For the episode's transcript, click here.
Never Look a Trojan in the Gift Horse is the second episode of Time Squad, as well as the first episode of Season 1, alongside Eli Whitney's Flesh-Eating Mistake.
| Never Look a Trojan in the Gift Horse | |
|---|---|
| Season 1, Episode 1b | |
| |
| Mission | VZ545 |
| Historical Figure/Event | Trojan Horse |
| Time | 1200 BC |
| Place | Troy |
| Aired | June 8, 2001 |
| Directed by | Dave Wasson |
| Written by | Carlos Ramos, Dave Wasson, and Michael Karnow |
| Storyboards by | Chong Suk Lee |
| Episode guide | |
| Previous Eli Whitney's Flesh-Eating Mistake |
Next Napoleon the Conquered |
Synopsis[]
The Time Squad travels to Ancient Greece, where it's the King of Troy's birthday. The Greek army brings the fabled Trojan Horse to the festivities, but fails to realize that it's supposed to be a trap, not an actual gift.
Plot[]
The episode begins with the team in a room on the satellite that has a bunch of antiques and souvenirs obtained from past missions. Larry is dusting and Tuddrussel is showing Otto various historic items, many of which were actually essential to history, and when the History Instability Alarm goes off, they all head out.
The team ends up in Troy and sees the Greek army pushing the Trojan Horse, which is tied with a giant bow. The man in charge, Sinon, calls Time Squad to come over and help them push it. Tuddrussel admires his hat. They push the horse to the gates of Troy, and notice that it is the King of Troy's birthday. Everyone hides as the Trojans take in the horse. The group watches as the King receives his presents and the Trojan horse, then watches as he pulls a lever to open the horse.
The horse opens and candy spills out. The King is disgusted and tells his servants to throw it away. Sinon is upset, and explains that Greeks have a rule about how birthdays are more important than wars, and that Greeks are excellent at giving gifts. Otto tells Sinon that the horse needs to be filled with soldiers, and Sinon agrees.
The Greek army is seen, this time pushing a wooden giraffe to the gates of Troy. Everyone watches as the King receives his second present from them. The King pulls the lever and is buried by a bunch of life-sized chocolate soldiers. He is disgusted again, and tells his servants to get rid of them. Tuddrussel and Larry get mad at Sinon, who assures them that he knows what to do now.
Everyone is seen pushing a giant, shaking wooden soldier in front of Troy. Everyone then watches as the King receives it. The King gets up to pull the lever, and releases the live horses inside. Sinon tells the group that they are wild Spanish horses, and they are seen terrifying the Trojans and rampaging through the town. One of them sets fire to the town, and the King gets run over by the panicking citizens and the horses.
Sinon and the Time Squad watch the burning city from the top of the hill, and Sinon is upset by how bad the present was. Despite the slight historical inaccuracy, Otto accepts the result as Troy is fallen in the end. Before leaving, Tuddrussel steals Sinon's helmet as a souvenir.
Trivia[]
- The title of this episode is a pun on the proverb "Never look a gift horse in the mouth", which is used to say that don't question the value of a gift.
- Tuddrussel shows Otto several souvenirs from historical people and times: a primitive war club, a Ming Dynasty vase, a telescope from Galileo, George Washington's wooden teeth (a common historical inaccuracy), and young King David's slingshot.
- The fact that the horse and giraffe was fueled with candies and chocolate soldiers (respectively) can be a reference to piñatas, which are commonly fueled with candies when a birthday party is celebrated.
- This is the first episode where we do not see what the mission is on Larry's computer.
- This is also the first episode to feature the use of the history instability alarm.
- The event turned out with reverse features from the actual Trojan Horse. The wooden figure was a soldier instead of a horse, and the figure was filled with horses instead of soldiers.
- Sinon's voice and mannerisms are based on American Comedian Paul Lynde.
Anachronisms and errors[]
- Chocolate wasn't known during Ancient Greece. In fact, it was brought to Europe after Christopher Columbus' American continent discovery.
- The Greeks trying to be nice and kind with the king of Troy. In reality, they were at war and tried to kill him in order to conquer the city of Troy.
- The horse was not given during king of Troy's birthday.
- Sinon appears to be the leader of the Greeks. In real-life, the Greek King’s brother Agamemnon was in charge of leading the Greeks to make war with the Trojans.
Gallery[]
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| The image gallery for Never Look a Trojan in the Gift Horse may be viewed here. |