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Rewatch: #01: The Torque Armada

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SteffieMusings
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Rewatch: #01: The Torque Armada Empty Rewatch: #01: The Torque Armada

Post by Steel Sun Aug 28, 2011 8:48 am

A wee bit late, for which I apologise. Long story short, my hardrive fried and I lost all my files, so I had to get a new one and I've been reinstalling all my programs again since then. At least I had BLoSC on my external! I promise the next episode will be on time next week!

INTRODUCTION

I’ll only touch upon this once since it repeats for all episodes. We get a lovely CGI opening from Pixar with an announcer telling of Buzz Lightyear. And as he speaks, Toy!Buzz does all these weird flips and whatnot, eager to watch the show as he and the other toys gather around the TV. This is, again, I feel a ploy to reach out to Toy Story fans and try to drag them into BLoSC. And more often than not, they are given the wrong impression. Unless they’re one of the smart kids like us and stick around for the ride.

SETTINGS

THE ROOKIES

By now, we figure that the members of Team Lightyear work together as a team. It’s still early on in the rookies’ careers so they’re still pretty green; XR and Booster are particularly nervous about it, and it’s understandable seeing as they’re on their own. It’s probably their first real case on their own without the support of either Mira and Buzz, both of whom are far more experienced than them. Naturally, they get into trouble with Torque, but Buzz is already there in disguise and Mira soons arrives, ghosting through a wall.
Rewatch: #01: The Torque Armada Rookies_torque

Now, this can be taken in two different ways. One, Booster and XR were the bait. This was a premeditated plan and they were supposed to draw the attention on them so Buzz wouldn’t be noticed. However, their reactions seem too genuine for them to have been in on it. Maybe Buzz and Mira decided on them being the “bait” and purposefully sent the two off on their “own” so they could draw out Torque with the way they’d bumble. Or, it was genuinely going to be their first time on their own, but Buzz and Mira wanted to keep an eye on them and infiltrated regardless.
Rewatch: #01: The Torque Armada Rookies

Whatever the case, they capture Torque, practically decimating the bar in the process. Is the destruction of property to capture a criminal even legal? I’m no police officer, but I’m sure that putting civilians in harm’s way, what with how several aliens were nearly shot during the crossfire, isn’t the proper way to go about things.

Then again, that could also be the reason they were given traffic duty in Tanker Alley afterwards. Even if you’re Buzz Lightyear, the hero of Star Command, you don’t get to avoid the consequences of your actions. I believe it’s a pretty logical conclusion. Sure, you catch bad guys and you do mundane jobs too, but even if you do manage your objective, you need to take into account the political repercussions, the social backlash, etc. etc. Being a Space Ranger sure isn’t easy!

TECHNOLOGY

First, the basics. Wide, flat screens, like the ones we’re used to, still exist. They’ve moved on to holographic emitters and images, as well as energy nets, blasters, the works, but it’s still a familiar setting with a lifestyle similar to ours. Or at least their system. Star Command is an overgrown police station, the Space Rangers are officers, and once they bring in a criminal, they take him to prison, or in this case PC-7 (more about that later). There’re criminal transports, Guard-Bots that make sure the criminals don’t escape, etc.
Rewatch: #01: The Torque Armada Tankers

Tanker Alley consists of huge tanker ships carrying crystallic fusion fuel that are automatic and have no pilots. Ah, crystallic fusion. It’s the number one energy source in the world of BLoSC, found in the form of green crystals and mined from various locations, the most notable being Bathyos. It’s a shame most of this information is information we find out later on, but it really helps if you know the basics when examining these elements. However, the very lack of pilots or supervision of any kind seems pretty... risky to me. Sure they’ve got the buoys to keep them from getting out of Tanker Alley, but I’d hate to see what happens when two of those tankers collide with each other... and then again you’ve got people like Zurg and Torque who are willing to take advantage of the rather dodgy security of this system.

And then there’s, of course, Zurg’s cellular separation technology. Apparently what he installed on Torque’s chest was the latest technology of that variety. Just how did he get his hands on it and why, of all people, did he choose Torque to be his test-monkey? Sure, he wanted him to destroy Buzz, and seeing as Torque already had a rivalry with Buzz going on it sounded like the perfect opportunity. It just seems like pretty much a waste to invest in a liability, unless it has some severe side-effects of which Zurg doesn’t give a damn about. We’ll probably never know.
Rewatch: #01: The Torque Armada Hornets

And lastly, still on the subject of Zurg, are his Hornets. They were kickass here, hijacking the convict cruiser and securing Torque. They decimated Star Command’s Guard-Bots within a matter of minutes. Why aren’t they ever this badass when they fight against Space Rangers? A little extra programming can go a long way when they’ve already got the potential!

