Gatchaman Episode 48: “The Camera Iron Beast, Shutterkiller”

[Thank you, Saturn, for the screencaps!]







Gatchaman Episode 48: “The Camera Iron Beast, Shutterkiller”

BOTP Episode: “Raid on a Nearby Planet”

The opening scene is a stretch of land, far below, seen from the perspective of something that is flying overhead, as the pulsing music of impending doom plays. The land appears to contain ordinary forests and hills, but suddenly a circular section of the terrain is being scanned by some kind of intense, orange energy. What was hidden, but now revealed, appears to be an industrial complex of some kind.







Now we see that this is all being viewed on a screen by two Galactor goons, presumably inside whatever craft is flying over the terrain below.

“Infrared rays detected,” announces one of the goons.

“I shall report to Lord Katse immediately,” replies a man who is very obviously a Captain of the Week, as he’s wearing a cape and a mask that features two yellow bulbous protrusions on his forehead –what they’re meant to represent, I have no real idea. This week’s mecha has a camera theme, so maybe he’s supposed to look like he has flash bulbs on his head. His neck appears to be made of interlocking metal strips, such that it could extend and become longer, or bend in any direction desired. Maybe he’s supposed to represent a piece of photography lighting equipment.

At any rate, he turns to another, smaller screen. The instant he says “Lord Katse,” the screen turns on and Katse is there.








“We have detected something on the Dekai Peninsula,” continues the Captain.

“It must be another part of the ISO’s Mantle Project,” replies Katse, “Retrieve the data and burn it down, Kodak.” [It should be noted that Katse only calls him this in the dub, not the subtitles –I guess ADV thought the Captain must have some photography theme too.]

“Sire,” says the Captain, acknowledging his orders before ordering the goons to “Bring the computer online!” The computer seems to be intended for data storage, as we see a goon activate a tape on two very large reels. (As ever, I chuckle a bit at a 1970s vision of computer technology of the future.)







“Alright, prepare the laser strobe,” orders the Captain next. We get a closer view of his face now, revealing that he seems to be wearing black eyeliner and mascara (or he naturally has very thick, dark lashes). But, he quickly covers his eyes with a pair of tinted glasses shaped rather like the red Galactor logo and the two goons also don similar protective eyewear.

Now we see an exterior view of the mecha as it hovers in the air over the Dekai Peninsula, and it has what resembles a giant camera lens on its underside (and I try to remember the last time I used a camera like this, that wasn’t digital –many years ago).

“This time we will finally triumph over the Science Ninja Team,” declares the Captain, inside the mecha, and he then presses a button on the end of a lever. The shutter on the mecha’s giant lens now opens, and a powerful laser strobe beams down at the ISO installation below.









On the ground, the entire ISO complex begins to break apart and explode into flames.

But now, we cut abruptly to an underwater scene, and the music changes to a more peaceful and happy piece.










“This is the ISO’s secret undersea energy plant,” the narrator informs us, “Here, uranium mined from the sea bed is transformed into energy and sent to the facilities above. It is a major part of the Mantle Project.” It even has its own fish parade too, so you know that all is well here.

But not for long…

The mecha, Shutterkiller, swoops down from the sky to hover over the sea’s surface. It fires its laser strobe, which can penetrate even through water, and the undersea energy plant is destroyed in a fiery explosion.

Now we cut to a mountainous region.

“At the base of this seemingly ordinary mountain is a rocket launch pad, which is also a part of the Mantle Project. It is the ISO’s test site for rockets, which they intend to use for peace-keeping purposes.”









I’m not sure how rockets help with peace-keeping, unless they aid drought-stricken regions by creating rainstorms like the rockets in episode 30.

But now Shutterkiller flies in here too, and hovers over the launch pad. Yet again, its laser strobe fires, and the entire place is destroyed in explosions and a massive ball of flames erupts high into the air.









“The Shutterkiller is Galactor’s terrifying new mecha,” the narrator tells us, as the mecha flies away. “It can photograph the ISO’s secret scientific facilities even as it destroys them, whether located underground or underwater.”

“Good work,” a pleased, on-screen Katse is saying, “Now, show me the data we’ve collected thus far.”

The Captain orders a goon to rewind the tape for Katse, while on a screen we see rapid images of the various ISO facilities that were attacked. This makes Katse break into evil, gloating laughter.

“Marvelous,” he cackles, “The secrets of the ISO’s Mantle Project now belong to Galactor!”

