Topic: Dex's Diner - The Star Wars Topic

@Thrillho Haha, yeah, the first thing my partner and me said to each other is that the opening sucked. The logo is also pretty eh...

Compared to The Mandalorian the music is also lacking a bit, though it's not bad in any way.

I'm also very happy to watch a series that does something completely different. Jedi's and the force were never my favorite part of Star Wars anyway, so I don't miss that. I do miss some of the charm of the universe though. The bodyguard from the first episode still stands out to me as one of the series' best moments so far. Without stuff like that the series becomes more of a generic tv series. It's very unique for a Star Wars story, but less unique compared to other stuff that is out there.

I really like what I'm seeing though, so don't get me wrong. I really like how the story is about resistance, but on a smaller scale than "the fate of the universe". I also like parallels with real word oppression ans resistance, so I'm definitely enjoying my time.

I really like clunky charm though, so I keep coming back to The Mandalorian. Just a few days until series finale!

Yea, 10 episodes in and Andor so far has been my biggest dud of the year. Some great stuff, like the acting by Denise Gough (also the voice of Yen!). Most of the time it is a somewhat generic tv show to me. To each their own!

@Kidfried Yeah, I know exactly what you mean. I saw TIE Fighters, The Empire,Droids and Coruscant and thought I'd tuned into "Celebrity Love Island" by mistake.

@LN78 A show can have TIE Fighters, droids or even Jar Jar Binks and still be generic. I don't think Andor is purely generic because of its lack of Star Wars staples, but rather because of the show's structure and writing.

I'm not fond of the multiple big Hollywood speeches full of exposition ("my mind is a sunless something"). Everyone somehow has to spell out their motivations, and not much is left to the imagination of the viewer in this regard.
Also not a big fan of the constant shifting between characters, resulting in a lot of repetitieve scenes as well. I think The Last of Us and The Mandalorian do these perspective changes better, by just creating side-episodes (like the Bill episode and Chapter 19 in The Mandalorian).

Anyway, I know it's stuff that other people enjoy. And no one's wrong for thinking this is their favorite Star Wars thing ever. Me on the other hand, am now going to hype myself up for tonight!

@Kidfried Sorry, no it can't. Generic is the opposite of specific and TIE Fighters, Droids and Jar Jar Binks are specific to "Star Wars".

@LN78 For a Star Wars series to be not generic it has to stand out from other series out there, but also stand out from other Star Wars media. TIE Fighters are in every Star Wars film, it does not make Andor unique.

Mandalorian is the first (visually told) story about a Mandalorian. So it's unique from other series, because Mandalorians are very unique to Star Wars, but also unique from other Star Wars stories. Boba Fett, aside from other gripes I had with that series, already is less exciting in that respect than Mandalorian because its the second series starring a Mandalorian. So I'd say Boba Fett is less unique than Mandalorian based on that alone.

Andor absolutely has some very unique aspects, but in total there's less for me to be excited about. But I know other people found more to like in Andor than me.

@Kidfried I'm not arguing that they make "Andor" unique, I'm saying they make "Andor" unquestionably "Star Wars" and therefore not generic.

Something very different, but Star Wars related. Last week I made an impulse purchase and bought Star Wars: The Deckbuilding Game, a card game.

I played it twice now and it's incredibly fun. One person is the Empire and the other the Rebellion. You'll get a hand of five cards every turn, which you can use to attack your opponent, move the force in your favor or buy stronger cards for in your deck. It's a game that lasts about 15-30 minutes, and relatively easy to learn, but very tactical and just dripping with theme.

What sets it apart from other deckbuilding games is that there will be cards that are specific to a faction. Obviously, only the rebels can buy Cassian Andor. But while the emperor can't buy this card, when the card appears on the market, the Empire can bounty hunt him, effectively removing the card from the game, and also reaping a good reward for his demise.

I can easily recommend it at the price of 30 pounds (35 euro) too!

@Kidfried Thanks for the positive endorsement on this! My partner loves board games and card games, and is always kind enough to check out the licenced stuff for me (we spent Christmas Day playing the Pandemic System Star Wars: The Clone Wars together) so I'll keep your recommendation in mind!

I’ve watched the first three episodes of Visions season 2 and so far I feel like it’s even better than the first. There’s been some beautiful and unique art and nice little stories.

I really like being able to watch one or two of these shorts as I’m winding down or when I have some spare time but not enough time for a full show or full gaming session. I’ve been gravitating to bite-sized media lately because I just can’t commit to huge multi-season marathon shows right now.