At the Palace of Power, the N Team is painting a wall in a blue room. Simon is dressed as a painter and wants to paint slowly with a small paintbrush. Kevin decides to use a roller and his Power Pad to get the job done fast. Simon steps on Duke's tail, Duke lets go of a paint can, and the can falls on Simon's head.Mega Man rushes into the room and tells Lana that he's picked up something "mega amazing" on the satellite monitor.
With Kevin, Lana, Kid Icarus, and Simon seated at the conference table, Mega Man shows them a world on the viewscreen. Lana says that it's just a "warp world" filled with beautiful flowers. Mega Man says that they're "power flowers" and runs the tape back. It shows King Hippo and the Eggplant Wizard warping into the world in a giant vehicle. They gets a lot of flowers and mention that, without the flowers, Mother Brain is powerless, and this is the only "warp zone" in Videoland where these flowers go. The N Team decides to go to that world to knock out Mother Brain's source of power, so "she won't be able to attack Videoland".
The N Team sits in a white, flying ship with a red "N" on the front. Kevin tells them to buckle up, because he doesn't have his driver's license yet. He then takes off and flies through a warp.
The N Team flies into the flower world, so Eggy activates the vehicle's strawberry jammers and fires at the N Team. The jam hits the front of the N Team's ship. Simon takes over the controls and gets hit in the face with jam that comes out of the controls. Eggy activates his peanut butter blasters. A "Big Jif" canon comes out of their vehicle and fires at the N Team. The peanut butter hits the N Team's ship. Kevin presses his Pause button and jumps out of the ship. He hops across some globs of peanut butter and turns one around. Then he gets back in the N Team's ship just as the pause wears off. The glob of peanut butter hits Hippo and Eggy's vehicle. They bail out and fall to the groud with parachutes. The ship crashes to the ground. Kevin points his Zapper at them, then he points it at their ship, fires, and destroys it and the flowers that they had collected. The world is about to explode. A volcano erupts. Hippo and Eggy run away. Kevin gets back in the N Team's ship and takes off. Hippo and Eggy go through a warp.
Hippo and Eggy arrive on Metroid. Mother Brain tells them tat they've ruined everything. Hippo is confused. The N Team appears in her mirror. Lana tells MB that she's through threatening Videoland without her power flowers. Mother Brain yells at her, then Metroid goes dark.
The N Team is excited to have freed Videoland at last, and Lana hugs Kevin. Just then, a warp opens, and Kevin sees his neighborhood. He realizes that he can go home and lands the ship. Kevin says good-bye to everyone. Simon wipes away and tear and says that he must have gotten some flower pollen in his eye. Lana hugs Kevin. Kevin takes off his belt and drops his Power Pad and Zapper to the ground. Then he and Duke walk through the warp, and the warp closes. The N Team flies back to the Palace.
At the Palace, Kid Icarus warps away to visit his family on Mount Icarus. Mega Man warps away to tell the people of Megaland about their victory. Lana declines Simon's offer to spend a quiet week with him at his lodge on CastleVania. Simon warps away, leaving Lana to sit on her throne in the empty Palace.
Kevin and Duke are walking along a sidewalk, and Kevin's trying to decide what to tell his parents about where he's been. Duke stops by a trees, sniffs it, and claws at it. It's a metal tree. Kevin realizes that something weird is going on and that they didn't even change back to normal. Kevin runs over to his house, takes his house key out of his front left jeans pocket, and tries to open the door. The key doesn't work, so he puts it back in his pocket and knocks on the door, calling for his mom and dad. The door opens, and Kevin sees that it's all fake. Mother Brain's lair is inside. She's alive as well, as are King Hippo, the Eggplant Wizard, and Dr. Wily. MB reveals that the flowers weren't powerful and that Hippo and Eggy were just pretending. After Hippo demonstrates his acting, MB tells Kevin that she has enough Zeebetite power crystals to "conquer Videoland ten times over". Eggy says that Kevin isn't so tough without his Power Pad and Zapper. Kevin makes his right hand into a fist or something, and Eggy gets scared. MB zaps the floor, and a warp opens. Kevin and Duke fall through it. They land in the center of Metroid. Duke yelps. They're attacked by a flying critter. Kevin forgets that he doesn't have his Zapper. Then he and Duke run away.
