RETRO-SCRUTINY SRMTHFG EPISODE 46: Night of Fear

Hello and welcome back to Retro-Scrutiny! I am your glorious host, Kendall, and with me is my wonderful co-anchor, Alexia. How’re you doing, Alexia?

(I’m fine, just in a bit of a mood.)

Should we be worried?

(No, I’ll be fine, if not a bit quiet. So, what’s with today’s episode? Anything interesting?)

Today’s episode is an interesting one, if the title means anything. This is Night of Fear.

OVERVIEW

The episode begins with Sparks and Gibson patrolling the city, with Sparks showing off his air skills. His vision starts blurring and it causes him to nearly crash into a building.

The rest of the team is sitting around the Super Robot’s feet talking and notice Sparks’ flying just before the Fist Rocket crashes into the Robot and falls. They pull him out and he explains that the lights just went out in his cockpit. When he asks to be taken out of the dark cockpit, it is revealed that he can no longer see.

They take him to the medical bay, where they discover they can’t find a physical cause for Sparks’ condition. Sparks reveals that he’s always been afraid of losing his sight, since it means he won’t be able to fly again.

Antauri tells Gibson that he needs to do more tests and Gibson starts acting… weird.

Antauri: Is there a problem?

Gibson: Um, no, no. I’ll have to remove his ocular orbs and check his neural pathways for any signs of a pony.

Otto: Did he just say he was looking for a pony?

Gibson: A pony? Now don’t be ridiculous! Why would I want to look for a pony? If I’m looking for a horse, I most definitely want a kangaroo. (Derp face!)

Nova: Uh, Gibson…?

Gibson: Now where were we? Ah yes! (Brings out his drills.) Is it time for the dissection party?

(And now we have two sick monkeys! They wrap up Sparks, but when Antauri goes to check on Gibson, he starts having problems as well. So it’s an epidemic!)

Suddenly the Robot shakes as four giant mechanical monsters appear inside. The team starts to fight, but it is becoming apparent that something is wrong with Antauri and Nova. Especially Nova, who starts to hallucinate and cower at the sight of one of the monsters. Gibson saves her but she bumps into Sparks who starts blindly firing attacks around and scares her into running away.

They defeat the last of the monsters and wonder where Nova went. As they head up to find her, they miss the sudden appearance of a familiar form…

Nova is hiding in her room when Chiro and the gang arrive. She freaks at first, but quickly realizes its just Chiro. Gibson starts drilling into her floor (He’s digging for moon rocks!) and scaring her before Chiro stops him. Antauri states that the seemingly random attacks have a common thread- the affected have had their most terrible fear come true.

Chiro: Nova has lost her nerve. Gibson…

Gibson: I’ve always been scared of appearing irrational or big green globbity boo.

Sparks: And losing my eyesight! That’s the worst thing that can happen to a pilot!

Antauri: My greatest fear is that I would lose control of this robotic body.

As the team makes plans to find the one responsible for doing all of this, said responsible one is watching them on the monitors. It’s Mandarin and Valeena, who’s still stuck in the medallion. Mandarin is using her supernatural powers to get revenge on his team, while she is demanding release so she may resurrect her master.

The team is attacked by the Robot’s inner defenses. Nova drags Sparks with her so they can hide (Why Sparks?). They need to head to the engine room to shut them off.

They make it, but the door is sealed shut. Antauri begins phasing through the door as they’re attacked again. Antauri loses his phasing ability and gets stuck halfway through.

He does eventually make it and save them. Mandarin makes his grand appearance and uses the amulet to bring out Chiro’s greatest fear- being a powerless little boy. As Chiro is crying, the deformed monkey uses the amulet to pull Antauri out of the door and take control of him, fully utilizing the silver monkey’s fear. Otto saves him and Chiro and Gibson make a run for it. Otto follows soon after

(Perhaps they should stay and discuss their differences…?)

Antauri follows them into a vent, but is taken off the trail by the sound of Nova and Sparks. He confronts them and tries to warn them about himself before chasing them through the vents to a dead end. Sparks puts up a shield and talks Nova into stunning him and deactivating his battery pack.

The boys land in what looks like Otto’s space and they continue to run. Chiro comments on Otto’s lack of fear just in time to witness the green monkey’s fear: Giant clams with feet! They end up carrying poor Otto away, leaving the other two to get chased by Mandarin.

Chiro confronts Mandarin just in time for reinforcements to arrive.

(Yay Super Robot! Unfortunately, Chiro is taken hostage and they can’t attack or his head goes flying. But just as he’s about to make the final strike, Chiro grabs the amulet and uses it on Mandarin, sucking him inside of it to meet his worst fear- Valeena!)

And with that, everything is back to normal. And the episode ends with Mandarin trapped and Valeena demanding to know where the Skeleton King’s skull is hidden.

(And that, ladies and gentlemen, was Night of Fear. An interesting twenty minutes if you ask my opinion. But before we get to those, let’s get something out of the way.)

UNANSWERED QUESTION(S):

1. What was Antauri’s original worst fear, if his current fear is losing control of his mechanical body?
2. Why is Otto’s fear clams with feet?
3. Is Valeena Mandarin’s true fear?
4. How did Mandarin and Valeena escape the amulet?

FINAL OPINIONS:

This episode is fun. It’s mostly character development for the entire team- a dip into their inner selves. It has enough action and plenty of humor.

(Speaking of the humor, the star of this episode is Gibson, because he had all the best lines. I like Gibson, but I admit he’s usually the straight man for characters like Otto and Sparks. So when he has a funny moment, it takes it and makes it memorable.)

As we said before, this episode actually had a good amount of character development for the team. For example, the boys enter Nova’s room and we’re treated to what’s inside of it- a punching bag, a tea set, stuffed animals, sharp weapons on the wall, and heart shaped pillows. That’s pretty cool. And to this day, I still don’t understand Otto’s fear.

Unfortunately, the villains are pretty boring. Mandarin just wants revenge and while watching him taunt his ex-team is fun, it still isn’t much. And Valeena is the biggest side character of the episode- she has a total of thirty seconds of dialogue.

(And wonderful viewers, that is the end of this week’s episode of Retro-Scrutiny. Now, don’t worry, we’ll be back in a week’ time with the next episode- hey, Kendall, what’s with the look?)

Next week’s episode is the episode that sparked this shows’ creation… I’m not looking forward to next week…

RETRO-SCRUTINY SRMTHFG Episode 44: Invasion of the Vreen

Hey everybody! It’s us, Kendall and Alexia here once again with a new episode of Retro-Scrutiny for the Thanksgiving week!

(These week has been pretty busy- between studying and preparing for next week’s finals to cleaning to shopping and cooking. Luckily, we try to work around that messy schedule the only way we can think of- skipping out on sleep!)

We are not kidding- half of our show is done in the middle of the night because we have a few too many distractions during the day. It’s better when we’re at school- the only distractions are the ones we give ourselves- but now we have everyone regularly popping in with something.

But you all didn’t come to hear us complain about our personal lives! You came to listen to tales of colorful simians saving a far away planet from some sort of threat! So, without further ado, let’s jump into the Invasion of the Vreen.

OVERVIEW

The episode begins with a handful of meteors crashing to the ground, with our heroes investigating. They notice that something is moving down in the crater. A moment later, Gibson is tackled by a large larvae of sorts. Chiro shoots it off of him, but more pop out to fight. During the fight, they learn that the larvae are mechanical and were hatched from the meteor-like eggs.

(Nova and Gibson take the next few seconds to point out the obvious: Gibson don’t like bugs. They freak him out. Then they leave, missing the part where the larvae regenerate and split.)

In the Super Robot, Gibson explains that the meteors didn’t come from space at all- they simply appeared in the atmosphere. Antauri wants to go and investigate, but Chiro and Gibson are certain that they squashed the bugs good.

(And of course, the overconfident ones get proven wrong immediately. The bugs have been busy multiplying well into the night.)

The team is woken by the Plot Alarm to discover a fifth meteor. Chiro and Otto go to investigate. They find it and the spot the robots duplicating and changing from larvae to large fighting mechs. The boys fight, but get whooped and their communicators are disabled. They do manage to win, but quickly discover the rest of the swarm headed towards Shuggazoom to steal the people away.

(The Super Robot arrives to save their skins. Nova gets the boys in and slams the door on one of the creatures, slicing it in half. The team later dissect the rather gross looking half-creature’s brain and connect it’s and Antauri’s minds so the silver simian can probe it for answers.)

Antauri: 80 million years in the future, only insects remain. The most advanced race, the Vreen, dominate by building robot bodies to inhabit. They removed their brains and placed them into cybernetic death machines. This enabled them to conquer space, devouring life all throughout the cosmos. But after eons of destruction, the Vreen finally ran out of food, and so they were forced to send their offspring back in time to feed off the organisms of the past.

(And then the team explain what was just explained to us like we just didn’t get it. But don’t worry- Gibson’s already got a plan.)

The Super Robot helps the team into the sewers to begin Gibson’s plan- look for the Vreen ancestor; one single mutant strain of insect that will one day evolve into the entire Vreen species.

They reach the chamber where the ancestor is located, and search while being stalked. They find it, but are ambushed and forced to retreat. Unfortunately, Sparks and Nova are captured.

