J. Larry Carroll

Bill Nunes

He-Man gets called in when the rebels find themselves in a desperate situation - and Adora finds herself lacking a sword. But Hordak is having a rough day, too - Horde Prime has sent a Horde inspector to figure out why Etheria isn't conquered yet!

Prince Adam (He-Man, Horde inspector), Man-at-Arms, Sorceress, Princess Adora (She-Ra, secretary), Madame Razz, Netossa, Bow, Spirit

Catra, Hordak, Grizzlor, Horde Prime, Mantenna, Dylamug

various rebels, Spyster, Arrow, Horde soldiers, Horde Inspector Darkney

Horde flyers, wagons, Crawler, glonders

On the planet Eternia, home of shadow beasts and the legendary (but real) city of Aquatica, He-Man is busy trying out a new electric force shield. It's a nice model - even nicer than the one He-Man was trying just before his journey to Arcadia (MU039). It's a big clear oval that comes out of the controls/generator on his wrist armor, and it can easily deflect ice beams fired at it by its own inventor, Man-at-Arms.

Just after He-Man has freed his friend from the block of ice Duncan put himself in, the buff blonde gets a psychic message from the Sorceress, who says she has urgent news from his sister Adora. He-Man therefore rushes over to Castle Grayskull, where he and his bird lady speak with Adora and Madame Razz via the Sorceress's magic mirror/window. As Adora and Razz explain: the rebels were recently given word from a helpful stranger about a Horde plan to enslave villagers. When they arrived to prevent it, however, the rebel force (which included Netossa and Bow) found their informer was actually a paid Horde spy, and they'd been set up! Surrounded by an ambush of troopers, the rebels had no chance. Though she was struck by a stun beam and draped lifeless over the back of her horse, Princess Adora was the only one to escape capture when Spirit ran free of the closing net. But all her friends have been taken to the Fright Zone - and on top of that, Adora has lost her priceless sword of protection! Since the remaining rebels haven't been able to recover the weapon from the battlefield, they can only conclude that it was taken by the Horde - making the aid of She-Ra impossible. He-Man sees his assistance is needed in Etheria, and promises he'll hop on over as quickly as the Sorceress can make a portal.

A bad day for the rebels is a great day for Hordak and company in the Fright Zone. The pleased Horde commander is in the dungeon, gloating over his still-frozen collection of rebel captives, all huddled in one giant barred cell. Hordak is mighty pleased with the Horde informer, Spyster, who made the capture possible - much to the annoyance of the jealous Catra, also in attendance. The celebrations, such as they are, are interrupted by Grizzlor, who calls his boss to the astro-com to receive a message from Hordak's own boss and intergalactic overlord, Horde Prime. Prime, as he explains through the video screen in Hordak's throne room, is tired of hearing excuses from the commander about why he hasn't defeated Etheria's rebels, and is sending a Horde inspector - Horde Inspector Darkney - to get to the bottom of it. Darkney already visited once last season, with what can only be described as inconclusive results; but this time, Prime assures his nervous underling, Hordak's continued employment - possibly even his continued existence - could hinge on the inspector's report.

As it happens, the inspector arrives in the air over Etheria at about the same time that He-Man is hugging his sister in greeting on the ground below. It appears the twins have picked a poor place to meet, however, as they are immediately set upon by Mantenna and a cadre of Horde robots! He-Man finds good use for his electric force shield, which bounces back the freeze rays of the attacking soldiers. Spotting the conflict from his passing Horde flyer, Darkney decides to get a closer look, since he realizes the outcome of the fight will give him good insight into the Horde management problems on this planet. Seeing Mantenna and the robots struggling, the inspector instructs his robot pilot to pitch in, swooping down and firing the ship's own ice beams. But He-Man and Adora can deflect those as well: the frozen ship cracks into pieces, and the defeated Darkney flutters to the ground via parachute - directly into the arms of the rebels.

When they've brought Darkney back to the rebel camp in the Whispering Woods, Adora and crew hear from the inspector himself who he is and what he's doing on Etheria. This gives our heroes a wonderful idea about a way they can infiltrate the Fright Zone. As the scheming Madame Razz explains, it will involve Prince Adam and a false beard. Not long after, the grumpy Hordak, who's been nervously awaiting the arrival of Darkney, answers a knock on his front door to find a brown-bearded, blonde-haired stranger standing there, in the uniform of a Horde inspector. Introducing himself as Darkney's replacement, the inspector marches in, a cloaked secretary (who's clearly Adora) at his heels, and immediately begins finding fault with every aspect of the Fright Zone, starting with its creaky front doors.

