Full Series Micro-series vs. TCW

As someone who has viewed TCW in chronological order I agree that it still feels incomplete, but if they had really wanted to, Lucas, Filoni et al could have easily made their own variation of these events as the entire CW series only equals about six TCW episodes... and we'd have ONE consistent looking series... but we wouldn't have Genndy's version of events... or we wouldn't have this VS discussion thread... and... sorry, what was the question?

 

When I am finally able to do my marathon (after the release of the TCW bonus content on disc form) I will absolutely include the micro-series as part of it. As far as I'm concerned (I know I've said this before) the first part of GT's CW ends at the scene where Anakin reveals his scar to Padme. Then the events of TCW take place (including the BC). The story picks back up in GT's CW on the rainy planet and leads directly into EP. III. Like I said, as far as I'm concerned.

 

The microseries is still canon. C-canon the last time I checked, but maybe T, I don't know if they upped it.

As far as watchable stuff goes, that's about as good as you get.

 

I suppose, but I imagine most of it is supposed to be inferred, or is mentioned else where in the EU. I'm just going to call it canon.

 

So I've read this thread and I've seen many people bring up multiple points regarding why TCW is better than the micro-series. I think that the micro-series is a vastly superior television show and I'm going to explain why.

Length

So many people are claiming that TCW is better than the micro-series on the sheer amount of hours it has racked up alone. I have to disagree. Ask yourselves this: which story was actually completed. It was the micro-series! Yes, it was much shorter but it literally ended right where Episode III began. There was a strong sense of closure and we knew exactly what was going to happen next.

TCW? There were wayyyyyy too many unfinished threads. Filoni and Lucas tried to milk that show for all that it was worth and guess what happened? It got cancelled! We don't know what happened to Ahsoka (though I'm willing to bet my OT VHS tapes that she somehow survived Order 66 and is going to end up in Rebels) and apparently there are six or seven other storylines that haven't been completed.

What's the point of length if you never get any closure? Everyone is going to have to speculate about what happened for years to come. I sincerely doubt that Rebels is going to take the time to finish up every single storyline that TCW was forced to abandon.

When the micro-series came out it was short, sweet and straight to the point.

The Story

I have also seen numerous posts about how TCW has the better story. This is where I disagree. If one thing can be said about Star Wars we know that it is one giant love letter to Joseph Campbell's monomyth theory. It literally follows the hero's journey to a T.

In my opinion, this is where Lucas failed with the Prequel Trilogy. Star Wars is a truly brilliant saga...but not for the reason alot of people seem to think. It's brilliant because it's a visual medium and it was unlike anything anyone had seen on the big screen before. It's a heavily symbolic film about the nature of good and evil and all that other jazz. It's not about politics or science or anything like that. The politics and science are simply the backdrop for the story. It's a means to an end.

Lucas needlessly complicated things by trying to tell a story about politics and since he lacked the knowledge or the skill of screenwriters who are used to making those kind of movies he fell flat on his face. He tried to do too much. Star Wars' brilliance lies in its simplicity.

The same can be said for the micro-series. It focuses on two things: the action and the characters.

The Clone Wars tried to do too much and as a result it was needlessly complicated and kind of silly. They ended up steamrolling the EU, pissing off plenty of fans and they didn't even finish telling the story!

The Micro-Series was a true homage to the monomyth. It focused on the heroes and the action. They didn't lose sight of the story by focusing on too many characters, or focusing on the politics or the humor or anything like that. They took the characters from the PT and built an awesome story. They understood that they had a limited timeframe and as a result mapped everything out perfectly and moved from there.

From what I've seen of the TCW it was very contrived and it felt like they were planning as they went along. You have all this silly stuff like Boba Fett and Mortis...how does that contribute to the tale of Anakin Skywalker? It's cool to expand the mythology of Star Wars but they can use that for the EU...not the television show. Besides, we already had a book series dedicated to Boba Fett that people liked just fine. But nope! Let's shoe-horn in a popular a character just to get more viewers.

Character Development

This might be the trickiest argument to make but I earnestly feel like the micro-series had more character development.

Think about it....at the beginning of the movie Anakin Skywalker was already a Jedi Knight.

Okay....how did he prove he was ready for it? At what point in "Attack of the Clones" did Anakin seem at all ready to be a Jedi? I'll go ahead and answer that: he didn't at all.

During the last fight against Count Dooku he lost....badly. The Jedi Council clearly didn't respect him and they certainly didn't trust him. So why knight him?

I know there's an in-universe explanation for that but it really doesn't make any sense when you think about it. Obi-Wan wasn't knighted until he was twenty-five years old and during this time he was able to go on missions all the time with his Master. Being a Jedi isn't about being able to slice down battle droids and kick ass. If that was the case every padawan would be knighted at the age of 19 because honestly, it isn't that hard to win a fight when you have the Force as your aid.

But Anakin is knighted six months after the events of the Battle of Geonosis and then he is given an apprentice? What kind of sense does that make? I can excuse the fact that the Council didn't know about the Tusken Raiders but they've been following Anakin's progress for years and he's suddenly ready to be a Jedi?

In the micro-series (correct me if I'm wrong, I haven't seen it in years) they waited a handful of seasons to prove Anakin's worth. They followed his character as he disobeyed orders, proved himself to be an amazing leader and as he struggled with his own inherent darkness.

The fight between Ventress and Anakin was awesome for two reasons. For one thing.....it's implied that Anakin killed Ventress. They don't cross blades again to the best of my knowledge because if they did than Ventress would die. Yet at the same time they gave Ventress props. It was kinda obvious that Anakin couldn't have beaten Ventress without tapping into the dark side. Secondly, their fight had meaning. Every single duel in the Original Trilogy had meaning and the same could be side for the micro-series. Lightsaber battles between force-sensitives is (in my opinion) supposed to be an almost spiritual event. Two Force-Users with different philosophies are doing battle. Anakin proves that he has this inherent darkness he isn't afraid to tap into....and boom we learn something new about Anakin.

Now what was the kriffing point of Anakin vs Dooku? They had just crossed blades six months ago when Dooku proved he could curbstomp Anakin with little problem. So what's the point of them fighting again? Yeah, I know the story of "The Clone Wars" but what was the higher purpose? There's always a meaning beyond the story that's supposed to teach the audience. That's the beauty of symbolism.

Now...onto Mortis.

It was just dumb. Yeah, it was loaded with symbolism but it was hackneyed and kinda silly in my opinion. I honestly don't care about the "Father" and the "Daughter" and the Holy Ghost. It was almost too high concept and a little pretentious. And....what was the kriffing point?! Wasn't Anakin's memory wiped after all that happened? What the kriff? That totally defeats the purpose of the story! Anakin learns nothing and it turns out to be a gigantic waste of time.

Now let's think about the counterpart where Anakin and Obi-Wan journey to the planet with the rodents. (Sorry, I haven't seen this show in years).

For one thing...it showed the plight of the war. Everyone keeps claiming that TCW did it better but I highly doubt it. We're talking about droids kidnapping these aliens and twisting them into these monsters just to serve their own purposes. It's depressing and quite frankly a little spooky.

During this episode Anakin saves the lives of an entire species and also learns that he's destined to become Darth Vader.

This is where you learn about the depth of Obi-Wan and Anakin's friendship. This vision Anakin faced foretold the extinction of the Order. Yet when Obi-Wan hears about it he simply says that Anakin is his best friend, a good man and a powerful Jedi. He essentially laughs off this prophecy.

Obi-Wan should have gone to the Council and reported what he saw. But he was so blinded by his attachments and friendship to Anakin that he pushed it aside. That's not the only example. Throughout the entire Micro-Series we see how Anakin and Obi-Wan have this epic bromance and are best friends who love each other. It's awesome.

We also see how this friendship blinded Obi-Wan to Anakin's faults.