TRADEWORLD

The first thing you notice is, of course Tradeworld, seeing as XR gives the viewers a brief explanation on it. Apparently, it’s the “criminal capital” of the Gamma Quadrant, and if you’ve done your homework you’ll know that Capital Planet, Star Command, and most of the Galactic Alliance are found in the Gamma Quadrant. Now, if you’re like me you’ll wonder why they leave a place like Tradeworld unsupervised if it’s within their borders, and why it’s become the so-called criminal capital. Obviously, it’s a dangerous place and security is lax. Hence the obvious reason XR is telling Booster that they ought to stick together.
Rewatch: #01: The Torque Armada Tradeworld

Also, if you notice Tradeworld’s structure, it seems to be a large city situated in a bay. And as XR and Booster descend, you’ll notice how up above it looks modern, hi-tech and pristine, whereas the lower they descend, the dirtier, dingier and poorer it seems. There are screens everywhere, and markets on the lower lanes, as well as road lanes and sky lanes, both filled with traffic. It’s very interesting when you take the time to observe how a city looks like simply from paying attention to the background. With these simple observations, we can tell that there seems to be a caste system with rich people living closer to the sky and poor people living closer to the surface that’s pretty reminiscent of Tangean society. (Which will be discussed in more depth when we watch the appropriate episode.)

CHARACTERS

TORQUE
Rewatch: #01: The Torque Armada Torque

This is the first episode Torque shows up in and the first example of a criminal we have in BLoSC besides Zurg. Torque’s not your run-of-the-mill criminal, responsible for such things as arson, terrorism, and unpaid parking tickets, and wanted “in all fifty sectors”. Pretty hardcore, if you ask me! Judging by that description alone, he’s not someone you want to mess around with.

He’s got this gruff way of speaking and a sense of humour. He’s also pretty sharp despite appearing to be flippant; he’s multi-limbed but cleverly keeps his second set of arms out of sight and only uses it when it’s absolutely necessary. Most of the time, he uses the one set, and you sometimes forget that he’s got two more arms hidden beneath his jacket.

He seems to be indifferent and goes with the flow, but the only two times you don’t see him being cocky is when he realises Buzz is also in the bar and when Zurg has him strapped to the table preparing him for the operation. Torque seems like the kind of guy who uses anger as his fuel and hides behind a caustic and selfish demeanour.
Rewatch: #01: The Torque Armada Torque_clones

Besides his four arms, Torque really had nothing “special” about him until Zurg gave him the cloning device. Initially, in this episode, it looks like the clones remain stable and don’t disappear after time or when hit or wounded, like in latter episodes. This is possibly because the ability wore off with time, which is also another reason Zurg didn’t particularly care to personally contact Torque again, or it could be because Torque’s cells have been divided so many time that there might be something more serious going on. But we’ll delve into this further later on.

ROCKET CROCKETT
Rewatch: #01: The Torque Armada Buzz_rocket

Rocket Crockett is one of the many Space Rangers of Star Command. He’s the Captain of his own four-man team, and although we don’t see him all that often we can tell just by the little that we saw him that he’s not too fond of Buzz and he’s ecstatic that Buzz is doing traffic duty while he gets to chase down Torque. It’s interesting to note that Buzz remarks scathingly, “Need me to save your hide again?” when he first spots him, which hints at an animosity between the two.

Although we don’t have much information to go on, he’s sarcastic, snarky, and there’s definitely something up if some Rangers have a problem with Buzz like this.

EVIL EMPEROR ZURG
Rewatch: #01: The Torque Armada Zurg_angry

This episode has one of the only examples of Zurg making a genuine effort to be nice to his minions. It doesn’t backfire exactly, but it’s not his style to be nice and productivity seems to be relatively the same, if even worse what with those bonds made out of “nearly unbreakable alloy”. Oh, and he also loves “exercising” with his prisoners, which essentially consists of Zurg firing at a prisoner’s ankles and making him constantly run on the spot to avoid being hit. Brutal!
Rewatch: #01: The Torque Armada Zurg_torque

Also, did any of you feel crept out by how staged everything with Torque was? He broke him out, he put him on the cold slab of steel to operate on, and then he’s like “Nevermind! Not important~” in reference to how painful it’ll be. Wow, he’s such a bastard. xD It’s like he doesn’t care if someone he’s using is hurt or in pain as long as they can accomplish his plans. I also really loved the whole "DON'T. EVER. TOUCH. ME." part. Pretty intimidating if you ask me. You don't just manhandle the Evil Emperor like that! THE EVIL EMPEROR MANHANDLES YOU!

