Ahsoka - Disney+ series

[azrael]

  On 10/17/2023 at 8:35 PM, mikeszekely said:

Anyway, I finished Ahsoka last night.  Doesn't seem like the popular opinion, but I enjoyed it fine and I'm curious to see where a second season might go.  I mostly found it interesting as a direct sequel to Rebels; ironically, I thought that Ahsoka was the least interesting part of the show.

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The ending was a letdown so it's colored people's opinion in retrospect. There also hasn't been a official announcement of a second season (I think partially because of Ray Stevenson's untimely passing and I think this show was originally planned to be a limited series but then changed, so actors will need to re-sign and they can't do that until the SAG strike ends).

[mikeszekely]

  On 10/17/2023 at 10:07 PM, azrael said:

The ending was a letdown so it's colored people's opinion in retrospect. There also hasn't been a official announcement of a second season (I think partially because of Ray Stevenson's untimely passing and I think this show was originally planned to be a limited series but then changed, so actors will need to re-sign and they can't do that until the SAG strike ends).

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I haven't been following the online chatter... are they mad about something specific, or mad because the plot is unresolved?  If the former, I dunno, I thought it was ok.  I feel like people keep expecting Star Wars to be something amazing then they get disappointed when it turns out to be just ok, even though *hot take alert* it almost always turns out to be kind of mid.  I mean, out of eleven movies we got three good ones, and the shows don't have a much better track record.  Heck, even the good shows like Clone Wars and Rebels had some boring episodes, we just remember the shows as good because they had some really epic episodes, too.

If it's the latter, I think it's ultimately fine.  One way or another Disney will wrap it up.

[Dynaman]

  On 10/18/2023 at 1:06 AM, mikeszekely said:

I haven't been following the online chatter... are they mad about something specific, or mad because the plot is unresolved? 

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I thought the ending was Meh, I'm not mad.  No idea if I am any kind of representative sample though.  I guess the biggest problem for someone like myself who follows the movies and the TV shows but not the books - those two statues at the end meant nothing.  

[Mog]

There’s been some grumpy chatter online.  People complaining about Ahsoka’s portrayal, complaining that Thrawn’s not very smart with his actions, disliking Sabine, etc.

Some complaints are valid, but others just seem like dumb whining.

The truth is probably somewhere in the middle.

[Bolt]

I enjoyed the first season very much. Wondering if the second season is going to happen or if it will just be folder into the Filoni  movie. 

[mikeszekely]

  On 10/18/2023 at 1:12 AM, Dynaman said:

I guess the biggest problem for someone like myself who follows the movies and the TV shows but not the books - those two statues at the end meant nothing.  

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The statues aren't from the books, they're from the Clone Wars show.  Check out season 3, episodes 15-17.

  On 10/18/2023 at 2:02 AM, Mog said:

People complaining about Ahsoka’s portrayal

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Rosario Dawson definitely plays Ahsoka differently, but I think that's fine.  For one thing, she's been through a lot... the Clone Wars, the experiences that caused her to leave the Jedi Order, Order 66 and the 501st turning on her, the Rise of the Empire, etc.  Plus, finding out that Empire's boogeyman was her former master.  But also, she's not really the kid we saw at the end of the Clone Wars.  People change.

Now, it might have been nice if they'd have dug into some of that, maybe give a little more focus to Ahsoka in a show called Ahsoka.  What we got was more like an epilogue to Rebels... but I'm not really complaining.  I liked Rebels.

  On 10/18/2023 at 2:02 AM, Mog said:

disliking Sabine

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What?  I freaking love Sabine.  Does she make the best "light side" choices?  Nope.  But I think her actions are pretty much in keeping with the character we saw in Rebels.

  On 10/18/2023 at 2:02 AM, Mog said:

complaining that Thrawn’s not very smart with his actions

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  Reveal hidden contents

But he won.  For "not very smart" actions, he successfully left Ahsoka and Sabine behind in the other galaxy and got himself, the Chimaera, and the bulk of his forces back from the other galaxy.  The only real wrinkle is that Ezra managed to get onto the Chimaera before it left, and even that was just barely.

