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01-27-2012, 01:44 PM | #1 |
Bridge Layer Driver
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Ft. Wadsworth
Posts: 737
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Here's my review of the original 1983 five-parter. Called either "GI Joe: A Real American Hero" or "The MASS Device". For some reason, I always think about this series on off-days. I get back from a morning walk and think: "I should watch that today". But I never did... until last week.
As much as I dig old GI joe crap, to me the cartoons were a steaming pile. But this one doesn't dive into stupidity until late in the fourth part. The first three episodes are full of so much stuff ...and they don't even yell "Yo joe"! Characters are given equal attention and it's such a great hook. Aside from the spotlight on Duke, Scarlett and Snake-Eyes. They just scratch the surface by giving guys like Snow Job, Stalker and Torpedo big roles (Gung Ho really doesn't become significant until the fourth part). Plus complimentary roles from Breaker, Tripwire, Clutch, Steeler and Short Fuse. Flash has a sizable part as well, but doesn't have a voice actor. It sells the whole concept of a "team" and makes you think a million additional stories could be told. Of course, that was all shot when the daily cartoon premiered in 1985.. but oh well. Lame Reminiscing Stuff: Mid-way through the third part (episode) is the moment that blew my mind as a kid. I came home from school on Wednesday in September 1983 around 3:45 and flicked on the TV (to cable's WGN), expecting to see another re-run of Buggs Bunny, Scooby Doo or Woody Woodpecker. Afternoon syndicated TV had been full of leftover cartoons from the 60's and 70's. No "fresh" content had been produced. I had one of those old TV's that took awhile to warm up and turn-on completely. I heard the audio, first, and there was something about "deep-sea diving"...I thought a re-run of Gilligan's Island was on. In reality, it was the middle of the third episode. Then the picture kicked in...and it cut to the famous GI Joe bumper. A flying star and some stripes came across the screen, then a voice-over said: "GI Joe will return after these messages". I could not believe it. I think I shrieked: "IT'S a SHOWWWWW!!!" I had no idea the cartoon was in production and it was a total shock to me. Sure, we had been teased for over a year with the comic book commercials, but this was a dream come true for me. When the commercials were over, it returned to a scene of Snake-Eyes, off on his own like he had done in the comics. Then another comic book element in the form of the Baroness came on. I felt liberated. No more Scooby Doo re-runs and Looney Tunes. From now on, I could come home and watch GI FRICKIN' JOE on the amazing-ness of cable TV! Of course, that Friday I was on the playground and told a friend about it. I thought I was so cool, because I was watching this awesome cartoon on CABLE. Nobody else had cable or knew about WGN. My friend said: "oh yeah, it's also on regular TV, Channel 2, at 4:30". WHAT?! You mean it's on local TV?! At 4:30 and I've been missing full episodes?! (School let out at 3:30 every day). Suddenly, I didn't feel so cool. The next week, we were both disappointed that the GI Joe cartoon was GONE. It wasn't on cable. It wasn't on regular TV. What had happened? We felt like the kid in "Lizard Music" who had stumbled on a weird, one-time only, TV occurrence. We didn't know that it was only a 5-part "test season". We thought a full season was out there, somewhere, airing daily. Of course, there were the rumors afterwards. Stuff like: "my cousin lives in Maryland and he says it's on everyday. They just had Kwinn on!" So we'd scour the TV listings in hopes of seeing it again. As it was known to do, the 5-parter returned just in time for Christmas (coincidentally or not, the last school week before Christmas Break). It then returned sometime around Spring Break and again maybe in the summer (but who the hell watched TV in the summer?). When it returned in Christmas, we kinda' knew it was just a 5-part "season" and that was all there was. Other things I noted: -The whole thing takes place over the course of about three days. Cobra gives a firm deadline for their next MASS attack and the timing element is touched upon several times. -If I understood the MASS device correctly, it's basically a big teleportation device. But what happened to the Eiffel Tower? It gets zapped and disappears... but then it returns at the end of the show (when Breaker sends it to London accidentally). Where was it, in between?! I'm No-Prizing it and guess that the MASS Device basically digitized everything and it could be stored on a local hard drive until needed again. So could you copy the Eiffel Tower on a USB device and put it on your keychain. T -But wait...does that men you could COPY files as well? Ehh..I'm thinking too much into it. -Flash actually carries a flame thrower, not a laser rifle. -The Joes' guns make machine-gun sounds as they're fired; not the wimpy lasers