Synopses for Patlabor On Television

41   Save the Terrorists
Division 2 are on hand to provide security for the Babylon Project Conference, an obvious target for terrorists. Gotoh sees two men running down a hall way after hearing a scream from the cleaning lady who has just found the men sleeping in the toilet. Gotoh tries to stop them but they enter a lift and head to the to top of the building. Unfortunately the two bumbling terrorists set off the bomb they are carrying, and partly blow up the restaurant on a platform on the top of the building, making it very unstable. Both Division 2 Labors are sent up to arrest the terrorists. But they have taken the barman as hostage. Worse yet, one of them threatens Division 2 with a stick of dynamite, only to have explode. The restaurant is now extremely unstable and could fall at any minute. They have an extra problem. If the restaurant falls off the building, it will hit a jet fuel pipe directly below which leads to the airport and could cause a massive explosion. Noa and Ota not only have to stop the restaurant from toppling, they have to save the barman and terrorists inside.

Another Sunrise Airlines jet appears at the beginning of this episode. Screenplay by Satoshi Namiki. Originally broadcast 15 August 1990.

42   The Men Who Returned
Captain Gotoh and Police Chief Fukushima are investigating robberies of Automatic Teller Machines. It's obvious that Labors have been used in these crimes. Strange graffiti is left in chalk at the scene of each crime. Gotoh believes it is somehow connected to the crimes. He also discovers that the same Home of the Sea terrorists they have dealt with before could be behind these robberies. The SV2 must stop the criminals before they strike again.

Nekowatari, the bumbling terrorist from the episode "Goodbye Kanuka", makes a return appearance in this episode. Note that the three criminals are all named after animals; Nekowatari - Neko means cat, Inubashiri means "dog running" and the Saru part of Sankichi Sarusuberi's name means monkey. Screenplay by Michiko Yokote. Originally broadcast 22 August 1990.

43   The Working Girl
Under Chief Fukushima's orders, Division 2 is forced to appear on a TV program. Momoko Sakurayama's TV show "The Working Girl" focuses on women in the workplace, and Noa will be the next subject. Fukushima believes it will be great PR for Division 2. Everything seems to be going well until Division 2 are called out to stop a man from committing suicide. He threatens to crash his Labor into fuel depot. Unfortunately Momoko decides to stand between Division 2 and the criminal to do her report, and he takes her hostage with his Labor. It's up to Noa to save her, otherwise it will be more bad press for Division 2.

An episode which highlights Momoko Sakurayama's character. She'll become a more important cast member in the New OVA Series. Screenplay by Hibari Arisu and Tetsuko Takahashi. Originally broadcast 29 August 1990.

44   Long Live CLAT
Shige has been sent to train with the New York Police Labor Division. Once he gets in New York, he accidentally insults a cab driver, who tries to shoot him a machine gun. Kanuka saves him by shooting the cab with a bazooka. Things get weirder when he gets to the labor hanger. The New York Labor team headquarters is actually an underground base under Hudson Bay. The team are called Crime Labor Attack Team, or CLAT (like something out of Ultraman) for short. And the team members certainly do look very familiar to a certain police Labor team in Japan...

While on the plane at the start of the episode, Shige is holding a magazine with the Dirty Pair on it. This episode has several sci-fi references including Ultraman, Thunderbirds, The Flying Phantom Ship, and even the schematics of the Death Star from Star Wars: A New Hope make an appearance. But mostly it is based on Captain Scarlet, especially with the vehicles and uniforms of the CLAT team. Other references to watch out for are the licence plate on the cab Shige gets out of (ECTO-1, the same as the Ghostbusters vehicle) a silhouette of Godzilla when Kanuka talks to the computer to gain access to the base and people running around in the background dressed up in the costumes from the Spanish Inquisition Sketch from Monty Python's Flying Circus. Screenplay by Kazunori Ito. Originally broadcast 5 September 1990.

45   Vocational Options
The SV2 are invited to see a public military demonstration by Captain Fuwa's air-drop Labor team. They are even given a guided tour of the Labors hangers by one of her subordinates. Noa takes an interest in the Helldiver, a top of the line military Labor. Fuwa notices, and offers Noa the chance to take it out for a run. The military is looking for pilots, and Fuwa sees potential in Noa. She gives her the manuals for the Helldiver, and asks to meet again with her. Noa is quite interested, but does she really want to leave her friends and colleagues at the SV2? A mistake on a mission has her seriously considering the job offer.

A quite interesting look at Noa and how she feels about her job. It's also nice to see Captain Fuwa in another episode, the last appearance she makes in Patlabor. Screenplay by Michiko Yokote. Originally broadcast 12 September 1990.

46   His Name is Zero
Division 1 are finally getting a new Labor; the Shinohara AV-Zero. After a mock fight with Ota in his Ingram, and Gomika in the new Zero, everyone is impressed with the new Labor. With it's neural network, it can automatically dodge debris on the ground. There is much discussion about how much the new machine has outclassed the Ingrams. Later Division 2 are sent out to stop a rampaging Labor. It walks through an open plan shopping mall, but Noa manages to stop it in a car park without causing major damage. However a VIP's car was apparently scratched in the incident, and he has complained to the Police Chief. The members of Division 2 discuss what happened and are little concerned as this could mean reorganisation for the SV2. Noa is very upset at what has been said and locks herself in Alphonse's cockpit.

The episode has the back story to the name of Alphonse, namely Noa's dog. The ritual the Shinto priest is performing on the Zero Labors is a purification ceremony and is quite a common ceremony for newly bought cars and homes. Also we see Sakaki take his sunglasses off the possibly the only time ever in Patlabor. Screenplay by Kazunori Ito. Originally broadcast 19 September 1990.

47   Condition Green
The media shower praise on Division 1. The Zero Labor is a complete success and a hit with the public. Division 2's confidence is severely shaken. Noa goes home to her parents in Hokkaido to escape her problems. Asuma who is very worried about her, goes to cheer her up and persuade her to come back to Tokyo. Asuma and Noa arrive back, only to be immediately mobilised. A terrorist is hiding in a fuel depot. With both Division 1 and 2 at the scene, will the Zero find the terrorist Labor first, or will an Ingram? Noa is absolutely determined to prove her worth as a policewoman.

After the final credits of this episode, there is an extra 15 seconds of animation based upon the later "eyecatches". Screenplay by Kazunori Ito. Originally broadcast 26 September 1990.

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