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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

TV Discussion LACWAC Member Interviews (★☆★ SpecialOpsUnit & Fives_Says_No_To_Sixes ★☆★)

Discussion in 'Star Wars TV- Completed Shows' started by AkashKedavra_93, Sep 4, 2012.

  1. Mia Mesharad

    Mia Mesharad Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 2, 2012
    Congrats again on the new interviewer job, Circular Logic. Hadn't noticed it before, but I like the new sig, too.

    Well, Mia Mesharad's pretty simple: it's just me, Star Wars-ified. :p
    In general, I tend to think that having your name attached to what you write prompts a certain ethos. Not always, but in general. At the same time, I didn't expect to be getting involved in any high stakes or hot issue debates when I signed up for the forum, and wanted a username that had some Star Wars flare to it. So I just took my first name―Mia―and being a Mandalorian fan, combined it with the sufficiently Star Wars-sounding Mando'a translation of my last name, thus the unintentionally but pleasantly alliterative Mia Mesharad was born. But Mia will do.
     
  2. Circular Logic

    Circular Logic Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 3, 2013
    Thanks! Or should I say, vor'e! To a fellow Mandalorian fan. Regarding the sig: yeah, I changed it a little while ago. It was actually something I came up with about a year ago in the TCW Image Caption thread, but back then we didn't know that tor Vizsla came into possession of the Darksaber prior to Pre Vizsla, so now in my sig I replaced "father" with "Clan Chieftain", which I think far more appropriate. And strangely in-character for a guy like Tor.

    Good stuff. The Mando'a translation really works nicely, I think. Also, if you are going to tag me, there is no need to directly quote/reply to my post, since I will get one alert for both anyway (as I found out through experimentation in the Comms board, the "quoted your post" takes precedent before "tagged you in a post" - FYI).

    Alright, enough digression. The interview resumes in rayshe'a...cuir...ehn...t'ad...solus...

    2. Where in the world do you live, and have you always lived there? What are the best parts of where you live?

    3. Tell us about your life as a Star Wars fan. How positively does your interest in TCW contribute to your fandom? How extensive is your interest in the Expanded Universe?
     
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  3. Mia Mesharad

    Mia Mesharad Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 2, 2012
    I'm from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania originally. Born and raised a Philly girl. :cool: But a few years back I moved to southern California. Needed a change, shall we say. And yeah, I love it. Compared to the melt-you-to-a-puddle Philly summers and freeze-you-back-together cold Philly winters, SoCal is practically year-round perfection. I miss the snow sometimes, though, winter always feels a little weird without the snow, especially Christmas. Nothing quite like seeing lines of Christmas light-decorated palm trees for the first time. :p I've met some amazing people, I'm under an hour's drive away from the beach so that's a definite plus, plenty of places to kill a night getting drunk with friends...overall I'm just really happy with it all the choice in coming here.

    My life as a Star Wars fan? Hmm, let's see...
    I discovered Star Wars when I was little, and actually stumbled onto it by accident. I was probably seven or eight, and watching TV, flipping through the channels, and this scene with a guy hanging upside down in the snow came on. I have no idea what it is, and the sheer oddity of a guy hanging upside down in a snow cave must've really caught my attention, because I lingered long enough to see the weird white snow monster get up from eating some poor animal and start stalking toward upside down guy. Eight-year-old me was a little scared and confused as hell what I was watching, and then I see the guy reaching for something in the snow, and I'm wondering what's going to happen, whether the thing in the snow's a gun, and if he's going to reach it in time...and then the guy pulls it to his hand! With his mind! I remember being absolutely riveted. There were monsters and superpowers now, and then the thing turned out to be a laser sword on top of that. Eight-year-old me lost it. I was hooked right there. I had no idea I was watching The Empire Strikes Back, I didn't know this thing was Star Wars, I just knew that it was awesome and when the credits rolled, I wanted more. When I told my uncle about it―neither of my parents were interested, though my mom thought it was kind of cool as fangirled away about it―he filled me in on what this amazing thing I'd found was, whipped out the whole trilogy on VHS, and the rest is history.

    My interest in the Expanded Universe is as extensive as it gets, I'd say. Now. Admittedly, though, I had some trouble getting into it at first. When I was little, I tore through comics; DC was really my first love when it comes to fiction. But as far as novels were concerned, any novel, it was a slog. So, with the universe's sense of humor being what it is, the local library had tons of Star Wars novels but the only comic was Shadows of the Empire. When I got older and outgrew my childish boredom with novels, I dove into Star Wars, but the early EU was a very mixed bag: the Thrawn trilogy was enjoyable, but I also had the pleasure to read the Jedi Prince/Glove of Darth Vader books, and while I liked Galaxy of Fear at the time, there was also Children of the Jedi and The Crystal Star. Not great, and it actually led me to step away from Star Wars literature for a time and give other things a chance, like Lord of the Rings. It was really the prequels, and prequel-related series like Jedi Apprentice that really brought me back to Star Wars in a deeper way. I ate up Apprentice, Jedi Quest, Cloak of Deception, not to mention the Republic comics, and even went and picked up older books I'd originally overlooked, like X-Wing, the Han Solo trilogy, and Tales of the Jedi. Basically, if it existed, I wanted to read it...and I did. By the start of the Clone Wars material, I knew I wouldn't be likely to step away like that ever again. I was hooked all over. Games were really the last frontier for me, since when I was little we didn't have a lot of money to throw at game systems and games, but I distinctly remember falling in love with Jedi Outcast as the first real Star Wars game I played, and thinking the original Clone Wars game for GameCube was pretty awesome for its time. To keep from writing a novel of my own here, though, ( :p) suffice it to say that I've been picking up novels, comics, and most of the games right and left ever since. Star Wars is really one of the richest fictional universes in existence right now, with even its closest competitors still being miles away.

