Mighty Max - Episode 9 - 20,000 Squidheads Under The Sea

LESS THAN 20,000 SQUIDHEADS UNDER THE SEA

This episode takes place beneath the Atlantic Ocean, not far from the eastern seaboard of South America. A lone oil tanker sails the night seas and all seems quiet, until a gigantic squid attacks the tanker, pulling it beneath the waves.

Episode Captures (Click to enlarge)

Max is playing football and ends up with the ball, only to be leapt upon by the whole team. He stands up looking very battered, but is keen to prove his worth. He huddles with the team where their coach gives them further instructions for the next play. The ball is thrown and Max catches it with ease, and as he runs with it he gives himself a running commentary. He throws himself and the ball onto the goal-line (apologies for any fans of US Football if I have the terminology wrong, I know nothing about the game). Max stands up and continues his self-appreciative commentary, when he suddenly finds himself being trampled by a herd of sheep. He looks up. He is no longer on the football field. Instead he sees himself in the middle of a load of sheep with 2 Scottish men passing by. They look at him with puzzled looks on their faces, and one of them says, "Makes me forget old what's-his-name!"

Norman and Virgil approach Max from a nearby castle and explain to him that he is in Scotland. Virgil further tells Max that something strange is happening out at sea and he is needed to save the day. Norman hands Max a neatly folded pair of his clothes which Max gets changed into as he runs after the departing Virgil. A portal ride later and the three of them end up in the middle of the Atlantic ocean without a soul in sight. Virgil is confused, "There should be a ship here!" he cries. Max is not impressed and wonders how on earth they are going to get out of this mess. He receives his answer sooner than expected as a submarine surfaces right beneath them. The door opens and a strange Texan with a whit beard and white suit and hat appears. He invites them onboard where he tells them that his name is Ollie and he is an oil tycoon. He further explains that some of his oil tankers have been mysteriously disappearing at sea, and he has come to investigate.

As they all settle down on their voyage there is a huge crash causing everybody to fall to the floor. They scramble to their feet and peer out of the window to discover to their horror that a giant squid is attacking them. All about lay the sunken wrecks of Ollie's oil tankers. Ollie just laughs at the squid as he pulls a lever which causes and electrical current to shock the squid. It lets go and swims off but only moments later it is back for more. Ollie continues to shock the squid but with each passing shock the squid seems to be less affected. Max points out that squids have a nervous system that enables them to recover from attack very quickly. They see a huge cave and Max grabs the controls of the submarine and heads off down that way as they flee the squid.

Moments later they find themselves beached on what seems to be an underground shoreline upon which stands an abandoned city. They all get out to investigate. As Max explores he finds a strange, small, squid-like person. He smiles at it finding it very cute. It is suddenly joined by many of its fellows and Ollie warns Max they they may be servants of the giant squid. Max ignores him and approaches the first squid-person, talking to it gently - and is covered in ink as the squid-people squirt him and run. Poor Max is covered in smelly purple ink, but he knows that they must follow the squid-people to see where they go. "Point me!" he shouts, and Norman places a hand on his head and points him in the right direction.

After pursuing the squid-people the team find themselves in front of a large throne behind which cower several squid-people, and their squid-king. Max manages to convince them that they are in no danger from them, and the squid-king starts telling him about themselves. Max and his friends are stunned to discover that not only do the squid-people not like the giant squid, but that it has trapped them in the city for almost 1,000 years. Max feels sorry for them all and vows to help get rid of the giant squid. At first the squid-people are very cowardly but Max uses his unerring ability to get people to rally together, and convinces them that fighting the squid is the only way to freedom.

Max turns around feeling rather pleased with himself and notices Ollie running away back toward his submarine. He chases him and manages to leap aboard the sub before it descends beneath the waves, leaving Norman, Virgil, and the squid-people behind. Inside the submarine Max and Ollie have a brief fight over the controls of the craft, but poor Max is pushed away by the bigger Ollie. However, a huge jolt tells them both that the giant squid has them in its clutches again. All seems lost when all at once the giant squid's attention is diverted. Max leaps for joy as he sees a whole bunch of squid people attacking the giant squid. It manages to escape them but it does not matter as Max has a plan. He draws the giant squid into the hull of a sunken tanker, and then with a shout he pulls the switch which sends out the electric current into the tankers hull. A huge explosion occurs which they narrowly escape, but the job is done, and the giant squid is dead.

Max and Ollie head back to the city where they are thanked by the squid people. Ollie admits that he is no more than a shame-faced coward, but nobody seems to mind.

In the final scene we see Max, Norman, and Virgil jumping off the surfaced submarine into a portal leaving Ollie boasting to himself about how rich he is.