Clone Wars: Season 1

In 2008, the Star Wars franchise entered new territory with its first-ever (standard-length) TV series, The Clone Wars.  A completely CG endeavor, a movie was released that summer (also called The Clone Wars) that set up the story.  Set during the three years between Episodes II and III, the film featured well-known characters (Anakin Skywalker & Obi-Wan Kenobi are the two mainstays) and introduced Anakin's padawan, Ahsoka Tano.  The Clone Wars Season 1 picks up where the movie left off, with the Republic battling the Separatists on many fronts for the control of the galaxy.

Each episode follows a familiar pattern, scaled down from the movies- the logo appears and fades into the star field, with a short message introducing the theme of the specific show.  Then, it cuts right to the chase.  The episodes aren't necessarily sequential (unless they're part of multiple-episode story arcs), and have no discernible pattern or direction- one week, they're fighting to control planet X; the next, they're doing something completely different in another part of the galaxy.  Anakin, Ahsoka and Obi-Wan are in almost every episode, with other Jedi or well-known characters making occasional appearances.  Clones, of course, feature heavily, and most episodes have a fair amount of battle scenes between them and the droids of the Separatists (who often feature as comic relief).  The locales change often and can be quite exotic, but the basic formula is the same.

So, how is it?  It's okay.  The CG is fine (I especially enjoy the space battles), there's not much depth (is there ever in Star Wars?), and the stories/dialogue are average to poor.  It's sometimes hard to determine the intended audience for the show- some scenes feature semi-intense battle sequences or mild cussing (unusual for Star Wars in any medium), yet some dialogue and episodes are clearly intended for juveniles (or, were written by juveniles).  I'd rather watch some of these than Episode I, so that's saying something, but the first season overall wasn't quite what it could be.  The next seasons, I'm told, get better.  Season 1, though, is average at best.

Rating: C+