Spoilers ahead, so if you haven’t seen the episode, turn back.

Back during Season 3 there was a bit of a row over a shot that was cut by censors at Cartoon Network. You can read the full story about that here, but the long and short of it is this: Asajj Ventress killed a clone on her lightsaber and didn’t drop him until giving him a sensual kiss. It was an incredible, revealing moment in the character of Ventress, but it was cut at the last minute by Cartoon Network.

I just finished watching the season five premiere of The Clone Wars and am wondering if Cartoon Network censors have struck again.

I was at the premiere at Celebration VI and feel like there was another odd omission from the version shown there and the version that aired.

When Savage Opress sustains his major wound at the hands of Obi-wan, there were close up glimpses of the stump of the Zabrak’s arm. Shorn bone and meat were visible. It was a bold move, but not gratuitous in any way. After the show, Dave Filoni and Joel Aron spoke to the crowd about how what we saw was already a severely toned down version of what they’d originally wanted to do.

On the episode I saw this morning, that detail was completely absent. The camera cut anytime we’d get a good look at the stump and the wound was pitch black.

I’m not saying with certainty any censoring occurred. Perhaps I mis-remembered the shots I thought I saw. Perhaps Filoni and crew decided to tone it down preemptively, knowing Cartoon Network wouldn’t like it. Perhaps my TV’s brightness wasn’t up enough.

But I don’t think so.

Between instance like this, the change in time to Saturday morning (which really doesn’t feel right), and the obnoxious lower thirds and commercials, it makes me wonder if Cartoon Network is a good home for The Clone Wars.

Perhaps issues like this wouldn’t bother me so much if there were a pay alternative I could utilize simultaneously. I already don’t get to see the show until 10:30am MST, and as I write this an hour later, the episode still isn’t available for purchase on iTunes. Why can’t we get a premium, pay option, that eliminates the need for censoring, commercials, lower thirds, and terrible SD resolution?

I’d even prefer to see this as a Saturday matinee in a movie theatre. I’d pay for that every week.

Peter Pan is one of my favorite of the Disney movies. Everything about it brings a smile to my face. And every time I hit a Disney park I HAVE to go on the Peter Pan ride. (It’s amazing how much better the ride is at DisneyLand as compared to Disney World.)

You can sign up through Amazon to pre-order the Blu-ray.

This is one I’m definitely picking up.

This first appeared on Huffington Post.

It’s very easy for people to dismiss The Clone Wars as “just a kids show.” It’s a cartoon, which is often (mis)categorized as a medium just for kids, it’s Star Wars, which some people (mis)categorize as something only kids and misanthropic basement dwellers enjoy, and it’s on Cartoon Network.

I’m here to let you know that it’s okay to enjoy the show. It’s for everyone. Sure, some of the episodes that kicked off the series might have been aimed at a younger audience, the show today bears only a passing resemblance to then. First, the visuals on the show rival our expectations of what we’ve wanted The Clone Wars to be since Alec Guinness mentioned it in 1977. Then, the Lucas animation department is the only one working today I’d match toe-to-toe with Pixar animation, the work, passion, and artistry they’re pouring into the show is unheard of. Third, the writing is expanding the mythology of Star Wars in ways that fill in gaps between the classic films and the prequels, add intriguing shades of gray, and give us wonderful science fiction quandaries on weekly basis.

Don’t believe me?

Check out the new trailer for Season 5 (which starts on Saturday):

This show is simply incredible. If you can buy into the mythology of Star Wars, this show is the best thing going on on television.

I’m a nerd for Star Wars across the board. I spend more time studying and pondering it than most (in fact, I just started a series on the official Star Wars website about the film influences on Star Wars and The Clone Wars). If you’re like me, the next EXCLUSIVE clip from Season 5 is going to make you salivate:

That’s the Jon Favreau voiced Mandalorian Pre Vizsla, the Sam Witwer voiced Darth Maul, and the Clancy Brown voiced Savage Opress, meeting up with the leaders of the criminal organization Black Sun, which made its first appearance in the 1996 Star Wars novel Shadows of the Empire. On Mustafar, which is the planet where Obi-wan and Anakin have their final duel in Revenge of the Sith. This show is just dripping in Star War mythology, but never in a way that gets in the way of enjoyment for anyone in the audience.

