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--- Gatchaman Episode 69 – The Cemetery in the Moonlight (http://www.gatchamania.net/threadid.php?threadid=2918)

Posted by Transmute Jun on 22-03-2010 at 04:01:

Gatchaman Episode 69 – The Cemetery in the Moonlight

Gatchaman Episode 69 – The Cemetery in the Moonlight

 

It is night in the Shosken Kingdom in the Ohara Desert. Outside the country are cemeteries dating back to ancient times. They appear to be Egyptian (Or would the be ‘Igyptian’?) in design, with massive statues and truncated pyramids dotting the landscape.

 

These ruins capture the imagination of travelers like a certain caravan.

 

But the caravan is made up of soldiers, not tourists. Wait… why is this sounding like the plot of the Brendan Fraser Mummy movie?

The caravan soldiers are on special assignment for the King, and they are about to reach an ancient tomb… dun dun dun…

“We stand at the entrance to an extraordinary tomb!” says the caravan leader. “Inside its ancient walls is a mystery that has been veiled for at least a hundred thousand years! Come!”

Wow… a hundred thousand years? Really? Um, 50,000 years ago the first full Neanderthal man appeared… so we’re talking in the age of the cavemen, before ‘modern’ man had evolved. That’s some secret!

The men get off of their camels, pulling machine guns out of their packs. They enter the temple. The do not appear to notice that the eyes of a large carved animal head are glowing…

Inside the temple we see hieroglyphics and massive Egyptian-style statues. The men enter a giant atrium.

“Sir, it’s a dead end!” says one of the men.

“Don’t you worry about it.” replies the caravan leader. He moves over to the wall, pushing against it with his shoulder until a secret passage is revealed. His men are pleasantly surprised.

Beyond is a very large chamber with a dais. Stairs lead up the dais, and at its top is a set of double doors in the shape of a circle.

“Heh, heh, it’s right over there.” smirks the caravan leader.

The door handles are in the shape of a bird.

 

“This is the secret door which will solve the puzzle.” the caravan leader tells his men. “If I’m correct, behind this door is hidden the secret of the true nature of the evil which disturbs world peace.”

And I have a sinking suspicion that I know what that evil is…

The caravan leader reaches for the door handle, but before he can touch it, ancient braziers burst into blue flames! A deep voice speaks to the men.

“Pass no further.” it warns. “No one has ever left this room alive. Nor shall you…”

Red beams come from the eyes of a statue with a lion head, and the men are literally blown apart.

Cut from BOTP:

 

Remnants of the men’s guns fall to the ground in the explosion’s aftermath.

And suddenly, we see a familiar symbol.

 

Inside the Snack, Jinpei is alone. He sits at the bar, tears falling down his face.

 

Jun arrives with a bag full of baguettes.

 

She sees Jinpei’s shaking shoulders, and is concerned.

 

“Hey, Jinpei, what’s the matter?” she asks. “Why are you crying? Did someone pick on you, or something, today?”

 

Jinpei only bawls louder.

“Oh, I know! You ate a doodlebug again, and now you’ve got a tummy ache!” Jun guesses.

 

“Sometimes you can be so clueless, Sis!” Jinpei tells her. “I was reading this book!”

 

“Wow, you’re crying over a book? I never knew you could be so sentimental, Jinpei!” Jun notes. She has a point. Jinpei doesn’t seem like the ‘cry over a sad story’ type.

 

“But the main character of this story happens to be an orphan, just like me.” Jinpei tells her. “But he’s lucky, because he gets to see his Mom again at the end.”

 

Jun appears to be touched by this explanation.

 

“My Mom is dead, but I really wish I could be some mother’s boy, just so I could know what it’s like, for once!” Jinpei says longingly.

Now if I were Jun, I’d be offended by this, because basically she has been like a mother to him. But instead Jun appears bemused.

 

Their bracelets begin to beep.

“This is G3 here, go ahead!” Jun says.

“This is Nambu. Report to Crescent Coral Base at once.”

“Roger!” Jun replies.

 

She puts down her bag of baguettes and rushes out, calling to Jinpei.

“Jinpei, we’re moving out!”

“A Mom…” Jinpei says sadly, appearing not to hear her. Jun has to call again.

“Jinpei!”

And now we cut to the Daily Fish Parade. Inside the base, the Team is being briefed.

“There’s been a report that Galactor has infiltrated the Shosken Kingdom, located in the Ohara.” Nambu informs them. Today everyone is standing except Ryu, who appears to be tired.

 

“There objective is unclear at the moment. A special ops unit from Shosken, disguised as
a caravan, attempted to investigate Galactor’s activities. But it appears all the men have gone missing.” Nambu goes on.

Everyone is surprised to hear this.

 

“Gone missing? In the desert?” Ken asks.

“Say, Doctor, is there something valuable in that desert, or something?” Joe asks.

“That I don’t know.” Nambu admits. “About the only thing I’m aware of out there are some ancient tombs.”

“Hmmm, I see.” Ryu says, leaning back. “The Shosken Kingdom is very famous for its many ancient tombs.”

“What are ancient tombs, Bro?” Jinpei asks Ken. Clearly this kid has missed out on some schooling. And some monster movies.

 

“Graves where ancient people are buried.” Ken explains.

 

“Graves, huh?” Jinpei is disappointed. “That just reminds me. I haven’t visited my Mom’s grave in far too long.”

“You Mom?” Ken is surprised. “Hey, what’s the matter with you, Jinpei?”

“He’s been reminiscing about his mother, lately.” Jun tells Ken.

 

“Jinpei, you can make a nice, long visit after this mission.” Joe smirks, casually sitting down next to Ryu.

 

“Now, let’s get down to business!” Nambu orders. “Science Ninja Team, make way for the Kingdom of Shosken!”

 

Awwww…. and Joe just got all comfy on the couch.

“Roger!”

 

The God Phoenix bursts out of the water surrounding the Crescent Base, and there’s even a rainbow present. Another rainbow is present as they fly over a waterfall at their destination. What’s with all of the rainbows today? Was it Gay Price month at Tatsunoko Studios when they animated this episode?

The narrator tells us that the Shosken Kingdom is a poor country, with 80% of its land covered by mountain ranges and deserts. The five members of the Science Ninja Team blended into the crowd to look for signs of Galactor.

 

Ryu seems to be especially interested in investigating this woman.

 

The evil hands of Galactor are creeping up on this quiet land. But fortunately, the Team is checking things out.

 

 

“Man, this sure is a happening town!” Jinpei says as he looks around the marketplace. “If Galactor ends up being here, that would totally stink!”

 

“Something smells yummy!” Jinpei exclaims, and like Sam the Toucan, he follows his nose…

 

I know, I know, I just dated myself with that reference…

“Welcome, boy.” says the woman at the roasted corn stand. “Would you like… aaah!” She screams at the sight of Jinpei.

“Ah, that really smells amazing!” Jinpei says, and then he becomes aware of her shock. “What gives? What’s the matter, lady?”

The woman is so shocked that her roasted corn falls from her hand.

 

__________________
 

Posted by Transmute Jun on 22-03-2010 at 04:03:

“Hey, you dropped your corn, lady!” Jinpei says, picking it up and giving it back to her.

 

“Don’t you want it?” he asks, as the woman continues to stand there, quivering.

“Oh, no, does she know who I am?” he thinks to himself.

