Gotham: Season 5

Don't let Gotham die.

For my immense contempt of the first half of season 4, it ended very strongly and when I heard Gotham's 5th season was to also be it's last I was rather shocked and heartbroken. And they really did everything they could do with wrapping up the series, which is already a huge task to do for any series let alone Gotham, and it ended really well. But damn it I don't want it to end! I've been with Gotham from the beginning admist all the bad mouthing and zero faith in the show, I was there. It's been a great show, the best I could ask for. I was there at the beginning and now, I got to see how it ends. The last season was delivered a cruel and crushing blow from the very beginning, with every season it has been a solid 22 episode runtime, this season originally got 10. Ten. And somehow, I don't know how it got two additional episodes added. So all the stuff I wanted to see could have been shown if they had those 10 more episodes. It's such a shame, so they had to cram a lot into the 44 minute run time so every minute counts! I mean it has to! So we start off almost a month after the bridges blow and war is brewing in Gotham, all the gangs have divided up territories with the GCPD trying to protect civilians and keep crime to a low while waiting for the military to provide aid for the city, and this takes up literally 80% of the series but never does it get old or tired. Cause honestly when you get to that point after seeing everything from the Waynes being murdered onwards you care a lot! Tons happen, some of it taking some cues from the movies but hey I can't complain about that! Plots are uncovered, new characters are introduced, my boys continue to be perfection, and a few surprises are in store as well. I greatly enjoyed this season and it wrapped up everything very well, and there was soooo much to enjoy! I loved the whole Arkham City dynamic with all the gangs, and yeah they pull a Hugo Strange near the end, good ol' Stabby Babs is fun as ever (and simply gorgeous as a redhead), Ed is still same old Ed who gets to play detective a bit, Oswald is still the perfect level of over the top, Bruce plays a big role in protecting the city, and there's some lovely little easter eggs sprinkled throughout! I would be thrilled if they did a continuation or even a spin-off series from this in a year or two, there's a lot you can do and I like the fact they twist the mythos a bit, because honestly there was only one character I did not know in this entire series because I'm such a nerd and know too much about the Batman and his history so it can have it's little surprises and I'm okay with it! If there was only one teeny tiny itty bitty thing I hate is, there's not enough Jeremiah! Cameron Monaghan does such a great job in this series and we really needed more of him! However, that is easily remedied because of something that I've been waiting to happen for a long time. I hold grudges forever and I tasted bliss and joy when Tabitha gets stabbed in the heart by Mr. Cobblepot. Ohhh! Oh, it's sublime!! It was beauty incarnate. It happened 2 if not 3 seasons too late but I never can be too picky about victory! If you've heard me praise and talk about this series enough and haven't watched it, I totally get it! It may not be your thing but if you watch say...4 to 6 episodes of the first season and you kinda want to see what's next give the show a watch. Granted the first season is very case of the week and it starts getting really good when the 2nd season starts, so if you can make it past the first you may stick around to the last. And with tremendous sadness and regret we must leave Gotham but I strongly doubt it will be the last time I see it.

Star Wars: Clone Wars (2003)

I decided to do this today even though it's my birthday, to not only compare notes but to leave no loose ends.

When you get right down to the two Clone Wars series we have could not be more night and day. This series is all about the visuals, with grand scale battles, excellent design, and short but satisfying stories. And when I say short I mean short, the first episode is 3 minutes and 30 seconds. The entire series clocks in a bit over 2 hours, so it's practically the most action packed Star Wars movie ever made. Now you might be thinking, well how could it be so good if each episode is so damn short? Well it's difficult to explain, though most episodes don't have much dialogue you can get easily invested, and each battle is significantly different so the show never feels stale for even a microsecond. Plus the fact that the dialogue is minimum and not full of exposition means anybody can watch it regardless of age or language and totally get it. That is visual storytelling and that's just Genndy's style. The first season follows up after Episode 2, and the end of season two is literally where Episode 3 begins, it could not match up better! I guess it all depends on what you want, if you want large scale battles with great lightsaber duels and stuff you won't find anywhere else in any other Star Wars film or TV series then this is definitely the series for you, but if character and story arcs is what you love then you have the new series. I love both but for very different reasons, though both shows are great. You can watch both seasons on Youtube for free because the DVD's that I bought way back when are ludicrously priced, so you're not gonna lose anything. It's such a well crafted show, with great visuals and designs, excellent action, but also knows when to take a break and give some nice character moments, and it's filled with stuff you just never seen before even with the new series. I never knew that a lightsaber could work underwater, or what would happen if a duel occured during a rainstorm, how Ventress was recruited by Dooku, why General Greivous had damaged lungs, it gives a lot more weight and significance to even small details of Revenge Of The Sith. It's expertly crafted and must be seen by any true fan, you won't regret it.

