Pumping ’em out today! With the end of Skeleton Crew, I felt it was a good time to release my rankings of Star Wars shows. Feel free to add your opinion in the comments section or on our Twitter page @BLNT_Chicago for a community discussion!
Some SPOILERS below!
Star Wars: The Clone Wars 9.7/10
I could write an entire essay on this show, but in my opinion, it is far and above the best TV show that Star Wars has to offer. Yes, it is animated. Yes, the first couple of seasons can be pretty kiddie at times. Once you adapt to what you’re watching, the storytelling and plots that this show has to offer are unreal. There’s a reason Dave Filoni has received so many promotions in Lucasfilm since starting as a writer next to George Lucas on this show. It IS Star Wars. The progression, character building, and tie-ins to the prequels are so damn good and, without a doubt, make the prequel trilogy a whole lot better. George Lucas is one crazy bastard!
The Mandalorian 9.2/10
I feel like a Disney simp for this, but credit where credit’s due. It brought in so many fans because of that cute-ass Baby Yoda. Everyone loves Grogu! The first season is an awesome western-feeling show with good storytelling, world-building, and solid acting. Season 2 is what sets this apart from every show. Reminiscent of Mac Miller’s Faces. Just a magnum opus of Star Wars TV. Unreal season and, of course, one of the coolest finales I have ever seen. Season 3 takes a dip, and I think they got a little too cute with it. It was tough to meet expectations after season 2, but maybe 3 sets up for the movie to be awesome. We will see. Pumped for that to come out even after the lackluster season 3. Fuck off, Jack Black and Lizzo. RIP to the king, Carl Weathers.
Andor 9.1/10
I really debated putting this at 2, hell, even at 1 for a minute. People have gripes with this show as there aren’t a ton of shootouts or saber fights, but once again, just a complete masterpiece of storytelling. This show gives Star Wars life. I have never been more erect than watching Stellan Skarsgård in this show. His monologue gives me chills. The big episodes in this show are absolute bangers. “No Way Out,” “The Eye,” “Rix Road,” and “The Reckoning” are a chef’s kiss. Cannot wait for season 2.
Tales of the Jedi and Tales of the Empire 8.7/10
Might get flack for this one, but I loved this series. Lumping them both in as one here as well. Jedi was definitely better, and it was super cool to see a young Qui-Gon and Count Dooku. The episodes are short and digestible, with awesome twists and turns. I hope they continue this series, as it’s super cool to see some gaps filled in Star Wars lore. Would love one with Baylan Skoll and Kylo Ren.
Ahsoka 8.1/10
Things drop off from 4 to 5 for me, as there are some heavy-hitting characters that you wish just had a little better of a show. I liked Ahsoka, and the Anakin flashbacks totally quenched my Hayden Christensen thirst. Pause. Baylan Skoll’s character, as mentioned above, was super cool, and I want more of his backstory. Sad to see Ray Stevenson’s passing, but the Hound should make for a solid backfill. RIP Ray.
Kenobi 7.9/10
Ugh. So frustrating. My favorite Star Wars character was kind of butchered with this show. So unfortunate for Ewan McGregor, who finally got love for the prequels after everyone ripped them when they came out. This show had the potential to be unreal. A great actor returned to play an iconic role, and it was butchered by some silly, silly scenes. See: little Leia getting chased in the forest, hiding under Obi-Wan’s trench coat, and Luke running from Reva on Tatooine. Probably some other cringey moments. I will say little Leia was an awesome actor. Props on nailing that casting. Feel bad that Reva got so much flack for this by racist fans. Not her fault the show was named Kenobi, but she was in every goddamn scene. She was solid, and I am not racist.
Star Wars: Clone Wars (2003) 7.5/10
This was a fun little show and tied into the prequels nicely. It set up Episode III and helped build the Clone Wars that we all know and love. Most probably haven’t even seen this show. Give it a shot!
Rebels 7.4/10
I’ll say it, I’m just not a Rebels guy. I know everyone lauds this show, but I could never get over the animation, and having watched it immediately after Clone Wars, it just couldn’t compare. A Chrysler 300 looks like a Phantom till a Phantom pulls up. Overall, it’s a solid show and introduced unique characters to Star Wars.
Bad Batch 7.1/10
This was a solid show. It didn’t really tickle my nuts, as they pretty much just fought a bunch of different monsters. Tech dying was cool because it gave some mortality to the show and showed that these altered clones aren’t just invincible. Crosshair’s plot was also pretty cool; I liked that a lot. Omega… her voice took me out. It’s like nails on a chalkboard to me. I couldn’t stand her. I’m sorry.
Skeleton Crew 6.9/10
I had super low expectations for this show going in. It was kind of advertised as a Goonies kids’ show, but I thought it was super fun. The story was cool with all of the pirates, and the whole world of At-Attin was unique and uncharted territory for Star Wars content.
The Book of Boba Fett 6.6/10
The show would be much lower if not for The Mando episodes and Cad Bane, because he’s just an electric factory. Also, Thundercat’s my boy. Let’s make a show about Boba Fett but have his helmet off most of the time and not do the cool, fun things Boba does that make us like Boba. Good call. I didn’t ask to see Boba doing Ayahuasca with Tusken Raiders.
Star Wars Visions 6.0/10
I’m not sure if I even finished this show. If you’re into anime and Star Wars, it’s probably your wet dream. I’m not an anime guy, so it didn’t move the needle for me. A bunch of one-off different stories kept things fresh, though I think I slept through three of them one day. This is not a credible review—just needed something to go ahead of The Acolyte.
The Acolyte 5.5/10
I always go into each Star Wars project with an open mind and was really excited about this one. I heard the director saying she doesn’t like guys or something. Maybe it was white people; can’t remember, but that’s okay. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, and I’m not going to change hers the same way she can’t tell me that her show was a total letdown. The lightsaber fights and choreography were what made this show above a 5 for me. I mean, a demented Wookiee fighting a bunch of trained Jedi Masters was pretty sweet. I really liked “The Stranger’s” storyline, and it was cool to see Darth Plagueis for seven seconds. The witches really took me out. This felt like a project to push an agenda over something made for good viewing pleasure.
I am pretty sure I covered all of them except for “The Resistance,” which I did not see, and another preschool-looking show. Hope you enjoyed!