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| A space mission proves to be more dangerous than Jeanne bargained for. |
Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross: Star Angel
Original Air Date: Apr. 29, 1984. Writer: Hisato Shimogochi. Director: Fumio Tashiro.
Robotech: Volunteers
Original Air Date: Apr. 26, 1985.
Story Editor: Steve Kramer. Supervising Director: Robert V. Barron.
PLOT - SOUTHERN CROSS
The Zor ships continue to blockade Gloire. They aren't actually doing anything, but their jamming technology prevents the human colony from contacting its home world, Liberté.
Marie volunteers to lead a mission into space. Two shuttles will attempt to push past the blockade to get a message out requesting reinforcements. Jeanne volunteers to accompany her, bringing Bowie and Andrzej along for the ride.
Jeanne is excited about going into space and seems to regard the whole scenario as a personal vacation. Then an accident occurs, resulting in the destruction of the second shuttle and all aboard, leading her to realize just how perilous her current assignment really is...
PLOT - ROBOTECH:
The Robotech Masters continue to blockade Earth. So far, they're taking no action, but Command is certain that they will move soon to claim the protoculture factory.
Rather than wait to react, Marie Crystal is assigned to lead a mission into space. Two shuttles will attempt to push past the blockade to get a message out to Space Station Liberty to request reinforcements. Dana volunteers to accompany her, bringing Bowie and Angelo along for the ride.
It's a perilous mission, but Dana is certain that she's up to it. Then an accident occurs, resulting in the destruction of the second shuttle and all aboard - and leaving Dana frozen in terror...
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| Marie leads a mission that becomes complicated by Jeanne's behavior. |
CHARACTERS:
This installment offers some noticeable differences in characterization. Southern Cross's Jeanne continues to be annoyingly carefree, volunteering herself and members of her squad simply because she wants to go into space. By contrast, Dana takes the mission completely seriously from the start - which actually causes some weirdness in the middle of the episode; a bit involving a fashion magazine fits perfectly with Jeanne's attitude, but it seems actively out of character for Dana.
Other characters are also slightly different between the two shows. Southern Cross's Marie is cold. When the other shuttle is destroyed, she calmly observes that differences in skill (between her and the other pilot) make a difference in space. Robotech's Marie Crystal is still brusque, but she reacts with shock at the other shuttle's accident, while an internal monologue has her worried about Dana's state of mind.
Finally, Robotech's Angelo seems to be deliberately trying to make Dana look bad early in the episode. He fails to tell her about the squad's mechs being transplanted to the shuttle, causing her to be late to the mission. No such sabotage is perpetrated by Andrzej in Southern Cross, with Jeanne's tardiness being 100% her own fault.
Advantage: Southern Cross.
NARRATION:
After showing restraint for most of the episode, the Robotech narrator goes into overdrive at the end. His enthusiasm for the success of "The Robotech Defenders" (TM) is such that I half-wondered if someone needed to clean up the recording booth after he finished his verbal ejaculation.
Advantage: Southern Cross
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| Jeanne attempts to read a fashion magazine during liftoff. It doesn't go well. |
CUTS AND ALTERATION:
Reasons for Volunteering: Jeanne volunteers solely because she wants to go into space. Only after the explosion of the other shuttle makes her realize the danger of the situation does she take anything seriously. Robotech's Dana volunteers because she believes the mission is important and that she and her people are up for it... which basically encapsulates the difference between the two characterizations in a nutshell.
Jeanne Goes Shopping, While Dana Goes to Inspect Squad Equipment: This also ties into the changed characterization. Jeanne rushes into town before the mission to buy the latest issue of her fashion magazine, realizing that she's late while on her way back to the base. Dana goes directly to inspecting the squad's hovertanks... which also allows the Robotech episode an "extra ad break" trim.