At the Palace of Power, Lana is leaning out of an open window, staring at the night sky. She wishes that she could share it with Kevin. Then she sees Metroid flying by. Mother Brain and eight soldiers warp up through the floor behind her. Two of the soldiers grab hold of Lana and bring her to her knees. MB tells Lana that she warped Kevin "home, of course, to Metroid sweet Metroid". MB tells Lana that, at this very moment, her armies are launching sneak attacks all across Videoland. Lana tells MB that she'll never succeed. MB tells her that she doesn't have a chance without Captain N to help her.
On Mount Icarus, people are tossing Kid Icarus up in the air and cheer "Hip, hip, hooray!" a few times. They put him down. Kid loses and smile and says that the peace celebration just isn't the same without "Kevinicus" to enjoy it with. King Hippo and ten other boxers warp up through the floor of the building. King Hippo conquers the world and renames it "Mount Hippocus". Kid Icarus says there must be some mistake, because they're at peace. Hippo says the mistake was Kid's and throws him away. The other boxers toss King Hippo up in the air and chant "King Hipporay!" three times.
On Megaland, Mega Man is sitting on a float (with a giant statue of himself) in an indoor parade. He wishes that Kevin could be here to see it. Dr. Wily and five robots warp up through the floor. One of the seven robots grabs Mega Man.
On CastleVania, Simon is being interviewed on the news. Simon says that he "single-handedly defeated Mother Brain and an army of 50,000 troops" with both hands tied behind his back. Then he puts both hands behind his back and pretends to struggle. The people cheer for him. Then Simon wipes tears from his eyes, says he can't lie anymore, calls Captain N the real hero, and calls himself "just a big-mouth". The Eggplant Wizard throws a tomato and hits Simon on the mouth. Eggy is standing there with three other vegetable creatures. Eggy fires his veggie wand and ties Simon up with bananas.
Meanwhile, on Metroid, Kevin and Duke use power items to fight the bad creatures. Duke brings Kevin a grenade, and Kevin uses it to blow up a silver door. They enter Mother Brain's lair. Kevin reads battle plans for Mother Brain's invasion. Metroid is undefended, and the keys are still in the ignition.
Back at the Palace, Mother Brain has taken command of "Videoland's Seat of Power". Eggy blows a trumpet. Lana, Simon, Mega Man, and Kid Icarus are brought forward, their hands bound in wood. They all plead guilty to the charges. MB sentences them to banishment into the Black Hole Warp Zone. Lana says that no one has ever come out alive. Simon protests, and a soldier knocks him down. Just then, Metroid flies by. Eggy tries to "nuke" Kevin with his Atomic Spud Gun. Hippo loads it with potatoes, and Eggy fires. Metroid shakes from the hit. Mother Brain feels the pain and says Metroid is her nerve control center, her brain waves are tuned to it, and anything that happens to Metroid happens to her. Kevin orders MB to release the N Team and tell her armies to surrender, or he'll tell Duke to chew up the circuits that mentally connects her to Metroid. Duke chews on a cord. MB feels pain and starts moving her face back and forth. Eggy starts dancing along with her. Kevin fires some lasers and frees the N Team's hands. Lana runs over to a guard, grabs his spear, and makes him spin around. Mega Man knocks over five soldiers. Simon whistles, recalling his whip, pets it, and ties up Hippo and Eggy. Simon picks up his bow and a suction cup arrow and fire at Dr. Wily. It hits him as he's trying to escape, sprouts a propellor, and carries him up into the sky. Kevin sets the auto-pilot to send Metroid "back where it belongs", and he and Duke warp out of there. Mother Brain, King Hippo, the Eggplant Wizard, and Dr. Wily warp away through the floor, the warp closes, and Metroid flies away. A warp opens on the floor, and Kevin and Duke arrive. The warp closes. Mega Man tosses Kevin into the air and then puts him down. Lana says she didn't think she'd ever see Kevin again. Simon seems upset, so Lana whispers that she sorry that Kevin wasn't able to go home. Kevin and Lana talk a bit more, then Kevin closes his eyes and smiles. Lana walks over to kiss him, then she turns around at the last moment, giggles, kneels on the floor, picks up Kevin's Power Pad and Zapper, and fastens the belt around his waist. Kevin smiles, says that life just isn't as cool without his Power Pad and Zapper, does a backflip, draws his Zapper, and fires.
