Star Wars Rebels: Season 1 [Blu-ray]

In Season 1, "Rebels" gets off to a solid start that sets the stage for an amazing looking Season 2.The good:- No movie characters in the main cast. Filoni and crew clearly learned the right lesson from The Clone Wars which, as good as it was, had too many episodes focused on Anakin and Obi-Wan, which severely limited the range of stories and character development that could be done. In the end, it was the new characters like Ahsoka, Rex, Fives and Ventress that carried the show. Indeed, it's telling that these characters have become fan-favorites while the prequels didn't introduce a single major fan-favorite character.- Character driven storytelling. For me, the difference between the Lucas Star Wars and Filoni Star Wars, is that in the former, the planets, galaxies, special effects, epic themes and music are the biggest stars while the characters are the center of the latter. When Kinberg mentioned in a Celebrations interview that they had mapped out the character arcs but the specific plot events that would get them there were still open, I knew the show was in good hands.The bad:- Too much OT nostalgia. There may be no movie characters in the main cast, but Season 1 was a whirling revolving door of unnecessary cameos by OT characters. Even the background aliens were limited to Rodians, Ithorians ... creatures seen in the OT. A score that relies far too much on recycled pieces and themes from the OT and robs the show of its own musical identity. Old leitmotifs such as the Princess theme and Yoda's theme are used haphazardly in scenes that have nothing to do with those characters. If can I recognize a theme from the movies, that's fine (assuming it's appropriate to what's going on.) If I can name the specific scene from the OT where that piece came from, not fine.- With five new characters, why is there only one protagonist? Ezra is the only character that had any real arc in Season 1. Hera is a matriarch character so I don't expect much development for her, but Zeb and Sabine are frustratingly static characters. While the show-runners promise more background on these characters in Season 2, background isn't the same as development. I want to see the war changing these characters and affecting the choices they make.Now my thoughts on the individual episodes (Spoilers ahead):Spark of Rebellion: An okay start. Introduces Ezra to the crew but his pseudo-Han-Solo arc wasn't particularly convincing since I never bought into him as a street-tough self-centered rogue to begin with (hint: you don't sell that by making the intro shot of him staring forlornly out into the horizon from the balcony.) 3 stars.Droids in Distress: And here I was praising the show for no movie characters and ugh, what? The first weekly episode and 3PO and R2 are guest stars already? This episode felt like two story concepts in one episode, with the more interesting one regarding Zeb's objection to trading in the weapons used to destroy his people being relegated into the last 5 minutes. Not an auspicious start. 2 stars.Fighter Flight: This episode looks better in hindsight than it did at the time. The stakes are minimal and Kevin Hopp's writing veer too far into the land of Saturday morning sitcom for me. However, if the show follows the tonal arc of every Star Wars visual property to date, it will get darker and darker for our heroes and it's important to show the lighter moments too. Kevin Kiner comes up with a truly catchy score for this outing and the scenes with this overlaying the stole Tie Fighter spinning across the city is a scene I find myself replaying a lot. 2.5 stars.Rise of the Old Masters: While I was annoyed at being teased by the possibility of meeting a prequel-era character only to have her turn out to be a corpse, the episode does set some important milestones in Kanan and Ezra's relationship. Kanan is uncertain about his suitability as a teacher, and Ezra wants to be a Jedi primarily because he wants to fit in with his new family and father figure. 4 stars.Breaking Ranks: The first episode that truly impressed me. Getting an inside look at the lives of young Imperial cadets was a refreshing and interesting new direction to go. In retrospect, this episode seems to have been made to promote the upcoming "Servants of the Empire" series but given how good that series was, I can easily overlook that. And as an aside, an example of a music callout that works: one of the Well-climbing assessment features a clever mash up of the ATOC clone march played to the beat of the Rebels main theme. Nice work there. 5 stars.Out of Darkness: The most significant development occurs in the first half as we get our first hint with a larger Rebellion beyond our little crew, and our first contact with the secretive informant Fulcrum, which triggered a frenzy of rumors and anticipation among the fandom. Not so successful is the attempt to develop Sabine and Hera. The fact that the need for secrecy breeds mistrust among the crew sounds great on paper, but is resolved in one episode and in an unearned manner with an uninvolving monster blowup on Anaxes. Kevin Hopps remains the weak link among the writers as he injects a lot of distracting humor in the wrong places and the Ghost crew loses their individual personalities to become 5 clones spouting snark. 3 stars.Empire Day/Gathering Forces: Our first two-parter. This episode delves into the emotional bomb that's always lurking underneath Ezra's buoyant exterior: the mystery of his parents. Fear is very much a theme in this arc, most of all, Ezra's fear of facing the truth about his parents and the fear of letting another family slip away. There are no answers in this outing but this one clearly sets up some great story seeds for the future. 4 stars.Path of the Jedi: An atmospheric and thematic story, reminiscent of the Illum episode from The Clone Wars. Again, fear is a prevalent theme as is Ezra's real motivations in becoming a Jedi. 4 stars.Idiot's Array: A shallow excuse to push another pointless OT cameo on screen. Eminently skippable. 1 star.Vision of Hope: Hope followed by betrayal makes for a powerful scene in the sewers that invokes more than one memory of the unforgettable Fugitive arc from The Clone Wars. Getting to that point is a little humdrum, though, and Senator Trayvis hasn't been established nearly enough as a character to make the audience truly feel the betrayal. Still, those last 5 minutes are powerful. 4 stars.Call to Action: The start of a 3-part arc, the Rebels suffer their first major casualty as their ongoing insurrection finally draws out some big brass. Only misstep is the annoyingly unsubtle homage to the Death Star 2 shuttle approach that starts the episode. 4 stars.Rebel Resolve: The Rebels now deal with the consequences of their raid on the comm tower, as Fulcrum orders Hera to abandon Kanan for the safety of the crew (in a scene that nicely mirrors a scene from The Clone Wars Onderon arc where Fulcrum was likewise ordered by her masters to put the mission above the safety of her new friends. Nice role reversal and acknowledgement of character growth there.) Ezra shows his first signs of leadership as he defies Hera's orders and leads the others on a search for his master. 4 stars.Fire Across the Galaxy: If the theme of Season 1 was fear, the theme of this season finale was unity, both in-universe and out. In-universe, as the Ghost crew finally earns its place within the larger Rebellion that's been lurking behind the scenes all season. And out-of-universe, as Clone Wars veteran Ahsoka Tano finally steps out of Fulcrum's shadow, bringing an end to the show's OT provincialism and recognizing that Star Wars is a larger world that didn't stop growing in 1983. This recognition carried forward into the Celebrations teaser as more Clone Wars characters were showcased for Season 2. Truly my best fist-pump moment since the Disney takeover. 5 stars.

FYI: Some spoilers ahead.I was one of the fans who didn't want to see "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" end, but "Star Wars: Rebels" is a good enough sequel that has the potential to grow into a series that matches (and maybe even surpasses) what "The Clone Wars" did. Season 1 is a good introduction to the Ghost and its crew, and though it's not the strongest season, I feel confident it'll be like its predecessor and grow into a series we can all enjoy.Pros:-The characters. Sure, there's room to grow, but I think the characters we've been provided with are unique enough to appeal to all types of viewers, and the fact that some of them have ties to "The Clone Wars" series (Hera, Ahsoka, Kanan, etc.) helps bridge the old series with the new while making room for a new generation of Star Wars fans.-More lightheartedness. I think a few will disagree with me on this being a pro, but I'm of the belief that you can have a good story without everything being doom and gloom all the time. Sure, there are frightening moments (that scene with finding Luminara...yikes!) but it's done well enough where you're not overwhelmed with one type of emotion. There's a variety-happy, sad, exciting, frightening- that will make the series not feel like the same ol' episodes over and over again.-The finale. This is where (I think) Rebels shines the best. Introducing Ahsoka, having the final duel between Kanan and the Inquisitor, hints of Darth Vader...it's enough to leave the audience satisfied with the season's end while giving them something to look forward to in Season 2.-The Inquisitor. He was a promising villain, and Jason Isaacs did a terrific job being his voice actor.Cons:-Not the strongest start. I don't like leaving this as a con, because oftentimes a really good story starts off somewhat slow because you're setting it up. "Clone Wars" was similar, as were many other shows. There's definitely room for improvement here though, and some of the episodes seemed more like fillers than a piece of a puzzle.-R.I.P. Inquisitor. I really liked this villain. Though his final scenes were fitting, I couldn't help but feel we should've gotten more from him. Background, why he's an inquisitor, etc. So many questions, lol!All in all, "Rebels" is a good start with a promising future. I highly recommend Season 1 if you're a fan of the Original Trilogy, as the feel of this show is similar to it. It's full of lighthearted fun and drama, and though it's not "The Clone Wars", it's still a good follow-up that will doubtless grow to be a Star Wars favorite.

