Mighty Max - Episode 23

BEETLEMANIA

This is the 23rd episode in the entire series of Mighty Max, being the 10th program of series 2. In this one we witness what looks like a meteor strike the earth in a remote part of some a sparsely populated area. Two witnesses, a man and a woman, go to find out what it was. As they approach the impact site they see a huge mechanical object rise up out of the debris. They scream in terror as the thing attacks.

Episode Captures (Click to enlarge)

We join Max as he and a group of friends are about to play baseball. There are two team captains, of Max is one, and both are taking it in turns to choose a team member from the group. We see the group dwindle down to the last two; Bea, and a fat kid. The other team captain chooses the fat kid, and Max is left with Bea, who is a little put out because she was chosen last. Max tries to explain to her that it is not because of anything horrible reason; it's just that she's a girl - and girls, so Max thinks, cannot play baseball. Bea is determined to prove Max wrong, and when the opportunity arises for her to catch a hit ball and so get the other team member out, she races to catch it. Max, however, has also seen it and he is rushing toward the ball. He looks up and sees an air balloon with a message from Virgil on it, telling him to get to the nearest portal. The ball comes hurtling down toward Max who reaches out to grab it, but Bea knocks into him. We see Max's cap glow, a portal open, and both Max and Bea fall into it.

On the other side Max and Bea crash into the ground and lay there winded. Virgil and Norman approach and are surprised to see Bea there. "I see you have not come alone!" Virgil states. Bea thinks this is another 'what's a girl doing here' reference. Virgil points out that they are all standing on a plateau on which there are some very strange carvings. Virgil tells them that it is identical to another one found in Peru, and that the designed is believed to be older than the earth itself. Max thinks it looks like a big bug, whereas Bea defines it further as a beetle. "It can only mean one thing!" says Virgil knowingly. "Oh yeah/" asks Max. "What does it mean?" Virgil looks rather embarrassed when he tells Max that he does not know. Max is about to make a smart reply when there is a huge roaring noise, and they find themselves surrounded by a swarm of bugs. Then the ground shakes beneath them and gives way beneath their feet. Luckily they manage to avoid falling into the pit that opens up, and up out of the ground rises a huge mechanical beetle that towers over them. It utters a noise and the swarm attacks them all. Norman is completely engulfed in beetles as he shouts at Max to run. Max, Virgil, and Bea run for their lives knowing that Norman can take care of himself. They hide in a small shed but the bugs find them and attack. Again they run and this time they seek refuge in a house but again the bugs find them and come pouring down the chimney, and even through the windows. The three run once again and find a large barn which they dive into. They hear the roar of the swarming bugs and then, silence! Max peeks through a small hole in the barn door and sees to his surprise that the bugs are flying away. Virgil needs to formulate a plan and tells Max that they need to do something quickly. "If only we could fly!" exclaims Max. Virgil looks at him and tells him to look under a huge sheet of tarpaulin at the other end of the barn, next to which are several drums of poison. Max rips the tarpaulin off to reveal a red single propeller plane. Max looks at Virgil, impressed at his ability to know things that are not obvious. "You're a chicken," says Max. "Surely you can fly this thing!" Virgil says that he can't. "I can!" says a voice. Max looks at Bea. "You!" he says unconvinced. "You can't fly this!" Bea gets annoyed as she thinks again that Max is referring to her not being able to doing anything just because she is a girl. She tells Max that, for his information, her mother is a pilot and she has taught her how to fly. She leaps into the cockpit and with the help of Max tries to start the plane. Max is not strong enough to turn the propeller hard enough to get it started. Max spins round as the barn door is pushed open. The bugs again? No, it's Norman. Hurrah for Norman, he can get the plane started, and so he does and a few moments later the four of them are up in the air chasing the cloud of bugs, next to which the huge mechanical beetle is flying. Bea takes the plane above the cloud of bugs and Norman starts to pour a drum of poison over them. "It's working!" shouts Max excitedly, but this turns to dread as the huge flying machine peels off and attacks them with a pair of laser guns. It scores a direct hit, taking out the airplane's tail causing it to spin madly out of control and spiral toward the ground. Bea tries her best to control the plane but it is no good, the thing is going down. Are there any parachutes Max shouts? Norman has a look and finds only two. What do they do? Virgil points out those two parachutes should be able to support all four of them, after all two of the party are kids, and the other a fowl. They all see that they have no choice and so Norman puts on the parachutes, picks the rest of the party up, and jumps out of the plane. The parachute opens up and they land on the ground unharmed. Next stop, Peru!

Here they are in Peru. Max tries to speak to one of the locals, but his Spanish is not very good and tells one lady that he wants to eat her foot. Bea laughs at him, but a huge roaring noise makes them all spin round; the bugs are already here! The swarm attacks the locals, or so it seems, and Max and team run away again. It is not long before they find where the swarm and their gigantic mechanical leader are, and with them is - a spaceship!! These creatures are aliens? Norman distracts the large mechanical bug (which Max refers to as 'Beetle brow') allowing Max, Bea, and Virgil to enter the spaceship undetected in an attempt to find out what is going on. Inside the spaceship they see vast tanks full of beetles. Max goes to look at one but it opens up and releases the bugs which swarm after them. An alarm also sounds which attracts the attention of the mechanical bug outside, which immediately rushes into the spaceship to see what is going on, ignoring the puny Norman. The swarming bugs have caught up with Virgil, Bea, and Max, and now they are imprisoned in what appears to be a huge glass jar.

Trapped inside the jar they witness the huge mechanical beetle activate a small device which bleeps and flashes in an ever quickening tone. A Bomb? Virgil realises that the small device is a bomb that will wipe out all life on earth other than insect life. The mechanical beetle picks the device up and carries it outside the ship. In its absence Norman appears and breaks the trapped trio out of their glass prison. Knowing they have to stop the beetle and its device they rush to find the entrance, but the beetle has returned and corners them in a passageway. Is this the end? A bug lands on Max's open hand and when he peers at it he sees it appears to be dancing, just like bees to in the hive when telling other bees where a new flower has been found. This also happened earlier when the same bug had done the same thing to Max. It dawns on Max that the bug may be trying to tell him something. In desperation he faces the advancing mechanical beetle and mimics the actions of the bug in his hand. The mechanical beetle stops in its tracks and look at Max. It extends a set of antennae from its head as if listening. Max encourages the others to do as he is doing, which they do, with the exception of Norman. "I don't dance!" he says defiantly. After a moment or two the mechanical bug turns around and heads out of the spaceship. All four of them run after it to see what it will do next. To their surprise it picks up the device it had left on the ground and deactivates it. It looks round at them and then re-enters the spaceship, followed by a huge cloud of bugs. Max feels something in his hand and looks down. Yet again the bug has landed on him. It seems to give a wave of its legs and then too flies off into the spaceship. The door to the spaceship closes and with a ground shaking blast it lifts off and streaks up into the sky, and is soon out of sight.