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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Snarf Zagyg" data-source="post: 8832076" data-attributes="member: 7023840">I disagree, in two parts.First- Blake's 7 (not spelled out, weirdly). We can all agree that Andor can't hold a candle up to that show when it comes to special effects ... after all, the Andromeda Fleet was a high point in the genre that may never be matched ... but I can understand the superficial similarity. Show about freedom fighter rebelling against the Empire/Federation, with dark themes. But once you peel away the superficial similarity, you realize the messages are completely different.Andor has the trappings of so-called grimdark, but it's fundamentally a hopeful show. We are seeing the horror of the Empire, and the sacrifices people must make to remove tyranny, but we know (we literally know!) that these sacrifices will be worth it. Moreover, while we see the rebellion forced to make hard choices ... we see them struggle with those hard choices. That's what differentiates them from the Empire. There is no institutionalized causal cruelty.Blake's 7 is not that show, for two reasons. First, there was no knowledge of how it would end- you didn't know of any inevitable triumph. Second, it became apparent that there was no inevitable triumph. That the best that could be hoped for was moments of respite in between the grinding of the boot. In that sense, despite the production values and the amazing job of Servalan ... the show was much more realistic than Andor. The downfall of tyranny wasn't inevitable ... in fact, it was unlikely, and all that sacrifice was probably for nothing. Now, the second part. This is a "Star Wars" show. In fact, this is the best Star Wars show yet. To say this is not a Star Wars show is to strangle what little is left of Star Wars in the licensed bedsheets on the 1970s. A good story, well-told, and well-acted, in the Star Wars universe is a Star Wars show. I get that not everything here makes people comfortable- after all, it's easier to think of the abstract "cartoon villainy" of the Empire than consider what was necessary for it to function (the abstract idea of torture droids working off screen in ANH is much easier to pass over than to acknowledge that this was a normal part of how society was working, for example). It's also much easier to think about the heroics of Luke Skywalker showing up and shootin' down a Death Star than wondering what led to the rebellion that we see. I don't want every (or most) Star Wars shows to be quite this ... real ... but this has been a great run so far.</blockquote>

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