Kommand?!? Kommand??? What kind of English is that to teach children? Sigh. Or perhaps 'Kommand' is some little-used archaic term for 'Cheap dodgy concept 'liberated' from half a dozen other Eighties Toy Lines and realised in really poor quality plastic, with even more stereotypical characters than usual'. Any takers for that theory?
Anyway, after The Transformers had taken the toy market by a bit of a storm in 1984, with the popular idea of 'Vehicles which Change into Robots!', thus simultaneously appealing to the "Wow, nice looking toy car", "Violence, yay!" and "Robots are COOL" aspects of the market, MASK introduced, wait for it... 'Vehicles which Change into Vehicles'. Oh. Wow.
Anyway, now that I've finished being sarcastic, the storyline(?) of the cartoon concerned a group of terrorists, VENOM (otherwise Vicious Evil Network Of Mayhem)'s efforts to achieve world domination by Evil Scheme of The Week, and MASK (Mobile Armoured Strike Kelp)'s invariably successful attempts to stop them. Both sides were equipped with transforming vehicles, not to mention the titular Masks- helmet-weapons with strange and occasionally ridiculous powers (I'm thinking of the Red Indian (American Indian, Native American, whatever, but they were called Red Indians at the time)'s mask, which fired miniature totem poles at his enemies).
This being a Kids TV show, MASK (Mobile Armoured Strike Kettle) were also burdened with the Kid Element, otherwise known as Scott, son of Matt Trakker, head of MASK (Mobile Armoured Strike Kenco), not to mention Scott's pet robot/scooter, T-Bob (Thingamabob).
Rumours that the show and toyline were initially based in England and had a profound left-wing bias were roundly denied by the Lord Mayor of London. Mr Livingston said, "I utterly and entirely refute any connection between myself and the so-called "Mobile Armoured Strike Ken" organisation. Ask that man with the Diddymen."
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