Planet Stop for Repairs/The Enemy Within the Mind

I didn't recall this episode when I returned to Voltron as an adult.  But the Dairugger version I really enjoyed.  Maybe I'll explain why . . .

Planet Stop for Repairs

The Explorer is in space.  On the bridge, Hawkins is looking over Sparks the red, who says there is nothing ahead.  Then Hawkins gets uncharacteristically angry, saying the Drules are out there, waiting to pounce.

On a dark'n'stormy planet, a Drule fleet is on a lake, getting zapped by lightning.  Repair pods hover to fix damage.  One of Nerok's "robots" (I can't take this seriously) tells him that the rest of the "robot" crew want to go home.  Nerok has a wager with Brak to destroy the Voltron force.

Back on the Explorer, Jeff, Crick, and Cliff all take turns trying to talk Hawkins into using Voltron to take a preemptive strike to the Drule home planet/  Hawkins, um, disagrees.  And there's the awesome line where Crick's Michael Bell-provided accent makes "pack up and go home" sound like "fuck off and go home."

On the bridge, Newley is getting a distress call from planet Itlan.  And then they discover their engines are jammed.  They're caught in a centrifugal force field.  Ooo-kay.  They're going to be forced to make a landing for repairs.

Then we get the Voltron force in the lounge talkin' nonsense to sort of propel the plot but to basically fill the scene.

Newley and the chief engineer (?) look at the damaged engine.  In Hawkins' voice, the chief engineer says they should send the Voltron force to investigate the planet.

Back in the lounge Hutch objects.  And we get more filler dialogue.

On the bridge, they approach the planet and suddenly hear the distress call like they hadn't just discussed it a couple of scenes ago.

Jeff and the air team looks out the window at the planet.

Sparks figures out that the distress call is Drule.  Hawkins starts to run off the bridge to stop the teams' launch, but the air team is already spaceborne.  He calls Jeff to warn them that it's the Drules who are on the planet.

Nerok's XO tells him that a forward team has launched.  Nerok decides to wait until the Explorer lands.

Jeff sees the ships and reports back.

Nerok says he'll let them look, and wait for the command ship to land.

Jeff somehow recognizes the ships as Nerok's.

Nerok orders the robeast to be prepared.

The air team lands, and Jeff tells them they should attack.  Newley and Hawkins discuss what to do--are they really marooned?  Is it a trap?  Hey, let's use Voltron to force their hand!

The Explorer makes planetfall right across the bay from Nerok's ships.

Nerok's XO tells him that Hazar has ordered no hostilities.  Nerok says he has a bet with Brack to uphold.

The Explorer splashes down, and Newley tells them to be ready for hostilities.  We see footage of a repair team going to repair the engine, and Newley's voice orders some support team to fortify a forward bulkhead.  Wha-?

Back in the Drule headquarters, all of the fleet commanders are gathered before Hazar/  Brack argues--and this is the first time we hear of th eplight of the Drule homeworld.  Brack says the planet is "crumbling away" and due to explode.  Guards take him away.  Hazar takes a vote, and they're in favor of Nerok's plan.  Hazar bows to the vote (I'm sure this causes his own parted to grumble and whine for being 'weak' and not somehow challenging the democratic process).

Nerok gasses about his plan some more.  The Explorer can't raise them, and everyone is suspicious.  We then see the repair team, and the dialogue weirdly now acknowledges that they're repairing the engines.  Sort of.  Hawkins goes to the observation hall to look at Nerok's ships.  The team blathers about what's (not) going on.  The repair team repairs.  Hawkins watches.

Suddenly Nerok's fleet launches and a red alert is called.  The teams launch.  Nerok calls the Explorer and tries to goad them into attacking.  Jeff orders Voltron formed.  Nerok taunts them, then launches another Invid-designed robeast.

Voltron forms the blazing sword.  Hawkins holds them back from attacking.  The robeast approaches.  Nerok's fleet hangs.  Voltron stands there with his sword.  It's a standoff.

Finally, the robeast just passes over Voltron, coming very close to him, and then flies away.  The rest of Nerok's fleet also withdraws.  Voltron and the Explorer crew

Still on the stormy planet surface, the Explorer is floating while they repair the engines.  Or whatever they're doing.

The team leaders meet Hawkins in the observation corridor.  He says the robeast was only programmed to attack if attacked himself.  Then we get the "Votlron is great" speech.

The Enemy within the Mind

This is the episode where, when I was watching Voltron on DVD for the first time, I started to get the idea that maybe WEP didn't have access to translations.  Making changes in the dialogue to establish a link with the other series, and to minimize/explain away violence--those changes usually make sense.  Changes when the dialogue doesn't reflect the footage, and doesn't really do anything except fill time--that makes me think that WEP had no translations and no time.  And too many damn writers.

