January 14 2011

view: (720p)



"Evil is not born, it is taught"

Episode Guide: Monster

Episode Air No: 57
Production No: 310

Director: Kyle Dunlevy
Writer: Katie Lucas

Synopsis: When Count Dooku calls upon the Nightsisters seeking a replacement for Ventress, she and her kin seize the opportunity to exact revenge. Ventress visits the far side of Dathomir and the males of the planet seeking the most brutal and powerful warrior among them. Through their witchcraft, the Nightsisters transform Savage Opress into a monstrous killer designed to turn on his new master.

view: (SD HDTV)

This probably isn't the right place, but when will Sky Movies air this trilogy? Or did they already aired "Nightsisters"?

According to their listings, Nightsisters should be airing at 04:00(GMT). I don't know if that's the premier of the episode, but it's the first I've seen of any of the Nightsister trilogy on any of the Sky channels. I could be wrong though so feel free to correct me if I am.

And as far as Monster is concerned: Wow. Another beautifully done episode. There was so much to like about the characterization of Savage, some of which I didn't expect. I'm glad to see he's not just a mindless beast on a rage - at least not initially. His stoic yet powerful bearing really reminds me of a Shaolin warrior. Speaking of which, the CW has had its share of great fight scenes -- especially with a lightsaber. But the fist-fight between Savage and Assajj stands out to me as the best. It really shows the art of hand-to-hand combat and the fight was beautifully choreographed. In the end, a very strong second act for this arc and I just can't wait to see the rest.

Yeah, I agree. This episode was very cool because of the melee fight, the trials, and learning more about the culture.

A truly remarkable episode of the Clone Wars. Monster does what it's supposed to - entertain.
I think young Miss Lucas, has a very bright future ahead of her. One can only hope she's involved in this show a lot more and not only in this show, but in the Live Action TV Series as well. If it ever gets made that is.

Hangin' for next weeks episode!

[align=center]STILLS • CONCEPT ART • TRIVIA[/align]
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[align=left]Secrets Revealed

• As he did in "Nightsisters," Dooku makes mention of an old allegiance with Mother Talzin, though the full nature of this association has yet to be revealed. "Long ago," presumably when he was a Jedi, Dooku helped Talzin out of some manner of predicament. Given Talzin's penchant for long-term planning, she may have been concocting this scheme since that day.

• Talzin offers Dooku a rejuvenating beverage of blackroot. Fans of Willow will remember that blackroot puts hair on your chest, but you should never ever feed it to an infant. If that means nothing to you, then see the movie.

• The Zabrak species, represented in Star Wars by such memorable characters as Darth Maul, Eeth Koth and Sugi the bounty hunter, are a culture that has spread across the galaxy. Though many hail from Iridonia, their wide colonization efforts mean that many only associate themselves with the colony world of their birth. In the case of Maul's people, these Zabrak call Dathomir home.

• When Maul first appeared, his striking striped patterning was quickly assumed to be an example of Sith heritage by many artists and writers. They are not exclusive or even derived from Sith, but are instead the markings of a warrior.

• The look of a shirtless Darth Maul was first developed by concept artist Iain McCaig when the need arose to illustrate Maul for a Dark Horse Comics comic book. That design has since appeared in action figures. It defined the look of the shirtless Nightbrothers in this episode.

• Aside from Feral, Viscus and Savage, none of the other Nightbrothers are named in the script.

• The Nightsister incantation that empowers Savage is as follows:

Geiss kan erde mak / harden ob stein
geiss kan lewf mak / krig ob blitz
geiss kan pire mak / blud loge raga
geiss kan vass byn / skol zum Asajj
erde-blitz-raga-byn / ede-blitz raga byn
erde-blitz-raga-byn, zum Asajj!

• Savage's body armor is based on Roman armor, with thin metal plates that slide over each other for a greater range of movement.

• According to concept art, Savage's spear can fire its tip.

• Jedi Halsey previously appeared in the background of the Season Two episode, "Grievous Intrigue." Concept art at the time identified him as Jayfo Ong, and he later became known as Tukker Val Loo and Lev'loa before his final name, Halsey, was settled upon. The name is spoken aloud in the next episode, "Witches of the Mist."

• Halsey and Knox re-use existing character geometry, but with newly textured finishes. Halsey is made up of Kit Fisto's body, while Knox's body is that of Bolla Ropal.
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I think Miss Lucas did a very good job as well. And it does look like she has a role in future episodes. I believe she went on record, via twitter, saying she was working on stories for season 5.

However, in an interview with Big Shiny Robot! she did make it known that she doesn't want to work on SW past her role on the Clone Wars. Of course, George Lucas nearly swore off all SW work after Jedi and look how much he's done since then.