If I have a gripe with Thrawn, it's less about how smart he and his actions are and more that I wish they'd developed him more as a character instead of just pushing him as the big bad.  In the books, Thrawn's more neutral than evil, and his decision to join the Empire was less because he aligned with the Empire's ideals and (lack of) morality and more because he felt a strong central authority was necessary to unite the galaxy against another threat.

[azrael]

  On 10/18/2023 at 1:06 AM, mikeszekely said:

I haven't been following the online chatter... are they mad about something specific, or mad because the plot is unresolved? ...

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I can't speak fan disappointment. (Star Wars fandom annoys me for with its sheer about of BS, vitriol, etc. so I'm avoiding them as much as I can help it) I can say the viewership numbers for the final episode were down compared to The Mandalorian S3's season finale and but outpaced Andor S1's finale. i would rank Andor'd S1 finale as more watchable than Ahsoka's so I can't figure that. The viewership seems to tune out as we got to the finish line.

As I mentioned after the finale, I came out of the season unsatisfied. It setup more than it closed out and without a definite "Yes" to season 2, I was hoping for something more conclusive. Compared to the shows above, those 2 finales close a chapter to those books. Ahsoka's finale didn't really close anything. And without a "Yes" to season 2 or if this is going straight to Filoni's "movie", I'm left with a feeling of "What's next for these characters?". "Where are we going from here?  Movie? Season 2?" You stranded me at this point and didn't tell me what's next. 

[Roy Focker]

  On 10/18/2023 at 1:06 AM, mikeszekely said:

 I mean, out of eleven movies we got three good ones, and the shows don't have a much better track record.  Heck, even the good shows like Clone Wars and Rebels had some boring episodes, we just remember the shows as good because they had some really epic episodes, too.

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When people tell me the cartoons are really good and all of Star Wars need to follow Filoni's lead I think umm... horrible idea. I maybe watched a dozen or so episodes of the cartoons. Some weren't bad but, the rest were mediocre at best. Fans tend to only remember the best parts. The Phantom Menace is an excellent film if you only remember the lightsaber duel at the end. I find some elements and ideas from the cartoons to be terrible. And yet I find them to be perfectly acceptable for a cartoon. The target audience is kids. I can scream all I want about how this will break canon and destroy the message of the entire story, but they need stuff to entertain the kids. Now I see all Filoni's ideas including the ones that should have just stayed in the cartoon world have entered live-action.

  On 10/18/2023 at 2:02 AM, Mog said:

There’s been some grumpy chatter online.  People complaining about Ahsoka’s portrayal, complaining that Thrawn’s not very smart with his actions, disliking Sabine, etc.

Some complaints are valid, but others just seem like dumb whining.

The truth is probably somewhere in the middle.

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This comes down to bad writing and direction. Honest Trailers does a good job poking fun at it. Fans who've been watching the cartoons religiously are just too caught up with seeing their beloved characters in the flesh that they fail to see how boring and unlikable they are in this version. These are good actors. Those were charming characters in the cartoons. Here they aren't written that way. Plus, the writing is often just lazy in general. Characters end up making stupid decisions that advances the plot simply because Filoni wouldn't rewrite the script for things to make sense. 

  On 10/18/2023 at 3:13 AM, azrael said:

As I mentioned after the finale, I came out of the season unsatisfied. It setup more than it closed out and without a definite "Yes" to season 2, I was hoping for something more conclusive. Compared to the shows above, those 2 finales close a chapter to those books. Ahsoka's finale didn't really close anything. And without a "Yes" to season 2 or if this is going straight to Filoni's "movie", I'm left with a feeling of "What's next for these characters?". "Where are we going from here?  Movie? Season 2?" You stranded me at this point and didn't tell me what's next. 

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Makes Ahsoka feel like a waste of time? Like it was all for building up for the movie without giving you that much of a closure for the show you're watching now. You can have a series storyline that takes five seasons to resolve but you still need to have smaller storylines that take a single season to resolve. 

I can sum Ahsoka up as show with some interesting visuals, bland characters and mediocre writing. A solid C.

[sh9000]

Shin Hati.

