M.A.S.K. S2E08

High Noon

Vanessa Warfield gestures with an open hand beside a white fuel pump.

At a race and air show celebration, V.E.N.O.M. looks harmless: Vanessa Warfield even asks around for an ice cream cone. A M.A.S.K. voice warns that ambushes are allowed in the contest. While the racers are busy, Miles Mayhem and his brother Max tunnel toward a secret airplane test center to steal plans for the most advanced fighter jet. Ace Riker goes after an unknown craft and is reported down, and M.A.S.K. lets V.E.N.O.M. think it has lost its eye in the sky. The team works out the target, and the chase ends at a lake, where Vanessa, carrying the blueprints, is ejected in her seat.

Well, I guess if everybody's gonna take a nap, I might as well take one too.

Everyone at this party is acting, and the episode is a contest over who acts better. V.E.N.O.M. turns up to the celebration looking cheerful, Vanessa Warfield wanders the crowd asking strangers where she might find a big old ice cream cone, and someone on the M.A.S.K. side remarks that the only vacation she will ever take is in a rattlesnake pit. That reading is correct; the smiling is a cover. What makes the half hour work is that M.A.S.K. is acting too.

The spine is the pretending: V.E.N.O.M. fakes friendliness, M.A.S.K. fakes a defeat, and the side that sees through the other's act first wins. On the V.E.N.O.M. side the plan is stated plainly. While the racers are busy, Miles Mayhem and his brother Max work on an underground route toward a secret airplane test center, and the goal comes out in one speech: break through the wall, steal the plans for the most advanced fighter jet in the world. The frames show the machinery for it, a red beam blasting a stone-arched tunnel entrance behind a chain-link fence, then a blue mechanical claw biting into a cracked rock wall. Above ground, a M.A.S.K. voice reminds the others that this contest is not only a race, that once one team passes the other it is over, and that ambushes are allowed, adding that in Vanessa's case an ambush can be deadly.

The writing is at its best on the small beats. Bruno Sheppard is made to apologise to Brad Turner, and the apology is plainly forced. Calhoun Burns is congratulated for beating Vanessa in a race that means nothing to her, and someone mutters that it is one thing for Vanessa to be semi-human, but this is too much, and that she did not care about the race. Each beat is another sign that V.E.N.O.M.'s good behaviour is a performance, and none is explained at the moment it happens. M.A.S.K. reads the signs in a quieter scene, with five racers around a campfire and a map, a hand tracing a red route across the contours, working out that V.E.N.O.M. will probably head west and that the air test center is the likely target even though security there is tight.

The trap on M.A.S.K.'s side is Ace Riker's. He goes after a craft he cannot identify, a voice says to make them think they got him, and he is reported down, after which the others are told all vehicles are needed for a search. A M.A.S.K. voice later says that V.E.N.O.M. wanted to shut off the team's eye in the sky, so let them think they did. The frames add a white and blue jet skimming through spray and a winged craft tangled in a net above churning water.

The standout is the ending at the lake. A pilot who has been sitting and waiting complains that when he was a test pilot there was action all the time, and the wait pays off: one voice says Vanessa has the blueprints, another threatens to stop her in the lake and keep her there until everyone wakes up, and the frames show her in an ejected seat above the water. The closing joke, that if everybody is going to take a nap he might as well take one too, lands as a callback, since the pilot who grumbled about waiting is the one making it.

The weakness is the race itself, which is dropped as soon as it has done its job as cover. The transcript gives no finishing order and no winner, and the talk of a race fades once the search for Ace begins. A title like "High Noon" suggests a showdown, and what arrives is a patient ambush by a lake; the episode would have been stronger if the race and the heist had met on screen rather than running side by side.

Among the second-season racing episodes this is one of the more cunning, a story where both sides lie and the better lie wins; the plan matters more here than the cars do.