Dana Is Described as a "Tactical Genius": It's just a single line of dialogue from Gen. Emerson in Robotech, but it gave me a genuine "WTF!?!" reaction. Dana has performed well in two battles, saving the base in the second one. In the process, she has shown an ability to adjust on the fly to changing situations. This is a vital trait in a leader - but it does not represent genius, tactical or otherwise. The original exchange in Southern Cross is much better: The officers express reservations about Jeanne's inexperience and attitude, which Emerson counters by pointing out that she's been effective against the Zor so far - a statement that's undeniably accurate without overstating her abilities.
The Ill-Fated Allied Ship: In Southern Cross, the accident that befalls the other shuttle is down to pilot error. Robotech changes this into a catastrophic malfunction, something that is not the pilot's fault in any way.
Added Dialogue During the Battle: Though this is the exact type of addition that annoyed me in Macross, here it ends up being a good thing. I found the editing of the big battle scene to be haphazard, and I had trouble tracking where characters were, what their status was, and what they were trying to do. Robotech inserts lines that clarify all of these points. The movement from shot to shot still feels a bit jagged, but the added lines eliminate the confusion.
Advantage: Southern Cross. Though the improvements to the final battle almost make this one even.
INCIDENTAL MUSIC:
The pop themed music for Southern Cross works rather well during the light-hearted first half. It's in the action scenes that the soundtrack falls flat, with its "tense" music just seeming generic. Robotech's incidentals carry the tense moments better, particularly when the shuttle is flying directly underneath the alien mothership.
Robotech's use of its score stumbles at the climax, though. When Dana gets into her mech to join the battle outside the ship, the main theme starts up. The problem with this is context. This is still a tense moment. Marie and Dana are in imminent danger, and the mission actually appears to be a failure. The triumphant, stirring tones of Ulpio Minucchi's theme end up being badly at odds with the actual content.
That misjudgment leaves me favoring the original version this time. Yes, the action score is generic - but a generic score appropriately applied is preferable to a good score that is badly applied.
Advantage: Southern Cross
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| A terrified Jeanne freezes at a critical moment. |
OVERALL ADVANTAGE - SOUTHERN CROSS:
Jeanne's arc makes this the first Southern Cross installment in which I've found her to be better-characterized than Robotech's Dana, and that's the main reason why I'm giving the advantage to Southern Cross.
The first half of the episode shows Jeanne at her most irresponsible. She volunteers herself and her squad for a dangerous mission simply to go to space, shows up late because she was buying a fashion magazine, and treats both her tardiness and the takeoff as jokes. Then the other shuttle is destroyed, and she freezes until Marie snaps her out of it, after which she finally behaves with proper seriousness. This is much-needed character development, and it's actually done pretty well.
The Robotech version obliterates that character arc. Dana takes the mission seriously from the start. This creates two problems. First, because Robotech is locked into Southern Cross's animation, some of Dana's mid-episode behavior doesn't fit the context, to the point that the writers shoehorn in a few lines about her strange behavior. Second, Dana begins the episode where Jeanne ends it, meaning that she doesn't particularly grow or change.
I also question the mission objective as presented in Robotech. In Southern Cross, it makes sense: The colonial forces need to get past the enemy to contact their home planet for reinforcements. In Robotech, it is Earth being blockaded. So the homeworld, where presumably most of the citizens and soldiers live, is contacting a space station to request reinforcements from offworld - where fewer soldiers will be. I don't know that there was any way around this, but it is a case where the change in context weakens the episode.
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| Marie's shuttle flies under the immense Zor ship. |
OTHER MUSINGS:
In its original form, this installment greatly enhances the characters of both Jeanne and Marie. The episode offers a tense situation in either version. I particularly enjoy an extended moment of the heroes flying under the Zor ship. On the one hand, it provides temporary safety from the enemy attacks; however, they know the entire time that the attacks will resume in force the instant they emerge.
The end battle is a bit chaotic, to the point that the inserted Robotech dialogue actually helps to make sense of it. That aside, this is an enjoyable episode, particulary the Southern Cross variant.
Overall Rating - Southern Cross: 7/10.
Overall Rating - Robotech: 6/10.
Previous Episode: Makeup/Southern Cross
Next Episode: Half Moon
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