“It’s truly impressive, my Lord,” says the Captain, “The power of the Shutterkiller is immense!”

Katse says that he can’t wait to tell Leader X. “Finally, he’ll be pleased!”

But, now we cut to Leader X, and he doesn’t seem pleased at all yet.









“Berg Katse,” he intones sternly, “You were supplied with the flying aircraft carrier, Achaeo, the greatest mecha of the century, and yet you continue to be defeated by the Science Ninja Team. What do you say to your failures?”

So now, Katse assures Leader X that their new weapon, Shutterkiller, will render Gatchaman helpless.

“I’ve heard this all before,” says Leader X coldly (and accurately), “You’re all talk, but no action.”

Katse now pleads for Leader X to trust him, but Leader X just vanishes from his screen.

“Leader X is convinced I’m nothing more than a fool,” worries Katse now, “I can’t afford any more failures. This time I must show him my true power!”


Now we see an exterior view of the Crescent Coral Base, with its ever-present schools of fish swimming by, as the narrator tells us that Dr. Nambu has been informed of the attacks on Mantle Project sites and that he has summoned the Science Ninja Team. Now we’re inside, where the Team is gathered, in their civvies, around Dr. Nambu.










Only Ken is standing, and he says “So then, you’re telling us they’re only attacking ISO energy plants?” Dr. Nambu confirms this.

“Gimme a break,Doc,” says Ryu, “What kind of crazy thing is it this time?”

“Not only does it destroy our facilities,” replies Dr. Nambu gravely, holding his chin, “But it also uses a camera-like device to record our secret data.”

I wonder how Dr. Nambu knows Shutterkiller is doing this –there didn’t appear to be any surviving witnesses. I also wonder how mere photographs constitute “secret data,” but I suppose they could supply sufficient information for Galactor to figure out what the ISO is doing at the various Mantle Project sites, and what sort of machinery they’re using.

“But Doctor, how can that be possible?” asks Ken (clearly as puzzled as I am).

“It’s fairly simple, really,” replies the Doctor, “It would probably be child’s play for Galactor. I believe its powerful laser beam is acting as a strobe.”

“You mean it’s like a giant camera mecha?” asks Jinpei.

Jun, frowning, realizes this means Galactor could acquire “Every detail of the ISO’s Mantle Project.”

“What concerns me most,” acknowledges Dr. Nambu, “Is that data being used against us for evil.”

“That’s pretty sneaky,” growls Joe, fist clenched, “Even for Galactor!”

But, Dr. Nambu proceeds now to issue their mission’s directives: destroy the mecha, locate its secret base, and recover the stolen data. Ken wants to know if Dr. Nambu has any idea what Galactor’s next target might be, and is informed that it’s likely “the Greenwater industrial complex,” which he points to on a map. “Set up an ambush and strike them there!”









Everyone stands and cries “Roger!” while saluting, and then we get some stock footage of the God Phoenix leaving the Crescent Coral Base to take to the skies.

On the bridge of the God Phoenix, Ken is looking at the Greenwater complex and muttering “Galactor scum, it looks like they’re not here yet.”

Now we see a charming scene of nasty-coloured water filled with dead fish, as the narrator tells us “In the past, the citizens of the Earth freely disposed of pollutants and contaminated the oceans.”

Um, with all the dead fish we’re seeing, it sure looks like they might still be “freely disposing”!

“I don’t see Jinpei anywhere!” says Jun anxiously, looking around. Uh oh…

“That bonehead must be trying to do it all alone again!” says Ken, sounding aggravated. (Like you’ve never taken off to “do it all alone,” Ken!)

Commercial break!

As they all stand there in the corridor, with debris from the hole in the ceiling around their feet and uncertain what to do next, Ryu spots a vehicle in the distance, driving towards them. Ken quickly orders them all to take cover, and they all leap up to the corridor’s ceiling.

The vehicle, which has no roof, halts right where they had just been standing. It contains four armed goons and one is pointing ahead and saying “Hey, what’s that?” but no goon notices that there’s a big hole above them or that Ken and Ryu are doing excellent Spiderman imitations and clinging to the ceiling with no apparent handholds.

Ken and Ryu then drop down from the ceiling and clobber two of the goons.









A second later, Joe and Jun (who have also been imitating Spiderman) drop down and finish off the remaining two goons.










Hey look, now they’ve got a car!











