MMM: "By The Great Solar Wind!" - Ulysses 37

Alright! The controls are set for the heart of the, er, fun, as we cascade through the final four episodes of Ulysses 31, soaring towards the epic(-ish) grande finale. (Again, bear in kind the 'restored' episodes are numbered in a different order to the UK broadcast/DVD release)....

EPISODE 23

"May he be crushed like the crystal sand."

The Odyssey declares an emergency, detecting a "distress signal on D92" as they are approaching a Crystal Planet that is under attack from Tridents. Despite Yumi sensing that it is a trap Ulysses takes a shuttle and fights off the attacking spaceships, rescuing Calypso (who it has to be said has the galaxy's funkiest crystal hairdo)....

It seems Ulysses is too late as the crystal sun is fractured and the planet will soon be destroyed. With Zeus pressuring her to obey, Calypso tricks Ulysses into repairing the crystal sun using the route back to Earth as bait. Calypso soon has a change of heart as she realises she is deeply in love with Ulysses - again her funky 'fro does its thang! - and she can only bring herself to imprison him....

Again the Gods pressure Calypso and this time, as she attempts to kill Ulysses, she confesses all. With her tears of anguish reviving the Crystal Planet the Gods attack, raining down lightening, sending Tridents and conjuring up great crystal birds. Shirka sends down a shuttle to assist in the battle. Will Ulysses and Calypso - who might just have one more trick up her hairstyle - survive the onslaught....

EPISODE 24

"A curious kind of beggar."

Having landed on a planet the Odyssey is drilling for precious minerals, Shirka warning our heroes that the drilling area has "a high proportion of energy catalyst". The children, who are enjoying playing in the planet's low gravity, accidentally fall down one of the holes. As such Telemachus arrives at "The Place Of Time" and is sent 5,000 years into the distant past by the Gods....

Ulysses arrives and is told that to save him he must also go back in time and seek out the first Ulysses and help him protect the right to his throne - both the first Ulysses and first Telemachus are absent, Penelope fending off the interests of many greedy suitors. Ulysses 31 is captured and Penelope, taken with his cause, sets a challenge for the suitors, a trial of strength - if one can successfully string the bow of Ulysses 01 and fire an arrow then she will marry him. Telemachus 01 returns and attempts to rescue Telmachus 31, only they are captured by the dastardly Antilles(?)....

Fortunately they are saved by a mysterious man dressed as a beggar. Who could this be, and could his teaming up with Ulysses 31 foil the cunning plans of the 100 suitors....

EPISODE 25

"Lotus seeds will make you dreamy if you eat them."

Shirka reports the Odyssey will "soon be moving past the last planet recorded in this system" and that she detects a "trace of intelligent life" as well as imminent "meteoric activity". With the "meteoric density now rising sharply" Trident meteors begin to bombard the Odyssey, damaging the Iris. Ulysses utilises the emergency systems to make repairs, but quickly realises their only hope is to make use of the emerald supplies on the nearby Emerald Planet....

Ulysses and Nono take 2 shuttles down to the surface and proceed to begin their operation. Here they are approached by the planet's inhabitants who lead him to the emerald mines, showing him where to dig, and offering him a Lotus Seed to eat. With a warning of "volcanic activity imminent" Ulysses ignores Nono's protest, dreamily wandering off and wanting to stay....

The children speed to the planet surface, concerned that Ulysses will not answer their communications. There they meet Lota, who warns them of the debilitating effects of the Lotus Seeds - if you eat too many you will disappear! The race is on to find Ulysses and give him Lota's antidote before the volcanic eruption. With Ulysses back to normal the race is on to counter the effects of the plants, saving the young and old and to somehow stop the eruption once and for all....

EPISODE 26

"Full speed to the final point!"

The final episode! The Odyssey comes in sight of the oft-mentioned Galactic Glaciers and our heroes begin to hope that The Kingdom Of Hades (and home) is within their reach. Shirka warns that they are "entering a semi-luminous zone" and they encounter a giant butterfly swarm that threatens to envelop the Odyssey and drain all their energy....

Their escape brings the Odyssey to rest on the Galactic Glaciers where they meet a morose Orpheus who wishes to cross The River Styx into the Kingdom Of Death, and there join his beloved Eurydice. Can Ulysses defy the god of death, save his companions from their potential fate as citizens of Hades, and discover the route back to Earth (and Penelope) in time....

"...to the city, the styx, the darkness perhaps."

I had always assumed Ulysses and company never completed their mission, the (outcome of the) final episode never registering with my childhood self coupled with a perpetuating rumour that an intended second series was never made. Indeed there's no denying it's a genuine "kitchen sink" of a conclusion as they cram their usual mix of space adventure and gloomy lamentation together while racing towards a brisker than brisk finale to this truly excellent series....

Before blasting off one last time a final props to TheAdamAnt - a playlist of his loving and painstaking-ly restored episodes can be found here >> Ulysses 31....

MMM: "By The Big Bang!" - Ulysses 36

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....

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....

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....

MMM: "By The Tail Of The Great Comet!" - Ulysses 35

Now cascading through the second half of the second disc, Agent Rob bears witness to some of the show's finest visual moments in a star cluster of stellar episodes. Choice picks as ever those as lovingly restored by Adam Adamant....

EPISODE 14

"You will experience exquisite sensual delight forever in death."

