Reviews

The plot was rather weak and plodding, at least compared to other episodes that keep a fair amount of tension throughout the show. John Colicos, who generally stands out exceptionally as the villain, was practically a minor character, and not particularly fearsome at that. However, there will still some nice moments; the scene between Rollin and Enzor was one of the finest. You could feel the mixed feelings of Enzor as he is about to leave his life behind for the promise of a new life but with the loss of his past; both Michael Tolan and Martin Landau (playing Enzor disguised as Rollin) both carried it off perfectly, and the incidental music was a perfect touch. Still, the rest of the episode seemed rather wooden and drawn out, with some rather over-the-top acting all around. The main plot line, that "radar" could prevent someone from hearing one set of sounds and only hear a different set, is completely ridiculous.

There were lots of funny lines, and Rimmer behaved exactly like you would have expected him to behave. Becoming an officer by "accident" is about the only way he could, and then he shows that it's not just Better Than Life that rebels against him and treats him like garbage, but real life too. Then he suddenly has to have his crewmates (whom he looked down upon for most of the episode) save him from another disaster worse than opening a small package of nuts. The duplicate Rimmers are ready to absorb the original one, and the crew confront the creature, and then... the show ends. No "to be continued", no explanation in the next episode. It's like it was 5pm and the camera crew went home, and started filming Krysis the next day. So just like the title of this review, the episode ends without actually being finished. Quite a disappointing ending.

It's nice to see Barney in a role other than the technical wizard, which Greg Morris carries out very well; Michael Tolan as Cardoza is perfect in the part of the guy who is accused falsely of being a spy for the "bad guys" but can't give away his cover as an actual spy for the "good guys"; Sid Haig and Joseph Bernard were equally believable in their roles; the plot retained its usual tension with even a bit of humour (like when Cinnamon asked what one prisoner was in for). If not for some awful overacting in the opening scenes by Paul Winfield, and the rather weak revelation of who the real traitor was (after a nice setup scene), this would have easily had 9 stars. Even as it is, it's one of the better episodes for season 2, showing how the main cast had really grown into their parts (including Peter Graves who had to take over as the lead character this season; unfortunately Peter Lupus as Willy could not be in this episode as well). It's just too bad that "real world" issues would lead to only one more season of this team being together.

Halfway through the episode, I still wasn't sure what the plot was about and what the goal was. Paris was supposed to be Malik's son (and not know it) so he could influence youngsters to oppose the current leader, but the way it was carried out was ridiculous (and,, unfortunately for the viewer, boring). Why not just show up on television? They could still use the part with Barney and Phelps, but the rest of the story was mostly incomprehensible and seemingly irrelevant. The Bob Dylan song "The Times, They Are A-Changing" was inappropriate, because only a fool would not realize he's being made fun of, but the leader (who may have been nasty, but was not a fool!) just stood there. It would have been more realistic if he had just arrested everyone (which would have facilitated the Barney/Phelps line more believably, by the way).

As a rather-hastily-penned replacement for the originally planned script, this could have been a complete disaster. There are some plot holes and inconsistencies from the previous episode, but there are some very positive points:

1) The plot twist at the end is a nice surprise. I didn't see it coming the first time I saw this episode.

2) Given the job of setting up the next episode, it does this well.

3) Bruce Purchase could have very easily gone too far over-the-top, but had enough restraint to make it just enough to be comical, and even believable for a dictatorial ruler.

4) Sally Knyvette and Michael Keating get to shine in this episode for a change.

5) The set work and costumes were very well done.

The biggest negative point was the slow-developing opening, but after that, the mystery aspect takes over full-swing, and the subplots keep it entertaining until the end.

No idea why Ace and Mel would be arrested, except to provide a vehicle for their delivery to meet Kane. And the cliffhanger is literally a cliffhanger, but completely senseless. Why is the Doctor hanging over the cliff from his umbrella? No explanation what he's doing or what he's looking for. And it doesn't get cleared up in the second episode either. Could have been much better, possibly if the whole thing was a two-parter without the useless padding.

I rank it higher than Midway. Probably Lee Marvin's best movie, it switches from suspense to humour to sorrow and back again. The 19-gun salute by Griff (Mark Hamill) when they liberate the concentration camp is probably the most poignant part of the film, and the twist at the end compared to the scene at the beginning is one of redemption (I'm not going to give details, even with the "spoiler" flag noted - you're just going to have to see it). Overall, a gripping and entertaining story. I remember seeing it quite a few times when I was younger, but was even more impressed now with the reconstructed version that has many added scenes.

The whole premise is awful. First, nobody in their right mind on a decontamination team would remove their glove and reach inside their "helmet" to scratch their nose (especially since the flexible helmets would allow this to be done from the "outside"; we won't comment on the complete non-air-tightness of the helmets). Second, the planet's mass would not change. Third, the orbit wouldn't decay, unless they were actually in the atmosphere and experiencing friction. Fourth, even if we allow the "going backward in time" concept (as was done in other episodes), Kirk still has failed in his obligation to Starfleet to observe the breakup of the planet. The first time through time (if you'll pardon the expression), they were too busy trying to fix the problem of the crew to make the observations they were required to make. Kirk should have used this opportunity of getting a second "pass" through time to go back and make the observations he missed the first time. He's going to have a bit of a problem explaining to Starfleet why he went on to his next destination without fulfilling his mission, even if he does have partial records from the observations on the first "pass" through time.

After he took over the Chief Caretaker's body, he could have been angry, diabolical, sarcastic, or just about anything... but instead he became a total dork. It was difficult to remain in any level of suspense when I was laughing so hard at the incredibly bad acting. I can only hope that Richard Briers was just doing as he was told, since he's normally a much better actor.

The premise is not very believable in the first place, but the worst part is that Shivan, with his obviously fake visible "eye" even though the rest of him was completely bandaged, was really Travis who has a patch on the same side. The fact that this is blindingly obvious completely ruins any possible suspense the plot has, which isn't much in the first place. The only reason I watched this episode was because I waited 35 years for it to be visible in the US (aside from a couple VHS I was able to find here and there), and I wanted to say I saw the whole series. When I watch the series again, will I skip this one? Probably. No, make it definitely.

Avon was very reminiscent of Sherlock Holmes in this episode, which was the best episode that was really a mystery (just showing that science fiction can encompass ALL other genres). Analyzing evidence, reasoning the chain of events, correctly interpreting the key clue where everyone else was looking at it the wrong way, and being one step ahead of the murderer at the end - Arthur Conan Doyle would approve.

Sequels usually don't work, especially in a show composed of serials, but this one is much more interesting than the previous one. The first serial with the Mara (Kinda) plodded along and didn't do much to capture the imagination (outside of the scenes where Tegan was talking with the Mara and trying to decide if she was real or not), but this one had a much more complex and interesting plot. And at least they didn't try the same effect of the fake rubber snake again!