Scooter Enhanced
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| "Scooter Enhanced" | |||||||||
| Production code | 0142-8521 | ||||||||
| Production company | Hanna-Barbera | ||||||||
| Airdate | October 24, 1985 | ||||||||
| Story by | Jeff Segal, Kelly Ward, and Mark Young | ||||||||
| Teleplay by | Mark Young | ||||||||
| Animation studio | Wang Film Productions | ||||||||
Scooter trades in his holo-projector for something with more firepower.
Synopsis[edit | edit source]
Nick, A.J., Small Foot, and Scooter attend a stunt car rally, but their afternoon entertainment turns to trouble when one of the garbage trucks being jumped by driver Dolby Danger turns out to the Renegade Fly Trap in disguise! Crasher and BuggyMan immediately crash into the stadium to join Fly Trap in causing havoc on the track, forcing the two Guardians to intervene, whereupon Crasher reveals they have come to capture A.J. and Nick. Scooter's lack of weaponry means he is unable to defend himself and his friends against the Renegade madwoman, and he winds up taking a hit that damages his hologram projector. Though the quick-thinking Small Foot is able to rescue Nick and A.J. from Fly Trap clutches by using her cable winch to trip him up, the heroes remain outnumbered and surrounded until help then arrives in the form of Leader-1 and Turbo in their Power Suits. The enhanced abilities of the suits allow them to quickly rout the Renegades, and Scooter is taken back to the Command Center for repairs.
With Leader-1 unable to repair Scooter's holo-projector, the little Guardian has to be Astrobeamed to GoBotron so Professor von Joy can tend to him. Scooter takes the opportunity to request that a set of hand-blasters be added to his armament, the installation of which requires the removal of his holo-projector entirely. Scooter is thrilled with the new weapons, but starts getting too big for his boots, shirking his duties back on Earth—like repairing a power surge problem in the Command Center—in favor of target practise so he can be ready to take on the Renegades at the next opportunity. Incensed at his minions' failure to execute Crasher's kidnapping plan, Cy-Kill determines to rob the Guardians of their Power Suit advantage once and for all. While Screw Head creates a distraction by attacking UNECOM's satellite tracking station in Hawaii, drawing out Leader-1 and Turbo, Cy-Kill, Crasher, and Scorp strike the Command Center, manned only by Scooter and Small Foot. Scooter rushes to confront the villains, only for his lack of control of his new weapons to prove his undoing, as his attack goes wild and destroys the communications console, preventing the two Guardians from calling for help. Cy-Kill radios Cop-Tur and Bad Boy to initiate their attack on an Alaskan UNECOM station to continue keeping Leader-1 and Turbo occupied, then throws Scooter in a detention cell, and tries to force Small Foot to release the Power Suits from the security grid they are locked behind.
Scooter affects an escape by exploiting the power surge problem he failed to fix, zapping the energy bars of his cell with his blasters and causing them to overload and shut down. Unfortunately, the surge also deactivates the grid protecting the Power Suits, which prompts Cy-Kill to recall Cop-Tur and Bad Boy, instructing them to meet up with his team at Thruster. Scooter realizes he needs to distract the villains to keep them from donning the suits, but without his holo-projector, he has to fall back on the voice-mimicking talents he often uses in concert with his illusions. Impersonating Leader-1 from the other side of a doorway, he baffles Cy-Kill just long enough for Small Foot to slip out of his clutches. The two Guardians then make a break for the Command Center's exit, which is guarded by Crasher; Scooter repeats his trick, this time imitating Cy-Kill to get Crasher away from the door, but the real Cy-Kill and Scorp catch up to them before they can escape through it. Fortunately, Leader-1 and Turbo arrive to aid their comrades, having deduced from Cop-Tur and Bad Boy's quick exist in Alaska what Cy-Kill was up to, and the Renegades are forced to retreat without the Power Suits.
Realizing where his true talents lie, Scooter Astrobeams back to GoBotron to have his blasters removed and his holo-projector restored. He reveals to his teammates that his old powers are back by disguising himself as a pizza delivery guy, whose presence in the Command Center shocks everyone... then finally gets to work fixing that power surge problem, with a little help from Small Foot!
Featured characters[edit | edit source]
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Guardians | Renegades | Humans |
|---|---|---|
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Quotes[edit | edit source]
"Don't make me... laugh! AhahahahahaHAAAAA-HAHA!!"
- —Oh, Crasher
"The plan... almost worked."
"And you're almost pathetic!"
- —Fly Trap and Cy-Kill
"I'm going to blast you two pests into GoBits!"
- —Cy-Kill threatens Scooter and Small Foot
Notes[edit | edit source]
Continuity notes[edit | edit source]
- In broadcast order, "Scooter Enhanced" features the (silent) debut of Renegade Thunderbolt Bad Boy. Chronologically, the character will later appear in the "GoBotron Saga" mini-series, the events of which take place prior to this episode.
