So, the first two episodes of Star Wars: The Clone Wars have aired on Cartoon Network (Oct. 3 9pm) and I have to say that I am one happy fanboy!

The first episode airing was the best of the two and followed Yoda and 3 clone troopers as they make their way through battalions of battle droids, commanded by the evil Sith apprentice Asajj Ventress, to reach the leader of the planet Toydaria so they can be made allies of the Republic. The action was kinetic and the characters really shine here in many ways better than they ever did in the prequel films. The second episode involved jedi Plo Koon commanding clone troopers in the quest to take down a Separatist weapon commanded by Count Dooku and General Grievous. The weapon destroys Plo’s fleet of ships and he ends up in an escape pod with some troopers as they are hunted by Grievous’s droids. Anakin and his new apprentice, Ahsoka, rush to rescue Plo and crew. This episode was very good but lacked the action that the first had. Still, Star Wars fans should find much to be geekily happy about here. And that brings me to what I have to say about certain so called Star Wars fans…

It’s always been known that mainstream critics usually dislike a Star Wars property. Now, I’ll give them some credit. The prequel films did have a lot of problems and they did not measure up to the fun of the original trilogy. But there is also a lot about them I like and I found them entertaining. This animated series basically had it’s pilot shown in theaters around the world in August as a feature film. I loved it. I thought it was better in many ways to any of the prequels. Hell, I actually liked Anakin for the first time in this flick. But, the fanboy community ripped it apart complaining that it didn’t have any depth and complained about the humor (mainly the exchanges between battle droids). All I got to say is why don’t you just sit back and enjoy a Star Wars film for what it is. It’s supposed to be entertainment, not a religious experience. And George Lucas has said time and again that this series is supposed to be for kids and the young at heart. All of you 30-ish year olds need to realize that this animated Star Wars is aimed at kids. If the adult fans like it, that’s awesome but the truth is that this is for the young and it’s just entertainment, nothing deeper than that. Yeah, it does deal with some mythological and dramatic themes but we’re not talking about the Bible or Shakespeare here. Now, it seems to be the cool thing to hate Star Wars. If you take it for what it is and still don’t like it, that’s cool. But if you are making this out for more than what it is then you really need to get a life.

Critics were definitely kinder to these two episodes that have aired on Cartoon Network but still there were a good bit of haters out there. And, of course, the fanboys put in their two cents and I guess they want the second coming on television. What I watched has me really looking forward to the coming episodes. This is an action packed show that promises to present some great characterization and finally will give the clone troopers some of the spotlight. The only flaws I can see so far is the length (30 minutes w/ commercials is pretty short) and the humor with the battle droids (which really isn’t that bad). Overall, this is good stuff!

So, if you’re not really a Star Wars fan but like wonderful animation you should check this out. The visuals alone are beautiful. If you are a Star Wars fan, quit being so anal about it, get yourself a girlfriend and enjoy the further exploration of the Star Wars universe. This show actually gives us a lot of the fun that was missing in the prequel films and enriches this particular universe.

Remember — Cartoon Network Fridays at 9pm.

May the Force be with you…