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Full Series Grade the Episode - 204 "Senate Spy"

Discussion in 'Star Wars TV- Completed Shows' started by Gry Sarth, Jul 11, 2011.

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Grade the Episode - 204 "Senate Spy"

Poll closed Jul 11, 2011.
  1. 10

    17.1%
  2. 9

    5.7%
  3. 8

    11.4%
  4. 7

    8.6%
  5. 6

    17.1%
  6. 5

    2.9%
  7. 4

    2.9%
  8. 3

    8.6%
  9. 2

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  10. 1

    25.7%
  1. Gry Sarth

    Gry Sarth Ex 2x Banhammer Wielding Besalisk Mod star 5

    Registered:
    Jun 24, 1999
    Now that you've watched this episode again, how would you rate it?

    Remember, unlike our Season 3 polls, please feel free to discuss the episode as much as you'd like in this thread. Did the episode seem any different than the first time you saw it?

    Grade average (36 votes): 4.83

    <img src="http://dauntlessmedia.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/cw-204-senate-spy.jpg">
     
  2. anakinfansince1983

    anakinfansince1983 Skywalker Saga/LFL/YJCC Manager star 10 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Mar 4, 2011
    Jumping in before all the haters do. :p

    I liked the episode. Gave it an 8/10 because Clovis is so creepy that I felt like I needed a shower after watching him for 20 minutes.

    I liked the spy mission, and the political ramifications of having at least one Senator who is secretly working with the CIS.

    And I make no apologies for liking the A/P scenes. And the ending of the episode was awesome. I only wished we knew exactly what the Neimoidians did with Clovis.
     
    cwustudent likes this.
  3. Gry Sarth

    Gry Sarth Ex 2x Banhammer Wielding Besalisk Mod star 5

    Registered:
    Jun 24, 1999
    I felt like I needed a shower too, after this episode.

    This introduced the cluster**** with the neutrality of separatist organizations, and that alone would be enough to sink this episode. But it was also one of the most boring episodes ever (not because it lacked blasts and lightsabers, but because it was indeed boring as hell). The whole Padmè poisoning plot was ludicrous. Why poison someone in order to get leverage if you're just going to hand over the antidote once your target gets pissed?

    This is NOT part of the Geonosian arc.
     
  4. EstarGuars

    EstarGuars Jedi Padawan star 2

    Registered:
    Mar 20, 2011
    7 / 10.
    The first time I saw the episode it seemed better to me. But now I'm thinking was it the lack of violence really needed? I think they just did it: hey, look we can make an episode without an explosion and so we cut whatever happened to Clovis.
    I think that after the politics episodes in season three, the episode feels simplest. It's like a baby version of what comes next in terms of complexity.
    On the other hand, the characterization is very good. Anakin is jealous of Padme and the scenes on the ship are funny -at least for me-. On the other hand the knowledge of other loves of Padme, besides the so Paolo, humanizes her.
    For me now that the series has progressed, this episode seems silly, there is evidence that the Banking Clan supports the separatists but we see them in the Senate again next season.

    PROS:
    *Padmé doesn´t need to be a hero -this can be a CON because she is the damsel in distress-
    *Cato Neimodia
    *Lott Dod
    *A good form to enter in the Geonosis-arc. This is what the have to do with all the episodes
    *Rush Clovis and Padmé past

    CONS:
    *Oh no! We need to save Padmé! ... Why they can´t have an episode with Padme in which she isn´t Lara Croft or a damsel in distress
    *Why they can eject the Banking Clan out of the Senate?
    *This is a war, they can´t send a group of clones or something like that? They don´t need to send a senator to enemy lines, that´s estupid indeed.
    *Only God knows what happened to Clovis

    EDIT:
    I forgot something, the poison part :oops:
     
  5. AkashKedavra_93

    AkashKedavra_93 Moderator Emeritus star 4 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Jan 8, 2011
    9/10

    -I enjoyed the episode and I liked how it tied into the Geonosis arc, I love it when episodes tie-in together like that.
    -Cato Neimoidia was really great (+5). Hopefully we get to see a battle on there soon. [face_praying]
    -Rush Clovis and Padme's past was nice edition, it makes her more realistic
    -The ship scenes were funny
    -I liked the expression on Padme's face when she discovered Clovis's password
    -The ending was superb in terms of cliffhangers (this show sometimes has problems with endings), but unless Clovis appears again somehow, part of me just wanted to see Clovis get gunned down in cold blood by the Neimoidians
    -And yes, why is the Banking Clan still a part of the Republic since the Jedi obviously know that they're involved with the CIS?
     
    cwustudent likes this.
  6. Seerow

    Seerow Manager Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Jun 7, 2011
    A 7 for me as well and most of the merits come from the fact I find this episode comical and it was a good idea. I liked seeing Anakin get jealous and mess with Clovis. On the other hand its predictable and cliche. LOL at people still using weak password protection in the GFFA, hotmail wouldn't let you setup an email address with that password. Padme is also slightly less annoying in this one. Man what a cold ending, I liked that.