“We’ll use this transport to sneak into their base, and keep it stealthy, guys,” instructs Ken as the others all nod. There isn’t any argument about who gets to drive, because the vehicle apparently drives itself, and “keeping it stealthy” turns out to entail the four Ninjas crouching down low in the vehicle while each propping up a dead goon to make it seem as though nothing’s happened. I’ve heard of people putting dummies in their cars to be able to drive in “high occupancy vehicle” lanes on highways, but this pretty morbid!










It’s a very long, curving corridor and the vehicle continues on for some time, but then it becomes a glassed-in tunnel. We see two goons watching the vehicle enter the tunnel and from where they’re standing, nothing looks amiss to them, and the vehicle moves through the tunnel, that spans a very large, water-filled room.

“Wait a minute,” says Ken, peering around carefully at all the machinery that fills the massive room, “This looks just like the ISO’s underwater energy plant!”

“Yeah,” says Joe, “They must have built it with the data they stole from them.”










The vehicle now enters a section of the tunnel across the room that’s walled in with metal instead of glass. “It’s all up to you, Joseph,” says Ken now (as either ADV’s writers or Ken’s voice actor mistakenly assume this is his real name –in the subtitles it’s still “Joe”).

“You got it,” says Joe, quickly leaping up out of the vehicle and concealing himself, using some pipes running above them.









The vehicle, still in the glassed-in tunnel is nearing the far side of the massive room now, and beginning to drive up a slope.









More goons are in the room, watching them go by. The dead goons start to slip backwards, and Ken and Jun have to quickly grab theirs to keep them from falling over.












The vehicle’s path is no longer glassed-in, and the vehicle, for some reason, automatically comes to a halt.

“This is just like the underground energy plant,” whispers Ryu, peeking over the side of the vehicle at the machinery that surrounds them now, but Ken says “Hey, you’re up!” and Ryu leaps from vehicle and the elevated track it’s moving along to conceal himself among some large vats and pipes below.









This leaves just Ken and Jun to hold up the four dead goons as their vehicle leaves the massive room behind and enters a corridor again. Ken whispers to Jun “You okay, little momma?” and she replies “Got it, daddy-o!”









But now Ken sees that another vehicle is approaching them from the opposite direction, and that it’s going to pass close by them.

One of the goons in this new vehicle sees the vehicle of dead goons and crouching Ninjas and says “Hey, where are they going?” This is quickly followed by “Stop right there! Something’s up with those guys. After them!” as both Ken and Jun, still crouched down low in their vehicle, look alarmed. The goons leave their vehicle and rush towards Ken and Jun’s, brandishing machine guns.

The goons get close enough to discover that the other goons are, in fact, dead.









Before they can really react much to this, Ken and Jun both stand up inside the vehicle, and proceed to gun the goons down with machines guns conveniently borrowed from the already-dead goons, reminding me a bit of Bonnie and Clyde.









But, with that bit of massacring out of the way, Ken and Jun continue on in their vehicle, still propping up dead goons as camouflage.

“With all these guards around, there must be something really important up ahead,” remarks Ken.

With that, Ken and Jun’s vehicle enters another large room with a high ceiling, but this one contains a huge rocket and launching apparatus –I guess that qualifies as important.









“Jun, I can’t believe they were able to build a place like this under the desert!” says Ken, amazed.

They look very romantic and adorable together here now.










However, what Jun is actually saying is “You know what? I bet they’ve been using the ISO’s stolen data to generate enough energy to launch this rocket.”

“But the real question is,” says Ken now, “Why do they want to launch it?”

Suddenly, Berg Katse’s voice calls out “Welcome, Gatchaman!”

Ken and Jun both gasp and crouch down even lower in their vehicle.









But it’s no good –they’ve been found. A spotlight is suddenly trained on them.










With that, Ken and Jun both stand up (but Ken keeps his hand on Jun’s shoulder –aww!)











“Nice of you to show up to our rocket launching ceremony,” says Katse, standing inside a glass elevator tube with Shutterkiller’s Captain and a goon, “I do hope you enjoy the festivities.”

I’m kind of surprised that Katse is reacting to their appearance so calmly, as he’d previously been informed by the Captain that the Science Ninjas were “finished off”. But, maybe he noticed the God Phoenix parked up above in the desert much earlier and has had time to deal with the disappointment, or he’d been “drinking to their [presumed] victory” and is sufficiently mellowed out now to be able to take this new development in stride.

But Ken has no time for pleasantries and cuts to the chase.

“I think you’d better tell me what the hell that rocket’s for,” he declares, pointing.









