M.A.S.K. S1E06

Dinosaur Boy

Synopsis

Scott Trakker kneels behind bars with T-Bob and a baby dinosaur.

V.E.N.O.M. kidnaps a young dinosaur-like creature from the jungle, and a rival tribe is blamed for the theft of one of its lizard gods. M.A.S.K. goes in, with Scott and T-Bob sneaking along against Matt's wishes. Alex gives the creatures the name dinosauroids, and the team works out that a billionaire wants their antibodies to lengthen his life. The team traps the creature's father in a cage at a hydroelectric plant, then follows him, while Scott and T-Bob find the captive boy. The family is reunited and the young creature recovers.

Memorable Quotes

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mask.toys Episode Review

Two fathers and two sons turn up in Dinosaur Boy, and only one pair is lizards. Matt Trakker tells Scott to stay behind with Melinda while the team goes into the jungle, Scott and T-Bob promise to be as quiet as spiders, and the plot sends them out the door at the first opportunity. At the other end of the story a young lizard creature has been seized by V.E.N.O.M., and its father, drawn on a far larger scale, goes through a village looking for it. The mission is nominally about a tribe, a kidnapping and a rich old man; the episode is about a parent, a child and the distance between them.

The setup carries a smart reversal. The villagers say one of their lizard gods has been stolen by thieves from another planet who shot killer birds from their heads, the neighbouring tribes accuse one another, and a war threatens; stiletto darts found at the scene show V.E.N.O.M. is behind it. M.A.S.K. is not hunting a creature so much as trying to avoid hurting one, and a computer projection of how a dinosaur might have evolved into a humanlike figure, used to explain what the thing is, turns the villain's prey into a species with a family. The word dinosauroid is coined in the course of that explanation, and the episode treats it as something earned.

The idea the episode turns on is spoken aloud midway: if the team wants to find the young dinosauroid, it must follow the father. Bruce's maxim, that one living in a new age must not forget the advantage of the old, sets up the logic, and the middle of the episode becomes a chase after the parent, who is trapped in an elevator cage at a hydroelectric plant and becomes, in effect, the guide. It is a clever inversion of the usual pursuit, since the creature being hunted is the one who knows the way.

The animation gives the creature real dignity. A tall brown figure stands in a clearing while a small animal watches from the grass, a large dinosaur tears at a black net while a young one clings nearby, and an orange cage spins inside rings of yellow light. Next to that the villains are noisy and rather generic, with a billionaire in an orange helicopter who has more money than he could ever spend and wants a longer life, a motive the team works out for itself from a single guess about antibodies.

The standout is the cage in the jungle, where Scott kneels behind bars with T-Bob and a baby dinosaur, and the father's claw comes to rest on the boy's head. It is tender without being sentimental, and it is the moment the two halves of the story meet: a child who disobeyed his father is comforted by a creature whose own child is in that cage with him.

The weakness is the recovery. The team warns that a primitive creature could die quickly outside its environment, the young one looks sick, and a few moments later the power of love is declared to have put it right; nobody says what that has actually done for a creature who looked ill in captivity. It is a sweet ending and a thin one, and the likely reason is a short running time and a safety message still to deliver.

For all that, it is the gentlest of the opening run, and the one in which the villains matter least. The best thing in it is a father and a son who want nothing from the plot except each other, and we are glad to watch them get it!

Notes of Interest

  1. The M.A.S.K. wiki credits Brendan McKane with the voice of the billionaire Ludwig von Ryan, and says he used the same voice for Baron Fritz Von Hauser in The Currency of Conspiracy.
  2. The M.A.S.K. wiki says Sharon Noble supplied the dinosauroids' voices, and lists Brendan McKane as the voice of a boy.
  3. The M.A.S.K. wiki records that the term dinosauroid is coined by Alex Sector in this episode, and that the tribe worships the creatures as lizard gods.
  4. The M.A.S.K. wiki notes that Bruce Sato's maxim about not forgetting the advantage of the old in a new age is one of two he speaks in the episode.
  5. The M.A.S.K. wiki lists a continuity slip: after the masks are energized, Matt is seen taking down the Ultra Flash mask, although he uses Spectrum for the rest of the episode.
  6. The M.A.S.K. wiki notes that when the computer recommends agents, Shark is shown but Gloria is not named as Gator's co-pilot.
  7. The M.A.S.K. wiki gives the recording date as September 23, 1985, and describes the closing safety tip as a reminder to cross only at crosswalks.

