Defenders of the Earth Ep. 11 The Mind Warriors Pt. 1

Join host Patrick Cadigan as he discusses episode eleven of Defenders of the Earth, “The Mind Warriors Pt 01." The Defenders recover an ancient doomsday weapon from Ming’s forces, while Ming secretly hijacks their battle simulator. Trapped in a deadly fantasy created from Kshin’s imagination, the team manages to escape, but Ming begins plotting to exploit Kshin’s fantasies for his next attack.

Links:
The Mind Warriors Resource (page)
The Toy Collector - Garax (link)

Transcript

Patrick Cadigan  0:08  
You're listening to Flash Forward, A Defenders of the Earth Retrospective. I'm your host, Patrick Cadigan. Join me as I revisit each episode of the series, breaking down the stories, characters, themes, and maybe digging just a bit into the lore that gave this series its moment in 80s animated television. Whether you're a longtime fan who remembers watching its first run or discovering the show for the first time and wondering how you ever missed it to begin with, this is your chance to flash forward and back into a world of heroes, villains, and gloriously 80s retro action adventure. Let's get started. We are here for our latest episode titled "The Mind Warrior, or also known as "The Mind Warriors Part One. Before we get into it, I do again want to apologize for the lateness of this episode. My intention is to go ahead and talk about this episode, and then jump right into the second part of this episode, and then release it next week. So that will get me back on track because I got delayed for that one particular week. So again, sorry about that. Not my intention, but my vacation kind of got away from me. But for this episode, I have the original air date as being May, May Monday of September 22 in 1986. This episode was written by, and I hope I am not butchering the last name, but it's probable that I am Evelyn Gabai. She actually has some very extensive writing credits. As far back as the 70s, she was writing or credited as a writer for Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids. Transitioning into the '80s. I'm seeing credits for Saturday Supercade, Turbo Teen, Dragon's Lair, Galtar and the Golden Lance, and the Bionic Six, Jem, the Smurfs. I mean, it just keeps going and going. Evelyn will write two more episodes for the Defenders of the Earth. The next one that we're going to get into, like I had said, the Mind Warriors Part Two, and then another one again in the future. As far as the characters that we're going to see in this episode, there is actually no new introductions this time around, it is all the usual suspects. We'll see: Flash, Mandrake, The Phantom, the kids, Ming, Octon, Garrax. Again, nobody knew. These are all everybody that we have seen before. So, without further ado, let's jump right into the Mind Warrior. 

