TV Series/DVD Review: 'Star Wars Resistance: Complete Season One'

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On October 7, 2018, cable television's Disney Channel aired The Recruit, the two-part premiere of Dave Filoni's Star Wars Resistance, a Lucasfilm Animation series set between Star Wars - Episode VI: Return of the Jedi and Star Wars - Episode VII: The Force Awakens. Produced by Justin Ridge, Athena Yvette Portillo, and Brandon Auman, the series chronicles the adventures of New Republic pilot Kazuda "Kaz" Xiono (voice of Christopher Sean), who is recruited by Resistance fighter ace Poe Dameron (voice of Oscar Isaac) to gather intelligence on the growing menace of the First Order.

Although Star Wars Resistance is a CGI-animated production, the style of the new series differs from Lucasfilm Animation's Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels. It is inspired by Japanese anime, which is fitting, considering that quite a bit of the animation is done by Polygon Pictures, a Japanese production company based in Tokyo. (Polygon is a long-time partner of Lucasfilm, having done work on the last seasons of Star Wars: The Clone Wars.)

Star Wars Resistance's first season consists of 21 episodes, each with a running time of 22 minutes (sans commercials). There are also 12 shorts that were originally shown in the official Star Wars YouTube channel during the December 2018 mid-season break. Together they tell the story of Kaz's adventures on the Colossus refueling station and his perilous mission to find out what the mysterious First Order has in store for the galaxy at large.

 "Our colleagues at Lucasfilm have created a compelling narrative for an untold moment in the Star Wars galaxy, and we are excited to partner with them again on this new original series. Star Wars Resistance will bring viewers across generations an engaging story with heart, humor and both new and familiar characters." ―Marc Buhaj, senior vice president, Programming and general manager, Disney XD

 The series, which also draws its inspiration from Dave Filoni's grandfather's experiences during World War II, stars the voices of Christopher Sean, Susie McGrath, Scott Lawrence, Myrna Velasco, Josh Brener, Jason Hightower, Donald Faison, and Bobby Moynihan. In addition, Oscar Isaacs and Gwendoline Christie reprise their roles of Poe Dameron and Captain Phasma from Star Wars: The Force Awakens in several episodes.

According to showrunner Justin Ridge, the series begins at a precise point in the Star Wars timeline: six months before the events of The Force Awakens. As a result, Star Wars Resistance focuses on the Resistance - which is essentially General Leia Organa's private army - and its efforts to uncover the threat to the galaxy posed by the fanatical First Order, a shadowy organization that arose from the ashes of the fallen Galactic Empire after the Rebel victories at Endor and Jakku.

"We wanted to give a slice of life in a part of the galaxy that wasn’t about the Jedi. How do people who are maybe not as connected with the Force, or at least they don’t think they are, how did they respond to these threats? What do we do in the meantime when there isn’t really a war going on?  –Justin Ridge

My Take

 Like the two previous Lucasfilm Animation series supervised or created by Dave Filoni, Star Wars Resistance explores stories and characters not seen in the Saga movies, yet are indelibly part of the Star Wars canon.

Also as in Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels, the series (which will end in March of 2020 at the conclusion of Season Two), Star Wars Resistance blends suspense, action, and humor in the tradition of the original Star Wars films created by George Lucas.

I don't have Disney XD on my cable lineup, so I am a bit late to the Star Wars Resistance party. Luckily, Buena Vista Home Entertainment and Lucasfilm have released the show's first season on DVD (but not, apparently, on Blu-ray), so I'm catching up on the 21 series episodes and the shorts that were shown on YouTube during the series' winter hiatus.

Without giving too much away for those who have not yet seen Star Wars Resistance, I like the series and its cast of new characters; I appreciate that the writers strive hard to create an interesting mix of alien and human protagonists, with some new droids added for good measure. Filoni and showrunner Ridge, along with the various writers and directors, also connect the show to The Force Awakens by including Resistance fighter ace Poe Dameron and First Order stormtrooper leader Captain Phasma in several episodes. The stories in Resistance begin as a setup for the Saga's seventh Episode, and they eventually converge with the plot of J.J. Abrams' film and even explore some of the aftermaths as experienced by Kaz and his friends on the refueling station known as Colossus.

It took me some time to get used to the new style of animation used to render Star Wars Resistance. As I mentioned earlier, series creator Dave Filoni is fond of anime, so even though the series is a computer-animated production, it looks more like the Speed Racer and Prince Planet shows that helped popularize Japanese-style animation in the U.S. back in the 1960s and 1970s. I wasn't crazy about it at first glance since I was so used to the more Thunderbirds-like vibe of The Clone Wars, but I've become accustomed to it and now just focus on the stories and characters.

Buena Vista Home Entertainment released Star Wars Resistance: Complete Season One on DVD on August 20 as a four-disc set.

Technical Specifications:
Video

  • Codec: MPEG-2
  • Encoding format: 16:9
  • Resolution: 480i (NTSC)
  • Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
  • Original aspect ratio: 1.78:1


Audio


  • English: Dolby Digital 5.1
  • Spanish: Dolby Digital 2.0
  • French: Dolby Digital 2.0


Subtitles

  • English SDH, French, Spanish


Discs

  • DVD
  • Four-disc set (4 DVD-9)


Packaging

  • Slipcover in original pressing


Playback

Region 1






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