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Star Wars: The Clone Wars video preview: The Gungan General

By April MacIntyre Jan 6, 2009, 4:06 GMT

Anakin Skywalker, left, and Obi-Wan Kenobi capture pirate leader Hondo Ohnaka in a scene from “The Gungan General,” an all-new episode of STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS premiering at 9 p.m. ET/PT Friday, Jan. 9, on Cartoon Network.

Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi form an alliance with their greatest enemy – the villainous Count Dooku –  in “The Gungan General,” a new episode of the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars, premiering at 9 p.m. ET/PT Friday, Jan. 9, on Cartoon Network.

According to the network, in “The Gungan General,” Anakin and Obi-Wan are negotiating Count Dooku’s ransom when they are also taken prisoner and placed in holding with the Separatist leader.  They must work together or perish.

From Cartoon Network:

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.

Writer Julie Siege penned “The Gungan General,” and is well regarded in the entertainment industry for her work, which includes a staff writing position on CW’s “Supernatural.”

Siege says her handling of the two-brother central relationship in that series helped her understand the bond between Anakin and Obi-Wan – particularly when forced into an untenable situation like aligning themselves temporarily with Dooku.

“The lure of writing for STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS is right there on the screen: It is a fantastic story, and this was a great episode. The heroes and the villain are forced to pool their brain power and fire power in order to escape,” Siege says.

“Especially at this stage of the saga, it was fun to show the relationship between Obi-Wan and Anakin – particularly knowing where Anakin is ultimately going. But at this point in the story, he is clearly a hero. I love that dichotomy.”

Siege said she enjoyed crafting dialogue for the Obi-Wan/Anakin dynamic, and also scripting the newest bad guy in STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS,  pirate chief Hondo Ohnaka.

“Creating words for that character for the first time was a thrill,” she says. “Here’s this leader of the pirate colonies and he’s faced with a paradox that most of us would be uncomfortable with, but he handles easily: He’s trying to protect his own people, and if that means he has to resort kidnapping, then so be it. There’s an audacity to him that I really liked.”