Although I saw the original movie that kicked off this new version of the Star Wars universe, when the series proper began I didn’t have cable, even after I got cable the Cartoon Network hasn’t always come through, and all in all I’ve missed the entire first three seasons and only tuned in for the first time last night, to the third season finale. Part of it, of course, was that I was not expecting to be impressed. I’d heard mostly about continuity snarls(especially since now, in the grand tradition of M.A.S.H., the series is lasting longer than the war itself did!)
Indeed the script writing is a touch childish, not even in that it’s cheesy, exactly, but that it’s done with its young audience in mind, and occasionally that will make an adult viewer roll their eyes. Though on the other hand, much of the animation is gorgeous; especially at the beginning of this episode on Felucia(I’ve done some reading since, and gotten the impression they’ve spent quite some time on this planet). And I admit it, I squeed like a kid when Chewie appeared, even though I knew it raised general questions about the universe if he’d met Anakin(though the way the final scene played out, it’s possibly he merely didn’t catch the name of Ashoka’s master).
When I saw first Ashoka in the movie, I thought it priceless that Anakin had been landed with a padawan who was exactly like himself, though I could see the danger of lazy writing in the TV series doing her in. I am pleased to say that in the season finale, at least, the writers knew what they were doing; she comes off as admirable, imperfect, very capable, and all in all an appealing heroine who even seems to have an evolving story, though of course I’ll have to see some other episodes before I can be certain her development is consistent. I especially liked her interaction with Anakin in the end; the padawan is supposed to teach the master as well as the master the padawan, and her story developing Anakin as well was something the writers pulled off very well.
With the series apparently now going into summer reruns I hope to catch at least a few of them, but so far, I like it.
