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| The 15th squadron attempts to infiltrate an enemy vessel while under heavy fire! |
Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross: Bio Psycher.
Original Air Date - Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross: Aug. 19, 1984. Writer: Jinzou Toriumi. Director: Susumu Nagao.
Robotech: The Hunters.
Original Air Date - Robotech: May 16, 1985.
Story Editor: Steve Kramer. Supervising Director: Robert V. Barron.
PLOT - SOUTHERN CROSS
With Gen. Emerson's forces now established at Aluce Base, it's time for the next phase of the offensive. While Emerson's forces engage the enemy, Jeanne's 15th Squadron is assigned to infiltrate one of the Zor ships.
The plan appears on track for success. Emerson's ships are able to breach the hull of the main enemy ship, creating an opening for Jeanne. But out of that breach come the bio psychers - the new Zor mech designed to channel all the strengths of the Zor trinity!
PLOT - ROBOTECH:
With Gen. Emerson's forces now established at Moonbase Aluce, it's time for the next phase of the offensive against the Robotech Masters. While Emerson's forces engage the Masters, Dana Sterling's 15th Squadron is assigned to infiltrate one of their ships.
The plan appears on track for success. Emerson's ships are able to breach the hull, creating an opening for Dana. But out of that breach comes a new, more powerful mech: the Invid Fighter, designed to channel all the strengths of the Triumverate to counter the powerful foe that the Masters know is on its way.
The Masters believe that this battle will make an ideal test for their new design - and the appearance of these mechs seems poised to turn the tide of battle against the humans!
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| The eve of the battle gives the squadron a little too much time to wait. And worry. |
CHARACTERS:
Jeanne and Bowie are aligned in not wanting to kill humans who were captured and brainwashed by the Zor. However, once Jeanne realizes that the pilots of the bio psychers are Zor, her hesitance drops away. The Zor are the enemy, and she's trained and willing to kill the enemy.
Probably in part because of meeting Musica and in part because of his own nature, Bowie still wants to avoid killing. Seifriet is also informed by his experiences with the Zor, but those experiences push him in the opposite direction. He doesn't consider the brainwashed Bioroid pilot that he was to have been truly human; though he doesn't outright say so, he views killing those pilots as something almost akin to a kindness.
Robotech simplifies this, particularly for Dana and Bowie. In Southern Cross, Jeanne and Bowie collaborate in turning off the combat links created in the previous episode so that they can avoid killing the Bioroid pilots. This element has been almost entirely removed from Robotech; and though Dana is upset when she sees the enemy pilots are humanoid, she still urges Bowie to fight back, reminding him of their training.
Advantage: Southern Cross.
NARRATION:
The Robotech narrator now identifies the moonbase as "Moonbase Aluce" rather than "Moonbase Luna." I suppose it's nice that they're now using the Southern Cross designation, but it creates a direct continuity error given that previous episodes named the base "Luna."
Advantage: Southern Cross.
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| The Zor prepare to deploy their new weapon. In Robotech, their purpose is to test it for when they face the Invid. |
CUTS AND ALTERATION:
Shots Showing Two Moons Are Removed: Southern Cross's Gloire has two moons, with Aluce Base on one of them, and the episode has an establishing shot showing both moons. Since Robotech takes place on Earth, the part of this shot that shows two moons has been removed.
Pre-Battle Jitters: Southern Cross's Jeanne and Bowie worry that in the battle ahead, they'll end up killing people who are themselves victims; Seifriet speaks up to tell them that the people under Zor control are currently less than human and to admit that he still doubts himself. Robotech changes this so that they instead worry about not surviving the battle. Zor still makes a speech about being less than human while under the Masters' control, but he no longer expresses any self-doubt.
The Masters Discuss the Invid: With only a handful of episodes left in Southern Cross, Robotech works on building up the next enemy. As the Masters prepare for the human assault, they spend most of their time talking about the threat posed by "the Invid sensor nebula," which they clearly see as a far greater danger than the humans.
Jeanne and Bowie: The pre-battle conversation between Jeanne and Bowie has been completely rewritten for Robotech, and not for the better. The original version sees him fretting about killing captive humans. Jeanne suggests that the two of them turn off the links to the combat program prepared in the previous episode, so that they can carefully avoid fatal blows. Bowie tells her that he loves her (not romantically), and she hugs him before the attack begins. It's a good scene.
