Saturday, October 15, 2016

Saturday Morning Cult-TV Blogging: Space Stars Episode #10 (November 14, 1981)


The tenth hour-long episode of Hanna Barbera’s Space Stars (1981) opens with a Space Ghost tale called “Space Cube of Doom.” 

A space lab is attacked while Space Ghost is engaged in a job assisting the Herculoids on Quasar. The heroes discover that the cube-like spaceship is controlled by Ultima, a “space” computer. 


Ultima plans to conquer the galaxy by eliminating human individuality. Ultima reprograms human minds to think like it does, and brainwashes Jan and Jace as its first victims. Space Ghost must free them from this slavery, and trick Ultima into brainwashing himself (itself?)



The second story of the week is “Wordstar,” starring Teen Force. Here, Uglor intercepts a crashed spaceship and finds a chip that grants him total and complete power.


The Herculoids star in “Space Trappers,” a story which sees them captured by an intergalactic circus. This is the same plot, essentially, as the 1942 movie Tarzan’s New York Adventure. We have our Tarzan, Jane and Boy in Zandor, Tara and Dorno, and the Herculoid beasts of Quasar double as the animal friends of the Great Escarpment.


The second Space Ghost episode of the hour is called “The Time Master” and it involves a criminal named Tempus who is using his power to reverse a planet’s time-line, making it a prehistoric world.


The Space Ace episode of the week is called “Galactic Vac is back” and it is a low-point even for this show. Here, the villain “Galactic Vac” flies around the galaxy in a giant vacuum cleaner, sucking up objects I hopes of becoming rich. When he is captured by Space Ace and Astro-mutt, Galactic Vac’s punishment is to hold a “galactic garage sale” where he gives back everything his space vacuum sucked up.

The Space Stars Finale episode of the week is “Uglor Conquers the Universe, and it’s pretty much exactly what is sounds like. Uglor uses the energy of a neutron star to come a giant in space. “I am the universe!” he declares. The Teen Force and the Herculoids team up to stop him, using the long-abandoned technology of the City of the Ancients on Quasar to get the job done.



At the end of the episode, one character notes “with great power comes great responsibility.” Where have I heard that before?

Yes, this is a series that steals from the very best (like Stan Lee, and Marvel) and yet is still the pits.

The Space Magic segment this week has Jan and Blip doing a card trick. The Space Fact involves the birth and deaths of stars. Supernovas are discussed, and featured as part of the Space Mystery.


Next week -- at last -- the final episode of Space Stars!

1 comment:

  1. You got this, John!I have every confidence in you!

    ReplyDelete

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