Hordak, anxious to make a good impression, parades his soldiers in front of the inspector. But a discreet stuck-out leg from the secretary turns the marching formation into a pile of broken robots. Embarrassed and sweating at all the no doubt uncomplimentary notes the inspector's secretary is making, Hordak decides to lead the party down to the dungeon and show off his big prize: all those rebel captives he just took. At the sight of her frozen friends, "secretary" Adora is distressed and must be subtly held back by "inspector" Adam, who acts unimpressed at Hordak's accomplishment and wants to know how the Horde commander will keep the prisoners from escaping. To demonstrate how impervious his prison cells are, Hordak gets into one and requests that they close and lock the door. Hardly believing their good fortune, the twins obey, and soon their enemy is behind bars of pure cretarium - the strongest metal in the universe.

Hordak safely caged, Adora reveals herself, to the Horde commander's great consternation. Adora and Adam then go searching for the best way to get their friends out. With the great good luck of all animated heroes, they immediately stumble upon Adora's sword, tossed on a heap of discarded metal and other confiscated junk. Adora uses it to change to She-Ra right away. The pieces of Horde soldier armor also lying about the room give our heroine a great idea for how they can escape from right under the Horde's noses - and right out the front door. The Horde inspector, still in his beard, marches a line of Horde soldiers out of the Fright Zone, with hardly any explanation needed for Catra and Spyster, who are looking on. They do both wonder where Hordak has gotten to, since up to now their boss was following the inspector everywhere he went. Heading down to the dungeon to check on him, the minions find Hordak still in the prison cell where he put himself - hopping mad and calling for revenge.

Our heroes have made their way out of the fortress through a ravine to a desert-like region, and gotten out of their various disguises, by the time a Horde army approaches. Adam and She-Ra, against the protestations of Bow and Netossa, send all the other rebels back to the safety of the Whispering Woods, assuring them that the pair can handle this alone. What was once a Horde inspector, then an Eternian prince, quickly becomes He-Man, and he and She-Ra face off against Hordak in his giant Crawler tank, joined by a fleet of soldiers on glonders. The superpowered twins do some fighting and smash some glonders, but ultimately decide to bring a boulder crashing down into the ravine, blocking off any possibility of Horde pursuit - and simultaneously smooshing Hordak's tank.

The regrouped rebels have a happy reunion back at their camp; but a happy day for the rebels means a bad day for the Horde. Spyster is trying to cheer up the glum Hordak by bringing him another rebel impostor posing as a Horde Inspector. But when he reveals the prisoner, frozen in a block of ice, it proves to be the real McCoy, Darkney himself (who Razz released earlier). A horrified Hordak freezes the hapless Spyster, then thaws out Darkney, who proves to be predictably enraged at the mistake. In his overwrought attempts to plead innocence in the whole affair, Hordak accidentally pounds the control on his chair arm that releases the throne room trapdoor, dropping Darkney into the drink. ...Ooops! So, how are Hordak's job prospects looking now?

• Horde Prime (to Hordak): I want Darkney to get to the bottom of why you have been unable to defeat a few paltry rebels.
• Prince Adam: Who am I? Well are you expecting an inspector or aren't you? / Hordak (amazed): You're the inspector?!
• Hordak: I don't understand. I've tried so hard to be bad.
• Hordak: Break out of my dungeon? Impossible! Look at those bars - no one can break out of here! / Adam: Oh? Really? / Hordak: I'll show you. Lock the door. / Adam (astounded): Uh, all right. Heh-heh - if you insist.
• Hordak: Well, well, look who's here: She-Ra and He-Man. How nice! / Horde soldier: Oh, brother; and I just had my oil changed - ugh.
• Inspector Darkney: Hordak, you miserable excuse for a Horde commander! I'll - I'll - I'll - / Hordak: Inspector Darkney - you must believe me - it couldn't be helped!