Take my word for it. Check out this show. Season 5 starts on Cartoon Network on Saturday 29th. Set it up on your DVR. You owe it to yourself.

Bryan Young is an author, the editor in chief of the geek news and review site Big Shiny Robot!, and an unabashed fan of Star Wars.

We all love seeing our favorite heroes on the big screen, but until the recent explosion of superhero movies, we had to be content with their exploits on the humble television screen, most often in the form of animation. While I would probably give the edge to DC in terms of overall quality, Marvel Comics has done really well to get their characters on screen to introduce them to the masses. I dunno about you, but when I saw these shows as a kid, and even now as an adult, a catchy theme or some sort of intro to the characters helped me to decide if I was going to watch said show, or go watch a rerun of Duck Tales instead. Of course, with so many shows over the years there are bound to be some amazing theme songs, and some well, not so great ones. On that note, here’s my entirely arbitrary and non-scientific list of the 10 best, 10 worst Marvel Animated theme songs of all time!

First, to get us started, I thought I’d just show the original intro the the Marvel Super-Heroes show from 1966. It’s very rarely been shown since then, and it’s a great opener, enjoy!

“>httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3g0tzgIezY

The Good:

10. Black Panther

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeGSNyYeQJs

Now to be honest, I’ve only seen one episode of this show, and really, it’s just a glorified motion comic. That being said, the theme is pretty catchy, and actually fits with Black Panther’s Wakandan heritage. It’s based on Reginald Hudlin’s famous run of the comic, even. It’s the sort of thing that does make me want to check out the show more than I have. Hey, what do you know, I can do that right now.

9. Captain America 1966

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpufNT8I-SU

This one always brings a smile to my face. The theme is upbeat and stays in your head, but is short enough that it does’t overstay its welcome. Not only that, in the 20-second runtime, The tune gives you a rough idea of what Cap is about. Although even a 6-year-old can make an educated guess as to what the deal is with a guy practically dressed in the American flag. The song is also pretty versatile. Comic artist Chris Giarusso did a nice remix of this song a while back featuring his favorite hero instead of Cap.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SA_PTP_Sgw

8. Incredible Hulk 1982

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VlyNUyApm8

Watching this intro now, I am pretty much thinking to myself “The Hulk sure fights a a lot of aliens.” That weirdness aside, I like this instrumental theme because of the power it conveys, and as we all know, the Hulk is all about power. Even so, we see that the Hulk is a hero as well, saving a civilian from certain death even after taking a building to the face. Couple that with a quick gamma-fueled origin shot, and the ending with a true display of ‘ol greenskin’s power? Yeah, this one works for me.

7. Iron Man: Armored Adventures

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxzDTt0RT7U

Say what you will about the folly of introducing the mass audience to the horrors of Teen Tony, I sure like his theme song. I wouldn’t be opposed to listening to a full-length version of it, actually. The lyrics though? Yeah, those are kind of silly, hence it’s place at #7.

6. Iron Man Anime

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzOmdkqYO9w

Now this one I admittedly have not seen. I can tell you just from this, I’m not too keen on the armor design. His eyes are too far apart! I’m not even that fond of the music. Why is it on the “good” list then? Well, what it does right, it does very right. From the opening blueprint/schematic, the scene where Tony actually dons the armor, and especially the scene lifted from the first Iron Man movie, this is a show that says “Watch Me!” If I someone with no knowledge off Iron Man outside of the movies and saw this, it would get me interested for the desert scene alone, and that’s why it works.

