Clone Wars Resources: Counterattack

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Episode Information...

Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Season 3 Episode 19: Counterattack

Premiered March 4th, 2011

"Anything that can go wrong will."

With freed prisoners in their possession and the brutal warden attempting desperately to thwart them, Obi-Wan and Anakin search for a way out of the Citadel and back to Coruscant. The prison, however, has more traps, perils and pitfalls in store for them than they had imagined and they must work past their differences if they are to escape. Their bid to board their shuttle fails when heavy weapons fire destroys the escape craft. Trooper Echo dies in the blast. The escapees then flee to the caves and call for rescue from the Jedi Temple on Coruscant.

Written by Matt Michnovetz

Directed by Kyle Dunlevy

Characters...

Matt Lanter as Anakin Skywalker

James Arnold Taylor as Obi-Wan Kenobi / Plo Koon / Osi Sobeck
Ashley Eckstein as Ahsoka Tano / K2-B4
Dee Bradley Baker as clone troopers
Blair Bess as Even Piell
Matthew Wood as battle droids / commando droids
Stephen Stanton as Tarkin

Corey Burton as Count Dooku
Terrence Carson as Mace Windu
Tom Kane as Narrator

Behind the Scenes...

Seen several times throughout the Citadel are mouse droids, the same little boxy droids seen as messengers aboard the Death Star and Star Destroyers in the original trilogy, and on Mustafar in Episode III.

Anakin's hopping on a STAP is an echo from way back in 2008, The Clone Wars animated story.

The entire sequence where Obi-Wan and Even Piell try to sneak around the landing platform when they emerge from the ventilation duct was originally shot on top of the citadel tower. It was later moved with minimal pickups to the landing area behind the tower, on the ground.

Obi-Wan's line to Osi Sobeck, "I must say, you're not at all what I pictured. Someone with such a soft voice," is particularly ironic given that actor James Arnold Taylor voices both characters.

The monitoring devices along the walls of the Citadel seen in these three episodes are designed after similar devices seen aboard the Death Star in Episode IV.

The non-existent Separatist outpost that OOM-10 mentions as part of his bluff is Point Tarron.

To differentiate Lola Sayu's hellish conditions from the lava planet Mustafar, its molten rivers are colored a bright yellow, to suggest sulfur. Given what sulfurous deposits smell like, it's understandable Tarkin and Anakin hold their noses.

Behind the scenes information courtesy the official episode guide at starwars.com

Watch the Episode Online...

http://www.megavideo.com/?d=1EP9T399

Download the Episode...

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=1EP9T399

More Video Options...

http://www.mastertoons.com/Counter-Attack.php

http://tvseries-link.com/star-wars-the-clone-wars-season-3-episode-19-counter-attack/

Official Episode Guide...

http://www.starwars.com/theclonewars/guide/episode319.html

Official Commentary...

http://www.starwars.com/video/view/001235.html

Reviews...

http://thegleemo.blogspot.com/2011/03/counter-attack-review.html

http://www.bigshinyrobot.com/reviews/archives/23491

http://www.theforce.net/latestnews/story/TFN_Review_Counterattack_136984.asp

Articles...

http://www.starwars.com/theclonewars/stephen_stanton_as_tarkin/index.html

Starwars.com interview with Stephen Stanton, the voice of  Captain Tarkin

http://benhartattack.blogspot.com/2011/03/clone-wars-bloopers-ep-319-counter.html

A humorous look at production mistakes and tidbits in the episode

Images...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/60288047@N07/sets/72157626205317262/

Here you can view and download all of the official starwars.com screengrabs and concept art images.

http://www.4shared.com/file/WQoHhsnA/CounterAttack_screencaps.html

This links to a site where you can download a zipped folder that contains over 60 official images from starwars.com including screengrabs, concept art, and clone cards.

http://clonewars.dramatic-personae.net/thumbnails.php?album=63

This site includes hundreds of screengrabs from the version of the episode that aired on Cartoon Network.