 

“Jinbe!” the woman cries happily. Jinpei is aghast.

 

“Jinbe!” she screams again. “Oh, Jinbe, your mother’s missed you so much! Don’t you ever leave me again!” She pulls Jinpei in for a massive hug.

“Lady, I’m not Jinbe!” Jinpei protests. “You’re wrong, see? Jinpei’s my name, alright?”

 

“Jinbe!” the woman exclaims again.

“But you’re mistaking me for somebody else!” Jinpei tries to explain.

 

“Oh, Jinbe, you’re going to live with me from now on! Please don’t ever leave me alone again!” the woman cries happily, refusing to let Jinpei go. Suddenly, he closes his eyes and smiles dreamily.

“I wonder if this is what it feels like to be in your Mom’s arms.” he thinks to himself.

Jinpei dreams of a different woman, and of himself, running across a field of flowers to hug her.

 

“Mom!” he cries out in his daydream.

 

But suddenly he looks up and sees a different face. He pulls away.

 

“I’m so sorry, little boy.” the woman says. “You look so much like my son, who died, I just lost my head.”

“Our names sound kind of the same too, huh?” Jinpei notes.

“Silly me!” the woman says. “There’s no way my poor dead son would be in such a horrible place like this!” She buries her face in her hands and cries. “I’m so sorry!”

“It’s okay, Lady.” Jinpei says. “You’ve kind of got me remembering my dear, dead mother.”

 

The woman pulls her hands away from her face, showing that her eyes are now covered with corn grease.

 

“What’s this? You mean, you’re all alone too?” she asks.

“Yeah, that’s’ right, I’m an orphan.” Jinpei admits. “But it’s okay! It lets me be carefree! Like today, I’m just here on a whim!”

 

“Hey, little boy, have you decided where you’re going to stay, yet?” the woman asks eagerly.

“Well, no… not really…” Jinpei admits hesitantly.

“Well why don’t you come and stay with me while you’re visiting here?” the woman asks. “What do you say? I can be your mother! I just can’t see you as a stranger now! Don’t you know what I mean?”

 

I just realized that this woman clearly used Dr. Nambu’s Guide to Color Selection(tm) when choosing her clothing.

“Are you sure that’s okay, lady?” Jinpei asks. “You’ll be my Mom just for a little while?”

“Of course I will! It’s like my little Jinbe has come back to life!” the woman cries happily, embracing Jinpei again. “Oh, Jinbe!”

And both of them are so happy that neither of them notices that the woman’s corn burning.

Next thing you know, it’s sunset and Jinpei and the woman are riding a camel across the desert.

“Say, lady, is it okay if I call you, Mom?” Jinpei asks.

 

“Oh, of course it is!” the woman says. “Please do!” And Jinpei snuggles against her.

“Oh, Mom…”

“What is it Jinbe?”

“It’s kind of embarrassing.” Jinpei admits.

“Don’t be shy, you silly little boy!” the lady teases him. Even the camel is smiling goofily.

But the teasing is gone as Jinpei sees the ancient temple in the desert.

“Ancient troom!” he exclaims, pointing.

“Don’t be silly! They’re called tombs.” the woman corrects him. “This country is very famous for them, you know. And people from all over the world travel here just to see them!”

A quick pan shows us that this is the same temple the caravan/secret ops team entered.

“Whoa! That one’s the biggest!” Jinpei exclaims. “I wonder what it’s like inside! I want to go in there!”

 

“No, you can’t.” the woman says. “It’s called the Devil’s Cemetery. No one, not even travelers, are allowed to go inside.”

“Really, but why?”

“The other day a caravan disappeared without a trace around here.” the woman explains.

“That’s fishy.” Jinpei thinks.

 

“I still really wish I could go in there to check it out, though.” he says.

“No, you can’t!” the woman replies. “The Devil would make you disappear. It’s happened to some of the villagers already! Come on! Let’s hurry home! We’re almost to the village.”

But Jinpei smirks thoughtfully…

The woman takes Jinpei to her home and makes him a big meal.

 

“Now, you must be hungry, Jinbe.” she says. “Eat all you want, okay?”

“Groovy!” Jinpei cries, just before he digs in.

 

“Thank you!” he mumbles, with a full mouth.

 

“The way you eat reminds me of my dead son.” the woman smiles. “Ah, such gusto!”

“Do I really look like him that much?” Jinpei asks.

 

“You’re supposed to call me, Mom, remember, Jinbe?” the woman reminds him. She gets a picture from the shelf.

“Oh, sorry, Mom!”

“You look just like him!” ‘Mom’ says, handing the picture to Jinpei.

 

“You’re right, we really look alike!” Jinpei notes.

“Isn’t he adorable?” ‘Mom’ asks. “He was such a good boy, but one day he got sick and died. Come to think of it, I guess it’s been a year already, since then. Hey, why don’t you let me adopt you? Wouldn’t that be perfect? After all, you’re an orphan, aren’t you?”

“But, I have a mission to… I mean…” Jinpei searches for an answer. “I don’t think I can do that!”

“Oh, don’t worry, I understand, Jinbe.” the woman smiles. “Just wishful thinking, I guess.”

“I’m sorry, lady…” Jinpei thinks sadly.

“So! Sorry to talk about something so depressing.” the lady says. “Go ahead! Chow down!”

 

“Mom, can I have more? Gimmie a lot!” Jinpei says, holding out his bowl.

“All right, now. Don’t get carried away!” ‘Mom’ replies. “You’ll give yourself a stomachache!”

The two giggle, and Jinpei begins coughing as we view the outside of the house.

“Oh, Heimlich! Heimlich!” the woman cries quietly. (Yep, that’s an ADV joke.)

Now we see Jinpei and the woman sleeping in a bed. The moonlight falls on Jinpei’s face and awakens him.

 

Jinpei gets up, and quietly sneaks out.

 

But not quietly enough.

“Jinbe…” the woman mutters in her sleep.

“Just going to the bathroom!” Jinpei says, grabbing the appropriate part of his anatomy.

 

“That was close. My new Mom is so innocent!” Jinpei says to himself.

 

He goes outside, and gives himself a pep talk.

“Science Ninja Team G4, Jinpei the Great, going into action!”

 

Next thing you know, we see Jinpei sneaking around in the temple.

 

“Devil’s cemetery, huh?” he says. “This is also very close to where the caravan disappeared!” Um, not ‘very close’… the lady told you it is where the caravan disappeared. Sheesh!

And knowing all of this, does Jinpei contact the others?

Nope. Are you really surprised?

Jinpei sneaks around the temple entrance, and sees the animal face (that earlier had glowing eyes).

“Definitely fishy… maybe I should turn around?” he thinks.

 

“No, what am I saying? Don’t be a pansy!” he changes his mind. He walks inside, and the animal’s eyes begin to glow…

__________________
 

Posted by Transmute Jun on 22-03-2010 at 04:03:

“There’s nothing but big, ugly statues, here!” Jinpei notes, looking around the atrium. He plays with the secret door, and sees the chamber beyond.

 

“I wonder what all that is!” he says, and he begins creeping toward the door with the bird handles. But two robed men come out to meet him. They’re carrying guns, and have familiar green gloves…

 

And then there are more of them, all surrounding Jinpei!

“You little brat!” one of them snarls/ “No one ever comes out of this place alive!”

And judging by the look on his face, Jinpei believes him!

