Unlike Space Terrapin this eps. has been done by Ayako in her Production
Diaries, you might want to look over there and compare what happens in the
Gatch version to the BotP version. (But please don't compare the reviewers!)
We open, for once, *not* at "Center Neptune, deep beneath the sea." but
with a now classic space shot of the sun coming out from behind the Earth
and shining on a small space capsule in orbit.
The two astronauts, (who look pretty old BTW) inform Ground Control that
they are tired, cranky and wanna go home. G.C. is humorously unsympathetic.
As somebody who can remember the first Lunar Landing and has seen 'The Right
Stuff' some three times I can tell you the dialogue is very authentic down
to the bad jokes and Chuck Yeager drawls. We see recovery ships and copters
toodling their way to the splash down co-ordinates.
Meanwhile back in space the capsule blasts its rockets to put itself on
the right approach, then seperates from its final stage, (and I hope
somebody can tell me what that bright light that keeps orbiting in and out
of frame is supposed to be). All this will become part of the closing montage.
The capsule splashes down, (and no, Ayako, I don't know what that yellow
stain in the water is supposed to be either. Cosmic dust?). Choppers come
toodling along to pick up the astronauts but before they get there the whole
capsule is drawn down beneath the surface by two stingray shaped submersibles.
It must be Spectra! (who else?).
Way back when I first watched the series I couldn't understand why an
important member planet of an intergalactic Federation was still using old
style staged rockets when they had ships like the Phoenix available. I
eventually decided it was a Perry Rhodan type situation with alien
super-science possessed by a few and everybody else making do with the old
low-tech stuff. Maybe that's why the astronauts look so old, (not as old as
John Glenn but definitely passed forty) maybe the younger people are being
trained to use the new technology, (like the Team).
End of first digression.
Zark finally surfaces in voice over, alerting Mark to the situation.
Fearless Leader is sitting in his shack, feet up, balancing a tiny turtle on
the back of his hand. It pulls in head and feet when his bracelet sounds.
Mark removes it from his wrist and, I choose to believe, returns it to its
container before responding to Zark, (he puts it somewhere out of frame anyway).
After a brief exchange with the 'Fantastic Guardian Robot of Center
Neptune' the Commander runs from his shack, hops into his cessna, takes off,
transmutes, etc. and we get a really nice shot of Mark in birdstyle in the
cockpit of his jet.
He arrives on the flight deck to be greeted by Jason. "Glad you could
join us, Commander!"
Mark replies they're lucky he turned up at all as this was his day off.
Day off? from what? and considering he was spending it with a pet turtle I
seriously doubt he's all *that* upset about the interuption.
Keyop is sitting next to Tiny in the command chair, Mark elects to go on
standing, as do Jason and Princess, dispite the fact the Phoenix is hurtling
along at its characteristic speed of *whoosh*. Apparently one of their
cerebonic powers is immunity to acceleration.
Chief Anderson appears on a small monitor above the main screen, his
first appearance in the series, (maybe, I'm begining to wonder if BotP eps.
are in the same order as their Gatch counterparts, can anybody help me here?
Dei?). Anyway I am delighted to see him rather than Zark who remains
blessedly absent.
Anderson explains that the astronauts have been taken by Spectra, (I knew
it!) because they have discovered hidden Spectra bases on Mars and recorded
their locations on - wait for it! - a tape cassett. A picture of which
appears on the next monitor, (question; how can they have a picture of a
cassett nobody's seen yet?) apparently floppy disks do not exist in this
universe.
Keyop suggests the Martian bases may be hidden underwater, (actually he
says something like; twerp..vrerp..underwater?) Princess promptly tells him
there's no water on Mars but the Chief says Keyop's right, some of the bases
*are* underwater! (how does he know this without seeing the tape? which he
hasn't because Spectra just stole it. Why didn't the astronauts transmit
their findings directly to G.C. instead of recording them on a tape? Why do
I keep expecting this show to make sense? been reading too much of Heather's
fanfic, I guess ;).
And Prin is right about there being no water on Mars if there is some now
it *must* have been put there by Spectra, why? isn't that a dead give away
of their presence? Explain *that* Heather!
Okay, so now we know our mission; rescue the astronauts and get back their
tape. But first we've got to locate the Spectra base, (my guess is it's
somewhere underwater....)
We now cut to the Spectra base where we find our old friend the Space
Terrapin's commander in charge. He and some Guys-in-Green study the images
from the tape. And yes I do see bodies of water, and lots of little lights
indicating the Spectran bases. The Spectran Commander (S.C.) remarks it's a
good thing the Earthlings haven't seen this and visi-phones home to report
to Zoltar.
The Purple Peril demands a read out and his computer produces a perforated
ticker-tape, so much for superior Spectran technology. Zoltar studies this
and decides to confer with the Luminous One.