    As far as TCW goes, it's really been a love/hate relationship. When I heard they were making the show, I was incredibly excited. Sure, Revenge of the Sith had already happened and I knew how it was all going to end already, but we'd had the microseries, and Republic, Shatterpoint, Republic Commando, MedStar―all these things that had captivated me in regards to this era, I couldn't help but be excited to see more of it. Looking back, I was terribly naive with all the things I'd hoped to see, all the great characters and places I thought the show my touch upon, but... [face_dunno] The previews looked amazing and while the movie didn't remotely live up to its novelization, the novel convinced me that there was still enormous potential in these characters and this series. And by and large, that was true. Season One was impressive, and though there were a few less than stellar episodes, it was only the Jar Jar-centric ones that were truly awful. Season 2 was, again, of high quality...but with it came the first betrayal, and while I don't mean to hash out the entire fiasco all over again, the series' handling of everything Mandalore-related had me extremely angry at the time, not to mention it cost me the continuation of one of my favorite series in Star Wars. Sadly, from that point on I watched the show with a certain bitter wariness. The show itself became much more polar in terms of quality/enjoyability as it went on, swinging wildly from Evil Plans and Corruption levels of bad to Umbara and Slaves of the Republic levels of good. And while Maul's return was initially questionable, the culmination of the Shadow Conspiracy arc was a high that was only matched by the incredible low of the preceding Droids arc. And that's not even taking the other variety of canon conflicts into account. I think ultimately I came away from TCW with a net positive feeling. Despite its problems, there were a multitude of episodes that I enjoyed, and over thirty-six hours of new Star Wars content. It added a great many things to the universe, and even what wasn't spectacular on its own could offer so much to be used by other works going forward.
     
  4. Circular Logic

    Circular Logic Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 3, 2013
    Mia Mesharad

    Some great responses! Yes, I am sure you could write a novel about your EU fandom, haha.

    4. What brought you to the JCF, and what is your overall impression of LACWAC/SWTV?

    5. What other franchises do you like besides Star Wars and which are you most passionate about?
     
  5. Mia Mesharad

    Mia Mesharad Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 2, 2012
    Haha, thanks. And I could, but it's get even fewer readers than the Glove of Darth Vader. :p

    Is it embarrassing if I say I don't remember what brought me here? :p I remember browsing over a few of the old JCF threads years ago for one thing or another, but I think it was finally a Google search for something that turned up the temp boards, and something there apparently caught my attention enough to get me to sign up. I guess I must've liked LACWAC, since when the boards moved, I followed 'em, and over a year later I'm still hanging out with you all. As far as my impression of the board now goes, I think there's a lot of great people here with some very interesting things to say and some interesting views, as well as a few jackasses who show up from time to time, but, try though they might, can't quite ruin the experience of posting here in enjoyable company.

    Well, as I said before, DC comics were really my first love when it comes to longstanding universes. I've been reading them ever since I was little and my uncle gave me his copy of the Superman story For the Man Who Has Everything, and up until the whole "New 52" reboot of the mainline, I was blissfully neck-deep so many different running series. The reboot's really soured me on everything not Green Lantern related though, as that was basically the only thing that was allowed to keep going unchanged out of sheer popular momentum. Somehow Dan Didio thought the key to a successful reboot was to kill or erase a bunch of beloved characters, knock a retinue of others down to barely-there supports, and make all of the rest unlikeable jerkasses. I still enjoy several of their series in other universes―Earth One and Smallville Season 11 have been interesting, and Justice League Beyond is cool―and their work in animation remains outstanding, but my pay in to mainline universe comic titles is effectively nothing now. [face_dunno] Maybe the next time around they'll reboot Didio out and cool things back in.

    Transformers has been love of mine, though an inconsistent one. Repeats of the 80s G1 cartoon were my first exposure, but then came Beast Wars, which took the original universe and lore and made something intense and character driven, with strong storylines and a great cast of actors, and truly showed what good, powerful, mature Transformers storytelling could look like. Of all the old cartoons I've gone back to see as an adult, Beast Wars is one of the few that hold up not just as good, but better...if you don't mind the late 90s CGI look of it all, which I'm completely fine with. The live-action movies are fun, for the most part, but not particularly amazing films because for some reason Michael Bay insists on padding out an epic story other mediums have portrayed as almost Shakespearean, with asinine "humor" and annoying human tag alongs, as though people would not go watch a film chock full of giant alien robots helmed by the iconic Optimus "Peter Cullen" Prime without stoner humor or John Turturro screwing around for twenty minutes. The "Prime Universe"―the War for and Fall of Cybertron games and the Transformers Prime show―is absolutely excellent though, and continues to renew my faith in the franchise.

    Assassin's Creed took me by surprise with how good it is. I'd initially written it off as just another hunt people down and kill them game, which is a fun enough premise for a game, sure, but they're usually lacking in substance, sacrificing story for action. Not Assassin's Creed. The history, the philosophy, the message of diversity and equality, the richness of the narrative and the strength of the characters, even just the scenery...everything about this series blew me away. I adore them. Mass Effect has also become a much-loved favorite. When people say it's the Star Wars of it's time, I really do see where they're coming from, and I can't say I disagree. With three games and a handful of literature alone, it's already established an incredibly fleshed out universe, and produced more memorable characters than a number of franchises triple its size. And I do think it's the people, the characters in the story that make the world feel so solid and worth coming back to over and over. It's a fantastic scifi story, an engaging RPG, an all-around fun action series with gorgeous visuals and top notch acting behind it, and not even a stumble as it crossed the first trilogy's finish line can take that away.
     