Misc. Tidbits (Sunday, January 12, 2003, 5:56 PM - 5:59 PM)
"Metroid Sweet Metroid" is the eleventh Captain N episode script that Jeffrey Scott wrote and the tenth episode that aired.
I first saw this episode on NBC, maybe on The Family Channel, and definitely on "Captain N & The Video Game Masters".
Title pun: Home Sweet Home
Interesting Notes (6:29 PM - 9:38 PM)
The title is blue with quotes around it.
The N Team's viewscreen in the room with the conference table is called the "satellite monitor".
The N Team has a white ship with a red "N" on the front of it. There are two purple seats. The ship has an airplant-style steering wheel. There is no roof. The ship usually sits on a launch pad outside the Palace of Power. On the wall behind it, there is something written in red letters, but all that we can see of it is "NE". There's at least one letter before it, and the final letter (after it) looks like an "L".
The Palace of Power has purple towers among the golden towers.
I love that smile on Lana's face after Simon says "jammed". Notice how, this time, Lana doesn't hide her smile? Could it be because Simon can't see her?
The Eggplant Wizard's Peanut Butter Blaster has "BIG JIF" written on it. Ha, ha.
Notice how Lana folds her hands together and smiles at Kevin's achievements twice in this episode. Aw.
The Eggplant Wizard has a wife and two baby eggplants at home. Where? Metroid? I doubt it, since we never see them. He probably means Mount Icarus.
Mega Man salutes Lana after she gives him an order.
Kevin lived with both of his parents on Earth.
Kevin keeps his house key in his front left blue jeans pocket.
The people of CastleVania are dressed in both modern and medieval clothes in this episode. They also have their own TV news.
The is the second episode where Lana wants to dance with a bad guy to defeat him. Neat.
Simon pets his whip. Apparently, it's a "boy".
I'm not sure, but I think that Simon is cheering "Whoo-hoo!" when Kevin and Duke arrive at the Palace.
There are three instances of someone being tossed into the air in triumph in this episode: Kid Icarus, King Hippo, and Kevin.
Great Lines (6:00 PM - 8:49 PM)
Simon: "The art of good painting is all in the wrist."
Lana: "Thanks for the advice, Simon, but we're painting a wall, not a postage stamp."
Simon: "A good artist has patience."
Kevin: "Maybe, but a good house-painter has a roller."
Simon: "Hmph. It may be fast, but where's the joy of savoring each brushstroke and drop of paint?"
(a paint can falls on Simon's head)
Kevin: "I see what you mean about savoring every drop of paint, Simon."
Simon: "Very funny."
Kevin: "Better buckle up, dudes. I don't have my driver's license yet."
Simon: "You what?!"
Eggplant Wizard: "Watch where you're stepping! That's my nose!"
King Hippo: "Hey! Get your leg outta my bellybutton!"
Eggplant Wizard: "Don't shoot! I've got a wife and two baby eggplants at home."
Kevin: "Don't worry. I'm not gonna fry any eggplant. Just flowers!"
Kevin: "Now, go back to your Mother Inferior and tell her she just ran outta gas...permanently!"
King Hippo: "Abandon warp zone!"
Eggplant Wizard: "Women and eggplants first!"
Mother Brain: "You fools! You ruined everything!"
King Hippo: "But I thought - "
Eggplant Wizard: "Shut up before you get us in real trouble!"
Kevin: "Huh. Looks like Mother Brain's world is finally brain-dead."
Lana: "We've done it! Videoland is free at last!"
Mega Man: "No more mega monsters attacking in the night!"
Kid Icarus: "No more battles to the maximus!"
Simon: "And best of all, no more waking up early!"
Kevin: "That's right, Duke! We can go home!"
Simon: "Finally!"
