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In an effort to make a deal to build a Republic base on the planet of Toydaria, Yoda plans to meet with its leader, King Katuunko on the isolated planet of Rugosa. But the Jedi Master and his clone troopers are ambushed on the way to the meeting by Asajj Ventress and her droids, crash landing far from the meeting place. Trying to win favor with Katuunko on behalf of Count Dooku, Ventress suggests a contest to show the relative worth of the Separatists droids versus the Republic. If her superior numbers can succeed in capturing Yoda, Toydaria will side with the Separatists. Yoda agrees to the challenge and sets out for the meeting with only three clone troopers to aid him.

written by Steven Melching
directed by Dave Bullock
music by Kevin Kiner / original Star Wars themes by John Williams

Cast: Tom Kane (Yoda / Narrator), Dee Bradley Baker (Lt. Thire / Jek / Rys), Brian George (King Katuunko), Corey Burton (Count Dooku), Nika Futterman (Asajj Ventress), Matthew Wood (OOM-224, Battle Droids)

LogBook entry by Philip R. Frey (click here for review and more details…)

Jedi Master Plo Koon is tracking a mysterious Separatist warship through the Abregado system. He contacts Anakin Skywalker and his padawan, Ahsoka Tano, in hopes of acquiring backup. But Anakin has strict orders and cannot join him. When communications are cut off, Master Koon and his clone troops find themselves under attack by a massively powerful ion cannon that wipes out all power and destroys all three of Koon’s ships. Master Koon and his men flee in escape pods, but soon find themselves hunted down, as a droid task force cheerily steers its pod hunter from pod to pod, cracking them open and dumping the inhabitants into open space. Urged on by his padawan’s close relationship with Master Koon, Anakin decides to defy his orders and takes his ship, the Twilight, to Abregado in search of Master Koon. But time is running out both for the lost Jedi and his men and for Anakin, whose actions bring down the disapproval of both the Jedi Council and Chancellor Palpatine, all of whom want him to return. Anakin must weigh the importance of obedience to orders with obedience to his instincts.

written by Steven Melching
directed by Dave Filoni
music by Kevin Kiner / original Star Wars themes by John Williams

Cast: Dee Bradley Baker (Commander Woolffe / Sinker / Boost), James Arnold Taylor (Plo Koon / Obi-Wan Kenobi / 4-A7), Matthew Wood (Battle Droids / General Grievous), Corey Burton (Count Dooku), Ashley Eckstein (Ahsoka Tano), Matt Lanter (Anakin Skywalker), Terrence “TC” Carson (Mace Windu), Ian Abercrombie (Chancellor Palpatine), Tom Kane (Yoda / Admiral Yularen / Narrator), Tim Brock (Medical Droid)

LogBook entry by Philip R. Frey

(click here for review and more details…)

Luke still hasn’t quite adjusted to Maria and her father moving away when a new family has moved into their home. Clyde is quite taken with the new neighbors’ daughter, Rani, but he soon fnids that he’s drawn the wrong kind of attention from Rani’s father…who happens to be the school’s new headmaster. Mr. Chandra takes a tough, no-nonsense approach, but perhaps with good reason: three children have disappeared without a trace. Rani and Clyde, each in possession of tickets good for a visit to Spellman’s Museum of the Circus, begin to see fleeting visions of clowns that no one else seems to be able to see. Sarah and Clyde go to visit Spellman’s museum, and Luke and Rani wind up there as well, only to discover that Spellman himself is some sort of shapeshifter, capable of taking the form of the clown that Rani and Clyde have seen, as well as the Pied Piper. It’s no long possible to keep Rani from discovering that Sarah, Luke and Clyde fend off alien invasions…but will she live long enough to join them in fighting this one?

written by Phil Ford
directed by Michael Kerrigan
music by Sam Watts / title music by Murray Gold

Guest Cast: Jem Brownlee (Dave Finn), Aaron Shosanya (Tony Warner), Bradley Walsh (Odd Bob / Elijah Spellman / The Pied Piper), Yasmin Paige (voice of Maria Jackson), Huw Higginson (Mr. Cunningham), Elijah Baker (Steve Wallace), Ace Bhatti (Haresh Chandra), Mina Anwar (Gila Chandra), Alan Ruscoe (Clown), Sean Palmer (Clown)