And thus concludes for now my love for the animated Star Wars series and that's kind of it for Star Wars for a good long while, unless I get a severe urge to watch the Holiday Special which I got news for you, ain't happening. So until December my friend, just remember....no one's ever really gone.

The Clone Wars: Season 6

The end, for now.

It's always a sad day when you finish a show you greatly love. Season 6 or The Lost Missions are the closing episodes of the series, or so we thought. It already begins with an excellent four part story dealing with one of our oldest clone allies Fives who after a clone trooper kills a Jedi is researching the clone development process and comes across a crucial part of the soon to be Emperor's plan. It's rough to watch at the end. It has so much weight to it because you've known this soldier for 6 seasons and his story comes to an end, and you don't want it to. Pull a Force Unleashed, take the canon and shoot it out of a cannon into the next galaxy. But sadly it does not come to pass. Then we get a really good story with Padme and Anakin's relationship coming to a breaking point, and actually gives some great substance to the relationship and tests their love. It makes the gag inducing romance subplot of Attack Of The Clones somewhat tolerable. And right before the end we have a true tribute to the fantasy movies of the 80s, seriously if you recount the plot it screams movies like Beastmaster, Ladyhawk, and so on. A brave warrior, Mace Windu teams up with his bumbling sidekick, Jar Jar to save a queen from an evil witch. That's fantasy story 101 and if you're a fan of that kind of stuff like I am it's a fun adventure before the finale. The last story arc deals with the Jedi finally looking into the Jedi Master who created the clone army and coming to a few discoveries and Master Yoda hears from an old friend beyond the grave setting him out on a quest to know the secret of life after death. Not only do we get some good old fashion trials, more Force entities, and getting more and more hints of things that have not yet come to pass but you get to finally have a story dedicated to Yoda. How interesting that the first episode and the last episode center around Yoda. And it ends pretty definitively, I could pop in Revenge Of The Sith right now and feel a complete story was told. It even plays that heart aching music when Ahsoka left, so the finale is a very nice but somber ending which makes sense when you reach the events of Episode 3. It was great going back and watching the whole series one last time before it left Netflix, and regardless of ending I am excited and interested to see what they will do next with this series. Thank you all for joining me, I felt it was time to talk about a great show based off my favorite thing in the world, maybe I got you interested to try it out or just pitched in with the discussion of the show between fans. There's so much to talk about that I couldn't cover everything but if you want to ask a question about this or that or start a discussion I certainly can't say no to you. Thank you very much, see you next time, and as always may the force be with you.

The Clone Wars: Season 5

Well unfortunately this season suffers much like the last but Jesus does it end in an unforgettable way.

It starts out really blah, with young Saw Gerrera leading a rebellion, and like the water war of last season it goes on and on, but then it perks up a bit with Ahsoka leading young Jedi to find their lightsaber crystals and it's a good episode. Then it just keeps going. And going. And going like the damn Energizer bunny! It's worse than Saw's rebellion, at least that had content to span out over a few episodes, the young Jedi arc should have stopped after the first part. Then we get a adventure story with R2 and a handful of other drouds going on a mission which is all fine and good, yes it drags but we get to see a Republic Commando in action and for hardcore fans it makes up for the okay story. It's kinda sad how the "last" season of Clone Wars is padded out so much, literally half of the season is padding! But if you make it past that, Maul goes on a tour de force amassing a criminal empire and exacting a bit of revenge on Obi-Wan which some could argue is the best part of the season, not only does it show off Maul's combat prowess against Pre Visla the head of Death Watch, in a fight so excellent it has gained over 10 million views on YouTube, but also the most dark side fueled duel in history. Mother of mercy this is f***ing hardcore man! But in my humble opinion, the last story arc is the best. Ahsoka Tano, a beloved character we have seen grow and develop into a true Jedi is framed for a bombing on the Jedi Temple itself, leading both her and Anakin to try and find the true culprit. And it's a giant pushing force for Anakin to do what he does in Episode 3, but causes waves of events to happen and some we have not seen yet. It's hard not to get choked up at the end. Imagine if you watched that when it was on TV, imagine if this was the last Clone Wars episode ever. No season 6 on Netflix, no continuation of the series five years after it ended, nope it just ends. That is a downer ending! I'm almost afraid to watch future Clone Wars episodes because it can seriously damage the emotional reputation of this episode. It's why the season two finale of Rebels was a big deal! I know we will talk about the 6th season tomorrow, but for me this is how The Clone Wars ended. Not with an exciting bang, but an emotionally charged finale.

