Siren

DVD, Smallville S7 (Siren)

I should have known they hadn't been using the clock tower several times in the last few episodes without reason, and finally, we get to the return of Oliver Queen, aka Green Arrow, the moment I was waiting for. But how surprising, they drop the bombshell on Lois as soon as he's back about his real identity. If they were going to do that (I can't say I ever anticipated it), I felt, they should have had a big build up to it, but the scene where Canary (if that is her name), sonically smashes his secret glass doors to reveal the archery gear could easily have been the usual thing of Lois being knocked clean unconscious to avoid just what happens: she learns the secret. It was a good thing for an episode to explore, and for once I felt a strong theme emerge and play out across the episode, which can't often be said.

The theme is to do with destiny I suppose, and whether one can stand in someone's shadow, sharing that person with the world, or not, via complete honesty and the value of knowing who's who and what's what. Okay, that doesn't sound such a strongly precise theme, but it was better experienced than explained. The negatives were all in the soap aspects, with lots of romantic conversations, if not actually romance, it's often about that, and I don't enjoy such things so much in my super hero drama. I began to feel that even the return of Green Arrow couldn't save the episode from such drudgery, but enough scenes contained a seed or two of promise, and the occasional action beats worked well enough that it recovered itself for me, and I ended up liking it, on the whole.

The action revolves around a new character, appearing out of the night like Catwoman (and in as equally ridiculous attire as that DC villain. I mean, fishnets? Really?), but here my low level of comic knowledge (almost none), stymies me as I had never heard of her and she looked like just another super girl, as if there are ten a penny out there, except I'm sure those that knew her got excited. There was no mystery as to her true identity since Dinah Lance, the reporter at the Daily Planet is introduced in the same episode. What coincidence! Never was there any attempt or hint at an explanation for her sonic power, though in balance I felt the visual representation of both the scream and its effect on Clark's super-sensitive hearing achieved its visceral ambition (and I enjoyed a smug moment for Clark where she assumes he's a puny human, tries to kick him and knocks herself flying from the impact!). I expected her to be able to do the same to Lex' bullet as she did to Arrow's, er, arrows, but here again is where my ignorance of the character let me down. It meant Clark could come rushing in to slap bullets and arrows, but not knives away. I wasn't sure what to read into his choice to stop the bullet heading for Canary, the arrows heading for Lex, but not the knife for Lex. Did he want Lex to be in pain? Did he not have enough time to save both and realised a knife would cause less damage than a speeding bullet? And how did Canary see him stop the bullet, or are her visual reflexes so much faster than ordinary humans?

If an episode's leaving me with a questioning aftertaste I feel it's done something right. What it doesn't do so right is handle the way certain people are represented over the duration. Clark comes across as really petty for not being able to forgive Lana for connecting more with his evil double in the previous episode, and yet he's happy to talk it over with Chloe. Maybe that's realistic, and I liked how it was resolved and that he chose to spill more secrets to Lana at the end to show that he also has done wrong, although I don't think there will ever be an end to secrets between them. For example, I'll bet he never tells her about the time they actually married and it got her killed (though there was a fun reference back to the episode where Oliver set Lois up to kiss the 'Green Arrow' and really it was 'someone else' while he stood by!), but at least the episode didn't play out in such a negative way as it often has in the past.

Another surprising turn of events was Lana's visit to Lionel, her refusal to help him uncover evidence against Lex, and her realisation of what she became, something that she says Clark pulled her back from. She resolves to be an honest, good person, and it puts Lionel on the back foot as he sees he doesn't have any leverage left to use on her. Mind you, I still maintain she's not the real Lana, but a clone. There was even a sly reference in this direction when Chloe points out to Clark that Lana isn't the same girl she was in High School, which felt like those call-out lines characters say without knowing it, about Clark's destiny. Or am I reading too much into such comments? Lex himself doesn't get a great deal to do this week, apart from a healthy ability to fight when he takes on Green Arrow. It was not what I expected to see from the guy, as usually he gets kidnapped or knocked on the head and his forte has never been physical combat. Maybe he's in training these days? Or maybe he's a special, advanced clone himself? I'm seeing clones everywhere now!

This was very much a Lois episode, so it's a little strange that she comes out appearing extremely selfish, but in a good way, kind of. It was unexpected for her to reject Oliver's plea to get back to together, noble in some way, but in greater part an utterly selfish move because, knowing his secret she doesn't want to share him with the life in which he goes off to fight crime. It's something that comes up between Clark and Queen too, when tempers fray and his righteous indignation flares up, pointing the finger at Clark for having an easy life settled on his farm instead of fighting injustice. It's an old argument between them and it's not going to be resolved in one episode. Not even when Clark accepts his ultimate destiny would he be a slave to Queen's tune, but the friendship quickly returns as they realise they need each other, and there's little point bickering over it. Queen does get a new recruit with Canary agreeing to join his cause against Lex, though if all they do is visit factories and plant bombs it's not a very glorious battle. I also found Canary's quickness to give up her vigilante days just because she found out she was on the wrong side, unbelievable, so maybe she didn't really mean what she said, especially seeming so eager to join Oliver's band of merry men.