 

It’s a commercial break! Solid Gold Ken sure is a lot more attractive than those statues in the temple.

When we return, we see the woman sleeping. She falls out of bed.

“Oh, my, I fell off the bed again.” she mutters to herself. “Huh?” She is shocked to see that Jinpei is gone!

“Jinbe! Jinbe!” she calls. “Where did you go?” She opens her front door, calling outside.

“Jinbe! Where are you, Jinbe?” And then she realizes…

“Oh, no! You’ve gone to the Devil’s Cemetery!”

Now we can see why these black-robed men were guarding the temple. Look what is behind it!

 

It looks like this is morning and it is outside, open to the air, but I think this is all supposed to be underground. And its definitely still nighttime.

“They’re Galactor!” Jinpei realizes, as he is taken into this massive area.

“You little brat!” says the goon behind him. “We’ll let you live, but you’re working for us!”

 

“What exactly are you guys doing here?” Jinpai asks.

“Shut up!” the goon tells him. “You just be quiet and scoop up the sand from that quicksand river!”

Sure enough, there’s a small waterfall of quicksand, and a ‘river’ below it.

We see an old man carrying a box of the quicksand, and a goon nastily knocks him down.

 

The man gets angry and attacks the goon. The two struggle, and both of them go falling into the quicksand river.

Cut from BOTP:

 

“Help me!” they cry.

“That’s a bottomless pit of quicksand!” the goon behind Jinpei says. “So don’t even think about running away or anything, Kid.”

 

Meanwhile, the lady has found Jinpei’s footprints in the sand, and of course they’re leading to the temple.

“I knew it!” she exclaims. “That knucklehead! Why didn’t he listen to me? Jinbe! Wait for me! Your mother is coming to save you!” She struggles to climb over the sand dunes and follow Jinpei’s tracks.

 

“Jinbe, hang on! I’m coming!”

In the main town, the clock strikes midnight. The other members of the Science Ninja Team are waiting for Jinpei.

 

“Know what? I bet you anything Jinpei totally forgot about our midnight rendezvous.” Joe says.

 

“Try to get him on the communicator again.” Ken instructs Jun.

“Jinpei, Jinpei, do you read me?” Jun calls. “Come in, Jinpei!”

 

“There’s no response! His bracelet appears to be off.” Jun reports.

“That funky little brat!” Ryu says. “I bet he’s chasing a bunch of cute girls around and getting into trouble! He’s always got something going one.”

 

Ryu giggles to himself, imagining the ‘trouble’ that Jinpei could be in.

 

“Hey!” Jun calls angrily.

“Right, this is serious.” Ryu says, accepting the reprimand. “I know.”

“Anyway, let’s wait just a little longer. We might hear from him, still.” Ken says.

 

But Jinpei is hard at work in the Galactor camp.

 

“Galactor snakes! What are they doing down here?” he thinks to himself. “Now’s my chance!” He sneaks off, behind the backs of some goons. He discovers a strange entrance. There’s a familiar shadow in one of its eyes…

 

“It’s Katse!” Jinpei shouts, forgetting that he’s supposed to be sneaking off.

 

And sure enough, it’s Katse. He’s reporting to Leader X.

“Well?” X asks.

“I’m sure you’ll be pleased to know, Leader, that the uranium in the sand is of excellent quality, and with this much uranium, Galactor will be able to wreak havoc all over the world!”

 

“Katse, the whole world is in need of fuel resources.” X says. “We must expedite the process, so we can conquer it!”

 

This setup is reminiscent of the ‘audience chamber’ Gel Sadra has in Gatchaman II, when she communicates with X.

“If we let anything interfere, our work will have been for nought!” X reminds Katse.

“A river of quicksand awaits those who would interfere, my Leader!” Katse replies. “Death!”

 

Meanwhile, Jinpei has figured out what’s going on. It appears that he’s somehow listening at the window.

“Oh, I get it now! They’re here to gather uranium!” he says, raising his bracelet. “This is G4 calling…”

 

“Oh, Jinbe!” ‘Mom’ screams, interrupting his call. “There you are! Oh, good! I’ve been so worried about you! But I’m so glad you’re okay!”

 

We can see here where Jinpei is located, and how he was able to listen in on Katse’s conversation. Hmmm… I wonder if he saw X? If so, he shouldn’t be so surprised in a few episodes when the Team encounters X in the Himalayas… but I’ll point out that plot discrepancy later. Wink

“Shh!” Jinpei is fearful.

“I’m sorry.” whispers his ‘Mom’.

 

But it’s too late. The guards have heard.

“What was that?” a goon asks.

 

“Over there! Let’s check it out!” replies another goon.

“Hurry and come down from there!” ‘Mom’ calls out loudly. “Come on home with me! I don’t like being in creepy places like this!” But she is grabbed from behind by a goon.

 

“No!” Jinpei screams.

“You can try to run, but you’ll never make it, kid!” the goon holding ‘Mom’ yells.

Jinpei jumps down from his perch and runs.

“He’s escaping! Fire!” the goons shout. And they do.

 

“Jinbe! Jinbe!” ‘Mom’ screams, and then she bites the arm of the guard holding her.

 

He doesn’t like that.

 

“Lay off!” ‘Mom’ screams, smacking a goon with her bare hands.

 

The goon lands on two others, and all three go tumbling to the ground.

“What is wrong with you?” ‘Mom’ lectures. “Why are grown men wearing stupid costumes like that? This isn’t funny! Give me that!” She grabs a goon’s gun and turns it on him, much to his surprise.

 

“How about I point your dumb toy right back at you?” she threatens the goons.

 

Hey, she’s sure acting like a Science Ninja Mom! ROFL 2

She pulls the trigger, but seems just as surprised as anyone when bullets come out the other end. Um, didn’t she see them shooting at Jinpei?

Needless to say, the goons don’t survive ‘Mom’s’ attack.

 

‘Mom’ sits there, gibbering with shock.

“You bumbling buffoons!” Katse screams, coming out of his room. “After him! We can’t let that brat tell anyone!”

 

“Sire!” The goons salute as ‘Mom’ sits up. “Yes, my Lord!”

 

“I’ll make you very sorry if you lay your grubby hands on my Jinbe!” ‘Mom’ threatens the goon closest to her.

 

The goon smacks her.

“Oh no! Mom!” Jinpei shouts.

Lots of goons come running after Jinpei, shooting at him as he tries to escape.

 

__________________
 

Posted by Transmute Jun on 22-03-2010 at 04:04:

“Mom, I promise I’ll come rescue you, so hang in there!” Jinpei calls.

 

He turns to his bracelet.

“This is G4! Come in! Hello, hello, hello!”

“So you found Galactor’s base!” Ken responds. “What are its coordinates, then?” I’m not sure if Tatsunoko cut out part of the conversation for time reasons, or if Ken’s just a good guesser.

 

“It’s inside the biggest tomb! Get here right away!” Jinpei shouts as he flees.

“No sweat! We’ll be right there!” Ken replies.

“Roger!” the others agree.

 

And the God Phoenix is flying to the temple. How far away was it parked, anyhow? It doesn’t seem like it took that long for Jinpei and ‘Mom’ to travel there on camelback.

In the temple, an evil-looking owl statue has glowing eyes.

 

Jinpei makes for an exit, only to find the way cut off by goons! They shout to each other as Jinpei runs off.

“He went toward the temple!”

