Episode-A-Day! MASK, Ep. 14: “Assault On Liberty”

Welcome back to another episode of MASK. Two full weeks into this with plenty more to go, but you know how things end up going by quicker than you imagined.

Today’s episode is titled, “Assault on Liberty” which is another really intense title for an episode. Like I said before, some of these titles are just really great and it’s a shame that the writing doesn’t live up to them in a lot of cases.

That seems to be the case in a lot of older cartoons, however. There wasn’t a lot of episodic storytelling as most shows featured one and done storylines. Multi-parters, such as the initial five-episode debut of “The Adventures Of Teddy Ruxpin” or the multi-episode arc in “Thundercats” where they discovered that there were more Thunderans who had lived were awesome in the way they kept you wanting more simply because it was so different from the standard fare being presented at the time.

I’m very vocal about my love of “The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes” and the reason for that has a lot to do with the episodic storytelling of the first season. It also served as my introduction to almost all things Avengers since I was never a big comic guy, but the writing was awesome and, as the story progressed, you couldn’t help but want the next episode right away.

We’ll see if we get any multi-part arcs as we go (I genuinely don’t know whether we do or don’t) with MASK, but for now, here we are finishing out our second week!

Plot:

Matt, Scott and T-Bob are at a live magic show at the Statue of Liberty where Wondro, the magician, will attempt to make the Statue disappear. He does indeed make it vanish, but when he attempts to bring it back, the Statue is gone and his magic proves futile.

Trakker begins talking with government officials to figure out a way to find the statue when it is shown on the news in the middle of a cornfield in Iowa.

MASK is dispatched to Iowa, but it becomes immediately evident that it’s a well-disguised trap by VENOM. It’s not a real statue, but a hologram and the area is rigged with explosives to try to put an end to MASK foiling VENOM’s plans over and over again.

Gloria is able to use her mask to provide a force shield to protect MASK from the explosion, but Miles Mayhem is demanding $3 billion in ransom money in a three-hour timeframe which gives MASK almost no time to get back to NYC from Iowa.

Oh, I’m sorry, did someone say “Ransom”?

Somehow, MASK is able to get back to NY in time to try to thwart VENOM, and are able to find that the Statue is being hidden underground in an unfinished subway tunnel. MASK heads there to find it, but Matt finds an energy signal in a building in Manhattan that he follows up with.

The subway tunnel is rigged with traps and explosives designed to keep MASK away, but they’re able to soldier on only to find the Statue rigged with explosives and an antenna that suggests that it will be detonated remotely. Matt traces the energy signature and surprises Miles and Vanessa in a control room.

MASK is trying desperately to deactivate the bombs attached to the Statue and Gloria is using her mask to try to scramble the radio frequencies from allowing the remote detonator to work. MASK barely beats the clock as they are able to use Lifter to throw the final bomb harmlessly into the sky just before the time runs out.

Thoughts:

Easily the best episode to date. There were genuine stakes and VENOM, ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS, tries to kill MASK with bombs! MASK is able to pull through with teamwork and ingenuity, but not before having to overcome what appeared to be a stacked deck against them. A very nice roller coaster of emotions in these 22 minutes.

PSA:

Matt and Scott recall an earlier PSA about crossing the street from the corner, but add that wearing bright clothing makes you more visible to drivers, especially when it’s dark out. Solid advice.

Final Grade:

**** on the Meltzer! Like I said, easily the best episode. Had a heat, babyface fire, a hope spot and a comeback. Great elements in a great episode.

Tomorrow we begin Week 3 as we continue the march to 65! This was a great way to close out the week and hopefully, we get a lot more like this one. See you tomorrow.

❤ Joe

Episode-A-Day! MASK, Ep. 13: “The Creeping Terror”

Still catching up to get back on schedule, but here we are with MASK, Ep. 13! This one is called, “The Creeping Terror”. I give this show credit for having some pretty intense episode titles.

Plot:

We open in a cavern where some huge eggs are beginning to hatch. Cut to a scene where two third-world natives are traveling by boat transporting a decent amount of food back to their village where they encounter the monsters from the eggs who look to be tremendous caterpillars.

The men escape and flee back to their village where they warn everybody including MASK’s Matt and Alex who are there opening a new hospital that Matt has graciously paid for. Matt and Alex begin investigating and come across the hatched egg shells and immediately call in the MASK agents best suited for this mission.

VENOM agents see them snooping around and try to chase them off, but MASK has bigger problems as the caterpillars surround Hondo and his truck which also has Scott and T-Bob inside. MASK is able to relax momentarily by throwing their food at the catepillars and getting them to leave. MASK discovers the monsters were genetically altered as a way for VENOM to get them to clear the land to unveil an ancient village that had been covered up by generations of vegetation.