(The team return to the Super Robot, where Gibson freaks out about being outsmarted by the Vreen. I’m only bringing this up because it’s honestly kinda funny.)

They also manage to locate the Vreen’s enormous hive full of people (And a pair of familiar monkeys.) being stored for food. Gibson has yet another plan (And Otto has another funny line.).

The team arrives just as the hive begins to open, releasing a large silver mech that transforms. The giant mechs fight and in the end, the team launch their chest cannon- the ammo? Antauri in full Ghost Mode. He arrives at the hive while the others continue to fight. They win, but the Vreen inside are already onto their scheme and head back to their base.

The Vreen blast Antauri just as he has a hold of the bug, and suddenly it’s a fight for the jarred insect. Chiro and Otto end up eaten by two of the giant mech monsters, leaving Gibson to do the only thing left- eat like his life depended on it.

(Which it does. And it works. Without their ancestor, the Vreen and their destruction disappear. HOORAY!)

The episode ends with the Hyperforce talking about how everything is normal until they pick up a familiar image on their long-range scanners. Everything seems familiar until the meteors produce a trio of SPACE KITTENS!

(AWWW! They’re  so cute! I wonder if they eat human flesh? Well, the Kittens transform and the Hyperforce prepares to attack as the episode fades to black.)

And that’s the story of the Invasion of the Vreen. How was it? Well, we’ll talk about that soon. But first,…

UNANSWERED QUESTION(S):

1. What led to insects eventually ruling everything?
2. Why does Gibson dislike bugs so much?
3. Where did these cats come from?

FINAL OPINIONS:

This episode was weird. It teeters between being a Gibson focused episode and a one-shot adventure. The plot was is copied and tweaked right from the Planet of the Apes franchise and the character interactions were actually bursting. I think everyone on the team had at least two important or funny lines each.

(We say this is a Gibson episode because it’s him who is so focused on the enemy. He hates insects and the fact that he just can’t squish them is just upsetting to him. He finds them a terror and he gets distressed when they outsmart him and he is so determined to be better than them that it actually makes his seem… odd.

I mean, is it only me who thought that the whole ‘monkeys are smarter than bugs’ thing could have had someone tell him that Chiro was smarter than he was because of the difference in species?)

Also, we skipped over it since we didn’t think much of it, but there seems to be a bump in the Spova road. A few episodes ago, they were practically ready to ‘confess’, and now Nova is acting like Sparks is carrying some sort of virus. It’s only a moment long, but it’s just sort of weird…

Well, that’s all we had to say today! Thank you all for joining us once again on Retro-Scrutiny. It’s been wonderful to have you. Until next time, I’m Kendall, signing out. Happy Thanksgiving!

(And I’m Alexia, saying goodnight. And Happy Thanksgiving!)

(And I’m Alexia, saying goodnight. And Happy Thanksgiving!)

RETRO-SCRUTINY SRMTHFG EPISODE 43: Ghosts of Shuggazoom

Greetings ladies and gentlemen, I’m Kendall and my co-host here is Alexia. Say hi, Alexia!

(Hi Alexia! There, I can cross that joke off my bucket list. We are so glad to see you all again- especially after the last episode.)

It wasn’t that bad. And speaking of last week’s episode, it’s finally time for our team to make it back home, dontcha’ think? Let’s make our way through Ghosts of Shuggazoom, shall we?

(Why of course we shall- it’s in our job description.)

OVERVIEW

The episode begins the team still watching JInmay’s message. Chiro laments that they can’t reach her- her distress call worries them, but her silence is worse. Gibson announces that all of Shuggazoom is strangely quiet. As they land (FINALLY!), Gibson’s scans fail to pick up a single life reading. In fact, there’s no one on Shuggazoom at all.

(Wait, is everyone DEAD? No wonder Jinmay didn’t call back- look how badly she messed up!)

The team fly above streets of empty cars, looking for people (Even though Gibson just said no one is around.) They arrive at Mr. Gakslapper’s to see burnt hover burgers still floating around- everyone seemingly left in a hurry. The place is a ghost town and Otto’s inflections aren’t helping one bit.

A person comes running out of a building, screaming his head off. He barrels straight through the team until Antauri and Chiro slow him down. They ask where everybody is and he points to the newly arrived ghost monsters.

As the team fights them, Sparks learns they can phase (Without turning purple, might I add. That makes it lame.) and they only seem to be hurt by energy attacks. During the fight, the scared guy gets attacked by one of the ghosts and gets a marking on his forehead, which turns his eyes red and black before they fly away with him. The team goes after them, but they ghosts phase through a building.

(And NOW Sparks mentions that that they can phase to his teammates.)

However, the good news is that Gibson’s scanner picks up several more life readings in a warehouse somewhere else in Shuggazoom. As they make their way down, glowing eyes watch them and they are confronted by Jinmay, with her silver skin and glowing eyes.

(And she looks MAD! Maybe they shouldn’t have drilled a hole in her ceiling…)

After recognising the Hyperforce, she enthusiastically hugs Chiro before sadly telling them that she failed. She explains that the Wraiths want people- they grab and mark them, then it’s only a matter of time before their souls slip away and they are transformed. Now, there are only a half dozen people left. And most of them are marked.

One of them transforms and calls others to the hideout. The team grabs the people and heads for the Super Robot, Jinmay keeping the Wraiths back. Unfortunately, more Wraiths phase through the team members and grab the marked people. In the process, Chiro gets marked.

(OH NO!)

They head to the Super Robot’s Sick Bay and put a shield around the Robot. Gibson can’t do anything to help, so Chiro is put in lockup, saying it’s to protect the team from himself. Then he transforms, calling the other Wraiths… and someone else.

(VALEENA! But I thought she was buried alive!?)

She reveals that she’s has returned from the grave (No duh!), and that her ‘allies’ life forces have been turned into dark energy. It feeds her, and makes her strong enough to resurrect her master- Skeleton King!

(And she needs just one more Wraith, who is special and powerful and strong with the Power Primate. Three guesses to who she wants and the first two don’t count.)

The Wraiths try to get through the shield and JInmay is demanded to take Chiro’s place in the Torso Tank. The Wraiths form one large Wraith with six arms, so Jinmay shoots the Moon Buggy into it like a mobile bomb.

However, Valeena gets inside and takes out the monkeys, which lets the Wraith Monster toss the Super Robot.

The Super Robot responds to Jinmay’s pleas to fly itself and destroys the Monster Wraith.

(Hooray for begging! Hooray for the Super Robot!)

The witch makes it to Chiro and tries to absorb him into her medallion. She is stopped by Jinmay punching her in the face and stealing the medallion. They catfight and roll out of the Super Robot, where skull bats attack Jinmay and the Monster Wraith reappears. The medallion ends up flying into Wraith Chiro and Valeena goes after it. Jinmay pleads with Chiro to fight her and he ends up using the Inner Primate to revert back to normal, with the medallion in hand. He sucks Valeena into the necklace and smashes it.

(The Power Primate also restores the rest of the monkey team, but that’s not really important.)

The Monster Wraith reverts into healthy people under a large blanket who all cheer. Chiro and Jinmay share their first legit kiss (AWW!) and the entire city celebrates.

(However, the episode ends with the medallion restoring itself with Valeena still trapped inside of it. A deformed hand picks it up and laughs maniacally.)

And that was Ghosts of Shuggazoom. We’re finally back on old dirt and it feels pretty good. But before we say anything else, let’s get some stuff out of the way.

NEW CHARACTER(S):

(Can we call these new characters if we’ve seen them before? Probably not. I personally need to get through this last season to properly gauge these characters. Kendall?)

I’m with you there. So, no new characters today.

UNANSWERED QUESTION(S):

1. Just how long were the Hyperforce on their mission?
2. How did the people of Shuggazoom take Jinmay as their protector and vice versa?
3. How long did the Wraith takeover take place?
4. When and how did Valeena escape?
5. Where did Valeena get her medallion?
6. Why is Chiro the only Wraith that keeps it’s original voice and has a partial face?

FINAL OPINIONS:

This episode is arguably the best Jinmay episode in the entire series. We see her fighting monsters, saving people the best she can. It’s understandable that she’s in over her head with the Wraith situation- I think the Hyperforce would’ve been stuck the same way.

(I agree, but this episode brings up an important question. See, up above we asked what happened on Shuggazoom during the third season. I have the sneaking suspicion we aren’t going to get any answers and that just KILLS me! Someone, anyone! Answer these questions! Ciro Nieli, Disney, fanfiction writers- SOMEONE! PLEASE!)

As for the rest of the episode… it’s a good story. I still want my above questions answered, though.

And that is it for this episode of Retro-Scrutiny! We’ve finally gotten back to Shuggazoom, but what insane adventures await our team next? We’ll find out next week; until then, I’m Kendall, signing out.

(And I’m Alexia, and I wish you all a good week and a great weekend.)

RETRO-SCRUTINY SRMTHFG EPISODE 42: Incident on Ranger 7

Hello and welcome back to Retro-Scrutiny. In case this is your first time viewing this show, let me introduce myself. My name is Kendall and this here is my cohort and friend, Alexia.

(Hi everybody! It’s good to see you all again.)

So, over the course of three seasons, we’ve met some new faces and seen some old ones as well. Friends, villains, and the such. It’s time we saw another old face as we and the team investigate the Incident on Ranger 7.

OVERVIEW

(The episode begins with the Super Robot headed towards Shuggazoom and right away we notice that the city seems to be on its side. Wow, they really do need the Hyperforce’s help.)

The team leader (Chiro for newcomers) is still worrying over the distress call they received. As the team look through the observation deck’s window, they pass Ranger 7, their moon. Sparks picks up on some sort of targeting- most likely for a weapons system. A beam shoots from the moon into the Super Robot and zaps Chiro, causing him to disappear.

Antauri senses that Chiro is still alive, just missing. Otto confirms that the beam came from the Moon Base Beta Prison Complex. The monkeys realize the only person who could’ve done this is Gyrus Krinkle- a crazed fan who tried taking over the team by hypnotizing the monkeys to destroy Chiro.

Antauri: Krinkle is the kidnapper. We must use utmost caution. He is highly manipulative, mechanically gifted, and extremely dangerous.

Otto: And he’s nuts.

The Robot lands on the base and they head to Krinkle. The head of the place tells them that Gyrus has virtually been rehabilitated. In his room, Gyrus has covered his walls with various paintings, one of which he is working on.

He greets the monkey team, who accuse him. Krinkle points out that he lives in a 6×8 box of a cell. The team decide to investigate the premises and Krinkle get’s cryptic.

(The guy holding the jar did say he was rehabilitated, right?)

Chiro appears on Shuggazoom, but quickly learns that Gyrus Krinkle’s face is plastered onto everything- buildings, people and even the birds! He freaks and ends up running into a costumed Gyrus himself, who welcomes him to Krinklezoom- his world. He wants Chiro to team up with him and protect the city.

(And then they can drink hot cocoa and be the big happy family they only never talked about. Naturally, Chiro declines and Gyrus Hulks out into Superman, attacking the kid with energy attacks. Chiro calls him a lunatic who needs help and gets blasted even worse. Yeah, Chiro, don’t provoke the nutcase who suddenly gained superpowers over the last three seasons while he was in prison. Also, where did those cracks in the ground come from?)

Gyrus flies high above the city with Chiro and offers him one more chance. The boy hero declines and gets dropped towards the pavement, prompting the boy to change his mind- he decides to play along until the rest of his team arrives.

(Speaking of the team…)

Nova, Gibson and Antauri discover a machine hidden in one of the rooms. They call Otto and Sparks- who are making arts and crafts with the other inmates (Hi Cloggy Colon Creature! Hi Sakko!)– to help them figure out what it is.

(Sparks is digging his own grave with that Nova puppet. Meanwhile, in Krinklezoom, Krinkle is giving Chiro his backstory.)

Krinkle: I was raised by a robot mother, Chiro. Did you know that? Sure, she was good at calculating different equations, but her heart was made of polyurethane. I always felt alone and helpless.

Chiro: Is this the long version or the short version?

Krinkle: I grew up wanting to be somebody important, have a family. And then I discovered the Monkey Team.

Chiro: Did you really think capturing me was gonna change anything?

The alarm goes off before and the two of them race off to fight the Formless (That haven’t been seen since their leader was beheaded the first time.). Krinkle steals Chiro’s moveset and uses some of his own to fight while Chiro acts as a background character. He finishes, but Chiro points out the last half dozen enemies left. With a wave of his hand, Gyrus makes them disappear.

(How’d he do THAT?!?)

Gyrus tells the kid that this is his world- he thinks, therefore it happens.

(Oh.)

Back with the monkey team, Otto deduces that the machine is some sort of neuro matter reconfiguration machine- it turns matter into thought waves. Suddenly Gyrus arrives with an army of robots to reveal that that he’s taken over and reprogrammed the entire prison staff and that he was stalling to let his brain recharge. He pulls a cable out of his head and replaces it before the machine zaps the monkeys into his mind.

The team is reunited before Mind!Gyrus appears and gets insulted by Sparks and Nova. In return, he beats them up and causes more cracks before Chiro calms him down. Then they run off to fight Cheesebot.

(Oh, hey! I remember hearing about this guy!)

As the monkeys and Gyrus fight the monster, Antauri and Chiro come up with a plan. Gyrus steals more of Chiro’s moves- this time his Inner Primate to defeat Cheesebot.

(And then Antauri phases his hand through Krinkle’s skull as he is being applauded to mind meld with him to find the way out. All they find are some of Krinkle’s awkward memories- including one from his first appearance. Oh, and more cracks.)

The madman forces the silver monkey out of his skull and attacks his ‘teammates’. Chiro suddenly dives into one of the cracks and hits it as hard as he can with the others following suit, causing Gyrus to explode.

And in the real world, the real Gyrus is being sucked into the brain cord of the machine. As the Hyperforce exits the machine, it explodes, leaving nothing but scraps of metal and the plug end of the brain cord. The brain cord that Gyrus should still be connected to, but isn’t.

The episode ends with a look around Gyrus’ cell walls, landing on a portrait of his happily delusional team fantasy, before the lights go off.

And that was Incident on Ranger 7. How was it compared to other episodes in the season? Well, we’ll talk about that after we ask ourselves some…

UNANSWERED QUESTIONS :

1. How did Gyrus manage to reprogram every single staff member in the prison and create a machine that would send people into his mind?
2. How long was he out of solitary confinement?
3. How did he know just when the Hyperforce was arriving?
4. Where is he now?
5. How did he know about the Inner Primate if he was already jailed by the time it was introduced?
6. What will happen to the facility and its inmates now?

FINAL OPINIONS:

I personally thought this was a rather fun episode. The idea of entering someone’s mind is a decent one until you make it someone who’s obviously bonkers off the wall. All the humor comes from Gyrus, who steals the show. He gets to be as emotionally trigger happy as he can get and it makes him a joy to watch.

(And I wholeheartedly DISAGREE with you! Gyrus managed to creep me out! He is too emotionally unstable for me to find him likable. Note that there’s nothing really wrong with him until you enter him mind. Then we’re thrown for a sharp loop. And why is Krinkle trying to be Chiro?

The monkey team honestly doesn’t do much in this episode. They get captured and manage the best they can. It is interesting to see some of Gyrus’ back story, but not enough keep my positive side up.)

As for the rest of the episode, it’s actually pretty average. I agree that there could have been more focus on the team, but again, the spotlight was stolen from them. So Gyrus can make or break the episode for you, As for us, we have to end this episode of Retro-Scrutiny, so we would like to thank you all for joining us once again. We hope to see you all again real soon. I’m Kendall, signing out.

(And I’m Alexia, wishing you all a good day.)

RETRO-SCRUTINY SRMTHFG SEASON THREE FINALE

Greetings and salutations to all of you who have joined us once again for another episode of Retro-Scrutiny. I am your host, Kendall, alongside my cohort, Alexia.

(Hi everybody! Thanks for joining us today, because we have a huge episode for you all. It’s that time again, ladies and gents. The season finale. Unlike the last time, we only have two episodes to mash together this time. But that means the episode is coming to you quicker than before! Hurray! Right?)

Right! This season has had its ups and downs (And all arounds!), but it will all come to a head in this one episode of ours. This episode, we’re going through a Wormhole to get through the rest of the season.

(We’re also gonna play another round of our favorite drinking game. Same rules as always. Watch the episode and take a shot every time someone in the episodes says Nova’s name. You’re gonna have to keep track of that yourself, since I’ll be busy.)

OVERVIEW

The episode begins with Chiro talking to himself, questioning his role as the Chosen One. Antauri pulls him out of his thoughts via radio. The team is preparing an attack on the Skeleton King Worm. The plan? Operation Burn the Worm.

(Sometime between the last episode and now, the Super Robot and it’s crew found the Worm’s location and have caught up to it, because they’re literally on the thing’s tail now. They have to destroy all of the worm- using a fifteen megaton blast using plasma charges set to go off all at once- or the head will just grow itself a new body.)

And they have to do this before it reaches another populated solar system.

(Yep. No biggie.)

Before they can launch the charges, Nova spots a crashed ship and what looks like survivors. Sparks offers himself and Nova to be the ones to go grab their boots and rescue them. Nova is upset that Sparks called her a ‘coward’ earlier and blows him off when he tries to tell her something.

The two of them make their way to the small, incredibly emaciated crew and try to rescue them.

It is then discovered that all of the crew are ZOMBIES!

(WHAT!? How the heck did that happen!?)

Apparently the corrupting influence of the Worm’s energies have converted them into undead entities. Which is why when the rest of the team comes to rescue them, it’s okay for Gibson to stab one straight through the chest.

(Oh. Okay)

The team can’t manage to hurt them regularly until Chiro discovers the weak spot-  the facemasks. During the fight, a stray attack blasts the crashed ship, causing an explosion that knocks the team and the zombies away. The zombies get blown off of the Worm.

(Bye zombies!)

The Skeleton King Head learn of them and has the Worm open up a wormhole.

The pushing wind pushes Sparks and Nova away from the rest of the team. Sparks manages to grab onto the flag one of the zombies planted into the worm with his tail and grabs Nova.

She slips, but he grabs her boot.

Then her foot slips out the boot.

(WHAT!?!)

Nova flies off of the Worm, screaming as she is sucked into the wormhole, leaving a visibly distraught Sparks.

