REVIEW: The Clone Wars TV series from 2008: surprisingly well done

I avoided this for a long time, but recently after hearing it was going to be part of the new set-in-stone canon, and hungry for more Star wars, I set out to watch it as well as the 2003 series.

I’ve just gotten to season 2, and without providing any spoilers, some of the stories were so good, I decided to create this thread.

First of all, an interesting thing is that even though the 2003 series is not part of the new canon, the 2008 series is clearly based on it and a direct continuation of it.

One thing that stands out to me is that the facial expressions in the animation are frequently impressive in their subtlety and range. There are times as I watch it that I am taken off guard by how well a scene was played by expressions alone.

There are a lot of annoyances in the series, I won’t pretend otherwise. Jar Jar occasionally appears, and is as stupid as ever. The battle droids are still stupid (though sometimes genuinely funny). Characters use nicknames for one another that are cringeworthy and furthermore don’t really seem like they fit in a Star Wars context. And I’ve taken to calling Anakin Skywalker “American Skywalker” for the fact that despite his crass immaturity and blatant lack of respect for anyone or anything, everyone not only tolerates him, but celebrates him - honestly I don’t know how he was granted knighthood. He behaves less like a Jedi than any other Jedi onscreen, in any adaptation.

But Obi-Wan is very well represented, clearly based on Ewan MacGregor’s portrayal. Yoda is also done well, and evocative, and Mace Windu gets convincing treatment as well.

The episodes tend to move at a breakneck pace and focus mostly on battles, so this is a war drama primarily. But the main thing that I find worthy of investment and praise is the subplots and the characterizations, each of which feature a surprising degree of craft and thoughtfulness.

There have been several times I liked the stories well enough (particularly the Mandaloran arc in season 2) that I found myself wishing it had found form as a live action film. In other words, while a lot of the series is merely good by children’s animation standards, some of it (a lot of it actually) surpasses the best elements of the PT.

Anyway - for those of you who were avoiding it like I was, maybe give it a try.

There are also a few edits of the series on IFDb for anyone interested.

http://www.fanedit.org/ifdb/jreviews/search-results?order=alpha&scope=title&query=exact&keywords=Clone+Wars

I’ve been interested in Q2’s, I wish they would continue the series. Smudger9’s seem to cut a lot of things out that I liked, for instance the Zillo Beast, whose storyline had some real flaws, but the beast itself was incredible. And the aforementioned Mandalore arc isn’t in it either.

suspiciouscoffee said:

I call it the “PT Patch Update.”

Apt.

pat man said:

Here is a chronological list of episodes/ movie to watch from the 2008 Clone Wars. http://www.starwars.com/news/star-wars-the-clone-wars-chronological-episodeorder

THAT is confusing. I had no idea they were aired out of order. Was this a Disney retcon, or what how where? Someone please explain.

Oh and thanks for the link!

cyclista said:

I’ve been interested in Q2’s, I wish they would continue the series. Smudger9’s seem to cut a lot of things out that I liked, for instance the Zillo Beast, whose storyline had some real flaws, but the beast itself was incredible. And the aforementioned Mandalore arc isn’t in it either.

suspiciouscoffee said:

I call it the “PT Patch Update.”

Apt.

pat man said:

Here is a chronological list of episodes/ movie to watch from the 2008 Clone Wars. http://www.starwars.com/news/star-wars-the-clone-wars-chronological-episodeorder

THAT is confusing. I had no idea they were aired out of order. Was this a Disney retcon, or what how where? Someone please explain.

Oh and thanks for the link!

Just a case of the show occasionally going into anachronic order. The third season of the show was promoted under the title “Secrets Revealed” and half of it was dedicated to expanding on stories from the previous two seasons.

Has anyone ever watched this and skipped the movie altogether? I have this sitting in my Netflix queue but I’ve been hesitant to start.

moviefreakedmind said:

I saw the movie way back when it came out on DVD; I think I got it from the library, but I do not remember a single thing about it.

There’s really nothing memorable about it aside from ‘it took place during the clone wars’.

There’s no reason to watch the show and not watch the movie (unless you’re skipping ahead to later seasons). The movie is basically the first four episodes edited together (and if you want to watch them, the only way to do so is the movie). Quality wise it is on par with the rest of the first season.

