My friends and I are watching
Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
Every Tuesday, we will be featuring an episode from the series which
began in 2008 (as opposed to the one that started in 2003). All are
welcome to join us for all or parts of the fun.
Episode: "Water War"
Series:
Star Wars: The Clone Wars
Season 4, Episode 1
Original Air Date: September 16, 2011
To open Season 4, we visit the aquatic world of the peaceful Mon Calamari and the aggressive Quarren. The fragile peace between the two peoples is broken King Kolina of Mon Cala is found assassinated. Padmé and Anakin are sent to attempt mediation but to no avail. The Quarren attack, backed by the Separatists though our heroes don't know that yet. Meanwhile, Lee-Chaar, Kolina's heir, struggles with his new responsibilities as leader of his people.
This story arc is a welcome opportunity to expand on the character of Ackbar, an admiral with the Rebel Alliance once he turns up in
Return of the Jedi. Ackbar has long been one of my wife's favorite
Star Wars characters, though mostly I think she just enjoys the opportunity to mock his piscine appearance. "I smell butter... and lemon..." she jokes, "it's a trap!"
My favorite Ackbar-related story came up a few years ago when the University of Mississippi sought to clean up its public image by replacing its on-field mascot. Ole Miss's sports teams are known as the Rebels, named for the Confederate soldiers of yore and the old mascot was essentially an antebellum plantation owner, understandably seen as offensive by many. One geek-minded group of students advocated for Admiral Ackbar to be the school's new Rebel.
Apparently, the students behind the idea were not entirely sincere, mainly using Ackbar as the face of a movement to come up with an entirely new mascot for the school. Even so, Lucasfilm's response to the idea was hilarious:
Lucasfilm is flattered that our Star Wars fans at the University of
Mississippi are considering electing Admiral Ackbar as their mascot. The
last time we checked in with Admiral Ackbar he was leading the Rebel
Alliance Fleet on a critical mission so it will be difficult for him to
show up for the games!
Alas, the Admiral lost out to the Rebel Black Bear:
 |
| via Wikipedia |
Count Dooku's envoy to the Quarren is Riff Tamson, a Karakarodon. Tamson was voiced by Gary Anthony Williams.
Williams was born March 14, 1966 in Atlanta. He was active on both stage and television in Atlanta before moving to Los Angeles in 1998. He has appeared on
Weeds,
Boston Legal,
Blue Collar TV and
Malcolm in the Middle. Film work includes
Undercover Brother,
Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle and
Soul Plane. Other voice contributions include
The Boondocks and the video games
Alpha Protocol and
StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty. He is currently a regular on
Whose Line Is It Anyway?
If you would care to join us for all or part of our travels, sign on to
the list below. Please visit the other participants today.
Next week: "Gungan Attack."
I've always like Ackbar, but I'm not enjoying him in this arc.
ReplyDeleteWe certainly don't get as much of him as I would like.
Delete`I am back, sort of.... I need to catch up on Clone Wars and the older posts espacially the one about ICE CREAM ? I love Ice cream but can only have it once in awhile. le sigh
ReplyDeleteAckbar is a favorite character, must catch up so I can know what your talking about. Mrs Squid is a hoot !
cheers, parsnip and thehamish
Mrs. Squid is a funny lady, to be sure.
DeleteI've never thought about a mascot from the entertainment field. It's a copyright issue, but it's a cool idea.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if Disney still owns the hockey team in Anaheim or not but initially, they named it after one of their movie franchises, The Mighty Ducks.
Delete