Antauri, using some hand grapples and hidden spider legs, drags the team back to the Robot.

Once inside, Sparks argues about going back out to look for Nova. The fight is unresolved as the Worm has reached the end of the wormhole and the Robot is bucked off before it disappears into another self-made tunnel.

Gibson gets the Robot in gear again, but discovers that they’re in the same location as before. The planets outside are actually atomic structures. They’ve shrunken down to atomic size. Trapped in the Microcosm.

Chiro suggest reversing the process by opening up another wormhole.

Gibson: “Chiro, you make it sound so easy. why don’t we simply take the risk of flying into a nucleus, hoping the nonlocality of its core electrons will *poof* transport us back home?

Otto: “Sounds like a brilliant plan to me! I guess that’s why you’re a genius and I just fix stuff.”

Gibson: “Normally I wouldn’t disagree with you Otto, but I was joking.”

Sparks tries to go and look for Nova, but gets stopped by Antauri. The alarm goes off, informing the team of multiple intruder alerts in almost every sector. Purple and black wisp-like creatures float in and start messing with the controls.

They’re negatively charged quarks, and the team can’t fight them because they’ll absorb their positive energy.

(What about Chiro? Can’t he do something about them?)

The quarks start feeding on the positive energy of the Robot’s neutron generator, draining it until Sparks draws their attention. They decide to use Gibson’s plan (What plan? The one to- oh.) and push themselves into a nucleus.

(And as luck would have it, the plan works. Sort of. They ended up increasing in size so dramatically that now they’re in the Macrocosm and giving the phrase “Bigger than life” a whole new meaning.)

Sparks tries calling out for Nova, and gets a return call from a voice. The Voice and the Robot talk, before the voice introduces itself as the Being, the Sentient. A part of all things in the Macrocosm, as are all sentient entities.

It tells the Robot that they must all return to help restore balance to their universe. The Robot makes a head gesture before the Being tells it that ‘they are not ready. Their destinies too must be fulfilled.’

Before the Being sends them on their way, Sparks asks about Nova and if it can get her back for them. The Being answers with “I…like Nova.” before the Robot flies them back to their universe, and they’re now standing on the Worm. And there are no signs of Nova.

They destroy the Worm- FOR NOVA!

There are five more charges that need to be set and one of them needs to be placed directly atop the Worm’s head. It has to be a manual job, since the Robot might get spotted. Chiro volunteers.

The boy ends up planting the charge, but before he can set it, the Skeleton King Head spots him and attacks. After blasting at each other and tapping into his Inner Primate, Chiro sets the charge and begins running back to the Robot, but is interrupted by the sudden arrival of the Skeleton King Droid!

(Where did THAT come from?!)

It blasts the Robot off the Worm, forcing Chiro to jump for it, latching on to the leg. Suddenly, the Worm shifts, knocking the Droid off. The Worm turns around and opens its mouth.

The episode ends with our heroes trapped inside the Belly of the Beast.

Chiro wakes up and finds he’s disconnected from the rest of his team. As he discovers where he is, the monkey boys wake up and find that the Robot needs fixing and they’re now down two teammates. Otto states that the auto-repair will take long enough for them to find Chiro. Antauri states that he can’t feel Chiro’s presence.

(Sorry Antauri, but Chiro’s got main character immunity. He’s fine, so go take their moon buggy and go find him already. He’s freaking out about now. There’s some weird stuff down here.)

As the monkey boys drive along, Otto admits to Antauri that he’s scared they’ll lose Nova and Chiro like they thought they lost him. They reach some sort of spacecraft. Sparks says he saw something moving in the doorway. Calling for Chiro, they instead find more zombies from earlier. They end up blowing them and the buggy up.

Antauri senses that the Worm is preparing another attack. He orders the other three to go back to the Robot and find Chiro while he goes and destroys the Skeleton King Head.

Chiro finds himself in another area and notices a small figure flitting around. He ends up confronting it and finds it to be Mandarin!

(Whoa! Wait a minute! He was eaten before the season began- how has he not been digested yet? Oh, and the Droid is still functioning and after them.)

Mandarin goes after Chiro with the intent of tearing him apart, but Chiro throws him into some…acid?… and drops something hanging on the ceiling on his head.

(Then he turns around and finds out he missed.)

Mandarin tries flinging Chiro into the acid waters, but he is saved by something surrounded in flames. The fireball lands behind Mandarin, revealing itself to be NOVA!

(WHOO! And it looks like she took a detour at the Macrocosm before arriving to kick some butt and find the rest of the team.)

Antauri, meanwhile, discovers that the Worm has reached another inhabited planet, but can’t call for help since he’s being attacked by creatures that come out of the Worm’s skin and the signal can’t get through.

The boys, meanwhile, are back at the Robot and discover that two large objects are coming directly at them- one in the air and one on land. The one in the air reaches them first, smashing through the Robot’s Hyper-armor and revealing itself to be the Droid. It attacks and chases them before knocking out Otto and Gibson. Sparks magnetizes it, causing it to be temporarily buried. It breaks out in time for Chiro and Nova to knock it into a wall.

(Unfortunately, it’s not done yet. It blasts Nova, causing her to shrink. It then knocks out Sparks, so Chiro unleashes his Inner Primate to fight it. Then the Super Robot learns that Chiro is in trouble and helps out, throwing the ruined Droid at Mandarin’s feet.)

Antauri, who has been fighting off the Skeleton King Head, finally beheads it. The Worm is still going to attack the planet. And the team learns they have less than thirty seconds to escape before the charges go off. The Super Robot takes off- grabbing Antauri while it’s at it- and the team watches at the attack dissipates as the Worm is blown to bits. The planet Earth is saved.

The team rejoices since they can now return to Shuggazoom. Sparks takes the time to tell Nova something.

Sparks: “Nova… Y’know I almost lost you for a second there.”

Nova: “It’s a miracle I made it.”

Sparks: “Nova, I just wanted to say, I’m glad I have you. As my friend.”

(AWW YEAH, HUG IT OUT!)

The festivities are interrupted when Gibson announces they received a message from Jinmay during the several days they were stuck inside of the Worm.

Jinmay: “Monkey team, we need your help back on – Shuggazoom. Something terrible has- I don’t know what to do.”

Antauri and Chiro order a course for Shuggazoom and the episode ends with the Skeleton King Head being picked up from space by Mandarin, who flew to safety in the ruined Droid. He laughs maniacally before blasting off.

And that was the end of Season Three. It feels like we just went through a  dozen roller coasters’ worth of excitement. But as always, let’s get some things out of the way.

Since there were no new characters, we can skip over to the

UNANSWERED QUESTION(S)

1. What happened to Nova while she was in the Wormhole?
2. How did Mandarin manage to survive?
3. Was the Being supposed to be some sort of Higher Power?
4. What happened on Shuggazoom?
5. What is Mandarin planning to do with the Skeleton King’s Head?
6. How did Nova end up inside of the Worm?

FINAL OPINIONS

This two-parter was big and action packed and exciting and probably the best in the season. The team had really good ideas throughout the episodes, the characters were all competent and good, the action was fast paced and fun to watch, and there were even a few good twists thrown in.

(Wormhole is the slow build up to the true action. It has its fun teasing us with what’s to come by having our heroes go through one quick little adventure away from their adventure before getting to Belly of the Beast, where the stakes are high and the results are grand.)

Unlike the last season finale, there isn’t an overlying theme to really be found. I don’t have a problem with this.

(Neither do I, but I do have my grievances. These two episodes are so good that they just bring up all the problems I have with the rest of the season to the forefront. But that’s something for a later post…)

Finally, I love the surprise of seeing Mandarin still alive. The first time I saw that, it blew my mind. I mean, I was twelve, but that was still amazing. Especially since I had forgotten about him. It had been months since he ended up as worm food and with his new claw, I almost didn’t recognise him.

(I know! That was so cool!)

And that’s all we have for this episode of Retro-Scrutiny. Yes boys and girls, it has been three seasons of action adventure, colors, fighting, quips, giant monster battles, space travel, and decisions good and bad.

(Kendall and I promise to have the Season Three Breakdown up and ready before the end of the week- Saturday- but that means we’ll also be taking our usual break from Retro-Scrutiny. We have mid-terms and projects and all sorts of free time that never feels like enough time. But let us worry about that.)

Saying goodbye to you and to the season, this is Kendall and Alexia, wishing you all a good day, a good night, and a thank you for sticking with us for this long. Until next time…

(Oh, yeah. Don’t forget to tell us how many times Nova’s name was said in the episodes. And I hope everyone was drinking water.)

RETRO-SCRUTINY SRMTHFG EPISODE THIRTY-SEVEN: Prototype

Hello and welcome back to Retro-Scrutiny. My name is Kendall and I know, for all of you who missed our update post, this episode came out surprisingly fast for you guys.

(Hey everyone, Alexia here! We figured that since the last episode was kind of short and easy, this one would be better for everyone. And boy is it!)

It’s got action, new characters, action, backstory, and did we mention action?

(I think we did!)

Alright then, let’s check out the episode Prototype and see stuff explode.

OVERVIEW

Antauri narrates that the planets in the section of space they’re in have all fallen to the Skeleton King Worm’s passage, each one virtually laid to waste in this corrupted zone. Gibson is trying to calculate the SKW’s present location. Chiro says that is they do that, they can launch a sneak attack coming out of Hyper Boost Warp. They prep the Warp, but the Robot suddenly takes control and veers off course. It takes them to Tabiri Takala in the Corrupted Zone, a planet once rich in metals.

(As they land, the Plot Alarm warns them of something approaching them fast. Strange, since Gibson states there are no biological entities on the planet.)

Out of the ground pops ANOTHER SUPER ROBOT!

(Gasp! Intruder! Faker!)

But it’s not after the Team, but a smaller robot zipping through the air. The small robot turns himself into a slingshot and shoots himself through his enemy’s mouth. It gets blasted down, so the team intervene. Slingshot reappears for another headshot, followed by a Lasertron Fury.

Slingshot flies off with the Team following inside of a building.

Suddenly the lights change and a giant jar containing a brain appears before them.

(Um, okay. Explanation please!)

The Brain knows the Super Robot- calls it the prototype-because it is one of its creators. He accuses them of being the ones who stole it, but they admit that most of them just woke up in it one day and Chiro stumbled upon it by accident.

The Brain introduces itself as Dr. Takeuchi. He mentally controls the planet’s robots- except for one. The Prometheus Five. A menace.

The three scientists- himself, Dr. Maezono, and a third one who looks strangely familiar- spent fifteen years building the Prometheus prototype. Then one of the scientist mysteriously disappeared, as did the Super Robot.

(Spoilers- it was the Alchemist.)

Professor Maezono and Takeuchi worked on, the models becoming more compact and deadly before finally they created the Prometheus Five, the deadliest fighting robot in the universe.

(This is all fine and dandy, but I still want to know how he became a brain in a jar.)

The Prometheus Five malfunctioned during an experiment and caused an explosion that destroyed the lab, Takeuchi’s body, and killed Maezono. Now it attacks anything that comes near it.

(It didn’t attack them. I smell something suspicious…)

The team go after the Prometheus Five, who ends up shutting off the Super Robot’s weapons.

The two robots then have a private conversation before the Prometheus Five gets inside the Robot’s brain. Things get temporarily psychedelic before they all fly off to some sort of junkyard. Slingshot leaves his prototype’s brain before telling the team to get out so they could talk.

(Is it just me or does that voice sound familiar?)

He explains that he couldn’t form a connection with the monkeys earlier, so he and the Robot mind merged to speak to one another. Slingshot tells them that Takeuchi was the one who died in the explosion. Maezono had tried to place his evil consciousness into his body for evil purposes.

(Quick question: Why?)

Takeuchi tried stopping him, but Maezono’s brain caused a power surge that blew everything up. Slingshot was flung out of the lab and ever since then, he’s been fighting in the name of Takeuchi.

Maezono sends a prototype army after the team. Slingshot and the Super Robot handle the giant robots while the team goes after the mad doctor.

After some action sequences, the Super Robot rescues his owners from being zapped and wrecks some computers. Slingshot confronts the brain heap, but Maezono escapes with the Super Robot allowing him, much to Slingshot’s fury.

Later, Slingshot declines the offer of joining the team since Maezono is still out there and needs to be stopped. The episode ends with Chiro telling the fighting robot that he and his prototype make a good team. In return, he is told that the Robot says he’s already a part of a good team.

And that was the episode- quite a biggie if I say so myself. But let’s wait a moment so we can go over the…

UNANSWERED QUESTION(S):
1. How long ago was the Robot created?
2. Did the power surge give Slingshot his free will or was that programmed into him at some point?
3. Why didn’t Maezono just build another body for himself?
4. Why did Takeuchi and Maezono try to create the ultimate fighting robot in the first place?
5. Why did Maezono turn evil?

NEW CHARACTER(S):

Prometheus Five/ Slingshot (Scott Menville): Yes, they voice actors for Beast Boy and Robin of the Teen Titans animated show are in this episode. And I’m pretty sure this show came out first.

(Slingshot is loyal and brave, but a bit of a jerk. I feel like this is a Robin prototype and I actually wish we would see more of this character, just so we could see two fighting robots team up again. His design is just lovely in my eyes, by the way.)

FINAL OPINIONS:

This episode was a lot of fun compared to the last two we’ve seen. As we stated earlier, this episode had action and backstory, but it also has a good science fiction element to it.

(I think getting the backstory for the Super Robot was a good idea, since that was one something I’ve been waiting for since ‘Ghost in the Machinder’ brought it up. And now we know that the Super Robot is a big brother, a victim of kidnapping, and has approximately three fathers. How lucky is he? Well, okay, getting kidnapped sucks, but it was by one of his dads and for a good cause, so I consider that luck.)

The episode has good action and I think the Slingshot is a good character, even if his evil creator needs a bit of work. This episode really makes me want to learn more about the rest of the team now.

(Hey, there’s still an entire season left. We might just get that.)

Yeah. But not today, because we have come to the end of our show. Thank you all for joining us on this special double-feature. We hoped you enjoyed it.

(The next time we meet, we’re gonna be checking out the last two episodes of Season Three! Whoo!)

Yes we will. But that’s for next week. Until then, I am Kendall, wishing you all a good day.

(And I am Alexia,wishing that all of you will join us next week for the Season Finale. Bye!)

RETRO-SCRUTINY SRMTHFG EPISODE THIRTY SIX: Big Lug

(Hello and welcome back to Retro-Scrutiny, where a girl and a hedgehog talk about cartoon robot monkeys in space. My name is Alexia and I am not human.)

And my name is Kendall. I am human, but that’s besides the point. We’re here to talk about this episode because the last episode…uh, happened. Right?

(Yeah, let’s go with that.)

But this episode, something BIG has to happen. I can tell since the word ‘big’ is in the episode title. So let’s join up with our heroes and find out just what the heck a Big Lug is.

OVERVIEW

The episode begins with the Super Robot on he move, as usual. Inside, however, the team is worrying about running out of fuel. They get a message from the plot, informing them about something called ‘The Lug’. A ‘large craft‘ suddenly comes flying towards them, forcing the Super Robot to tilt its head in order to dodge. They watch as the bus lands at the intergalactic truck stop that’s conveniently behind them.

(And there’s a store! They can buy a bunch of snacks!)

The team run inside and quickly unleash their inner tourist and become immersed in the junk food and trinkets the store has to offer.

• Sparks goes after junk food, then he and Chiro take to a Sun Riders pinball machine
• Antauri and Gibson get distracted by cheap trinkets, like soda hats and flashlight pens
• Nova indulges in her girly side and goes for the oversized plush toys

Otto, who stayed behind to refuel, is confronted by two pill bug aliens who try to steal the Robot. He ends up scaring them off with an energy saw.

(That seemed kind of pointless.)

Irate from not getting to play pinball, Chiro gets distracted by the chance to see The Lug.

The Lug is a huge bipedal creature with some sort of box attached to its head locked up in a shock cage.

Two punk kids assault the Lug with nachos and tease it before Chiro scares them away.

He calls Antauri and tells him about the creature and how they should free it. Unfortunately, the silver simian is no help. And neither is Gibson.

The bug duo from earlier arrive and attack the Lug, so Chiro kicks them into the electric fence.

(That cannot smell good…)

After they run off (AGAIN!), Chiro promises the Lug that he will help it. Then the Pill Bug Bros. reappear to double team our boy hero, but they end up calling for their momma. In the insuring fight, Chiro accidentally lures all three into the electric cage and damaging it. Then the three flee.

(Their involvement was completely necessary…)

Chiro gets the Lug to flee, only for it to start running amok. He tells his calling team to wait for him as he deals with something.

(He had better hurry- Sparks bought the pinball machine!)

The Lug starts wrecking things and ends up angering a biker gang before Chiro tries to calm it down.

It goes well, but ends with Chiro getting kicked off the platform. The Lug chases him to one of the store owners who uses some sort of mid-tech double barreled shotgun to turn the Lug into a human.

Ex-Lug: I came looking for work, but the Cravens had no customers. I had the bright idea, “Hey you ought to have something here people want to see.”

Chiro: So they turned you into a Lug?!

Ex-Lug: It was great for business, but they treated me like an animal. I haven’t worn pants in months.”

He runs off as Chiro offers to take him somewhere safe. The three Craven brothers arrive and use their shape shifting shotgun on the boy hero. Chiro wakes up to the sight of the two punk kids from earlier and their stupid, rude tourist parents and discovers he’s a Lug in the cage from before.

(The monkey team finally join the plot and go looking for their leader. They are pointed to the room where Chiro is being held.)

Antauri gathers that Chiro is inside the creature, leading Otto to think it ate their leader. After some more miscommunication and a brief fight, Chiro Lug finds the transformation gun and uses it on the monkeys.

(Why didn’t they just dodge? They were flying earlier!)

The Robot Monkey Lump now understands and turns their leader back to normal before they all go after the Craven brothers. Said brothers are packing their pickup for…

(The dump? A quick escape? I don’t know, but the Lump drags them back down. And with that many arms, nothing good can come for those three.)

There is a cut to the Hyperforce talking to the former Lug, who now runs the business and three new Lugs.

(He’s doing well for himself.)

