Disney+: Andor

[Vee]

Show of the year for me.

HBO-caliber work from the legendary Tony Gilroy (longtime scribe of the original Bourne films and writer-director of the excellent Michael Clayton, among others) and probably the best Star Wars product period since 1983, let alone in the recent overexposed Disney doldrums choked by fan service and Easter eggs. Gilroy was responsible for reshooting and rewriting a great deal of the deeply troubled Rogue One after filming was mostly complete, and made a silk purse from a sow's ear. R1 is far from perfect, but the excellent things in it are all him. Now he's taken a supporting player from that film who I thought had little to say and made him into a linchpin in this prequel, set five years before the original Star Wars.

You would not know this show is SW unless someone told you. Its arcs are strictly played out in 2-3 episode blocks of semi-contained stories contributing to a larger plotline. Its ground-level immersion in the working class lives of its little people on backwater worlds, in the grinding bureaucracy of the Empire, in the Kafka-esque prison system and in the high-toned world of Coruscant and the Senate is second to none. It's of a piece with both UK kitchen sink dramas of the '70s and '80s and the original Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. And Stellan Skarsgård (among many others, like Diego Luna, Denise Gough, Kyle Soller, Andy Serkis, Faye Marsay from Doctor Who and Fiona Shaw) is giving the performance of a career, again.

I should also single out the incredible Genevieve O'Reilly, signed to a bit role as the young Mon Mothma in Revenge of the Sith in the 2000s (Mon Mothma is Senator to Chandrila and future leader of the Rebel Alliance, glimpsed as an older woman in Return of the Jedi) who has now risen to become a major star in this show years later, as Mothma struggles to navigate the constant surveillance on Coruscant, her helpless position in the Senate, and working to fund the nascent Rebel cells.

 

Edited November 13, 2022 by Vee

[Vee]

Still the best show of the year, and so relevant for now. With a parent in the hospital over the holiday, the finale was especially resonant for me.

 

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[DRW50]

So sorry to hear that @Vee

[slick jones]

Sorry to hear @Vee. Sending positive energy your way.

We are finally in the process of dropping cable and putting our savings into streaming services, and this series is the one I'll be binging first. Thanks for your comments, they have certainly piqued my interest!

[Vee]

She'll be fine, she's just staying for a little more physical therapy, but thanks. Watch Andor!

[Noel]

I have this series, but haven't watched it. God, I have so much to watch it's crazy. I have the series Obi-Wan Kenobi, and to this day, still haven't watched. 

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 I was briefly wondering what ABC was airing on Thanksgiving Eve. Or was it Thanksgiving? Anywhoos, I saw the title Andor in the beginning, but I thought it was a studio opener like Dreamworks Pictures. You know, like how the boy is sitting on he crescrent moon and does some fishing. And once that that floater hits the water, it has a cool water ripple effect? I think 5 minutes, I thought they were showing an older Star Wars movie or something, lol!  But no - clueless me had no idea ha ABC was airing Andor.

Andor: S01E01

 

[Noel]

Andor: S01E02

 

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[Vee]

Insane how relevant Andor S2 has become despite being filmed some time ago - darkly predicting this administration in America. Mon Mothma whipping votes in the Imperial (formerly Republic) Senate for a cause she cannot accept is futile, in the hopes of a semblance of good governance, hits far too close to home.

Andor is, as ever, Star Wars does The Wire, does Oz, does Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, so many genres. Easily the only work of import left in this exhausted, overspent franchise in recent years, and far too good for its brand. If you haven't watched it, do. You won't believe it's Star Wars.