Blasting on to Volume Three, the end (of the universe) in sight....
EPISODE 19
"This is Nereus calling the universe. Is anyone listening?"
The Odyssey intercepts a "universal signal of distress" and as such rescues a lone girl on a spaceship, assuming it to be her. The girl, Princess Galitea, is quiet and unresponsive, enough for the crew to consider her a robot or automata. Just as Ulysses and the children are suddenly taken prisoner by The Sharkmen, the Odyssey surrounded by Tridents, the message is decoded by Shirka as relating to Nereus instead. They are all taken by spaceship to the planet of Skolopolis (renamed from Nereopolis by their new overlords) and locked in jail, soon to be subjected to pilot control, the means by which everyone is enslaved....
Ulysses plots his escape with his cellmate while Telemachus makes similar schemes with Prince Glycon. Ulysses makes his dramatic escape and Telemachus uses his participation in the games - he battles Glycon in a Gondola fight - to do the same. Ulysses finally meets King Nereus, who has been hiding amongst his people all this time, and together they hope to free the people of Neropolis and convince them in time that their king has returned. Chance reunites fathers and sons and they head to the locket office control room, conspiring to erase the control programs forever....
Ulysses plots his escape with his cellmate while Telemachus makes similar schemes with Prince Glycon. Ulysses makes his dramatic escape and Telemachus uses his participation in the games - he battles Glycon in a Gondola fight - to do the same. Ulysses finally meets King Nereus, who has been hiding amongst his people all this time, and together they hope to free the people of Neropolis and convince them in time that their king has returned. Chance reunites fathers and sons and they head to the locket office control room, conspiring to erase the control programs forever....
EPISODE 20
"Let all the underworld explode into light!"
This episode opens with the Odyssey being attacked from all side by Trident spaceships. Ulysses attempts to fight them off, fearing for the safety of Telemachus and Nono (who are currently manning a shuttle craft). Telemachus spots a great hole in a nearby planet and our heroes escape there just in time, the pursing Tridents exploding mysteriously. Shirka announces they are in "a region of intense energy" and that any damage they sustained, including that to the compartment containing their inert companions, has been repaired. A voice announces that they are protected, sheltered from the Gods of Olympus....
The Magician in Black then transports our heroes to his palace and, by "the great power of my will", he revives their companions. Of course, he wants something in return and Ulysses, Numinor and Telemachus step forward, willing to be hunted for the magician's sport (but not before Ulysses bargains for his companion's freedom). Should the three of them escape the hunt they will be freed, otherwise they will be enslaved forever. Ulysses chooses the terrain of the hunt, selecting an environment close to that of Earth, and the deadly hunt begins. Will Ulysses manage to outwit the crafty magician or perhaps his companions will escape and save the day...?
Another episode with the usual glut of Star Wars FX peppered throughout the opening Trident space battle. Also noteworthy for the rendering of pixellated and blocky backgrounds within The Magician In Black's computer generated hunt terrain - a nice (imaginative) touch....
EPISODE 21
"You don't trick a tyrant. You just stop obeying him!"
The Odyssey approaches a Saturn-like planet, Shirka suddenly receiving "signals from a shuttle vehicle in difficulty"....
Ulysses takes his own shuttle and, with the canny use of a tether, rescues the other ship. The pilot is Hypsipyle, daughter of the overthrown Thoas, who is fleeing the base at Lemnos for the security of the one at Istria. The men of Lemnos have retreated to the High City, using the women as slaves in the factory to build Tridents for the Sharkmen - when the women rebelled they imprisoned them. Sadly the base on Istria has been destroyed, leaving our heroes no choice but to return to Lemnos to try to persuade the inhabitants to unite and defeat the Sharkmen....
With the women freed and fighting the men, Ulysses helps devise a plan to trap the Sharkmen within the factory and to jettison it, freeing those of Lemnos from their tyranny (and just maybe discovering the route back to Earth from Thoas in the process). Naturally, no one thinks to tell the children who, with Yumi having sensed Ulysses was in danger, have made their way to the factory to assist. Will unity be restored in time to overthrow the Sharkmen and reveal the way home....
Ulysses takes his own shuttle and, with the canny use of a tether, rescues the other ship. The pilot is Hypsipyle, daughter of the overthrown Thoas, who is fleeing the base at Lemnos for the security of the one at Istria. The men of Lemnos have retreated to the High City, using the women as slaves in the factory to build Tridents for the Sharkmen - when the women rebelled they imprisoned them. Sadly the base on Istria has been destroyed, leaving our heroes no choice but to return to Lemnos to try to persuade the inhabitants to unite and defeat the Sharkmen....
With the women freed and fighting the men, Ulysses helps devise a plan to trap the Sharkmen within the factory and to jettison it, freeing those of Lemnos from their tyranny (and just maybe discovering the route back to Earth from Thoas in the process). Naturally, no one thinks to tell the children who, with Yumi having sensed Ulysses was in danger, have made their way to the factory to assist. Will unity be restored in time to overthrow the Sharkmen and reveal the way home....
Interesting to note that the look of The Sharkmen has been overhauled since Episode 19 - one can only guess that different animation studios either interpreted the outline in different ways or that perhaps lazy dubbing saw the two alien "species" lumped together to save on effort. More Star Wars FX crammed in at the conclusion of this episode too....
EPISODE 22
"Machines only obey machines. Order rejected."
A gentle opening to this episode, everyone idling on the Odyssey - Ulysses even has time for a cuppa - before things begin to go awry. Firstly, Nono has to content with unruly cleaning robots before Shirka ceases to respond. "Look! The Odyssey is veering off its course!" Our heroes strap themselves in and attempt to take manual control (to no avail)....
The command cabin is hermetically sealed, Ulysses and the children now prisoners of Cortex, chief of the planet of the machines. On their arrival on the planet robots begin to immediately board and dismantle the Odyssey, breaking it up so that Cortex may make new machines. Nono befriends Nanette, a similar small robot, and together they free Ulysses and the children....
Seeing that Cortex plans to dismantle the Odyssey's Iris, and that all would be lost, Ulysses threatens to destroy his city... Cortex, who reveals himself as a servant of The Gods, must be stopped. Can Ulysses fend off the attacks of a cyborg lion in time for Nono and Nanette to locate and disconnect the power line to Cortex's brain....
Seeing that Cortex plans to dismantle the Odyssey's Iris, and that all would be lost, Ulysses threatens to destroy his city... Cortex, who reveals himself as a servant of The Gods, must be stopped. Can Ulysses fend off the attacks of a cyborg lion in time for Nono and Nanette to locate and disconnect the power line to Cortex's brain....
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