Hold on tight, Baby Yoda fans, the second season of The Mandalorian is coming at us sooner than we anticipated. Disney + confirmed today The Mandalorian Season 2 will land on the streaming services in October. This is a month ahead of the one-year anniversary of the show's successful launch this past November. No, the exact date hasn't been confirmed, but it will likely be a Friday. So just eight months to go for more great Star Wars. But what about the much touted Marvel shows The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and WandaVision, which were teased during a spot on the Super Bowl on Sunday? Well, they're coming in 2020 as well. Falcon and the Winter Soldier will debut in August, ahead of the previously announced Fall 2020 launch. WandaVision will premiere in December. With some 26.5 million subscribers locked in its first three months, these programs will only add to Disney +'s fanbase. And no, they didn't pay me to say that. What say you? You excited for...

The Mandalorian ends on an epic high note, resolving the previous episode's cliffhanger with an exciting episode that concludes most of the first season's storylines, and sets everything up for what should be a great second season. That's really all I have to say about it... Just kidding! But this is a most satisfying end to what is one of the best shows on TV, and the first truly great Star Wars thing since Return of the Jedi. What Jon Favreau and company have achieved is everything a Star Wars fan could want from a TV series based on the franchise. Many are upset by The Rise of Skywalker (I will find out for myself later today) but those fans can place their hopes in this show. This is clearly the future of the franchise. This season finale answers many of the questions we've been asking the last seven episodes, and leaves some important ones unanswered. We don't want to know everything, lest there's nothing to look forward to next season. And what...

There's something comforting about formula. Sure, it's great to watch genre-bending, rule-breaking television that challenges one's views and makes one think. But sometimes it's nice to dive into the familiar. The Mandalorian has worked so well on so many levels. It's played within the Star Wars universe, and explored the boundaries of it. It's employed Western and samurai tropes. And it's been entertaining as hell. The show is episodic, but there's an underlying story arc. It's pretty much like The X-Files was during it's heyday; ahead of its time, but right on time. With the latest episode, The Prisoner, the series dives into the man-on-a-mission genre. Mando signs up with a band of mercenaries hired to rescue a captive from a New Republic prison ship. If you've seen The Dirty Dozen, Kelly's Heroes or even Rogue One, you know what to expect. At one point, the tables are turned on Mando, and he's pitted agains the very people...

The Mandalorian stalls a wee bit with this latest entry, subtitled The Gunslinger, but that isn't to say it's not a solid entry in what has quickly become the most in-demand TV show in the world . This should surprise no one though, as who didn't think a Star Wars TV series wouldn't play like gangbusters? Although there's little in this episode to move the series forward, it does pay fans an amazing amount of service by making a pit stop at the most iconic planet in the Star Wars universe: Tatooine! That's right -- motherf--king Tatooine! There are several moments in The Gunslinger where I had to pause the show, get up, and walk around, therefore relieving myself of some fanboy excitement. Some might balk at an episode that revisits the familiar, especially when so much of The Mandalorian has explored the unknown of the Star Wars universe. But, as long as they don't do it too often, this fan liked it just fine. So, we hang out at Mos Eisley and that ...

The Mandalorian continues to be the best thing Star Wars in 36 years with this fast-paced, and highly entertaining, fourth episode. Not only do we get equal measures of action, emotion and humour -- which are staples of the very best Star Wars entries -- but even a hint of romance too. Romance, you say? Yes. Romance. This episode finds The Mandalorian and "Baby Yoda" recruited by farmers who are threatened by a band of marauders, so creator Jon Favreau employs some Western tropes, making this episode feel a bit like Pale Rider or The Magnificent Seven. I'm OK with that, as the Western references never seem to get old. The Mandalorian partners up with Gina Carano's Cara Dune, a former shock trooper turned wanderer, for this fight, and she proves herself one of the more formidable -- and likeable -- characters in the Star Wars universe. Note I didn't say women. She's just a good character, and I hope we get to see more of her. Avoiding spoilers for tho...