Thursday, January 20, 2011

Prequels Past In Present...




A character from the very first, and very worst prequel returns to the Star Wars Universe...

This week on the Cartoon Network, the Clone Wars has two episodes featuring Qui-Gon Jinn in Obi-Wan Kenobi-like afterlife appearance. Now, while I loath most of Episode I, Liam Neeson as the mystical and wise Jedi was one of the bright and underused parts of the film. Entertainment Weekly has the scoop as well as a nice CG clip showing the animated Jedi Jinn.

While the episodes of this series has been uneven, the majority of them have been far more entertaining and watchable than the first and second prequels (as well as bits of EP III). I think the further they get away from the prequels and the more Lucas lets others take control of this property, the better.

Now, if he'll just let go of Lucasfilm and let someone else take over...

17 comments:

Darrell said...

I haven't even watched that many Clone Wars episodes. I watched the 1st episode, "Ambush," and loved it for its hilarity. Then I watched the next 2 episodes and pretty much gave up after that. I still watch it from time to time, but I just don't like it much. The only thing I actually like a lot are the battle droids, which I enjoy because they're so stupid and when they're about to die, their dying comments just make their impending doom funny. ("Uh-oh." "Roger, roger." BOOM)

The Phantom Menace was alright... but the only parts I really liked were the race against Sebulba and, of course, the duel of the fates... the latter of those was classic.

Unfortunately, he probably won't let go of Lucasfilm until he retires... and he probably won't retire until he's done his Star Wars remakes, even if he's 150 by that time... :)

Darth Bastard said...

I knew we couldn't get too far into 2011 without an obligatory Star Wars post from Honor.

Honor Hunter said...

Hey, George/Star Wars keeps making news and I keep reporting it...

Darth Bastard said...

Well crazy old George says the world is going to end in 2012 so there won't be any more news to report.

Doopey said...

Honor,
I think Ep III is just as bad, if not worse, than the other prequels. Each time I watch it I think it actually gets worse. But I agree that I've enjoyed the Clone Wars much more overall. Too bad that show isn't on DisneyXD or Disney Channel.

Anonymous said...

The Phantom Menace is awesome. Attack of the Clones is bad. Revenge of the Sith is good.

Darrell said...

Episode III was pretty good actually at times, although kind of violent. When Anakin wasn't getting his limbs ripped off, I thoroughly enjoyed the duel between him and Obi-Wan.

And, Darth Bastard (and all you other Lucas dislikers), why don't you shut up? Honor likes George Lucas (or at least his older stuff) so he reports on it. This is not meant to be nothing but a blog about the going-ons at Disney, you know. I don't mind Honor's rants about things like this.

Anonymous said...

Clone Wars has been getting progressively awesomer since the first episode, and with far fewer quality drops then it had in the first and second season. The way Lucas has been bringing in a lot of SW canon (it was his idea for Boba to return, the Mandalorians, the Nightsisters, and initially wanted Maul himself back) I almost feel as though he wants to redo the movies as TV shows... which considering how good Clone Wars is isn't all bad (I still want a Heir To The Empire/KOTOR mini-series whenever Clone Wars is over).

I read the 2012 thing about him. I don't think he's that serious, if he was he probably wouldn't have announced the 3-D conversions would take place with only one movie coming out before the end. or he'd have started with Hope instead of Menace. Then again if he really wanted to give one last gift to the fanbase he'd secretly be making a 'Han and Chewie fly around the galaxy being awesome for 22 minutes' series to premiere before we explode. And to pander they'd be joined by HK-47... and it would be glorious.

Actually screw it, I just want an KH-47 sitcom.

Kevin S. Willis said...

Honor, what do you think about Disney restricting the Walk Around characters?

http://www.mouseplanet.com/9510/Collared

If true, that sounds like all kind of awful to me.

Cory Gross said...

Hey, Mr. Plinkett just released his review of why Star Wars Ep. III is bad. It's a pretty good post-mortem on what was wrong with the entire trilogy, with the added bonus of reinvigorating an appreciation of why the original trilogy was so good. Plus, I'll never be able to look at a scene of people sitting on a couch and talking without chuckling now.

Anonymous said...

Lucas should just sell his business to Disney? And Disney will do a better job with it? Are you sure about that? Yeesh. Your blind faith is amazing. Just because it's Disney doesn't meaLucas should just sell his business to Disney? And Disney will do a better job with it? Are you sure about that? Yeesh. Your blind faith is amazing. Just because it's Disney doesn't mean it will be good. n it will be good.

Honor Hunter said...

"Lucas should just sell his business to Disney? And Disney will do a better job with it? Are you sure about that? Yeesh."

Using Yeesh so much is a sign of weakness...

"Are you sure about that?"

Yeah, I am. I trust them far more than I would Lucas. Let's see, they've got a new series/movie planned and they ask John Lasseter for his opinion OR they ask George what he thinks? I'll take column A, thank you.

"Just because it's Disney doesn't mean it will be good."

After the prequels and Crystal Skull, I'm willing to gamble on it...

Anonymous said...

We'll never see another Star Wars movie in our lifetimes because it looks like Katie Lucas has a love for Star Wars, she probably will respect her fathers wishes to not make another Star Wars movie.

Darth Bastard said...

Worse. Katie will let Episodes 7,8,9 happen to cash in on her inheiritance and further sully the Star Wars franchise past the point of embarrassment.

Darth Brooks said...

Hey, Katie is a hell of a better writer than George. Have you seen the episodes she's written? As for Lucas selling the franchise? I think Disney has the best chance of getting it. They're already a major influence in the parks and most kids identify them with the company.

Darth Bastard said...

I don't watch Clone Bores. That show is juvenile tripe even worse than the prequels.

Anonymous said...

For all of you that think that Disney and Lucasfilm are such a natural fit, remember this: Clone Wars airs on Cartoon Network, a TimeWarner company. It COULD have been on Disney Channel or DisneyXD. It would have been a PERFECT fit for launching DisneyXD and would have strengthened the ties between the two brands. But either Lucas didn't want Disney or Disney didn't want Lucas.

When Indy 4 came out in 2008, it would have been an ideal opportunity to launch a new attraction at one of the parks. But nothing. And I hope Star Tours 2.0 is awesome, I really do, but it's just a 3D upgrade of a 20-yr-old attraction. It's the very least they could do.

There are so many possibilities for adding Lucasfilm content to the parks, especially DHS, but it hasn't happened. And some of it is pretty low-hanging fruit. Why not develop an ILM/Skywalker Sound-themed show to replace "Sounds Dangerous"? How about adding a classic Star Wars scene to the Great Movie Ride? I just don't see the desire from either side to do more than what's already in place.