So, just watched A SUNNY DAY IN THE VOID...
...and I'll admit, it was kind of disappointing.
Good things:
-The animation is, per usual, gorgeous.
-The droids nearly being sucked into ice comet hell was genuinely frightening.
-WAC trolling Gascon in the beginning was pretty amusing, what with, "Well, at least you have an excuse for not completing the mission." After they landed on the planet it just descended into generally unfunny, unpleasant bitchiness, but I can at least treasure that exchange because at least it felt like a moment of banter instead of "I am now plot-obligated to be an asshole." (See, that's really why I don't like some of the plot overemphasis. Plot springs from the characters' actions after all, and even if not...at least your characters' actions have to make sense)
-The scene with the hallucinations of their ruined ship and corpses was a really good "holy shit" moment. Really reminded me of that scene in "The Doctor's Wife" when Amy was hallucinating Rory's death.
-Using the birds to find a way out of the void was a really creative idea.
Things that bugged me:
-I really, really wanted Brent Friedman (the writer of the episode) to follow up on the character development of Gascon and WAC from "Secret Weapons". I mean, the ending of "Secret Weapons" was just so hopeful and adorable and lovely and taught such a good lesson for kids (that just because you're a Jerkass doesn't mean you can't redeem yourself, and that no one is ever truly unimportant), and "A Sunny Day In The Void" just did a complete 180. Remember when Gascon learned to stop being a Jerkass and start to respect the droids under his command? Complete 180 back to his closed-minded self (granted, he got a bit better, but still), what with calling the droids stupid and being more concerned with getting his promotion than anything else. I mean, I guess character development doesn't necessarily happen immediately, but you'd think there would be *some* sort of a change in the dynamics, e.g. Gascon addressing the droids more like equals than as inferior beings. And WAC just took a level in Jerkass in this episode -- lording his promotion as Corporal over all the other droids (way to spoil an otherwise great moment, Friedman. /sarcasm) and making fun of Gascon when the man took a suicidal turn.
-Speaking of which, the suicide "humor". *Sighs* I myself have "people mocking suicide" as a Berserk Button, and... *Sighs* First off, Gascon's your fucking comrade, WAC. I don't care if he's being insensitive and/or illogical, you can at least take some time to *help* him. You know, a bit of, "Don't worry, Colonel; remember your training" or a bit of reassuring him a la the Doctor towards the acting captain in the DOCTOR WHO episode "The Impossible Planet" goes a long way. A bit of compassion isn't that big a deal. Second off, how did Gascon's climb to the top of that snow mountain thing and WAC's comment go through LucasFilm without someone saying, "Hey, that's not funny"? Third of all, the whole "putting himself out of his misery" is just fucking awful. I mean, I can't say that Gascon's behavior in this episode was at its best either, but at the very least, it sounded like WAC was all bit rooting for Gascon to die. Which...no. Just no. *Sighs* It's not a matter of political correctness or me "bashing" a character. Just a matter of common decency. I mean, it's fine to at least have a bit of bickering, but I think at least Friedman could have tied it into the characters and their environment, and "who's the best to be on this mission". Hell, they could have explored Gascon's feelings about being in an unsteady position of command, perhaps even how he got the way he is (e.g. maybe a Well Done Son Guy thing, or just general nervousness?), and WAC worrying about how he's going to keep the Colonel sane and the team together. Hell, we could have learned about WAC and some of the other droids, or cut back to the Separatists and/or the Jedi to see how they're doing (God knows I was more interested in them than the Void). But no. *Sighs* Which honestly makes me angry because really, just because it's a kid's show doesn't mean it can't have depth. Just look at BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES and DOCTOR WHO. Look at THE SARAH JANE ADVENTURES, and Disney movies.
-That whole thing about military training being like programming. Look, military training is *not* like programming. It involves, if I recall correctly, learning certain skills like how to survive out in the wilderness, firing a gun, etc. Droid programming also involves skills like translating languages and unpicking locks and things like that. Granted, there's a certain skeeviness to droid programming such as the memory wipes, but generally, programming is just a useful set of skills. Same with military training. And this episode just treated things like that like they were stupid and to "trust your instincts", etc. -- honestly, it wasn't really instincts that saved Gascon and WAC -- it was really human ingenuity, which is taught to an extent, I believe, in military training. Hell, it's just a basic skill that, while good, isn't always a replacement for following simple directions. Balance, really, is key. Unfortunately, the episode just simplified it to a whole "one with nature" sort of argument, which I'll admit I find kind of flawed. My point being that while "trust your instincts" is pretty admirable, one has to follow directions and such as well.
