Quest for the Creator
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| "Quest for the Creator" | |||||||||
| Production code | 0142-8534 | ||||||||
| Production company | Hanna-Barbera | ||||||||
| Airdate | November 12, 1985 | ||||||||
| Story by | Kelly Ward, Jeff Segal, John Loy and Peter Anderegg | ||||||||
| Teleplay by | John Loy | ||||||||
| Animation studio | Wang Film Productions | ||||||||
Welcome to Antares III! Where nothing can possibly go wrong!
Synopsis[edit | edit source]
Searching for the Last Engineer to repair Turbo, the Command Center arrives in orbit over the forbidding Antares III. The planet's hostile atmosphere shakes the ship and when they make it through the planet seems to be a lava-strewn wasteland. Scooter spots a dormant volcano giving off odd readings, with Leader-1 and Matt setting off to follow the strange signals. They arrive and begin to explore, unaware they are being watched, before finding an oddly decorated gate. Outside, turbulence is jeopardising Rest-Q's attempts to keep Turbo stable, so Scooter asks to move the Command Center back into orbit. As they they they see the volcano suddenly erupt, with Leader-1 just about able to get Matt away from the lava. Trapped, he flies towards the gate, with the strange decoration jumping out of the way as he blasts it, converting and flying away. The pair reach safety but above Turbo's condition is rapidly worsening. Leader-1 and Matt follow the signal in the volcano to an ancient chamber, where they find a GoBeing in suspended animation, immediately assuming it is the Last Engineer. Before they can do anything else the mutant they spotted earlier and a similarly monstrous companion advance on them.
They accuse the pair of violating the sanctum; Leader-1 shoots Scorp but Vamp attempts to hypnotise Matt. The Guardian commander saves his friend and orders him to run but Matt is knocked out by blasts from Scorp's tail before both of the Monsters combine their powers to take out Leader-1 himself. Above Antares III Scooter is concerned by the lack of contact from Leader-1; as the storm has cleared the Guardian decides to move the Command Center back in closer. The mutants throw Leader-1 and Matt in a cell and plot selling them on the intergalactic slave market, while Path Finder organises a search party, taking Scooter in one direction while Blaster and Flip Top head in the other. Path Finder spots another entrance to the volcano, where Scooter senses a trap - he is able to harmlessly set off a falling rock left by Scorp and get inside to confront the mutants. Vamp chases Path Finder but the arrival of Blaster and Flip Top turns the tide of the fight; Flip Top blasts Scorp away from Scooter and the pair of Monsters retreat. They plan to use the prisoners as hostage but Leader-1 plays possum and shoots the pair at point-blank range. The Guardians reunite and Leader-1 shows them the slumbering GoBeing. Scooter is able to interface with the sleeping chamber in the sanctum and displays images of the first Renegade Revolt on GoBotron, seemingly showing the Last Engineer's escape to Antares III and subsequent suspension. The activity wakes the figure, who Leader-1 immediately identifies as the Last Engineer.
The Guardians bow before their creator, who greets his rescuers warmly. He has Rest-Q and Small Foot bring Turbo to the sanctum and drops him into a machine that instantly repairs the stricken Guardian. The Last Engineer is taken onboard the Command Center, where he eats heartily and requests a life back to GoBotron. As the ship leaves Antares III, Scooter tells him of the Command Center's systems and the battle with the Renegades - at which point they are jumped by Cy-Kill, Crasher and Cop-Tur in a Thruster. He plans to capture the Last Engineer and demands the surrender of the GoBeing in return for sparing the Guardians. Leader-1 believes he is bluffing but the Last Engineer pulls a gun and shoots Small Foot, paralysing her and holding her at gunpoint, shooting Matt with a beam from his eye when the human tries to rush him. The man they saved is not the Last Engineer at all - but the Master Renegade, who taunts the Guardians for saving him from his exile...