What happens in TCW? We get Ahsoka Tano. Star Wars has always bordered on a sausage-fest and we do need more female representation but not in Ahsoka "Mary Sue" Tano! She just interrupts what should be the most epic bromance of all time. The Prequel Trilogy was supposed to be about the bond that Obi-Wan and Anakin shared...and how this bond destroyed the Jedi Order. Having Ahsoka there is only a distraction and takes away from this friendship.

I mean...why give Anakin a fourteen year old Padawan in the middle of the most devastating war in thousands of years?

The micro-series was about Anakin and Obi-Wan and it ended with Anakin and Obi-Wan.

In the TCW they try to focus on too much in too little time and don't even see all of their storylines come to fruition.

Just because a series is longer does not mean that it's better.

The Force/Action

Alot of people complain about the use of the Force and the gratuitous action but I loved it. Maybe it's because I was ten when it came out. However, when I got older I realized that yeah...it's really silly...but it's also really fun!

The micro-series was based off of the same animation style as Samurai Jack...which has the same hackneyed over-the-top action. If you don't like it than fine...I can't really defend it. This is personal preference.

However...

People complain about individuals like Durge and Grievous are overpowered...I really disagree. Yes, Grievous is able to eliminate about five or six Jedi Knights/Masters with ease but I don't see how that's necessarily a bad thing. During the entire fight it's made clear that Grievous is a creature with immense physical prowess. He's a cyborg created exclusively for killing Jedi. He can outmatch them with his skill with lightsabers, he's lightning fast and super strong. Yet when he turns to face Mace Windu he's utterly crushed. Mace Windu makes one gesture and Grievous is very nearly killed. It's made obvious that if Windu and Grievous actually engaged in a fight that Grievous would lose. Why?

Because of the awesome power of the Force.

Same with Durge.

Obi-Wan and Durge have this awesome medieval style fight that ends with Obi-Wan blowing him up from the inside out. Why?

Because of the awesome power of the Force.

We learn that the Jedi don't have to rely on their lightsabers for battle. They also have this supernatural ability that allows them to beat their opponents...and they aren't afraid to use it.

Meanwhile, in TCW you have a fourteen year old apprentice able to hold her own against Grievous in a lightsaber battle....I'm sorry...what? That doesn't make any sense at all.

Then you have the clones. I don't know about you but I really loved the fight sequences with the Clones in the micro-series. They're these awesome commandos that kick ass and take names. They operated like real Navy Seals and when you see them in action they don't feel like clones. It's pretty awesome.

The Jedi

Now...this is where both series might be even. They both focus on the other Jedi but you really don't get many pet characters in the Micro-Series. Each Jedi is in their own element and they're all pretty awesome.

I'd just like to take a moment to pimp out my favorite Jedi of all time....The Wolfman. I'm sure all of you know who I'm talking about. He's a brilliant reference to the OT and he's on screen because of a contest that fans of the show participated in. That's pretty awesome.

Continuity

If one thing can be said about the micro-series it's that it respected the EU. The cartoon could have easily existed in the same continuity as the books, comic books and the movies.

The same cannot be said about the Clone Wars.

For one thing...Bariss Offee....that never made sense to me. Not just because it didn't make any sense in the television show...but also because during the Clone Wars she was a medic. Does anyone remember the MedBay series? A duology (or trilogy?) that has the Clone Wars beat by about five years?

Because I certainly do and apparently Filoni doesn't.

Also Ahsoka Tano.......honestly it makes no sense for Anakin Skywalker to have a padawan during the Clone Wars.

She was never mentioned during RoTS....nor does Anakin act like he ever had a padawan. If you're going to create a series that takes place between two movies at least make sure they match up!

Logically, if Anakin had a padawan during the Clone Wars he'd be a very different man in RoTS. If Ahsoka had died than he definitely would have been moodier and far more grim. If she had lived than Anakin would still be training her and I highly doubt that he would have fallen to the dark side if Ahsoka was around during that time. Why give Anakin a padwan? It only takes away from his friendship with Obi-Wan....which should take priority over everything else. The PT did a poor job of expanding on Anakin and Obi-Wan's friendship so the burden of proof lies on the The Clone Wars. Giving Anakin a padwan only takes away from that.