Patrick Cadigan  3:02  
Act One. From the vast ocean, we find Rick, Jedda, LJ, and Kisa on a raft. Jedda is voicing some hope that whatever it is they're keeping an eye out for might already be gone. Rick, however, is not convinced, and before you know it-a kaiju-like monster rises out of the water. Startled, the kids' raft overturns, and their situation goes from bad to worse. The beast sweeps in, and with one impressive gulp, swallows our young heroes. Sliding down its throat, it becomes obvious this is no ordinary monster. The kids hit the bottom, and we find out that it was another go around inside the defenders' danger room, with Kshin and Zuffy the space alien at the helm. The participants give Kshin credit for a job well done, and Jedda remarks about his impressive imagination. Coming down from the observation deck, Kishin gives Rick the credit with his newest invention, Jedda inquires about what exactly it is, and Rick gives his exposition dump that it's a thought transference cap, and it's hooked to the battle simulation computer. It allows for the wearer to create anything in their mind's eye. Suddenly, Dynak X chimes in with an alert, and the group is off and running to investigate. Flash wonders if this is a new weapon from Ming. Dynak X is quick to answer in the negative, explaining that it is a remnant of a war fought billions of years ago in another galaxy. Given its age, Mandrake wonders if the device is still functional, but again. Dynak X explains that in the environment of space, the device has been preserved. The Phantom asks where the device will land, and plotting its course, Dynak X clarifies somewhere in the Amazon jungle. Rick wants to jump into the action, but Flash quickly shuts that down and asks that he and the rest of the kids stay behind and devise a way to disarm the device. Jedda hopes that Ming has not made the same discovery from Ice Station Earth. Of course, Ming knows about the warhead device and instruct Garrax to bring it to him at his new asteroid base. Octon informs Ming that the defenders are on their way to the Amazon, which doesn't surprise Ming, as he commands that his robo-ships be put on the ready. Ming then casually mentions about a battle simulation override that will allow him to take control of the defenders' danger room and their mines at once. His robot ships take off, and Ming projects that the doomsday device under his control, and that the Earth will finally be his. Back at monitor, Rick is telling the others that once the warhead device is in their hands, deactivating it will be easy. With seemingly nothing left to do. Kshin asks the others if they're ready for another one of his Mind Warrior challenges, and the team is all about it. Kshin, along with Zuffy the Space Alien, muses that if the group can pass this challenge, fighting Ming will be a cinch. From the observation deck, Kshin begins their newest challenge by putting the team in the center of a prehistoric jungle. At first, Jedda is neither impressed nor worried, but Kisa warns of impending danger, and from out of the brush comes a charging Stegosaurus and Triceratops. Admittedly unnerved, the trio, along with Kisa, opt for a hasty retreat. Rick attempts to use a tree as cover, but the Triceratops makes quick work of it. The downed tree, however, gives LJ a much-needed escape route, and once out of the danger zone, decides to hurl a rock at his pursuing Stegosaurus. This, of course, only pisses off the ancient beast even more, using its tail as a battering ram, the behemoth makes quick work of the overhead cliff, forcing LJ to make yet another escape. Meanwhile, Jedda attempts to distract the Triceratops and calls out for it to follow her. Successful, the roving beast makes a bee line for her, and she flees with Kisa through a rock enclosure. When the dinosaur rams its head through the rock opening, it gets stuck, allowing for Jedda to make her escape. On the rock wall, LJ is continuing to evade his pursuer. Later, the trio find themselves back together, and the challenge is over. Kshin warns them not to get too comfortable, as the next challenge will be much, much more. We then shift focus to the Amazon jungle, where Flash is piloting his ship to the location of the Doomsday device. Phantom points out the location of the ship ahead, and Mandrake comments that they've beaten Ming to the prize. However, no sooner has Mandrake uttered his words than laser blasts from Ming's scout ships rain down on their ship. Flash doesn't want the scout ship to rendezvous with the main fleet, and so pursues this lone ship with the intention of destroying it. However, the defenders soon find themselves in a raging storm and surrounded by all sides from Ming's robo-ships Mandrake quips that they may have fallen into a trap from an outside ship. Garrax takes aim with his molecular disruptor beam and manages to hit the defender's ship, causing them to lose control and plummet to the ground. At first, the defenders try to jettison from their down ship, but Flash points out their emergency doors are jammed. 

Patrick Cadigan  9:14  
Act two. With the ship continuing its descent, Lothar steps in to help with the faulty emergency doors. Once the doors have opened, the Quadro have helicopter backpacks because, of course, they are way cooler than parachutes, which helps them land safely in the jungle. Flash is frustrated because the jungle is so dense they may not be able to find the warhead. The Phantom, though, reassures him that the jungle is not that bad and takes the lead. In no time, they find the warhead atop an old structure. Flash wonders aloud how they're going to get the warhead back to monitor without a ship. Before anyone can offer a solution, Garrax shows up and claims the warhead in the name of man. The defenders attempt an attack, but Garrax uses his freeze ray that encases the group in a block of ice. Garrax immediately orders the ice robots to lower the warhead from its location. Back at Ice Station Earth, Ming is losing patience with Octon as he is intent on taking control of the battle simulator at Monitor.

