We had two winners, but I thought all of the essays were great.  (I was expecting paragraphs, but everyone turned in a manifesto.)

But our winners were:

Jeff Henry

and

Mark Dago

There were a lot of great entries, and I feel bad only being able to reward two of you.  Watch out in the coming week or so, I’ll be posting the entries here on Big Shiny Robot! and we can talk about what everyone had to say.

Tomorrow we’ll start with the winning essays.

Thanks to everyone who entered, you guys were all great.

(Also, Mark and Jeff, you guys should probably send me your address, or, if you’re in downtown Salt Lake, you can pick up your copy from me in the next couple of days.)

Lucasfilm has been good enough to provide Big Shiny Robot! with an advanced look at this week’s episode of Clone Wars. Be sure to check Big Shiny Robot! every week for reviews of the latest episodes and clips from them.

In The Gungan General, Anakin and Obi-Wan are negotiating Count Dookus ransom when they are also taken prisoner and placed in holding with the Separatist leader. Their only choice: Work together to escape.

A clone contingent is dispatched to deliver a ransom in exchange for Dooku unaware that the Jedi are with him. But misfortune befalls their mission, and circumstance finds them with the unlikeliest of leaders: Jar Jar Binks.

All in all, this is another great looking episode I’m looking forward to.

Overall, another great episode from the Lucasfilm animation department.

This episode starts with Anakin having been caught by Dooku and Obi-wan leading a rescue mission, but it’s all been a ruse to capture Count Dooku.

Like a true Sith Lord, Dooku is one step ahead of them and escapes their trap.

Unfortunately for Dooku, Anakin and Obi-wan damage his ship and he crash lands on a barren rock planet and is captured by Weequayan pirates (but not before he traps Obi-wan and Anakin in a cave, unarmed and left to face a Gundark.)

Ahsoka serves as the cavalry and helps her master and his master escape from the cave just long enough for them to be assigned by the Jedi council to verify that the Weequayan pirates really had captured Dooku before they paid a million credit ransom.

The episode ended mid-story and I was left feeling like there was something missing from the episode, from the ending at least.  It just sort of ended and I wanted the next one.  I understand the idea of leaving them wanting more, but this left me unsettled a little bit.  It left me wanting just a little too much.

Also, I want more Ahsoka.  I really like her and I really like her adventures with Anakin.  I’m going to be disappointed if she’s relegated to the sidelines.

The banter between Obi-wan and Anakin was particularly well written and actually had me laughing out loud.  Specifically, their exchange about Anakin being a Master of getting caught. The action was quite well put together in this episode as well, with the first third of it feeling very much like an adventure akin to the first forty minutes of Revenge of the Sith or Return of the Jedi.

The next two thirds had the political intrigue that is well put together in a way that makes me enjoy its intricacies, but not too much that it loses the kids.

The character design of all of the Weequayans and the Kowokian Monkey-Lizard (who teases Anakin throughout the episode with his own lightsaber) were all a cut above, the looked really good and the production design of their clothes and gear, from the leaders turtle helmet and green glasses to their banquet hall, was all fantastic.

My favorite moment of the episode, though?  I really liked the moment in the market when one Weequay shoves a Jawa into another Pirate and a fist fight breaks out.  It was pretty funny.

Next episode looks good.  This episode ends with Anakin and Obi-wan captured by the Pirates themselves and the next episode is them trying to escape.  The problem is that they’re both tethered to Dooku (just like Down By Law, which you should watch) and the only help from the Republic they have is…  Jar Jar.

It looks great.

See you next week.

Also, check back tomorrow to see who won the Clone Wars contest.

Another good looking clip from the show.

From the press release:

STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS gives audiences a different look at Separatist leader Count Dooku, and also introduces a new set of villains in “Dooku Captured,” an all-new episode of the hit animated series directed by Jesse Yeh, premiering at 9 p.m. ET/PT Friday, Jan. 2, on Cartoon Network.

The episode finds Anakin and Obi-Wan attempting to capture Dooku, only to discover the Sith Lord has already been kidnapped by intergalactic pirates.

Yeh says the episode reveals more insight into Count Dooku’s descent from Jedi Knight to his lofty place within the ranks of those wielding the dark side of the Force.

“I have always been interested in the drama behind this particular character,” Yeh explains. “He thinks realistically, and has a solid mind. The actions he takes are always so direct and straight forward.

“In a way, he’s almost pathetic. His mind is constantly being twisted by his pride, which is what originally led him to the dark side. Because of his pride, he doesn’t realize he has turned into exactly the sort of monster that he once fought against. From his perspective, he is not doing anything different from what he did when he was still a Jedi. He’s just trying to save the universe – but this time from what he sees as a corrupt Republic. In the end, he’s become just another expendable pawn of the true evil.”

