TV shows are awesome

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andersonh1
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Re: TV shows are awesome

Post by andersonh1 »

The Book of Boba Fett episode 1 - I liked it, but...
Spoiler
- As good as it was to see Temura Morrison back in the Mandalorian, where Boba Fett felt authentic, here he feels tired and too old, which I hate to say. Part of the plot involves him spending time in a bacta tank, healing from his old injuries, so he's not meant to be quite the effective killer than he was, but still... I wish they'd got Morrison 10-15 years ago to do something like this. Maybe the director lets it down, because that Mandalorian episode where Fett shows up and slaughters Stormtroopers was great in a way that this episode was not.
- he needs to leave that helmet on most of the time. Boba Fett looks cool with his helmet on. Without it, it's just not the same. He doesn't have the same mystique.
- In the same vein, he's written as being far too reasonable and accommodating for a former stone cold killer and bounty hunter. Fennec tells him he needs to be more ruthless, but he's determined not to be. That doesn't feel authentic to the character, and maybe they're trying to soften him up, but I don't think that's a good idea. Then again he did walk right into the throne room and murder Bib Fortuna, so he's still got it in him somewhere.
- A lot of what happens in this episode is filling in gaps that we'd already guessed at from the Mandalorian. There are flashbacks to Kamino and to Jango Fett's death, and then we see Fett in the Sarlacc's stomach, where he gets some oxygen from a dead Stormtrooper and burns his way out of the creature, digging his way to the surface beside the wrecked sail barge. I figured the armor kept him alive long enough to escape, that was the only logical explanation. The Jawas steal his armor when he's in no shape to put up a fight (which we knew since Cobb Vanth got it from them) and then the Tuskens make him a slave. In the present day he's making his presence as Jabba and Bib's replacement known, but more time is spent on the flashback than the present day.
- I guess when it boils down to it, I don't like seeing Boba Fett as a victim, but I guess there was really nowhere else to go given where the character was left in Jedi. He's at rock bottom and has to build himself back up from there, so on that level some of the character's treatment in the episode makes sense.
I have to be honest, it was a bit of a letdown, even though I did enjoy it. But there are six more episodes to go, I think, so there's time for the show to get Boba Fett right. I'm rooting for it to be a success. We'll see where they go from here.
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JediTricks
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Re: TV shows are awesome

Post by JediTricks »

+1 on that Book of Boba Fett take, everything you said is spot on. I'll only add that the show hasn't done a great job defining what type of criminal organization Boba is taking over, is it an intergalactic one or just some little penny-ante Mos Espa one or what? It doesn't FEEL like a big crime syndicate at all, doubly so since it feels very empty like a COVID production.

Also, Robert Rodriguez's direction felt kinda lacking in impact, not concerned with polish but also not concerned with storytelling punch.
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andersonh1
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Re: TV shows are awesome

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I wonder if the idea is going to be that his near-death experience and time spent among the Tuskens changed his outlook on life? I could buy that.
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Re: TV shows are awesome

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I thought Boba Fett episode 2 was a big improvement, and it elevates the first episode as well, as more of the big picture becomes apparent. It looks like they are doing what I speculated about, taking the character from his lowest point after being eaten alive, robbed of his armor and made a slave, and building him back up, while using the experiences to change his outlook on life. And I'm fine with that approach. We get the live action debut of the Pyke Syndicate, a couple of Jabba the Hutt's cousins, confirmation that different tribes of Tuskens live in different ways, a Wookie gladiator, and Boba Fett being made one of the tribe. The train attack sequence is well done, and I like the development of the Sandpeople quite a bit. It's good to see different aspects of their culture, and that there's more to them than looting to survive which is all the movies have given us, though even the Tusken chief in this episode talks about how other tribes have turned to killing.

We have yet to see how Boba makes his decision to take over Jabba's territory when he seems content for the moment to be one of the tribe in the flashbacks. It will be interesting to see why he makes the decision.
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andersonh1
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Re: TV shows are awesome

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Episode 3 of Boba Fett flips the emphasis and most of the episode is spent in the present day. I like where all of this is going, to be quite honest, after being disappointed early on. I keep thinking Boba Fett's reputation should give him some more clout with the locals on Tatooine, and maybe if he was still bounty hunting it would. I don't know. That Wookie bounty hunter was great, the Hutts deciding that war is bad for business and letting Boba Fett fight the Pykes instead of them doing it was about what I expected them to do. Boba's delight in his new pet Rancor was just a fun scene and not what I expected at all. I still don't quite understand why he wants to be a crime lord, but I suppose the flashbacks will explain that eventually. And I love how we've seen Kamino several times now, and Daniel Logan's face in the flashbacks as the child Boba Fett. There's some interesting character building going on here.
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andersonh1
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Re: TV shows are awesome

