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Andor Season 1 gets the basics right. It has a clear storyline, well-developed characters, and stunning production design (the "worldbuilding" that everyone likes to gush about). It's very clearly part of the Star Wars universe, but isn't burdened by it.

This may sound like I am damning it with faint praise. But the basics are important. Far too many shows overlook them.

That's not so say it is perfect. Like most streaming shows, it is a little too long for the quantity of story it contains. There are obvious lulls in the pace and overly-long build-ups to some events. But it's not a critical issue.

There is also a tendency to kill off characters to conveniently exclude them from future events, something that the Rogue One movie did as well. Again, not a critical issue, but one that you start to notice more often as the show goes on.

I have my doubts that Diego Luna is a good enough performer to carry the whole show. But the likes of Stellan Skarsgard, Denise Gough and Adria Arjona more than compensate for that. Once again, not a critical issue.

And it must be said that the action set-pieces are gripping and spectacular.

However Season 2 slips up on the basics. The story jumps ahead repeatedly to cover 4 years, and lacks a strong unifying thread. The first 9 episodes are mostly aimed at creating an emotional response rather than advancing the story. Characters get pushed to the fringe and become less interesting. Key events happen off-screen, and events that happen on-screen aren't fully contextualised.

The last three episodes are the crucial ones, because it is these that tie Andor to Rogue One. And they are the best of the season.

But I just cannot forgive the fact that the key piece of information that leads to the mission in Rogue One is discovered off-screen by a minor character. After all the work to introduce us to Cassian, Luthen and the other Rebels, it turns out that they had no direct involvement in getting it. It's a storytelling blunder of the highest order and undermines the whole show.

Season 1 is some of the best Star Wars content I've seen outside the Original Trilogy. Unfortunately, Season 2 leaves a lot to be desired and drags the overall rating down.

Gave it eight episodes of the first season to keep my attention but it didn't make the grade.

"Future Man" has a sharp concept and some clever writing. But the comedic moments aren't funny enough, and the dramatic moments aren't gripping enough - often because the comedy and drama work against each other in the same scene.

It doesn't helps that so many of the performances are weak - Eliza Coupe is just far too dry, and Derek Wilson doesn't find the right tone, so many of their lines fall flat.

As the series progresses, it's clear that the dramatic and action scenes are the most convincing part - perhaps the show would have been better played straight?