Starblazers...

At some point in the late 1980s, Starblazers became available on video tape in the U.S....

The Earth desperately refits an ancient WWII battleship with alien technology to send a handpicked crew to a distant planet to retrieve necessary materials to save the Earth from slow death by radiation poisoning. On its long journey, this lone vessel battles scores of alien enemies proving time and time again that the spirit of Earth refuses to be crushed, and if the will is there, anything is possible.

Season One

The Quest For Iscandar
Episode 1
It's 2199, and radiation bombs from the planet Gamilon will make Earth uninhabitable in one year's time. Alex Wildstar's heroic self-sacrifice allows Captain Avatar's flagship to escape the battle of Pluto. Queen Starsha of planet Iscandar offers Earth a device which will get rid of the deadly radiation, and plans to build a Wave-Motion Engine capable of making the Quest to Iscandar.

Episode 2
Captain Avatar shows Wildstar, Mark Venture, and Nova (Dr. Sane's nurse) to the spaceship being built inside the wreck of the ancient battleship Yamato. A Gamilon fighter-carrier attacks the re-christened Argo. Wildstar resents Captain Avatar for surviving the battle that claimed his older brother.

Episode 3
On Pluto, Gamilons, Ganz and Bane plan to attack the Argo. The Star Force, a crew of young people selected for the mission to Iscandar, receives their baptism of fire when their ship is targeted by the Gamilons' "Ultra Menace Missile." Can they ignite the engines before the missile arrives?

Show/Hide Episodes 4-26

Episode 4
Gamilon fighter planes approach while the Argo is motionless, building energy for the Star Force's first space warp. One of the Black Tiger pilots is damaged, and Wildstar flies out to assist him, narrowly making it back to the ship in time for the instantaneous warp to Mars.

Episode 5
Caught in Jupiter's massive gravity well, the Star Force skirmishes with Gamilon fighters while orbiting Jupiter. The Argo's Wave-Motion Gun builds all the ship's warp-energy into a tachyon-beam that is released from the front of the Argo, turning the ship into a gigantic cannon. The Wave-Motion Gun destroys the floating continent on Jupiter, but leaves the Argo temporarily powerless, sinking into the gas clouds.

Episode 6
Wildstar, Nova, and IQ-9 land on Titan to search for rare minerals to mine. The Star Blazers skirmish with Gamilon army tanks sent by General Crypt to hunt them down. During the fight, Wildstar finds the frozen wreck of the Paladin, the missile frigate commanded by his brother in the retreat from Pluto, which had crashed on Saturn's largest moon. He finds his brother's pistol in the nick of time, almost as if Alex's spirit is watching over Derek.

Episode 7
Captain Avatar commits the Star Force to attacking the Gamilons' base on Pluto, source of the deadly rain of radioactive planet-bombs. The Argo is damaged by Colonel Ganz's new weapon, the Reflex Gun. Venture maneuvers behind Pluto's moon, but the Gamilons bounce the deadly beam off reflector-satellites to strike the Argo wherever it moves. The space battleship splashes down onto Pluto's ammonia seas, and sinks beneath the waves.

Episode 8
Captain Avatar wages a war of nerves with the Gamilons, surfacing long enough to draw the Gamilons' fire, so that a team of commandos can find the Reflex Gun. Wiildstar, Conroy, Sandor, and IQ-9 infiltrate the base in an attempt to sabotage the Reflex Gun.

Episode 9
The Argo hides in an asteroid field while making desperately needed repairs. Ganz and Bane lead the Gamilon fleet in a frantic search for the Star Force, but Sandor has invented a system to magnetically attract small asteroids, camouflaging the Argo while repairs are completed. Battle-worthy again, the Star Force sheds its camouflage, creating a revolving ring of rocks, which Sander angles to intercept incoming fire. Ganz tries a suicidal bid to ram the Argo, but Venture uses the rocket-anchor to whip the enemy flagship into an asteroid, eliminating the last Gamilon presence in the Solar System.

Episode 10
The Star Blazers, leaving communication range of Earth, each take turns making their emotional farewells to their loved ones, Nova searches for Wildstar, who avoids his turn to say goodbye to anyone on Earth. Only Captain Avatar knows Wildstar lost his entire family to the war. He seeks the angry young man out, because he too has no one left on Earth to say goodbye to. Wildstar discovers that the captain's only son served aboard Alex's ship and was lost in the battle of Pluto. Together they vow to return to Earth.

Episode 11
The Star Force encounters a minefield the Gamilons placed in their path. The self-propelled mines continually draw closer around the trapped Space Cruiser. Sandor discovers that Star Blazers in spacesuits can manually move the mines away from the ship, allowing the Star Force to escape, Leader Desslok uses the incident to chastise his Generals.