The L.O. is *not* a happy Giant Blue Chicken. In fact he reads Zoltar the
riot act. It seems the big Z has disappointed him on several previous
occasions and the L.O. is getting tired of it. He's upset the Earthlings got
this close to discovering the hidden bases and announces he wants them
operational and he wants it yesterday! Zoltar is his usual sycophantic self.
Back on Earth the Phoenix arrives at the splash down site to find the
recovery ships, etc., still hovering about, God knows why. Mark orders them
under and under they go.
Princess, who is still standing behind the two front seats as are Mark
and Jason *dispite* the fact they've just executed a steep dive, is moved to
admire the undersea scenery.
Mark has a hissy fit. "This isn't a vacation trip," he rants, "we're
missing two astronauts!" Prin hunches her shoulders and apologizes. Does
this shut him up? No. "I want everybody serious about finding them!"
"Yes, sir!" says Princess scooting back to her station, and you just know
from her tone she's wondering who put the ramrod up Fearless Leader's ass.
That's right, Mark, piss off the only good looking girl you're on
speaking terms with! Still, let's be charitable; this *is* only their fourth
mission and Mark is obviously taking his responsibilities way seriously.
Pretty red smoke starts curling from an underwater mountain, this we soon
learn is a volcanic eruption, not a good thing to be so close to, (however scenic).
"Mark, we're out of control!" Princess cries, a few seconds *before* the
turbulence hits (I'm not even going to *try* to explain that one).
Tiny struggles with his levers and announces he can't hold her, a
statement he makes with the same frequency Mr. Scott declares the engines
can't take much more.
Mark decides to use their launch rockets to blast free of the whirlpool
or whatever that's caught them. He finally tells Keyop to get out of his
chair and for the first time this eps. everbody on the flight deck of the
Phoenix is sitting down at their proper stations.
Tiny and Jason pull down on their levers, (why don't Princess and Keyop
ever get levers?), and we get the opening montage shot ofthe Phoenix
blasting upwards through a whirlpool towards a point of light, (the sun?).
To quote Tiny: "G-Force does it again."
Princess announces she's just recieved co-ordinates from Zark, (who
*still* remains conspicuously absent!). Mark asks to see them and studies a
teeny-tiny ticker tape, remarks they're going to have to go back under. Tiny
doesn't like this at all but Mark assures him they will be at least sixty
miles from the volcano.
*Sigh* I knew it couldn't last. Zark finally puts on an appearance and we
are introduced to his ready room, ten second oil breaks, 1-Rover-1 and
Susan, (who is not out on Pluto but apparently stationed right there at CN).
We also get an eyeload of Zark in his birdstyle, complete with helmet, that
I for one could've done without. It seems the Team's having trouble locating
the Spectra base, Zark suggests they try infrared filters and voila! the
base appears! A big ugly ship surrounded by half finished underwater
construction.
Next problem, how do they get in? Tiny's got the answer to that one, ram
their way in! Mark grabs his arm as he goes for the levers.
"That might injure the astronauts." Jason points out then goes on to say,
"you can't jump the gun like that!" Who *is* this guy and what's he done
with the real Jason? Quick, Mark, check the hold for pods!
But Fearless Leader's too focused on the mission to notice this highly
uncharacteristic outburst from his second in command. Keyop promptly
volunteers but Mark decides to go himself, and alone, (big suprise). He
stands on a rectangular plate in the deck and is lowered into the depths of
the ship. How many trap doors and lifts *are* there on the flight deck
anyway?
The Swallow is miffed and the guy masquerading as Jason puts a comforting
hand on his shoulder, then smiles that little Condor smile. Hmmm...maybe it
*is* the real Jason after all.
We see Mark in the lift shaft transmuting back to civvies, (you try
putting a wet suit on over wings!) then swimming towards the Spectran ship.
An reflection of the Space Terrapin's head passes across his mask, is he
seeing it or just remembering? (my money's on the latter).
Guys in green wearing aqualungs work on the half finished base, crab
tanks trundle to and fro. Mark rides the underside of one into the big ugly
ship where he strips off his wetsuit and starts reconnoitering still in
civvies. Not too smart, Commander!
Finally he locates the capsule and climbs inside. It's a mess in there,
shattered consoles and hanging wires everywhere, indicating either 1)
Spectrans are really clumsy and/or destructive; or 2) The astronauts put up
a hell of a fight; or 3) both of the above.
Spotlights hit the capsule, hinting Fearless Leader has been discovered.
Now would be a good time to transmute, Commander! This time he listens. It's
a slightly different transmute sequence featuring a spiraling eagle
silhouette against the usual radiating lights. With a flash of white wings
Mark is out of the capsule and wreaking havoc, knocking over Guys in green,
shattering spotlights, etc. and we get one of the really great shots of him
throwing his boomerang, the one from the opening montage.
A giant dentist's drill from hell comes after him and Mark cartwheels
away from it in the nice straight line that so impressed Ayako. Me, I think
some zig-zagging is called for here. Eventually the drill demolishes both
itself and a crab tank, but - look out, Commander! - a giant hook hurtles
down upon him crushing the tank he's standing on! Oh my!, (as Zark would
say.)