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The Book of Boba Fett episode 4 -
Spoiler
I think we're done with the backstory, and though some of what was shown wasn't hard to guess, such as taking Slave I back from Jabba's palace, I can't say I expected Boba Fett to take another climb into the Sarlacc pit!! That guy has nerves of steel, even with the creature itself dead. I guess he doesn't remember getting out with his armor, which I don't think was sufficiently explained. Seeing Fennec kill the Sarlacc by detonating a sonic charge inside it was well worth it though. I suppose his time with the Tuskens lasted years, because I can't imagine he was in the Sarlacc all that long without suffocating to death.

A lot of what's fun about this show, just like the Mandalorian, are the small stories and action set in the familiar Star Wars universe. Nice to see one of those little "rabbit ear" droids from Clone Wars, and the droid that gave C3P0 and R2D2 trouble in ROTJ gets killed by Boba Fett. I figured we'd see the Wookie again since they didn't kill him off. All in all, I think I'll have to take back my disappointment with the first episode, it definitely works better with everything that follows.

And I think the explanation for why Boba Fett is staying on Tatooine ("our planet" he calls it) and why he wants to leave being a bounty hunter behind for the life of a crime boss makes sense. "You can only go so far without a tribe." So they're deliberately sending the character in a different direction than the films, which I'm fine with.
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Re: TV shows are awesome

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Book of Boba Fett 2 and 3 didn't do much for me, there's a sense of smallness and a lack of character integrity, it's very enjoyable in fits and starts, but there's so much that just brings it down to barely a passing grade. Still, it's been enjoyable, even if it seems Robert Rodriguez has no interest in trying even remotely harder to get a scene to work right with his eps (1 and 3).

BoBF ep 4 is a lot better, it starts really weak and proceeds to get more and more fun very quickly until it comes to a boring close at the very tail end (in a scene apparently shot for the first episode), but everything between those is a ton of fun. I could go on and on and on about the good stuff here, but I don't want to spoil, it was a good time for Star Wars fun.

Peacemaker ep 1 - really enjoyed this show, it's not as good as the film but it's enjoyable and goes new places, adds new lore, so far so good, just gotta make time to watch the next eps.
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andersonh1
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Re: TV shows are awesome

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The Book of Boba Fett episode 5 -
Spoiler
... doesn't feature Boba Fett, except in the reprise from last episode. This is a Mandalorian episode, starring Din Djarin, catching us up with what he's been up to since the season finale. Odd, but okay, I'm glad to see Mando again. He's still got the Darksaber, and we actually get to see the destruction of Mandalore by the Empire in a flashback sequence. Looks like a fleet of TIE bombers nuke the planet, and then killer robots mop up survivors. Mando is on the outs with his sect though, since he took off his helmet, and has to make atonement, or be considered an apostate. In the end he acquires a new ship (a Naboo starfighter) to replace the Razor Crest, and he's hired by Fennec, though he won't take pay, telling her it's "on the house".
Great episode, but it's in the wrong show! That's okay, I really don't mind. I'm not sure when the Mandalorian season 3 is due, so this will have to tide us over until then. Great to see a ring station/city like we saw in the Clone Wars. I'm a fan of the prequels, so any reference to that era makes me happy, and we got several, not just the Naboo starfighter. I hope Mando doesn't want to stretch his legs and walk around a bit while zipping around the galaxy though.
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Re: TV shows are awesome

Post by Sparky Prime »

andersonh1 wrote: Wed Jan 26, 2022 4:30 pmGreat episode, but it's in the wrong show!
It was odd that the entire episode was essentially an episode of Mandalorian. But I have to say, it was a nice surprise. And they seemed to pack so much into it. Truly a great episode... But it's just weird it's not really a Book of Boba Fett episode.
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Re: TV shows are awesome

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Sparky Prime wrote: Sun Jan 30, 2022 12:28 am
andersonh1 wrote: Wed Jan 26, 2022 4:30 pmGreat episode, but it's in the wrong show!
It was odd that the entire episode was essentially an episode of Mandalorian. But I have to say, it was a nice surprise. And they seemed to pack so much into it. Truly a great episode... But it's just weird it's not really a Book of Boba Fett episode.
The Book of Boba Fett is supposed to be seven episodes. I wonder if it was originally six, and then this latest episode was added in at some point during planning to keep viewers interested in Mando's story? It's just a guess and I could be completely wrong, but that would explain why it's pretty much standalone.
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