5. Spider-Man & His Amazing Friends

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spmlzifLrHY

Admittedly, this one is on here for purely nostalgic reasons. It’s pretty cheesy now, but back then, this was my gateway drug into comics in general. Barring that though, this theme does have some things going for it. First, the music is pretty catchy, second it introduces Iceman and Firestar in such a way, that you know what you need to know about them before the first line of dialog is even spoken. Of course the real kicker is the den/secret lab. I don’t think it actually ever gets used in the series, but to a young kid? It’s well, amazing.

4. X-Men 1991

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IzSGvXc_PM

Ah, X-Men. Also known as the first Marvel cartoon that catered to both newbies and longtime fans. This theme has it all. Great music, an introduction the the vast ensemble cast, complete with their names and power sets! Too bad the show itself didn’t always live up to the standards set by its theme song. I still cringe whenever I have to endure Storm’s melodramatic dialog.

3. Fantastic Four 1994

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P54eLSH-Wgc

This theme is also known as “The one where Shaz loses all credibility”. Yeah, the theme song is incredibly silly. Still, it works for me quite a bit. I mean, it totally recounts the origin in a very memorable way. Not only that, but the second verse explains their powers succinctly (well kinda, they describe the Torch’s powers as “Johnny is the Human Torch”). I think part of the reason this is one of my favorite is because of the cheesiness. It was fun, and that’s all I want from my entertainment, to be you know, entertained.

2. Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxaJpUnF6xA

This is, by default, the best Avengers cartoon ever (more on that later). It is also one the best Marvel cartoons ever. It made me think Ant-Man was cool. Ant-Man! The theme itself has a very contemporary vibe to it, and I’ve read that some people don’t like that. I you look under the surface and listen to the lyrics in tandem with what’s on screen though, there are somewhat subtle allusions to the characters on screen. For example:

Hulk: Torment and Upset — That’s the Hulk alright.

Captain America: Lost from when we wake — Definitely an allusion to thawing out the Capsicle.

Thor: With no way to go back — Thor is stranded on Midgard in this show

Iron Man: I’m standing on my own — Tony’s not a team player… at first.

Then of course the call goes out, and the Avengers are, as they say, assembled. It just works.

1. Spider-Man 1967

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUjmh3x3HmQ

No brainer. I mean come on, what other song on this list has been covered over 100 times by such musical talents as diverse as The Ramones and Michael Bublé? None, that’s what. It’s the strength of the theme song alone that drives the original Spidey cartoon to the top of the list. Though I will say, I don’t get why animators think it’s a good idea for Spider-Man to use two weblines in opposite directions. The guy’s gonna tear his arms off doing that!

The Bad:

10. Pryde of the X-Men

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ko-J8iLMUjQ

While never picked up as a series, this pilot episode has been seen quite often over the years, Australian Wolverine and all. While the song is kind of informative, the sheer 80’s-ness of it (not the good parts of the 80’s mind you) really hurt its standing. Comin’ your way!

9. Hulk 1966

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UnFVqJmBXU

This theme had the potential to be as good as the 60’s Captain America theme, but it falls flat on its face thanks to the lyrics and dubious rhyming scheme. It’s a bit too ambitious to rhyme Gamma Rays with Unglama-rays, after all. What the heck is a monster clown, anyway? Next, please.

8. Hulk 1994

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyQpEoMFF3w

I can’t quite put my finger on why I hate this theme song. It has a lot of the same things going for it as the 1982 version, but this time, it just doesn’t work for me. It may be the incessant chanting of “Hulk… Incredible Hulk” It may also have to do with the fact that this Hulk’s facial expression is actually a bit more sinister looking than I’m used to seeing the Jade Giant. Take your pick, no sir, I don’t like it.

7. Iron Man Season 2

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJZ_g5xZtAA

A scene from the board meeting of Season two of this show:

“Hey I know! Let’s re-design Tony Stark for this season and give him a truly glorious mullet!”

“OK, done. What about the theme music? Black Sabbath won’t let us use their ‘Iron Man’ song.”

“Fine, use the ‘I am Iron Man’ phrase and get some poor schmo to do whatever guitar solo he wants on it!”

“Yes! Now we watch the money roll in!”