I think Lois' selfishness came across more because there's never any scene when she acknowledges the death of Gabriel Grant. She's just right into the next guy that comes along. Does she know he died? It felt like she hadn't been informed and it seemed ridiculous that there was no scene in which she even talks about him, except as being an antidote to Oliver! It was also a moment when Clark and Lana display a great lack of commitment when she suggests he thinks she isn't the girl he'll end up with, and he admits that he can't see the future. That's not very reassuring, is it! But even with some character traits to disapprove, the characters and the episode recovered well before the end, playing with our knowledge of Lois and Clark's eventual role, side by side, so that I came out of it feeling the sum total was a good experience. I hope Green Arrow sticks around, and it would be fun to have the other members of the JLA (as it isn't called yet) around. One thing bothered me: Lois speaks about how her Father 'was' a General. I don't remember any mention of him dying or quitting the army, but I may have simply forgotten. And is Lois really so simple-minded that she believes Clark and Chloe didn't realise Oliver's secret identity?

***

Carpenter Street

DVD, Enterprise S3 (Carpenter Street)

My problem when I first saw this were the high expectations I had for it: a time travel story, written by Berman and Braga, to contemporary Earth? You think back to some of the classic stories set contemporary to their production, and you think of Voyager in 1996, or Kirk's Enterprise in 1986 or other periods they travelled to such as 1930s America. 'DS9' did plenty of time travel to 20th Century decades, and 'TNG' took on older times. So far, this series had used travel through time sparingly, and in this season thoughts had moved away from the series arc of a Temporal Cold War raging in various centuries, but here, all of a sudden we're treated to 'Ensign' Daniels appearing in order to recruit Archer and a fortunate assistant of his choice - how great would it have been to use this as an excuse to bring in a character from another series? Just imagine Tuvok being plucked from the Delta Quadrant, just as Riker was taken from his ship in 'Death Wish,' to help Archer in his search for the rogue Xindi-Reptilians? It might not have been fair to the cast member chosen to be replaced (the sceptical T'Pol as it turns out), but just imagine an end scene in which Tuvok briefly meets the Vulcan female!

Not that she behaved in a Vulcan way in some of the episode, almost shouting in anger at Loomis lighting up a cigarette in the car, though her distaste at the burgers was thoroughly Vulcan! Maybe you can put it down to a kind of temporal psychosis? For me, the episode feels unfinished. I know we're in serialised territory here, but I needed a scene between Archer and T'Pol in which she becomes an avid proponent of time travel, maybe even going on to develop an obsession with it in future episodes. On the subject of arcs, I also felt Loomis was badly in need of a redeeming arc to make his character more worthy of our attention. As it plays out he's a messy, scruffy, dirty slob of an individual (Leland Orser is good with what he's given, but I can't help thinking how much his 'Voyager' character Dejaren would have hated Loomis!), who talks his conscience out of what he's doing, displaying, as T'Pol says, a prime example of the humans of our time: greedy, violent and selfish. If only his experiences could have led to his starting a new life with the help of Archer's advice and maybe the Xindi's money he might have managed to take during the phaser battle. He could have left the area resolving to be a better person.

But the episode isn't about him, and the urgency of Archer's continuing mission means he has no time to spend on deviants of the past. Mind you, as is glossed over briefly, time is something they should have in abundance. There's the old complaint that can easily rear up watching episodes through time that if they can go back to one point, why do they not simply go back to an earlier time with the knowledge they'd gained, and surprise the unsuspecting Xindi. The answer to that, and to the obvious 'hole' that if the Xindi can go to Earth in the past at any time, they could also drop a load of bombs there, is that the powers-that-be, (presumably the Starfleet Daniels works for), has strict enforcement of the timeline at its fingertips and would find a way to prevent a noticeable incursion.

There's also the fact that it's Archer who needs to be called upon to take the mission back in time, when there must be many temporal agents that could be used. But Daniels trusts Archer and knows he'll do what's best, and besides there's also a chance for Archer to have a bit more trust in Daniels, and no doubt temporal agents are always looking to build bridges with people they've had contact with. For that matter it would have been good idea to get Daniels teaming up with Archer himself, but with Trip barely registering and Hoshi, Reed and Phlox not appearing at all (is this the only episode where the three leads exclusively carry it?), it would have been a waste of money not to use a fully paid up cast member. I actually forgot to mention Travis, too, but it's never a surprise when he doesn't appear!

Plus, with a Vulcan there to exude displeasure at every opportunity the chance for some fun is rife. Fortunately they don't go down the 'Star Trek IV' route of a farce, but because the whole thing takes place at night, the episode is visually dark and can't be lightened by gags or funny situations. Don't misunderstand my impression, I loved the extreme contrast that led to characters literally disappearing into the shadows, and I received the humour in the way it was intended: as a gentle tug that reminds you that these people are from the future and are fish out of water. But scurrying around in dark city streets and abandoned warehouses doesn't have the same pull as the Voyager crew striding around in full daylight, enjoying their situation. The time travel is a side issue, mentioned, dealt with, occasionally a problem, but for a start, Archer has an advantage of those later space explorers in that he's well versed in travelling to other periods thanks to his association with Daniels, is driven by a greater purpose than getting back home, and is actually only 150 years removed from his own time, so would have a more detailed knowledge of history closer to his own experience.

There's no time wasted in explaining the mechanics of how they went back in time, we've already established Daniels is from the future and he can do cool stuff, so we dive right in, but I do wonder if they might have had more time to work out arcs for T'Pol and Loomis if they had had them pop up in the past without first showing us Daniels and his briefing. Now this may smack a bit of double standards here because usually I'd say it's better to actually have Daniels in the story than a line telling us that he got them there, but they could still have had him in the episode and started the characters in 2004. I really liked the very contemporary style of the opening, one that's completely cold, we don't know who this guy is or if we've tuned into the right show (like with 'North Star'), until the Xindi face is revealed. Even then we see a lot of Loomis going about his dirty business before the NX-01 glides into shot, and it's so well directed, and is so different to what you expect that it provides a good hook for the episode.

