When Star Wars: The Clone Wars came out in theaters a little while ago, it made me want to jab shards of broken glass into my eyes. But because I'm a big Star Wars dork (and, apparently, a masochist), I haven't been able to keep myself from watching the Clone Wars TV series--and while it's certainly not fantastic, I've gotta say that it's not nearly as awful as the theatrical film. In fact, last's week's episode actually gave me some hope that the series might prove to be kind of enjoyable--or at the very least, that it might not make me want to put out lit cigarettes by grinding them into my forearms.

The Clone Wars airs on Cartoon Network, but for those of us without cable, episodes are also available for purchase on iTunes, and for free (after a week-long delay) at starwars.com. I mention this because last week's episode--Shadow of Malevolence, or as I'll refer to it, The One That Wasn't Terrible--just went up for free online. So if you're curious about the show but don't want to give George Lucas any encouragement/cash, here's your chance to check it out.