Classic Voltron Season One (1984-85)

(Episodes 31-40)

Episode #31: "The Sincerest Form of Flattery"

While Haggar fishes her latest RoBeast, Lotor and Zarkon are in a hot battle of wills as to who will rule the planet. Haggar breaks the fight up and informs them of her RoBeast. Lotor destroys Planet Arus's early-warning system, and the Voltron Force launch the Lions. The RoBeast is waiting for them, and after a great fight scene, Voltron is formed. It takes a massive struggle, with Blue Lion getting heavily damaged, before Voltron can defeat the RoBeast. Then, the Lions still have to defend Blue Lion from the attacking Doomite ships until Coran uses the Castle of Lions to finish the job.

Another excellent episode! There is a lot of treachery in the beginning, and fantastic fighting going on throughout the episode. Lotor shows how hostile he can be, even towards his father! He is definitely not the type of guy who takes "no" for an answer! This is possibly the closest that the Doomites have come to victory so far in the series, so that's always cool. Definitely a fun episode to watch!

Episode #32: "A Transplant for the Blue Lion"

As a continuation of the last episode, Lotor recounts his near-victory to Zarkon. As Blue Lion is being repaired, Alphor appears to the Voltron Force, saying that the Lions are like 5 streams that join together to form a mighty river. Keith takes this to mean that the Voltron Force needs some serious training, so that's what they do when Blue Lion's repairs are complete. Lotor arrives with the new and improved version of the last RoBeast. Voltron is formed for a good battle with the RoBeast. After Voltron uses the Lion-Head Attack for the first time, the RoBeast is scrapped.

This is another episode that I personally didn't get much out of. Sure, the first-ever Lion-Head Attack was cool, but most of the episode was just centered around the Voltron Force training for the next big fight against the RoBeast. Over all, if you like the training scenes, this could be an entertaining episode for you, but it doesn't really "do it" for me.

Episode #33: "Attack of the Fierce Frogs"

Haggar releases RoBeast tadpoles on Arus to lure Voltron to her latest underwater RoBeast. Pidge and some kids take some of the tadpoles home with them, and soon, the "fierce fighting frogs" as Lotor calls them start to wreak havok. Pidge flies Green Lion to the kids' house to rescue them from the frogs. At the same time, the rest of the Voltron Force receive an S.O.S. from the ship Altea*, on which the kids' father is the captain. Pidge soon joins the others in rescuing the Altea, and when the underwatewr RoBeast emerges, Voltron is formed. After a good fight deep in the ocean, Voltron resurfaces with the RoBeast to send it to Kingdom Come.
*(In Go-Lion, Planet Arus is referred to as Planet Altea, which is the name of the ship in this episode.)

This is a fairly good episode. Haggar's idea to use the RoBeast tadpoles was brilliant, and is executed very well. The story was pretty decent, if a little "blah." Not too bad of an episode all in all.

Episode #34: "Lotor Traps Pidge"

Haggar sends a solar storm to Arus while Lotor plants a mega-bomb under the surface of the planet. Pidge meets a boy named Tommy, who he thinks is a looter. After getting his foot caught in a trap set by Doomite soldiers, Tommy helps Pidge investigate where the mysterious tremors are coming from. Upon finding the source, Lotor captures them and chains them to the bomb. The Voltron Force searches for Pidge. Lance rescues him and deactivates the timer on the bomb. Lotor's digging machine turns into a RoBeast and challenges the Lions. Voltron is formed, the RoBeast is destroyed, and the bomb is detonated out in space.

This spisode is slightly entertaining in my opinion, but it only gets that way in the second half of the episode. I got the idea for the Quotes Chamber from the remark about Analog Vs. Digital, so that's cool. Otherwise, this episode's kinda flat.

Episode #35: "Doom Boycotts the Space Olympics"

The Voltron Force take a break from defending the universe by helping build a soccer and track stadium for the upcoming Space Olympics. Lotor and Haggar send a RoBeast "Neuro-System" to infect the bulldozer on Arus. A kid named Denny, who's helping with the building project, sees the Neuro-System entering the 'dozer and warns the VOltron Force. The 'dozer runs amok, destroying parts of the stadium and taking the kids hostage. The Voltron Force gets buried by the 'dozer, and Allura rescues them with Blue Lion. After a good scene sequence with the 'dozer, Hunk rescues the kids so that Voltron can be formed. The 'dozer turns into a RoBeast, but it is short-lived as Voltron slashes it.

I like this episode. If you like the movie "Maximum Overdrive," you'll probably get a kick out of this episode. It's always a good concept to see a mechanized, otherwise harmless object turn into a monster, in my opinion. Of course, I know that the whole Space Olympics thing is a bit over-the-top, but that doesn't really matter here. What matters is that this episode is a refreshing break from the past few boring episodes.

Episode #36: "Lotor's Clone"

Zarkon wants Lotor to start personally leading the attacks on Arus, so Haggar creates a clone of Lotor to do the dirty work for him. In addition to the clone, Lotor sends a RoBeast that forms a force-field around the Castle of Lions. Keith goes to investigate on an underwater sled, and there he meets the clone. Although the fight that ensues is awesome, the original Lotor grows impatient and kills the clone with the RoBeast. Lance comes to the rescue just in time when the RoBeast turns on Keith. The force-field having dissipated, the Lions launch to fight the RoBeast. Voltron is formed, and with a Lion-Head Attack and a short fight, the RoBeast is history.