Episode 12
Romance begins to blossom between Wildstar and Nova when the Argo becomes enmeshed in another Gamilon trap, a "Space Web." Captain Avatar's radiation sickness becomes more pronounced. Leader Desslok sends his newest invention, an all-consuming cloud of "Ecto-Gas" after the Argo, chasing them into a nearby star, the "Sea of Fire."

Episode 13
Leader Desslok appoints General Lysis to lead the fight against the Star Force. Wildstar and Conroy disable an enemy fighter and takes its pilot prisoner. The Star Blazers are surprised to find that Gamilons resemble Earthlings, only with green skin. Wildstar, consumed by anger, has to be physically restrained from murdering the prisoner and has a flashback to his parents' death during the Gamilon bombings. Captain Avatar orders the prisoner released, and Wildstar gives him some food at his departure.

Episode 14
Tensions mount as the Star Force must wait for the solar activity to die down at the "Octopus Starstorm." Wildstar and Venture fight, landing most of the crew in K.P. Nova suggests a party to Captain Avatar as a morale booster. Following a Gamilon ship, Wildstar discovers a channel through the closely-packed stars. During the hazardous passage, Wildstar and Venture must pull together to save the ship.

Episode 15
General Lysis takes command of the main Gamilon base at Planet Balin, midway between Earth and Gamilon, displacing General Volgar. The Gamilons chase the Star Force into an energy-draining "Galactic Whirlpool" - a supernova forming into a black hole.

Episode 16
Nova and IQ-9 are trapped on the planet of the Bee people - aboriginal insectoid allies of the Gamilons. They become involved in an insurrection against the despotic Queen of Beeland. When Star Force troopers led by Wildstar rescue Nova, IQ-9 realizes the impossibility of his unrequited love for Nova, and the robot agrees when the Bee people call him a monster.

Episode 17
General Volgar invents a method to control the microscopic creatures that inhabit the magma of Planet Balan. He launches his "Balanasaurus" against the Star Force. The monster seems invulnerable, re-forming after being blown apart.

Episode 18
The Star Force is halted by Volgar's latest invention, a magnatron satellite which uses magnetic forces to tear ships apart. When Sandor and Wildstar explore the satellite, the engineer's mechanical limbs - cybernetic replacements for limbs lost in the childhood accident that killed his sister - start to malfunction because of the powerful magnetic fields. They remove the cyborg limbs and Sander detonates their power cells, deactivating the Gamilon satellite.

Episode 19
Dr. Sane prescribes a holodeck session for Homer, but it does not help the homesick communications officer. Even though they are long out of communications range from Earth, messages are inexplicably getting through. A desperate Homer tries to spacewalk home, and discovers the secret satellite the Gamilons set up to destroy the Star Force's morale with bad news from home.

Episode 20
The Star Force reaches the Gamilon's main fleet anchorage base, midway between Earth and Iscandar on the planet Balin. General Lysis tries to crush the Argo between the base and the artificial White Dwarf star orbiting the planet, but his plans are interrupted because of General Volgar's jealousy. The Star Force blasts a way clear with its Wave-Motion Gun, and Lysis is called home in disgrace.

Episode 21
Lysis, sentenced to death by a Gamilon court-martial and pardoned by Leader Desslok, sends a challenge to the Star Force for a showdown in the "Rainbow Galaxy" star cluster. Captain Avatar inspires the Star Force with an impassioned speech while Lysis prepares the Gamilons' latest inventions, a teleportation system called Space Matter Instantaneous Transport Equipment, and a gigantic drill-missile specifically designed for use against the Wave-Motion Gun.

Episode 22
The Battle of The Rainbow Galaxy begins when Gamilon fighters suddenly appear out of nowhere and attack the Argo at point-blank range. Lysis uses S.M.I.T.E. to send wave after wave of fighters, exhausting the Black Tiger cosmofighters. As the Black Tigers rearm, Lysis S.M.I.T.E.s in a giant missile that drills into the muzzle of the Wave-Motion Gun. Sandor and IQ-9 enter the drill-missile and some desperate re-wiring sends the missile into reverse, starting a chain reaction that destroys the Gamilon carriers. In a final, desperate move, Lysis self-destructs his command ship next to the Argo, causing tremendous damage.

