Search This Blog

Friday, November 18, 2016

Jem Reviewed: Episode 35 - Aztec Enchantment

On the last episode of Jem Reviewed, the Starlight Girls entered and won a contest that dealt with the importance of reading and literacy - and it was an episode that I thoroughly enjoyed a lot!  Let's see if the next episode will have that same enchantment.



Well, at least the word enchantment appears in the title.  This is Episode 35 - Aztec Enchantment!



And it opens with Rio pretending to scare Aja by pretending to be a banana-eating gorilla.  Sometimes with the way Rio acts, I have to wonder if he even needs to wear a costume to be considered a big, ugly ape.

Anyway, Rio is at some sort of store that seems to sell all sorts of those Tilley brand fashions.  You know, the ones with the funny looking hats and safari gear?  And, oh look, Video's in THIS one too!  Geez, they may just as well make her a Hologram!  But, since Video's in this one, I may as well make today's piece of Jem Trivia about her.  She's voiced by actress Noelle North - who also did the voice of Cubbi Gummi on "Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears".



Turns out that there is a legitimate reason for Video to be tagging along.  Video tells Lindsey Pearce that she is entering a prestigious contest for the International Rock Video festival - the only award that Video still has yet to win.  Video's entry will also serve as the Jem and the Holograms newest rock video, and Video seems to think that she will have an edge.  She's filming it in a secret location in the jungles of Mexico - so secret that nobody else knows about it until now.  So, it appears that the next episode will be mostly filmed in Mexico.



Unfortunately for Jem and the Holograms and Video, Clash and the Misfits are busy filming their own video.  Clash has a brand new camera that her father bought her, and Clash somehow has found out about the contest Video is entering and wants to upstage her - and since she knows the location where Video is filming thanks to her disguises, they can get there before Video even gets through Mexican customs.  The Misfits are reluctant to let Clash assist with anything to do with making a video as the last one she helped with turned out to be a disaster.  And, I'm trying to remember what video Clash filmed for the Misfits!  Oh, well...it looks like they're off to Mexico as well.



Initially, Mama Alonso is reluctant to send Raya to Mexico because Mama Alonso serves to crush her daughter's dreams at every opportunity.  Raya argues that this is her chance to see where she came from and she throws it in her face that they always talk about wanting her to embrace her Mexican heritage.  Papa Alonso extends his blessings and makes Jem promise not to let her become a Mexican hat dancer for extra money down there.

I'm just guessing that if the Alonso marriage breaks down, Papa Alonso will be the one filing the papers.

Amusingly, Rio points out that they have a guide to show them around Mexico, and he makes a point to say that he'll be there as well - but Jem says that they should be fine despite Rio!  Serious burn!  Got any ointment for that burn, Rio?



The band arrives in Mexico City, Mexico and are promptly introduced to their guide, Luis Geraldo.  The Holograms are pleased by his politeness, but Luis seems to only have eyes for Raya and vice versa.  I mean, never mind the fact that Luis looks almost EXACTLY LIKE PAPA ALONSO.  That's not creepy.  That's not creepy at all.  At least, it's not creepy for Aja and Shana, who poke fun at the attraction between Luis and Raya.



So the group arrive just outside of the secret location - it appears to be some sort of ancient Aztec temple that has been abandoned for several centuries.  Luis also goes over the legend of the temple, as well as Mexico City.  I won't bore you with too many details, but basically the people who founded the city were told to build the city on the very location where an eagle carrying a serpent in its mouth landed on a cactus.  It's quite a vivid block of imagery, granted...but the people needed homes to live in and places to shop at, so they needed to come up with something.



The real location is at a temple that is hidden in the jungle, and the only way to get there is by crossing a bridge.  But before they do that, they decide to have lunch at a village just outside of the temple.



Unfortunately, this village's McDonald's is all but destroyed.  In fact, the village itself looks as though a bomb went off in the center of town square.  Luis explains that there was a major earthquake in the area weeks earlier and that the area could still be prone to have another one in the near future.  There is also concern that the bridge that links the town with the secret temple is destroyed, and that they may not be able to get there.



