S01E19 · EPISODE 19 OF 65

The Great Galaxy Race

Mon*Star challenges the SilverHawks to a space race through the Galaxy of Limbo in which the Mob employ every cheat in the book to win.

The Great Galaxy Race title card
SILVERHAWKS · S01E19
● TITLE CARD · 1986-10-02

Episode Synopsis

Bluegrass waits in front of the packed grandstand before the Great Galaxy Race.
Bluegrass waits in front of the packed grandstand before the Great Galaxy Race.

The Mob challenges the SilverHawks to the Great Galaxy Race, and the team accepts, reasoning that a win will show everyone in the galaxy who is in charge. Commander Stargazer is less sure, and suspects that Mon*Star is behind the race and up to something. He is right: Mon*Star means to rob the bank planet while the SilverHawks are busy racing, and he wants their racers eliminated so the Mob finishes in the winner's circle.

The Copper Kidd races the Space Racer and Bluegrass flies the Hot-Seat. Lord Cash sends the racers off with greetings from Dollare, but when the Mob breaks into the money bin, Bluegrass drops out of the race to drive them off with Hot Licks. Hardware chases him in the Zoomer, and although Hardware's laser cannon blows up, it damages Bluegrass badly enough that he has to put in for a pit stop on Automata, where Monotone, the planet's central computer brain, repairs his craft. Race rules forbid radio contact, so Stargazer can only follow the race on the tracking computer.

Mon*Star gives up on the bank for now and turns everything on the Copper Kidd. Mumbo Jumbo waits for him at Penal Planet 10, and the Mob throws space fog and hail at him around Brim*Star, the turning point before the run home to the finish on Bedlama. When he gets clear, Mon*Star breaks the radio rule himself and orders Melodia to intercept him. Melodia sends out a distress signal, the Kidd answers it, and she drives off in his Space Racer.

Seeing the Space Racer far in the lead, the Mob fires its vaporizer at it, then realises too late that Melodia is at the wheel, and the Space Racer disappears. The Kidd arrives in Melodia's Limbo Limo, meets up with Bluegrass, and the two of them cross the finish line together in the Hot-Seat to win the race.

Official Warner Bros. Synopsis

The Mob challenges the SilverHawks to a long-distance race around the galaxy.

Memorable Quotes

"But we can't be sure, sir. You know the code of space. A distress signal is always answered."

"But if we do that, it's as good as admitting we couldn't win."

Bluegrass: "But I'm gonna hang in there. When you're in a race, you give it your best to the finish line."

silverhawks.tv Episode Review

William Overgard's script sets up a race that only one side means to run. The SilverHawks take up the Mob's challenge on the grounds that winning will show the galaxy who is in charge, and Commander Stargazer, pen in hand, warns them that Mon*Star is behind the race and up to something. He is right, and a scene later we know it: Mon*Star wants the race as cover for robbing the bank planet, and he wants the SilverHawks racers eliminated so that the Mob is standing in the winner's circle when it is over.

From there the Mob sets an ambush on every leg. Hardware chases Bluegrass in the Zoomer, a car so slow that somebody advises him to get a horse, and Mumbo Jumbo waits for the Copper Kidd at Penal Planet 10. Further on, fog and hail are thrown up around Brim*Star, and Melodia sends a distress call. Fair play is a handicap in a rigged race. The SilverHawks never cheat back, even when the rules they keep are the ones tying their hands. The ban on radio contact leaves Stargazer following the race on a tracking computer, while Mon*Star breaks the same rule without a second thought![1]

The best scene turns on that handicap. Melodia's SOS reaches the base, the Commander says it is a trick, and he is answered with the rule the team lives by: "You know the code of space. A distress signal is always answered." He is right again, but the rule wins anyway! The Copper Kidd answers the call, and Melodia drives off in his Space Racer.

