The Book of Boba Fett

[Diana Hignutt]

Caught the first episode which recounts events in both Fett's past and current timeline. SPOILERS: He gets out of the Sarlacc Pit.

Very quiet show. Another space western set largely (it seems) on Tatooine spun off from The Mandalorian.

Anyone else watching?

 

[neandermagnon]

I will probably watch it.

 

[Chris P]

I'm not much into TV and just slightly more into movies, so I probably won't, but whenever I see the title I chuckle that it sounds like apocryphal and pseudepigraphal books of the Bible. Like next we'll have 1 and 2 Mandalorians, and the Infancy Gospel of Jabba.

 

[ElaineA]

I watched ep 1 (curse you, disney+ for acting like it's still 1970 and delivering episodes 1/week). I don't understand the negative response. I quite enjoyed it.

 

[Nether]

I saw a commercial for it today and I'm intrigued, but I'd probably wait until at least the season wraps.

I understand why they break up the distro -- since it's likely to get people talking about each episode a lot more and build hype -- but that doesn't work for me anymore.

 

[Paul Lamb]

I'm glad it's finding an audience, and I'm glad that it's putting some writers to work, but I just can't bring myself to watch this stuff anymore. Star Wars and Star Trek have just gone to the well too many times for me. I'm eager to find a new fictional lore to take up, I guess.

 

[Diana Hignutt]

I liked Ep 2, but it was a little bit too Lawrence of Arabia for my tastes, tbh. Still, it felt like Star Wars.

 

[Cyia]

I've enjoyed everything up to "that moment" in episode three. They spent so much time humanizing the Tuskens and fleshing out their culture that the scene amounts to fridging an entire community. Hopefully we'll see the kid and/or the female warrior later. Maybe as characters without their face masks for a reveal.

I'm also getting a really bad feeling about Fennic. I hope she's not being positioned as the big bad out to take power for herself.

 

[telford]

I'm enjoying the series. Plot, characterizations and full on action. Yep, that works for me.

 

[Diana Hignutt]

The show seems very uneven to me. No where near as polished as The Mandalorian. That said, Ep 4 is very Star Wars, and finally explains Boba Fett's motivations for wanting Jabba's throne, such as they are.

 

[Introversion]

I haven’t watched this and probably won’t (am so done with Star Wars), but I’m kind of surprised to see how divided reviews are on this series. Some love, some hate, not much in between.

 

[Diana Hignutt]

I haven’t watched this and probably won’t (am so done with Star Wars), but I’m kind of surprised to see how divided reviews are on this series. Some love, some hate, not much in between.

Yeah, I'm in between. It's very Okay. That's it. It has it's moments.

 

[mewellsmfu]

And I am absolutely loving it. The production quality is very high and I love the characters (in particular, the title character). I agree, it is very Star Wars and I like that, too. It's true to its origin. When I look at the quality of the Marvel series and the SW series, I think SW beats them out every time. And I like both worlds.

I hope this isn't a one season and done, though. I am enjoying it, although I have to agree I prefer binging an entire season to having to watch it one episode at a time. I've gotten very spoiled.

 

[ElaineA]

I wonder if the polarized reactions are based more on why people are watching. For me, it's pure diversion. A quick sip of something to watch without much required of me. (I am completely clueless on the SW world outside of the main movies, and I'm iffy on Episodes 1-3 of those.) BF is serving its purpose in the way a 30 min sitcom did when I used to watch them, and my entertainment bar is about as low, so I have no complaints.

 

[Stytch]

I'll preface this for context with: on the scale of "knows the backstory of all characters in the cantina" to "I've just watched the movies a few times" I'm solidly in the middle. I love many SW stories and characters and the whole bit as a cultural thing, but I'm not a rabid must-know-all fan. So yes, I'm kinda with ElaineA. I greatly enjoy it as fun entertainment and don't think too hard about it. I know enough to give it some extra depth that adds to my enjoyment, but my kids (who are 7) know very little about the SW universe and they enjoy it, too, so that works for us. It's kinda the best of a comfort watch and something new, for me. Maybe I'm just getting old, but putting up anything beyond a certain level of excitement and passionate fandom for anything these days just seems like too much effort. I'll enjoy what I like in peace and not get too worked up by other folks' reactions, nor will I rage if it doesn't meet my expectations, because I have none. ... random afterthough, I do really like all the (concept?) art in the credits. I think whoever is doing these and the Mandalorian ones is really great. I'd buy a coffee table book compilation or some prints.