6. Fantastic Four 1978

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7jG5CeMuvQ

The animation for this one kills me, from the weird zombie walk Reed makes out of the wreckage, to Ben Grimm’s drunken wobbling as he transforms into The Thing, just ugh. Couple that with the narration, come on “The now you see her, now you don’t Invisible Girl”? Is that really necessary? Adding to the mix the truly nonsensical introduction of H.E.R.B.I.E. The “New” Fantastic Four is thankfully just a memory.

5. Spider-Man 1994

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QfFFVAfOlg

This show is not nearly as good as I remember it being. Even so, the song has something going for it, right? “SPIDER BLOOD, SPIDER BLOOD, RADIOACTIVE SPIDER BLOOD” OK, guess not. Moving on…

4. Avengers: United They Stand

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDI0tBqGen0

Not only do we get a montage of characters that doesn’t really even show what they can do, they show Hawkeye putting a belt on over a belt! Then, to add insult to injury, at the very end, Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America show up pretty much to say. “Hey guys, we can’t really be associated with this turd of a show, but we’ll show up in the opening credits to dupe the youngsters”.

3. Ultraforce

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9M2VpgVxLQ

While technically a Malibu comic, Marvel purchased Malibu around the time this show aired, so I’m counting it. It is truly terrible. Not only does the music make my ears want to retreat into my skull, but it’s trying so hard to be the X-Men’s opening crawl it’s not even funny.

2. Solarman

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdP6aA6Ug3M

Solarman? Who the heck is Solarman? He is in fact, and incredibly obscure Marvel character that somehow got a but of a media push in the 80’s. I’d be willing to guess the reason it failed is because it is trying to be all of the 80’s shows at once. A space show, a superhero show, a potential toy tie-in. Heck, even his character design evoke Lion-O from the Thundercats. Is it any wonder that this didn’t get any farther than a pilot and a 2 issues comic series?

1. Fred & Barney Meet the Thing

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIbM-sftdWA

I like the Thing, really I do. He’s one of my top 3 favorite Marvel characters, but this Does. Not. Work. Aunt Petunia’s favorite nephew reduced to a straight man for the antics of the Flintstones? No, just no. The theme song only touches on this incarnation’s most egregious bit of crazy. The Thing is actually summoned by teen-aged Benjy Grimm who smacks a ring together and shouts “Thing Ring, do your thing!” It’s so bad, that the only copy in circulation is this terrible quality version.

Both:

Spider-Man Unlimited

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHtAHqwD7C0

This theme has the dubious honor of being both good and bad. The first 10 seconds are blissful. Great looking, and an incredibly succinct re-telling of Spider-Man origin. It all goes downhill with the nanite infused suit and refugees from The Island of Doctor Moreau. It could have been a contender though.

That’s the end! Don’t forget, we’re all a part of the Merry marvel Marching Society!

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oO8ndkutOIU

I can’t imagine a better clip to get me excited to watch the season premiere of The Clone Wars all over again. If you’re interested in reading my review of the Season 5 premiere you can find it here.

In the meantime, enjoy the above clip. The Clone Wars makes its premiere Saturday, September 29th on Cartoon Network. Check your local listings for the exact time, but I guarantee you don’t want to miss it.

And if you want a taste of what the Premiere felt like, the Star Wars website put up this video from the event:

Rob Paulsen, the voice of Yakko Warner from Animaniacs, Raphael from the 1980’s version of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and a myriad of other characters from beloved cartoons attended Dragon*con in Atlanta, Georgia over Labor Day weekend.

And I, the lucky gal that I am, had an opportunity to sit and chat with him.  But since I’d already urged him to sing the Nations of the World song before (you can see video here), I decided to start with questions about one of his most current and exciting projects:  Nickelodeon’s upcoming version of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.  The show debuts September 29 (check your local listings) and features the voice talents of Sean Astin (Raphael), Jason Biggs (Leonardo), and Greg Cipes (Michaelangelo).  Paulsen voiced the “cool but crude” Raphael in the original series, but what will he bring to the role now that he’s portraying the nerdier Donatello?

