“Star Wars: The Clone Wars” ends its run on a positive note. Sure, “The Lost Missions” did not air on television but for loyal followers of the series, the final season featured 13 captivating and highly entertaining episodes that actually gives us more insight going into “Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith”. You get a mix of comedy, drama and plenty of action with this final sixth season and “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” fans should be content with “The Lost Missions”. Recommended!
TITLE: Star Wars: The Clone Wars – The Lost Missions
TV AIRDATE: 2014
DURATION: 287 Minutes
BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition (2:35:1 aspect ratio), English, French and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1, Subtitles: English SDH, French and Spanish
COMPANY: LucasFilm Ltd.
RATED: TV PG
Release Date: November 11, 2014
Directed by Steward Lee, Kyle Dunlevy, Brian O’Connell, Danny Keller, Bosco Ng, Dave Filoni
Written by Daniel Arkin, George Lucas, Katie Lucas, Christian Taylor
Produced by Cary Silver
 Line Producer: Athena Yvette Portillo
Executive Producer: George Lucas
Music by Kevin Kiner
Edited by Jason Tucker
Casting by Jenn Berry
Featuring the voices of:
Tom Kane as the Narrator
Dee Bradley Baker as Clone Troopers
Matt Lanter as Anakin Skywalker
James Arnold Taylor as Obi-Wan Kenobi
Corey Burton as Count Dooku
Matthew Wood as Battle Droids
Ashley Eckstein as Ahsoka Tano
Terrence ‘T.C.’ Carson as Mace Windu
Catherine Taber as Padme Amidala
Ian Abercrombie as Chancellor Palpatine
Stephen Stanton as Mas Amedda
Phil LaMarr as Bail Organa
Brian George as Ki-Adi-Mundi
Robin Atkin Downes as Rush Clovis
Jaime King as Aurra Sing
Against a backdrop of ever-shifting loyalties, uneasy alliances and ancient hostilities, the conflict between the Republic and the Separatists ramps up, setting the stage for Darth Sidious’ ultimate act of treachery against the Jedi. In these uncertain times, some of the deepest mysteries of the light and dark sides of the Force are revealed as an intrepid clone trooper uncovers a shocking conspiracy, Anakin Skywalker’s closest relationship is tested to its limits, and Master Yoda makes a discovery that could forever change the balance of power in the galaxy. Complete your collection and experience all the wonder, intrigue, action and suspense of THE LOST MISSIONS in 13 must-own episodes — plus a Behind-The-Scenes Documentary
After the 2D 2003 animated TV series “Star Wars: Clone Wars”, the series would usher in a new 3D CGI animated television series with the same title and produced by Lucasfilm Animation and created by Lucasfilm Animation Singapore.
Originally planned for five seasons, from its first air date back in 2008 with season one and by 2013, the series would be canceled and any produced episodes would be “bonus content”.
But as “Star Wars: Clone Wars” still had a good number of episodes that have yet to be aired, the unaired final episodes as part of season six, which would be the final season, and would be streamed on Netflix in 2014.
And now, the unaired episodes of “Star Wars: The Clone Wars – The Lost Missions” will be released on Blu-ray in November 2014 courtesy of LucasFilm Ltd.
For those not familiar with “Star Wars: The Clone Wars”, the episodes take place during the three-year interim between “Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones” and “Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith”.
In “Lost Missions”, the season is broken down into four arcs.
The first arc is written by Katie Lucas and revolves around Clone Trooper Tup suffering a neurological disorder and killing a Jedi Master.
Not knowing if Tup was reprogrammed by the Separatists, his condition begins to worsen and ARC Trooper Fives can’t figure out what has happened to Clone Trooper Tup and so, he along with his droid begin their investigation and finding out why Tup would try to kill a Jedi Master.
The second arc is written by Christian Taylor and revolves around Padme Amidala’s ex-boyfriend Rush Clovis asking for his help but also, him wanting to rekindle any romance with Padme. But because Padme and Anakin’s marriage is still being kept as a secret, Anakin is having a difficult time trying to hide his jealous feelings, prompting Obi-Wan to wonder why his padiwan is reacting with anger. And the more the jealousy builds, it begins to put more tension on he and Padme’s secret marriage.
The third arc is written by Jonathan W. Rinzler and revolves around Senate Representative Jar Jar Binks and Jedi Master Mace Windu investigating on the disappearance of spiritual leaders in the peaceful world of Bardotta.
The fourth and final arc centers around Yoda. Yoda begins to hear the voice of his deceased friend, Qui-Gon Jinn and worries because it is not possible for a Jedi to speak to the living from beyond the grave. He becomes forgetful and it starts to worry members of the Jedi Council. But when Yoda is guided by the Force, what will he discover?
VIDEO:
“Star Wars: The Clone Wars – The Lost Missions” is presented in 1080p (2:35:1 aspect ratio). One thing that is evident with each season of “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” is how the series begins to gradually look better and better as better CGI technology is implemented and with the final sixth season, picture quality is crisp, detailed and vibrant.
There is a hint of banding and macroblocking but for the most part, picture quality is very good, lighting effects are also fantastic but it’s the overall detail of the characters that look very good!
AUDIO & SUBTITLES:
“Star Wars: The Clone Wars – The Lost Missions” is presented in English, Spanish and French Dolby Digital 5.1. While the series is not in DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, the dialogue is crystal clear and the sound effects and the battle sound effects are also crisp and clear and utilize the surround channels effectively, especially the rear surround channels.  The series also employs LFE during the more action-based sequences. And like previous volumes, the series continues to be immersive.
Subtitles are in English, English SDH, Spanish and French.
SPECIAL FEATURES
“Star Wars: The Clone Wars – The Lost Missions” comes with the following special features:
- The Clone Wars Declassified – (16:02) A featurette about the creation of “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” back in 2005 and the conclusion of the series in 2014.
- Story Reel: Utapau Arc – (1:31:13) Featuring four story reels created for the production crew that had to be reviewed by George Lucas and Dave Filoni. Note: The CG is not fully rendered but is animated.
EXTRAS:
“Star Wars: The Clone Wars – The Lost Missions” comes with a slipcover and a Disney Movie Rewards code.
With a new Star Wars animated series (“Star Wars Rebels”) airing on television, “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” may not have had the proper send-off on air but the crew no doubt saved the best story for last with “Star Wars: The Clone Wars – The Lost Missions”.
Questions of how the Storm Troopers could easily become evil after fighting with the Jedi Masters begins with the sixth season of “The Lost Missions” and we also get an interesting storyline in regards to Padme and Luke Skywalker’s secret marriage and slow building anger that begins grow within Anakin Skywalker. And of course, the continuing story from season five in relation to Rush Clovis but to see Anakin and Padme’s marriage tested, was rather entertaining.
While I’m not a Jar Jar Binks fans, for those wondering when the character would return, have gotten their wish as we get a humorous but also action-packed arc with Jar Jar and Jedi Master Mace Windhu.
But possibly the most fascinating arc revolves around Yoda and the questions answered is something that would become part of Yoda for many more years to come.
But this sixth season is well-written, well-animated and is a wonderful goodbye to the series. Granted, if given a longer season, it would have been interesting to see what else writers would have come up with. But for these 13 episodes alone, I was quite content with the four arcs presented.
As for the Blu-ray release, picture quality is very good and with each season of the series, the animators tend to up the notch of overall character and environment design. The animation was beautiful for “The Lost Missions” and its Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack was crystal clear and immersive.
As for special features, you get a featurette featuring the crew on saying goodbye to the animated series which was a big part of their lives for nearly a decade. Also, included is a four-part never before broadcast story reel of the Utapau Arc.
For parents wondering if they should purchase this for their children, it’s important to note that the series is TV PG due to its violence. There are a few creepy characters but for the most part, if your children has already watched the films or previous seasons, I doubt they would be scared of what they see in season six. Otherwise, the series is TV PG because of the violence featured in each episode.
Overall, “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” ends its run on a positive note. Sure, “The Lost Missions” did not air on television but for loyal followers of the series, the final season featured 13 captivating and highly entertaining episodes that actually gives us more insight going into “Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith”. You get a mix of comedy, drama and plenty of action with this final sixth season and “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” fans should be content with “The Lost Missions”.
Recommended!
