OK, so here is my analysis. At least the initial one. I mean, I can't just watch both American and Japanese versions back to back and then not do some sort of an overview of how I feel they compare, can I?
I start with what I watched most recently, the U.S. only "second season" of lion Voltron. If you read more than a couple sentences of my episode synopses, well, you can tell I didn't like them very much. It's not (at least, I don't think it is) merely an otaku attitude of "the Japanese version is better." The animation was subpar and confusing, the episode stories were full of 80's animation stock plots, and the pervading attitude was different, like they had to shoehorn some "moral of the story" into the plots. Of course, that's more or less a function of western animation in the 80's (that's why G.I. Joe had the "and knowing is half the battle" stuff at the end of every episode).
But the seasons of Voltron adapted from the anime were different, partly because, well, anime didn't have the same constraints. But there were other differences, too. You can see a sharp contrast between the way American animation was approached and the way Japanese studios operated. Both Dairugger and Golion had long-term story arcs to which most episodes contributed. Plot points established in one episode appeared consistently in subsequent episodes. I think the planning and preproduction stages for anime series were much longer.
In American animation, (and in live action weekly television, as well), the production was much more rushed. Each episode was pretty much self-contained simply because the showrunners didn't have a lot of control over the order in which episodes got aired (just look at the airdates of Vehicle Voltron in the DVD collections. Hoo, boy, was that random), Now, to its credit, the second season of Lion Voltron did have a story arc from beginning to end--the Voltron force on Arus was now a part of Galaxy Garrison as a whole, and Zarkon was gradually escalating his efforts against Arus, recruiting Merla and the pirates of the Rogue Galaxy. Tensions between Lotor and Zarkon drove Lotor to rebel, "turn good," and then the whole thing got copped out when it was just a ruse.
Well, at least they tried. Unfortunately, a lot of plot points couldn't just be carried over from episode to episode. Lotor's turn, for example, had to be re-established a couple of different times, and there were some episodes where they sort of even forgot he had turned good the day before.
As for the rest of the series--well, I've mentioned it before, I'm partial to Vehicle Voltron. I can tell you exactly why. When I was 8, my father watched Star Trek II with me on VHS and took me to see Star Trek III in the theaters (this was 1984). The same station that would end up airing Voltron started syndicating Star Trek again. I was totally hooked. That summer, we also got cable, and the one premium channel we had was the Disney channel. There was a lot of witches and princesses going on there, and my sister and I, believe it or not, fought over stuff like Cinderella vs. "City on the Edge of Forever."
Then one day after school, I happened to turn on the television and see these robot lions fighting a weird bat monster (this was the fourth episode, where they form Voltron for the first time). That. Was. Awesome. I watched in religiously, for probably another two weeks. Then, suddenly, Voltron was different. Instead of the lions, it was . . . cars? In space? Car FLYING in space? But I hung on, waiting for the lions to reappear. But, these guys were exploring. In space. This was like Star Trek. But it was like Voltron, too. Hell, it WAS Voltron.
So, you see, I got into vehicle Voltron over the Lions because, at 8, I was much more into hard(ish) Sci-Fi than fantasy with witches and princesses who lived in castles and talked to mice. I still liked Lion Voltron. I just have always preferred Vehicle Voltron.
Of course, I understand why the Lions are more popular. For one thing, watching Vehicle Voltron as an adult, the scripting and dialogue seems . . . vexed. Too many characters, too many subplots, too few voice actors, and too many obvious deaths. The poor show got butchered. Plus, 5 main heroes vs. the 15 of vehicle Voltron--hell, it was easier to get into. Keith, Lance, Hunk, the Princess--they all got some focus episodes, we all got to know them and their archetypes pretty well. We know Wolo got scared in the woods once when he was a kid, we know Chip misses Pidge, we know Cliff grew up on a farm and that Crick and Cinda are from a water planet. We know that Crick's psychic, Cliff is the reasonable one (except for when he isn't) and Jeff is the hothead (except for when he isn't). Beyond that, hell, I still can't connect every character to their ship. We all know who belongs to what lion. It was harder to get the kind of connection to the Vehicle teams that we kids developed with the Lion force.
Same thing with the villains. Zarkon was the big bad, Haggar was the witch who came up with most of the plans--and the robeasts--Yurak was the dragon at first, then Lotor was a much more serious threat, all the way to the end. Then, we have the Drules. Hazar's the big bad--until he turns sympathetic. Then . . . Hell, even the World Events writers didn't keep all the names straight. Malvor/Mongo, Dirka/whatever his name was the second time he appeared . . . It was confusion. Add to that the fact the episodes were aired all out of order and the dialogue was rewritten to break up the very strict continuity that was in the Japanese version. Man, what a mess.
On the other hand, I really think Dairugger was superior to Golion. Golion was much more formulaic (and I think that was the intent, actually), and the animation was uneven in many episodes, as though they were pressed for time. The sound editing was . . . weird. Like the people choosing the sound effects couldn't get a lot of their tapes to work,. so they were stuck with forcing weird sounds in and hoping we'd just pretend they were right. Dairugger had much, much better sound design and far more sophisticated direction--check out some of the scene transitions in just nay random episode. As the big fleet engagements got, well, bigger and happened more often, they did resort to a lot of stock footage. However, the mechanical designs were pretty solid, and they used all the different ship designs for both sides pretty consistently.
Golion, I think, was kind of an experiment. "Hey, let's make a giant robot--who's mystical instead of technological. And let's use a lot of European imagery instead of Japanese." I mean, Altea was basically Jolly ol' England, Heracles was Greek, Jarre was straight out of Sinbad (a European view of the medieval middle east), and so on. It also had this strange quality of a Chinese folk tale, with the ruthless emperor, having conquered all he could see, being bored in the first episode, only to fall when his own ruthlessness turns against him. So I think Golion took many more risks.
Dairugger, on the other hand, fell back on some good old well-established anime tropes. The Rugger Guard is no Space Battleship Yamato, but the overall story arc borrows quite liberally from Yamato: an Earth fleet fighting against a succession of alien commanders (who are all basically humans with funny skin pigment). And where the Gamilon commanders of Yamato all had names reminiscent of Nazi German generals, the Galveston captains were all named after pirates. (This might be a common thing in anime of the time, but I just haven't seen enough other examples to make the connection).
My main plan was to compare Voltron and its Japanese source series, and do the same with Voltron's closest contemporary, Robotech. While I fully intend to do that, I've discovered that Star Blazers is available on Hulu. I don't have access to SBY in the orignal Japanese, whether the full series or the movie (I watched the movie on Netflix a year ago, but I no longer subscribe to that giant money whore), so I'm only going to watch and analyze Star Blazers. I think it's a good idea, though, especially since both Dairugger and Macross borrow/pay homage to it so strongly. So that's my next project here.
Showing posts with label Dairugger XV. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dairugger XV. Show all posts
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Sunday, October 9, 2011
The Drules Surrender/Fierce Battle in the Underground City
The Drules Surrender
Wind whips the surface of the Drule homeworld. The Voltron teams form their subunits. The Stratofighter leads the way through the waves of Drule fighters and into a tunnel into the underground capital, with the robeast trudging after thim. This part of the city is deserted and crumbling. There's no sign of Hazar or the rebels/ The reach the newer part of the city and the military center. Artillery opens fire on the Air Team. Cliff and Crick arrive as the Startofighter evades missiles. With all the teams present, they form Voltron.
They plunge into the artillery fire, but get sneak-attacked by the robeast that was following them. Voltron lands to deal with the robeast, but another emerges from the ground.
On the surface, the Alliance fleets are pushing forward through the Drule defenses. Destroying the last of the defenders, the Alliance ships enter the underground city through massive tunnels.
Voltron takes to the air to evade the two robeast. The claw-equipped robeast grabs Voltron from behind while the gunpod beast fires on him. Then the Alliance ships distract the gunpod beast long enough for Voltron to destroy the claw-beast with the electrothermo blast, and then they pincushion the gunfighter. Hawkins tells Jeff to break into the next level, and the fleet proceeds to destroy the military center.
In the Drule Council palace, Throk vows never to surrender. Then he receives word of Hazar with the rebels AND Voltron closing in. An explosion shakes the palace, and one of Throk's officers arrives, warning him of how close the rebels are.
The rebels are right at the palace gates, fighting the dwindling number of guards. Hazar is leading them from an armored car.
Voltron is fighting through infantry and tanks, and another robeast emerges--only to be destroyed by the raybeam whip.
The rebels enter the palace, and two soldiers reach Mozak. He tells them that the war council has escaped.
Voltron is dodging beams from two robeasts on different city levels. A third one closes in for hand to hand, but Voltron knocks it back and dstroys one of the beam beasts. He forms the blazing sword, and the other two close with their own swords. The sword fight doesn't last long.
Rebels are standing outside the war council building and Hazar is watching outside as the war council escapes in an air car. Dorma arrives and tells Hazar that the war council is meeting at Zeppo's palace.
At Zeppo's palace, Zeppo wants to face them, while his three remaining councilors urge him to flee to the planet Diva. Zeppo decides to remain. A scout returns from the battle, exhausted and wounded. Hazar has them surrounded. They try one more time to urge him to leave, but he decides to speak to Zeppo.
The rebels are charging the remaining resistance from the Drule military. Hazar urges them to only use "stun guns." Then then we see soldiers fall amidst a welter of blood-spray.
Guards form a final circle of defense around Zeppo as the three war councilors leave. Hazar approaches the throne room as Throk and his cronies take an elevator deeper into the city. The rebels blast into the throne room and gun down the outnumbered troops. Hazar faces Zeppo, and Zeppo promises that he'll never make war again if Hazar allows him to escape.
The commercial conceals some serious cuts.
A plumed robeast with a lightsaber explodes out of the ground and flees--straight to Voltron. Throk and his cronies turn the robeast around and try to flee. Voltron takes off after it. They knock it out of the air, and pursue him on the ground. Then we cut to a totally different shot of Throk. The robeast throws its sword at Voltron, and Voltron . . . lets him go. Heh.
Zeppo and Hazar are still talking. Hazar borrds that he should imprison Zeppo, but he promised freedom for everyone. Then the rebels start celebrating and throw down their weapons.
Dorma proclaims Hazar the new emperor, but he refuses. AND WE SEE ZEPPO DEAD ON HIS THRONE FOR A MOMENT! In a similar shot, we pan over wrecked Drule capital ships, fighters, robeasts, AND VOLTRON STANDING OVER THE ROBEAST THEY JUST DESTROYED while Jeff talks about living with the Drules in peace. Jeff also wonders what's going to happen with the people of Drule.
Cliff points out that a large crowd is approaching. Jeff is all set to continue fighting, and then Crick sees the white flag. The Drule civilians are surrendering. Jeff tells them to get back to the Explorer. Then we cut to Voltron flying out of the base from several episodes ago, and Zeppo gives us a voiceover of his new plans for conquest over some recycled ship launch footage. Then we get more recycled footage of Jeff and Hawkins on the bridge looking at the weird planetoid and talk about ensuring the peace on Drule. Then, because they CUT HALF THE EPISODE FOOTAGE AND NEED MORE FILLER, we get the full launch sequence. *Garg*. AND THEN THEY FORM THE SUBUNITS. And Optimus Prime tells us it's to be continued.
Fierce Battle in the Underground City
We get a quick recap of the battle at the end of the last episode, and then the Air Rugger is flying through ruins before they find an inhabited looking military facility another level down. Artillery opens up on them, and Keats and Walter arrive and warn them that a battle attacker is on their tail. They form Dairugger so he can force his way through the defenses. They are hit hard by the battle attacker, but Dairruger pulls out of the fall. When he lands to face the mecha, another battle attacker emerges from the ground.
The Alliance fleet destroys the last resistance of the Galveston forces, and Asimov orders them to take the tunnels underground. Dairugger is struggling with the battle attackers until the Allied Fleet arrives and evens the score. The rwo battle attackers fall to Dairuggers secondary weapons. Ise orders them ahead. Dairugger punches through a level while the fleet levels the military facility.
In the war council chambers, Caponero is informed that communications are seriously disrupted-and that the planet is about to collapse. An adjutant suggests they evacuate, but he orders them to communicate with messengers. Then Staff Officer Derain arrives to tell him that Teles is arriving with a band of guerillas. The guerillas fight through the council guards as Sirk and Teles organize them from an armored car.
Dairugger enters another level of the cities and is attacked by tanks. Aki says RESISTANCE IS FUTILE and curbstomps them with the whip. Another battle attacker emerges, and they curbstop HIM with the whip.
The guerillas enter the war council chambers and free Tes.
Dairugger is charging a pair of battle attackers bombarding him from higher levels. A third one tries to fight close up, but Dairugger quickly finishes all three, fighting the last two with the Rugger Sword. This is clearly not the Galveston's first string.
Teles watches as Caponero escapes in an air car, and Sirk tells him that they've rescued Tes.
At the imperial palace, Caponero urges Corsair to flee. Corsair refuses to surrender. He resolves to go down with the planet. A wounded soldier arrives and tells them that the rebels are closing in. Corsair is resolute in not leaving.
The guerrillas fight through the last of the palace resistance. Teles and Sirk are fighting alongside them as they charge the palace. Corsair dismisses Caponero, Gomez, and Ventura, and Derain vows to protect the emperor. The guards form one final desperate circle around the emperor. The guerrillas fight their way to the audience chamber aas Caponer and his cronies escape in an elevator.
Corsair waits as the sounds of fighting come closer. The guerrillas overwhelm the remaining guards, and Derain is severely wounded. Caponero waits for Teles to arrive. Derain tries to shoot Teles, but a guerrilla shoots him again. Teles prepares to shoot the emperor (now that's a switch from Voltron!!)
Elsewhere, a battle attacker bursts out of the ground and has the misfortune of flying over Dairugger. Walter sees it, and the battle attacker is shown to be carrying Caponero and his cronies. Dairugger takes off after it, but it tries to evade. Caponero is set on escaping, though his copilots urge him to stand and fight. He throws his lightsaber at Dairugger, who ducks and throws his one sword, and then Caponero, Gomez, and Ventura die in flames.
Corsair and Teles are facing each other down, and the emperor backs away. Derain leaps to his feet one last time and shoots the gun out of Teles' hand. Sirk shoots Derain, who convulses and finally kills Corsair. Teles closes the dead emperor's eyes, and then starts his guerrilla troops a-cheerin'. That's a total difference in tone between Teles and Hazar. Galveston soldiers take off their helmets, drop their weapons, and surrender.
Sirk congratulates Teles, and he says they have to end the war with the Galaxy Alliance before any more time passes.
Dairugger stands amidst the wreckage of Galveston war machines. Aki reflects, and we see the corpses of Caponero and his cronies as Aki wonders who they were. Then Walter shows a crowd approaching. Aki begins to charge, but Keats identifies them as Galveston citizens, with white flags.
Wind whips the surface of the Drule homeworld. The Voltron teams form their subunits. The Stratofighter leads the way through the waves of Drule fighters and into a tunnel into the underground capital, with the robeast trudging after thim. This part of the city is deserted and crumbling. There's no sign of Hazar or the rebels/ The reach the newer part of the city and the military center. Artillery opens fire on the Air Team. Cliff and Crick arrive as the Startofighter evades missiles. With all the teams present, they form Voltron.
They plunge into the artillery fire, but get sneak-attacked by the robeast that was following them. Voltron lands to deal with the robeast, but another emerges from the ground.
On the surface, the Alliance fleets are pushing forward through the Drule defenses. Destroying the last of the defenders, the Alliance ships enter the underground city through massive tunnels.
Voltron takes to the air to evade the two robeast. The claw-equipped robeast grabs Voltron from behind while the gunpod beast fires on him. Then the Alliance ships distract the gunpod beast long enough for Voltron to destroy the claw-beast with the electrothermo blast, and then they pincushion the gunfighter. Hawkins tells Jeff to break into the next level, and the fleet proceeds to destroy the military center.
In the Drule Council palace, Throk vows never to surrender. Then he receives word of Hazar with the rebels AND Voltron closing in. An explosion shakes the palace, and one of Throk's officers arrives, warning him of how close the rebels are.
The rebels are right at the palace gates, fighting the dwindling number of guards. Hazar is leading them from an armored car.
Voltron is fighting through infantry and tanks, and another robeast emerges--only to be destroyed by the raybeam whip.
The rebels enter the palace, and two soldiers reach Mozak. He tells them that the war council has escaped.
Voltron is dodging beams from two robeasts on different city levels. A third one closes in for hand to hand, but Voltron knocks it back and dstroys one of the beam beasts. He forms the blazing sword, and the other two close with their own swords. The sword fight doesn't last long.
Rebels are standing outside the war council building and Hazar is watching outside as the war council escapes in an air car. Dorma arrives and tells Hazar that the war council is meeting at Zeppo's palace.
At Zeppo's palace, Zeppo wants to face them, while his three remaining councilors urge him to flee to the planet Diva. Zeppo decides to remain. A scout returns from the battle, exhausted and wounded. Hazar has them surrounded. They try one more time to urge him to leave, but he decides to speak to Zeppo.
The rebels are charging the remaining resistance from the Drule military. Hazar urges them to only use "stun guns." Then then we see soldiers fall amidst a welter of blood-spray.
Guards form a final circle of defense around Zeppo as the three war councilors leave. Hazar approaches the throne room as Throk and his cronies take an elevator deeper into the city. The rebels blast into the throne room and gun down the outnumbered troops. Hazar faces Zeppo, and Zeppo promises that he'll never make war again if Hazar allows him to escape.
The commercial conceals some serious cuts.
A plumed robeast with a lightsaber explodes out of the ground and flees--straight to Voltron. Throk and his cronies turn the robeast around and try to flee. Voltron takes off after it. They knock it out of the air, and pursue him on the ground. Then we cut to a totally different shot of Throk. The robeast throws its sword at Voltron, and Voltron . . . lets him go. Heh.
Zeppo and Hazar are still talking. Hazar borrds that he should imprison Zeppo, but he promised freedom for everyone. Then the rebels start celebrating and throw down their weapons.
Dorma proclaims Hazar the new emperor, but he refuses. AND WE SEE ZEPPO DEAD ON HIS THRONE FOR A MOMENT! In a similar shot, we pan over wrecked Drule capital ships, fighters, robeasts, AND VOLTRON STANDING OVER THE ROBEAST THEY JUST DESTROYED while Jeff talks about living with the Drules in peace. Jeff also wonders what's going to happen with the people of Drule.
Cliff points out that a large crowd is approaching. Jeff is all set to continue fighting, and then Crick sees the white flag. The Drule civilians are surrendering. Jeff tells them to get back to the Explorer. Then we cut to Voltron flying out of the base from several episodes ago, and Zeppo gives us a voiceover of his new plans for conquest over some recycled ship launch footage. Then we get more recycled footage of Jeff and Hawkins on the bridge looking at the weird planetoid and talk about ensuring the peace on Drule. Then, because they CUT HALF THE EPISODE FOOTAGE AND NEED MORE FILLER, we get the full launch sequence. *Garg*. AND THEN THEY FORM THE SUBUNITS. And Optimus Prime tells us it's to be continued.
Fierce Battle in the Underground City
We get a quick recap of the battle at the end of the last episode, and then the Air Rugger is flying through ruins before they find an inhabited looking military facility another level down. Artillery opens up on them, and Keats and Walter arrive and warn them that a battle attacker is on their tail. They form Dairugger so he can force his way through the defenses. They are hit hard by the battle attacker, but Dairruger pulls out of the fall. When he lands to face the mecha, another battle attacker emerges from the ground.