    Also this old panel reading by the voice actors of what happens between 'Senate Spy' and 'Landing at Point Rain' is more entertaining than the episode. I'm sure you all have already seen it.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQDhOQpdiVY
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPr9eQ-25j4
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1b4E--3g1NQ
     
  7. anakinfansince1983

    anakinfansince1983 Skywalker Saga/LFL/YJCC Manager star 10 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Mar 4, 2011
    Forgot to mention the ship scenes. I also thought they were hilarious. Get 'em, Anakin. :D Somehow I think Padme knew exactly why the seat belt got broken and why Anakin was doing loops in the ship--and I think she was enjoying every minute of it.

    I half-expected Clovis' airway to get suddenly cut off when he told Anakin that he loved Padme, but that aside, I did LOL at the line, "I have great faith in your survival skills."

    As far as a battle on Cato Neimoidia, if they'll do an episode based on the beginning of Labyrinth of Evil, we'll see it again, and it should be good.
     
    cwustudent likes this.
  8. Darth_Gamek

    Darth_Gamek Jedi Master star 6

    Registered:
    Aug 10, 2009
    7/10

    Accidentally gave it an 8. :oops:
     
  9. ImNotAStarWarsFanboy

    ImNotAStarWarsFanboy Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Feb 25, 2011
    1. How the **** did this episode pass quality control? Jesus Christ man.

    First off, the dialogue and voice acting throughout this episode is abysmal at best. Seriously, Lott Dod, Clovis, Padme and Anakin, all completely devoid of emotion in their monotonous ramblings. Cringe-worthy lines like "It's Padme's life that I care about the most, because I love her" read in the blandest deliverance in the history of VA is appalling. Painful. Excruciating. I hate stupid "explain every detail of the plot to the audience no matter how retarded it sounds in the episode" dialogue, and boy did Senate Spy deliver on that front. Other fine examples of derpity derp dialogue for me included such classics as "I see now why you rekindled our friendship...you wanted to spy on me""I did it for the Republic! I didn't want to believe it but now I see you're working with the Separatists" or however the **** it went and "Personal matters for the Senator these are. Know them why would you?" You know, you don't have to do EVERY Yoda line backwards. And really Yoda and Mace, you don't suspect anything between Anakin and Padme after that display? Not too perceptive are they. The poison plot as Gry pointed out completely falls apart once someone whacks out the puniest of blasters. "What if we were to poison Senator Amidala to get leverage over Clovis, and we have the only antidote"*Time to use Padme as leverage comes around*"You'll pay for this Clovis, DERPITY DERP give Clovis the antidote DERP DERP" [face_beatup] The directing also, unsurprisingly, sucks balls. The romance scenes are stale and cold, the 'tense' moments fail to create any tension. And oh what a surprise, the password is Padme. Her attempts were hilarious too. Did you really think he'd set his name as the password?:oops: About the only thing that was amusing, I did not care for the silly 'keeping Padme and Clovis apart in the Nubian' antics [face_tired]
    There's more I could mention but I'd rather not waste any more time thinking about this tripe.
     
  10. Gry Sarth

    Gry Sarth Ex 2x Banhammer Wielding Besalisk Mod star 5

    Registered:
    Jun 24, 1999
    Very weird ditribution of scores so far. A few evenly distributed votes on the higher range, and then a dollop of 1s.

    BTW, I gave it a 1. Wretched episode.
     
  11. Swashbucklingjedi

    Swashbucklingjedi Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Oct 3, 2010
    Don't get why this is soooooo hated- political episode with no shoehorned action scenes- i give it seven- Cato Neimoidia is nice to see and Lott Dod- also more revelation of the nature of seppie-movement- it's conspiracy really thing eu forgot.....
    Poggle is also nice to see and Clovis is different bad guy -not alien but human and slippery looking ladies' men- good character really.... Only scene i hate is when Anakin pilots ship and almost get Clovis injured by his tricks that was bit too much......

    Padmé is never great but at least she didn't kill any smugglers- i like this spying thing more...
    There is nothing disgusting in this episode and when it came out it was new thing- rare thing to see political eps- but i couldn't believe they would even make crap like Corruption or even Pursuit of Peace- relationship thing was not really well done but at least some jealously stuff etc. makes it bit more than kid's show.....

    I like this episode really and don't get all the hate.... still it is slow and bit boring to many i get it and Padmé....meh... but she is not even irritating in this compared to her later talks....

    PS. Anakin using armor "at home" LOL[face_laugh] he probably slept with it too- perhaps that's why he stopped using it too uncomfortable....

    You may be mod of this forum but that doesn't give you any powers to decide that- it is part of same storyline nevertheless...
     
  12. fistofan1

    fistofan1 Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Dec 8, 2009
    I gave the episode a 7. I'll start with the positives:

    - For once, Anakin and Padme's marriage is center-stage. It was nice to see how the war is causing friction between them.

    - The premise of the episode wasn't bad at all. It utilized the political aspect pretty well compared to some later attempts...

    - The lighting/animation/sets were all brilliant.

    - Clovis was appropriately creepy. His mention of Padme putting her head on his shoulder was the ultimate creeper line. ]-}

    -Anakin's piloting was pretty funny, one of the better uses of slapstick comedy in the series.

    And the negatives:

    - The opening dialogue between Anakin and Padme was awful. I really couldn't care less about Padme's cooking abilities...

    - The radical change between Padme's attitude towards Anakin compared with Hostage Crisis was jarring.

    - Padme's cheeky "can do" attitude tpwards everything got on my nerves.

    Overall, a 7/10. A decent episode with a fair share of problems mixed with some great moments.

    And just or discussion, how is it perfectly legal for the Trade Federation to trade war materials with the CIS but completely mutinous of them to finance a droid factory? [face_thinking]
     
  13. GGrievous

    GGrievous Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Nov 6, 2005
    Gry is right
     
  14. EstarGuars

    EstarGuars Jedi Padawan star 2

    Registered:
    Mar 20, 2011
    No, he is not [face_plain].

    I disliked Moster but it´s still part of the Nightsisters-arc. I disliked Altar of Mortis, but it´s still part of the Mortis-arc. I disliked Duchess of Mandalore but it´s still part of the Mandalore-arc.
     
  15. Alexrd

    Alexrd Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jul 7, 2009
    6/10

    I liked seeing more of Cato Neimoidia.

    P.S: Yes, this episode is part of the Geonosis arc.
     
  16. Ody_Mandrell

    Ody_Mandrell Jedi Grand Master star 1

    Registered:
    Dec 28, 2003
    Best episode of the TCW by far!
     
  17. ImNotAStarWarsFanboy

    ImNotAStarWarsFanboy Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Feb 25, 2011
    o_O

    You are not required to give any explanation but I would love to hear some.
     
  18. EstarGuars

    EstarGuars Jedi Padawan star 2

    Registered:
    Mar 20, 2011
    Hey, why can´t he like and episode you dislike? I agree with others, you´re starting to be annoying. [face_tired]
     
  19. ImNotAStarWarsFanboy

    ImNotAStarWarsFanboy Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Feb 25, 2011
    I'm not disagreeing with them, I'm merely asking to hear their thoughts on why it was the best episode. It is a fairly bold claim to make.
     
  20. Jabba_The_Hutt_123

    Jabba_The_Hutt_123 Jedi Master star 3

    Registered:
    Oct 29, 2003
    6
    I quite liked the intro scene of Padme and Anakin, it seemed far more real than most of their dialogue, both in films and CW.
    I like that the Banking Clan and Trade Federation are still part of the Republic with rebels within their organisation.
    But overall a pretty weak plot, but Lott Dod was great and the ending was also good.
     
  21. InterestingLurker

    InterestingLurker Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jun 15, 2011
    I gave the episode a 10 because...because.

    But honestly, I didn't hate the episode, but I felt like the episode didn't have to be there.
     
  22. Darth_Foo

    Darth_Foo Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    Feb 24, 2003
    1

    Worst episode of the season. Three times i've tried to watch it and...i just can't. Inevitably i just skip to the end. Even Evil Plans wasn't this painful. (and btw Mystery Science Theater 3000 is one of my favorite shows of all time, so i'd like to think i have built up an immunity to awfulness)
     
  23. Senator Kelberry

    Senator Kelberry Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 22, 2010
    6 out of 10 for me.

    Decent enough episode, for the most part. Though, as a lead-in for the Geonosis arc, this episode is probably best described as the Geonosis arc's creepy uncle that it doesn't invite to family reunions. It had the potential to be better than it was, but what really killed it for me was the ending. Something just felt off about it to me. It was almost if...the writers were writing their way through it, were really on a roll...and then didn't quite know how to finish it in a way that worked. Usually when I watch it, I'll watch it up to the ending then stop before I get there because it just...it felt strange. Most of it was good...the ending wasn't. Though the highlight for me certainly was Anakin's...uhm...amusing shuttle piloting skills.
     
  24. rumblewagon

    rumblewagon Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 24, 2004
    I really do not understand all the hate for this episode. The political intrigue is quite well done.
    I did not find it boring as I don't get a sudden case of narcolepsy or attention-deficit-disorder if there are not big huge explosions and shiny laser blasts and sparkly lightsabers to hold my attention.

    As has been said many times already, Clovis is creepy to the slimy extreme. "Oh, I hope that it will be much better than old times." Ewwwwwwwww!

    The Banking Clan is not completely Separatist. They are playing both sides. Stop with the idea that the Banking Clan is only on the side of the Separatists.

    This IS part of the Geonosis arc as it establishes the knowledge of the new foundry that the Jedi + Clones attack in the next episode.

    8/10
     
  25. Darth_Foo

    Darth_Foo Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    Feb 24, 2003
    I don't need 'splosions and fights to keep me interested. I need a story that makes sense and is entertaining. Senate Spy was neither for me. But I def won't stop you from enjoying it though.