Why "Clone Wars" is good for Star Wars

First rule of a good blog post about Star Wars:  never, ever start with "A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away..."  Instead, start with something that all the Jedi, Sith and scoundrels out there want to talk or rant about.

Like why a 30-minute animated series may be the best thing to happen to Star Wars since the double-bladed lightsaber.

My first encounter with Star Wars began when I was six years old; it was 1989, and all three movies were making the rounds on television.  I sat transfixed as space ships, lasers and lightsabers filled our living room, and I was introduced to the Force.  I grew to understand loss and heartbreak Luke lost his hand, and Yoda faded away.  Darth Vader terrorized me with every rattling breath and stalking step, but in the end I saw that everyone can find redemption, if they're willing to throw everything they have away to get it.

And 10 years later, the Phantom Menace kicked me in the gut, took everything I loved about Star Wars like it was so much lunch money, and chucked it out an airlock.

In the years since, I watched Star Wars lurch and stumble its way toward its destiny; Luke and Leia were born, Anakin fell along with the Republic, and the Jedi left the stage to make way for Palpatine and his Empire.  It all happened with such precision and relentlessness that at times, I just couldn't wait for them to get it over with so we could put that era behind us, and be done with it.

So why, then, do I find myself with a DVR-full of Clone Wars episodes that I've not only watched, but found myself re-watching?



Genndy Tartakovsky, he of Samurai Jack fame, started the healing process with his animated version of Clone Wars in 2003.  Done in the same old-school fashion as Jack and the Powerpuff Girls, GT took the conflict presented at the end of Episode II and started fleshing it out, using the micro-series to introduce new villains and making the war actually feel... well, like a war.

After Episode III was released, the Clone Wars made their return; Tartakovsky's well-known animations were replaced by CG, and the story was brought down from the high drama to a more episodic, "kid-friendlier" setup.  After skipping the first season, I started tuning back in during the Rise of the Bounty Hunters, and in between jokes about Cad Bane's horrible plans and fantastic hat, I found myself having more fun watching Star Wars than I'd had in a long time.

I'm on Episode 35 now, and while it's not the second coming of Star Wars, the shows are still fun and engaging.  There's just enough plot to keep the story going without getting in its way, and the animators certainly look like they know their way around a lightsaber fight.  And with each episode, the gap between Episodes II and III starts to feel a bit more believable, the pieces a little less bludgeoned into place, and that gaping wound in my fandom feels a bit closer to being healed.