Mighty Max - Episode 25

TAR WARS

This is the 25th episode in the entire series of Mighty Max, being the 12th program of series 2. A new subway is being built and the construction workers are using explosives to clear the rubble to enable them to create a tunnel for the subway. After one explosion two workmen go and check how the work is progressing, and as they roam deeper into the tunnel they hear a noise in the darkness behind them. All that is heard and seen are their screams, and a huge shadow. This episode, which is filmed in Hollywood features several famous stars, all of which Max somehow manages to miss despite his frantic search.

Episode Captures (Click to enlarge)

Max is in Hollywood looking for movie stars with his mom but she is more interested in fossil finding and so the two have split up. Mom phones Max to see how he is getting on but he excitedly tells her that he has to go, he has seen some famous people, and dashes off toward them. His excitement turns to disappointment as he discovers that what he thought were Clint Eastwood, Sylvester Stallone, and Arnold Schwarznegger, are in fact cardboard cuts for photo posing. Max walks away in disgust, and misses seeing the real Arnie! Max then movies on to the Hollywood Walk of Fame where the footprints of many famous actors are immortalised; there must be some movie stars there! On arrival at the Walk of Fame Max does not see any stars, but does see that Virgil has been here before him; a message is written for him among the footprints telling him to go to the portal at John Wayne.

At the other end of the portal, which is located just outside of Hollywood itself, Max re-appears in the air right above a boiling pool of liquid mud and tar. Only Norman's lightening reflexes stops Max from a sticky demise. Once Max has his feet planted firmly on the ground, Virgil tells him that once again his prowess as the Mighty One is urgently required to face a terrible danger in the nearby subway construction site Max looks down at Virgil, "What is it this time?" he sarcastically asks. "A beast? A monster? A demon?" Suddenly cries are heard from the subway site and several workmen come running out of the tunnel, shouting, "It's a beast!" "It's a monster!" "It's a demon!". Max, Norman and Virgil, now joined by Max's mom (I bet no other super-heroes have to bring their mom! moans Max,) run toward the tunnel and disappear into the darkness.

In the caverns behind the new subway entrance the four of them start hunting for clues as to what is terrorizing the workmen, but Max's mom becomes too engrossed in cave paintings to realise that she has been left behind whilst the others explore. She looks around to find herself alone in the darkness, and hurries on to find her Max. Meanwhile Max, Virgil, and Norman are also searching for whatever is down here when Max hears his mom's cries for help. He gasps in horror as he realises that they have left her behind, and sprints off in the direction of her cries, closely followed by Norman and Virgil. It is not long before they find her in a large cave in which a fire has been built. Max's mom looks over at her son and tells him not to come any closer, but Max, not understanding why she is saying that, steps into the cave. A huge caveman jumps out from behind a rock and roars at Max, who warns it not to hurt his mom. "Allow me!" says Norman and he approaches the caveman and squares up to him. But the caveman has supernatural strength and a fight ensues, which ends up with Norman being thrown around by the caveman like a ragdoll as he is repeatedly slammed against rocks. A new danger rears when a huge boulder comes lose from the ceiling and falls directly where Max's mom is sitting. She looks up and screams as Max rushes toward her, but it's going to be too late! The caveman hurtles past Max, shoving him out of the way, and leaps over Max's mom, standing over her like a shield. The boulder hits the caveman and smashes harmlessly away from mom. There joy is short lived as another creature approaches them, and this time it is not a friendly caveman, but a huge, saber-toothed tiger which, like the caveman, has been endowed with super strength. In an attempt to save his new friends the caveman, whose name turns out to be Gor, fights with the huge cat, but the cat is too strong. Gor manages to temporarily beat the tiger allowing time for them all, including Gor himself, to get away. Once outside the subway tunnel Norman and Gor block the tunnel entrance with a huge boulder to thwart the tiger's escape. It seems to work, until the tiger smashes its way through the boulder, and springing past them all it heads off into downtown Hollywood.

Max, mom, Norman, Virgil, and Gor all squeeze into a taxi that Max manages to flag down, and, much to the dismay of Max, the close confinement of the cab makes them all realise how much Gor needs a shower! "Follow that saber-tooth tiger!" Max yells at the cabbie. They do not have far too go before they disembark and follow the tiger to an exclusive Hollywood restaurant where it tucks into all the food it can find. Gor once again grapples with the tiger, with a little help from Max who just manages to evade the massive claws of the tiger, and ripping his shirt in the process. Unfortunately the tiger escapes from them again, but without much ado the team run after it, ending up in a planetarium where the fight between tiger and caveman is resumed, much to the delight of the audience who think it all part of a Hollywood show. However, once again the tiger eludes them, but this time Max has an idea of where it is going; back to the subway!

Max's hunch was right and the team soon find themselves confronting the tiger once again; nothing seems to be able to stop it. Max remembers something that Virgil had told him at the beginning of this mission, something about how a meteorite had landed in this area millions of years ago, and how Virgil thought that this meteor had given the caveman and the tiger their supernatural strength. It was believed that the meteor had landed in the very tar pool that Max was now standing next to. Without wasting any time Max jumps into the cab of a mechanical digger that has been left running by the fleeing workmen. He somehow manages to get it operating and plunges the bucket of the digger into the tar pool. After several attempts the bucket rises from the tar holding a huge glowing green rock - the meteor. Then something very strange happens; out of the bubbling tar pool emerge several skeletal mammoths who lumber up onto the bank and surround the approaching tiger. But then disaster; Max breaks one of the levers in the digger and the meteor falls from the bucket and once more plunges into the tar. It's power now hidden, the skeletal mammoths fall apart and slide back into the pool. Now Max is stuck in the middle of the pool in the cab of the digger, and here comes the tiger. It lunges into the cab with a huge paw, narrowly missing Max's face, and it lunges forward again and again, getting nearer with each swipe. But then a huge arm reaches in and hauls Max out of the cab and onto the safety of the dry ground. "Phew! Thanks Normie!" says Max, but when he looks up he sees not Norman, but Gor. The caveman leaps onto the arm of the digger and grabs the tiger. He raises it above his head, looks at Max, and seems to say his name. Then Gor, with the tiger still in his grasp, jumps into the tar pool, disappearing from view. Neither Gor nor the tiger are seen again.

Later Max is seen reclining on a sun bed speaking with Felix on his mobile phone. "I haven't seen one famous movie star!" he complains.