Official General Grievous Fanclub

If only Filoni and co. would check out these boards and find out what the fans really want for Grievous' backstory...

 

"I'm out of it for a little while and everyone gets delusions of grandeur!"

Anyway, I'm gone for a little while and wow! Mort! And Exeter as well, great to see you guys here! Okay, if what catgirl posted is true then I'm extremely disappointed. He can't be tragic because it's not fun? Hello, he's definitely not meant to be fun, he very name suggests that...the word 'grievous' itself implies suffering, pain and tragedy; nowhere do I see 'fun' implied in the word.

I think Filoni makes a great point about making the backstory vague so anyone can interpret it as they see fit, but if that's what Lucas was going with, why did he allow Warren Fu so much leeway in developing the character the way he did in the first place? I mean, the whole shuttle crash backstory I'm sure had to get some sort of LucasFilm approval before he was able to get it published in Visionaries....right?

And I'm sorry, as much as I like Vader and Palpatine as over-the-top evil villians, I think a tragic villain such as Grievous makes Star Wars more complex in regards to storytelling...if every villain was "Mauwhahah!" evil in Star Wars, I'd get quite bored very easy. The main thing I like about Star Wars is the complexity, the ability to take these fantasy themes and put them in a science fiction setting and coming up with all these different worlds and different species and cultures and allowing your own imagination to take it further.

I mean the vision of Star Wars is basically what drew us all here, right? A gathering of individuals who immersed themselves into a galaxy far, far away and allowed their minds to take them even further.

Sorry about the soapbox rallying speech(Ameru would be proud, eh, Kalee? ), but I know alot of people are upset about this as well as I, but I think I'm going to take Mr. Filoni's advice and interpret it the way I see it.

Tragic, manipulative, shuttle crash backstory FTW!!

 

hey ludo! remember me?! you remember grievous fangirl too? im trying to find her but no luck...its like shes abandoned us and GG! =\

 

Hey! Welcome back, Tarr! Yeah, she was working on a round robin with us and kind of deserted us too. I'm sorry, Glymphid Warlord, I just saw catgirl's post and went with it.

 

Yeah...
So...hows The Grievous Fanclub?

 

I'd say disappointed by the apparent unwillingness of the powers that be to take a risk and stick to their guns on Grievous, to reward the hard work and careful attention a group of talented writers (Luceno, Fu, Pena) who crafted a surprisingly fascinating backstory to a villain that had been fairly one-dimensional, who had the guts to defy the black-and-white quality of Lucas' Clone Wars and give General Grievous not only an engaging history rife with concepts of love, service, honor, and courage but also some legitimate grievances (see what I did there? ) against both the Republic and the Jedi Order.

But impressed with the face time he's getting in the TV series. Despite the dubious decisions made regarding the General's history and the silly, unnecessary character assassination comments from Henry there, it's still a lot more Grievous than I ever thought I'd see again. And we're only at episode 11 of what Lucas claims will be a 100+ episode series.

And with guys like Dave Filoni doing their best, I think we'll be in for quite a treat.

 

Not to mention your wonderful fan redition of his backstory. And as a fan, I'm totally stoked at all the air he's getting in this series.

 

Uhh, so I've been out of the loop for a while, so much that I think I've only seen parts of the very first episode of Clone Wars. Now the big question here is - is it really worth watching, and exactly how much did they screw up Grievous? Will I at least get a giggle out of it? He's the only reason why I'd waste my precious bandwidth on that show. Sad, I know.

 

You are missing alot: Great animation, good stories and of course, lots and lots of Grievous action!

Well, it's been a matter of debate lately in regards to Grievous' backstory in the new series; the creators of the show have made it somewhat vague to allow fans the opportunity to interpret the backstory they way they see fit, but at the same time the way he's percieved in the show raises eyebrows, especially on the issue of his wanting the changes that made him a cyborg instead of him being forced into them.

To me, it's not a waste of time, we've had I believe 12-13 episodes so far in the series and if you need more info I would suggest checking out the LACWAC forum, they have a bunch of threads that deal with the different aspects of the show and several links with info on the show as well.

 

Only worth watching IMO if there's a particular character or situation you want to see and don't mind pre-teen plotting and characterization levels. Even then, you might not be happy with what you see--I really don't like the way this show portrays Dooku or Asajj Ventress, for example, so no longer watch episodes that feature them. Grievous, though...well, he might do for you if you're okay with the thought of him being a kid-friendly and slightly goofy villain who's far more laughable than he is efficient and formidable.

***SLIGHT SPOILERS NOW FOLLOW*** TCW Grievous in a nutshell to date: Not much of a strategist anymore. Has lost most of his battles which he tends to flee from towards the end, and the few people he's gotten to kill personally have all been no-names no one really cares about. Gets berated for his failures repeatedly by Dooku via hologram calls and sometimes retaliates by 'accidently' hanging up on the Count. ("Oops!") In his latest ep, he had a mincing little doctor droid/servant who repaired his body and looked after his injuries after a couple of Jedi and several clone troopers beat him up and who likewise berated him with snide comments like "if you were a better fighter" and "look at you, you're a walking scrapheap!", and Grievous inexplicably just took it! If reading all that just made you smile or laugh, then you probably would enjoy this version of Grievous. But if you now feel a little ill instead, you'd better avoid this series because it won't get any more serious!

One nice thing: TCW Grievous does look pretty good when animated, better than he does in stills, and the animators have been doing a good job of capitalizing on his interesting design with lots of fun poses and dramatic lighting. He's got plenty of personality and his aggressive crankiness always comes through loud and clear. I don't find him particularly intimidating to look at anymore, though, and some of his facial close-ups sometimes make me think of his Force Battler toy.

