New Star Wars animated show "Rebels" coming fall 2014

[Steve Roby]

I've just watched some of the Rebels stuff on youtube. First I'd seen of any of it, and it's a bit more frivolous and silly than I was expecting.

I've just read John Jackson Miller's novel A New Dawn, which features Kanan and Hera a while before the beginning of the TV series. It has some smartass dialogue from Kanan, but the overall feel is a lot less, well, cartoonish. It's a big mix of political and corporate machinations, conspiracies, people who aren't who they seem to be, people working their way through difficult moral situations, and a lot of 1977-style adventure and fun, too. Not to mention chases, fights, and explosions. I really liked it.

The Rebels bits and pieces I saw don't really capture that. I'll give it a shot, though, because A New Dawn was apparently developed with the people working on the show (that new canon thing) and may be an indicator of the kind of depth the TV series may eventually be capable of.

 

[JD]

Star Wars is fantasy - 'just because' is fine because it describes no real physical processes that we know of and can't exist - midichlorians add nothing from a story telling point of view.

Even if they don't add anything to that specific story, they are, IMO at least, a nice bit of universe building. I don't mind some universe/world building that isn't directly tied into the immediate story, as long as it doesn't detract from it.

 

[davejames]

I've just watched some of the Rebels stuff on youtube. First I'd seen of any of it, and it's a bit more frivolous and silly than I was expecting.

I've just read John Jackson Miller's novel A New Dawn, which features Kanan and Hera a while before the beginning of the TV series. It has some smartass dialogue from Kanan, but the overall feel is a lot less, well, cartoonish. It's a big mix of political and corporate machinations, conspiracies, people who aren't who they seem to be, people working their way through difficult moral situations, and a lot of 1977-style adventure and fun, too. Not to mention chases, fights, and explosions. I really liked it.

The Rebels bits and pieces I saw don't really capture that. I'll give it a shot, though, because A New Dawn was apparently developed with the people working on the show (that new canon thing) and may be an indicator of the kind of depth the TV series may eventually be capable of.

No doubt the novel is going to be a lot more serious than any cartoon series, but from what people are saying who saw the full episode, the show's overall tone is actually much less silly and lighthearted than the short clips make it appear.

And in any case, I expect the characters will only develop and become deeper as the show goes on.

 

[ALF]

The midichlorians were briefly mentioned by Chancellor Palpatine in the Galactic Opera House sequence in Episode III, but as part of the story about Darth Plagueis creating life by manipulating them. They did get a mention in the live-action films outside of Episode I, however fleeting. Unless there was another midichlorian comment uttered by another character that escapes my memory.

Good old Midi's.

I'm pretty sure they were mentioned in The Clone Wars, perhaps maybe once near the end but I don't recall which one.

I would be very surprised if they are mentioned in the ST. As mentioned by others they don't progress the story any. They were used only to describe that Anakin was stronger than Yoda, but it could have been safely presumed anyway. I have a feeling that the ST will distance itself from the oft-contemptuous PT by avoiding Gungans and Midi-cholorians altogether.

 

[davejames]

I thought TCW did a decent job of making the midi-chlorians seem much more mystical and mysterious. But I agree, it's a term I would really prefer they not use again, either in the new movies or on Rebels.

 

[cooleddie74]

Since they were never referred to in the OT I'm hoping they voluntarily avoid talking about them in the new Sequel Trilogy. Not because I have some anti-midichlorian bias but it would be a little weird to hear them spoken of in the Prequels, The Clone Wars and Episodes VII through IX but not at all in the original films, set in the middle of the vast, overall story.

Let the creators take the philosophy that "well, George and the producers of the previous TV series explained what they were and Luke and Leia never mentioned them, so let's just assume people know about 'em and focus on other details of that galaxy." Easier, quicker and avoids the fan criticism and nerdrage if they're spoken of in the later time period.

 

[Christopher]

Since they were never referred to in the OT I'm hoping they voluntarily avoid talking about them in the new Sequel Trilogy. Not because I have some anti-midichlorian bias but it would be a little weird to hear them spoken of in the Prequels, The Clone Wars and Episodes VII through IX but not at all in the original films, set in the middle of the vast, overall story.