Patrick Cadigan  10:24  
From Monitor, Kshin, along with Zuffy the space alien, continues to work on simulations for the group to train with. Jedda again gives Kshin the old atta boy for his imagination and the scenarios he's coming up with. Kshin hints that he's got something cooking, and this will involve ice. Speaking of ice, we're back in the jungle, and from inside their ice block, the defenders are plotting their escape. Lothar seeks to break the ice with his strength, but after a prolonged attempt, Mandrake reminds him that this is no ordinary ice; it's Mongo ice. Then, employing the orb of power from atop his cane, Mandrake manages to melt the ice. Meanwhile, Garrax is continuing his mission to load the warhead onto his ship. Mandrake steps in and asks if they can acquire his ship. On the attack, Lothar takes out one of the ice robots, but they all begin to shoot back. The Phantom calls on the power of 10 tigers, and with some fancy acrobatics, manages to disarm all the ice robots. Mandrake is on the finish by employing a large convex lens at the end of his cane and channeling power through it that takes care of the surrounding robots. Immediately, the defenders make their way to the ship and take off from Ice Station Earth. Ming is pissed that not only did Garrax lose the warhead, but that the defenders have his ship as well. However, Ming intends to pivot with his plan, and he now fully intends to take control of the battle simulator. Back at monitor, Kshin gathers the group for the next round of training with one of his simulations. The group is excited but also tired, and tell Kishin that this is going to have to be it at least for today. However, before they begin, Dynak X blares one of the alarms, and the kids rush to their battle stations. Once there, Dynak X displays Ming's incoming ship, not realizing that the defenders are at the helm. From inside the captured vessel, Flash is upset that because of the way the ship's communications work. There is no way to radio the kids at monitor. Lothar is equally worried that they will be fired upon. From the attack room, Rick is determined.

Speaker 1  12:53  
There's no way that creep escapes us now. On the count of three; fire. 1...2...3... Fire!

Patrick Cadigan  13:06  
Act three. With the laser blast from monitor bearing down on them, Flash manages to maneuver the massive ship through the volley. LJ is stunned that they missed, but is quick to recover and get the ship back under his crosshairs, but right before he's about to fire, Rick stops and tells everyone that he recognizes the flying pattern of the ship. That's his dad at the helm. Rick orders Dynak X to open the landing bay, and the stolen ship is allowed to land. Later, with all the defenders gathered, they begin their examination of the warhead in an attempt to completely disarm it. Kshin asks why the warhead didn't explode when it crashed into the earth, but Flash explains that the warhead needs a detonation code to be activated. Rick chimes in that this is the same with defusing it, and that it will take Dynak X 24 hours to come up with the diffusion code. No problem. Kshin knows exactly what the team needs. Jedda, however, is not on board this time and tells Kshin to take a chill pill. Mandrake, however, is curious and Kshin is more than happy to explain what he's talking about. The defender parents are intrigued and agree to Kshin's latest simulation at Ice Station Earth.

Ming the Merciless  14:30  
Is the battle simulation override device ready, Octon? 

Octon  14:34  
Yes, sire. Everything is in order. When the Defenders activate their simulation, then you will have complete control of their minds.

Patrick Cadigan  14:46  
Ming tells Octon to start the transmission. Once the transmission connects, Ming is certain the defenders will be destroyed. From monitor, Kshin dons his helmet, and the simulation for the defenders begins. They're transported to a dark and fog-ridden old cemetery. We find the four in front of a large mansion, and Flash is the first to volunteer to go inside. 

Mandrake  15:13  
We must stop telling that boy ghost stories.

Flash Gordon  15:17  
Ah, anybody home? Don't all answer at once.

