Script Notes

These are notes regarding the differences from the official episode script and what appeared in the finished episode.

This one was a surprise. It follows the same basic plot as the finished episode, but is otherwise very different, with scenes happening in a different order, etc. I wonder if Lance Falk did a second draft like Glenn Leopold did for Succubus!, the one SWAT Kats script I’m aware of getting a second draft (Blowout! doesn’t count; Katastrophe isn’t a second draft of Blowout!, it’s an entirely different script just using the same story).

1. Different dialogue from T-Bone and Razor at the beginning. “I love this!” “Me too, buddy. Just don’t forget why we’re here.”
2. T-Bone pretends like he’s annoyed to be running the exercise. Razor says he can’t fool him and that he knows T-Bone is enjoying this; “If you have any reason to be at the stick, you’re happy as a…” He weirdly trails off here as though the canyon they end up flying through caught by surprise. Razor says “Weapon systems ready! … I’m activating our practice targets” as opposed to “All systems ready!” and no mention the test targets.
3. All things considered, the opening scene plays out exactly like it does in the episode but with different dialogue. For the most part, the dialogue is somehow both entirely different yet conveys the exact same information. It’s just a bit wordier, less snappy than it is in the final episode. There’s no point in mentioning every single difference because there isn’t a single line that’s the same.
4. Razor’s first new missiles are Weed Whacker Missiles, not Slicer Missiles. Based on how Falk describes them, they’re just renamed Buzz-Saw Missiles. In fact, considering the way the blades are arranged, they don’t even spin in the manner a weed whacker does. I think Falk just accidentally re-invented the Buzz-Saw Missile and someone wisely suggested the change.
5. I always found it odd that after the tank drones got sliced into pieces, just before they fall apart, the turrets spin around to face in the opposite direction. I had assumed that they were powering down or something and the guns were swiveling back into their original positions or something, but, as explained here, they turn to fire after the missiles in reflex after they’ve already passed through them, but fall apart before they fire.
6. T-Bone is very nervous throughout the early part of the test run here. Even after Razor has destroyed the first set of drones, he is still acting a bit afraid. In the episode, he’s surprised that the drones are firing live ammo, but never actually afraid. After the Weed Whacker Missiles take out the tanks, he worriedly tells Razor to “hurry up” (although I’m not sure what he is, since even though Razor seems to control when the drones are activated, he has no control over the speed at which the Turbokat reaches them… that’s T-Bone’s job as the pilot; Razor should be telling him to hurry up). Razor starts to playfully mock his friend and then flying target drones (as Falk calls them; and these days, saying “flying drone” is redundant).
7. After finishing the test run, T-Bone says they should clean up the mess they made (all the broken missile parts, drones, etc.) before they head home, and gets no argument from Razor. I like this and wish it’d been kept in. It shows the SWAT Kats responsible.
8. At the prison (which has a slightly different name here: the Megakat Maximum Penitentiary), Manx has the first line, not Warden Meece: “You’ve done a wonderful job here, Warden!”
9. Warden Meece and Dr. Greenbox are supposed to be based on M. Emmet Walsh and Woody Harrelson, respectively.
10. We learn Greenbox’s actual specific profession, at least here. He’s described as a “laid-back geology technician” and is also introduced by Meece as his “geological technician.” So Greenbox is a geologist whose specialty is in the more technical and mechanical side of things, likely to do with drills.
11. The dialogue is once again so infuratingly different and the same all at once that there really is no point in mentioning the differences. The best way I can describe is if someone went in and dumbed all the lines down or found less talky ways to say the same thing.
12. For some reason, when Meece mentions the prison’s take that month, Falk has “take” in quotes. The only reason they’d be in quotes is if Meece was intentionally being sarcastic and nudging Manx knowingly, or if Falk is having Meece stress the fact it’s slang for “the amount of the mined resource.”
13. Callie never mentions whether the money should be spent on the prisoners. In fact, she has no dialogue in the first scene in Meece’s office at all. She just scowls at Manx and Meece being all buddy-buddy but never speaks up. She never points out Meece will have “plenty left over for himself” and also never asks if the Gemkat is safe to use. She just plain has no dialogue until the second scene she’s in. It makes her look oddly passive. Then again, how okay Callie is or isn’t with the apparent corruption of a given individual seems often to be based on whether she likes them or not. She likes Manx, so she has no problem with him using taxpayer money to build the Megakat Tower, and even ensures that that information won’t be revealed publicly (“But that’s off the record”). But she dislikes Meece so she’s suspicious of him.