The Alliance fleet destroys the last resistance of the Galveston forces, and Asimov orders them to take the tunnels underground. Dairugger is struggling with the battle attackers until the Allied Fleet arrives and evens the score. The rwo battle attackers fall to Dairuggers secondary weapons. Ise orders them ahead. Dairugger punches through a level while the fleet levels the military facility.
In the war council chambers, Caponero is informed that communications are seriously disrupted-and that the planet is about to collapse. An adjutant suggests they evacuate, but he orders them to communicate with messengers. Then Staff Officer Derain arrives to tell him that Teles is arriving with a band of guerillas. The guerillas fight through the council guards as Sirk and Teles organize them from an armored car.
Dairugger enters another level of the cities and is attacked by tanks. Aki says RESISTANCE IS FUTILE and curbstomps them with the whip. Another battle attacker emerges, and they curbstop HIM with the whip.
The guerillas enter the war council chambers and free Tes.
Dairugger is charging a pair of battle attackers bombarding him from higher levels. A third one tries to fight close up, but Dairugger quickly finishes all three, fighting the last two with the Rugger Sword. This is clearly not the Galveston's first string.
Teles watches as Caponero escapes in an air car, and Sirk tells him that they've rescued Tes.
At the imperial palace, Caponero urges Corsair to flee. Corsair refuses to surrender. He resolves to go down with the planet. A wounded soldier arrives and tells them that the rebels are closing in. Corsair is resolute in not leaving.
The guerrillas fight through the last of the palace resistance. Teles and Sirk are fighting alongside them as they charge the palace. Corsair dismisses Caponero, Gomez, and Ventura, and Derain vows to protect the emperor. The guards form one final desperate circle around the emperor. The guerrillas fight their way to the audience chamber aas Caponer and his cronies escape in an elevator.
Corsair waits as the sounds of fighting come closer. The guerrillas overwhelm the remaining guards, and Derain is severely wounded. Caponero waits for Teles to arrive. Derain tries to shoot Teles, but a guerrilla shoots him again. Teles prepares to shoot the emperor (now that's a switch from Voltron!!)
Elsewhere, a battle attacker bursts out of the ground and has the misfortune of flying over Dairugger. Walter sees it, and the battle attacker is shown to be carrying Caponero and his cronies. Dairugger takes off after it, but it tries to evade. Caponero is set on escaping, though his copilots urge him to stand and fight. He throws his lightsaber at Dairugger, who ducks and throws his one sword, and then Caponero, Gomez, and Ventura die in flames.
Corsair and Teles are facing each other down, and the emperor backs away. Derain leaps to his feet one last time and shoots the gun out of Teles' hand. Sirk shoots Derain, who convulses and finally kills Corsair. Teles closes the dead emperor's eyes, and then starts his guerrilla troops a-cheerin'. That's a total difference in tone between Teles and Hazar. Galveston soldiers take off their helmets, drop their weapons, and surrender.
Sirk congratulates Teles, and he says they have to end the war with the Galaxy Alliance before any more time passes.
Dairugger stands amidst the wreckage of Galveston war machines. Aki reflects, and we see the corpses of Caponero and his cronies as Aki wonders who they were. Then Walter shows a crowd approaching. Aki begins to charge, but Keats identifies them as Galveston citizens, with white flags.
Friday, October 7, 2011
The Drule's World Cracks Up/The Struggle for Galveston
Throk is giving the Drule people a public service announcement. "There is nothing wrong. We are all OK. Would you like to know more?" Meanwhile, Dorma and one of the resistance fighters are sneaking through the city.
The Garrison fleet is closing in, and they want to land in order to help the Drule people. Throk responds by launching another fleet. Sparks sees the ships coming, and reports that the Drules are demanding they leave. We haven't seen the full Voltron launch sequence in a while, so we get it now as Sparks blathers on about the composition of the Drule fleet. They form the subunits right away.
Professor Page tells Hawkins that the Drules had buried lazon waste under the surface, and then technobabbles about why it's bad.
The Drule fleet launches fighters, and the Voltron force engages them. Throk watches the fighting in his control center. One of his captains suggests a retreat. The rebels are damaging more installations.
In the city, Dorma and her resistance group blow up tanks on patrol. Explosions light up the underground. Dorma is taking reports in a communications vehicle, and the palace guard is in a shambles. She decides to free Hazar now. Baki brings Hazar a transmitter hidden in an egg. Hazar is standing at the window, watching the explosions. Then Baki leaves, and Hazar activiates the transmitter. Dorma and two other rebels use a grappling hook to climb the palace wall. They use grenades to cut a path through the "robot" guards and enter the palace. There's a lot of running through halls, and one of the guys gets "stunned in the legs," never mind the blood splatter on his chest they didn't cut fast enough. They make it to Hazar's quarters and kill the guards and break in.
Hazar looks grouchy. Guards are running around as Hazar, Dorma, and the resistance fighter run to the parking ramp and steal a car. They escape just as guards try to close the exit port.
Throk gets a call that Hazar escaped. The growls a lot at this news.
The Stratofighter is cutting its way through Drule fighters as the Explorer's fleet moves through the path they've cleared. The Drule captain orders the "purple raiders," which look just like all the other ships. The fighting is intense. Jeff tries a breakthrough, but gets cut off by more fighters. Hawkins urges Jeff to be careful about the potential breakup of the Drule planet. Jeff orders the teams to separate. Then they form Voltron. Volts makes his way through the fighters to the surface of the planet. Throk gloats and launches the "super raiders." Jeff forms the blazing sword. Next time we see Throk, he's seething. Yeah, they destroyed the ships. Then Throk deploys ground-based defenses that zero in on Voltron.
The team discusses the situations on the planet, and then they take AAA fire. Voltron uses the electro-thermo blast to take care of the emplacements. Throk deploys a trio of robeast. These three, with their similar designs and specialized weapons, were my favorites when I was a kid. One robeast has a sword and shield, one has a whip, and the third has a gunpod. Voltron fights the sword-beast, but the whip-beast ensares his arm. The third one opens fire and blows Voltron back into some wreckage. Jeff loses consciousness. The robeasts move in--and an Earthquake (Drule-quake?) opens crevasses. The robeasts and Voltron tumble in, and Voltron catches a ledge. Crick calls Jeff, and the third robeast fires down into the crevasse. Jeff awakens and Voltron makes it back to the surface. The robeast has a weird lobster tail for a left arm, and knocks Voltron around with it. A dust storm fouls their sensors, but the robeast can target throught it--right before it fires, they separate, and the robeast falls victim to another earthquake-opened crevasse. They fly towards the city.
Throk has a fit, and orders every reserve system they have activated. Fighters and tanks are deployed to meet the Voltron force. They reform the subunits and fight through the forces into a tunnel that leads to Air team to the underground city. The Land and Sea teams hold off the fighters, while the robeast pulls itself out of the crevasse and trudges towards the fighting again. Then Optimus Prime tells us it's TO BE CONTINUED.
The Struggle for Galveston
The propaganda bureau is working overtime to convince the citizens of Galveston that destroying the Earth fleet and invading Earth is the way to go. Sirk and one of her rebels are sneaking through the underground city, and the rebel calls the leadership hypocrites.
The Alliance fleet approaches, and Caponero deploys the Home Defense Fleet. Ships rise from the surface of Galveston to face the Earth fleet. Ise's radar operator warns him, and he deploys the Rugger teams. We get the long luanch sequence for one of the last times (I don't recall if this is the last time). They combine into their team subunits and spearhead the attack on Galveston.
Dr. Search calls Ise and shows what's happening on the Galveston planet--the Van Allen belt is breaking down, exposing the planet to radiation.
The Galveston fleet releases fighters as they close in. The Rugger team breaks through the front line.
Caponero orders one of his grizzled home fleet captains engage the main Earth fleet. He is then told that the rebels have attacked an armory.
In the underground city, the rebel forces are ambushing tank patrols. Bakke informs Sirk, in the communications vehicle, that palace guard levels have been reduced, and now is the time to break Teles out.
Bakke sneaks into the palace to bring Teles his dinner--with a transmitter egg. Sirk and two other rebels make their way past the guards and climb the palace wall with a grappling hook. Teles transmitter leads them to his room as they use a grenade to clear the guards and charge into the main complex. A guard kills one of the rebels while Sirk shoots him in turn. The two survivors find Teles' room, guarded by two. She and her companion shoot it out with the guards and win. They open the door to find Teles and Sirk gets emotional.
In the corridors, guards are running around chaotically. Sirk, Teles, and the other guerilla make it to a vehicle prepaed by Bakke--and the last guerilla gets shot. Teles apologizes to him and gets in the car.
Caponero is contacted by Captain Derain, who notifies him that Teles has escaped with the help of guerillas.
The Rugger teams are fighting to the main fleet. Captain Sezarky sends the homeworld defense fleet to concentrate their attack on the Rugger Guard. The fighting is intense. Ise orders Aki to leave the Rugger Guard and focus on getting to the planet. They form Dairugger. The fighting the follows looks a little strangely directed, like it's supposed to be on the surface or something. Keats then reminds Aki to leave the fighters and reach the planet. Caponero sees them coming and launches the second attack fleet. Dairugger forms the sword and literally cuts his way through them. Caponero mobilizes the third line of defense, static artillery emplacements. The crews watch as Dairugger closes in.
Aki, Keats and Walter are shocked at the damage done to the planet. They move in, and the artillery opens fire. Aki fires the miracle beam and wipes out the emplacement. Caponero deploys the battle attackers.
On the surface, Aki broadcasts and ultimatum to the Galveston leadership. Then the battle attackers emerge. The three mecha have Dairugger on the ropes with Aki knocked unconscious, but then an earthquake destroys three of them. Dairugger also falls into the crevasse, but Walter orders Chukker to grab the rocks. The remaining battle attacker starts firing on Dairugger with his gun pod. It actually succeeds in knocking Dairugger off, but Aki awakens in time to activate the anti-gravity jump.
Then a magnetic control disrupts Dairugger's controls, but the battle attacker isn't so battle affected. It ranges in on Dairugger and the 15 ships separate. The battle attacker seems almost resigned as another fissure opens up and it falls.
Caponero is informed that the Rugger teams are about to reach the underground city, but they can't form Dairugger in the magnetic storm. Caponero sends the mechanized forces out. Walter tells Aki to form the Air Rugger and take the tunnel to the underground city. The Land and Sea Ruggers destroy the mechanized forces and follow Air Rugger. The gun pod battle attacker emerges and trudges off after them.
Aki is in the underground city, and is shocked at how much the planet is collapsing, even down here.
The Garrison fleet is closing in, and they want to land in order to help the Drule people. Throk responds by launching another fleet. Sparks sees the ships coming, and reports that the Drules are demanding they leave. We haven't seen the full Voltron launch sequence in a while, so we get it now as Sparks blathers on about the composition of the Drule fleet. They form the subunits right away.
Professor Page tells Hawkins that the Drules had buried lazon waste under the surface, and then technobabbles about why it's bad.
The Drule fleet launches fighters, and the Voltron force engages them. Throk watches the fighting in his control center. One of his captains suggests a retreat. The rebels are damaging more installations.
In the city, Dorma and her resistance group blow up tanks on patrol. Explosions light up the underground. Dorma is taking reports in a communications vehicle, and the palace guard is in a shambles. She decides to free Hazar now. Baki brings Hazar a transmitter hidden in an egg. Hazar is standing at the window, watching the explosions. Then Baki leaves, and Hazar activiates the transmitter. Dorma and two other rebels use a grappling hook to climb the palace wall. They use grenades to cut a path through the "robot" guards and enter the palace. There's a lot of running through halls, and one of the guys gets "stunned in the legs," never mind the blood splatter on his chest they didn't cut fast enough. They make it to Hazar's quarters and kill the guards and break in.
Hazar looks grouchy. Guards are running around as Hazar, Dorma, and the resistance fighter run to the parking ramp and steal a car. They escape just as guards try to close the exit port.
Throk gets a call that Hazar escaped. The growls a lot at this news.
The Stratofighter is cutting its way through Drule fighters as the Explorer's fleet moves through the path they've cleared. The Drule captain orders the "purple raiders," which look just like all the other ships. The fighting is intense. Jeff tries a breakthrough, but gets cut off by more fighters. Hawkins urges Jeff to be careful about the potential breakup of the Drule planet. Jeff orders the teams to separate. Then they form Voltron. Volts makes his way through the fighters to the surface of the planet. Throk gloats and launches the "super raiders." Jeff forms the blazing sword. Next time we see Throk, he's seething. Yeah, they destroyed the ships. Then Throk deploys ground-based defenses that zero in on Voltron.
The team discusses the situations on the planet, and then they take AAA fire. Voltron uses the electro-thermo blast to take care of the emplacements. Throk deploys a trio of robeast. These three, with their similar designs and specialized weapons, were my favorites when I was a kid. One robeast has a sword and shield, one has a whip, and the third has a gunpod. Voltron fights the sword-beast, but the whip-beast ensares his arm. The third one opens fire and blows Voltron back into some wreckage. Jeff loses consciousness. The robeasts move in--and an Earthquake (Drule-quake?) opens crevasses. The robeasts and Voltron tumble in, and Voltron catches a ledge. Crick calls Jeff, and the third robeast fires down into the crevasse. Jeff awakens and Voltron makes it back to the surface. The robeast has a weird lobster tail for a left arm, and knocks Voltron around with it. A dust storm fouls their sensors, but the robeast can target throught it--right before it fires, they separate, and the robeast falls victim to another earthquake-opened crevasse. They fly towards the city.
Throk has a fit, and orders every reserve system they have activated. Fighters and tanks are deployed to meet the Voltron force. They reform the subunits and fight through the forces into a tunnel that leads to Air team to the underground city. The Land and Sea teams hold off the fighters, while the robeast pulls itself out of the crevasse and trudges towards the fighting again. Then Optimus Prime tells us it's TO BE CONTINUED.
The Struggle for Galveston
The propaganda bureau is working overtime to convince the citizens of Galveston that destroying the Earth fleet and invading Earth is the way to go. Sirk and one of her rebels are sneaking through the underground city, and the rebel calls the leadership hypocrites.
The Alliance fleet approaches, and Caponero deploys the Home Defense Fleet. Ships rise from the surface of Galveston to face the Earth fleet. Ise's radar operator warns him, and he deploys the Rugger teams. We get the long luanch sequence for one of the last times (I don't recall if this is the last time). They combine into their team subunits and spearhead the attack on Galveston.
Dr. Search calls Ise and shows what's happening on the Galveston planet--the Van Allen belt is breaking down, exposing the planet to radiation.
The Galveston fleet releases fighters as they close in. The Rugger team breaks through the front line.
Caponero orders one of his grizzled home fleet captains engage the main Earth fleet. He is then told that the rebels have attacked an armory.
In the underground city, the rebel forces are ambushing tank patrols. Bakke informs Sirk, in the communications vehicle, that palace guard levels have been reduced, and now is the time to break Teles out.
Bakke sneaks into the palace to bring Teles his dinner--with a transmitter egg. Sirk and two other rebels make their way past the guards and climb the palace wall with a grappling hook. Teles transmitter leads them to his room as they use a grenade to clear the guards and charge into the main complex. A guard kills one of the rebels while Sirk shoots him in turn. The two survivors find Teles' room, guarded by two. She and her companion shoot it out with the guards and win. They open the door to find Teles and Sirk gets emotional.
In the corridors, guards are running around chaotically. Sirk, Teles, and the other guerilla make it to a vehicle prepaed by Bakke--and the last guerilla gets shot. Teles apologizes to him and gets in the car.
Caponero is contacted by Captain Derain, who notifies him that Teles has escaped with the help of guerillas.
The Rugger teams are fighting to the main fleet. Captain Sezarky sends the homeworld defense fleet to concentrate their attack on the Rugger Guard. The fighting is intense. Ise orders Aki to leave the Rugger Guard and focus on getting to the planet. They form Dairugger. The fighting the follows looks a little strangely directed, like it's supposed to be on the surface or something. Keats then reminds Aki to leave the fighters and reach the planet. Caponero sees them coming and launches the second attack fleet. Dairugger forms the sword and literally cuts his way through them. Caponero mobilizes the third line of defense, static artillery emplacements. The crews watch as Dairugger closes in.
Aki, Keats and Walter are shocked at the damage done to the planet. They move in, and the artillery opens fire. Aki fires the miracle beam and wipes out the emplacement. Caponero deploys the battle attackers.
On the surface, Aki broadcasts and ultimatum to the Galveston leadership. Then the battle attackers emerge. The three mecha have Dairugger on the ropes with Aki knocked unconscious, but then an earthquake destroys three of them. Dairugger also falls into the crevasse, but Walter orders Chukker to grab the rocks. The remaining battle attacker starts firing on Dairugger with his gun pod. It actually succeeds in knocking Dairugger off, but Aki awakens in time to activate the anti-gravity jump.
Then a magnetic control disrupts Dairugger's controls, but the battle attacker isn't so battle affected. It ranges in on Dairugger and the 15 ships separate. The battle attacker seems almost resigned as another fissure opens up and it falls.
Caponero is informed that the Rugger teams are about to reach the underground city, but they can't form Dairugger in the magnetic storm. Caponero sends the mechanized forces out. Walter tells Aki to form the Air Rugger and take the tunnel to the underground city. The Land and Sea Ruggers destroy the mechanized forces and follow Air Rugger. The gun pod battle attacker emerges and trudges off after them.
Aki is in the underground city, and is shocked at how much the planet is collapsing, even down here.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Zero Hour Approaches/Entering the Final Zone of Defense
We're in the final stretch!
Zero Hour Approaches
The Galaxy Alliance fleet, led by the Voltron Force, is on its way to the Drule Homeworld. Captain Newley and Hawkins each get monologues about how they got pushed into this war against their better judgment.
Throk does some Drule propoganda, 'cuz he tells his people they're totally gonna win. Drule citizen listen as the cities around them crumble. Dorma and Baki determine that they need to contact the Galaxy Alliance. In his command center, Throk gets a call from Captain Holtis. They review the fleet and defenses which are being prepared. Oh, and there's a new robeast. It's got tentacles. Holtis has apparently supecharged the weapons on his ships, as well.
Closing in on the asteroid belt, the Explorer launches a satellite to probe ahead. The three Voltron team leads look on, and Jeff wonders why the Voltron force isn't involved. The probe is also hoping to pick up signals from peace-motivated factions among the Drules. Then Hawkins leaves to plan strategy.
A resistance fighter rushes into the rebel's planning room with news of the weapons they're planning to use. Then they start planning a jail-break for Hazar.
In the asteroid belt, a Drule scout unit detects the probe. In the hangars, Drules are looking over their ships. In the Alliance fleet, a meeting with Captain Newley is called. Back in the hangar, the "robots" discuss the preparations for the coming battle. Then alarms sound. Holtis orders the satellite probe destroyed. They launch missiles. Jeff orders the missiles destroyed, and the satellite lives a little longer. Holtis orders the use of a delay bomb, then we immediately cut to Drule fighter scrambling. The satellite can't hold out against the fighters. Hawkins is in favor to adhering to the original battle plan. Then they review it--and we cut to . . .
The Drule palace, where Baki is sneaking into a park-like area to meet with Hazar. A guard arrives and sends Hazar back to his room. Another guard sneaks up on Baki, but he cons his way past him. He enters Hazars room with dinner and tells him he'll bring a transmitter on another visit. Then the guards usher him out.
Newley anounces that they have reached the planet Drule.
On the bridge, Hawkins orders all engines started, and they move in.