Does anyone recognize the images behind Dave in the episode commentary? The ship over his left shoulder looks derivative of a Naboo N-X Police Cruiser.



Upon second viewing, the music and voice work by Nika Futterman, Barbara Goodson, and Clancy Brown stood out. Also, Dooku mentions Serrano by name. I missed this previously.

I think the dark echo effect of Mother speaking is a terrific creative choice. I would have loved to see it used in the prequels.

This episode was brutal. Savage Opress is like a cross between Maul and Venom. Sith Witch's eyes gave off a creepy vibe not unlike Emperor Sidious did in ROTS. The Nightsister speeder is something out of 80's Visionaries cartoon.

[flash width=640 height=385]http://www.youtube.com/v/QkWs6M8cvoo?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0&hd=1[/flash]

I liked everything up to Savage's brainwashing, I think they overdid him a bit, maybe it is supposed to happen like that, but the Jedi confrontation was a bit to soon also I think, even if it was to demonstrate his capabilities, anyway the nightsisters are awesome has a Ninja-Warrior feel to them, love the sister's vehicle also, Savage is somekind of Frankenstein listening to Dooku, by power of the Sisters, would love to see were this all ends.

DP, that looks like it's going to be an awesome episode. 21 minute long duel.

Monster was rather intense for it's new earlier timeslot. Savage force-choking Feral was painful to watch. It appears Opress is using Dooku's ship so maybe Hasbro can now justify producing a Sith Solar Sailor:







Rebel Scum is reporting that Hasbro's next big scale ship is the Attack Shuttle.

Yeah, as much as I liked the short fight between Savage and the 2 Jedi, I thought it was awkwardly placed in the episode. It was badass to see how Savage is in combat, but the fact that he killed them so easily was cringe worthy in my eyes. I think Savage capturing the temple from a battalion of clones was enough.

Insider #123 Lauch Pad + Insider #124 preview with ROTS-Armored Troopers



January 28 2011 • 8:30pm • S03E15 • Overlords

Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Ahsoka Tano are drawn to the mysterious planet of Mortis. As Anakin learns about his destiny from a family of powerful Force users - the Father, the Son, and the Daughter - he faces his most difficult challenge yet. Can he bring balance to the Force?

February 11 2011 • 8:30pm • S03E16 • Altar Of Mortis

As the Jedi attempt to escape Mortis, Ahsoka is taken captive as a lure to seduce Anakin Skywalker to the Darkside. As Anakin battles dark forces, the Father attempts to stop a confrontation between his children, which threatens to unbalance the Force completely.

February 18 2011 • 8:30pm • S03E17 • Ghosts Of Mortis

Anakin Skywalker must choose between the light and dark side of the Force as he gains a disturbing insight into his own future. Meanwhile, Obi-Wan and Ahsoka prepare for a decisive confrontation between in an effort to unravel the mysteries of the planet? Can they ever escape the planet?

Last week, as a guest on the Forcecast, Dave Filoni mentioned that he was bringing in TFU vets Sam Witwer and Adrienne Wilkinson as characters for CW. Just the timing of the announcement, and the description of these characters, immediately make me think that they were cast as the brother and sister for this episode arc.

I don't know much about the chick, but Sam Witwer has always impressed me with his voice acting -- I think his Emperor in TFU is spot on. I've also heard him in a few interviews and he's nuts with his knowledge of Star Wars. So it'll be interesting (for me) to see if he's actually this character, and if he's a different one, then whether he'll be around more than just a few episodes.

According to Insider #123 - Sam Witwer is voicing "The Son" of the Mortis trilogy. Which would also explain Witwer's comments during last Fall's XBox Live press Q&A about doing work for another series - which many hoped was for the Live-Action Series.

Nice. For some reason, it just seems to fit him. Must be all that vampire crap he's been rumored to be in.

Not quite. The first half deals with Anakin and Obi-wan's investigation and Savage's training. The last half of the show is all


It still sounds like the LAS based on the description:

[hr]Not sure if this has been mentioned yet, if so I apologize, but there is an interview posted on Xbox Live where they are asking Sam Witwer some questions regarding his thoughts of the Force Unleashed II game.

Towards the end of the interview they ask him what is he up to now to which he says he is doing some shots right now for an upcoming series. He says he is working uncredited right now and he can't say what the series is because he promised the exec producer he would not mention what it was and we won't hear any details until...(dramatic pause)...later.

He goes on to say you'll love the series and you actually have probably already heard about it. As he says that he glances over to the Forced Unleashed stand up beside him.[hr]
I can't wait for the Mortis arch.

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