Airdate: The Clone Wars
Here’s another curious programming decision from TEN. The brand spankin’ new animated series, Star Wars: The Clone Wars from Lucasfilm Animation is coming later this month.
But despite a legion of Star Wars fans, it has been given a timeslot of 12pm Saturday November 22.
The Hollywood Reporter’s Live Feed blog called preview footage “likely the most photo-realistic animated TV series ever produced.” It was the most-watched series premiere on the Cartoon Newtork ever.
The series, which premiered on October 3rd in the US, was launched with a feature film which was released in August. Creator George Lucas promises “there will be at least 100 episodes produced.”
The voice cast includes Matt Lanter, Seth Green, Anthony Daniels, Olivia d’Abo, James Arnold Taylor and Tom Kane.
It launches with a double of its half hour episodes.
Press Release:
Yoda takes on an entire droid army in the first of two episodes that mark the season premiere of STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS, the all-new CG animated TV series.
In the first episode, “Ambush,” Jedi Master Yoda and three clone troopers must face off against Count Dooku’s dreaded assassin Asajj Ventress and the massive Separatist droid army to prove the Jedi are strong enough to protect a strategicplanet and forge a treaty for the Republic.
The Jedi face a devastating new Separatist weapon that’s in the hands of General Grievous in the second episode of the season premiere.
In “Rising Malevolence,” an attack by an unimaginably destructive weapon aboard a mysterious
warship leaves Jedi Master Plo Koon and his clone troopers struggling to survive until Anakin Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano can find them. They discover that the ship is piloted by Grievous himself.
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A friend just sent me a copy of the first few eps, good to know it will now be shown locally.
The reason for the unusual timeslot is probably because it’s not for Star Wars fans at all, it’s for kids. Preferably kids under 10yrs old.
And it’s not photo-realistic either, so I don’t know why the reviewer used that phrase (I do CGI as a hobby).
Odd time slot though it will proably mean the whole series will get a run and not get pulled…
Another stupid move by Ten.
Why not play it out on a weekday afternoon? Hell, I think it could even work on primetime. Surely Clone Wars at 7.30pm on a Friday night can’t do as badly as IRT or Download. Hell, they can even double it up with new Futurama since they should now have four new episodes under their belt.
Bad move, Ten.
The series is average but if your a Star Wars fan it’s worth the watch even if it’s a little “kiddy”. It’s kinda sad that Lucas forgets the original Star Wars was loved by kids yet didn’t pander to them like he seams to do these days.
I was sure the would screen it Friday nights at 730 to get a good fan & kid audience. But I guess us older fans will just keep doing what we’re doing… downloading it!
I think 3pm on a saturday would be good. 12 is too early and kids should be outside playing not watching tv.
Even for a kids show, that is a strange timeslot to use.
Ten made the same mistake with another kids series (Animalia), which started in a 12:00 PM timeslot on Sundays. Animalia later moved to the current timeslot of 4:00 PM every Friday.
Actually 4:00 PM every Friday would be a much better timeslot, with Animalia finishing soon. Star Wars - Clone Wars sounds much better, then the current planned replacement (The Elephant Princess).
I would have thought a 6.30pm saturday lead in to a family movie would have been better, but at least it is being screened… Channel 10’s own homage to the saturday morning serial that started the franchise off in the first place..
@Sharpy - You sure you’re not thinking of Indiana Jones? That was inspired by the serials, not Star Wars
No chance of Clone Wars going to 4:00pm on a Friday. It’s when Ten shows their daily ration of ‘C’ programs like Animalia.
Seem to remember Nine showed showed all of the Young Indiana Jones series first run on a Saturday afternoon - repeats got similar treatment.
David, thanks for reproducing the dramatic echoey repetition in the press release - “Startar Warswars” indeed!
Check out this hilarious one-day cartoon which lampoons The Clone Wars proposition of championning Annikin as the hero of the series…despite the fact that we know what he goes on to do in Episode III: http://www.lilformers.com/index.php/2008/09/15/lil-formers-114-clone-wars/
Championning!
I would’ve thought this was better suited to a Friday or Saturday night but who knows what Ten is thinking anymore - they have well and truly gone off the boil this year.
Saturday 12pm is fine with me.
Obviously ‘The Hollywood Reporter’ has never seen the starship troopers animated series from 1999, no cartoon series has looked so realistic since that was made. It still looks good today and the stories were aimed towards the older audience. The clone wars series should be good, America is already up to episode 6, hopefully they will keep it on tv and not cancel it…