VENOM has been tracking a mythical crystal that, once found, will give them unlimited power. Mayhem activates the crystal, but it becomes immediately unstable and VENOM flees. MASK tracks it and runs into the cave trying to destroy the crystal, but to no avail. VENOM, having seen MASK run in, barricade the the cave opening to trap MASK.

When neither Matt or Hondo’s mask can do anything to stop the crystal, Brad uses his Hocus Pocus mask to creat a hologram of a coconut so the caterpillars will chase it and eat the crystal. The world is saved.

Thoughts:

Giant genetically-altered caterpillars? Whoa. This shit is crazy. But, yo, where the hell did Matt Trakker make all his money that he can build a hospital in a third world country, pay for all this MASK shit and never seem to go to work or have some kind of businesses bringing in the bucks? I dunno, man. Seems sus.

And why does VENOM’s evil plans always intersect with the exotic locations that Matt is traveling to? At some point, you’d think either Matt or Miles Mayhem would back off for a bit and just take some time away from constantly engaging in group warfare to try to get something done on the other side of the world. At this point, it’s not even coincidence.

PSA:

Don’t sit on the handlebars while someone is riding a bike. It’s dangerous and someone could get hurt. Solid advice.

Final Grade:

** 1/2*. Pretty similar episode to the one before, although this one had the addition of giant, plant-eating caterpillars. Nice twist there. I never saw that coming.

OK, so we’re pretty much back on track and later today, we’ll catch up and close out week 2 of MASK. Moving along nicely!

❤ Joe

 

Episode-A-Day! MASK, Ep.12: “Solaria Park”

Hey everybody and welcome to another episode of MASK. I apologize that we broke our streak. I was traveling and forgot my MASK notes at home and then the trip went to shit and I needed to sleep desperately, but I’m here now and I bring with me some more MASK goodness. We’ll get back on schedule for all of you who are hanging tight to the world of MASK.

Plot:

Matt & Scott Trakker along with T-Bob and Bruce as sailing in the Greek Islands. Scott and T-Bob are worn out from all the work that goes into sailing so Matt gives them a day off to sit around and do nothing and leaves them with Bruce while he goes to explore.

Minutes after Matt leaves, the ship catches fire and Bruce and the annoying sidekicks are forced to jump overboard and swim to shore. Bruce and Matt suspect foul play since the fire began on the top sails and begin searching for what could have caused this. They are immediately engaged by VENOM who just happens to be setting up shop in the exact place Matt and company were for a little vacay.

Matt is able to escape from VENOM and calls in for reinforcements. Poor Brad is once again forced to stop recording his sweet new guitar tracks and run off to join MASK.

The good guys believe the attack to have come from a new amusement park called Solaria Park that isn’t set to open for another week, but they decide to check it out. Turns out, it’s a fake park that is set up with mirror upon mirrors everywhere. VENOM is actually behind the park and – upon seeing MASK snooping around – flip the transformer switch as the entire ground the park is built on begins to erupt into the world’s largest solar panel centered by a huge statue of Zeus holding a lightning bolt which acts as the heat ray.

MASK immediately devise a plan to drive Matt’s Thunderhawk car loaded with bombs into the base of the Zeus statue that will force the park to crumble before Mayhem can fully charge his heat weapon.

It goes off without a hitch and VENOM is, once again, foiled.

Thoughts:

It’s really bad luck that MASK and VENOM just happened to end up in the same part Crazy, even. If you’re Miles Mayhem, you have to be wondering what the fucking odds of that could possibly be.

I’m also consistently amazed in MASK’s ability to get their people and machinery to wherever in the world they need to be with zero trouble. Seriously, I couldn’t even get to Detroit this weekend, but MASK was somehow able to get an entire team and fleet of vehicles to Greece.

That being said, the Simpsons totally ripped this off when Mr. Burns wanted to block out the sun. Only here, Mayhem was going to harness the sun to use as a heat weapon. Kinda the same. Both insanely devious.

PSA:

For the first time, there was no PSA! In its place was a quick clip of Scott working on a car that would become the new Thunderhawk since Matt sacrificed his car to destroy the Zeus statue.

Final Grade:

**  1/2*. Standard MASK fare, but they were able to destroy this super weapon entirely too easily. Probably could have cut out the first sequence where VENOM engages Matt and Bruce and made the end scene a bit more involved.

So there’s Ep. 12 and I’ll be back ASAP with Ep. 13 to get us back on schedule. So, if you follow this blog, you’ll be seeing a bunch of MASK posts in rapid fire delivery.

❤ Joe

Episode-A-Day! MASK: Ep. 11, “The Magma Mole”

Welcome back to today’s episode of MASK! Today we continue with the long-running feud between Matt Trakker and Miles Mayhem with “The Magma Mole”!

Plot:

Matt, Scott, T-Bob and Bruce are sightseeing in Japan and mention that VENOM is known to be in the area. Suddenly, a tsunami hits and causes major flooding. Matt and Bruce go searching for the source of the tsunami and find a shiny, mineral substance that apparently was recently . Matt calls in the MASK agents best suited to this situation.

Brad runs out of band practice without saying a word to any of his bandmates the moment he gets the call. I’m shocked he still has a band to call his own with how often he runs out on these guys.

MASK uses geology equipment to find a secret VENOM tunnel where they first encounter The Magma Mole: a giant, drilling vehicle operated by Miles Mayhem. Gloria is able to use her mask to interrupt the drilling, but Miles escapes.

Matt uses Spectrum (his fancy mask with such supervision) to find a soft spot in the cave to escape the flooding in the cave. VENOM begins drilling again in an attempt to unleash an intense volcano, but Matt is able to use Spectrum vibration to stop the drill at which point, VENOM flees and swears comeuppance next time. Seriously, every time Matt uses Spectrum for anything, I’m instantly reminded of “Wonderboy” by Tenacious D where Jack Black yells out, “That’s telekinesis, Kyle!”

Thoughts: 

Whoa!!! Talk about starting hot! This episode jumps right into the action with the tsunami and it’s a nonstop roller coaster for 22 minutes! OK, maybe not THAT intense, but this was pretty good, although I’m starting to have my doubts that Miles Mayhem will ever be able to overcome the tenacity of MASK.

PSA:

We get another repeat! This one reminds us to check the depth of the water before diving. Solid advice.

Final Grade:

*** 1/4*. Standard babyface vs. heel stuff here. Pretty good story. The new locale was certainly a welcome change as there’s only so much of generic, desolate, mountainous town I can take. There’s probably a MASK fansite where I can find all this info, but I figure that, if the show wanted me to know, it’d tell me. Bad enough I had to search for an origin story.

Oh, well. That’s enough for today. We are officially 17% of the way through MASK. Tomorrow we make that…more than 17%.

❤ Joe

Episode-A-Day! MASK Ep. 10: “Death From The Sky”

Welcome to another Episode-A-Day feature on CarJoeMez! Today, we’re into double digits! It’s episode of MASK with the demonic title of, “Death From The Sky”!

Plot:

VENOM captures Air Force 1 using a tractor beam and demands a ransom of $25m in gold to be delivered into their Swiss bank account by the Peaceful Nations Alliance. Right off the bat, I’m fucking hooked because it makes me think of Mel Gibson in the classic, RANSOM!

You have no idea how often I continue to quote this.

Where was I? Oh! MASK…right.

Yeah, so, Matt Trakker is watching the news and sees that VENOM is up to no good so he summons the MASK agents best suited for this mission. MASK is able to catch an SOS from the Army, but not before VENOM is able to steal a top-secret magnet that will enhance their tractor beam and allow Miles Mayhem to control a comet and destroy the planet.

Trakker uses the MASK computer to track VENOM’s broadcast location and the team squads battle it out. VENOM ends up retreating as MASK blows up the weapon and the comet is then sent off track and no longer poses a threat to Earth while Mayhem flies away basically shaking his fist like Dr. Claw pledging that he’ll win next time.

Thoughts: 

I loved this. It was pure 80s cheese done well and allowed me to reference both Mel Gibson and Inspector Gadget, both of which I love. I hope every episode going forward allows me to do the same.

PSA:

Ride with traffic when on a bicycle. Solid advice.

Final Grade:

*** 1/2* on the Meltzer! A new record for a MASK episode! Definitely my favorite episode thus far and hopefully more will stay along the tone of this one.

Episode-A-Day! MASK, Ep. 9: “The Oz Effect”

It’s episode 9! We’re really doing this, people! If only I could force myself to stick to a gym routine like I do for this shit. Anyway, here’s MASK, Episode 9: “The Oz Effect”.

Plot:

During what appears to be a tribal harvest ceremony, “The Wind God” is heard condemning the tribespeople for not worshipping him correctly and he sends a tornado to destroy their village.

A reporter loses her tape recorder during the tornado, but – when recovered – it exposed the Wind God as a devious device used by VENOM. MASK assembles their crew and interrupts Brad from buying a new guitar so he can join them. I guess all those guitars he never finishes tuning weren’t enough.

MASK sends an agent undercover as an aborigine to get trapped in VENOM’s next attack so he can lead MASK directly to VENOM’s hideout. The Wind God attacks another village and MASK tries to counterattack, but VENOM’s tornado captures the town and leaves MASK horribly wrecked.

Matt Trakker uses his Spectrum mask to track the tornado’s ion signature where leads them to Mayhem’s secret hideaway where it’s learned that VENOM is doing this to corner the world’s emerald market. Kayyyyyyyyyyyyyyy.

The two sides do battle again with MASK coming ahead this time and replacing the villages and, I suppose, the world’s supply of emeralds.

Thoughts:

I liked that MASK felt some serious consequences for a change after the first battle. It’s about time VENOM came out ahead in something. I would have liked Miles Mayhem to make his intentions clearer earlier in the episode, but not everything’s perfect.

The Wind God was weird AF and I’d love to know where we keep finding little aborigine villages like this all over.

PSA:

Don’t stick forks in toasters. Solid advice.

Final Grade:

** 1/4* on the Meltzer. Not horrible, but a lot of questioning what the end game was for Mayhem here could have made it confusing. I also don’t know why Trakker didn’t just use Spectrum to track the ion signature of the tornadoes in the first place.

Whatevs.

So, we’re in a good groove now with a few days of solid episodes and becoming more comfortable with the characters and their motives. We keep rolling tomorrow.

❤ Joe

Episode-A-Day! MASK: Ep. 8, “The Roteks”

Holy smokes, we actually made it to week 2 of MASK-a-day. That’s impressive. I’m impressed. So, what began as a struggle as perked up over the past few days and maybe the show is hitting its stride. Or maybe I’m finally beginning to care about these characters since they never gave me a reason to early on. I don’t know. Either way, things have been better.

So we began our second week of MASK with Episode 8, “The Roteks”!

Plot:

Matt and Scott Trakker and T-Bob go camping in the woods. Things are looking to be relaxing and fun until some experimental metal-eating insects start feasting on everything possible. Matt immediately calls in the best-suited MASK agents for this mission.

Poor Brad once again runs out without tuning his guitar further emphasizing that he’ll never get to that next level of rock stardom.

As it turns out, VENOM stole the insects (The Rotoks) from the military and stashed them in the woods for safe-keeping until they were ready to use them to carry out their maniacal plan.

MASK devises a way to use the Rotoks against VENOM, but Mayhem uses a homing device to collect them all back into their container before escaping with the Rotoks. This begins a chase through long, mountainous highways where MASK uses a bird-caller to override VENOM’s homing signal and set the Rotoks on VENOM. MASK wins and I assume returns the Rotoks to the military.

Thoughts:

I am shocked that these bugs eat metal, but have no interest in the sweet taste of human flesh. Like, none of the people involved in this are even remotely concerned with being bitten by a Rotok. Like, how would you know if you were allergic to a Rotok bite? You wouldn’t! I’d be scared AF!

But outside of that, standard MASK episode with the heroes coming out ahead and Miles Mayhem swearing revenge after yet another of his diabolical schemes gets foiled by the agents of MASK.

PSA:

Always use safety equipment when using tools. Solid advice.

Final Grade:

**1/2* on the Meltzer scale. Not as good as the past couple of days, but not bad. Everyday, Miles Mayhem becomes a little more Dr. Claw-like.

OK, not a bad start to the new week. We keep this rolling tomorrow.

❤ Joe

Episode-A-Day! MASK: Ep. 7, “The Ultimate Weapon”

Welcome back to another episode of MASK. I apologize if the format on this looks off as I’m typing on my phone as I wait for my flight back to beautiful Florida after celebrating Mike Piazza weekend at Citi Field. 

What a time to be alive. 

Anyway, we’ve concluded a full week of MASK. I can’t believe it either. We’ve had our ups and downs, but we’re doing it together. With that said, on to Ep. 7, “The Ultimate Weapon”!

Plot:

Matt, Scott and T-Bob go out to see a sci-fi movie. Now that I think about it, no mention has ever been made of Scott’s mom. I wonder if Matt just built him kinda like Vicki from “Small Wonder”.

Either way, VENOM attacks the theater using a high-powered laser to cause damage to the roof before packing up and leaving before any counterattack could be put up against them. 

Trakker is suspicious as to why they would do such a thing, but Mayhem is celebrating an objective accomplished. 

Matt puts together a team and poor Brad has to abandon tuning his guitar. Seriously, he will never be a rock star with that lack of dedication. 

VENOM launches an attack on the local planetarium which is located in a sparsely populated mountainous area that makes you wonder just where in tarnation this show is set. 

