The
eighth episode of the animated series Star Blazers (1979) continues the
story-line commenced in the previous installment. Specifically, the Gamilons have used their
powerful new weapon, the Reflex Gun, to disable the Argo and send it sinking to
the bottom of an ocean on Pluto.
In
this story, Captain Avatar plans to strike back by using the Gamilons’
reflective satellites against them.
When
the Reflex Gun fires once more, the Argo personnel are able to use the
satellites to determine its position (under an ice field on Pluto…) and launch
missiles to disable it.
Meanwhile,
Wildstar commands a dangerous mission to the Gamilon base and meets the first
non-aligned aliens in the series: Pluto’s cute Protozoa creatures, who “feel like slippery grape gelatin.” The alien creatures look like the Blob, only
with eyes. These aliens aren’t advanced,
and perhaps lack much more than rudimentary intelligence. They are put to sleep with harmless gas so
Wildstar can gain access to the enemy headquarters.
Once
inside that base, Wildstar must avoid booby traps and blow up a reactor, thereby
destroying the threat to Earth from additional planet bombs. Victorious, Captain Avatar declares “And now…onto Iscandar” with just 354
days remaining until Earth’s destruction.
In
a deliberate mirror image of that victory, Desslok orders his defeated forces
on Pluto not to return to Gamilon until the Star Force is destroyed.
As
I wrote about in regards to episode seven, Star Blazers has become a fairly formulaic
show, featuring strategic move and counter-move, but with little forward
momentum and almost no character development to go along with the pitched
battles. I’m hoping it’s just a rough
patch here, because this has only recently become the case.
I’m
hoping this is the last “Gamilons test
new weapon on Argo, which ekes out a surprise victory” story for a
while. When I watched the series as a
kid, I don’t remember it being a military war show to the exclusion of every
other consideration.
I’m
with Avatar: let’s head out into unexplored space, to Iscandar, and see what’s
out there. I’ll let you know next week
where the ninth episode takes the developing narrative…
Hi John, me again. I think that this Star Blazers episode #8 finally gets the journey to Iscandar underway after the problems in the solar system have been best resolved.
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