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Episode 11: The Greatest Show in Meridiana
Cotton candy, creepy clowns, and killer robots: that's why everyone loves the circus. Okay, everyone except Cybersix. And Data-7. Oh, and Lucas. And the patrons fleeing in terror...
Alright, Fox doesn't seem too fond of the ol' Big Top either. Cataloguing the multitude of minor twists and trims made all throughout this episode was like trying to keep count of the floppy-shoed crowd spilling from the doors of one of those crazy clown cars. The great big list of small changes goes something like this...
In the opening videoscreen call from Von Reichter, a sinking violin note was assigned to a moment of Jose's waning elation, and a few shots of Jose testing the octopus robot were also clipped.
As students gather around Jose's circus poster, we see, through the assembling throng, Adrian and Lucas walking in the distance. Adrian asks, "What's going on here?" and Lucas blankly replies, "Beats me...!" before they both move closer to investigate.
In the opening moments of act two, a light "ting!" sound was added where Lucas winks at Adrian in the restaurant.
Here's where we slam into the single truly maddening omission in this week's show. Poking around backstage at the circus, Cybersix suddenly dodges a punch from a Fixed Idea who is dressed as a clown. Correspondingly, Fox dodged a close-up of her hand drilling into his gut that causes him to lose consciousness. She then drags the Fixed Idea behind some crates until only his feet are visible...
There is a sudden ghostly green flash from the cuffs of his clownish pants as (it is understood) Cybersix consumes the sustenance that is his lifeforce, with his clothing collapsing as he is reduced to hissing contrails of vapor. (This scene is the stuff that tyke-terrorizing clown nightmares are made of.) When next we see Cybersix step forward from behind the crates, she wears a steely expression that is untainted by any tinge of apprehension...
This brief act of cyber-vampirism, tucked between the flowery circus spangle of the rest of the story, is (was) a chilling reminder that Cybersix is fundamentally not human. (This plays importantly into episode 13.) Fox's edit dumbs things down so that the dark complexity of our pathos-haunted heroine becomes a straight-ahead depiction of do-goodery. Bad Fox, stupid Fox!
Shortly thereafter, the hound dogs follow Cybersix's scent in a circle back to the cage that holds Data-7, where Jose stands in momentary slack-jawed puzzlement before snapping at the confused canines. Jose's perplexed reaction here was lopped out, with his dialogue plastered into adjacent (formerly speechless) footage of Data7.
As the robot performers abandon the stage in pursuit of Cybersix, audience members watch vacantly, with Lucas sipping from his drink: where the straw leaves his lips, a "poink!" sound effect was added.
In the arising scuffle, Fox noticeably cut the last half of a shot where the gorilla-robot catches Cybersix by the ankle and slams her into ground.
The closing act: Fox gave the boot to several shots of Lucas typing away, scrutinizing at Jose's computer. After acutely pulling the plug, the extent of Lucas' dialogue was "Bingo! Only a genius thinks of the obvious!", as he twirls the tail of the power cord with a smirk of satisfaction.
When the Fixed Idea Hounds tackle Cybersix, a tight close-up was removed where the dog's teeth hover threateningly close to her face. Canine yelps were added where the dogs are collectively batted from Cybersix by the octopus robot.
Waking slowly from his blackout, Lucas hears a reverse reverb of Cybersix's voice registering his name: "(Lu) (Lu) Lucas...?" Fox broke into the scene afterwards by the placement of their extra commercial break.
Several shots of robots being doused by Lucas, catching fire, stumbling into stage props and igniting the tent were subsequently snuffed out by Fox.
With his day as ringmaster all washed up, Jose's whining pleas are interrupted by the menacing snips of mini-crab-bots that surround him. Here, Fox omitted a dangling reaction shot of Jose, his face frozen in a look of overtaxed dread before he scrambles from the flaming tent in a panic.
As the tent continues to burn, Fox smothered the scene with the reassuring wail of approaching sirens. A parting shot of Lucas smiling quietly through a swarm of ascending orange embers was similarly extinguished.
N E X T :
A roller-coaster of thrills, spills and cyber-chills, in an episode that leaves Jose and all clownish antics by the wayside. Cybersix is stalked by an invisible predator... Death threats are uttered, spin-kicks are delivered, sharp objects are brandished, explosions are exploded, and other bloody good fun! Easily the most violent episode in the series, gift-wrapped with memorable action sequences, great effects, and a stylized Japanese ending. All of which is to say that Fox will do everything possible to blank it up the blank with some sorry editing. Much ranting will ensue.
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