  6. EHT

    EHT Manager Emeritus star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 13, 2007
    So Circular Logic is an interviewer now...

    [​IMG]

    Kidding! Congrats, Circular Logic! You'll do very well with this. :)

    Your first interview's off to a good start. Mia Mesharad : interesting answers so far. :cool:
     
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  7. Circular Logic

    Circular Logic Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 3, 2013
    Thanks! I hope you're being sincere, because otherwise I may decide to utilize my new powers: [​IMG] I kid, Mr. Mod! :p


    Also, to everyone who's reading this (we definitely seem to have a lot of readers again!), I want to add that each interview will be tailored to the interviewee based on his or her initial responses. Sometimes, I will also adjust my choice of questions according to the interviewee's posting history and what I already know about them. In Mia's case, after her response to Question #3, I will be asking more questions EU-related that would fit right in for the interviews in the Literature forum. So what you all can expect for this particular interview is some hybrid of a standard LACWAC and Lit interview, and members of both communities can indeed enjoy this interview.

    Now, back to the interrogation, er, interview...

    Ah, but I always thought Glove of Darth Vader was rather well-received among the Litizens of the Literature forum? Must be some sorta guilty pleasure thing...

    You know, having heard all these rave reviews of Assassin's Creed from the gaming community, I am seriously contemplating a purchase in the future. Your review definitely most intrigues me. Plus, Ezio just looks cool with a pair of light-shotos.

    Yeah, I always considered the Mass Effect franchise as the Star Wars of this generation. Just the feel of the game, the richness of the universe and how it genuinely feels like you're exploring a massive and fleshed-out world with so many well-developed characters, I could go on raving about this. Really looking forward to what they come up with for the fourth game. But I don't want to sabotage this interview with my WoTs, so I'll just ask you one off-the-record question: Who is your favorite romance interest in the entire ME franchise?*

    The next questions:

    6. What are your favorite pastimes or activities?

    7. How would you rank the six Star Wars movies and why?

    *I reserve the right to ask off-the-record questions to the interviewee if I feel their responses warrant it. Such questions do not count toward the actual official total.
     
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  8. Mia Mesharad

    Mia Mesharad Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 2, 2012
    Guilty pleasure, a so-bad-it's-hilarious indulgence...whatever you want to call it. :p

    It really is an excellent series. The first is mechanically rough when compared to its sequels, but still very playable and intellectually engaging. From the second game on, though, the gameplay is continuously fine tuned, the characters only grow more vibrant, and the historical cityscapes and swathes of open country are simply gorgeous. I can't recommend it enough.

    Completely agreed, on all points.

    Now that's a hard one. I know it's practically boilerplate to say that they all had their merits, but it's pretty close to the truth. The only ones I could truly say I didn't care for at all are the completely uninteresting Diana Allers, Jacob Taylor―perfectly nice guy, good character, but sadly bland as a love interest―and Kelly Chambers, who like Jacob, is perfectly fine under normal circumstances, but her "romance" option was ridiculously stunted and rather obviously tacked on as an afterthought.

    I'll always have a soft spot for Liara, even though my ME1 romance with her really happened by accident. The first time I played, I thought ME1's equipment and weapons system worked the way ME2 later would, with the new and better equipment automatically being equipped as you got it. So, unknowingly, I've got all this great stuff sitting in my locker and I'm running around with the basic gun and basic armor, completely relying on Ashley and Wrex to get me through. Not my best moment in gaming. :p Also, because apparently fate was determined I was going to stumble my way through this playthrough in the hardest way imaginable, I did Virmire before ever getting Liara, and needing Ashley so badly just to survive, I had to sacrifice Kaidan and the relationship. But without Kaidan, after I finally did Therum and got Liara, the relationship just clicked and fell into place. Which was kind of funny, being straight and all, but it did give me more intimate insight into her early on that I would've missed out on otherwise, and served to really endear me to the character going forward. So she's definitely up there as a favorite. But so is Garrus. He never really grabbed me in the first game, but by the second, the turian had my attention. He's just got that great mix of slight awkwardness and effortless charm, I loved his humor, and when pressed, that natural sweetness that comes out every once in a while to great effect. Oh, and that voice. Very nice. :p

    As I'm sure will come as no surprise by this point, I'm kind of a pretty big gamer. I've lost the space of a good shelf or three to game, and many an hour a day have gone into that particular pastime. And equally shocking I'm sure, yeah, I read a little. Well, a fair bit. Okay, a lot. I'm in that paradoxical category of people that don't watch a great deal of TV but do watch a lot of shows, if that makes sense, and I've been known to knock out seasons of backlogged shows at a time. Does hanging out, screwing around, and drinking with a bunch of people count as a pastime? Because yeah, that happens a good bit too. :p I love the beach: in the water, on the sand, at the pier...the air, the sun, the food―beach pizza is easily one of my favorite things now―it's all great. I like to swim, though I'm more of a pool person than a beach person when it comes to actual swimming, and I'm a pretty avid movie lover.

