ROCKS 11B: Spiral Zone first half highlights

WELCOME EVERYBODY TO THE FIRST DISCUSSION IN THE ELEVENTH STRAND OF "R.O.C.K.S." - REWATCHING OLD CLASSIC KIDS SHOWS!
A big thanks to everyone that are joining us through all of this. It’s going to be an enjoyable ride!

This set of threads will focus on an obscure 80s cartoon, "Spiral Zone". Don't worry if you haven't heard of it, I only saw two episodes of it back in the day.

This week we're watching some picks from the first half of the series:

- Small Packages
- Overlord's Mystery Woman
- The Mind Of Gideon Rorshak
- The Man Who Wouldn't Be King

Just a friendly reminder to everyone that, whilst fans are obviously welcome to passionately discuss and give their views on these episodes, please remember to keep things on a friendly footing and respect your fellow posters.
Also, please do not post where or how to find the full episode online. And do not post asking others to PM it to you. You are however allowed to watch the show in whatever manner you want.

Some interesting episodes, especially the second fourth episodes. I still think the names vehicles and character designs are a bit bland. These episodes were enjoyable enough but so far I can't say any of them have interested me enough to watch the full series.

This series can be a mixed bag.

Small Packages
This is one of those plans that Overlord had to try at some point during the series, actually zoning the heroes' HQ. This is also one of the series' high points for me. There's human issues with the whole question of family, and the friendship between Courage and General McFarland is shown well here. Although there is the question of exactly why the Zone Riders were distracted to get them out of the base before the pod was activated. Would they have had time to helmet up and stop it before the zone took effect? I don't know. It could have been easily explained with one extra line of dialogue. Considering that the first 90sec of the episode is atmosphere, they could have added it. Oh well, that aside, brilliant.

Overlord's Mystery Woman
OK, I'll admit upfront, if I was picking episodes again, I wouldn't have included this one. I got it mixed up with something else. When I picked this episode I hadn't watched it in a while, I thought this was the one where Overlord's motives were explained. There is an episode somewhere in the series that explains why he created the zone - his hatred of war. He had the idea of zoning the entire world to create peace. On that level, you can admit he had a point, but he just had a twisted way of going about it. As for the actual content of this episode, we do see Overlord's brain at work, when he responds to Duchess Dire's insistence that it's a trap - "I already assumed as much". Whatever else you think of the show, Overlord is one of the all-time great baddies, and next week's selection will show why. Speaking of Duchess Dire, she's the one who really takes centre stage here, her jealousy of Overlord's ex-wife leads her to extreme measures. In most episodes, she's pretty much the most loyal of Overlord's henchmen. Here, she has her own motives.

The Mind Of Gideon Rorshak
When I first started properly watching this show in 2012, this was the episode that finally won me over. I'd been so-so for the first twenty, which argues that it's not that amazing if I'm taking this long to decide. But sometimes you have to be in the right mood. This episode has a lot going on. Kat is the one who saves the day here on two occasions - first by flushing out Overlord's spy, secondly by freezing the gas. The theme of betrayal and vengeance, Rorshak's price for helping the Zone Riders, the general who didn't lift a finger to help him, is reminiscent of The Count Of Monte Cristo. And Courage's admission at the end that the gun he gave Rorshak wasn't loaded (charged?) was a nice touch. But my favourite moment is at the end when Rorshak says to the general what a waste guilt is. Funnily enough, I put that quote into a facebook status update about 4-5yrs ago, and it recently popped up on my "on this day" feed, without me remembering where it came from until I saw the episode again yesterday!

The Man Who Wouldn't Be King
After the first episode I picked focused on the everyday human and family ramifications of the zone, this one focuses on a significant political angle. If leaders are trapped in the zone, unable to get out, then something has to be done. I guess they chose the British royal family because they are so iconic. And it was 1987, you can excuse them for having Major McKenzie reminiscing about "the old king" - they weren't to know that the queen would still be on the throne in 2007! That aside, the technical details about the royal protocols were mostly correct I think. The way that Courage taught Arthur the lessons about the responsibilities of command was a little cliched but it sort of works. Interesting point here, this affords the only glimpse of what one of the Black Widows looked like before Overlord struck - the photo of Duchess Dire with Arthur. It also mentions her first name, Ursula. This is another of those episodes that I wouldn't have picked ordinarily, but it lays the foundations for a particularly noteworthy episode in next week's selection, indeed, the only continuity point of the series, other than the mid-season episodes that introduced the new Zone Riders and Black Widows.