Notes: Director Michael Kerrigan returns to the Doctor Who universe after 19 years; he directed the four-part Doctor Who episode Battlefield in 1989, kicking off the original series’ final season on the air.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

With the Malevolence wreaking havoc in the galaxy, Anakin Skywalker comes up with a bold plan to take out the bridge and the ship’s commander, General Grievous, in one fell swoop. But before he can put this plan into action, the Malevolence is seen heading for the Kaliida Shoals Medical Center, intent on destroying the Republic’s only safe haven for wounded clones. Anakin decides to take his flight group, the Shadow Squadron, through the Kaliida Nebula in order to cut off the Malevolence before it can attack while Obi-Wan’s battleships take the long way ’round. But Anakin has underestimated the dangers of his shortcut and the consequences may leave his squadron unable to complete his plan.

written by Steven Melching
directed by Brian Kalin O’Connell
music by Kevin Kiner / original Star Wars themes by John Williams

Cast: Tom Kane (Admiral Yularen / Narrator), Matt Lanter (Anakin Skywalker), Dee Bradley Baker (Matchstick / Tag / Commander Wolffe), James Arnold Taylor (Plo Koon / Obi-Wan Kenobi), Ashley Eckstein (Ahsoka Tano), Matthew Wood (General Grievous / Battle Droids), Corey Burton (Count Dooku), Gwendoline Yeo (Nala Se)

LogBook entry by Philip R. Frey

(click here for review and more details…)

Just when escape seems impossible, salvation comes from an unlikely source - the sound of Rani’s cell phone ringing somehow disrupts Spellman’s telekinetic power, allowing Sarah and the others to escape. With Mr. Smith’s help, Sarah discovers that Spellman - as well as the legendary Pied Piper and the clown known as Odd Bob, both of whom Spellman also claims to be - is most likely an alien, a creature that can only maintaining its existence by feeding on strong emotions. Spellman’s preferred diet is fear, and he promises to provide himself with a feast by causing more children to disappear. Even if she can stop Spellman’s diabolical plan, Sarah and Luke may not escape his clutches.

written by Phil Ford
directed by Michael Kerrigan
music by Sam Watts / title music by Murray Gold

Guest Cast: Bradley Walsh (Odd Bob / Elijah Spellman / The Pied Piper), Ace Bhatti (Haresh Chandra), Mina Anwar (Gila Chandra), Alexander Armstrong (voice of Mr. Smith), Floella Benjamin (Professor Rivers), Jessica Mogridge (young Sarah Jane)

Notes: Again, Sarah visits the Pharos Institute, last seen in the season one two-parter The Lost Boy and possibly (but possibly not) related to the Pharos Project in the 1981 Doctor Who story Logopolis. In a Doctor Who in-joke that only longtime fans would spot, one of the clown images Sarah views on her laptop is a cropped portion of a well-known publicity photo from the 1966 story The Celestial Toymaker, starring William Hartnell; clearly the production team was clowning around. Mr. Smith’s ability to manipulate the British telephone network en masse was first demonstrated in the Doctor Who episode The Stolen Earth.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

With the Separatist warship the Malevolence severely damaged and on the run, its commander General Grievous is contacted by Count Dooku, who informs the droid general that a valuable hostage is heading in his direction. Sent on a diplomatic mission by Chancellor Palpatine, Senator Padmé Amidala, with droid C-3PO along, arrives in the middle of the heat of battle and her ship is taken aboard the Malevolence. Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi and R2-D2 secretly board the Separatist ship in an effort to save the senator.

written by Tim Burns
directed by Brian Kalin O’Connell
music by Kevin Kiner / original Star Wars themes by John Williams

Cast: James Arnold Taylor (Obi-Wan Kenobi / Plo Koon), Dee Bradley Baker (Clones), Matt Lanter (Anakin Skywalker), Matthew Wood (Battle Droids / General Grievous), Tom Kane (Admiral Yularen / Narrator), Corey Burton (Count Dooku), Anthony Daniels (C-3P0), Catherine Taber (Padmé Amidala), Ashley Eckstein (Ahsoka Tano), Olivia d’Abo (Luminara Unduli)

LogBook entry by Philip R. Frey

(click here for review and more details…)

