| Title: | Area 88 (TV) |
| Episode: | 3: Viewfinder in the Blue Sky |
| Synopsis |
| Saki is informed that a well-escorted rebel transport plane has been detected, which is unusual. He wonders what valuable cargo it might be carrying, and Shin and Kim are vectored to intercept. Shin has a close call in the confused dogfight, and cannot be certain whether the transport was downed. Back at Area 88, McCoy senses an opportunity to make some money when another pilot, "Brandy", is unusually eager to have his plane refuelled and take off again. Under pressure, Brandy reveals that he intercepted rebel radio traffic about a frantic search for a downed plane--no doubt the transport Shin engaged the day before. He suspects the plane may have been carrying gold. Word quickly gets around and everyone wants to take off and search for the crash site--except Shin and Mickey, who aren't interested. Makoto calls someone to ask that some money be sent to him at Area 88--"You know I'm the only one who can get that shot you want" he says... |
| Comments |
| Anyone who has read the manga or seen the OVAs can guess just what photograph Makoto is supposed to take (even though he is a new character, created entirely for this TV series). The characters Ryoko and Kanzaki are mentioned for the first time in this episode. I haven't read the manga, but there was no search for a crashed transport plane in the OVAs. The revelation of just what it was carrying, and the missed opportunity it represented, seemed unconvincing, even kind of corny to me. Damn, it's hard to save images during scenes of aerial combat! The action is fast moving, and the planes are frequently out of focus. There's definitely no shortage of neat images here. What's difficult is narrowing the candidates down to 8 or 10 to include here. |
