Rebels • Season One

[DoubleSith]

Rebels S01E01 • Spark Of Rebellion • 720p

September 26 2014
view: (720p)

[VT-16]

They're up on the 4chan thread.

[darthpsychotic]

They're up on the 4chan thread.

They're up on the MF thread now also.



From the Rebels thread:

Random Aside: Are we going to get a dedicated Rebels Sub Forum so we can discuss in separate threads?

Yeah, I was wondering about that too. Can't stand the mega-thread situation for Rebels and Episode VII.

The Rebels forum is here with the Rebels mega-thread split into new subject-oriented threads MF is known for.

The Episode VII forum's mega-thread in a few days will also be split up into subject-oriented threads MF is known for.

Then MF 3.0 will be unveiled with registration re-opened

[DoubleSith]

Thanks for the dedicated Rebels forum, DP!

Overall, I really enjoyed the premiere. It had a bunch of groan-worthy moments, but it wasn't nearly as "kiddie" as I feared. None of the characters are that well defined as of yet, but for me, Zeb is clearly the breakout star of the crew. I also liked Agent Kallus, but it bothered me to see stormtroopers portrayed every bit as incompetent as battle droids.

I think I'll get used to the style, but the show does not look nearly as good as The Clone Wars. Not even close.

Also, sticking in both "Spark of Rebellion" and "A New Hope" in the dialogue...really? C'mon, Kinberg.

[royalguard96]

DP, still the man.

Just watched this. Very spirited beginning, as I expected. A lot more John Williams in the music than I remember hearing in Clone Wars (this is not a bad thing).

The animation has picked up where it left off at the end of Clone Wars. It will take some time for these characters to grow on me, but this was an enjoyable beginning.

[Thundercracker]

As always, thanks for the upload!

I really enjoyed it, more than I was expecting. No disrespect to CW but with all the OT imagery and classic music, it felt much more Star Wars-y than anything we've seen in a while. I thought the animation/CG looked great and the new little touches like shine on the ST armor, hair movement and pulsating lightsaber glows added some freshness to it. There's still room for improvement, sometimes certain motions seemed too fast and unnatural but it's still early and I'm sure it will improve.

I didn't think they're many groan worthy moments but i do agree the Stormtroopers were shown to be much more inept for my liking. The joke on them was always that they couldn't hit the side of a barn but now they also appear to be as dumb as a bag of rocks. That aside, it was clear these Troopers were not Clones so I wonder if this series will explore the transition from Clones to normal soldiers and what happened to the Clones at some point?

Overall, a solid start to the new series. Looking forward to seeing more!

[Mike_Droideka]

A very solid start to the series indeed, which is what they needed straight outta the gate.
The story was great, humor was well placed, voice acting is top notch, combined with some pretty slick animation.
Filoni has done a commendable job and it looks like this series is on the right track.

Picked up the first of the new SWR action figures, from TRU last night as well:

[Maveritchell]

I think I'll get used to the style, but the show does not look nearly as good as The Clone Wars. Not even close.

Agreed. The Wookiees - ugh. Their digital sets are beautiful, but their characters and animations are not quite at the level Clone Wars would have you expect.

I'm sure I'll eventually reach a point of saturation, but it's almost a giddy feeling seeing pieces of the OT universe in (new) action for the first time in a long time. I'll have a lot of fun ticking off pieces of the EU that get (re-)canonized.

[Mike_Droideka]

There is room for improvement with the character models, but it looked pretty damn impressive on my Samsung smart TV in 720p
I can only imagine how amazing this show will look on BD.

[Topeka]

I enjoyed this a lot more than I expected. It feels very much like the early Clone Wars but with an OT vibe. Kanan was developed well and I actually have high hopes for his story arc. My biggest complaints would be that the character models look like Gumby and the scripted dialogue was downright awful.

[VT-16]

I think I'll get used to the style, but the show does not look nearly as good as The Clone Wars. Not even close.

Agreed. The Wookiees - ugh. Their digital sets are beautiful, but their characters and animations are not quite at the level Clone Wars would have you expect.

No more Lucas means no more Lucas money.

I'll have a lot of fun ticking off pieces of the EU that get (re-)canonized.

[spoil]Ando [/spoil] is mentioned in a future character's backstory. We might actually see it. There's also [spoil]Lasan[/spoil], which is a big part of Zeb's tragic backstory.

[E_CHU_TA!]

I expected the pilot to be cleaver and polished, and I’m not disappointed. As a series introduction, the fast pacing seems like a good choice for the episode’s story. Personally, I wish I could gauge where the overall plot is headed.

Musically, I wish that Kiner didn’t hit the John Williams button so often. The recognizable cues could have been modified or spaced out a little bit better. That being said, the use of the slow Force Theme at the end gave me chills.

The look of the show, reminded me of every OT era video game I’ve played over the years. TIE blow-up good in those games and the same can be said here.

Concerning Stormtroopers: they’ve always been dunderheads. There’s no example of Stormtroopers acting as bad-asses in the OT. Like Boba, they never really live up to the menacing appearance of their armor. Maybe that will change with Episode 7 (like it did with the Fett name in Episode 2)?

[The_Somnambulist]

Loved it! Great characters, style, pace and humor!

And the music was great. So many delicious OT cues. I'm guessing they front-loaded the pilot with so many memorable cues to draw fans in. I doubt future episodes will be as loaded.

The speeder chase on Lothal was a highlight for me. It's what a fair amount of Star Wars is all about. Hot, nasty, badass speed!

[Topeka]

As a series introduction, the fast pacing seems like a good choice for the episode’s story. Personally, I wish I could gauge where the overall plot is headed.

It might have been too ambitious. There were a lot of characters and locations introduced in a short time. I liked the quiet moments the most: aboard the ship, the interrogation of Ezra and choosing the path to take at the end.

[The_Somnambulist]

From the Rebels thread:

Random Aside: Are we going to get a dedicated Rebels Sub Forum so we can discuss in separate threads?

Yeah, I was wondering about that too. Can't stand the mega-thread situation for Rebels and Episode VII.

The Rebels forum is here with the Rebels mega-thread split into new subject-oriented threads MF is known for.

The Episode VII forum's mega-thread in a few days will also be split up into subject-oriented threads MF is known for.

Then MF 3.0 will be unveiled with registration re-opened

Greatly appreciated, DP! Excited about the next step in MF's evolution. And it'll be great to get some new heads in here. Liven the place up a bit.

[stan Marsh]

Thanks DP!

My joy for new Star Wars material has over shadowed my disappointment in some of the animation and acting. Freddie prinze is actually usually pretty solid but I felt Kanan was far too flat. Hope it gets better and I'm fairly certain it will

[SithWitch]

I guess Clone Wars spoiled us with a near-live-action quality of the animation. I was constantly stunned at the details, like facial stubble and the rustle of cloth or the architecture and especially the insects and animals in the Chewbacca arc.

But this stuff seems plastic, fake. More like the Lego cartoons than the Clone Wars. I am sad to see the quality go. Budgets I guess. The environments are not half bad, but the plastic hair and inconsistently shiny surfaces are distracting. I feel like I am watching toys from a Burger King happy meal and not "real people" like the CW characters really seemed to become after a year or two. Dunno, I guess they just seem a bit vacant and fake comparatively. Even Obi Wan. I mean Ben.


That said, the story is great! I loved the New Dawn novel as a set up and the first Spark episode was non-stop excitement. Maybe we revealed the Jedi a bit too soon, but man they sure covered a lot of territory introducing the general scenario, characters and issues at stake.

Plus lots of cool, colorful explosions. (Yay Sabine!) But the plastic sheen on some things and not others is just annoying. The wookies looked like stiff action figures, and Ezra's hair looks like it comes from a Danish toy factory. I am sure it will do exactly that once Christmas time comes around and boxes of Ezra jump off the shelves. They wont have to do much, he already looks like a toy. They can probably use the same wireframe. or whatever.


Graphic critiques aside this show rocks so far. Great characters, great time period to explore, and to many opportunities for cameos from Obi Wan, Yoda, Boba, Darth maybe, and yes ... Mace Windu! For we all know he can take a zapping and fall a few thousand yards and still land on his feet. Nobody REALLY dies in Star Wars. Well, except maybe Aunt Beru. boo hoo. (Yes, Amidala faked her death. It will be in a stand-alone movie. shh!)