• He-Man runs at the viewer, bug-height: While testing his shield
• He-Man from above, runs to mid-screen and pauses, battle-ready: Part of the loop is used as He-Man continues to test his shield
• He-Man punches the viewer: Nailing a Horde glonder right in the nose
• Hordak from above, runs to mid-screen and pauses, battle-ready: Escaping the wreckage of his Crawler

One partial (missing Spirit/Swift Wind sequence)
Variation - As Adora says the first line of her magic words, the camera oddly stays on Prince Adam. We cut back to Adora afterwards for the rest of her transformation. Spirit is not present, but we get the now-common flub of She-Ra beginning to move her sword towards the absent horse.
Not long after She-Ra shows up, Adam makes his own transformation, without the Cringer/Battle Cat part. The first line of Adam's magic words is also spoken without the camera pointed at him - instead showing She-Ra looking on.

19:02 - I always begin to get nervous when it takes this long; but fortunately Loo-Kee was clear enough when he finally appeared, hanging down from a tree in the middle foreground and looking off to the right at the rebel camp in the Whispering Woods.
Did I spot him? YES!

The presumptuous Loo-Kee seems to just take it for granted that his audience won't have been up to today's challenge: "Did you find where I was hiding today? No? Well I'll give you another chance." He then proceeds to display a picture of his hiding place that's not quite the same as the one in the episode. Thanks - I guess. Loo-Kee's lesson, if you can call it that, is about how nice it is to have a family member or loved one to count on for help, just like He-Man and She-Ra could count on each other today.

MOTU crossover
Horde Prime appears in person
Landmark Episode: For its abundance of characters, its big-stakes plot, and its very amusing story