While Raphael sounded a lot like Paulsen, he explains that “Donatello’s voice is not too dissimilar, although it is a little higher because Donatello is sort of the brains of the bunch and is a little more nerdy, but he does have a short fuse in this iteration of Turtles. Whereas Raphael was kind of a smartass, Donatello’s the brains but still doesn’t like it when these guys sort of rush him to get done with his stuff.  The placement of my voice is a little different, the attitude is completely different. “

Though he describes the show as being made for kids 8-12, he points out that viewers of the original series can now watch with their kids.  And, there’s a new DVD collection of the original show scheduled for release in November, so kids will also be able to watch the earlier series.

What’s the best part of working on TMNT?

“There are many best parts . . . the best part is working . . . when you’re an actor and lucky enough to make your living doing that the first cool thing is getting a chance to work.   If it happens to be a great project then you’re lucky. The truth is there are very few actors who get two shots at an enormous franchise like Ninja Turtles. When it first started, none of us had any idea that it would end up being something that 25 years later a pretty girl would want to talk to me about it.  To have something where not only I got to be part of entertainment history . . . but then 20 years later” he’s asked to participate again voicing a different turtle.  He predicts that in six months or by next Dragon*con Turtles will be “madness” with even more Turtles wandering around.  He continues, “The show is literally being made by fans for a new generation of fans.”

What is it like to be out and constantly hear your voice on commercials, television, etc?

“It never gets old.  I love show business.  I love being a performer . . . when you’re on a stage with Billy West and Richie Horvitz it’s such a pleasure . .  . it never gets old.  When I’m driving around and hear a commercial or am in Best Buy, there’s been one than more occasion where I look up and there’s Animaniacs on DVD or there’s Ninja Turtles or Jimmy Neutron, Fairly Oddparents or T.U.F.F. Puppy or whatever I’m working on . . .   it’s wonderful.  What really is an incredible pleasure and where the joy of the craft meets a point at which you feel like you’re doing something good with your work is when you can walk into a hospital.  It’s not just me, a lot of us do this. You get to go visit kids in a hospital and see children in diabolical circumstances watching Jimmy Neutron. “   When he visits these hospitals and sees children getting a kick out of watching one of his cartoons, he approaches them speaking as a character from the show.  It has “nothing to do with ratings or merchandising or commercials” but brings joy to a sick child

Aside from getting Frank Welker on Talkin’ Toons, what are plans for the podcast’s future?

“It’s been a complete labor of love. It was initially supposed to start as twenty minutes of tips on voice acting . . . but the thing that’s happened that is really lovely is we’ve struck a nerve. After I did the first ten or fifteen by myself I realized I’ve got everybody’s phone number . . . I can call Charlie Adler [Buster Bunny on Tiny Toons], I can call Nancy Cartwright, I can call Phill LaMarr, I can call Billy West, I can Mark Hamill, Tara Strong.  It’s become an animation interview show, a pop culture celebration of cartoons.  . . I don’t have any plans to stop it . . . and people seem to really love it.”  He mentions possibly doing more live podcasts after having done four successful ones, including one with Maurice LaMarche [The Brain from Animaniacs] and another with the cast of the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.  He answers questions from Twitter and Facebook, and other actors ask to be on it.  He may even visit your local comedy club and do a podcast there.  He’s also writing a book, and “the sky’s the limit.”

He also sells autographed pictures online, and the proceeds go to charities The Wounded Warriors Project and Operation Smile.  This week he’ll be at Bethesda Naval Hospital and Walter Reed Army Hospital visiting wounded soldiers.  He and Maurice LaMarche will also be visiting army bases in Europe in the fall.

We discussed how Animaniacs is still really popular (particularly with me, since I often quote episodes and sing songs from the show), but I wanted to know if he had any favorite episodes.  He mentions “Wakko’s Two Note Song” which takes two notes and turns them into a “fantastic song.”  He also likes the one where Yakko sings “I am the Very Model of a Cartoon Individual” and “King Yakko” where Yakko ascends to the throne of Anvilania.  As for Pinky and the Brain episodes, he mentions liking the one with the evil rodent named Snowball, voiced by the late Roddy McDowell.