from later seasons. Cobra seems to be exclusively laser, though. -In the first part, Cobra launches an aerial attack and the Joes respond. Several Cobra jets are blown away and... NOBODY EJECTS! I didn't notice the first ejection until the fifth part (from a helicopter no less) . -Destro is straight from a Marvel super-villain. He's depicted as incredibly strong (punches a stone wall easily) and calculating. At several points, he cites himself as being separated from Cobra. Like: "the world will fear Destro...and Cobra". -Major Bludd is a total flunky and basically the "field general" of the Cobra troops. -Cobra preys on superstitions of the locals and seems to have taken over a whole area (I'm thinking somewhere in South America). -Favorite Cobra Commander line: "you've wasted millions of our stolen dollars, Destro!" -I always thought it silly that the "Sea of Ice" location for the first MASS element was in a mine full of Cobra stuff. But Cobra had been doing this "MASS project" for awhile and had been in the mine, before. Thus, the blast shields, tram and robots. -Snake-Eyes makes the second and third parts all by himself with his "Charlie Mike" insistence. He seemingly "dies" in a scene borrowed from Star Trek II. It's a favorite scene of Joe fans, because Scarlett cries as he seals himself off. This was probably the only time in the cartoons that they hinted at a Scarlett/Snake-Eyes thing. Snakes also makes a friend when he saves "Timber" from a bear trap. All of these show why Snake-Eyes was such a bad-ass: he single-handedly saves the team and completes the mission, swoons the hot chick and gains a loyal canine friend. Notice that Snake-Eyes doesn't get a dog...he gets a frickin' wild wolf. -The weird, semi-bad-ass, old man who helps Snake-Eyes and gives Timber his name. He's another total Marvel element and was never seen or heard from again. I kinda' suspect that part of him was borrowed from Kwinn. -When Snake-Eyes returns to the team, there's always fan-talk about why Cover Girl knew the wolf's name was "Timber". Well, Cover Girl was the first one to find Snake-Eyes, so she colud've simply asked him: "who's your friend?" Snake-Eyes knew sign language and also how to WRITE. So there's the answer. -They really sped things up with the sudden returns of Duke and Snake-Eyes to HQ. -Well-know that Cover Girl's a blonde in this series. So how'd she end up with short brown hair for the rest of the show? No-Prize Explanation: she dyed her hair; either brown or blonde depending on which natural color you'd prefer her to have. -If I had to score the exact point of where it begins to get silly, it'd be the fourth episode with the meteor extraction and the Heli-carrier fight. Ace and Duke miraculously create a net between two Sky-Strikers. Then, Snake-Eyes hops out of helicopter with a jet-pack...and signals to Timber who jumps right into his arms. Maybe it was because it was over 60% into the show and things had begun to wear on me, but at this point it began to lose some of its appeal. -It seems that Torpedo joins the "ground troops" in the grand finale. Yet he's not wearing his familiar wet-suit, rather BLUE JEANS and a WHITE T-SHIRT! -When I first saw this, I remember saying: "Duke has Bruce Banner's voice" and "Scarlett has Betty's"... I used to watch the Saturday morning Spider-Man/Hulk show regularly, so I also noticed the similar animation elements and sound effects. "The same guys work on each show". To a young kid, it's somewhat enlightened to notice the differences and similarities between animation studios.
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>>Chuck X Goren's GI Joe Comic Book Index<< |
01-27-2012, 09:10 PM | #2 |
Iron Grenadier
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Tampa, Florida
Posts: 612
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I had some of the toys before it first aired. And, waited all sumer to watch it. I caught every show of ARAH, mass device. And, after I watched that first mini series it wasn't only star wars that interested me, it was GI JOE. I remember my local tv station re aired that original mini series again, and I watched it every time it re aired. So as an adult, when I got the chance to buy it again on DVD, I was ecstatic. I can't even count how many times I've watched it. I may take a break watching it for a year or so. But, every once in a while I have to watch it again.
But, to answer one of your questions about where the monuments cobra stole went. They did not go to limbo. There is a scene at cobra temple that shows all of the monuments in what seems like a back yard. And, when the joes take the temple, they use the rest of the catylitic elements in cobra's device to transport them back. |
03-24-2012, 07:08 PM | #3 |
Cobra Viper
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: los angeles
Posts: 288
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I wasn't even aware of the MASS Device ARAH pilot until it was on VHS but around the time 'The Revenge Of Cobra' which I missed on TV but my mom had rented the VHS for me.