Not necessarily. Given that almost all the Jedi were wiped out and the Empire tried to purge everything to do with them, that means there would be little expert knowledge surviving about the workings of the Force during the time of the OT; but decades later, with the Empire presumably long gone, a lot of that lost knowledge might've been recovered by the new Jedi order. Granted, Obi-Wan and Yoda weren't seen mentioning midi-chlorians to Luke, but he was a farmboy who didn't really need to know the technical stuff, and Yoda seemed to be more focused on the spiritual side anyway. Besides, they didn't have the equipment to test his midi-chlorian count; they just had to assess his Force sensitivity the old-fashioned way.

Let the creators take the philosophy that "well, George and the producers of the previous TV series explained what they were and Luke and Leia never mentioned them, so let's just assume people know about 'em and focus on other details of that galaxy." Easier, quicker and avoids the fan criticism and nerdrage if they're spoken of in the later time period.

Worrying about fan criticism is a straitjacket for a storyteller, because whatever you do is going to make some fans angry -- especially in this day and age when it seems that there's a whole subset of people to whom fandom is nothing but an excuse to get angry at things. You need to do what's best for the story you have to tell, and not worry about anything else. If you make a story that has quality and integrity, it'll win people over -- maybe even despite its inclusion of elements they assumed they wouldn't like. But if you second-guess yourself out of fear of offending people, you'll just do something bland and tentative and soulless.

 

[cooleddie74]

Oh, most of the time I don't care about nerdrage. The Abrams Trek films and Enterprise being prime examples. I got so tired of the nacelle-size and timeline debates and complaining about devices, races, locations and technology in Archer's century being inconsistent with those of Kirk's that I just learned to tune the vast majority of those fans out. Abrams films: different timeline with different temporal events sequences and developments that didn't exist in the Prime timeline. Enterprise: it was over 100 years before TOS and more than 200 before the other series. Some alien species just became less prominent, technology was experimental or just superficially resembled later, more sophisticated devices and regions of space were renamed or their more dangerous and sensitive details were classified before Kirk and his contemporary Starfleet crews came along. There are in-universe explanations for most Trek continuity issues if one's creative enough.

I've just grown weary of all the midichlorian bashing and call it defeatist, but I just don't want J.J. and the other producers to give the more vocal and rabid critics any more ammo. Fifteen years of "that idea sucks and makes no sense" and "George ruined the concept of the Force" is enough. But hey, that's just my take and individual opinion. And I'm a guy who was never the biggest fan of the midichlorian concept.

 

[Christopher]

Well, like I said, what matters is whether you can get a good story out of it. If not, then there's no good reason to use it; and if so, then there's no good reason not to.

 

[cooleddie74]

I imagine if Episode VII is the greatest Star Wars movie in more than 30 years most of us won't care what they do or don't mention in the film. Let's hope that's so.

 

[Sto-Vo-Kory]

Saw tonight's Rebels short featuring Ezra Bridger on demand a few minutes ago. Fun little segment, but it seemed super-familiar.

I then realized that my déjà vu came from reading this very scene at the end of Ezra's Gamble, the Rebels novella by Ryder Windam that was released in August.

 

[Set Harth]

I'm pretty sure they were mentioned in The Clone Wars, perhaps maybe once near the end but I don't recall which one.

Qui-Gon: All energy from the Living Force, from all things that have ever lived, feeds into the Cosmic Force, binding everything and communicating to us through the midichlorians. ( S6:E11 "Voices" )

priestesses: All that surrounds us is the foundation of life, the birthplace of what your science calls midichlorians, the foundation of what connects the Living Force and the Cosmic Force. When a living thing dies, all is removed. Life passes from the Living Force into the Cosmic Force and becomes one with it. One powers the other. One is renewed by the other. ( S6:E12 "Destiny" )

 

[ALF]

Thank you for posting those excepts, Set Harth.

