Star Wars: The Acolyte

[erasure fan1]

Anecdotal sentiment aside, the show is only 2 episodes in, there is a long way to go.

Yes, it's all anecdotal. But if I'm going to try and get a feeling of how successful something is. I'm going to see how the word of mouth is around my life, on the web... Are people excited about it, are they talking about it, are people watching it? I watched the first 2 episodes, and I agree, there's a long way to go. But it's not looking good so far. And in a world where a lot depends on getting people hooked quickly, the next episode better kill it.

This show is another star wars project that no one in my life cares about watching. Like @CinematicFusion my wife doesn't care one bit. But she walked in while I was watching an early episode of fallout, watched about 10min and asked if I could start over so she could watch. None of my coworkers, none of my friends, none of my family have even said they are going to start it let alone watched it. And yes, it's anecdotal I know. But it sure does seem to play out.

 

[Disney Irish]

Yes, it's all anecdotal. But if I'm going to try and get a feeling of how successful something is. I'm going to see how the word of mouth is around my life, on the web... Are people excited about it, are they talking about it, are people watching it? I watched the first 2 episodes, and I agree, there's a long way to go. But it's not looking good so far. And in a world where a lot depends on getting people hooked quickly, the next episode better kill it.

This show is another star wars project that no one in my life cares about watching. Like @CinematicFusion my wife doesn't care one bit. But she walked in while I was watching an early episode of fallout, watched about 10min and asked if I could start over so she could watch. None of my coworkers, none of my friends, none of my family have even said they are going to start it let alone watched it. And yes, it's anecdotal I know. But it sure does seem to play out.

Well if we're just throwing around anecdotal evidence, my entire family and friend circle all watched the first two episodes and loved it. So if I'm to base it on that, then its so far very successful.

 

[networkpro]

Yup. That's what I've said as well. Kennedy has burned bridges with a large segment of the fanbase. Especially with a lot of vloggers who used to support star wars. Anything that isn't great, is going to get pooped on by a lot of the fans. Is it fair? Doesn't matter, that's what happens when you allow the nonsense that's gone on at lucasfilm. And Iger is well.... Iger. Not many are happy with him and how he's run the company. So I doubt many have faith that he turn the star wars ship around.

 

[erasure fan1]

Well if we're just throwing around anecdotal evidence, my entire family and friend circle all watched the first two episodes and loved it. So if I'm to base it on that, then its so far very successful.

Except I didn't say it was a failure. You're assuming. I agreed and said it had a long way to go and needs a strong 3rd episode otherwise it could struggle. If you want to call it a success that's fine. I'm not ready to do that yet. In about 2 weeks when we're half way through I'll be in a better spot to give my opinion on how it's going. But as of now, I'm not seeing the buzz that something like mando had. That can change, with some solid episodes. But the first two didn't seem to have that wow factor from what I'm seeing.

 

[Disney Irish]

If the story is good… nothing else matters. People will go watch it. Everyone talked about Grugo “baby yoda” at parties and people flocked to see it.

Now…movie theaters might be a different animal.
Red letter media did a solid discussion on what’s going on at the cinemaplex.

Some of us have been talking about the "death" of theatrical for years now in various threads, so its not new just because of recent trends. The theatrical experience especially domestically, specific movies aside, has been having diminishing returns for almost two decades now.

 

[Disney Irish]

Except I didn't say it was a failure. You're assuming. I agreed and said it had a long way to go and needs a strong 3rd episode otherwise it could struggle. If you want to call it a success that's fine. I'm not ready to do that yet. In about 2 weeks when we're half way through I'll be in a better spot to give my opinion on how it's going. But as of now, I'm not seeing the buzz that something like mando had. That can change, with some solid episodes. But the first two didn't seem to have that wow factor from what I'm seeing.

I never assumed what your stance was, I was just throwing out my anecdotal evidence too since everyone else was.

 

[MagicMouseFan]

Some of us have been talking about the "death" of theatrical for years now in various threads, so its not new just because of recent trends. The theatrical experience especially domestically, specific movies aside, has been having diminishing returns for almost two decades now.

