}); The Road to Episode Infinity: January 2019

Wednesday, January 30, 2019

Who is Sha’a Gi?



"This is the end. We're all doomed."
―Sha'a Gi during the Battle of Hypori


The Jedi Apprentice, Sha’a Gi is an obscure Padawan from the “Clone Wars” traditional-animation series, which aired on Cartoon network in 2004. Of course, it should be painfully obvious that Sha’a Gi is an homage to Shaggy from Scooby Doo.



"It's all around us!"
―Sha'a Gi, as Grievous draws near


Padawan Sha’a Gi appeared in the 20th episode of the series, which introduced General Grievous a year before “Revenge of the Sith” hit cinemas. Grevious claims the lives of many Jedi in the episode including (tragically) Sha’a Gi.

"We can't face him!"
―Sha'a Gi, moments before death

Originally Genndy Tartakovsky wanted Sha’a Gi to have a high-pitched voice, like Norville “Shaggy” Rogers, but it felt too goofy. Eventually it was decided that actor John DiMaggio (Bender from Futurama) would voice the character. DiMaggio also voiced Grievous in the episode.

Sha’a Gi also appeared in the 2005 mobile game “Star Wars: Battle for the Republic”.



"Who Is?" Series




Who is Vuffi Raa?

Who is Doctor Aphra?

Who is Willrow Hood?


Who is Agent Naare?

Who is Quinlan Vos?

Who is Asajj Ventress?

Who is Gerris Shrike?


Sunday, January 27, 2019

One 1970s Ralph McQuarrie painting inspires 4 Disney Era Star Wars Aliens


Ralph McQuarrie is the person most credited with designing the Star Wars universe. Vader, Chewbacca, C3-PO, R2-D2 and so many more Star Wars characters and locations might not be the cultural icons that they are, without McQuarrie’s creative vision.  Though McQuarrie passed away in 2012 at the age of 82, new Star Wars projects continue to draw on his concept art for inspiration. One particular piece of concept art, hereafter referred to as the “McQuarrie Cantina Concept Art”, was particularly central in designing some new alien species for “The Force Awakens”.




The art in question shows Luke Skywalker encountering some shady characters at the Mos Eisley Spaceport Cantina, and though these creatures were not used in the 1977 original Star Wars film, many of these creatures have since been included in Disney’s Star Wars Galaxy.

Frigosian


The Frigosian species lived on the world of Tansyl 5. They were a diminutive species with yellow fur and domed shaped heads. Though they look harmless they actually hide a large mouth with many dagger-like teeth. On Tansyl 5, Frigosians were a nocturnal species and consequently would wear goggles to protect their eyes while off-planet. They also sported breathing apparatuses which are a bit more sizable in the McQuarrie Cantina Concept Art.

Two notable Frigosians, Thromba and Laparo, worked as Cryptosurgans in Maz Kanata’s castle. The two actually replaced their hands with surgical tools and would use these tools to perform cosmetic surgery on patients. Another Frignosian, Opeepit, worked as a janitor on Colossus platform as seen in “Star Wars: Resistance”.





Hassk

The Hassk were a particularly savage species from the planet Hasskyn. Hassk were covered in blue fur and were known to give birth to litters of offspring. Before contact with the Republic the species lived in a primitive fashion and hunted prey with their fangs, claws, and night vision. Once exposed to a larger galaxy many Hassk left their home planet and became criminals and pirates.


Two Hassk can be seen in the McQuarrie Cantina Concept Art which inspired the creation of the Hassk triplets seen in “The Force Awakens” at Maz Kanata’s Castle. These brothers were led by Varmik. Recently, more Hassk have been featured in the series “Star Wars: Resistance” and tend to be employed as Pirates.


Culisetto

Culisetto are a insectoid species that travelled the galaxy. The tube mouths were adept at drinking blood and they also had compound eyes.


Three Culisetto, known as the Dengue sisters, spent time in Maz Kanata’s castle playing their favorite board game, “Deia’s Dream”. Another Culisetto, Vorhdeilo, was a bounty hunter featured in the comic series “Darth Maul”.

The name "Culisetto" was inspired by a real life genus of mosquitoes called “Culiseta”.








Gozzo

A 2014 article on StarWars.com tells us that the owl creature from McQuarrie’s painting was going to be developed into a species for the Clone Wars Season 3 episode “Sphere of Influence”. Though the species never appeared in the final cut of the episode, concept art for the episode identifies this owl-like species as a “Sharalian”.

Later, another owl-like species can be seen in the series “Star Wars: Resistance”. The character Flix runs a mechanical shop on Collosus with his Chadra-Fan partner, Orka. A January 2019 article on StarWars.com tells us that Flix is a Gozzo, which was inspired by another piece of Ralph McQuarrie concept art. This concept art was created during the pre-production stages of “Return of the Jedi” and was an early design for Ewoks and Yuzzums. Even so, it seems to me that Flix could also have been inspired by the “Sharalian” in McQuarrie’s Cantina Concept Art.