Video decides to use the opportunity to take her video camera out and film a piece to raise awareness for the people of the village who have to rebuild everything.  However, as Video is trying to get everything ready, a young boy appears out of nowhere and grabs Video's camera and a bag of Granny Smith apples!  I guess our thief must really love pectin!



The thief doesn't get very far as he accidentally trips over his own feet, causing Luis to grab him and force him to return the things he stole.  The boy's name is Paco, and after talking with Raya, we learn that he has a desperate need to go to El Norte - also known as the United States of America.  Apparently, Paco seems to have this belief that if you go to live in America, you get rich.  Raya tells Paco that this isn't always the case.  Way to crush his dreams, Raya.  I bet you get that from your mama!

I think Raya's just trying to push the production along for the video being shot by Video.  Video says that if they don't make it to the temple before sundown, the rock music festival will be over before they finish filming.



Of course, what Jem, Rio, Video, and Luis aren't aware of until they get closer to the bridge is that Paco is a master at sneaking into cars without being noticed.  Paco stowed away because Paco wants them to take him to America.  I also notice that Paco talks about himself in the third person which makes Matthew want to slam his head against a steel door. 

Ahem...sorry about that.

It appears as though the bridge that links the village to the ancient temple is still intact from the earthquake, and the car carrying Jem, Rio, Video, Luis, and Paco start to cross it in their Jeep.



But just as they reach the middle of the bridge, the bridge starts to tremble and vibrate!  It seems as though the earthquake was so powerful that aftershocks are still happening, and the bridge that the Jeep in on starts to give in and buckle!  The bridge falls apart and Jem, Rio, Luis, Video, and Paco all fall into the bottomless pit below and die.  The End.

Okay, you know by now I'm kidding.  No, they manage to reverse their Jeep back to where they came from and watch as the bridge transforms itself into ten million toothpicks.  Although everyone is safe, they now have no way to get across to the other side.



A fact that the Misfits - who are flying over top of them in a rented plane make no hesitation in rubbing in their faces.  Amusingly, the Holograms try to get the Misfits to send for help, but the Misfits just laugh in their faces with Clash telling Video that she'll get to her secret location first!



Well, that is until Pizzazz gets too grabby with the controls and causes a plane crash.  We'll have to wait and see what happens in a few minutes.  For now, let's peek in on Jem and the Holograms as they arrive at the temple and sing a song about how much they love Mexico.



I know, sounds cliche, right?  But to be fair, I do like the song "Aztec Enchantment" a lot.  It does take the risk of bringing on too many Latino stereotypes, but in this case, I think there's just the right amount of balance.  And if you can't see the obvious spark between Luis and Raya, you're either blind, unable to process feelings, or just don't care.



No sooner do the Holograms finish their song than some cranky old man appears and tells them to get off his lawn!  Well, okay, he may just as well do that since that's how he comes across.  But he stops yelling at them enough to introduce himself as famous archaeologist "Dr. Balthazar".  Jem and Raya have heard of him and try to calm him down by telling him how great he is, and it seems to work because the good archaeologist allows them to stay - though he doesn't allow them inside the temple because they're doing some important work inside.  I guess that sounds fair.



Meanwhile, the Misfits - along with Eric Raymond - are aimlessly wandering the jungles of Mexico wearing the biggest high heeled shoes one could imagine.  I mean, seriously, you're filming a video at a temple that literally has ten thousands stairs on it.  But, I suppose the Misfits lack common sense in all areas.  After all, they allowed Clash to film their entry at a random structure that they think looks like the temple.



They don't even use an original song either.  They re-use a song from Episode 8 - "Welcome to the Jungle".  And basically everything that could go wrong does go wrong with Clash's camera malfunctioning, to the band getting attacked by snakes!  This is what you call laser-guided karma.  Oh, yeah...in between all that, they burn Jem and the Holograms on stakes.  At first I thought about how they even made that happen, but then I realize...oh...they're probably using the same actresses that they used to gaslight Jem a few episodes back.  I guess that's one way to get revenge.



