 |
| Houquet is reunited with her younger sister. |
Genesis Climber Mospeada: Support Girl Blues.
Original Air Date - Genesis Climber Mospeada: Nov. 6, 1983. Writer: Sukehiro Tomita. Director: Mari Kobayashi.
Robotech: Hard Times.
Original Air Date - Robotech: June 3, 1985.
Story Editor: Steve Kramer. Supervising Director: Robert V. Barron.
PLOT - MOSPEADA:
The group's journey takes them very close to Houquet's home town, a city that's hidden inside a canyon. Houquet says nothing, but she can't quite shake memories of the events that led to her leaving home. Her mood does not go unnoticed. That night, she quietly get on her cyclone and drives off - and Ray follows.
Houquet's town is being terrorized by The Red Snakes, a gang of thugs. They used to be kept somewhat in check by the Blue Angels, a gang that was led by her ex-boyfriend, Romy. The night she left, the Angels were meant to duel the Snakes - but only Houquet showed up, and the Snakes made short work of her. Now, she finds Romy working as a baker with her sister, Lily, with no one opposing the Snakes.
Houquet decides on a rematch with the gang, this time on her terms. But the thugs aren't interested in a fair fight...
PLOT - ROBOTECH:
The group's journey takes them very close to Rook's home town, a city that's hidden inside a canyon. Rook says nothing, but she can't quite shake memories of the events that led to her leaving home. Her mood does not go unnoticed. That night, she quietly get on her cyclone and drives off - and Rand follows.
Rook's town is being terrorized by The Red Snakes, a gang of thugs. They used to be kept somewhat in check by the Blue Angels, a gang that was led by her ex-boyfriend, Romy. The night she left, the Angels were meant to duel the Snakes - but only Rook showed up, and the Snakes made short work of her. Now, she finds Romy working as a baker with her sister, Lily, with no one opposing the Snakes.
Rook decides on a rematch with the gang, this time on her terms. But the thugs aren't interested in a fair fight...
 |
| Ray enforces a fair contest, but he otherwise leaves Houquet to fight her own battles. |
CHARACTERS:
This is a spotlight episode for Houqet, filling in some of her backstory. She's a protector by nature, probably in part because of years looking after her more innocent younger sister. One of the first things she does on her return home is to rescue two young women from the Snakes, and she refuses to leave the town to the gang's nonexistent mercy.
This episode is also significantly advances the Houquet/Ray relationship that's been developing in the background. Rand responds just about perfectly to her situation. He follows her, but he only steps in when the Snakes try to ambush her. Even then, he does just enough to enforce the terms of her challenge to the gang leader - but he still leaves the contest to her rather than trying to fight her personal battle for her.
Advantage: None.
NARRATION:
The Robotech narrator recaps the previous episode, even though not a single story beat carries over from that installment to this one. The narration goes rather over-the-top, gushing about how perfectly everyone worked together as a team... which is probably meant to draw a contrast with this episode, in which Rook goes off on her own (with Rand following), but it gets laid on so thick that it's unintentionally funny.
Advantage: Mospeada.
 |
| Houquet remembers her past. Robotech makes sure we absolutely understand that this is a flashback. |
CUTS AND ALTERATION:
Makeshift Shower: Yellow Belmont creates a makeshift shower with river water and a bucket with holes in it. Jim admires the ingenious invention (though I mainly question how Yellow's shower lasts more than a few seconds), and Yellow jokingly reacts as if the big man is peeping. Robotech removes the final bit, with Lancer calling out Lunk in voice over. Since nothing was shown in the original shot, I'm guessing this was mainly a case of grabbing a couple of seconds toward an extra ad.
Internal Monologues Signpost the Flashbacks: Seeing that she's close to her home town, Mospeada's Houquet has flashbacks to the events that led her to leave, which we see in sepia tones and mostly still images. Robotech decides to make sure that we know that these are flashbacks by adding internal monologues in which Rook directly states that she's remembering her past. Because Robotech thinks that we're morons.