“He can’t get away!”

Jinpei is definitely having trouble getting out.

 

Jinpei turns down a corridor, and one of the goons motions the others back, telling them that ‘he’s gone inside the temple’.

The goons surround the temple exit. Katse comes walking up.

“Did you catch him?” Katse asks.

 

“Lord Katse! You didn’t have to come all the way down here to check!” says a surprised goon. “He’s just a bratty little kid, Sire. He can’t do anything, anyway!”

Katse’s not too happy with the goon’s words.

 

“Imbecile!” Katse shouts in the goon’s face. “No matter how small something is, you must never overlook it! That’s how Galactor takes care of business! Do you understand me? Hear me, and don’t you forget it next time! Now search for him!”

 

“Yes, Sire! Forgive me!” the goon squeaks. Katse throws the man down to the floor.

“And when you find him, shoot him where he stands!” Katse orders.

“Sire!” the goons call, raising their guns.

Everyone approaches the temple, which turns out to be the large chamber with the round bird-handle doors.

 

“Find him! I know he’s here somewhere!” Katse commands. “Trembling in fear…”

 

The blue fire rises from the braziers, then goes out. A laugh echoes around the chamber.

“Who’s that?” Katse calls out, clearly afraid.

 

“This is the tomb of the ancient Shosken Kingdom!” the voice says. “Disturb this tomb, and reap divine punishment from an ancient king who seeks eternal peace!” If you listen reeeeeeally carefully, the voice sounds a little bit familiar. I get the sense that Leo was having a fun time with these lines.

Coffins open up, revealing mummies inside.

“Mummy men!” Katse and the goons scream in terror.

 

But if you look closely, you’ll see that one of the mummies isn’t a man, and another is a child. And there are five of them…

 

“I live again to defeat your evil!” the main mummy cries, and all five mummies leap into the air.

The mummies’ bandages are thrown into the air, obscuring the view, but when they fall we see the Science Ninja Team!

 

Apparently this feat has caused Joe’s belt buckle to reverse colors.

There’s a very strange guitar music playing in the background. Kind of like a slow Spanish guitar… it doesn’t really fit the scene very well.

“Gatchaman!” Katse stutters.

 

“Surrender, Katse! We know the secret of your sand river!” Ken shouts.

 

“Open fire!” Katse orders his men.

Jun’s response is a yo-yo strike.

 

And everyone comes leaping down for the fight.

 

Ken grabs a goon from behind.

 

He forces the man to shoot his comrades, before leaping into the air and kicking another goon.

 

And another.

 

And throwing yet another over his back.

 

This is almost like watching a round of Tatsunoko vs. Capcom!

Jun gets in a good panchira kick.

 

Jinpei backflips out of the way of gunfire.

 

Joe goes after a twice-shurikened goon.

 

Ken goes after a few more goons.

 

Some more goons try to shoot at Ken, and this is his response.

 

A goon tries to punch Ken.

 

Ken doesn’t like that very much.

 

And he’s not too happy another the other goon sneaking up on him from behind, either.

 

He dives to avoid gunfire and throws out his boomerang.

 

Joe’s still bashing up goons.

 

And so is Jun.

 

She hits them where it hurts.

 

Ryu doesn’t seem to be too bothered by the goon pounding on him.

 

When he gets tired, Ryu belts him, and the goon goes flying across the room to land in this suggestive place.

 

Ryu takes care of another few goons.

 

Jinpei whacks a goon with his bolas, and this causes a red stripe to appear on his leg.

 

Jun performs the Science Ninja Technique: Crossfighter with Ken and Joe.

 

After kicking a few goons this way, Ken throws some mini-bombs at others.

Cut from BOTP

 

“Aw, now they’re just getting cocky!” Katse whines, as he turns to run. But he’s not too happy to see Ken blocking his path.

 

“You’re not getting away this time!” Ken gloats.

 

And then he belts Katse a few times.

 

 

Then he picks up Katse and throws him to the ground.

 

He rushes over and picks up Katse again.

“Today’s the day you show us who’s under that mask!” Ken shouts.

 

“Let’s see!” Ken shouts.

 

__________________
 

Posted by Transmute Jun on 22-03-2010 at 04:07:

“Don’t do it, Gatchaman!” a goon calls out. He’s standing at the bird handle doors. “Look what’s inside!”

“Huh?” Ken pauses for a moment.

 

The bird handle door opens, to reveal the uranium mining operation. A cage full of slaves, including ‘Mom’, is suspended over the quicksand far below.

Jinpei is aghast!

 

“I press this button, and they all fall into the river of sand!” the goon threatens. “Now let Lord Katse go, or you’re just going to let them all drown! What are you going to do, Gatchaman?”

 

“Gatchaman,” ‘Mom’ calls out, “I don’t care what happens to me, but please destroy the bad guys and find my boy, Jinbe! He’s got to be somewhere here, please! Save my Jinbe!”

Her emotional plea gets to Jinpei.

 

“She really loves me!” he thinks to himself.

“Damn it!” Ken screams, throwing Katse away.

 

Now this isn’t very bright. Joe or Jun or Ryu or Jinpei could have saved the slaves. Why does Ken have to let Katse go?

“Now you’re going to release those innocent villagers, you rat!” Ken shouts.

 

“You’re soft, Gatchaman!” Katse laughs. “And you’re going to die! Do it!” He snaps his fingers.

 

The goon reaches for the button, but Ken reaches for his boomerang…

“Bird run!”

 

And the goon is knocked out before he can press it. He goes flying off the ledge and grabs onto a lever sticking out of a nearby statue…

 

Of course, it’s the self-destruct lever, and he pulls it. Alarms begin going off, and lights start flashing on the statues.

“He flipped the self-destruct switch!” Katse screams. The goons start running as the ceiling begins caving in.

 

“We have to save the villagers!” Ken shouts.

 

But Ryu is already on it.

 

The others follow.

 

The base begins to explode. Nothe that only the second picture was cut from BOTP.

 

 

But the villagers have been freed, and the Science Ninja Team leads them to a safe exit.

Just before the whole place goes down, a jet shoots out of one of the temple entrances.

 

All of that uranium makes for a mighty powerful explosion.

Outside the exploding temple, ‘Mom’ is trying to get back in, and Jinpei is holding her back.

“Jinbe!” she cries. “Jinbe! Jinbe!”

 

“It’s too dangerous!” Jinpei tells her.

“Let me go!” she protests. “My Jinbe! My Jinbe is in there! You have to let me go!”

“Don’t worry! I’m sure he’s alive!” Jinpei says. But ‘Mom’ isn’t buying it.

 

“No… I know he didn’t get out! I know he’s still in there! Jinbe!” she wails.

“I’m telling you, lady, it’s okay! I’m sure Jinbe is alive! I guarantee it!” Jinpei says.

 

“Jinbe…” the woman sobs. “Oh, my poor Jinbe… I wish I could have taken your place…”

“Hey, what are you guys doing down there?” Ryu calls, breaking the mood. “Get a move on! Let’s go, guys!

 

Ken and Joe walk off, and Jun approaches Jinpei.

“Come on, let’s go, Jinpei.” Jun tells him. “She’ll be all right.”

 

But the woman is not all right. She sobs as the temple continues exploding in front of her.

 

The God Phoenix takes off, and onboard the mood is somber.