(Lana looks at him)
Simon: "Uh, I mean you'll finally be able to take a well-deserved rest. Yes, that's what I mean."
Lana: "But...what about us?"
Simon: "Oh, he needn't worry about us, Your Wonderfulness. We'll be fine without him."
Simon: "Good-bye, Captain N. Good luck. Um,...must've gotten some flower pollen in my eyes."
Kevin: "I'll think of you every time I play my video games, Lana."
Kevin: "What am I gonna say to mom and dad about where I've been?"
(Duke shakes his head and whimpers)
Kevin: "Yeah, you're right, Duke. If I tell them the truth, they'll think I've come unwrapped."
Kevin: "It's all fake!"
Mother Brain: "Not all of it!"
Kevin: "Huh?!"
Mother Brain: "I am very real!"
Kevin: "Mother Brain!"
Mother Brain: "Welcome home, Captain N!"
Mother Brain: "Captain N is in our home,...and I always treat my guests with respect...before I destroy them!"
Kevin: "Oh, 'I won't be needing my Zapper anymore'. Way to go, Kev."
Lana: "Oh, it sure is a beautiful night, but I wish I could share it with Kevin."
Lana: "What've you done with Captain N?!"
Mother Brain: "Why, I warped him home, of course,...to Metroid sweet Metroid!"
King Hippo: "I hereby conquer this world and rename it Mount Hippocus. Ha, ha."
Kid Icarus: "There must be some mistakus. Videoland is at peace."
King Hippo: "The mistake is yours, Kid Wimpicus."
Dr. Wily: "Sorry to interrupt your party, mega jerks, but I've come to give my regards - not to mention orders. Heh. Grab them!"
Simon: "No, I can't lie anymore. That's not the way it happened at all! Captain N is the real hero. I'm just a big-mouth!"
Kevin: "Boy,...what I wouldn't give for my Zapper right now. I'd even be happy with a squirt gun."
Kevin: "According to these battle plans, Mother Brain's forces are attacking all over Videoland! But she made one fatal mistake, Duke. She figured I'd never get out alive, so she left Metroid undefended. And worse than that,...she left the keys in the ignition."
Eggplant Wizard: "All rise in the presence of Her Cerebral Highness, Queen Mother Brain!"
Mother Brain: "As judge, jury, and executioner of Videoland, I charge to all with conspiracy...to bring peace and freedom to everyone! How do you plead?"
Lana: "Guilty...and proud of it."
Kid Icarus: "That goes for me, too-icus."
Mega Man: "I agree."
(Lana looks at Simon)
Simon: "Uh, me, too."
Mother Brain: "Order in the court!"
Eggplant Wizard: "Uh, I'll have an eggplant sandwich. Uh, hold the pickles."
(Mother Brain bangs her gavel)
Eggplant Wizard: "Okay, okay, uh, I'll hold the pickles!"
Mother Brain: "Will you shut up?! I hereby sentence you...to banishment...into the Black Hole Warp Zone!"
Lana: "The Black Hole Warp Zone?! Oh, but no one's ever come out alive!"
Mega Man: "The gravity's so great, we'll be squished to no bigger than a grain of sand!"
Simon: "How dreadful! None of my clothes will fit. No! I'm too handsome to die!"
Lana: "I'm sorry you weren't able to go home, Kevin."
Kevin: "Yeah, well,...in a way, I'm kind of glad I have a reason to stay in Videoland."
Lana: "So am I."
Kevin: "Boy, there's no denyin' it. Life just isn't as cool without my Power Pad and Zapper."
Dumb Lines (6:26 PM - 8:47 PM)
Simon: "He's going to mash us into wallpaper paint!"
Um, you were just painting a room inside the Palace, Simon, not the outside.
Kevin: "Metal tree?! Something weird is going on here! We didn't even change back to normal!"
See my rant below for an explanation of why this line is so stupid.
Eggplant Wizard: "From now on, you're all prisoners of Mother Brain,...uh, not to mention vegetarians."
See the Sick Moments section below.
Mother Brain: "As judge, jury, and executioner of Videoland, I charge to all with conspiracy...to bring peace and freedom to everyone! How do you plead?"