    Ah, this question. Shall I go with the only true right answer and list all of the OT at the top and all of the PT at the bottom with a massive gulf between them? Hmm...nope. The "why" portion of this question is really the hard part, since I could write pages and page and pages on what thing from what movie I did like, and another small essay on what thing from what movie I didn't like―and each category would be thoroughly interspersed with bits and pieces from either trilogy―what it really comes down to on the scale of enjoyability is that hard to articulate sense of "that's just how I feel."
    1. The Empire Strikes Back
    2. Revenge of the Sith
    3. Return of the Jedi
    4. A New Hope
    5. The Phantom Menace
    6. Attack of the Clones
    And in the interest of being theatrically completionist...
    7. The Clone Wars

     
  9. Circular Logic

    Circular Logic Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 3, 2013
    Mia Mesharad

    Ah, why I am not surprised that your responses to my commentary (and the off-the-record question) were actually longer than for the two official questions? :p I like Liara too, but I gotta admit, I'm a Talimancer 4lyfeyo! And it's not just because she's an engineer, like me. ;) Still quite entertained by your first ME playthrough, being a completionist and all, I never got screwed over by any of those curveballs the game threw at me. I guess it does pay to explore your inventory, huh? As for Garrus and his calibrations, I'm quite aware that Brandon Keener's voice is quite the hit with the ladies.

    Regarding Question 7, well, 'tis obligatory for virtually all interviews, I'm afraid. Okay, doing one question this time.

    8. How would you rank Seasons 1-5 of TCW and what is your reasoning behind those rankings? Where does the movie fit in there?

    *Looks at the time* "I should go."
     
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  10. Mia Mesharad

    Mia Mesharad Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 2, 2012
    Oh, I love Tali. If you would've asked for favorite squadmate in general, Tali would've been a shoe in. She's great. I love her voice, her sense of self and duty, her humor, everything. Not to mention her evolving relationship with the geth, and the way she grew from that inexperienced girl on her own for the first time in ME1, to being an assertive, heroic badass and a galactic icon was one of the finest character arcs in the series. It didn't hurt that she's all-around adorable, too.

    Rest assured, once I realized my mistake and got a head for what I was supposed to be doing, subsequent playthroughs went much, much more smoothly. :p

    Hmm, good question. I'll actually start with the movie. The movie brought some very memorable visual locales to the universe in the form of Christophsis and Teth, and overall did serve to introduce the sort of general tone the series would take on with its chaotic movement from one field of battle to the next and sudden jumps in focus from one character to a completely different one. It also did a reasonably good job of introducing the audience to the two new leads, Ahsoka and Rex, and the use of different flavors of music than typically used in Star Wars made for some interestingly scored scenes. Beyond that, though...I just found the film wanting. There were a number of things here and there, compiled by the fact that once Teth was left behind for Tatooine I just found myself incredibly bored and wondering how much longer I had left to go. Ziro never appealed to me, and I can't say that I found Padme's barely-there negotiation attempt or the subsequent rescue by the Coruscant Guard all that engaging. The novel more than made up for these shortcomings, in my opinion, and I find the film an interesting companion piece that offers images, voices, sounds, and the like to the better written form, but as a film alone it has to rank dead last in my accounting.

    On the opposite end, at the highest, I would put Season Four. Yes, the Mon Calamari episodes weren't great, and the brief droid duology was hit and miss, but Umbara was excellent, it was followed promptly by a decent one-off with Death Watch being bad guys, before transitioning into the highly enjoyable Slaves of the Republic arc, and then the equally entertaining "Bounty Hunters" four-parter. Great stuff, right there. Massacre was great, Bounty was a lot of fun, and while Brothers was a bit meandering, Revenge was a seriously good season finale that truly sold the idea of Maul's return to the galaxy. All in all, I had a great time with the season.

    Just below that would probably have to be Season Two. Season Two started off really strong with the Holocron trilogy, and I'll excuse the weakness of Senate Spy for its slow-burning introduction to the series highlight that is the Second Battle of Geonosis. That was a hell of an arc, even if I do think Weapons Factory's B-plot could've been a bit meatier and less "Yes, we're aware this is sort of filler," and felt things cooled a bit during Legacy of Terror. Grievous Intrigue and The Deserter were an interesting pairing of stories for a duology, but each was thoroughly entertaining in their individual ways, and Lightsaber Lost was a strong Ahsoka episode. The Mandalore trilogy was good trio of episodes needlessly weighted down by Lucas' heavy-handed handling of pre-established canon; a bit of compromise early on would've alleviated so much unnecessary backlash and the end result would've still been a potent, enjoyable story. Despite being bored to death by Senate Murders and frustrated by its comically incompetent depiction of CSF, not to mention being rather underwhelmed by Cat and Mouse, Bounty Hunters was a great pick up. Sure it's Seven Samurai, but the samurai bounty hunters brought us Sugi and Embo, and there was more wonderfully hammy Hondo to enjoy. The Zillo Beast episodes were enjoyable enough if not really stand out great, and the Boba Fett arc was comprised of two hits and a miss―whoever thought it was a good idea to turn a hot arc lukewarm with an incredibly dull, uninspired, and almost filler-level of pointless R2/Lassie homage is utterly moronic. The only good thing that came out of that was Mace and Anakin's brief talk, and a somewhat cool rescue scene. Thankfully, Lethal Trackdown managed to save the arc and close out the season on a high note, in my opinion.

    Ranking in third, Season One. Ambush, despite drowning in poor droid humor, was a fun start to the series and I really liked the way Yoda was characterized alongside Thire and his men. The Malevolence trilogy was entertaining, and Rookies was fantastic. The R2-based two-parter started well with the Battle of Bothawui, but went downhill afterward―though the close-quarters fight with the assassin droids was a stand out sequence for the early series―and it just sort of hovered in mediocrity until the end. I enjoyed the commando-esque raid on Skytop Station, and Ahsoka's stalling-for-time duel with Grievous, but Gha Nackt was a total waste of Ron Perlman's talents and the actual "duel of the droids" wasn't very good at all. The novelty of seeing R2 set a battle droid on fire in RotS had officially worn off. Bombad Jedi had a fascinating premise of getting to see why sympathetic worlds would turn away from the Republic and seek sanctum with the Separatists, as well as giving Padme an opportunity to actually do something a Republic senator should be doing, but squandered it on a Jar Jar episode. Cloak of Darkness was excellent, however, and Lair of Grievous was great as well. The following Dooku duology...not so much. Jedi Crash had one of the most dynamic introduction and first acts, not just of TCW, but anything in my opinion, though it slowed down quite a bit and the remainder as well as Defenders of Peace were just okay. Trespass and The Hidden Enemy were great, balanced out by the weak-with-a-few-highlights virus episodes, and from Ryloth through Hostage Crisis, I really enjoyed myself.

