POSTED BY STUART LEVINE

Crix got an advance look at the upcoming Cartoon Network skein "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" and while this wasn't your typical "Star Wars" crowd that would jam a multiplex on an opening night, the reaction to the episode was a solid thumbs up.

I'll put it right out there that the entire "Star Wars" franchise has never been my thing and I don't share in the fanaticism of others, but upon viewing it would be hard to argue that the fan base won't tune in.

Cartoon has yet to set a premiere date, but 22 episodes will launch in the fall.

So what takes place in the episode? Well, Gen. Yoda is wielding his light saber like a seasoned pro against the army of Asajj Ventress. And when he's not deflecting bullets, he's using his powers -- aka the Force -- to defeat the bad guys. Want more? Here's Brian Lowry's full review.

Supervising director David Filoni (pictured below) talked about using what's already been learned in the six films and bringing that to television.

"We know Yoda is powerful, but how is that developed? How does he use it? We can go into more detail you couldn't do in the live-action films, which are focused on Anakin," he said. "Here the Clones have more personalities and it's important to get that point across to audiences and kids."

One character featured in the episode not seen on the bigscreen is Ventress, a disciple of Count Duku, who cuts quite an animated figure.

"He's training her to be on the dark side and she's getting more powerful," Filoni explained. "We want to make her deceptive and sexual. She's a forbidden fruit walking among the Jedi. She's sensuous, like a serpent."

Filoni says he doesn't see the "Star Wars" mythology ending anytime soon, with children absorbing the phenomenon from their parents.

"Every time I go to Toys R Us, kids are picking up light sabers and wanting to go to a galaxy far, far away," he said. "I hope those fans watch this and listen to Yoda."

POSTED BY STUART LEVINE

After thoroughly enjoying the Turner Classic Movies special last night, "Role Model: Gene Wilder," I have to say it was as good as advertised.

Those firmly camped in middle age like me will remember Wilder as the comic foil in two of the funniest films of the 1970s, if not ever, with "Young Frankenstein" and "Blazing Saddles," both from the bizarro mind of Mel Brooks. Both pics remain indelibly etched in my brain, with scenes from each making me laugh louder than the next.

From the opening shot with Wilder, as the good doctor, sticking a scalpel in his leg, to trying to delicately discuss Marty Feldman's humps, to asking Teri Garr to "put the candle back!," Wilder was wildly underrated in "Frankenstein" and other comedic gems. He played the straight man with Zero Mostel in "The Producers," moved on to "Frankenstein" and "Saddles," where he developed a huge following, and then, only a few years later, co-starred with Richard Pryor in "Silver Streak" and "Stir Crazy." It was quite a run, indeed.

Alec Baldwin did a nice job of setting a pleasant tone and getting Wilder to recall how he felt working on those films, his initial meeting with Brooks, his on-set relationship with Pryor (and how drugs affected Pryor's performances) and his comfort zone in front of the camera compared to being on stage.

When Wilder chatted about his relationship with comedy icon Gilda Radner, it was hard to believe that it's been 19 years since she passed away and that he's been married to his second wife for 16 years now.

Anyway, there's certainly no shortage of celebrity interviews on the air these days -- "Inside the Actors Studio" is still probably the best at it -- but it felt good to see Wilder, who's pretty much retired from showbiz and lives in Connecticut, far away from the hubbub of L.A., to get his due in an interview that felt not too fawning or personal.

In an era where some actors don't know when to step away, Wilder's virtual disappearance from film and TV (he last appeared in "Will and Grace" about five years ago) has worked to his benefit.

Meet Benji Lessman. He's an agent's agent. No, he's not the toast of the percentery business. He's an agent for agents, proprietor of the Less is More Agency. And he's got his own publicist -- twin publicists, in fact.

If it all sounds absurb, well, it should, because it's the conceit of of "Layers," an inside-showbiz satire series of vid shorts set to debut Sept. 21 on Turner Broadcasting's Superdeluxe comedy broadband net. (Click here for a streaming video sneak of the debut installment.)

"Layers" is the brainchild of twin comics Jason and Randy Sklar (they guested as the battling twin assistants on a recent "Entourage" seg, and they played battling conjoined twins last year on "Grey's Anatomy") and thesp Nick Kroll (pictured above), who is soon to make his primetime series debut on ABC's "Cavemen." Superdeluxe has ordered eight five-minute segs of the trio's sendup of showbiz and its ever-growing entourages.

"I'm passionate about people who are passionate about people," Lessman explains of his vocation. To give the shorts an authentic backdrop of a Wilshire Boulevard talent agency, the shorts were shot at the Sklars' and Kroll's respective management firms, Principato-Young and Thruline Entertainment.

(The debut seg opens with a title card featuring a quote from a recent column by Variety editor-in-chief Peter Bart, but to be crystal clear, Variety has no formal tie to "Layers.")

Lessman was a character that Kroll was doing in his alterna-comedy standup act for a few years. The Sklars (pictured right) met him while they were producing and hosting the ESPN Classic series "Cheap Seats," and they all vowed to work together at some point on something cool. "Layers" kinda fell together earlier this year, and after they shot the first three, Superdeluxe was quick to order five more. They'll roll out once a week on Superdeluxe on Friday nights starting next week.