The M.A.S.K. wiki lists this as the final appearance of Matt Trakker, Ace Riker and T-Bob in the series.
The M.A.S.K. wiki describes Ace Riker as a former NASA test pilot and hardware store owner, and notes that he refers to himself by his codename, Falcon, in this episode.
The M.A.S.K. wiki records that Matt is Bulldog's co-pilot at the start of the mission and later drives it with Boris Bushkin as co-pilot, and that after the search for Ace begins Calhoun Burns takes the wheel of Brad Turner's Razorback while Brad takes Calhoun's Raven.
The M.A.S.K. wiki says the Manta, Vanessa Warfield's V.E.N.O.M. car, was in the 1985 series but did not reach toy form until the racing-themed third wave of 1987, with an open roof unlike the animated version.
The M.A.S.K. wiki says that, according to the original colour guides for the toy line, the Raven was first named Vampire.
The M.A.S.K. wiki lists animation errors in this episode, including Miles Mayhem's hair changing between two shades of gray from shot to shot and Stinger's tires being painted the same orange as its body in several shots.
The M.A.S.K. wiki describes the closing safety tip as Buddie Hawks, having finished fixing T-Bob, refusing to let Scott Trakker go for a ride without a helmet.
The M.A.S.K. wiki credits Sharon Noble with the voices of Vanessa Warfield and the race announcer, and Graeme McKenna with Brad Turner, Calhoun Burns and the drone; the wiki lists Wichita, Kansas as the location.
A shorter cut of this episode also exists. Comparing the full and cut machine transcripts, the lines that match sit 17 to 18 seconds earlier in the cut, for example the 'no reason to look so gloomy' line, which falls at about 2:15 in the full version and 1:58 in the cut. The transcripts do not show what was removed; the published screengrabs follow the cut version's timing.

Matt Trakker

Brad Turner

Ace Riker

Calhoun Burns

Boris Bushkin

Buddie Hawks

Miles Mayhem

Maximus Mayhem

Vanessa Warfield

Bruno Sheppard

Sly Rax

Scott Trakker

T-Bob

A packed grandstand rises under a blue sky beside a loudspeaker mount.

Four racing team members stand together, a bald bearded man in a fur collar at right.

The blond racer turns toward the bearded man in the fur collar as the group talks.

The blond racer speaks with a fist raised while a bespectacled man stands with his back to us.

A man in sunglasses leans on a white car hood beside the blond racer and the bearded man.

The racers gather in a group by a red car as the bearded man looks on.

Spectators raise their hands toward colorful parachute balloons floating over the field.

The bearded man in the fur collar stands beside the blond racer in front of a gray cab.

A long black dragster with a V.E.N.O.M. marking sits on a dirt track in front of pine trees.

A huge black tire and hub fill the frame beside a red towing hitch.

A translucent spinning wheel fades over a grassy hillside and a dirt road.

A grinning dark-haired racer in a gray harness suit sits in front of a gray cab.

A black winged craft flies low over the track toward a pale sun.

A white and gold armored tracked vehicle with a front propeller rolls across the grass.

A dark vehicle underside and headlights sit nearly in shadow.

A masked driver in a fur collar grips the wheel behind a dark red-eyed visor.

A white and blue jet skims through a burst of white spray.

A pilot in a blue and gold helmet and yellow visor grips the controls in a jet cockpit.

A purple sports car races along the track in front of the packed grandstand.

A driver in an orange fox-like mask grips the wheel while a bespectacled man sits beside him.

A crowned woman waves a green flag from a bunting-draped balcony.

A driver in an orange helmet crouches low inside a car under a white splash.

The orange-masked driver steers with both hands, looking forward.

A rearview mirror shows dust clouds kicked up on the dirt track behind.

A purple car races along the base of the grandstand under a tall tower with a red flag.

A driver in a green mask with a blue visor and red crest sits behind the wheel.

A crowd of cheering spectators waves from the stands at dusk lighting.

The green-masked driver looks sideways through the windshield with a hand on the wheel.

A man in sunglasses and white shirt talks beside a dark-haired man in a red vest.

The sunglasses-wearing racer and the dark-haired man look ahead with serious faces.

The two racers stand together in red suits, the man in sunglasses wearing a chest harness.

The dark-haired racer frowns sideways at his companion in sunglasses.

A purple sports car with an open hood vent and red lights drives across sand.

Two crowned and masked figures in dark clothes look out of a vehicle window.

A red energy beam blasts a stone-arched tunnel entrance behind a chain-link fence.

A purple dragster sits in a dark cave with its giant rear tire at right.

A blue mechanical claw bites into a cracked rock wall.

Bruno Sheppard smirks from a car window while someone in red and blue stands close.

A heavyset gray-haired man with a mustache grins in a dark cave.

Bruno Sheppard grins from the window of an orange vehicle.

A heavyset white-haired man with a mustache smiles, with a second identical man behind him.

A pilot in a blue and yellow elephant-trunk mask sits in a gray cockpit.

The masked pilot sits upright in the cockpit with a white contrail behind.

A faint camouflaged jet with striped wings flies over a green valley.

A white and blue jet numbered 77 skids along dirt, kicking up a cloud of dust.

A thin trail of smoke rises from a clearing in a pine forest seen from above.

A yellow and black muscle car chases a white car along a dirt road.

A driver in a blue and white striped helmet with a pink visor sits in a car seat.

An orange tank with white panels sits in front of a wrecked red and white truck.

A brown-haired racer in an orange and gray suit leans over a white surface.

The racer in sunglasses turns his head sideways and grips a red sleeve.

Bruno Sheppard scowls beside Vanessa Warfield, who looks ahead.

Vanessa Warfield stands facing two seated racers, one in sunglasses.

Bruno Sheppard and Vanessa Warfield talk on a rooftop with mountains behind them.

Vanessa Warfield speaks with her mouth open, large gold earrings visible.

Five racers sit and kneel around a campfire and a map at dusk.

A brown-haired racer in orange gestures with an open hand before pine trees.

A hand points to a route marked in red on a contour map.

A blond racer in yellow leans toward the group sitting on the ground with maps.

The blond racer in yellow talks with a dark-haired man in a gray harness suit.

The racers stand in a ring at night, the bearded man in fur at left.

Drips of gray ice or slime hang over a white machine with rivets.

A tangle of gray jagged forms crowds the top of a white control panel.

Metal shards and wrecked machinery fly apart in front of a dark panel.

Two heavyset mustached men wearing headsets watch intently from a dark room.

An announcer in blue and a man in a cowboy hat gesture before the stands.

The blond racer in yellow smiles at the open door of a vehicle.

The blond racer in yellow steps down from a cab as a man in sunglasses watches.

A man in glasses and a dark-haired man look at a white machine beside a building.

Small cars race across the sandy track as seen from the stands.

A smiling dark-haired pilot in a gray flight suit sits in a white cockpit.

A white truck drives toward a blue hangar with a jet silhouette over the door.

A white truck stops at a guard gate as a guard in tan stands by his yellow booth.

A purple car and an orange car with a hood scoop race side by side.

A driver in an orange helmet leans back inside a vehicle cabin.

A purple car with raised tail fins speeds forward with glowing headlights.

A red and white truck flips in an explosion, flames billowing below it.

A white truck skids through dust as red barrels fly through the air above it.

A white car drives along the foot of a tall chain-link fence.

A black capsule tumbles inside a web of net lines against the sky.

A purple and red vehicle edge appears at the top above sloping grass.

A white truck with twin exhaust stacks raises a red arrow as flames lick at it.

A white armored tank with a MASK sign and a red arrow rolls over grass.

A red and white truck and a white truck race across a meadow, throwing up dust.

A figure in blue and red stands in a cave beside an orange car and a purple dragster.

A black car crashes through white water inside a dark cave.

A dark car moves through bright rushing water seen from above.

A smiling dark-haired man in gray and yellow gear holds a white rabbit toward us.

A helmeted driver with a red star on the face leans from a white truck cab.

A black formula car races between an orange car and a purple car on a dirt road.

A black racing car with a number three on its nose rockets forward with glowing headlights.

A black vehicle surges through water with a tall white geyser beside it.

A pilot in a blue and yellow mask with an elephant-trunk hose sits in a dark cockpit.

A white machine flips over in a pale ghostly image above a grassy road.

A driver in a green and red helmet looks sideways against a blue sky.

A wrecked dark vehicle lies upside down smoking on a dirt road beside pine trees.

A white and blue jet with yellow stripes banks in a blue sky.

A winged craft is tangled in a large net above churning white water.

A white and orange vehicle leaps off a dirt road ramp beside a pine-covered hillside.

A white tank with a red missile on its back stands on a dirt road.

A white tank crashes into an orange vehicle, sending debris and dust flying.

A driver in a green helmet with a blue visor sits belted in a car.

A blue and yellow masked pilot grips a yellow control stick in a red cockpit.

A white tank moves on a dirt road with a white rocket antenna beside it.

A pilot in a blue and yellow mask sits in a gray cockpit.

A white capsule parachutes down over a dark pine forest.

Vanessa Warfield shields her eyes and squints inside a car.

The blue and yellow masked pilot stares ahead in the cockpit.

Vanessa Warfield tilts sideways in an ejected seat above a lake.

A boot hangs from a purple strap above a bright snowy white background.

The blond racer in yellow sits beside the bearded man lying on the grass by a lake.

A dark-haired man in a gray and yellow suit crouches as a white rabbit hops away.

A white rabbit with pink ears sits in the grass beside someone's boot.

A white vehicle with a clear canopy sits by the lake with a small robot in front.

Scott Trakker greets T-Bob while a man in a red cap stands beside the robot.

Scott Trakker holds a blue-striped helmet up toward his face beside T-Bob.

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