MASK is ready for them, however, and attempts to fight back. VENOM, though, has a weapon that is scrambling all MASK vehicles and controls causing their units to go haywire and even injures Gloria after the helicopter crashes into her car. 

MASK agent, Alex, creates neutralizers to offset VENOM’s scramblers and thanks to Brad’s mask being able to create holograms, MASK is able to push back VENOM and save the day. 

Thoughts:

I have no idea what they purpose of VENOM’s plan was unless it was just to trick MASK into fighting in an attempt to use the scramblers to turn their vehicles against them and kill them once and for all. That actually sounds like a helluva plan now that I think about it. 

But other than that, the drama was pretty decent and the final battle was fun. 

PSA: 

Hitchhiking is dangerous. Don’t pick up hitchhikers. They – and I quote – “could be a VENOM agent, or worse, a child molester.” Yup. Solid advice. 

Final Grade:

*** on the Meltzer scale. Solid if unspectacular, but a fun little episode. Maybe we’re hitting the stride now. Let’s see what happens tomorrow. 

❤ Joe

Contact: Twitter: @CarJoeMez or @MaximusSexPower or email: CarJoeMez@gmail.com

Episode-A-Day! MASK Ep. 6: “Dinosaur Boy”

Coming off what was the best episode to this point, we’re back with Episode 6! I know, I know, the dedication that I have shown in watching cartoons everyday has been nothing short of inspiring. You’re welcome.

Plot:

VENOM hires some aborigine tour guides to lead them through the rain forest in search of dino monsters. That is not even a joke.

They come across a family of dino monsters (mom, dad, baby) and steal the baby to use for testing.

Said local aborigine tour guides inform MASK agent Alex of what has happened because he just happens to be looking around in the rain forest that day. Alex informs Matt Trakker who puts together the MASK agents best suited for this mission and they set out to the rain forest.

VENOM was experimenting with using dinosaur anti-bodies for weapons, but it’s lost to MASK in battle. Scott and T-Bob rescue the baby dino and return him to his family.

Thoughts:

OK, they kind of cheated here because if there’s one thing I love, it’s dinosaurs. I was in from the beginning and despite the convenience of Alex just hanging out in the rain forest, this episode was pretty fun.

PSA:

When crossing the street, do it from the crosswalk. Solid advice.

Final Grade:

*** on the Meltzer scale. Best start to finish episode to date. Still don’t think this will become one of my favorite properties, but finally accepting it and settling into what it is.

On to episode 7!

❤ Joe

Contact: Twitter: @CarJoeMez or @MaximusSexPower or email: CarJoeMez@gmail.com

Episode-A-Day! MASK Ep. 5: “Video V.E.N.O.M.”

Welcome back to your daily dose of MASK! We’ve made it through an entire work week! You think you’re excited? Feel these nipples!

Right into the action today:

Plot:

VENOM hijacks a satellite station and broadcasts a hypnotic message to turn a town full of people into mindless workers. During the attack, a scientist escapes and runs to civilization. Basically the TV station he was working at was so out of the way that he apparently runs for miles until he is almost run over on a one-lane road by MASK Agent, Gloria Baker who takes him to Matt Trakker’s compound.

Trakker immediately puts out the call for applicable MASK agents and Brad Turner is forced to cancel band practice to continue his secret life of MASK-ing.

In all seriousness, this is only episode 5 and I’m shocked his band hasn’t kicked him out to replace him yet.

VENOM also hijacks a military transport coming through the town where they’ve hypnotized all the citizens and use the people to move and assemble a top-secret laser cannon.

MASK finally catches up with VENOM and is able to break the hypnosis over the townspeople, but not before Miles Mayhem is able to shoot the super weapon.

Matt Trakker is able to use his mask to change the laser light which is sure to cause incredible destruction, into sunlight which just causes a slammin’ tan.

Mayhem and his cronies escape.

Thoughts:

Probably the best episode so far since I’ve finally given up on getting an explanation for anything. The ending was stupid as fuck. How in the fuck is this dude just going to turn a laser beam into sunlight with his mask? Where do these new mask powers keep coming from?

PSA:

Ladder safety. Make sure it’s balanced. Falling off ladders can be bad. Solid advice.

Final Grade:

On the Meltzer scale: **1/2*

Like I said, this was better, but that still doesn’t make it good. Especially with that corny ass ending. That was Sheamus levels of whack.

At least this was decent. Hopefully, episode 6 will keep the ball rolling.

❤ Joe

Contact: @CarJoeMez or @MaximusSexPower or email: CarJoeMez@gmail.com