Star
Wars Rebels: The Complete Season One
(2014 - 2015/LucasFilm/Disney Blu-ray)/Star
Wars: The New Yoda Chronicles
(2014/LucasFilm/Disney DVD)
Picture:
B+/B Sound: B+/B Extras: B-/C Episodes: B/B-
Star
Wars Rebels: The Complete Season One
Picture:
B+ Sound: B+ Extras: B- Episodes: B
Ezra
Bridger (voiced by Taylor Gray) is an orphan fighting to survive in a
world ruled by the Galactic Empire until he has a run in with the
crew of the spaceship Ghost. Ezra happens to be hijacking part of a
shipment intended for the Empire, while the crew of The Ghost is
concurrently robbing the same ship. Kanan Jarrus (voiced by Freddie
Prinze, Jr.) is the light saber wielding captain of The Ghost, while
[female] Hera Syndulla (voiced by Vanessa Marshall) is his pilot and
love interest. The final crew members are the Chewbacca-like Zeb
(voiced by Steve Blum), the ships Astro-mech Droid Chopped, and
Sabine (voiced by Tiya Sicar) a young Mandalorian.
Interesting
to note, Zeb looks much like (if not exactly like) Ralph McQuarrie's
original concept art for Chewbacca for the first Star
Wars
film; which is awesome and a nice homage. In fact, the whole series
uses McQuarrie's concept art as inspiration; getting away from the
more detailed style of Clone
Wars
and getting back to a more basic, at times stylized feel of the
concept art. Many complain about this, but
it is actually nice to see a fresh take for this new series.
The
First
Season consists
of 15 episodes with a 2 part opener. Star
Wars Rebels: Season One mainly
focuses on Ezra as he joins the crew of The Ghost and learns about
'The Force,' as well as the fate of his parents. While the series is
a true successor to the CGI Star
Wars Clone Wars series,
it stands on its own with an independent storyline that takes place
after the events of Star
Wars: Revenge of Sith,
but before the events of Star
Wars: A New Hope.
The season has a degree of continuity to it with reoccurring themes,
characters, and events but overall each episode could be a 'one off'
adventure. As the series kicks off, it clearly has a more open, fun,
light hearted feel to it as opposed to the Star
Wars prequel
films or even the Clone
Wars series;
which both suffered from somewhat convoluted storylines. This is a
plus and minus for Star
Wars Rebels,
whereas it harkens back to the fun, archetypal story of the original
Star
Wars films;
it also is a bit too childish and simplistic at times. This problem
is seemingly quickly fixed, as by mid-season (definitely by the end)
the series manages to better connect events and build a world that
relies on character development and continuity.
As
this series (again) takes place after Revenge
of the Sith,
but before New
Hope there
are not many appropriate opportunities from 'known' characters to
appear; though at the beginning of the series and the end of Season
One we
do get a cameo from Sith Lord Darth Vader. There are appearances by
the likes of C3PO, R2D2, and even (most inappropriately) Lando
[voiced by Billy Dee Williams]. Those appearances felt forced and
unnecessary at best. The series is well done and does itself a
disservice by throwing in distracting cameos.
The
main baddie is a creep named The Inquisitor (voiced by Jason Isaacs)
who [like Jedi and Sith Lords] wields a light saber; and a cool
looking one at that. This new bad guy makes for a formidable foe for
the crew of The Ghost without relying on successful characters from
the past; though hang on for a great appearance of a known character
at the end of Season
One.
The
technical features of Season
One are
well done with solid, clear picture and sound. The picture is
presented as a 1.78 X 1 high definition that while having a more
basic/cartoony appearance does remain consistent throughout with a
clean, crisp, clear image with a bright palette and detailed
backdrops. The sound is a Dolby Digital 5.1 track that is nice and
gets the job done, but is hardly a lossless track and fails to give
the series the 'warp speed' sound it needs to keep this lively series
going. The dialogue is crisp and clear and again is by no means bad;
but could use a DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) lossless treatment.
With
the exception of the Rebel
Recon Webisodes,
the bonus features aren't very thrilling and are very short
(averaging 2-7 minutes each). Extras include:
Rebels
Recon
Star
Wars Rebels: The Ultimate Guide
Star
Wars Rebels Season 2: Look Ahead
Sneak
Peaks
Rebels
Infiltrate Star Wars Celebration
The
Machine in the Ghost
Art
Entanglement
Property
of Ezra Bridger
Disney
has promoted this Star
Wars series
as more of a 'children's series,' which is kind of sad as it has a
lot of merits and is developing into a much more detailed series for
all ages to enjoy. If you were hesitant to watch Rebels
now is the time to join in as Season
One hits
Blu-ray.
Star
Wars: The New Yoda Chronicles
Picture:
B Sound: B Extras: C Episodes: B-
I
love Star
Wars and
I am always thrilled to take a peek at anything even minutely related
to the universe, but the abundance of 'Lego Star Wars' games, TV
series, and straight to DVD/Blu-ray series have made me a bit wary.
The
New Yoda Chronicles consists of 4 episodes of a more comedic take on
the Star Wars Universe. Taking Place between Empire
Strikes Back and
Return
of the Jedi (seemingly)
The
New Yoda Chronicles has
Luke Skywalker nearly hand delivering the Rebel Alliance into the
clutches of Emperor Palpatine, but narrowly escaping. The short
series also has Master Yoda, the ghost of Obi-wan Kenobi, Luke
Skywalker, and Darth Vader all seeking the final remnants of Jedi
Secrets known as Holocrons; with Vader stopping at nothing to find
them.
The
series is imaginative and fun for kids, but has little to do with the
known continuity of the Star Wars Universe and while a nice jaunt
into the worlds of Vader, Yoda, and Skywalker it does cater highly to
the kiddies.
The
DVD does have nice, clean CGI image and adequate sound, but isn't
Blu-ray. The picture has a Widescreen, anamorphically enhanced 1.78
X 1 presentation with bright colors and clear CGI animation without
much distortion. The sound is a simple, lossy Dolby Digital 5.1
track that does use the surrounds somewhat, but comes heavily from
the front; remaining clear throughout.
Extras
include an Alternate Ending to the Episode ''Clash
of the Skywalkers.''
-
Michael P. Dougherty II