It has, no doubt. Decline won’t stop either.
sweet tooth season 3 is out.
A week from today the Boyz is back.
All quality high end productions on TV.

But.. my wife wants to see Wolverine, so there will be that one out of 10 movies that does well.
Inside out 2/ despicable me are the only movies my kids want to see.

 

[Disney Irish]

It has, no doubt. Decline won’t stop either.
sweet tooth season 3 is out.
A week from today the Boyz is back.
All quality high end productions on TV.

But.. my wife wants to see Wolverine, so there will be that one out of 10 movies that does well.
Inside out 2/ despicable me are the only movies my kids want to see.

Personally I think Deadpool & Wolverine is going to be the movie of the summer (and at this point the way its looking maybe the whole year outside of Dune 2). I'll be there opening night.

 

[MagicMouseFan]

We can go back and forth till the cows come home. You think she's done a fantastic job and is executive of the century. That's fine. I think, she's the president of Lucasfilm, she's in charge of star wars. So yea in the end, it's her fault. And no, I don't think any of that has anything to do with it. It's a extremely small percentage. Why wasn't any of that a factor with fallout or peacemaker? Maybe because most people really loved them. Oh my gosh, even with a female lead and lgbtq character!
Guess what, if James gunns DC universe turns out like star wars has from a quality standpoint? I'm going to blame him the same way. It has nothing to do with her being a woman.

We've had this conversation. You blame this underground movement that's sabotaging Disney and star wars. I think it's there, but it's not why star wars isn't getting the viewership it is. She gets the lions share of hate because she's in charge. When you and your people act towards the fans the way they have. You aren't going to endear yourself to them. And that's on her.

She’s the president of Lucasfilm, she’s in charge of Star Wars. So yea in the end, it’s her fault. And no, I don’t think any of that outside noise has anything to do with it. Why wasn’t any of that a factor with Fallout or Peacemaker? Maybe because most people really loved them. Even with a female lead and LGBTQ character!

If James Gunn’s DC universe turns out like Star Wars has from a quality standpoint? I’m going to blame him the same way. It has nothing to do with her being a woman.

She gets the lion’s share of hate because she’s in charge, as it should be. Baseball mangers take the heat all the time.

 

[MagicMouseFan]

Personally I think Deadpool & Wolverine is going to be the movie of the summer (and at this point the way its looking maybe the whole year outside of Dune 2). I'll be there opening night.

Everyone will be there, looks awesome. A-list actors. Guys want to be them… girls want to be with them.

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

Someone forgot to tell all those viewers that the Star Wars franchise died.

‘The Acolyte’ Reaches 11.1 Million Views in Five Days, Nearly 3 Million Short of ‘Ahsoka’ Debut

'The Acolyte' reached 4.8 million viewers in its first day on Disney+, marking the streamer's biggest

variety.com

 

[Disney Irish]

Someone forgot to tell all those viewers that the Star Wars franchise died.

‘The Acolyte’ Reaches 11.1 Million Views in Five Days, Nearly 3 Million Short of ‘Ahsoka’ Debut

'The Acolyte' reached 4.8 million viewers in its first day on Disney+, marking the streamer's biggest

variety.com

Must be hate watching....

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

It's a good thing the identical twin characters had the exact same haircut so many years later, so we could get the whole mistaken identity storyline...

 

[Casper Gutman]

We can go back and forth till the cows come home. You think she's done a fantastic job and is executive of the century. That's fine. I think, she's the president of Lucasfilm, she's in charge of star wars. So yea in the end, it's her fault. And no, I don't think any of that has anything to do with it. It's a extremely small percentage. Why wasn't any of that a factor with fallout or peacemaker? Maybe because most people really loved them. Oh my gosh, even with a female lead and lgbtq character!
Guess what, if James gunns DC universe turns out like star wars has from a quality standpoint? I'm going to blame him the same way. It has nothing to do with her being a woman.

We've had this conversation. You blame this underground movement that's sabotaging Disney and star wars. I think it's there, but it's not why star wars isn't getting the viewership it is. She gets the lions share of hate because she's in charge. When you and your people act towards the fans the way they have. You aren't going to endear yourself to them. And that's on her.