Characters in this episode

Full roster →

Matt Trakker

Alex Sector

Bruce Sato

Gloria Baker

Dusty Hayes

Miles Mayhem

Cliff Dagger

Sly Rax

Vanessa Warfield

Scott Trakker

T-Bob

Episode screenshots

A blue and red tropical bird perches on a thick jungle branch.
A blue and red tropical bird perches on a thick jungle branch.
Two tribesmen with spears stand on a jungle path beside two kneeling figures in blue uniforms.
Two tribesmen walk the jungle path while a spotted orange snake coils round a tree.
A figure in a blue uniform walks past a pale tangled tree trunk.
Orange paint-like streaks sweep across the pale tree trunk.
A heavyset man in a blue uniform walks past the pale tree as purple smoke curls behind him.
Sunlight falls across a dense green jungle canopy and palms.
Two barefoot tribesmen run away down the jungle path carrying spears.
Three masked V.E.N.O.M. agents in gas masks and body armor stand together in the jungle.
A large brown dinosaur and two smaller ones struggle under a black net.
A large brown dinosaur and two smaller ones struggle under a black net.
A large dinosaur with an orange crest tears at the net while a young dinosaur clings nearby.
Dust and debris explode across a fallen log in the jungle.
A masked V.E.N.O.M. agent with a breathing tube looks toward the left in the jungle.
A tall brown dinosaur stands in the clearing as a small animal watches from the grass.
A masked agent in a purple jacket carries a small dinosaur through the jungle.
Masked agents in blue grab a small dinosaur in the clearing, one raising a fist.
Masked agents run through the trees, one carrying a small dinosaur.
A masked agent hugs a struggling baby dinosaur in swirling golden light.
A bald man in a white coat crouches behind a tree to take a photograph.
A bald man in a white coat aims a camera in the jungle.
A bald man in a white coat aims a camera in the jungle.
A bald scientist with a camera faces two tribesmen and a feathered chief in the jungle.
A feathered chief and a red-bearded scientist confront each other face to face.
A tribal chief in a feathered gold helmet stands between two tribesmen.
A dense jungle canopy stretches to a small settlement of buildings at the edge of the water.
Matt Trakker raises a finger and speaks in a plain shirt.
A monitor shows blue outlines of a man in armor, red helmet drawings, and two faces.
A man holds a red toy plane beside two boys on a park path.
A monitor shows crossed-out line drawings of faces and helmets.
A monitor shows crossed-out drawings of faces, vehicles and an armored man.
A man in a pink shirt stands in a warehouse as another man loads a crate.
A man in a pink shirt stands in a warehouse as another man loads a crate.
People sit in chairs around a large round table with a black grid on top.
A mechanical rack holds rows of masks in a high-ceilinged room.
A circular overhead view shows masks radiating from a glowing blue center.
Scott Trakker and T-Bob stand by an open red truck door with a woman in green.
Scott Trakker looks worried while Matt Trakker stands near T-Bob by a red truck.
Scott Trakker turns away toward T-Bob as Matt Trakker stands beside them.
A woman in a green vest and two men look to the left inside a room.
Matt Trakker frowns beside a woman in a green vest and a wall mask.
T-Bob wears a tribal mask and holds a staff as a woman with a vacuum watches.
Scott Trakker walks up to T-Bob, who wears a tribal mask and holds a staff.
Scott Trakker walks up to T-Bob, who wears a tribal mask and holds a staff.
T-Bob holds a staff and the removed mask while Scott Trakker stands by.
Matt Trakker crosses his arms and studies a carved mask while Scott Trakker looks up at him.
Scott Trakker looks up with a worried frown.
Scott Trakker puts his hands behind his head as T-Bob stands beside him.
A woman in a green vest and a man in a red vest stand before jungle trees.
A feathered tribal chief stomps by as Matt Trakker and a group stand on a ledge.
A feathered tribal chief speaks while Matt Trakker looks on sternly.
A tribal chief with feathered helmet walks past the standing group, with Matt Trakker at right.
A bearded man gestures beside a figure in a gray suit pulling a red mask on.
A bearded man gestures beside a figure in a gray suit pulling a red mask on.
A group of helmeted figures walk forward, led by one in a yellow helmet and green vest.
A tree trunk flies through the air toward a masked group, trailing yellow energy.
A figure in a gray suit with a red collar stands in an orange cage.
The masked figure in the orange cage turns away with a hand raised.
A dinosaur roars with its mouth open as white cracks of light flash around it.
The figure in the orange cage leans over and presses on the floor.
Two helmeted figures in orange and blue lean over a concrete wall, one with glowing goggles.
A caged orange box is wrapped in yellow rings of light on a gray platform.
The black topped orange cage spins inside yellow rings beside two figures.
A small dinosaur with an orange crest crouches in jungle brush.
A small dinosaur with an orange crest crouches in jungle brush.
A brown dinosaur climbs through jungle undergrowth beneath a leaning tree.
A maroon semi truck sits in front of a wooden building in the jungle.
Matt Trakker and others face a bearded scientist in a purple-lit control room.
A bald red-bearded man in a white coat looks sternly while a woman at right looks worried.
Matt Trakker steps down a ramp from the maroon truck beside a wooden house.
A man in an orange vest stands beside the maroon truck's side door and stripes.
A dark-haired man in an orange and blue vest points a finger beside the truck.
A brown-haired man in a red vest looks off to the side with one fist raised.
A maroon truck, an orange jeep and a red sports car drive along a dirt road.
Scott Trakker and T-Bob move past a yellow couch in a living room.
Scott Trakker and T-Bob move past a yellow couch in a living room.
Scott Trakker stands on the dirt in front of a wooden house as T-Bob walks toward him.
Scott Trakker rides T-Bob like a motorbike in front of the wooden house.
A maroon truck and a red car travel down a hillside through trees.
A red car drives down a jungle clearing past muddy footprints.
Two worn stones stand in a sunlit grassy meadow.
A man in an orange and blue vest runs beside a stone wall.
A figure in a gray suit and orange pants climbs into an orange helicopter.
A hand opens a suitcase packed with bubble wrap.
Miles Mayhem holds a glass of orange liquid beside Vanessa Warfield in a stone room.
A bald man with glasses holds up an open small box.
A bald man with glasses holds up an open small box.
Miles Mayhem and Vanessa Warfield watch a bald man open a flat box.
Scott Trakker rides T-Bob in bike form past a tree in the jungle.
T-Bob rolls along a jungle path with Scott Trakker behind him.
Scott Trakker rides T-Bob down a jungle trail, seen from behind.
Matt Trakker stands in a control room with a bearded scientist and a woman in a green vest.
Matt Trakker speaks with a stern frown in front of a control console.
A brown-haired woman in a green vest looks worried in front of a control console.
A red and white jeep drives toward the viewer along a jungle track.
A bald man with glasses stands by an orange helicopter as a pilot in blue climbs in.
A bald man with glasses stands by an orange helicopter as a pilot in blue climbs in.
An orange helicopter and its pilot are seen in the grass next to a stone wall.
A bald man with glasses leans out of the helicopter door with an arm outstretched.
A figure in a yellow helmet fires a mounted gun above a white-helmeted driver.
A yellow helmeted figure stands behind a long gun on a vehicle with a masked driver below.
Scott Trakker and T-Bob stand before a large stone wall.
A black armored vehicle with twin cannons fires streaks of white light.
A black armored vehicle leaps over grass beside a rocky cliff.
A figure lies motionless in the grass against a stone slope.
A dark blue jet with an orange nose slants down over thick jungle foliage.
A masked agent in a red and white helmet looks forward while seat belted.
A masked agent in a red and white helmet looks forward while seat belted.
Scott Trakker holds T-Bob as a small dinosaur leans close in the cage.
A red sports car with gull-wing doors flies through the air with a helmeted driver inside.
Scott Trakker reaches out in the cage as a dinosaur claw swipes at the right.
T-Bob is held in the air by a large dinosaur hand while a spiked dinosaur looks on.
Scott Trakker smiles with eyes closed, one hand on his chest, beside T-Bob.
Scott Trakker looks surprised with a dinosaur claw resting on his head, T-Bob beside him.
A masked driver in a red and blue helmet grips a steering wheel tightly.
A helmeted driver looks down in a tilted close view.
A dark blue jet crashes through jungle bushes, firing rockets.
An orange helicopter's rotor and skids pass over green trees.
An orange helicopter's rotor and skids pass over green trees.
A red sports car with raised gull-wing doors leaps off a stone ramp.
Matt Trakker and Scott Trakker stand together beside the red car with open gull-wing doors.
Matt Trakker, Scott Trakker and T-Bob stand by the red car with the maroon truck and jeep behind.
Matt Trakker rests a hand on Scott Trakker's shoulder as the group smiles behind them.
Scott Trakker looks up at Matt Trakker with a happy smile.
The maroon semi truck stands before a rock cliff with a snapped tree trunk at its wheel.
Children and adults gather in a sunlit park behind a fence and trees.
Matt Trakker in a blue suit walks with Scott Trakker and T-Bob outside an office building.
Matt Trakker points as Scott Trakker and T-Bob look up at him outside a building.

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