Star Blazers Episode 40 script

With over two minutes of cuts in this episode, you may wonder how the editors recovered the time. One method was to extend the open recap sequence, which could always be adjusted to whatever length was needed to compensate. The opening narration for this one, for example, is lengthier than usual.

The indication of “no Japanese” on Wildstar’s line at scene 84 means there was no corresponding line in the original episode.

The “Cut Violence” here was the one-on-one fight between Saito and Zabaibal in which the Comet Empire General gets shot straight through the chest. It’s understandable why that wouldn’t be permitted on a kid’s show in 1979.

The word “unimportant” in Invidia’s first line above is in parentheses, indicating it could be dropped if the actor couldn’t fit it into the mouth movements.

“Possible cut, too sexy.” Remember that in the original, Sabera was Border’s concubine rather than his daughter.

At 207 we see the term “PD.” In this case, it stands for “Pan Down.”

It’s odd that Sandor re-inserts the word “rocky” in his line despite it not being relayed by Homer. This may have been due to a script edit that wasn’t spot-checked for continuity.

“Cut bottle.” Guess who was caught drinking on the job again…

Whenever we heard a line like, “They’re robots” in Star Blazers, it was code for “Someone’s gettin’ killed.”

At scene 276 we see the term “TB,” which stands for “Truck Back.” Synonymous with “Zoom Out.”

The term “FI” at scene 280 stands for “Fade In,” since Nox fades into view as he emerges from fog.

The “white luminous path” described in scene 293 is an odd reference, since Trelaina clearly parts the waters for the Star Force members. “Parting the waters” is a pretty obvious biblical reference, so we can understand why someone writing for a secular children’s show would try to avoid it. But would that caution extend to a script no one outside the production was meant to see? We may never know the answer.

The term “TU” at scene 299 stands for “Truck Up,” the opposite of “Truck Back.”

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