Wow, this week has been so crazy.  So crazy, in fact, that I almost forgot to write about the newest Star Wars inspired show from Disney XD, LEGO Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures.  And that would have been a horrible shame because you need to be watching this show.  Here’s why.

Darth Vader presents his plans for yet another Death Star.

For a moment, I want to talk about this show, completely avoiding the fact that it is LEGO-ized.  The Freemaker Adventures tells the story of the the Freemaker family, Zander, Rowan and Kordi, three siblings who are part of a scavenging operation.  Essentially, they find junk in space and then assemble it into something awesome like a spaceship.  They are joined by R0-GR, a droid from the Clone Wars as they work to pay off debts and attempt to not have their whole operation shut down.

These new characters make a great first impression.

While attempting a last ditch effort to not get closed out by their lender, they end up scavenging a planet at the same time as Imperial troops are searching it for a mystical blade known as the Kyber Blade.  Essentially, a super powerful Jedi by the name of Baird Kantoo made a whole sword out of Kyber Crystals.  He found that it enhanced his powers by a lot.  Too much in fact.  Knowing how dangerous it was, he broke the sword and split up the pieces across the galaxy.

Some people just have to make the super powerful weapon before they realize how powerful the super powerful weapon really is.

As luck would have it, Rowan is actually force sensitive and the handle of the Kyber Blade calls to him, allowing it to be found.  While trying to escape a vicious beast, he is saved by a ‘Jedi’ named Naare.  She then goes on to help them escape the Imperial forces and even get their shop back.  Plus, she agrees to train Rowan in Jedi ways.  Great news!  Except she might not have the best intentions.  The whole thing sets the group off on an adventure to search the galaxy in hopes of reassembling the Kyber Blade.

Come with me if you want to live.

Now, take away the LEGO parts of this show and you can already say, wow, that sounds like a really fun story.  I’d like to see more of that.  And that’s true.  It has this great vibe and I’ll be honest, it captured my attention faster than Rebels ever did.  The characters are great and there’s plenty of intrigue to make me want more.  So why LEGO this up at all?

Pew Pew Pew!

Making the show LEGO allows for a couple interesting things to happen.  First off, it’s funny.  Like, really funny.  Watching Darth Vader and the Emperor argue is great fun.  I’d watch a sitcom just about them.  It also allows the more kiddie side of Star Wars to shine in a good way, not a Jar-Jar way.  It makes characters like the Clone Wars battle droid not annoying, because his silly humor really fits in a world made of LEGO.  It takes us out of the dark, adult nature of Star Wars and allows us to just have some fun with it.  It reminds me of how ‘Darth Vader and Son’ by Jeffrey Brown gets to be silly because it has a silly art style and we just go along with it.  Making this show LEGO, essentially frees it from the bonds of what a Star Wars story “should be.”

Um, guys. Is there something on my face?

Obviously, this is just a first episode, but so far we’ve got excellent characters, plenty of legitimate laughs and an intriguing story that instantly made me want to see more.  It’s a show that the whole family can enjoy and one that I already have high hopes for.

Leave me to be with my juice!

And if that doesn’t get you to watch it, well, The Emperor says “Meh” to Darth Vader.  If that doesn’t make you laugh, I don’t know what to do.

Check out the trailer: