Full Series Official "The Clone Wars" Series Discussion Thread (Spoilers Allowed)

I wonder if GL regrets making ROTS before TCW.

 

There are times when I think TCW + ROTS would have made for a better prequel than TPM + AOTC + ROTS. I'm really not Ahsoka's biggest fan but now that the series is complete I get that she was one of he main vehicles for exploring Anakin. TCW did alot for Anakin Skywalker in my opinion, finally showing him to be the hero if the Clone Wars that Obi-wan made him sound like he was.. It also explore fore philosophy, the different wars in the 'wars' part of the clone wars, pulled back the curtain on what was happening behind the scenes. TCW really did alot of add to both the mythology during the clone wars part and the over all mythology of Star Wars in my opinion.

 

I don't know if a show like TCW would have been practical exactly as is back in 2002-2005, but I do think that had he planned out a 3 season show while working on AOTC, with this show airing between AOTC and ROTS, and allowing his story ideas for TCW to influence ROTS, that the show would have been so much better. It's too late now. But had he known that Episode VII was likely to become a reality back in 2008, I would have said that instead of revisiting TCW after the microseries, that it could have been better to make a post-ROTJ show taking place in the 30 year gap, setting the groundwork for Episode VII, even if the show didn't lead into it directly.

I mean, the Yoda arc may have been so much better IMO if I catch glimpses of Mace fighting Sidious and clones turning on Jedi in hazy visions, before Lucas actually gave us those scenes in ROTS. But having the show bookended by AOTC and ROTS and then trying to retroactively make things fit has actually made those stories faulty IMO. The Yoda arc was awkward to me when knowing what will happen in ROTS. Had TCW come first, then such a story could have been amazing, and ROTS could have been adapted to accommodate TCW, as opposed to TCW accommodating ROTS.

 

Do the Gungans elect a "Boss"?

 

So I'm a TCW newbie. Would you all recommend starting with Season 1 and watching them in the order they were released or going through them using the chronological list that was released a few weeks ago? Not sure how much character development happens in earlier seasons that would leave some of the older episodes feeling empty if I were to watch them first.

 

Will do! And what about the film? Worthwhile? I've heard not great thoughts on it, but if it ties in well with the rest of the series, I'll give it a go.

 

I think the series was overall good, though with some major duds mixed in. However, I thought the film was atrocious. There are some episodes that tie into the events of the film, plus you also get the introduction of Anakin's apprentice, so it might be necessary to watch it for those events alone, though I don't think I finally saw the film until about the time of Season 3, and I got along well enough. So it's your call. Some don't mind the movie, but some hate it (and I am in the latter).

 

I saw the film looooong before I touched the series and I don't really like either. The explanation for why Anakin has Ahsoka is pretty weak in my view because the whole relationship doesn't work. Even so, everyone's different go with your gut. The only things I got from this were Dooku and Obi (though I did find Tarkin interesting but off. )

 

I say watch the film but dont think that represents the series as a hole because it does not.

 

Thanks to Ahsoka we got to see Anakin for all his flaws and his temper could actually be a good mentor. He was a general looked up to by many of his soldiers who looked up to him. Fives obviously really looked up to Anakin's unconventional plans, tendency to go around orders, and "Ends justify the means" philosophy. He came up with a plan based on a story from TPM. Can't you just imagine Anakin sitting down with Fives and perhaps Echo when they are part of the 501st and just embellishing the hell out of that story? He was a loyal friend to both Ahsoka and Obi-wan albeit with attachment issues strong enough was willing to murder in revenge if either was hurt, or just happened to be killed for pretend. I think TCW did a great favor to the OT with its portrayal of Anakin.

I don't think chronological order is that important with TCW. The episodes that happen out of order can almost the viewed as flashback episodes, its easy to follow where they belong. The news reels do a good job recapping what happened before particular episodes so TCW could easily be picked up from any episode since they are largely self contained stories until you get to season 4. I recommend just sitting back and watching from episode 1 because while there are episodes most of the forum will agree are the best in the series, its not a one size fits all and many people like unpopular episodes such a the droid episodes and Shadow Warrior. TCW tackles a broad range of subjects and storylines so it takes TCW a long time to comeback to old storylines so character development is a bit on the slow side thoughout the series.

I watched the movie after I can caught up with the series. I jumped in just after season 3 has concluded. The first half of the movie is alright actually. The backhalf is a snooze fest though. It does give an introduction to both Ahsoka and Rex but I tend to think its optional. If you watch it first don't let it cause you to think the rest of the series is a snooze fest granted there are a few episodes I would rate lower than the movie. TCW as a whole is a fun ride and IMO one of the best animated action series of this time which alone makes it worth a watch for animation buffs as well as Star Wars fans alike. I wish I'd gotten into it much earlier instead of listening to the opinions of other friends who really only saw the movie the whole show was terrible.

 

I did the Chronological run-through and I felt it played a lot better. Not only for development but also it flowed better especially in season 3. The prequels and sequels were paired with their appropriate arcs and it didn't feel as all over the place. I only ended up watching the first episode of the Padme/Senate arc (Heroes on Both Sides) which contains Season 2 and 3 episodes. I noticed skipping those meant not bogging down that part of the series with politics as much. My wife was doing the chronological order with me and refused to watch that whole arc

Since they were just starting out, the film was not as good in terms of quality overall, but I think it's important to the overall series and has fun moments. And it will show you just how far the show was able to progress by the time you get to the end. The Chronological order has the movie in there, right after two episodes from the series which work as prequels.