The Clone Wars: Season 4

Well I wish I could say it started off strong.

Now don't get me wrong, this is not a Gotham situation where every season until the 4th has been great, it's still pretty damn good with a lot of great stories and character moments but jeez is there some padding before the good stuff. We start off with an underwater invasion on Mon Cala, which is okay....if it didn't go on for 4 damn episodes. It gets old. Fast. Why couldn't we have this for the invasion of Kamino? There's nothing fundamentally wrong with it, it's a welcome change of pace in terms of the battlefield, it's interesting seeing a young Admiral Ackbar, but it just goes on, and on, and on. How can a season begin and already pull the drag chute? But wait there's more! Then we go on to R2 and 3PO meandering about for 2 episodes and it is not an improvement on the first four episodes. You can immediately skip 6 episodes in this 22 episode long season already. But thankfully after that it's hit after hit until the end and I can safely say the Umbara four parter is excellent, dealing with Captain Rex under the command of a brutish and unsympathetic general, and honestly I was getting 'Nam flashbacks like crazy. Soldiers brought into a battlefield where the enemy is hardly ever seen and completely decimates ground forces to the point they need to call in air strikes, and a leader who will not pull the troops out of a hopeless situation. Yeah. It's grim. And as each episode goes on the tension mounts until shit goes down. I mean Jesus! That is how you should start this season! We move along to a decent three parter with Anakin and friends dealing with slavers, which hits home for our Chosen One but also Ahsoka who's people are captured and used as slave labor. Good story, good character development, solid B+. I will admit I like the premise of Ahsoka teaming up with a past Separatist who battles bounty hunters from Mandalore, but the only problem is I hate this kid. Yeah there's a lot of hate for kids in this show for me, he's an unlikable whiny jerk who tries to martyr himself and the only thing I can say is, I do NOT ship it! But don't worry, we get more bounty hunter adventures with Obi-Wan faking his death and going undercover, so we get awesome angry Anakin moments, a fantastic entertaining episode called The Box, and of course Cad Bane. Woop woop! And then we end on a high note. Darth f***ing Maul is back. And it is every bit of awesome as you think! That is how you end a season. You gurantee a surplus of viewers for the next season to see the best part of Phantom Menace back and kicking ass more than ever! Beautiful, perfect, 10/10! Yeah I'm biased towards the Sith, but only the wisest are. I will say the animation got better and for good reason, the creators wanted to get Maul to look impressive and real so they upgraded the quality of the graphics and it does look excellent, not to mention Starkiller voice actor himself Sam Witwer who is the biggest pimp in Star Wars next to James Earl Jones of course, dude deserves awards and more fans, that's all I'm saying! I am stoked for next season so I can gush relentlessly over Maul so stick around!

The Clone Wars: Season 3

*WARNING what follows is the geekiest review you have ever read. You will witness the true scope of my lifelong love for Star Wars. Be advised!*

Another fine addition to this collection, and the best season yet all around. We begin very much how we ended last with further situations arrising on Mandalore before we are whisked away to bounty hunting with Cad Bane, an invasion of the clone world of Kamino, more backstory into Asajj Ventress and the introduction of an old Sith's brother, the introduction of Captain Tarkin, and quite possibly the best story arc in the entire series. So yeah, lots to talk about! Mandalore is an interesting planet and the stage for even more future events, and always seeing Satine is a pleasure. She's such a well rounded character, and we see a friendship begin with Padme which is a lot of fun and starts the season off well. Then we jump straight into Cad Bane further proving why he is the best at what he does as he accepts a job from the Hutt's to hunt down a member of their family, and yeah it hardly feels like Star Wars and more an episode of In The Heat Of The Night but hey, any episode with Cad Bane brings the entertainment factor to the max for me! Then we move along to a massive invasion of battle droids at the very heart of the Republic's army and you know what, this episode bugs the shit out of me! Why? One simple answer, it isn't long enough. You'd think with such a pivotal battle with a lot on the line, they would take multiple episodes to show off this siege but it's wrapped up in one episode. Granted, they utilize every single last second and make it absolutely amazing but it just made me really want to see more. We get some decent episodes of Ahsoka, who's developed a lot more in terms of power and character and is forced to acknowledge the fact that war is far from simple, and it's great to see her grow up a bit and to become her own Jedi, though of course still taking after Anakin. And we'll get back to him in a moment. Then we get some much needed Ventress screen time, her episodes are excellent, not only showing off a new world and culture of literal witches, magic and all no powers drawn from the Force, that delve into her history and how she came to be the way she is. That was incredibly interesting, and leads to the best lightsaber duel yet with Count Dooku that wows me everytime I see it. Even if you don't watch the show, watch the duel. It really does show off how much better the combat, animations, and graphics have gotten, and they only get better from here which says a lot! And last but certainly not least we have the Mortis story arc. Oh my gawd! This does everything right. We get new character insights, a return to the mystical Force and not just scientific betrayals, literal personifications of Light Side, Dark Side, and Grey Side of the Force with so much allegory and parallels to the Star Wars...everything that it would take me weeks to fully talk about it. I really don't think future episodes surpass this, until perhaps the end of the 6th season and even then I'd have to think about it. I mean wow, they really did some inventive, great, and entertaining things with this season. But you can't have your resounding successes without your crippling failures which aren't that many, hardly at all but it has it's fair share of skippable episodes. About 5 in my count, most of them don't matter in the grand scheme of things whether in plot or character, including a murder mystery so uninteresting I planned better ways to eliminate my enemies, Ahsoka dealing with a bunch of f***ing kids who go full Scooby-Doo mystery solving that made me do other things besides watch it, and this weird like, Star Wars meets The Most Dangerous Game where Ahsoka and a bunch of other kids get hunted down by Trandoshans and Chewbacca is there and I really, really could not care less. Also what the hell is with the voice acting this season? Nothing horribly wrong with our leads but I caught at least 3 major WTF accents, one of the Hutts Ziro and his girlfriend sound like there from the bayou boy, it's like whaaaat?? And this guy, this like warden of this super duper impossible to escape super prison tower....I have no idea what he sounds like. Other than an asshole. The best I came up with is if you took Willem DaFoe and Christopher Walken with a splash of Jersey dickhead, I have no idea what this guy is on. Well, at least they got a good actor for Tarkin. So yeah, it has problems but few and far between with such excellent stories. And Season 4 is right around the corner.

The Clone Wars: Season 2

WARNING: what follows is the geekiest review you have ever read. You will witness the true scope of my lifelong love for Star Wars. Be advised!*

More interesting tales to see. Yet another fine season, surpassing the last in terms of stories and new characters. We already start off strong with an interesting three part story showing the debut of the best bounty hunter in the galaxy, Cad Bane. Yes, I will argue this with you. Cad Bane is a better bounty hunter than Boba Fett! I mean what's not to love? Cool design based heavily on westerns, badass voice, cool demeanor, excellent array of skills, the dude is one of the best mainstays of the whole series. Hell the first 3 part storyline and the last of the season are some of the best episodes of the whole season. The last three part story arc revolves around Mandalore and an old flame of Obi-Wan which is greatly fascinating and leads to a lot of good banter between him and the Duchess Satine. And to see Obi-Wan in such a position with such a remarkable lady it's hard not to ship it you know? It gives us a lot more info about Kenobi before Episode 1. It's a pivotal story arc which will be revisited in the future. Throw in a good tribute to Akira Kurosawa, a mish-mash of Aliens, The Blob, and Invasion Of The Body Snatchers with a zombie twist, and a really good episode that focuses solely on Ahsoka, and you got a really really good second season. Granted there are about 6 episodes that you can skip but by no means are they bad, if you want to see a young Boba Fett try to exact revenge on Mace Windu, or a King Kong style story set in the Star Wars universe, then be my guest and have fun. There just wasn't much there for me to really praise. But come on, you have a complete Seven Samurai tribute with pirate Ohnaka and some really badass looking bounty hunters duking it out for some villagers. Then you get a disturbing deeper look into Genosis which takes a lot of good inspiration and uses it well with very moody lighting, genuinely creepy monsters, and caps off with Ahsoka against an entire ship full of zombified clone troopers. What's not to love? Speaking of her, an entire episode dedicated to Ahsoka retrieving her lost lightsaber sounds like a filler episode if you ever heard one but it tells us a lot about her character and even stirs up some controversy of her training. What will happen after the war is over? How do you go from warrior commander to peacekeeper pacifist? That's a really good part of the show that they keep referring back to, solidifying why this show continues to have such a dedicated and loving fanbase. It truly does rise above just another cartoon show. Through every episode the animation is better, the voice acting is excellent, the stories offer tons of variety and intrigue, and you get to know more about new and old characters. It's hard to go wrong with that! There's so much to talk about in the coming seasons and I greatly look forward to it. So until tomorrow my friends!