Alright, it's my intention to always say this geeky bit of trivia about these episodes when I can, and this adventure is based on the Doom Zone playset "Mighty Max Terminates Wolfship7!", which was much more detailed and impressive to look at than the ship that appears in this - although a couple of the scenes set inside the ship's corridors are very well detailed and animated. The cool-looking armoured invaders that are featured, the "Brain Suckers", are obviously designed as a homage to H.R.Gigar's Alien.l, and it's kinda creepy how the aliens already have like several thousand brains from what I can only assume must be abducted human victims by the time Max and co arrive to foil their unspecified invasion plans. We may never actually see anyone's brain get sucked out, but it's still a pretty gruesome plot element. The plot device of how the gigantic mothership is destroyed is noticeably similar to the one later used in the blockbuster Independence Day. Hmm.. Some of the little ins-and-out do seem a bit sloppy and annoying when you delve into them. Like why would the aliens shoot at their own ship if they didn't want it to blow up? And when they locked them up, how come the aliens didn't take Norman's sword or Ernie's laptop? And the scene works, but it was really lame how the big conveyor-belt-of-death brain extraction machine could be stopped simply by unplugging it. But whatever! Some people don't like to focus on that kind of stuff whilst watching a show that they love. Then why mention all that then? Filler! Virgil lives for drama! The wise little owl sage has a really funny moment when he goes off on this long and overly-dramatic tangent about how very important and vital it is that Max not fail! It's really just an excuse to show off Tony Jay's phenomenal theatricality for a second. May he rest in peace, he had the most beautifully Gothic voice I ever heard. All the different voices on this show gave all the main characters distinct personalities as much as their appearances. The trio of good guys always had such great quotes, and I love all of Max's quips and sarcastic remarks that in their own way contributed greatly to the enjoyability of the series. My favourite line from Max in this one is the "think tank" one. The real highlight of this episode is the hysterically over-the-top voice performance of Charles Adler as the manic nerd Ernie who completely steals the show. I just can't listen to that squeaky voice without laughing! Ernie's like an unholy fusion of Milhouse and Proferssor Frink with a slightly effeminate twist. Some of the innuendos they manage to slip in are a bit weird. Like when Ernie and Max are in the school closet together and Ernie says "Why are we in here?" And then later when he says "You do not want to be my partner anymore?" Ha! Too bad they never used the character again except for a few brief non-speaking cameos. Good episode. Brain jokes, deep-space rock music, and slobbery menacing aliens, what else could you want in an episode of a classic animated show? Best nerd ever!!!
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