Brief Summary: So, you wanna be a Joe, huh? Hawk tells us what it takes to become a Joe.
Summary: Like Legend of Metal-Head, which follows it, Basic Training is what's known as a clip show, basically a collection of scenes from previous episodes tied together through some outward conceit. Clip shows are sometimes used as filler, especially for long running shows. They're cheap to make, since you only need to film the bits that tie the clips together. Or you can use voiceovers and save yourself even more money.
Basic Training's main conceit is that General Hawk is speaking to the kids in the audience as if they were potential recruits for GI Joe. The clips chosen for the episode illustrate the various points that Hawk makes in his voiceover.
About the only original bit to the episode is some really crude animation of General Hawk standing on a platform with his arms behind his back. This bit is superimposed over the original footage and is placed at the very bottom of the screen. It doesn't move and is really, kinda creepy. Luckily, it doesn't show up often.
The episode's intro consists of Hawk giving the following speech as clips from various episodes play in the background:
GI Joe wants you! Yes, you too can become a member of the world's finest fighting force. An elite battle corps dedicated to holding the line for freedom and democracy.
From the mountains, to the seas. From the desert to the jungle, GI Joe is there to protect the innocent from the evil reins of Cobra. It's a big job and sometimes it's a dirty job, but someone's got to do it and that someone could be you.
It's not gonna be easy to become a Joe. GI Joe only takes the best of the best. You've got to really want it and if you want it hard enough you'll get your shot.
The clips are from the following episodes:
The Greatest Evil
Operation: Dragonfire (I think)
Sludge Factor
Metal-Head's Reunion (underwater shots)
El Dorado -- The Lost City of Gold (I think)
Eliminator
We come back from the opening credits to more clips, the scary unmoving Hawk and more voiceovers.
"So, you wanna be a Joe?" Hawk asks, via voice over as he proceeds to introduce us to some of the other Joes. Well, okay, to three of them.
First, we meet General Hawk, who, he tells us, will be our instructor and our role model.
Then, Duke, who is a combat specialist and Flint, who is the leader of the Eco Warriors, a group we'll be hearing more about later.
From here, we move on to our first lesson: Keeping Fit. Hawk tells us that he doesn't want to focus on exercise or eating right. As he (rightfully) says "If you don't know about eating right, you're not ready to be a Joe."
Hawk says: "When I'm taking about keeping fit, I'm talking about using your body when that's all you got!" What the hell he means by this, I'm not sure.
Hawk also tells us that Joes have to know their weapons. We get a few more clips reinforcing this fact.
Our next task is learning how to land on our feet. Hawk shows us how he does it by giving us a clip from Long Live Rock and Roll where he gets shot down by some Cobras and lands on the top of a vehicle driven by Rock n' Roll.
Hawk segues to telling us how hard it is to stay on your feet when you're underwater. What this leads to is an extended clip from Keyboard Warriors, mainly the scenes where Wet-Suit is fighting the android shark. This bit takes us through the first commercial break, serving as a cliffhanger of sorts.
When we come back from commercial break, we see that Wet-Suit does indeed defeat the android shark. 'Course, since this episode originally aired well before Basic Training, the whole cliff-hanger aspect is more or less shot in the foot. Rather like the Phantom Menace and the pod race: we know Anakin will survive, because Darth Vader exists in the original three movies.
We move on to Combat Readiness, with scenes from The Sludge Factor. Hawk tells us that we "have to be ready to jump in and do your part to defend freedom and democracy, any time, any where.'
We also learn:
"Nothing stops a Joe when he's ready to rock!"
And that we "have to be prepared for the worst, 'casue you're fighting for the best!"
Joes are ready to fight in the ocean and they're proud to fly high in the unfriendly skies. Sometimes you have to lie low in shifting sands of the desert. The Joes are ready to slug it out in the jungle and they're battling the elements and Cobra in the freezing cold. The Joes also have a blast underground.
Wherever he goes, a Joe stands tall!
Even a Cobra is ready to roll at a moment's notice. (Scene of Night Creeper Leader rolling in preparation to trying to kick Storm Shadow's ass in Shadow of a Doubt.)
Now comes the hardest part to watch: When the going gets tough, the tough tell jokes! No god, please no...
We're treated to a string of cheesy one-liners and scenarios from the previous episodes. Here's a few samples:
Q: What goes dot dot croak, croak dot croak, croak, croak, dot, dot?
A: A Morse Toad!
Q: What kinds of beans do cannibals like?
A: Human beings.
These two bits seem to come from the episode A is for Android, where the android Hawk had a tendency to tell really, REALLY bad jokes. Apparently that was a programming flaw. Some other 'humorous' moments come from "The Sludge Factor", specifically the part where Flint and Clean Sweep are watching the video tape of Clean Sweep and the exploding corn and where Major Altitude ends up 'in the soup' by landing in a truckload of veggies that Cobra has stolen. Some of these bits are actually from the episode, but a couple seems to have been dubbed in for the purposes of this episode.
This attempt at humor segues into our second cliffhanger bit: Major Altitude is falling along with the load of veggies he was a part of. Will he make it? Stay tuned to find out! Especially if you haven't seen "The Sludge Factor".
We come back from commercial to find out that yes, Major Altitude made it out okay.
We leave humor aside and turn to an extended introduction of the Eco Warriors. Joes, Hawk tells us, care about the environment.
Most of this final third of the episode is taken up with clips from "The Sludge Factor" and "Infested Island", particularly "The Sludge Factor". WE meet not only the EcoWarriors but are given a look at Cesspool and his headquarters. We see Cesspool's attack on the EcoWarrior's headquarters as well, during which we learn that EcoWarriors not only protect the environment but sometimes they have to protect themselves as well.
One last lesson we're given: Joes always play fair. Learn that and we're halfway there. Fair play is demonstrated by Flint returning to untie two Cobras (Sludge Vipers, I think) before a lava flow can take them out (Sludge Factor).
Hawk's final words of wisdom before a series of clips showing kids from various episodes yelling "Yo Joe": Work hard and live right and you too can become a GI Joe.
Commentary: What can you say about a clip show? Uhm...nice use of clips instead of taking the time to animate a new episode. Your splicing was really well done. The bit with the unmoving Hawk insert was kinda creepy but at least it's something new.
I'm not a big fan of the conceit of Hawk speaking to kids. I think it would have been a better conceit to have Hawk actually speaking to a new group of Joes. Either that or to have done a new episode about actual Joe basic training. Something like issue #82 of the Marvel series, where we get to see what it's like to go through Joe training would have been extra cool.
But that's me speaking as an adult viewer. I'm sure there were kids who thought it was kinda keen that Hawk was talking to *them* and heck, maybe a few members of our current armed forces were inspired to join up because of the thought that they too could be like the Joes.
Since it's basically a collection of clips, if you miss Basic Training, you haven't missed much. There's not much to see and the voice over isn't exactly engaging. Still, if you're a completist, give it a look-see.
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Basic Training includes clips from the following episodes:
Intro:
The Greatest Evil
Operation: Dragonfire (I think)
Sludge Factor
Metal-Head's Reunion (underwater shots)
El Dorado -- The Lost City of Gold (I think)
Eliminator
First Third of Episode:
A is for Android (??)
The Sword
The Eliminator
Sludge Factor
A is For Android
Greatest Evil
That's Entertainment
The Greatest Evil
The Sword
El Dorado
Shadow of a doubt
The Sword -- Scarlett shoots down a BAT on a Battle Copter
The Sword -- Hawk shooting down more BATs
Long Live Rock and Roll
The Sludge Factor
A is for Android
Long Live Rock and Roll
Long Live rock and roll
Keyboard Warriors -- Wet Suit vs. Android Shark
Second Third of Episode:
Keyboard Warriors -- end of Wet Suit vs. Android Shark
Close-up on Hawk talking about Combat Readiness
The Sludge Factor
Keyboard warriors
Keyboard Warriors
Infested Island -- EcoWarrior being chased by giant bug
Shadow of a doubt
Messenger from the Deep
El Dorado -- Lost City of Gold
A is for Android (??)
Stuck on you
Keyboard Warriors
El Dorado -- Lost City of Gold
Unidentified episode -- Hawk saluting
Shadow of a doubt -- NCL falls down trap door
A is for Android?
Sludge Factor
Sludge Factor
A is for Android
A is for Android
Long Live Rock and Roll
The Sword
Sludge Factor -- Major Altitude and veggies falling to earth
Final third of episode:
Sludge Factor -- Major Altitude rescued from certain death.
A is for Android
Infested Island
Sludge Factor -- extended intro of Eco Warriors and Cesspool, inc. Cesspool's first attack on Eco Warrior HQ
A is for Android
Sludge Factor
A is for Android -- Kid becomes a Joe
Kindergarten Commandos
Keyboard Warriors