Star Wars Aliens


The Aliens of the Cantina

The Aliens of “The Empire Strikes Back"

The Aliens of Jabba’s Palace

The Aliens of Max Rebo’s Band

The Aliens of the Battle of Endor

Flipping Heads

The Aliens of Attack of the Clones

The Aliens of Revenge of the Sith


Aliens of Podracing

Aliens of Ralph McQuarrie


Aliens of  Rogue One

Aliens of  The Last Jedi


Aliens of  Endor

The Most Obscure Aliens of the Original Trilogy

Aliens of the Mandalorian

Bonus Aliens

Wednesday, January 16, 2019

Boonta Eve Classic 20th Anniversary


When I was a young man, nearly 20-years ago, my father took me to see the 68th Boonta Eve classic on the Outer Rim planet of Tatooine. There was almost nothing my father loved more than podracing, and there was nothing quite like seeing a race live. Twice he travelled to Malastare, once to Cantonica, but his favorite was the Mos Espa circuit (and rightly so)

Mos Espa was the pinnacle of podracing circuits. In only 5-minutes racers would have to conquer canyons known as The Whip, Jett's Chute, the Corkscrew, Jag Crag Gorge, and the dangerous Laguna Cave. But those weren’t the only dangers. Tusken Raiders would wait on the outskirts to take potshots at unlucky racers. And some pilots concealed illegal weapons and would wait for a hidden bend to take out their competition.

The Boonta Eve classic was the biggest race of the season and the 68th Boonta Eve classic 20 years back was considered the best race in modern memory. It was the race which saw a young human named Anakin Skywalker take out the Dug racer, Sebulba, in the closing seconds. You can’t imagine the roar of the crowd after the local slave crossed that finish line. That was a glorious day in a golden era.

That was 20-years ago. In these dark times, however, there is no more podracing. The Empire has cracked down on the sport. The 81st Boonta Eve classic, seven years ago, turned out to be the last. The courses on Malastare have been dismantled. The great podracers have gone underground, though some say the lower levels of coruscant still host some off-the-book competitions.


And here I find myself, no longer a young man. My father is dead and my planet suffers under Imperial occupation. We are not free, but our hearts still remember a time when we were. For me that Boonta Eve classic, two decades ago, is the moment I hold on to. I imagine my father and I cheering for those pods, the roaring engines kicking up sand, and my father’s smiling eyes, not really watching the race, his gaze fixed on my elation. I still love you, Dad, I always will.


The Aliens of Podracing

Dug

Dugs were recognized for their tendency to walk on their arms, while their feet were used for manipulating objects. They hailed from Malastare, a planet where they co-existed with the Gran. The planet’s core was also rich with fuel and many Dugs worked in refineries. The planet was also famous for creating the sport of podracing and Dugs were adept at the sport due to their natural strength and reflexes.

Sebulba was a famous dug podracer in the Boonta Eve Classic. Sebulba's Podracer featured two Collar Pondrat Plug-F Mammoth Split-X engines. It’s weapons included Flamethrowers, a Buzz Saw, and a Nail Shooter (although weapons were almost always illegal in podraces).


Xexto

The Xexto were a six-limbed race, long-necked species from the planet woodland planet of Troiken. Many Xexto were employed as smugglers or pickpockets. They were adept as using many weapons including slingshots.

Gasgano was a popular Xexto podracer. His many limbs aided him in becoming adept at the sport. Gasgano flew the Ord Pedrovia podracer model, which he designed himself. It had a maximum speed of 823 km/h. Ultimately Gasgano finished second in the Boonta Eve classic, right behind Anakin Skywalker.


Nosaurian


Nosaurians are a short species with a crown of horns located on the top of their heads. Nosaurians were regarded as a grumpy species, probably due to the fact that they disliked speaking basic and preferred to communicate in their own language, which consisted of unpleasant hisses and barks. The Nosaurian homeworld featured many dark forests, swamps, and jungles. As an interesting defense mechanism, Nosaurians could emit a bright green flash from their mouths, which was so bright it could temporarily blind predators or enemies.


Clegg Holdfast was a popular Nosaurian podracer who also worked as a journalist for “Podracing Quarterly”. Holdfest piloted a Voltec KT9 Wasp model of podracer which utilized KVT-Series 400 fanjet engines. Holdfast crashed in the second lap of the race. Though he survived, his podracer did not.


Aleena

The Aleena were a small blue species who lived on a planet with many natural predators. The species had exceptional reflexes, which they used to escape these predators. The Aleena were known for being friendly, peaceful, curious, and well-travelled.