Episode 23
The Star Blazers are jubilant as they finally arrive at the Sanzar solar system, home of Planet Iscandar. Captain Avatar's radiation sickness worsens, while romance blossoms between Nova and Wildstar. Deep space missiles envelop the Argo in a cloud of magnetic particles, jamming all radio contact. Queen Starsha calls Leader Desslok, berating him for his brutal methods. Desslok insists he is working to save both their peoples' worlds and uses magnetic beams to drag the Star Force down into the massive caverns of Iscandar's twin planet, which a horrified Star Force learns is Gamilon. A bedridden Captain Avatar places Wildstar in command of the Star Force and the Argo splashes down into Gamilon's sulfuric acid seas.

Episode 24
Gamilon storm generators pour a deadly rain of acid on the Star Force, amid a hail of missiles. Avatar advises Wildstar to submerge the ship in the acid seas. While the acid eats away at the ship's bull, Sander and IQ-9 find a major tectonic fault, The Wave-Motion Gun triggers a massive eruption of Gamilon's many volcanoes, devastating the planet. Desslok, witnessing the destruction of his world, goes mad. When the Star Force resurfaces, the Gamilon Leader unleashes Armageddon. Amid a storm of missiles, the Argo battles its way into the heart of the enemy's fire. After the battle, Wildstar and Nova mournfully survey the devastation and the Star Force departs for Iscandar.

Episode 25
The Star Blazers make planetfall. on Iscandar, only to learn Starsha is the last survivor of a pandemic, plague. As remotes load the Cosmo DNA aboard the Argo, Wildstar meets his long lost brother. Alex Wildstar is overjoyed to be reunited with his brother, his old Captain, and his old friend Sandor. Sparks, who fears the mission is hopeless, kidnaps Nova as part of a mutiny, After the mutiny is put down, the crew bid farewell to Starsha, but Alex elects to stay behind with his love. The Quest for Iscandar complete, the Star Force heads home.

Episode 26
Captain Avatar tells Dr. Sane his hopes to live long enough to see Earth one last time, unaware that Desslok survived the fall of Gamilon. Desslok's flagship rams and boards the Argo. The Gamilons advance in a cloud of radioactive gas until Nova activates the Cosmo DNA. The Gamilons are driven off, but the energy discharge has injured Nova. A heartsick Wildstar carries her to the bridge, when Desslok attacks with his own Wave-Motion cannon, the Desslok Gun. Sandor's reflex-shield reflects Desslok's fire back onto his own ship, which vanishes amid the flames. Avatar reminisces about the journey, and his family and lives long enough to witness Star Force's return. Nova awakens to the bridge crew's jubilation and the Argo brings the Cosmo DNA to Earth, which turns green again.

Season Two

The Comet Empire
Episode 27
2201 A.D.: The Comet Empire has set its sights on conquering Earth. Leader Desslok arrives on the Comet Empire and allies with Prince Zordar against Earth and the Star Force. The Argo is returning from a patrol in the outer solar system when unidentified fighters attack the patrol squadron. A huge power surge starts burning out circuitry as an alien message is beamed to Earth. Returning to Earth with burned out radio, the Argo narrowly avoids the new Earth Defense Force flagship, the Aadromeda, commanded by Captain Gideon.

Episode 28
Wildstar and Nova make up for lost time after his long patrol. Captain Gideon dresses Wildstar down and informs him of the Earth Defense Command's plans to automate much of the Argo's systems and disperse the Star Force as cadre to other ships in the fleet. Sandor shows Wildstar a huge white comet heading for Earth, and the partially translated message from outer space. Amid a massive power blackout that plunges Earth into chaos, Wildstar spots a fighter similar to those that attacked his squadron.

Episode 29
The translated message appears to be a cry for help from Trelaina of the planet Telezart. Wildstar wants to investigate, but the Earth Defense Council rejects the idea. Leader Desslok predicts that the Star Force will go to Trelaina's aid and departs the Comet Empire. General Talan has gathered the far flung Gamilon territorial fleets into a massive armada awaiting their Leader's order to deploy around Telezart. Wildstar and Nova go to the old underground city which sheltered humanity during the Gamilon siege. Because of Starsha's aid in the time of Earth's desperate plight, they feel an obligation to help. Several other Star Force members arrive and agree.

Show/Hide Episodes 30-52

Episode 30
Venture wrestles with his conscience as most of the Star Force crew gather at the Argo. General Stone orders the crew to disperse, but they steal their own ship and prepare to launch. Venture shows up at the last minute and pilots the takeoff. The Star Force destroys a defense satellite blocking their way and, as they pass the moonbase they are joined by the Black Tiger cosmofighter squadron.

Episode 31
Captain Gideon is ordered to stop the mutinous Star Force. Wildstar tries to order Nova off the ship, but she insists on staying. The Andromeda chases the Argo through the asteroid field, but after a tense showdown, Gideon lets them go, muttering, "Captain Avatar taught you well."

