Club Jade

Obi-Wan and Anakin are still stuck on Lanteeb, a planet far in the Outer Rim and of seeming little consequence. The Lanteebans pose no apparent strategic value to the Republic or Separatists; it’s an attitude that grossly misjudges the efforts of captured scientist Bant’ena Fhernan. She’s been hired to construct a virus to end all viruses, a massive biological weapon that will sway the war in Dooku’s favor, but getting materials for it isn’t easy. The key ingredient, damotite, lays deep within the sinuous mines of Lanteeb and Separatist overseer Lok Durd rides the locals hard with threats of drastic food and water rationing if his unreasonable quota and timetable aren’t met.

Against all impossibilities, the Lanteeban’s work furiously every day, risking damotite poisoning to please Durd. When Anakin and Obi-Wan crash their vehicle and end up stranded in the mining city responsible for churning out the dangerous material, the two are welcomed only as long as the villagers don’t know they’re Jedi. Naturally, an invading droid army and a failing shield barrier that forces the pair to use the Force for self preservation were probably unavoidable inevitabilities. (more…)

Throughout this entire second season of The Clone Wars, I’ve only had one constant complaint: the portrayal of R2-D2.  Right from the start, R2 would just pop into stories for no reason, appearing out of nowhere whenever the heroes needed help.  And now we know the reason.  He’s Lassie!  That’s right, everyone’s favorite astromech – the droid with a mission, the original “size matters not,” the guy who repairs hyperdrives while swearing at C-3PO – is pretty much a collie with gadgets.  (Note to self: pitch “Gadget Collie” as a 6-episode limited series for the Disney Channel.) (more…)

When The Clone Wars started, who would have thought that it would become a non-stop homage to classic films?  This season has seen tributes to Notorious, The Longest Day, a couple of Kurosawas, Aliens, Agatha Christie mysteries, and I’m sure some others that I missed.  And of course, last week was all about Godzilla, and I fully expected this week’s installment to be more of the same (in a good way).  But Dave Filoni tipped his fedora to another movie monster instead — and unlike Peter Jackson, the Clone Wars crew did it right. (more…)

Did you notice that I added an exclamation point to the title?  That’s because ‘The Zillo Beast,’ while not perfect, is easy to get excited about.  It’s the first Clone Wars episode that I seriously wished I could see in a movie theater – and that’s including the theatrical pilot.  This is impressive, exciting, big-screen material, and if I was looking to get quoted, I’d call it “Monstrously Entertaining,” or “The Beast is Best,” or perhaps “A Smashingly Good Time!”  Thankfully, I’m above some trivialities. (more…)

Both Stooge and James have skipped out on us are on vacation, so this week our Clone Wars review is a guest post from The Broox. Enjoy! -D

‘Bounty Hunters’ takes the tried and true approach of opening the episode with our heroes bickering like an old married couple before quickly throwing them into danger.

Obi-Wan, Anakin and Ahsoka drop out of hyperspace above Felucia in order to investigate the disappearance of a medical station. Thanks to the omnipresent, propaganda style voice over the audience is aware that the dastardly Separatists have destroyed the station before our heroes’ arrival. Furthermore, the Separatists left some Vulture Droids behind to dispatch anyone who would come to investigate. (more…)

Every now and then, The Clone Wars throws me for a loop.  That happened a few times during this episode, starting with the setting.  We’re back on Christophsis, the abandoned warehouse planet, and apparently there are some civilians in trouble.  High above the planet, in outerrrrrrrrrr spaaaaaaaace, Anakin Skywalker leads a squadron trying to deliver humanitarian (alientarian?) aide.  Naturally, I figured that he was returning to the site of his great victory from the Clone Wars movie.  I figured wrong. (more…)

Luke and Ben seemed to have abandoned their mission to uncover the murky truth of Jacen’s turn to the Dark Side during the third FOTJ book, Abyss, when a weird new tribe of Sith caught their attention. In Backlash, the adventure continues.

Luke’s on the prowl, metaphorically sniffing out Vestara Kai like some crazy bad ass Jedi hunting dog. With his blood splattered on her person after a lightsaber battle that ended with the death of her Master, Vestara is unaware she’s even being tracked, but you can bet she’s looking for a place to hide. Ben, aware of his father’s exhaustion and despite Luke’s protests, elicits the help of the Jedi via an encrypted, sneaky, and very under-the-radar message intended to make absolutely clear it isn’t Luke who’s asking (which would violate the terms of his parole.) Eager to help and reminding us the “good thing about the Solos and Skywalkers” is they “never run out of things to do” (p. 6), Han and Leia pack Allana and her pet nexu aboard the Falcon and head to the place Luke and Ben guess is the most likely location Vestara would land: Dathomir. And here, ladies and gentlemen, is where the fun begins. What follows is a witty and wild adventure in which Daala realizes she’s in over her head, Han gets a flamethrower, and a nexu manages to elicit more pathos out of me than Allana ever will. (more…)

Love… exciting and new… or in the case of Obi-Wan Kenobi, repressed and a little scary.  The latest Clone Wars may have been pitched as Titanic in space, but it plays out a bit more like an episode of The Love Boat.  Old flames reignite, different plotlines intersect, and romance is simply assumed.  All that, plus a Special Guest Appearance by R2-D2 – right after these messages. (more…)

Ahsoka has finally come into her own.  Not as a Jedi, mind you – she actually seems to be getting less mature as time goes on, no doubt due to prolonged exposure to a Skywalker.  But in terms of her status as a character, ‘Lightsaber Lost’ marks a definite turning point: it’s the first episode where she’s really on her own, with the action following her the entire time and not cutting away to any of the “classic” movie characters.  Yes, Jocasta Nu puts in a cameo, but she’s hardly one of our regular heroes.  Anakin also makes an appeareance for the first minute or so, but after that, he ducks out for good.  But is it for good?  Ahsoka, without Anakin for support and/or moral confusion, turns out to be a mixed bag. (more…)

‘Brain Invaders.’  Just say it to yourself a few times.  Brain Invaders, Brain Invaders, Brain Invaders.  Those two words remind me of so much… arcade games, Star Trek II, dewy summer morns relaxing at Grandma’s farm.  Alas, the title is never seen on-screen, nor spoken within the episode.  Still, we have it here, on the internet, and in the future, on DVD menus.  It is enough. (more…)