-WAC acting like a jerk towards his fellow droids after being named Corporal at the end (and why? Why did Gascon name him Corporal? Isn't it a little early to be named Corporal?). Seriously, not only is it a complete 180 regarding his character development, but it's also a tad Unfortunate Implications-y in terms of how it's presented: remember kids, if you get in a position of power, you'll get corrupted or turn into a complete jerk! *Sighs* God, I hate Ambition is Evil. I really do. Honestly, Gascon's behavior was ridiculous, but that was mostly because he seemed more concerned with his promotion, not because of him wanting a promotion.
-Also, Gascon being a dick to R2. Seriously, first, being mean to R2, IMHO, is a lot like being mean to Data on STAR TREK, i.e. it's just plain wrong. Second, again, complete 180 from his character development in the previous episode (it's like the writer forgot his own character development). Third, the whole Jerkass Ball, or Jerkass For The Plot To Proceed -- which honestly came off as kind of lazy in regards to how it was executed. And finally, why was it necessary? I can understand snapping under pressure, but it felt like the writers were handing Gascon the Jerkass Ball so he could learn a lesson by the end of the episode (which hey, you already did that; it was called "Secret Weapons"). Honestly, the writers didn't need to have all that gratuitous bitchiness and such -- they could have just told a story. Hell, they could have just gotten them back to the Republic, then deciphered the message to see what Grievous and the gang were up to. No big deal.
-The wandering-in-a-circle thing got dreadfully boring after a while, in an unintentional way. Add the bitchiness and unlikeable qualities in some of our characters, and...ugh. Just unpleasant.
-Also, Gascon in the previous episode expressed worry for that one droid who got hurt as a comrade, not just as a "command center", as he put it in this episode. *Sighs* Either the writer forgot something, or CLONE WARS fears change, or both. I'd say that it's a problem with the format of TV shows, except the TV shows I've seen aren't like this at all, e.g. DOCTOR WHO, FARSCAPE, etc. The characters grow and change, and that's really not a terrible thing. At least be consistent in your writing. That's all I ask.
-Gascon's little epiphany about instinct was about as subtle as an anvil marked MESSAGE falling on your head repeatedly. It's fine to have Gascon have an epiphany, but at least make it sound natural and not (pun unintentional) forced. Let the audience discover the message with you. Don't school it to them. And give your audience some credit -- they're not as obtuse as you think they are. They're actually, believe it or not, pretty smart.
So yeah...it had a few good parts, and I wanted to like it, but it really disappointed me. I can only hope the next episode's better, and this was just a weak link in the arc. If you guys liked it, good on you (really, I mean it). It just didn't work for me.
And guys? Please don't kill me.
Good things:
-The animation is, per usual, gorgeous.
-The droids nearly being sucked into ice comet hell was genuinely frightening.
-WAC trolling Gascon in the beginning was pretty amusing, what with, "Well, at least you have an excuse for not completing the mission." After they landed on the planet it just descended into generally unfunny, unpleasant bitchiness, but I can at least treasure that exchange because at least it felt like a moment of banter instead of "I am now plot-obligated to be an asshole." (See, that's really why I don't like some of the plot overemphasis. Plot springs from the characters' actions after all, and even if not...at least your characters' actions have to make sense)
-The scene with the hallucinations of their ruined ship and corpses was a really good "holy shit" moment. Really reminded me of that scene in "The Doctor's Wife" when Amy was hallucinating Rory's death.
-Using the birds to find a way out of the void was a really creative idea.
Things that bugged me:
-I really, really wanted Brent Friedman (the writer of the episode) to follow up on the character development of Gascon and WAC from "Secret Weapons". I mean, the ending of "Secret Weapons" was just so hopeful and adorable and lovely and taught such a good lesson for kids (that just because you're a Jerkass doesn't mean you can't redeem yourself, and that no one is ever truly unimportant), and "A Sunny Day In The Void" just did a complete 180. Remember when Gascon learned to stop being a Jerkass and start to respect the droids under his command? Complete 180 back to his closed-minded self (granted, he got a bit better, but still), what with calling the droids stupid and being more concerned with getting his promotion than anything else. I mean, I guess character development doesn't necessarily happen immediately, but you'd think there would be *some* sort of a change in the dynamics, e.g. Gascon addressing the droids more like equals than as inferior beings. And WAC just took a level in Jerkass in this episode -- lording his promotion as Corporal over all the other droids (way to spoil an otherwise great moment, Friedman. /sarcasm) and making fun of Gascon when the man took a suicidal turn.