Episode 32
The Space Marine garrison on Planet Broomis is under heavy attack. Desslok orders General Naska to watch out for the Star Force. The Star Force defeats Naska's fleet and rescues the surviving Space Marines, led by Sgt. Knox.

Episode 33
The Star Force fights off an attack by stealthed ships. Tensions flare between the Space Marines and the Star Force regulars, culminating in an immense bar-room brawl between Wildstar and Sgt. Knox. Another message arrives from Trelaina, and Venture takes over communications to get a fix on Planet Telezart's location. Back at the Comet Empire, Princess Invidia conspires against Desslok.

Episode 34
The Star Force is caught in a space whirlpool and a time acceleration field, which cause everything to age rapidly as uniforms and the ship itself starts to fail apart. Venture's infatuation with the mysterious Trelama grows with each message.

Episode 35
Sgt. Knox commandeers a cosmofighter and enters a dogfight which results in the capture of an enemy pilot. Pilot Mazir resists interrogation, even when Dr. Sane gets him drunk. Mazir escapes, but when his Major denies him permission to return, Mazir kamikazes into the Argo. The Star Force then shreds Mazir's squadron.

Episode 36
The Star Force is trapped in a field of energy-siphoning asteroids, while General Torbuck bombards them with missiles. Sandor develops a way to draw power from the asteroids and forms a rotating ring of asteroids to block incoming fire while they break free of the field. Torbuck launches anti-matter missiles at the Argo, but the Wave-Motion Gun hurls all their destructive energy back onto Torbuck's ships.

Episode 37
The Star Force passes through a field of "Star Flies" which the crew takes aboard. When Gamilon fighters attack, the Argo's systems begin to fall prey to the metal-eating bacteria in the Star Flies. Desslok recalls his last battle with the Star Force, when he tried to warp out of the way of his own beam reflected back at him, and how the Comet Empire found his body in the wreck drifting in hyperspace and revived him. General Garrot brings up his battle-carrier to finish off the Star Force with energy cannons.

Episode 38
The Star Flies have disabled the guns on Garrot's flagship, forcing his retreat. The Star Force takes refuge in a convenient cocoon-shaped asteroid, unaware that it is a Gamilon trap. Electromagnetic units imprison the Argo within the "Tunnel-Satellite." Sandor schemes to blast the Argo free by firing the Wave-Motion Gun without its anti-recoil device, which will have to be manually disconnected by Royster. Desslok prepares to annihilate the trapped Argo with his Desslok Gun, but a call from Princess Invidia delays him long enough for the Star Force to escape. Furious, Desslok returns to the Comet Empire.

Episode 39
The Star Force finally arrives at Telezart, fights its way through a storm of missiles and lands Space Marines on the planet. The Gamilon fleet returns to the Comet Empire where Princess Invidia talks Zordar into letting her handle Desslok. The Space Marines come under heavy attack by Comet Empire tanks led by General Skortch.

Episode 40
Skortch's armored assault is broken by special artillery assembled by Sandor, and the Marines pursue the enemy. Sgt. Knox finishes off Skortch in hand to hand combat. Wildstar, Sandor and IQ-9 penetrate into the cavern which the enemy troops had sealed off, and find the crystalline home of Trelaina. Desslok sees through Invidia's lies, but her guards arrest him. Desslok orders Talan to command the Gamilon fleet in his absence.

Episode 41
Trelaina invites Wildstar, Sandor and Knox into her home and Venture arrives and finally meets Trelaina face to face. Trelaina explains that she was born with great psionic powers that she dare not use since the time when, grieving over the loss of a loved one during a battle, she let loose her anguish and power, and slew everyone on the planet. She tells them of the threat of the Comet Empire, a giant war-machine bent on enslaving the universe, that travels within a protective plasma cloud that devours planets for fuel with the gravitic output of a small star.

Episode 42
The Star Force must leave if they are to warn Earth in time. The Comet Empire is on a direct course for Telezart, but Trelaina refuses to leave her homeworld. Venture eventually talks her into departing with the Star Force. Once aboard the Argo, she tells Wildstar that she must stay behind and returns to her planet to await the Comet's arrival.

Episode 43
As the Comet Empire approaches Telezart, at a speed which will beat the Argo back to Earth, Zordar calls Trelaina and offers her asylum. Trelaina refuses and vows to stop Zordar here and now. As the Comet's gravity starts tearing the planet asunder, Trelaina unleashes her powers, converting Telezart into pure energy. Inside the holocaust, Trelaina's last thoughts are for Mark Venture as she fades away. The Comet Empire emerges heavily damaged from the conflagration. Trelaina's sacrifice has bought the Star Force time to warn Earth and prepare its defenses.

