The Sword and Laser discussion

Tamahome wrote: "Is Star Wars Rebels better than Clone Wars?"

Yes.

Decoupling it from the main saga made it immensely more interesting. It’s tiresome to see a huge galaxy where only seven people matter. It’s also one of the reasons why Rogue One is the best Star Wars movie.

In my opinion, Star Wars Rebel is better. But Clone Wars has those moments that put it up there. Both series are better that the recent Star Wars films save for Rogue One. Also Star Wars Rebels has all these great Easter Eggs Star war lore in the series.

Tamahome wrote: "Is Star Wars Rebels better than Clone Wars?"

It's a bit different of a type of story, but in general, for adults I would say yes. That being said, it more closely resembles the last few seasons of Clone Wars. While clone wars does way more character work then most action cartoons, especially in the last few seasons, it is still an action cartoon. Rebels is different, it is more a charter based show that uses the action to help define the charcters. This is a similar example to how many describe Avatar:TLAB, where Korra, is more like clone wars.

Now if you are a 10 year old kid, you might feel differently, and place Clone Wars higher, and I wouldn't blame you one bit.

Tamahome wrote: "Is Star Wars Rebels better than Clone Wars?"

I watched both, and I would say so.

Stephen wrote: "In my opinion, Star Wars Rebel is better. But Clone Wars has those moments that put it up there. Both series are better that the recent Star Wars films save for Rogue One. Also Star Wars Rebels has..."

I guess I'm in the minority. I prefer Clone Wars over Rebels. I liked the first three seasons of Rebels a lot, but I hated the final episodes of the series. Whereas with Clone Wars, it kept getting better. Any episodes with Echo and Fives were among my favorite. The arc with General Krell was the highlight of the show.

But for Clone Wars there's some lists on which episodes to skip. I got this abbreviated list from Roberator on Discord. There's a second tab with the full list. 67 vs 121 episodes.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...

John (Nevets) wrote: "This is a similar example to how many describe Avatar:TLAB, where Korra, is more like clone wars."

This is an interesting comparison, because I binged Last Airbender while I stalled out on Korra and haven’t had the urge to resume, even after several months.

I thought perhaps I’d try it again over the weekend but instead ended up rewatching Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade on Saturday and then Project Power last night.

I wonder if there’s a way to more accurately quantify what makes such shows feel so different, despite being part of the same franchise and telling parts of the same story.

Tamahome wrote: "Is Star Wars Rebels better than Clone Wars?"

My take is this, overall Rebels is better because it's much more tightly plotted. So start to end it's very good.

Clone Wars is a lot more uneven, and aired partially out of order. So there is a lot of bloat.

That said, Ahsoka Tano is my favorite Star Wars character to date, so I like Clone Wars better. I'll take the best Clone Wars episodes over the best Rebels episodes. But some of them are awfully close.

The 1st Clone Wars show (by the Samurai Jack people) was badass.
I like The Clone Wars a little better than Rebels, but they're both awesome! In my opinion, The Clone Wars version of Anakin is A LOT more likeable than the Episode 2 & 3 version. He's much less whiny.

I agree with Trike that Rogue One is the best Star Wars film. I also loved Solo though, so you might find my opinion invalid. I think that The Mandalorian has thrown off the grading curve for all Star Wars now.

I haven't read it yet, but Star Wars Rebels, Vol. 1 by Akira Aoki is out this week; a manga version of the animated tv show.

So my mother-in-law used to feed raccoons in Cincinnati. She sometimes had dozens come at one time. (Video: https://www.flickr.com/photos/9015952...) I stumbled across this Canadian fellow who takes it even farther by hand-feeding them. For some reason they don’t fight. (Even the raccoons are more polite in Canada.) It’s just been a nice thing to watch to escape the stress of the past couple months, and I’m invested in the real life characters. Where’s old Woody been? Will he ever return?!

So I was just watching last night’s installment, subtitled “Woody is back”, which is a half-hour of a nice elderly gentleman feeding raccoons with accompanying pleasant commentary when at the end he shows off some artwork and mentions out of the blue -

PLOT TWIST: Canada made a limited-edition coin about the time he was a police officer and had a UFO encounter!

Dude. 😂 🛸

https://youtu.be/IPVMlEoOR38

Saw the first 2 ep's of The Queen's Gambit. I like it. It's about a nerd. It's based on a novel The Queen's Gambit

I just finished Queen's Gambit. Really enjoyed it. Though I was more into the chess part than the commentary on drug and alcohol addiction.

Watched Holidate. Yep, it’s exactly what a movie called Holidate is like.

I'm finishing up Season 2 of Titans. Judging by the name of the episode, I'm gonna like the season finale.

[re: The Queen's Gambit] Yeah, I didn't know chess had so many strategies with exotic sounding names. Maybe I'll learn a few simple concepts like the pin and the fork, the three opening principles, knights in pawn holes and good/bad bishops, the concept of the king net, and some simple patterns such as the back-rank mate, KRRvK mate and the rook-roll, or KRvK mate.