Is our hero finished? Of course not, it's only the second episode! The
hook rises from the wreckage with Mark riding on it perfectly intact. He
begins to rock, the hook commences to swing - right at the S.C. with Mark
uttering a creditable Tarzan yell, which I thought was kind of a cute touch.
As we know Fearless Leader doesn't drink, smoke or swear. I believe his
closet vice, (he's *got* to have one!) is a passion for old B-Movies. Johnny
Weismuller's Tarzan, Westerns, (which is where he learned that little twirl
he gives his boomerang before holstering it), and probably Buck Rogers and
Flash Gordon. This also explains some of his speeches.
End of second digression.
Finally, (and why didn't he do this *before* Mark demolished his vehicle
bay?) the S.C. plays his trump card, he threatens the astronauts. Mark
promptly surrenders like the noble hero he is. The S.C. dismisses him with
the words, "we will not meet again."
"I wish I could believe that." Mark retorts. believe it Commander, this
is the last time you're going to have to look at that stupid green mask,
(just wait till you get a load of his boss!).
Mark and a mere two guards are seen going down in a lift, (the Spectrans
will eventually learn two is *not* enough). A familiar bola flies down the
shaft to strangle one guard, Mark takes out the other and looks up at the
triumphantly grinning Great Swallow Keyop.
Does he say 'Thank you.' or 'What are you doing here?' or even 'Hi,
Keyop.'? No. All he's got to say is; "Grab the tape, Keyop, I'll get the
astronauts!" Now *that's* a scene I would have liked to see; Mark trying to
persuade two reasonable, middle aged men to follow a teenager in a birdsuit
especially as they've probably never even heard of G-Force, (remember it's
still early in the war).
Meanwhile Keyop not only gets the tape but hits every button and control
he can reach sending the big ugly Spectran ship reeling across the sea floor
crushing half completed base structures while things explode inside.
We see our heroes paddling away from the chaos. Zark's voice over insists
the astronauts are with them though we can plainly see they're alone. Wait,
I get it! the astronauts have been sent ahead while M & K act as a rear
guard in case of pursuit.
Back inside the big ugly ship a cringing S.C. is reporting the latest
catastrophe to a very angry Zoltar, who orders him to take an attack ship
and go after G-Force. Then the monitor screen explodes. (- this tape will
self destruct in five seconds....I know, wrong series).
Mark and Keyop, back in birdstyle, are lifted up to the flight deck, (I
*still* want to know how many lifts there are in this control room!). Jason
welcomes them back and asks about the astronauts. Mark replies they are in
sickbay. Okay, I'll buy that. We then cut to an exterior shot and thus are
spared the lecture on insubordination Jason and Keyop doubtless receive at
this point.
We see that the S.C. is obeying his orders and pursuing the Phoenix in an
'attack ship' that looks suspiciously like the Terrapin's head from the
previous episode.
The Phoenix breaks out into the open sky and suddenly Mark sees the
Terrapin's head coming directly at them. For a moment he thinks he's having
another flashback, then realizes it's real and grabs for the famous lever
with the requisit cry of "Transmute to Firery Phoenix!" (Rule one of the
G-Force handbook, no transmuting without loudly shouting the word 'transmute').
Can they do that with civilians on board? Won't the astronauts fry? and
wouldn't that be a shame after all the trouble they've gone to to rescue them?
The Firery Phoenix dives on the Terrapin head/attack ship which glows red
and begins to disintigrate. I am stunned, I can't believe my eyes, have we
just seen somebody *killed* on BotP?
The Phoenix detransmutes and Mark breaths the obligatory sigh of relief
and tries to wipe the sweat from his brow, (the visor makes this difficult.
The camera pulls back showing us a flight deck littered with bodies, (it's
their own fault, if they *will* insist on standing about rather than sitting
at their stations -) Princess picks herself up, gives Mark what Ayako
describes as a really ugly smile, no argument here. Mark returns it and
Zark's voice over rejoices that Princess and the Commander are friends again
as the Phoenix wings off into the inevitable sunset, (and isn't it lucky
their missions always wind up in time to catch the sunset?)
Regretably we then find ourselves back at CN while Zark, unfortunately
still in birdstyle, wraps up for the benefit of 1-Rover-1 and the viewers.
He distinctly says the astronauts are safe so I guess they didn't get fried,
maybe sickbay has special shielding? Zoltar has been forced to abandon his
Martian bases, (and won't he catch it from the L.O.!) So all is right with
the universe, or will be as soon as Zark gets off screen!
Nobody says anything about the incomplete Spectran base right here on
Earth....*or* how the big ugly ship managed to land without being spotted...
but I suspect it isn't coincidence that the early warning station out on
Planet Pluto is built soon after this eps. with Susan in charge.
