M.A.S.K. S1E26

Secret of the Andes

Synopsis

The priest bends over T-Bob, who lies in the grass with a golden disc nearby.

On a ski trip in the Andes, Matt, Scott and T-Bob are caught in an avalanche and find an Incan priest frozen in the ice. Doctors revive him, and Tupaq mistakes T-Bob for Tamula, the god he was sent to escort to Guatavita, the lost city of gold. M.A.S.K. follows the priest toward the ruins while V.E.N.O.M. tracks them, and Mayhem's gang seizes the priest and T-Bob to get into the city. A flood and a rockslide scatter the villains at the temple. T-Bob later turns up dusty, holding a small gold idol, and the others demand proof of where he has been.

Memorable Quotes

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mask.toys Episode Review

Wake a priest who has been frozen for centuries and the sensible first question is where he is. Tupaq never asks it. He sits up in the lab, sees T-Bob standing nearby in a surgical gown, and greets him as Tamula, because he has decided the robot is Tamula, the god of prosperity he set out five hundred years ago to escort to the holy city of Guatavita.

Getting him into that room takes a ski holiday, an avalanche and a cave. A condor crosses the sky over Matt, Scott and T-Bob, the snow lets go, and in the shelter they find a man in a gold headband lying in blue ice. The doctors, Wolfsberg and Landa, handle the revival with a calm that makes the episode's one big decision easy to swallow: Landa translates, one of the doctors suggests that the priest will adjust to a strange world more easily if the robot plays along, and Matt lets it stand. Nobody corrects the mistake again.

Here is what the episode is about: the lie is also the map. Tupaq will take no step without Tamula, so whoever holds T-Bob holds the way to El Dorado, and the moment V.E.N.O.M. works that out a holiday comedy becomes a kidnapping. Everything after the lab serves it. Scott and T-Bob trade barbs about a favorite slave and a hammer, and someone in the V.E.N.O.M. camp snaps that they will never again be allowed to choose the headquarters, all of which are variations on who is allowed to give orders to whom.

The writing is at its best when it lets T-Bob enjoy the promotion. He was spare parts yesterday and a deity today, and his boldest act of divine authority is to announce that Tamula is going to bed. The script is less sure of its logistics: Tupaq has already learned English by the time anyone mentions it, and the plot still needs a translator for the hieroglyphs on the disc, which sends Scott and Brad off to Cusco and conveniently out of the way.

The craft is steadier than the plotting. The lab sequence is the standout, with the priest in a glass capsule while blue scanning rings travel across his face, then clutching his chest as the doctors catch him; it is a quiet, almost clinical piece of animation in a series that usually spends its effort on vehicles. The condor that circles the skiers in the opening returns over the priest and T-Bob on a mountaintop, and Tupaq's golden disc, held up in the ruins at sunset, gives the second half a plain object to chase. When the gold city finally arrives it is a cluster of glowing buildings on stepped platforms in front of a wall of golden rock, and it looks like a place worth the trouble.

The vehicles get their share too: a hang glider launch, a motorcycle with a sidecar tumbling down a cliff, a car crossing a rope bridge with a boulder rolling behind it. But the weakness sits in who wins. M.A.S.K. loses the tracking signal, reports a dead end with no sign of T-Bob, and sets off for a waiting cab. A flood pours out of the temple and a rockslide follows, so the villains are beaten by the defences of the place they were trying to loot, and the heroes are not there to see it. T-Bob turns up dusty, holding a small gold idol, and the others ask him for proof of where he has been.

That last beat is the right one for this show. We have seen the city and the team has not, so Scott is left asking a robot for evidence that we already hold. "Secret of the Andes" is a character comedy with an action serial bolted on, and its best idea is that the person everyone needs is the one who least wants the job!

Notes of Interest

  1. The M.A.S.K. wiki points out that the agent roll call shows Rhino on screen when Bruce Sato is selected, although Bruce is assigned to Thunderhawk on this mission and is seen in both the pilot and co-pilot seats.
  2. According to the M.A.S.K. wiki, Matt and Bruce change seats inside Thunderhawk while it is in flight tracking T-Bob's signal.
  3. The wiki records that Cliff Dagger is seen piloting Switchblade while Miles Mayhem rides in Piranha's sidecar, and that they later swap vehicles, leaving Dagger with Piranha's submarine mode and Sly Rax having to swim.
  4. The wiki notes that Jackhammer is visible at V.E.N.O.M.'s camp but is never used during the mission.
  5. The wiki's voice cast for this episode lists Brendan McKane as Miles Mayhem, Tupaq and Doctor Wolfsberg, and Doug Stone as Matt Trakker, Bruce Sato and Doctor Landa.
  6. The wiki gives the episode's safety tip as a warning about overloading household circuits: T-Bob's new household robot blows a fuse in the Trakker mansion, and Matt tells Scott it could have caused a fire.
  7. The wiki lists Brad Turner's Condor, a motorcycle that converts to a helicopter, as a 1985 toy, and records a 2025 re-release for the 40th anniversary with a smoother conversion, new missile and laser parts and foot pegs for the rider.
  8. Wikipedia places Lake Guatavita, the lake said to have inspired the El Dorado legend, in the Colombian Andes, while the M.A.S.K. wiki puts this episode's Guatavita in Peru and lists Machu Picchu and Cusco among the locations.