- Previously intimated in "Dawn World," this episode is the first broadcast to state that (despite what the opening sequence of the series shows) Scooter does not possess hand-blasters like the other GoBots. Oddly, this information is treated by the show as if it is an established fact that the audience should be aware of already. More than likely, it was part of the biographical information for Scooter included in the series bible, and just happened to never be clearly established on-screen before this episode decided to make a plot point out of it.
- Scooter's vocal mimicry was previously seen in "The Final Conflict," where he employed the spot-on impression of Cy-Kill he uses to dupe Crasher in this episode.
- Gadgets and Powers:
- Scooter's sensors are able to detect Renegade frequencies in the area.
- Fly Trap's garbage bin has a tow truck-style hook that can snag cars, pulling them in to be crushed in his compactor.
- Scooter has a soldering wand in his chest that extends on a robot arm.
- Small Foot can fire energy blasts from her chest in addition to her hands.
- Scooter's damaged holo-projector turns him into a fire hydrant, desk and lamp, Leader-1, drum set, and hot dog stand.
- Small Foot can fire a retractable lasso rope from her chest as well.
- Turbo demonstrates what looks like x-ray vision, spotting BuggyMan through a solid wall. This may not be a literal visual, though; it might be intended to represent the enhanced sensor system of his Power Suit, but if so, the animation depicts him wearing the wrong one: the P-3 is the suit with enhanced sensors, while Turbo is wearing the P-4 Firepower Enhancement model. Plus, he actually disengages the suit's cockpit before engaging the x-ray vision.
- When his holo-projector is restored, Scooter uses it to pose as a pizza delivery guy.
Real-world references[edit | edit source]
- Crasher quotes W.C. Fields when she orders Scooter "Get away from me, kid, you bother me!" — the second time the show has made this reference.
- "You talkin' to me?" Scooter asks an imaginary Cy-Kill and Crasher as he tests out his new blasters, quoting Travis Bickle from the 1976 movie Taxi Driver.
Continuity and plotting errors[edit | edit source]
- After a run of episodes at the beginning of the series that kept the contents and look of Scooter's chest cavity consistent, this episode is just the latest in a bunch of stories that doesn't bother, giving his chest interior a different design, and a telescopic arm with a soldering iron on the end, rather than his computer interface cable. In act two, however, when von Joy is tinkering around inside his chest, it's back to the on-model look seen in those early episodes.
- Again, the Power Suit designs and features lack continuity. Leader-1 appears to be wearing the P-1 Telekinetic Enhancement model, but describes its enhancements as Mega-Blasters, typically from the P-4.
- Von Joy directs Scooter to "read the instructions manuals." That ought to be "instructions" or "instruction manual." It might just be intended to be a linguistic quirk to go along with his accent, but he doesn't make any other such goofs.
- Why did Leader-1 leave Scooter and Small Foot behind to guard the Command Center while he and Turbo flew to Hawaii? Instead of, you know...flying the Command Center to Hawaii?
- While formulating his plan, Cy-Kill assigns Bad Boy and Scorp to attack the Alaska installation, but when the plan actually goes into motion, Scorp goes with him to the Command Center, and Cop-Tur joins Bad Boy in the Alaska attack.
- The episode ends with Small Foot calling Scooter his traditional nickname of "Scoot," followed by Scooter correcting her: "The name is Scooter... but you can call me Scoot!" There's absolutely zero set up for this exchange anywhere else in the episode, like Scooter objecting to the nickname, or having any kind of conflict with Small Foot that would give the line meaning.
Animation and technical errors[edit | edit source]
- A.J.'s lipstick disappears when she isn't speaking right before Fly Trap grabs them.
- Although his Power Suit always has a glass canopy, Leader-1's suit flips between the P-1 and P-3 designs. Approximately.
- Fly Trap's pupils are uncolored as he opens fire on Leader-1.
- Professor von Joy is drawn as always holding his gun, even when using his gun-holding hand to adjust Scooter's innards, in an excessively literal interpretation of his character model by the animators. This didn't happen in his two previous appearances in the series, but will become a recurring error in future episodes.
- As Screw Head talks while stealing the satellite dish, his mouth doesn't move.
- As Scooter grumbles after he is ordered to stay behind in the Command Center, his mouth isn't connected to his wide "upper lip," making him look like he's got a mustache or something.
- When Leader-1 raises his head after realizing what Cy-Kill is up to, a duplicate animation cel of his head is visible peeping out from underneath it.
- Leader-1's chest radio keeps flashing after he stops trying to reach the Command Center.
- As Leader-1 and Turbo head off to Alaska, Matt's clothes are colored like Nick's (an orange jacket and brown pants, instead of Matt's tan jacket and blue pants).
- When Small Foot and Scooter make their bid for freedom, the background painting doesn't match up with their movements; it shows the exit on the right of the screen, while the characters drive toward the center.
- The steam rising from the pizza that's part of Scooter's final hologram stops moving once Scooter stops walking.
Home video releases[edit | edit source]
- DVD
2015 — Challenge of the GoBots — The Series, Volume One (Warner Archive Collection, USA)