Romy and Lily: Mospeada introduces Romy and Houquet's sister, Lily, in a short scene as Romy prepares to close his bakery for the night. He observes that it's getting late and offers to take her home to her parents. This scene is removed from Robotech, which instead introduces them when Rook finds the bakery and sees them together. I actually think this is a change for the better; the Mospeada scene doesn't do anything storywise, and Robotech using the later moment to introduce them keeps the focus on Rook and her reactions.
The Red Snakes Will Blame the Protoculture Theft on the Angels: A minor change, but a dumb one: In Mospeada, one of the Snakes has stolen some HBT. When another of the gang warns him that the Inbit will come for him, he laughs it off, saying that he'll blame the townspeople. Robotech has him state that he'll blame the stolen protoculture on rival gang The Angels - which makes no sense, as the episode has firmly established that the Angels broke up some time ago.
Rand Tells Rook's Mother to "Get a Job": When Ray takes Houquet to her mother on the way out of town, Houquet flees. Ray follows to let her know that her mother wished her well. All of this still happens in Robotech, but a bizarre "WTF" moment is added in: After Rook flees, Rand quickly snips, "Get a job," at her mother before riding off. Um... what? This is made even more bizarre when, a few seconds later, he's telling Rook that all her mother wants is for her to "be well."
Rook's Ending Internal Monologue: Mospeada's Houquet rides out of town while the song, Motorcycle Freak, plays. She then notices the others waiting for her and responds with delight. This apparently isn't dramatic enough for Robotech, which instead has Rook do a full internal monologue about how much she loves her mother and how she intends to look after the others before the episode ends - made even worse by the internal monologue smothering the shot in which she is visibly speaking.
Advantage: Mospeada.
INCIDENTAL MUSIC:
In addition to being seriously overfamiliar by this point, Robotech's tracks are somewhat oddly applied, particularly in the climactic action scene. Mospeada doesn't do anything really noteworthy with its incidental music - even the application of a pop song at the end is pretty standard stuff - but at least it all properly fits the episode.
Advantage: Mospeada.
 |
| Houquet's nemesis: The Red Snakes. |
OVERALL ADVANTAGE - MOSPEADA:
Mospeada has thus far been the least changed of the three Robotech series, and that remains true here. For most of the episode, changes are superficial; one cut actually represents an improvement, as the removed Mospeada scene was pointless and broke away from Houquet's viewpoint.
Alas, any chance for the Robotech episode to be as good as the original version is undone by the final minutes. Mospeada ends well, which means the entire episode works in its original form. Robotech's final minutes, however, are absolutely massacred by the one-two punch of Rand's bizarre, "Get a job," to Rook's mother, followed by Rook's insanely overdone ending monologue.
OTHER MUSINGS:
This is the second Mospeada episode whose conflict revolves around a town being terrorized by a biker gang. Yes, I know that was a pretty standard '80s plot - but even The A-Team or Knight Rider would only trot it out maybe once per season. Twice in six episodes is a bit much.
That aside, I enjoyed this one. It's a good character piece for both Houquet and Ray. I also liked Stig's reaction: noting that Houquet is genuinely bothered but staying completely out of what isn't his affair. I would rather the ending Inbit battle had been removed, with those extra couple of minutes maybe being used to show Ray meeting Houquet's parents or to show more of Houquet seeing her old home. Still, on its own terms, this is a decent little show.
That's mostly true of Robotech, as well. Too bad about the final moments. Still, allow me to extend a friendly Robotech greeting to all by saying:
"Get a job!" ("But I already have one." "So? Get a second one!")
Overall Rating: 7/10.
Previous Episode: Live Inn Plunder Operation/Curtain Call
Next Episode: Fallen Hero's Ragtime/Paper Hero
Review Index
To receive new review updates, follow me:
On Twitter:
On Threads:
No comments:
Post a Comment