Episode 44
The gathering of forces begins as Prince Zordar orders General Bleek's armada to move on Earth. Captain Gideon mobilizes the Earth Defense Fleets to gather at Saturn. Leader Desslok escapes from the Comet Empire and General Talan flies him to the Gamilon fleet. Zordar, learning of Invidia's deception, returns Desslok's flagship.

Episode 45
As the Argo approaches Planet Broomis, Sgt. Knox tries to commandeer a cosmofighter to visit the graves of his men. Wildstar orders Knox to scout the planet, and he discovers an enemy base. The Star Force fights it out with the garrison fleet. As the enemy armada approaches, Captain Gideon decides to meet them at Saturn's moon Titan.

Episode 46
General Bleek sends his carriers ahead under the command of General Mannik. Captain Gideon takes advantage of this by detaching the Argo to lead Earth's carriers against the enemy carrier fleet. Sandor and IQ-9 scout the enemy carriers. Conroy and Hardy lead Earth's vastly outnumbered cosmofighters in a surprise attack on Mannik's fleet. The Argo finishes off the Comet Empire's carriers with point-blank shock cannon fire.

Episode 47
The magna-flame gun on Bleek's dreadnought pounds the EDF ships from long range, so Gideon retreats. Bleek pursues the fleeing Earth ships into Saturn's ice-rings, where the heat of the magna-flame gun vaporizes the ice. The expanding gases buffet Bleek's ships, allowing Gideon's ships to pick them off at will. In that moment of triumph, the Comet Empire warps into Saturn's orbit, devouring many of the EDF ships in its massive gravity well. The damaged Argo is hurled free of the battle as the massed wave-motion guns of the EDF fleet fire at the Comet Empire. The comet effect boils away, revealing the citadel within. Before the Earth guns can recharge, the fortress starts revolving, masking the Comet Empire city in a protective tornado of energy, and raining missiles on the Earth fleet. Gideon tells Wildstar to attack the citadel from the bottom, then rams the Andromeda into the fortress.

Episode 48
Wildstar is wounded while the Star Force starts repairs on the Argo. Zordar blasts the moon into molten slag and demands Earth's unconditional surrender. Wildstar refuses to give in and rallies the Star Force, which departs Titan base and heads for Earth.

Episode 49
Gamilon fighters appear around the Argo and Desslok radios Wildstar. The Comet Empire lands in the Pacific Ocean to accept Earth's surrender, as the Gamilon fleet surrounds the Star Force. Desslok SMITEs space mines around the Argo, blocking the muzzle of the wave-motion gun. Venture warps the ship out of the way of the Desslok Gun's blast, and rams the Gamilon flagship. Venture is shot as the Star Force storms aboard Desslok's ship and his body drifts away into space. A bleeding Wildstar is cut off from the rest of the Star Force and continues alone. General Talan pleads with Desslok to leave his burning flagship when Wildstar appears, gun in hand.

Episode 50
Nova arrives to see Wildstar and Desslok facing off over drawn pistols. Wildstar collapses from blood loss and Nova shields him with her own body. Desslok, struck by their fierce love for their homeworld and for each other, renounces his revenge, tells Nova of the Comet Empire's weak point, and departs with his fleet. Wildstar awakens to learn of Venture's death and Earth's surrender. Trelaina appears in deep space and transfuses much of her life-energy into Venture's body. As Conroy leads the Black Tigers into Earth's atmosphere, the Argo submerges and attacks the Comet Empire from beneath the sea.

Episode 51
The Star Force pursues the Comet Empire out of the atmosphere. The Black Tigers and Space Marines invade the Comet Empire and fight their way toward the main engines. Knox stays behind to blow up the Empire's reactors, leaving the fortress helpless. Wildstar returns to the Argo and orders an all-out bombardment. A gigantic super-dreadnought rises out of the flaming ruin of the Comet Empire. Prince Zordar fights on.

Episode 52
Zordar unleashes a titanic broadside, reducing the Argo to a flaming wreck and killing most of the Star Force. He taunts the survivors, then begins to bombard Earth with his gigantic energy cannon. Wildstar orders the Star Force's evacuation and returns to the Argo. Nova, guessing his intention to kamikaze into Zordar's ship, joins him. Before they can begin their suicide run, Trelaina appears, bearing the unconscious Venture. She asks them to give her love to Mark and flies off to confront Zordar, turning to energy as she approaches the giant ship. Zordar flees as Trelaina expends the last of her energy, destroying him and his ship. The battered Argo returns to Earth.