It's so much easier now with the Netflix interface to pop around and watch in order, so you may as well. It definitely works better as a whole if you plan on watching all the episodes.

 

It will be surprising to see how they poll off next years ESPN interview with Obi One.

 

According to IGN, LucasArts and another developer were working on a Darth Maul game that was intended to tie in with TCW-S4. Just by the brief description, it seems as if it would have been less over-the-top than TFU:

Significantly, it would have been a TCW tie-in game, the number of which receded as time went on past 2008. More specifically, it seems likely that it would have been aimed at an older demographic than the other TCW games.

 

Sounds like it would of been great. I don't think there was enough TCW games. I love Republic Heroes but Jedi Alliance was just ok for me. I haven't played Lightsaber Duels.

 

Count me as unexcited for the prospect of a S4 Darth Maul game...

I feel like they needed a KOTOR 3, or an Imperial Commando game (I feel like they could fold Republic Commando and Battlefront into one game, where there is a Republic Commando style single player, but multiplayer is more of the COD/Battlefront style of gameplay, with vehicles and what not). LucasArts never really made a sequel to the X-Wing/TIE Fighter style of games, which I think would have been awesome to see more modern takes on. Another Jedi Knight kind of game (though I thought the story of Jedi Academy sucked). They could have taken those same mechanics and applied them to a different era or characters. The first Racer game (never played the second) I thought was a blast, but I don't know if they could have kept a series going based on a scene from 1999's TPM.

I really think that LucasArts just kind of sucked in the end. They did have brilliant titles at times, but by the time they were shut down, I don't think they had anything going for them. And Darth Maul the game, doesn't sound like it would change that opinion at all. Now, TCW I think would have been difficult to make games for to begin with. I think they could maybe have done a KOTOR style RPG where you could make a team of three out of a cast including characters like Rex, Anakin, Obi-Wan, Cody, etc.

I never liked any of the TCW games, and I'm not necessarily blaming LucasArts for that, because I would have been lost as to what to do with that property as well. I'm not hopeful for good Rebels games.

The best games IMO are the ones that aren't associated with any film. For instance, I don't care about TPM: The Game, AOTC: The Game, etc. The best games IMO are those that like KOTOR or Jedi Knight come up with an original story, or those like Racer or Rogue Squadron, where they might take one aspect of the films and build a game around it, as they built at least three games (if you include the arcade game) entirely around the podrace scene, while Rogue Squadron focuses entirely on ship and vehicle combat.

 

The chronological way that StarWars.com released is perfect. I got to the start of season 3 and noticed some things out of place and stories just starting out of nowhere. I restarted and watched that way and it helps a lot.

 

I am re watching the clone wars and I watched them in order of release so after this I will watch it in chronological order.

 

The film is...not great, shall we say. But while it lacks some quality as its own thing, as the start of the series, I would honestly say it's worth at least one viewing. My personal recommendation is to watch the film itself, then give the novelization a read. The film is good for visuals and the music, but the novelization is infinitely better on the story front: more adult-oriented than the largely child-aimed film, greater depth, better dialogue, a stronger introduction of the series' new leads, Rex and Ahsoka...the works. They make a much more enjoyable experience together.

 

I actually read the novelisation without seeing the film. Launching straight into Ambush, I didn't feel like I'd missed much. In fact, I only watched the film a couple of weeks ago and my opinion hasn't changed.

My thoughts exactly about the Commando/Battlefront combination. Even back in 2005, Republic Commando was let down by not having a sufficiently well-developed multiplayer component.

LucasArts did indeed seem to lack competence towards the end. The Force Unleashed II was ill-conceived from the beginning, I'd argue, and its resources would have probably been put to better use on KOTOR 3. LucasArts not committing to KOTOR 3, after the success of the previous two, demonstrates this strange myopia.

However, I don't see how TCW could be considered too difficult to make tie-in games for. Rebels maybe, what with its narrow focus on the Ghost crew, but TCW had such a broad scope and its premise (two galactic superpowers waging total war against each other) could hardly be accused of being limiting.

For example, the various battles throughout TCW, as well as in AOTC and ROTS - both on the planet surfaces and in space - are prime material for a real-time strategy or real-time tactics game. The Clone Wars era, more than most others, seems ideal for this genre. However, past the Clone Campaigns expansion for Galactic Battlegrounds, no official Star Wars RTT/RTS game set in this era was released, though a Clone Wars mod for Empire at War was made. A Star Wars mod for Sins of a Solar Empire shows what a more modern RTT/RTS game could look like:



As for other games, focused on particular aspects of the story, the premise of TCW offers a number of possibilities: starfighter spaceflight sims, clone-focused shooters (eg. the aforementioned Commando/Battlefront hybrid), and action games focused on Force-sensitives.

 

Interesting, a Darth Maul game kinda like Arkham Asylum. I never played any TCW tie ins cuz they were pretty kiddie. This might have been cool. Looks like it wasn't going to happen anyways though with the focus shift.

 

Awesome, thanks for all the suggestions, guys! I'll do chronological (with a pause after the film to read the novel). I'll update with my thoughts as I go through in the other thread. Excited!