Holtis orders the frontline weapons readied, and the battle begins. And we get some dumb play-by-play dialogue--"Heeere come the laserrrs!" The Galaxy Alliance fleet fights through stationary weapons emplaced on asteroids and break through to the Drule fleet. Throk offers him the use of the robeast, but he denies it.
Hawkins orders the teams on standby. Newley orders the fleet to charge the Drule ships. A robot tells Holtis that the asteroids should give the Drule side an advantage, but Holtis points out that they're making it through anyway. He deploys a fighter group and the robeast.
The Voltron force is standing by, watching the launch of the robeast. Hawkins gives them the word, and they launch. Then they form Voltron. The robeast flies through its own fleet as Voltron dodges enemy fire to engage the robeast. He starts things off by punching the robeast. Meanwhile, the fleets continue pounding each other. There's an animation gaff where Holtis is standing on his command post and the ships drawn on either side of him are Alliance battleships.
A Drule fighter pilot goes to destroy and Alliance ship, but is out of ammo and gets shot down.
Voltron is still fighting the robeast (it sure looks like one of those amphibious mobile suits from the original Gundam series). Then it gets Voltron in rocket ropes and electrocutes him until Ginger fires the Electro-Thermo Blast. Then Jeff pins it to an asteroid with a solar combat spear and cuts both the robeast AND the asteroid in half with the sword.
Holtis is distressed by the loss of the robeast. And we get his wrong-side-of-the-fight animation error. Holtis calls Throk and suggests using the citizens as human shields. Then Throk hears that Voltron has destroyed the robeast.
Newley tells Jeff that the fleet is low on power. Jeff tells Ginger to reprogram its weapons to destroy the base from a distance. Newley gives it his okay. They prepare a full-power electro-thermo-blast. The fleet withdraws and Holtis prepares to fire on Voltron. Voltron gets close enough and then releases the megabolt--and the base is no more.
Dorma tells the assembled resistance fighters that the council will never stop. They're going to go through with their plan to save Hazar.
Newley has received a message from the Drule supreme council requesting a momentary truce. They launch a "peace capsule" in a ceremony that's clearly a military funeral. Then Optimus Prime tells us that it's to be continued.
Entering the Final Zone of Defense
The Galaxy Alliance fleet, led by the Rugger teams in their subunits, passes the sixth planet of the Galveston system. Their ETA is thirty hours. The Rugger team leaders are tense and everyone is silent as they pass through a cloud of space dust.
On the Galveston Homeworld itself, the people stand around (is this late-Republican Rome levels of unemployment). Sirk and Bakke discuss the impending collapse of the planet and the fact the government continues to fight.
Speaking of which, Caponero and the Captain in charge of the inner protective zone, Holtes, discuss preparations. Caponero mulls sending two or three more battle attackers, but Holtes can't see how the Alliance could possibly overwhelm the forces he has.
The Alliance fleet closes in and Ise launches a probe. He and the three Rugger leads watch on the bridge. Aki wants to be sent to investigate, but Ise explains that he's keeping them in reserve. The next battle will be the final line of defense, and this will be a battle unlike any other battle they've fought. Ise leaves to attend the strategy meeting.
Bakke and Sirk are planning offensives of their own, when an informant tells them the Earth fleet has reached the final line of defense. Sirk decides they have to give Teles this information somehow. Unfortunately, they haven't heard from his father, Tes, yet. Bakke works in the palace. He volunteers to bring Teles the news. Meanwhile, Holtes and his frontline troops are preparing, and the Alliance fleet slowly moves in.
Newley illustrates the Galveston defense line.
A couple of troops preparing in the hangar are complaining about their lake up food and materiel. This really is Japan at the end of World War II. Then the alarms sound and Holtes sees the probe. He sends missiles to intercept it, which are destroyed by the probes self-defense missiles. Then Holtes launches fighters, which are more successful in intercepting the ship. Just before it's destroyed there's an awesome shot of a Galveston battleship just around an asteroid. Asimov points out that they've amassed quite a fleet.
Asimov reveals that three days ago he requested Galaxy Garrison to send another Allied Fleet in their wake if they failed.
Bakke sneaks into the park area in the palace where Teles has been taking a walk. A guard sends him back to his room. Another guard finds Bakke, but Bakke cons his way past him. He brings lunch to Teles and tells him that next time he'll bring a transmitter, and that the Galaxy Alliance Fleet is on the way. Oh, and his adjutant Sirk is leading the guerillas. Bakke does a pretty good "dotty old coot" performance to get past the guards.
Whew. And . . . commercial break. The ENTIRE FIRST HALF of this episode has been build-up. These guys know how to lay out an episode.
The Alliance fleet has halted just short of the final defense line. Part of the fleet is detached and moves in a cross formation. They open fire on the static emplacements. Holtes orders the static emplacements to return fire. The fighting is fierce, but the second fleet is breaking through the static defenses. Holtes orders his fleet to flank the vanguard. Holtes reports that the rest of the fleet has not moved, and Caponero is bemused.
The Rugger teams are watching the Second Fleet make their valiant press. Ise puts them on standby. Asimov sends the third fleet to support second, and the rest of his fleet to move around the current fighting. Holtes deploys the dragoon squadron, who were eating McDonalds. This was cut from Voltron probably because 1) They're really young and innocent looking and 2) They're not robots. The battle attacker is launched, and Ise deploys Dairugger. He starts the fight with fisticuffs. Their gfight passes through the Galveston formation.
Holtes urges his fleets to hold the enemy back. The battle attacker lures Dairugger into the asteroids. Asimov urges his own fleets to keep pressing. A Galveston pilot realizes his poorly-maintained and supplied ship is malfunctioning--and then dies.
Dairugger fights in the asteroid belt, then gets snared in the rocket ropes. Patty breaks free of the ropes with the wing beam. Then they pin the battle attacker to the asteroid with the lance and finish him and the asteroid off with the sword.
There are massive levels of attrition on both sides. Holtes adjutant tells him that they have lost the battle attacker, but destroyed 2/3 of the enemy fleet. Holtes tells Caponero that they have only 10 ships left, there is no hope for victory, and his death will be his apology. Caponero readies for the battle on the surface of the homeworld.
The alliance fleet lacks the firepower to destroy the enemy base. Aki prepares to use the Miracle Beam to take out the enemy base. Aki requests Asimov to withdraw from the line of fire. Holtes and his adjutant see that Dairugger is coming in close, and concentrate fire on him. Dairugger just has to dodge until he's close enough to unleash the miracle beam, and then the base--and Holtes--meet their ends.
Sirk's informant tells her that the final defensive line is breached. There is some brooding.
On the surviving Alliance ships, the crews observe a moment of silence for their fallen comrades.
Zero Hour Approaches
The Galaxy Alliance fleet, led by the Voltron Force, is on its way to the Drule Homeworld. Captain Newley and Hawkins each get monologues about how they got pushed into this war against their better judgment.
Throk does some Drule propoganda, 'cuz he tells his people they're totally gonna win. Drule citizen listen as the cities around them crumble. Dorma and Baki determine that they need to contact the Galaxy Alliance. In his command center, Throk gets a call from Captain Holtis. They review the fleet and defenses which are being prepared. Oh, and there's a new robeast. It's got tentacles. Holtis has apparently supecharged the weapons on his ships, as well.
Closing in on the asteroid belt, the Explorer launches a satellite to probe ahead. The three Voltron team leads look on, and Jeff wonders why the Voltron force isn't involved. The probe is also hoping to pick up signals from peace-motivated factions among the Drules. Then Hawkins leaves to plan strategy.
A resistance fighter rushes into the rebel's planning room with news of the weapons they're planning to use. Then they start planning a jail-break for Hazar.
In the asteroid belt, a Drule scout unit detects the probe. In the hangars, Drules are looking over their ships. In the Alliance fleet, a meeting with Captain Newley is called. Back in the hangar, the "robots" discuss the preparations for the coming battle. Then alarms sound. Holtis orders the satellite probe destroyed. They launch missiles. Jeff orders the missiles destroyed, and the satellite lives a little longer. Holtis orders the use of a delay bomb, then we immediately cut to Drule fighter scrambling. The satellite can't hold out against the fighters. Hawkins is in favor to adhering to the original battle plan. Then they review it--and we cut to . . .
The Drule palace, where Baki is sneaking into a park-like area to meet with Hazar. A guard arrives and sends Hazar back to his room. Another guard sneaks up on Baki, but he cons his way past him. He enters Hazars room with dinner and tells him he'll bring a transmitter on another visit. Then the guards usher him out.
Newley anounces that they have reached the planet Drule.
On the bridge, Hawkins orders all engines started, and they move in.
Holtis orders the frontline weapons readied, and the battle begins. And we get some dumb play-by-play dialogue--"Heeere come the laserrrs!" The Galaxy Alliance fleet fights through stationary weapons emplaced on asteroids and break through to the Drule fleet. Throk offers him the use of the robeast, but he denies it.
Hawkins orders the teams on standby. Newley orders the fleet to charge the Drule ships. A robot tells Holtis that the asteroids should give the Drule side an advantage, but Holtis points out that they're making it through anyway. He deploys a fighter group and the robeast.
The Voltron force is standing by, watching the launch of the robeast. Hawkins gives them the word, and they launch. Then they form Voltron. The robeast flies through its own fleet as Voltron dodges enemy fire to engage the robeast. He starts things off by punching the robeast. Meanwhile, the fleets continue pounding each other. There's an animation gaff where Holtis is standing on his command post and the ships drawn on either side of him are Alliance battleships.
A Drule fighter pilot goes to destroy and Alliance ship, but is out of ammo and gets shot down.
Voltron is still fighting the robeast (it sure looks like one of those amphibious mobile suits from the original Gundam series). Then it gets Voltron in rocket ropes and electrocutes him until Ginger fires the Electro-Thermo Blast. Then Jeff pins it to an asteroid with a solar combat spear and cuts both the robeast AND the asteroid in half with the sword.
Holtis is distressed by the loss of the robeast. And we get his wrong-side-of-the-fight animation error. Holtis calls Throk and suggests using the citizens as human shields. Then Throk hears that Voltron has destroyed the robeast.
Newley tells Jeff that the fleet is low on power. Jeff tells Ginger to reprogram its weapons to destroy the base from a distance. Newley gives it his okay. They prepare a full-power electro-thermo-blast. The fleet withdraws and Holtis prepares to fire on Voltron. Voltron gets close enough and then releases the megabolt--and the base is no more.
Dorma tells the assembled resistance fighters that the council will never stop. They're going to go through with their plan to save Hazar.
Newley has received a message from the Drule supreme council requesting a momentary truce. They launch a "peace capsule" in a ceremony that's clearly a military funeral. Then Optimus Prime tells us that it's to be continued.
Entering the Final Zone of Defense
The Galaxy Alliance fleet, led by the Rugger teams in their subunits, passes the sixth planet of the Galveston system. Their ETA is thirty hours. The Rugger team leaders are tense and everyone is silent as they pass through a cloud of space dust.
On the Galveston Homeworld itself, the people stand around (is this late-Republican Rome levels of unemployment). Sirk and Bakke discuss the impending collapse of the planet and the fact the government continues to fight.
Speaking of which, Caponero and the Captain in charge of the inner protective zone, Holtes, discuss preparations. Caponero mulls sending two or three more battle attackers, but Holtes can't see how the Alliance could possibly overwhelm the forces he has.
The Alliance fleet closes in and Ise launches a probe. He and the three Rugger leads watch on the bridge. Aki wants to be sent to investigate, but Ise explains that he's keeping them in reserve. The next battle will be the final line of defense, and this will be a battle unlike any other battle they've fought. Ise leaves to attend the strategy meeting.
Bakke and Sirk are planning offensives of their own, when an informant tells them the Earth fleet has reached the final line of defense. Sirk decides they have to give Teles this information somehow. Unfortunately, they haven't heard from his father, Tes, yet. Bakke works in the palace. He volunteers to bring Teles the news. Meanwhile, Holtes and his frontline troops are preparing, and the Alliance fleet slowly moves in.
Newley illustrates the Galveston defense line.
A couple of troops preparing in the hangar are complaining about their lake up food and materiel. This really is Japan at the end of World War II. Then the alarms sound and Holtes sees the probe. He sends missiles to intercept it, which are destroyed by the probes self-defense missiles. Then Holtes launches fighters, which are more successful in intercepting the ship. Just before it's destroyed there's an awesome shot of a Galveston battleship just around an asteroid. Asimov points out that they've amassed quite a fleet.
Asimov reveals that three days ago he requested Galaxy Garrison to send another Allied Fleet in their wake if they failed.
Bakke sneaks into the park area in the palace where Teles has been taking a walk. A guard sends him back to his room. Another guard finds Bakke, but Bakke cons his way past him. He brings lunch to Teles and tells him that next time he'll bring a transmitter, and that the Galaxy Alliance Fleet is on the way. Oh, and his adjutant Sirk is leading the guerillas. Bakke does a pretty good "dotty old coot" performance to get past the guards.
Whew. And . . . commercial break. The ENTIRE FIRST HALF of this episode has been build-up. These guys know how to lay out an episode.
The Alliance fleet has halted just short of the final defense line. Part of the fleet is detached and moves in a cross formation. They open fire on the static emplacements. Holtes orders the static emplacements to return fire. The fighting is fierce, but the second fleet is breaking through the static defenses. Holtes orders his fleet to flank the vanguard. Holtes reports that the rest of the fleet has not moved, and Caponero is bemused.
The Rugger teams are watching the Second Fleet make their valiant press. Ise puts them on standby. Asimov sends the third fleet to support second, and the rest of his fleet to move around the current fighting. Holtes deploys the dragoon squadron, who were eating McDonalds. This was cut from Voltron probably because 1) They're really young and innocent looking and 2) They're not robots. The battle attacker is launched, and Ise deploys Dairugger. He starts the fight with fisticuffs. Their gfight passes through the Galveston formation.
Holtes urges his fleets to hold the enemy back. The battle attacker lures Dairugger into the asteroids. Asimov urges his own fleets to keep pressing. A Galveston pilot realizes his poorly-maintained and supplied ship is malfunctioning--and then dies.
Dairugger fights in the asteroid belt, then gets snared in the rocket ropes. Patty breaks free of the ropes with the wing beam. Then they pin the battle attacker to the asteroid with the lance and finish him and the asteroid off with the sword.
There are massive levels of attrition on both sides. Holtes adjutant tells him that they have lost the battle attacker, but destroyed 2/3 of the enemy fleet. Holtes tells Caponero that they have only 10 ships left, there is no hope for victory, and his death will be his apology. Caponero readies for the battle on the surface of the homeworld.
The alliance fleet lacks the firepower to destroy the enemy base. Aki prepares to use the Miracle Beam to take out the enemy base. Aki requests Asimov to withdraw from the line of fire. Holtes and his adjutant see that Dairugger is coming in close, and concentrate fire on him. Dairugger just has to dodge until he's close enough to unleash the miracle beam, and then the base--and Holtes--meet their ends.
Sirk's informant tells her that the final defensive line is breached. There is some brooding.
On the surviving Alliance ships, the crews observe a moment of silence for their fallen comrades.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Time is Running Out/Get Past the Tenth Planet
Time is Running Out
The planet Drule is still falling apart, and Mozak's voiceover laments the environmental collapse. Then the tea party members of the Drule council make fun of him. Zeppo talks with Throk's voice and complains about the rebels. Mozak tries to explain who the rebels are and what they're after, but Throk cuts him off and tells him about their new super weapon. Mozak gives him an awesome "Another one?" Then a guard comes and tells them a battalion has been defeated by the rebels. Throk comes up wioth the brilliant idea that they must be getting weapons from the Galaxy Alliance, based on no evidence whatsoever.
Dorma and Baki watch wounded rebel fighters make their way back to the stronghold. Dorma vows to work from the inside. She brings up Mozak as their best hope, and promises to arrange a meeting.
A Drule base on another planet in the Drule solar system is under Captain Larro. He is told that the Voltron force is approaching, and he orders the magnamines released.
Crick vectors the team in, and Jeff comments on how quiet it is. Then they get a distress signal--Crick's picked up the approaching mines. Jeff's doing some weird "Challenge, stage 1" thing. The mines swarm around the subunits and they shoot them down, but one attaches to Ginger's mecha. The air team disconnects, but it stays attached to her fighter. She's starts to freak out. The other air team mecha try ramming her ship, but it doesn't work. Cliff tries to pry it off with a utility arm, but now the others have to cover the Turbo Terrain Fighter. Jeff sends Cliff and Crick through the minefield to the planet.
Captain Larro watches, and decides not to detonate the mine--he wants her to return to the Explorer. And he somehow knows it's a her.
Ginger's having a freakout, and tells them about a ship that blow up when she was a kid and gave her nightmares for years.
Captain Larro gloats. Then the radar operator points out two ships have disappeared, and Jeff announces "Challenge Phase 4."
The land team flies in low over the planet's surface, and they see remote laser blasters. Hutch starts shooting, and alerts Larro to their presence. Larro takes it well; he detonates the mine on Ginger's ship. Her mecha FALLS IN SPACE and the air team follow, with more mines in their wake.
Ginger manages to pull up and crashland on the Explorer. Garro is sure there will be no voltron without her mecha. Then he deploys more magnamines after the Land and Sea Teams. Crick was apparently underwater somewhere. They surface and lead the mines away.
Hawkins is notified that the other teams are retreating. The rest of the air team is clustered around the unconscious Ginger in her hospital bad. And . . . she has amnesia, and she's reverted to the time the ship blew up when she was a child. Hoo, boy.
Hawkins runs onto the bridge, followed by Jeff. He's upset. Cliff and Crick leave the planet. Larro's XO offers to release the robeast, and Garro really likes that idea.
Mozak is being driven to his office--which looks like his house from the earlier episode. He walks to the front door, and Dorma and Baki approach him. He recognizes Baki and Mozak gets the two of them out of sight. Dorma explains her position, and Mozak says he should have Baki arrested, prompting Baki to draw a weapon on him. Dorma forces him to lower it, and then begs her father to help ON HER KNEES. Mozak's middle name is apparently Zod.
The Explorer sends the remnants of the Air Team, Jeff rallies the others in Ginger's room, and Ginger recognizes him. She refuses to be left behind--it would be too much like her traumatic childhood event.
The other teams are facing the robeast. The air team launches, and she exhibits some pretty horrible TBI symptoms. They aren't improved any when she crashes into the robeast and spirals out of control with the 'beast chasing her. Jeff bails her out and gives her the chance to go back, but she is adamant. The other teams separate, and they form Voltron. Ginger has a scary moment docking her mecha to Voltron.
Voltron forms the blazing sword--and is immediately covered with magnamines. Hawkins is angry that they brought Ginger. Jeff apologizes, and says she has something to prove to herself. Then Voltron cuts his way through the mines. They fight the robeast, and Ginger registers and energy surge just before the robeast fires, allowing them to dodge.
They get the robeast in a full-nelson, and get both covered in mines. Captain Larro sees the robeast returning, and doesn't see Voltron at first. His XO points it out to him. Voltron separates from the robeast outside the base, and severely damages the robeast with the solar combat spear. It crashes into the base and destroys it before Larro can detonate the mines. With the destruction of the base. the mines fall away.
Voltron stands over the wreckage of the base. Ginger is feeling better now. Then we get the Voltron commercial.
So, my abiding memory of this episode is that I came down with chicken pox the same day this episode aired for the first time. I was sick for a week. My sister had them first, so I blame her.
Get Past the Tenth Planet
The Galveston homeworld has collapsed 18%, and the rate is accelerating. Corsair is presiding over a council meeting, and demands that Caponero eliminate the Earth Forces. Tes tries to urge them to surrender. Caponero is convinced they haven't lost yet. Tes counters that they don't even have time left to build migratory ships. Then a messenger arrives to tell of more guerilla activity.
Sirk and Bakke are watching the wounded come back from a failed operation. They discuss the arrival of the Earth fleet at the 10th planet, and Sirk decides that the guerillas need to link up with the Earth forces, as well as rescuing Teles.
The Galveston base on the 10th planet watches the approach of the Earth battle machines, and they launch the magnetic mines. The Rugger Teams are preparing to attack the base when they detect the mines approaching them. Aki doesn't take them seriously at first, and he orders the teams to destory them. Destruction ensues until one of the mines attaches to Patty's ship. They separate, and Patty's already showing signs of distress. The individual Air Team ships try to knock it loose. Walter pushes them aside to use the Land Rugger utility arm, but he is unable to detach it. Aki sends Walter and Keats to sneak off to the 10th planet and destroy the base that launched the mines. Beginining their approach to the planet, Walter suggests that he and Keats' should take their machines on separate courses.
Meanwhile, the Galveston Commander is told that the Sea and Land Ruggers have disappeared, but he isn't worried. He's willing the ships to return to the Rugger Guard.
Aki actually suggests that, then Patty tells him that this may be the Galveston plan. Aki has an idea . . .
The Galveston commander watches them gradually retreat.
Aki calls Ise to tell him that they're stalling for time, and to hope that Walter and Keats can storm the base.
Walter leads the Land Rugger over sensor-studded ground, sure they're being stealthy--until Nagato opens fire on the sensors. That triggers an alarm in the Galveston base, and they detonate the mine. Patty's mecha begins to spiral out of control, and the other Air Team ships fallow, tailed by more mines.
Aki manages to get Patty somewhat alert; she steers her ship into a crash-landing.
The Galveston commander gloats. He says Land Rugger is next, and orders them to find Sea Rugger--under he sea. He deploys mines after both of them. When the Land Rugger first begins firing on the mines, they forgot to animate the energy beams for a couple of shots.
The Air team and Ise are standing around Patty in her hopsital bed. Hey, she doesn't have amnesia! And she urges the team to go out and fight. She tries to get up, but falls back in bed. Ise and Aki rush to the bridge. Ise is ready to withdraw. He orders Walter and Keats to pull back. Walter grudgingly agrees, and Keats follows. The Galveston Commander gets all excited and orders his XO to contact Caponero.
Tes is being driven home. When he arrives, he sees someone there. It's Sirk. With Bakke. He brings them inside so they won't be seen together. Tes asks if they want to see Teles. He has no power to ensure that. Sirk is convinced he's the only one that can save Galveston. Tes tells them that as Home Secretary, his job is to suppress the rebels. Bakke draws his weapon, but Sirk forces it down and she actually drops to her knees to implore Tes' help.
se deploys the Rugger teams. Land and Sea teams go, and Aki find the rest of the Air team around Patty's bed--she just took sleep medication. She insists on going.
The battle attacker engages the Land and Sea Ruggers. The Air Team then launches. They fight through the mines, but Patty collides with the battle attacker. Aki decides to form Dairugger. The formation sequence is slightly extended to focus on Patty a little more. The mines swarm after them, and they form the sword.
Dairugger is covered in mines. Then Ise calls him, who urges him to withdraw. Aki says they're going to buy time destroying the base to allow the Rugger Guard and fleet to attack the Galveston homeworld. Covered in mines, Dairugger is losing energy as it fights the battle attacker. Aki decides to attract mines to both of them--he gets the battle attacker in a hold and charges the base. The Galveston Commander is angry. Dairugger hits the battle attacker with the lance and sends it crashing into the base, destroying it and killing the commander before the mines can be detonated. With the base's control system destroyed, the mines are deactivated and fall off of Dairugger.
Patty finally succumbs to the sleep meds and Aki flies Dairugger back to the fleet to dock.
The planet Drule is still falling apart, and Mozak's voiceover laments the environmental collapse. Then the tea party members of the Drule council make fun of him. Zeppo talks with Throk's voice and complains about the rebels. Mozak tries to explain who the rebels are and what they're after, but Throk cuts him off and tells him about their new super weapon. Mozak gives him an awesome "Another one?" Then a guard comes and tells them a battalion has been defeated by the rebels. Throk comes up wioth the brilliant idea that they must be getting weapons from the Galaxy Alliance, based on no evidence whatsoever.
Dorma and Baki watch wounded rebel fighters make their way back to the stronghold. Dorma vows to work from the inside. She brings up Mozak as their best hope, and promises to arrange a meeting.
A Drule base on another planet in the Drule solar system is under Captain Larro. He is told that the Voltron force is approaching, and he orders the magnamines released.
Crick vectors the team in, and Jeff comments on how quiet it is. Then they get a distress signal--Crick's picked up the approaching mines. Jeff's doing some weird "Challenge, stage 1" thing. The mines swarm around the subunits and they shoot them down, but one attaches to Ginger's mecha. The air team disconnects, but it stays attached to her fighter. She's starts to freak out. The other air team mecha try ramming her ship, but it doesn't work. Cliff tries to pry it off with a utility arm, but now the others have to cover the Turbo Terrain Fighter. Jeff sends Cliff and Crick through the minefield to the planet.
Captain Larro watches, and decides not to detonate the mine--he wants her to return to the Explorer. And he somehow knows it's a her.
Ginger's having a freakout, and tells them about a ship that blow up when she was a kid and gave her nightmares for years.
Captain Larro gloats. Then the radar operator points out two ships have disappeared, and Jeff announces "Challenge Phase 4."
The land team flies in low over the planet's surface, and they see remote laser blasters. Hutch starts shooting, and alerts Larro to their presence. Larro takes it well; he detonates the mine on Ginger's ship. Her mecha FALLS IN SPACE and the air team follow, with more mines in their wake.
Ginger manages to pull up and crashland on the Explorer. Garro is sure there will be no voltron without her mecha. Then he deploys more magnamines after the Land and Sea Teams. Crick was apparently underwater somewhere. They surface and lead the mines away.
Hawkins is notified that the other teams are retreating. The rest of the air team is clustered around the unconscious Ginger in her hospital bad. And . . . she has amnesia, and she's reverted to the time the ship blew up when she was a child. Hoo, boy.
Hawkins runs onto the bridge, followed by Jeff. He's upset. Cliff and Crick leave the planet. Larro's XO offers to release the robeast, and Garro really likes that idea.
Mozak is being driven to his office--which looks like his house from the earlier episode. He walks to the front door, and Dorma and Baki approach him. He recognizes Baki and Mozak gets the two of them out of sight. Dorma explains her position, and Mozak says he should have Baki arrested, prompting Baki to draw a weapon on him. Dorma forces him to lower it, and then begs her father to help ON HER KNEES. Mozak's middle name is apparently Zod.
The Explorer sends the remnants of the Air Team, Jeff rallies the others in Ginger's room, and Ginger recognizes him. She refuses to be left behind--it would be too much like her traumatic childhood event.
The other teams are facing the robeast. The air team launches, and she exhibits some pretty horrible TBI symptoms. They aren't improved any when she crashes into the robeast and spirals out of control with the 'beast chasing her. Jeff bails her out and gives her the chance to go back, but she is adamant. The other teams separate, and they form Voltron. Ginger has a scary moment docking her mecha to Voltron.
Voltron forms the blazing sword--and is immediately covered with magnamines. Hawkins is angry that they brought Ginger. Jeff apologizes, and says she has something to prove to herself. Then Voltron cuts his way through the mines. They fight the robeast, and Ginger registers and energy surge just before the robeast fires, allowing them to dodge.
They get the robeast in a full-nelson, and get both covered in mines. Captain Larro sees the robeast returning, and doesn't see Voltron at first. His XO points it out to him. Voltron separates from the robeast outside the base, and severely damages the robeast with the solar combat spear. It crashes into the base and destroys it before Larro can detonate the mines. With the destruction of the base. the mines fall away.
Voltron stands over the wreckage of the base. Ginger is feeling better now. Then we get the Voltron commercial.
So, my abiding memory of this episode is that I came down with chicken pox the same day this episode aired for the first time. I was sick for a week. My sister had them first, so I blame her.
Get Past the Tenth Planet
The Galveston homeworld has collapsed 18%, and the rate is accelerating. Corsair is presiding over a council meeting, and demands that Caponero eliminate the Earth Forces. Tes tries to urge them to surrender. Caponero is convinced they haven't lost yet. Tes counters that they don't even have time left to build migratory ships. Then a messenger arrives to tell of more guerilla activity.
Sirk and Bakke are watching the wounded come back from a failed operation. They discuss the arrival of the Earth fleet at the 10th planet, and Sirk decides that the guerillas need to link up with the Earth forces, as well as rescuing Teles.
The Galveston base on the 10th planet watches the approach of the Earth battle machines, and they launch the magnetic mines. The Rugger Teams are preparing to attack the base when they detect the mines approaching them. Aki doesn't take them seriously at first, and he orders the teams to destory them. Destruction ensues until one of the mines attaches to Patty's ship. They separate, and Patty's already showing signs of distress. The individual Air Team ships try to knock it loose. Walter pushes them aside to use the Land Rugger utility arm, but he is unable to detach it. Aki sends Walter and Keats to sneak off to the 10th planet and destroy the base that launched the mines. Beginining their approach to the planet, Walter suggests that he and Keats' should take their machines on separate courses.
Meanwhile, the Galveston Commander is told that the Sea and Land Ruggers have disappeared, but he isn't worried. He's willing the ships to return to the Rugger Guard.
Aki actually suggests that, then Patty tells him that this may be the Galveston plan. Aki has an idea . . .
The Galveston commander watches them gradually retreat.
Aki calls Ise to tell him that they're stalling for time, and to hope that Walter and Keats can storm the base.
Walter leads the Land Rugger over sensor-studded ground, sure they're being stealthy--until Nagato opens fire on the sensors. That triggers an alarm in the Galveston base, and they detonate the mine. Patty's mecha begins to spiral out of control, and the other Air Team ships fallow, tailed by more mines.
Aki manages to get Patty somewhat alert; she steers her ship into a crash-landing.
The Galveston commander gloats. He says Land Rugger is next, and orders them to find Sea Rugger--under he sea. He deploys mines after both of them. When the Land Rugger first begins firing on the mines, they forgot to animate the energy beams for a couple of shots.
The Air team and Ise are standing around Patty in her hopsital bed. Hey, she doesn't have amnesia! And she urges the team to go out and fight. She tries to get up, but falls back in bed. Ise and Aki rush to the bridge. Ise is ready to withdraw. He orders Walter and Keats to pull back. Walter grudgingly agrees, and Keats follows. The Galveston Commander gets all excited and orders his XO to contact Caponero.
Tes is being driven home. When he arrives, he sees someone there. It's Sirk. With Bakke. He brings them inside so they won't be seen together. Tes asks if they want to see Teles. He has no power to ensure that. Sirk is convinced he's the only one that can save Galveston. Tes tells them that as Home Secretary, his job is to suppress the rebels. Bakke draws his weapon, but Sirk forces it down and she actually drops to her knees to implore Tes' help.
se deploys the Rugger teams. Land and Sea teams go, and Aki find the rest of the Air team around Patty's bed--she just took sleep medication. She insists on going.
The battle attacker engages the Land and Sea Ruggers. The Air Team then launches. They fight through the mines, but Patty collides with the battle attacker. Aki decides to form Dairugger. The formation sequence is slightly extended to focus on Patty a little more. The mines swarm after them, and they form the sword.
Dairugger is covered in mines. Then Ise calls him, who urges him to withdraw. Aki says they're going to buy time destroying the base to allow the Rugger Guard and fleet to attack the Galveston homeworld. Covered in mines, Dairugger is losing energy as it fights the battle attacker. Aki decides to attract mines to both of them--he gets the battle attacker in a hold and charges the base. The Galveston Commander is angry. Dairugger hits the battle attacker with the lance and sends it crashing into the base, destroying it and killing the commander before the mines can be detonated. With the base's control system destroyed, the mines are deactivated and fall off of Dairugger.
Patty finally succumbs to the sleep meds and Aki flies Dairugger back to the fleet to dock.
Monday, October 3, 2011
Color Me Invisible/The Invisible Super Weapon
Color Me Invisible
There is still noticeable wreckage in the Galaxy Garrison capital on earth, and a GG soldier grinds out a cigarette on the sidewalk. Marshall Graham, speaking with Commodore Steele's voice, is ranting about what the fear of the Drule Empire has brought them to. The Explorer is going to the frost planet.
Hawkins tells Jeff about information they've found about a frost planet, and that there might be information on Hazar and an organization called URF. You heard me right, URF. This means they won't be going to Solaris for rest and repairs.
Hutch is telling Chip and Rocky about Solaris, but Jeff busts his bubble by telling them to prepare for arctic conditions.
Throk is ranting about the Galaxy Alliance to a bunch of really old and grizzled looking Drule commanders. He says his new plan is to use a false map to lure the Voltron force to the frost planet of Altius. As Throk leaves, Dorma confronts him with her brother's imprisonment, but Throk says "You wouldn't understand, you're just a girl." Really. That's what he says.
Throk contacts Captain Garro (wow, they're recycling that name already!?) and he is in charge of the ambush on Altius.
Dorma is driving through the Drule underground city, brooding about her brother's plight. A train does some serious rage-range induce and shoves her off the road. Then she's kidnapped rather creepily by some guys in togas with bandoleros.
The Explorer fleet is moving in to Altius through a space warp. Hawkins teases Jeff, and then what Hawkins says turns out to be true. They come out of the space warp on top of Altius and Jeff scrambles the Voltron force. Huntch awakens from a dream about ice cream. He keeps the air team back for reserve, and Ginger watches as Cinda and Lisa run to their launch bays. Hawkins is in his darkened office, brooding. Jeff tells Cliff to take charge on this mission. They form the subunits and take off.
On the planet, there is a base with new Drule ship designs ready to launch. Garro orders the attack ships (they look like a dolled-up version of the cruise missiles that blew up the first planet they found) launched--and they have cloaking devices. Garro and his XO ready the trap. Missile launchers emerge from the glacier and bombard the Sea and Land Teams, driving them forward.
Hawkins comes up to the bridge, and Jeff says he'll go to Altius himself to support the other teams. Hawkins wishes him luck.
Chip (who's apparently in the Turbo Terrain Fighter) points out that they're being herded. They kill the "android" gunners. Harro and his XO plan to drive them into the "chamber of ice"--just what you would expect on an ice planet. Jeff joins them in the Stratofighter, and Garro is pleased that they're all together. They fly into the doors in the base and follow a tunnel into a chamber with a giant figure frozen in the ice.
The fleet is being bombarded by the cloaked attack ships. Newley calls Hawkins to say they've got a chance of figuring out their cloak.
Jeff, Cliff, and Crick are all staring at the glacier. Then the robeast emerges from it and they get to their ships just as it attacks with a big icicle. I bet this robeast has a toothache. I'm going to name him Bumbles. Bumbles knocks the Air Team into a crevasse, and the team loses consciousness. The Se and Land teams start keeping the robeast busy. Chip is unconscious, and the Stratofighter needs him to launch. Then a fleet appears over the cliff. Crick calls for help.
Hawkins tells Crick that they're also under attack. Newley tells Hawkins to use the Explorer's special search beams. The beams counteract the cloak somehow, and they wipe out the robot ships. And, I think these ones actually are unmanned.
Bumbles can form ice weapons just by grabbing ice. He hits both the Aquafighter and the Turbo Terrain Fighter. Then Chip regains consciousness. The teams separate and then form Voltron. Solar combat spears, the raybeam whip, a flying kick, and the spinning laser blades soften up the robeast in a one-sided fight. Then they form the blazing sword and knock it into the crevasse and it explodes. Voltron watches as the Drule fleet withdraws.
Baki, the leader of the Drule resistance, is informed that Garro has been defeated by the Voltron force. Baki and his fighters look down at Dorma and tell her that Garro has been defeated. Baki stands over her. She says she's glad. They are URF, the Underground Rebel Force. Dorma throws her lot in with URF. She rips her insignia off as a symbol of her new loyalty, or something.
The Invisible Super Weapon
Earth is in a state of emergency. Soldiers are on guard in all major cities, and a curfew is in effect. Kasawa is looking out at the city under martial law. He asks his adjutant about his wife and family--they were in a sector heavily damaged by the Galveston raid, but made it to a shelter safely. Kasawa hopes that the Rugger Guard and Asimov's fleet can find the Galveston homeworld.
Examining the map they found at the front line base, Aki and Ise guess they've found the planet. Nagato, Kai, and Mutsu are hanging out in the observation corridor when Aki approaches and tells them to go to bed. He also warns them that they don't know exactly where the homeworld is, but if they reach it, the counteroffensive will be beyond imagination.
On the Galveston homeworld, Capnoero is briefing some old grizzled Galveston commanders on the approach of the Earth fleet. He dispatches them to the inner defensive zone. As they leave the meeting, Sirk tries to make a request of him, but he brushes her off. She tries to convince him to release Teles from house arrest, but he leaves after a scathing parting shot at Teles' "bizarre optimism."
In the control room, Caponero calls Captain Gurrey and orders him to destroy the Earth fleet with the Space Impulse at the outer defensive zone.
Sirk drives through the underground city, brooding on Teles and the fate of Galveston. A train tries to sideswipe her, and then the driver gets out and explains that he knows who she is, and then another guy knocks her unconscious with a pipe wrench They look her into the back of the train.
Aki is running the fleet down the systems checks. Ise appears on the bridge and tells him to get some rest. Aki turns the tables on him, and then Ise turns to get some rest. The radar operator finds a planet, and it matches the 11th planet of the Galveston system. Aki scrambles the Wlater and Keats teams to investigate. They wake up and run to their ships. Ise stands in his office looking out the window. Walter gets crap from Aki for being 33 seconds later than usual. Then they launch and form the subunits.
n the 11th planet, Captain Gurrey lauches the Space Impulse, which look a lot like the long-range missiles they use, and are unmanned. The weapons pass the Ruggers, and Gurrey wants to wait form the Air Rugger to be with them before commencing the Space Impulse attack on the unprotected fleet. He deploys missile launchers to put pressure on the teams. Aki is still leading from the bridge, and then Ise arrives and sends Aki out to support his teammates.
The Sea and Air Ruggers fight their way through the missile installations and approach the base. Aki joins them in Air Rugger, and Gurrey tells his XO to deploy the battle attacker.
The teams come in on the base and plow through a gate, then fly down a tunnel into another gate. Then they're back outside, have passed beneath the base. Hellow, Batman Gambit, here's the battle attacker frozen in the chamber with them.
Ise and Asimov are under attack by the stealth drones. Ise decides to recall the Rugger teams. Meanwhile, Aki is trying to think of a way to get into the base, but the battle attacker emerges from the ice and charges them with an ice club. It strikes the Air Rugger and knocks everyone out/ Then Ise starts calling Aki.
The battle attacker forms another ice club to finish off the Air Rugger, but Walter covers them. Mutsu is unconscious, and the Air Rugger can't launch without Mutsu's energy. The battle attacker shrugs off Keats' attacks, and then a Galveston fleet moves in.
In space, Ise and Asimov determine that the weapons are just using optical camouflage, and use searchlights to disrupt it and destroy them. The Ruggers have their hands full with the battele attacker, and another ice club sends the Sea Rugger tumbling. Panicked, Keats calls Aki again, who finally gets Mutsu conscious again and the Air Rugger launches, then they separate and reform into Dairugger.