Characters in this episode

Full roster →

Matt Trakker

Bruce Sato

Brad Turner

Miles Mayhem

Cliff Dagger

Sly Rax

Vanessa Warfield

Scott Trakker

T-Bob

Episode screenshots

A condor spreads its wings above Scott, T-Bob and Matt in ski clothes.
A condor spreads its wings above Scott, T-Bob and Matt in ski clothes.
Scott and Matt look at the sky in ski suits as T-Bob stands between them.
T-Bob in a red knit cap skis downhill on a white slope.
Matt shields Scott from falling chunks of snow at the edge of a cave.
Matt crouches while Scott points ahead near T-Bob at the mouth of a snowy cave.
An ancient priest in a gold headband lies frozen in blue ice.
Medical staff in white gather around a patient in a laboratory.
A masked doctor speaks while T-Bob and staff in white stand at the left.
A masked doctor looks at a colleague in a white cap.
A man lies in a glass capsule as staff in white stand around a control console.
A man lies in a glass capsule as staff in white stand around a control console.
The priest's face is crossed by a blue glowing line.
Blue scanning rings wrap the priest inside a glass capsule as doctors watch.
The priest sits up in a medical bed as doctors with folded arms watch.
The priest holds his chest and stumbles as doctors help him.
A doctor supports the priest as he clasps his chest and winces.
Three doctors in masks and caps talk in a lab.
The priest crouches in pain as T-Bob in a surgical gown and a doctor stand by.
The priest looks anxiously at his hands as T-Bob in a surgical gown and a doctor look on.
One doctor gestures with a raised finger as two others listen.
One doctor gestures with a raised finger as two others listen.
Lab staff in white work around a capsule tilted upright in a lab seen from above.
Cliff and Miles lean over a table with a tiled grid map in a control room.
Miles gestures with a raised finger beside Cliff over the grid map.
Vanessa types at a console with a wave pattern on its screen.
A mustached man in a red jacket speaks from a monitor in front of a large building.
The mustached man in a red jacket and bow tie appears on screen over a stone building.
Scott and T-Bob look across a red sunset sky with a robed figure at the left edge.
Scott stands in a backpack beside T-Bob on a mountainside under a blue sky.
Matt in a green field shirt stands with a backpack against a rock wall.
Matt in a green field shirt stands with a backpack against a rock wall.
A hand opens a briefcase computer showing two screens with white slashes.
Bruce appears on the small screen of a briefcase computer.
Matt types on a briefcase computer in front of a rock wall.
A monitor shows red outlines of two trucks, one unfolded with a command platform.
Matt opens a case on top of his pack with a focused look.
Scott and T-Bob walk down a rocky slope with Scott carrying a pack.
The priest in a gold crown with green feathers looks forward before an orange sunset.
The priest, Scott and T-Bob walk among stone ruins on a mountain.
The priest bends toward T-Bob and Scott in a ruined stone wall at sunset.
The priest bends toward T-Bob and Scott in a ruined stone wall at sunset.
The priest looks down in front of a wall of fitted stones.
The priest raises a golden disc overhead as Scott and T-Bob watch from below.
Scott lifts a finger beside T-Bob in front of a stone ruin.
Matt and several men stand in ruins at sunset as a man with glasses looks aside.
T-Bob holds Scott against his chest in front of stone ruins.
The priest holds a gold disc beside Scott, T-Bob and Matt in the ruins.
A driver in a blue and teal helmet sits belted in a purple vehicle.
T-Bob hangs upside down as the priest's bare feet and robe appear above him.
T-Bob grips the priest's feet with his face tilted upward.
T-Bob grips the priest's feet with his face tilted upward.
A blue and red helicopter flies through white clouds.
Scott climbs out of a red vehicle with a lightning bolt as T-Bob hangs beside it.
A masked agent in an orange helmet and gas mask sits belted in a car.
The priest looks straight ahead in front of a yellow tent at night.
The priest sits before a tent as Vanessa and another man stand over him.
A finger touches a map with red and green marks on a vehicle's display.
T-Bob holds a gold disc at his chest in front of a ruined stone wall at night.
Scott holds a golden disc beside Matt and T-Bob at a red car.
T-Bob sits holding a blanket on the ground near a stone ruin at night.
