I can't believe I'm defending the Clone Wars stuff, but... well, Star Wars has never been about realism. If it was, stormtrooper armor would do something, tractor beams would have multiple control nodes (allowing them to be powered on remotely from, I don't know, the bridge?), AT-ATs would never have been used at all, the Ewoks would have been completely smoked, Vader wouldn't force choke people (he would crush their windpipes and leave them to squirm in agony on the ground), etc etc. And that's all from the original series; don't get me started on the prequels or the expanded universe. In any case, the Clone Wars stuff was marketed to children. Just as the prequels were. If you approach them from that standpoint, they aren't so bad. Hopefully, with JJ Abrams at the helm, the new movie will be designed for someone older than twelve. Well, yes and know. I mean, realism is about the author actually trying to make a story with elements that actually makes sense. From this point of view, the realism from a TZ or Mike Stackpole novel is way better than that of Kevin J. Anderson. Also, Lucas has always added a funny element. The original trilogy's clowns were obviously C-3PO and R2-D2. Adding Jar-Jar to the prequel was maybe a bit clumsy. In my opinion, he should have been a bit more serious, a bit less clumsy and idiots (à la bob sponge square...) and folks would have liked him. Would have been even better had Michel Courtemanche had the role instead of the actor that had-it. (This guy is so funny he can make you laugh without saying anything: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59SYVJ9N9cs ). But Ashoka, I feel she just popped out of nowhere and it just doesn't fit. In the original trilogy, there is nothing that may even hint that Vader had an apprentice (alas, not while he was on the LS). And on clone wars, things are just a little too exaggerated for me...