Having Daniels aboard, even if for a short scene helps to remind us of the stakes of the mission at hand: he spells it out that this particular threat to Earth, the Xindi weapon Future Guy had warned Archer about, was not part of history as it should have played out. Now, some people claim 'Enterprise' to be set in an alternate timeline set in motion by the events of 'First Contact,' but the writers have refuted that. Here, this season is definitely not supposed to have happened. What changed the timeline? Not the Xindi, but humans themselves: yes, the viewers of the series didn't show up in great enough number so the series went down a different route. Fortunately time stuff can usually be sorted out, but it gave the mission added gravitas and tension that we really don't know what the fate of the future could be: officially it hasn't 'rippled on down' the continuum yet! I also appreciated Archer's reminder to Daniels that he's supposed to be important to the future of humanity, but it must not be this mission that made him that way since the timeline has been changed, so he was still due for greater things, a kind of positive message that the writers expected the series to continue after the third season.

Small nits I noticed included the prostitute Loomis kidnaps not being able to smell the strong odour of the anaesthetic he used to smother her with - I imagine something like that would be instantly recognisable as soon as the lid of the jar was taken off. Also, why did the Xindi not recognise the famous Captain Archer, the single brave human organising Earth's fight back? Maybe the Xindi still don't consider the NX-01 a great threat. We've already seen communication between species isn't great, from 'The Shipment' and the Arboreal's horror at Archer's story. Now of course the Reptilians are doing their own thing in order to secure success against Earth. One thing that does let the story down lightly is the ending in which it boils down to Archer scrabbling over a rooftop to stop a tube of virus breaking open in a ventilation fan. I guess the virus would spread worldwide if it had ruptured, but it's not spelt out clearly enough and a dark rooftop didn't have the bold impact that the story demanded as a resolution, though I did feel the final scene in which Loomis is arrested by police babbling about his recent experiences fit the episode well.

The main thing is that my expectations were significantly lowered before this viewing and I actually enjoyed it a lot more this time (the opposite to my experience with 'North Star'). It shows that time can change your mind about an episode, but what you're thinking when you go into it also makes a big difference. It wasn't the typical time travel spectacular and for that reason I judged too harshly before, but it makes for a good next part of the continuing trouble with the Xindi. Because 'Enterprise' didn't do much time travelling you learn not to expect it and instead enjoy what an episode has to offer in other departments. I still wanted a scene like in 'Insurrection' where tagged people disappear, only this time they were temporal tags so they'd have zapped forward to the NX-01. I also really enjoyed the joke on Trip for whom no time has passed. When they first went through the door I wished they could have met themselves coming back, but having Trip still standing in the corridor was next best!

***

Persona

DVD, Smallville S7 (Persona)

It's funny, just as I sat down to watch this I was thinking we were due a good episode by now and along comes perhaps the most ideas-filled or satisfying happenings of the season. All the plots go somewhere and are beyond the soapy, boring girlfriend/boyfriend downs that often plague the series, instead becoming about the deep connection of Clark and Lana and where it leads them both. But even the sometimes hard to take Kryptonian stuff, so often bandied about like so much Kryptonite, hits home thanks to the reappearance of James Marsters as an ailing Brainiac (and there was me thinking the goo had turned into Bizarro this time), by the end of the episode made more powerful than ever before when he takes the mind of the Kryptonian scientist Dax-Ur by force (with the help of Borg nodules, it seems!). "What?" I hear you cry. "Another of Clark's race is on the planet?" And I was remarking last time how many of them keep popping up. Incredibly I didn't hate this further retconning of who could be on Earth - even this was done well.

Dax-Ur is one of Clark's people from a hundred years ago, and not only that, he created the Brain Interactive Construct in the first place! Not only that, but he's chosen to live as a human with a family, his powers taken by the blue Kryptonite bracelet he wears. It must be noted how bulky the thing was and that his wife must have noticed it, not to mention anyone else if he ever wore short sleeves. He could have explained it away as a deeply sentimental family heirloom of some kind, but carrying a sizeable rock around on your wrist maybe wasn't the best way to keep attention away from you! He was a good character, his steely eyes betraying his extraterrestrial origins. It does undermine Clark in a small way that there was this guy living in America (don't they all! - since Clark gets 'beamed up' by the Kryptonian shield, which I'd completely forgotten about, he could have gone anywhere in the world, but no, it had to be the USA), as Clark has become less special to the fate of humanity with all these other members of his race showing up. This time the writers actually 'hung a lantern on it,' as they say - Chloe pointing out how weird it is that so many of them come to Earth, so the audience doesn't start coming to that conclusion for themselves.

Chloe's pretty good in this story, helpfully noticing Clark is not himself. Let's 'face' it, it's happened enough times by now that everyone should immediately be alerted. But whether Lana chose to ignore the change in Clark or honestly didn't realise (she must be a clone, surely!), she admits, to her and Clark's dismay, that it was false clone Clark (or Bizarro, as he doesn't get named), whom she really loved. It doesn't stop her from slamming the blue rock into his hand, overloading him to destruction so he explodes, but the distrust and mutual lack of joy returns like a cloud between real Clark and Lana. This time we hear a little about Bizarro, that he was an experiment that went wrong, and that he escaped Clark's 'martian friend' to return to Earth. Even that he 'feels' for Lana, as though Clark's inner workings have been replicated. But you don't quite feel sorry for him when she does the right thing and destroys him (at Green Arrows clock tower which is becoming an almost regular location again - could this mean a return of the archer soon?).