Season Three

The Bolar Wars
Episode 53
The Solar System Faces Destruction
A Garuman proton missile goes astray during a battle in the Milky Way. Ryusuke Domon's parents are killed as the missile hits their cruise ship. Back at the academy, outstanding cadets are graduated early to augment Argo's crew, but Derek Wildstar assigns a rebellious Domon to the kitchen. Professor Simon concludes that the Sun will go nova in a year, then supernova, destroying the solar system. Wildstar is promoted to Captain of the Argo and ordered to search for a new planet for Earth's population to emigrate to.

Episode 54
The Great Battle in the Milky Way
Takeshi Ageha expertly tests Argo's new shuttlecraft, the Cosmo Hound, but is pulled from the crew by his string-pulling father. Garurnan General Dagon attacks the Earth colony on Alpha Centauri. As solar flares play havoc with Earth machinery, Ageha's mother encourages her son to follow his desires even if it means he must leave Earth.

Episode 55
Argo Sets Sail at Daybreak
IQ-9, fresh from an argument with Sandor, pulls up Nova's skirt. Dagon chases the Earth fleet back toward the solar system, but interceptors destroy a Garuman ship that blunders into Earth's atmosphere. Wildstar gives anyone with doubts a chance to stay home, and Homer elects to stay and search for a girl he met at the airport. The government refuses to acknowledge the crisis, so General Todo dispatches the Argo on his own authority. Homer returns and learns his mystery girl is here.

Show/Hide Episodes 56-77

Episode 56
Hit That Mars
At a Gartman staff meeting, Leader Desslok threatens Commander Histenberger with death if he fails twice more. The Argo crew undergoes 16 hours of grueling training maneuvers near Mars, then destroys three incoming proton missiles.

Episode 57
S.O.S. Rogendor
The heavily damaged Rogendor is all that remains of Earth's fleet. Capt. Ram requests supplies and a repair port, but General Todo will only grant nonmilitary supplies and 24 hours. Dagon's fleet arrives and demands the Rogendor. Argo escorts Rogendor out of Earth's territorial space, but before Capt. Ram can warp, Dagon attacks both ships.

Episode 58
Fierce Battle near Planet 11
Captain Ram thanks Argo and Earth for the chance to die a soldier's death before the Garuman fleet destroys the Rogendor. Argo counterattacks and Dagon warps away, leaving his fleet to cover his escape. A damaged Garuman ship rams Argo and its crew boards. Domon kills an enemy soldier, and later Wildstar holds a funeral for the Argo crew killed in the fighting.

Episode 59
The Rough Seas of Alpha
The temperature on Earth begins to rise as Argo arrives at the battered colony in Alpha Centauri and half the crew gets shore leave. A bar-room brawl is cut short by a missile attack.

Episode 60
The Last Pioneer
An attempt to cool the sun with feedback fails when the relay stations overload and explode. Argo arrives at Barnard's Star, where the crew investigates a distress signal, finding a pioneer family dying of fever. Argo is attacked by reflex guns - a Gamilon weapon which bounces lasers off battle mirrors.

Episode 61
Battle at Barnard's Star
The crew of tfie Cosmo Hound discovers why Argo couldn't locate any reflex satellites - the battle mirrors are mounted on fighters. With the reflection fighters all shot down, Argo locates and destroys the Garuman base. Dagon flees. The stubborn pioneer dies. The sole survivor, Tomoko, is pregnant. Wildstar decides to send her and all the female Argo crew (except Nova) back to Earth for safety.

Episode 62
Dagon's New Fleet Attacks Back
Admiral Gidel gives General Dagon one last chance - and a new carrier fleet - to destroy the Argo. Near a black hole, Argo encounters an Earth exploration ship commanded by Captain Dan, who reports seeing a large fleet and requests escort from Argo. The request is unfortunately denied, and once Argo leaves, a Dagon ship destroys Dan's ship. The Dagon fleet then drives Argo toward a group of gravity wells.

Episode 63
Argo in Danger near the Cygnus
Argo pulls free of the "space tornadoes" but is attacked, surprised by enemy fighters appearing by instant teleportation - another Gamilon technology. Dagon brings up his main fleet and orders Argo to surrender, but his carriers cannot stand up to the battleship's guns. Dagon tries to push Argo into the black hole near Cygnus, but Argo breaks free and instead Dagon goes spinning into the black hole.

Episode 64
A Penal Colony in Space
Conditions on Earth worsen. General Todo takes charge of the Space Emigration Ministry and assigns space cruisers Prince of Wales, Bismark and Arizona to aid in the effort. Argo encounters ships of the Bolar Commonwealth, who heard of Argo from Captain Ram. Captain Balsky escorts Argo to Planet Berth for repairs and resupply. While Argo crew members attend a party given by General Brozof, Domon and Ageha stumble across a concentration camp holding followers of Mother Shalebart. It is obvious that Bolar conquered this planet. The prisoners riot and storm the Argo, demanding to go to planet Shalebart.