• J. Larry Carroll is credited with only one episode of MOTU (the amusing tale of MU118's "Orko's Return"), and this is his first POP script, but he'll rack up writing credits for a surprising four of the second season's last seven episodes - including the very last She-Ra story, 67093's "Swifty's Baby." This episode will also introduce a new director to the series in Bill Nunes, who will direct three episodes all in a row - this one and the next two.
• Some more facts about Carroll: in addition to writing for many other classic cartoons of the 80s and 90s, including BraveStarr, Thundercats, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, he also wrote many episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation and contributed to scripts for Murder, She Wrote and Stargate SG-1. His weirdest and most surprising additional credit? According to IMDb, he was the editor on the original The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974).
• No question that today's story will give us a MOTU crossover, since the opening panning shot takes us right to the planet Eternia, where we find an already transformed He-Man. Five of the last eight episodes have featured MOTU characters - four of them have included He-Man.
• We find He-Man testing a new shield - a large, clear oval that is projected from and activated through his wrist bracer. Though the form of the shield and the animations used have changed, the circumstances of this scene are very similar to that which opened MU039's "Trouble in Arcadia." In fact, the shield in both scenes was named the same: the "electric force shield." (We'll see this gadget showing up again, in another altered form, in the upcoming 67090's "Shades of Orko.")
• Any new device He-Man would test must obviously have been invented by the genius mind of Eternia's Man-at-Arms. Duncan himself therefore appears, for the first time since way back in 67005.
• Also putting in an appearance very soon after Duncan is our lovely bird lady, the Sorceress! We've seen her in POP more often than Duncan, but I'm surprised to find that the last episode in which she played a part was 67018's "Horde Prime Takes a Holiday" (by my sequencing, the 58th episode of the first season). The Sorceress's scarcity is an indication of how thoroughly the show writers have been trying to disconnect She-Ra's power base from Grayskull and Eternia - while at the same time, paradoxically, leaning heavily on our Eternian super-stud for some action-packed assistance. (A little more on that in the commentary.)
• We return to Castle Grayskull, which hasn't been visited since the already mentioned 67018. At the castle, we find that the residents of Etheria are able to hold conversations with those on Eternia by means of the Sorceress's magic mirror/window. It's not her giant all-purpose window/time corridor seen in so many MOTU episodes, but the slimmer, person-height mirror sometimes used as a substitute (for instance, in MU030's "The Taking of Grayskull").
• Appearing in her second episode is Netossa, who was introduced in 67078's "When Whispering Woods Last Bloomed" (a good candidate for longest episode title). Surprisingly, she'll be appearing without Spinnerella, her partner and best friend from that debut story.
• The strange man who informs the rebels of incoming trouble, and then receives the hilariously obvious payoff from Hordak, has a character design based off that of the wicked Jarvan from back in MU010's "A Friend in Need." The design has been reused in other episodes, notably MU060's "Return of Granamyr," though usually the character retains pointy ears and a villain mustache - this latest iteration has neither.
• Incidentally, the money bag that Hordak hands over to his spy has an Earth dollar sign printed on it, raising some very interesting questions about Etherian currency. Another episode that discussed Horde money and earned some nerdy nattering from me was 67043's "Welcome Back, Kowl" - see that entry's commentary section.
• He-Man reinforces the fact that his only way to Etheria is via one of the Sorceress's dimensional gates - something that was tactfully glossed over in his last few appearances. At the end of 67083's "She-Ra Makes a Promise," it almost seemed as if He-Man was capable of summoning such a gate himself.
• The Horde spy turns out to be named - naturally enough - "Spyster." ("That Spyster," a jealous Catra mutters. "What a measly sneak!") This seems like the kind of character that could have been turned into a toy - if the animators hadn't recycled a fairly uninteresting and un-toyetic design in creating him. I also question whether this role could have been filled by an already extant Horde character - 67041's False Face comes to mind (and he's come to mind before - see commentary for 67069). It's weird that False Face's perfect secret agent persona was created and never used again.
• Grizzlor calls Hordak to the "astro-com," apparently the name of the Fright Zone's interplanetary communication equipment. It's rare we hear a name used for the technology that makes possible the various video calls our heroes and villains make.
• And just who is on the astro-com (connected to Hordak's giant projected throne room screen)? Why, none other than Horde Prime! The last time we saw our beloved Horde overlord in person was not so long ago, in 67084. Oddly, both "appearances" of the character depict him as more elusive than usual, with not even the suggestion of a face visible behind his usual cloud of smoke and flashing green lights. The voice heard from the character is also the deeper and slower one used in that previous appearance.
• Yet another surprise recurring character in this already character-filled episode: Horde Inspector Darkney. We first met this be-monocled Horde civil servant back in the landmark 67013's "King Miro's Journey." "Inspector Darkney?" Hordak comments. "Oh, no - not him!"
• Darkney, we learn, is set to visit Etheria for the same reason he did last time - to try to get to the bottom of Hordak's persistent "rebel" problem. Well, he solved nothing last time, and I have a feeling he'll be just as successful this time! Perhaps this new scrutiny on Hordak is due to his failing to keep his promise from the last episode (67086), of defeating the rebellion "by the end of the week."
• Horde Prime exhibits the rather surreal ability to manifest his robotic hand physically through Hordak's projected video screen.
• Just to emphasize the growing dependence of the series on He-Man, one of today's scene transitions is the zooming word, "He-Man," accompanied by the backing chorus singing that name.
• Darkney introduces himself to the rebels as "Inspector General of Horde World," giving us a reference to the Horde's home base and expanding impressively on the character's title.
• Madame's Magic: In one of her stranger uses of magic, Madame waves her hands and wordlessly conjures - a false beard.
• A couple of interesting things about Madame today: she appears without her soulmate Broom, a very rare occurrence which has only happened in a few other episodes (the full list being 67003, 67009, 67041, and 67063). Also, by her suggestion that Adam will be needed, she indicates (rather recklessly, since she's in mixed company) that she's aware of He-Man's secret identity. This probably goes without saying - if you know about Adora's secret, you might as well know about her brother's - but I'm not sure it's something that's come up before.
• In a somewhat unusual turn of events, since Spirit only appears in the opening flashback story, we won't be getting any Swift Wind today.
• We see again the Horde troopers with flamethrower-like backpacks, seen in 67029, 67025, and 67079.
• "Practice, practice, practice!" yells Hordak. "That's how I keep Horde Prime's troopers in shape, Inspector!" Gliding over the illogical idea that robots would improve with practice, the statement implies that Hordak has gotten all his soldiers directly from Horde Prime (who presumably has a factory churning out these intergalactic peacekeeping sentries). This makes sense, but it's nice to have confirmation. The ownership of the troops has been in question somewhat in previous episodes - see for instance 67070's "Something Old, Something New," when it sounded like at least some of them belonged to Shadow Weaver.
• Hordak's incarceration practices have evolved somewhat once again. I've traced this evolution in past episodes - see lore for 67041, for instance - but lately a lot of our friends have been getting tossed in what seemed to be the same windowless, cave-like cell. Netossa (67078), Romeo and Glimmer (67079), Perfuma (67063) - even She-Ra herself (67083) got this treatment. Today, Hordak keeps his large collection of (still frozen) captives in one giant, barred cage.
• Hordak transformations: In the hilarious scene in which the Horde commander helpfully imprisons himself, he further demonstrates the sturdiness of his prison by attacking the bars with his arm cannon - which today is in its flamethrower form.
• In a return to the very old, almost-forgotten Filmation habit of overusing superlatives, Hordak boasts that his cell bars are made of "pure cretarium (sp?), the strongest metal in the universe." For similar, if contradictory, claims, we have to go back to 67030's "Play It Again, Bow," where Madame Razz changed a bottle sculpture into meridian crystal, then dubbed "the hardest, strongest material on Etheria." Before then, and even more pertinently, in 67021's "The Stone in the Sword," Bow's personal-sized prison cell was said to be fashioned from Muralian scrap, "the strongest metal in the galaxy." Here as you see, the scope of the superlative has graduated past planetary, beyond galactic, all the way to the entire universe. You can't get any better than that, right?
• Hordak's impressive Crawler vehicle makes a return today, after being claimed by Entrapta as a "trapper tank" in its last appearance (67079's "Romeo and Glimmer"). As with the version seen in 67056's "Of Shadows and Skulls," this one seems a bit smaller than usual. Hordak mans the top turret gun instead of lounging inside as he has in the past.
• Swiss army sword: It's a "sword to pole" day, with She-Ra making a pole vault, which - oddly, never seems to pay off, even though He-Man assures the bewildered Horde soldiers over which she's just leapt that they're going to understand it any second. She-Ra's use of a pole vault made more sense the last time she did it, in 67020's "Three Courageous Hearts." A few seconds later, she changes her sword into a giant discus in order to knock a boulder off a mountain.
• A very bizarre and easily missed cameo today - in fact, I'm ashamed to say that I completely missed it during the multiple viewings I made of this episode while first writing this entry. I didn't even believe Wiki Grayskull's claim that today's story featured a cameo by the C-list villain Dylamug, last seen all the way back in 67006's "Duel at Devlan." But having second guessed myself, I went back and scanned through the episode again and found him: Dylamug can be spotted at time code 18:15, in one straight-on wide shot of a group of glonder-riding Horde soldiers. In the center of the pack is the dial-faced robot. His tiny scaled-down body is only visible for about one-and-a-half seconds, and never shows up again. The character's appearance here ends up seeming like more of an error than anything else - perhaps the animators were stealing a scene from 67006, and he simply came along for the ride.
• Hordak transformations: His previous arm cannon was his standard one; but in the episode's concluding scene, Hordak opts for the old-fashioned miniature cannon with spoked wheels, fast becoming another of his go-tos (we've seen it in the previous two episodes, 67086 and 67085, among others). This one is missing the lit fuse that it usually has, and also shows itself to be very versatile: it freezes Spyster, then switches to flamethrower mode to thaw the iced-up Inspector Darkney.
• For the first time in the series, Hordak doesn't enjoy the experience of sending someone through his throne room trapdoor. That's because he does it to Inspector Darkney by mistake! "Why does everything happen to me?!" Hordak wails, head in hands, after he's accidentally pounded the button with his fist.
• Ending credits variation: Do I even still have to say it? The background painting continues to be what is very much the standard Season 2 credits image, of Castle Bright Moon.
• A curious note that this episode about people dressing up as other people and coming to their house to trick them was first aired on Halloween 1987. Coincidence?

• Even though, as I noted in the lore, the second half of the second season seems to be very focused on tying the popular He-Man character into the POP series, it has been much less interested in any of his related elements. Our glimpses of Eternia in the preceding four crossover stories have been amazingly brief, if we've seen it at all, and only one other of the tales has shown us more MOTU characters than Adam/He-Man (see Peekablue's vision with Cringer and Orko in 67080). What I'm trying to say is, it's just really nice to see Man-at-Arms and the Sorceress, and go back to Castle Grayskull.
• The flashback story told by Razz and Adora is pretty darned exciting! A Horde turncoat? A devastating ambush? An unconscious Adora being ridden to freedom by a desperate Spirit through a hail of laserfire? Golly - makes you kind of wish we'd seen this in real time!
• Animation error: during the flashback sequence, a scene showing a troop of rebels walking along features a brief moment where a pair of the rebels seem to flicker out of existence.
• Though we can be confident that our all-important status quo will be back in place by the end of this episode, it's quite exciting to see how high the stakes are set with the visit of the Horde inspector: as Horde Prime implies, Hordak's job as commander of Etheria is on the line! Frankly - it's about time!! Horde Prime has been unhappy with Hordak's performance since as far back as the previous visit of the inspector (67013). In fact, we heard Prince Zed relaying Prime's unhappiness even earlier, in 67011. And as I've had call to bring up in just the previous episode (67086), remember that Hordak has been fumbling the Etherian ball for more than twenty years.
• It seems like the captured Inspector Darkney gives a little bit too much away to the rebels about his mission on Etheria. I thought the job of a POW was to give name, rank, serial number - and nothing else. Darkney goes on to tell his captors all about the important report he was supposed to be making - thus inspiring the rebels' entire rescue plan. Maybe today's snafu isn't entirely Hordak's fault! Horde Prime should assign another inspector to look into this inspector...
• I find it hilarious that Hordak has to go and answer his own front door. It's a gigantic fortress full of servants and soldiers, but the commander himself goes to see who's knocking?
• Also amusing is the implication that the incredibly buff Prince Adam will fit into the same outfit that snugly accomodated the slim Inspector Darkney. Or are we to believe that Adam had his own outfit made to order, perhaps by Razz's magic, copying the look of the original? If not, it does present us with a bit of a continuity error, since Razz seems to have released a (presumably fully clothed) Darkney before the uniform-clad Adam and Adora return to base.
• I also love the way so many people challenge their tongues by saying things about "expecting inspectors."
• It's odd that, though Adam disguises himself as a Horde inspector, he doesn't bother to introduce himself by name at all - not even an incredibly obvious pseudonym, like his "Mada" from 67081's "Just the Way You Are." Also strange is the fact that Hordak entirely fails to question the presence of the very obvious Adora. Presumably she's acting as a secretary for the false inspector, but you'd think some kind of explanation for her would be in order. In addition, she's disguised herself by the expedient of a not-very-concealing cloak which is even less of a dissimulation than Adam's false (brown - not blonde) beard.
• I usually like to leave my summing-up to the end of the commentary section, but sometimes a really enjoyable episode prompts an earlier placement, and this is one of those. Bless you, Mr. Carroll! You've brought hope back to this second season. I was optimistic when I saw this writer's MOTU credit, an episode I recalled fondly, and he does not disappoint here. The humor in this one mirrors his effort with Orko, and calls to mind Bob Forward's comedic pinnacles in 67049 and 67063. The whole concept of Adam's inspector making Hordak sweat is pure genius, and a particular highlight is when Hordak actually puts himself in his own prison cell. There's a delightful cherry-on-top moment just before the Horde commander gets locked in, where Adam and Adora turn to look at each other, hardly able to credit their good luck.
• Incidentally, Hordak's claims that no one could ever break out of his dungeon are utterly absurd, given just how many preceding episodes have featured our heroes doing just that.
• Animation error: She-Ra's late-in-the-episode transformation sequence isn't cut off before she makes the slightest twitch of her sword towards the missing Spirit.
• The robotic nature of the Horde soldiers is again called into question today, when we see the rebel prisoners making an escape by means of hiding themselves in the troopers' "armor." Didn't they have to clean a whole lot of machinery out of the middle of those things?
• Soundtrack error: Just as He-Man is saying the first word of his iconic transformation line, "I have the power," the speed on the playback drops, making him sound distorted and upsetting. What happened, He-Man!? It's obvious you've already gone through puberty, so we know it can't be that!
• Animation error: As noted in the PSA section, Loo-Kee's last-chance shot of his hiding place at the end of the episode shows a scene slightly altered from the one in which he was originally hiding. Some puffy plants and bushes have been added in front of his tree - and a layering error has moved the Kon-Seal entirely onto the tree's trunk. In the episode itself, his tail was curled around a projecting branch.
• Just a great episode today, well deserving of its landmark tag. I look forward to the several other episodes Mr. Carroll will be bringing our way! It's nice to have a dependable writer other than Bob Forward on the second season crew.