Oh, and if you wanna pick up the ten aired episodes on your own in high-quality SP format, I recommend visiting this site.
THE AIRED EPISODES
1.) New Acquaintances (Origin Part 1): An introduction to many of the important players (Jack, Renard, Machestro, Anakonda [in disguise], Mick, Willy, and Xyber 9), this is largely exposition. The world of Terrana is at war, Renard’s forces against Tatania’s, and Jack’s innocent actions, motivated solely by a desire to reach Gaagol and find a weapons master, lead him to a greater destiny once he finds & reactivates Xyber 9. Originally aired September 25, 1999, as part of an hour long pilot.
2.) Enter Ikira (Origin Part 2): Jack finds his weapons master in Ikira, a swordsman fallen on hard times. With him, he tries to slay the “monster” that is cutting off Gaagol’s water supply; with this, he first meets Mick & Willy, Princess Rozalyn, and Anakonda (in disguise & using a near-unpronounceable alias), as well as getting some idea about Xyber 9's capabilities; also, first appearance of that sweet piece of artillery called the CLOD. Originally aired September 25, 1999, as part of an hour long pilot.
3.) First Impressions (Origin Part 3): The impromptu allies find themselves in possession of the New Valley, and Mick throws his first hissy fit; the Vault, a warehouse of forgotten knowledge, is discovered as the waters recede, and the desire to get a passcode and open it becomes the driving force in Jack’s quest. Jack forms an alliance with Queen Tatania of the Seven Nations after rescuing her from a plane crash, giving him a powerful ally. Also, we finally see Anakonda without her disguise and learn her real name is more complicated than her alias. However, as they camp out at the valley, the Machina attack, and Machestro makes it pretty clear he does not care what happens to the obstacles between him and possession of Xyber 9. Originally aired October 2, 1999.
4.) Heart of the Ancients: A desire to help decimated villages leads Jack and his friends to the Heart of the Ancients, a massive green stone, and the agricultural storehouse that lies just beyond it. Highlights include: Mick’s priorities (riches, women, & artillery); a fight between Renard & Ikira, first with swords and then with fists; and a continuity query to be addressed elsewhere. Originally aired October 9, 1999.
5.) Queen Tatania: Jack, Ikira, & Anakonda are invited aboard the Independence, Queen Tatania’s airborne warship. However, a saboteur is also on board, trying to crash the massive structure, and Jack’s unknown background (and ties to Rozalyn) makes him the prime suspect. Highlights include: Tatania, who is probably the only character to COMMAND respect from Xyber 9; Jack & Anakonda’s first kiss and the reactions that follow. Originally aired October 16, 1999.
6.) Renard’s Daughter: Jack, Anakonda, & Ikira have to break onto Renard’s fortress, and they run into Rozalyn again. Rozalyn learns her father is a despot and decides to try and fight against him. Highlights (or a reasonable facsimile thereof) include: a good deal of catfighting between Anakonda and Rozalyn; Rozalyn getting smacked to the floor by her father. Originally aired October 23, 1999.
7.) Trio: Jack, Anakonda, and Rozalyn head out to stop Machestro from activating the Ring of Thunder, a generator, and reviving the deadly Hunters. Highlights (or a reasonable facsimile thereof) include: Mick being all exuberant about the end of the mission; catfighting between Anakonda and Rozalyn that goes on ad infinitum; Rozalyn basically being really, really annoying. Originally aired October 30, 1999.
Moment of opinion: I am CONVINCED that the mishandling of Rozalyn throughout the course of the series, especially in these two episodes, helped seal its fate; I am certain I’m not the only person put off by this forced romantic triangle, and that probably cost X9 vital viewers that could’ve saved it for at least the whole season’s worth of shows. In the early screenshot & in the one page of the comic I’ve been able to view, Rozalyn seems less shallow, bratty, & catty and more tragic & delicate. Maybe it’s the VA, Jolie Jenkins; she has too much of a Valley click to her voice and plays the snobbiness up a little TOO well. Maybe it’s the design-she’s too... Jack-like as she is. All I can think of when I see a scene with Rozalyn & Jack is Luke & Leia. In The Empire Strikes Back, I thought it was cute when they kissed; in Return of the Jedi, when you learn they’re twins, I wanted to VOMIT. “Trio” and a whole string of scenes in “Renard’s Daughter” effectively evoke that same nauseated feeling in me. That aside, back to the episode guide.
