Star Wars (shows and streaming)...

[Roy H.]

I liked Mando, but Baby Yoda kinda handcuffed it. The best episodes were the ones he wasn't in. I was looking forward to season 3, but after just watching Boba, I don't know. At least they made it so he can do more than sit around getting into trouble.

I agree with that.  Baby Yoda was a decent enough story line, but they've had a couple of opportunities to ditch the character, and they've chosen not to.  The reason is pretty clearly not for story-telling purposes; it's because I see Baby Yoda toys, stuffies and merchandise everywhere.

And please, Star Wars:  get off of Tattooine.

[rocknrollforyoursoul]

I mostly dislike the prequel trilogy because of bland acting and Jar Jar, but I really enjoyed Obi-Wan. (Since Ewan McGregor was in both, I guess it's safe to say that the writing and/or directing in Obi-Wan was way better than that of the prequels?) Cool to see more of Vader and to have that time period between the last prequel and New Hope filled in. And I was fine with the young Leia. I do wonder, though: What happened to the Inquisitors between Obi-Wan and New Hope? They're not in any of the original movies, correct?

As for the other shows, I really like Mandalorian, and I enjoyed Boba Fett because it fleshes out his story. I've also enjoyed seeing more of "young adult Luke."

[Birdman]

BTW, anyone have any 1977 Star Wars toys?

[Csfan1984]

I mostly dislike the prequel trilogy because of bland acting and Jar Jar, but I really enjoyed Obi-Wan. (Since Ewan McGregor was in both, I guess it's safe to say that the writing and/or directing in Obi-Wan was way better than that of the prequels?) Cool to see more of Vader and to have that time period between the last prequel and New Hope filled in. And I was fine with the young Leia. I do wonder, though: What happened to the Inquisitors between Obi-Wan and New Hope? They're not in any of the original movies, correct?

As for the other shows, I really like Mandalorian, and I enjoyed Boba Fett because it fleshes out his story. I've also enjoyed seeing more of "young adult Luke."

Four possibles for Inquisitors
1. Starkiller and Droids could have replaced them.
2. They were searching beyond the outer rim for the source of the void in the force.
3. They were searching for force artifacts to bring back the emperor. (Emperor foresaw his demise).
4. They gave up on finding more Jedi and joined royal guard.

The Inquisitors don't appear in original trilogy but emperor's guards do who are rumored to be force sensitive.

[boscel33]

I liked Mando, but Baby Yoda kinda handcuffed it. The best episodes were the ones he wasn't in. I was looking forward to season 3, but after just watching Boba, I don't know. At least they made it so he can do more than sit around getting into trouble.

I agree with that.  Baby Yoda was a decent enough story line, but they've had a couple of opportunities to ditch the character, and they've chosen not to.  The reason is pretty clearly not for story-telling purposes; it's because I see Baby Yoda toys, stuffies and merchandise everywhere.

And please, Star Wars:  get off of Tattooine.

The part I don't get is, why wasn't Baby Yoda in the last three at all.  It allegedly takes place after Return of the Jedi.  It would have been able to help for sure.

[cons]

Was a bit disappointed with Andors first 3 episodes.
Different? Kind of
But really good? No,not really.
But I’ll keep watching. See if it gets better

[kraidstar]

Was a bit disappointed with Andors first 3 episodes.
Different? Kind of
But really good? No,not really.
But I’ll keep watching. See if it gets better

I think it's great. Love the slower, more cerebral pace. Acting and dialogue are strong. And i love the lack of hamfisted fan service.

This show feels like a real event within a larger universe. Love it.

[Celtics2021]

Was a bit disappointed with Andors first 3 episodes.
Different? Kind of
But really good? No,not really.
But I’ll keep watching. See if it gets better

I think it's great. Love the slower, more cerebral pace. Acting and dialogue are strong. And i love the lack of hamfisted fan service.

This show feels like a real event within a larger universe. Love it.

Couldn’t watch it regularly once the Celtics season started, but I just finished Season 1.  It is easily the best thing I’ve seen come from the Star Wars universe.  Can’t wait for Season 2 (but it sounds like I have to wait until late in 2024 for it).

People who gave up on it should really give it a second chance.

[No Nickname]

Was a bit disappointed with Andors first 3 episodes.
Different? Kind of
But really good? No,not really.
But I’ll keep watching. See if it gets better

I think it's great. Love the slower, more cerebral pace. Acting and dialogue are strong. And i love the lack of hamfisted fan service.

This show feels like a real event within a larger universe. Love it.

Couldn’t watch it regularly once the Celtics season started, but I just finished Season 1.  It is easily the best thing I’ve seen come from the Star Wars universe.  Can’t wait for Season 2 (but it sounds like I have to wait until late in 2024 for it).

People who gave up on it should really give it a second chance.

I absolutely agree.  It has some really cool stories to follow:

The Heist
The Prison Break
The Assistant "To" the Regional Manager who aches to get promoted
The Rising Star Middle-Manager who is about to become Ascendent
The Political Games of the Empire
The Big Picture Rebel Uprising in its Infancy

and lots of smaller stories filled in.

Each of those longer stories feel like homages to some of the best Period Dramas ever like...

