Asogian

Asogian
Biological classification
Designation	Sentient
Physical characteristics
Skin color	Brown, yellow
Hair color	Black
Eye color	Red
Distinctions	Large eyes, extending necks
Sociocultural characteristics
Homeworld	Brodo Asogi

Asogians were paddle-footed, large-eyed sentients indigenous to Brodo Asogi. During the last decades of the Galactic Republic, the Asogians were represented in the Galactic Senate by Senator Grebleips and a trio of aides. When the Republic became the Galactic Empire at the conclusion of the Clone Wars, Grebleips was charged with treason, and the Asogians' home planet became a part of the autocratic new government. More than twenty years later, during the Galactic Civil War that pitted the Empire against the Alliance to Restore the Republic, an Asogian infochant named Braxas operated on the Outer Rim planet of Solay.

Biology and appearance

Braxas, a yellow-skinned Asogian

Asogians were paddle-footed sentients, small-sized and squat, with long arms that could touch the ground as they walked. Their hands ended in four long fingers. Their head, dominated by two large eyes, was perched atop an extensible neck. Some Asogians had brown, completely hairless skin, while others were yellow-skinned with scattered black hair on the head. Possible eye colors included blue and red.

Society and culture

Like many other species, including the reptilian Anx of Gravlex Med, and the furry Togorians of Togoria, the Asogians routinely went about their business unclothed. They used grub-sticks as eating utensils, and at least some of them consumed meat.

The physical appearance of the PK-series worker droid was modeled on that of the Asogians.

History

The Asogians hailed from Brodo Asogi, a planet located in the Perinn sector of the Outer Rim Territories. At some point, they joined the Galactic Republic, the democratic union that governed most of the galaxy.

Asogians in the galaxy

Grebleips and the Brodo Asogi delegation in the Galactic Senate

By 33 BBY, the Asogians were represented in the Galactic Senate of the Republic by Senator Grebleips and three aides. Before the onslaught of the Clone Wars in 22 BBY, Grebleips notably declared his intention to fund an extra-galactic expedition project. At the end of the war, the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic Palpatine transformed the existing regime into the First Galactic Empire, with himself as Emperor. The Asogian Grebleips and sixty-two other delegates were charged with conspiracy and treason for helping plot the so-called revolt of the Jedi Order against Palpatine. Like countless other planets, the homeworld of the Asogians fell into the Galactic Empire's hands.

During the Galactic Civil War between the Empire and the Alliance to Restore the Republic, a disabled Asogian named Braxas made a career as an infochant on the planet of Solay, in the Dominus sector of the Outer Rim Territories. When the Galactic Empire seized Solay, the Asogian decided to leave the planet. Braxas then hired Luke Skywalker, a young hero of the Alliance and a skilled pilot, to transport him offworld.

Behind the scenes

The titular character of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

The Asogians originated in Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace, the first movie in the prequel trilogy of Star Wars, as a cameo appearance of the famous aliens of Steven Spielberg's 1982 film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. Those creatures were inserted in the movie to make good on a promise—after Steven Spielberg included a Yoda cameo and Star Wars toys in E.T., George Lucas promised to include an E.T. cameo in the next Star Wars film he made—The Phantom Menace. While this was primarily an easter egg, and E.T. is probably not meant to be taken as part of Star Wars canon, some Star Wars references in E.T. can be reinterpreted in light of the E.T. references in Star Wars.

E.T.: The Book of the Green Planet, a sequel novel to the movie, reveals "Children of the Green Planet" to be the translated name of E.T.'s species. It also mentions several names which other alien species have given E.T.'s homeworld, such as Brodo Asogi, all of which translate to "Green Planet." While a species with the same name and appearance is itself part of Star Wars canon, and the homeworld name is given in Cloak of Deception, the species name is not specified.

When E.T. goes trick-or-treating with the children, he spots a child in a Yoda mask and begins to follow that child saying "Home… home…" (Composer John Williams included a snippet of his "Yoda Theme" from The Empire Strikes Back to accompany this scene.) This could be interpreted as E.T. recognizing a familiar species from his home galaxy.

HoloNet News Vol. 531 50 also mentions that Senator Grebleips of Brodo Asogi funded an expedition to another galaxy. This is another reference to E.T., since E.T. visits Earth from another galaxy in the film.

The name of the Senator itself, 'Grebleips', is 'Spielberg' spelled backwards.

Pat Welsh, the woman who did the voice for E.T. in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, also did the voice for Leia Organa as disguised as the bounty hunter Boushh in Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi.

In his novella SkyeWalkers: A Clone Wars Story, author Abel G. Peña mentioned "a pair of Asogian grub-sticks," which was specifically meant to refer to the chopsticks used by Braxas in Star Wars (1977) 89. In doing this, Peña simultaneously named the species and confirmed Braxas as one of them.

E.T. also made a cameo appearance in "Hate Leads to Lollipops," a light-hearted comic story by David McCaig, where he was seen among the patrons of the Mon Calamari Fish Market. That particular panel also included characters belonging to other science-fiction movies, namely Derek from Teenagers from Outer Space, the Mutant from This Island Earth, and Mac from Mac and Me.

Appearances

• Cloak of Deception
• Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace (First appearance)
• Republic 61
• "Republic HoloNet News Special Inaugural Edition 16:5:241" — Star Wars Insider 84
• SkyeWalkers: A Clone Wars Story (First identified as Asogian)
• Star Wars: X-Wing ("easter egg" on Christmas day)
• Star Wars (1977) 89 (First appearance) (Retcon)

Non-canon appearances

• "Hate Leads to Lollipops" — Star Wars Tales 9

Sources

• Phone Home on StarWars.com (content now obsolete; backup link)
• "Episode I Easter Egg Hunt!" — Star Wars Insider 48
• Galactic Phrase Book & Travel Guide
• "Star Wars Q&A" — Star Wars Insider 74
• "Classic Moment" — Star Wars Insider 128
• The Official Star Wars Fact File Part 9 (PKS1-2, PK-series Worker Droid)
• Galactic Senate in the Encyclopedia (content now obsolete; backup link) (Picture only)

External links

• The Cinema Behind Star Wars: E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial on StarWars.com (backup link)
• 6 Bizarre Behind-the-Scenes Star Wars Facts on StarWars.com (backup link)

In other languages

• Deutsch