Another surprise is that, in a roundabout way you do once again feel sympathy for Lex. It's hard to believe, but these are the kind of strings that used to be so regularly and perfectly plucked in the early days of the series before everything went off the rails, and it's a throwback to those days (even down to Lionel walking into the mansion and Lex standing above him on the balcony - a classic shot) - the depths Lex fell to, to recreate his own dead brother, the disgust with which Lionel thrusts himself away from his son, and the crying barbs of judgement called down from the mouth of Gabriel, puts Lex back into the shadow of dismay. It doesn't last long, not even to the end of the episode as we see a stooge shoot dead Gabriel, the image of Julian Luthor, and that, as expected, it was ordered by Lex: the implication that Lex organised it is pretty strong, though it's part of a montage where the hit man reports by phone and Lex reads the message, so, though it could be twisted around and turn out that Lionel was behind it, the impression is very strong.

Why would Lionel want his new son killed? Maybe because he knows he's a clone, maybe because he fears he'll become a pawn of Lex. But really he had little motive, and the modern, clean face of Lionel makes it unlikely. Lex' screams into the night as the rain pours down on him could have been anger if someone else had made the hit happen, but most likely shows his grief and inner torment at what he's become. Either way I was surprised to feel the loss of Julian. Not because I felt he was a great character, but because with this episode, and his acceptance by Lionel he became a highly compelling one and I wanted to see where his new friendship with Lionel would go. But the compact nature of what happens in this episode worked neatly and I doubt if it will be continued well in succeeding episodes so perhaps it was all for the best.

One thing I loved was that no one was surprised by Bizarro. I should say, those in authority weren't surprised. Jor-El instantly knows he isn't the real Clark. Incidentally, why was Clark's punishment to be locked in a pillar of ice for a few weeks? It seems an odd payment for his disobedience: he gets grounded?! And how long did the voice of Jor-El intend to keep him there? The other person who sees right through Bizarro is Brainiac, making him and Bizarro seem so much higher than the lowly humans around them. They're going about their own business in a world of humans, and even though Brainiac is hanging out in the 'suicide slums' as it's called, among the homeless and tough, he knows exactly what's going on and uses the situation to his advantage. If Brainiac is used as well in future I can't wait to see where his story goes.

I would have liked to have seen Gabriel Grant continue. I suppose he could always be cloned again, but would it have the same impact? I doubt it. I would have liked to have got to know Dax-Ur. What was his century of life on Earth like? Did he have more than one family in that time? Could his human son turn out to be partially Kryptonian like in 'Superman Returns'? But although there were these questions, and the fact that I wanted to know more in the first place meant the story was working, they didn't detract from the drama coming off the screen. Chloe, possibly in danger, then testing and trusting the real Clark again; Lana, potentially in great danger with this 'evil' Clark, yet he proves he really has no wish to hurt her, quite the opposite, but she still makes the right choice, even though it may be too late to mend the realisation thrown on the real Clark; Gabriel, boldly taking steps to own his own life, connecting with the man that could be a Father to him; and Lex, driven to jealousy, his 'care' (shipping him off to the London Times) turned on its head in unthinking, cold action. It all worked because the story wasn't bogged down with Lois or Jimmy and the soapy romantic stories they usually have. It had bite, and though it's not one of the greats of the series, it's the best this season has had to offer so far.

***

Jo-Jo

DVD, Starsky & Hutch S1 (Jo-Jo)

A proper 'issues' episode whose story deals with some tough stuff, though true to the series it plays at it, but barely goes deeper than the surface, stuck in the rut of having to convert to a lighthearted final scene so the audience goes away happy, not depressed, but also with less to think about. But there's plenty between the ears in this one - ironic considering its title comes from the moron who ruins people's lives for the thrill of it and foolishly believes he'll be a big man in the eyes of his boss and the boss' men. Jojo Forentik is a tragic figure, coming to a bad end, betrayed by his associates to death, playing both them and the cops while still finding time to have 'fun' in his 'work,' but you never feel sorry for him. The Federal guy, Bettin, is almost as shortsighted as Jojo, finding it difficult to believe the man would be stupid enough to commit murder while acting as an undercover snitch to get the 'big man' Dombarris, and demonstrating how little he understands this petty criminal. All Bettin could see was Dombarris, and to him, catching the guy was all that mattered. If a few lives were ruined along the way, you can almost imagine him citing the greater good.

Not quite, though. He's a good enough law enforcer to realise when his strategy's blown up in his face, but as has happened many times, S&H fail to get through to those in authority in time and there's rarely any comfort in being right when the result is rape and murder. Previously it's been internal affairs or high up officials, and this time they're butting heads with the Feds, but it doesn't matter who gives them orders, when they know what's right they do their own thing. On the one hand this makes them heroes, willing to stand up to anyone who doesn't see the small people in the big picture, they stick up for those people, and it's a joy to see them rush to the rescue in the first scene, defying orders with nary a second's thought. But on the other side of their and other's behaviour we have the change in culture that is so radical, watching with today's eyes. I've commented before about how they get away with so much, and again they defy Bettin, Dobey and everyone else to threaten Jojo when he's released to work for the Feds. Nowadays the villain could, and probably would pull charges and lawsuits for harassment (not that Jojo was that bright). Equally, the lack of regard for Jojo's victims by Bettin is incredible: he actually wants to allow Jojo to go through with rape so he can get the bigger prize of Dombarris!