This is definitely a cool episode for all fans of Lotor. It's got semi nude scenes (!), awesome combat, and a dash of humour for seasoning. A nicely-rounded episode that is very entertaining.

Episode #37: "Lotor's New Hitman"

Zarkon and Lotor are scouting for a pilot for Haggar's latest RoBeast. A rogue pilot named Carp impresses them enough to command the RoBeast. However, Morgill* is skeptical throughout the whole episode. Carp and the Red RoBeast go down to terrorize the people of Arus, so naturally the Lions are launched to fight the RoBeast. Carp tricks the Voltron Force into showing him how fast they are, so when Voltron is formed, his Lion-Head Attack is useless against the Red RoBeast. While Carp returns to Planet Doom for some R&R, the Voltron Force try to figure out what went wrong. Carp returns to Arus for some fun with Voltron, but this time, the Voltron Force is ready for him. After forming Voltron two more times, (the second time to regroup after an encounter with some space-mines) the Red RoBeast soon falls victim to the Lion-Head Attack and the Blazing Sword. Lotor hopes for the best for Carp, until he sees the RoBeast crash-land on the planet Gloom.
* (Again, I have no idea why the guy commonly referred to as Mogor in all the other episodes is called Morgill in this one. Another WEP goof?)

Here's an episode that has a lot going for it. It has speed, a little treachery, some good quotes, and a nice bit of technical details thrown in for good measure. That having been said, it does drag a little bit in places. A little technical information goes a long way, and it shows in this episode. However, for the most part, the episode is pretty exciting and nicely-done.

Episode #38: "Raid of the Red Berets"

Zarkon, tired of RoBeasts, wants Lotor to try another tactic to conquer Arus. Lotor and Haggar enlist the help of the Red Beret robots to cause a panic on Arus before unleashing a new RoBeast. Lance and Pidge investigate a strange sight in a volcano. In response to a near-riot at the Castle gates, the Voltron Force reassure the crowds with the Lions' presence. The Red Berets arrive and coat Black Lion with lava dust from the volcano while the RoBeast is launched. Unable to break the lava-dust coating themselves, the other Lions fling Black Lion at the RoBeast, which does the trick. Voltron is formed, and after a good fight scene, the RoBeast is slashed.

Having seen the Go-Lion version of this episode, I can honestly say that it's a good thing WEP edited this one! Otherwise, kids would've gotten a big shock from this episode! Blood N gore abound in the Japanese version. It's actually pretty cool, if you go for that kind of stuff. The American version of the episode was fair, if not the best. The RoBeast in this episode was one of the cooler RoBeasts, in my opinion. The storyline didn't really interest me, but the action did a fair job of making up for the story. I liked the final fight scene, where Voltron rides the RoBeast like a rodeo bull. Overall, not too bad of an episode.

Episode #39: "The Captive Comet"

Haggar informs Zarkon that she has found the Omega Comet, a mysterious comet that acts like a black hole. She sends it on a direct course for Arus, where it will literally root up everything on the planet. Voltron is formed to try to avert the Omega Comet to a new course, but the Doomites have a trick up their sleeve. After hearing a bit of mis-information about a way to change the course of the comet, Romelle passes it onto the Voltron Force. Voltron falls for the bait, and the gravitational pull of the comet slams him into the surface. Haggar releases an Iron Ripper to finish him off, but Bandor's fleet arrives, destroying the Iron Ripper and knocking the Omega Comet off-course. The episode ends with the Voltron Force unconscious on the comet and Arus unprotected.

Being the first in a 3-part series, this episode sets things up very nicely for the next two parts. The storyline is great, with a lot of treachery and some good action scenes. There's not really a RoBeast in this episode, but that doesn't matter, the story makes up for this. Overall, a great episode.

Episode #40: "The Little Prince"

After a brief re-cap of the last episode, Arus is shown being attacked by Lotor's troops. Galaxy Garrison, in their infinite wisdom, wants Bandor to return to guarding their main power base. Bandor refuses and tries to get Voltron off the Omega Comet. Lotor arrives, destroying all the ships in the fleet besides Bandor's and cutting off the line between Bandor's ship and Voltron. Haggar's latest RoBeast is sent to attack Arus. Meanwhile, at the edge of the Universe, a Goddess appears and gives the Voltron Force a choice. They can either go with her to the realm of eternal happiness, or return to Arus. After choosing Arus, Voltron is recharged and heads for home. When Bandor arrives on Arus, Lotor orders his complete surrender. Just when it appears that the Doomites have won at last, super-charged Voltron returns to make quick work of the RoBeast while Lotor retreats. The episode ends with Romelle being thrown into the Pit of Skulls by Lotor and a familiar shape approaching from the darkness...

This episode is simply excellent. Although it starts off slowly, there is a lot of suspense and later, action. Not since Episode 31 have the Doomites been so close to victory. At the same time, even if you're a Doomite, you feel for the Voltron Force in this one, so that says a LOT! Watch all three of these episodes at all cost!

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