If you consider yourself a Star Wars fan and you haven’t been watching The Clone Wars, now is a good time to get back on board.
The first season is about to be available on DVD and Blu-ray in November. While the show often seems rough and unfinished — particularly in the first ten episodes, where the quality of the writing and animation vary wildly from episode to episode — it’s a real treat to see Star Wars done on the small screen, particularly because it breathes new life into the wooden constructs we got in the Star Wars prequels. I hate to admit it, but the cartoon makes me like Anakin Skywalker — he’s sharp, he cares about the people he’s responsible for, and he’s driven by a general desire to do good things. This is nothing like the brooding Hayden Christensen performance we suffered through in the movies; this Anakin is kind of fun to be around, and it’s easy to see why the other characters liked him. Granted, when he’s around his secret wife Padme, then he definitely turns into an irritating 19-year-old, but he’s much more interesting a character in the cartoon than he ever was in real life.
One of the biggest dividers for fans of the show is the introduction of Anakin’s new apprentice, a teenage girl named Ahsoka Tano (who often may as well be called Hanno Montano). To put it lightly, she’s there to attract an imaginary female audience for the cartoon show. The early episodes suffer from Ahsoka Knows Best syndrome, in which Ahsoka’s general naivete and childishness end up being vindicated in the end, most grievously in the episode “Cloak of Darkness,” when Ahsoka saves Jedi Master Luminara Unduli from Dark Jedi assassin Asajj Ventress. However, as the season progressed, Ahsoka grew into her own more as a character, and while she can still be precocious, the show has been more willing to let her make mistakes and face the consequences.
The show also gives a wide berth to characters who previously appeared only in the backgrounds. Jedi Master Plo Koon gets his time in the spotlight in early episode “Rising Malevolence,” and green-tentacled Rasta-man Jedi Kit Fisto is the star of his own episode when he leads a strike team against General Grievous. Even blue-skinned Twi’lek hottie Aayla Secura gets not one, but two episodes with her in a starring role, the two-parter “Jedi Crash”/”Defenders of Peace,” when Anakin is wounded in the line of duty and Aayla takes command of his apprentice. As it has progressed, the show has become more willing to create new characters, such as pirate captain Hondo Ohnaka, mad scientist Dr. Nuvo Vendi, and badass bounty hunter Cad Bane, who will play a large role in the second season. It’s refreshing to see the Star Wars universe expand rather than rely on the same old characters all the time.
If that’s not enough excitement, feast your eyes on this:
The second season looks to promise even more thrilling visuals and more complex storylines. Personally, I’m thrilled for more stories with bad guy Cad Bane, more use of the criminally underused Obi-Wan Kenobi, and more thematic complexity — both Obi-Wan’s reunion with an old flame, and the jealousy in Anakin’s eyes when he sees Padme with another man. I’ll be watching every week for the latest installments.
Benton Sartore has been reading comic books off and on since his age was in single digits, and playing RPGs since college. His bookshelf is now full of 1960s Marvel Comics, Batman trades, and Star Wars comics, and he's been known to DM Star Wars, Dungeons & Dragons, and Serenity. He's most proud of his DVD collection — Joss Whedon is his master now.
Benton is also an acting editor at In Genre. 
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