[tekering]

There is hope for Ahsoka yet! ☺️

 

[Bolt]

Rotten Tomatoes-

Tomatometer : 86%
 

Audience Score: 70%
 

 

[azrael]

  On 10/18/2023 at 5:26 PM, Roy Focker said:

Makes Ahsoka feel like a waste of time? Like it was all for building up for the movie without giving you that much of a closure for the show you're watching now. You can have a series storyline that takes five seasons to resolve but you still need to have smaller storylines that take a single season to resolve.

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I can't answer that because I don't know. Is it leading to a movie? Season 2? Neither are in production and no announcements were made as to the direction future storylines will take. There will be no movement until the SAG strike ends. And you can bet Iger is going to be a bit more stingy with to green light something unless it meets a certain ROI-threshold with the cost of business expected to go up.

[mechaninac]

From a viewer's point of view, the quality of the show -- the writing, directing, acting, etc. -- is entirely down to one's own taste, so thinking it was good or thinking it was bad is a personal thing.

From a marketable/profitability stand point, Ashoka seems to have been a sizable failure for Disney/Lucasfilm, with diminishing viewing numbers from a lackluster starting point, as chronicled by Samba TV and Nielsen, that are about as poor as Andor's, having never cracked number 4 of new streaming shows and barely showing up, and already falling from, the top ten of all streaming shows (compare this to One Piece, for instance), plus very little in the way of merchandizing, with Hasbro pretty much sitting this one out.

[Mog]

Umm, there’s figures trickling out and scheduled for Ahsoka.

Of course, there’s still the frustrating discrepancy between the number of releases for the Black Series and for the Vintage Collection.

And Hasbro and Disney need to do a better job of coordinating, so that these figures get released around the same time as the shows drop.

But this issue’s been there since later season Clone Wars, so 🤦🏻‍♂️.

[mechaninac]

 

[pengbuzz]

  On 10/19/2023 at 3:55 AM, Bolt said:

Rotten Tomatoes-

Tomatometer : 86%
 

Audience Score: 70%
 

 

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I'm not sure I would believe Rotten Tomatoes on much of anything; I've discussed elsewhere with folks about them and they are of the opinion RT is largely solicited.

[Dynaman]

  On 10/18/2023 at 2:55 AM, mikeszekely said:

The statues aren't from the books, they're from the Clone Wars show.  Check out season 3, episodes 15-17.

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I did watch it and have no memory of them.  Three episodes from a six season show is still a bit thin to base a cliffhanger on.  A tiny bit of exposition would have been good there (or was there some at the statue scene and I forgot it)

[Mog]

It was probably more of an Easter egg at this point.

The trio also show up in one of the key Rebels Season 4 eps, technically as paintings/drawings on a Jedi Temple.

They might have even appeared in the temple Ahsoka first got the map ball from, but I’d have to double check that.

The Daughter’s stand-in, as the Morai that hangs around Ahsoka, has made some cameos throughout Rebels and in the last ep of Ahsoka too.

[Swann]

Shouldn't Ashoka look older than the rest of the cast. I think so.

[Thom]

@tekering I have to say, I don't think this is bad enough for a major cut. Certainly not Obiwan or BoBF bad.

@SwannI think she does. But maybe her species can look younger than they are, like space elves.

 

As for the statues, they could still play a role later on even without Ray Stevenson. RIP. A scroll could mention him suddenly vanishing while in search of The Ones,a nd perhaps the character will be 'shown' from then on only as a Force-Ghost voice.

 

[mikeszekely]

  On 10/22/2023 at 12:11 PM, Swann said:

Shouldn't Ashoka look older than the rest of the cast. I think so.

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Than who, specifically?  I mean, Rosario Dawson is actually 44 IRL, 15 years older than Natashia Liu Bordizzo (29).  AFAIK, Ahsoka was born in 36 BBY, and Ahsoka takes place around 9 ABY, so she'd be about 45.  I think Sabine was born around 21 BBY, also a 15 year difference.  Hera was born in 29 BBY and should be 38 during Ahsoka, and wouldn't you know it Mary Elizabeth Winstead is 38 IRL.  Ezra's two years younger than Sabine, IRL Eman Esfandi is three years younger than Bordizzo.  Quite honestly, the actors have almost exactly the right ages and age gaps for the characters they're playing.  

