The Clone Wars: Secret Weapons

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: "Secret Weapons"
Series: Star Wars: The Clone Wars
Season 5, Episode 10
Original Air Date: November 30, 2012

via Wookieepedia

R2-D2 and three of his astromech droid colleagues have been enlisted for an important mission, capturing a Separatist decoding module from a battleship.  WAC-47, a pit droid, is also part of the team, a good thing for the audience as none of the astromechs are, by human standards, technically verbal.  Their leader is the diminutive Colonel Meebur Gascon.

As a rule, I don't care for the droid episodes and this one is as hokey as all of the others. WAC-47 is especially annoying.  However, I will grant that this story provides a credible narrative premise for focusing on the robots.  The droids are sent on the mission because no one would expect mere service machines to be up to anything suspicious.  They could slip in and out of the enemy ship without anyone paying any attention to them whatsoever.  Indeed, the plan works perfectly.  As an added, geeky bonus, there's a James Bondish scene in which all of the droids are fitted with new gizmos for the job.

Alas, this is not just a droid episode.  It's a four-part droid story arc.  Groan...

via Clone Wars Wiki

Meebur Gascon is a Zilkin.  He is listed on Wookieepedia as 33 cm, small enough to fit into the head of an astromech droid.  His design came from Phantom Menace concept art originally intended for Jar Jar Binks.  This arc marks his only canon appearance.  Gascon is voiced by Stephen Stanton.

Next week: "A Sunny Day in the Void."