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If you have any suggestions on how to make this guide better, feel free to comment. I'm always looking for more resources to add to this.

"Counter Attack" Review

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So the story continues. In the second installment of the Citadel arc, the Clone Wars series continues the high adventure of the the original Star Wars trilogy, with a little prequel flair. Even though "Counter Attack" did not include the shocking revelations of the Mortis trilogy or the epic duals of the Nightsisters arc, it still beckoned my attention. In my opinion, it brought together most of the elements that make a good Clone Wars episode, cool visuals, interesting character development, exciting battles, and a few homages to classic film. And as this story arc has established, those homages are to none other than the original Star Wars films themselves.

There were two things that stood out to me in this department. Firstly, Obi-Wan looking out the window at the Jedi's shuttle reminded me greatly of a similar sequence in a New Hope where the heroes peek out a window at their own escape vessel, the Millennium Falcon. And secondly, the turret guns that fired upon the fugitives during the climactic hanger battle were very reminiscent of those on the exterior of the Death Star. These nods to the ultimate space station along with the presence of Tarkin himself went a long way to tie this arc to the events of a New Hope.

Concerning Tarkin, after the previous episode I was interested to see how his and Anakin's relationship would develop as this arc moves along. And I was most certainly not disappointed in this episode. Tarkin hits Anakin with a tough observation during one of the quieter moments in the story. How can peace-keepers effectively lead soldiers in battle? This issue has been brought up in Clone Wars episodes before. In Season One the pacifist Lurmen accused the Jedi of this duality, and even Ahsoka herself wondered how the Jedi would be able to return to their old ways after the war concluded in Season Two's Brain Invaders.

Yet Anakin shows his character clearly in his response to Tarkin. It seems that rather than being worried about how the war is stretching the Jedi Code, he is dwelling on how the Jedi Code is impeding the Jedi's ability to fight. For the first time we see the future Grand Moff and Dark Lord agree with each other, as their shared corruption is made evident. Aside from the intelligent and relevant dialog, the fantastic visual and vocal portrayal of Captain Tarkin lends greatly to scenes like this, as this story arc is emerging as a direct prequel to a New Hope itself in many ways.

After his first appearance the character of Osi Sobeck did not impress me. I was humored at his facial features and strange voice, and was not given any reason to respect his strategic competency. However he is slowly winning me over. Sobeck, like Grievous and other minions, struggled to live up to the demands of the meticulous Count Dooku. But by the end of the episode, the Warden of the Citadel succeeded in predicting and thwarting nearly all of the Jedi's moves. Even the supposedly brilliant Tarkin has yet to find a way out of the Citadel's region, as the rescue party is forced to ask for backup.

Finally a few notes about the episode. Unfortunately it featured the death of a beloved Clone Trooper. We have seen Echo mature from a dysfunctional cadet to an inexperienced rookie to an elite ARC trooper. And a story line that has continued throughout the first three seasons of the series has been reduced to a single thread, as Fives remains the last surviving member of the fabled Domino Squad. Additionally we continue to see glimpses of the Jedi Council member, Master Saesee Tiin. But have yet to hear him talk or see him be involved to any degree in the story. However it looks like he will finally see some action when he leads the rescue team in the following episode. Voice actor James Arnold Taylor's talent is displayed in the episode, as I was amused to hear two very unique characters of his, Osi and Obi (oddly similar names), dialog face to face.

Overall "Counter Attack" was a worthy Star Wars story. Upon seeing it, the "counter attack" seems to be on the part of the Separatists and not the Republic, both similar in name and concept to the Empire Strikes Back, keeping with the Original Trilogy vibe. The visuals of the chasms around the Citadel were stunning, as the animation of the battles were breathtaking, evoking the escape from the Death Star and the ensuing space battles. I feel like this story arc grows at it goes, and I look forward to what should be a fitting conclusion next week.

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