Edited October 23, 2023 by mikeszekely

[TangledThorns]

  On 10/22/2023 at 12:11 PM, Swann said:

Shouldn't Ashoka look older than the rest of the cast. I think so.

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Folk said the same about Bo-Katan. They probably keep young looking using face cream made from Bantha milk, lol.

[Thom]

  On 10/23/2023 at 12:14 PM, TangledThorns said:

Folk said the same about Bo-Katan. They probably keep young looking using face cream made from Bantha milk, lol.

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Little known fact. If you tune the Death Star laser down to its lowest power setting, and I mean low, it is ideal for a 5 minute laser wrinkle treatment.

[tekering]

  On 10/23/2023 at 1:47 AM, mikeszekely said:

Quite honestly, the actors have almost exactly the right ages and age gaps for the characters they're playing.  

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And yet Temuera Morrison, bald and fat in his sixties, was cast to portray Boba Fett at 41...  🤕

[pengbuzz]

  On 10/23/2023 at 1:35 PM, tekering said:

And yet Temuera Morrison, bald and fat in his sixties, was cast to portray Boba Fett at 41...  🤕

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Hey, at least it wasn't Steve Van Zandt...

[Mog]

Staying in a Sarlacc pit can age you pretty badly. 😬

 

[Thom]

  On 10/23/2023 at 2:37 PM, Mog said:

Staying in a Sarlacc pit can age you pretty badly. 😬

 

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It's the stomach acid treatment. Not for everyone.

[Mog]

Add in those Tatooine suns, and it’s murder on your skin.

Vader was right to wear a suit that protected all of him from those harmful UV rays! 

[Thom]

Vader learned his lesson after the lava bath.

[mikeszekely]

  On 10/23/2023 at 12:14 PM, TangledThorns said:

Folk said the same about Bo-Katan. They probably keep young looking using face cream made from Bantha milk, lol.

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Bo-Katan's a trickier one, since we don't have a stated birth year for her.  All we can say is that she was an adult when her sister died in 19 BBY.  We don't even know for sure if she's Satine's younger sister or older sister (although younger seems like the safe bet).  She appeared to be older than Ahsoka, at least.

Assuming Bo-Katan was 21 in 19 BBY, she'd be 49 in 9 ABY, or early 50s if The Mandalorian is a little further along the timeline than Ahsoka).  Katee Sackhoff is 43 IRL, a little younger than Rosario Dawson and definitely a 5-10 years younger than her character.  I don't know that's a significant enough difference that she should absolutely look older, but I can at least see the argument for it there.

[Thom]

Was Ewen McGregor too young to BE (TO BE) Obi-wan, or was Alec Guinness too old?

Edited October 24, 2023 by Thom

[tekering]

  On 10/24/2023 at 9:21 PM, Thom said:

Was Ewen McGregor too young to lay Obi-wan, or was Alec Guinness too old?

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I don't think "gay shipping" is appropriate for this forum. 😅

[Thom]

  On 10/24/2023 at 9:33 PM, tekering said:

I don't think "gay shipping" is appropriate for this forum. 😅

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LOL!! That's what I ger for typing too fast and not spell-checking! Corrected! 

[Mog]

Them twin suns of Tatooine!  

Double the UV, double the skin damage.

Plus, keeping that stupid, distracted farmboy alive, safe from Tuskens, preventing him from crashing his landspeeder and sky-hopper, and away from surly gangsters and their cronies will prematurely age anyone!

[azrael]

  On 10/24/2023 at 9:21 PM, Thom said:

Was Ewen McGregor too young to BE (TO BE) Obi-wan, or was Alec Guinness too old?

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Alec Guinness was in his early 60s when he started filming Star Wars  and was near 70 when they finished. Ewan McGregor was in his late 20s when he started filming the prequels and ended in his early 30s. And just for comparison's sake, Ian McDiarmid was in his mid-30s when he did RotJ.