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Tuesday, September 5, 2017

The Clone Wars: Voices

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: "Voices"
Series: Star Wars: The Clone Wars
The Lost Missions (Season Six), Episode 11
Original Air Date: March 1, 2014
via Wookieepedia
This week's episode is the second in a four-part arc.  Yoda is hearing voices, specifically that of Qui-Gon Jinn.  Worried that he may have come under the influence of the dark side, the Jedi Council advises medical observation.  With Anakin's help, Yoda escapes the Jedi Temple in order to pursue this voice on his own terms.  This story is interesting for a lot of reasons, not least for the fact that the idea of a Force Spirit is previously unknown in the timeline, apart from the experience on Mortis which was deemed an hallucination.

If I am honest with myself, my adoration for the Star Wars franchise mostly revolves around a single movie: The Empire Strikes Back.   I am thoroughly prepared to argue for Empire as greatest film ever made.  Wagner would have loved Empire: an extraordinary display of synthesis between all great art forms.  Most importantly to our current discussion, it is the heart of the Star Wars story and it introduces my own favorite character: Yoda, an adorable spiritual guru Muppet voiced by Frank Oz.  He was tailor-made for me.

In "Voices," Yoda's path leads him to Dagobah, apparently for the first time.  Of course, we all know the swamp planet as Yoda's future home, a world with deep connections to The Force.  With the familiar sights and sounds and the musical strains of Yoda's Theme, this episode tugged at my heart strings as no other has.  This is the Star Wars I love, the one that always leaves me wanting more.
via Wookieepedia
Rig Nema is the Jedi doctor who attends to Yoda at the Temple.  Her appearance is based on an early design for Mace Windu, drawn by Ian McCaig, before Samuel L. Jackson was cast.
via Wookieepedia
"Voices" is Nema's only Clone Wars appearance.  She is voiced by Catherine Taber.

Next week: "Destiny."
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5 comments:

  1. SpacerGuySeptember 5, 2017 at 2:14 AM

    I reckon Yodas words of wisdom would be unable to contend with Mr Spocks Pure Vulcan logic which is of course far superior, hehe....

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    1. The Armchair SquidSeptember 9, 2017 at 8:14 AM

      Yoga vs. Spock... never thought about that face off. I realize it's near sacrilege to say this but I feel there's room enough in my geeky little heart to love both.

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    2. The Armchair SquidSeptember 9, 2017 at 8:42 AM

      Haha! I mean Yoda. Though the idea of Spock in a Saturday morning yoga class is amusing, too.

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  2. Andrew LeonSeptember 5, 2017 at 9:23 AM

    When I was in college, I spent a semester answering my phone in my dorm room as Yoda. It was great.
    I suppose I don't need to say anything else. I mean, what else is there to say?

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    1. The Armchair SquidSeptember 9, 2017 at 8:17 AM

      Haha! I also had an outgoing Yoda message in college. My roommates, while less geeky than I, still loved it. They would have friends call just to hear it. I would come home to a message of someone laughing, then hanging up. Good times.

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