The Mob, meanwhile, gets the funniest exchange of the episode on the same subject. With the Space Racer far in front, somebody proposes shooting it down, and the objection raised is about appearances: "But if we do that, it's as good as admitting we couldn't win." The answer is the vaporizer, which leaves nothing behind to admit to. It is a lovely piece of villain logic, because the Mob wants the credit for a fair win without the trouble of earning it, and it pays off when the vaporizer is already on its way and somebody realises that Melodia is the one driving the Space Racer.[2]

The heist is the weakness. The bank raid is announced as the reason for the race, and Bluegrass even leaves the race to defend Lord Cash's money bin with Hot Licks. Then, at the midpoint, Mon*Star calls it off with "We'll hit the bank world another time." The plot the Mob built the race around is dropped, and Monotone, who introduces himself as the central computer brain of Automata, gets a repair job and nothing more.[3] A race, a bank raid and an ambush on every leg make a crowded story for a twenty-two minute slot, and the heist is what got squeezed out to make room for the chase.

Bluegrass, patched up and trailing, promises that "When you're in a race, you give it your best to the finish line", and he and the Copper Kidd cross it together in the Hot-Seat, the one car the Mob never managed to steal or vaporize. The Kidd only gets to the finish in the Limo Melodia left behind, because he stopped to answer her call. The good guys win it fair and square!

1 ^ Mon*Star announces that he will "violate a few little race rules" before he radios Melodia.

2 ^ The vaporizer takes the Space Racer with Melodia at the wheel, and the Space Racer is gone by the time the smoke clears. The episode does not say what becomes of Melodia, and the Mob does not stop to ask.

3 ^ Monotone says he is programmed to aid vehicles in distress.

Notes of Interest

  1. The race is Mon*Star's idea, and his stated aim is to show every human, alien and robot in the Galaxy of Limbo that the Mob can beat the SilverHawks.
  2. Lord Cash sends the racers off with greetings from the bank world of Dollare, the Mob's real target; Mon*Star abandons the raid mid-race with "We'll hit the bank world another time."
  3. Race rules forbid radio contact with contestants, which keeps Stargazer off the air; Mon*Star breaks the rule to call Melodia.
  4. Monotone introduces himself as the central computer brain of Automata, programmed to aid vehicles in distress, and repairs Bluegrass's craft during his pit stop.
  5. Hardware drives the Zoomer and fires a laser cannon at Bluegrass; the cannon blows up, but the hit still sends Bluegrass in for repairs.
  6. The route turns round Brim*Star and runs back to the finish line on Bedlama.
  7. The Mob's vaporizer, meant to leave nothing behind, hits the Space Racer while Melodia is driving it.
  8. The closing quiz covers Earth's seasons and its tilted axis, and the Copper Kidd finishes on nine points.

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First seen here

5 names enter the series in this episode.

  • Eight Armed Alien
  • Penal Planet 10 Guard
  • Monotone
  • Steel Truck
  • freighter

In this episode

Cast, in order of appearance18

Places7

Craft6

Weapons and equipment8

Appearance lists compiled from the episode articles on the ThunderCats wiki, checked against this site's encyclopedia. Names we have no entry for are shown without a link rather than left out.