Now Katse, in classic “James Bond villain” style, sees no reason why the entire master plan shouldn’t be explained to Ken and Jun, seeing as they’re captured and couldn’t possibly escape (even though they have on dozens of previous occasions).

Well, the Captain gets the job of explaining. It seems that the rocket is going to be used to put a satellite in orbit around the earth that will use a large mirror to direct Shutterkiller’s laser strobe anywhere, quickly, so that “we can retrieve data from any location in the world and destroy it with the touch of a button. Then, Galactor’s plans for world domination will be fulfilled.”









“Thanks to Shutterkiller,” adds Katse, “We secured enough energy for launch. We even found a pilot for the rocket. Now, we just wait for the loading to finish!”

“They found a pilot?” whispers Jun, “You don’t think they…”

“Jinpei,” says Ken grimly.









“Good guess, Gatchaman,” says Katse (who now knows the real name of one of the Team –way to go, guys!), “I thought he was probably more useful than a monkey. Look there!” Here, Katse points high above.









A struggling, bound Jinpei is being forced into the rocket by a goon. “Big Brother, Sis! Help me!” he cries.










Ken and Jun are both horrified, and protest to no avail as a kicking and yelling Jinpei disappears inside the rocket.









“Jinpei…” whispers Jun, as Katse laughs gloatingly, “That’s right, say your goodbyes!”

“Don’t even think of making any moves, Gatchaman,” growls the Captain, as goons still keep their machine guns trained on Ken and Jun. He then orders the fueling of the rocket to commence (this entails connecting a very large hose to the rocket) and for the satellite to be loaded on board.










“Any second now, Joe and Ryu will show up,” whispers Ken to Jun, which seems to snap her out of her despair.

A massive blast bursts up from the ground, forming a giant ball of fire. Ken, Joe and Ryu are sprayed with sand and wind as they hunker flat against the ground, and the force of the explosion sends Jinpei’s buggy flying. It crashes into the sand some distance away and Jinpei and Jun are both thrown from it.













Ken, half covered by sand, lifts his head to stare at the burning wreckage of Shutterkiller that’s strewn over the ground. But, one piece of it is not destroyed after all –the lens from Shutterkiller’s underbelly- and now it’s Katse’s escape vehicle.










“Foiled by Gatchaman again! Just you wait! Next time you’re a dead man!” storms Katse as his escape vehicle rises into the air and flies away, and suddenly Ken’s birdrang comes loose from the shutter and falls to land in the sand not too far from Ken. That’s very convenient! I’m not sure if Joe and Ryu were able to get their guns back though –they might have exploded along with the mecha.

“Berg Katse made it out alive! Damn that bastard!” says Ken, fist clenched.









“How long is that guy going to keep getting away from us?” demands Joe disgustedly.









“Nobody could have survived a blast that powerful,” says Ryu, “He must be some kind of monster or something, don’t you think?”

Hmm, you could be on to something there, Ryu. Katse’s shape-shifting and gender-swapping abilities might also grant some kind of protection from injuries that would normally be fatal.









But now the three guys hear Jinpei, in the distance, and realize that he’s stuck headfirst in the sand.









All three of them rush over quickly to help Jinpei.

Well, not Ken though! He goes straight to Jun to make sure she’s okay. Aww!









Now Joe and Ryu are crouched beside the still upside down and struggling Jinpei.

“You had us all worried, shrimp,” says Joe drily, “I think you ought to stay there awhile, and think about it.” Then he laughs, but Ryu pulls Jinpei’s head out of the sand.









“That wasn’t funny, guys. What a bunch of bozos,” says Jinpei aggrievedly, but it does sound like he might have learned a lesson about taking off on his own during missions. For a moment, anyway.

But now Ken goes and says “Good job, Jinpei! Without you, we never would have found Galactor’s base.” (Hey Ken, weren’t you the one calling him a “bonehead” earlier?)








“Thanks!” says Jinpei, now looking all smug, “I knew that he’d appreciate all my hard work.”










Ryu can’t let Jinpei get away with this, and he shakes the laughing Jinpei’s helmet as he says “You always get carried away when you’re complimented, you freaking little drumstick!”








“Mission accomplished!” says Ken now, keeping his hand on Jun’s shoulder –and she looks quite happy about it too!









“Okay guys, let’s hurry back to base and let Dr. Nambu repair the God Phoenix,” adds Ken.

I guess it’s only villains who say “Tonight, we drink to our victory!”

