After the unceremonious cancellation of “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” we got “Star Wars: Rebels” which aims to help fill in some gaps between the films Revenge Of The Sith and A New Hope. By creating a new cast of characters we are getting a fresh look at not necessarily the rise of the Galactic Empire, but how its rise is affecting what should be ordinary citizens. Being a story set in the Star Wars universe, these characters are anything but ordinary.
Here we get a rag-tag bunch who harbor no love for the Empire and its growing might. Partly they are just trying to survive. Partly they are trying to sabotage the Empire. At least that is how things start out. Pick up the Blu-ray. Seriously. It not only has content the DVD release doesn’t, some of that comes in the form of four shorts that were made available online before the series premiered – and they are part of the story introducing the characters. These shorts are presented as special features and not part of the main season, which is a shame.
By the time the 3rd proper episode is underway, well, you can guess what is going to happen. It’s right there in the show’s title.
Despite the focus on new characters, new aliens, new worlds, it is all so familiar. This truly is Star Wars and fits in very neatly with the Star Wars universe fans know and love. There are some questions answered, and of course a whole host of new ones raised.
Initially aired as a “movie event” the first two episodes, with commercials, clocked in at an hour. Without the commercials, I don’t understand how it can be considered a movie since there are rules about …. anyway…. The opening of the series was a “movie event” and it is presented here instead as originally broadcast but split into two separate episodes. There isn’t a clear break in the narrative for this to occur, so it is a bit of a misstep on the part of the people in charge, but at least it is here. Including those two episodes we get also get the 13 regular season one episodes making for a nice story arc that gets viewers familiar with the characters and the world they inhabit as well as furthering the general storyline of Star Wars.
What isn’t included here is the movie (again, here’s that term for what should be referred to as a double-length episode) that was broadcast in June set between seasons one and two, essentially the first two episodes of the 2nd season which officially kicks off next month. I’m sure Disney XD will broadcast it again soon if you missed it.
If you don’t have the time to sit through the whole season there is a recap that lasts just over 20 minutes as does a decent job of being a highlight reel. Then there is over an hour’s worth of featurettes looking at various aspects of the series with interviews from across the board. There are also the previously mentioned shorts. Then we get a few moments looking at “Star Wars: Rebels” during the Star Wars Celebration and a “sneak peek” at season two. All in all not a bad bunch of stuff, but I would have liked an audio commentary or two.
For Star Wars fans this is a must-own. No question about it.