 

[mewellsmfu]

Stitch, I agree on the end credits art. I sit and watch the credits until it goes to black. It's excellent.

 

[Diana Hignutt]

My biggest problem with the show, is we aren't given any idea as to the main character's motivations until more than halfway through. Also, if they are done with the flashbacks, then they weren't necessary as flashbacks, and the story would have been better served in a more linear fashion, imo. But, as others here have said, it is still a fun watch, and I find myself enjoying it for the most part. I mean, it's an f-ing Boba Fett tv show.

 

[mewellsmfu]

BABY SPOILER:






I am drawn to his character, and by that I mean his morality. My favorite trope is when a "bad" person does something that's uncharacteristically kind. That's why I like movies and shows along the lines of The Magnificent Seven. Stories of redemption simply resonate with me.

I want to believe each of us has the capacity to change for the better. I like that he recognizes that.

 

[BryceRChapman]

I'm only a couple episodes in and so far it's been a mixed bag for me. I was surprised how much I enjoyed the first episode. Honestly, it was the most I've enjoyed anything made in the Star Wars Universe since Rogue One (I disliked 7-9 movies).

That being said, the show feels much more like a group of cosplayers got together to make a Star Wars Show rather than an official one. The dialogue has been just a bit, for lack of a better word "cringe" for me. As well, a key aesthetic that made Star Wars so iconic was how dirty and worn out everything was. Outside of specific desert scenes, everything is super clean (as in, clothing, buildings, etc) rather than aged and falling apart. That alone pulls me out of the show since I feel like I'm watching a set rather than real places and real people.

 

[Diana Hignutt]

I found Ep 5 to be the best so far, and Boba Fett isn't even in it. It's basically, The Mandalorian Season 2.1.

 

[Diana Hignutt]

Ep 6 was the most Star Wars thing I have ever seen. And, only a tiny bit of Boba Fett, but at least he was in it this week. A host of Star Wars guest stars. It was amazing and fun. Can't wait for the finale!

 

[Diana Hignutt]

So. my final verdict after the finale: It was kind of a mess, structurally, and could have been written and edited better, but I enjoyed the heck out of it for what it was. I would have ditched the flashbacks, established Cad Bane as someone important to Boba Fett's life, earlier, to tie the front end and back end together better, and heck, more Cad Bane is never a problem. But, a few times, I cried and I cheered, and this...is Pod Racing, er, I mean Star Wars.

 

[BronzeRadio]

After watching the last episode I imagine the pitch session going like this.

"So, it's going to basically be Dance with Wolves but with Boba Fett and Sand People."

"But that's not enough for seven episodes."

"Okay, how about we detail the back story of Ming Na's character? She's popular with the fans, right?

"And???"

"We add the Mandalorian? But not just as a cameo, we do an entire episode about him and include some plot centric stuff that you'll need to watch in order to understand Season 3 of the Mandalorian?"

"Okay... and???"

"I guess we could do an entire episode about Luke and Grogu training because the fan boys were very vocal that they did not get enough Jedi training as part of Rey's character arc. Potentially we could even through in Asoka, because she's a fan favorite, even though she doesn't think Grogu should be trained. But I don't really see how we could that in a series about Boba Fett."

"Yeah, we don't see that as a problem, but the story still doesn't have enough zazz. Could you throw in some superfluous characters from the extended universe? They don't have to figure into the plot in any way, but it will make the fans happy."

"What about... what about Black Krrsantan?"

"Fine, whatever, but drop the word black, it sounds racist. Also try to work in the Galactic Star Cruiser, that's going to be wicked! Also, make one of the characters say 'wicked,' for no good reason in a jarring manor where it doesn't fit the story."

And that's how the Book of Boba Fett was written.

It's shows like this that makes me wish HBO had bought Star Wars and not Disney.

 

[Introversion]

Disclaimer: I haven’t been watching this series. Tried, didn’t like it. But I did hear about Episode 6’s use of “Luke Skywalker”, and wanted to watch those scenes.

Damn. This is the closest I’ve seen to a CGI’d character almost looking completely normal. There were just a moment or two where “Luke’s” lips didn’t seem to be in synch with the voice and looked a bit odd. Still. Damn.

If I were a young actor or actress, I think upon seeing this I’d be a little nervous about having a long career as a performer? This feels like the start of a new era in cinema — the “who needs humans” era? I’m sure for awhile they’ll need “body actors” to undergird the CGI and get the movements right, and voice actors because we’re farther behind on making believable human sounds than sights.

I can’t decide how I feel about this. Sad, excited, or both?