The episode ends with the monkeys apologizing for goofing off while Chiro was trying to right a wrong, but Chiro is too busy finally playing pinball.

And that was the episode. We have some thoughts on it, but first we need to take a look at some…

UNANSWERED QUESTIONS:

1. Why didnt the Lug’s family come look for him?
2. How does the team have money?
3. Why did the ex-Lug take over the business?

NEW CHARACTERS:
The Craven Brothers: (Space rednecks. That’s it. They don’t have any real characteristics other than their accents. In fact, I don’t even think I could call them proper antagonists.)

FINAL OPINION:
I think I knew this episode was weird. It was then and it is now. I don’t entirely know why someone would let their superhero team spend their entire adventure stuck at a gas station, but using the sideshow attraction was a good idea on their part.

The main meat of the episode is Chiro, who manages to bounce between being a normal teenager and superhero flawlessly. He’s quick to take action and does his best to help the Lug.

(The rest of the team, however, are a different story entirely. They spend most of the episode either offscreen or being distracted bunt he stuff in the store or cheating at pinball. The episode also has a bunch of extraneous characters that weren’t necessary. They couldn’t have been around for a laugh- they weren’t funny.)

If there is something that surprised us, it’s the very subtle message about animal cruelty this episode contains. I never noticed until Alexia pointed it out to me.

And with that, our show is over. That was something bland if you ask me. But hopefully next time, there’ll be more action and excitement and less tourists. Until then, I’m Kendall, wishing you all a good day.

(And I’m Alexia and I just want to say that the Beef Jerky Guy was easily my favorite part of the episode for me. Okay, goodbye!)

RETRO-SCRUTINY SRMTHFG EPISODE THIRTY-TWO: Girl Trouble

Greetings to you all and welcome back to Retro-Scrutiny! I am your host, Kendall.

(Hello viewers, both old and new! My name is Alexia.)

Today well, we’re still in space if that’s anything interesting. And we’re going to be meeting a few new faces this episode and see just how much our boy hero can goof up. There’s no time to waste- let’s see how much Girl Trouble Chiro can get into in a half hour long episode.

OVERVIEW

The episode begins with Chiro joyriding around in an orange Space Cruiser through an asteroid ring. Nova calls, telling him that they know he snuck and speed out and that he has to get back for training and his lessons.

(In his defense, if I had lessons with Gibson, I’d run away too.)

He’s interrupted by a signal from a space station. He goes to investigate and finds two girls being chased by a one-eyed alien with tentacles for arms. Chiro tries fighting it, but fails and gets dragged out of the fight by the girls. The three then make their escape.

The girls introduce themselves as sisters Surthanna- the pink one- and Korlianna- the blue one. They tell Chiro they were enslaved by the monster, forced to work constantly and obey its every command. Chiro tries to take them to the Super Robot just in time to get a call from Antauri. He is then ‘talked’ into acting big in front of the girls and they run off.

(Oh boy… I can see where this is headed. Of course, the monkey team isn’t stupid. They follow the course of Chiro’s last transmission and end up at the station. They meet the girls’ father, Ciracus, who explains that his daughters left with ‘some young kid’, confusing the team.)

They check Chiro’s location and take Ciracus with them after a short debate. In private, Ciracus contacts other aliens to find the girls.

Speaking of the girls, they and their boy chauffeur are at a nearby space fast food place. They eat and listen to music before Chiro starts thinking of heading back to the Super Robot, but the girls question his ‘manliness’.

(Then they get captured by more aliens. Wonderful. Chiro goes back and forth rescuing them with his fighting skills and fast food flinging before there’s a cruiser chase through the pipes they escape through.)

Grateful for the adventure-and since Chiro seems to decide he wants to take them wherever they want to go- they attempt to kiss him, but are interrupted by the Super Robot’s tractor beam.

The monkeys tell Chiro about how they know about the girls and show him Ciracus. The girls freak out at the sight of him and he ends up transforming into the alien from before in front of the entire team.

The team attacks (Because really, what else are they supposed to do?), but get their butts kicked. The girls try to get Chiro to escape as everyone else is busy, but he denies them. Rushing inside of the Robot, he takes on Ciracus by himself, but the other aliens start to arrive. Before Chiro can activate the Robot’s outer defenses, Ciracus questions why he won’t let him take his daughters home- he misses them.

The team is caught between confused and embarrassed at the revelation of what’s been going on as the girls get lectured on worrying their mother and attacking their other family members.

Chiro asks why they ran away from home. They’re metamorphs who wanted to go out, have some fun, and test out their powers. Their dad just wanted to keep them safe. After a transformation and a family hug, the girls apologize to Chiro. They give him kisses before saying goodbye.

As they leave, their dad doubles their chores for running off, prompting them to scream for help and that ‘they’re being oppressed’ as they family drives away.

(Brats. They got off easy.)

Chiro apologizes to his team and they forgive him with a bit of teasing. He doesn’t get a lecture, but the episode ends with some of Antauri’s wise words:

“The female species is one of the greatest mysteries of the universe.”

And that’s the episode. It was…quite the episode. I know I have plenty to say about it and Alexia probably has more. But before we do, let’s get some formalities out of the way.

NEW CHARACTER(S):

SURTHANNA, CIRACUS, AND KORLIANNA:

The girls are just TERRIBLE! They’re manipulative and lying girls who ran away from home because… I have no idea. They were bored? The answer they do give us is weak anyway, so maybe?

(They ran away, lied to a fourteen year old boy, knowingly attacked and had their family be attacked and tried to talk Chiro out of helping his teammates. They’re just spoiled and rotten and bratty.)

Ciracus, on the other hand, isn’t any better. He wins points for honestly being worried and just wanting his daughters back, but he didn’t tell any of the Hyperforce that he had an alternate form. Nor did he tell his relatives to not grab the girls in their alien forms as to not get attacked. Those points lesson because of this. But really, he himself is not too interesting.

UNANSWERED QUESTION(S):

1.       What exactly led the girls to running away?

FINAL OPINIONS:

(This episode straddles the line between average and bad. It’s got action and some decent humor, but where it fails, it fails hard!)

The real purpose of the episode seems to be character development for our main protagonist. Chiro takes a step back from being a good boy hero to being a stupid teenage boy. He takes the opportunity to be a normal kid and shirk his responsibilities, ignoring what the chunk of head meat kept warm in his skull is telling him- that if a monster is after two defenseless girls, he should take them back to the safest place possible. Where is that? The Super Robot that’s equipped with all sorts of defenses and missiles and a giant chest laser!

Also, doesn’t is seem weird to him that these girls don’t look abused? I don’t know how long he thought they were in captivity, but they look pretty healthy, well-dressed, clean and willful for them to have been caught long. And if they were captive, wouldn’t contacting their family be first on their minds? Why doesn’t he think about that?

(This episode is some sort of homage to the series premier. Chiro meets someone(s) his age and of opposite sex and gets distracted from his team and duties. It actually also reminds me a bit of the last episode. Chiro meets someone(s) who needs help from a horde of monsters and he protects them. The difference lies within the girls- Jinmay is a cute girl who is introduced by being bullied, isn’t using Chiro for his powers or resources, doesn’t know she’s a robot until it’s too late, and doesn’t want to hurt the people who care for her.

Nekeeta is an adorable cat-lady introduced being attacked by a giant monster. She does use Chiro’s abilities, but she has a good reason to do so. She and her people truly need the help. 

Surthanna and Korlianna are introduced as two cute teenage girls being chased by an alien, but they know that alien is their father. They use Chiro to leave home and end up willingly letting him hurt their relatives. And they don’t tell their newfound friend that they actually aren’t as cute as they appear to be. That’s the problem- we’re stuck focusing on two very bad one-shot characters!)

The rest of the team is just sort of shoehorned in because Chiro can’t be a whole team by himself. And they only start being important when they get attacked. And at the end of it all, what have we learned? GIRLS ARE WEIRD. That’s it.

(And I already knew that! Thanks for pointing that out, Antauri! Hey, should we girls be insulted about that statement?)

The final thing we can say about this episode is that it is completely unnecessary and you wouldn’t be missing a thing if you decided to skip it .

(And that is it for this episode of Retro-Scrutiny. We would like to thank you all for tuning in and hopefully not skipping out on any of the episodes. I mean, that would just be rude. And until next time, I am Alexia, saying goodbye.)

And I am Kendall, also wishing you a good day, a wonderful weekend , and a busy interlude until the next episode.

RETRO-SCRUTINY SRMTHFG EPISODE THIRTY: Ghost in the Machinder

(Hello and welcome back to Retro-Scrutiny, the show we’re we discuss the merits of an animated television show about a teenage boy and a handful of colorful robot monkeys fighting evil and having all sorts of weird adventures. My name is Alexia.)

And my name is Kendall. This week we have quite a change of pace from the usual. The episode is quite the classic mind poker, so get ready to ask some semi-familiar questions as we take a look at the Ghost in the Machinder.

The episode begins with the Super Robot surprising the team by unexpectedly changing flight course in front of their eyes. The team checks the systems, only to learn that the Robot is overriding their commands- thinking for itself. Sparks and Gibson say that the robot can’t be alive and that machines don’t have souls. Antauri disagrees with this just in time for the Plot Alarm to start blaring loudly.