Patrick Cadigan  15:23  
A suit of armor at the base of a sprawling stairway changes into the animator's homage to 1930s Frankenstein. However, the threats don't stop there. Before you know it, there's a witch on a flying broomstick, a demon, and a lame excuse for a werewolf all attacking the adults at once, Lothar is amused, but Flash is not. From Ice Station Earth, Ming is observing the events as they unfold and is also impressed with the extent of Kshin's imagination. However, Ming is ready to turn it up a notch and tells Octon to increase the power to the Override Simulator. From inside the simulation, the attacking witch who occupies Mandrake's time takes on Ming's face and hurls fire blasts at him with the magician barely dodging. The Frankenstein monster takes on Garrax's face. The demon starts to look a lot more like Mangor, and the imitation werewolf suddenly becomes a lot more threatening. From the observation deck, an exasperated LJ tells Kshin to take it a bit easier. Kshin, however, tells the crew that the simulator is no longer responding to his thoughts and takes off his helmet. Kshin beelines it for the battle room and finds himself in the middle of his cemetery recreation. From out of one of the graves comes a trio of Viking skeletons on the attack, and Kshin must make a quick dodge. Inside the mansion, The Phantom is doing everything he can to avoid his attacker. Once the four are back together, they hear Kshin calling for help. Determined to end the impasse, Mandrake uses an incantation along with the power of his orb and appears to chase the attackers out of the mansion. Outside the mansion, a terrified Kshin attempts to evade his attackers at a mausoleum, but can't manage to get the door open. Grabbing a broken tree branch, Kshin threatens the Vikings, but with their swords render his weapon useless. Before the skeletons move in for the kill, Kshin is hoisted out of harm's way by Flash, who, with the other defenders, is atop the mausoleum. Mandrake uses an illusion and sweeps the scary skeletons away with a vortex. Lothar asks, "Why haven't the illusions also stopped? And Kshin explains that the computer simulations are no longer responding to him. The Phantom tells everyone they're going to have to fight their way out. From the observation deck, Jedda tells Rick and LJ that they need to find a way to help the others, but Rick can't understand why the simulator won't shut down. All at once, Rick tells the team that they're going to have to destroy the computer, and they get right to work. From the simulation, the defenders are continuing their escape, but a new gaggle of flying apparitions appear and start their pursuit from Ice Station Earth. Ming orders Octon to once again increase the override power, this time to full. Octon, however, tells Ming the computer cannot take full power, and a visibly strained Ming demands the computer to do so regardless. Octon proceeds, putting an obvious strain on the computer, but Ming is elated. From inside the simulation, Flash tells the team there is a light ahead and they need to hurry. The Phantom almost doesn't make it, but with some fancy footwork, makes it through the simulation door. As the group tries to hold off the attacking horde, Jedda smashes the computer controls, and the simulation shuts down. Back at Ice Station Earth, Ming is still channeling energy through the Override simulator, and the computer appears to explode. At Monitor, Rick tells the gang that they'll be without a battle simulation computer for a while, but Kshin is just fine with that. Back at Ice Station Earth, Ming actually appears pleased despite Octon's review of the events. Ming, however, explains that at some point the defenders will rebuild their computer, and he will kidnap Kshin and use his imagination and override machine to make real warriors that will allow him to not only take back the warhead but destroy the defenders in the process. The end...for now. 

Patrick Cadigan  19:54  
Man, this episode just jumps straight into it, and I have to say that this is probably one of. My new favorites. As we are continuing to go, I really enjoyed what this episode brought and all of the things that it did. Now, the one obvious plot hole, of course, is that Ming just immediately connects the dots between the Rick's new mine device and Ming's override hack. My God, was this just perfect timing that you know everything happened to come essentially completely out of nowhere? But but it didn't prevent me from just really really enjoying this particular episode.

Patrick Cadigan  20:41  
We did have some product placement this time around, specifically with the Garrax character. This is the first time that he uses his freeze gun, and the freeze gun is included with the action figure character that I just managed to pick up from eBay for a very very good price. The packaging that it comes in is really shoddy. In fact, when I get it, I'll probably just pull it out of the packaging and set it up with my other loose figures. But yeah, this was the first time that we have actually seen the use of this freeze gun as it attaches to Garrax arm because it does the same thing with the action figure. So I was glad that I picked up on that. 

Patrick Cadigan  21:31  
The concept of the Mind Warrior I just thought was really cool. This is not necessarily something that's new, but I did appreciate the fact that this you have Kshin, who is essentially the youngest, and I guess you could argue and say technically the least powerful defender of them. But he becomes the most dangerous member because of this wild imagination that he has, and as it turns out, this also provides that raw material for Ming's attacks. But there is a suggestion here that the hero's greatest asset is their mind, and of course, can also be effectively perverted to become their greatest vulnerability. There is a lot of technological hubers here. Rick's invention, the this this thought transference cap, classic sci-fi trope of technology that over or outstrips safety by creating this direct interface between the human mind and a super powerful computer, he inadvertently opens a back door for Ming to be able to exploit. It's classic sci-fi fun, and I just really, I really did enjoy it. 

