THIRD DIMENSION SEASON ONE
* The format of this chronology will be a bit different than the prior series, in part because each episode shows titles! Also will list notable trivia related to the prior series. Right now, the descriptions will try to be minimal so to not provide many spoilers. Also, the episodes are listed in the order they originally aired, which may or may not correspond to production number order.*
Click to skip to a specific episode:
#1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11, #12, #13 , #14, #15, #16, #171) ESCAPE FROM BASTILLE 12 by Marc Handler
Keith, Allura, Amalgamus, and a reformed Zarkon try to interrogate Lotor -- who refuses to reveal where he sent Castle Doom after the battle that defeated him. Space pirates, who haven't been seen in years, begin raiding Alliance colonies and ships. Keith and Lance end up going to Arus in a spaceship to ask Allura for help, and call Hunk and Pidge to make sure Lotor is still in prison.
Notable trivia from this episode:
* Pidge receives "lion" (electronic) fan mail from a fan on planet Caspia, as seen in the second season of the original series as the home of the scientist Marianne. The fan mail originates from wep.com, the web site of World Events Productions, producers on both series.* When Keith gives Hunk and Pidge a call, Pidge starts to reminisce that they haven't "had a code 9 since Oron quit the Alliance," but is quickly cut off. The trouble on planet Oron was also seen in the second season of the original series.
* The elements of lazon and moonstone have been part of the original series. Lazon was introduced during some of the later episodes of the first season that featured Romelle. Moonstone was first mentioned in the second season episode where the envoy from Galaxy Garrison arrives.
* There were space pirates in the second season of the original series, the Pirates of the Rogue Galaxy, which showed up at the conference on Galaxy Garrison where Sven pilots Blue Lion again. There does not appear to be any connection between those pirates and the ones in this series.
2) RED LION BREAKS LOOSE by Marc Handler
Lance, fueled by bitterness for Zarkon and Lotor destroying his village years before, takes Red Lion out to find Lotor. He tangles with space pirates Queequeg and Lafitte, who lead him to Lotor. Lotor captures Lance and the rest of the Voltron Force must decide to defy orders in order to rescue him.
Notable trivia from this episode:
* We first learn about the destruction of Lance's village by Zarkon (though he doesn't mention Lotor then) in the first season of the original series. It is the second of the 2-parter about the clone of Coran's son Garrett. Also worth noting, that 2-part storyline was one of the first scripts Marc Handler wrote for the original VOLTRON.* It is highly possible there are areas of the Castle, such as the Archive Chamber, that Allura would not have discovered for many years. After all, the current Castle of Lions was completely constructed under the original castle which Allura was not aware of. She likely was only shown the way to selected areas before she was shown the way to raise the new castle out of the ground... and then she'd be too busy fighting Lotor and Zarkon to really explore the castle until the time of Great Peace.
* The "dream dimension" Lotor escapes to at the end of the episode is the same dimension where Haggar imprisoned Allura's spirit in FLEET OF DOOM and that Keith had to navigate through to rescue Allura's spirit.
3) BUILDING THE FORCES OF DOOM by Sean Catherine Derek
Lotor holds a "peace summit" with Zarkon and Keith that doesn't seem to get anywhere. Though ordered to stay behind, Lance comes along as well. Lotor finally feels ready to use a crystal given to him by Haggar to locate her in the Dream Dimension. Lance pursues Lotor into the Dream Dimension, against the request of his friends. Lance faces the fears of his past and Haggar reveals she's been hiding Castle Doom in the Dream Dimension.
Notable trivia from this episode:
*This is the first (though definitely not the last!) VOLTRON episode from either version of the series ever to be written by a woman. Sean Catherine Derek has numerous credits, including BATMAN and also was a Story Editor for many seasons of CAPTAIN PLANET.* In the dream dimension, Lance relives his village being attacked as a child -- and the feelings of helplessness that went along with that -- the same way Keith had to fight against childhood fears of being lost in a forest in FLEET OF DOOM. It is logical that Keith would be the one to guide him out, having had prior experience. However, in FLEET OF DOOM, Alfor had warned Keith that the key to winning was "to overcome them [his fears] with courage." Keith just tells Lance to think of good thoughts. Perhaps the good thoughts gave Lance the necessary courage?
* Pidge should not have had to ask Allura what Lance's beef with Lotor was. In actuality, he probably should have been the one telling it to Allura. Lance confided the information to him in the original series. Perhaps, having seen Zarkon and Lotor blow up his home planet first-hand in the first season of the original series, he's in an utter state of denial about Zarkon's/Lotor's atrocities.
4) LOST SOULS by Pamela Hickey and Dennys McCoy
Amalgamus decrees that based on the input of the 900 Alliance worlds, the Voltron Force will be suspended and the lions will be piloted by drones Amalgamus controls. The drones try to defend Outpost Opal from Lotor's forces, but it becomes clear that more than just someone in the pilot's seat is needed for VOLTRON to be victorious.
5) A RIFT IN THE FORCE by Kelly Ward
After responding to an order to attack Planet Geo to save it from Lotor, the Voltron Force learns it was a false order and are punished by being sent to repair the mining colony they attacked there. They fend off some mutated space lice placed there by Lotor, which almost keeps the Voltron Force from returning to Arus to save the Castle of Lions. Keith and Lance don't always see eye to eye.
Notable trivia about this episode
: * This episode was written by Kelly Ward, who is also the voice director for VOLTRON: THE THIRD DIMENSION.* This is the first episode of VOLTRON ever to name a star system. Planet Geo is in the Diadem system.
6) SHADES OF GRAY by Pamela Hickey and Dennys McCoy
Hunk gets tired of people making fun of him as big and dumb. When he goes to Planet Vermillion for supplies, Haggar and Lotor take advantage -- they magically enslave Hunk and Yellow Lion to become the Gray Lion and turn him on the rest of the Voltron Force. Amalgamus is captured; the Voltron Force must rescue the Galaxy Garrison leader and save their friend.
7) BRIDE OF THE MONSTER by Sean Catherine Derek
Lotor kidnaps a judge who performs weddings but is also needed to sign an important peace treaty. Haggar casts a spell on Lotor that makes him look like his old self to Allura, then Lotor tricks Allura to Castle Doom, where he tries to get Allura to marry him.
Notable trivia about this episode
: * Amphrose, the planet Judge Armistice is from, is a sister planet to Arus. Sister planet can mean revolving around each other or sharing the same orbital path, but in this case it probably means similar types of planets. In the first episode of NEW ADVENTURES, Romelle refers to Pollux as a "sister planet" as well. In Pollux's case, the planets may be "sister planets" more in their shared history and bloodties, more like the idea of "sister cities." Though from the history of planet Pollux -- the evil son of Arus' first king was banished there -- they are likely adjacent planets as well.* The groom getting married, Tildar, is from Planet Caspia. The pacifist scientist Marianne, from a NEW ADVENTURES episode, is also from Caspia.
* This is Lotor's second wedding ceremony, and if he had succeeded in marrying Allura, she would have been his second wife. In a NEW ADVENTURES episode, Lotor marries Queen Merla under orders from his father. The marriage is later annulled by Merla throwing the wedding bracelet off a bridge -- though one must presume more legal means are used off-camera. In a later NEW ADVENTURES episode, Merla refers to having been engaged to Lotor. She may be using this terminology since the marriage was annuled.
8) DOMINUS by Pamela Hickey and Dennys McCoy
Planet Geo (from A Rift in the Force) has been rendered totally uninhabitable by the radiation hits it took when Lotor attacked. It's also turned into a breeding ground for Lotor to hatch a giant shonga named Dominus, capable of devouring Geo's moon. The Voltron Force is faced with an ethical dilemma -- how to defeat the giant lizard while not destroying it, since it is a living creature and unaware of the destruction it is doing for Lotor and Haggar.
Notable trivia from this episode:
*There is only one episode in the first VOLTRON series where Haggar turns a living creature into an enhanced Robeast creature AND then turns it back into its old self. That episode is the one featuring Anga, also known as "The Green Medusa." Haggar changes Anga back because Anga develops a maternal-like attachment to Pidge and cannot destroy him. Why Haggar didn't just destroy Anga outright is unknown.*A listing appeared in TOON magazine listing the titles of the first 13 episodes of the show. According to that list, Dominus was listed as episode #11; however, it aired as episode #8. Please be aware that show numbers correspond to the order the scripts are assigned, and do not always reflect what the final airing order will be (due to technical or other reasons). As mentioned elsewhere, I do have background working on animated series. On one series I worked on, which had 40 episodes, the airing order of the first 2 weeks went like this -- #101, #140, #107, #103, #104, #105, #106, #108, #113, #118. #140 was actually part 2 of the pilot, since we decided to make it a 2-parter midway through production. The rest of the order was based on what episodes came back from overseas and were able to be edited in time for airing. KEEP THIS IN MIND with any list you may see for a show, that just because they're in a numbered order it may not mean they will air/aired in that order.
9) VOLTRON VS. DRACOTRON by Scott Guy
Haggar reawakens an ancient being made up of five dragons called Dracotron. At first, Haggar is reluctant to release Draco, the powerful Black Dragon, but Lotor pushes her into it. Lotor and Haggar cannot maintain control of Dractron and must consider an alliance with the Voltron Force to defeat Dracotron.
Notable trivia about this episode:
*This is neither the first time Lotor has been saved by the Voltron Force nor the first time he's allied with them... though that didn't happen in the same episode. In one NEW ADVENTURES episode, the Voltron Force rescued Lotor from the Pit of Skulls where his father placed him for defiance; they do so after being begged to by Queen Merla, and Lotor briefly considers turning good. In an earlier NEW ADVENTURES episode, where the Voltron Force had to recover the Cadmium Flower, Lotor teams with the Voltron Force as he battles against his father.* In the archive chamber, Allura mentions that it took all the Arusian space knights to defeat Dracotron the first time. In NEW ADVENTURES, we learned that the knights of Arus are called Lion Warriors. They also stood with Alfor at his final battle against Zarkon at the Valley of Zohar, and at one time were part of an alliance of armies from throughout the galaxy known as the Astroknights.
10) DESCENT INTO MADNESS by Kelly Ward
While at Galaxy Garrison, Keith stumbles on to the fact that Zarkon is only pretending to be interested in peace. Before he can tell the Voltron Force, Zarkon discovers what Keith knows; he has Haggar drop an attack on Planet Theta to cast a spell to turn Keith feral like a lion, and also causes him to forget what he knew. Keith's friends race to find a way to cure him, but there's only one way he can be healed.
11) PIDGE GETS ICED by Marc Handler
Pidge is sent by Amalgamus to planet Glacia to figure out how to retrieve the miraculous new discovery of Thunder-Ice, so that it can be used to stop Nova-99 from destroying an un-named solar system. Zarkon toys with Amalgamus and sends an evil battle-cyborg named I.G.O.R. to assist Pidge, only to later turn on him. Keith discovers Zarkon's plot (undetected this time) and warns the Voltron Force.
Notable trivia about this episode:
*Pidge says that if "he could stand up to Zarkon's Fleet of Doom, he can stand up" to the challenge of saving a star system from Nova-99. The fleet Pidge refers to was built by Zarkon when he allied with Viceroy Throk of the Drule Empire (Vehicle Voltron's nemesis) in the VOLTRON special of the same name that debuted in 1986.Haggar, still feeling bitter about being stood up by Alfor, imprisons his spirit in a Robeast which turns on the Voltron Force. Allura must find the courage to free her father, since destroying the robeast would destroy Alfor's spirit as well.
Notable trivia about this episode:
*This episode has now set the order in which certain events must happen in the Voltron chronology, and the tough part is that they probably happen within several months of time. Haggar's "that was the end of your father" cannot be taken completely literally. More likely her attack on the castle was the beginning of Alfor's end. Here's the order the events almost certainly must occur:1 - Haggar agrees to show her love to Zarkon by devastating the Castle of Lions.
(per Dark Heart. Also, see Coran's speech to the space explorers in the second episode of the original VOLTRON series, though he says they destroyed everything but the palace. So the people of Arus likely lived in hiding for eight years, if Allura was originally 16 as has been reported.)2 - Voltron, still a complete robot at this time, is sent into space. Haggar disguises herself as a beautiful goddess (which looks remarkably similar to the depiction of the guardian spirit on the Dracotron monument!) and lures Voltron close, splitting him into five parts.
(See Keith's description of the Voltron legend in the very first VOLTRON episode. In the second episode, Coran concurs with this.)3 - Alfor rebuilds the five parts as separate robot lions, to contain pilots and be activated with keys.
(Keith and Coran both describe the pieces detaching as complete mechanical lions. This would likely be a corruption of truth over time, or in Coran's case to cover up what really had to be done by the King in order to perpetuate the legend. Also, it's been stated several times that Alfor built the lions, but not that he built VOLTRON. This would be consistent.)4 - Zarkon invades at the Valley of Zohar. Alfor goes to meet him with the Lion Warriors (likely also the Arusian Space Knights) and is killed in battle.
(See the NEW ADVENTURES episode where Alfor is rumored to reappear at the scene of his final battle but it's really a trick to help Merla capture Allura.)5 - The keys are buried with King Alfor at the bottom of the Castle of Lions.
(see the first four VOLTRON episodes)*There must be enough passage of time between Alfor and Haggar's parting and her teaming up with Zarkon to allow for Alfor's marriage, Allura's birth and for Allura to at least be 7 or 8, since there is one flashback with her from the original series that indicates her parents were still alive then.
(see the fourth episode of VOLTRON, when Allura defends the space mice after the space explorers insist they stole the fifth Lion key) Also, though it is incorrect unless something really strange happened we don't yet know about, in the Alfor's Eclipse episode of NEW ADVENTURES, Romelle talks about meeting Alfor as a young child.*There are two monuments to Alfor on Arus. The one featured in this episode is at Memorealis Pax, which depicts Alfor's defeat of Dracotron. The other monument is outside the Rainbow Caves at the Valley of Zohar, commemorating Alfor's final battle there against Zarkon where he actually loses his life.
*The character models of the good Haggar in this episode and in the FLEET OF DOOM special are inconsistent, though nothing in the FLEET OF DOOM special contradicts this episode. This is not too big a problem as the FOD design can be attributed to how Haggar's good personality manifested in the Dream Dimension.
*Lastly, more of a thought than trivia -- Coran suggests the guardian spirit voice Allura hears belongs to Aurella, the first Queen of Arus. According the TOON magazine article, Aurella also supposedly built the Castle of Lions (this is CONFIRMED in the 2nd season episode "Queen Ariella." So did she build the original devastated castle, the new castle, or both? The actual building of the new, technologically based Castle of Lions (as seen in the original series) remains a mystery. In the fifth episode of the original series, a castle rises from the ground to replace the old one.And what of the Castle's current look, with the shape of the newer castle but the outer style of the old? Perhaps they chose to brick the Flying Fortress version over once peace had come to the Galaxy, to recreate the original castle as much as possible.
13) THE BIG LIE by Kelly Ward
Keith and Lance try to infiltrate and get the dirt that Zarkon's really in cahoots with Haggar and Lotor, but they're discovered and the plan backfires. When they go public with their accusations, Amalgamus accuses the Voltron Force of subversion and proclaims them permanently disbanded.
14) THE TRIAL OF VOLTRON by Pamela Hickey and Dennys McCoy
featuring excerpts of scripts by Marc Handler, Sean Catherine Derek, Scott Guy, and Mark Young
The Voltron Force is put on trial for rebelling against Amalgamus and the Alliance, to be tried by all 900 planets in the amalgam. Coran acts as legal counsel for the Voltron Force, and a surprise guest speaks up on the opinion of the Azure Quadrant. This show is largely made up of clips from prior episodes.
Notable trivia from this episode:
*This episode makes the placement of certain planets on the starmap official. Doom is now officially in the Crimson Quadrant. Planets Lyra and Norn are now officially in the Azure Quadrant.*The planets of the Azure Quadrant actually named in this episode: Arus, Pollux, Amphrose, Lyra, Norn, the underground cities of Zaul, "and many others."
15) THE TROIKA MOONS by Marc Handler
The Voltron Force gets attacked at the densely-populated Troika Moons. Allura must choose whether or not to sacrifice the robot lions to save the moons from destruction. Lance disagrees with Allura’s choice on the matter and announces he’s quitting the Voltron Force. First of a multi-part storyline arc.
Notable trivia from this episode
: *The Troika Moons are said to be home to 50 billion people between the three of them.*Ignore the moon chart in this episode. We know from dialogue that the moons are Troika One, Troika Two, and Troika Three. The moons on the chart are labeled Zaul Moon, Troika Prime Moon, and Kargen Moon. While Zaul does appear in this episode, it is a planet in the Azure Quadrant, as supported by "The Trial of Voltron."
*The cities on planet Zaul are deep underground, hence why you see no buildings on the surface. The planet was originally populated by an ancient race called the Darians, which left for unknown reasons. Former slaves led by Omnia and assisted by Joran have rebuilt the cities into a new society after losing their own worlds to Zarkon. (See Voltron:Defender of the Universe Season Two a.k.a. New Adventures)
16) BIOGRAPHY: THE VOLTRON FORCE by Pamela Hickey and Dennys McCoy
featuring excerpts of scripts by Marc Handler, Scott Guy, Mark Young, and Kelly Ward
Recurring reporter Ueep Ueep Cheremoya interviews Amalgamus about the personalities of the Voltron Force, meanwhile a disgruntled Lotor moves to take Galactic Action News off the air. Largely made up of clips from prior episodes.
Notable trivia from this episode
: *The saber fight between Lance and Lotor, and Lance in jail, are from sequences audience hadn’t yet seen when this episode first aired.17) QUEEN ARIELLA by Marc Handler
Keith tries to stop Zarkon’s plan to attack Galaxy Garrison, aided by Hunk and Pidge. But when they learn an imprisoned Lance is set for elimination, they try to rush to his aid. On Arus, Coran takes Allura to historic parts of the castle, where she meets the spirit of Arus’ first queen and begins to learn the mysteries of Arus. Second part of a multi-part storyline arc.
Notable trivia from this episode
: *The TOON magazine article is backed up by Coran , who reminds Allura the Castle of Lions was first built under Ariella’s rule. Later, when he brings her to the Queen’s historic chamber, the sprit of Ariella appears to Allura.*The first Queen of Arus, Ariella, was on a spacecraft that crash-landed on Arus 1000 years (50 generations) ago. Only a baby and the sole survivor, she was raised by five powerful lions, and in time became trusted as the protector of Arus. She built the Castle of Lions, and the five lions pledged to always protect the castle, later embodied in the five robot lions. This explains how the royal family are the only Arusians with magical powers, if Ariella originated from another world and the royal line begins with her.
*We know from the first season of VOLTRON:DEFENDER OF THE UNIVERSE that the first King of Arus had two sons, one good and one evil, and the evil one is exiled to Pollux. What is unclear is if the first King was Ariella’s son, grandson, etc. I would guess though since Ariella is the only prominent woman other than Allura to ever be mentioned… the first King was likely Ariella’s son.