-Speaking of which, the suicide "humor". *Sighs* I myself have "people mocking suicide" as a Berserk Button, and... *Sighs* First off, Gascon's your fucking comrade, WAC. I don't care if he's being insensitive and/or illogical, you can at least take some time to *help* him. You know, a bit of, "Don't worry, Colonel; remember your training" or a bit of reassuring him a la the Doctor towards the acting captain in the DOCTOR WHO episode "The Impossible Planet" goes a long way. A bit of compassion isn't that big a deal. Second off, how did Gascon's climb to the top of that snow mountain thing and WAC's comment go through LucasFilm without someone saying, "Hey, that's not funny"? Third of all, the whole "putting himself out of his misery" is just fucking awful. I mean, I can't say that Gascon's behavior in this episode was at its best either, but at the very least, it sounded like WAC was all bit rooting for Gascon to die. Which...no. Just no. *Sighs* It's not a matter of political correctness or me "bashing" a character. Just a matter of common decency. I mean, it's fine to at least have a bit of bickering, but I think at least Friedman could have tied it into the characters and their environment, and "who's the best to be on this mission". Hell, they could have explored Gascon's feelings about being in an unsteady position of command, perhaps even how he got the way he is (e.g. maybe a Well Done Son Guy thing, or just general nervousness?), and WAC worrying about how he's going to keep the Colonel sane and the team together. Hell, we could have learned about WAC and some of the other droids, or cut back to the Separatists and/or the Jedi to see how they're doing (God knows I was more interested in them than the Void). But no. *Sighs* Which honestly makes me angry because really, just because it's a kid's show doesn't mean it can't have depth. Just look at BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES and DOCTOR WHO. Look at THE SARAH JANE ADVENTURES, and Disney movies.
-That whole thing about military training being like programming. Look, military training is *not* like programming. It involves, if I recall correctly, learning certain skills like how to survive out in the wilderness, firing a gun, etc. Droid programming also involves skills like translating languages and unpicking locks and things like that. Granted, there's a certain skeeviness to droid programming such as the memory wipes, but generally, programming is just a useful set of skills. Same with military training. And this episode just treated things like that like they were stupid and to "trust your instincts", etc. -- honestly, it wasn't really instincts that saved Gascon and WAC -- it was really human ingenuity, which is taught to an extent, I believe, in military training. Hell, it's just a basic skill that, while good, isn't always a replacement for following simple directions. Balance, really, is key. Unfortunately, the episode just simplified it to a whole "one with nature" sort of argument, which I'll admit I find kind of flawed. My point being that while "trust your instincts" is pretty admirable, one has to follow directions and such as well.
-WAC acting like a jerk towards his fellow droids after being named Corporal at the end (and why? Why did Gascon name him Corporal? Isn't it a little early to be named Corporal?). Seriously, not only is it a complete 180 regarding his character development, but it's also a tad Unfortunate Implications-y in terms of how it's presented: remember kids, if you get in a position of power, you'll get corrupted or turn into a complete jerk! *Sighs* God, I hate Ambition is Evil. I really do. Honestly, Gascon's behavior was ridiculous, but that was mostly because he seemed more concerned with his promotion, not because of him wanting a promotion.
-Also, Gascon being a dick to R2. Seriously, first, being mean to R2, IMHO, is a lot like being mean to Data on STAR TREK, i.e. it's just plain wrong. Second, again, complete 180 from his character development in the previous episode (it's like the writer forgot his own character development). Third, the whole Jerkass Ball, or Jerkass For The Plot To Proceed -- which honestly came off as kind of lazy in regards to how it was executed. And finally, why was it necessary? I can understand snapping under pressure, but it felt like the writers were handing Gascon the Jerkass Ball so he could learn a lesson by the end of the episode (which hey, you already did that; it was called "Secret Weapons"). Honestly, the writers didn't need to have all that gratuitous bitchiness and such -- they could have just told a story. Hell, they could have just gotten them back to the Republic, then deciphered the message to see what Grievous and the gang were up to. No big deal.
-The wandering-in-a-circle thing got dreadfully boring after a while, in an unintentional way. Add the bitchiness and unlikeable qualities in some of our characters, and...ugh. Just unpleasant.
-Also, Gascon in the previous episode expressed worry for that one droid who got hurt as a comrade, not just as a "command center", as he put it in this episode. *Sighs* Either the writer forgot something, or CLONE WARS fears change, or both. I'd say that it's a problem with the format of TV shows, except the TV shows I've seen aren't like this at all, e.g. DOCTOR WHO, FARSCAPE, etc. The characters grow and change, and that's really not a terrible thing. At least be consistent in your writing. That's all I ask.
-Gascon's little epiphany about instinct was about as subtle as an anvil marked MESSAGE falling on your head repeatedly. It's fine to have Gascon have an epiphany, but at least make it sound natural and not (pun unintentional) forced. Let the audience discover the message with you. Don't school it to them. And give your audience some credit -- they're not as obtuse as you think they are. They're actually, believe it or not, pretty smart.
So yeah...it had a few good parts, and I wanted to like it, but it really disappointed me. I can only hope the next episode's better, and this was just a weak link in the arc. If you guys liked it, good on you (really, I mean it). It just didn't work for me.
And guys? Please don't kill me.