I don't think she's executive of the century. I think she's a competent mediocrity like many executives. I object to the absurd hatred directed at her, which is out of all reasonable proportion.

You are steadfastly ignoring a huge movement that has been extensively covered in the national news and is tied to some of the most prominent political actors in the country. We're not going to rehash the history of the last 7 years or so because it wouldn't help anyway. You're never going to be able to see because it would call into question all sorts of other beliefs.

Reactions to Star Wars and other Disney products have relatively little to do with the actual quality of the media. That's why these conversations are so frustrating.

The really ironic thing is that I do think certain pieces of recent pop media, like Barbie and Wicked, are too heavy handed and pedantic, to the point where it interferes with their ability to entertain. For a variety of reasons, however, those cultural products don't get nearly the same degree of hate as much more benign Disney films and programs because it doesn't benefit the agenda of the network of hate pushers. Again, we've lost the ability to discuss media on its own terms.

 

[Casper Gutman]

Of course, it’s easy to say that there’s a massive, orchestrated campaign against Acolyte for political reasons, but let’s be real here. No one really cares that much about a TV show to make it a political issue. There are tons of shows out there to watch. Look at The Last of Us, for instance. It could have been perfect for a political hit piece, but it got great audience scores because it was just a good show.

Plenty of recent Star Wars TV shows have gotten solid audience scores too. The Last Jedi got a terrible score because it wasn’t good, not because of some political agenda. Rogue One was very diverse and got solid scores because it was a well-made film. There’s nothing political about The Acolyte. It’s just another show in a vast sea of entertainment options. Let’s not overcomplicate things.

It's easy to say because there's copious evidence of the campaign that is impossible to avoid if you consume any entertainment news or opinion. Any poster here could assemble dozens of videos, blog stories, comments from heavily followed Twitter accounts, etc. All that would do is pollute the forums, and it wouldn't do a bit of good. People believe what they need to believe.

 

[MagicMouseFan]

I don't think she's executive of the century. I think she's a competent mediocrity like many executives. I object to the absurd hatred directed at her, which is out of all reasonable proportion.

You are steadfastly ignoring a huge movement that has been extensively covered in the national news and is tied to some of the most prominent political actors in the country. We're not going to rehash the history of the last 7 years or so because it wouldn't help anyway. You're never going to be able to see because it would call into question all sorts of other beliefs.

Reactions to Star Wars and other Disney products have relatively little to do with the actual quality of the media. That's why these conversations are so frustrating.

The really ironic thing is that I do think certain pieces of recent pop media, like Barbie and Wicked, are too heavy handed and pedantic, to the point where it interferes with their ability to entertain. For a variety of reasons, however, those cultural products don't get nearly the same degree of hate as much more benign Disney films and programs because it doesn't benefit the agenda of the network of hate pushers. Again, we've lost the ability to discuss media on its own terms.

Story matters!
The “absurd hatred” directed at her wouldn’t exist if the stories were up to par. You’re ignoring the fact that Star Wars has lost its way because of poor storytelling and execution.

This supposed “huge movement” you’re talking about is a convenient excuse. If the quality was there, the backlash wouldn’t be there. Look at Stranger Things—it’s universally praised because it’s well-made.

Blaming a political agenda for poor reception is just deflecting from the real issue: the content hasn’t been good enough. If Kennedy had delivered the quality fans expect, she would be a hero, not a target. We’ve lost the ability to discuss media on its own terms because people like you refuse to acknowledge that maybe, just maybe, the product itself is flawed.
Maybe Acolyte delivers the goods, we will find out….

 

[MagicMouseFan]

It's easy to say because there's copious evidence of the campaign that is impossible to avoid if you consume any entertainment news or opinion. Any poster here could assemble dozens of videos, blog stories, comments from heavily followed Twitter accounts, etc. All that would do is pollute the forums, and it wouldn't do a bit of good. People believe what they need to believe.

It's easy to say there's a campaign because it's a convenient narrative, but let's be real—story is all that matters. Great storytelling cuts through any supposed agenda or criticism. If Acolyte delivers a solid story, it will hold up, be talked about at parties, and spread through word of mouth. All the videos, blog stories, and tweets won't matter if the content is genuinely good. People believe what they need to believe, but a compelling story will always shine through and garner its deserved praise.

