AniTV:
"On the Run"
Basic Plot:
After a
terrifying close call in the Yeerk Pool, the Animorphs decide to split up and gather more
information. While Rachel and Cassie find out about The Sharing and look for the missing
Tobias, Jake and Marco make a startling discovery about Elfangor's disk...!
Based
On:
Not any book in particular. More stuff involving the disk, which to you people who don't
read the books, in case you haven't figured it out by now is a motif entirely unique to
the show.
Book-TV
Comparison:
Okay, I'm just going to pick on stuff here, since there is no book to compare to.
Many things bother me about AniTV, but one of the more irritating plot holes is the one near the beginning of this ep, where Jake and Marco are in Cyberia and get a message from the Yeerks, to the Andalites, saying that they have the disk. For one thing, no way are a people who executed a so-far flawless (if you overlook "Andalite" interference) invasion of Earth, people who either infest or promptly kill anyone who finds out about them, going to announce such a message on a public computer. Everyone and anyone at Cyberia could see it. Jake tells them via an extremely generic looking e-mail that they will trade one Andalite for the disk. Even a fan of the show pointed out that the Yeerks should know beyond a shadow of a doubt that they are being set up, because the disk would be expendable to Andalites (it contains some kind of information and/or DNA, which could easily be replaced), and it's a well known fact that Andalites would waay much rather die than be Yeerk-infested.
Melissa isn't supposed to be on the scene until gymnastics class, you know, the start of #2? She brightly invites them to The Sharing in this one. Though they don't really find out that The Sharing is a Yeerk front until here, whereas in the books they find out in #1.
Marco's plan to acquire the cop was not credible and so uncharacteristic of him. The real Marco (^_^ okay, I'm obsessing now) would have found some funny and original way to do it. Does his inability to morph that guy mean that humans can't morph humans -- in the physical sense instead of moral? Though I find it amusing that the police uniform appeared to be part of the cop's DNA.
At first it seems that no self-respecting Controller would leave a valuable piece of bargain/blackmail material in plain sight of any human who happened to wander in the pet store, but we learn what they're up too later. But don't you think they would at least pay attention to the place of the disk to see who picked it up? Since they know the "Andalites" are going around as humans, the Controller guy should be paying attention to get a visual ID on the person who picks it up. The parrot thing was pretty neat, but it shouldn't have taken the guy that long to realize, Duh, he tricked me.
Marco had appeared to be shoplifting from the store, but it seems like the cop wouldn't have pursued him so vigilantly (or maybe he figured that from Marco's earlier suspicious behavior he had planned to steal something really valuable). Somehow he managed to morph a lizard *in the mall* and get out.
After all that, Marco set the disk by a garbage can and it got thrown out. Marco has to search through the dumpster for it. I'm sorry, but Jake would never go to "get something to eat" while someone was in a dumpster, especially since they get dumped into trucks so often in TV land.
When Jake returns to find that ::gasp:: Marco is gone, he is somehow able to morph a dog while running.
Rachel overhears some human-Controllers talking at a Sharing meeting, which she sneaks into by morphing a fly. Ignoring the fact that most people think it's strange if you claim you're going to the bathroom and are gone for two hours or whatever, Rachel was smashed on the table and by all rights should have been dead. Jake was in a similar situation in #16 and it took all five of the others to save him. While she seems just fine and dandy when she returns.
On
the way home, a hawk is staring at them. I guess Tobias is too ashamed/trying to deal with
his problem to confront the others just yet.