Unprofessional behaviour is only one of the issues on show, and an unintentional one at that. The real spotlight is (supposed) to be on the horrible crime of rape, its consequences and the difficulty in getting victims to testify. It would be easier in some ways now, with DNA evidence - I don't get the impression such advances were being used at that time. Even computers were not yet a part of the working environment, and indeed seem to be seen in a negative light, as unfeeling, insensitive, cold machines, if S&H's analogy of Bettin to one is anything to judge. Surprisingly there's a further development, one that appears more modern, and may have been cutting edge at the time: that of the victim becoming a suspect for murder because she knew self-defence and had a motive for revenge. Again, sensitivity would be much more in evidence in today's proceedings I imagine, but it was a side to the story that dug a little deeper into such personal crime, though it's pretty much left hanging so that we can get to the roundup of the bad guys.

Time constraints were always present, but they didn't need to maintain the action quotient at the expense of more exploration, though really it's what the series was all about, and any time they showed a degree of intelligence in the subject matter should be cause for congratulation in part at least. The villains were a motley crew, with Dombarris, or Tom Jones, leading the way. He wasn't a big enough character to make him a real threat and there was never any impression of power and corruption - he lived in a warehouse full of junk, such as traffic lights and indoor hammocks, with a dozy hippie, a cool dude who wears shades all the time and a chubby, world-weary heavy. His plan of escape when S&H inevitably show up for the showdown is to fire a rifle at them and retreat into a boatyard out back. It very much reminded me of 'Texas Longhorn' as both villains hide out in a junkyard firing rifles as S&H dodge around until they get him. There were also parallels in the drug and rape themes.

S&H did get to dramatically throw themselves around as they close in on Dombarris (though the music doesn't reflect that, opting for a 'cool' jazzy flavour instead of thrilling danger), but they didn't even get to do that against his subordinates. Though the pizza ruse was a good one, all that happens is that Sulko and the fat guy (Dixie?), get thrown to the floor outside their caravan. I was surprised when Jojo ended up dead, as even having watched the episode a few times over the years I didn't remember that happening. I believe that this may have actually been the first episode I ever saw of the series, when I caught it on Channel 5 on a Tuesday morning in the early 2000s (being a student who didn't attend college on those days). If it wasn't the first, it was one of them, as I distinctly remember seeing S&H charge down the hill at the beginning.

Regardless of the unpleasant subject matter I'd still put this in the positive category. We don't see tramps or backstreets, and it's much more about the feud S&H have against authority, men in suits messing up their beat. One of the few scenes set on 'the street' is when they stop by Huggy for information. This one really made me see how much he needed to get back to his bar and restaurant business. His business ventures have been wacky before, but know he's dressed in a priest's robes with a matching cream cap trying to peddle glow-in-the-dark crosses! Hug's been turned into pure comic relief, not that this was the episode to fit such things into, but I miss the early days when they were integrating Huggy and Dobey better. Dobey does continue the trend of solidarity with his men, sticking up for them in the face of higher powers, but he's not in it much.

It's Merl The Earl that lifts the episode and helps to disguise the turn away from seriousness into the jollier mood to end on, his unique way of talking, all-encompassing fanaticism for cars to the exclusion of all else, and quick temper ("Let me find somethin' to hit you with") puts him firmly in the category of this week's quirkiest character. He works wonderfully as a character (one that had to return and did), but it was the tying into the running joke of Hutch's car that cemented him as one of the top guest characters this season. It wasn't really until S&H pull up outside the bad guy's place and his horn blares out unremittingly that it crossed my mind how strange it was that they never used the Torino, and I don't remember any explanation of why they're driving around in Hutch's heap all the time (could it be urgent repair work was needed on the Torinos?), but it's always funny when Starsky starts moaning about Hutch's dump of a car, dating right back to the pilot! He also mentioned his Uncle Al (who we'd heard of before, in 'Snowstorm') who can help Hutch out with a new car.

Merl's only competition in the quirk stakes came from the drippy girl with Dombarris and the lady at the restaurant Starsky takes Hutch (and Jojo) to - she orders Hutch's food for him and when it comes she carries the cutlery in her armpit! Typical of Starsky that he loves such a place, and typical of his partner that he hates it! I suppose Jojo fitted into the 'odd' category too, though he's an unsavoury character with no light humour to him at all. He was very ape-like, ruled by his own tendencies, loping around with unconcealed, restless, violent energy - when he pulls himself up some stairs with the tree in the foreground I could see him swinging from branch to branch like a chimpanzee. It was wise of his victim to learn Karate (I'm sure he'd have found a baseball bat wouldn't cancel out that martial art if she was good enough), though it looked more like Judo the way she threw Starsky across the room.

