"You underestimate the power of the dark side."--Darth Vader, Return of the Jedi. Oh, yeah, like you didn't know that already...

I normally don't double blog in one day--the last thing I want is to draw attention away from the already embarrassingly low ratings for the floundering Food Wars comedy. But I realized I just had to blog about the first two episodes of Star Wars: The Clone Wars.

In some circles, if something was really good, the term used to describe it used to be "like that". So, it's safe to say, from my point of view, that the first two episodes were LIIIIIIIKE THAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!!!!!!!!!!!

That having been said, I shall continue with a sane review. The Yoda episode was undeniably my favorite. Seeing not just Yoda's skill with the Force but his ability to lead men was a special moment. The droids yet again had some great, great humorous moments. I am really truly amazed at how brilliant this episode was. I think the naysayers really needed to watch that episode to appreciate that The Clone Wars deserves to be taken seriously as a series. I, of course, knew from the movie that this was a series that would only get better with time. This episode definitely proved me right. You're free to disagree, just...hopefully not on my blog. Unless it's done respectfully.

Anyway, of course, the episode with Anakin and Ahsoka rescuing Plo Koon was another great episode. I never cease to be amused at Anakin Skywalker himself acting so much like Obi-Wan! At the same time, there's this great dynamic between them. Anakin sort of seems like the parent we wish we had--the one who will pretend to be serious in front of the other parent, then secretly feed you candy and let you play hooky to go see Star Wars or something. Not that I honestly wish for that sort of parent, mind you. Just...hypothetically speaking. But there's a certain fascination with these stories. It's interesting to see that apparently, the ion cannon was a consequence of the Clone Wars. I always assumed it already existed in the Old Republic days. Or perhaps it's not that the ion cannon is new, but rather, that no ion cannon had ever been built on that large a scale. There's a certain unsettling feeling you get while watching that escape pod get crushed and the clones floating off into space. I was thinking, wow, can they get away with that on this show? Apparently so.

But I'm very much looking forward to the next episode. Seeing a bona fide space battle again will be lovely, indeed. And it was nice to hear General Grievous' real voice again. Nobody does it like Matthew Wood. That is him, right?

Anyway, I've been listening to the soundtrack, too, and at first I thought it was generic and uninventive. But the more I listened to it (especially after having seen the film), the more creative I realized it really was. There's a lot going on there musically that is pretty unusual for a Star Wars film. I really miss the movie, though. I'm so disappointed in myself. I only saw it twice in theaters. Twice! This is a Star Wars film! Even if it stunk to high Coruscant, I'd still see it three times at least! But for me, it really didn't stink! I just haven't been resting properly these days, so I was too tired to go back to the theater.

But I realize now that Star Wars truly is back full force, having seen the show itself. I hope the haters were watching. And once they picked their collective jaws up off the floor, maybe they learned that Star Wars never lost its stride, after all.

I never got these folks who feel like this cartoon was all just some gimmick to make Lucas richer or something. My thought is, if you just don't like it, that's fine. But he, just like any other storyteller, has the right to tell his stories. So don't knock him for living his dreams, you know? Sure, we'd all love to have dreams that paid so well, but...what're ya gonna do? The essence of what Star Wars has always been about--a fun adventure story--is very much alive in The Clone Wars. So I hope all you true fans out there will keep tuning in to Cartoon Network every Friday to check it out.

May the Force be with us all.

Sincerely,
Chris2OneBee