    Just missing slot three is Season Three. Clone Cadets and ARC Troopers were an enjoyable way to kick off the season, even though they were followed by a six episode slog of blandly mediocre to outright terrible episodes. Hunt for Ziro was an island of good in a sea of poor―though I have some reservations about their characterization of Quinlan Vos, and "Mama" the Hutt was not a well realized character by any means―and I feel like we took another dip with Heroes on Both Sides and Pursuit of Peace. The Nightsister arc really turned the season around, just when it needed it most, and while I know there are those who don't agree, I found the Mortis episodes very enjoyable. The Citadel trilogy was entertaining if notably flawed in a number of ways, but the so-called Trandoshan arc that wrapped the season was excellent.

    And coming in last is Season Five. Ignoring Revival for a moment, the Onderon arc was full of promise. Yet it was slow, boring, and devoid of captivating leads. I thought it interesting that despite Ahsoka being told to keep back and advise, she was by far a more enjoyable part of the cast than the rebellious trio of Lux, Steela, and Saw, none of which was particularly engaging or even all that good at the insurgent freedom fighter roles they'd taken on. The general voiced by the wonderful David Kaye was a stand out, but the fact that I cannot even remember his name without the aid of Wookieepedia doesn't bode well for his actual effectiveness as a character. Greg Berger, a favorite of mine from his Transformers work, was also wasted as the tactical droid. The scenery, the use of Beast Rider forces, and seeing Rex as a guerrilla combat trainer keep the arc from being an entire wash, but damn was that dull. Needless to say, the Droid arc was awful and not even Gregor could redeem it―way to waste the one major appearance of a commando―and while it was perfectly fine, the "Young Jedi" arc just wasn't really my thing. Now, the Shadow Conspiracy arc was not only the highlight of the season but one of the highlights of the series as a whole, magnificently showcasing why Maul and Vizsla were prime villains, and letting Sidious out to play in the most brutally, Sithly fashion. It was also the downfall of the New Mandalorians, and as a fan of the warrior clans, I'm not above enjoying the end of that. The "Fugitive" four-parter was a very entertaining series of episodes, seemingly shaping up to be an excellent finale, but the "twist" of Barriss being the villain was incredibly contrived―not to mention harmful to her character and established story―and the ending with Ahsoka, though suitably emotional, seemed equally contrived with Lucas' half-assed decision to absolve the Jedi Council of the poor behavior it'd been forced into to facilitate Ahsoka's departure.


    Ahem, how's that for a longer answer to a "real" question? :p
     
  11. Todd the Jedi

    Todd the Jedi Mod and Loving Tyrant of SWTV, Lit, & Collecting star 6 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Oct 16, 2008
    Great interview so far, CL and Mia. You have learned much, my young apprentice. ;)
    I wish I had thought of this wording for this question, it's great.

    I definitely agree on the Assassin's Creed series, Mia. What you said about the history and philosophy is spot on. And yes, chilling with friends on the beach is totally a pastime. :cool:
     
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  12. K'Kruhk

    K'Kruhk Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Dec 11, 2011
    If I'm being honest, it hasn't really had that much of an impact on my life. The biggest thing it has done is it got me back into reading. I used to read a lot until my mid-teens when I started getting more interested in video games and going out, but being introduced to the novels of the SW EU had driven me back into reading, and now I appreciate literature a lot more than I did beforehand.

    It's also because of SW that I started a little crush on Natalie Portman, which by all means is still ongoing :p The final thing is that whenever I watch a movie and they brandish a weapon that isn't a lightsaber, I become extremely disappointed.

    Well... I was here during the great LACWAC period when we had the temp boards, so I would imagine that answers part of that question. What drew me here was that I simply wanted to talk about Star Wars with other people, and that was it. In doing so I've managed to discuss interesting topics with very intelligent, friendly people. There have been a few controversial moments, and some humorous times (like Moonman) but they've all been worthwhile, so it's a pleasure being here. I'm happy to hold the honour of being the first ever member here to be interviewed, and I may have also broken another record by having the longest one so far, haha!

    Thank you for interviewing me AkashKedavra_93, it's been a pleasure!
     
  13. AkashKedavra_93

    AkashKedavra_93 Moderator Emeritus star 4 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Jan 8, 2011
    K'Kruhk: It has been a pleasure for me as well! Here is the bonus question if you're up for it!

    21. Write an arc for The Clone Wars or Rebels.
     
  14. Circular Logic

    Circular Logic Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 3, 2013
    Thanks for the compliments, Todd the Jedi!

    Yeah, personality-wise, Tali does remind me a little bit of myself, only way cooler! Liara does too, particularly ME1 Liara. Her characterization is best in the third game though.

    Yes, that will do very nicely. Of course, it is your prerogative how lengthy you want your responses. I'm in no way suggesting folks should copy my WoT-style for even the simplest of questions!

    9. Who are your favorite TCW/EU characters and why? This can include characters originally from the movies and elsewhere. Please include at least one TCW character and at least one EU (or what was formerly known as C-canon) character. A top ten list would suffice.
     