I noticed the stuntmen had one of their busiest periods as there were a lot of stunt moments, my favourite being when S&H drive after Jojo when he's been let out, Starsky hanging onto the door until he leaps and rolls, then charges full speed after his quarry - notice he keeps his head down so you can't see it's the stunt man as easily. That guy must have been made of rubber the way he leaped, flew, sprung and crashed about this episode! Even Jojo had a double at least once: in the opening scene when he's chucked over a table into the wall. Other points I always look for were sparsely represented: Starsky walks (and dives) over Hutch's bonnet, one of those things they always do to each other's cars, and there were a few references, though mainly thrown in at the end. Opening the episode Starsky grumbles about all the sports he's missing as he has to work on a Saturday; another time Hutch calls him a 'Man of Steel' (a Superman reference even then, I think), and Starsky compares one of Earl's magnificent vehicles to the works of Leonardo ('and' da Vinci) and Rodin.

This is close to being one of the better entries this season, but it doesn't go far enough in examining the story's constituent parts, doesn't create proper characters as enemies and while full of the usual wit, gags and fun, it doesn't necessarily sit so well with the subject matter. Even though I have some nostalgia for this story as my probable first exposure to the series it doesn't make it across the line as one of those you must see. Sorry Earl.

**

Gemini

DVD, Smallville S7 (Gemini)

A Christmas episode full of love, joy and goodwill… is what this is not. It must be a Christmas episode, but although there's an overdose of hugging and irritating seasonal jingles, it's 'Smallville,' so what can you expect? Not the real Julian Luthor as it turns out! I should have guessed that Gabriel Grant, aka Lex' brother, was a cloned creation, not the real thing. Forget my comments in the previous review about the reappearance of Julian messing up all those episodes where Lex was influenced by that death, as it did all happen. Why did I not guess? It makes me even more convinced that Lana's going to turn out to be a clone, too, but before I start suspecting everyone of being a clone (really the entire series ended seasons ago and this is all playing out in a giant Lex-created fantasy world because he couldn't give it up), I'm sure the writers won't be going back to that well any time soon.

Saying that, Clark is back to his clone-like self as Bizarro, the creature that caused trouble in last season's finale and the opening to this one. In a way, I was glad it wasn't Clark because he was acting a bit out of character - he returns from the Fortress to say he wants to join Lana in her fight against Lex, to make sure he's locked up, while also giving up on ever finding Kara. The series isn't the best written I've ever followed so I expect this kind of weak plotting and seemingly out of character behaviour - at least this time it was part of the story and not a plotting flaw. There were still plenty of those. Why go to the trouble of planting a bomb on Chloe, locking her in a lift shaft and then not having an immediate detonation when it was activated? Maybe the clone guy thought he'd need a minute to get clear of the building or the vicinity of the lift, but it's one of those things there to service the plot and not logic. For that matter where did the guy get all this stuff and how could he have access to the Planet so intimately that he could foul up a lift with people inside, set up a cordon so no one went near it and found a space from which he could monitor everything? And why couldn't anyone hear Chloe and Jimmy in the lift shaft? In one of those things sound travels to every floor!

What should have been a spectacular sequence of superspeed rescue didn't have the impressive quality these set-pieces need to wow. I thought at first Clark was actually flying (and in retrospect, he probably was since it was his double who was seen to, previously), instead of leaping up the inside of the Daily Planet, but it was the little hop over the bannister at the top that lost it reality points - even if he'd judged the distance perfectly, it didn't look as though he'd leaped up from a long way down. Did Jimmy not notice that the bomb was no longer there when the lift doors opened? Did he not think what a miracle it was, and then remember that it was Clark Chloe had called? Did Bizarro take Clark's phone? It was all a bit stupid and daft (though for once it's not Lois who's being dim) - that they were even locked in a lift together was so uninventive. Whenever two characters have problems, shut them in a life or death room and let them open up.

It was a good thing Chloe told Jimmy she was a meteor freak, as she put it, so that was another development on the 'tick' side of things. I began to wonder if she'd mastered the negative side effects of slumping unconscious as she did when she saved Lois' life, but it was only a scratch she was healing this time so the pain wasn't anywhere near as intense. I was so glad she didn't have to cry on Jimmy's finger to make it all better! I see that they were going for a humorous style for the lift moments, what with the perpetual tinkly Christmas music and the awkwardness, and of course the doors opening to the party. So there was some feeling of Christmas in the episode beyond tacky decorations and pretty lights. Gabriel (!) even gets in a mention of God and free will so it must have been Christmas! They wouldn't broach such things normally.

Regarding the mysterious clone man, Adrian, he looked right away as if he was a younger actor with extensive makeup to look older, and when we learn he was an aged version of Gabriel/Julian, I assumed it must be Michael Cassidy playing dual roles. This would fit with a few shots where they looked like they were lining up their eye-lines to try and make it look real, but with all that he didn't sound like the same guy. It must have been, and with that knowledge I appreciated the detail in the makeup, but it's always the bright eyes of youth and the subtly higher pitch of voice that gives it away. It was a typical story of the series, with a loon (or apparent loon) coercing or affecting the characters into a course of action they wouldn't normally take - I'm sure he wouldn't have been able to see through the camera on Lois' broach when she had the gun up as her arms were obscuring it.

I liked the references to Milton Fine, and that Lex and Julian have a fencing match in the mansion. I always think these activities should be done in a much bigger room at the mansion instead of hugging those same sets. It's also true that we've seen better swordplay in the past, but that would be niggling. The woman left in a weird state by the metallic fluid was called Casey Brock and I was half expecting Venom to show up until I nixed the idea, knowing that character is a Marvel property and one a DC series was never going to be allowed to use. But black goo from space and a host by the name of Brock? A tribute, perhaps. Turns out (I guess) that it was Bizarro again, which doesn't fill me with joy, Christmas or otherwise. Evil Clark has been done to death. And that explosion was very weak. And now Lex has bought the Planet (with a big 'P,' not a small one!). Plus mushy moments galore? How many bad ideas can they squeeze into one story?

