December 8 2012

view: (720p)



"When all seems hopeless, a true hero gives hope."

Episode Guide: Secret Weapons

Director: Kyle Dunlevy
Writer: Brent Friedman

Synopsis: After a comet damages their shuttle, R2-D2, Colonel Gascon, and the other droids crash on a desolate planet where they must make their way across a bewildering expanse of emptiness to carry out their mission.

view: (480p)

Filler.

Yep. Filler with extra filling.

Hopefully the next bit of this arch will actually pertain to something in the overall Clone Wars series.
I did like the crop circle look of whatever that city was they found, though.

So many interesting stories to tell, and they waste time and animation on this...



Liked that as well. And the new ostrich-like creatures.

This one hit me where I live because I love stories set in the desert. I'm actually working on a project of my own that's very reminiscent of this.

And a nice tribute to the artist, Mœbius, who passed earlier this year. The combination of the shape of the "birds," the architecture of the crop circle city and the general simplicity of the environment is trademark Mœbius. I was really looking forward to this episode since it was first alluded to by Filoni.

Loved it when Gascon completely lost it. And the droid daisy chain earlier on?

so...............................

just watched for the second time, now I know I like it
even if Filoni warned, on 1st viewing i felt it was not what I had imagined, well sure it's intended to be unexpected... maybe also partly because I don't know much of Moebius art, maybe I should, maybe all the more as I'm french....

...anyway, 2nd viewing was great! It made me feel uneasy, it's certainly a point and they succeeded in creating that effect. I think it was cleverly written and thought.
To make something so experimental/abstract and at times quite sinister too, they really had to include it in a kid friendly arc with comedic aspects due to the nature of the show, makes great sense and great balance then.

they had guts again, a lot of guts to do this as they surely know lots of fans will be angry with it (had a quick look at Facebook cw page, one of the biggest trash out there for pop corn lightsabers only fans...), still they took the freedom to do it, and do it well. I feel this is Star Wars and part of Lucas cinema.... also the minimalism actually reminded me of anh and esb to some extend
nice touches and symbols like Gascon seeing himself in wac eye as a mirror among others.... the action will be coming with the 2 next episode to make the crowd pleasing clone wars balance, so I'm pretty sure I'll enjoy even a lot more these brilliant 20minutes as part of this 1h30 feature film.
And on this viewing I also realized that the classic style comets ride was a good 1/4 of the episode after all, that should have made pop corn fb fans happy lol

bold writing, visuals, sounds... good stuff! they are right to do this once in a while, we're getting to 100 episodes and it's not over, so there is a right time to spend on such things to spice it up differently!


one little detail I'm surprised I didn't read anywhere yet on reviews, is a kind of similarity between gascon and pong krell, relation with "inferior" droids/clones + even some common lines obviously intentional. One difference is that Gascon don't have the out of control power of Krell, and that's his chance to overcome and learn his lesson by living

of course a mention for R2, now really curious how the separatists will actually get in this void... rendez vous in 2013!

I, too, waited to comment until I saw it a second time. And I found I rather enjoyed it. It definitely is a change-of-pace episode but I think it works here because we were headed into a break anyway. As far as story, it didn't really advance our main heroes' plots at all but I found it to be much more interesting than any droid-centric episode we've seen thus far.

And, as always, I can't help but wonder at the advancement of the animation this team seems to put out every week. It just keeps getting better. I loved seeing the individual grains of sand as they fell to the ground, and the aforementioned reflection of Gascon. The first shot of the crashed starship on Abafar was stunningly beautiful. I couldn't help but think, "What a desolate place this is." I've had the pleasure of watching these episodes in 1080p via the [s]web-dl[/s] itunes format. If you haven't see it like this, I definitely recommend it.

Also, I loved the little easter-egg they plugged into the second crashed starship. The skeleton looks to be the same species as Jaxxon, everyone's favorite giant green rabbit.

That's how I see (and keep) them, at least until the DVD/Blu-ray is released.

First episode I was bored by all season.

I get that it was a change of pace, but it got incredibly old and annoying fast. Hearing the same dialogue said different ways for 20 minutes is just too much for me.

I suppose it's understandable that this was a divisive episode. Personally, I loved watching Gascon go through a mini existential crisis with the droids.

In the OS featurette, Brent Friedmen (the writer) does an excellent job of outlaying his intention for this episode and the arch. I wish that the Episode 7 team would talk to the Clone Wars writers. They've been working with George and meditating on the saga for years now.

I just watched this for the 2nd time. I usually catch these shows once on tv or online, then don't look at them again until I buy the Blu-Ray. But I do like this episode a lot more than I did 2 days ago.
Also, this featurette with the writer made me appreciate it more:

http://starwars.com/watch/a-sunny-day-i ... rette.html

It's like a Samuel Beckett play set in the Star Wars galaxy. Also, some shots remind me of the prison or asylum scene in THX-1138.
Vast, wide open, blank backgrounds that somehow make the inhabitants feel trapped.

That featurette made me appreciate the writer's effort and understand what George and Filoni were aiming for. It still isn't my cup of tea, though.

[flash width=560 height=315]http://www.youtube.com/v/uZ1S2TdtRHY?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0[/flash]

I'm intrigued.

EW has a well made compilation video about the series so far. It has just the right touch of Sir Alec and OT music.

Lucas has had a lot of time to mull over Ahsoka's fate. In turn, I'm expecting a thoughtful payoff to her story (whether it happens in the series or the next film trilogy).

I'm surprised that Vos was given a cameo in EW video. Maybe they're hinting at a second series appearance for him?

Also: Source



later says the end is the transition to Episode III.

Wasn't the transition to Episode III in the last episode of The Clone Wars short Cartoon Series??? When Grievous kidnaps Palpatine and Mace Windu fucks up his "ribcage???

I think the transition is: Episode II - CW Cartoon Season 1 - CW CGI - CW Cartoon Season 2 - Episode III

Tartakovsky's Clone Wars is basically ignored these days. Which is a shame because he maintained a higher quality of storytelling through to the end.

It was also in Labyrinth of Evil and in some other comic. Doesn't mean another, more official, version can't exist.