14. There’s not one Gemkat or even two, but in fact an entire product line of them. Greenbox has one of the final product run versions with him in Meece’s office to show Manx and Callie. The one Shard is testing at the prison is also the final product. Which means there’s two different Gemkat s in this version (three if we count the third, larger prototype Greenbox has at his lab later).
15. Greenbox comes off as an overly excitable geek here, quite the opposite of laid-back. Also, he, not Meece, says the other Gemkat is being tested at the mine. Since Callie never asks if it’s safe to use, Greenbox’s line about how it’s simple to use is entirely unprompted and part of what I can only describe as a really enthusiastic sales pitch.
16. Talon and Lem keep their guns pointed at Shard outside the mine, as opposed to just kinda holding him. Overall, they’re way more careful and wary of him here than in the finished episode, and Talon still tries to pick a fight with him. Instead, it’s the other way around.
17. We’re actually told how much time will be shaved from Shard’s sentence. Two lives. I just realized that this implies he is performing the mining witouth pay in return for a reduced sentence, and it’s likely he isn’t the one prisoner who’s been given this deal, meaning (assuming we accept this as canon), we now know how exactly Meece is corrupt and how he’s exploiting the inmates.
18. When Talon tells Shard that if he does as Meece says, he’ll have his sentence reduced, Shard grins and and thanks him. It’s not clear if he’s being sarcastic. Like yes, considering he then tells him and Lem, “You boys ain’t nearly as stupid as you look!” This would be him trying to goad Talon.
19. When discussing the Gemkat , Lem calls it a “doohickey,” not “that stupid thing.” He’s also less sympathetic towards Shard, calling him “that dope” after he goes into the mine and out of earshot.
20. Lem isn’t described as wearing his distinctive “Bebop from Ninja Turtles” sunglasses. Considering he and Talon only get names as afterthoughts (Falk describes them as “two prison guards” and they are introduced individually as “one guard (let’s tall him Talon)” and (“Lem, the other guard”), he’s lucky he’s got that match. A character detail decided during the model sheet or storyboarding phase I guess.
21. Finally! A line that is the same in the script as it is in the episode! “Cat’s alive! It’s the motherload! Let’s see what this baby can do!” Yeah, Chaos in Crystal definitely got a second draft where Falk streamlined and rearranged all the dialogue in an odd way. I think the issue is in the script everyone sounds like they’re, well, reciting dialogue as opposed to speaking naturally, whereas how they talk in the episode is a little more natural. Some of Shard’s cheesier dialogue notwithstanding.
22. I had hoped the script would explain how the Gemkat worked by describing the process. Instead, Falk says “gems simply appear.” I reiterate that SWAT Kats and science don’t talk often.
23. There is in fact no dialogue indicating that Meece is profiting off the mine, not even alternate dialogue saying the same thing differently. There are no equivalents to Shard’s lines “Meece is the only one gettin’ rich off this mine” and “Let ol’ Rex Shard take a few off the top before Meece does.” If I had to guess, someone decided it wouldn’t be clear how Meece agreeing to shorten the sentences of prisoners in return to them working for free was necessarily bad (since less prison time sounds like a good thing), so Falk added the dialogue here and in the earlier scene where Meece is keeping some of the diamonds for himself.
24. The Gemkat is even more flawed here than in the finished episode. That or Shard is dumber. In the episode, he tries and fails to open the storage compartment, then hits it with a rock, which causes the explosion. Instead, he successfully opens the compartment without any real difficulty, and even though there’s no indication that he isn’t supposed to do this because it’s unsafe (Falk describes some warning labels on the device but isn’t clear what they’re warning against), and this, just this, causes the thing to blow up. Here, Shard has a legitimate reason to be angry at someone besides himself, especially Greenbox, which makes the fact revenge isn’t his motivation in this version all the stranger.
25. Lem walks towards Shard rather than away from him, in an attempt to help him. Falk is rather oddly judgmental of him for this, calling it “an act of STUPIDITY” (his emphasis). When Lem gets turned to crystal, we get the written out version of the sound effect: “SHRAKK!” So now we know how to spell the sound someone makes when they get turned to crystal.
26. Shard punches through the window of the driver’s side door of the van, shattering the glass, rather than using his claw to cut a circular hole in it for him to reach through. The way it is in the finished episode makes it look much more deliberate, and Shard way more calculating and sadistic.
27. When Manx leaves the prison, Meece is the one who says the golf course at Megakat Springs is only twenty minutes away, not Manx’s chauffeur. In fact, the chauffeur never appears at all and the scene of him and Manx talking in the limo as they drive towards the golf course never occurs. It was added in the storyboards.
28. Anyway, Meece is shown to disapprove of Manx rushing off to play golf because “There’s still no word from the mine.” As a result, a guard doesn’t walk up to the group to explain they can’t reach Talon at the mine. Since Meece learned about this offscreen, it’d be entirely redundant. I dunno which makes more sense of streamlines the story more, Meece finding out offscreen or someone telling him onscreen.
29. Callie doesn’t seem at all upset at being basically abandoned at the prison. When Manx tells Warden Meece “You’re in good hands, Warden. Callie’s the best,” Callie says “Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Enjoy your game,” and seems to mean it. No sarcastic “Enjoy your game, Mayor.” Callie even shuts the door to the limo for Manx. Again, Callie comes off as kind of unusually passive here, though consequently a bit more professional since she isn’t voicing her complaints (if she has any) out loud like she does in the episode.
30. Further mention is made of the SWAT Kats’ cleanup efforts as T-Bone says them cleaning up went by more quickly than he thought it would. Razor says he wishes the Banshee Missiles worked better before the alarm which detects the electromagnetic disturbance interrupts him.
31. Interestingly, Razor says his tracker indicates the disturbance is coming from the prison itself, not in the same area and heading towards it, even though the very next scene shows that Shard hasn’t arrived thee yet.
32. Shard doesn’t just walk across the desert to the prison’s perimeter wall. He tunnels through the ground… but bizarrely doesn’t dig under the wall to get it. He digs himself free of the ground outside the wall and then turns it to crystal so he can smash it. This is bizarre, to say the least. I’m not sure why Shard would tunnel through the earth… and if he did why he wouldn’t just dig under the wall. Amusingly, the guard who shoots at him is even less fazed by his appearance than in the episode, and a lot more defiant (“O.K., weirdo, you asked for it!”). He also yells down at Shard using a megaphone as opposed to just shouting at him normally.
33. As in the episode, Shard turns fully to crystal when he concentrates and crystallizes the entire wall. While this would appear to be due to the exertion, Falk doesn’t specify and in fact the way he describes the scene, Shard was going to fully transform offscreen and then be revealed after a quick succession of shots of the wall turning to crystal, instead of it happening entirely onscreen. So even now, we still have no idea what specifically causes Shard to go from only being half crystal to fully crystal. Oh well.
34. Shard never tells Meece he’s going to get him, and Meece also never calls the Enforcers. Shard simply wordlessly walks into the prison then smashes through the office wall and says “Just the kats I wanted to talk to!” His plan here has nothing to do with revenge. He tells Greenbox he wants him to help him control his powers so he can touch things without turning them crystal. It appears as though his line of thinking is the power is useless to him if he can’t control when he uses it.
35. Since revenge is not Shard’s goal, he turns Meece to crystal as a demonstration, telling Greenbox that’ll be his fate if he doesn’t cooperate with him.
36. Meanwhile, Shard completely ignores Callie, who continues to say and do nothing. So far her only line has been to thank Manx for complimenting her and wish him good luck with the tournament. I’m not sure why she’s even in this version of the story, beyond the fact that, at least at this point in the series, there was apparently some unwritten rule that certain characters had to appear (Callie, Manx, Feral, etc.) regardless of whether a role could be found in the plot for them. The show would gradually get over this as it went on, to the point where there’d be entire episodes that didn’t feature Callie, Manx or even Feral at all. It just feels like early on the writers were told it was mandatory to include certain characters.
37. Meece’s safe is implied to be a standard standalone one and not a large vault built into the wall, as Shard is described as landing on it, not in it. Since he’s described as crushing the metal on impact, my initial reaction was to think he hit the closed door (which is open for some reason in the episode) and crash through it, but no, Falk is describing a much smaller safe that Shard lands on top of and crushes (“with his cement-enhanced weight”) and this causes the diamonds to spill out.
