A very McQuarrieish Darth Vader's disembodied helmet floats above the Inquisitor in a Star Wars Rebels scene airing on ABC earlier tonight.  In it, exposition takes place.   Did you miss it? We embedded a crude copy of the 1-minute sequence from the YouTubes after the break.

As Fake Shemp was unavailable, James Earl Jones will voice Darth Vader on en encore of Star Wars Rebels: Spark of Rebellion airing on ABC Sunday before the Disney Princess Live Action Mom Placation Hour.  (You can read our review of the original DisneyXD airing here.)

Star Wars Rebels goes back to square one, and gives us a shopping trip in Fighter Flight. In case you forgot you were watching a kid's show that isn't exactly being given a ton of thought, well, here we are. The good guys go grocery shopping and come home with a new toy. And you'll see some old toys off in the distance.

Bringing things back to the Star Trek spin-offs, Rebels is somewhat consistent. The first seasons of those shows had some pretty bumpy times as we watched Tom Paris and Harry Kim hang out. Zeb and Ezra are this show's bickering buddies, and their rivalry continues with a trip to go do the shopping.

Star Wars Rebels returns to a normal, shorter format with Droids in Distress. Is fan service enough?

If you know your sci-fi history, it's not uncommon to trot out guest stars early on a spin-off. Star Trek: The Next Generation's first regular episode was basically a remake of the original series' second episode - crazy drunk sickness crew, swapping the super-cool Sulu fencing for the super-creepy Data nailing Tasha Yar. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine had guest stars Lursa and B'Etor on its first regular installment, and The Clone Wars' first real installment? Yoda reenacts (preenacts?) Luke's Jedi training from The Empire Strikes Back. What Rebels does is bring back R2-D2 and C-3PO! The snappier exposition dump has more interesting battles than the pilot movie, and manages to do some more worldbuilding while having a bit more fun. Read on for more - and download the episode for free on iTunes until Apple changes their mind!

It's super tall! The Star Wars Rebels AT-DP Vehicle is able to seat one 3 3/4-inch scale action figure with another popping out the top hatch. It has moving legs, a firing rocket, and a rotating head - all of which you can see, after the jump.

Apparently Zeb has a cool hat!  This is the Star Wars Rebels Hero Series Deluxe Zeb action figure.  Enjoy it in good health. There are pictures after the jump.

Sometimes we get toys from movies and sometimes we get movies from toys.  NYCC revealed a few good shots of Ezra Bridger's Lightsaber... Gun... Slingshot.... thing from Star Wars Rebels.  Take a look!

Ah, armchair reporting! It's great.  Hasbro sent along a batch of photos of new Star Wars goodness from their "Twas The Night Before Party."  In here, you'll find 3 3/4-inch Star Wars The Black Series C-3PO, Princess Leia in Boushh Disguise, Mosep Binneed, Commander Thorn, Han Solo in Carbonite, and a pair of Jawas!  What's not to love?

It's nice! The Star Wars Rebels The Phantom Vehicle is able to seat two 3 3/4-inch scale action figures and a bunch of accessories. It has opening wings, firing rockets (well, one), and other exciting features - all of which you can see, after the jump.

Star Wars Rebels kicks off with Spark of Rebellion. (You can already buy it on DVD.) The show's look is gorgeous, but narratively speaking it feels just like the pilot for Marvel's Agents of SHIELD and numerous other team-oriented genre shows where an existing group picks up a new member they don't quite trust. Heck, even Beast Wars does a lot of this. You know the beats, there's not a lot of surprise to be had, but this has one special thing going for it: it's Star Wars. The story is about par for what you might expect for a show aimed at kids on a Disney action show channel. The voice acting will not make you cringe - well, maybe the minor Imperials will. Minor spoilers apply - nothing of great consequence happens as it's mostly exposition - so even if you missed it, read on!

It's here! The Star Wars Rebels The Inquisitor's TIE Advanced Prototype Vehicle is one of three all-new entries into the sacred canon of 3 3/4-inch scale action figure vehicles. We don't get new ones very often, so it's a day to be excited about. You can order it online, you can find it in a store, but the important thing here is that you try to get one - it's pretty slick. And you can get a rundown of all of its major features in a video that takes less time to watch than it took to read this description, after the jump.

Disney's first foray into the galaxy far, far away hasn't even had its proper premiere, but Star Wars Rebels has been picked up for a second season.   The wacky adventures of Ezra in McQuarrieland begin airing tomorrow night, if you didn't catch the early streaming, the show is one of the most gorgeous takes on McQuarrie's artwork you'll ever see - and we'll be writing all about it in Galactic Hunter Video Theater in the next couple of days.

If you already have cable, you can potentially sign in at http://watchdisneyxd.go.com and watch the premiere Star Wars Rebels movie "Spark of Rebellion" right now.   It's about 43 minutes of McQuarrie art brought to life with a strong sense of deja vu for long-time fans.  We, of course, will be presenting you with it in Galactic Hunter Video Theater after it airs on TV next week unless y'all are cool with spoilers early, in which case, do let me know and it'll get posted sooner.

Toys R Us' new Hasbro exclusive Star Wars Rebels Mission Series The Ghost action figure set is making the rounds for $19.99 a pop if you can find it. (My closest store doesn't seem to have any yet.)  In it, you get Kanan Jarrus and Ezra Bridger - which may be identical to the single-carded versions, we'll see - plus an exclusive holographic Obi-Wan Kenobi.  It's quite nice.   I have 3 short videos (one for each) after the break.

Because we're well past the point where making "Better than Ezra" jokes are funny, let's just say that Hasbro's Ezra Bridger turned out quite nicely.  There's a lot of deco and fun details on a figure with only 5 points of articulation.  There's also no gun, no lightsaber, not a single luxury.  Like Robinson Crusoe, it's just a helmet.  Read on!