[Mike_Droideka]

The thing about Clone Wars was that each episode was extremely expensive to make - nobody knows the exact figure but rumors suggest that it was nearly one million dollars per episode. That's nothing for George Lucas - he can afford to throw his money around and create whatever the heck he likes, but Disney have share holders to appease and l couldn't see them (or anyone for that matter) dropping 22 million dollars, on a cartoon series.

I'd imagine that SWR has a very modest budget, and they're possibly limited in what they can do.
Uncle George ain't there trying to push the envelope anymore, which is a bit sad.

[Zaius]

http://www.slashfilm.com/star-wars-rebels-bits/

[Alexrd]

Uncle George ain't there trying to push the envelope anymore, which is a bit sad.

Exactly, and not just money-wise, but in terms of story as well. They are playing too safe, which is fine for what it is, but it doesn't get me excited for much else...

[Mike_Droideka]

That does have me worried a little, but after seeing SWR "Spark of Rebellion" I feel a lot better about this new era of Star Wars.

[Sith Hunter#1]

I enjoyed the 1st episode of Rebels...but I wasn't amazed by it.

Maybe I was expecting too much after 6 seasons of The Clone Wars, but the animation didn't seem to come close to what Ive been used to from The Clone Wars. Don't get me wrong, the scenes in space with the ships looked great and the shine/reflection on the Stormtroopers armor was impressive, but I just felt the rest was lacking in quality from what we've experienced in the past.

The use of the OT music was a nice touch and I thought the appearance of Obi-Wan was great.

I thought the Wookiees looked terrible compared to how they were portrayed in The Clone Wars. I couldn't understand how they can animate Ezra's hair to blow in the wind, yet all the Wookiees were totally static, no hair movement at all and really badly designed. Even my wife commented on how bad the "Chewbacca things" looked! Both my kids really got into it & my youngest whos 10 has watched it back about 5 times now and loves it.

With it being the 1st episode I suppose I cant complain too much as hopefully it will improve over time as The Clone Wars did. Time will tell...

[VT-16]

The new one is up on the XD site. How do we get it ripped?

[Evil_Elvis]

Read a report the other day that basically said that coming from where they were with Clone Wars to suddenly stop and start developing something completely new to delivering it within 2 years is an incredibly quick turnaround. Could explain the less than stellar animation.

[AdamK]

I think I somehow like it more than the Clone Wars. I think it's how the show resembles the old trilogy in its action and settings. TCW always seemed like it was trying to be something different, but here I am getting extremely strong ANH vibes without any of the new trilogy elements. Some textures seem to be on the grainy side and many models look less than stellar, but I'm sure that in time it will only get better. Stuff such as the glossy armor and metal elements looks better than in TCW already so I have high hopes for that

[DoubleSith]

view: (720p)

[E_CHU_TA!]

In a new interview, Filoni states that the crew is inspired by the A-team, Kanan is based physically on Judd Nelson, and Ezra is Star Wars' Ralph Macchio. After watching the first two episodes, I think all these comparisons ring true.

The second episode’s offbeat start does have an ensemble 80’s TV show vibe. I liked the idea of R2 being a Rebel scout for Bail. However, Kallus being Zeb’s arch nemesis seems a bit contrived.

The pilot garnered a very respectable official viewership of 6.5 million worldwide. When Spark of Rebellion is re-aired on network TV (here in the US), it is rumored that a scene featuring an animated Darth Earl Jones will be inserted. If true, that’s big Star Wars news.

[Mike_Droideka]

It's going to air here in Australia as well.
7 Mate (Yes, that's the name of the channel) this Saturday at 4.30pm. ..

[BearnBird]

Second episode "Droids In Distress" is free on iTunes this week only.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/tv-season/s ... d920938545

[Bandersnatch]

It's official - Additional scene featuring Darth Vader in ABC broadcast of "Spark..."

http://www.starwars.com/news/abc-to-air ... arth-vader

[Sith Hunter#1]

Really enjoyed this episode! I must admit, Rebels is definitely starting to grow on me.