I'm terrible at chess, but from what I read they did a good job with it.

Either way I thought it was really interesting without trying to make it flashier than it actually is.

Wow, the author Walter Tevis also wrote The Hustler, The Color of Money and The Man Who Fell to Earth (the movie version starred David Bowie as the alien).

Also watched on Netflix Love Wedding Repeat, which is sort of Four Weddings and a Funeral meets Sliding Doors.

And the Christmas musical Jingle Jangle, with Forrest Whittaker as Jeronicus Jangle. I really liked it.

Edit: there’s a fun little Easter egg when Jeronicus pulls out his suitcase covered with travel stickers: one of them says “The Great Country Wakanda”. 😁

Actually, I have a movie club that meets virtually Tuesdays. We just picked In the Electric Mist, which is also a book that's part of a long "Dave Robicheaux" series by James Lee Burke. The movie stars Tommy Lee Jones. There's also the same character in another book adaption starring Alec Baldwin. Heaven's Prisoners. I would have to pay $2 to rent it on my tv. Maybe I'll do it.

I just learned about Jingle Jangle and already know I'm watching it today.

Tamahome wrote: "Is Star Wars Rebels better than Clone Wars?"

I'd rate them both the same. They both have some interesting master-padawan relationship. Plus, Rebels has Sabine and Hera (and Chopper), CW has Ahsoka and the clone troopers.

Finally watched Enola Holmes and it was just ... okay.
tried to watch the second season of The Alienist but fell asleep in the second episode.

I'll just wait for the new season of The Crown this weekend.

Btw, is Blood of Zeus recommended?

Silvana wrote: "Tamahome wrote: "Is Star Wars Rebels better than Clone Wars?"

I'd rate them both the same. They both have some interesting master-padawan relationship. Plus, Rebels has Sabine and Hera (and Choppe..."

One thing I really liked about Rebels that immediately hooked me was that the character designs were throwbacks to Ralph McQuarrie’s originals from 1975. For instance: https://www.deviantart.com/brian-snoo...

Lots of other things, such as helmets, uniforms, aliens and landscapes, were also based on McQuarrie’s designs. It was if they went back through the Star Wars Portfolio and design books which were released after SW became a huge hit and lifted the art. I was 12 in 1977 and bought all those books, so all of that was an instant nostalgia hit for me.

They’re doing the exact same thing for Mandalorian. I’ve noticed in several of the trailers there are things pulled directly from McQuarrie’s concept art.

Netflix’s Space Force renewed for season 2.

Netflix’s Teenage Bounty Hunters, which I thought was terrific, is not getting a second season, which is a bummer considering how it ended. But they wrapped up 99% of the story by the end of S1 though.

Ian wrote: "The 1st Clone Wars show (by the Samurai Jack people) was badass.
I like The Clone Wars a little better than Rebels, but they're both awesome! In my opinion, The Clone Wars version of Anakin is A L..."

Clone Wars seasons 5, 6 and 7 were my favorites. I enjoyed the expanded universe and shifting array of characters and storylines. The show also humanized the clone troopers and touched on the ethics of cloning, warfare as the series progressed. The animation quality of Clone Wars season 7 is top notch. The difference is notable with the movement of the characters when they're one-on-one lightsaber dueling compared to the stiff movements in previous seasons. Some of my favorite characters/storylines include (view spoiler)[ the Bad Batch, Maul's takeover of Mandalore, Ahsoka & Maul, Fives/Secret Code mystery, R2D2 covert missions, Order 66. Though Rebels has several episodes / moments that are in my top 10 SW animated series favorites: Ahsoka vs Darth Vader, Darth Maul teaming up with Ezra Bridger, Darth Maul vs Obi-Wan Kenobi and Kanan Jarrus saving the crew (view spoiler)[. (hide spoiler)] (hide spoiler)]

I binged The Queen's Gambit last weekend. It's not the type of thing I normally would be interested in. I'm more of a fan of comedy or romcom or dramady than straight-up drama. But I was hooked after episode 1. I immediately binged episodes 2 through 5. Then I did some silly work-type stuff and binged the last 2, staying up beyond my bedtime (also not something I do often and almost never for TV I can watch at any time). It makes me want to read the book.

Watching the star trek,Discovery season 1 on local CBS channel on Thursday night at 10pm.

Trike wrote: "Watched Holidate. Yep, it’s exactly what a movie called Holidate is like."

It was a nice diversion...

Trike wrote: "Netflix’s Space Force renewed for season 2.

Netflix’s Teenage Bounty Hunters, which I thought was terrific, is not getting a second season, which is a bummer considering how it ended. But they wr..."

Bummer I really liked TBH - I wish it would come back. They were great!

I watched Let It Snow on Netflix, which is a charming little ensemble teen comedy that has some 80s throwback vibes. It’s nice and light, with some genuinely funny moments.

5/5 snowpigs
🐷🐷🐷🐷🐷
❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️

It has a lot of Spider-Man connects in the cast, too. Jacob Batalon, who plays Ned in the MCU Spider-Man films; Shameik Moore, who voices Miles Morales in Into the Spider-Verse; Anna Akana, who was the reporter at the end of Ant-Man who first hinted Spidey was coming to the MCU (https://youtu.be/Oj2u_obs3n0).