Back at the real temple, Jem and the others notice that Dr. Balthazar's mood has improved, but Raya is suspicious that there's something about him that she doesn't trust.  Of course, she can't figure out what it is because Paco keeps bothering them about taking him to America.  Paco is quickly becoming the Scrappy-Doo of this episode.



Dr. Balthazar seems to pick up on Paco's whining though and tells Paco in private that he may have a way to get him to America after all.  Why do I get the feeling that this is not going to go well for anybody involved?



Sure enough, Paco is leading Jem towards an ancient well, which Paco claims Jem has to see.  Jem is wondering why she had to see it herself and why she couldn't bring any of the other Holograms with her, but Paco insists that it's something that she should see first.




The well is very deep and very dark.  And I imagine that if anyone ever fell down it, it would be very hard to get them back out again.  Which is exactly what Dr. Balthazar is counting on, as he picks Jem up and throws her inside!  Just what kind of archaeologist IS he?



Jem does survive the fall, as there is still water inside the bottom of the well.  But with the well being a good one hundred feet below the surface, Jem doesn't have any idea how to get out.



By this time, the Holograms are wondering where Jem disappeared to, and Shana remarks that it's not like Jem to run off.  Rio and Raya come to the same conclusion that Dr. Balthazar has something to do with it, and they go off to find him.



And where is the good doctor now?  Well, turns out the doctor isn't so good after all.  It appears as though he and his team of archaeologists are really a clever band of thieves who are taking the ancient artifacts inside the temple to make a huge profit!  And he also lied to Paco, using him to trap Jem so that the Holograms would leave the temple and they could continue their scheme.  And their plan would have worked too if it wasn't for that meddling Paco who was duped with the promise of a trip to America.  He manages to escape Dr. Balthazar's clutches and runs off to try and find either Jem or the Holograms.



While Paco is running around, Video, Luis, Rio, and the rest of the Holograms enter the temple to find it completely robbed of all its treasures.  If that isn't a sure sign that Balthazar is evil, I don't know what to tell you.  It's Kimber - who has her only line this whole episode - who spots Balthazar, and with quick thinking by Rio and Luis, get Balthazar's truck spinning out of control, crashing into a tree and stopping them from stealing the artifacts.  That's great that they saved the ancient Mexican treasures, but Jem's still missing.  And Rio is determined to find out where Balthazar has stashed her.



Fortunately for Jem, she is quickly rescued by Paco, who grabs a vine wrapped around a tree to pull her to safety.  After Jem is rescued, Paco explains that Balthazar tricked him into helping him, and Jem is very sympathetic towards Paco.  Though I'm sure she'd love to shove Balthazar down a well without any water in it!



You know, sometimes I have to wonder if the Holograms have as much common sense as the Misfits because they seem to trust that Dr. Balthazar will lead them to Jem's location.  We already know he's lying because he has them going down a deep part of the temple - where we know Jem ISN'T.  He unlocks a secret passage to a tomb inside and proclaims that the person inside is Jem!



Okay, either Jem has really let herself go, or this isn't Jem at all.  Even curiouser, the strange man introduces himself as Dr. Balthazar!  What?!?

Oh, I get it.  The man who called himself Balthazar imprisoned the REAL Balthazar in order to get his hands on the treasure.  His real name is
Ramon Chavez, and now he has locked them all up forever with no way out!  But I'm sure that Jem and Paco are on their way to find them.  I'm sure they'll find the way.



No, wait.  It's love.  "Love Will Show The Way".  What a stupid song to play during a rescue operation.  I mean, could you imagine the FBI playing this song when apprehending a suspect?  Yeah, you killed seventeen people, but we caught you because love showed us the way!  I suppose the song itself isn't bad...just used out of context.



Jem and Paco arrive at the spot where fake Balthazar is gloating that he'll get away with his plan, but Paco physically attacks him long enough for Jem to use Synergy to call forth a hologram that will scare fake Balthazar enough to let them go...