Please delete.

I highly recommend for everyone to watch THE CLONE WARS in the Chronological Episodic Order, NOT Broadcast Order! I’ve watched all the episodes and film,. in 1080p using the Season Blu-rays, using this guide but I haven’t started the “Legacy” stuff yet.

Remember both THE CLONE WARS (CGI) and REBELS are 110% CANON! Clone Wars isn’t!

Here’s a cheat-sheet guide:

Air # Title
1 216 Cat and Mouse
2 116 Hidden Enemy
T The Clone Wars theatrical release
3 301 Clone Cadets
4 303 Supply Lines
5 101 Ambush
6 102 Rising Malevolence
7 103 Shadow of Malevolence
8 104 Destroy Malevolence
9 105 Rookies
10 106 Downfall of a Droid
11 107 Duel of the Droids
12 108 Bombad Jedi
13 109 Cloak of Darkness
14 110 Lair of Grievous
15 111 Dooku Captured
16 112 The Gungan General
17 113 Jedi Crash
18 114 Defenders of Peace
19 115 Trespass
20 117 Blue Shadow Virus
21 118 Mystery of a Thousand Moons
22 119 Storm over Ryloth
23 120 Innocents of Ryloth
24 121 Liberty on Ryloth
25 201 Holocron Heist
26 202 Cargo of Doom
27 203 Children of the Force
28 217 Bounty Hunters
29 218 The Zillo Beast
30 219 The Zillo Beast Strikes Back
31 204 Senate Spy
32 205 Landing at Point Rain
33 206 Weapons Factory
34 207 Legacy of Terror
35 208 Brain Invaders
36 209 Grievous Intrigue
37 210 The Deserter
38 211 Lightsaber Lost
39 212 The Mandalore Plot
40 213 Voyage of Temptation
41 214 Duchess of Mandalore
42 220 Death Trap
43 221 R2 Come Home
44 222 Lethal Trackdown
45 305 Corruption
46 306 The Academy
47 307 Assassin
48 302 ARC Troopers
49 304 Sphere of Influence
50 308 Evil Plans
51 122 Hostage Crisis
52 309 Hunt for Ziro
53 310 Heroes on Both Side
54 311 Pursuit of Peace
55 215 Senate Murders
56 312 Nightsisters
57 313 Monster
58 314 Witches of the Mist
59 315 Overlords
60 316 Altar of Mortis
61 317 Ghosts of Mortis
62 318 The Citadel
63 319 Counter Attack
64 320 Citadel Rescue
65 321 Padawan Lost
66 322 Wookiee Hunt
67 401 Water War
68 402 Gungan Attack
69 403 Prisoners
70 404 Shadow Warrior
71 405 Mercy Mission
72 406 Nomad Droids
73 407 Darkness on Umbara
74 408 The General
75 409 Plan of Dissent
76 410 Carnage of Krell
77 411 Kidnapped
78 412 Slaves of the Republic
79 413 Escape from Kadavo
80 414 A Friend In Need
81 415 Deception
82 416 Friends and Enemies
83 417 The Box
84 418 Crisis on Naboo
85 419 Massacre
86 420 Bounty
87 421 Brothers
88 422 Revenge
89 502 A War on Two Fronts
90 503 Front Runners
91 504 The Soft War
92 505 Tipping Points
93 506 The Gathering
94 507 A Test of Strength
95 508 Bound for Rescue
96 509 A Necessary Bond
97 510 Secret Weapons
98 511 A Sunny Day in the Void
99 512 Missing in Action
100 513 Point of No Return
101 501 Revival
102 514 Eminence
103 515 Shades of Reason
104 516 The Lawless
105 517 Sabotage
106 518 The Jedi Who Knew Too Much
107 519 To Catch a Jedi
108 520 The Wrong Jedi
109 601 The Unknown
110 602 Conspiracy
111 603 Fugitive
112 604 Orders
113 605 An Old Friend
114 606 The Rise of Clovis
115 607 Crisis at the Heart
116 608 The Disappeared
117 609 The Disappeared: Pt. II
118 610 The Lost One
119 611 Voices
120 612 Destiny
121 613 Sacrifice