Patrick Cadigan  22:58  
The other thing that I picked up on from this episode that I really liked was how the team the teams are neatly split. You have the old guard, Flash Phantom, Mandrake, Lothar, and they they are going off. They're in the jungle, and they are handling what I guess would be considered a traditional physical warfare in the Amazon with Garrax and the other robots, while this new generation, their children, they're facing a digital threat, and in essence, a psychological threat as well. And this again, it highlights the show's theme of both passing the torch, but then also modernizing these legacy characters from from the 1930 s. So I felt like that this was one of the better episodes where it it did so. I I have always argued in the past that I am not Kshin is not necessarily one of my favorite characters, but in this particular episode, I actually appreciated that journey that he was going through, and the fact that it was his imagination, his ability to imagine just these really freaky instances of everything that really helped to move the story forward. So I really like that. 

Patrick Cadigan  24:17  
Ming is a little bit underhanded here, more so in this episode. Like again, he's not going back, and he's not relying on overall brute force here. He's actually acting essentially as a hacker and using Octon to override the computer. And this really was. And again, I'm thinking of it in terms of 1980s. This is hyper stylizing that cyber warfare approach to the bad guy, but as far as I'm concerned, it was ahead of its time for these essentially Saturday morning cartoons, and I really appreciate. What they were doing as I was watching the episode, it just really I was like, yeah, Ming really is driven and determined here. Like there was definitely a sinister piece to him with this, and I just really appreciated that. Again, appreciated the whole thing. 

Patrick Cadigan  25:20  
Episode trivia, as we roll into this time, I think I've brought it up before. I know that I've mentioned it at least in some of the commentary that the battle simulation room is obviously inspired from the danger room from the On Canning X-Men comic books. So again, one of those that the more that we're seeing it, the more it's like, yeah, it's totally the danger room. Interestingly enough, in the DVD for the commentary, and I've complained about some of the the trivia that they have found before as either being inaccurate or super non specific. In this particular case, it was inaccurate. According to the DVD, the sound heard when the defenders are being frozen by Garrax's ice rig in the DVD. It says that it is the same audio effect, the same sound effect that is used from Ice Man, from Spider-Man and his amazing friends. And as I read that, because I read it after I watched the episode, I'm like, wait a second, and I went back and I listened to it, and I'm like, yeah, no, that's that's not really there, and I had posited in the last episode that I was wondering if maybe there were two different versions, perhaps of certain episodes because they will comment about sound effects or certain things, and I'm like, well, maybe they saw a different version. So I fired up the YouTube version, which is they're always the ones that I'm watching, and I went to that particular scene and I listened to it. I'm like, okay, nope, not hearing that Ice Man sound effect, don't get it. So then I went to the DVD, and again fast forwarded to that same scene, and it was the same thing, this same sound effect, the sound effect that was actually there. And I have commented about this before. It was the laser cannon fire sound from the GI Joe cartoon. So that's the information that is going to go up on the resource page that I make for this particular episode, not the commentary from the DVD that they're bringing up because it's just not right. The last piece when The Phantom calls upon the power of 10 tigers in this particular instance, and they always kind of change it out in terms of the number of tigers. I remember back to some of the DVD commentary when the producers are talking about that. They really they said that most often times has has to do with time. How much time do they have, and that is going to determine the number of tigers that you see when The Phantom calls on his powers. In this particular instance, it was in fact 13 tiger heads as being shown entering his body. 

Patrick Cadigan  28:12  
So that is the episode trivia for the Mind Warriors Part One. And as it turns out, I know that this is going to be a little bit more quick than we are used to doing. However, again, because my plan is for me to just jump right into the next episode so that I can get it out for next week, I'm going to make this commentary quick. So again, I thoroughly enjoyed this episode. Probably, probably on the top five so far, and it's been really good. So starting next week, I am going to come back and I will review the second part of this episode, the Mind Warriors Part Two. Until then.