The Robotech version... isn't. In Robotech, Bowie's fear is prompted by meeting Zor, with him unable to see Zor's people as enemies. Dana blathers to him about how not actually wanting to kill makes them good soldiers before promising that they will both come back alive - which, given their impenetrable Plot Armor, I'm sure will prove true. With the "avoid killing" plot point removed and most of the emotional resonance, there's no longer any reason for this scene even to be there; they might as well have cut it for more ad time to sell toys.
The Masters Use the Battle to Test Their Invid Fighter: In Southern Cross, the bio psycher has been prepared specifically for the war against the humans. In Robotech, the Masters' real enemy is the Invid, with the humans seeming mainly to be an inconvenience. They decide to use the battle to test the capabilities of their new Invid fighter.
The Bioroid Pilots Receive Detailed Plans: In Southern Cross, after the bioroid pilots receive instructions to prepare for battle, they wordlessly get into their mechs and study their display screens in silence. Robotech doesn't do silence. There's extra chatter scattered throughout the episode, but it's most visible in this scene, as a mechanized voice fills in their battle plan while they watch the display screen. It goes without saying that the original version, without the voice, is more effective.
Jeanne Is Relieved the Pilots Aren't Human; Dana Is Horrified That They're Humanoid: In Southern Cross, Jeanne shoots the face plate off one of the bio-psychers, sending the pilot flying out into space. When she sees that the pilot is a Zor and not a brainwashed human, she is relieved. Robotech's Dana is horrified, though, realizing that the enemy pilots are "like Zor," clones who are under the Masters' control.
Bowie No Longer Reflects on Musica: In Southern Cross, Jeanne turns her combat link back on, telling Bowie that the enemies are Zor and not humans. Bowie starts to do the same, then stops. He thinks of Musica and decides that he doesn't want to kill Zor pilots any more than he wants to kill humans. Since the combat link subplot has been all but removed from Robotech, Bowie no longer has that moment of reflection.
Advantage: Southern Cross.
INCIDENTAL MUSIC:
This is another action-heavy episode, which automatically favors Robotech. Robotech's tracks have been recycled so much that I find myself half-predicting which one will cue up next. That said, its music is stirring and exciting in a way that Southern Cross's combat music just isn't. Overused or not, Robotech's tracks easily win this category.
Advantage: Robotech.
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| Jeanne and Andrzej make it onto the enemy ship, only to make a horrible discovery! |
OVERALL ADVANTAGE - SOUTHERN CROSS:
Southern Cross's script offers some excellent character work for Jeanne, Bowie, and Seifriet, while also following up nicely on the combat program established in the previous episode. All of this is made simpler and shallower in Robotech, while the links to the last episode are all but gone.
Robotech's music gives a lift to the action scenes, and I am enjoying the way the Robotech scripts use the Masters' fear of the Invid to set up the next enemy as an "ultimate threat." But that isn't even close to enough to offset how much more interesting the main characters are in Southern Cross.
OTHER MUSINGS:
This episode is very entertaining, with good character moments and a second half that acts as a sustained, well-realized action set piece. The scene in which the 15th Squadron first encounters the Zor bio pyschers is memorable, with the new enemy mechs making an imposing initial impression. Too bad that impression isn't sustained.
After a couple minutes of being pinned down by the bio psychers, Jeanne and her squad not only turn the tide but start blasting through them with ease. I'm reminded of Game of Thrones' Sir Barristan Selmy, telling guards who are suddenly threatening him that "even now, I could cut through the five of you like carving a cake." By the end of the episode, that's about how much effort Jeanne's squad is expending to destroy these new "doomsday mechs."
It's hard to take them at all seriously after that. Even the Robotech episode lampshades this by having the Masters observe that the humans have discovered an inherent weakness (though it doesn't specify what that weakness might be).
It's still an energetic installment, and the characterizations are too well-scripted for me to rate this as anything other than a good episode. But if the bio psychers hadn't been neutered so quickly after their introduction, this would be one of the series' best.
Overall Rating - Southern Cross: 7/10.
Overall Rating - Robotech: 6/10.
Previous Episode: Hunter Killer/The Hunters
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