The first Star Wars anything to win an Emmy AFAIK.
Andor (Star Wars)
- Thread starter the shadow
- Start date
It does get much better, but only in the final episodes. It's a very slow burn to the climax.
But think of it as a slow cold war spy thriller, not Star Wars like:
Soldato
- Joined
- 30 Aug 2018
- Posts
- 2,895
It's been a while since I watched season 2, but when I started it I remember feeling like a couple of the first episodes (possibly all 3) were almost filler.
I told myself, this must be going somewhere, just wait.
Then when I finished the season I was left wishing the budget in both time and resources for those initial episodes had been spent fleshing out other parts of the story that came later.
I told myself, this must be going somewhere, just wait.
Then when I finished the season I was left wishing the budget in both time and resources for those initial episodes had been spent fleshing out other parts of the story that came later.
Some characters storylines are ultimately far far far more interesting than others. Brasso and Bix, whilst "sad" and still an ok story took a lot of airtime when tbh all we/i wanted was to see the Ghorman massacre and the cat and mouse game between dedra and luthren.
Seriously it was excellent TV. She was great as was he.... I don't think there was a bad actor in the entire show.
As an older star wars fan I think it's honestly a near perfect spin on an adult Star wars. Mandalorian was also ticking the whimsical side of Star wars too, until it got really bantha poodoo.
Utterly deserved it's award.
Seriously it was excellent TV. She was great as was he.... I don't think there was a bad actor in the entire show.
As an older star wars fan I think it's honestly a near perfect spin on an adult Star wars. Mandalorian was also ticking the whimsical side of Star wars too, until it got really bantha poodoo.
Utterly deserved it's award.
Associate
- Joined
- 31 Jan 2012
- Posts
- 2,429
- Location
- Droitwich, UK
Season 2 started poorly in my opinion, after the opening salvo of 3 episodes I was nearly done, but after hearing positive things I ploughed on. It got better, then the final half was absolutely superb. It was some of the best Star Wars out there in my opinion, though the writing was of a quality that would have been gripping in any setting.
Last edited:
Been finally getting through this.
I'm a bit torn tbh. On the one hand, some really good TV in its own right. Episode 3 is a highlight.
On the other hand, it's so massively, jarringly out of character with the rest of the franchise. A rape scene in Star Wars?
It's good TV but would have been much better as a standalone IP rather than awkwardly tacking itself onto a franchise that has from the very beginning always been fantasy kid's entertainment.
I'm a bit torn tbh. On the one hand, some really good TV in its own right. Episode 3 is a highlight.
On the other hand, it's so massively, jarringly out of character with the rest of the franchise. A rape scene in Star Wars?
It's good TV but would have been much better as a standalone IP rather than awkwardly tacking itself onto a franchise that has from the very beginning always been fantasy kid's entertainment.
In fairness Empire, Revenge of the Sith, and Rogue One are a bit more than kids PG films. So there is precedent.
Look at Harry Potter gets fairly dark as it goes on. Original Batman and Superman, SpiderMan all got mature themes as they went on.
.
Look at Harry Potter gets fairly dark as it goes on. Original Batman and Superman, SpiderMan all got mature themes as they went on.
.
I saw R1 in the cinema when it came out and loved it, but I was so disappointed by The Mandalorian and Obi-Wan that I'd been putting off Andor. I finally started watching it a few weeks back and ended up binging both series + R1, it was so good.
Andor may have ruined Rogue One for me…
It's not that it's a bad movie, far from it. It's easily the best of the modern Star Wars films.
However, by its very nature as a film, it can never have the depth and breadth of a TV series, and it's also really clear that the film was made before the TV show. There's no getting away from that, but it does make watching Rogue One a slightly different experience than it was before the TV show came out.
Andor may have ruined Rogue One for me…
It's not that it's a bad movie, far from it. It's easily the best of the modern Star Wars films.
However, by its very nature as a film, it can never have the depth and breadth of a TV series, and it's also really clear that the film was made before the TV show. There's no getting away from that, but it does make watching Rogue One a slightly different experience than it was before the TV show came out.
Last edited:
Rogue is one of my favourite SW movies. I thought it was one of the few times a prequel has added depth to a story arc while respecting and adding to the original film. I think Andor does the same. Both Andor and Rogue stay true to the original story arc without messing with it. Solo while not as strong a film does similar.
That is very rare in the SW Franchise. The majority of the other movies and TV shows have diminished the original characters and arc.
Lucas started that with Empire Strikes back. That classic line (for me) broke something fundamental in the story arc. He could never fix that. Everything that tries to join the dots fails.
Andor and Rogue work better because they stay away from the Skywalker disaster.
That is very rare in the SW Franchise. The majority of the other movies and TV shows have diminished the original characters and arc.
Lucas started that with Empire Strikes back. That classic line (for me) broke something fundamental in the story arc. He could never fix that. Everything that tries to join the dots fails.
Andor and Rogue work better because they stay away from the Skywalker disaster.
Last edited:
The problem with Rogue 1 is is makes the start of episode 4 look a little dumb. The ending of Rogue 1 is set minutes before the start of episode 4 and the whole thing with Leia acting dumb as to why Vader's accusing her of being a traitor now looks stupid as Vader's Star Destroyer has been hot on the ass of the Blockade runner since it detached from its mothership, and according to everything online its only been literally minutes since that occurred.
Last edited:
Look about online, just about everything says minutes, maybe 10 mins to a couple of hours, with more saying around 10 mins. But the fact that Leia is playing dumb to Vader could also explain his irritated attitude towards her as she has no way of knowing he actually watched the Blockade Runner escape first hand.
There's an interview I watched with John Knoll a few years back who conceived the story and that's where the timeframe originally came from, where he said the opening of episode 4 starts minutes after the end of Rogue one.
Last edited:
Finished Andor in the week. I stick with my feelings I’ve already shared. Yes it’s a good show, but it’s so darn bleak, it’s like watching Requiem For A Dream at times….although I suppose you always have the knowledge that the rebels win in the end.
It’s the tone of it that just make it not what Star Wars is about for me. For me the films are a family friendly adventure set in space with camp robots and daft comedic sidekicks and don’t take themselves too seriously.
An interesting example of taking some source material and taking it in a completely different direction, but I wholly disagree that it’s ‘respecting’ the originals….its the opposite. The Mandalorian is much more in the spirit of the original films and I enjoyed that more as a result.
Andor was good but really stands separate from Star Wars in my kind, it’s a bleak af sci-fi war series with some cosmetic similarities.
Gets bonus points for so much of the Coriscant scenes being shot mostly sans CG at the the science park in Valencia. Pretty cool.
It’s the tone of it that just make it not what Star Wars is about for me. For me the films are a family friendly adventure set in space with camp robots and daft comedic sidekicks and don’t take themselves too seriously.
An interesting example of taking some source material and taking it in a completely different direction, but I wholly disagree that it’s ‘respecting’ the originals….its the opposite. The Mandalorian is much more in the spirit of the original films and I enjoyed that more as a result.
Andor was good but really stands separate from Star Wars in my kind, it’s a bleak af sci-fi war series with some cosmetic similarities.
Gets bonus points for so much of the Coriscant scenes being shot mostly sans CG at the the science park in Valencia. Pretty cool.
Last edited:
I think I'll stop you at ..."4 mins to a couple of hours".... That's tells you it's ambiguous.
How did he find the ship. He can't track it in hyperspace. Space is big. And Tatooine is meant to be remote.
It's all fiction. I wouldn't lose any sleep over it.
Fair point on the Tone. It's more a spy story.
But there's lots Dark aspects across Star wars. It's ultimately a tragedy.
Soldato
- Joined
- 30 Aug 2018
- Posts
- 2,895
I think the 'bleakness' is exactly why it respects the originals so much. The movies focus on the high-adventure and the heroism; Andor (and Rogue One) shows us the dirty work and the grind required to make that heroism possible.
The culmination of the show is bringing Leia and the Rebellion 'hope,' but it forces us to watch exactly what that hope cost the average person.
I personally think season 1 was a masterpiece. I do see your point though; I would have enjoyed it just as much as a standalone sci-fi war series without the Star Wars IP.
However, I think showing the gritty reality underneath is exactly what enriches the rest of the Star Wars universe.
Last edited:
Why did I really enjoy Andor, but hated Alien earth?
Both could be seen as bastardisations of the original concept.
I'd say Andor is a great, slow burn, thoughtfull series, that athough set in the star wars universe, could be enjoyed by people who have no interest in star wars.
Alien Earth is just a mess.
if you want instant gratification. Andor isn't the droid your looking for.
Both could be seen as bastardisations of the original concept.
I'd say Andor is a great, slow burn, thoughtfull series, that athough set in the star wars universe, could be enjoyed by people who have no interest in star wars.
Alien Earth is just a mess.
if you want instant gratification. Andor isn't the droid your looking for.
Last edited:
Soldato
- Joined
- 30 Aug 2018
- Posts
- 2,895
I see why you say they could both be bastardisations, but I’d argue only one of them fits that definition.
Andor is an expansion, whereas Alien earth is a dilution.
Andor proved that Star Wars can be more than just high fantasy. It thrives on detail. The writers knew they had to shine a light on the mundane evil of the Empire for the story to work.
Alien earth tries to do the same thing, but it ruins the premise. The horror of the xenomorph dies when you shine too much light on it.
By over-explaining everything and focusing on set design over atmosphere, Alien earth stripped away the fear.
Andor creates tension with detail; Alien earth kills tension with over-exposure.
And don't get me started on the "alien as a pet/ humans were the real monsters all along" trope
It's a shame because there is so much squandered potential in there.
Last edited: