As a longtime Voltron fan, and as co-host of Let’s Voltron: The Official Voltron Podcast, I am sometimes asked which episode of Voltron: Defender of the Universe is my favorite. My response has probably varied over the years, but the episode that I find myself watching most frequently is “Space Explorers Captured,” the first episode in original air date order, and the first episode to feature the Lion Force characters.
During my most recent re-watch of the episode, as well as “Escape from Slave Castle,” the Beast King Golion episode from which it was adapted, I realized why I’m so fascinated with “Space Explorers Captured”: unlike nearly every other episode of Voltron: Defender of the Universe, “Space Explorers Captured” isn’t a straight adaptation, with violent shots removed for an audience of largely American youths – the Voltron episode has its own distinct narrative, and it sets up a surprisingly different premise from that of Beast King Golion – and all of this is accomplished with clever editing and new writing.
| Golion #1 Story | Voltron #1 Story |
|---|---|
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On the planet Galra, five earthlings are in a cell in Slave Castle. The earthlings had been captured shortly after returning from a space mission and their discovery that, in their absence, Earth had been devastated during World War III.
The earthlings escape Galra in a Galra slave ship. Emperor Daibazaal orders Sadak to pursue. Sadak’s ship shoots down the escape ship as it approaches the planet Altea. The escape ship’s descent is watched from an ancient castle by a beautiful princess. Before the ship crashes, a strange beam of light emanates from a statue in front of an ancient castle. The ship’s descent slows, and the earthlings’ leader, Kogane, takes the controls and flies the ship past the castle. |
Five Space Explorers from Earth’s Galaxy Garrison reach the planet Arus, which is under attack by the forces of King Zarkon. The Explorers’ ship is captured, and the Space Explorers are taken to the planet Doom.
The Space Explorers escape Doom in a slave ship. Zarkon orders Commander Yurak to pursue. Yurak’s ship shoots down the escape ship as it approaches the planet Arus. The escape ship’s descent is slowed by a strange beam of light emanating from a statue in front of the legendary Castle of Lions. Keith, captain of the Space Explorers, tells his team the legend of Voltron. With hope that the Space Explorers can locate and bring back Voltron, Keith guides the escape ship past the Castle of Lions. |
| Golion #1 Premise | Voltron #1 Premise |
|---|---|
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Several thousand years ago, the mysetrious robot Golion arrogantly challenged the Goddess of the Universe to a fight. The goddess punished Golion for its arrogance by splitting it into five parts, each a robot Lion.
In 1999, five earthling space explorers from the war-ravaged planet Earth rediscover the robot Lions and form Golion, to protect the planet Altea and its allies from Emperor Daibazaal and the Galra Empire. |
Some years ago, King Zarkon’s witch Haggar placed a curse on the mighty robot Voltron, splitting it into five parts, each a robot Lion.
Now (the future – in an unspecified year), five Space Explorers from the Galaxy Garrison rediscover teh robot Lions and form Voltron, to protecdt the universe from Zarkon and the forces of Doom. |
I also studied the Voltron premiere episode, and I discovered that — Ignoring the opening, closing, teaser for the next episode, and minor edits such as trimming violent Golion content, the first Voltron episode is comprised of:
- Eight segments from the first Beast King Golion episode. (The overwhelming majority of the content is from this episode.) In the Voltron episode, these segments are re-sequenced and given a different context.
- Three short segments from the third Beast King Golion episode. These segments support Voltron’s altered premise.
- Two short segments and one longer segment from the first episode of Armored Fleet Dairugger XV, the anime program from which the Vehicle Team episodes of Voltron: Defender of the Universe were adapted. These segments also support Voltron’s altered premise.
Here is a breakdown of the segments in Voltron‘s first episode:
| Voltron #1 Seg # | Duration (mm:ss) | Voltron Context | Source | Golion #1 Seg # | Source Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| 1 | 00:19 | Keith reports no problems approaching Arus, but Space Explorers notice problems as they reach planet | Golion #1 | N/A | Part of Golion main title sequence |
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| 2 | 00:01 | Keith reaction shot | Dairugger #1 | N/A | Manabu Aki reaction shot |
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| 3 | 00:01 | Hunk reaction shot | Dairugger #1 | N/A | Shinobu Kai reaction shot |
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| 4 | 00:09 | Forces of Doom attack Arus | Golion #3 | N/A | Sadak’s forces attack Altea |
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| 5 | 00:16 | Forces of Doom attack Arus | Golion #3 | N/A | Sadak’s forces attack Altea |
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| 6 | 00:05 | Forces of Doom attack Arus | Golion #3 | N/A | Sadak’s forces attack Altea |
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| 7 | 01:51 | Arus fights back against Forces of Doom, but Arus is devastated; Yurak captures the Space Explorers | Golion #1 | 5 | Earth is devastated during World War III (Kogane imagines these events, which took place while he and his fellow space explorers were on space mission); Sadak captures five earthling space explorers who just returned to Earth from space mission (flashback) |
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| 8 | 01:48 | Keith contacts Galaxy Garrison; Galaxy Garrison high command discuss Keith’s message | Dairugger #1 | N/A | Galaxy Garrison meeting |
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| 9 | 05:16 | Yurak brings slaves including Space Explorers to Doom; Zarkon believes he will be unopposed now that Space Explorers are captives; slaves sent to arena against Blue Robeast; Space Explorers talk of escaping before they can be sent to arena | Golion #1 | 4 | Sadak brings slaves to Galra; Daibazaal seeks amusement; five earthlings are already captives on Galra; lively new slaves are slaughtered by Deathblack Beastman in arena to amuse Daibazaal; earthlings discuss having nearly died when they fought a Deathblack Beastman |
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| 10 | 10:45 | Space Explorers escape cell, steal slave ship, escape Doom and approach Arus; Yurak shoots down escape ship; escape ship’s descent to Arus is slowed by Castle of Lions (Note: Princess Allura and Coran are not shown here, delaying their introduction until the next episode) | Golion #1 | 7 | Earthlings escape cell, steal slaves ship, escape Galra and approach Altea; Sadak shoots down escape ship; escape ship’s descent to Altea is slowed by Castle Altea (Note: Princess Fala and Raible are shown watching escape ship from castle) |
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| 11 | 00:11 | Reactions of Lance, Sven, Hunk, Pidge | Golion #1 | 9 | Reactions of Kurogane, Shirogane, Seidou, Suzuishi |
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| 12 | 02:09 | Keith tells legend of Voltron | Golion #1 | 2 | Narrator tells legend of Golion |
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| 13 | 00:49 | Keith talks of somehow finding and combining Lions to bring back Voltron to help Arus | Golion #1 | N/A | Part of main title sequence |
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| 14 | 00:20 | Keith takes controls and guides descending ship safely past Castle of Lions | Golion #1 | 10 | Kogane takes controls and guides descending ship safely past Castle Altea |
To contrast the first episode of Voltron: Defender of the Universe with that of Beast King Golion, here are the segments of the Golion premiere:
| Golion #1 Seg # | Golion Context | Voltron #1 Seg # |
|---|---|---|
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| 1 | Narrator tells legend of Golion | N/A |
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| 2 | Narrator tells legend of Golion | 12 |
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| 3 | Episode title card | N/A |
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| 4 | Sadak brings slaves to Galra; Daibazaal seeks amusement; five earthlings are already captives on Galra; lively new slaves are slaughtered by Deathblack Beastman in arena to amuse Daibazaal; earthlings discuss having nearly died when they fought a Deathblack Beastman | 9 |
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| 5 | Earth is devastated during World War III (Kogane imagines these events, which took place while he and his fellow space explorers were on space mission); Sadak captures five earthling space explorers who just returned to Earth from space mission (flashback) | 7 |
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| 6 | Kogane reaction shot | N/A |
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| 7 | Earthlings escape cell, steal slaves ship, escape Galra and approach Altea; Sadak shoots down escape ship; escape ship’s descent to Altea is slowed by Castle Altea (Note: Princess Fala and Raible are shown watching escape ship from castle) | 10 |
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| 8 | Medium and close-up shots of Princess Fala watching ship descend | N/A |
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| 9 | Reactions of Kurogane, Shirogane, Seidou, Suzuishi | 11 |
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| 10 | Kogane takes controls and guides descending ship safely past Castle Altea | 14 |
“Space Explorers Captured,” the first Lion Force episode of Voltron: Defender of the Universe, is surprisingly different than its Beast King Golion counterpart, “Escape from Slave Castle.” The episodes are a testament to how important editing can be in telling a story — or two. IF you’ve not watched these in a while, or ever, then check them out.