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| Ray and Mint infiltrate an Inbit fortress! |
Genesis Climber Mospeada: Fortress Breakthrough Boogie.
Original Air Date - Genesis Climber Mospeada: Dec. 18, 1983. Writer: Kenji Terada. Director: Mari Kobayashi.
Robotech: The Fortress.
Original Air Date - Robotech: June 11, 1985.
Story Editor: Steve Kramer. Supervising Director: Robert V. Barron.
PLOT - MOSPEADA:
Stig and his team have made it to the mountains, but they can't progress unless they get past an Inbit fortress. They know that the Inbit have the ability to detect HBT emissions. This means that if they so much as turn on any of their mechs, their enemies will descend in force.
Ray comes up with a plan. He and Mint will ski to the fort, allowing them to reach it without detection. They will make their way inside while the bulk of the alien forces are on patrol, then find and destroy the HBT radar.
The first part of the plan goes smoothly. But neither Ray nor Mint knows what the detection device looks like - an increasing problem, with their window before the patrols return closing rapidly!
PLOT - ROBOTECH:
Scott and his team have made it to the mountains, but they can't progress unless they get past a one-time Earth outpost that's been repurposed into an Invid fortress. The group knows that the Invid have the ability to detect protoculture emissions. This means that if they so much as turn on any of their mechs, their enemies will descend in force.
Rand comes up with a plan. He will ski to the fort, allowing him to reach it without detection. While the bulk of the alien forces are on patrol, he will find and destroy the protoculture radar. After some wheedling from Annie, he agrees to let her come to help.
The first part of the plan goes smoothly, with Rand and Annie making it inside. But neither one of them knows what the detection device looks like - an increasing problem, as their window before the patrols return is closing rapidly!
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| Ray and Mint evade detection by skiing to the fortress. |
CHARACTERS:
Ray's ingenuity is shown again, with him coming up with the plan. He jokes with Mint during the mission and makes exaggerated faces at her - but once she isn't looking, his expression turns serious, showing that he realizes the seriousness of the situation.
Houquet bickers with him the night before the infiltration. When he runs into trouble, however, she rushes to volunteer to act as a distraction. In Mospeada, this appears to be entirely spur of the moment, with her not even pausing to make sure the others agree, something Robotech changes.
Though this is a Ray-heavy episode, it manages not to forget about Stig. The climax is centered entirely around him, as he stays behind to keep the Inbit occupied so the others can escape. Mospeada casts a grimmer tone here than Robotech, with Stig clearly aware that he could die doing this; Robotech's Scott, by contrast, makes light-hearted quips throughout the sequence, which undermines much of the tension.
Advantage: Mospeada.
NARRATION:
Robotech's narrator just sets the scene at the start of the episode and then stays out of the way for the rest of it. I'd gripe that after the narrator finishes, Scott essentially re-narrates the episode setup - but the narration itself is minimal, so I'll be generous and chalk this one up as a wash.
Advantage: None.
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| An Inbit mech is lifted from a row of dormant ones. Robotech narrates all this, making it less atmospheric. |
CUTS AND ALTERATION:
The Invid Converted an Earth Fortress: In Mospeada, it's clear that the fortress is an Inbit fortress, built by them. Not so in Robotech, with Scott filling in that the Invid converted an Earth outpost from the war against the Masters - because this is the same show, honest. Neither is inherently better than the other, but Mospeada's version is a far better fit for how alien the inside of the fortress is.
Scott Explains the Need to Take Out the Fortress: The episode opens with Stig observing the fortress through binoculars, noting that they'll be detected before they get close to the structure. Robotech has Scott more or less narrate that the fortress stands in their way and that they have to "take it out" in order to get past it - something that I suspect the group would have already known before reaching it.