38. I like Razor’s alternate line here: “Cement guns. Good to the last blob!”
39. Seeing Shard, T-Bone asks Razor “What was that thing?” “Monster of the week?” replies Razor. This exchange would of course end up being reused in Unlikely Alloys after it wasn’t used for the final version of this episode.
40. Callie only gets her second line in the script here: “The SWAT Kats do it again! And I didn’t even have to call ’em!”
41. It’s confirmed that how Shard grows gigantic is that he absorbs the diamonds from the safe. This is evidently supposed to be really painful for him, but in the episode he just seems confused and mildly annoyed.
42. Callie never goes outside to talk to the SWAT Kats. When Shard begins reacting to the diamonds and growing bigger, Callie tells Dr. Greenbox they should get out of there and the two escape.
43. Dr. Greenbox doesn’t accidentally knock over and shatter Warden Meece. Instead, Meece remains standing upright until the building shakes so hard he falls over and smashes. I’m gonna say I prefer this version of his death, since I always thought it was kind of silly that he gets killed due to Greenbox’s clumsiness.
44. As mentioned, a good deal of what Shard is going through in this version is pretty painful, so when he bursts through the prison roof, he’s described as roaring in “agonized rage.” Meanwhile, Razor’s reaction to seeing the giant Shard is to go “Ever have one of those days?”
45. Shard tells “the famous SWAT Kats” to do their worst after stepping free of the destroyed prison building, not before.
46. The battle on the prison property happens way differently. Only one Enforcer Peacekeeper shows up, and Falk says it’s “stationed at the prison.” I’m unsure if this means that Falk originally intended for the Enforcers to be the guards at the prison, or if this tank is just there along with its crew just in case of emergencies (which actually makes more sense than the prison needing to summon the Enforcers for help). It’s unclear which, since even though Falk does explicitly say it’s an Enforcer tank, he doesn’t identify the crew as Enforcers. Just “tank crewmen.” In any case, the only remaining evidence of any Enforcer presence at the prison in the finished episode is the fact Talon and Lem’s van has the Enforcer logo on the hood. Or at least what we assume is the Enforcer logo. It’s worth noting that it is, after all, an “M” and not an “E.” Which doesn’t mean much, necessarily, especially since the Enforcers’ full name, per production materials, is the Megakat Enforcers. But the “M” could also stand for Megakat City. Perhaps what we’ve assumed to be specifically the Enforcer logo has been the symbol of the city (its official seal, basically) this entire time, and the reason the Enforcers use it is because their Megakat City’s police force.
47. The SWAT Kats neither try to warn the tank’s crew not to engage Shard, nor do they criticize them as they do Feral in the finished episode. If anything, they’re actually shocked that the Peacekeeper is unable to bring Shard down. “That guy’s tough! Tank shells just bounce off his hide!” he cries, adding “Look at that!” as Shard crystallizes the tank. As in the episode, Shard throws the crystallized tank at the Turbokat and misses.
48. When the tank hits and destroys what remains of the main prison building (as in the episode), Shard, thinking he’s accidentally killed Greenbox, cries “Noooo! I killed that scientist guy! How am I ever going to control this?!” As he looks at his hands in dismay, they glow. Shard’s main reason for zeroing in on the SWAT Kats is because he blames them for (what assumes to be) Greenbox’s death, because they had the audacity to not sit still and let the flying tank hit them.
49. Since Meece never called the Enforcers, no more of them show up after he takes out what seems to be the prison’s one tank. More Enforcers do eventually show up, but much later than in the finished episode.
50. Because no more tanks appear, Shard just goes straight to trying to kill the SWAT Kats, hitting the Turbokat and impaling its left engine thruster with a crystal spear he forms in his hand and throws. Again, this still happens in the episode, but a lot sooner due to the lack of any more Enforcers distracting him. Another odd detail is that aside from the initial blast from the cement machine gun, the SWAT Kats never attack Shard at all during this scene. Razor does target Shard, but never gets a chance to fire anything before the villain hurls the crystal spear that jams into and damages the engine, forcing our heroes to retreat. All things considered, they perform way worse in this initial confrontation with Shard than in the actual episode… which is saying something considering how poorly they do against him there, where pretty much nothing Razor throws at the guy works.
51. Also, Shard never gets distracted when he sees Callie and Greenbox making a run for it, and in fact ends the scene still believing Greenbox to be dead.
52. When T-Bone makes the decision to flee so he can land the jet for repairs, an unusually feisty Razor insists they stay: “Hey! Where are we going? Let’s fight it out! We got two engines left!” T-Bone says it’s pointless because with just two engines, he hasn’t got enough power to properly maneuver. He says this in the episode, but his exchange with Razor here adds proper context to what he means by it.
53. Razor admits T-Bone is right for wanting to run away, but says he hates leaving Callie behind. T-Bone doesn’t disagree, but makes it plain he feels they have no choice.
54. As for Shard, because he thinks Greenbox is dead, and believes Greenbox is the only person who can help him control his powers, he goes full nihilist here and already has the idea to crystallize the reservoir: “Since I’m doomed, I’m gonna finish you all! Next stop, Megakat City water supply!”
55. After Shard leaves, Callie and Greenbox emerge from hiding. Greenbox says he recognizes Shard and blames himself for what is happening. Callie gets angry at him and is pretty unforgiving. When Greenbox groans that it’s his fault, Callie agrees: “I’ll say! Well, Doc. You’re going to make it right!” Without giving Greenbox a chance to agree or disagree, she grabs Greenbox and runs off, dragging him along with her. It’s interesting how in the episode itself, Greenbox never admits fault and Callie never gets angry at him, but here, when he does admit fault and take responsibility and show remorse, Callie is surprisingly unsympathetic towards him. This is, I should note, the first time she’s taken an active role in the script’s version of the plot.
56. There’s no scene of the two taking Greenbox’s Jeep to go anywhere. They just run offscreen and it cuts to the golf course.
57. Whereas the background art makes it clear Megakat Springs is an entire separate town from Megakat City and not just the golf course, Falk’s script is unclear about this distinction, describing what he calls the Megakat Springs Golf Course as “a lush Palm Springs-like golfer’s paradise.” The town itself is not described.
58. Ann Gora is not present at the tournament. Instead, a nameless announcer is covering the event.
59. After missing his putt, Manx is a lot more of an entitled jerk about taking the shot over. He’s described as speaking very sternly, almost like he’s daring anyone to question him.
60. The little boy who first sees Shard is referred to as a “bratty little kid” and is wearing a SWAT Kats shirt. He most emphatically isn’t in the finished episode… but another guy in the crowd is. However, SWAT Kats logo isn’t colored in so it’s difficult to notice.
61. The SWAT Kats crashland after the scene of Shard first arriving at the golf course, not after he’s turned it and the rest of Megakat Springs to crystal. Here, Shard’s attack on the golf course is separated by the scene of T-Bone landing in the desert.
62. We get more of T-Bone’s recurring character trait of refusing to eject. Razor assumes this is what his friend intends, saying “Ready to eject!” but T-Bone says (“grim and determined”) “Negative! I can land us! Hang on!”
63. The Turbokat’s landing is a lot rougher than in the episode, as it plows through three dunes before finally stopping. It also loses one of its fins, which I don’t think happens in the episode. It finally comes to a stop against a fourth dune. The dialogue about how it’ll take “a couple hours” to fix the Turbokat and that they “don’t have a couple hours” is more or less identical to the finished version of the episode, but here, T-Bone’s line that they don’t have time is specifically because he can see Shard approaching Megakat Springs (first identified here as a “township”) in the distance.
64. When Callie contacts the SWAT Kats, they’re overjoyed; since they had to leave the prison so quickly, they didn’t find out what happened to her, and are only just now finding out that she’s alive.
65. Gemkat Labs is simply referred to as “Greenbox’s laboratory.” I guess Falk hadn’t thought of a specific name for it yet. It’s also described as being closer to the prison than to Megakat Springs.
66. The Gemkat Greenbox works with is the original prototype, and it’s bigger than the two final production models we’ve seen so far. He also finishes rewiring it much quicker.
67. Since Shard is still at the golf course, T-Bone leaves for Gemkat Labs–I mean Greenbox’s unnamed laboratory here, rather than later, and actually meets Dr. Greenbox in person unlike in the episode.
68. Back at the golf course, Shard’s rampage continues. As mentioned, it was interrupted by the scene with the Turbokat’s forced landing and the SWAT Kats learning about the Gemkat , as opposed to being one long scene.