Ratts Tyerell was an Aleena podracer that was much loved on his home planet. Ratts Tyerell’s racer was called the Scatalpen (named after a large predator of Aleen) and was equipped with two Titan 2150 rocket engines. Tyerell had a grudge against Sebulba’s tendency to cheat in races, so Tyerell had his pod modified to include weapons so he could take out Sebulba during the Boonta Eve Classic. This plan would not come to fruition, because Tyrell lost his life crashing into stalactites during the first lap of the race.


Toong

The Toong are a shy and timid species from the remote planet of Tund in the outer rim. Their heads are notably large and yellow and three antenna protrude from their heads.

A Toong named Ben Quadinaros entered the Boonta Eve Classic after making a bet with the Sneevel, Boles Roor. Ben Quadinaros’ podracer was a BT310 quadra-Podracer with four engines, however the racer’s power couplings malfunctioned before he even crossed the starting line.


Fluggrian

Fluggrians lived on the watery planet of Ploo IV in cities that floated oceans. Underwater transit tubes connected the cities to each other. When Fluggarians first developed space travel, they came into contact with the Glymphids, who lived on Ploo II. The two species almost instantly hated each other and perpetual war broke out.

Elan Mak was the Fluggiran podracer who considered himself to be mortal enemies with the Gymphid pilot, Aldar Beedo. Mak’s podracer was a KRT 410C which sported retro-styled asymmetrical engine housings. Elan Mak finished 5th in the Boonta Eve Classic.


Er’Kit

Er’Kit were a blue-grey species, slightly taller than humans. Their desert homeworld was plagued by political scandal, slave trading, and violence. Many Er’Kit emigrated away from their home planet to other desert world’s such as Tatooine.

Ody Mandrell was an Er’Kit born on Tatooine who started podracing at a young age. He was a mere teenager during the Boonta Eve Classic. Ody’s racer sported twin XL 5115 engines, but his engines were ultimately destroyed during a pitstop.


Nuknog

The heads of the Nuknog species may look large, but they had surprisingly small brains. They also were a gullible race, who unwittingly sold their home planet to a mining consortium. Many members of the species were known to have short tempers. Though Nuknog had a hard time thinking creatively, they did excell at complex technical tasks.

Ark Roose was a Nuknog podracer who was known for his aggressive tactics which earned him the nickname “Bumpy”. Ark’s racer included two Plug-8G 927 Cluster Array engines (each of which was really a cluster of eight engines for a grand total of sixteen individual engines). Ark’s racer crashed late in the race while bumping pods with Vulptereen named Dud Bolt.


Bardottan

Bardottans were a long-necked snout-sporting species from the Colonies region of the Galaxy, just beyond the Core Worlds. Bardottans were traditionally a war-like species until a group of Force-Sensative Bardottans rose to power and established a society of education and peace.

Mars Guo was a Bardottan podracer who participated in the Boonta Eve Classic. Though Guo quickly rose through the minor rim leagues, many did not expect him to do well at Boonta Eve. Guo surprised spectators when his Plug-2 Behemoth engines helped him maintain the second place position for much of the race. Yet this annoyed Sebulba, who tossed a piece of scrap into Guo’s engines. Guo’s racer was totalled, though Guo survived the incident.



Devlikk

The feathered species known as Devlikks were native to the planet Ord Radama. The cities of this planet were labyrinths of streets and passageways that off-worlders found impossible to navigate. The Devlikk, however were aided by an innate magnetic sense. The species had notably short legs and were notably short lived. The average lifespan was between 9-10 years.

Wan Sandage was a Devlikk podracer who used twin TurboDyne 99-U engines. During the Boonta Eve Classic Sandage sought to hire a racer named Aldar Beedo to take out Sebulba. However, the plot failed and Sandage finished the race by crashing into a Jawa Sandcrawler. His son, Wan Sandage Jr. would eventually grow up to be a podracer, following in his father’s footsteps.


Troig

The Troig are a two-headed species from the Core world of Pollillus. The two heads of the Troig each had their own names and personalities, though the names were often combined to refer to the Troig as a whole. Having two heads gave Troig some unique advantages. They were proficient at multitasking, being aware of their surroundings and keeping an eye out for danger.

Fodesinbeed Annodue was the Troig that served as commentator for the Boonta Eve Classic podrace on Tatooine. Fode, the green head, announced the race in Galactic Basic and Beed, the red head, provided commentary to Huttese speakers. There are rumors that many years later Fodesinbeed announced races for a refueling platform on Castilon, but these rumors remain unsubstantiated.

Star Wars Aliens


The Aliens of the Cantina

The Aliens of “The Empire Strikes Back"

The Aliens of Jabba’s Palace

The Aliens of Max Rebo’s Band

The Aliens of the Battle of Endor

Flipping Heads

The Aliens of Attack of the Clones

The Aliens of Revenge of the Sith


Aliens of Podracing

Aliens of Ralph McQuarrie


Aliens of  Rogue One

Aliens of  The Last Jedi


Aliens of  Endor

The Most Obscure Aliens of the Original Trilogy

Aliens of the Mandalorian

Bonus Aliens