Featured characters[edit | edit source]
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Guardians | Renegades | Humans | Others |
|---|---|---|---|
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Quotes[edit | edit source]
Notes[edit | edit source]
 This episode has continuity problems that might be from it being aired out of order. |
Story Order[edit | edit source]
- Story Order: "The GoBotron Saga" is the largest continuity headache of the original Challenge of the GoBots run. Aired as episodes 41-45, it was nevertheless clearly intended to immediately follow the original five-part pilot. Regular characters and concepts like the Monster GoBots and Courageous were given origin stories in this Saga.
- Specifically here Vamp and Scorp are given origins, working on Antares III guarding the Master Renegade, and it's clear from dialogue that Leader-1 and the others have never met either of them before.
Continuity notes[edit | edit source]
- Gadgets and Powers:
- Vamp possesses hypnotic eye beams and can project a force field for protection.
- Scooter plugs his chest into the "Last Engineer's" stasis chamber, which apparently allows him to deactivate the chamber and access the memories of the man inside, projecting them visually.
- The Master Renegade has a cybernetic eye that can fire blasts of energy - it gets about five close-ups, just in case you missed it. He also has pistol capable of paralysing GoBots, which can store in a handy ankle holster that only becomes visible after he reveals his true nature.
- The Master Renegade makes his first appearance here, while his Monster GoBots Vamp and Scorp are given their introductions. Because of the broadcast order, however, Vamp and Scorp already debuted in "Dawn World" and "Cy-Kill's Cataclysmic Trap", respectively, and made numerous other appearances since.
- An ancient generic GoBot is seen fighting in the footage that plays when Scooter interfaces with the sleeping chamber; it seems to take some very vague design cues off Crasher's toy. The same footage also briefly shows the real Last Engineer, pursued by a mob of GoBeings. He's taken the time to completely change his look since the message he left last episode; naturally this was done so it comes as a surprise when the guy they find on Antares III is really the Master Renegade.
Continuity errors[edit | edit source]
- Quite why Leader-1 takes Matt with him to explore the volcano when Small Foot and Path Finder (who even berates herself for not going) are both available isn't clear, beyond the Guardian commander's usual lack of imagination in picking away teams and even if we're charitable and say neither Flip Top or Blaster were repaired until after he left. Even Scooter is smart enough to leave Nick on the Command Center.
- Curiously Hans-Cuff, who was taken onboard with Blaster and Flip Top last episode and seemed much less damaged than either of them is not seen or mentioned in the whole episode.
- Small Foot and A.J. also more-or-less vanish until the Last Engineer comes onboard - neither are seen or mentioned until Turbo is taken to the sanctum, despite not being referenced as doing anything in particular to keep them away from the bridge or the search parties. Indeed, the latter scene seems to show Nick is the only person free to watch the bridge. It is possible a minor subplot featuring the pair was excised.
- The Guardians' reactions to Turbo being gently tipped into a hole by a guy they were so star-struck with seconds before that they didn't bother asking his name are incredibly OTT.
Animation and technical errors[edit | edit source]
- Hilariously, Turbo's animation cel is behind the operating table slab in the "Previously on..." segment, making it appear as if the operating robot knocked him off the table and just started repairing him on the floor.
- Blaster's head is miscolored when he flies out of the Command Center.
- Scorp's head is all black when he and Vamp are trapped in Leader-1's cell.
- When Scooter is about ready to reactivate the "Last Engineer", Leader-1's mouth moves for both his lines and Scooter's.
- Blaster is colored like his first toy (and weirdly textured) when Matt rushes past him at the Master Renegade.
Real-world references[edit | edit source]
Trivia[edit | edit source]
- In a surprising break away from his usual vanilla personality Leader-1 snaps tersely at Matt when the human reacts to Vamp, which is fair enough as he's trying to avoided pyroclastic flows at that precise moment.
- Despite substantial appearances neither Vamp nor Scorp are named on-screen.
- There appear to be GoBot sized condiments onboard the Guardian ship; the Cafeteria lives!