8.) The New Kingdom: Jack & Co. discover the Seed of Light, which is the only effective weapon against the Machina, who are photophobic. After much discord and the use of its last charge, the group returns to the New Valley to recharge it at the Augmenter and gain a permanent home in the process. Highlights include: Mick & Anakonda fighting like siblings (which is cute); Mick first getting over his fear of water and then getting over his overwhelming avarice once the valley is secured; just oodles & oodles of good character pieces all around; the dedication of their new home, as done by Jack. Originally aired November 6, 1999.
9.) The Golden Masquerade: (AKA The Mick Episode) Jack, Mick, & Willy head off to find a code key, with Mick deciding to do a little treasure hunting on the way. He comes across both his treacherous former partner Slick, now a mercenary working for Renard, and the Golden Idol. Jack acts very much like a little brother for most of this episode and ultimately learns that Mick is a bit of a stubborn dimwit. Highlights include: the mother of all Mick hissy fits at the end; Mick’s Golden Rules; some good character work for Willy; one of the worst clashes between CGI & cel animation in the series, unfortunately. Originally aired November 13, 1999.
10.) Ikira’s Secret: Efforts to steal a key that grants access to the Machina tunnels reveals the source of their photophobia-a virus that is painfully burnt out by light. Ikira vanishes, and as the search progresses, he is discovered to be a Machina soldier that survived the pain and that wants to bring a message of hope to his people that does not involve conquest as a solution. Highlights include: more cute Mick & Anakonda back-and-forth, especially when she’s chanting for Ikira while Mick’s trying to sleep; Willy’s finest Mick-wrangling moment; Machestro unveils the Eye of Darkness and his ultimate goal-obliterate the light source to conquer the surface; Mick’s growing character, especially the willingness to fight-outnumbered-the Machina soldiers if it will buy his friends time. Originally aired December 4, 1999.
THE UNAIRED EPISODES
These were listed on TV Tome, following the aired episodes. They are:
11.) Ground Zero
12.) The Astral Hand Part 1
13.) The Astral Hand Part 2
14.) Balance of Power
I originally thought that there had been sixteen episodes in X9, then thirteen. I settled on the latter and mourned the three I’d never enjoy. Learning there were FOUR I missed, however, destroyed this fragile sense of acceptance and renewed by considerable anger at Fox Kids. According to TV Tome’s partner site, Epguides, episodes listed as unaired may possibly be ones that didn’t air in America but did air somewhere else. I know X9 aired in South America-I’ve seen the Spanish version of the introduction, and it validates my theory about Jack’s background in a small way. Maybe these aired in South America or Europe, but they are forever to be denied to those of us stateside (unless Fox Kids lets X9 air in its entirety on ABC Family, which would probably take a LOT of tooth-pulling).
After my recent chat with George Fergus at Epguides, he confirmed that at least 22 episodes were made, with info coming from others on Xyberites with overseas contacts that somewhere around 45 were made. Now I REALLY wanna see 'em.
Here’s what I was hoping would be in the last four episodes:
**The final confrontation between Jack & Co. and Machestro, in particular the Eye of Darkness.
**Jack’s past, which would explain what happened to his family and (at least I hope) would prove my theory about the exact relationship between Jack, Rozalyn, & Renard.
**What happened in Terrana’s past, especially if it was revealed via the Vault, to bring it to such ruin & perpetual war.
**Jack & Anakonda finally coming to their senses about each other. (Y'know, given my usual disdain for romantic subplots, this is a surprisingly big deal for me.)
**A brighter future for the Machina, as Ikira wanted to bring them.
Sadly, we may never know what would exactly have been revealed in those last four episodes, and X9 will probably never have closure. Still, I can hold out hope, and I certainly shall. Having titles always keeps hope alive.
