I may be one of the few people who actually enjoyed the Twilight series...much more than eps I-III. ;)
I did not enjoy Twilight. Even Rifftrax version hurt. But I was not the target audience, and I'm reasonably well able to step outside my opinions and at least try to render judgment without bias. And from that, the main problem with at least the early part is how flat the characters are and how insipid the basic plotline is.
But they're a bas relief etched by masters compared to the prequel characters. Though like I said, I did love what the Fall of the Jedi version does; he actually grabs several deleted scenes which
should have been in the movies and puts them in while still trimming wholesale - each move is missing somewhere between 30 and 40 minutes of drivel.
Did you know there's a deleted scene where Anakin and Padme have dinner with Padme's family? It's just so...
humanizing to see Anakin try to fit in around a 'normal' family table, with Padme being just a bit scandalized at her mother, and the sisters butting in on what Padme obviously considers a bad match. It reminds me nothing so much of the scene in Episode IV where Luke talks about going to the Academy and Uncle Lars puts him off; despite it being long long ago in a galaxy far far away some things will never change.
And of course, Lucas picked "I hate sand" over this gemstone of a scene. *sigh*
Anyway, here's my list of TCW episodes that I think are worth watching. I prepared it for my mother, who simply could not sit through some of the absolutely boring pew pew lasers of far too many TCW episodes.
The main reason I cut episodes is because nothing that happens are important to the actual plotline of the Clone Wars, or are so banally predictable that you can just skip watching them - or because they're
insufferable to watch, like the last half of TCW Theatrical Release.
Some episodes are there just because I actually think they're
good storytelling, but don't have any real plot bearing - they're filler, but GOOD filler, like the creme in a Twinkie. Unlike the bad filler, which is like the creme in a Twinkie... past the sell-by date.
In actual, chronological order versus episode order (because ugh, it tries to jump around in time instead of just telling the damn story):
The Clone Wars Theatrical Release (but only up until Ahsoka and Anakin have their little heart to heart after the battle, that's the first episode and it's good. The rest is trash.)
003 Clone Cadets (Introduces Fives)
009 Rookies (Continues Fives' story)
013 Cloak of Darkness (Despite being part 2 of an arc, this episode is a genuine thriller front to back. Action packed, betrayals, fast thinking on both sides...)
014 Lair of Grievous (Gives you more insight into Grievous, makes you realize WHY he's feared, and is also a solid ep).
015-016 Dooku Captured/Gungan General (A two parter with lots of good dialogue. It actually made me... LIKE Jar Jar. I did not think that was possible.)
022-024 Ryloth Arc (establishes plot points about Hera Syndulla's father and is a representative sample of the 'Clones fight ground war against Separatists' episodes which make up so much of what got cut)
025-026 Holocron Heist/Cargo of Doom (Cad Bane and more stuff about the Jedi Order, along with some good action.)
027 Children of the Force (VITAL for introducing Palpatine as a shadowy force behind the Clone Wars and that he's already looking beyond what happens when he wins)
028 Bounty Hunters (Skippable. But it's Seven Samurai with Jedi and Hondo!)
031 Senate Spy (A bit of politics, but actually displays the relationship between Padme and Anakin in a watchable and believable way)
035 Brain Invaders (The three eps before this are more 'ground war boringness' which technically introduces Ahsoka's friend, but this one is a genuinely creepy thriller and you don't need to know more than 'she's another Padawan'.)
036-037 Grievous Intrigue & The Deserter (Earlier in the series there's a whole thing about the Malevolence, and I skipped it because 036 does the 'infiltrate the ship' better with less stupid hijinks. It also gives context to the Deserter, which is just... a GREAT episode for understanding the Clones)
038 Lightsaber Lost (Skippable. But Ahsoka's great. The jedi master helping her is great. It's a fun little noirish episode.)
039-041 Satine arc (Sets up the TCW Mandalore, and 040 has one of the most genuinely chilling previews of what is to come in the entire series.)
042-044 Baby Boba arc (It was these episodes that actually made me
like Boba Fett!)
047 Assassin (Skippable. But Ahsoka and Padme play off each other surprisingly well.)
048 ARC Trooper (Continues Fives' story with a payoff from the beginning)
051-052 Hostage Crisis/Hunt for Ziro (051 is genuinely good, and 052 shows us Nal Hutta with a lot of other info - and it's catharsis if you suffered through the Theatrical Release all the way through!)
053-055 Peace arc (Shows how Palpatine is manipulating both sides of the war, as well as the elaborate means he takes to keep the war going)
056-058 Nightsisters arc (Early on the Nightsisters stuff seems dumb. But so much of it wraps up satisfyingly, and it's the beginning of Asajj's arc)
062-064 Citadel (Tarkin & Anakin bromance begins! Also other good stuff!)
065-066 Padawan Lost/Wookie Hunt (Skippable. But more good Ahsoka action and character development)
073 Darkness on Umbara (The first and last episode of this arc are really good. But the middle part just does nothing for the storyline.)
076 Carnage of Krell (as above)
080 a Friend In Need (wrapping some plot threads from earlier in the series together very nicely)
081-084 Deception arc (Skippable, but Snarki-Wan Kenobi at his best, more Cad Bane, and showcases more Palpatine manipulation)
085-088 Massacre (Continuing Dathomir/Asajj arc and finally bringing Maul into it... very important for later on.
089 War on Two Fronts (originally scrapped, now introduced because of Saw. But the middle two eps of the arc are just more "we're fighting a guerilla war, whoosh bang!" without much real advancement.)
092 Tipping Points (Wraps up guerilla war arc)
093-096 Jedi Muppet Baby Arc (Skippable, and a lot of people REALLY don't like it, but it has Hondo at his best, some nice Ahsoka action as well as showing how the Jedi Order gradually gives more responsibility to its padawans, and a bit of poignancy when you realize that all of the kids are dead in less than a year. This is their first - and last - adventure.)
101-104 Maul Arc (104 is one of THE BEST EPISODES of the Clone Wars. It has... just... everything. The other episodes are good, with lots of Snarki-Wan Kenobi, some Hondo, some good evil Jedi stuff, and wraps up Mandalore in a neat bow)
105-108 Ahsoka's arc (wraps up Ahsoka's role in TCW with a neat bow. We knew that Annie didn't have a padawan in Revenge, now we know how).
109-112 Conspiracy arc (wraps up Fives' story, and is a GREAT thriller in and of itself).
118 The Lost One (Gives more info on how exactly the clones were first set into motion, as well as the penultimate battle between Dooku and Anakin/Obi)
119-121 Yoda arc (just... a great ending. Watching these gives you such insight into Yoda's character...)
And lastly, the "I wouldn't watch them but there are some who might recommend them because TECHNICALLY they're canon..."
059-061 Mortis Arc (Skippable IMHO. Superpowerful Force gods (Light daughter, Dark son, Balance father) drag the core Jedi (Obi, Anakin, Ahsoka) to their homeworld and daddy asks Annie to take his place. It has some really good moments and visuals. But overall it adds nothing to the storyline and may as well have "Just been a dream" as well as introducing some VERY dumb ideas about the Force and what that stupid prophecy actually MEANT.)
Out of 125 episodes (counting the so-called 'theatrical release', I ended up with 70; the remaining 55 are just... mediocre to
agonizing. Like, super painful.
