Star Wars The Clone Wars: A Galaxy Divided

It's fitting that George Lucas would turn to animation to continue telling Star Wars adventures. He managed to piss off a generation of fans with his ill-conceived prequels, having his actors react to CGI cartoons in front of green screens, so the guy's got to turn to the kids, hook 'em young and hook 'em now. This latest instalment is actually the first four episodes of the new ongoing television series. Like the previous Clone Wars instalments, the events of A Galaxy Divided take place between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, as the Jedi and their clone army continue the pan-galaxy battle against Count Dooku's forces. New characters on both the Jedi and Sith side are introduced and Anakin Skywalker's Padawan, Ahsoka Tano, perhaps the most annoying Star Wars character since Jar Jar Binks, is carried over from the Clone Wars film. It's difficult to care about any of them though when down the line it's obvious that anyone who didn't appear in Revenge isn't really going to figure in the grand scheme of the Star Wars universe. It's unclear why these first four episodes were packaged together, especially since there are no extras, instead of just releasing the whole season in one go. The move is reminiscent of the days of VHS when 20 bucks got you about one eighth of a season. But what ultimately does The Clone Wars in is the medium. What was so enjoyable about the original three films was the blending of reality and fantasy — everything you saw onscreen, while not possible in the real world, was at least standing next to the actors on set. And that sucked you in — you wanted to believe in the world Lucas was creating. But by animating the entire thing, Lucas lost Star Wars's one relatable element: the people.