Spoilers Star Wars: The Acolyte [Spoilers]

[MarkB]

I didn't say "not grasp" I said "not like". The ideas that people are either entirely good or entirely bad, organised religion is always right, and that trying to do the right thing will always work out for the best are comforting ones, and you needed to grasp the subtleties to realise that those ideas were being challenged.

And you're back to talking about not grasping, with the inherent assumption that the only people who disliked the show were the ones who failed to understand it, dismissing the possibility that people could understand it just fine, have sophisticated enough tastes to be ready for some morally-grey storytelling in their lives, and still think it wasn't very good.

 

[Zardnaar]

And you're back to talking about not grasping, with the inherent assumption that the only people who disliked the show were the ones who failed to understand it, dismissing the possibility that people could understand it just fine, have sophisticated enough tastes to be ready for some morally-grey storytelling in their lives, and still think it wasn't very good.

I love morally Grey stories ain't Star Wars. Acolyte wasn't particularly good at it. For 200 million give or take.

Disney can actually do it eg Andor.

If enough people agreed with Paul show would still be going. Lowest ratings for a show with downward trajectory. Andor next lowest but upward trajectory and critical/fan hit.

 

[Henadic Theologian]

I love morally Grey stories ain't Star Wars. Acolyte wasn't particularly good at it. For 200 million give or take.

Disney can actually do it eg Andor.

If enough people agreed with Paul show would still be going. Lowest ratings for a show with downward trajectory. Andor next lowest but upward trajectory and critical/fan hit.

I've said it for years, but Star Wars and LotRs are not Sandbox settings, Star Trek and D&D are, expanding beyond the core story in SW & LotR going side ways 9 times out of 10, but corporate doesn't understand that popularity is nit the only ingredient that matters to building an expanded universe.

 

[Zardnaar]

I've said it for years, but Star Wars and LotRs are not Sandbox settings, Star Trek and D&D are, expanding beyond the core story in SW & LotR going side ways 9 times out of 10, but corporate doesn't understand that popularity is nit the only ingredient that matters to building an expanded universe.

Star Wars was sandbox for over 25 years. LotR not as much it's more constrained.

 

[Reef]

I love morally Grey stories ain't Star Wars. Acolyte wasn't particularly good at it. For 200 million give or take.

Disney can actually do it eg Andor.

If enough people agreed with Paul show would still be going. Lowest ratings for a show with downward trajectory. Andor next lowest but upward trajectory and critical/fan hit.

This is pretty much where I’m sitting. I have no problem with nuance and morally grey shows. I’m also fine with more straightforward space opera fare. But I do want them to be well written, and, well, good.

The Acolyte, for the most part, wasn’t. Maybe it could have been, if they hadn’t been so determined to race through it. There were glimmers of good, but nothing was ever given enough time to breathe.

I’m sorry it got cancelled for those who did enjoy it. But I’m hoping this is a good sign that maybe Disney is going to take a step back and realize they can’t just produce low quality shows and slap the Star Wars label on it.

I’m also hoping this doesn’t empower the “go woke go broke crowd”, but that may be a bridge too far

 

[Micah Sweet]

The original Star Wars triology was a love letter to old time movie serials from the 1930s and 40s like Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers. For those who might be unfamiliar with a serial, these were short films shown before the main feature and each episode would start with a recap of the last episode and most often ended on a cliffhanger. These serials had uncomplicated plots, good guys & bad guys, and were something kids could enjoy.

I think positive and heroic things are built into the DNA of Star Wars. There's certainly room for tragedy, The Empire Strikes Back is a great movie, but with The Acolyte, a story where I can't easily point to the good guy, I think they've lost the thread. I may be the odd man out here, but I'm not looking for a lot of nuance in my stories about space wizards, smugglers, and and princesses. Maybe that's why The Acolyte failed to resonate with audiences.

I certainly don't need nuance to appreciate Star Wars, but the difference I see between us is that I'm not against it, and I don't feel an entire franchise has to have a consistent tone.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Given that the actor died before they actually got round to doing anything with Baylan, all that "character development" was a complete waste of time that went nowhere. Ahsoka was a whole bunch of characters in search of a plot. Spoiler: they didn't find it.

Character building is pointless unless it serves the story. World building is pointless unless it serves the story.

Completely disagree. Worldbuilding and character development are interesting and worthwhile on their own. Story is IMO the least important of those three elements.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Why can't they just make four Star Wars TV movies a year and roll on? The format of these shows just kills all interest in these things.

I assume you mean, "your interest"?

 

[Micah Sweet]

I've said it for years, but Star Wars and LotRs are not Sandbox settings, Star Trek and D&D are, expanding beyond the core story in SW & LotR going side ways 9 times out of 10, but corporate doesn't understand that popularity is nit the only ingredient that matters to building an expanded universe.

I have a lot of RPG materials for both settings that say you're wrong about that.

 

[Reef]

Completely disagree. Worldbuilding and character development are interesting and worthwhile on their own. Story is IMO the least important of those three elements.

Wow, I’m the complete opposite here. World building and character development are important, but unless the are in service to a good story, what’s the point? Tell me a good story, and I’ll overlook some world building flaws. Build a world without a good story, and I’ll wonder what the point was.

Note that I think character development is actually an important part of a good story. Not always critical, but always nice. World building is a distant third (as long as the setting is self-consistent enough to support the story).

A novel with a cool story and an interesting setting is better than a story alone. But one with a cool setting and no/weak story is basically an atlas. Could be interesting, but generally not what I’m looking for from books/movies/shows.