Rand Cut the Second Pair of Skis for Rook: In Mospeada, Ray is happy to have Mint come along from the start, observing that the "boys from Mars" (Stig, Yellow, Jim) won't know how to ski. He also specifically dismisses Houqet, the "pretend tough girl." In Robotech, Rand states that the second pair of skis is for Rook, and he only agrees to have Annie accompany him after Rook refuses. I do not like this change at all. It feels out of character for Rook to refuse to help, doubly so when that refusal puts Annie in danger.
Mint's Panties Become Annie's Bikini: While skiing, Mint's pack comes undone. A bomb falls out, with a pair of her panties tangled in them. The bomb ends up buried in snow, but an Inbit scout scrutinizes the underwear while Ray and Mint hide. Apparently, women's undergarments are too scandalous for a mid-1980s American cartoon, so Annie wails about her "bikini" - though the shots of the Invid picking them up are clearly panties.
The Invid Regess Narrates: In Mospeada, all the movements of the Inbit are wordless, observed by Ray and Mint but kept mysterious except for what can be inferred. Since Robotech is as terrified of silence as of leaving things up to viewer interpretation, the Invid Regess effectively narrates every move the aliens make.
Rook's Distraction Was Planned: When Ray and Mint signal the need for a distraction, Houquet all but leaps onto her Mospeada to catch the Inbit's attention. This plays as her acting on impulse, not even waiting for the others to agree before she acts to save Ray and Mint. Robotech adds a few lines, with Scott and Rand making clear that her distraction has been fully planned out. In strategic terms, it makes more sense... but in both dramatic and character terms, the Mospeada scene is better.
Scott "Will Be Fine:" When Mospeada's Stig stays behind to draw the Inbit off while the others escape, it's made clear that he is putting himself at great risk, and his line deliveries and general attitude in are terse. Robotech de-emphasizes the danger. Scott adopts a lighter tone, and Lancer tells Rand that Scott will be fine. Lest any actual tension still manage to creep in, Scott proceeds to make several quips during his fight-and-flight against the Invid.
Peekaboo Nudity: The episode ends with Mint and Houquet splashing each other in a lake. They call for Aisha to join them. She strips off all her clothes, with the final image being a freeze frame of the naked Aisha diving into the water. In Robotech's original broadcast, the nudity is carefully cut around, with the final shot being Lancer grabbing Rand by the ear to keep him from looking. Fear not, though, because the original nudity has been restored for the "New Generation" remastered release.
Advantage: Mospeada.
INCIDENTAL MUSIC:
Both versions use their respective scores well, with no tracks that distracted or that seemed ill suited to a particular scene.
Advantage: None.
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| Inbit cluster around what looks suspiciously like a giant brain. |
OVERALL ADVANTAGE - MOSPEADA:
This is another case in which changes are minor, and the two episodes are mostly close together in quality. However, Robotech makes changes that I think reduce the effectiveness. The Invid Regess narrating the aliens' actions robs the episode of some of its atmosphere. Even more significant is the lighter tone of the climax: Mospeada's Stig is grim and stoic, far from certain that he will survive buying time for the others' escape. Robotech's Scott is more relaxed, quipping his way through the battle in a way that obliterates dramatic tension.
OTHER MUSINGS:
It really does feel as if the show has gained focus and energy in the wake of Requiem of the Battlefield. The individual installments continue to have self-contained stories, but there's a sense of forward motion now. Fingers crossed that this continues for the remaining episodes!
Fortress Breakthrough Boogie is another entertaining installment. The Mospeada version offers up tension and atmosphere, and there are some decent visual moments during the fortress infiltration: Ray looking out at rows of dormant Inbit mechs, Ray and Mint observing the Inbit, and one room that has what looks very much like a giant brain at its center. Several images are a bit static - but since the most static images also tend to be the most eye-catching, it evens out.
The Robotech version is slightly weaker thanks to choices that soften the tone, but it remains enjoyable. I felt fairly neutral toward Mospeada/New Geenration during its first nine episodes, but I'm starting to actually get invested now.
Overall Rating - Mospeada: 8/10.
Overall Rating - Robotech: 7/10.
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