I watched "The Secret: Dare to Dream". I thought it was well done. Some people probably make fun of it. At least it wasn't about 2 groups of people shooting each other. I have a friend that likes to say "what you think about you bring about". Maybe I'll read the book. I keep reading books of movies I've seen lately, Longmire #1, In the Electric Mist, The Queen's Gambit, ... I still have an hour to go in Howl's Moving Castle.

With the reduction in newly made content this year, the BBC have been leaning heavily on repeating older shows. My wife and I have been re-watching 'Heroes' after accidentally catching half an episode late one night. Heavily dated by the technology on display, but still quite entertaining.

They've also been showing Battlestar Galactica, which I'd never watched previously - despite being told for years that it was one of the best sci-fi dramas ever. Half way through the first season and not really committed to it yet. Does it get better? It seems very slow moving so far.

Battlestar Galactica just gets better each season.

Stephen wrote: "Battlestar Galactica just gets better each season."

Battlestar Galactica was great. Until it wasn't ;-)

Tassie Dave wrote: "Battlestar Galactica was great. Until it wasn't ;-)"

I might not have watched it first time around, but I do remember that some people were not happy about the ending. (To put it mildly!) I'll persevere for a while.

Loved the first few episodes, only missed a few episodes in the first season, then drifted off. There were too many heavy-handed "message" episodes so I gave up. I'm fine with allegory, heck, original Trek killed in that category, but don't beat me over the head with a hammer.

Keeping these separate: The original BSG was one of the wistful episodes of my youth. I saw the first episode, perhaps the second. Loved 'em. But it played on Sunday nights and I had a job that required me at that time. So I missed a bunch of them. This was in the days before even VCRs were common, so once the episode had played, you couldn't get it.

I went to conventions and there were people in BSG costumes. Some even did BSG roleplaying. I built this up in my head to a great series that I had missed.

And then, whether on tape or in reruns I don't recall, I got to see them all, as the series quality nosedived during the course of its one season. And then Galactica 1980. Well, perhaps I didn't miss out on as much as I had thought...

John (Taloni) wrote: "Loved the first few episodes, only missed a few episodes in the first season, then drifted off. There were too many heavy-handed "message" episodes so I gave up. I'm fine with allegory, heck, origi..."

Not really a spoiler (view spoiler)[That's what killed the last season for me. Especially the President and that final episode :-? (hide spoiler)]

Season 1 was where it was the strongest.

But I would urge Colin to persist. Between the groan out loud moments, there are some great storylines and great acting.

Stephen wrote: "Battlestar Galactica just gets better each season."

That’s one take.

The Christmas Chronicles on Netflix is possibly my new favorite Xmas movie. You can tell they just had fun with it, and the minute I saw Little Steven Van Zandt, I knew we were in for a musical number. Kurt Russell as Santa imitating Elvis? C’mon, what more do you need?

It’s way better than the trailer: https://youtu.be/YaeDa_Uempk

Weirdly, this is the second Xmas film in a row (after Let It Snow) that features a red Dodge Challenger. Was that the official Christmas flick car for a minute there?

There's a sequel with Goldie Hawn.

Tamahome wrote: "There's a sequel with Goldie Hawn."

Drops on Wednesday November 25th.

I didnt watch much of Battlestar Galactica but two things never really made sense to me about the basic story...

1) why the Cylons pursue the humans SO assiduously
2) why the humans would lead the Cylons in pursuit to Earth. "Hey, there's a lost colony of humans! Let's lead the super AI robots who just destroyed most of humanity right to them!

I grew up with the original BSG. It was a weekly staple in our house. When the new series came out, honestly, I just couldn't accept any of it. I never watched it. A old guy I worked with told me I really should check it out. This was after it ended its tv run. So I did. With new eyes, I really got into it. Aspects of the story made me roll my eyes, but overall I enjoyed it, so much I have the whole damn series on DVD.

It's like our taste in music. Our preference is what we experienced between the ages of 17 and 21. Does anybody remember laughter?

Tassie Dave wrote: "Stephen wrote: "Battlestar Galactica just gets better each season."

Battlestar Galactica was great. Until it wasn't ;-)"

So say we all! So say we all! I belong to the Cult of Daniel, where I've got the 2nd half of the final season completely retconned in my head.

I just saw The Man Who Fell To Earth with David Bowie for the first time after all these years. It was very weird. I don't know what to think. I remember being intrigued by the trailer as a kid. I even got the book with David Bowie on the cover, but never read it. It's the same author as The Queen's Gambit.

I thought the reboot/remake Battlestar Galactica series was fun, and it got better in season 2 and 3 before falling apart in the final season. But it might not have aged so well. I admit I haven't had any burning desire to revisit it. Some of the attraction was probably bigger for those of us who were around for the original series, and seeing how things have been changed and updated. I'm not sure that would be quite as compelling for newer fans.