The Bearded Trio

I caught a few minutes of the USA vs. Wales World Cup match the other day (hi Rob!) and the perfect analogy occurred to me. As an American who has never played soccer, I apologize to all our friends in the United Kingdom and elsewhere for this. This is a broad-brush analogy. World Cup Soccer is Star Wars: Andor .  In Andor , as in soccer, you have long stretches of time where very little happens. A lot of talking and standing. But when stuff does happen, man, it gets INTENSE . And the acting is top-notch across the board. With all that said, I found Andor to be quite underwhelming, particularly when compared with the general fan reaction to the show. With very few exceptions, many within this famously divided fandom are almost united in showering praise upon Andor , pointing out its writing, acting, music, settings and characters as highlights. I would agree that the quality of the overall production was high level. Technically, it’s difficult to point out any flaws in what showrun...

We are now halfway through season one of Star Wars: Andor , a series currently airing on Disney Plus. The show tells the backstory of Cassian Andor, played by Diego Luna, leading up to the events of Star Wars: Rogue One (2016).  Andor has been quite a departure from any kind of live-action Star Wars content we have seen to date. The pure action has been slow, almost to the point of non-existent, at least until the most recent episode "The Eye" which premiered Wednesday. I have taken a more critical view of this show than any other. It ranks a distant fourth of the four Disney Plus shows in my personal rankings for many reasons. In my view, the show makes an obvious effort to distance itself from other Star Wars content. The concentration on characters, their interaction and relationships with one another takes a far higher priority than plot or story. It is paced very slowly, as if each episode represents 1/24th of a larger story, which is technically true. Andor will span t...

Words you will not find in this initial recap of Andor :  "Adult." "Gritty." "Mature." "Slow Burn." Almost in lock-step, professional publications and Disney-chosen influencers have used identical verbiage to describe the first three episodes of Star Wars: Andor , which bowed on Disney Plus Wednesday, September 21.  You'll find many of those same influencers declaring this to be THE BEST STAR WARS SERIES EVER, based on 25 percent of the first of two seasons being revealed. After viewing the first three episodes, I was left with one question: "Where was the 'Star Wars' in this latest Star Wars show?" Don't get me wrong, from a technical standpoint, Andor appears outstanding on every level. The production design, acting, music, environment and characters are all compelling and draw in the viewer in no time. We feel immediately part of this world Cassian Andor (wonderfully played by Diego Luna) stalks around in.  The show...