Characters in this episode

Full roster →
The Copper Kidd
Good

The Copper Kidd
Bluegrass
Good

Bluegrass
Melodia
Evil

Melodia
Hardware
Evil

Hardware
Commander Stargazer
Good

Commander Stargazer
Quicksilver
Good

Quicksilver
Mon*Star
Evil

Mon*Star
Yes-Man
Evil

Yes-Man
Lord Cash
Good

Lord Cash
Buzz-Saw
Evil

Buzz-Saw
Poker-Face
Evil

Poker-Face
Mumbo Jumbo
Evil

Mumbo Jumbo
Neutral

Monotone
Windhammer
Evil

Windhammer

Episode screencaps

A crowd of aliens and robots packs the stands for the Great Galaxy Race.
A packed grandstand under a giant scoreboard waits for the racers of the Great Galaxy Race.
The Copper Kidd's Space Racer speeds down the track before the race.
A green Mob racer with a toothed front and a spiked red ornament sits on the starting line.
Racers line up on the starting grid, a green Mob car with a toothed front among them.
A lit arch spans the track under a pink and blue sky, a tall pylon beyond.
Hardware sits at the wheel of his Mob car on the starting grid.
Hardware sits at the wheel of his Mob car on the starting grid.
A grey Mob racer with a red spiked ornament waits on the starting grid.
Quicksilver tells Stargazer the team could not ignore the Mob's challenge, and that winning will show who is in charge.
Quicksilver tells Stargazer the team could not ignore the Mob's challenge, and that winning will show who is in charge.
Stargazer, hand on the controls, says Mon*Star is up to something and the Mob is plotting a crime.
Pen in hand, Stargazer warns that Mon*Star is behind the race and up to something.
Pen in hand, Stargazer warns that Mon*Star is behind the race and up to something.
A star-shaped opening in a rust-red rock ceiling, a small tower below, as Quicksilver says the Mob is plotting a crime.
A monitor in a dark chamber shows two Mob cars as Mon*Star talks of the Mob winning the race.
Mon*Star tells the Mob they will rob the bank planet while the SilverHawks are busy in the race.
Mon*Star tells the Mob they will rob the bank planet while the SilverHawks are busy in the race.
Yes-Man listens as Mon*Star orders the SilverHawks racers eliminated.
Yes-Man waits at the foot of the throne stairs as Mon*Star says the Mob will rob the bank planet.
Mon*Star tells the Mob he wants them in the winner's circle when the race is over.
Yes-Man looks up at Mon*Star as the plan to eliminate the SilverHawks racers is laid out.
Yes-Man wrings his hands as Mon*Star says he has the race fixed so that heads the Mob wins.
Two Mob cars, one green and one grey, race through space with the rest of the field.
The Space Racer, the Hot-Seat and two Mob cars run together early in the race.
Bluegrass flies the Hot-Seat during the first stretch of the race.
The Space Racer and the Hot-Seat reach the crystal globe of Dollare, where Lord Cash is to greet the racers.
A glowing Good Luck sign with a neon face greets the racers.
A lone figure stands on a gold podium at the start, with a Mob car at the edge of the frame.
A small pilot sits in the top hatch of a green vehicle, seen head-on inside a spoked tunnel.
Bluegrass tells the Kidd to keep going while he turns back to deal with the Mob.
A hole in the red dome above the money bin, with a green Mob vehicle below.
Bluegrass promises Lord Cash from the Hot-Seat that the Mob won't trash his stash.
Bluegrass flies the Hot-Seat in after the Mob, who have spotted a SilverHawk cruising for a bruising.
Bluegrass flies the Hot-Seat in after the Mob, who have spotted a SilverHawk cruising for a bruising.
Poker-Face aims his laser cane upward inside the money bin.
Bluegrass works Hot Licks, asking for something in the key of loud.
Poker-Face and a large gold robot stand among the coins in the money bin.
Lord Cash looks on as a tipped Mob vehicle spills a stream of gold onto the platform.
The Hot-Seat sits beside the spilled gold on the platform.
Hardware, urging on the Zoomer, sets off after Bluegrass.
Hardware threatens to fire his laser cannon if he cannot catch Bluegrass.
Hardware urges on the Zoomer as it trails the Hot-Seat, threatening to fire his laser cannon.
A burst of green energy flares in space during Hardware's chase of Bluegrass.
Glowing red wreckage streaks through space as Hardware's laser cannon blows up.
Bluegrass, Hot Licks slung on his back, holds the Hot-Seat on course after Hardware's cannon blast.
Hardware says his laser cannon blew up, but it blew out that SilverHawk.
Smoke rises from the damaged Hot-Seat as Bluegrass plays Hot Licks on his way to a pit stop.
Smoke rises from the damaged Hot-Seat as Bluegrass plays Hot Licks on his way to a pit stop.
Quicksilver tells Stargazer that race rules forbid radio contact with the contestants.
Stargazer looks on as the tracking computer shows the Copper Kidd nearing the penal planet.
Barred by race rules from radioing the racers, Stargazer and Quicksilver track the Kidd as he nears Penal Planet 10.
Mon*Star lounges on his throne as he says Mumbo Jumbo will finish off the Copper Kidd at the penal planet.
Yes-Man tells Mon*Star that Mumbo Jumbo will finish off the Copper Kidd at the penal planet.
Mon*Star says the Copper Kidd must be eliminated, with Mumbo Jumbo waiting at the penal planet.
A Penal Planet 10 guard robot, tool in hand, stands in a rusty metal chamber.
Mumbo Jumbo waits at Penal Planet 10 for the Copper Kidd.
The Copper Kidd flies the Space Racer past a huge dark structure.
Mumbo Jumbo's huge arm reaches for the Copper Kidd's Space Racer.
Mumbo Jumbo's huge arm reaches for the Copper Kidd's Space Racer.
Mumbo Jumbo hunches in space, closing on the Copper Kidd's Space Racer.
Mumbo Jumbo confronts the Copper Kidd in open space.
Mumbo Jumbo bears down on the Copper Kidd at close range.
The Copper Kidd climbs onto Mumbo Jumbo's back as Mumbo Jumbo grips the Space Racer.
The Copper Kidd climbs onto Mumbo Jumbo's back as Mumbo Jumbo grips the Space Racer.
Mumbo Jumbo holds on to the Space Racer as the fight continues.
The Copper Kidd floats free in space during his fight with Mumbo Jumbo.
Mumbo Jumbo, seen close up, in his fight with the Copper Kidd.
Bluegrass brings the smoking Hot-Seat past industrial towers, trailing smoke, on the way to a pit stop.
On Automata, robot arms work on a damaged craft in a shower of sparks while small droids look on.
Monotone, the central computer brain of Automata, says it is programmed to aid vehicles in distress.
On Automata, Bluegrass introduces himself to Monotone and asks the computer brain to fix his craft for the race.
The Hot-Seat sits against a dark curved structure on Automata as Monotone makes repairs.
Melodia's red-gloved hand rests on the keys of her Sound Smasher.
The Copper Kidd, back out in front, as the Mob plots to stop him before he rounds Brim*Star.
Yes-Man stands in the foreground as Mon*Star sits behind him, upset that the Copper Kidd is out in front again.
Yes-Man reminds Mon*Star that the Copper Kidd must turn at Brim*Star and fly back to the finish on Bedlama.
Yes-Man reminds Mon*Star that the Copper Kidd must turn at Brim*Star and fly back to the finish on Bedlama.
Mon*Star says the Copper Kidd will never get that far, with Windhammer and space fog to stop him.
Windhammer swings his tuning fork in space as the Mob tries to stop the Copper Kidd.
Windhammer swings his tuning fork in space as the Mob tries to stop the Copper Kidd.
Windhammer raises his arms as the Mob turns to hail to stop the Copper Kidd.
The Copper Kidd's Space Racer plows through the Mob's space fog and green lightning.
The Copper Kidd's Space Racer plows through the Mob's space fog and green lightning.
The Copper Kidd, seen from behind, faces a wall of glowing lights.
The Space Racer, small against a blazing sun, flies on.
Windhammer readies his tuning fork against the Copper Kidd's Space Racer.
Windhammer's tuning fork lets off a burst of energy in the dark.
The tuning fork's burst swells into a white ball of crackling energy.
Frost and ice crust the Copper Kidd's helmet as the Mob's hail hits him.
The Copper Kidd, coated in frost and crackling ice, presses on through the Mob's hail.
The Copper Kidd keeps the Space Racer ahead as the Mob throws space fog and hail into his path.
Mon*Star, told that Melodia is coming the other way, jumps at the idea of using her to intercept the Kidd.
Mon*Star breaks the race rules and radios Melodia to stop the Copper Kidd reaching the finish line.
Stargazer and Quicksilver at the tracking console as word comes that Melodia is sending out an SOS.
Quicksilver argues that a distress signal must always be answered, while Stargazer insists Melodia's SOS is a trick.
Quicksilver stands by the code of space that a distress signal is always answered.
Melodia, in her Limbo Limo beside the Copper Kidd, tells him she will win the race in his Space Racer.
Melodia, in her Limbo Limo beside the Copper Kidd, tells him she will win the race in his Space Racer.
Melodia's red-gloved hand plays the keys of her Sound Smasher.
The Copper Kidd, eyes shut, after answering Melodia's fake distress call.
Her distress call a trick, Melodia takes the Copper Kidd's Space Racer and leaves him sprawled across her Limbo Limo.
Back in the race in the patched-up Hot-Seat, Bluegrass vows to give it his best to the finish line.
A Mob car trails black smoke behind the Hot-Seat as its driver curses it as a dumb hunk of junk.
Mon*Star's clawed hand grips a curved white surface as he calls for the Space Racer to be shot down.
Mon*Star says the vaporizer will leave nothing of the Space Racer, and the Copper Kidd will never know what hit him.
Yes-Man warns Mon*Star that shooting down the Space Racer is as good as admitting the Mob could not win.
Melodia drives the stolen Space Racer toward the finish, unaware the Mob has aimed its vaporizer at that car.
Melodia drives the Space Racer, unaware that the Mob has its vaporizer aimed at it.
Yes-Man works a control on a rusty red machine while Mon*Star stands by.
Yes-Man's hand takes hold of a red lever on the rusty machine.
Melodia, at the wheel of the Space Racer, is spotted by the Mob just before the vaporizer fires.
A small craft crosses a red-framed monitor as Mon*Star shouts for Yes-Man to stop the vaporizer.
Yes-Man looks up at Mon*Star as it proves too late to stop the vaporizer.
Three plumes of smoke trail from a small dark craft in the star field.
The Copper Kidd waves from Melodia's Limbo Limo as he catches up with Bluegrass near the finish.
Mon*Star and Yes-Man work out that the Copper Kidd must be in the Limbo Limo, having swapped ships with Melodia.
Yes-Man puts a hand to his mouth as the Mob works out the Copper Kidd must be in the Limbo Limo.
Mon*Star and Yes-Man face each other as Mon*Star orders the vaporizer used on the Limbo Limo.
Bluegrass gives a thumbs-up from the Hot-Seat after the Kidd's Limbo Limo meets him.
The Copper Kidd hops from the Limbo Limo onto the Hot-Seat to join Bluegrass.
The Copper Kidd sits on the roof of the Hot-Seat beside Bluegrass as they get away.
A figure at the finish line raises binoculars to watch for the first racers.
The finish-line stand looks out under a pink sky as Bluegrass and the Copper Kidd are announced in the Hot-Seat.
Bluegrass and the Copper Kidd wave to the grandstand crowd as they arrive together in the Hot-Seat.
Stargazer greets the winners at the finish, beneath a course map of Brim*Star, the Penal Planet, Automata, Dollare and Bedlama.
Bluegrass grins in the Hot-Seat as Stargazer and the team congratulate him and the Copper Kidd on winning the race.
Winners at the finish: Bluegrass holds the trophy and the Copper Kidd cheers on the Hot-Seat, with Stargazer and Quicksilver alongside.
Bluegrass introduces a computer screen for studying Earth's movements around the Sun to the Copper Kidd.
The Copper Kidd taps in his answer, seasons, and earns three points.
The closing quiz on the seasons: with Earth's north tilted toward the Sun, the answer is summer, for three points.

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