A More Civilized Age: A Star Wars Podcast

Let's not beat around the bush: We have three episodes today, but one of them towers over the others. It's great to see our favorite Separatist general in "Grievous Intrigue" and it's fun to meet a new, Columbo-esque Jedi elder in "Lightsaber Lost," but over a year ago, it was "The Deserter" that confirmed just how fun doing a Clone Wars podcast might be. And boy, were we ever right.  NEXT TIME: E...

There are many reasons to be excited for this trio of episodes. There's the way the arc slides effortlessly from genre to genre, all while maintaining an overall sense of narrative continuity. There's the way that the lighting and effects work in these episodes show how far the production team have come since season one. There's the further development of characters like Luminara Unduli and Barris...

Today we begin our first multi-part arc, starting with the series' first attempt at a cloak-and-dagger romantic thriller, "Senate Spy" (an episode which unfortunately lives up to neither "cloak-and-dagger" nor "romantic thriller.") Then, we head to Geonosis for the war film inspired "Landing at Point Rain," where clones die by the dropship-load, Geonosians face the wrath of Republic flamethrowers,...

Nope, you're not wrong. That guy in the hat? He is extremely cool. And extremely evil. We've finally reached one of Clone Wars great, break out original characters: Cad Bane. He's here to remind us that villains can be extremely competent, Jedi can be entirely too confident, and plot arcs absolutely coherent.  Yup. It's a good day to be a Civilian. Well... except for the audio issues. NEXT TIME: E...

"Another armed occupation is not a free Ryloth. How long before I am fighting you, master Jedi?" -Cham Syndulla On and above the Twi'lek homeworld of Ryloth, battles rage between Separatist and Republic forces. This three part, anthology-style arc gives us different perspectives on the conflict, and that's true in more ways than one. These episodes offer us both our most paternalistic, simple mind...

After the highs and lows of Revenge of the Sith, it felt like we were due to even back out with some mid-tier content. And hey, good news, the Blue Shadow Virus is nothing if not mid. One one hand, it spends some solid time characterizing nearly every one of our leads. On the other, its combination of mad scientist stock villain, half-developed Bermuda Triangle planet, and bio-terror plot just don...

With what can only be described as "season finale energy," today we detour from our Clone Wars journey in order to (re)visit the final film in George Lucas' much derided Prequel Trilogy: Revenge of the Sith.   Do we debate at length where the final blame for Anakin's downfall lies? Yes. Do we dream up ways that things could have gone differently? Absolutely. Do we find ways to talk ourselves into...

Content warnings: Discussion of sex and drug use. It should've been a simple episode. Two stand alone stories, each filled to the brim with the sort of political world building and philosophical question raising content that we thrive on. And, for what it's worth, we roll right into all of that. But then, perhaps because the tracks had been greased a little too well, perhaps because of hubris, or...

If there is one leading question this podcast has raised so far, it's "What role do the Jedi really serve in the Galactic Republic?" It's fair to say that we've been pretty critical of this ancient order of religious space cops, and fortunately, the writers of Clone Wars have decided to bring our skeptical perspective into the show directly. Someone who can speak truth to power. Someone who can co...

"Maybe there's a lesson to be learned here..." -Obi-Wan Kenobi What are some things you'd love to see in a Clone Wars arc? Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Count Dooku forced to work together? Check. The introduction of a new, series regular space pirate? Yup. A lot of people getting absolutely roasted? Absolutely. This week's episode pairing has all the ingredients to be a delicious dish. And yet... Next tim...

"This is a mission of peace. I put my faith in diplomacy. We can't solve all of our problems by throwing troops at them." -Padmé Amidala Before we get into the episode today, big news: We've launched our Patreon! Just go over to patreon.com/civilized (lol) to support us and gain access to our monthly Q&A podcast. We're keeping it super simple for now. A single tier, a single reward. We don't want...

"I have a bad feeling about this." - Commander Cody, Rookies "I have a bad feeling about this." - Anakin Skywalker, Downfall of a Droid "I have a bad feeling about this." - Captain Rex: Duel of the Droids This week, we've finally hit a truly solid episode in our first Clone-focused romp, "Rookies," which raises questions not only about Clone individuality but also the Republic's handle on... every...

"My lady, are you sure the information from Chancellor Palpatine is… reliable?" - C-3P0 After weeks of build up, we've finally made it to the Clone Wars series proper. Join us as we take our first dive into questions of Clone individuality, meet the polarizing Separatist commander General Grievous, and return to the eternal question: How does no one find out about Padme and Anakin when they're bar...

"You'll have to do better than that, my darling." - Obi-Wan Kenobi Finally, we have arrived to the Clone Wars. At least, sort of. Today, we tackle 2008's  The Clone Wars , a prelude meant to introduce the audience to the then-upcoming TV series. Join us as we meet overeager Padawan Ahsoka Tano, ambitious Sith apprentice Asajj Ventress, and a pair of Hutts who've left us with... mixed feelings.  Ne...

Later this month, the crew here at A More Civilized Age will be launching a humble Patreon, with a monthly Q&A podcast as a bonus to our supporters. But since that Patreon isn't up yet, and because wanted to give folks a taste of what's to come, we wanted to do a free bonus episode for y'all this week. So, enjoy, and thank you all for sending in your questions! If YOU would like your questions con...

"We need a system where the politicians sit down and discuss the problem, agree what's in the best interest of all the people, and then do it." "That's exactly what we do. The trouble is that people don't always agree." "Well then they should be be made to." The Phantom Menace  raised questions. Perhaps, you hoped, Attack of the Clones might answer them. Unfortunately, Episode II itself only offer...

"It's like poetry. They rhyme." What ever happened to the glory days of the Galactic Republic? Did it all fall apart because of the masterful manipulations of a dark lord of the Sith? Or may there have been some cracks in the foundation already?  Join Rob Zacny, Alicia Acampora, Natalie Watson, and Austin Walker as they try to answer those questions, kicking off their journey into the Clone Wars b...

Hey everyone! This is just a brief placeholder episode meant to seed the feed over on the various podcast services. Stay tuned for our first full ep on December 23rd!