Loved how they introduced C-3P0 & R2 into the mix and I hope that bringing a character or two from the movies into each episode, like the droids & Bail Organa, will continue throughout the show…

If I was going to criticise anything, it would be the start seemed a little repetitive from the last episode (being chased by tie fighters & making the jump to hyperspace) and when Ezra was going over the rooftops…to me it looked a little like a platform game for a console…

on a musical note it seems that whenever anyone is on the cannons in the Ghost, the Tie fighter attack after the escape from the Death Star from A New Hope is played, as is the music from Return Of The Jedi (when the droids are headed to Jabba’s Palace), whenever theres any droid action taking place….just a small concern as this might get rather repetitive.

Apart from these little gripes it looks like this show is only going to improve with time. This episode had a definite Star Wars feel to even more than the premier episode.

Overall a very good episode which left me wanting more…

[Alexrd]

Personally, I think the way the droids were introduced felt very shoehorned. I don't think Bail would let R2 out there in such a mundane mission for the Empire with the knowledge it holds.

[SithWitch]

Link is to Spark not Droids?

[Cryostar]

It appears to be a link to 1x01...give it time.

[darthpsychotic]

Tims is here

[Cryostar]

See, DP always comes through with superior MF quality.

Many thanks, Man.

[Mike_Droideka]

I absolutely loved this episode.
The use of all the McQuarrie art, combined with the classic sounds and musical cues, left me hanging for more.
Great to see the Bail cameo at the end - very nice touch.

I hope the Stormtroopers in this show are going to be more than just cannon fodder.
It'll get quite repetitive to see them picked off so easily in every episode.
We need to see the Empire as a lethal force and a major threat for not only our heroes, but for everyone.

I know I sound like a broken record, but I cannot wait to be able to watch this show in 1080 on BD!

[Bandersnatch]

I cannot wait to be able to watch this show in 1080 on BD!

Same here. I haven't even bothered watching the 2nd episode yet. I may just have to wait for the Blu Ray release, which I'm sure they will put out just in time for the release of Episode VII.

[KyleKartanMG]

First Post, wanna say hello.

KANAN looks great and Iam specially excited that it comes from one of the REBELS Makers, Greg Weisman. Iam sure he, Filoni and Kimberg will work together in some way to get us a great backround story about Caleb.

Seems as if the Prequel era will be handled too which I only can endorse! I love this timeline of STAR WARS

[SithWitch]

Super episode. Thanks!

[VT-16]

Thanks for the 720p!

First we got McQuarrie's Alderaan with Lothal, now Garel is





I also love the urbanized look with Coruscant-style cityscapes seen from orbit, it's like Garel is a cosmopolitan version of Lothal:

[dromag]

Glad to see some tie-ins to the prequel trilogy, it may not have been well received by everyone but seeing Bail was awesome it helps tie everything together. Preferred the character textures more on TCW but the environments are amazing and call back to the OT perfectly.

[E_CHU_TA!]

view: (720p)


This episode has been up at the Watch Disney XD site since Monday. It's a good one, even if it is a bit breezy.

Overall, I'm enjoying the show. However, I do wish it had more of the TCW's textured depth.

[Chostomo]

This is how Vader will look in Rebels

McQuarrie-esque, mesa thinks!

[KyleKartanMG]

McQuarrie tastic!

[CoGro]

Holy fuck that's awesome.

I hope this isn't a one-time thing for JEJ. I'd like to see Vader two or three times a season.

[AdamK]

This one felt a bit short and straightforward, but the all the TIE action was pretty cool. I felt weird when I saw a trooper finally hit something, but then again, the reaction caused by it actually hurt one more trooper


I enjoyed the fact that Ezra's slingshot just proved to be useless - it seemed silly at first and it better stay that way.

[VT-16]

I enjoyed it, but it's my least favorite so far. Still, the dialogue seems so natural and unforced. It's almost weird to think this is SW. Even TCW wasn't free from it.

[Sith Hunter#1]

Just watched it....totally agree with VT-16...my least favourite episode also.....and yet another rooftop chase....surely they can come up with more ideas than that.

The backgrounds seem to be getting over-used as well....need more than just the same market place and grassland plains...on the plus note, I'm liking Choppers sense of humour...would love to see this develop.

All in all a "fun" episode but it still needs improvement to even get close to The Clone Wars....could this be the start of the "Disney Effect"???

[Alexrd]

The backgrounds seem to be getting over-used as well....

And not very original either. If not for the grass, one could mistake that for Tatooine. Still, it was an 'okay' (filler) episode.