69. The Enforcers arrive at the golf course offscreen, and Feral is not in a chopper or a tank. He’s on foot, standing in front of a line of Peacekeeper tanks. When yelling at him to “do something,” Manx shakes him roughly by the collar. Feral is uncharacteristically unperturbed by this and simply reassures the Mayor, “Not a problem, Mister Mayor. My boys can handle anything!” He then has a staredown with Shard, which Falk describes as “An awesome sight, the two biggest ‘kids’ on the block, toe to toe!” He’s showing Feral an unusual amount of respect, especially for him, by saying that Feral is theoretically capable of stopping Shard.
70. Apparently it took the Enforcers twenty minutes to get to the golf course, meaning it’s a twenty minute drive from Megakat City to Megakat Springs, interestingly the same distance between Megakat Springs and the prison. Though since this is a rather lengthy response time, Feral bragging about it seems odd, even if twenty minutes really is the best he could do under the circumstances.
71. Shard reacts to the tanks shooting at him by going “Not this again!” and flinging crystal spears at the Enforcers.
72. T-Bone takes the Sand Kat not to Greenbox’s lab but to a rendezvous point in the desert not far from where the Turbokat crash landed. Here, he meets Callie and Dr. Greenbox, who brought the rewired prototype. Greenbox is described as owning a pickup truck, not a Jeep.
73. When T-Bone drives up on the Sand Kat, Greenbox is startled, but Callie isn’t bothered. Falk describes her as knowing “what show offs the SWAT Kats are!” Greenbox gives T-Bone the prototype Gemkat and explains how he rewired it, though he expresses some doubt that the SWAT Kats can get close enough to use it. T-Bone just smiles and tells the scientist to let him and Razor worry about that. This version of the scene is interesting because Greenbox actually gets to meet at least one of the SWAT Kats face to face. Had this been left in, Greenbox suddenly being really chummy with them in Unlikely Alloys would make a bit more sense and not seem to come so out of nowhere.
74. T-Bone’s discussion with Greenbox is interrupted when Callie directs his attention to an “unnatural Aurora Borealis-like effect” in the sky over the distant Megakat Springs. T-Bone doesn’t know what to make of it, while Dr. Greenbox says “It means Shard’s out of control!” This would appear to be a sort of callback to the fact that Shard gives off an electromagnetic aura that messes with compasses and such. In the final episode, that one earlier exchange between T-Bone and Razor in the Turbokat is the only remnant of this particular aspect of Shard’s mutation.
75. Back at the golf course, Shard actually digs his fingers in the green rather than just touching it with his hand palm downwards.
76. As Shard glows brightly and begins crystallizing the ground, Manx abandons the startled Feral, telling him, “Hold down the fort, Commander! I’m outta here!” as he jumps into his little golf cart and putters off. Feral, for his part, ignores Manx and simply wonders what Shard is trying to do (his confusion makes more sense here because in this version he has not directly witnessed his enemy’s abilities beyond forming and throwing crystal projectiles).
77. When Shard crystallizes the golf course, this includes Feral because he’s on the green rather than in his chopper circling overhead. And since Ann, Jonny and Al are not present, this means no one escapes what Shard does to Megakat Springs.
78. The crystal “wave” afflicting the golf course extends well beyond the town and heads into the desert, towards where T-Bone, Callie and Dr. Greenbox are. Greenbox gets into his truck to escape, while T-Bone has Callie get on the Sand Kat with him. The Gemkat is balanced rather precariously on the handlebars as opposed to Callie holding it.
79. Greenbox’s truck isn’t as fast as the Sand Kat, so he doesn’t make it far, meaning Shard turns him to crystal entirely accidentally, all while still believing him to be dead.
80. After losing Greenbox, T-Bone uses the Sand Kat to leap across the gorge, getting himself and Callie to safety. Callie never directly confronts Shard (who is still back at the golf course), meaning we don’t get the classic exchange “I thought diamonds were a girl’s best friend!” and “I don’t like the setting!”
81. When T-Bone jumps the gorge, Falk suggests this should be done in dramatic slow-motion. Obviously, this didn’t end up happening. His frustration with how the episode’s animation turned out is perfectly understandable reading through the script and seeing all the neat ideas he had for different, dramatic angles and shots. Although Chaos in Crystal remains in my top five episodes, I can’t deny that the animation, which is so-so at best, doesn’t do it any favors; it succeeds purely on the merits of the central idea of a villain whose touch turns people and objects to crystal.
82. Shard is described as being exhausted from turning Megakat Springs, the golf course and a good chunk of the surrounding desert to crystal. He says he’ll turn the city’s drinking water to crystal, “Then Megakat City itself!” before stomping off in the direction of thr reservoir.
83. When T-Bone returns to where the Turbokat landed along with Callie, Razor seems more focused on fixing the tail fin and reattaching it than in repairing the damaged engine. How he found the snapped off fin is not explained… nor is how he survived. Considering how close they landed to Megakat Springs, the expanding crystal transformation effect should’ve hit him. But only if he was between the town and where T-Bone met Callie and Dr. Greenbox. But since Greenbox’s lab is established as being closer to the prison than Megakat Springs, I assume T-Bone drove in a different direction. If Razor wasn’t between Shard and the rendezvous point, then he would’ve been safe.
84. Razor is described as still wearing his helmet as opposed to having it off and a pair of safety goggles on as he works. He is wearing goggles, but Falk calls them his “helmet goggles,” so he must be using his helmet’s flip-down visor as impromptu safety goggles as he welds. He’s also unusually grumpy and impatient, saying “Well, it’s about time!” when T-Bone returns with Callie and the prototype.
85. It apparently only takes Razor “a few moments” to rig the Gemkat to the jet.
86. The SWAT Kats don’t leave the Sand Kat behind with Callie. Instead of the vehicle’s keys, Razor tosses Callie a canteen of water. “Here’s some water ’til your ride shows up.” What ride? There’s no mention of anyone having been contacted to come and get Callie, and nobody comes along. I guess Razor is just speaking generally. Callie thanks Razor for the water, and thanks T-Bone for “the thrill of a lifetime.” T-Bone blushes and says it was nothing, then he and Razor fly off. Callie wishes them good luck and says everyone is counting on them. She never expresses a desire to accompany them, and since Ann wasn’t at the golf course, Callie isn’t picked up by the Kat’s Eye News chopper after flagging it down as it flies overhead. The fact the SWAT Kats emphatically didn’t leave the Sand Kat seems a little dumb, as it means they’re effectively stranding Callie.
87. More talk about how Shard gives off electromagnetic energy (an “E.M. wave” is how Razor describes it). In fact, this is how the SWAT Kats initially track him to the dam, rather than just happening to glance over and see him approaching it in the distance. T-Bone points out, though, that they don’t need to follow the “E.M. wave” to track Shard, due to him having basically crystallized everything he passed on his way to the dam.
88. When the SWAT Kats fly through the now crystallized canyon from the beginning, Falk interestingly suggests saving money by reusing as much of the animation from the beginning as possible.
89. As T-Bone flies through the canyon, he does a lot more showing off. Razor tells him to take it easy because he just finished fixing the jet. T-Bone absically ignores him.
90. Razor comments that the crystallized landscape is “kinda pretty.” T-Bone starts to agree (“Yeah! You’re–“) before being interrupted by the canyon coming to a sudden dead end at a crystal wall. Razor destroys it using a Weed Whacker Missile, allowing the Turbokat to continue. For some reason, T-Bone takes the credit for this: “Ha ha! I knew I could do it! T-Bone Flying Service, no course too insane!” I guess he’s talking about threading the needle, since the hole Razor blasted was specifically “Turbokat-sized,” but there’d be no eye of the needle to thread at all if not for Sureshot and his Weed Whackers. Razor just tells T-Bone to celebrate later, pointing out the crystallized reservoir ahead (Shard already got to it offscreen).
91. Shard’s exact height is given as feet. He’s a big boy.
92. Seeing the approaching Turbokat, Shard says “How many times do I have ta kill you?!” Here, he first unleashes the spinning circular crystal blades. T-Bone dodges one, Razor shoots the other (“with the ship’s nose guns,” one of the only instances of the Turbokat having these).
93. When Shard rejects Razor’s offer of help, he adds “This experience has grown on me! Ha ha ha!” Razor also never tries to shoot Shard with the rewired Gemkat only to have it bounce off of him, and so there’s no dialogue about any crystal shell protecting him.
94. As Shard continues firing crystal projectiles at our heroes, T-Bone sarcastically comments “He’s not very easy to help!” and asks Razor if he has any eyes. This is when Razor suggests using the Banshee Missiles. They don’t fare any better than they do in the finished episode.
