Some posts at Tuned In I do to serve a wide audience. Some I do to serve niche fan groups. And some I do simply so that the Tuned In Jrs. will have a reason to read their Dad’s blog. This is one of them: season 3 of Star Wars: The Clone Wars returns to Cartoon Network September 17.

As I wrote last year, as bad as the animated Clone Wars movie was, I’ve really come to like the series—on its own action-adventure terms—as it has developed and found its voice. But the persistence of the series raises a question about the balance of the Star Wars franchise. Namely, the prequels now dwarf everything else like the Death Star dwarfs the Millennium Falcon.