Star Wars: The Bad Batch Disney + Animated Show

[jaztermareal]

How much more does it cost to animate a good story than a naff filler episode??? About the same (provided you aren't animating thousands of characters on screen at once or a bunch of flowing robes). You can basically show any visual in animation without having to worry about stunts, building sets etc.

How much more work is it to record 20 mins of great dialogue vs 20 mins of naff dialogue? Same again actually (provided you are not doing excessive takes).

So why so much filler when budget/time shouldn't really be an issue? Because the creators are too lazy to write better stuff. A good writer could create a fantastic overarching story with episodes that both further the plot and act as standalone stories, creating a satisfying experience week to week that adds up over time into one big narative. But that ain't these writers, dedpite the limited number of episodes per season they only have ideas for maybe 4 or 5 episodes. They then just throw together a buch of filler scripts as if it were low budget live action tv (you know like how many shows had episodes that took place in 1 confined location to squeeze another episode out of their tight budget). Thing is, such restrictions do not really apply to animation. So what is their excuse for such tedious storytelling??????

 

[Wor-Gar]

Good writers cost more.

 

[jaztermareal]

Good writers cost more.

Thing is, even just an average writer would do far better than whoever is writing this show....



What is it with Disney (and hollywood in general) throwing insane amounts of money at franchises yet somehow forgetting to hire decent writers???? It is baffling because surely writing is the foundation of any movie/show that everything else is built on top. It would be like Mercedes using little tikes toy car motors as the engines for their cars. You are failing before you even start!

 

[Wor-Gar]

Thing is, even just an average writer would do far better than whoever is writing this show....

It's the development people, and Disney muckimucks, and Lucasfilm, etc. Too many VPs, too many stamps needed.

 

[Mike86]

I’m still enjoying the show. I feel like season one had a bit more of an over arching story though whereas so far season two has been more singular episodes. The Crosshair episode has been the best one by far this season.

 

[e30ernest]

How much more does it cost to animate a good story than a naff filler episode???

While I would say this is far from my favorite Bad Batch episodes, I'll reserve judgement on whether this is filler or not when the season ends. You are right that the cost of producing filler animated shows is the same as producing episodes within an arc. So I wonder if this episode will eventually pay off later on in the season.

I saw some videos today explaining how a chunk of this episode has connections to the lore of Jedi Fallen Order, so maybe (I'm hoping) there would be a proper arc for this and a better connection to the other Star Wars stories too.

 

[Ramatuelle]

I think that we're all forgetting that we are not the target audience for the show. These episodes that we dismiss are probably pretty fun for the kiddos.

We as adults need a bit more. And so it kind of boggles me that Lucasfilm is not creating animated stuff with actual adults in mind, because adults will absolutely watch the hell out of that.

We would ADORE to watch an animated series with the serious vibe of episode 3. I would, anyway and I know I'm not alone. Its cheaper to produce animated, I get that - so lets do it. The Clone Wars era still has "legs," and pretty long ones at that. Why not explore that? Do it on the cheap, I dont care but these explicitly kids shows sort of make me antsy as I imagine what could be, and I see the Batch idling around, basically kicking their heels and not using their skills. These guys should form the most fearsome bounty hunter's/merc consortium that ever consorted, instead they are taking orders from Cid. Be still my heart.

 

[jedibear]

This show is flailing already. Unfortunate. I'm finding myself turning back to the Karen Traviss books for my Clone Wars fix. Those Republic Commandos could wipe the floor with this babysitting Bad Batch.

I don't buy the "we're not the audience" argument here...why would a show be created about a group of augmented, experimental clones designed to be more efficient fighters that are finding themselves to be warriors without a war turn that potentially hard hitting premise into nothing more than a cereal-box game of the week that guts that premise in favor of turning the namesake protagonists into window dressing for another precocious wonderchild coming of age story?

Wait...maybe we aren't the audience, but then who is? Are kids really into this? I agree that it is likely the case of too many "stamps" needed as mentioned earlier and the end result of that is always that "something for everyone" that pleases no one. The possibilities are there for this, but I think it's going to end up being another case of becoming a SW Disney product where the artists are knocking themselves out but the stories are barely a consideration.

And I just watched the latest episode. Trash. One more week of tripe and I'm out.

 

[pixletwin]

Be patient. Once these few filler episodes are out of the way, things will really start to cook.

 

[Ramatuelle]

don't buy the "we're not the audience" argument here...why would a show be created about a group of augmented, experimental clones designed to be more efficient fighters that are finding themselves to be warriors without a war turn that potentially hard hitting premise into nothing more than a cereal-box game of the week that guts that premise in favor of turning the namesake protagonists into window dressing for another precocious wonderchild coming of age story?

First, I dont think its fair to compare any clone to Traviss' clones. Those clones are in a class by themselves, and they will never be equalled.

And why would Disney do all that youve mentioned? Because thats what they do: they **** stuff up. That bunch ****ed up a show about the galaxys baddest, most fearsome bounty hunter ever and made him a laughingstock. The Batch has received fairly gentle treatment by comparison.

We are just out here, looking for diamonds such as episode 3 amongst the piles of rust. Thats what it is to be a SW fan: mourning what could be, as you sift through piles of powdered rust. Its pretty sad.

 

[Ramatuelle]

Be patient. Once these few filler episodes are out of the way, things will really start to cook.

I am less optimistic. I am hoping for three or four more really intense episodes during this season to make the story move forward. Otherwise, i dont expect much. BoBF really, severely broke my trust and I lack confidence that Lucasfilm will do these clones right. Echo and Hunter were so obviously bored and impatient this episode, even they think this lack of overarching storyline is bull****

I kid, but also kind of not. Give our boys something worthy to do.

 

[choombaz]

I take back everything nice I said about this show. One good episode out of five? Even my kids have abandoned it. Season one was Shakespeare compared to this drivel.

 

[Dave_W]

 

[ScoutingForToys]

6 episodes in, only 1 good episode, 5 meh. Maybe something worthwhile will happen next week... ha ha

 

[pixletwin]

From here on out I believe things will pick up. Still, I think the show model is lacking. I would rather have a solid 12 episode run than have to wade through 3 weeks of meh.

*I haven't seen the latest episode yet.

 

[ArtDamage]

It works on two levels since that's how Omeega would pronounce Polyfiller.

 

[chrisstbh]

This was a great episode .

 

[Ramatuelle]

I SHALL JUDGE *goes off to watch episode* Heard this is s'posed to be the Gungi episode, not that this matters much to me.

 

[e30ernest]

It wasn't bad at all. It was OK at worst for me. Maybe they could have done away with the

Spoiler

trees have a plan bit.

I do like how when they are not fighting clones, their blasters are not set to stun.

 

[MyenShi]

I do like how when they are not fighting clones, their blasters are not set to stun.

I liked that too. Made the action a bit more brutal. Nice to see them cut loose and put their skills to use on something other than droids and other Clones.

I think the show has been alright so far.

Episode 1/2 - Okay start, fairly basic but not bad.
Episode 3 - Incredible start to finish.
Episode 4 - Filler, but Tech is my favorite so didn't mind.
Episode 5 - Weakest episode, pretty meaningless.
Episode 6 - Good episode, nice to see Kashyyyk.

I do agree about there being too much filler. Season 1 had that problem. But I understand why they stretch out seasons. Still a shame though. The filler could at least be more interesting.

Based on the episode titles, I'm hoping there'll only be 3 or 4 more filler episodes.