In both cases, I suppose they deliver a bit of forward movement on behalf of the story. That final TCW storyline was really into explaining much of how the force seems to work structurally. I guess the only thing to wonder is... was that a thing worth explaining? There are some things in Star Wars I personally will never need explained to me - for example, any connection to Earth or our own galaxy. Have said that I enjoyed the Yoda arc of season 6 immensely.

Does anyone care about the differences between the Living Force and the Cosmic Force? I'm still not even sure I understand it.

Anyone been watching the new(ish) Rebels promotional shorts that trickled out over the weekend? The one Sto-Vo-Kory mentioned was good. Interesting that it would be included in a novella as well.

Spoiler: Rebels's short: Not What You Think

Ezra approaches a downed and smouldering TIE near his hovel on Lothal. After speaking with the surviving pilot inside, he scales the cockpit and opens the hatch. After a brief exchange in which Ezra pockets a few items he leaves with the pilot's helmet, remarking on it's value on the black market.

I also recall there being "Darth Vader themed TV shorts" that were supposed to air very soon before the series started. That speculative info was leaked (a year ago?) in some sort of long term marketing plan that may already been changed. I was kind of hoping they'd be a part of that intimidating Imperial propaganda campaign. Some posters of Vader/Palps pointing and asking you to JOIN THE EMPIRE might be appealing and help establish the new time period. I love that in many of these shorts, the oppression of the empire is highlighted... a very different theme from the dog days of The Clone Wars.

 

[davejames]

It appears that first canon book A New Dawn is out today. I'm curious to read it, but wonder if it might actually be better to wait until the season starts, so I at least have an inkling of who these characters are first.

 

[Drekstar]

This'll be interesting. Lots of story potential in the transition between Clone Wars to the Rebel War.

 

[cooleddie74]

I'd like to see some recruiting posters plastered to the sides of buildings in the new series with the Emperor glaring out and asking citizens to serve their New Order like good patriots. I'm reminded of the Visitor posters hung on buildings in the original V miniseries and weekly TV show in the early-to-mid '80s and how effective those pieces of artwork were in depicting how the Visitors were employing vast, diabolical propaganda techiques to confuse and fool humans into falling into their trap. Rebels should attempt something similar and use characters like the Emperor and Darth Vader.

 

[Christopher]

^Of course, the posters in V were based in turn on Nazi/fascist propaganda, because V was originally an allegory for the rise of the Nazis in Europe.

But then, Lucas has drawn on Nazi propaganda before, and not just for the bad guys. The final scene of the original Star Wars (aka A New Hope) is an homage to Leni Riefenstahl's Triumph of the Will, disturbingly enough. (Well, of course he was only drawing on the techniques of the propaganda, not the underlying ideology. But still...)

 

[davejames]

Well we have already seen some propaganda/recruiting posters for Rebels, which suggest how the Empire is trying to depict itself as this great opportunity for adventure and excitement ("Explore the galaxy! Ace pilots wanted!"), or trying to look like a force for good ("Protecting Lothal, Protecting You").

Although it would be interesting to get a closer look into that recruiting process, and how exactly it happens. Which I really hope Rebels intends to do at some point.

And speaking of posters, I can easily see Palpatine being depicted on them still looking like his younger, friendly TPM self, with most people having no real idea what he actually looks like now. That also fits with the way real world dictators like to be portrayed in the most flattering way possible.

 

[cooleddie74]

This is true. In the old EU the Emperor spent most of his time on the throne on Coruscant and increasingly confined to his palace studying Sith holocrons and other obscure and ancient knowledge in his attempts to learn the secrets of immortality. Many citizens of his Empire probably never saw him outside of a controlled media environment that portrayed him as a benign strongman who had brought peace and justice to the galaxy after the carnage of the Clone Wars and the betrayal and rebellion of the Jedi Order.

For all we know he was still being depicted as his pre-Episode III self in many regime-sanctioned images so as to not creep out too many of his subjects and make them doubt his competence and leadership.

 

[Reverend]

Strictly speaking, the galaxy already knows what he really looks like since he claimed in RotS that his "deformity" was a result of the Jedi Council's "assassination attempt." Indeed at that point at least he seemed to be spinning it as a symbol of his pride and resolve.