Starting Monday and carrying on into the new year, all 10 episodes of Clone Wars thus far will be available to watch for free at StarWars.com.  So, for those of you who haven’t been able to catch all of the episodes or those of you who haven’t started yet, this is your chance to jump in.

From the press release:

Starting Dec. 22, all 10 episodes of the hit Cartoon Network series that have aired to date will be available online at the official Star Wars website and at CartoonNetwork.com.  What’s more, each episode features a video commentary by supervising director Dave Filoni; a web comic; and a detailed episode guide containing concept art and additional insights into STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS.

The online marathon ends on Monday, Jan. 5.

And on Friday, Jan. 2, the first new CLONE WARS episode of 2009, “Dooku Captured,” debuts at 9 p.m. on Cartoon Network.

That’s good news for all of us.

Tonight’s episode of Clone Wars, the last one of 2008, advanced the stakes of the conflict in a way that I’m quite pleased to see.

Dissatisfied with Grievous’ recent failures against the Jedi (losing The Malevolence, etc.) Count Dooku decides to spring a trap for Grievous so he can prove his worth. Since Nute Gunray’s escape last episode, the Jedi have been tracking him and it’s been left to master Kit Fisto and his former padawan Nahdar Vebb to track him. Following the signal of a tracking device, they are led into the very den of General Grievous who isn’t home, but is on his way back.

When he gets to his lair he realizes something is amiss when he’s not greeted by his bodyguards.

Basically, the rest of the episode is an elaborate game of cat and mouse with each side gaining the upper-hand at one point or another until they find themselves in a stalemate. Regrettably, Nahdar Vebb is killed holding Grievous off while Fisto makes his escape (or tries to).

This episode played more like an old-school haunted house thriller for kids (if you can imagine that) and it worked fairly well. In fact, I would have liked to see this episode broken up into two longer parts even.

But there are a few things of outstanding greatness I’d like to point out about this episode.

First, the feeling and the architecture of Grievious’ lair. It felt very much, at times, like something out of H.R. Giger’s mind. The statues of the warriors seemed as out of place as the spaceman in the first Alien picture and it helped set the creepy tone of the episode in an extremely effective way.

Second, Mon Calamari Jedi with blue lightsabers in low light situations look pretty bad ass. So bad ass that I’m crossing my fingers, hoping that we’ll see more of them in action.

Third, this is the General Grievous I wish we’d have seen more of in the movies. When he had his legs cut off by Fisto and the clones were trying to cable him to the ground, but he was holding both the Clones and the Jedi off and hopping around on the ceiling and the floor using only his arms. It was pretty great. As good as that was, though, the final showdown between Fisto and Grievous at the end of the episode was spectacular.

So much so, in fact, that I see myself watching this episode one more time tonight when it reruns and probably again as soon as it turns up on www.starwars.com. Or maybe I’ll watch the Saturday morning rerun.

In any case, this episode is by far and away the most bad ass. I still think Duel of the Droids is the best episode for story, but this is the best episode for kick-ass Jedi action and all around tone.

I say it every week, but they always seem to outdo themselves.

So, until next year: May The Force Be With You.

From Lucasfilm:

Matthew Wood is the voice of villainy as both General Grievous and the battle droids throughout STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS, but evil gets a special opportunity to shine in “Lair of Grievous,” an all-new episode of the hit animated series that premieres at 9 p.m. ET/PT Friday, Dec. 12, on Cartoon Network.

In the episode, General Grievous must prove himself worthy of the Separatists after his repeated defeats at the hands of the Jedi. As a test for his cyborg subordinate, Count Dooku lures Jedi Knights Kit Fisto and Nahdar Vebb to Grievous’ forbidding enclave to provide deadly sport for the humbled Separatist general.

Though Wood provides the distinctive sounds of Grievous and the battle droids, voice acting is not his “day job.” Since 1990, Wood has been among the chief innovators in digital sound technology at Lucasfilm’s Skywalker Sound, working on such films and TV properties as The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones, Mission: Impossible, Con-Air, Wall-E, Munich and Armageddon. In addition, he recently received an Oscar nomination for his work on Paul Thomas Anderson’s There Will Be Blood.

Wood first dipped into the voiceover world with Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace, and first performed as General Grievous on the big-screen in Star Wars: Episode III  Revenge of the Sith. As a relative insider, he knew what George Lucas was looking for in terms of the character’s sound, so he anonymously slipped his own audition tape into the casting pipeline. Lucas made the selection blindly, never knowing his eventual Grievous was already on staff.

