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July 23, 2008
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 It’s hard to believe that in just three weeks, Star Wars: The Clone Wars will be in theaters across the country. Before yesterday, I would have sarcastically told you, “Big deal.” Disillusioned by the Clone Wars era’s general overexposure, disappointed by the recycled Tartakovsky character style, and soured by the kid-friendly clip showed at Disney’s Star Wars Weekends, I was pretty underwhelmed by Star Wars: The Clone Wars and found myself in the unusual position of being on the pessimism bandwagon. After visiting the Clone Wars Exhibit at Space Center Houston, however, I have been baptized in the waters of giddy, fanboy excitement once again. Simply put, Star Wars: The Clone Wars is going to rock hard in what just might be the sleeper hit of the year.
When I found out last week that Space Center Houston, located in my relative backyard of Webster, TX, was playing host to a bonafide LucasFilm exhibit for a limited time, I knew I just had to go and check it out. So Monday, Ethanos, Master Dylan, and myself hopped in the Millennium Falcon (aka my beat up '92 Chevy Corsica that doesn’t start half the time) and made the jump to lightspeed. After turning into Johnson Space Center by mistake and having the armed guard point us down the street to the twin T-38 Talons poised over the driveway, we found our way without running into any Imperial entanglements.
Inside Space Center Houston, the Clone Wars Exhibit itself was a rather quaint affair nestled off to the side of the main atrium, comprising a decorated triangular divider, prop and maquette display cases, wide-screen television playing Star Wars: The Clone Wars featurettes, and a life-sized Delta-7 Aethersprite-class Jedi Starfighter prop used during the filming of Attack of the Clones. Despite the exhibit's unexpected small size, I was transported back in time to 1986 with wide-eyed wonder.
Approaching the triangular divider from the Jedi Starfighter, we beheld a sprawling illustration spanning two inner walls of the divider, depicting five life-sized heroes with Coruscant in the background. The characters (Captain Rex, Anakin Skywalker, Ahsoka Tano, Yoda, and Obi-Wan Kenobi) were each paired with their own bio box. The contents of Captain Rex's summary box is recreated word for word below:
The far side of the divider sported two display cases, an assortment of framed stills from the series, and a life-sized depiction of the lone villainess Asajj Ventress, complete with bio box like the five heroes behind her.
The first display case offered a collection of maquettes of the show’s principal characters, from the sleek full-body Padmé to the bust of Master Windu. Gazing at their stylistic shapes in sculpted form, I found my long-held reservations about the look melting away with a childlike eagerness to see them in action.
The second case housed a series of original weapon props used throughout the filming of the six movies, including one oddity allegedly used during the filming of Attack of the Clones simply referred to as an “Organic Blaster”. A discarded pre-cursor to the computer generated Geonosian Sonic Blaster, perhaps?
 Despite all this, for me, the true gem of this exhibit lied within the makeshift theater in the rear of the triangular divider, comprised of a dozen empty chairs lined before a wide-screen television. More specifically, the object of my nerdgasm came from the three short featurettes looping on that flat screen.
LucasAnimation's supervising director Dave Filoni took us on a guided tour of never-before-seen footage of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, intimately introducing us to the characters that will likely steal the spotlight away from the leads: the Clones themselves.
As the battle-wary clone captains began removing their buckets, I saw unique, gritty individuals who were a far cry from the organic robots that the prequels lead us to believe they were, and a closer comparison to the unsung heroes of Karen Traviss' Republic Commando novels. Filoni revealed that Lucas wanted them to be individuals, with some of them sporting tattoos, dyed hair, and in one case very severe facial scarring.
 In awe, I watched as clones pinned under heavy fire dragged their wounded brethren to the rear of the line, checking for vital signs, and shouting, "I need a medic here!" The clone captains themselves came across as tough and textured cowboys, saying only "Cover me," before selflessly throwing themselves into the charge to gain a purchase through the enemy's hold.
Filoni referenced the emotional poignancy of the original trilogy, specifically the death of Ben Kenobi and how this affected audiences back in the summer of 1977. He spoke of how powerful it was to hear Kenobi guiding Luke in the Death Star trench and the satisfaction that audiences received in knowing that his character still lived on in some form. As Filoni said this, the featurette depicted a grave Anakin Skywalker aboard his starship before take off. As his overwhelmed clones continued to battle off the enemy, ostensibly elsewhere on the planet, Anakin somberly keyed his comlink to tell his captain that he would not be able to help them. Captain Rex's response from the battlefront was simple and moving. "No worries, General. We'll do our duty."
As the last of the featurettes faded away and began repeating from the beginning, the lump in my throat was quickly replaced by the lump in my pants, as a newborn excitement for Star Wars: The Clone Wars blossomed from my inner fanboy, eager to experience more of this Band of Brothers tone promised by the previews.
Ultimately, the Clone Wars Exhibit was an absolute treat. While too brief to justify the ticket costs alone, if you plan on making a day out of seeing the rest of Space Center Houston, then you'll have a great time. I certainly did.
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