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| Ray has a vivid dream in which Aisha is kidnapped by a dragon! |
Genesis Climber Mospeada: Fortress Sandstorm Playback.
Original Air Date - Genesis Climber Mospeada: Dec. 25, 1983. Writer: Sukehiro Tomita. Director: Yusaku Saotome.
Robotech: Sandstorm.
Original Air Date - Robotech: June 12, 1985.
Story Editor: Steve Kramer. Supervising Director: Robert V. Barron.
PLOT - MOSPEADA:
Now in a desert, the group takes shelter in a cave, hiding from both an Inbit patrol and a ferocious sandstorm. They manage to remain safe, but tempers are short. Aisha appears to be ill and dehydrated, and all of them are thirsty. When they observe Ray feeding Aisha water from a cactus, everyone turns on him for holding out, prompting him to head angrily into the desert to get more.
The wind immediately knocks him into a pit, where he loses consciousness. He has a dream in which he tries to protect Aisha from a dragon, with that fantasy adventure interrupted by snatches of memory about the Inbit. As he continues to fight the dragon in the dream, his subconscious - likely boosted by a psychic link to the unconscious Aisha - leads him to a revelation about the aliens' goals and motives...
PLOT - ROBOTECH:
In a desert on the other side of the Invid fortress, the group takes shelter in a cave, hiding from both an enemy patrol and a ferocious sandstorm. They manage to remain safe, but tempers are short. Marlene was psychically stricken by the destruction of the fortress, and every member of the group is thirsty. When they observe Rand feeding her water from a cactus, everyone turns on him for holding out, prompting him to head angrily into the desert to get more.
The wind immediately knocks him into a pit, where he loses consciousness. Spores from the Invid Flower of Life cause him to have a vivid dream, in which he tries to protect Marlene from a dragon. This fantasy adventure keeps being interrupted by memories centered around the Invid. The spores create a psychic link to the unconscious Marlene, who is already linked with the Invid... all of which enables Rand to piece together the aliens' goals and motives...
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| The group hides both from the storm and from Inbit patrols. |
CHARACTERS:
Stig blows up at Ray, talking about how much he dislikes civilians and snarking that "those who wouldn't sacrifice themselves complain the most." Really, Stig? You'd have been dead as early as Episode Two if not for the civilians in your midst. Robotech drops the line, and even has Scott apologize, which is an improvement... until the end, when Scott acts like an even bigger ass than Stig managed.
This is yet another episode centered around Ray, but I think Stig should have been the viewpoint character this time. The dream sees Ray acting essentially as a fantasy knight, rescuing damsel Aisha from the dragon. This doesn't fit the down-to-Earth Ray, while Stig seems far more likely to view himself in such terms. I also think it would have been more interesting to have Stig - who despises the Inbit to his core - to be the one to gain insight into their motives.
Advantage: None.
NARRATION:
The narration really hammers home how little Robotech trusts its audience. The narrator begins by reminding us that Marlene is an Invid "simulagent," because the kiddies can't be expected to remember the last three episodes. He then proceeds to tell us that Marlene's condition is a result of her link to the Invid, which is fairly obvious. We're even directly told that Ray is dreaming, which is repeated a couple of times in dialogue just to make sure we're following along.
To give a sliver of credit, however, I like one bit of narration: a link with The Masters arc, with Ray's dream influenced by spores from the Invid Flower of Life. This is a clever use of the larger Robotech context, and it's consistent with the effect of the spores on Dana in that arc's final episode. It doesn't make up for the rest of the narration basically insulting the viewer's intelligence, though.
Advantage: Mospeada.
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| Battling the dragon. Mospeada backs this with the ballad Yellow earlier. |
CUTS AND ALTERATION:
Lancer Refuses to Sing: Yellow breaks the tension between Stig and Ray by singing a ballad about a hero and a maiden, which sets the stage for Ray's dream. In Robotech, Rook asks Lancer to sing, prompting him to complain that she thinks they can "switch (him) off and on like a music box." This is, at least, preferable to him singing a bit of This Is My Time to Be a Star or one of the Robotech Minmei's other "masterpieces," but it does strip one layer away from the episode.
Scott Apologizes: While Stig remains argumentative throughout the opening scene, Robotech's Scott apologizes for blowing up and says a few words about the importance of sticking together. He also invokes Admiral Hunter again, and I'm starting to agree with Rand about being sick of having Rick Hunter namedropped so regularly
Marlene Tells Rand He's Dreaming: When Ray rescues Aisha from the dragon at the start of the dream, Aisha asks him to please stop fighting with Stig. In Robotech, Marlene instead tells him that none of this is real and that he's dreaming, with him noting that she's cute and "this dream's not half bad" less than a minute later. Neither scene is better than the other, but they are quite different in their respective portrayals of Aisha/Marlene.