T-Bob sits holding a blanket on the ground near a stone ruin at night.
Matt holds a gold disc as two men stand beside a yellow tent near a green vehicle.
T-Bob lies under a purple blanket with wide yellow eyes.
T-Bob flies through the air above pink dust clouds near stone ruins at night.
Scott rides behind a helmeted pilot on a yellow-green flying machine.
Scott looks back as the pilot flies the yellow-green aircraft.
Scott looks up beside a large golden disc held next to him.
Scott and the pilot ride the yellow-green aircraft toward a sunset sky.
A yellow-suited pilot flies a lime-green helicopter over a hillside town.
A small helicopter circles near a steep purple mountain face.
A small helicopter circles near a steep purple mountain face.
A maroon blanket lies on grass in front of a ruined stone arch.
A contour map with orange zones and a green river fills a screen.
The priest in his gold crown and chest plate stands in a cave with T-Bob beside him.
The priest walks across a rope bridge with a staff while T-Bob follows.
T-Bob sits on the planks of a rope bridge, looking ahead.
A keypad and panel on T-Bob's head fill the frame.
A blue and white vehicle crosses a rope bridge while a round boulder rolls behind it.
The priest and T-Bob hold on to a rope bridge post, looking alarmed.
A helicopter flies along a steep rock wall above a road with tiny vehicles.
A helicopter flies along a steep rock wall above a road with tiny vehicles.
A tree and moss covered rocks stand in a mountain forest.
A masked agent in an orange helmet and a gray-helmeted driver sit in a car.
Miles stands in front, with Vanessa, Sly and the priest behind him on a mountain track.
Sly and Vanessa walk behind Miles on a road as T-Bob and the priest follow far back.
A rush of water floods out of a stone temple entrance as small figures flee downhill.
Miles crouches on a lilac car in the flood beside Vanessa as Sly lies in the water.
Miles waves one arm beside a lilac car in the flood as Vanessa clings to it.
A masked agent in an orange helmet leans forward beside a driver in a red helmet.
A helicopter with a pilot flies low above jungle with yellow beams shooting below.
A helicopter with a pilot flies low above jungle with yellow beams shooting below.
A yellow vehicle crosses a mountain road as a brown rock slide pours down the slope.
A lilac car crashes against boulders under falling trees and rocks.
A motorcycle with a sidecar tumbles down a steep gray cliff beside a lilac car.
T-Bob stands in a rocky cave mouth, looking to the side with yellow eyes.
A condor hovers above the priest and T-Bob on a mountaintop.
The condor spreads its wings in front of the priest as T-Bob watches from the left.
The priest's hand holds a golden disc with carved face designs against his staff.
The priest stands in a cave opening as T-Bob walks toward him.
A carved stone temple entrance with a sun relief stands over a river.
A carved stone temple entrance with a sun relief stands over a river.
Wooden bars shatter into splinters against a carved stone doorway.
A tiny figure lies in a slanting beam of light before a huge dark temple door.
A person in dark trousers and sneakers steps into the temple entrance as a small figure lies ahead.
A mountainside of golden rock rises behind a wall of gold with a tiny doorway.
Glowing gold buildings rise in front of a golden rock wall.
The priest gestures in a golden cave next to T-Bob.
A city of golden buildings and stepped platforms is seen from above.
A masked agent in an orange helmet and goggles grips a steering wheel with a seat belt on.
A carved gray stone gateway frame with a gargoyle post sits above a dark opening.
A carved gray stone gateway frame with a gargoyle post sits above a dark opening.
A hillside town with tile-roofed white houses lines a cobbled street.
Scott steps back as Matt in a blue suit kneels beside T-Bob on the floor.
Matt and Scott look at dusty T-Bob in a doorway.
Scott kneels with T-Bob beside Matt, who points at the floor.
T-Bob holds a small golden idol up to his face with a dusty dome and surprised eyes.
T-Bob covers his mouth with an arm, his dusty dome and eyes looking to the side.
T-Bob looks up with sleepy eyes beside a golden object at the upper left.
Scott points across a lawn as T-Bob stands next to him in front of a house.
A big yellow robot with many arms bursts through a wall as Scott and T-Bob look on.

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