Quark, episode 3 "The Old and the Beautiful"

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Three Commanders are again assembled in Palindrome's office to receive missions from The Head. Commander Haley, a looming alien, is sent on a 30 year mission to a distant planet. Commander Black, a smokin' hot blonde, is sent to personally disarm a batch of Gorgon explosives. Commander Quark is all set for another trash pickup, but he's instead tasked with an extended romantic interlude with a beautiful princess. Both Haley and Black are pissed at their assignments, but Quark is thrilled, even moreso when he learns he's in line for a promotion if the romantic interlude goes well.

Quark, episode 2 "May the Source Be With You"

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At Space Station Perma One, Palindrome is in the midst of a frantic evacuation of all personnel. When three Commanders arrive, he steers them towards the communications room where The Head reveals the Gorgons, the long-standing arch-nemesis of the cosmos, have developed a new weapon of immense and unmatchable powers. The first Commander is told to evacuate all scientists. The second, to evacuate the top secret files. The third, Commander Quark, is tasked with hunting down the Gorgon doomsday ship and destroying it, even at the cost of his own life. Needless to say, Quark has his doubts. All of which are ignored by Palindrome as he gives Quark a metal orb to complete his task, which holds the galaxy's greatest weapon: The Source.

Quark, episode 1

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April 2. 10:17 Galaxy Time. Two vessels drift among the stars. The one in the rear is captained by Adam Quark, a steadfast and sure captain who deftly maneuvers his craft just behind the other. As a countdown starts, the ship in the front craps out a massive bag of garbage, and Captain Quark opens the mouth of his craft to gobble the trash up. Mission completed, he has the ship perform an about face and we see printed on its side United Galaxy Sanitation Patrol.

Our next Showcase will be... Quark!

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Tony

So we're planning out our next few showcases, and Noel suggests Quark. Immediately, I'm thinking the guy from that one Star Trek spin-off must've gotten his own spin-off. "Great. I'm going to spend the next two months following the adventures of an intergalactic bartender." - which could actually be fun if they did it in the spirit of the classic Tom Cruise film Cocktail "Bode's, Omega, ooh, I wanna take ya. Centaurus, Andromeda, come on pretty mama..." Turns out (much to my relief) Quark is actually a sci-fi themed comedy series from the late 70s starring Richard Benjamin (last seen on the back of a carton of milk, I believe).

Bigfoot, Robotix, and Robo Force - The Toylines

Tony

In this week’s Showcase, I’m going to take a look at the toylines and merchandising associated with our three special “Sunday Showcases”.

Bigfoot and the Muscle Machines

Of the three “bonus” animated shows we covered, only Bigfoot and the Muscle Machines wasn’t based on a toy line. Because of this, there really wasn’t much, if any, merchandise directly related to the cartoon. Sadly, that means no Yank Justice action figure and no Muscle Machines for him to drive. Had the series been picked up, you can bet your allowance that there would’ve been a proper toy line, along with lunchboxes, t-shirts, and perhaps a Yank Justice spoken word album titled “There ain’t nothin’ ‘dumb’ about ‘freedom’.” As it stands, the Bigfoot merchandise we did get - and we got a lot - is based on the actual car smashin’ monster truck itself.

The Robotix Comic

This piece was also going to feature a piece by Tony covering the toylines for the three shows covered as part of our special Sunday series, but he's on vacation this week, so I told him to relax and save that section for next week. As for the comics, Robotix was the only series to get a full issue, and it's only a one-shot. There was nothing for Bigfoot, and Robo Force had a number of mini-comics packaged with the toys. You can learn about them at the blog RoboPlastic Apocalypse.

Bonus Review: Robo Force, episode 1 "The Revenge of Nazgar"

Before we bring our Super Sunday tribute to a close, we thought we'd sneak in one last treat. No, Robo Force was not a part of Super Sunday, nor was it even a Sunbow production, but it's a one-shot pilot episode written by Flint Dille, and since we've already covered the rest of his work which is applicable to this blog's format, we decided this would be a good send off for the entertainment he's inspired us to write about. Mr. Dille, thank you for the wild inventiveness that is you!

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It's night. Shadowy, armed figures tailed by bulky robots are sneaking through foliage towards a home on the outskirts of the opulent, futuristic city of Celestia. In a laboratory inside the home, a professor named Dr. Fury is working on the speech program of Coptor, a propellered robot of his construction. Hearing a noise, they turn as the door is smashed in. The shadowy figures pour in, then are passed by the group of menacing robots, Hun-Dred at their lead. They've come for Fury. Coptor tries to fight them off, but he's overpowered and fried. When the voice of Fury's young son, Mark, calls from upstairs, Hun-Dred makes a threat against the child. When the boy enters the lab, no one is there. A ship takes off just over the hill, and Mark again calls out for his father.

Cut to ten years later.

No post this weekend...

Noel's on vacation in Illinois this weekend and we weren't able to get the Special Bonus Surprise post ready before then, so we'll hold off on it until next week. Sorry for the delay, but we hope the post will be entertaining enough to be worth the wait. :)

Robotix, chapters 13-15

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Chapter 13: All For One

The giant wolf-like creatures are bearing down on the humans. They call out for help, but even Boltar is weak on energy by this point. Kanawk shoves Exeter towards the wolves, which Exeter decides to run with as he hops on the back of one and digs his fingers into its mane. Tauron leaps on, too, and together they use the wolf to leap out of their pit. Tauron frees the other humans and gives them crystal, which they use to power up and interface with the first Robotix they each reach. Exeter grabs a crystal and swings down to Jerrok, who's still hanging over the lava pit. He powers up and interfaces with the Protecton, who's now able to save himself and fend off the rock creatures while Exeter rallies with the others.

Robotix, chapters 10-12

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Chapter 10: The Factory of Death

The Protectons manage to escape the conveyor belt leading to the furnace through Bront configuring into a ladder, but they end up on a factory floor with the Terrakors at the controls. Giant bulldozer bots roll in, separating the Protectons and driving each to either a press, or a smelting roller, or a pit compressor in the ground, or units that start taking them apart. Overrun, Argus signals Compucore.