Now that Star Wars: The Clone Wars is in full swing, I’ve felt a great disturbance in the Force. Namely, the original Clone Wars television series, broadcast back in 2003, has been discontinued. Finding the two DVDs that comprise the series is incredibly difficult now, unless you want to pay $20+ on eBay. (Which is preposterous, as they’re only about an hour long each.)

The original Clone Wars series was excellent, even for someone who was sick of all things Star Wars at the time. Famed animator Genndy Tartakovsky (Samurai Jack, Dexter’s Laboratory) was at the helm, and for those of us who were disgusted with the shitty acting and scripts within the film prequels, his Clone Wars went straight for slick action and a unique art design. (Not to mention that it featured the first appearances of certain characters and locales we’d see over a year later in Revenge of the Sith, like General Grievous.)

The new series emulates Tartakovsky’s art style somewhat, albeit in 3D form, but it isn’t as action-heavy. (Don’t worry, there’s still plenty of battles.) What worries me is the possibility that Lucas and crew are pushing the old Clone Wars out of the picture in order to make room for the new one. The new series is already clashing with a lot of previously established continuity, much of which was shown in the original Clone Wars series. We probably won’t know which series is considered “correct” until the current series ends in three to four years, but I’ve got a bad feeling about this. It’ll be yet another black mark on the Star Wars legacy if such an excellent installment is swept under the rug in favor of a newer, shinier model.

I guess I’m lucky I got both volumes of the original series over the summer!