Standard American animated television has taken quite the hit lately.  From uninspired and shrinking block on major network Saturday mornings (now effectively gone) to failed attempts to resurrect the concept on cable networks, even seemingly sure-hit shows like The Legend of Korra can’t seem to spark the ratings.  It’s in this dark era that a new hope seems to emerge, out of the ashes of the much-beloved Star Wars: The Clone Wars.  Will Star Wars Rebels have what it takes to survive?

 

If anyone is going to buck the trend, it’s going to be Disney, and considering how they are shepherding several mega-franchises these days to near-perfection, there is a lot of hope that the Star Wars universe will follow suit.  That said, if there is one area in which Disney has tested the resolve of franchise fans, it’s the decision to cancel The Clone Wars, eradicate the Expanded Universe mythos, and blaze a new path of “canon” based solely on the six films and the former animated series.  Star Wars Rebels is the first look at what that new “canon” represents, in anticipation of Episode VII.

 

This series is set five years before A New Hope, and thus about a decade after the end of Revenge of the Sith.  That’s more than enough time for a rebellion to start growing into a real threat, yet early enough that the ragtag nature of the Rebellion in A New Hope gives lots of room for successes and failures along the way.  Striking the balance is an important first step, and so far as that goes, Star Wars Rebels is off to a reasonable start.

 

The Empire is reaching out into the Outer Rim with an iron fist, and the crew of the Ghost is more a band of raiders than any true rebellion, regardless of whether or not they use the familiar symbol of the future Rebellion in their operations.  Kanan is the expected badass stray surviving Jedi, Hera is the sexy Twi’lek pilot, Sabine is the very sexy Mandalorian weapons expert, and Zeb is the Lasat muscle.  Joining the gang as the viewpoint character is an appropriately young-ish teen, Force-sensitive street rat named Ezra.  It’s basically everything that one would expect when putting together a raiding party in your standard sci-fi RPG.

 

Given that this is a pilot, even at double-length, the characters are still very basic in definition, and there’s a lot of exposition to go along with the stock plot of Team Ghost deciding to bring Ezra into the fold.  I fully expect some episodes early in the run to focus on each of the characters in turn, fleshing them out in terms of personality and background.  The trick is going to be avoiding the trap of being too beholden to setting up A New Hope.  This series may currently carry the banner of the “new canon”, but it shouldn’t try to do more than just gain audience acceptance and support at this stage of the game.  Let Episode VII do the real heavy lifting!

 

What does come across is the delicate balance between seriousness and fun, which has been a focus of pre-release discussion from the get-go.  The Clone Wars had its comedic moments, but purposefully was a more serious production.  Rebels will need to be serious, but it doesn’t have to be overwhelmingly so.  There are a few moments that stray into kiddie territory in this opening hour, but not so much that it degrades from the total experience.  Remembering that Rebels is meant as family-friendly Star Wars is, I suspect, going to be key to ongoing enjoyment.