(Ah, the Plot Alarm. Such a useful tool…)

The Super Robot gets sucked into the tractor beam of a fully automated (incredibly creepy) ship. Chiro makes contact with the ship and they meet VX8 Modular Computer Tracking Probe from the Tallas Star System.

(And the thing has a face that only a mother could love. Seriously, this thing is creepy…)

He captured them because they are from Shuggazoom.

(RACIST!)

As they are pulled through the ship’s junky interior, they spot Skeleton King’s droid, TV Monster handing around and decide that it was picked up while floating around in space.

(They completely miss how the screen lights up momentarily, but that’s okay. It doesn’t mean anything.)

Meeting the Probe face to face, the team learns it is the last survivor of a race of mechanical life that was wiped out by an undead entity that could only be Skeleton King. It is now on a mission to neutralize everything that comes from Shuggazoom, as “all organic life that has come into contact with Skeleton King is corrupt and must be eliminated.”

The Robot is attacked by clamps and soon overpowered. The team is forcefully pulled out and watch as the Robot is pulled apart. The Probe scans them, deciding that they are too organic to be of any real use and sends them down a garbage chute to the waste disposal unit.

(However, he keeps Antauri, who is wholly machine and may be of some use to him. Also, don’t the monkeys have jet packs?)

The Probe informs the rest of the team that they will be turned into organic fuel. Otto can’t cut through the can, making Nova wish Antauri was around. Sparks retorts that Antauri didn’t seem to fight back when getting captured and has probably joined forces with the Probe. Chiro disagrees with this.

(The team meet a small, friendly robot, who informs them of the only way out: the large wall fan they somehow managed to miss that turns on and sucks their new friend in.)

Antauri tries to talk the Probe out of destroying his friends and ends up learning that the Probe is infected with some sort of virus and deducts that its systems are being corrupted by TV Monster. The Probe shows the silver monkey that the TV Monster is deactivated, but the monkey disagrees, saying that it still lives. According to the Probe: ‘Machines do not live. We are simple servants to our programming.’ It then starts to assimilate its captive into its core central unit.

The team is still trying to escape the fan.

They can’t make contact with their teammate, but Otto does make contact with the Super Robot (WHOOHOO!) who somehow pulls itself together and starts fighting the security with some new weaponry. It fights some smaller bots before one much larger comes in and knocks it around.

Chiro tries to use the Inner Primate as the Super Robot pulls a large gun from its back and blasts the other robot’s head off, surprising the Probe into contemplating is the Super Robot is possibly alive.

Back with the Hyperforce, the Inner Primate has failed. Sparks take this time to apologize to Gibson for (most of) the mean things he’s ever said to him and starts saying something to Nova before the Super Robot rescues them.

(He then flies out to rescue Antauri. See, I told you they had jetpacks! Anyway, Sparks frees his second-in-command, but gets blasted. So Antauri… does something, and that causes a system crash as they fly back to the Super Robot.)

The Probe’s brain escapes, setting the self-destruct timer for four seconds, and the team makes their escape.

After checking the Super Robot for malfunctions and protective programming and coming up empty-handed, Otto and Gibson state that the Robot never flew off course, but simply knew they were headed in the wrong direction. This prompts Chiro to wonder more about the Super Robot.

The episode ends with the Probe brain floating in space and pulling metal objects towards it. It grabs the TV Monster, which invades it apparently kills the original host while transforming into a new design with a new objective: Hunt down and destroy the Hyperforce.

NEW CHARACTER(S):

THE PROBE (Scott Bullock):

Calm and calculating, the Probe is easily the most interesting villain the team has faced this so far. The thing that makes a good villain terrifying is their control over themselves, and this guy has so much of it. I do wish there was more information on him and his people. And I’m sorry he was destroyed in the end, because he could have been an awesome secondary villain for the team to face.

(The same could be said about Mandarin, and look where he ended up.)

Shut up.

(The Probe, in my opinion, is creepy. I agree with what Kendall says, however. Mostly because it’s true and partially because she took all the good things to say about it.)

SKELETON KING DROID (Mark Hamill):

(…it’s an upgraded form of the TV Monster. That’s it for now.)

UNANSWERED QUESTION(S):

1. How long has the Probe been on the hunt for Skeleton King?
2. When did the TV Monster end up in space and get captured?
3. What do the others think of Antauri being fully robotic?
4. Will we learn more about the Super Robot?
5. What were the other’s opinions on machines having souls?

FINAL OPINIONS:

This episode is amazing! I personally think it is one of the best in the entire series. The idea of machines being alive and artificial intelligence working against actual life is a classic science fiction story that works immensely well. And it works here because most of our main characters are robotic. In fact, one of them is fully robotic.

(However, in terms of characters, there’s something I want to address- Sparks. Is it me or did he seem too quick to judge Antauri before suddenly getting defensive of him when he sees him getting hurt? Also, why don’t he and Gibson believe machines can’t be alive or have souls at the beginning of the episode? They’re machines too! Does the Power Primate not count? Then what the heck did Chiro do in the middle of the ‘I, Chiro’ saga? Start up a bakery?

Antauri is another big character. This episode informs us here that he’s fully machine. And it makes sense, seeing as how we all saw his transformation in the season two finale. And it works for me. I see Antauri as the most powerful of the team and now that he’s fully robotic, it helps that idea. He probably doesn’t need to eat or get tired out as quickly, which means he can be a more effective hero.)

But that leads us to the biggest question of all- how does Antauri take this? Is he alright with it? Does he not care and is just happy to be back with his team? What does this mean for him in the future?

One last thing I want to mention is the title of the episode, ‘Ghost of the Machinder’. In the early episodes of the show, we learned that the Super Robot has two modes- vehicle mode, which lets it disengage into six different vehicles, and machinder mode, which is its more human body form. The ‘ghost of the machinder’ could be the soul of the Super Robot machinder mode that’s argued throughout the episode.

And that’s all of the really good, so let’s get to the somewhat bad. The episode’s biggest failing is that it makes for a good one-shot episode. Most of it doesn’t affect the plot of the season, so it feels like well-made filler.

And with that, we have completed another episode of Retro-Scrutiny. Thank you all for sticking with us, and we hope to see you all again come next episode. This is Kendall, signing out.

(And this is Alexia, wondering what the Probe’s fascination was with bugs. Seriously, his ship was shaped like a bug, he had bugs inside of his ship, and he stuck one inside of Antauri’s head!)

SEASON TWO: BREAKDOWNS AND Q&As

Hello everybody! It’s us, Kendall and Alexia here to give you all a little surprise. If you remember the end of the last season, you all should know that we went back and answered as many of the unanswered questions as we possibly could. And just like the last time, we’ll be checking out the characters and their growth over the course of the season.

(Just like the last time, we’ll be starting off with the questions-mostly because those are the easiest to finish up first.)

EPISODE FOURTEEN: SKELETON KING

1. Is Skeleton King gone for good?
2. What awaits our heroes in the future?
3. Why does Skeleton king have all those artifacts from Chiro’s past?

First: As we saw with the rest of the season, no, Skeleton King is not gone for good. It was stupid to think he would be.

(Second: Well, there was some backstory, a load of character development, angry teammates, fighting, huge monsters, hurt feelings, a death, a rebirth or two and a new adventure. But nothing too important…

Third: …he’s a creep?)

EPISODE SIXTEEN: THE LORDS OF SOLTURIX 7

1. Why did the orphanage ship crash on Solturix 7?
2. How did Skurg come to power?
3. Now that the people are free, what will they do?
4. Will we see more of the Inner Primate?
5. What was the idol and how did it steal energy?

The only question that can be answered is number four, because Chiro uses the Power Primate a lot more in this season. But we never see the other from this planet again.

EPISODE SEVENTEEN: IN THE GRIP OF EVIL

1. Why did the Alchemist turn to the side of evil?
2. When will Skeleton King return?
3. What other creations are copyrighted by the Alchemist?
4. Will we ever return to the Dream Lands?

As of this season, none of these questions have answers. And while the silver monkey may have been a project started by the Alchemist, it was Chiro that ultimately finished it, so he can’t hold any credit.

EPISODE EIGHTEEN: VERSUS CHIRO

1. What will happen to Mandarin? What will his new clone do in his stead?
2. Why did he make twin girl Chiros?
3. If most of the monsters explode when the Monkeys fight them, does that make Shuggazoom City’s main business making cleaning products such as shampoo and detergent?

First: The old Mandarin is gone, but his new clone ended up beating up Chiro and Antauri before getting eaten by a giant evil worm that slept in the center of the planet.

(Second: I don’t know, and I’m kind of glad I don’t.)

Third: Well, I’m certain the Clean-Ops get paid plenty for their job, so… maybe? It wouldn’t be too big of a stretch. But as for the regular citizens, I don’t know.

EPISODE NINETEEN: SHADOW OVER SHUGGAZOOM

1. Will the Skeleton King ever return to the surface of Shuggazoom?
2. How is it he can leave the Citadel of Bone?

First: Yes, the Skeleton King does return to the planet’s surface. Otherwise the final battle would’ve been a copy of last season’s finale.

Second: No, we don’t know how he keeps leaving his ship.

EPISODE TWENTY: THE SUN RIDERS RETURN

1. How long have the Sun Riders been on the planet?
2. How did Skeleton King create his latest batch of Formless?
3. Just how old are the Sun Riders?
4. How are they keeping their youth?

