accept mediocrity.

Like I mentioned, Lucas said back in '98 that Star Wars is supposed to be "bad".

Some fans, for some unknown reason, bought into that.

But again I'll say: I challenge each and every one of you to sit down and watch The Empire Strikes Back and say, with all your heart, that it is a "bad" movie.

It can't be done.

I just can't stand the fact that a bunch of fanboys (and George Lucas' laziness) have allowed STAR WARS to become a blip, a joke, a punch-line on the pop culture radar.

I don't feel like I have to defend the OT. It defends itself. Many of those belonging to the post-eighties generations may never bother to watch Episodes IV-VI based on their experiences with the prequel trilogy, but some will.

A lot of people our age won't watch a movie if it isn't in color. This made Ted Turner so mad he paid to have black-and-white movies colorized. Whether he was mad because he had a genuine passion for these films or because he owned the rights to them and they weren't selling well is moot, of course.

I mean "moot" in the "open for debate" sense. I hate that I actually have to go to the trouble of saying that I mean "moot" in the "open for debate" sense. If I don't, though, somebody's gonna say, "It isn't moot! In fact, it's anything but moot!"

Thanks for ruining moot for me, Idiots of the Internet!

Not that anyone here is an Idiot of the Internet.

What was I saying? Ah, yes. Young people with a genuine interest in film will probably get around to watching the original trilogy. Many of them may even like it. It's still astonishing that the movies had the mass appeal they did. Han Solo's a really engaging character, and the special effects were topnotch for their time, but beyond that, the success of Star Wars is a little baffling.

The serial format/cliffhanger-piled-upon-cliffhanger had gone completely out of style by the time of the arrival of the auteur/cinephile directors (first in France, then America). Science fiction wasn't selling. 2001 was a modest hit, but only, supposedly, because of its status as a "trip enhancer."

A New Hope has suffered the most from the thirty-years-long-audience-embracing of the Domino Cliffhanger Pilings in blockbusters. I've seen so much of it that it has become really stale to me--no matter how well it is done. It is contrived, naturally, but it didn't always feel contrived. Now it does. Apparently, the format is still effective at creating a constant adrenaline rush in the typical moviegoer. For me, though, it just feels like an attendant is pumping water into my gas tank and assuring me that my car will run on it.

It's really apparent in Jurassic Park. Every time you think they've gotten out of one pickle . . . whoops, it's not over yet! Car was thrown into a tree? Must be over! Phew! Let's climb down out of this tree! Wait! The car! It's falling down through the branches! We gotta climb down . . . even faster! Just made it! Phew! Glad that's over. But wait!

Anyway, my point is that my constant exposure to that type of filmmaking (and Lucas and Spielberg are responsible, in large part, for the popularity of it) has dulled its effectiveness on me. It has hurt A New Hope. Empire spaces out the imperilments, somewhat, and to good effect. It doesn't hurt that the dialog (the writing, in general) is much tighter. Return of the Jedi is a return to A New Hope's form. The action feels contrived because it is contrived, and it does nothing to hide its contrivance. On top of that, Harrison Ford (more than anyone else, though it is apparent in more than one actor's performance) seems to be phoning in a favor for George. A Star Wars movie with a bored Han Solo is only half a movie.

Still, I love A New Hope and Return of the Jedi. I am a nostalgic sap. From what I understand, a lot of kids really like the prequels. They don't really stand out for the kids that much, because the prequels were generic popcorn actioners dropped into a sea of generic popcorn actioners (Spider-Man series, Pirates of the Caribbean, Harry Potter). The OT Star Wars movies didn't really have anything with which to compete. Battlestar Galactica? The Black Hole? Like I said . . . nothing.

There was Raiders of the Lost Ark, but that felt like more of an extension than anything else. Han Solo changed clothes, got a little smarter, still had a shit load of girl troubles, still wagged his index finger without discretion.

I am adding nothing to discussion, here.

These days, we Star Wars fans tend to recycle bits of old conversations.

Corporal Hicks wrote:

Ipsilon wrote:This is why I shouldn't bother talking to the three of you.

It's not just like Star Trek, but maybe if you looked at Star Wars the way I now look at Trek, maybe you wouldn't go into cardiac arrest at the first sign of Anakin's padawan (meaing, trouble).

Ah, forget it.

So essentially you are saying Star Wars has now become extremely mediocre.

Some fans, like you, have accepted that.

What irks the shit out of me (and a LOT of others) is that Lucas is (and has been) pandering to those who DO accept mediocrity.

Like I mentioned, Lucas said back in '98 that Star Wars is supposed to be "bad".

Some fans, for some unknown reason, bought into that.

But again I'll say: I challenge each and every one of you to sit down and watch The Empire Strikes Back and say, with all your heart, that it is a "bad" movie.

It can't be done.

I just can't stand the fact that a bunch of fanboys (and George Lucas' laziness) have allowed STAR WARS to become a blip, a joke, a punch-line on the pop culture radar.

...much like Star Trek has become since the days of Voyager and especially because of Enterprise.

Look, I agree with you. I don't accept the mediocrity (with Trek, either), I've just chosen not to have an annuerism about it any more. When that happens, I can enjoy it. Or at least parts of it.

I liked the fights between Anakin and Assajj Ventris or whatever-the-fuck her name is in the first Clone Wars shorts. They're not part of the real story, and over all, the Clone Wars shorts are pretty weak on story in and of themselves. Kit Fisto creating a force bubble underwater is cool... but not neccessarily Star Wars. But it was a cool scene.

I hate Enterprise but seeing the USS Defiant (from the Original Series) kick some ass in CG ("In A Mirror, Darkly") was pretty cool at face value, despite the fact that the whole episode trapses all over years of established continuity.

I made edits!

Corporal Hicks wrote:I just can't stand the fact that a bunch of fanboys (and George Lucas' laziness) have allowed STAR WARS to become a blip, a joke, a punch-line on the pop culture radar.

Also... all of these things you mention were true before the prequels... before the re-releases in '97, even.

Did you ever feel you could stand up in high school, declare your love of Star Wars and get a pat on the back or a standing ovation? Or, if you're older, go to a dinner party and have a compelling converstation on the symbolism of jawas?

No. You'd get laughed at.