 

“Come on and cheer up, Jinpei.” Jun urges the boy. “I don’t know what happened back there, but you shouldn’t keep brooding over things like this. Now hold your head high and be proud of what you’ve done.”

 

But Jinpei turns to Jun for comfort.

 

“Oh, Sis!” he cries.

“You silly boy.” she soothes him. I guess that’s her idea of a loving response.

“If there is one place of true comfort in this world, it’s to be found in the arms of your mother.” Ken says. “That’s what they say, huh?”

 

“Huh? What’s that?’ Ryu doesn’t quite catch it.

 

“Just something I read in a book somewhere, big guy.” Ken explains. “I happened to remember it just now.”

 

“Where did that come from? Did I miss something?” Ryu wonders.

But we know that all is well, as the happy shupa trumpet music begins playing and the God Phoenix flies off into the sunrise. The battloe in the desert has come to an end, and the sun shows its face again. But no one knows when the world will have true peace. Fight on, Gatchaman!

 

__________________
 

Posted by Transmute Jun on 22-03-2010 at 04:08:

BOTP Episode 61 – Peril in the Pyramids

Down here at Center Neptune, many fathoms beneath the sea, Zark has a well-co-ordinated system for keeping watch on the universe and detecting any alien invaders from outer space.

We move from scenes of the Daily Fish Parade to Zark… and he’s pacing! It’s not even the middle of the episode yet!

 

“But now and then, despite our best efforts, something gets by us.” Zark explains. “It leads to short tempers for the humans, and short circuits for us robots.”

Oh, if only that were true…

“It’s hard to believe, but one of our Egyptian temples is missing!” Zark says. 1-Rover-1 certainly can’t believe it. He falls over in shock!

 

Then he barks.

“It’s true, 1-Rover-1.” Zark confirms. “I know it just doesn’t compute, and I’ve checked my main monitor carefully. If I were human, I’d blame it on faulty biorhythm!”

Fortunately Zark chooses not to expound further on ‘biorhythms’ and instead flies over to his control panel.

“I told Chief Anderson there was no way a whole big Egyptian temple could disappear!” Zark tells us. “And his reply blistered my antenna!” Well score one for Chief Anderson! I wonder which of Zark’s antennae he ‘blistered’?

“I really can’t blame him.” Zark admits. “Here, let me show you…”

 

We see shots of what looks like an Egyptian building.

“That was the ancient temple of Amon-Ra.” Zark informs us. “And now it’s gone!” He holds up his hands in the air, showing us that he has no idea what happened.

 

“That temple, and several of the old pyramids, have just vanished!” Well gosh darn, I’ll bet this has put a serious dent into Egypt’s tourism revenues!

“It’s incredible!” Zark says calmly. “Who’d want to steal an ancient Egyptian temple?” Um… ancient Egyptians?

“And why?” Zark goes on. “And even more bewildering, how?”

Suddenly Zark is back at his control panel.

“I’ve probed every corner of Earth and now I’m cross-checking the galaxy! That temple has to be somewhere!”

And we move to a shot of pyramids with their tops cut off. A caravan on camels makes its way past them in the moonlight. They arrive at the temple. Yes, the very same one that’s missing from Earth!

“Yesterday there was nothing here but desert sand.” says the caravan leader, who sounds a lot like Cronus. I’m wondering if it could be…

“Today this temple stands across our path!” he goes on, unaware of my suspicions. “Who questions the will of Allah?” Wait a minute… are these guys on some other planet, and they’re talking about Allah? Clearly the Muslim religion has spread out across the galaxy!

“The questions of a thousand kings may lie inside.” the Caravan leader suggests, and his men dismount their camels, pulling out guns. They all walk up the steps and into the temple, not noticing the glowing eyes of one of the face carvings…

The men wander through the temple, coming to a large statue.

“Looks like…” one of the men says.

“Yes, Amon-Ra!” the caravan leader finishes for him. He walks up to the base of the statue and starts banging the wall. A secret door opens, much to the astonishment of his men! Now how did the caravan leader know it was there? And how the heck did a man from an alien planet recognize a statue of an Egyptian Goddess?

But that question is not answered, as instead we see what lies beyond. A large room with a circular door at one end, its handles in the shape of a bird.

“Ah, Allah is indeed with us!” the caravan leader says, as they approach the steps leading to the circular door. “I remember the tales of our forefathers, from a place called Earth!” Okay, this makes a bit more sense, I guess, that they’d bring Earth religions and customs with them.

“They told us, in temples like this, of burial chambers!” the caravan leader recalls. “Gardens hanging in the sun…” He reaches for the door handle.

But a series of nearby braziers flame to life. A nasty laugh echoes through the chamber.

The narrator tells us that this is the sacred temple of Amon-Ra… oh, wait! It’s not the narrator… it’s the voice echoing through the chamber! But it sounds just like the narrator who does all of the previews for each episode. Hmm…

“You are intruders!” the voice says. “The Pharaoh’s curse is on you!” The eyes of the statues in the room light up and colored beams shoot out. The men shield their eyes…

And the sounds of Ready Room Disco come blasting through as we see:

 

And everyone seems to be in their usual spots.

 

“Things seem to be awfully quiet in outer space.” Mark comments. “And I get edgy when Zoltar is being quiet.”

Yeah, Mark looks very ‘edgy’, don’t you think?

 

 

Seriously, how can he even stand up while sticking his butt out that way? Perhaps it’s his cerebonics that are providing him with incredible balance…

“Maybe he’s taking a vacation.” Jason suggests.

 

“Or just maybe he’s decided to give up and finally leave us alone!” Princess says as she plays her electric mandolin.

 

“Wishful thinking, Princess!” Tiny tells her. “We’ve had a whole hour to live it up like this, and that’s about as long as it usually lasts.”

And sure enough, Zark appears!

 

“Attention, G-Force!” Zark calls.

“Right on the button.” Tiny sighs. “Here we go again!”

 

“We have an emergency alert!” Zark tells them. “Chief Anderson wants to see you in the Briefing Room at once!”

And instantly, we’re in the briefing room.

“Sorry to cut short your relaxation, G-Force,” Anderson says, “but something has come up which needs special handling. The ancient temple of Amon-Ra, in the Protected Area, has disappeared. Zark ahs located the temple on Planet Alpha-3. I suspect Spectra is behind it.”

“But Alpha-3, isn’t that the…” Mark asks.

“Uninhabited planet where the Earth sent all its criminals and hoodlums.” Jason finishes for him. Wow. I’m blown away here! I thought Escape from New York was a stretch. The Federation is exiling their criminals to another planet!

“Yes, they were given a new start there, with their wives and children.” Anderson explains, putting a nicer face on the whole thing.

“Yeah, I remember.” Tiny says. I guess this is a relatively recent development then, if it happened during Tiny’s lifetime. Wait… so how can the men on that planet have ‘forefathers’ from Earth? Maybe it’s the Time Warp.

“Way out on the edge of the galaxy! Only the supply ships go there!” Tiny adds.

“Alpha-3 is a hot, desert-like planet, but I’m asking you to go there and solve the mystery.” the Chief says. Wow, he’s being so considerate. I guess G-Force doesn’t like hot, desert-like planets.

“G-Force!”

Cut to footage of the Phoenix launching from out of the ocean. A rainbow appears in the water.

“G-Force is starting out on another long trek to outer space.” Zark reminds us that this show is not entirely based on Earth. “I wonder what they’ll find at that mysterious alien planet?”