Episode 65
Dreadful Bolar Commonwealth
Argo's crew recaptures all the prisoners, and Premier Berndaze orders them all executed. Wildstar is outraged and complains to Bernlayze, who orders Argo and Earth to become subjects of the Bolar Commonwealth - or its enemies. The Argo officers flee to the ship while cosmotigers strafe Balsky and free the prisoners. Bernlayze takes off and destroys the planet with mammoth missiles, killing his own people.

Episode 66
The Subspace Mariner: Garuman Wolf
Gidel sends Captain Frakken after Argo. Argo cannot detect Frakken's "submarines" and fires blindly at the subspace faults the "submarines" attack from. The bridge is hit and Wildstar is wounded.

Episode 67
Argo a Prisoner
Dr. Sado operates on Wildstar while Domon takes command. Frakken lures them towards Admiral Gidal's fortress, which captures the Argo. Gidal calls Desslok and reports his triumph. When Desslok finds out that Gidel has been fighting Argo, he is enraged. Desslok apologizes to Wildstar for his subordinates' unauthorized actions, telling him he considers Argo and Earth to be eternal friends. Desslok invites them to his new planet.

Episode 68
A Fete Day for Desslok
Desslok tells Wildstar and Nova how he liberated Garuman from harsh Bolar rule and was acclaimed leader by its people, ancestral cousins of the Gamilons. He named Garuman's sister world Starsha, and set about taking other planets from Bolar rule. Then they view a massive military parade in honor of the first anniversary of the Garuman Empire. Desslok dedicates the parade to Wildstar's late brother, who also held Starsha's love.

Episode 69
Desslok's Empire at the Eleventh Hour
Desslok and Talan visit Argo's bridge and Wildstar tells Desslok of the sun. Desslok offers Garuman's scientific aid as compensation for what his subordinates have done. Sandor approves of Major Frauald's plan to cool down the sun. Wildstar asks Desslok why he doesn't use his power for peace, and Desslok says he must oppose the aggressive Bolar. They are interrupted by an attack from Bolar warp missiles and Desslok orders Frauald's fleet to take off. A mammoth planet-killer missile slips past the defense satellites, but the Argo intercepts and Domon destroys it.

Episode 70
The Angry Sun
Frauald's fleet arrives at Earth and is greeted by General Todo. On Garuman/Gamilas, Wildstar and Desslok watch as Frauald's fleet sets up a magnetic field around the sun, and guides proton missiles into it - but the attempt fails and Frauald plummets into the sun. Desslok tells Wildstar of an Earth-like planet his astronomers have discovered, and Argo sets off toward the planet Phantom.

Episode 71
On the Way to Planet Phantom
Earth retreats to underground cities and steps up construction of the Space Arks. Domon and Homer find a derelict ship with starving pilgrims aboard who have been searching for planet Shalabart for 25 years. Sandor repairs their ship as a Bolar fleet under General Hawkins approaches. Wildstar tries to warn them off, but is forced to destroy the fleet. Mother Shalabart appears to the Argo's crew.

Episode 72
Planet Phantom It Is
Argo arrives at Phantom which looks exactly like Earth, even to its flora and fauna. Earth people rejoice and Desslok toasts Wildstar. IQ-9 warns of danger he cannot articulate. Phantoms of dead relatives appear to the Argo's crew.

Episode 73
Shattered Hope
Desslok dispatches Major Helmeyer to help investigate Phantom. A beautiful girl beckons to Ageha. To Helmeyer, Phantom is exactly like Garuman/Gamilas. The Garuman geologist drills for a crust sample and ground ripples. People flee the grass that rises up to engulf the landing ships, Ageha and Domon pursue Ageha's visionary maiden.

Episode 74
Farewell Planet Phantom
Phantom is a living planet which emits psycho-hypnotic energy. It asks Ageha to look after Princess Luda, an exile whom it has been guarding. The Cosmo Hound retrieves Domon, Ageha and Luda. Lt. General Gustaf destroys Phantom with a proton missile.

Episode 75
Battle at the Scalageck Strait
Two months later the Argo finds the wreckage of the Arizona on the last planet within evacuation range of Earth, apparent victim of a Bolar attack. Gustaf catches up with Argo and demands Luda be turned over to Garurnan. Before the battle can erupt, Desslok calls Gustaf and orders him to protect Luda and Argo from the Bolar until reinforcements can arrive. Hawkins arrives, demands Luda, and attacks. Gustaf's ship kamikazes into the Bolar fleet and the main Bolar armada attacks. Argo destroys it with wave energy cartridges. Ageha prays to Mother Shalabart to save Earth. Luda promises to lead Argo to Shalabart.