...you know what, this episode is getting too stupid for my tastes, so let's just end this now.  Fake Balthazar goes to jail, Real Balthazar assembles a new team of people to restore the temple, Paco decides to stay in Mexico to help rebuild the ruined village, Video wins the contest, and the Misfits gets rescued by Jem and the Holograms.  That's essentially it.  If last week's episode was one of my favourites, this episode is one of my least favourites.  I didn't like it so much that I didn't want to spend any more time on it than I had to.  I had high hopes for it too, especially since Raya is becoming a favourite character of mine and this would have allowed her to have a storyline.  And to be fair, Raya did have a good role to play.  But this episode was boring from start to finish.



Oh well...next week, the bands perform at a magic show.  What could possibly go wrong?

Tuesday, November 15, 2016

November 15, 1916

So, you might be noticing that November's been a dry month in this blog.  Part of the reason is that I'm taking a break for a bit so I can prepare for the Advent Calendar next month.  And, part of the reason is that I've been experiencing a bit of seasonal depression this year.  Maybe it has to do with Christmas coming earlier and earlier, or maybe it's all the negative vibes surrounding the 2016 Election results...I can't really say for sure.  It's just been an off month.

Fortunately, I do have a Tuesday Timeline prepared.  Before we look at today's topic, let's have a look at the other historical events that took place on November 15.

1791 - Georgetown University opens

1806 - Zebulon Pike spots a distant mountain peak while near the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado - that peak would come to be known as Pikes Peak

1864 - Atlanta, Georgia is burned to the ground by Union General William Tecumseh Sherman during the American Civil War

1887 - Artist Georgia O'Keeffe (d. 1986) is born in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin

1914 - Harry Turner becomes the first player to die from game related injuries in the "Ohio League"

1915 - Winston Churchill resigns from the Liberal government; later goes on to command the 6th Battalion of the Royal Scots Fusiliers on the Western Front

1920 - The Free City of Danzig is established

1926 - NBC Radio debuts on 24 individual stations

1937 - Singer Little Willie John (d. 1968) is born in Cullendale, Arkansas

1939 - President Franklin D. Roosevelt lays down the cornerstone of what would come to be the Jefferson Memorial

1942 - The Battle of Guadalcanal ends

1952 - Wrestler Randy "Macho Man" Savage (d. 2011) is born in Columbus, Ohio

1959 - The Clutter family is murdered in Holcomb, Kansas; the event is the inspiration behind Truman Capote's "In Cold Blood"

1968 - Rapper Russell Tyrone Jones - otherwise known as Ol' Dirty Bastard - (d. 2004) is born in Brooklyn, New York

1969 - The Moratorium March takes place in Washington D.C., where an estimated half a million protesters gathered to protest America's involvement in the Vietnam War

1971 - Intel releases the first commercial single-chip microprocessor

1979 - A flight enroute from Chicago to Washington D.C. is forced to make an emergency landing due to a package in the cargo hold beginning to smoke; it is later revealed that the package was sent by Ted Kaczynski (a.k.a. The Unabomber) - and six years later...

1985 - A research assistant is seriously wounded when a package sent by the Unabomber that was addressed to a professor at the University of Michigan explodes

1990 - Space Shuttle Atlantis launches

2003 - The first day of the 2003 Istanbul bombings; 25 are killed and another 300 injured after two car bombs explode outside of two synagogues in the area

2007 - Parts of the Sundarbans (the world's largest mangrove forest located in Bangladesh) are destroyed when a cyclone strikes the nation; 5,000 people would lose their lives in the storm

And celebrating a birthday today are the following people - C.W. McCall, Ed Asner, Petula Clark, Joanna Barnes, Terry Bradbury, Roberto Cavalli, Sam Waterston, Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Beverly D'Angelo, James Widdoes, Kevin S. Bright, Randy Thomas, Kevin Eubanks, Judy Gold, Kevin J. O'Connor, Rachel True, Jennifer Charles, Jack Ingram, Jay Harrington, Jessica Hynes, Jonny Lee Miller, Sydney Tamiia Poitier, Chad Kroeger, Brandon DiCamillo, Virginie Ledoyen, Sean Murray, Ace Young, and Shailene Woodley.

