STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS kicked off a little more than a week ago into its regular Friday night airing on Cartoon Network with back-to-back new episodes, and with all criticisms aside, I like it.

In the opening episode, everyone’s favorite back-talking greenie, Master Yoda, leads a small group of clone troopers against a battalion of droids under the command of Asajj Ventress, sith apprentice of Darth Tyrannus aka Count Dooku, in order to secure an alliance with the Toydarians and guarantee safe passage for the Republic.

The second half of premier night took place in outer space, as Anakin Skywalker and his Padawan, Ahsoka, break off from the main fleet to search for survivors of the Seperarists’ latest superweapon.

It’s got that Star Wars feel, just in the sheer scope of it. It’s not going to make history like the films did, but does feel like it’s going to compliment the overall story nicely (since we keep hearing about the clone wars, and never actually see any of it in the films, save the very beginning in ROTS and the very end in AOTC).

But… and this is a big but…

The show assumes you know more about Star Wars mythology than any other Star Wars movie or book or comic than I’ve ever encountered.

In fact, if you didn’t see the animated Clone Wars movie, you really have no idea who Ahsoka is and why she’s hanging around Anakin and why…well, why he hasn’t killed her, yet.

She teeters on the edge of being the next Jar-Jar…

But this show isn’t going to be the vehicle to make new fans, as it’s more a means to keep the property alive, for both Lucas and fans. The producers expect you know your “Star Wars 101,” and give almost no back-story about the players or war.

I’m also having trouble determining where the series sits in the Star Wars timeline, but most likely, it happens closer to Episode III than Episode II, as the war is in full effect and Anakin has achieved Jedi Knight status, no longer an apprentice.

Yet, one especially exciting element new to Clone Wars comes as the clone troopers get a starring role, establishing them with different and unique personalities, evidence that even though this series is going to be big, big, big on action, the creators are keeping that same commitment to character growth that made Star Wars so popular in the first place.

As for the animation style, the clones and droids and vehicles and fleets and landscapes all look perfect. Spot on. Praise and applause to all those responsible.

But at the same time, there’s something off about the humans, and it comes from trying to adapt Gendy Tartovkovsky’s designs from the original Clone Wars shorts from 2D to 3D, Certain things that should appear soft, like Obi-Wan’s beard, seem hard and rigid and unnatural.

All-in-all, I’m along for the ride. I know my Star Wars and want to know more, and that’s what it seems like this show is all about: Taking the lore and making it bigger. But the producers are going to need to re-evaluate their storytelling methods if they think the show is going to make any new fans of the property.