Dairugger pounds the battle attacker with the spears, the whip, a kick, and the spin cutters, before finishing it off with the sword. It really doesn' t have much of a chance. The Galveston fleet retreats and Ise sends Aki to investigate the base.
In a dingy garage on the Galveston homeworld, the kidnappers' train is park. The kidnappers all stand around Sirk as she awakens. Their leader comes forward and apologizes for knocking her out, but introduces his group as a band of resistance fighters, and they want her help in arresting Teles who is under arrest in the palace. They also tell her that the Earth fleet has passed the 11th planet and is on their way. She gives them her insignia and joins them.
There is still noticeable wreckage in the Galaxy Garrison capital on earth, and a GG soldier grinds out a cigarette on the sidewalk. Marshall Graham, speaking with Commodore Steele's voice, is ranting about what the fear of the Drule Empire has brought them to. The Explorer is going to the frost planet.
Hawkins tells Jeff about information they've found about a frost planet, and that there might be information on Hazar and an organization called URF. You heard me right, URF. This means they won't be going to Solaris for rest and repairs.
Hutch is telling Chip and Rocky about Solaris, but Jeff busts his bubble by telling them to prepare for arctic conditions.
Throk is ranting about the Galaxy Alliance to a bunch of really old and grizzled looking Drule commanders. He says his new plan is to use a false map to lure the Voltron force to the frost planet of Altius. As Throk leaves, Dorma confronts him with her brother's imprisonment, but Throk says "You wouldn't understand, you're just a girl." Really. That's what he says.
Throk contacts Captain Garro (wow, they're recycling that name already!?) and he is in charge of the ambush on Altius.
Dorma is driving through the Drule underground city, brooding about her brother's plight. A train does some serious rage-range induce and shoves her off the road. Then she's kidnapped rather creepily by some guys in togas with bandoleros.
The Explorer fleet is moving in to Altius through a space warp. Hawkins teases Jeff, and then what Hawkins says turns out to be true. They come out of the space warp on top of Altius and Jeff scrambles the Voltron force. Huntch awakens from a dream about ice cream. He keeps the air team back for reserve, and Ginger watches as Cinda and Lisa run to their launch bays. Hawkins is in his darkened office, brooding. Jeff tells Cliff to take charge on this mission. They form the subunits and take off.
On the planet, there is a base with new Drule ship designs ready to launch. Garro orders the attack ships (they look like a dolled-up version of the cruise missiles that blew up the first planet they found) launched--and they have cloaking devices. Garro and his XO ready the trap. Missile launchers emerge from the glacier and bombard the Sea and Land Teams, driving them forward.
Hawkins comes up to the bridge, and Jeff says he'll go to Altius himself to support the other teams. Hawkins wishes him luck.
Chip (who's apparently in the Turbo Terrain Fighter) points out that they're being herded. They kill the "android" gunners. Harro and his XO plan to drive them into the "chamber of ice"--just what you would expect on an ice planet. Jeff joins them in the Stratofighter, and Garro is pleased that they're all together. They fly into the doors in the base and follow a tunnel into a chamber with a giant figure frozen in the ice.
The fleet is being bombarded by the cloaked attack ships. Newley calls Hawkins to say they've got a chance of figuring out their cloak.
Jeff, Cliff, and Crick are all staring at the glacier. Then the robeast emerges from it and they get to their ships just as it attacks with a big icicle. I bet this robeast has a toothache. I'm going to name him Bumbles. Bumbles knocks the Air Team into a crevasse, and the team loses consciousness. The Se and Land teams start keeping the robeast busy. Chip is unconscious, and the Stratofighter needs him to launch. Then a fleet appears over the cliff. Crick calls for help.
Hawkins tells Crick that they're also under attack. Newley tells Hawkins to use the Explorer's special search beams. The beams counteract the cloak somehow, and they wipe out the robot ships. And, I think these ones actually are unmanned.
Bumbles can form ice weapons just by grabbing ice. He hits both the Aquafighter and the Turbo Terrain Fighter. Then Chip regains consciousness. The teams separate and then form Voltron. Solar combat spears, the raybeam whip, a flying kick, and the spinning laser blades soften up the robeast in a one-sided fight. Then they form the blazing sword and knock it into the crevasse and it explodes. Voltron watches as the Drule fleet withdraws.
Baki, the leader of the Drule resistance, is informed that Garro has been defeated by the Voltron force. Baki and his fighters look down at Dorma and tell her that Garro has been defeated. Baki stands over her. She says she's glad. They are URF, the Underground Rebel Force. Dorma throws her lot in with URF. She rips her insignia off as a symbol of her new loyalty, or something.
The Invisible Super Weapon
Earth is in a state of emergency. Soldiers are on guard in all major cities, and a curfew is in effect. Kasawa is looking out at the city under martial law. He asks his adjutant about his wife and family--they were in a sector heavily damaged by the Galveston raid, but made it to a shelter safely. Kasawa hopes that the Rugger Guard and Asimov's fleet can find the Galveston homeworld.
Examining the map they found at the front line base, Aki and Ise guess they've found the planet. Nagato, Kai, and Mutsu are hanging out in the observation corridor when Aki approaches and tells them to go to bed. He also warns them that they don't know exactly where the homeworld is, but if they reach it, the counteroffensive will be beyond imagination.
On the Galveston homeworld, Capnoero is briefing some old grizzled Galveston commanders on the approach of the Earth fleet. He dispatches them to the inner defensive zone. As they leave the meeting, Sirk tries to make a request of him, but he brushes her off. She tries to convince him to release Teles from house arrest, but he leaves after a scathing parting shot at Teles' "bizarre optimism."
In the control room, Caponero calls Captain Gurrey and orders him to destroy the Earth fleet with the Space Impulse at the outer defensive zone.
Sirk drives through the underground city, brooding on Teles and the fate of Galveston. A train tries to sideswipe her, and then the driver gets out and explains that he knows who she is, and then another guy knocks her unconscious with a pipe wrench They look her into the back of the train.
Aki is running the fleet down the systems checks. Ise appears on the bridge and tells him to get some rest. Aki turns the tables on him, and then Ise turns to get some rest. The radar operator finds a planet, and it matches the 11th planet of the Galveston system. Aki scrambles the Wlater and Keats teams to investigate. They wake up and run to their ships. Ise stands in his office looking out the window. Walter gets crap from Aki for being 33 seconds later than usual. Then they launch and form the subunits.
n the 11th planet, Captain Gurrey lauches the Space Impulse, which look a lot like the long-range missiles they use, and are unmanned. The weapons pass the Ruggers, and Gurrey wants to wait form the Air Rugger to be with them before commencing the Space Impulse attack on the unprotected fleet. He deploys missile launchers to put pressure on the teams. Aki is still leading from the bridge, and then Ise arrives and sends Aki out to support his teammates.
The Sea and Air Ruggers fight their way through the missile installations and approach the base. Aki joins them in Air Rugger, and Gurrey tells his XO to deploy the battle attacker.
The teams come in on the base and plow through a gate, then fly down a tunnel into another gate. Then they're back outside, have passed beneath the base. Hellow, Batman Gambit, here's the battle attacker frozen in the chamber with them.
Ise and Asimov are under attack by the stealth drones. Ise decides to recall the Rugger teams. Meanwhile, Aki is trying to think of a way to get into the base, but the battle attacker emerges from the ice and charges them with an ice club. It strikes the Air Rugger and knocks everyone out/ Then Ise starts calling Aki.
The battle attacker forms another ice club to finish off the Air Rugger, but Walter covers them. Mutsu is unconscious, and the Air Rugger can't launch without Mutsu's energy. The battle attacker shrugs off Keats' attacks, and then a Galveston fleet moves in.
In space, Ise and Asimov determine that the weapons are just using optical camouflage, and use searchlights to disrupt it and destroy them. The Ruggers have their hands full with the battele attacker, and another ice club sends the Sea Rugger tumbling. Panicked, Keats calls Aki again, who finally gets Mutsu conscious again and the Air Rugger launches, then they separate and reform into Dairugger.
Dairugger pounds the battle attacker with the spears, the whip, a kick, and the spin cutters, before finishing it off with the sword. It really doesn' t have much of a chance. The Galveston fleet retreats and Ise sends Aki to investigate the base.
In a dingy garage on the Galveston homeworld, the kidnappers' train is park. The kidnappers all stand around Sirk as she awakens. Their leader comes forward and apologizes for knocking her out, but introduces his group as a band of resistance fighters, and they want her help in arresting Teles who is under arrest in the palace. They also tell her that the Earth fleet has passed the 11th planet and is on their way. She gives them her insignia and joins them.
Saturday, October 1, 2011
It Could Be A Long War/Fall of the Frontline Base
This episode was originally aired AFTER the original final episode, to cast it as a mission in which the Voltron force is following Throk and the survivors of the Drule military council as they plan a takeover of the new planet Drule. In reality, this is the point at which they find their way to the homeworld. I'll point out the wonky dialogue as we get to it, to be sure.
It Could be a Long War
Hawkins announces to the fleet that they are nearing a planet on which they're meeting the ex-Drule leaders. Sparks puts the planet (the messy planetoid) on the main viewer. The pretext is that they want to join the Galaxy Alliance. Hawkins deploys the Voltron Force to examine the planet. They form the subunits.
At the base, Borgam is plotting, scheming, and gloating. This scheme is apparently Zeppo's scheme, and their job is to keep the Alliance busy while Zeppo and Throk conquer the planet. He arrays his forces against the Alliance.
Jeff thinks back to the attack on Earth, and describes it in a very scary manner. He thinks back to the destruction of the last Drule base, but describes it as the destruction of transport ships loaded with food.
A Drule fleet is moving in. Jeff asks the commander for advice. Hawkins urges them to investigate without provoking an attack. They pass them by and fly over some amazing scenery. Then Drule fighters attack them. The teams fight back.
Further out from the planetoid, a fleet of capital ships move toward the Alliance Fleet.
Newley orders his fleet to engage. They move incredibly close to the Drule ships before opening fire, and they defeat them pretty handily this way. The Drule captain totally isn't about to die in the last shot when . . .
. . . We cut the Voltron force closing in on the frontline HQ. Borgam orders AAA batteries to open fire on them. They dodge the beam weapons, so Borgam orders missiles launched. Newley's fleet is tearing the fleet to shreds, while the Explorer readies missiles. Oh, wait, the captain is still alive, is ship is just on fire. He orders a cease fire and they begin to retreat. Hawkins suggests that Newley and his fleet hold position until they get a report from the Voltron Force.
The Voltron force, meanwhile is still dodging AAA fire. Cliff comments on how weird the whole situation is.
Borgam is sure Zeppo has destroyed all resistance on the new planet by now. He orders all of his men to prepare to hold of the Alliance only as a diversionary tactic. Yeah, it ain't gonna be like this in Dairugger. Borgam orders the robeast prepared, and this is another pretty gnarly looking one.
Newley tells Hawkins to prepare for another attack, while his fleet . . . goes somewhere else. Newley starts the counter attack, and there are heavy losses on both sides. Cue the pointless play-by-play dialogue. OK, NOW I think the Drule captain bites it.
The Explorer joins the Voltron teams, and they begin strafing the HQ. Borgam urges his troops to keep fighting as the Voltron force blues up more stuff. The Explorer lends its firepower to the battle as well. Jeff decides they need to get into the control room. They encircle the mountain, and then the HQ is burning as Newley's fleet destroys the flagship--it actually rams Newley's ship, but his ship survives. Then they pound the crap out of the base. Then we get footage from another episode and Throk and Zeppo are getting ready to retake control from Hazar. Blargh.
Borgam reports that they're losing to the Alliance--Throk says they've one, and Borgam can only go home once he's destroyed Voltron. He takes an elevator down, and then there's some exlosions and tricky editing.
The Voltron force lands and starts infiltrating another enemy base on foot. Jeff and ginger take an air car, and Cliff saves them from snipers, then joins him.
Borgam and his XO run past the gnarley robeast, and Borgam orders the 'beast launched.
In the shambles of the control room, Cliff finds a chart of the new Drule homeworld, and Ginger saves them from another sneaky sniper. Then the robeast launches. Borgam is totally in the cockpit as he orders it to attack the Explorer. Jeff is back in his ship, and they form Voltron.
Voltron punches out of the base and engages the robeast. He grabs the robeast by its weapon arm with the raybeam whip, but the robeast cuts the whip with its sword. It gets Voltron in a precarious position, only to be flipped and then disarmed with the spinning laser blades. It still has its sword--at least until Voltron cuts the sword in half with the Blazing Sword and then destroys the robeast.
Near the ruins of the base, Jeff shows Hawkins for the plan of the attack on the new Drule planet. Then we get a commercial for Voltron. And they pledge to help the Drule people and when I first saw this, I got all excited that there was going to be more vehicle voltron, and then this was the last I saw of it.
Fall of the Front Line Base
The Alliance fleet is moving deep inside Galveston territory. The Rugger Guard's radar operator detects an asteroid ahead. Aki doesn't think it needs surveying, but Ise wonders if there's a base nearby. He sends the Rugger Team out to look at it as a precaution. They launch and form the Rugger subunits.
At the Galveston HQ, they detect the Alliance fleet and the Rugger mecha. Raucher is shocked that they made it here so quickly. Their power levels are low and the Battle Attacker is incomplete. He sends Captain Seidel in charge of the fleet, and Garro is to support him.
They close in on the asteroid, and Aki reflects on how they don't know where the Glaveston homeworld is, and yet Galveston has already struck at Earth. He also thinks back to the destruction of the first front-line base and the sacrifices that entailed, namely the death of Commander Date. Hey--we didn't get a memorial to Colonel Carver in Voltron.
Then Walter sees the Galveston fleet. Aki holds them back, and decides to go in under them and investigate the planet while Asimov deals with the fleet. They close in on the asteroid, and avoid a meteor shower thanks to the local red dwarf. A flight of Galveston fighters closes in, and Keats and Walter volunteer to take care of them while the Air Rugger continues its investigation.
Seidel's fleet deploys to hold Asimov's ships back from the HQ. Asimov orders his ships to close as much as they can before they return fire. They take damage, but they succeed in breaking through the enemy forces. Seidel is killed (I knew it!)
Patty tells Aki that there is a metallic reading up ahead, and then they reach teh Galveston HQ. Raucher sees the enemy mecha approaching and orders the AAA batteries to fire--beams and missiles. Aki evades them and decides they need a full recon of that base. Asimov's fleet has broken through the enemy defensive line and has now turned on them. Huh--Seidel is still alive--that must have been either Garro or a generic Galveston ship commander. He orders his fleet to turn around.
Ise tells Asimov to stop pursuing the fleet, and he complies. Aki is still dodging. Walter and Keats join him, and they decide to wait form Rugger Guard to act on the data Aki's collected--after Aki protests somewhat. Raucher announces that a fleet from the homeworld is due in five hours.
Seidel has now regrouped his fleet and his planning to keep the Alliance fleet at bay until reinforcements survive. Raucher calls to see how the hell soon the battle attacker will be complete (exact translation). It will take two hours.
Asimov plans to use his fleet to draw the Galveston fleet away while Dairugger and the Rugger Guard attack the base directly. There are heavy casualties on both sides. Ships fall to the planetoid in flames. Seidel urges his fleet to stand its ground and inflict losses as heavy as possible on the enemy.
The Rugger teams and guard take advantage of the diversionary tactic to launch a sneak attack from the blind spots of the AAA guns. Raucher is getting desperate. The Rugger Guard moves in and hits the base hard while the Ruggers concentrate fire on the control towers. The Hq is in flames.
Seidel, his bridge in flames, orders his helm to ram Asimov's flagship. To his dismay (and flamey death) it's just a glancing blow. With the fleet vanquished, Asimov moves in to support the attack on the base. Raucher calls Supreme Commander Caponero, who tells him to just sacrifice himself. The combined firepower of the fleet is too much for the base, and Raucher leaves the control tower just as it explodes. Ise orders Aki to infiltrate the HQ and find anything they can on the Glaveston HQ. The Rugger eams fight their way through defenses on foot, kicking some major ass. Aki and Patty get to a ground car, and are then joined by Walter as he kills two snipers. They take off into the depths of the base.
Raucher is running to the battle attacker--I knew he pilots it--and his XO tries to stop him because it's not fully charge yet, but he shakes him up.
Walter finds a map to the Galveston homeworld, and Patty saves his butt. Aki teases them both, then the ground quakes as the battle attacker launches. As Raucher takes to the skies over the planetoid and engages the Rugger Guard, Aki rallies his team and they form Dairugger. The battle attacker bombards the Rugger Guard, and Dairugger bursts out of the wreckage of the base to deal with it. Oh, the battle attacker is trying to cut Dairugger with its sword and at the same time is baking him with the beam weapon. This still doesn't work and Raucher is killed when Dairugger destroys the battle attacker.
The fleets hover outside the base, and Ise examines the map. There are many more obstacles between them and the Galveston homeworld, but Aki, Walter and Keats pledge to see it through to the end.
It Could be a Long War
Hawkins announces to the fleet that they are nearing a planet on which they're meeting the ex-Drule leaders. Sparks puts the planet (the messy planetoid) on the main viewer. The pretext is that they want to join the Galaxy Alliance. Hawkins deploys the Voltron Force to examine the planet. They form the subunits.
At the base, Borgam is plotting, scheming, and gloating. This scheme is apparently Zeppo's scheme, and their job is to keep the Alliance busy while Zeppo and Throk conquer the planet. He arrays his forces against the Alliance.
Jeff thinks back to the attack on Earth, and describes it in a very scary manner. He thinks back to the destruction of the last Drule base, but describes it as the destruction of transport ships loaded with food.
A Drule fleet is moving in. Jeff asks the commander for advice. Hawkins urges them to investigate without provoking an attack. They pass them by and fly over some amazing scenery. Then Drule fighters attack them. The teams fight back.
Further out from the planetoid, a fleet of capital ships move toward the Alliance Fleet.
Newley orders his fleet to engage. They move incredibly close to the Drule ships before opening fire, and they defeat them pretty handily this way. The Drule captain totally isn't about to die in the last shot when . . .
. . . We cut the Voltron force closing in on the frontline HQ. Borgam orders AAA batteries to open fire on them. They dodge the beam weapons, so Borgam orders missiles launched. Newley's fleet is tearing the fleet to shreds, while the Explorer readies missiles. Oh, wait, the captain is still alive, is ship is just on fire. He orders a cease fire and they begin to retreat. Hawkins suggests that Newley and his fleet hold position until they get a report from the Voltron Force.
The Voltron force, meanwhile is still dodging AAA fire. Cliff comments on how weird the whole situation is.
Borgam is sure Zeppo has destroyed all resistance on the new planet by now. He orders all of his men to prepare to hold of the Alliance only as a diversionary tactic. Yeah, it ain't gonna be like this in Dairugger. Borgam orders the robeast prepared, and this is another pretty gnarly looking one.
Newley tells Hawkins to prepare for another attack, while his fleet . . . goes somewhere else. Newley starts the counter attack, and there are heavy losses on both sides. Cue the pointless play-by-play dialogue. OK, NOW I think the Drule captain bites it.
The Explorer joins the Voltron teams, and they begin strafing the HQ. Borgam urges his troops to keep fighting as the Voltron force blues up more stuff. The Explorer lends its firepower to the battle as well. Jeff decides they need to get into the control room. They encircle the mountain, and then the HQ is burning as Newley's fleet destroys the flagship--it actually rams Newley's ship, but his ship survives. Then they pound the crap out of the base. Then we get footage from another episode and Throk and Zeppo are getting ready to retake control from Hazar. Blargh.
Borgam reports that they're losing to the Alliance--Throk says they've one, and Borgam can only go home once he's destroyed Voltron. He takes an elevator down, and then there's some exlosions and tricky editing.
The Voltron force lands and starts infiltrating another enemy base on foot. Jeff and ginger take an air car, and Cliff saves them from snipers, then joins him.
Borgam and his XO run past the gnarley robeast, and Borgam orders the 'beast launched.
In the shambles of the control room, Cliff finds a chart of the new Drule homeworld, and Ginger saves them from another sneaky sniper. Then the robeast launches. Borgam is totally in the cockpit as he orders it to attack the Explorer. Jeff is back in his ship, and they form Voltron.
Voltron punches out of the base and engages the robeast. He grabs the robeast by its weapon arm with the raybeam whip, but the robeast cuts the whip with its sword. It gets Voltron in a precarious position, only to be flipped and then disarmed with the spinning laser blades. It still has its sword--at least until Voltron cuts the sword in half with the Blazing Sword and then destroys the robeast.
Near the ruins of the base, Jeff shows Hawkins for the plan of the attack on the new Drule planet. Then we get a commercial for Voltron. And they pledge to help the Drule people and when I first saw this, I got all excited that there was going to be more vehicle voltron, and then this was the last I saw of it.
Fall of the Front Line Base
The Alliance fleet is moving deep inside Galveston territory. The Rugger Guard's radar operator detects an asteroid ahead. Aki doesn't think it needs surveying, but Ise wonders if there's a base nearby. He sends the Rugger Team out to look at it as a precaution. They launch and form the Rugger subunits.
At the Galveston HQ, they detect the Alliance fleet and the Rugger mecha. Raucher is shocked that they made it here so quickly. Their power levels are low and the Battle Attacker is incomplete. He sends Captain Seidel in charge of the fleet, and Garro is to support him.
They close in on the asteroid, and Aki reflects on how they don't know where the Glaveston homeworld is, and yet Galveston has already struck at Earth. He also thinks back to the destruction of the first front-line base and the sacrifices that entailed, namely the death of Commander Date. Hey--we didn't get a memorial to Colonel Carver in Voltron.
Then Walter sees the Galveston fleet. Aki holds them back, and decides to go in under them and investigate the planet while Asimov deals with the fleet. They close in on the asteroid, and avoid a meteor shower thanks to the local red dwarf. A flight of Galveston fighters closes in, and Keats and Walter volunteer to take care of them while the Air Rugger continues its investigation.
Seidel's fleet deploys to hold Asimov's ships back from the HQ. Asimov orders his ships to close as much as they can before they return fire. They take damage, but they succeed in breaking through the enemy forces. Seidel is killed (I knew it!)
Patty tells Aki that there is a metallic reading up ahead, and then they reach teh Galveston HQ. Raucher sees the enemy mecha approaching and orders the AAA batteries to fire--beams and missiles. Aki evades them and decides they need a full recon of that base. Asimov's fleet has broken through the enemy defensive line and has now turned on them. Huh--Seidel is still alive--that must have been either Garro or a generic Galveston ship commander. He orders his fleet to turn around.
Ise tells Asimov to stop pursuing the fleet, and he complies. Aki is still dodging. Walter and Keats join him, and they decide to wait form Rugger Guard to act on the data Aki's collected--after Aki protests somewhat. Raucher announces that a fleet from the homeworld is due in five hours.
Seidel has now regrouped his fleet and his planning to keep the Alliance fleet at bay until reinforcements survive. Raucher calls to see how the hell soon the battle attacker will be complete (exact translation). It will take two hours.
Asimov plans to use his fleet to draw the Galveston fleet away while Dairugger and the Rugger Guard attack the base directly. There are heavy casualties on both sides. Ships fall to the planetoid in flames. Seidel urges his fleet to stand its ground and inflict losses as heavy as possible on the enemy.
The Rugger teams and guard take advantage of the diversionary tactic to launch a sneak attack from the blind spots of the AAA guns. Raucher is getting desperate. The Rugger Guard moves in and hits the base hard while the Ruggers concentrate fire on the control towers. The Hq is in flames.
Seidel, his bridge in flames, orders his helm to ram Asimov's flagship. To his dismay (and flamey death) it's just a glancing blow. With the fleet vanquished, Asimov moves in to support the attack on the base. Raucher calls Supreme Commander Caponero, who tells him to just sacrifice himself. The combined firepower of the fleet is too much for the base, and Raucher leaves the control tower just as it explodes. Ise orders Aki to infiltrate the HQ and find anything they can on the Glaveston HQ. The Rugger eams fight their way through defenses on foot, kicking some major ass. Aki and Patty get to a ground car, and are then joined by Walter as he kills two snipers. They take off into the depths of the base.
Raucher is running to the battle attacker--I knew he pilots it--and his XO tries to stop him because it's not fully charge yet, but he shakes him up.
Walter finds a map to the Galveston homeworld, and Patty saves his butt. Aki teases them both, then the ground quakes as the battle attacker launches. As Raucher takes to the skies over the planetoid and engages the Rugger Guard, Aki rallies his team and they form Dairugger. The battle attacker bombards the Rugger Guard, and Dairugger bursts out of the wreckage of the base to deal with it. Oh, the battle attacker is trying to cut Dairugger with its sword and at the same time is baking him with the beam weapon. This still doesn't work and Raucher is killed when Dairugger destroys the battle attacker.
The fleets hover outside the base, and Ise examines the map. There are many more obstacles between them and the Galveston homeworld, but Aki, Walter and Keats pledge to see it through to the end.
Coconuts/Defend the Third Planet
When I started watching Vehicle Voltron as an adult, the Drules struck me, both in hierarchy and attitude, as being a lot like World War II-era Japanese Imperial Navy/Army. Basically, they're an arrogant cabal who are the only ones in their society who really know what's going on (i.e., how badly the war effort is going), which is one way you can look at the Japanese Imperial Government in the 30s and 40s. Plus, the planet-hopping warfare between the Galaxy Alliance and the Drule Empire reminds me a little of the island-hopping Pacific Campaign of World War II. Then, you get this episode. I'll talk more about that when I finish the episodes.
Coconuts
At the Drule HQ, A small transport ship approaches. It carries Hazar and Dorma back to the homeworld (nevermind some robot guard voiceover that gets it backwards). Dorma (whose eyes are miscolored as normal rather than Drule red throughout this scene) urges him to go underground and lead a resistance. In the HQ planning room, Borgam calls Captain Zucca and orders him to attack the Alliance base. Zucca moves out, and his XO tells him they're approaching planet Aloha. Zucca orders him to ready the robeast.
Cinda and Crick are craving coconuts. They ask Hawkins. He says it's silly. Jeff starts in on him, too, and finally takes the initiative and takes off for coconuts.
The alliance fleet waits in the bay as construction progresses on the base. Tanks stand guard. Spike and Herbie are two GG crewmen working on a communications tower. And Herbie likes coconuts. And they're both clearly paragons of maturity. They act like idiots in the jungle, and then Jeff arrives and does a flyby of the base.
Herbie and Spike are drinking coconut juice when Jeff lands his ship nearby. They recognize him and go to see what's going on. He hops out of his ship and tells them he's there for coconuts.
Zucca's fleet is closing in on the base over the sea. He starts jamming the communication towers with a transmission barrier, and launches four low-orbit satelliltes to do the job. The sky turns sepia-toned. They launch the robeast, which looks a lot like a green Zaku from Gundam (didn't we go through this in Golion, too?!)
Jeff, Spike and Herbie watch the fleet move in. Jeff goes to call for help, but can't get through the transmission barrier. The robeast rampages over the base while the Drule fleet decimates the fleet in the bay. Herbie is wounded twice by strafing Drule fighters. Jeff watches as Spike bandages the wound, then he tells them to find a hiding place and he launches his mecha.
Hawkins, Crick, Cinda, and Cliff are all on the bridge wondering what's taking Jeff so long.
Jeff is forced to hold off the Drule's on his own. He takes the dogfight low and loses some Drule pursuit in the jungle. The fleet is moving overhead toward the base, having finished the fleet. Zucca's officers tell him that the Voltron ship is trying to take out the satellites. He sends the robeast after him.
Jeff is flying through the devastated base, and then the robeast is on top of him. He outruns it momentarily, and then sees the jamming satellites. The robeast cuts him off and tries to drive him into the fleet. Zuccca orders his ships to fire, but they hit the robeast instead. Jeff uses the opportunity to knock out the jamming device, and the sky turns back to blue. Jeff calls the Explorer and tells them what's happening. Then Newley cuts him off and tells him to go to Aloha, and he's sending ships with Hawkins as backup. Hawkins deploys Cliff and Crick.
Spike is trying to help Herbie to shelter, and then looks up and sees Drule fighters. He heads for a cave and the fighters peel off and make a strafing run on them, wounding spike as he's carrying Herbie. Herbie tries to protect Spike by, um, collapsing on top of him. Then Jeff lands and carries Spike into the cave, and Herbie follows. Spike is awake-totally not dying--and Herbie gets the idea to climb a tree for coconuts. A flight of Drule fighters shoots him out of the tree and totally doesn't mortally wound him. Jeff shoots the fighters down WITH HIS SIDEARM and tries to drown the two injured crewmembers with coconut juice. Then Spike collapses again, and Jeff gets pissed.
Just then, he sees ships start exploding, and it's the rest of the Voltron force to the rescue. Jeff gets in his ship and they form Voltron.
Zucca is angry that Voltron has appeared. He sends the damages robeast after Voltron. Voltron immediately bodyslams the robeast into the ground, and Zucca prepares his fleet to fire on them, but then Hawins and the cavalry arrives, engaging Zucca's fleet and preventing him from supporting his robeast. On the ground, the battle against the damaged robeast is pretty one-sided, and it's over fast. Then Voltron takes off and destroys Zucca's flagship, bridge first.
The fleet has splashed down, and Jeff and Hawkins discuss the repair of the base and the tyranny of the Drules. Then Spakrs the red tells us that all of the men on Aloha have totally not died. Jeff goes out to the observation corridor and looks over the destruction, and we get footage of Spike and Herbie not being dead. Then Jeff flashes back to the battle from FIVE MINUTES AGO. Then they're in the lounge eating something gross. Hilarity ensues.
Defend the Third Planet
At the Galveston Frontline HQ, we hear sad music played as a shuttle leaves, carrying Teles and Sirk back to the Galveston Homeworld, and Teles reflects on everything that's been happening. Sirk, with weird miscolored eyes, tries to comfort him.
We see the shuttle pass beyond the debris ring of the planetoid, and then Raucher calls Zucca. Zucca reports that the Earth fleet is moving away from the third planet, and Raucher sends him to recapture it. Zucca prepares his forces for the sneak attack.
The Allied fleet is searching for the Galveston Homeworld. Keats is brooking in the observation corridor, and Kirigas asks him if his spider senses is tingling. The two of them report a sense of foreboding for the third planet to Ise and Aki. Aki volunteers to go check it out. HOLY FRACK!!! This is totally different from the Voltron dialogue.
On the Third Planet, they're listening to Macross music and two crewmembers are working on a communications tower, complaining a little about the planet's lack of development. Then they display their professionalism and chase each other through the jungle. The skinny guy is thirsty. Aki flies over of the installation and sees nothing out of the ordinary, then he decides to land and pick up some coconuts as a gift. The two crewmembers are just now drinking coconut juice when they see Aki land. Aki asks them if any is going on, but the crewmen are happy to say everything is peaceful.
Meanwhile, Zucca's forces advance over the ocean and prepare to attack the base. He divides his forces and launches satellites (they deploy from the battle machine hatch) to jam communications. Again, everything goes sepia-toned, and he launches the Mobile Suit--er, Battle Attacker. Well, I guess it's a switch from the Invid-looking battle machines form the early half of the series.
Aki and the crewmen see the attack start, and Aki gets in his ship, but is unable to raise the Rugger Guard. The battle attacker and the fighters strafe the base, destroying tanks and static defenses while Zucca's capital ships hit the fleet in the bay. Aki yells at the crewmen to get under cover, and the skinny one is wounded by fragments. Aki launches.
On the bridge of the Rugger Guard, Ise, Walter, and Keats are apprehensive as Kirigas points out that Aki should have contacted them if there'd been trouble.
Aki defeats a flight of Galveston fighters and wonder what's happening to the base personnel. Overhead, Zucca's fleet closes in. Zucca plans on establishing a base and migrating the people from his homeworld. Then they detect one of the Rugger mecha, and he orders the battle attacker to finish off Aki.
Aki is flying low over the devastated base, and is surprised by the battle attacker. As he evades it, he sees the jamming satellites, and then it's chasing him again. He charges Zucca's fleet, prompting the ships to open fire and inadvertently damage the battle attacker. Aki breaks free, destroys the jamming satellite, and calls the Rugger Guard for help. Asimov is going to continue the search for the homeworld, and he sends part of his fleet to help Ise fend off the attack on the thirst planet.
The two crew goons get themselves injured again trying to make it to a cave for shelter. The fat one is Satou and the skinny one is Morikawa. Aki destroys the enemy fighters and helps them get into the cave. Morikawa goes to get a coconut and is spotted by Galveston fighters. And, Aki shoots one of them down with his hand weapon. He then tries to give them both coconut juice. Morikawa dies. Satou gets angry and tries to run out of the cave, but collapses. Aki realizes he's dead, and starts punching the cave floor. He sees the Galveston fleet moving overhead, and then the rest of the Rugger team arrives. Aki gets in his ship and they form Dairugger.
Zucca sees this and launches the under-repaired battle attacker. It flies at Dairugger, leaking flames. Zucca orders his fleet to back up the battle attacker, but the Rugger fleet under Ise arrives. Aki vents his rage at the deaths of Satou and Morikawa on the battle attacker by punching it (successfully, for once), and then dedicates the death blow struck by the Rugger Sword to everyone at the garrison. Then Dairugger kills Zucca and destroys his flagship in the name of the entire Third Planet.
The fleet has splashed down outside the burning base. Ise realizes Galveston must be desperate, and they must find the homeworld and liberate them. Ise gets the report that only 3 men survived the attack. Aki goes out to the observation gallery and reflects on how war can make someone seem as though they never exists, just statistics in a report.
OK--Here is my cultural commentary: Is this Pearl Harbor? Am I way out of line for suggesting it? All along, I've thought of the Galveston/Drule forces as being like the Japanese in WWII, and the Alliance as being the Allies. I'm only a dumb white guy, and I don't even really speak Japanese (I know a few words and some sentences, that's it). But would it be weird to think that some animators in the 80s were commenting on WWII? I know (or at least, I've been told) that, as a whole, Japanese society was pretty anti-military up until the mid-70s or early 80s and refused to support the idea of more than a minimal Self-Defense Force. But is this also emblematic of this? Does someone who knows more about Japanese culture, particularly "last-half-of-the-20th century Japanese culture," get what I'm saying?
Coconuts
At the Drule HQ, A small transport ship approaches. It carries Hazar and Dorma back to the homeworld (nevermind some robot guard voiceover that gets it backwards). Dorma (whose eyes are miscolored as normal rather than Drule red throughout this scene) urges him to go underground and lead a resistance. In the HQ planning room, Borgam calls Captain Zucca and orders him to attack the Alliance base. Zucca moves out, and his XO tells him they're approaching planet Aloha. Zucca orders him to ready the robeast.
Cinda and Crick are craving coconuts. They ask Hawkins. He says it's silly. Jeff starts in on him, too, and finally takes the initiative and takes off for coconuts.
The alliance fleet waits in the bay as construction progresses on the base. Tanks stand guard. Spike and Herbie are two GG crewmen working on a communications tower. And Herbie likes coconuts. And they're both clearly paragons of maturity. They act like idiots in the jungle, and then Jeff arrives and does a flyby of the base.
Herbie and Spike are drinking coconut juice when Jeff lands his ship nearby. They recognize him and go to see what's going on. He hops out of his ship and tells them he's there for coconuts.
Zucca's fleet is closing in on the base over the sea. He starts jamming the communication towers with a transmission barrier, and launches four low-orbit satelliltes to do the job. The sky turns sepia-toned. They launch the robeast, which looks a lot like a green Zaku from Gundam (didn't we go through this in Golion, too?!)
Jeff, Spike and Herbie watch the fleet move in. Jeff goes to call for help, but can't get through the transmission barrier. The robeast rampages over the base while the Drule fleet decimates the fleet in the bay. Herbie is wounded twice by strafing Drule fighters. Jeff watches as Spike bandages the wound, then he tells them to find a hiding place and he launches his mecha.
Hawkins, Crick, Cinda, and Cliff are all on the bridge wondering what's taking Jeff so long.
Jeff is forced to hold off the Drule's on his own. He takes the dogfight low and loses some Drule pursuit in the jungle. The fleet is moving overhead toward the base, having finished the fleet. Zucca's officers tell him that the Voltron ship is trying to take out the satellites. He sends the robeast after him.
Jeff is flying through the devastated base, and then the robeast is on top of him. He outruns it momentarily, and then sees the jamming satellites. The robeast cuts him off and tries to drive him into the fleet. Zuccca orders his ships to fire, but they hit the robeast instead. Jeff uses the opportunity to knock out the jamming device, and the sky turns back to blue. Jeff calls the Explorer and tells them what's happening. Then Newley cuts him off and tells him to go to Aloha, and he's sending ships with Hawkins as backup. Hawkins deploys Cliff and Crick.
Spike is trying to help Herbie to shelter, and then looks up and sees Drule fighters. He heads for a cave and the fighters peel off and make a strafing run on them, wounding spike as he's carrying Herbie. Herbie tries to protect Spike by, um, collapsing on top of him. Then Jeff lands and carries Spike into the cave, and Herbie follows. Spike is awake-totally not dying--and Herbie gets the idea to climb a tree for coconuts. A flight of Drule fighters shoots him out of the tree and totally doesn't mortally wound him. Jeff shoots the fighters down WITH HIS SIDEARM and tries to drown the two injured crewmembers with coconut juice. Then Spike collapses again, and Jeff gets pissed.
Just then, he sees ships start exploding, and it's the rest of the Voltron force to the rescue. Jeff gets in his ship and they form Voltron.
Zucca is angry that Voltron has appeared. He sends the damages robeast after Voltron. Voltron immediately bodyslams the robeast into the ground, and Zucca prepares his fleet to fire on them, but then Hawins and the cavalry arrives, engaging Zucca's fleet and preventing him from supporting his robeast. On the ground, the battle against the damaged robeast is pretty one-sided, and it's over fast. Then Voltron takes off and destroys Zucca's flagship, bridge first.
The fleet has splashed down, and Jeff and Hawkins discuss the repair of the base and the tyranny of the Drules. Then Spakrs the red tells us that all of the men on Aloha have totally not died. Jeff goes out to the observation corridor and looks over the destruction, and we get footage of Spike and Herbie not being dead. Then Jeff flashes back to the battle from FIVE MINUTES AGO. Then they're in the lounge eating something gross. Hilarity ensues.
Defend the Third Planet
At the Galveston Frontline HQ, we hear sad music played as a shuttle leaves, carrying Teles and Sirk back to the Galveston Homeworld, and Teles reflects on everything that's been happening. Sirk, with weird miscolored eyes, tries to comfort him.
We see the shuttle pass beyond the debris ring of the planetoid, and then Raucher calls Zucca. Zucca reports that the Earth fleet is moving away from the third planet, and Raucher sends him to recapture it. Zucca prepares his forces for the sneak attack.
The Allied fleet is searching for the Galveston Homeworld. Keats is brooking in the observation corridor, and Kirigas asks him if his spider senses is tingling. The two of them report a sense of foreboding for the third planet to Ise and Aki. Aki volunteers to go check it out. HOLY FRACK!!! This is totally different from the Voltron dialogue.
On the Third Planet, they're listening to Macross music and two crewmembers are working on a communications tower, complaining a little about the planet's lack of development. Then they display their professionalism and chase each other through the jungle. The skinny guy is thirsty. Aki flies over of the installation and sees nothing out of the ordinary, then he decides to land and pick up some coconuts as a gift. The two crewmembers are just now drinking coconut juice when they see Aki land. Aki asks them if any is going on, but the crewmen are happy to say everything is peaceful.
Meanwhile, Zucca's forces advance over the ocean and prepare to attack the base. He divides his forces and launches satellites (they deploy from the battle machine hatch) to jam communications. Again, everything goes sepia-toned, and he launches the Mobile Suit--er, Battle Attacker. Well, I guess it's a switch from the Invid-looking battle machines form the early half of the series.
Aki and the crewmen see the attack start, and Aki gets in his ship, but is unable to raise the Rugger Guard. The battle attacker and the fighters strafe the base, destroying tanks and static defenses while Zucca's capital ships hit the fleet in the bay. Aki yells at the crewmen to get under cover, and the skinny one is wounded by fragments. Aki launches.
On the bridge of the Rugger Guard, Ise, Walter, and Keats are apprehensive as Kirigas points out that Aki should have contacted them if there'd been trouble.
Aki defeats a flight of Galveston fighters and wonder what's happening to the base personnel. Overhead, Zucca's fleet closes in. Zucca plans on establishing a base and migrating the people from his homeworld. Then they detect one of the Rugger mecha, and he orders the battle attacker to finish off Aki.
Aki is flying low over the devastated base, and is surprised by the battle attacker. As he evades it, he sees the jamming satellites, and then it's chasing him again. He charges Zucca's fleet, prompting the ships to open fire and inadvertently damage the battle attacker. Aki breaks free, destroys the jamming satellite, and calls the Rugger Guard for help. Asimov is going to continue the search for the homeworld, and he sends part of his fleet to help Ise fend off the attack on the thirst planet.
The two crew goons get themselves injured again trying to make it to a cave for shelter. The fat one is Satou and the skinny one is Morikawa. Aki destroys the enemy fighters and helps them get into the cave. Morikawa goes to get a coconut and is spotted by Galveston fighters. And, Aki shoots one of them down with his hand weapon. He then tries to give them both coconut juice. Morikawa dies. Satou gets angry and tries to run out of the cave, but collapses. Aki realizes he's dead, and starts punching the cave floor. He sees the Galveston fleet moving overhead, and then the rest of the Rugger team arrives. Aki gets in his ship and they form Dairugger.
Zucca sees this and launches the under-repaired battle attacker. It flies at Dairugger, leaking flames. Zucca orders his fleet to back up the battle attacker, but the Rugger fleet under Ise arrives. Aki vents his rage at the deaths of Satou and Morikawa on the battle attacker by punching it (successfully, for once), and then dedicates the death blow struck by the Rugger Sword to everyone at the garrison. Then Dairugger kills Zucca and destroys his flagship in the name of the entire Third Planet.
The fleet has splashed down outside the burning base. Ise realizes Galveston must be desperate, and they must find the homeworld and liberate them. Ise gets the report that only 3 men survived the attack. Aki goes out to the observation gallery and reflects on how war can make someone seem as though they never exists, just statistics in a report.
OK--Here is my cultural commentary: Is this Pearl Harbor? Am I way out of line for suggesting it? All along, I've thought of the Galveston/Drule forces as being like the Japanese in WWII, and the Alliance as being the Allies. I'm only a dumb white guy, and I don't even really speak Japanese (I know a few words and some sentences, that's it). But would it be weird to think that some animators in the 80s were commenting on WWII? I know (or at least, I've been told) that, as a whole, Japanese society was pretty anti-military up until the mid-70s or early 80s and refused to support the idea of more than a minimal Self-Defense Force. But is this also emblematic of this? Does someone who knows more about Japanese culture, particularly "last-half-of-the-20th century Japanese culture," get what I'm saying?
Friday, September 30, 2011
Frozen Assets/Aki Team Gets Caught
Frozen Assets
The Explorer and her fleet are just leaving star system 37. On the lounge, Jeff thinks the Drules are started to see things the Alliance's way. Hawkins arrives and says they can only have the new planet if they disarm. What's this?! Continuity?! And following the Dairugger script, for the most part? Hawkins allows Jeff to take the Voltron force out for some exploring.
Hazar and Dorma discuss the impasse they have with the Drule high command. Borgam arrives and announces he is deploying another squadron. Hazar is angry, but Borgam is acting on the supreme council's order. He plans to ambush the Voltron force at Planet 10. Borgam tells Hazar that something bad will happen if he doesn't toe the party line.
Jeff comes upon a planet at the edge of the solar system. He advises Hawkins, who tells him to go in for a look. Crick wonders if they need backup, but Hawkins keeps him in reserve. We get some fantastic backgrounds of the glaciated, frozen planet, and segue to a Drule fleet grounded in the ice. Captain Howl (?) decides to act shipwrecked and helpless. We get a flashy effect that matches that of a ship approaching the HQ from the space warp. Dorma tells Hazar that captain Shigormu has arrive. Dorma tries to convince him to escape into exile, but he refuses. The enter the planning room where Shigormu and Borgam await. Shigormu reads a statement that Hazar has been relieved of duty and sent back to the homeworld, with Borgam placed in his command. Dorma tries to sway Shigormu, but there is no room for compromise. After Hazar and Dorma leave, Shigormu tells Borgam that Hazar is to be court martialed. Dorma feels hopeless; Hazar isn't so defeated, but rather resigned. They watch another squadron leave to reinforce Captain H*** on planet 10.
The air team patrols the planet, heading towards potential Drule signals over a lake of ice. They come upon the fleet sitting in the ice. Jeff has them form the Stratofighter and lands, examining the ghost ships. Jeff calls the Drule squadron, but the Captain tells his XO that they will play possum until reinforcements arrive.
Jeff's team jumps out of their ship and approach the ships. An icefall gives them pause, but Jeff leads them to a lowered ramp. Chip wants to go back, but Jeff thinks the ships are abandoned. He sends Ginger to report to Hawkins while he leads the other three into the ship. The Captain gloats. Jeff has Chip stand guard at the entrance while he leads Wolo and Rocky further in.
Cliff and Crick are deployed to support Jeff by Hawkins and form their subunits. The Air team moves further into the ship, and Jeff is suspicious of the supposed abandonment. They move through the ship and into the control room. They see Drule soldiers scattered around the floor, and then the lights come up and they're surrounded. The Captain goes all Bond villain and gloats, then they reproduce the gymnastics routine from planet Eldora and evade gunfire. Chip escapes from the ship just as it lifts off and runs to the Stratofighter. Ginger calls Hawkins, and he tells her that the other teams are on their way. Then a robeast explodes out of the eyes. It tries stomp on Chip, but Ginger picks him up and they fight the robeast. Jeff, Rocky, and Wollo fight a slow retreat, and Jeff gets the idea to steal some ships from the hangar.
Ginger continues to engage the robeast, but the Stratofighter takesw a hit from its claw and crashes. She's saved from getting stomped on by the arrival of Cliff and Crick. Jeff and his team make it to a hangar bay full of Drule fighters. They each take a fighter and Jeff opens the hangar doors. The air currents blow the troops back, and Jeff and his team escape.
Cliff and Crick are bombarding the robeast, but they don't have the power levels to damage it. Then they catch sight of the three missing team members. Jeff and his team jump onto the Stratofighter and get into their own cockpits.
Captain Jumka (who looks like a purple Mark Harmon) is told that the other captain isn't doing so well. Jumka gives the word for the other captain to retreat.
They form voltron. They charge the robeast and through the spinning laser blades at it, but its beam weapons destroy the blades and knock Voltron back. Jeff charges again, but gets knocked back. He disables the robeast's beam weapon with the wing beam, and then destroys another weapon with the raybeam whip, impales it with a solar combat spear, and then forms the blazing sword and does and impressive cartwheel attack.
Captain HGhgjf orders his fleet on to the third planet. Then we see the shot of Jeff and his guys fleeing in stolen ships again.
The air team waits outside Hawkins' office while the big H berates Jeff for almost causing an all out war with the Drules. Cliff and Crick also tease Jeff.
Aki Team Gets Caught
So, not too many episodes after "Air Rugger Vanishes," we have "Aki Team Gets Caught." I wonder if this is carrying on in the fine mecha anime tradition of titular hyperbole, like Mazinger Z's "Kouji Kabuto Dies in Lava." (He doesn't die. Though both things do happen to Aki and his team, niether is very serious in the end).
We see the Rugger Guard and fleet as they depart the star system to the sounds of a rough draft to some of the Macross OST. Aki is hopeful for the future with Galveston. Everyone else pretty much slaps him down. But is the absence of Galveston forces due to Teles' efforts, or because they're up to something? Aki's team launches to explore the further planets in the star system.
Teles tells Sirk that the planet is 15% closer to collapse than they were last month, and they NEED to lower their arms and find a new planet. Then Raucher arrives and tells him that Captain Herm from the Homeworld fleet has arrived at the tenth planet and he wants to send Captain Zucca to reinforce him, and this is on Supreme Commander Caponero's authority, even though Teles tries to reason with Raucher, and then tries to use his authority, and realizes he has none left.
Aki finds the ninth planet, a rogue planet outside star system 37, and Ise has him survey it with the air team. Ise tells Keats to standby. Then we get a montage of awesome ice planet backgrounds (it makes me want to listen to Immortal) that leads up to Captain Herm's grounded and frozen fleet. Herm tells his XO to cut power and look crashed.
Captine Gigolone arrives at the Galveston HQ, and Sirk tells him he should go into exile, amass a force of his own, and rebel, and even the Earth forces might help him. Teles is too proud to do such a thing. They enter the planning room and Gigolone installs Raucher as the commander of the frontline base, and Teles is to return to Galveston for court martial. Sirk tries to reason with Gigolone, and then follows Teles out. Raucher and Gigolone talk trash while he's gone. Teles broods at the windows for probably the last time (well, at these windows. I'm sure he'll find other windows at which to brood). Then the Zucca fleet is launched.
The air team surveys the planet and enters a region of canyons, where they find Herm's grounded fleet. Aki combines into the Air Rugger and approaches for a landing. Patty gets no energy signatures. Herm asks his XO where the Zucca fleet is. Since they've just left the HQ, Herm decides to wait.
The air team gets out of their ships and move to explore the ice-encrusted ships. They see a stairway lowered from the flagship. Aki decides to take Mutsu, Kai, and Kreuz to investigate, leaving Patty to contact the Rugger Guard. Herm watches them board and plans an ambush. Aki leaves Mutsu at the entrance, standing guard. Patty contacts Ise and he sends the other teams.
Aki and his team move deeper into the enemy ship. They enter the bridge and find dozens of Galveston soldiers strewn around. Then the lights come back up and Herm captures them. Sort of. They trade words, and then breakdance their way out of the fighting. The ship starts to lift off and Mutsu jumps out, riding the ramp to the ground. He gets to the Air Rugger, while Patty advises Ise. Then a battle attacker emerges from the ice and we hear the Dairugger version of Macross' Fate's Arrow. Patty and Mutsu have their hands full, as do Aki, Kai, and Kreuz in the ship. Then Aki decides to steal fighters from the hanger. (Oh, yeah, the Galveston troops are using more submachinegun-looking weapons, rather than the big silver rifles we've seen before.
The battle attacker is just about to take out the Air Rugger when the others arrive and the three ships gang up on the battle attacker. The three Air Rugger members reach the hangar and launch in stolen fighters. Herm is angry that his troops let them go. The three make it to the Air Rugger (not without showing off). Zucca's fleet arrives and receives word of the battle. Zucca decides to just head to the third planet (thus setting up the next episode). The three subunits reform into Dairugger.
Dairugger throws the spin cutters, but they're vaporized by the battle attacker's beam weapon. Aki charges, and gets hit by another beam weapon, which he disables with the wing beam and the whip. Then they use the lance and season the battle attacker, before fully cooking it with the Dairugger sword. Herm watches the battle attacker explode and makes for the third planet.
Ise chews out Aki, and the rest of his team waits. Walter and Keats are all "I told ya so." Then he goes and buys his team coffee. Patty wants cake, too.
The Explorer and her fleet are just leaving star system 37. On the lounge, Jeff thinks the Drules are started to see things the Alliance's way. Hawkins arrives and says they can only have the new planet if they disarm. What's this?! Continuity?! And following the Dairugger script, for the most part? Hawkins allows Jeff to take the Voltron force out for some exploring.
Hazar and Dorma discuss the impasse they have with the Drule high command. Borgam arrives and announces he is deploying another squadron. Hazar is angry, but Borgam is acting on the supreme council's order. He plans to ambush the Voltron force at Planet 10. Borgam tells Hazar that something bad will happen if he doesn't toe the party line.
Jeff comes upon a planet at the edge of the solar system. He advises Hawkins, who tells him to go in for a look. Crick wonders if they need backup, but Hawkins keeps him in reserve. We get some fantastic backgrounds of the glaciated, frozen planet, and segue to a Drule fleet grounded in the ice. Captain Howl (?) decides to act shipwrecked and helpless. We get a flashy effect that matches that of a ship approaching the HQ from the space warp. Dorma tells Hazar that captain Shigormu has arrive. Dorma tries to convince him to escape into exile, but he refuses. The enter the planning room where Shigormu and Borgam await. Shigormu reads a statement that Hazar has been relieved of duty and sent back to the homeworld, with Borgam placed in his command. Dorma tries to sway Shigormu, but there is no room for compromise. After Hazar and Dorma leave, Shigormu tells Borgam that Hazar is to be court martialed. Dorma feels hopeless; Hazar isn't so defeated, but rather resigned. They watch another squadron leave to reinforce Captain H*** on planet 10.
The air team patrols the planet, heading towards potential Drule signals over a lake of ice. They come upon the fleet sitting in the ice. Jeff has them form the Stratofighter and lands, examining the ghost ships. Jeff calls the Drule squadron, but the Captain tells his XO that they will play possum until reinforcements arrive.
Jeff's team jumps out of their ship and approach the ships. An icefall gives them pause, but Jeff leads them to a lowered ramp. Chip wants to go back, but Jeff thinks the ships are abandoned. He sends Ginger to report to Hawkins while he leads the other three into the ship. The Captain gloats. Jeff has Chip stand guard at the entrance while he leads Wolo and Rocky further in.
Cliff and Crick are deployed to support Jeff by Hawkins and form their subunits. The Air team moves further into the ship, and Jeff is suspicious of the supposed abandonment. They move through the ship and into the control room. They see Drule soldiers scattered around the floor, and then the lights come up and they're surrounded. The Captain goes all Bond villain and gloats, then they reproduce the gymnastics routine from planet Eldora and evade gunfire. Chip escapes from the ship just as it lifts off and runs to the Stratofighter. Ginger calls Hawkins, and he tells her that the other teams are on their way. Then a robeast explodes out of the eyes. It tries stomp on Chip, but Ginger picks him up and they fight the robeast. Jeff, Rocky, and Wollo fight a slow retreat, and Jeff gets the idea to steal some ships from the hangar.
Ginger continues to engage the robeast, but the Stratofighter takesw a hit from its claw and crashes. She's saved from getting stomped on by the arrival of Cliff and Crick. Jeff and his team make it to a hangar bay full of Drule fighters. They each take a fighter and Jeff opens the hangar doors. The air currents blow the troops back, and Jeff and his team escape.
Cliff and Crick are bombarding the robeast, but they don't have the power levels to damage it. Then they catch sight of the three missing team members. Jeff and his team jump onto the Stratofighter and get into their own cockpits.
Captain Jumka (who looks like a purple Mark Harmon) is told that the other captain isn't doing so well. Jumka gives the word for the other captain to retreat.
They form voltron. They charge the robeast and through the spinning laser blades at it, but its beam weapons destroy the blades and knock Voltron back. Jeff charges again, but gets knocked back. He disables the robeast's beam weapon with the wing beam, and then destroys another weapon with the raybeam whip, impales it with a solar combat spear, and then forms the blazing sword and does and impressive cartwheel attack.
Captain HGhgjf orders his fleet on to the third planet. Then we see the shot of Jeff and his guys fleeing in stolen ships again.
The air team waits outside Hawkins' office while the big H berates Jeff for almost causing an all out war with the Drules. Cliff and Crick also tease Jeff.
Aki Team Gets Caught
So, not too many episodes after "Air Rugger Vanishes," we have "Aki Team Gets Caught." I wonder if this is carrying on in the fine mecha anime tradition of titular hyperbole, like Mazinger Z's "Kouji Kabuto Dies in Lava." (He doesn't die. Though both things do happen to Aki and his team, niether is very serious in the end).
We see the Rugger Guard and fleet as they depart the star system to the sounds of a rough draft to some of the Macross OST. Aki is hopeful for the future with Galveston. Everyone else pretty much slaps him down. But is the absence of Galveston forces due to Teles' efforts, or because they're up to something? Aki's team launches to explore the further planets in the star system.
Teles tells Sirk that the planet is 15% closer to collapse than they were last month, and they NEED to lower their arms and find a new planet. Then Raucher arrives and tells him that Captain Herm from the Homeworld fleet has arrived at the tenth planet and he wants to send Captain Zucca to reinforce him, and this is on Supreme Commander Caponero's authority, even though Teles tries to reason with Raucher, and then tries to use his authority, and realizes he has none left.
Aki finds the ninth planet, a rogue planet outside star system 37, and Ise has him survey it with the air team. Ise tells Keats to standby. Then we get a montage of awesome ice planet backgrounds (it makes me want to listen to Immortal) that leads up to Captain Herm's grounded and frozen fleet. Herm tells his XO to cut power and look crashed.
Captine Gigolone arrives at the Galveston HQ, and Sirk tells him he should go into exile, amass a force of his own, and rebel, and even the Earth forces might help him. Teles is too proud to do such a thing. They enter the planning room and Gigolone installs Raucher as the commander of the frontline base, and Teles is to return to Galveston for court martial. Sirk tries to reason with Gigolone, and then follows Teles out. Raucher and Gigolone talk trash while he's gone. Teles broods at the windows for probably the last time (well, at these windows. I'm sure he'll find other windows at which to brood). Then the Zucca fleet is launched.
The air team surveys the planet and enters a region of canyons, where they find Herm's grounded fleet. Aki combines into the Air Rugger and approaches for a landing. Patty gets no energy signatures. Herm asks his XO where the Zucca fleet is. Since they've just left the HQ, Herm decides to wait.
The air team gets out of their ships and move to explore the ice-encrusted ships. They see a stairway lowered from the flagship. Aki decides to take Mutsu, Kai, and Kreuz to investigate, leaving Patty to contact the Rugger Guard. Herm watches them board and plans an ambush. Aki leaves Mutsu at the entrance, standing guard. Patty contacts Ise and he sends the other teams.
Aki and his team move deeper into the enemy ship. They enter the bridge and find dozens of Galveston soldiers strewn around. Then the lights come back up and Herm captures them. Sort of. They trade words, and then breakdance their way out of the fighting. The ship starts to lift off and Mutsu jumps out, riding the ramp to the ground. He gets to the Air Rugger, while Patty advises Ise. Then a battle attacker emerges from the ice and we hear the Dairugger version of Macross' Fate's Arrow. Patty and Mutsu have their hands full, as do Aki, Kai, and Kreuz in the ship. Then Aki decides to steal fighters from the hanger. (Oh, yeah, the Galveston troops are using more submachinegun-looking weapons, rather than the big silver rifles we've seen before.
The battle attacker is just about to take out the Air Rugger when the others arrive and the three ships gang up on the battle attacker. The three Air Rugger members reach the hangar and launch in stolen fighters. Herm is angry that his troops let them go. The three make it to the Air Rugger (not without showing off). Zucca's fleet arrives and receives word of the battle. Zucca decides to just head to the third planet (thus setting up the next episode). The three subunits reform into Dairugger.
Dairugger throws the spin cutters, but they're vaporized by the battle attacker's beam weapon. Aki charges, and gets hit by another beam weapon, which he disables with the wing beam and the whip. Then they use the lance and season the battle attacker, before fully cooking it with the Dairugger sword. Herm watches the battle attacker explode and makes for the third planet.
Ise chews out Aki, and the rest of his team waits. Walter and Keats are all "I told ya so." Then he goes and buys his team coffee. Patty wants cake, too.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
It's Anybody's World/Teles and Asimov
It's Anybody's World
It's morning on the contested planet, and the Alliance fleet is hovering over a plain while herds of herbivores move across. it. Jeff, Cliff and Crick comment on how peaceful it looks.
Newley and Hawkins are on the bridge of Newley's flagship. They discuss the fact that Hazar himself is coming, and that they are willing to give Hazar the planet as long as they don't use it as a base for conquest.
Hazar is preparing to leave for the negotiations, and Borgam storms into his office, trying to convince him not to negotiate. Hazar's fleet leaves with two robeasts as a frustrated Borgam takes Hazar's place at the windows.
Hawkins' shuttle returns to the Explorer, and Hawkins asks Jeff if they've received communications from Noran, the Drule commander.
Hazar and Dorma approach the planet. The Explorer bridge crew see the arrival of this large fleet, and Noran contacts them to tell them that Hazar is on his ways, and they lay out the conditions for the negotiations. Noran pauses before agreeing, causing the bridge crew to chatter, but he accepts. Hawkins sends the Land and Sea teams out to examine the designated meeting area. Hawkins deploys the fleet to the holding zone as Noran and the robeasts follow suit.
Borgam calls Valen and orders him to report on Hazar's actions. Hazar, Dorma, Noran, and Valen are in an observation room of the ship as they proceed to the meeting place, Hazar with whine and Valen smirking.
The land team scares a brontosaurus-looking thing, and reports that the meeting area checks out. Crick flies among some coelecanths, and concurs with Cliff. Sparks orders him to check the airspace. Another bridge crewmembers tells Jeff all is ready, orders the shuttle launched. Hazar and Noran are waiting with their own shuttle (a new or recolored design). They begin the meeting, and Newley and Hazar shake hands. The discuss the crisis of the Drule homeworld.
The Sea and Land teams are patrolling when Cliff sights a column of smoke. They move in low, and see humans around a campfire. The primitive humans watch the Alliance mecha.
Hawkins and Newley are waiting while Hazar contacts Throk. The conversation with Throk doesn't go well, but he grudgingly accepts. Hawkins gets jittery when a communication alarm beeps in his shuttle. Cliff informs him of the stone age settlement, and Hawkins sends them back to the Explorer. Hawkins tells Newley, and then Hazar comes out of his shuttle. Hazar is more confident that his conversation with Throk should have left him, and then Newley drops the "This planet is inhabited" bomb. Hazar is thunderstruck.
Newley says they will have to work out an arrangement with the natives. Newley has another stipulation--the Alliance-observed disarmament of the Drule Empire. Hazar goes to contact his superiors again. Jeff is watching on the bridge when Cliff and Crick arrive.
Hazar is trying to convince Throk on the homeworld, who is not easy to convince. He yells at Hazar until he cuts him off. He comes out of the shuttle troubled. He tells Newley the truth, and says the Drule supreme commander refuses to accept the terms, but Hazar intends to disobey orders and leave the planet without fighting. Newley tries to stop him, and Hawkins commends Hazar's conduct. The shuttle lifts, and Newley suggests leaving a small garrison force as a precaution.
Newley is back on his bridge, sending the lookout detail while Hawkins launches the rest of the fleet. Hazar's fleet and the robeasts launch as well. Borgam, meanwhile, tells Throk of this development, and Throk tells him to send Valen back to the planet.
Hazar sends Noran and Valen to continue surveying for suitable planets. The fleet divides, and Borgam sends Valen back. Valen likes this idea.
Sparks detects the arriving Drule fleet. Hawkins believes that someone other than Hazar gave the order, and he deploys the Voltron force.
The garrison fleet is getting pummeled by Valen's superior force. Dorma rushes to Hazar, and Hazar punches the wall in frustration. Valen deploys the robeast. It makes a mess of the Alliance fleet. Valen gloats. Then the Voltron force arrives, and he sends the robeast to meet them. They form Voltron.
The robeast and Voltron tangle, and animals flee the forest. Crick is concerned that they'll destroy the forest, so they move to the cliffs. Newley and his fleet are rushing to return to the planet. The robeast and Voltron fight on a cliff, and the robeast actually has multiple swords. Voltron his hanging off the edge of the cliff when Jeff throws the robeast into the ocean with the Raybeam Whip. They form blazing sword and slice up the disabled robeast on the bottom of the ocean.
Valen's XO tells him that the robeast is destroyed and the escape ship is ready. Newley and Hawkins close in.
Hazar broods as he returns. He is sure that Valen had orders from Throk. Dorma looks depressed.
Newley and Hawkins determine that now they have to reach the Drule homeworld and liberate the Drules themselves. Then we get lousy time-filler dialogue in the lounge. And a Voltron commercial.
Teles and Asimov
The Alliance fleet hovers over the surface of the new planet as Aki, Walter, and Keats watch herds moving over the plains. Nolan has not responded, and Galveston is not likely to pass up a planet like this.
Ise and Asimov discuss Teles' arrival on Asimov's bridge. Asimob is willing to allow them to immigrate as long as they don't try for galactic conquest.
Raucher arrives at Tele's office, and Teles informs him of his negotiation plans. Teles tries to convince him that discussion is the safer route compared to aggression, but Raucher stalks off angrily. Teles leaves with a fleet escorted by two battle attackers, and Raucher is the one left brooding at the window.
Ise returns to the bridge, and Nolan has still not responded. Sirk and Teles watch as their fleet approaches the planet. The Rugger Guard radar operator picks up Teles' fleet. Nolan hails the Rugger Guard and shows them where to meet in an hour. Ise offers additional terms--Ise and Nolan will attend with the commanders, and the fleets will stand off 20 km from the location. He also wants a chance to scout it first. Nolan accepts. Aki protests that they'll be in danger, just the two of them, but Ise ignores him, deploys the Sea and Land Ruggers, and launches the fleet. Nolan's fleet also moves.
Raucher and Juxon discuss the start of the negotiations, and Raucher intends to call Caponero. Juxon smirks as he, Sirk, and Nolan sit in Teles' observation room.
The Land Rugger encounters dinosaurs but no threats, and the Sea Rugger finds coelecanths, but no threats. They are ordered to meet up and scout the interior of the continent. The fleet reaches its standoff position and Aki authorizes Ise's launch.
Nolan and Teles watch Asimov and Ise approach. The four officers meet and introduce themselves. There is a long (and Kurasawa-esque) moment of silence and swirly wind that was lost in Voltron, and then they introduce themselves.
Walter and Keats see smoke and a stone age human encampment. The humans are awestruck at the two mecha.
Teles is communication with Caponero, and Caponero doesn't trust the idea of abandoning conquest. He thinks the Alliance wants the galaxy for themselves. He tells Teles, shockingly, to accept their terms. Then the alarm rings in Ise's shuttle.
Commercial break--this one was dramatic enough that I thought I'd mention it.
Walter tells Ise of the humans. He goes to tell Asimov, and then Teles comes out of the shuttle and asks for time to consider the proposal. Asimov then tells him about the human settlement. Teles is shocked. Asimov admits that they alone can no longer decide the planets fate. He says that in order for them to trust to coinhabit with the aboriginals, they must disarm. Teles thinks about it, and then he and Nolan go back to the shuttle. Aki, Keats, and Walter watch from the Rugger Guard bridge.
Caponero does not like the disarmament proposal at all. Teles urges him to reconsider, but Caponero refuses. He orders Teles to refuse, but Teles finally disconnects. He walks slowly back to Asimov and Ise, and tells them that his government wants the planet to be acquired, even if it's by force. However, he is going to take his fleet, and Asimov tries to call him back before he leave. Asimov makes the momentous decision that the Galveston government must be overthrown.
The fleets are preparing to leave, and Asimov leaves a unit behind to watch for Galveston treachery. On the Galveston homeworld, Raucher reveals that Juxon has told him of Teles' withdrawal. Caponero is told that Juxon is trustworthy, and he smirks.
Teles orders Raucher and Juxon to survey other planets. Raucher then sends Juxon back to the planet, a duty he looks forward to. The Rugger Guard sees the change in course, and Ise realizes the small force left at the planet is in danger.
Juxon is already fighting his way through the Alliance squadron. Sirk rushes to Teles' office and gives him the news. Teles is angry. The battle rages, and Juxon launches the battle attacker. There's a slight animation error, I think--as it launches, the by-now-standard crotch missile launcher lights up instead of the three lights in its faceplate. At least, it looks like an error. Maybe it was just really excited to get into battle.
The Rugger team arrives and forms the big guy. This battle attacker has a serious arsenal--its right arm is a big bladed weapon on a chain, and it has a beam weapon in its right wrist. Dairugger leads the battle attack away from the jungle (which has a weird mix of dinosaurs and mammals). The Dairugger lance is disarmed by the blade on a chain, which is in turn severed by the whip. Then the battle attacker pulls another sword out of the beam emitter on its right wrist and wields it left-handed, driving Dairugger to dangle off of the cliff. 'Ruggs then throws the battle attacker off the cliff with the whip and finishes it with the sword.
Asimov's fleet returns in force and kills Juxon, wiping out his fleet.
Sirk tells Teles of the new events. Teles knows that Juxon didn't act alone.
Ise and Asimov watch the sun set, and realize they have to reach the Galveston homeworld as quickly as possible. They speak admiringly of Teles, and wonder what his fate will be now that he's disobeyed orders.
It's morning on the contested planet, and the Alliance fleet is hovering over a plain while herds of herbivores move across. it. Jeff, Cliff and Crick comment on how peaceful it looks.
Newley and Hawkins are on the bridge of Newley's flagship. They discuss the fact that Hazar himself is coming, and that they are willing to give Hazar the planet as long as they don't use it as a base for conquest.
Hazar is preparing to leave for the negotiations, and Borgam storms into his office, trying to convince him not to negotiate. Hazar's fleet leaves with two robeasts as a frustrated Borgam takes Hazar's place at the windows.
Hawkins' shuttle returns to the Explorer, and Hawkins asks Jeff if they've received communications from Noran, the Drule commander.
Hazar and Dorma approach the planet. The Explorer bridge crew see the arrival of this large fleet, and Noran contacts them to tell them that Hazar is on his ways, and they lay out the conditions for the negotiations. Noran pauses before agreeing, causing the bridge crew to chatter, but he accepts. Hawkins sends the Land and Sea teams out to examine the designated meeting area. Hawkins deploys the fleet to the holding zone as Noran and the robeasts follow suit.
Borgam calls Valen and orders him to report on Hazar's actions. Hazar, Dorma, Noran, and Valen are in an observation room of the ship as they proceed to the meeting place, Hazar with whine and Valen smirking.
The land team scares a brontosaurus-looking thing, and reports that the meeting area checks out. Crick flies among some coelecanths, and concurs with Cliff. Sparks orders him to check the airspace. Another bridge crewmembers tells Jeff all is ready, orders the shuttle launched. Hazar and Noran are waiting with their own shuttle (a new or recolored design). They begin the meeting, and Newley and Hazar shake hands. The discuss the crisis of the Drule homeworld.
The Sea and Land teams are patrolling when Cliff sights a column of smoke. They move in low, and see humans around a campfire. The primitive humans watch the Alliance mecha.
Hawkins and Newley are waiting while Hazar contacts Throk. The conversation with Throk doesn't go well, but he grudgingly accepts. Hawkins gets jittery when a communication alarm beeps in his shuttle. Cliff informs him of the stone age settlement, and Hawkins sends them back to the Explorer. Hawkins tells Newley, and then Hazar comes out of his shuttle. Hazar is more confident that his conversation with Throk should have left him, and then Newley drops the "This planet is inhabited" bomb. Hazar is thunderstruck.
Newley says they will have to work out an arrangement with the natives. Newley has another stipulation--the Alliance-observed disarmament of the Drule Empire. Hazar goes to contact his superiors again. Jeff is watching on the bridge when Cliff and Crick arrive.
Hazar is trying to convince Throk on the homeworld, who is not easy to convince. He yells at Hazar until he cuts him off. He comes out of the shuttle troubled. He tells Newley the truth, and says the Drule supreme commander refuses to accept the terms, but Hazar intends to disobey orders and leave the planet without fighting. Newley tries to stop him, and Hawkins commends Hazar's conduct. The shuttle lifts, and Newley suggests leaving a small garrison force as a precaution.
Newley is back on his bridge, sending the lookout detail while Hawkins launches the rest of the fleet. Hazar's fleet and the robeasts launch as well. Borgam, meanwhile, tells Throk of this development, and Throk tells him to send Valen back to the planet.
Hazar sends Noran and Valen to continue surveying for suitable planets. The fleet divides, and Borgam sends Valen back. Valen likes this idea.
Sparks detects the arriving Drule fleet. Hawkins believes that someone other than Hazar gave the order, and he deploys the Voltron force.
The garrison fleet is getting pummeled by Valen's superior force. Dorma rushes to Hazar, and Hazar punches the wall in frustration. Valen deploys the robeast. It makes a mess of the Alliance fleet. Valen gloats. Then the Voltron force arrives, and he sends the robeast to meet them. They form Voltron.
The robeast and Voltron tangle, and animals flee the forest. Crick is concerned that they'll destroy the forest, so they move to the cliffs. Newley and his fleet are rushing to return to the planet. The robeast and Voltron fight on a cliff, and the robeast actually has multiple swords. Voltron his hanging off the edge of the cliff when Jeff throws the robeast into the ocean with the Raybeam Whip. They form blazing sword and slice up the disabled robeast on the bottom of the ocean.
Valen's XO tells him that the robeast is destroyed and the escape ship is ready. Newley and Hawkins close in.
Hazar broods as he returns. He is sure that Valen had orders from Throk. Dorma looks depressed.
Newley and Hawkins determine that now they have to reach the Drule homeworld and liberate the Drules themselves. Then we get lousy time-filler dialogue in the lounge. And a Voltron commercial.
Teles and Asimov
The Alliance fleet hovers over the surface of the new planet as Aki, Walter, and Keats watch herds moving over the plains. Nolan has not responded, and Galveston is not likely to pass up a planet like this.
Ise and Asimov discuss Teles' arrival on Asimov's bridge. Asimob is willing to allow them to immigrate as long as they don't try for galactic conquest.
Raucher arrives at Tele's office, and Teles informs him of his negotiation plans. Teles tries to convince him that discussion is the safer route compared to aggression, but Raucher stalks off angrily. Teles leaves with a fleet escorted by two battle attackers, and Raucher is the one left brooding at the window.
Ise returns to the bridge, and Nolan has still not responded. Sirk and Teles watch as their fleet approaches the planet. The Rugger Guard radar operator picks up Teles' fleet. Nolan hails the Rugger Guard and shows them where to meet in an hour. Ise offers additional terms--Ise and Nolan will attend with the commanders, and the fleets will stand off 20 km from the location. He also wants a chance to scout it first. Nolan accepts. Aki protests that they'll be in danger, just the two of them, but Ise ignores him, deploys the Sea and Land Ruggers, and launches the fleet. Nolan's fleet also moves.
Raucher and Juxon discuss the start of the negotiations, and Raucher intends to call Caponero. Juxon smirks as he, Sirk, and Nolan sit in Teles' observation room.
The Land Rugger encounters dinosaurs but no threats, and the Sea Rugger finds coelecanths, but no threats. They are ordered to meet up and scout the interior of the continent. The fleet reaches its standoff position and Aki authorizes Ise's launch.
Nolan and Teles watch Asimov and Ise approach. The four officers meet and introduce themselves. There is a long (and Kurasawa-esque) moment of silence and swirly wind that was lost in Voltron, and then they introduce themselves.
Walter and Keats see smoke and a stone age human encampment. The humans are awestruck at the two mecha.
Teles is communication with Caponero, and Caponero doesn't trust the idea of abandoning conquest. He thinks the Alliance wants the galaxy for themselves. He tells Teles, shockingly, to accept their terms. Then the alarm rings in Ise's shuttle.
Commercial break--this one was dramatic enough that I thought I'd mention it.
Walter tells Ise of the humans. He goes to tell Asimov, and then Teles comes out of the shuttle and asks for time to consider the proposal. Asimov then tells him about the human settlement. Teles is shocked. Asimov admits that they alone can no longer decide the planets fate. He says that in order for them to trust to coinhabit with the aboriginals, they must disarm. Teles thinks about it, and then he and Nolan go back to the shuttle. Aki, Keats, and Walter watch from the Rugger Guard bridge.
Caponero does not like the disarmament proposal at all. Teles urges him to reconsider, but Caponero refuses. He orders Teles to refuse, but Teles finally disconnects. He walks slowly back to Asimov and Ise, and tells them that his government wants the planet to be acquired, even if it's by force. However, he is going to take his fleet, and Asimov tries to call him back before he leave. Asimov makes the momentous decision that the Galveston government must be overthrown.
The fleets are preparing to leave, and Asimov leaves a unit behind to watch for Galveston treachery. On the Galveston homeworld, Raucher reveals that Juxon has told him of Teles' withdrawal. Caponero is told that Juxon is trustworthy, and he smirks.
Teles orders Raucher and Juxon to survey other planets. Raucher then sends Juxon back to the planet, a duty he looks forward to. The Rugger Guard sees the change in course, and Ise realizes the small force left at the planet is in danger.
Juxon is already fighting his way through the Alliance squadron. Sirk rushes to Teles' office and gives him the news. Teles is angry. The battle rages, and Juxon launches the battle attacker. There's a slight animation error, I think--as it launches, the by-now-standard crotch missile launcher lights up instead of the three lights in its faceplate. At least, it looks like an error. Maybe it was just really excited to get into battle.
The Rugger team arrives and forms the big guy. This battle attacker has a serious arsenal--its right arm is a big bladed weapon on a chain, and it has a beam weapon in its right wrist. Dairugger leads the battle attack away from the jungle (which has a weird mix of dinosaurs and mammals). The Dairugger lance is disarmed by the blade on a chain, which is in turn severed by the whip. Then the battle attacker pulls another sword out of the beam emitter on its right wrist and wields it left-handed, driving Dairugger to dangle off of the cliff. 'Ruggs then throws the battle attacker off the cliff with the whip and finishes it with the sword.
Asimov's fleet returns in force and kills Juxon, wiping out his fleet.
Sirk tells Teles of the new events. Teles knows that Juxon didn't act alone.
Ise and Asimov watch the sun set, and realize they have to reach the Galveston homeworld as quickly as possible. They speak admiringly of Teles, and wonder what his fate will be now that he's disobeyed orders.
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