RELATIONSHIPS

BUZZ AND TORQUE
Rewatch: #01: The Torque Armada Buzz_torque

Buzz and Torque don’t get along. Torque thinks Space Rangers are weaklings and pathetic and Buzz gets riled up at Torque’s continues snark and attitude. Which is why, when given the opportunity to finally get even with him, Buzz doesn’t seem to think things through and jumps right into it. Although we know from “The Adventure Begins” that Buzz isn’t exactly the type of guy to plan on the spot, he’s usually good about observing his surroundings. Only this time... he rather flopped, probably due to wanting to get even with Torque.

Their exchanges are pretty funny. Torque makes constant jabs at Rangers and Buzz tries not to let it get to him, but you can see how Torque gets underneath his skin. They get to have more chances for scuffles in the future, naturally, but never as intense as their antagonism in this episode.

BOOSTER AND XR
Rewatch: #01: The Torque Armada Xr_booster

Although I don’t have as much to say on them as I thought I would, Booster and XR, despite being so different, display that camaraderie and friendship of theirs that began developing in “The Adventure Begins”. Despite XR being bossy and trying to come off as a know-it-all, Booster’s as innocent and fanboyish as ever. They click well together despite being different, working together, having fun together, and getting into mischief together too.

BUZZ AND MIRA
Rewatch: #01: The Torque Armada Buzz_mira

Buzz and Mira seem to communicate better than they used to. They’re not as stubborn and pig-headed anymore, though they’re still not that familiar with each other either. Mira displays how supportive she is of him out of her respect, being there to back him up back in the bar and trying to help him to voice his feelings. Buzz in turn also treats her with respect, even though he’s not that comfortable with letting down his guard or talking about such a subject as “feelings”.

And for all ya Buzz and Mira shippers out there, when he saves her from the tank Mira blushes a most lovely shade of... pink! Does that mean Tangeans have red blood? I’d have figured it was a dark blue seeing as the Royals live so high up and in a floating palace, no less. But back on the subject. This can be taken two ways. One, Buzz is attempting to let down his defences long enough to breach personal space in order to save her and Mira’s had a crush on him since her teen years, or Buzz just pulled another saving-people-thing and Mira blushed because she was too distracted to notice it in time and because, hello, a guy is holding her around the waist. Attraction or not, I’d sure as hell be blushing like crazy.

QUESTIONS

1. Why do you think the Space Rangers haven’t made Tradeworld a significantly safer place?
2. What did you think of Buzz’s rivalry with Torque and Rocket Crockett?
3. Do you think that the cloning device Torque has causes him problems or will cause him problems in the future?
4. Is Buzz’s friction with other Rangers understandable or do you think he might be in the wrong? Do you think Rocket might be in the wrong instead?

Less hours than before, and now with pretty screenshots! Sorry I was late again... Dx
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Post by Alexa Sun Aug 28, 2011 1:38 pm

Ah, I'm ready for this! I prepared my notes early because I thought I would be busy on Saturday, but plans fell through. Enough of that! Here are my notes:

Spoiler:

And now, for the questions...


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Post by SteffieMusings Mon Aug 29, 2011 12:09 am

Steel wrote:
I also really loved the whole "DON'T. EVER. TOUCH. ME." part. Pretty intimidating if you ask me. You don't just manhandle the Evil Emperor like that! THE EVIL EMPEROR MANHANDLES YOU!

I loved that scene as well. It's one of the rare times when the Evil Emperor really crept me out.

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Post by DarklingDragon Mon Aug 29, 2011 2:01 pm

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Post by Mod Mon Aug 29, 2011 5:04 pm

Spoiler:
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Post by levy120 Sat Sep 03, 2011 11:01 am

Part 1: Protocol

Spoiler:

Part 2: Response

To come


Part 3: Questions

Spoiler:
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Post by Booster S. Munchapper Tue Dec 04, 2012 10:28 am

I don't think Buzz and Mira are very shippable. Mira has a tangean grounder boyfriend already, and buzz has (lol) gravitina (or whatever her name is)
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