**

All Good Things…

DVD, TNG S7 (All Good Things…)

It's difficult to know what to say when you've watched such a moment in TV history repeated for your viewing pleasure. This was one of the few episodes of the series I saw in the 90s and I believe it may have been the first-run terrestrial UK transmission on BBC2, so although I didn't have the nostalgia at the time, I have it now in spades, and it has only deepened over the years as I became acquainted with the series I knew least - because I was a 'DS Niner' and a viewer of 'Voyager' so for me they will always be the definitive embodiment of what I want from 'Star Trek'. I knew 'The Original Series' well, that being my first exposure in the early 90s, but 'TNG' was always the one I knew about but didn't really watch. Until the 'Noughties' when it was repeated ad infinitum (pretty much, though such a broad description should perhaps be honed to a precise sentiment after watching such a time-specific episode! - I'm beginning to sound like Professor Data), and then I began to buy the DVDs in the mid-to-late noughties, and finding myself now in the position of having watched the series from beginning to end for the first time on DVD, and for the first time seeing every episode in its right and proper place. So reaching the end has the same bittersweetness as coming to the end of those other Trek series' I watched on DVD.

Endings are always sad, even when they end happily with old (or potential) grudges avoided, barriers crossed and a fresh sense of optimism seen through a prism of the Roddenberry musings on hope for the future. Maybe that hope grows dimmer in reality, but Trek shines out even brighter because of that. This is one such happy ending though still rimmed with a sadness because no longer would we see these people week after week, episode after episode. 'TNG' is the Trek that had the most endings: here we see the closing of a seven year series, but it's not a conclusion, the story could have gone on as long as they lived. In a way it did: it progressed to the film series and with 'Generations' there was the likeness of a second ending, but yet again it was like a new beginning, a new style and design and feel as it took to the big screen again. With 'Insurrection' there was a feeling of closure and that film ended with the cast all standing together and beaming up for what might have been a final time. I won't go off on a rant about how they should have continued making films every two years and how they lost momentum and understanding, and instead point out that their last film came a good four years later and that proved to be the last ending of all.

'All Good Things…' is most likely the ending people remember. The series had been a TV legend, eclipsing its predecessor in popularity and it goes out on a high. It doesn't reach the level of the 'DS9' finale, but its aims and goals and future were different to its successor. Because this series had been mainly episodic, and though greater continuity and arcs had become part of its mix it was all about the next adventure from week to week. There wasn't really any deep stuff to tie up or stories to be resolved, unless you count where the characters were in their lives. One of the few aspects of the finale, apart from it proving not to have happened, is that Worf and Deanna are much closer than ever before (much like the odd opening for 'What You Leave Behind,' the 'DS9' finale, with Bashir and Ezri), which leaves us wondering exactly what happened between here and 'Generations' that pushed the reset button, as there's no indication of the pairing in that film. Indeed, as Admiral Riker noted, he thought more and more of her as the years passed. Worf then moved to DS9 so there was never any follow-up to such a late development, another parallel with the end of a Trek series, as seen with Seven and Chakotay on 'Voyager'.

It's hardly something that detracts from the episode, but it's worth pointing out the state of play. But this episode is really about the characters. It may seem to be a Brannon Braga special, full of time travel and strange people shouting, but it's a lens through which we can examine the series and where the characters went. You can take Q's closing statement about the trial never ending and this all being a test to see if humanity (read: Picard) was worthy of their place in the universe and whether they could work out a paradox and open their minds to the possibility of space (something that has decreased over the years I must admit, with regards to the writing of the last series'), as it is almost a paradox in itself - Q seems to be saying that their exploration is their fault because they cause the anti-time anomaly, yet they enter it and die and it's the understanding of it being a paradox that means they were worthy. So 'explore yourself, not physical space' is the message, is it? As I say, you can read it as you like, it's sufficiently vague.

If you leave the ambiguous message aside you can see that this is indeed a celebration and a retrospective on the series and more specifically the people that inhabited its world for so many years. If you can remember all the references this episode has to offer you are probably an android yourself, but there are so many delightful callbacks and mentions thrown in, not to mention the magnificence of returning to the very first episode, even seeing things we hadn't seen from that episode! Certain details weren't precisely accurate: Worf's head isn't as bulging and lacking in topography, though he does wear the old sash; Denise Crosby can't hide a slightly older look to her face, though it's only obvious in the close-ups; and Riker… As soon as I saw the return to the early days I wondered who was to be shown as their younger selves. When you see Picard enter the cargo bay with all those crew members standing to attention my guess is they aren't sucking in their stomachs just for the sake of smartness! Troi, Data, Tasha, even O'Brien carry if off and make us believe we're back before no one had gone before.