Episode 76
The Secret of Planet Shalabart
Luda opens the gateway to planet Shalabart, which lies in another dimension. Desslok's fleet follows Argo, and is itself followed by Golsakof's Bolar fleet. Wildstar dismisses suggestions to conquer and occupy Shalabart, The Bolar fleet attacks Desslok and Shalabart, but is destroyed by Desslok's hyper cannon. Luda shows Wildstar the hidden super weapons from Shalabart's past, and gives him a weapon for cooling down stars. Luda then says goodbye and merges with Mother Shalabart.

Episode 77
Argo, Hit the Sun
Earth's surface is scorched and the underground cities are starting to roast. Argo arrives and prepares to use Shalabart's Hydro-Cosmojin on the sun, but is attacked by Bernlayze's Bolar fleet. Desslok arrives just in time to blow away the Bolar fleet, and then tells Wildstar to concentrate on the sun. Bernlayze's fortress withstands the attack, however, and fires his black hole gun. Desslok's flagship can withstand the fire, but cannot retaliate. As Domon struggles to prepare the Hydro-Cosmojin, he is strafed by a Bolar fighter. Ageha, guided by Mother Shalabart, kamikazes into the black hole gun, giving Desslok a chance to destroy the Bolar fortress. Domon manages to open the dome over the Hydro-Cosmojin before collapsing from his wounds, and Nova and Wildstar fire the weapon, returning the sun to normal. Domon dies, Shalabart appears bearing Ageha's spirit to comfort Wildstar, Desslok congratulates Wildstar and the Argo goes home.

In addition to the three series, there were also a number of animated movies and, more recently, a live-action movie. Also, over the years, there have been a couple of attempts to reboot the franchise with a new animated series and a live-action movie.

According to Tim Eldred, a contributor on the Cosmo DNA site...

Claude Hill's Westchester Films, the company that engineered the importation and transformation of the three Yamato TV series for American television, formed its own in-house video label [Kidmark] in the late 1980s to make it available to fans on VHS. They were the first to roll out Star Blazers Series 1 and 2 in 1988...

Under the Kidmark label, the boxes where black and gold and the same artwork was used for each volume in a given series -- the only distinguishing feature was a gold sticker indicating the volume number that was applied to the spine of the cover boxes. The Kidmark version featured an unrestored U.S. print that showed its relative age. Tim Eldred, a contributor on the Cosmo DNA site, continues to ramble on...

Yoshinobu Nishizaki, Yamato‘s creator, purchased all rights back from Westchester in 1992 and established the American office of his production company, Voyager Entertainment, as the new worldwide rights holder for Star Blazers. He provided this office with the video masters for all 77 Star Blazers episodes and the five Yamato movies, and new releases followed just a year later...

Under the Voyager name, tapes were made available in... three box sets containing 6 volumes apiece... Furthermore, new packaging was created so that each series could have its own identifying sleeve...

For a time, Voyager did produce individual tapes, but, these were discontinued in favor of the box sets. The Voyager print, which came from the original video masters, was far superior to the Kidmark print. Clearly, Voyager was able to produce a more highly polished product than Kidmark. Each one of the Voyager tapes had its volume number pre-printed on the box and each of the three seasons were in a different color - Blue (Season 1), Gray (Season 2) and Red (Season 3). Movies were in white boxes with different color print to distinguish between the English dub (Blue) and the original Japanese language (Red).

3Space Battleship Yamato Symphonic Suite CD

4I enjoyed the first two series most of all as they were the ones being broadcast most often in the Philadelphia area. The third season had a brief rotation in the Philly area on one of the more obscure stations along with Rocket Robin Hood. I have seen the third season and, in my humble opinion, it just didn't capture the same magic as the first two seasons. I've also seen the movies in a combination of dubbed and subtitled format. Again, it was interesting to see the movies, but, they didn't really capture my heart as the first two series. I used to have all three series and all of the movies on VHS (about 56 tapes). In the aftermath of the Ultimate Otaku Fall Cleanup, I decided give all of my Starblazers tapes to my brother. Eventually, I repurchased the first and second series on DVD. I gave Starblazers a 4 out of 5. The Space Battleship Yamato Symphonic Suite CD contains much of the background music used in the original Japanese version of the series and has 12 tracks. I liked 6 tracks for a total of 50% which works out to a rating of 3 out of 4.

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