Oh man. I'd watch the hell out of some procedural drama on old Star Wars sets where no shot is bigger than a ship's bridge or maybe even a comedy set in some cantina.
ETA: The cantina scene from the Star Wars Holiday Special, for those who've wisely purged it from their memories.
Many Bothans...
I just want a show where the X-Wing guy from The Mandalorian flies around the outer rim solving people’s problems.
I just want a show where the X-Wing guy from The Mandalorian flies around the outer rim solving people’s problems.
We almost sort of had that but then Gina Carano imploded her career and took Rangers of the New Republic with it. There's still a chance they could retool it and give it to Paul Sun-Hyung Lee, but I'm not holding my breath.
sharing the 'Renew the Acolyte' petition going around in case anyone would like to sign! Not my favorite SW tv show (that would be ANDOR) but definitely found it quite interesting and thought episode 5 was a certified banger.
It is a good thing these petitions don't have a way to vote against.
Sorbicol wrote:I just want a show where the X-Wing guy from The Mandalorian flies around the outer rim solving people’s problems.
We almost sort of had that but then Gina Carano imploded her career and took Rangers of the New Republic with it. There's still a chance they could retool it and give it to Paul Sun-Hyung Lee, but I'm not holding my breath.
Indeed.
And to draw to comments together...
sharing the 'Renew the Acolyte' petition going around in case anyone would like to sign! Not my favorite SW tv show (that would be ANDOR) but definitely found it quite interesting and thought episode 5 was a certified banger.
... I believe that there was also a petition to bring back Gina Carano. That went nowhere too...
I have a question for you Star Wars nerds. 
I watched the original film in the early 80s when I was young but haven't watched any media at all over all these years. I recently jumped into the Star Wars Outlaws game and it has me interested in checking out the movies and shows. Not sure where to start.
It's there an optimal order to watch them in? I know they were not released chronologically based on the timeline but does that matter? What's the best point to jump in at? Are any of the shows worth watching for someone whose not hardcore?
Before the sequel trilogy completely screwed everything up, best was to do "Machete Order":
IV A New Hope
V Empire Strikes Back
II Attack of the Clones
III Revenge of the Sith
VI Return of the Jedi
That still works very well. But throw in Andor then Rogue One into the mix if you want a bit more investment into great content:
IV A New Hope
V Empire Strikes Back
II Attack of the Clones
III Revenge of the Sith
Andor
Rogue One
VI Return of the Jedi
Ignore everything else, though top and conclude with the final cherry of Mandalorian Season 1--just 1--if you'd like.
Release order.
I concur with Keithustus. If you are just wanting to step your toes into some Star Wars and don't want to full geek out on it, stick to the basics he listed. There is a lot of other really good Star Wars content out there but it requires some investment into the bad too.
Rogue One, IV, V and VI. That'll do.
Andor isn't finished yet, but if it was you could start with this one.
Keithustus is right that "Machete" order is best for rewatching the originals and prequels. I agree with UpToIsomorphism though that release order is best if this will be the first time you're seeing any of them beyond the original trilogy.
What else to watch really depends on how well you enjoyed what you've already watched. If you find you are becoming a Star Wars nerd yourself, there's so much stuff you may like that it'll look overwhelming. I would watch all of the movies in release order before checking out any of the series. Out of the movies, I'd say Solo and the entire sequel trilogy are the most skippable. If the movies don't burn you out on Star Wars, below is the list of series you may want to check out:
Clone Wars does a much better job of detailing how Anakin got to be Darth Vader and how the Emperor manipulated thing to allow him to take over. It's set in between the second (Attack of the Clones) and third (Revenge of the Sith) prequel movies. It's seven seasons long though, and as it was a "kids show" some of it can be kinda of painful for an adult to sit through to get to the good stuff. There are lists online that will let you skip the bad or inconsequential episodes.
Rebels is possibly my favorite Star Wars story outside the original trilogy. Set a few years before A New Hope, it follows the a rebel cell and its part in the formation of the Rebellion. It doesn't require watching Clone Wars, but it's highly recommended that you at least watch the "important" episodes of Clone Wars first. It has far less "kids show" stuff to get through for the good stuff, despite also being a kids show.
Bad Batch is amazing if you also liked the later seasons of Clone Wars. If you got invested in the plight of the clone troopers at all during Clone Wars, definitely watch this. It's set immediately after Revenge of the Sith.
Mandalorian is a much better post-Revenge of the Jedi story than the sequel trilogy. Some people only like the first season because it's more of a stand-alone story. The second and third seasons bring in a lot of story threads from Clone Wars and Rebels. That's great if you liked those shows, but could be disappointing if you wanted a story not overly complicated by connections to shows you haven't watched.
Andor also details the formation of the Rebellion. Season 2 will take us from where season 1 ended to right before the start of Rougue One. I cannot recommend watching this enough. If you are going to watch only one series, make it this one.
Book of Boba Fett is largely skippable except for one Mandolorian focused episode. Set between season 2 and 3 of Mandolorian.
Visions a collection of short unconnected stories done by various anime creators. None of the stories are tied in to anything else, so there's no worrying about where it fits into any timeline.
Obi-Wan is largely skippable, it basically deals with Obi-Wan's PTSD from the events of Revenge of the Sith. Set 10 years or so before A New Hope. The main reason to watch it is if you loved Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan from the prequel trilogy.
Tales of the Jedi / Tales of the Empire. A collection of short stories fleshing out various characters and events from Clone Wars/prequel trilogy.
Ashoka is literally a continuation of stuff that happened in Rebels, so watch Rebels first. Great if you liked Rebels, probably somewhat confusing if you haven't. Set after season 3 of Mandolorian.
Acolyte is set a hundred years before The Phantom Menace. It was okay but uneven, and now that they've cancelled it without a second season to finish its story, I can't really come up with any compelling reason to watch it.
I’ve never heard of Machete order… what’s the point of putting 2 and 3 between 5 and 6? That makes no sense to me.
I’ve never heard of Machete order… what’s the point of putting 2 and 3 between 5 and 6? That makes no sense to me.
4 and 5 start Luke's story, and at the end of 5, you get the reveal that Darth Vader is Anakin Skywalker, Luke's father. 2 and 3 then tell Anakin's story, and 6 finishes Anakin's and Luke's story together. 1 is Anakin's story too, but is bad enough that it's not really worth including.
It also preserves the twist in Empire. Yeah, it's common cultural knowledge, but the films themselves don't actually reveal it until Episode 3. By watching 3 after 5, you maximize the impact of its big reveal.
I really like the sequel movies. I enjoy them MUCH more than the prequels. So YMMV.
The main reason I like them is the dialogue. George Lucas could never write dialogue that sounds like people talking. Don't get me wrong, Ep VII-IX aren't perfect. But I rewatch them far more than anything else Star Wars.
If that makes me weird, so be it!
Somehow Palpatine returned.I am all the Sith.And I am all the Jedi.
I have a question for you Star Wars nerds.
It's there an optimal order to watch them in?
Release order.
1.) Star Wars (1977)
2.) The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
3.) The Return of the Jedi (1983)
4.) Spaceballs (1987)
After that you're done, go do something else.
I really like the sequel movies. I enjoy them MUCH more than the prequels. So YMMV.
The main reason I like them is the dialogue. George Lucas could never write dialogue that sounds like people talking. Don't get me wrong, Ep VII-IX aren't perfect. But I rewatch them far more than anything else Star Wars.
If that makes me weird, so be it!
Agreed. All of their problems notwithstanding, the sequels are still far better films than the prequels.
7 and 8 are, but I cannot justify saying that about 9.
7 and 8 are, but I cannot justify saying that about 9.
They never made a 9. They just stopped after 8 and we were all better for it.
Somehow, a ninth movie was made
I enjoyed it once they got to the big space battle at the end. A lot of stupid leading up to it, however.
They were both bad in different ways, but I had more fun with 9 in the theater. Maybe because I had sufficiently lowered my expectations before seeing it.
Stengah is spot on!
The Machete Order only really works if you're doing a re-watch. If you're watching for the first time, then the MO requires you to remember way too much plot by the time you get to Episode 6, Return of the Jedi. The preceding films - IV, V, II, and III - weight in at about 9 hours of viewing!
Release order is the better way to watch for the first time. Not least because IV, V and VI form a coherent standalone story. None of the other 'runs' of films do that; they all require some prior knowledge.
One area I do want to disagree is Rogue One. I love 'Rogue One', but watching it adds nothing to a re-watch of the Skywalker Saga. It's a film (brilliantly) constructed basically from a throwaway line in Episode IV. The story it tells is pure background.
I'm even more confused than I was before. 
I'm even more confused than I was before. :lol:
People get very funny about Star Wars.
Essentially, there are 3 ‘great’ films: A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back and Rogue One.
There is one great TV Series: Andor. The first season of The Mandalorian is up there, but it does tail off quite rapidly after that.
Everything else is either nothing more than ‘OK’, or unfortunately gets in to the realms of ‘really quite bad’ down to ‘terrible, misguided fan appeasement’.
The outliers are the two Animated series: The Clone Wars and Rebels. Both of those are an investment and require a level of commitment to get through. The Clone Wars is a slow start, but they fill out so much of what the films don’t. I certainly don’t think all of it is ‘good’ (I’ve never liked the DarkSabre) but elements of both shows are really great (Ashoka Tano’s character arch being the main one) and you’ll get a lot more from the various live action TV shows if you’ve watched all that.
So it’s kinda hard to start recommending stuff once you move beyond the core films.
The prequels - Phantom Menace (a very mediocre kid’s film that has the greatest lightsabre duel committed to celluloid) Attack of the Clones & Revenge of the Sith are either pretty bad or bang average at best.
The sequels - Force awakens (practically a like for like remake of A New Hope) isn’t bad, The Last Jedi is the only film that gets to apply nuance beyond ‘Jedi good, Sith bad’ and got pilloried for it (it’s got it faults but I think it’s best of the sequels), and Rise of Skywalker is a fan appeasement film that is the worst thing ever to exist with the name ‘Star Wars’ on it. It’s dreadful, and I include the Christmas special in that.
Anyway, now I’ve written war and peace and you’ll be just as confused as you were when I started. Sorry!
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