95. More detail is given to precisely how Shard is able to focus sunlight into a laser; rather than just filtering the light through his hand, he somehow forms a lens like a giant magnifying glass to focus the sun through. The resulting heat beam is red, rather than yellowish white. T-Bone says “Whoa!! That’s not fair!” His line “Where’d he pick up that trick?” occurs earlier in response to the first time Shard formed and threw one of his crystal spears.
96. Shard suddenly being able to fire lasers is what finally makes T-Bone lose his temper and decide to hit him with the sonic boom (“I’ve had it! Let’s get this over with!”).
97. There’s some extra dialogue after T-Bone says he’s going to hit Shard with the sonic boom. Razor insists they’ll come apart first at the speed they’re going. T-Bone says it doesn’t matter; although his line (“We fail and we’ll be livin’ in a giant gem shop, anyway!”) is a little unclear but he seems to be suggesting he and Razor sacrifice themselves to stop Shard.
98. When Shard shatters, he is blasted “into powder.” This destroys the layers he built up from the diamonds in the safe in Warden Meece’s office… meaning T-Bone hit him with a sonic boom capable of shattering diamond! We were originally supposed to see the tiny, original (but still crystal) Shard suspended in midair before he dropped out of sight, but this obviously didn’t make it into the episode.
99. Instead of being rigged to the open bomb bay interior of the jet, the Gemkat is suspended on a makeshift sling, which I guess explains how Razor got it attached in what Falk insists is only a few moments… but it’s unclear how Razor is able to control it.
100. As in the finished episode, we see everyone and everything Shard turned to crystal being restored to normal. Interestingly, this includes the prison, which was conspicuously absent in the episode, but Falk still makes a point of not describing Meece’s office and Meece himself being returned to normal… for obvious reasons.
101. T-Bone handcuffs Shard as he regains consciousness. Interesting that the SWAT Kats have handcuffs. The line about Shard going back to “the brick litterbox” is given to Razor and not Feral, since in this version Feral is still recovering from being turned to crystal at the golf course. Shard snarls that the SWAT Kats haven’t heard the last of him. They’re not impressed. T-Bone shrugs while Razor makes what Falk describes as a “he’s crazy” gesture, presumably that circle around the side of the head with one’s fingertip motion (insert your own joke about Shard angrily accusing the SWAT Kats that they think he has a clock in his head).
102. Feral reappears, flying in aboard a chopper. Since he wasn’t there for the sonic boom, his chopper fares better; no cracked windshield. Razor sarcastically says “Oh, great! It’s Feral!” while T-Bone says he’ll take the credit for everything (Feral taking credit for what the SWAT Kats do is something often discussed but which rarely actually happens; even if he always downplays their involvement, Feral usually mentions them when explaining what happened).
103. Ann Gora finally appears. The news chopper picked up Callie offscreen and then flew to the dam (a lot of stuff just kinda happens offscreen in this script). While Al may be present since someone has to fly the chopper, he isn’t explicitly described (similarly, Manx’s limo is described as being chauffeured but the chauffeur himself never appears). But while Al is likely present despite not being mentioned, Jonny, emphatically, is not, as Ann has her own shoulder-mounted camera. Apparently she got the entire battle with Shard on film herself, which, as Razor points out, means Feral can’t take credit for defeating the villain.
104. When Razor says the news footage means Feral can’t take credit, he adds that that’ll undoubtedly make him mad… in a really weird way: “That’ll gripe Feral’s cookies!” Gripe his cookies? What kinda slang is that…?
105. The Turbokat and news chopper fly off into the sunset together. Feral disappears from the story and Shard is never explicitly described as being taken into custody; he too simply vanishes after T-Bone cuffs him. Once again, an important event, the villain actually being arrested, happens completely offscreen. Lance Falk had to have done a second draft of this that’s closer to the final version, and it appears that’s the draft used for the storyboards.
106. Razor says their work is done for the day. “Not quite!” says T-Bone. Contacting Callie in the news chopper, he asks her if she wants to have “Chez Kibble and Salmon” with him in ten minutes. Callie says it sounds great. He’s basically asking Callie out on a date. Razor, evidently, will be dating Ann. He comments “A dinner date with two cuties! The perfect ending to a perfect day!” I dunno, Razor. Warden Meece and a whole lot of insurance companies might beg to differ. To say nothing of Al. If he is flying the chopper, I hope he doesn’t mind playing fifth wheel on a double date between the SWAT Kats, Callie and Ann. Assuming he’s even invited, poor guy.