And even though it’s a little early in the episode, we get a commercial break.

When we return, we’re treated to stock footage of the team ‘launching from the Earth’.

 

 

 

 

“Earth orbit achieved. Clear us for escape velocity, Zark!” Mark says into his communicator.

“You’re cleared, Commander!” comes Zark’s voice. “Go G-Force!”

 

 

“Ready for Space Warp, Zark” Mark says. Ooh, not Time Warp today. Space Warp must be extra special.

“Galaxy traffic lanes cleared.” Zark says, as we see the Phoenix shooting through space on his monitor. “All systems go for Alpha-3!”

And we can see Alpha-3 approaching on the monitor.

 

“Once every three months, Earth time, a supply ship brings supplies to the polyglot population of this distant planet.” Zark says.

And then the Phoenix arrives on the planet.

 

__________________
 

Posted by Transmute Jun on 22-03-2010 at 04:09:

Now we see a small town with Middle-Eastern music playing.

“And this is where I located the missing temple of Amon-Ra.” Zark informs us. “Just outside the city of Osiris, the capital of Alpha-3. How did it get there? And why?”

We see Jason sitting on a bench in a park, and Tiny grinning foolishly after a pretty girl who passes by. Princess is looking in a shop window, and Mark is leaning against a palm tree, looking out at a lake.

“G-Force has split up and scattered about the city,” Zark explains, “hoping to get some lead on the stolen temple.”

Um… shouldn’t they be gong to the temple? After all, it’s freaking huge. Couldn’t they find it?

“Nyum, nyum, nyum!” Keyop burbles as he enters the marketplace. “Ooh! Getting hungry! Must be… something to eat!” He walks past a woman cooking roasted corn.

“Get good roasting ears, here!” the woman says, picking up a piece of corn. But she gasps when she sees Keyop!

“But… uh…” Keyop says, with about three times as much burbling as usual, “how much?”

“Oh, Ali!” the woman screams, running over to Keyop happily.

“Who’s Allie?” Keyop wonders.

“Oh, you’ve come back, Ali, you’ve come back!” the woman cries, pulling Keyop in for a big hug. “I thought I had lost you! Ali, my son!” It’s clear to me that Janet Waldo is doing the voice, but she sounds nothing like Princess or Susan, thank goodness.

“Ooh, ooh, mistake!” Keyop protests amidst his burbles. “Not your… boy!”

“My Ali!” the woman says, only holding him more tightly.

“My Mama?” Keyop is confused.

“You were a naughty boy, running away!” the woman scolds. “But I forgive you! I shall take care of you always!”

“Ahhh…. Keyop sighs, and his burbles sound almost like a cat’s purr. It’s quite disturbing, actually.

“Might be nice!” Keyop thinks, dreaming about running across a field of flowers to a pretty, slim woman with long brown hair. “Always dreamed… of having a mother! But I was manufactured… in a laboratory…”

Still, he must have gotten his DNA from somewhere, right? So technically he would have parents out there somewhere.

Keyop awakens from his daydream and pulls away from the woman.

“Ali? What is it, Ali?” the woman asks. “Don’t you remember your Mama? What has happened to you? What is wrong?”

“Wrong dream.” Keyop burbles. The woman begins to cry, burying her face in her hands.

“It doesn’t matter! You’re home!” the woman says suddenly, brightening. She has grease on her face from where her hands touched it. “I’ll fix all the things you always liked. Sesame bread with honey, Joe Astrocakes! Oh, I’m so happy…” WTH is a Joe Astrocake?

But it sounds delicious to Keyop, who’s all in, now!

“Mmmm! Can’t wait!” he says.

“I’ll get my camel!” the woman says. “Oh, this has been a wonderful day! I found my Ali!” The two embrace, and neither of them notices that the woman’s corn is burning.

Now we see the pair travelling on a camel across the hot desert.

“Phew! Much farther?” Keyop asks.

“Poor boy! You really are famished!” the woman replies. Keyop burbles happily and the camel grins. The temple appears on the horizon as they pass over a hill.

“What’s that?” Keyop asks. Sheesh, you’d think that the Team would have looked at pictures of the temple before taking this assignment! But maybe Keyop’s trying to play dumb to get information out of the woman. Yeah, that must be it.

“Nobody knows.” the woman replies. “A few days ago, that thing appeared! It’s very mysterious, and frightening!”

“Mmmm…. take a look… inside.” Keyop suggests.

“No, no!” the woman objects. “You mustn’t go in there! Bad things have already happened to those who went inside!”

“Not afraid!” Keyop broots.

“You must listen to me, Ali! There is a curse on that old temple!” the woman insists. How does she know this if it only appeared a few days ago?

“Ah… fairytale!” is Keyop’s brooping response.

“No, it is true! The temple is haunted by evil spirits!” the woman insists. “All the villagers are afraid. You must promise never to go in there, Ali!”

But Keyop just smiles sneakily.

It is night now, and Keyop is with the woman in her house, sitting down to a big dinner.

“Good? I fixed it just the way you always liked it, Ali.” the woman tells him. Keyop digs in.

“Real… yummy!” he says, between bites and burbles.

“You haven’t changed at all, my Ali.” the woman says, pulling down a picture in a frame from a shelf. “Can you remember this?” she hands Keyop the picture.

“Me?” Keyop wonders, as he looks at the picture of the boy who resembles him greatly.

“Tomorrow you’ll have to tell me where you’ve been.” the woman continues. “Some alien planet? You talk so different!” Well, perhaps that’s a good thing, if everyone has poor grammar on this one.

“More?” Keyop asks, holding out his bowl.

“An appetite just like your dear father had!” the woman smiles. “Good!”

Now it is night, and we can see Keyop and the woman sleeping. Keyop wakes up and sneaks out.

“Check out old temple!” he burbles.

“Ooh… scary!” he says, as he enters. He sees some grimacing carvings.

“Same to you!” he blusters, after a lot of unnecessary burbling. But as he leaves, the carving’s eyes begin to glow…

“Weird!” Keyop notes, as he sees the statue of Amon-Ra. But somehow he also finds the secret door, and then discovers the room with the circular door.

“What’s behind?” he asks himself, moving forward. But he is stopped by men in black robes, holding guns. They are wearing green gloves. He is surrounded!

“My sensors tell me Keyop is in great trouble!” Zark voices over. Gee, how does he know?

“I’d better try to contact him.” Zark says, as we fade to a commercial break.

And as we fade back in, we get… Zark going for a ten second oil break! Yep, we already had pacing this episode, so they’re mixing it up for the mid-episode post-commercial break obligatory Zark scene.

 

“No progress reports from Alpha-3!” Zark tells us. “G-Force has gone undercover, hoping to get information on the mystery of Amon-Ra.”

 

“What really disturbs me is that Keyop failed to show up at their rendezvous.” Zark goes on. “I worry most about him, because he’s the smallest member of the Team, and so different from the others.” And yes, Zark is so worried about Keyop’s welfare that instead of looking for him, Zark is taking an oil break.

1-Rover-1 yaps.

 

“That’s right, 1-Rover-1.” Zark agrees. “Keyop was manufactured, just like us! He never had a real mother or father.” Rover yaps again.

“Oh, you’re hungry?” Zark asks. “Well, I put something in your dish for you to snack on, only this morning you ate your dish.”