So, what dat are we going back in time this week?  I know last week we went back to the year...2016.  Not much of a trip, I admit.



Fear not.  This time around, we're going to go back a hundred years to November 15, 1916!  And while you might not know it now, today's subject was a huge part of many people's childhoods, and continues to be heard today even though he passed away eight years ago.



In fact, I have a feeling that within the next month or so, I'll be hearing his voice quite a bit.  After all, he was a huge part of "A Charlie Brown Christmas".  He directed that special, as well as almost every other one featuring the Peanuts crew.  And he also voiced two very important characters in every single Peanuts project - including the 2015 film "The Peanuts Movie", which was released seven years after his death!  I guess it was a good thing that archival footage from over fifty years of production existed!



Okay, so the characters he voiced were Snoopy and Woodstock.  And, yes, they did talk in unintelligible gibberish that was sped up at two different speeds.  He still voiced them.



And today, Jose Cuauhtemoc Melendez would have turned one hundred years old!  Of course, most people probably knew him as Bill Melendez.

Now, Bill Melendez had a career that most people dream of having.  And he spent almost his whole life creating entertainment for children of all ages.  Would you believe that he got his start at Walt Disney Productions?  He served on the production team on "Pinocchio", "Fantasia", "Dumbo", and "Bambi"!  And for those of you who are Disney fans like myself, you know that those four movies were essentially the cornerstone for which all future Disney films were built on.  That's quite an impressive start for any resume, but his story didn't end there.  Not by a long shot.

When Disney went on strike in the early 1940s, Melendez moved on to Warner Brothers, where he assisted many famous animators in their own projects including Bob Clampett, Robert McKimson, and Arthur Davis.  From there, he would join the staff of United Productions of America, and eventually would form his own studio in 1963 - located in the basement of his own home!

With having built a solid reputation for himself in the animation industry, it's no secret that he attracted the attention of Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz.  Schulz was looking for somebody to assist him in bringing his very first Peanuts special, "A Charlie Brown Christmas", to life.  And having seen first hand how good his previous works were, Schulz gave Melendez the job.  And when "A Charlie Brown Christmas" became a huge holiday success, Schulz trusted him with all future Peanuts projects.  These included all of the prime time specials, four feature films, television commercials for A&W and MetLife, the 1985 Saturday morning cartoon series, and several other projects that included the Peanuts gang.  He would continue to work on the Peanuts projects right up until 2006, with "He's A Bully, Charlie Brown".

And teaming up with Lee Mendelson, he would also bring another comic strip to life when he served on the animation team of the first two primetime Garfield specials.  And he'd also add a little bit of Rankin-Bass to the mix by working on the 1992 television special "Frosty Returns".

Sadly, Bill Melendez passed away on September 2, 2008 at the age of 91.  But even though he's been gone for almost eight years, he continues to make a mark on pop culture.  Any time you see a Charlie Brown special on television, he's a part of it.  Any time you hear Snoopy speak, that's his voice!  And, one thing you can't deny...he's definitely been a part of almost every single person's childhood and will probably continue to be for generations to come.

Happy 100th birthday, Bill Melendez!

Friday, November 11, 2016

Jem Reviewed: Episode 34 - Treasure Hunt

Before I go ahead with today's Jem Reviewed, I want all of us to pause for just a moment to remember our veterans who fought for the freedom that we all enjoy today.  Given the results of the 2016 Elections, we need to thank them for their sacrifices more than ever before.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bfe4TxvUOiw

Thank you.

So, last week, Jem celebrated Father's Day - a day that brought back bad memories for both Kimber and Pizzazz.  Let's see what we're going to do this week?



Episode 34: Treasure Hunt?  Sounds exciting!

I don't know why, but once again we're at a lavishly expensive building.  It sort of gives off the false stereotype that only rich people live in Jem's world.  But anyway, this building is where our story begins.



Inside this building is the home of the Xanthos Charity Foundation - what I assume is a non-profit organization that works with and for various charitable organizations in the area.  The head of the foundation is one Richard Xanthos (who admittedly looks kind of like a cross between Tom Selleck and Vincent Price).  Xanthos also has an assistant named Christine, who has a fairly sizeable role in this episode as well.

Anyway, it appears as though Xanthos has a contest idea for two very deserving charitable organizations, and the winner of the contest will receive a very special treasure from Richard Xanthos' own collection!  Sounds enticing!  I wonder what it could be?  Xanthos sends out the memo asking interested teams to sign up, and he personally will choose the two teams.  Why do I get the feeling that this is going to be another Holograms vs. Misfits thing?



Well, over at Starlight Mansion, Jem and the Holograms are teaching the Starlight Girls how to play volleyball, and Starlight Girl Anne is already getting the hang of it.  Anne thanks the Holograms for taking the time to teach her how to play, and this leads into the first of two new songs by the Holograms in this episode.



Okay, so the video for "Take The Time" opens with the 1992 Summer Olympics, which is amusing - you can tell this is an 80s cartoon!  Other than that, the video is cute, but dull.  But hey, I will give the Holograms credit.  They're spending a lot more time with the Starlight Girls in Season 2 than they did in Season 1!



Video - who seems to be in almost every episode in Season 2 so far - is talking with Christine.  It's revealed that Video has nominated the Holograms to take part in the contest, and judging by Christine's reaction, it's safe to say that the Holograms have impressed her enough to make the short list.



Later that day, Christine gets the tip that the Misfits are also doing their part to make the community a better place, and she arrives just as Pizzazz, Roxy, and Stormer are presenting boxed lunches to three girls who look like they've been dressed by Punky Brewster.  Gee, I'm not sure if a box lunch social is the way to go here, but thanks to Eric's charm, Christine buys that the Misfits are truly good people and rushes off to tell Xanthos.



Once Christine leaves, the jig is up, and Eric pays off the three girls!  The whole thing was a set up just so they could get their hands on Xanthos' treasure!  What's worse, the three girls - whose names are Molly, Ellen, and Sandra - are like what Pizzazz, Roxy, and Stormer would be like at fourteen years of age.  Even Pizzazz comments on the rudeness of the three girls, which Eric remarks that Molly reminds him of Pizzazz!  ZING!



It's the day of the treasure hunt, and the two teams are the Starlight Girls, comprised of Jem, Ashley, Ba Nee, and Krissie, and the Misfit Girls, who are made up of Pizzazz, Molly, Ellen, and Sandra.  They arrive at Xanthos' mansion, and I am completely blown away at how gigantic Xanthos' library is.  I'm so jealous!  I do wish I had taken a picture of it, but I have another screenshot coming up.

Xanthos explains the rules of the contest.  They have to go around various places around the estate and answer questions based on famous literary works.  If they get the answer right, they get a map to their next clue.  The first team to solve all the riddles and get the hidden key to unlock the treasure chest will win the treasure!  Jem and Pizzazz are allowed to accompany their teams, but they can NOT assist them in solving the riddles.  The girls have to do this on their own.  Sounds fair to me.



As the contest is set to begin, you can hear the difference in tone between each team.  Jem is telling her girls that they should do their best and play fair, and that they should have fun no matter what.  Pizzazz is telling her girls that winning is everything and that nobody loves a loser.  Like night and day between those two.



Xanthos holds up two different maps.  Apparently to make it more challenging, each team will go a different route with different questions.  Good planning...makes it harder to cheat that way.



Of course, that never stopped Eric Raymond.  He's holed up with Techrat in a secret location feeding the answers to Molly, who is wearing a microphone disguised as a brooch.  Of course there'd be cheating involved with the Misfits.

And as soon as the Misfits get their first clue, Pizzazz starts taking the lead and tells them where to go, which completely breaks the rule that Xanthos implemented at the start of the treasure hunt!  You didn't even last five minutes, Pizzazz!



The Misfit Girls get to their first clue location.  It appears as though literary characters have come to life as they come across Hiawatha in a giant canoe.  The question posed to the girls is - where was Hiawatha born.  The answer is, of course, on the shores of Gitche Gumee.  See, look.  Even Techrat's computer says so.



Wait...TECHRAT HAS THE INTERNET?  In 1987?!?  Whoa, he really IS a genius!



Needless to say, the girls get their second map and they are on their way to their next destination.  But before they leave, they spot Jem and the Starlight Girls approaching, and they decide to have a little fun with them.  The Starlight Girls have to cross a river by walking over a log, and as they cross, the Misfit Girls start shaking the log violently, causing the girls to hold on for dear life.  Sandra stays out of it, telling them that it's not a good idea, but the others don't listen to her.



It's poor Ba Nee who ends up falling into the river, and she appears to be having a hard time staying above water.  She ends up drowning in the river and the contest is called off.  The End.



No, wait.  Hiawatha saves her life.  Ba Nee is extremely grateful to him, and Ashley and Krissie want to kill the Misfit Girls.  But Jem reminds them that they have a contest to win, so they hop to it.



Despite the fact that Ba Nee is soaking wet, they arrive at their first clue where a costumed Christine asks them how many voyages Sinbad went on.  As they ponder their answer, the Misfits arrive at their second destination - Alice in Wonderland's tea party, where the girls are downright rude to the actress playing Alice.  I half expect Alice to feed them a cupcake that turns them into the Cheshire Cat or gets them beheaded by the Queen of Hearts.

It's also pretty clear that the Misfit Girls don't appear to have read any books because they need Techrat's help to let them know that the March Hare and the Mad Hatter were at the tea party.  I've known that since I was three and a half!



It's also obvious that the Starlight Girls have read books because Ba Nee knew that Sinbad went on seven voyages without any help!  It's also noteworthy that the Starlight Girls are polite and say thank you when they get their next map.  As I said, night and day.



The two teams congregate inside of a hedge maze, and right off the bat there is tension between the Misfit Team and Starlight Team.  I suppose there would be, since Ba Nee almost drowned because of them.  But it appears as though Molly and Ellen haven't learned a thing because they swipe the Starlight Girls' map and run into the maze.  Jem tries to stop the fight, but Pizzazz scoffs that they promised not to intervene.  Oh, so the rules only apply if Jem's team is getting screwed.  Good to know.



And we hear a song by The Misfits.  Sadly, it's a song we've heard before in Episode 22, but "Ahead of the Game" is definitely appropriate, as it seems that by cheating and playing dirty, not only have they forged ahead of the competition, but they've gotten the Starlight Girls lost in the hedge maze.  Sandra worries that the Starlight Girls will never find their way out, which causes the other Misfit Girls to scoff at her before moving on.  I get the feeling that Sandra is the Stormer of this group.



This allows the group to meet up with Robin Hood, who dazzles Sandra with his archery skills.  Of course, Molly and Ellen use Techrat to get the answer, but I have this feeling that Sandra probably could have answered the question about the Sheriff of Nottingham on her own.  She seems to be the only one in the group with brains and a conscience.  By the way, speaking of Robin Hood...in this week's Jem Trivia, I can tell you that Robin Hood makes another appearance some fourteen episodes down the line.



Fortunately, the Starlight Girls manage to figure out how to escape, as Ashley remembers that if you use your hand to feel your way through the maze's walls, you can always find your way out.  It takes some time, but Ashley's brain seems to work, and it's not long before they find their next clue.



They easily answer a question about King Arthur.



And d'Artagnan charms the Starlight Girls when Krissie answers a question correctly about the Three Musketeers.  Just like that, the Holograms have caught up to the Misfits and it could be anybody's game.



But disaster strikes the Misfits team when Sandra trips over a branch lying on the ground and clobbers her knee.  But instead of helping the hurt girl, they leave her behind in the dark forest desperate to win.  How do you like that?  Poor Sandra.



Fortunately for Sandra, the Starlight Girls arrive at that moment with Jem, and the Starlight Girls do everything to try and help.  Sandra begs for them to go ahead and leave her behind so they can beat Molly and Ellen, but the Starlight Girls know that she's injured.  What's worse, Jem sticks to her guns and tells them that she can't help them.  Okay, that might be true for the treasure hunt, but you're dealing with an INJURED CHILD!  Seriously, Jem.  Stop taking your stupid pills!



While the Starlight Girls are debating on what to do, the Misfits arrive at a dock, where Odysseus (or some character from the book) is standing with yet another riddle.  Once more, Techrat gives them the answer, and their boat takes off towards their final destination just as the Starlight Girls approach. 



It appears as though the Starlight Girls have decided to take Sandra with them, and have asked Jem to look after her while they finish the treasure hunt.  Xanthos is in a Long John Silver costume and greets the Starlight Girls with another riddle for them.  Personally, I'd have told Xanthos that the Misfits are dirty rotten cheaters, but they decide to answer the riddle correctly and soon the race is on.



It appears as though the key to the treasure chest is hidden on a remote island near a couple of trees that literally form an X.  How...cliche.  Molly and Ashley spot the key at the same time and grab the key at the same time.  Christine remarks to Xanthos that she can't tell who grabbed the key first, so Xanthos declares that the contest is over and neither team won.

Just kidding.



Actually, Xanthos believes that to determine the winner, he must come up with one final riddle.  And I know I'm paraphrasing this riddle, but basically it goes like this.  When I am closed, I am nothing, but when I am opened, many things appear.  What am I?



At first, the girls are all stumped.  They don't know what Xanthos is talking about.  And unfortunately Techrat's magical computer with 80s Internet is unable to come up with the answer.  When Eric accidentally trips over a cord and makes Techrat's computer explode, it makes Techrat go crazy and his outburst is heard through Molly's brooch!



It's enough to get Xanthos' attention, and Xanthos basically accuses the girls of cheating even though he doesn't actually say it.  Of course Molly denies the accusation and flat out tells Xanthos that since nobody knows the answer to the riddle then the Misfits should get it.  Yeah, that's wonderful logic.



But wait.  Sandra announces that she knows the answer.  The answer is a book!  When a book is closed, you can't see anything.  But if you open the book, you can get taken to whatever place you want with the people in the story!  Sandra has won the contest!



But just as the Misfits start to celebrate, Sandra cries out "NOT SO FAST".  The Misfits ditched her after she hurt herself, so she declares herself to be a free agent.  And this free agent has decided to join the Starlight Girls, making them the real winners of the contest!  How's that laser guided karma working out for you, Pizzazz?



So what does the key open?  Well, we're going back to Xanthos' massive library that I am still jealous of to find out.  Since Sandra answered the riddle, she gets to unlock the treasure.  Inside is a bookshelf filled with lots and lots of books.  But what's special about this shelf is that all of the books inside are first edition copies signed by all of the original authors!  And for winning the contest, Sandra and the Starlight Girls can choose one of these books as a prize!  I...I...I...I want to do this contest!  Do you have any idea what a book like that would be worth?  And not just for monetary value either...just the idea of having a copy of Alice in Wonderland signed by Lewis Carroll?  That is an AWESOME treasure!



I guess this explains why Xanthos' treasure hunt was literary themed.  All of the books represented on the hunt are in the bookshelf of riches!  Hey, if there was a copy of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" signed by Roald Dahl, I would totally take that book for myself!  Ba Nee even exclaims that it is the best prize she's ever gotten.

By now you've guessed that the real prize is not in money, but in knowledge.  And that books give you the opportunity for endless imagination and fun.  And to prove it, Jem and the Holograms sing a song about it.



Okay, so the theme could be used for the television show "Reading Rainbow".  But I do like the song "Open A Book".  It's certainly a good message to send to people young and old, and to be honest I am a huge champion for literacy.  I believe that all of us have the right to learn how to read and write because it allows us all to express ourselves.  And for someone like me who finds it hard to physically talk with people, reading and writing is key for me.  I absolutely love this episode.  So far, it's a big contender for best episode of Season 2.



Next week, the girls travel to Mexico to film a video.  I hope this means that Raya actually gets a storyline.