It would've been nice if a whole season of 13 episodes were produced in 1983 then more focus would've been placed on the original Joes. |
03-24-2012, 07:42 PM | #4 |
Cobra Viper
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Michigan
Posts: 151
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Agreed. I would have liked that.
Last edited by shockwave71; 03-24-2012 at 08:26 PM.. |
03-24-2012, 07:46 PM | #5 |
Banned
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: MOC/MISB
Posts: 1,097
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Problem is you probably weren't born or old enough to remember this when it was actually on tv. A lot of guys try to always "review" AKA "shit-on" Sunbow. If you were an elementary school kid at that time, there was nothing cooler. Me and EVERY guy in my class rushed home everyday to watch, and gathered in the lunchroom the next day to talk about how cool it was. Judging by the "top selling male toy" designation Joe got AFTER Sunbow, I'd say they did something right. I don't think it was meant for anal adults.
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06-15-2012, 01:15 PM | #6 |
Bridge Layer Driver
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Ft. Wadsworth
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Quote:
Problem is you probably weren't born or old enough to remember this when it was actually on tv. A lot of guys try to always "review" AKA "shit-on" Sunbow. If you were an elementary school kid at that time, there was nothing cooler. Me and EVERY guy in my class rushed home everyday to watch, and gathered in the lunchroom the next day to talk about how cool it was. Judging by the "top selling male toy" designation Joe got AFTER Sunbow, I'd say they did something right. I don't think it was meant for anal adults.
It does get silly in the 4th part, but it's nowhere near as silly as the 1985 stuff. When the 1985 full season premiered, my friends and I were rather disappointed, as it didn't seem to live up to the potential shown in "MASS Device" (or even "Revenge of Cobra"). We liked seeing GI Joe on our screen, everyday, in living color... but the show became a joke to us, with "Yo Joe", the helicopter ejections, story-lines and other stuff.
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03-08-2013, 12:30 PM | #7 |
Arashikage Apprentice
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Tucson AZ USA
Posts: 28
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I really dug this as a kid until I read the comics. Re-watching it recently on Netflix reminded me why after going to the comics I never really watched the show anymore.
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03-08-2013, 12:41 PM | #8 |
Sith/Jedi Hybrid
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Middle TN
Posts: 3,197
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I was a huge fan of the comics (had every issue) and consider that the #1 canon. However, I love the Sunbow cartoon. I still watch the reruns every night on the Hub. Despite the cheesiness, I think it holds up pretty damn well compared to most of the crap being produced today. There are actually some deep storylines in some of the episodes. But the MASS Device holds a special place in my heart because that is what got it all started. I remember getting home from school one day and finding GI Joe on TV....I think I almost pooped my pants I was so excited. When the actual daily show started after the third miniseries, I was overjoyed.
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"I can't promise I'll try...but I'll try to try." BUY/SELL/TRADE: http://www.hisstank.com/forum/g-i-jo...ell-trade.html Feedback: http://www.hisstank.com/forum/buy-se...th-awgmon.html |
03-08-2013, 05:26 PM | #9 |
Cobra Viper
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: AMERICA!
Posts: 255
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The MASS DEVICE are my favorite episodes of GI Joe because the story is spot on and has aged well for something from 1983. The animation is at its best at that point and it focuses on characters i like such as Duke, Snake Eyes, Gung ho, Scarlet, and Ace. Although i like characters from 84 and 85 it kind of gets annoying how much screen time Flint and Lady Jaye take up later on. The first time i saw this was in 6th grade when i bought the DVDs before Rise of Cobra came out. But yeah i love these episodes only if there were more episodes made in 1983 and 84
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03-15-2013, 03:18 AM | #10 |
Cobra Viper
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: los angeles
Posts: 288
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The Rhino and Shout Factory have season 1 by order of airdate but if one were to follow the first 8 episodes by production code it appears they could've been intended for a 1984 season as they feature Joes from '83-'84 and the music heard is from the first two mini-series.
Makes sense to if you add the 5-part ROC miniseries and the 8 by production code they total up to 13 for a full season. - Cobra's Creatures - Countdown For Zartan - Cobra Soundwaves - Cobra Stops The World - Jungle Trap - Haul Down The Heavens - Battle For The Train Of Gold - Operation Mind Menace |
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