“Eeeehhhh, there’s nothing to do but wait.” Zark says, literally kicking back.

 

Well this is certainly a change from the usual mid-episode-worrywart-pacing Zark!

“Mark has promised to contact me as soon as he finds out what happened to Keyop!” Zark says.

Now we see a large mining operation within the temple.

“Mining operation!” Keyop says, as he looks.

“Little boys should stay home at night.” says the black-robed man holding a gun to Keyop’s head. He pulls off his hood, revealing himself to be a Spectran goon!

“Hah! Spectra!” Keyop says.

“Too bad you discovered our secret operation, boy!” the goon says. “We’ll have to keep you here!”

Meanwhile, outside the temple, Ali’s mother is looking at Keyop’s footprints in the sand.

“My Ali, he doesn’t know what he is doing!” she cries. “I must find him! Stop him! Ali! Ali!” She walks toward the temple, falling down into the sand.

“I must save him! My Ali!” she screams.

It’s midnight, and the G-Force Team is waiting in a park… except for Keyop.

“That little squirt has me worried! What’s keeping him?” Jason wonders.

“Try reaching Keyop again.” Mark tells Princess. She raises her communicator to her mouth.

“Princess to Keyop, do you read me?” she asks. “Come in Keyop!” But there’s no response.

“He must have his communicator turned off!” Princess says.

“Either that, or he can’t talk, because somebody’s choking him!” Tiny guesses. “Or maybe he’s hanging by his toes someplace!” Tiny giggles.

“Stop!” Princess cries, horrified.

“Only trying to relieve the tension.” Tiny mutters.

“Knock it off, Tiny! Something has happened to Keyop!” Mark insists.

And sure enough, we cut to Keyop, who is working in the mine.

“Sneak out!” he burbles quietly to himself, running behind the backs of the guards. But he gasps when he sees a familiar shadow behind the eye of another statue face.

“Zoltar!” he cries.

Sure enough, Zoltar is in there, and he’s talking with the Luminous One.

“All is going according to plan, Oh Mighty Spirit!” Zoltar says. “Our mining operation here is nearly completed! Using this ancient Earth temple as a screen was a stroke of genius!” Yeah, but how good a ‘screen’ is it if the temple just appears from out of nowhere one day?

“I have listened to your self-flattery before, Zoltar!” the Luminous One reminds him. “I warn you, we must have this rare metal serronite for our newest weapon!”

“I understand, oh Luminous One!” Zoltar replies. “By the time G-Force learns what we’re up to, we will be invincible!”

But outside the window, Keyop is already calling his Team.

“Keyop to G-Force!”

“Ah! There you are, Ali!” screams the woman happily, blowing Keyop’s cover entirely. “Ali, you bad boy, come down here! Ali!” She ignores Keyop’s attempts to hush her.

“Who’s that?” some Spectran goons wonder. “Let’s go!”

“Ali, why are you trying to hide from me?” the woman calls. “Come down here, before…” But it is too late. Spectran goons grab her from behind as Keyop gasps.

“There he is!” A goon yells. “Get him!” Keyop jumps down and runs away.

__________________
 

Posted by Transmute Jun on 22-03-2010 at 04:10:

“Run, Ali, run!” the woman cries, biting the arm of the goon holding her. He lets go, clearly in pain.

“You fools!” Zoltar is suddenly there. “After the small one! Don’t let him get away! Hurry!”

“Yes, Sire!” the goons call, rushing off after a quick salute. But the woman grabs one of them.

“Don’t hurt my Ali! Don’t hurt my little boy!” she begs the goon.

“Need help!” says Keyop. Sure enough, the goons have found him.

“There he is!” they cry, giving chase.

Keyop sounds like a Morse Code message gone horribly awry as he ‘doot-doot-doots’ while running down the corridor. He manages to stop that long enough to use his communicator.

“Keyop to G-Force! Mayday!” he burbles.

“It’s Keyop!” Mark says, receiving the message. “Where are you, Keyop?”

“Inside temple, Mark!” is Keyop’s reply.

“Let’s go!” Mark says.

“Big 10!” everyone else agrees.

Huh, how come they never thought of looking inside the temple for Keyop before? Seems like an obvious place…

And the Phoenix is off, travelling the distance Keyop did on a camel.

Meanwhile, more statues’ eyes begin to glow, and an alarm sounds inside the temple. Keyop is having a difficult time escaping. He dashes into the room with the circular door.

“We’ll cut him off!” one of the goons says. He and the other soldiers surround the exits to that room. Zoltar walks up.

“Baku!” Zoltar addresses one of the men.

“Yes, Sire, we have him now.” Baku responds. “He’s in there. Must be one of the village kids. His mother came in after him.” Baku sounds like Mark trying to put on a ‘tough guy’ accent.

“Idiot! Fool! I told you to keep everyone away from here!” Zoltar reminds Baku, snarling into his face. “If the villagers find out what we’re doing, they’ll contact Earth, and we’ll have G-Force on our necks!” Zoltar’s hands are wrapped around Baku’s neck as a demonstration.

“Have mercy, Sire!” Baku cries. Zoltar pushes him away.

“Come with me!” Zoltar orders the other men. They move to the entrance to the room.

“Don’t let anyone get inside there!” Zoltar commands. But the flaming braziers go out.

“Now what?” Zoltar asks.

A nasty laugh echoes throughout the chamber.

“The curse of Amon-Ra is on you, and all your descendents.” the voice says, and it sounds very familiar. “You are doomed… doomed… doomed!” But it’s not as scary as I’ve written it. Casey Kasem dropped the ball on the voice acting here, IMHO.

A mummy rises from one of the tombs.

“The mummy’s curse!” Zoltar and his men cry in fear. And suddenly, there are five mummies.

“Here we come, Zoltar!” the voice says again, and this time Mark manages to sound a little more menacing.

The bandages come off, and it’s G-Force! Frankly, I think they would have been better off defeating the Spectrans in the bandages, since they were clearly afraid of the mummies.

“G-Force!” Zoltar cries, now more angry than fearful.

“It wasn’t the mummy’s curse, Zoltar!” Mark says. “But you have ours!”

“Time for me to get out of here!” Zoltar says, turning to run. Yet even as he flees, Mark somehow appears n front of him.

“Commander!” Zoltar gasps in surprise.

“We meet again, Zoltar.” Mark smirks, before rushing up to grab Zoltar by the collar.

“What sort of deviltry are you up to now?” he demands. “Speak up!” But Zoltar can’t because Mark is choking him.

“Hold everything, G-Force! Look here!” calls a goon. He’s standing next to the circular door. Mark turns around, clearly annoyed by the interruption.

The goon opens the door to reveal the slaves (including Ali’s mother) in a cage, suspended high above the floor of the mining operation. Mark is aghast. Keyop is horrified as well.

“Not this time, G-Force!” the goon says. “One wrong move and I drop them down into the pit! Surrender, G-Force! There is nothing you can do now!”

“Save us, Commander!” Ali’s mother calls. “We are poor, innocent people! All we want is to live in peace! I want my son back, my poor little Ali!”

Keyop winces with guilt as he hears this.

“You lose again, G-Force!” Zoltar declares, suddenly free of Mark’s grasp. “Drop them!”

The goon moves to press the button, but Mark throws his boomerang, which knocks the man over before he can do so. He falls off the stairs, grabbing at a lever sticking out of a nearby statue.

