I’m real tired of this 8 episode “seasons” who somehow tell less with their hour long episodes than TNG did in 30 minutes.
This is a major problem in any disney+ series. They all look like a movie stretch into 8 episodes. Mandalorian more episodic in season 1 and Andor are the exception.
With the Kenobi show they wasted so much potential in doing this. That should have been a movie or 10 episode 45 minute episodes at least, just because of all the extra nonsense they crammed in there.
TNG episodes are typically about 45 minutes.
I think the reason TNG did so well is that they had 22-27 episodes per season. This let them really take their time with character development so that a given episode could focus on a self contained story.
Which is what I’m not understanding about this new format. I dont think its better that each one is a movie. The time they had to develop characters, plus the great A plot and B plot writing is what helped make the show interesting.
I never see any shows these days with 20+ episode seasons. It almost feels like a relic of a bygone TV era. It’s too bad really.
Some of the best TNG episodes were very “small.” They told a very self-contained story and you got to see some side of a character you hadn’t seen before but otherwise they didn’t have a major effect on the wider universe. That doesn’t seem to happen at all anymore. Now every show has to have a big over arching plot where every episode continues the story. Whatever happened to giving us a break?
I grew up with episodic content. Often there was absolutely no growth or change at all so you could miss any number of episodes and felt like you missed nothing. Babylon 5 came along with its epic arc and it was amazing. There were good episodes and bad ones, but if you watched everything you’d catch references and it would build up the meta-plot culminating in a season 4 that left you absolutely breathless between episodes. You couldn’t miss a week or you’d miss out on information with which to speculate online. It was an incredible time.
Now with streaming everyone is doing it and all the little tropes that repeat themselves to prevent the plot from moving at a natural pace are just aggravating. The flashback episode that could’ve been 30 seconds of exposition. The fucking mystery where you don’t know what’s going on or why you should care about any of this until the last god damned episode. The episode that takes place in a shoebox to save budget for a disappointing CGI-fest. And of course the disappointing CGI-fest where you are given lasers and explosions, but nothing makes any sense and you just want to have a moment with genuine emotion and drama.
I should just go back to sitcoms, but streaming them feels weird because… nothing ever happens and it feels like watching the same thing over and over again. Well… shit.
If you haven’t seen Parks & Rec, that’s a fantastic sitcom with an actual story arc that extends over the entire series. Great stuff!
The Good Place is another one!
I did really like the good place. I’ll give P&R a shot. The clips have always made me laugh.
I am with you there, though 8-10 episodes can be perfected these days as long as they are proper 45 minute episodes. With that you can tell epic stories.
Not this 27 minute nonsense that Disney keeps doing with big Star Wars shows…
And with that I am forced to mention The Acolyte’s 8 episodes of ~27 minutes with a budget of $180 million…
Agreed. Isn’t one episode of The Acolyte just about three Jedi’s walking through the first to a house?
I’ve only got two episodes left and in struggling to bother concluding the series.
Had a big problem with this watching Andor.
It would have been so much better condensed into half as many episodes.
I have to disagree with this one. The little 3 episode mini-arcs I think were ideal. Enough time to take time exploring a set of characters and to allow the situation to develop, without feeling like anything was dragging because they were trying to tell 6 episodes worth of story in 12 episodes.
That’s okay.
I know some people like it and that it just wasn’t for me.
Star Wars without The Force and the Jedi/Sith just doesn’t feel like Star Wars to me, but the Nolanized version exists for those who do.
I like Jude Law as an actor but I’m not getting my hopes up. It’s quantity over quality lately.
Kind of hilarious when you think about all the content that has been cancelled.
That’s all nice and stuff but what about second seasons?
I don’t think they know about second seasons, Pip.
What about holiday specials? Surprise episodes? Feature length movies? They know about them, don’t they?
When four kids make a mysterious discovery on their seemingly safe home planet, they get lost in a strange and dangerous galaxy. Finding their way home, meeting unlikely allies and enemies will be a greater adventure than they ever imagined
Sounds interesting! Probably aimed at a slightly younger demographic than the typical SW fan, a bit like Acolyte was, but I’m sure it’ll still be enjoyable at least.
I’m wondering if we’re going to see the Chiss ascendency.
I’m doubtful we’ll see the Chiss, but I share your enthusiasm. I’m excited.
I suspect the Chiss Ascendancy are deemed too complex yet boring to be made a viable culture in Disney shows, unless they give them a rework that comes with the danger of gimping Thrawn. But they might go with a Chiss character here and there.
My guess is that Disney saw Prodigy in Star Trek had promise to reach a younger audience, well, before they cancelled and moved the show around streaming networks…
The director watched Stranger Things and wanted to create something like it in the Star Wars universe.
My doubt-o-meter is over 9000
Good! It’s about time they brought skeletons to the Star Wars universe
There’s no coming back from this!
Inb4: “somehow” the Lars’s returned.
A quick lesson in apostrophes:
The stormtroopers’ blasts leveled Owen Lars’s place; the Larses were caught in the carnage.
deleted by creator
I honestly haven’t watched anything since Mando Season 1 ended. And I probably should watch Mando season 2 and Andor, but who on earth has enough time to watch all these shows?
Andor starts off slow, but it’s one of the best pieces of Star Wars media ever produced. It’s about the only thing worth watching that Disney has produced thus far.
Andor is great, probably the best Star Wars content in years, actually it doesn’t even need to be Star Wars content, it’s just that good as a sci fi series…
Mando s2 is okay, but I recommend you don’t go beyond it if you value your sanity.
That’s what I’ve heard. Is Book of Boba Fett any good?
For what it’s worth, I really enjoyed the Star Wars: Vision series.
Book of boba fett is probably the worst sw show
Nah, Book of Boba Fett loses track of its own plot halfway through the season and honestly became painful to finish
It also becomes very apparent that it’s a Disney run show where they can’t afford to show violence and blood, so combat ends up comically bad
Book of Boba fett is Mando season 2.5. It also has some episodes with Boba Fett.
I am getting modern Ewok Movie vibes … and that is not a good thing.
It really feels like another step to remake Star Wars into a more children focused affair, after they laid waste to their more adult fanbase. Now I will await Disney to start throwing toxic sludge at the fans months ahead, so that when the show releases they can blame the fanbase for the failure.
That said, ignoring its copy-paste setup from the Acolyte trailer, for now this teaser did intrigue me, I am curious where the next trailer will take it. But I can’t be bothered any more to get hyped up prematurely.
I only watch series when they are complete, so I don’t have to wait for new episodes, and I can check ratings of all of it before I commit my time.
Are the other ones finished yet? There was the Mandalorian, I think an Obi Wan one, and about the guy from Rogue One? Or are there now 4 Star Wars series being made concurrently?
The first three seasons of Mandalorian are done. I believe another is on the way at some undetermined point. The first two seasons both end at good stopping points and can be watched and left alone easily afterward. The third season feels more like filler to set up future stories.
Andor has had one season. Another season is coming at some point. The first season has a satisfying ending to the main story beats, although it leaves some things open for the future.
The Kenobi show is self contained, no future installments planned. I personally do no recommend it though, as outside of seeing McGregor and briefly Christiansen return, it doesn’t have much in its favor.
Thank you for the info!