Aside from Turtles, he is the voice of Bobble in the upcoming DVD release Tinker Bell and the Secret of the Wings. Mae Whitman, the voice of Tinker Bell, is also the voice of April O’Neil on the new Turtles series.

It was a delightful chat, but alas, it had to end, so he concluded it with the farwell at the end of every Talkin’ Toons podcast:  “Laughter is the best medicine, and the cool thing is you can’t OD and the refills are free.”

Here at Star Wars Celebration VI, we were given the privilege of watching the Season 5 premiere of The Clone Wars.

I did the red carpet and interviewed many of the actors and crew behind the show and we’ll see those appearing on the site over the course of the next few weeks. Then, we were led into the Digital Stage and were shown three episodes back to back. The first two we saw were the season finale episodes involving Darth Maul from Season 4. (You can read my review of those episodes here and here.)

Then we were shown the first episode of Season 5.

Darth Maul and Savage Opress had no problems escaping their entrapment on the abandoned ship where Obi-Wan and Ventress left them. They are marauding around the galaxy, causing as much havoc along the outer rim as possible.

Maul, taking cues from his old master, The Phantom Menace himself, begins hatching a plan to lead the Jedi to him, to bring them out and become a major player in the larger conflict. To that end, he seeks to subvert Hondo Ohnaka and his pirate men to marshal the beginnings of an army.

Obi-wan and Adi Gallia are sent to deal with the situation.

I’m not sure how much more I want to say beyond that as far as the story of this episode goes.

Fights ensue, and they are amazing. Obi-wan faces down with two lightsabers against Maul and Opress and it was one of the most impressive fights I’ve ever seen on the show. It was clearly choreographed, it was exciting, and the stakes of the episode were raising the stakes on the entire series.

Obi-Wan and the heroes spend half of this episode on the run, outmatched by a superior foe. Filoni has said many times before (and he reiterated this time in the Q and A afterward) that the episodes where the good guys are on the run are always the best and this episode was no exception.

The show is getting even better and more mature than we’d seen. And, from the looks of the trailer for the rest of the season, this episode is only the tip of the iceberg.

We also were treated to a new model build of Yoda. When I spoke to Tom Kane on the red carpet, he promised Yoda was going to find himself in some action situations in Season 5 and afterwards, Filoni said the new model was a hint that the character is going to be doing lots more. It looked great.

As far as this episode goes, Aaron Goins pointed out that there will be another Even Piell level of continuity outcry concerning Adi Gallia. I’m sure that by the time next season rolls around, everyone will go back to not caring. Again, I don’t think it’s a big deal, Star Wars is what you make of it, but others will be livid. Particularly fans of the Dark Horse comics.

And did I mention that Snaggletooth has an appearance? It was great and the crowd loved it.

This episode premieres on September 29th. The Clone Wars is moving to a new time slot with that premiere: Saturday mornings at 9:30 am. I’m not sure how I feel about the change. I really like the feeling of watching something like a movie in the evening, but the morning doesn’t give the same feeling… Maybe if it were a matinee at a movie theatre, then I’d be on board.

After the episode, Filoni answered some fan questions and there were some interesting tidbits of information. For one, Tikkes will not be appearing in this season, though we will be seeing Muuns. Stories involving Muunilist are of great interest to me.

Mother Talzin was another topic of discussion, especially given some of the visual cues we were shown when Maul or Savage took damage in their fight. “We won’t see much of Mother Talzin for a while,” Dave Filoni said, “And she’s tricky in a way Grievous didn’t understand.” He went on to explain that the Nightsisters are not so easily defeated. “They have an older magic than the force. They’re nature wielding creatures.”

Filoni also said that we’d be seeing lots of odd pairings and alliances this season.

