Home  Episode Summaries Season 1 Skeletons in the Closet - Notes
Credits: written by Flint Dille
Production Number: 600-57
Original Airdate: December 11, 1985
Version One: Lady J receives a strange message from England, informing her she is the heir to an ancient manor. When she arrives, she finds herself thrust into a sinister mystery involving a strange hooded cult, secret passages, and the truth behind Destro’s silver mask. [Note: The episode was originally called “The G.I.Joe Gothic Mystery”]
Version Two: Lady J inherits a spooky old house on the moors of England - a house with a sinister past and an even more sinister connection to Destro!
| THE PERSONNEL |
| G.I.Joe: Lady Jaye, Flint, Duke*, Breaker, Gung Ho, Alpine, Roadblock, Col. Sharpe*, Barbecue, Snake Eyes, Spirit |
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Cobra: Destro, Firefly, the Baroness, Cobra agents |
| THE GEAR |
| G.I.Joe: Falcon glider, USS Flagg |
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Cobra: HISS, Rattler, CLAW, Trubble Bubble |
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* indicates the character was silent during the episode
At the beginning of the episode, a female Cobra agent appears and thanks Destro with a kiss since he saved her life. If you listen to the female Cobra agent in "Spell of the Siren" (who bursts into a room just as the Baroness asks Destro if he hears wedding bells), she sounds like the same agent. Could Destro have a secret admirer? [189 kb]
Firefly introduces himself as Clayton Oliver Nichols, a solicitor with
the initials CON, which is utterly appropriate since he was part of a "con
job" to bring Lady Jaye to the castle.
The letter Lady Jaye receives from the solicitor states that she has
received land from Agatha Doyle. The name of "Agatha Doyle" is more than
likely a combination of the names Agatha Christi and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle,
who were mystery writers.
 
Another example of foreshadowing in the series appears when Lady Jaye descends
down a staircase and passes by a relief with a stone creature, which resembles
the creature in Destro's castle. And although the title of the episode
is "Skeletons in the Closet," a phrase used to describe that secrets in
one's life, was it really necessary to have skeletons in a stone corridor,
which could be thought of as a walk-in closet?
During the battle at Destro's castle, Snake Eyes jumps off his hang
glider, slides into a seat in a Trubble Bubble and eventually lands on
the roof of the mansion. However, a continuity error occurs when he is
later seen flying a hang glider through one of the castle's windows.
H.P. Lovercraft's Cthulhu stories could have been a likely source of influence in the creation of the episode, which continues in the seconds season's episode "Sins of Our Fathers."
The Baroness, who was probably under a great deal of stress, mistakenly
says ‘creature’ and not ‘woman’ while quoting Destro's comment about her.
The episode was released along with "Not a Ghost of Chance" by Rhino as volume four.
I
Dialogue:
Gung Ho: Duck!
Gung Ho: This is disgusting!
Roadblock: Kinda reminds me of your apartment.
Gung Ho: Nope. There’s no TV in here.
Time: 11 seconds
Commentary: Again, the USA Network cut out the one of the best components to the show: the humor.
II
Time: 9 seconds
Commentary: Although the
dialogue was not edited, the music, another wonderful feature in the series,
was lost with this edit.
III
Dialogue:
Coven members (together): Sacrifice, descend. Dark power, arise!
Lady Jaye: Okay! Okay! Cut me loose and I’ll give you donation.
Coven member: She will make good food for the beast.
Time: 16 seconds
Commentary: The shot of Lady Jaye after the cut was comprised of a camera pan from bottom to top
IV
Time: 1.5 seconds
V
Time: 1.5 seconds
Commentary: A unique periscope
appearance (the missile's point of view) was lost.
VI
Dialogue:
Spirit: Cobra Trubble Bubbles!
Firefly: Cobra - attack!
Time: 14 seconds
VII
Time: 4 seconds
VIII
Dialogue:
Spirit: This house is filled with a deep evil.
Barbecue: It just got deeper.
Time: 11 seconds
Shipwreck
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Original:
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Shipwreck explains that you shouldn't steal property from other people
since you would not like someone to rob you. |
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USA:
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Same as above |
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Sound Clip: "I wouldn’t wish that defective junk on Cobra," Flint says. "Well....maybe." [40 kb]
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