A small-time London psychic is suddenly drawing national attention, and Sarah is curious about his sudden popularity. While his stage show contains the usual expected parlor tricks, Martin Trueman is able to pull off feats that both astound and alarm Sarah: he exhibits very real mind control over members of the audience, and he even puts Sarah in the spotlight and nails down the details of her travels with the Doctor. But despite these worrying powers, Sarah can detect nothing alien about the man. She decides to pay him an unexpected visit, only to find that her every move is being anticipated. Convinced that there’s an alien presence at work, Sarah continues to use every resource at her disposal to investigate Trueman - but it’s too late: he’s used his gradually increasing influence over others to gain global media exposure, and during his broadcast he begins to take over entire segments of the human race, one star sign at a time. He also uses that influence to send Clyde on a mission to prevent Sarah from interfering further by any means necessary.

written by Gareth Roberts
directed by Michael Kerrigan
music by Sam Watts / title music by Murray Gold

Guest Cast: Russ Abbott (Martin Trueman), Carryl Thomas (Cheryl Farley), Ace Bhatti (Haresh Chandra), Mina Anwar (Gita Chandra), Ed Hughes (Stuart Farley), Nicky Ladanowski (Lisa Trotter), Alexander Armstrong (voice of Mr. Smith)

Notes: Draconia gets its first mention in either the revived Doctor Who or any of its spinoffs; apparently the practice of astrology is alive and well among those noble aliens whose only on-screen appearance in Doctor Who was in the 1973 story Frontier In Space. The Draconians have proven popular enough to appear in novels and fan films as well; however, they have yet to put in any face time in new Who. The opening teaser’s cliffhanging line, “You’re going on a journey - a very long journey,” is an in-joke on the very same line of dialogue as spoken by the Rani (no relation to this series’ character of the same name…so far as we know) in the much-maligned 1993 charity sketch Dimensions In Time.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Manning an isolated outpost, a group of rookie clones await inspection by Commander Cody and Captain Rex. Following an apparent meteor shower, they find themselves under attack by a force of Commando Droids. The Separatist plan is to keep the outpost transmitting the all clear while a small invasion force takes out the Clone homeworld of Kamino. The few clones that survived the attack eventually meet up with Cody and Rex and together make a desperate attempt to destroy the installation, alerting the Republic to the danger.

written by Steve Melching
directed by Justin Ridge
music by Kevin Kiner / original Star Wars themes by John Williams

Cast: Dee Bradley Baker (Commander Cody / Captain Rex / Sarge / Cutup / Fives / Droidbait / Echo / Hevy / Nub / O’Niner), James Arnold Taylor (Obi-Wan Kenobi), Matthew Wood (Battle Droids / General Grievous), Matt Lanter (Anakin Skywalker), Tom Kane (Yoda / Admiral Yularen / Narrator), Nika Futterman (Asajj Ventress), Gwendoline Yeo (BD-3000 “Bettie Bot”)

LogBook entry by Philip R. Frey

(click here for review and more details…)

Martin Trueman’s takeover of the human race has begun, and Sarah has to find a way to stop Clyde - who is under Trueman’s mind control - from killing her without doing him any harm. No one realizes it in the moment, but Luke seems to provide the solution, perhaps because his lack of a real birthdate under Earth’s star signs renders him immune to Trueman’s power. The alien force that Sarah has suspected all along finally appears, using Trueman as its bridge into our universe. As Trueman extends his mind control to each sign of the Zodiac, Rani and her mother fall under his power. Even shutting down his worldwide broadcast doesn’t seem to be slowing the invasion of Earth by an ancient power. Is Luke the key to saving Earth - and if he is, what will it cost him?

written by Gareth Roberts
directed by Michael Kerrigan
music by Sam Watts / title music by Murray Gold

Guest Cast: Russ Abbott (Martin Trueman), Carryl Thomas (Cheryl Farley), Ace Bhatti (Haresh Chandra), Mina Anwar (Gita Chandra), Ed Hughes (Stuart Farley), Nicky Ladanowski (Lisa Trotter), Alexander Armstrong (voice of Mr. Smith)

Notes: Recurring Whoniverse bit player Lachele Carl returns in the role of an American newscaster, but becomes a little more involved in the story than usual…

LogBook entry by Earl Green