Huttese

TC-70: The Hutt’s Protocol Droid

With the release of the seventh and final season of The Clone Wars animated show upon us I thought it would be appropriate, as part of my protocol droid series, to recognize a protocol droid that made its debut in the The Clone Wars. To that end, I could think of no better droid to highlight than TC-70, a TC-series protocol droid with feminine programming which as Jabba the Hutt’s translator.

As you undoubtedly already know, before The Clone Wars show debuted in October 2008 it was preceded by The Clone Wars film which was released in August 2008. And it was in this film where TC-70 was first introduced to the Star Wars canon, standing next to Jabba the Hutt in a hologram (see featured image) and ensuring listeners – in the movie and in theaters – could understand what the crime lord was saying as he spoke in his native Huttese. Moreover, what makes TC-70 all the more special – and I guarantee 99.9% of you are unaware of this – is that “she” is the very first character to speak in the The Clone Wars franchise following the introductory narration. Feel free to share this unnecessarily specific bit of Star Wars trivia with others, and/or use it to establish yourself as the dominant Star Wars fan in your group of friends.

: TC-70 stands next to Jabba the Hutt.
Photo Credit – The Clone Wars Season 3, Episode 4: “Sphere of Influence”

Following “her” role in The Clone Wars movie, TC-70 also went on to appear in a handful of episodes in Season 3 of The Clone Wars show. While these episodes, and the film, are the only instances where TC-70 shows up in The Clone Wars, “she” does make a rather minor appearance in another Star Wars story. In Marvel’s Star Wars 15, TC-70 pops-up in a few panels, again translating for Jabba, this time as the crime lord speaks with the Wookiee bounty hunter Black Krrsantan. Considering Star Wars 15 takes place in the year 10 BBY, and TC-70 made “her” in-universe debut in 22 BBY, it is comforting to know that the protocol droid was able to stay in Jabba’s good graces for at least twelve years. Then again, given what we know about Jabba the Hutt and his temper, it is safe to assume that at some point after her appearance in Star Wars 15, TC-70 found herself on the wrong end of Jabba’s rage.

Check out these other posts about random protocol droids in Star Wars:

U-3PO: The Other Protocol Droid

K-3PO: The Dead Protocol Droid

E-3PO: The Rude Protocol Droid

TC-14: The Federation Protocol Droid

R-3PO: The Red Protocol Droid

AP-5: The Singing Protocol Droid

4A-R2: The Pirate Protocol Droid

4-LOM: The Bounty Hunting Protocol Droid

E-3PO: The Rude Protocol Droid

The moment in The Empire Strikes Back is brief but memorable, a short exchange between protocol droids. Having just landed on Cloud City, and meeting Lando Calrissian for the first time, Han Solo, Princess Leia, Chewbacca, and C-3PO follow Calrissian through the halls of the atmospheric metropolis. As they all turn a corner, a door on the right opens and standing before C-3PO is a droid that looks similar to him, another protocol droid: E-3PO (first identified by name in the Star Wars Customizable Card Game). Their conversation goes like this…

C-3PO: “Oh, nice to see a familiar face.”
E-3PO: “E chu ta.”
C-3PO: “How rude!”

And, yeah, that’s it. Like I said, the moment is brief, and as E-3PO walks-off, C-3PO goes on to get himself shot by stormtroopers. Where E-3PO goes once exiting the scene is unknown, this short appearance and one-liner being it’s singular moment to shine in the film, doing so by jumping on the C-3PO insult wagon. It is worth remembering that up to this point in The Empire Strikes Back, our favorite protocol droid has been the butt of a number of jokes in the movie, primarily due to his penchant for annoying those around him…especially Han Solo. I won’t list these moments as you should be familiar with them (if not, go watch the movie?), but with these moments in mind we can all pretty easily understand why C-3PO, when he literally comes face-to-face with another protocol droid, would say it is “nice to see a familiar face.” That E-3PO instead reacts by being rude is just fantaaaaaaaastic, a sign that C-3PO doesn’t just annoy his human allies, but instantaneously annoys other droids just by speaking.

But what does this Huttese phrase which E-3PO levels, “E chu ta“, actually mean? More importantly, does it even matter? The basic fact is that it is clearly an insult, a form of Huttese curse, and it works even better without knowing what it “officially” means. The imagination is more than capable of filling in the blank. And since that’s the case, I will just offer what I like to believe the “rude” E-3PO is saying…

C-3PO: “Oh, nice to see a familiar face.”
E-3PO: “Eat shit.”
C-3PO: “How rude!”

You gotta admit that “E chu ta” does kinda sound like “Eat shit.” 😉

Check out these other posts about random protocol droids in Star Wars:

U-3PO: The Other Protocol Droid

K-3PO: The Dead Protocol Droid

4A-R2: The Pirate Protocol Droid

4-LOM: The Bounty Hunting Protocol Droid

The Imperial Talker Presents: Hutt Week

Welcome to Hutt Week, Pedunkee Mufkin!!!

After the success of Ewok Week, I knew it was only going to be a matter of time before I switched things up once again and dedicated another week to a species in the Star Wars galaxy. Welp, that week has finally arrived.

It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to Hutt Week. For the entire week, my focus will be on the slimy pieces of worm-ridden filth that dominate the criminal underworld in the Star Wars galaxy. Naturally, Jabba the Hutt (pictured above) will be our mascot for the week, but he isn’t the only Hutt who will be profiled or discussed. As the week progresses, I will be sharing a number of wide-ranging posts I have written on the Hutts, but also have some exciting contributions from fans of Star Wars/The Imperial Talker to share with y’all as well. And, if you haven’t contributed some Fan Art or a Hutt Haiku but would like to do so, feel free to contact me!

: “Hutt Week” in Huttese

Ultimately, you should think of Hutt Week as an open forum, an opportunity to engage with not just my thoughts on the Hutts, but to share your own with the Star Wars community. I encourage and invite you to comment on the posts, to send me your #HuttWeek thoughts on Twitter and/or Facebook, and if nothing else, to just kick back and have fun thinking about the Hutts for an entire week.

Oh, and while you kick back, be sure to enjoy the theme song for Hutt Week – Jabba Flow.

Enjoy Hutt Week and May the Force be with You!

Jeff – The Imperial Talker

Check out these Hutt Week posts:

Hutts: Galactic Gangsters

Hutt Week: “Cute” Jabba the Hutt Merchandise (by Jenmarie from Anakin and His Angel)

Jabba the (CGI) Hutt

Why Ziro’s My Hero (by Andrew – @AndrewinBelfast)

A Man in Debt to a Hutt (by Michael Miller)

Hutt Haiku Poems

The Hutts of Mataou

Hutt Profile: Gardulla