Voice Overs Make Clear That Rand Has to "Kiss" Marlene: In Mospeada, after Aisha is unable to drink the water Ray tries to give her, he holds it in his mouth and pushes it into hers in what's shot and framed as a kiss. Robotech decides to sidestep any potential consent issues (yes, even in the mid-'80s, kissing an unconscious woman wasn't considered a good thing) by having Rand narrate his apologies, fretting in voice over that this is the only way to get her to drink. It's ham-fisted, but it was probably necessary to clear US broadcast standards for the after-school timeslot.
Invid Exposition: Ray relives the possessed Mint scene from Lost World Fugue, with Mint talking about evolution and the need for the Inbit to find the ideal form for survival on Earth. Robotech changes this, with the Invid Regess relating how the aliens were "a simple people" until the Robotech Masters contaminated their Flower of Life. I actually kind of like this. It works in the context of the Masters' oft-referenced conflict with the Invid, and it's a nice bit of additional lore for the Robotech universe.
Annie Reminds Rand that This is a Dream: Mospeada's Ray is appalled when he sees Dream Mint riding a Mospeada, certain that she'll just crash it. This is echoed in Robotech, with Rand protesting that Annie doesn't know how to ride a Cyclone. Annie feels the need to remind him that this is a dream as she takes off. You know, in case we forgot since the last time the episode reminded us.
Chatter Is Dubbed Over the Dragon Fight: In Mospeada, the fight against the dragon is backed by a song about heroes slaying a dragon. Minus the song, Robotech dubs a bunch of dialogue over the battle, complete with some technobabble when the dragon leads them through "some kind of ion storm."
Scott Questions Rand's Loyalty (!): Ray returns to camp still in a dreamlike state, talking about the Inbit's reasons for coming to Earth. Stig replies that the Inbit takeover will come at the expense of humanity and that they have no choice but to fight, which Ray acknowledges. Robotech makes the scene much worse, with Scott responding to Rand's information by questioning his loyalty. Never mind that Rand directly saved his life when he was all but peeing himself with puppy dog excitement at meeting his childhood hero while walking into a Invid trap. Never mind that Rand was the one who figured out how the Invid were tracking them, or that Rand came up with the plan to get past the Invid fortress. Rand is recounting the enemy's motivations - fairly important information to have - and that somehow makes him disloyal. In Rand's place, my response would be... well, inappropriate to relate here.
Advantage: Mospeada.
INCIDENTAL MUSIC:
For most of the episode, the two scores are used about equally well. Then comes the climax, as the group battles the dragon inside the dream. In Mospeada, this is backed by a song about legendary heroes slaying a dragon. Robotech instead uses its generic "action" music, which isn't nearly as effective. Also, some of the shot choices feel a bit odd without the song lending context.
Advantage: Mospeada.
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| The heroes, in medieval fantasy garb. |
OVERALL ADVANTAGE - MOSPEADA:
I'm not a big fan of either version of this episode, but Robotech is noticeably worse than the original. The narration all but calls the viewers idiots, as do the constant reiterations that this is a dream. Mospeada also makes good use of the ballad Yellow sings near the beginning, the princess and dragon story creating the form of the dream. Without the song, Robotech is robbed of a part of the frame for the story and of some of its atmosphere.
OTHER MUSINGS:
Sandstorm Playback is not quite a clipshow, but it's clipshow adjacent, incorporating bits from Prelude to the Offensive, Showdown Concert at High Noon, Lost World Fugue, and Fortress Breakthrough Boogie. I'd suspect that this was a time and budget saver episode, except that some of the scenes with the dragon seem likely to have been more work intensive than the series' usual animation.
I'm not enthusiastic about this one, but it's not bad. It moves along at a fair clip, with some decent imagery, and some of its insights are likely to be important later. Still, it falls into the problem of most "dream" episodes, in that there really aren't any stakes. I also feel that this episode would have been better suited to Stig than to Ray. We've seen Ray make leaps about the Inbit before; to have Stig, with his deep-set hatred for them, glimpse a bit of their perspective would have been vastly more interesting.
In the end, it's a decent time filler. But given how important some of its revelations are likely to be, I wish it didn't come across as just a time filler.
Overall Rating - Mospeada: 5/10.
Overall Rating - Robotech: 4/10.
Previous Episode: Fortress Breakthrough Boogie/The Fortress
Next Episode: Mint's Wedding March/Annie's Wedding
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