We open on the surface of the planet dark'n'stormy, to see lighning damage a Galveston destroyer.  Lafitte is standing in the gallery beneath the bridge.  His XO appears and tells him that the frontline headquarters is order them to leave.  Lafitte protests that a ship has been immobilized by the storm; the response is to abandon it.  Lafitte is angry; the planet could turn out to be usuable.  Outside, the damaged ship's fire is extenguished and they begin repairs.  Lafitte receives word that the Earth survey force is coming their way.

On the Rugger Guard, the Rugger team leads all take turns trying to convince Ise that they should do something about Galveston.  Ise listens, and then calmly tears all three of them new assholes--their job is the star map, not fighting.

An alarm sounds, and Ise arrives at the bridge.  Their propulsion levels are dropping.  They must stop the main engine to check it.  In the engine room, we see engineers cut the mains and switch to auxiliary power.

Nagano rushes into the lounge, telling everyone that the ship is running on sub-engines.  Nobody knows nothing.

Asimov is in the engine room, and the engineer tells him he wants to set down to examine the engines more fully.  Aki, Keats, and Walter catch Asimov outside the engine room and he tells them that nothing's wrong and they should go about their business.

Nagano is mad.  Aki broods.  I sense a pattern.

The bridge crew detects an unmapped planet ahead.  Asmiov decides that they can try to land.  The Aki team is scrambled to explore the planet.  Aki stares at the planet through the gallery and broods.  The rest of the team convinces him to protest after they explore the planet.  On the bridge, one of the crewmembers sees that the air team hasn't launched.  Ise starts to charge off the bridge, but then the Air team mecha launch.

As they approach the planet, Patty says it's not like Aki to brood.  What?  He ALWAYS broods.

Lafitte gets word of the air team's approach and orders an alert.

The air team overflies the Galveston fleet.  Lafitte countermands an order to fire.  The team withdraws.  Lafitte knows they'll be back in force.  He is unsatisfied with the repair progress.

The team lands on the Rugger Guard.  Asimov wants to set down on the planet to inspect the engines.  Aki arrives on the bridge says there are 15 Galveston ships on the planet and they didn't react to the air team's flyover.  Asimov is in favor of talks.  And taking a change for repairs.

The Rugger Guard approaches the bay landing of Lafitte's fleet.  Lafitte's XO tells him of their communique--they have no desire to fight, and are landing only to inspect their engines.  Lafitte says to prepare for battle, but only to fight depending on what the Earth ship does.

The Rugger Guard lands and Asimov orders the repair crew.

At the Galveston frontline base, Barataria wants Teles to authorize them to back up Lafitte.  Barataria is ushered out.  Teles turns to his other captains.  Drake is hopeful that new options will appear if they manage to avoid fighting.  Gramont doesn't want the planet to go to the Earth's possession.  Teles maintains his "wait and see" policy.

Lafitte's XO tells him that they've received recall orders.  Lafitte is concerned that the men under his command will react badly to the nearness of the Earth fleet, and refuses to answer when they call.

Asimov and Ise debate the situation.  Ise thinks the Galveston fleet is just waiting for them to leave.

The repair crew has found space dust in the engines and begin cleaning.

Ise wonders if they're maybe waiting for reinforcements.

The Rugger team wonders what's going on.

Ise watching the Galveston fleet from the observation corridor as the repair crew starts work.  Then the fleet suddenly lifts off and the Rugger team is scrambled.

Lafitte sees the mecha launched, and he calls the Rugger Guard.  He says they've completed their repairs and are leaving, and demands to know why they're being attacked.  Ise is shocked.

Meanwhile, Aki'n'team forms Dairugger.

Lafitte is incensed.  He tells Ise that they are withdrawing, but if they want a fight, they've got one.  He launches the battle machine.  Aki forms the Rugger sword and plunges into battle.  Ise holds him back, and calls Lafitte, claiming this is all a misunderstanding. Aki pulls back, while Lafitte and his XO watch the situation.  It's a standoff.  Ise is adamant that Dairugger not attack.

Let me just break away here and point out that the scene direction in this series is far more sophisticated that in Golion.  More experience?  More time?  Better budget?  No idea.  But I remarks during the episode with the 500 robeasts and their field trip to planet Nuclon that the scene changes were fast and furious.  That's basically the lower limit for an average Dairugger episode.

Anyway.  The Galveston fleet leaves.  Ise is frustrated at how close he came to destroying the one chance with peace with Galveston.  The three leaders of the teams seem to brood, and then we get a weird sequence of Aki running on the deck in the rain to the sound of strange, echoey heartbeats.