    Crystal Crisis on Utapau Story Reels

122 A Death on Utapau
123 In Search of the Crystal
124 Crystal Crisis
125 The Big Bang

    The Bad Batch Story Reels

126 The Bad Batch
127 A Distant Echo
128 On the Wings of Keeradaks
129 Unfinished Business

    Dark Disciple Novel

130 Lethal Alliance
131 The Mission
132 Conspirators
133 Dark Disciple

    Son of Dathomir Comic Series

134 The Enemy of My Enemy
135 A Tale of Two Apprentices
136 Proxy War
137 Showdown on Dathomir

    Dark Disciple Novel

138 Saving Vos Part 1
139 Saving Vos Part 2
140 Traitor
141 The Path

Wait so the old Clone Wars cartoon isn’t suddenly canon? Why? Source ? To be honest I enjoyed it much more than the CGI show and the prequels. It works perfectly as an intro to Episode 3.

“On April 25, 2014, Lucasfilm officially revised and solidified the canon, stating that all previously released Expanded Universe works would be re-branded under the new Star Wars Legends banner, in order to ensure a flowing timeline with the release of the Star Wars sequel trilogy. They also announced that future Star Wars stories will be considered on equal canon level with the films, with guidance coming from the Star Wars story group.”

“The Legendary Star Wars Expanded Universe Turns a New Page”. StarWars.com. 2014-04-25. Retrieved 2014-07-31.

Who cares? Canon is what you say it is, not what a corporation says it is.

Tobar said:

My two cents:

1. DO NOT watch the movie. It is just plain AWFUL. The only thing you miss is the introduction of Ahsoka and that’s really not worth the rest of the hour and 36 minutes of pure sewage. And this is coming from a fan of the Holiday Special!

2. I wouldn’t recommend the chronological order for anyone as their first run through of the series. Each season has its own momentum and progressively gets better and better with each.

I watched it in chronological order the very first time and I heavily enjoyed it. Even more-so compared to REBELS. Especially since it’s in 2.4:1 scope and not 1.78:1. Also because of the over-arcing stories too.

RayRogers said:

Remember both THE CLONE WARS (CGI) and REBELS are 110% CANON! Clone Wars isn’t!

So they’re more than canon? How does that even work?

Well, there’s a difference between choosing to ignore animated spin-offs and ignoring one or more of the seven movies…especially in a thread where you are tasked with ranking the movies.

I ignore everything I hate/am indifferent to while simultaneously recognizing their existence.

It’s paradoxical, but it works.

FigmentJedi said:

Just a case of the show occasionally going into anachronic order. The third season of the show was promoted under the title “Secrets Revealed” and half of it was dedicated to expanding on stories from the previous two seasons.

Thanks. I tend to appreciate achronal storytelling, so that works for me. Although I do wish it was clearer in the presentation somehow.

RayRogers said:

Remember both THE CLONE WARS (CGI) and REBELS are 110% CANON! Clone Wars isn’t!

Please read the thread at least a little before posting. Every bit of what you posted, except for your recommendation and details about what you personally have seen (and in what format), has already been posted. This thread only had eleven posts!

pittrek said:

Wait so the old Clone Wars cartoon isn’t suddenly canon? Why? Source ?

I wonder why as well, probably licensing? Or maybe there is some specific element that contradicts what the Story Group wants to do. Curious about all of these things, because it really does fit perfectly into the 2008 series. The source of Greivous’ cough was introduced there!

Although there is that ridiculous scene where someone rides a speeder bike up the side of a skyscraper all the way to the top. Could have done without that. The animation style was also iffy, it was like Star Wars characters thrust into the Ren+Stimpy universe >_<

As for sources, here is the Wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars_canon#Post-2014

and here is slightly more background: http://www.starwars.com/news/the-legendary-star-wars-expanded-universe-turns-a-new-page

Something interesting here is that since both the cel and CG (2003 and 2008) Clone Wars Series have more or less the same name, there may be some confusion, because after rereading several articles, there isn’t specification about which Clone Wars animated series is being referred to when “the Clone Wars animated series” is mentioned. Only the table presented on the Wikipedia page states clearly that the 2003 series isn’t in the canon list, but that table doesn’t have any citations for reference. So it may be that the 2003 series is canon. If anyone has links that can clarify this, please post them.