Ambush

"Ambush" is the first episode of the first season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Before its television premiere, the episode was shown on the Television Critics Association press tour on July 11, 2008 and later at Dragon Con in Atlanta, Georgia in September. "Ambush" aired on Cartoon Network October 3, 2008.

Official description
''Jedi Master Yoda is on a secret mission to forge a treaty with the King of the strategic system of Toydaria when his ship is ambushed by Count Dooku. Yoda and three clone troopers must face off against Count Dooku's dreaded assassin Ventress and her massive droid army to prove the Jedi are strong enough to protect the king and his people from the forces of the war.''

Plot summary
Great leaders inspire greatness in others.

Jedi Master Yoda is sent to Rugosa to convince King Katuunko to allow the Republic to build a base in Toydarian territory. In orbit of the moon, his ship is ambushed by two Banking Clan frigates, forcing him to take an escape pod and allow his ship to retreat; three clones - Clone Lieutenant Thire, Jek and Rys - accompany him to the surface. However, when Yoda arrives, he finds Asajj Ventress already there. She suggests a bet: If Yoda can escape her best troops, then Toydaria will aid the Republic. If he fails and the droids prevail, Toydaria will join the Separatists. Yoda and his men then face a large number of battle droids and several AATs which are marching into the forest. The droid tanks find it difficult to penetrate the dense coral vegetation, so the droid commander OOM-224 is forced to send his troops out on foot, which allows Yoda and his men to finish them off more easily. As Thire is wounded, the group retreats into a cave to rest, where Yoda gives the clone troopers a small lection about them being individuals despite their origin, and that it is their mind which makes them strong, not their weapons.

Yoda and his men make a final stand, with Yoda initially taking on - and defeating - the rest of Ventress' forces all by himself. Angered, Ventress sends out droidekas to deal with the bothersome Jedi Master. Upon sighting the droids, Thire launches a shoulder-fired rocket at the canyon wall opposite Yoda, causing an avalanche which crushes the droids. This finally convinces Katuunko to have Toydaria join the Republic. Furious about the outcome, Dooku orders Ventress to kill the king, saying that maybe his successor would be more sympathetic to the Confederate cause. Luckily for the king, Master Yoda arrives, pulling Ventress's lightsabers away from Katuunko's throat. Ventress quickly triggers an avalanche with pre-planted explosive charges, using it as a distraction to escape. King Katuunko gladly accepts Yoda's offer to join the Republic, believing that it would be the best choice for his system. Everyone leaves the moon via gunship as Republic forces come to retrieve them.

Cast

 * Tom Kane - Yoda
 * Nika Futterman - Asajj Ventress
 * Dee Bradley Baker - Clone troopers
 * Matthew Wood - Battle droids
 * Brian George - Katuunko
 * Corey Burton - Count Dooku

Characters

 * Dooku
 * Jek
 * King Katuunko
 * OOM-224
 * Rys
 * Thire
 * Asajj Ventress
 * Yoda

Creatures

 * Coral (creature)
 * Dog
 * Neebray

Droid models

 * B1 battle droid
 * B2 super battle droid
 * B2 super battle droid commander
 * Droideka
 * OOM command battle droid
 * Camoflague Battle Droid

Events

 * Clone Wars
 * Mission to Rugosa

The Force

 * Dark Side
 * Force Jump
 * Force Sense
 * Telekinesis

Languages

 * Aurebesh
 * Basic

Locations

 * Coruscant
 * Rugosa
 * Toydaria

Organizations and titles

 * Confederacy of Independent Systems
 * Separatist Droid Army
 * Supreme Leader
 * Count
 * Galactic Republic
 * Grand Army of the Republic
 * Clone Troopers
 * Jedi Order
 * Jedi Council
 * Jedi Master
 * Toydarian royal delegation
 * King
 * Order of the Sith Lords
 * Dark Acolytes

Sentient species

 * Human
 * Rattataki
 * Toydarian
 * Yoda's species

Vehicles and vessels

 * Armored Assault Tank
 * C-9979 landing craft
 * Escape pod
 * Low Altitude Assault Transport/infantry
 * Munificent-class star frigate
 * Punworcca-class interstellar sloop
 * Republic frigate
 * Thief's Eye
 * Venator-class Star Destroyer

Weapons and technology

 * Ammo
 * Blaster
 * DC-15A blaster rifle
 * DC-15S blaster
 * E-5 blaster rifle
 * Z-6 rotary blaster cannon
 * Electrobinoculars
 * Grenade
 * Hologram
 * Imagecaster
 * Lantern
 * Laser
 * Lightsaber
 * Macrobinoculars
 * Rocket launcher
 * Targeting display screen
 * Toydarian ceremonial sword
 * Turbolaser
 * Viewplate

Miscellanea

 * armored column
 * battalion
 * clanker
 * infrared mode
 * regular mode
 * squadron

Reception
"Ambush" marked the series' debut on October 3, 2008. It brought in 3.96 million viewers, and was the channel's most watched series premiere.

Behind the scenes
"Ambush" was originally not supposed to be aired as the first episode until very close to series premiere.