  15. Mia Mesharad

    Mia Mesharad Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 2, 2012
    Okay, I wrote a much longer response initially, tried to post it, and apparently the forum ate it. I've retyped a decidedly more brief answer, which may actually be for the best. :p

    Let's start with TCW. Above and beyond any other, my favorite character to come out of The Clone Wars would have to be Rex. Early on, he started really as just the embodiment of my interest in the clones from other material, but as the show went on, and as tie-in works such as No Prisoners featured him in lead roles, I came to really appreciate him as his own character. He stepped out of Alpha's shadow, and proved himself a multifaceted individual who had no easy answer for where he stood in the universe, a difficult place he hadn't asked to be put in, but also one he wasn't sure he wanted to leave. Watching and reading him juggle these conflicting ideals of expectation, duty, and personal desire, all the while finding meaning and a sense of belonging in the military fraternity of his brother clones. I also loved his relationship with Anakin, seeing that he not just respected the man but was loyal to him in a wholly personal way, and his almost familial protectiveness toward Ahsoka.

    Cad Bane was a thoroughly entertaining bad guy, as was Pre Vizsla once he shaved his head and went full-on, old school Death Watch. And on the opposite end, I really liked Sugi, despite her over all small role in the series. It was really great to see a genuinely good on screen depiction of a mercenary character, and her voice was wonderful, too. I much prefer Anna Graves pretending to be Russian as Sugi than pretending to be Cate Blanchett as Satine. I greatly enjoyed Hondo, as well. Jim Cummings really brought him to life in a spectacularly over-the-top way, and I hope to see him again in the future, whether it be in Rebels, a novel, or a comic.

    As far as the EU goes, the list of who I love and the reasons why are simply too expansive. So I'll just do something quick, with whoever comes to mind first. Zayne Carrick and Kerra Holt are great characters and wonderfully unique Jedi; I love the journey JJ Miller crafted for each of them, even if I do wish Kerra's could've been longer. Quinlan Vos is a major favorite, and his story arc is one of the most winding, rich, and ultimately rewarding in Star Wars. I really enjoyed Scout from Dark Rendezvous, and Nick Rostu of Shatterpoint and Shadows of Mindor was a fun character. Speaking of Mindor, Fenn Shysa's been a favorite of mine since his introduction in the Marvel comics, and―riding the Mandalorian connection―I really like Kal Skirata and Mij Gilamar from Republic Commando; in an effort to be brief, and admittedly a little cheap, I'll add almost all of the clones from the RepCom series, too. Dass Jennir and the Uhumele crew are as good a team of protagonists as Dark Times could ask for, and I've been attached to Kyle Katarn since I first played Jedi Outcast. Boba Fett was a character I never expected to like as much as I've come to, but Legacy of the Force and Blood Ties finally took me off the fence and put me in his corner. His granddaughter, Mirta Gev, has also become a beloved character, as my avatar can probably attest to. Queen Jool the Hutt was a surprise hit with me from Legacy, and I really came to enjoy the series' lead, Cade Skywalker, as well as his father, Kol, who deserves a series or at least one good novel all his own.

    And many, many more... :p
     
  16. Barriss_Coffee

    Barriss_Coffee Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 29, 2003
    That's one insanely random list of favorite characters...:p

    I had totally forgotten about Scout. I had almost expected to see her and Whie make a cameo in TCW a while back.
     
  17. Circular Logic

    Circular Logic Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 3, 2013
    I had that happen to me before early on when I first joined the boards, and here's a word of advice to prevent that from happening in the future. If you spend over 30 minutes working on a post, always copy what you've written before posting! Alternatively, keep your activity on the boards up by refreshing forum pages in a separate tab. The former should always work best though. I did it when I posted a long-winded review of the Darth Plagueis novel in the Lit board, and boy was I relieved that I had copied my entire WoT when I timed out!

    As a personal anecdote, for my own interview here I typed up virtually all of my WoT responses in a document rather than on the forum, so I could simply copy and paste the entire WoT in response to Todd's questions. That worked really well!

    Yeah those two were great. I actually quite enjoyed Vizsla's turn to full-blown, mustache-twirling villain...it fit Death Watch's terrorist nature to a tee. Plus, I like to quote him quite a bit. :p

    Most definitely. Loved Cummings' Ricardo Montalban Khan impersonation that he used for Hondo!

    You know, I initially thought of asking you a question about your avatar, but I figured you'd answer it in this particular question. I was right!

    10. You seem to be a big fan of the Mandalorians, making you a Fandalorian, if you will. What is it about the Mando'ade and their culture that draws you to them? What was your overall impression of TCW's handling of Mandalore and its people?
     
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  18. Mia Mesharad

    Mia Mesharad Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 2, 2012
    Haha, it's scatterbrained rememberings of who stuck out as I went through the timeline. :p

    I had totally forgotten about Scout. I had almost expected to see her and Whie make a cameo in TCW a while back.[/quote]
    I'm so glad they didn't show up, especially Scout, for, well...Even Piell reasons.

    I'm not really a fan of the in-universe older Mandalorians, the ancient Crusaders and Neo-Crusaders. Not in the same way I'm a fan of the more modern Mandalorians, anyway. They interest me, sure, in a general sort of way, and as a part of the lore, history and culture wise. But to me, there's nothing to really invest in beyond the idea of them being badass warriors. It's narratively cool that they were able to do the things they did, conquering worlds and creating an empire so big that they had the Republic backed into a corner. But I can't really bring myself to support, even in a fictional capacity, a group that was responsible for the genocide of multiple sapient species, and enslaved any who wouldn't join their war effort. I find the details of their religion fascinating, but really don't like a people who massacred untold billions in service to a destroyer god or the divinity of war. Just about everything about them was awful and the novelty of badasses in cool armor only goes so far.

