The Ghost Walks Again:
If you asked me to name the ten episodes I liked the best, there is no way I would include this.
If you asked me to name the ten episodes I regarded as most important, there is no way I would omit it.
It’s not a bad episode by any means, but, like so many others in the show, it has a few glitches. Most obvious being a probable edit. Jedda says Partha mentioned television when they first talked . . . er, no he didn’t! That line must have been cut for time I guess! Also, when she takes on the mantle of being the new Phantom, they arguably should have had her at least try to use the Ten Tigers power, and it not working would have been a clue that her father was still alive.
Typically of the show’s Phantom heritage episodes, the other characters are very much sidelined. The Phantom is a fascinating character, but he doesn’t quite slot neatly in with the rest of the team, being very much a lone operator. This is seen in the two-part story of “A House Divided” and “Family Reunion” (not aired consecutively but clearly meant to be), where Lothar is completely absent for both parts, and Flash and Mandrake for one each. But I digress. Although mentioning “A House Divided”, there’s a line early on in that one where Jedda refers to herself as a future Phantom - it’s clear she takes her responsibilities very seriously.
This episode has the same moral lesson as Thundercats 2011’s “Song Of The Petalars” - albeit told from the opposite angle. While the Petalars live but a single day and teach our heroes the value of making the most of each moment, the Fallu are immortal and learn that lesson when their elixir is destroyed (although surely they know how to make more?).
Madden’s desire for the elixir allows us to see Ming working with humans again, as he did with Dr Janus in “Like Father Like Daughter”, and is seen in a very Blofeldian light again here. Ming really is a great villain. He only retreats at the end because the elixir is gone, it’s not worth his time staying.
Flash Times Four:
This is another good episode for Flash. His episodes tended to be the most varied in quality. While “The Revenge Of Astra” and “Flesh And Blood” could both have stood some improvement, this and “Like Father Like Daughter” which we discussed last time are both excellent showcases for the character. This one in particular is a great look into his psyche because Ming creates four clones (so shouldn’t the episode be called “Flash Times Five”? Four clones plus the real thing?), and thanks to Flash’s tampering with the Inquisitor, each clone has a completely different personality, dominated by one particular element of Flash’s psyche. Ming’s line when the real Flash escapes is particularly good, “to win the game, you must defeat yourself four times” - and he does, just! The Scorpion fighters present a much greater challenge than Ming’s Roboships, Dr Reynolds clearly has considerable talent in the field of ship design. No wonder he tried to make a profit from it - pity he offered them to Ming first! Also a fun little detail here is Kshin’s Snooper. For a while I thought they should have had a scene where it bleeped red at the fake Flash and they thought it was still not working properly, but I guess it’s OK as it is. And of course when the real Flash confronts his double and Rick is pointing his gun from one to the other - great scene. “Believe me or shoot us both!” There’s a similar scene in an episode of the original Star Trek where Kirk tells Spock the same thing. Spock explains later what his reasoning of who was who really was, and it’s not very flattering to Kirk . . . haha.
The Adoption Of Kshin:
This is another vitally important episode in the series, as we examine Kshin’s backstory in detail here. How his parents perished, how he wound up with Mandrake, and just how much Mandrake cares about the boy. This is also one of the very best episodes the show had to offer - which is not bad considering that Flash, Phantom, Rick and LJ were all seen but not heard in this one. Indeed, it’s the only episode in the entire series where Rick doesn’t have a speaking part. But I digress - again!
The treasure hunt is a bit like that in “The Lost Jewels Of Tibet”, again with a twist, but a different one this time. The Dragon Queen is a worthy foe, the kind of villain that I would normally expect to go up against the Phantom.
And of course . . . Kshin’s grandfather. This episode makes me well up with tears every time I watch it. I’m not ashamed to say it.
I said of the first of this week’s episodes it’s one of the most important but not one of the absolute highlights. Well this one does tick both boxes and I would call it required viewing for anyone looking to get into this show.