... Rebels came out to play....Despite being a huge star wars fan, I was never sure about watching the animated series. However I was thankfully surprised by the clone wars and again when watching Rebels.Focusing on a small band of Rebels causing havoc for the Empire, they appear at first to be nothing more than a scoundrel crew much like Han & Chewie. The plot quickly develops to show how these Rebels are a Galactic version of Robin Hood, stealing from the Empire and giving to those in need. However the Empire's agents are numerous and they are hunted by more than just politicians and fanatical officers, but also a dark side force user called an Inquisitor.For an animation, there is tonnest of humour and story to these episodes that starts to explain more of what happened during the rise of the Empire before "A New Hope. Who will be your favourite member of the crew?

Brilliant series of 13 just-under-30 minute episodes, split over 2 discs. Very true to the classic original Star Wars movie series, set between Star Wars movies episodes III and IV. The setting is the dark era when Darth Vader’s Empire is tightens its hold on the galaxy. The main attraction for our children are the resourceful Ezra Bridger and Sabine, that they adore.Pro’s- Lots of excitement; varied action, fights, chases, battles and quite some wit.- What I do like is that in contrast with the Clone Wars cartoon series, the characters in Rebels are more appealing and show companionship as seen in the original movie trilogy.- Rebels is more visually recognizable as “Star Wars” than art-deco feel of much the prequel trilogy and more so than the Clone Wars cartoon series – this is about space junk rather than flashy fighters- Visually and in terms of scenes the series looks stunning, the animation is beautiful. Every episode looks sharp and sounds great. Really glad to have watched it on Blu-ray with the Blu-ray resolution bringing out great textures and detail.- A decent amount of Blu ray extras; a YouTube recap show "Rebels Recon,", a short feature of Rebels a the Star Wars Celebration, 4 animated shorts use din the original promotion of Rebels. And the most interesting part; a 81 minute ultimate guide , episode recap by the voice actor of Kanan.Con’s- Other than the Clone Wars cartoon series or the later Rebels seasons there are not too many references to existing/known characters in the Star Wars universe. C3PO is there as is Tarkin but that is about it. The main new bad guy introduced in the season is the fairly badass Inquisitor.- The main character configuration feels very reminiscent of the original Star Wars; there is a young buy on a remote planet who doesn’t know about this father nor is he aware of his Jedi powers . He runs into a Jedi trainer and is accompanied by a storm trooper bashing monster that looks very much like the Ralph Mc Quarie Chewbacca designs ect.To conclude; great set for the whole family. For 331 minutes total run time for everything on the discs – this was quite good value and of course highly recommended for Padawans, Star Wars fans and their children in particular.

Star Wars: Rebels is a soon to be classic, with the likes of the Clone Wars series. Since the Clone Wars series has now Officially been discontinued, Rebels will be the the only ones you can get as of right now before Disney (might) make this show a exclusive for their streaming platform (Disney+). So I suggest you buy this as soon as you can, since that is what has happened to the Clone Wars.This show has a solid story, which fans will love. It brings old and new characters into the mix for everyone to enjoy. The animation style and story is easy for all to follow, therefore allowing it to have a family experience for you and your kids to enjoy at the same time. There are some unique twists, hints and teasers as to what could come next in a new series that might come out in the next few years or so. But until then, enjoy Star Wars: Rebels!

Rebels Season 1 ...For my Star Wars Tastes(I'm 50) -i'd give this season ...8.2/10Thank you.Edit : I'm now up to season, WOW this is a great series!!It has good progression for it's charactors and the Ghost Crew are all great.It's got a real freshness to it - I think I like it as much as Clone Wars!!Hop on board peeps.:)

This series can be seen on Disney XD. It is fantastic. Looking at the world after the clone wars. These are Star Wars Rebels. A Jedi Knight and a crew made up of mismatched characters but somehow they work. This version shows the special edition of the first feature length episode of Spark of Rebellion. It includes Vader.If you are purest you may not like it but if you are willing to love most things Star Wars and any other sci fi out there then you will love the quirky well told stories and want to just see more and more.At the time of writing this review (see date above) Disney XD are showing Season 2 of Star Wars Rebels. It is fantastic and a great warm up for the Force Awakens film due out at the end of the year.It lives up to all things Star Wars bringing in characters that starred in the films and Clone Wars the series.Worth the time.