I think this is the first time that I've listed the same line in the good and bad sections, but it really does fit in both. A judge, a jury, and an executioner can't charge anyone with a crime. That's the prosecutor's job.
Mother Brain: "But that's my world! He's trespassing!"
You can't take her seriously, when she's just taken over Videoland and is in the Palace of Power.
Eggplant Wizard: "Hey! Uh, I never knew you were such a good dancer, Mother Brain!"
Uh, Mother Brain has just told Eggy the problem. How could he not figure out that she was in pain?
Sick Moments (7:56 PM, 8:38 PM - 8:39 PM)
Eggy is promoting the slaughter and consumption of innocent vegetables?! This is like Cobra Commander promoting cannibalism!
Mother Brain calls the Eggplant Wizard a "worm-eatin' vegetable". If, that's true, then yuck!
Rant (9:00 PM - 10:52 PM; Monday, January 13, 2003, 7:00 PM - 8:47 PM; Wednesday, January 15, 2003, 7:30 PM - 8:00 PM, 8:34 PM - 8:56 PM, 10:50 PM - 11:51 PM)
Well, I guess that Jeffrey Scott couldn't create a "hot streak" of good episodes. Right after "The Most Dangerous Game Master", he wrote this episode, "Metroid Sweet Metroid". Okay, let's start at the beginning.
The N Team is painting a room in the Palace (no doubt to convert it into another sports room or something like that). I find it hard to believe that the Palace of Power has an unpainted wall. But then again, it's so freakin' huge, why not? Seriously, compare Metroid and the Palace in this episode (when it flies right in front of Lana) and it "Wishful Thinking" (right after Hippo and Eggy are wished back to Metroid). Metroid has huge underground caverns, and it's still smaller than the Palace of Power! Imagine how many rooms the Palace must have! Surely, the N Team could have found a room that was already painted.
Simon demonstrates his stupidity yet again by wanting to paint the room using a small paintbrush. He enjoys this. Seriously.
Kevin says "It's time for the second coat", but he then throws paint onto an unpainted part of the wall. Either Kevin is confused as to what a second coat means, or his aim is real bad. Or maybe he's just indecisive as to what he wants to do next.
Twice in this episode, Kevin's Power Pad is shown to be out of power, and, when he uses it, one unit of energy appears in the last (our right, Kevin's left) part of the meter! When Kevin throws his belt on the ground, the weapons are fully-charged.
How could Duke toss a paint can so high into the air?
Apparently, the N Team has satellites in orbit around worlds and can see live images of recordings of them on their viewscreen. But why would such a sophisticated system use tape to make its recordings?
This episode has some weird terminology. Lana refers to the flower world as a "warp world". What does that mean? But King Hippo correctly refers to the place as a "warp zone", since a warp zone is the place where a warp is located (such as in Super Mario Bros.). Lana also calls the warp to Kevin's "neighborhood" a "warp". Not a "warp zone". A "warp". That's the correct term! Whoo-hoo!
How could the N Team fall for Hippo and Eggy's "power flowers" trick? Hippo and/or Eggy were heard laughing on the tape! If that isn't a hint, I don't know what is!
Why is there a warp located so high up that the N Team needs a ship to fly into it? Are warps natural or artificial? If they're natural, then I understand. But if they're artificial, then the person that set that one in place must have been stoned.
Kevin tells the rest of the N Team to buckle up, but it looks like Simon is the only one that's not buckled up.
How could the jam, which hit the front of the ship, come out of the sterring wheel?
The peanut butter that hits Hippo and Eggy's ship doesn't look big enough to be able to cover it entirely, but it does. Then, when the ship falls to the ground, it's clean.
Eggy mentions his "nose", but he doesn't have one.
Mother Brain later reveals that the flowers weren't powerful. So, why did the world blow up?
Gee, outer space sure is different in Videoland. The N Team can ride around in their ship and breathe just fine. They don't even get cold. Why can't outer space in our universe be like that? It would make exploration a lot easier.
Lana's hands momentarily disappear when she asks "But...what about us?" At least Lana has the attitude to push Simon away by clapping her left hand on his face!
This is the stupidest part of the episode. A warp opens, and what appears to be Kevin's neighborhood is on the other side. There's one problem, though. It's animated! Here's what Jeffrey Scott told me in an interview on Saturday, January 26, 2002:
"As best I can recall, that was the basic format of the show--i.e. that Kevin was sucked out of live action and into the animated game world. This was going to be shot for the opening titles of the show, so I used it in the opening of the pilot episode."
So, Jeffrey Scott was writing these episodes on the assumption that Earth was live-action and Videoland was animated. However, it wasn't mentioned until this episode. This makes Kevin's reaction (or lack thereof) in "Kevin in Videoland" seem pretty stupid. Here's what Jeffrey Scott told me about "Kevin in Videoland":
"I'll have to take your word for it that Kevin doesn't react to the animated world because I haven't read the script in 14 years. As to why, you got me! I'm sure this was discussed at the time, but I don't recall. I'm normally very concerned to keep things logical and consistent, sometimes to a fault. It's possible that we simply assumed that Kevin just knew he was inside a video game and therefore didn't react to it or mention it."
Yet, in "Kevin in Videoland", Kevin asks where he is first and then notices the video game characters. So, Kevin didn't assume that he was inside a video game. He simply didn't react to suddenly being animated. In "The Most Dangerous Game Master", Kevin assumes that "Mike" called him from home. Okay, maybe he thought that projections from Earth to Videoland would appear animated, but I doubt it. He saw the N Team animated on his TV screen in "Kevin in Videoland", so he should assume that Mike would appear live-action on the N Team's viewscreen. He doesn't. "Metroid Sweet Metroid" is the only episode that Jeffrey Scott wrote that mentions a difference in the appearance of Videoland and Earth.
This makes Kevin look clearly stupid in this episode. Kevin sees his "neighborhood" on the other side of the warp and believes that he's really going home. Even if he believed that Earth appeared animated when viewed through the warp, he still had a few seconds after stepping through it before the warp closed. The moment that he saw that he and his "neighborhood" were still animated, he should have turned and run back through the warp. But no! Kevin walks along the sidewalk with Duke, completely unaware that anything is wrong. You know, such as there being absolutely no other people around. When Duke stops by a tree and sniffs at it, he starts scratching it and reveals that it's made out of metal. Kevin exclaims "Metal tree?! Something weird is going on here! We didn't even change back to normal!" Wow! What a brilliant observation, Kev! And it took you only a few minutes to figure it out!
A later episode causes a bit of a problem in Lana's good-bye to Kevin. I'll explain what it is when I review that episode.
Lana's left arm disappears when she tells Mega Man to take them home. It's interesting how he salutes her, though. Is he doesn't this because she's the Princess of Videoland, or is Lana the leader of the N Team now that Kevin's gone? Or has Lana always been the leader of the N Team. We don't find out in this episode.
The base of the Palace of Power is shown, and the ground outside seems to be blue and pink. Weird. Also, the two cords are gold in this episode. The pan-up seems to suggest that the Throne room is not on the first floor of the Palace, the N Team ringing the doorbell outside of the Throne room in "Nightmare on Mother Brain's Street".
There Simon goes, kissing his mirror again. I guess Simon really does love only himself.
I never knew that there were convenient warps to Mount Icarus, Megaland, and CastleVania in the Throne room. Simon lives in a "lodge", which simply means "habitation". No help there. We don't even get to see the place.
So, what's Lana gonna do? Just sit on her throne and pretend that she's doing something important? And why would the rest of the N Team leave her alone with no guards?!
Uh-oh, when Kevin stands back up straight, he's suddenly got his Power Pad back. He then loses it in the next shot.
Why does King Hippo recite Juliet's lines (sort of), not Romeo's? How does he even know about Shakepeare's plays?
I believed that this room is Mother Brain's lair, but it's empty, compared to haven't equipment in it later in the episode. Maybe it's just some unexplainably empty room. Who knows?
Does Kevin say "Then you were running out of power"? It sounds like it, but that doesn't make any sense, considering that it's very apparent that Mother Brain still has power.
Mother Brain replies, "Are you kidding? I'm got enough Zeebetite power crystals to conquer Videoland ten times over." Um, excuse me? If Mother Brain has all this power, why hasn't she used it to conquer Videoland already?! At least we get a mention of Zeebetite, but there's still no mention of the planet Zebes/Zebeth itself.
Why does Eggy get scared of Kevin's hand gesture (whatever it is)? And do you notice that Eggy places his hands on Hippo twice in this episode? The first time was when the peanut butter came at their ship. Hmmm, interesting.
Apparently, Mother Brain can use those metal things on top of her jar to open up warps. So, she sends Kevin and Duke into the center of Metroid. Not having his weapons, Kevin is forced to run.
When the Palace of Power is shown, it seems like it is indeed night, as Lana claims. However, when Metroid is shown flying by the Palace, it's daylight.
The Palace of Power has glassless windows? I sure hope that the glass is locked into place by the security system, which Lana had deactivated after Mother Brain's "defeat", because, otherwise, this looks really stupid. Anyway, Mother Brain and a whole bunch of soldiers (the same ones that were marching on the Palace in "Kevin in Videoland", apparently) warp into the Palace, and Lana is taken prisoner. Um, the Palace of Power does have a security system, and Lana did deactive it, right? Please?
Oh, yeah, Der Kommissar mentions in his reviews that the guards wear what are, apparently, salt shakers on their belts. The Palace was losing the war to soldiers armed with salt shakers?! WTF?! To be fair, they apparently have swords, too. But still, they should be no match for the Palace of Power's (unspecified) defenses.
The conquering of Videoland scenes were handled very lazily, in my opinion. Mother Brain says that her armies are launching sneak attacks "all across Videoland". All we see are King Hippo warped onto Mount Icarus with boxers, Dr. Wily warping into someplace in Megaland with robots, the Eggplant Wizard showing up with three other vegetables on CastleVania, and each of them easily disposing of or capturing the heroes. Couldn't Kid Icarus, being thrown away, easily escape, or was a bad guy waiting off-screen to capture him? All of this is shown in 2 minutes and 22 seconds. At least they were better than those in "Wishful Thinking".
This also conflicts with "Videolympics" and "Mega Trouble for Megaland". In those episodes, Mother Brain gets, in Dr. Wily's words, "unlimited power". She sends the N Team one week into the future but is able to conquer only one world (Mount Icarus) with the entire N Team out of the way for a whole week and isn't even able to get into the Palace of Power. In this episode, Mother Brain sends Kevin to Metroid, waits until the rest of the N Team has split up, and then manages to conquer all of Videoland in a few hours at most and gets into the Palace of Power. Am I missing something here? Did the N Team activate the Palace's defenses prior to leaving for Mount Icarus but, in their hurry to destroy the power flowers, didn't activate the Palace's defenses this time? Unlikely, since they went back to get Duke before going on the mission. In short, Jeffrey Scott wasted two episodes to have Mother Brain conquer Mount Icarus but then went ahead and had her conquer all of Videoland in this episode.
Der Kommissar has also mentioned that the orange, tailed, spear-holding creature on Metroid - which shows up in "Kevin in Videoland", "Mega Trouble for Megaland", and now this episode - isn't even in the game, Metroid.
Anyway, Kevin and Duke make it to Mother Brain's lair (by yet another route). Why does Metroid have a steering wheel? Can't Mother Brain move Metroid with her mind? The key also has a lucky rabbit's foot attached to it. Um, no comment.
What is Videoland's Seat of Power, and why is it outside? You'd think that the throne inside the Palace was the seat of power, but I guess not! You notice how Hippo leans forward and stares at Eggy when Eggy orders a sandwich? Well, I would state, too. Eggy orders an eggplant sandwich! Captain N promotes cannibalism! The proof is undeniable!
Mother Brain's tentacle flickers while she sentences the N Team.
Who are the people that are talking to each other after the N Team is sentenced? We never see them. I doubt that the soldiers or Mother Brain's minions would be concerned. Who else is there?
It's awfully convenient that Mother Brain is linked to Metroid. So, why doesn't Kevin just have Duke crew the circuits and kill Mother Brain?
Why do the guards have Simon's whip and Kid Icarus' bow and arrows? Were they keeping them as souvenirs? Yes, I realize that it was a cheap way for the N Team members to be able to defeat the bad guys.
Why do Mother Brain and her minions warp away? It looks like it's against their will to me, but I can't be sure. Maybe they retreated?
When Mega Man tosses Kevin into the air in triumph, Kevin doesn't land back on Mega Man's hands.
We are teased with Lana about to kiss Kevin, but then she remembers his Power Pad and Zapper and decides to fasten the belt around Kevin's waist instead. Come on! Couldn't we be shown an up-close kiss between Lana and Kevin? And why does Simon's exclamation of "Well!" cause Lana to cover her mouth with her hand as she speaks to Kevin? Does she not want to make Simon jealous or something. She's already kissed Kevin in front of Simon in an earlier (both aired and written) episode. What's her big hang-up here?
And just what were Kevin's weapons doing on the floor there, anyway? He had dropped them on the remains of the flower world, and the rest of the N Team had left them there and returned to the Palace. I guess the writer just wanted to give Kevin his weapons back in the little air time he had left. Hey, maybe a guard found it and kept it as a souvenir, cuz, you know, Mother Brain wanted to conquer the exploded flower world, too. Um, yeah, except that the belt wasn't lying there a few seconds earlier.
You have to check this out yourself. Put the tape in slow-motion as Lana picks up Kevin's belt. Then pause it and do a frame advance until just before she turns around. I swear that Lana isn't wearing any underwear!
Okay, so Kevin does a backflip (without touching the Power Pad, despite a sound effect) and then fires his Zapper forward! Wouldn't he hit one of the N Team members?!
And just what, exactly, is the N Team going to do with all of those guards that are still at the Palace?! Sure, they're unconscious (maybe), but they're still there. Maybe Kevin and Mega Man will blast them all out of existence or something.
Lana now has a spear. Do you think that she'll use it in a later episode?
Anyway, this episode is pretty bad. Sure, it was one of my favorites while I was growing up, and it's got lots of great lines, but it's also full of stupid plotholes. I did like all of the death talk ("fatal", "never make it out alive", "no one's ever made it out alive", "too handsome to die"). It shows that Captain N isn't afraid to talk about death. It merely can't show human deaths. This episode would have made a good season finale (in fact, I thought it was until recently), but that's not the case (in air order or written order).
Lesson: Try to not rely on familiar things but instead find creative solutions, maybe?
As for what to cut out, I'd say the painting scene. It was dumb and pointless. Removing it would have freed 1 minute and 9 seconds. Simon's "wallpaper paint" comment would go, too, of course, freeing an additional 3 seconds. That 1:12 could have been better used to expand the conquering of Videoland scenes and make them more realistic.
All in all, this episode was one of the better ones of Season 1 (definitely surpassing "Mr. and Mrs. Mother Brain" and "Wishful Thinking"), but it isn't up to the level of, say, "The Most Dangerous Game Master", despite the filler actually being somewhat relevant (meaning it actually involved the N Team). It's better than average, but that's not saying much.
Usefulness ratings:
Kevin: 9 (turning the peanut butter around, saving Duke from the green baddie, destroying the green baddie, carrying Duke, tying up the orange baddie, destroying the green glass baddie, flying Metroid back to the Palace, freeing the rest of the N Team, sending Mother Brain and her minions away)
Lana: 1 (defeating a guard)
Simon: 1 (tying up Hippo and Eggy)
Mega Man: 1 (defeating some guards)
Kid Icarus: 1 (defeating Dr. Wily)
Duke: 3 (getting the jumping boots to Kevin, being bait for the orange baddie, getting the grenade to Kevin)
The running total usefulness ratings so far are:
Kevin: 44 (11 episodes)
Lana: 9 (11 episodes)
Simon: 20 (11 episodes)
Mega Man: 12 (11 episodes)
Kid Icarus: 20 (11 episodes)
Duke: 14 (11 episodes)
That's the end of my review of "Metroid Sweet Metroid". Next episode - "In Search of the King"!