The Dark Horse comics were awesome because they shed light on the darker aspects of the Clone Wars. They were made for a slightly older target audience and we got to see sides of the war that the micro-series didn't show us. We got to see more of the CIS, more of Dooku and more of the Jedi. We got an awesome story about Quinlan Vos and Tholme. We learned more about Obi-Wan and Ventress. What many people seem to forget is that the micro-series was apart of a multimedia project that encompassed the comic books and the EU novels. That was a novel idea in my opinion because you can't focus on everything all at once. You can only get so much out of one entertainment medium.

So instead of trying to jam politics, story, romance and mythology all into the micro-series they spread it out evenly.

The Dark Horse comics expanded on Anakin and Obi-Wan's friendship but it also told the tales of other Jedi. Yoda: Dark Rendezvous gave us a more detailed story about Count Dooku and Yoda. The Micro-Series acted as a perfect lead-in for the RoTS. Each of these forms of story-telling were marketed towards a different audience but it wasn't inaccessible. I was about ten when the micro-series came out but I also enjoyed the Dark Horse comics' series. Yeah, it was a little too grim and dark but I understood it and I enjoyed it. I was also able to read the Medbay series. I wasn't able to grasp the entire concept of the books but I enjoyed them well enough.

Instead TCW crammed all that it could into the television show...yeah there were some novels but they were all the same and they all felt like they were about the same old characters with the same old stories.


In conclusion...I think the micro-series is far better.

 

Only in YOUR mind my very young apprentice.

 

Wrong

 

Well, those two replies were.. severely lame.

 

That was an intentionally dismissive response to windu4's condescending post, I'm very open to other people's opinions but I'm not a fan when a person thinks that their point of view is more important than anyone elses.

While I actually agreed with some of the points windu4 made in his post, it was his superior attitude that I had a problem with and this resulted in my severely lame post.

 

Leland Chee ?@HolocronKeeper 17 Nov
@DugBehindObiWan Currently, the only T-canon sources are The Clone Wars series from Lucasfilm Animation and the upcoming Rebels series.
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I can't help but have a superior attitude when I know I'm right.

 

Great post windu4!

 

Thanks!

 

windu4: I share your love and enthusiasm of the micro-series. I faithfully watched the 5 minute episodes of season one and the subsequent episodes of season 2 as they aired. I bought both CW Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 the days they were released. The only thing I disagree with about your post is your argument about TCW being cancelled and failing to finish up story lines when stating the micro-series' superiority. While it is true the show was cancelled and story lines went unfinished, you fail to mention the probability that it was a result of the Disney acquisition. I strongly believe if TCW had been airing on a Disney controlled entity at the time of the acquisition we would still be seeing it and storylines would be being completed.

 

Well, that hardly comes off in a post that quotes someone saying "I think it was better" and your response is "Only in your mind, young Padawan." But OK.

Let's take it easy, guys.

 

I only quoted the end of his post because of the length of it, but when I take the time to explain myself to you, you do the exact same and you only use the end of my reply to you to suit your argument while omitting the part where I actually explained why I originally posted that quote:

I used the "only in your mind, young Padawan" quote to parallel the humour of Obi-wan's attitude to Anakin acting like he knew everything. Obviously using one of the smilies at the end of the quote failed to show that while I found windu4's tone condescending, I wasn't going to hold it against him in the future.

 

Okay, after derailing this thread for long enough here's some fuel to add to the VS. fire:

 

I don't see a difference, or how I'm "suiting my argument". Both times you were saying the same thing (you didn't like their attitude). That quote was your explanation summed up, so that's why I used it.

And micro-Mace is still more believable than Ahsoka. :b

 

I don't get too into the whole canon issue, but I thought the general rule was "anything on screen is canon". But then I guess video games would count..

The irony isn't even funny..