The Heist (Money Heist, Lupin)
The Prison Break (Oz, Orange is the New Black)
The Assistant "To" the Regional Manager who aches to get promoted (ok, so this is a The Office reference, but as for period dramas... Mad Men)
The Rising Star Middle-Manager who is about to become Ascendent (Narcos, The Sopranos)
The Political Games of the Empire (The West Wing)
The Big Picture Rebel Uprising in its Infancy (Boardwalk Empire... as in we know Prohibition is coming, but how did the big players like Capone get started)

[dannyboy35]

  Andor is definitely a slow burn but when the action hits it hits harder for ME. I’m getting to know Andor, Mon Mimthma, Lumen, Saw. Anytime Forrest Whittaker and Skarsgaard are sharing the screen I’m in. They’re amazing actors. I love that this is dialogue and story driven. Other stories can have the sabers and force and action but this was not people’s cup of tea, I think it could still serve as a kind of backbone for the Star Wars universe going forward .
  I think the real channlebfe is anything taking place post sequels.

[No Nickname]

  Andor is definitely a slow burn but when the action hits it hits harder for ME. I’m getting to know Andor, Mon Mimthma, Lumen, Saw. Anytime Forrest Whittaker and Skarsgaard are sharing the screen I’m in. They’re amazing actors. I love that this is dialogue and story driven. Other stories can have the sabers and force and action but this was not people’s cup of tea, I think it could still serve as a kind of backbone for the Star Wars universe going forward .
  I think the real channlebfe is anything taking place post sequels.

I hope this is the backbone for the future of the franchise.  The last film was just horrible.

There's a whole reddit wormhole on how the studio bowed down to ticket sales in China and forced many changes on the script that JJ Abrams ultimately disowned. 

[Roy H.]

  Andor is definitely a slow burn but when the action hits it hits harder for ME. I’m getting to know Andor, Mon Mimthma, Lumen, Saw. Anytime Forrest Whittaker and Skarsgaard are sharing the screen I’m in. They’re amazing actors. I love that this is dialogue and story driven. Other stories can have the sabers and force and action but this was not people’s cup of tea, I think it could still serve as a kind of backbone for the Star Wars universe going forward .
  I think the real channlebfe is anything taking place post sequels.

I hope this is the backbone for the future of the franchise.  The last film was just horrible.

There's a whole reddit wormhole on how the studio bowed down to ticket sales in China and forced many changes on the script that JJ Abrams ultimately disowned.

The biggest problem with the trilogy was that there was no coherent story line.  So many characters were dead ends.  Snoke, the Knights of Ren, the Emperor, Rose,, Finn, etc.  None of their arcs make sense. 

That, plus I really hated Kyle’s casting.

[GreenlyGreeny]

There's a whole reddit wormhole on how the studio bowed down to ticket sales in China and forced many changes on the script that JJ Abrams ultimately disowned.

Yeah, how pathetic is that, right? “Oh yes, Communist Party of China, we shall make the changes you request so we can sell the product in your totalitarian society.” How about they instead allow artists to engage in free expression in a free society? If the Communist Party of China does not like, too bad because guess what: Their citizens want to be free like us, not the other way around. They can continue to censor, but eventually their people will overthrow their tyranny (and that is when the real profits can occur, BTW, so keep pumping out forbidden fruit per CCP).

American companies should not be helping governments oppress people who wish to be free to enjoy the free expression of artists. Helping people in the Chinese government oppress people in China IS aiding and abetting oppression, so-called “socially conscious” companies…

[GreenlyGreeny]

That, plus I really hated Kyle’s casting.

Yeah, that dude is a horrible actor, is extremely unattractive and it makes zero sense why he continues to get good roles (must know someone or something).

That trilogy was not so great in most every way. I actually enjoyed the second one without much in the way of criticism, but the first just felt like a complete rip-off of the original trilogy, and I’ve tried to forget about the third one (right up there with Attack of the Clones and Solo for worst-in-class). So dumb bringing back Palpatine, totally glossing over exactly how he has a granddaughter (where’s the dad? Are we really to believe Palpatine was out boinking people and had a kid with some woman? How many years ago in the timeline? Because the granddaughter can’t be much older than 20, so let’s do the math…)

[Roy H.]

I'm legitimately excited about this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnzNZ0Mdx4I&feature=youtu.be

I'm substantially less excited about this:

Lucasfilm unveiled plans for new Star Wars movies, including one that broke the audience's brains: Daisy Ridley's Rey will return for one of these films.

Filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy (Ms. Marvel) will direct Ridley, whose character will come back to the big screen now as a Jedi master in a film set 15 years after the events of 2019's The Rise of Skywalker. It'll be "set in a Jedi academy with a powerful Jedi master," Obaid-Chinoy said on stage, referring to Rey, whose mission will be to rebuild the Jedi Order.

And skeptical of these:

Two other Star Wars films were announced from directors The Mandalorian executive producer Dave Filoni and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny helmer James Mangold.

Mangold's film will tell the story of the first Jedi to ever wield the Force, while Filoni's movie will be set in the New Republic timeline of Star Wars.

"I'm just excited to make a movie," exclaimed Filoni, who's been busy crafting the Star Wars slate of live-action TV shows.

I generally like Filoni's work, so we'll see.  That "first Jedi" movie, though?  Sounds like midichlorians.

Also floating around:  Trailers for Skeleton Crew (fingers crossed) and the Acolyte (trailer didn't impress me)