“I like playing a villain because it’s just no-holds-barred,” Wood says. “Villains don’t have an inner critic; they just speak their mind and make demands, come hell or high water, with no ramifications.  And Grievous is a classic villain – he uses four lightsabers, he’s a Jedi killer, and I haven’t seen any humanity left in him. He knows about as much of the dark side of the Force as you can without having the Force, and now he’s just out for blood.  I haven’t seen any redeemable qualities in him. That kind of puts him up on the list of all-time great villains.”

Wood says he combines a low-pitched, deep voice, lots of yelling and a Bela Lugosi-influenced eastern European flair in his intonations of Grievous. When the voice is filtered through the computer, it is combined with the general’s trademark cough to signify his biomechanical nature. The bottom line for Wood is to capture the core of villainy within Grievous.

Wood also provides the voices of the battle droids in the series, which allow him to explore another end of the villain spectrum; as cannon fodder for the Separatists, the battle droids are used primarily as comic relief.

“I love playing both –and it’s especially fun when they’re together because I get to play that juxtaposition,” Wood says. “Grievous is so exasperated at the thought that he’s stuck with these idiotic, low-rent droids that can just be bowled over by Jedi, no problem.

“On the other hand,” he says, “the battle droids have this weird kind of desperation to them. They really want to succeed, but they just know that it’s not within their programming to do a good job. So there’s this weird, funny kind of sadness to them. It’s great to do both the villainy and the comedy.”

Matthew Wood is good people. I met him at Star Wars Celebration III and it was good times. In his Grievous voice with all the filters and what not and he said some pretty funny shit.

It’s one I decided to answer for the British nerd site Den of Geek at their behest.

You can check out my thoughts on the matter there.  And be sure to stick around and check out their site.  It’s good times.

Lucasfilm has been once again generous enough to provide us with an early look at this week’s episode of Clone Wars.

In the episode, General Grievous must prove himself worthy of the Separatists after repeatedly being defeated by the Jedi. As a test for his cyborg subordinate, Count Dooku lures Jedi Master Kit Fisto and Fisto’s former Padawan, Nahdar Vebb, to Grievous’ enclave as deadly sport for the Separatist general.

I have a sneaking suspicion that this is going to be one of the best episodes based solely on the trailer, which is here:

All in all, tonight yielded another great installment of Clone Wars (though I think 1.7 (Duel of the Droids) is the best so far still)…

With Padme having captured Nute Gunray in the last episode, Luminara Unduli and Ahsoka are tasked with escorting him back to Coruscant so he can stand trial for his war crimes.  This is obviously bad news for Count Dooku and he dispatches Asajj Ventress to retrieve him.  That’s basically how the episode plays out with a lot of cool lightsaber dueling all along the way.

Dooku was in the episode far too little and makes me wonder how far off an episode that is centric to Dooku can be.  What little he had to do in this episode was really good, though I doubt many who watched it picked up on the subtelty.  I mean, when Sidious calls him out on sending Ventress who fails pretty much all the time on this most important of assignments, it made me realize that Dooku is still as much a Jedi as a Sith.  He seems to have a much more nurturing demeanor than other Sith we’ve seen and it seems as though it stems from being a Jedi Master for so long.  The scene was well written enough to conjure images of Dooku training Qui-Gon and it was a good thing.

There was more great business with Ahsoka soaking in Anakin’s demeanor during Nute Gunray’s interogation.  And Luminara Unduli was a good temporary foil for her, but my biggest question is where the hell was Barris Offee?  Was there an off-handed line that explained that and I missed it? I’m I being too nerdy in caring?

The level of detail in the animation hasn’t ceased amazing me since the start of the series.  In this episode, I was blown away both by the quality of the lightsaber duels and the sets they happened on, but the architecture of the ship was great.  Even the cell block control room was about 90% the same as the cell block on the Death Star in A New Hope and it made me happy to see them officiating their scene from the same spot on the set that Han unsuccesfully conned his way into that reactor leak.

As good as this episode was though, the best part about tonight was the preview for next weeks episode which will pit Kit Fisto, his Mon Calamari of a former padawan, and some clone troopers doing mortal combat in the lair of General Grievous.  Seriously, the fleeting glimpses of the backgrounds and animation in this episode took my breath away.  I instantly wished it was next Friday already.

My only complaint?  The show is on too damn late for the kids…  10:00pm?  What are they thinking?

UPDATE: Here’s a trailer of next week’s episode: