The Clone Wars: Crisis on Naboo

Andrew Leon and I are watching Star Wars: The Clone Wars.  Every Tuesday, we will be featuring an episode from the series which began in 2008.

Episode: "Crisis on Naboo"
Series: Star Wars: The Clone Wars
Season 4, Episode 18
Original Air Date: February 10, 2012

via Wookieepedia

The four-part, Obi-Wan undercover with bounty hunters story concludes this week.  What began seemingly as an Obi-Wan development tale with a bounty hunter showcase ultimately ended as yet another test of Anakin's limits by Palpatine and Dooku.  This final episode of the arc is dripping with foreshadowing.

*****

via Wookieepedia

Embo is one of the posse assembled to abduct Palpatine.  He is a Kyuzo from the planet Phatrong.  He first appeared in one of my favorite episodes, "Bounty Hunters," a send-up of Kurosawa's Seven Samurai.  His species is, in fact, named for a Seven Samurai character.  His language is a combination of poorly enunciated French and the names of Italian soccer players.  He'll be back in a couple of weeks.  Embo is voiced by director Dave Filoni.

*****

It's been an eventful couple of weeks in the Star Wars universe.

RIP, Carrie Fisher.  You will always be my princess.

via Wikipedia

RIP to Debbie Reynolds, too.  Obviously, she was never in a Star Wars movie but - the familial connection aside - Singin' in the Rain is just as big at my house.  Isn't it interesting that both mother and daughter were cast in career-defining roles as teenagers?

via The Disney Wiki

And, of course, there's a new movie.  I've seen Rogue One twice: once in 2D here in Vermont, once in 3D on the curved screen at DC's Uptown Theater.  It's a solid four stars out of five by my reckoning.  Like the best Clone Wars episodes, Rogue One feels a lot like an old 1950s war movie once you get past the Star Wars trappings.  I love the new characters, especially Chirrut Imwe.  On my all-time list, I would rank Rogue One fifth overall, below Return of the Jedi, above Revenge of the Sith. 

Next week: "Massacre."