    It's only the later Mandalorians that I can wholeheartedly say I'm a fan of. After they've given up being galactic conquerors and genocidal barbarians, after they left their gods and war-worship in the past and became a more down to earth people. Mandalorians as soldiers instead of warriors, I suppose, is what appeals to me. They had me at Marvel, with Fenn Shysa and Tobbi Dala, and only pulled me in further with Open Seasons, but I make no secret of the fact that it was Karen Traviss' enormous collation and expansion of their culture that finally cemented me as a true Mandalorian fan. I love the fact that their culture is ultra-inclusive, that people of all genders, all races, and all orientations, as well as the disabled, stand with a wide array of aliens from all corners of the galaxy, together as legal and social equals. I like that their society is non-western standard, with greater acceptance of young people earlier on, and clans and chieftains making decisions together for the benefit of all, without being weighted down by bureaucracy or red tape. Something needs doing, do it; people need help, help 'em. I like the sense of closeness and interpersonal loyalty present in the close-knit Mandalorian community, and even more so among clan kinsmen. I love the language, and the symbology and the significance of color present in the culture. Frankly, it's really everything about the culture that's drawn my affection.

    Which is why is should come as no surprise that I was not a fan of what TCW did with the Mandalorians. At all. Instead of a beautifully lush Mandalore with sprawling forests and sweeping river valleys, dotted with anachronistic Mandalorian settlements, farms, cities, and orchards, we got a single expanse of barren desert topped with overly technological cube or dome cities. Instead of an incredibly diverse people, we got a society comprised solely of Aryan white humans that eschewed the gloriously unique and personal look of individually armored Mandalorians for drab white and light blue clothing. The interesting clan structure was replaced by more royal nobility and squabbling bureaucracy, while the children are shuffled firmly back into the Euro-American educational model, and women are excluded from both the New Mandalorian Guard and Royal Guard. Mandalore and its people lost their identity, and while a very interesting case can and has been made for the in-universe tragedy of cultural assimilation, I just cannot say I like them in any way at all. Death Watch was recreated ideologically faithfully, aside from the continued presence of nothing but blonde white men―supplemented with a few equally white but at least female models once they got Bo-Katan in there―but they're Death Watch, so why would I like them anyway? :p That said, everything worked out in the end, with an entire book's worth of modulations and corrections to ensure things coalesce into a single, cooperative canon that salvages the integrity of all sources, for which I'm eternally grateful to all parties involved. I don't see myself ever being a fan of the New Mandalorians, but as long as the "old" Mandalorian clans continue to exist alongside them on a multi-biome Mandalore, I'm content.
     
  19. Circular Logic

    Circular Logic Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 3, 2013
    Mia Mesharad

    I agree with you, although I find the Crusaders and Neo-Crusaders cool since the novelty hasn't worn off for me yet. :p Your response to the TCW-related portion of the question naturally leads to:

    11. If you had been in charge of TCW instead of Dave Filoni, what would be different about the show? What would you change, and what would you keep? Also, to make things more interesting and realistic, how would you compromise with creator George Lucas regarding changes to established canon?
     
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  20. Revanfan1

    Revanfan1 Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 3, 2013
    This is where they really had me. Oh, I always loved the Mandos as I read through the Traviss books, but when they were all so accepting of an injured Fi in...True Colors? Order 66?...to the point of someone (Shysa?) stopping to have a conversation with him, that's when they really got my attention. Great answer. =D=
     
  21. Mia Mesharad

    Mia Mesharad Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 2, 2012
    That's an interesting question. To be completely honest, I feel that a lot of the show really does work just the way it is. But if I were to have some creative control, I think I would take a few cues from Republic and extend the show's early efforts to feature additional characters and side adventures throughout the series, while still keeping the Anakin/Obi-Wan/Ahsoka dynamic at the core. More of an addition than an actual change.

    I'd also make more of an effort to establish an increased sense of continuity within the series itself. Yes, there were certain callbacks in later episodes to earlier events, but the vast majority of its story arcs were incredibly disjointed. There's very little sense of causality or actual character growth: a thing exists in one state now, and later it exists in another. Why is this person different? What's happened to alter this state of affairs? Taking a few cues now from Young Justice, this too would ideally be more of an addition than a change, with mid-quel episodes of a sort being interspersed throughout the series to breathe, react to events and plot fallout, and set things up for the future. For instance, so much happened during the Umbara arc, some follow up would be amazing. The "Bounty Hunters" and Slaves of the Republic arcs had to have been pretty emotionally taxing, how did Kenobi and Skywalker deal with that? And maybe a good episode dealing with how much of an impact the war's had on Ahsoka, and whether the seemingly endless fighting is taking a toll on someone who is still very much a young girl, emotionally speaking.

    As far as things I would fully and noticeably change in the series, the Droids arc would be excised for starters, and rewritten around a squad of clone commandos...and (an) R2, I guess. Things can still go bad, they can still barely manage to avert disaster, but we not only get an episode with commandos, the presentation of the mission is genuinely competent, and the Jedi Council doesn't look completely ridiculous for their decision of who to assign. I would have the Onderon arc stripped down for better pacing, and its dialogue combed through to keep characters more consistent and logical with their approach to the insurgency. Shadow Warrior, I'm sorry to say, would not exist under Mesharad management, and it would take Assassin, Pursuit of Peace, and Senate Murders with it on its way out. Bombad Jedi would be called something else, stripped of Jar Jar, and it would be the intelligently written political episode featuring Padme actually being a politician that it should've been in the first place; Gunray still shows up to deal, gets captured by Padme's personal clone escort that had been waiting aboard her ship, and we continue on to Cloak of Darkness. The premise of Dooku Captured and The Gungan General would be streamlined into just one episode, with Hondo capturing someone of importance other than Dooku―because let's be honest, captured by pirates is not great for Dooku's character―the non-Jedi Senate-appointed negotiator would try, fail, and be captured himself, only for Commander Stone and his unit to initiate a rescue without any antics from Jar Jar.