(These questions have no answers.)

EPISODE TWENTY-ONE: HUNT FOR THE CITADEL OF BONE

1. What does Skeleton King have planned for the future?
2. What are Quint and his crew going to do now?

(First: Well, according to the rest of the season, he has to destroy Shuggazoom and end up dying. Then, he has to travel the cosmos as a disembodied head attached to a giant monster worm.)

Second: I’m pretty sure we never see these guys again.

EPISODE TWENTY-TWO: SNOWBOUND

1. How has Shuggazoom been without snow for so long? And if that’s so, then why does everyone have snow gear?
2. Did the accident force Mandarin’s armor to be removed? Is that why he’s covered in bandages? Does that mean his glove and shield were not originally part of his design?
3. What plans will Skeleton King use Morlath’s magic for?
4. If there’s a city and an ice cave on the planet, what other locations are there?

(First: Weather is only important for plot and mood elements, as is special gear. That’s how cartoon logic works.

Second: It wouldn’t be too far of a stretch. )

Third: Morlath may never be mentioned again.

Fourth: We got an underground jungle world where the monkeys were created and hosts a variety of Skeleton King Monsters and creations and his biggest fangirl.

EPISODE TWENTY-THREE: WONDER FUN MEAT WORLD

1. Will Cloggy Colon Creature ever return?
2. Will we ever learn more about Cloggy Colon Creature?
3. Why is Gakslapper using Thingy hair in his food? And is that legal on Shuggazoom?

None of these questions have answers.

EPISODE TWENTY-FOUR: THE SKELETON KING THREAT

1. Throughout the episode, clips from the past two seasons were shown. Where did they get some of this footage?
2. What exactly does the Hyperforce expect the citizens to do? Help them in the fight against giant, acid-spraying monsters from space?
3. When does the team grow their hair back?
4. Why was that guy’s mutation so prolonged?

(TV logic dictates that an episode can have clips pulled from other episodes in the series to use in clip shows because they just can. As for the rest of the questions, they don’t have an answer.)

EPISODE TWNETY-FIVE: ANTAURI’S MASTERS

1. Why are Antauri and Chiro the ones who feel the Power Primate so strongly?
2. How long ago did Antauri learn from the Mystics?
3. Who are the Dark Ones?
4. Just what did Chiro do to go through the door?

The only question we get an answer for is number three:

Eons ago, when the galaxy was young and worlds were just coming to be, a vile cosmic force desired to destroy all reality. It implanted offspring-the Dark Ones- within the core of countless planets, knowing that one day far into the future they would be free to spread their evil like a plague across the universe. The Veron Mystics were to make certain that never happened.

EPISODES TWENTY-SEVEN AND TWNETY-EIGHT: THE SAVAGE LANDS

1. When Antauri sacrificed himself, did he place his soul inside of Chiro?
2. Why isn’t the Monkey Mind Scream used more often?
3. What are these other powers and abilities that Jinmay has?
4. How long has Antauri been dead?
5. Just who is Valina?
6. How does Antauri gain the Ghost Form?
7. Why did the team leave Jinmay in charge?

As we stated in the review, that’s possible.

Questions two through four don’t have any answers as of yet.

Spoilers: We’ll be seeing the Skull Witch again. But not for a while…

(Six: Um…being dead has its perks, I guess?

Seven: …they needed someone to watch the city while also giving her something to do to explain her not being shown in the season.)

Okay, so the questions were the easy part. Now it’s time for the hard stuff. Let’s start off the same way we did last time. Sounds good, huh?

While he’s still a good-hearted kid, Chiro mostly grows as a leader and hero this season. There are plenty of moments where I saw him use his head to get out of sticky situations, like escaping demented clones or surviving in the wild on a distant planet. This season showed a much more serious side of him, considering everything that he went through. I can only hope his keeps up. However, I still wish to see him act as a kid every once in a while.

(Chiro has definitely gotten better as a leader. Last season, I kept seeing him act cocky and full of himself, and while I know that’s human nature, it seemed these moments came at really bad times and made him look stupid. There were less of these moments, because Chiro spent the majority of the season growing into the hero he’s destined to be.

The biggest things that happened were some of the heaviest moments in the season. He learned much more about his team, had to adapt to a new way of living on a desert planet, gained a better control on his powers, and was overall a better friend to the monkeys.)

In the first season, it seemed that Antauri changed very little. And in a way, that still holds up. He’s still Antauri. But this season allowed for more character development, and it’s most obvious with his interactions with Chiro. They really seem to be taking off as mentor and apprentice slash father and son figures for this show.

Plus, Antauri died and came back to life.

I mentioned last time that Antauri was a show off with his battle animations. It’s more like he has a flair for the dramatic that he doesn’t fully realize himself. But it’s still fun to watch. And now he can float through walls, so that’s helpful.

(Antauri became Jesus Monkey. Nothing else needs to be said.)

(Sparks is still the purposely funny monkey, but this season gave him some more character development that I’m thankful for. In the past thirteen episodes, we’ve seen him become a bit more sarcastic, mistrusting and cynical while still being likeable. He’s quick on his feet, but that doesn’t always help him (see World of Giants) and he’s a bit more hotheaded and thickskulled.)

Outside of character growth, Sparks didn’t really do much in this season. He’s still the same as he was last season, but something that I noticed was the shift in his relationship with Chiro. He went from being an almost older brother figure to just being a friend due to the emphasis on Chiro and Antauri’s relationship. And that sucks, because it seemed to go so seamlessly. Antauri and Sparks both trying to be the helpful figure in Chiro’s life could’ve made for a bit of interesting drama.

We both agree that Gibson didn’t change or really grow as a character. He is still Gibson-still smart and proud and strict- maybe too much for his own good, because it’s still easy for the others to pick on him.

And that’s still why Alexia doesn’t mind him being so linear. But it didn’t impress me at all- especially his actions in the season three opener.

(Unlike Gibson, Nova had more way more character development. There are episodes that have her acting as an antagonist and she seems to be the most dangerous of the monkeys so far. She’s also a bit more easily irritated in this season. For me, however, it’s her interactions with Chiro that interest me. She gets closer to her leader by opening up about a rather traumatizing moment in her life and worries heavily for him when he’s in trouble.

At the end of the season, she shows how level-headed she can be in times of distress. She isn’t arguing about who does what, but instead just does what is needed to be done immediately when it needs to be done. So it makes sense for her to be the third-in-command. The team would be in trouble if it was anyone else…)

I don’t have much to say about Nova this season. In my opinion, she didn’t change outside of becoming a bit more open with her leader. She’s still awesome, but everything that can be said about her was taken by Alexia, so I don’t have anything else to offer.

(Sorry.)

You’re not sorry.

Like Gibson, Otto didn’t do much in growth, if not any at all. But seeing as how he was our favorite in the last season and he’s still Otto in this season, that doesn’t bother us. He’s still emotional, funny, and adorable.

I think out of all of the characters, this one did the most in terms of advancing the plot.

(He’s the bad guy- if he didn’t, the team wouldn’t do anything and we wouldn’t have a show.)

To list all of his accomplishments: he gets Mandarin working for him, gets the guards of an evil entity to switch sides, set up shop on a different planet, stole and corrupted the Power Primate, traps the heroes numerous times, manages to unleash a demon-beast from the center of the planet and unleashes it on the universe, and gets one of the monkeys killed.

(He also got rid of the original Mandarin and replaced him with a clone, and died in a plan that both failed and succeeded. SK was really on top of his game this season. And what we learned about him was just amazing- he’s not just a bad guy who wants to be bad. He has an actual connection to the team.

I still want to know why he has all of Chiro’s stuff.  Seriously, what was up with that? )

(Mandarin started out awesome. Then he became a bloated looking lackey and stereotypical evil scientist. That was disappointing, seeing as how he could’ve been so much more…)

Then he was replaced with his own clone that was almost as cool as his original self. And then the clone was eaten by a monster worm. We also learn that he was still a jerk even when he was a good guy, as explained by Nova. Mandarin was all over the place.

(Yeah, it’s just too bad we’ll never see him again…)

Why was Jinmay in this at all? She appears in the season premier, only to disappear for the rest of the season. When she did return, she ended up not doing much, but filling space, getting captured like a stereotypical damsel in distress, and suddenly getting a job protecting the city as an honorary Monkey Team Member.

(Gyrus Krinkle must be so mad…!)

She shad powers and abilities, but we never see her use them. How big of a character would she be if she regularly helped out the Monkey Team? When they were off-world, she could’ve filled in and been a ton of help.

(And didn’t she leave last season to learn more about herself? Are we ever going to learn about what she found? Did she find anything at all? And where was she during this season? And how long did it take Nova to train her for her to suddenly be ready to watch over Shuggazoom? WHY IS SHE HERE?)

We like Jinmay, but she seems to be pretty superfluous to main plot of the show outside of ‘Girl that Chiro likes a lot.’ That can be any girl they make up on the spot.

And with that, ladies and gents, we have finished our evaluation of Season Two. This one was a bit different from the last one, but that might just be a sign of progress. So, let’s get this newest season started right!

(We already started the season…)

Shut up and say goodbye already!

(Goodbye already!)

Until next time!