The Clone Wars: Episode 13 - Jedi Crash
Date: January 15, 2009 at 10:46 AM ET Topic: Movie and TV News
This
week we get our first animated look at a Jedi favorite: Aayla Secura! Click
here for information on this weeks episode: Jedi Crash...
Jedi Aayla Secura Makes Her Series Debut
Jedi General Aayla Secura makes her series
debut in “Jedi Crash,” an
all-new episode of the animated hit STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS that premieres
at 9 p.m. ET/PT Friday, Jan. 16, on Cartoon Network.
When Anakin is gravely injured in battle,
General Secura must teach Ahsoka the Jedi philosophy of having no personal attachments,
even as they brave an
unfamiliar planet in search of medical help for their stricken leader.
A Twi’lek Jedi Knight, Aayla Secura first appeared in Dark Horse Comics’ “Star
Wars: Republic” series, and most famously made brief but memorable appearances
in both Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones and Star
Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith. But before this episode of STAR
WARS: THE CLONE WARS, she never had a speaking role.
“This was our opportunity to really find out what she was like,” says
supervising director Dave Filoni. “When we were developing her, the original
concept for her voice was street tough and recognizably American. Then we hit
on the idea of giving her more of a French accent, and that really helped us define
her personality. Jennifer Hale does a great job voicing Aayla, adding new dimensions
to the character and making her into something like a tough, older sister to Ahsoka.”
He says Secura understands Ahsoka’s difficult position, but also wants Anakin’s
Padawan to recognize the importance of the Jedi philosophy toward personal attachments. “She
realizes Ahsoka cares for Anakin, but she takes an approach that’s almost like, ‘I
don’t have time for these emotions, kid.’
“Jedi have a range of personalities and attitudes, and she’s very
different from Kit Fisto and Anakin Skywalker. That’s such a huge aspect of
this series,” Filoni says. “We are able to fully realize these characters
as walking, talking individuals with great and different personalities, to show the
entire galaxy of Jedi.”
Ahsoka Tano (left) and Jedi General Aayla Secura come
to the aid of a gravely injured Anakin Skywalker in “Jedi Crash,” an
all-new episode of STAR WARS:
THE CLONE WARS premiering at 9 p.m. ET/PT Friday, Jan. 16, on Cartoon Network.
The bond between Anakin and Ahsoka grows stronger
As Jedi Master and Padawan, the relationship between Anakin Skywalker and Ahsoka
Tano is central to STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS – and it faces a difficult
test.
With Anakin suffering from life-threatening
injuries, Ahsoka needs to find medical aid for him on an unfamiliar planet. The task
leads her to a village populated by friendly but devoutly pacifistic creatures. As
she implores them for help, Ahsoka finds she needs to practice the Jedi philosophy
that prohibits personal attachments.
The episode not only introduces a brand-new race
of characters to the Star
Wars galaxy – the Lurmen – but also brings a new dimension to the
bond between Anakin and Ahsoka. Their relationship is one that Ashley Eckstein, who
voices the young Padawan, says she understands.
“I wanted to be just like my big brother when I was growing up, and I really
was just like Ahsoka – I was such a tomboy,” Eckstein recalls. She
says she recalls remembers “playing Star Wars” with her brother
in their living room. Back then, she took the role of R2-D2 to her brother’s
C-3PO, and Eckstein says their relationship helped her define Ahsoka’s interactions
with her Jedi master.
“I was the only girl on the baseball team and proud of it,” she says. “I
may not have been the best hitter or the best fielder, but I was the fastest runner,
and I would outrun any boy on the field. I was close in age with my brother, and
we played in the same league, but my mom insisted that we not be on the
same team because she wanted that sense of competitiveness, and she wanted me to
be able to flourish in my own light and not be in my brother’s shadow.”
It’s a challenge similar to the one Ahsoka faces, particularly since Anakin
accepted her only begrudgingly. “Being a girl, and a younger sister, made
me strive that much harder because I wanted to prove to my brother that I could hang
with him and his friends. I really loved having an older brother, learning from him
and kind of being his Padawan, in a sense.”
While STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS is
packed with thrills and action, Eckstein is most enthusiastic about the series’ exploration of her character’s
emotions and humanity. She says Anakin and Ahsoka’s relationship helps form
the emotional core of the series.
“There are some really touching moments in the series between Anakin and
Ahsoka, and you definitely see their relationship grow and mature,” Eckstein
says. “In the beginning of the series, they’re still learning about each
other. But as the battles go on and they go through all these trials and tribulations,
their relationship just grows and blossoms. They learn a lot from each other.”
Ahsoka Tano (left) keeps watch over a wounded Anakin Skywalker.
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