    Nuvo Vindi would've been legitimately threatening, and the Blue Shadow Virus would not have been played for laughs; call me crazy, but lethal bio-warfare seems like something that might be worth approaching seriously. Supply Lines would have its A and B plots switched, with greater emphasis on the early battle on Ryloth and less on Jar Jar antics. Which reminds me, all episodes would also have been ordered sequentially, too. Evil Plans would be a caper-esque episode about Bane recruiting his team and stealing the architectural plans for the Senate building, not torturing droids out for a stroll in the fruit market. Adi Gallia's Revival appearance would've been swapped for Eeth Koth, and Even Piell would've been swapped for Tarados Gon. No, not that TaradosGon. This Tarados Gon, the last of the three Jedi―including Sora Bulq and Eeth Koth―believed to have died in the gunship crash on Geonosis. Bulq and Koth survived the crash, might as well make it three for three: we get an interesting alien Jedi, expansion on a background movie character, and Piell's good for Coruscant Nights. And Ahsoka would've had a friend introduced in Season Two, someone other than Barriss, for obvious reasons.

    Saving the Mandalorians for last, my reflexive gut answer to what I would change is, well...everything. I always thought the idea of a pacifist Mandalorian sect was a valid and potentially interesting creation, but I'm incredibly bothered by TCW's execution. There's zero reason why they had to become an all human, all white society stripped of their culture to be idyllically peaceful. Let the New Mandalorians be pacifistic, let them be a bit withdrawn from the other warrior clans, let them be hated by the Death Watch, but let's keep them omni-inclusive, let them continue to wear armor―weaponless, maybe of a slightly different style like the grey Guard armor to illustrate the ideological divide―and get rid of the royal pretenses, let them be led by chieftains. And let's keep Mandalore as a multi-biome world; if the New Mandalorians need to be in the desert, so be it, though I fail to see why that was a necessity.

    Well, this is the tricky part, isn't it? As much as I could get away with, I'd take a page from the Batman Beyond creative team, when faced with persnickety executives: give them exactly what they asked for, but not necessarily what they want. For what I couldn't win over directly―and rest assured, there would be some victories [face_mischief]―then I would make a coordinated effort to make the coming changes more easily palatable and forthcoming. If everything in the show happened exactly the way it did, I'd have a story about what happened with Barriss ready for immediate release to bridge the discrepancy; there would be no wait on the Mandalore explanations, they would've come out before the episodes even aired; Ryloth would've been explained as a simply bit of elliptical wobble on day one. So on, and so forth.
     
  22. Todd the Jedi

    Todd the Jedi Mod and Loving Tyrant of SWTV, Lit, & Collecting star 6 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Oct 16, 2008
  23. Circular Logic

    Circular Logic Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 3, 2013
    Well, that response certainly didn't disappoint...and that doesn't surprise me at all. Brilliant response, Mia!

    [face_laugh] TaradosGon wouldn't be pleased if you hadn't set about to clarify that one! Great suggestion!

    This reminds me of the cut storyline revealed in CEII that showed the Duchess Satine wearing ceremonial Mandalorian armor. Let me dig it up...

    Here!
    [​IMG]

    ^:)^


    Alright, since the EU is such a significant part of your fandom, time for some EU questions.

    12. You seem to have read practically everything there is to read for Star Wars. So I imagine you'd have a very far-encompassing response to this question. What are your top five favorite Star Wars novels?

    13. And what are your top five favorite Star Wars comic books/graphic novels?
     
  24. Revanfan1

    Revanfan1 Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 3, 2013
    May be the first time I've admired Satine. I think I'm in love...stupid dropped concepts. :p
     
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  25. Mia Mesharad

    Mia Mesharad Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 2, 2012
    Thank you. :)

    Interesting. Reminds me a bit of something out of Elder Scrolls. It's a little more...elven, I think, than Mandalorian, but it beats stealing the gaudy, unwanted outfits from Padme's wardrobe. :p

    Top five? Hmm...top five...
    Matt Stover's Revenge of the Sith novelization is outstanding, and manages to elevate what's already the strongest film of the prequel trilogy to a true masterpiece above and beyond the film; the epic iconicism, the emotional resonance, the clever dialogue...it's the entire package. Stover's New Jedi Order novel, Traitor, is also brilliant: powerful, intellectually and philosophically stimulating, and exploratory of both the nature of the Force and the nature of self. Kenobi, by John Jackson Miller, is a recent standout for being a really enjoyable study of the character of Obi-Wan in exile, and making a smallscale story feel weighty. Getting the most out of my slots, I'll have to call upon The Science Fiction book club's omnibus edition of Republic Commando: Hard Contact and Triple Zero by Karen Traviss. James Luceno's got nothing but good work on his Star Wars resume, from Cloak of Darkness and Labyrinth of Evil, to The Unifying Force―though I admittedly haven't read Millennium Falcon out of a lack of post-LotF interest―but it'll be Darth Plagueis that I use to round out this this all-too-short top five list.

    If you'll excuse the flagrant loophole abuse of this post... :p
    • Omnibus: Dark Times Volume 1
    • Omnibus: Clone Wars Volume 2
    • Omnibus: Clone Wars Volume 3
    • Omnibus: Knights of the Old Republic Volume 1
    • Omnibus: Knights of the Old Republic Volume 2
    And that's how you get over seventy comics into a top five list. :cool: