Thought I'd chime in now that I did the deep dive. Mind I didn't read the whole thread.
Great effort? No.
Better than watching cooking competitions? Well, The Lady came and joined me in my room and we power watched the first 7 episodes over 2 nights, finishing with ep8 last night. So, YES.
In general I enjoyed it. Could have been a little deeper in parts, but I'm certain they were running Lean and trying not to disappoint on the effect side. More than anything, I really enjoyed watching Mandalore rise! Ever since Empire, all we got was a cartoon, until this.
Am I satisfied? Yes.