The episode begins with Yumi playing a beautiful, if haunting, melody on a flute, which she claims she heard in a dream. Suddenly an "unidentified flying object" is approaching the Odyssey. This stone coffin is from the wreckage of a space exploration vehicle and, recognising it too from her dream, Yumi uses the beautiful melody to open it. The body within is holding an electronic card and suddenly, by piloting via The Black Sun and the planet Sirena, Ulysses realises they can obtain a complete map of Olympus. However, the map is guarded by the mysterious Sirens....

On the surface of the planet Sirena they are captured by space pirates and Ulysses and Nono are sent to find the treasure, the children kept behind as collateral. And so Ulysses and Nono set sail, disappearing into the fog. Disconnecting Nono's hearing circuit Ulysses asks to be tied to the mast in an attempt to resist the Siren's call. This plan fails, however and he dives overboard. The children, having made their escape are close behind and must hope to save Ulysses, find the map and evade the angry pirates....

EPISODE 15

"Ooh! I could do with a swig of anti-freeze."

The Odyssey orbits a planet like Earth (only of 200 million years ago) with a different polar axis. Ulysses, Nono and the children take a shuttle to the surface to investigate, narrowly escaping after being attacked by huge Black Firebirds. Taking refuge in what they believe to be a cave they happen to find a lift that takes them to a giant underground city.... 

As Shirka loses contact due to a "strong atmospheric disturbance" Yumi activates a hibernation chamber to revive Sauria, one of the planet's inhabitants. It transpires that these slaves to the Gods took refuge in a huge ark to escape a great flood, waiting until it was over....

Unfortunately a second flood is now just beginning, leaving Ulysses and Nono to devise a plan to escape to the ark (and to avoid the invading Black Firebirds) in time. As Telemachus and Yumi help revive the rest of the planet's inhabitants from their hibernation the situation worsens, a reverse polarization of the planet's axis imminent....

EPISODE 16

"It least I know your face. I will remember you, Ulysses."

After a another somewhat melancholy introduction - Ulysses and Telemachus thinking of their distant Penelope - our heroes fall into a deep slumber and the Odyssey enters an "unknown dimension A"....

With their spaceship held by an unknown force Ulysses takes a shuttle to investigate a planet they suspect could be Earth. Nono, meanwhile, encounters a mysterious energy cloud on board the Odyssey. Seeing the Odyssey suddenly head towards the planet surface Ulysses crashes his shuttle, meeting a forlorn character called Hermes who, so he claims, is the only member of his crew not captured and enslaved by Circe, "the enchantress who bewitches".... 

With his companions turned into pig-people and set to work building Circe's tower of knowledge - the means by which she hopes to become more powerful than the Gods themselves - Ulysses comes to the rescue. On discovering his identity Circe promises to free everyone and to give them a video map of Olympus... on the condition that Ulysses promises to stay by her side and challenge the Gods. Ulysses agrees... only Hermes, now revealed as the messenger of the Gods, has other ideas and sets the Tridents to attack. Ulysses and his (momentarily revived) companions must try and escape, leaving poor Circe to witness the destruction of her beloved tower before the Gods pass judgement on her....

EPISODE 17

"Anyone who has gone inside the Labyrinth has never returned."

The episode opens with Ulysses talking to Aegeus and, after consulting the Oracle, he is persuaded to follow their advice and seek Theseus, the son of Aegeus (for he alone knows the route back to Earth). Unfortunately King Minos is angered by the relationship between Theseus and his daughter, Ariadne, and so condemns him to the Labyrinth, where he will face the Minotaur. Ariadne defies her father and takes off in a spaceship, intent on following Theseus (in)to the maze.... 

This action puts her on a "collision course" with the Odyssey and, after a narrow escape, she is taken on board, the pursuing ships of The Kingdom of Minos duly defeated. By using her string of pearls to allow Shirka to track their "electromagnetic path", Ariadne, Ulysses, Yumi and Nono enter the Labyrinth hoping to find Theseus....

As the walls of the maze suddenly shift, Telemachus, concerned at the loss of contact, takes a shuttle to the rescue, the ships of Mino's close behind him. Meanwhile Ulysses and Theseus must face the mighty Minotaur if they are to have any hope of escape....

EPISODE 18

"Ulysses, quickly! The universe is toppling over!"

The children are in the garden when Shirka announces there are "galactic ice flows directly in our flightpath." Ulysses attempts to resist the gravitational pull but Yumi, who feels the presence of something, encourages him otherwise....

Ulysses takes a shuttle into the ice flows and, with the aid of a mysterious other, is directed safely to where he can land. From there Ulysses descends a strange staircase whereby he meets Mercurius, the bubble-dwelling "grandson of the gods". Naturally Mercurius has plans for Ulysses, hoping to use him to steal the jewel from the forehead of Atlas for the presence of any god would awaken this sleeping giant who holds up the universe....

The reward? Of course, it is a promise of the route back to Earth (and potential power over the gods for Mercurius). Ulysses and Nono climb up the huge static body of Atlas and when they reach the top Ulysses, by this time blindfolded so as to not look into the jewel for fear of death, attempts to prise the jewel free. Unfortunately Atlas begins to stir, his great heart begins to beat, and the universe is knocked off balance by the meddling of Mercurius. Can Yumi or Telemachus help Ulysses replace the crystal in time to restore the order and balance to all things....