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Thursday, April 4, 2013

Durd and the Defenders of Peace

General Lok Durd consulting with Count Dooku in "Defenders of Peace"
I first became aware of Lok Durd in the episode "Defenders of Peace," the fourteenth episode in Season One of the Star Wars: the Clone Wars television series. Here are the words that lead into the episode:

Republic forces in retreat! While rescuing 
General Aayla Secura from certain defeat, 
Anakin Skywalker has been seriously 
injured. After a narrow escape, our heroes 
crash-landed on the remote world of 
Maridun. Stranded, and with no way to 
contact the Republic, the Jedi receive 
medical aid from the peaceful Lurmen
colonists.

But even on this tiny planet, the
war threatens to follow the Jedi....

The foreshadowing that takes place in the last sentence has to do with Durd and his defoliator, a weapon capable of destroying organic life while leaving non-organics unharmed. Sounds like a perfect weapon for a droid army, right? 

As it turns out, Anakin saves the peaceful Lurmen by erecting a shield around the village to deflect the test phase of the Defoliator. This forces Durd to send his troops forward and the jedi and clones then go outside to meet their foes. During the fight, a second wave of droids gets behind the shield and destroys the generators. Before the defoliator cannon can be used again, Anakin slices his way to Lok (through a contingent of droid protectors) and captures him through levitation.
Anakin levitating Lok Durd at the end of the episode.
Why do I choose to highlight this episode? Well first of all, I thought it was clever. I like fancy new weapons and the explanation behind what the "Defoliator" did intrigued me.

But second, Lok Durd was also voiced by famous actor George Takei who I think is just awesome! I wish I knew how to embed soundbites into blogger, but if you want to hear him talk from the episode, follow this LINK (it's only 13 seconds long).

29 comments:

  1. Overall, the Clone Wars series was pretty darn cool!

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  2. I second Elise's statement. Anyone who didn't click the link missed out.

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  3. George Takei is awesome. You're right.

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  4. You really know your Star Wars, Micheal! I did not know George Takei was the voice of Lok Durd!

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  5. I bet a lot of people call Durd Turd behind his back.

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  6. I love George Takei. Did you see on Facebook he said he was going to be in the next Star Wars film, but it was an April Fool's joke. Nice..I thought he was serious! grr.

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  7. Sulu does have a great animation voice. Sorry, he'll always be Sulu to me. :)

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  8. Reminds me of some things we've been involved with...

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  9. I'm also a fan of George Takei and I think its great that he's finally emerging from the shadow of overbearing individuals like William Shatner.

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  10. Had no idea that was George Takei!!!

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  11. I think George Takei is totally awesome too.

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  12. Haven't seen the show but the character seems cute.

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  13. I enjoy George. Glad he's gotten more popular.

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  14. Ah, seeing his face makes me miss Star Trek *sigh*

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  15. I knew there was a clone wars show but hadn't realized how cool the graphics were. Nice.

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  16. I'll jump on the George Takei bandwagon. He has a cool voice, not quite James Earl Jones but still great tone. He has a great sense of humor, too.

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  17. George Takei was the voice? See, now I know why I'm in this AtoZ Challenge. I learn something new every day!

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  18. VERY cool way to meet this challenge!

    New follower here. I'm stopping by from the "A to Z" challenge and I look forward to visiting again.

    Sylvia
    http://www.writinginwonderland.blogspot.com

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  19. The defoliater machine...sounds like something the daleks would use.

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  20. Ok, I think I'm missing out on something good here. I sure think the first picture you posted is creepy in a sort of adorable way. Twisted, I know.

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  21. George Takei has such sharp e-n-u-n-c-i-a-t-i-o-n that he's a natural for voiceovers.

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