Now, Jun and Joe leave in their vehicles, driving off across the desert rather than just docking them with the God Phoenix –I guess the God Phoenix is in such need of repair, they’d rather not fly in it!









As Joe and Jun head off, the God Phoenix rises into the air. But, it’s not Ryu flying it! He’s with Jinpei in his buggy.









“Is this thing even going to move?” asks Jinpei, struggling with the controls.

“We’ve got to get it back to the base for repairs,” points out Ryu, sitting beside Jinpei.









So, Ken must be flying the God Phoenix, though it’s not clear why. Is he so concerned that it’s not flight-worthy due to damage that he wants to be the only one to risk flying in it? At least this time, Ryu isn’t missing, so Ken is able to fly the God Phoenix perfectly well (even with a damaged tail). Poor Ken, though –after all his little romantic gestures with Jun in this episode, it ends with her driving off with Joe!

Jinpei manages to get his buggy out of the sand and into the air, but it’s not accomplished smoothly, and this leaves Ryu clutching the back of Jinpei’s chair and declaring “Man, I should have wrote my will!”

But, Jinpei’s buggy flies off into a beautiful sunrise, following the God Phoenix in the air and Joe and Jun on the ground.








The End.

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Here's the link.

http://www.veoh.com/search/videos/q/batt...v823457eTsYSq55

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Hi all!

Thanks again for a great recap, LB and Saturn! Yes, this episode is also one of my liking ... especially for the chemistry going on between Ken and Jun! From the excellent screencaps shown here I found them looking similar to a married couple! Perhaps that's why they dubbed them with "Little Momma" and "Daddy-O"! Where they thinking about their having kids, hee hee!

I also found it a bit unrealistic how Galactor managed to construct a replica of the ISO's underwater energy plant in such a short period of time! And, needless to say, Ryu has done his share with flying colors here! WTG!

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To be or not to be a gatchamaniac - that's the dilemma!

Raid On a Nearby Planet
Battle of the Planets, Episode Twenty-One
Gatchaman Episode #48, The Camera Iron Beast, Shutterkiller
DVD and Veoh episode #41

Review/Summary: And it’s Center Neptune establishing shot, with Zark VO time, kids! “Here in Center Neptune, known as the watchful eye of our galaxy, a highly sensitive detector system monitors all threats to Earth as well as other friendly planets within the Intergalactic Alliance.” [They were doing so well until they used the word ‘intergalactic’.]

Now to Zark and perky Zark theme. “Lately, Planet Vega has been receiving threats of attack from Spectra, that constant enemy of Earth and other Alliance planets. I’m keeping a round-the-clock watch on Vega, and it’s time for me to check on them right now.” He turns on his monitors with the sonic boomerang. Sigh. Beat a joke to death, why don’t you? [And Vega is a star in the constellation of Lyra.] And he gets so angry about Spectra picking on little planets like Vega that it almost melts his condensers.

Now he floats over to his favorite console. “If they sent me after them, I’d show those space pirates a thing or two.” [Good thing it never happens. Why do I get the feeling Barney Fife would be of more use in a fight than Zark?] His antennae straighten and shoot off little jags. “Emergency signals from Vega. That can mean only one thing: Spectra! But is it just another threat, or a full-scale attack this time? I’ll set my receptors for a possible Red Alert.”

And now we get the good animation. The camera pans over a wooded, mountainous landscape, while Zark identifies this as Vega and says the signals are coming from a small island with a very important defense installation. Said installation is not visible until the image suddenly develops a red tint. Is this Zark’s sensor system, (a reasonable assumption, since he’s talking), or someone else’s machinery?

The camera pulls back to reveal this is a Spectra ship, and the installation is on their screen.

And another interestingly-dressed Captain makes his appearance. Beefy fellow, wearing a few more colors than might be necessary. Red cape. His sleeves and mask are a greenish color, his torso is a two-tone of a sort of grey-brown and grey, and his neck is covered with a ribbed grey thing. And he has what looks like yellow fuzzies above his eyes.

He reports that they’re in position. Zoltar tells him to destroy all of Vega’s vital installations. He tells his soldiers to prepare for Phase One.

They don some spiffy protective glasses [yes, even over the red-covered eyeholes on the soldiers’ masks].

Now we get a look at their ship. An intimidating-looking flying wing, with a cylindrical projection from the bottom.

Back in the control room, the leader presses the button – on what looks like a portrait photographer’s camera control. It has the cable and everything. This should be interesting. To say the least.