 

[Casper Gutman]

Story matters!
The “absurd hatred” directed at her wouldn’t exist if the stories were up to par. You’re ignoring the fact that Star Wars has lost its way because of poor storytelling and execution.

This supposed “huge movement” you’re talking about is a convenient excuse. If the quality was there, the backlash wouldn’t be there. Look at Stranger Things—it’s universally praised because it’s well-made.

Blaming a political agenda for poor reception is just deflecting from the real issue: the content hasn’t been good enough. If Kennedy had delivered the quality fans expect, she would be a hero, not a target. We’ve lost the ability to discuss media on its own terms because people like you refuse to acknowledge that maybe, just maybe, the product itself is flawed.

It's not deflection, it's acknowledging reality. You site something like Stranger Things - yes, the first and fourth seasons were very good, but the second season was critically derided (I think unfairly) and the third season was awful. Despite this uneven record, we don't get hundreds of youtube channels or major commentators attacking Stranger Things as a major assault on the American way of life, because there isn't a huge political movement targeting it for complex reasons we can't discuss here. Essentially, folks like me are pointing to huge amounts of evidence and you and Erasure just keep going, "nuh-uh."

The backlash against Star Wars is out of all proportion to the content it has produced. Andor was incredible, the first two seasons of Mando were spectacular. People liked Obi-Wan (I didn't). For a modern franchise, Star Wars has a pretty good batting average.

Look, like or dislike whatever you want. I thought Obi-Wan was awful and Mando Season 3 was weak. Fine. But don't deny the reality of what's happening around you.

 

[Jedijax719]

Story matters!
The “absurd hatred” directed at her wouldn’t exist if the stories were up to par. You’re ignoring the fact that Star Wars has lost its way because of poor storytelling and execution.

This supposed “huge movement” you’re talking about is a convenient excuse. If the quality was there, the backlash wouldn’t be there. Look at Stranger Things—it’s universally praised because it’s well-made.

Blaming a political agenda for poor reception is just deflecting from the real issue: the content hasn’t been good enough. If Kennedy had delivered the quality fans expect, she would be a hero, not a target. We’ve lost the ability to discuss media on its own terms because people like you refuse to acknowledge that maybe, just maybe, the product itself is flawed.
Maybe Acolyte delivers the goods, we will find out….

But yet nobody can define what is a good story and what it needs to contain.

 

[MagicMouseFan]

It's not deflection, it's acknowledging reality. You site something like Stranger Things - yes, the first and fourth seasons were very good, but the second season was critically derided (I think unfairly) and the third season was awful. Despite this uneven record, we don't get hundreds of youtube channels or major commentators attacking Stranger Things as a major assault on the American way of life, because there isn't a huge political movement targeting it for complex reasons we can't discuss here. Essentially, folks like me are pointing to huge amounts of evidence and you and Erasure just keep going, "nuh-uh."

The backlash against Star Wars is out of all proportion to the content it has produced. Andor was incredible, the first two seasons of Mando were spectacular. People liked Obi-Wan (I didn't). For a modern franchise, Star Wars has a pretty good batting average.

Look, like or dislike whatever you want. I thought Obi-Wan was awful and Mando Season 3 was weak. Fine. But don't deny the reality of what's happening around you.

Oh, it's definitely a deflection, no matter how you spin it. You're focusing on some supposed political movement instead of the actual content. Stranger Things faced criticism, sure, but when it delivered great seasons, people recognized it. The same would happen with Star Wars if the story was strong.

The backlash against Star Wars is because the content hasn't consistently delivered. Andor was great, and the first two seasons of Mando were good, but uneven quality across the franchise is the real issue. If Star Wars had a consistently strong story, it wouldn't matter what political noise exists; the quality would shine through.

People aren't attacking Stranger Things as an assault on American values because, at its core, it's still delivering engaging content.

Your political insights are valuable and important, but let’s not ignore that a great story is what ultimately matters. If Acolyte delivers a compelling narrative, it will receive praise and positive discussion, regardless of any political movements. Quality storytelling transcends these external factors.