“You fool!” Zoltar calls. “You’ve pulled the secret destruct lever! To the escape ship! Quick! Everybody out!”

And the goons start running for their lives!

“Save the villagers!” Mark calls, and everyone flies up to the top of the cage. Next thing we know, everyone is running for the exit, villagers included.

Zoltar’s escape ship flies out, but it seems to be too small for all of the goons who were in the temple with him. Do they have their own ship?

The temple explodes in spectacular fashion, now that everyone has safely escaped.

“My poor Ali!” the woman screams, trying to go back into the temple.

“Don’t cry.” Keyop says softly, as he holds her back.

“Oh, Ali, just when I’ve found you again!” the woman cries. “Poor Ali!”

“I’m here, Lady.” Keyop says, using that disturbing purring sound. But the lady ignores him.

“He is gone! My little sugarplum is gone!” the woman sobs. “My Ali!”

“Not gone…” Keyop burbles. “Joined G-Force!” Yeah. Way to keep your secret cover there, Keyop. Fortunately, the woman doesn’t seem to hear him.

“Ali… my Ali…my Ali…. oh….” the woman cries.

“Come on, Team! Chief Anderson is waiting for us!” calls Tiny from the nearby Phoenix.

“We have to go, Keyop.” Princess tells the depressed boy. “Nice lady.”

And in an incredibly sad ending for BOTP, we see the woman, kneeling distraught in front of the exploding temple.

“Well,” Zark voices over, “G-Force is coming home. The mystery of the vanished temple has been solved! It was only an elaborate coverup for the secret Spectra mining operation that failed.”

“I know how you feel, Keyop.” Princess tells him onboard the Phoenix. “I lost my Mama too when I was very young. I felt as though I’d lost the whole world. We’re all orphans, you know.”

“Miss her…” Keyop says, a tear falling down his cheek. He turns to Princess for comfort.

“I know…” she says, as she holds him.

“Keyop will get over it, in time.” Zark’s voiceover assures us. “And the lady will soon discover Keyop was not her missing boy!” Yeah, like that will make her happy? And how does Zark even know this?

Back at Center Neptune, 1-Rover-1 barks.

“I know you’re sad, because you never had a mother either, 1-Rover-1” Zark says. “Everything should have a mother.”

And from this ‘moral for the story’, Zark moves on to his libido and weird Oedipal-like fantasies.

“I think I’ll call Susan at the Early Warning System, out on Planet Pluto!” Zark says, reaching for a button.

 

“Hello, Zark! Susan says, causing him to have an instant antennae erection, complete with ‘boing’ sound. “I hope there’s no terrible emergency!”

“No, Susan, this is a…” Zark scrambles for an answer, “well, it’s a… personal call.” Hey, technically, can a robot make personaal calls?

“Oooh… I like that.” Susan says, in her very best phone-sex-operator voice.

“I was wondering, Susa, would you like to do something really nice?” Zark asks her. I’m scared to find out what it is he has in mind… Eek4

“And be a stand-in mother for 1-Rover-1?” Zark asks. Ewww…. I don’t even want to know what kind of sick fantasies Zark has going on there.

“Zark! Don’t you dare call me again, unless it is important! Goodbye!” Susan lectures huffily. This from the robot who was only moments ago sexually thrilled to get Zark’s ‘personal’ call. Susan signs off.

“Oh my!” Zark says. “I wonder what got her so upset?”

And he’ll probably never know, because the episode ends.

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Posted by Madilayn on 22-03-2010 at 05:00:

You know, this is one episode I've never liked. In fact I haven't watched it for a long time (I skipped it my last watching of BotP).

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"When I'm old, I don't want them to say of me, "She's so charming." I want them to say, "Be careful, I think she's armed." -G. Stoddart

Posted by green on 22-03-2010 at 05:16:

Yeah, I never liked this one either...

__________________
Exaggeration misleads the credulous and offends the perceptive. ~Eliza Cook

Posted by gatchamarie on 22-03-2010 at 09:27:

Thanks for another great recap, TJ! I must also thank you for the numerous screenshots that you were so kind to attach with it! Just one question (apart from many others you have already tackled!) ... just how on Earth did the SNT manage to cover themselves in bandages so neatly in such a short time?! Well ... needless to say ... it's only a show! And this episode could have well been aired on Mother's Day! Oh how I understand Jinpei ... and Ken's final words!

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Posted by Madilayn on 22-03-2010 at 10:04:

Science Ninja Technique: Bandage Wrap!

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Posted by gatchamarie on 22-03-2010 at 12:28:

pound pound

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Posted by Transmute Jun on 22-03-2010 at 13:42:

I have no idea how the Team managed to cover themselves in bandages so quickly, not how they managed to hide their visors while doing it, or remove the bandages so quickly!

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Posted by amethyst on 22-03-2010 at 19:17:

Thanks TJ! You're write up was definitely more interesting than the episodes. I agree with Maddy and Green, this is an episode that is easy to by pass.

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Posted by lborgia88 on 22-03-2010 at 19:24:

Great recap, TJ, of a rather strange episode!

I can't help but think that it's just... weird that a woman would just grab some kid off the street, pretend he's her son (or crazier yet, really think he is her son) and take him home. And even let him sleep in her bed!

It is believable, I think, that Jinpei (or Keyop) -still being pretty young- would miss having a mother and wonder what it would be like to have one again.

And stealing a pyramid and taking it to another planet -Spectra's had some crazy plans, but that really makes no sense.

Whatever a "Joe Astrocake" is, with a name like that, I think I want one! Bet they're yummy...

Posted by Transmute Jun on 22-03-2010 at 19:34:

I agree, this was never one of my favorite episodes, particularly when it was BOTP. Keyop and his burble annoyed me so much that I never really liked many of the episodes that focused on him. It's better in Gatch, but it definitely has its overly-strange and sappy moments.

As for the woman though... I can complete;y understand what she was doing. After all, Jinpei wasn't just some random kid. He looked JUST LIKE her missing son. And she had been hoping desperately that her son would come home. And the names were so similar... I'm sure she still thought in the back of her head that they *were* the same person. To me, that part is believable. It's weirder with Keyop, since his burble is clearly not normal, and you would think that would tip the lady off that something is seriously wrong. She should at least have taken him to get checked out by a doctor!

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Posted by Firebird on 22-03-2010 at 20:01:

Great write up TJ and agree with you all definitely not a favourite episode.

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Posted by clouddancer on 22-03-2010 at 20:33:

quote:
Originally posted by Transmute Jun
I have no idea how the Team managed to cover themselves in bandages so quickly, not how they managed to hide their visors while doing it, or remove the bandages so quickly!


i had always assumed that the "hidden" visors was because the team were out of uniform there. And then they remove/tear/destroy the bandages as they transform to their uniforms. (I know we do not hear them give their transformation signal but ....) Wink

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Posted by clouddancer on 22-03-2010 at 20:41:

quote:
Originally posted by Transmute Jun
I agree, this was never one of my favorite episodes, particularly when it was BOTP. Keyop and his burble annoyed me so much that I never really liked many of the episodes that focused on him.


I suspect that is why most of us do/did not enjoy this episode. Considering we are not Swallow lovers we find this episode lacking in the action we want. I guess though we have had the Eagle focussed eps. and the Condor focussed eps. the Swan focussed eps. so we had to have a Swallow focussed eps. as well.

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