A question was asked about Ian Abercrombie, the late voice of Palpatine/Sidious, but Dave assured the audience that Ian completed almost all of Season 5 before his death and there will be no announcements or discussions of his replacement until the entirety of his work on The Clone Wars is released.

Then… We were shown a trailer for the rest of season 5.

Saying that it blew my hair back would be an understatement. It seemed as though there were many episodes we were given tastes of. There appears to be an episode where Artoo is given an entire squad of droids to infiltrate the Seperatists on a secret Mission. Maul’s story seemed to be taking him in different places, and we saw him going to Death Watch, offering to start Civil War on Mandalore. But we were also shown footage of Maul fighting Pre Viszla. Filoni has long talked about Mandalore being the powder keg of a planet, like Europe before World War I, and it seems as though Darth Maul is the spark they need.

There were many shots of two characters in disguise. Whether it means those two characters are teaming up (which would be incredibly fascinating) is beyond me, but it certainly places them on the run from someone. Those two characters? Asajj Ventress and Ahsoka.

There could be some fascinating stuff there.

There were also many shots in the trailer of Anakin being angry and tossing people about, but there seemed to be Padme in the shots or the context… I can’t be sure because the whole thing moved so quickly… And it seemed like they’d be addressing more of his jealousy and rage issues.

But, the piece de resistance?

This trailer truly sets up the idea that the political nature of the Clone Wars are shifting. Maul has created so much strife and a second front of war for both the Republic and the Separatists that he’s interfering with Sidious’s machinations. At the end of the premiere episode, Palpatine insists to the Jedi council that dealing with Darth Maul is a distraction from the war, and to a large degree, I think he’s right.

But when Sidious comes to take care of business?

He does so with a lightsaber.

The brief glimpses of him fighting Darth Maul were breathtaking.

I get the idea that this is truly going to be the best season yet.

I can’t wait for you all to see it. Hell, I can’t wait for me to see the rest of it.

I’m not usually a fan of mash-ups, but this one was well done, original, and great.

I’m a big fan of The Powerpuff Girls and I obviously like Star Wars. I’d love to see something like this go into production officially. Star Wars aimed at girls seems like a no-brainer, right? We’ll just have to settle for an unofficial production, since these guys are premiering a full episode of this at Celebration VI.

If they get the girls hooked with cartoons, maybe we’ll get more kick-ass female characters across the board, right?

You can get more information on the filmmakers at their website.

I’m VERY glad that the Toy Story characters are finding a life outside the films. And I’m glad that Pixar has brought back the cartoon shorts before the feature tradition.

The last Toy Story short (with Happy Meal toy Buzz?) had me howling with laughter. I don’t expect this one to be any different:

“Partysaurus Rex” features Rex (voiced by Wallace Shawn), the insecure toy T-Rex in the ‘Toy Story’ gang. Rex goes from shrinking violet to sudsy stud when Bonnie brings him into the bath! What follows can only be described as an EPIC bathtub party.

FINDING NEMO 3D & “Partysaurus Rex” Hit Theaters September 14th!

So, they have decided over at MTV to hypothetically cast for a live action Daria movie and who better to play this unemotional, snarky teenager than Aubrey Plaza. After a poll was set up for the fans to see who they would want, Plaza stood out above the rest and actually agreed to it via Twitter, should it happen.  I mean, she has already been playing Daria for years anyway..

I mean, just look at those eyes. Plaza looks like she is posing for a photo and trying her best to smile, but much like The Captain in How I Met Your Mother, her eyes stay cold and solemn. They even faux cast a lot of other roles for the movie and did a great job, in my opinion. After about 11,000 votes being cast, and Plaza being contacted about this via Twitter, she even responded with a Daria-esque, “Fine, I’ll do it.”

Anyway, I look forward to hearing if any other of the hopeful candidates accept the roles cast onto them by the MTV online poll. If they get even just a couple more of the people listed, it could be the start of an exciting new trend, where we the people get to decide who it is we want filling the roles of beloved fictional characters. I’m looking at you, Nathan Drake, as portrayed by Marky Mark…and not Nathan Fillion…