Tomorrow sees the release of “Star Wars: The Clone Wars – The Lost Missions’ on Blu-ray and DVD. This has been a long awaited release and I’m quite glad it’s come. It encompasses the 13 episodes that premiered on Netflix after the deal with Cartoon Network ended and Lucasfilm officially cancelled the show.
It also includes (if you have the Blu-ray version) the four episode Crystal Crisis arc that was presented in story-reel form exclusively on the Star Wars website earlier this year.
The 13 episodes consist of four revolving around Order 66, four that revolve around Padme’s ex-boyfriend, Rush Clovis, four that revolve around Yoda’s descent into the Force, and two that give us a team up between Jar Jar Binks and Mace Windu. These are as solid a cross-section of what “The Clone Wars” had to offer at its peak. Compelling action and classic science fiction involving the clones, soap opera-like drama involving the major players of the prequels, intriguing mysteries that expand on the mystery of the force, and some of the funniest and most compelling uses of Jar Jar and Mace Windu the saga has ever seen. Add to that the story reels and you get all the witty banter between Obi-Wan and Anakin and Jedi action you can handle.
The episodes look much better here on Blu-ray than on Netflix, where the quality could vary depending on bandwidth. This show has always been best viewed at the highest possible resolution and volume available and these episodes are no exception.
I’ve been rewatching “The Clone Wars” as a whole leading up to this release, taking the episodes in in rapid succession and chronological order. Taken as a whole, I’m of the considered opinion “The Clone Wars” is one of the finest works of television art ever conceived. Chugging along from beginning to end, it’s hard to believe how far the series came. And I think it’s a crime even greater than that perpetrated against the Browncoats that the show was cancelled before its time.
This set doesn’t answer all of the questions left from the show’s untimely end, but it does answer some nagging questions about the saga nonetheless.
Perhaps the most important feature on the disc is the documentary retrospective (which you can spot me in if you look closely) that spends time recapping the evolution of the show and the bittersweet feelings about it coming to an end. It certainly brought a tear to my eye. Having spent the last 7 years covering every single episode of the show since the beginning, watching it come to an end in this documentary, in the words of people I’ve talked to over and over again in all that time, put me over the edge of emotional territory.
This set is a must buy for any fan of “Star Wars.” And if you’re a fan of “Star Wars” and haven’t watched “The Clone Wars” yet, I’d dive into it. Immediately. Although you won’t NEED to know about it all going forward into this new era of “Star Wars,” it would certainly do you well to know it.
That it’s great is an added bonus.
You can order it on Amazon and it will be delivered directly.