The cylindrical projection has a shutter like a camera. It opens twice. The second time, the installation is blown to pieces.

Cut to an underwater complex, as Zark tells us that Spectra has successfully attacked several defense installations. Now they’re switching to an electrical plant.

Then they hit rocket launch sites. According to Zark, they’re softening Vega up for immediate occupation.

How quickly is all this happening? Zark natters some more about how Vega will surrender if help does not arrive from Earth. He must contact G-Force.

But first, we have Zoltar asking the captain for the plans on the projected assault on Vega. The captain explains they’re programmed into the master computer, and then we have red-tinted views of everything they’ve destroyed. Zoltar approves. If Vega does not submit, they will proceed with the attack.

When told of their success to date, the Luminous One warns him against overconfidence. They will have success when Vega falls. Can Zoltar be certain that Earth will not come to Vega’s defense?

Zoltar says that Earth lacks the will to aid Vega, but if it does, they are ready.

The Luminous One reminds him that they must have Vega at any cost and signs off.

Zoltar says to himself that they will accomplish two goals: taking Vega and splitting the Alliance.

Back at Center Neptune, Zark has given the data on Spectra’s sneak attack to Anderson. He and the team are in conference.

Mark asks why Spectra is so interested in Vega. According to Anderson, if Spectra takes Vega, they will be practically right next door to Earth.

Some more expository dialogue. Earth is obligated by treaty to help Vega, and in any case, by doing so, Earth is helping itself.

Princess asks for information on the ray machine. All Anderson can tell her is that it’s powerful to level an entire city at one blast. [Apparently, Zark’s sensors are plot-dependent.]

Mark wants to know where to find the enemy. Anderson points to a spot on a wall-map of Vega, saying that’s the ‘hot spot.’

A reused bit of footage, starting with Mark asking if anyone is for outer space, ending with transmutation.

Then stock footage of the Phoenix taking off.

And Sandy Frank space-travel footage. Why are they passing entire galaxies if Vega is almost next door to Earth?

And they end up at the chocolate-turtle planet. [We’re going to see a lot of that place.]

Now they’re flying over the ‘Sea of Vega’ according to Mark. As some sort of port comes into view, he identifies their target. Vega’s scientific research center. According to Zark’s VO, the next logical place for Spectra to attack. [We could debate this. Defense and energy installations are better targets.] I will spare you the blather about luck and the two 7s in Zark’s name.

The Phoenix has landed. G-Force waits.

And here comes the Spectra machine.

Mark orders Tiny to take off.

Jason (big surprise) wants to shoot missiles at it. Mark tells him to let the Spectrans make the first move. [Why?] G2 notes that it could be G-Force’s last move. Tiny says they’ll find out in about three seconds.

The mecha gets above them, and fires its ray. Aside from a bit of shaking, not much seems to happen. When the Phoenix clears the ray, the pilots again get above the ship, and the captain tries again.

This time, Tiny is blinded by the light, and the Phoenix seems to sustain some damage. He can barely pilot the ship.

The Spectrans see this and move in for the kill. Their captain announces that their ‘infra-ray’ is too powerful. Pursue G-Force.

Tiny says he can’t work the controls. Since he’s trying to rub his eyes through his visor, it’s hard to tell if he still can’t see, or if there’s something wrong with the controls themselves.

Eventually, things work out, and Tiny tries to evade the larger Spectra ship. The Phoenix should be more maneuverable, but they can’t shake the Spectrans. The beam clips their tail section.

Now Tiny really has problems. Tired of being chased, Jason presses a button and the ship spews dark smoke as it crashes into the ocean.

Both the captain and Zoltar think G-Force defeated.

At the ocean floor, Keyop gets up from where he’s sprawled. He’s had enough, and he runs for his buggy. [I really don’t want to use the silly names the show gave their vehicles.]

Commercial break.

And now to Zark’s ready room. He feels he can take a ten-second oil break while Keyop is off tracking the Spectrans. [No, you can’t, Zark! The Phoenix is damaged and the threat to Vega is not yet over.]

Rover’s hungry. Zark gives him a wrench to chew on, commenting that the last time he did so, Rover unscrewed his own nose.

Then he says he hopes he gets a report from Vega soon. He’s worried about Keyop. [Then what is he doing taking an oil break?]

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Benefits, not features; benefits, not features

And now, back to our proper ordering of episodes.

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Benefits, not features; benefits, not features