Club Jade

For last week’s episode of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, it seems from the reader comments to our review that ‘The Mandalore Plot’ is really ‘We Demand-more Plot’ or more something. Here’s what other online reviewers have to say:

• The Star Wars Prequel Appreciation Society picks up on the Obi-wan/Satine rawr moments, and points out that Vizsla comes from the Cobra school of villainy.
• Television Zombies gives it 4 out of 5 sabers, liking sort of flirty Obi-wan, and makes a BSG reference but doesn’t acknowledge the EU revision.
• TheForce.net liked having all the new elements: new world, new conflict, new characters, and especially the dynamic between Satine and Obi-wan, but has some nitpicks about the Duchess, and discusses a lot of Mando continuity issues.
• MTV Movies Blog’s reviewer called it an “entertaining piece of fiction” that brought a smile to his face, even with the heavy changes to the EU.
• Dauntless Media gives it a B, liking the exceptional visuals, but feeling the plot a bit questionable and poorly paced.
• Big Shiny Robot liked it but found the ending lacking, and points out the EU shockwaves – prompting a reader to leave an rambling comment.
• Pendragon’s Post points out the coolness of seeing Mandos in action but also picks up on the racial disparity between the Fetts and the ‘Plot’ Mandos.

We’ll see how Obi-wan and the woman he once loved fare in the continuing storyline, in tonight’s ‘Voyage of Temptation,’ when Anakin learns that his mentor has a love life. On the official site, series writer Henry Gilroy looks at Obi-Wan, Satine, Jedi romance, and differing ideals. Meanwhile, Dave Filoni talks to the Insider about bringing in the Mandalorians. Seriously, shouldn’t ‘Voyage of Temptation’ that be the title of a FOX or VH1 reality show on a cruise ship?

Two of the most anticipated/controversial aspects of the second season begin tonight, bringing along some star power… And a few Moulin Rogue jokes.

Pictures! We’re not exactly big gamers ’round these parts, but the Star Wars Galaxies Trading Card Game is noteworthy for providing us with new Expanded Universe art, and The Nightsister’s Revenge expansion is no exception.

Comics: StarWars.com has Dark Horse’s spring 2010 solicitations. Don’t get too excited, though: There are only two things on there. But they are both Legacy. Could the rest of spring be under wraps? In the more immediate future, previews for Legacy #43 and Knights of the Old Republic #48.

The blogside. Drew Karpyshyn explains (Spoilers!) the end of Dynasty of Evil, while Dan Wallace talks about some of his work on George Lucas’ Blockbusting.

Pining for the fjords. A summary for Karen Traviss’ second Imperial Commando novel -Remember? The one that’s pretty much cancelled? – has appeared on Amazon.co.uk. You live the dream, Amazon. (via)

Barriss Offee (voiced by Meredith Salenger,) joins the cast for ‘Weapons Factory.’

Comics of an upcoming nature. StarWars.com has Dark Horse’s February 2010 solicitations, including the final issue of Knights of the Old Republic. People also seen to be awfully excited about seeing The Old Republic webcomic in print, but let’s not forget Legacy #45, the Dark Times: Blue Harvest TPB, and a Boba Fett omnibus. Okay, feel free to forget that last one. (I kid. Maybe.) Want a taste of something coming out a little sooner? Darkhorse.com has previews for Knights of the Old Republic #47 and Legacy #42.

Street date shuffle. SWBooks.co.uk spotted that April 13, 2010 is the new date for Fate of the Jedi: Backlash. That’s just a little under a month from the last date of March 9th.

The blogside. Drew Karpyshyn blogs to remind us that Dynasty of Evil is out next month… And tease The Old Republic. Meanwhile, Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff has what goes on in a writer’s head, the casting call, and when characters fall in love.

Interviews. NJOE went round robin with Death Troopers author Joe Schreiber.

Embrace the pain. Inspired by the latest in transparent rumor-mongering, Cracked puts their well-worn Wookieepedia bookmark to use to come up with five reasons the Star Wars sequels would be worse than the prequels. As an EU fan, I say… Well, yeah. It’s easy to be hard on the prequels, but we can’t deny that the post-ROTJ EU is at least equally screwed up. (I for one have no problem admitting the EU is probably worse. One word, kids: Volume. Also, [insert your least favorite author/book here.])

Not that I would expect George to actually use the existing EU for much besides a few spare parts if he ever did decide to make a sequel trilogy. But various statements he’s made over the last few years show he really doesn’t see much in the sequel era – Han Solo and the Backyard Barbecue much?

Postponed. The Complete Vader will be getting a new release date due to printing issues. It was supposed to be out on Tuesday, but better a nice, carefully reconstructed book than a complete crispy mess completely encased in plastic, right?

The blogside. Mike Stackpole on assumption that authors are their characters.

From the horse’s mouth. A speculative TFN thread prompts John Ostrander to make a preemptive strike and announce that Legacy will not be following in the footsteps of Knights of the Old Republic and ending with issue #50.

Also in comics: Previews for Legacy #41, Invasion #5, The Clone Wars #10 and the one-shot Purge: Seconds to Die.

I’m sure those crazy kids will make it work! (Seriously, how does that place not amplify sound like crazy?) In any case, it’s time to preview Friday’s ‘Senate Spy.’ And yes, there’s another clip:

(via)

The episode guide teaser page for this week’s The Clone Wars episode: ‘Senate Spy’ is up. Is there a Separatist conspiracy in the Senate? Padmé, at the request of the Jedi Council, goes undercover to find out.

Also, the next act of the ongoing The Clone Wars webcomic “Act on Instinct” is up. Cad Bane and Aurra Sing capture a Jedi seer.

CartoonNetwork.com launches a new The Clone Wars game online, Star Wars: The Clone Wars Game Creator as part of their overall site re-design, allowing players to customize their own game levels and pick a character and ship to use in them, and have other players rate it. Read more about it at starwars.com or just go ahead and play it online.

A clone-centric bit from tonight’s episode. And on that note, the ForceCast has posted their Clone Wars Roundtable for ‘Holocron Heist’ and ‘Cargo of Doom.’

The first two are straight-up clips, quality time with Jocasta Nu and another Bane bit. (Is there any part of the premiere that we haven’t seen a bit of yet?) The third is a peek at the animation with Dee Bradley Baker, Matt Lanter, Catherine Taber and Dave Filoni.