Ring Raiders
(Click Here for Main Article)
Episode Guide:
Episode 1: Ring of Fire
Air Date: September 16th, 1989
Writer(s): Phil Harnage
Synopsis:
Ring of Fire introduces us to the character of Cub Jones. It starts by taking us to World War II and showing us Cub in a dogfight with enemy planes. After Cub ignores his commanding officer he finds himself going up against a trio of Skull Squadron pilots (Scorch, Siren and Hubbub) who have come back to the past in order to plant a bomb in a volcano that they hope to detonate in the future.
We are introduced to the concept of “Time Warping” in this episode which allows the pilots to jump from one time period to another when needed. After the Skull Squadron achieves their objectives they time warp back to the present, as does Cub Jones, who finds himself among the Ring Raiders. Victor Vector introduces him (and the viewers) to each member of the Ring Raiders (Jenny Gail, Commander Kirkov, Joe Thundercloud, Yakamura and Baron Klaudeitz) before taking him into a meeting room in which he provides the back story for the entire series as well as a roll call of each of the members of Skull Squadron (Blackjack, Chiller, Siren, Mako, Hubbub, Wraither and Scorch). Each group has a mobile base as well as time traveling abilities. The Ring Raiders also have a ‘magic ring’ which gives them extra powers and abilities. Cub is immediately inititiated into the Ring Raiders, given a ring and told (in a very Captain Planet fashion) that “The Command is in your hands!”
The rest of the episode revolves around Scorch’s plan to use the planted bomb from 50 years ago to set off a chain reaction of volcanic explosions that will enter the globe into a state of chaos and will allow him and the Skull Squadron to take over the world. We see Siren and Chiller in action against Cub and the Baron in a series of dog fights as the villains attempt to set off the bomb and the heroes try to diffuse it. Cub ends up saving the day and thwarting Scorch’s plans. We also learn towards the end of the episode that the Ring can only be used for a short amount of time before it triggers the nervous system to burn out.
Grade: 3/5
Episode 2: The Best Man for the Job is a Woman
Air Date: September 23rd, 1989
Writer(s): Pat Allee and Ben Hurst
Synopsis:
Since I have not been able to track down a copy of this episode to view and review, the following information is based on text reviews and summaries I have researched online.
Episode 2 serves as an origin episode for Jenny Gail, code named, Nightingale. It uses the characters of Nightingale and the Baron to explore the idea of females as equals to their male counterparts. It also gives us Gail’s backstory as a pilot in Vietnam.
Grade: /5 (CANNOT GRADE UNTIL I HAVE WATCHED EPISODE)
Episode 3: Scorch’s Revenge
Air Date: September 30th, 1989
Writer(s): Phil Harnage
Synopsis:
In episode three we discover more of the backstory of Scorch as well as his history with Vector. The episode begins with the kidnapping of Nightingale, who was sent in to rescue Cub after he was shot down by Mako. This sets the stage for Scorch to challenge Vector to a ‘rematch’ of sorts from their younger days. Along the way we get to learn why Scorch looks the way he does at present as well as seeing what he was like before he became the villain we know him as today. Vector fills Cub in on his past with Stanley Smith (now known as Scorch). Specifically about a time when they were both in the Academy and they challenged each other to a race. The race ended with Scorch crashing, being badly burned, and getting thrown out of the Academy. At the end of the episode Thundercloud, Cub and Vector get the better of Hubbub, Mako and Scorch while Jenny uses her ring to get past Siren and back to the Ring Raiders.
Grade: 3.5/5
Episode 4: All the Right Stuff
Air Date: October 7th, 1989
Writer(s): Mike O’Mahony
Synopsis:
All the Right Stuff, introduces us to Skybase Freedom which is commanded by Max Miles. There we see Yakamura and his space parrot, Star Flyer get shot out of the air by Blackjack. As Yakamura undergoes medical attention Cub asks Vector how he became a Ring Raider which gives Vector a chance to let us in on Yakamura’s backstory. We learn that Yakamura was a member of the World Air Force who had undergone special training to be able to withstand 12 ‘G’s’ (3 times the amount of a normal pilot). We are told of an incident in which Yasuo rescued a number of pilots but after returning to save Star Flyer that he was burning up on his re-entry. It was at this point that he was beamed to the Justice making him the first Ring Raider to come from the future.
In the present, Yasuo seemingly dies but Jenny uses the Ring to touch his ring and revive him (I guess.) At one point they timewarp to 1860 Kansas to protect themselves against the Skull Squardron and it’s Super Satelite. They then travel to 2023 to visit Edwards Airforce base in an attempt to get a ship from the future in order to combat the Satelite. Yakamura ultimately gets shot down again but the parrot helps him use the ring. Then, (in a silly moment) both his ship and the satellite shoot what seems to be 100 missiles at each other but the satellite is the only thing destroyed. We also get a juvenile sequence at the end that sees Scorch and Hubbub go back and forth on who’s bad idea the satellite was (even though it was a good idea…).
Grade: 3/5
Episode 5: A Pilot’s Faith
Air Date: October 14th, 1989
Writer(s): Bob Forward
Synopsis:
Since I have not been able to track down a copy of this episode to view and review, the following information is based on text reviews and summaries I have researched online.
In this episode we get yet a further look at the Baron and his history with Wraither as well as their present battles with each other. The main plot revolves around a powerful plague that has hit and the Ring Raiders have to find a way to save the World. We also get some subtext from Baron on the power of instincts and feelings versus instruments and objects.
Grade: /5 (CANNOT GRADE UNTIL I HAVE WATCHED EPISODE)