Check out the episode synopsis over at the official SW site for more detail on the sorts of things TCW Grievous has been up to.

 

Hey guys, long time no see. Didn't even think this thread would still being going.

Anyway, I've been hanging with Darth RL for the past year. Been up to alot.
But I came but to the GG fanclub because I just saw the Lair of Grievous.
Although he isn't as good as he is in other things, it did remind me of why I loved him.
He just looks so badass!

I didn't watch the Clone Wars movie, I only got a few minutes in and decided it was sooo bad.
Still the TV series is alright, clearly aimed at a young audience though. But after I wake up late from doing whatever I do on a Friday night, it's on so I watch it.

It's definitley a "so bad it's good" kind of show, so I don't take it too seriously.
I just wish Grievous could be a little more formidable and intelligent.
It makes things too predictable.
Although in Lair of Grievous he did kill someone, so he was alot more badass than he was in other episodes.

 

Oh, poor Grievy babe! D: That's some depressing imagery right there. Nevertheless I've just finished watching the first 4 episodes, which were tolerable. Every time the General appears, I can't seem to get this stupid grin off of my face. I mean, he was slightly goofy in ROTS so I think I can deal with it. It's kinda cute in a weird, twisted way.

I'm just so glad to see more of Grievous! Episodes 5 and 6 are downloading as I speak.

 

Yes, goofy, but hopefully they will make him be taken more seriously later on, although I'm not counting on it...but hey, Grievous on television? I'm liking it!

 

Oh come on guys, have I been gone so long you can't say 'hi'?

 

Hi Courtney! Welcome back to all this Grievous craziness.

 

Oh holy jawas, lookie here, I'm actually alive.

I'm not exactly sure if I'm back, but I just wanted to pop in and say hello to everyone! Apparently the last time I logged in was about in 07...does anyone still remember me? =P

And for the record, yes I am still Grevious' #1 fangirl. It's been fun watching him on the clone wars lately, even though I'm lagging behind on episodes.

 

Holy Carp! Fangirl! Welcome back! Of course I remember Grievous' #1 fangirl! Where have you been?

Yeah, he's been geat on CW, although they may have mucked up his backstory a little, but the look and animation are awesome! And I must confess, I've had to catch up on episodes online.

But hey, welcome back and I hope you stop in more often.

 

Fangirl! Gods, where have you been....its great to see you again

GENERAL-OF-KALEE

 

I believe that says it best, yes? Bravo, Catgirl!

Villains aren't born. They are made. We as the audience must understand why this character is doing the evil things he's doing. A villain must be pushed beyond his own boiling point. To a place where his self-preservation system takes control of the situation.

Let us use Darth Vader as example. Anakin Skywalker wanted to use acceptable methods to prevent Padme's death. He went to Yoda and then hoped Obi-wan would help. But when nothing came of those Jedi ways, he was desperate enough to go to Palpatine. Now maybe Anakin always wanted power. But that's not why he sought out the Emperor. He did so for an understandable reason. Because he was afraid. We watched him struggle with this fear, mesmerized as the tragedy unfolded. And when that first mechanical breath was at last taken, we were awestruck because now we understood how such a shadowy character came to be.

In the case of Grievous, he was indeed the victim of schemers far beyond himself. Now we don't know enough about his history to draw conclusions about motive. But I'm sure, with nothing left of his former self, the temptation to become a grand General in a massive army was great indeed. It was the only way he could salvage any part of his noble identity. Surely he believed on some level, as many others did, that Count Dooku had a better solution for the Galaxy.

In fairness,"Clone Wars" is a 30-minute cartoon. And so I'm willing to accept some lessening of psychological depth for the sake of time and simplicity of story. But it seems a great pity that the official backstory for Grievous is shaping up to be less understandable than that of Darth Vader's. Maybe we'll be given a more complete version of this new backstory soon. One that is just as interesting for his fans.

 

Yes, I've missed you guys so much! My life lately has been very devoted to school these days (I'll be a senior this year! I remember when I joined here and I was in...what, 8th grade?) and some other internet sites that have been a bit more important--no offense of course, but there's just a lot of other projects I do. Art and writing is stuff I've been taking very seriously and have intentions of making it my profession when heading out in college and life next year.

Aside from the basic stuff, I've also recently moved, had lots of darth life thrown at me and other such things. But I'll be sure to check back here every once and awhile! Have you guys been fine? =)

And yes, I'm a bit disappointing about how they are portraying Grievous in the cartoons. One way, we must see this from a viewpoint that it's basically a kids cartoon series and Grievous is in no way a main character (like Palpy said...hi Palpy!), so that's understandable. But I don't think it would kill anyone if they just made his history a bit more believable and worthwhile for his fans. I am most certain the majority of people prefer bad guys with a much more complicated past/motive than just the cliche "I want powah!"

 

Hey-a, fangirl! You remember me, don't ya? I'm doing fine, glad I still have my job and such...I try not to let DRL drag me down too much. Holy carp, a senior! Yeah, I remember when you were in the 8th grade...wow, time flies!

But hey, I'm glad to hear that you're thinking of persuing art as a profession...follow your dreams(I wish I had done that, although I guess I just wasn't confident enough ).

Yeah, I've sort of reconciled that the new backstory and the original can work together, although I wish they wouldn't make him so "Muawhahaha!". Oh well, as I said earlier, at least we get to see him on TV(although we've been much deprived lately, haven't we? )

But hey, yes, stop in every once in awhile...Grievous is always happy to see his #1 fangirl! Either that or he'll split you in two if you don't!

 

Woa! (Brushes off the dust)This hasn't been touched on in a while. How are all you Grievous fans doing?