I knew Riker wasn't going to be shown because for all Jonathan Frakes' greatness as an actor, he had become great in other ways too (as future Geordi says, time's been good to him in lots of places, and I read it as an admission of filling out the uniform), so it was an absolutely fantastic moment when young Riker appears on Picard's screen for a brief conversation, and his absence from the ship was true to the story. I don't know what episode the clip was taken from, maybe even the pilot, but high praise goes to whoever pulled that out of the hat! We weren't treated to a red-haired Dr. Crusher, also true to the pilot (or even the ghost of Pulaski haunting the decks of time), but those uniforms, Data's more childlike manner and the feeling of a new crew about to set out together brings the nostalgia rushing back, more so when you've seen all the episodes. We get a glimpse of how they grew as people. Not much you might suggest - but for her disappearing 'exotic' accent, Troi is the same person (less emotional - this wasn't a parody of the early episodes, so the portrayals are softened with seven years of hindsight); Data's more android but also more human at the same time. Picard is incredibly relaxed compared with his initial stiffness; Riker's become a wise leader, Worf a steadfast warrior walking the line between cultures; Geordi is, again, much the same, though he's also relaxed into himself. Crusher has gained new skills and insight into command.

With that we also see into the future, or the possible future that was averted. Data moved to Cambridge to be a Professor (the only time we saw any part of England in the 24th Century?), Beverly became a Picard, but separated, so the perfect marriage was not to be for them, though her older performance was the best of the episode in my opinion, the makeup, voice and mannerisms so realistic. She's gained her own command so we get to see a ship of the future, all shiny newness and different sounds and comfier chairs, though they must have changed the warp scale by then as they go to warp 13, and unless they've found a way to be in all places at once, they aren't going that 'fast' if such a word could cover infinite velocity! But there are significant advances: the new 'D' has a cloak and can beam an entire crew off in one go. At the same time the Pasteur looks like the design for the very old Daedalus-class vessels, said to be in operation in the 22nd Century, so there's even an out-of-universe nod back to the origins of it all, fittingly part of the future timeline for a story about time operating backwards. This is a future where the Klingons are once again warmongers, the Romulans subjugated by them, and weirdly this isn't too farfetched for the real timeline, even up to the latest film which told us Romulus had been wiped out. It doesn't take much imagination to guess the Klingons would have seized the opportunity for victory over their lifelong enemies.

I love the way Trek can slot together, even the smallest details unlooked for apparently form a bridge, like magnets drawn inexorably towards each other. It's why changing to a new timeline as the focus was met with such widespread resistance in reaction to the 2009 film and why we'd all like to see a continuation of the true line, unbroken by the foibles of Hollywood money-making. But that's another rant, and I stray from the point: there are things in this episode which would spread outward to be picked up by others, later. The biggest being the vision of the future first portrayed here. We'd seen so many alternates and parallel versions, but the style of this future was used several times on subsequent Treks, both 'DS9' and 'Voyager' with the uniforms and combadges helping to make for a cohesive sense that this was the true destiny of Starfleet's path, even if it wasn't for the events that might have shaped the character's lives.

The one thing that stood out most to me in this whole episode was the real passage of time. I could not have predicted, and certainly didn't recall that the time stream Picard visits in the future was twenty-five years after the series. I never planned to be watching it on the 25th Anniversary year, or even so close to the original September air date of the pilot. I know, technically the future portions are 25 years + 7 from its beginning, but just the number twenty-five coming up like that led me to reflect on what has happened to the actors as they are now practically the age they acted. Gates McFadden looks better in real life than her character did, but that may be down to the stern Captain's style she had about her. Most of the actors still look good for their age, though Levar Burton still hasn't got eye implants (whoops, confusing actors and characters again - but it was an amazing link to 'First Contact' that Geordi looked to have some kind of high-tech eyes instead of his VISOR), and most importantly they still seem like that family they pretended to be on screen.

The ending of the episode is one of the highlights of the series, though it is but a game of cards. It symbolises the equality and care they had for each other and that seemingly was there in real life. You also sense moments of love welling up as they realise this is their last episode. They were probably tired after a long season, and went straight into making the first film, but nothing could disguise that there was a finality about the performances, a warmth between characters that was almost tangible. That end scene has it. The moment Beverly walks into Picard's Ready Room and replicates some hot milk, chatting to him as she leans on his desk, had it all over and made me wish they'd had more of that in the films. I think there was a similar scene in 'Nemesis' but I can't remember if it was in the film or a deleted scene - most likely, as any family moments were cut as short as possible to the detriment of the whole. That's not the case with this episode. This was made with love and a sure hand. The story's a bit messy in its way, but time travel always has that to it. It isn't quite the perfect send-off for the ship and crew, taking on some adversary in a life and death struggle (the template for each of the film adventures), instead it's one of the mysteries that they occasionally explored, but what else could it have been? A story where they sat round reminiscing about past adventures? Ugh! Imagine 'Shades of Grey' times two! We were indeed spared an ill fate!

A series cannot be easily quantified and explored in one review, and the episode that marks its passing cannot easily be put in context. It's enough to say that this episode was very good and works very well as the first last time. Perhaps 'A Generation's First Conclusion Began…' until the future. Its legacy was stupendous, the golden era of Trek, surfing the wave of this moment, but while watching this you're not thinking about what was to come for the characters. It's neatly summed up when they talk about the possible futures that await and say how it will now be different, as much the writers gearing up for their new film and the possibilities that came with it. No, you're thinking about what had been and what good feelings you've had with these people over so many episodes.

I must mention a few things that stuck out to me in the episode before I close out the light and shut down the Holodeck of entertainment that was 'TNG.' It's not exactly the series' greatest hits, but the references are there to serve the story and remind where it came from. There's very little wrong with the production as a blowout feature-length finale - it even has ships exploding and a three-nacelled Enterprise-D flying through the fire, which for the series that celebrated the slow, the cerebral and the thoughtful was an achievement. It wasn't like they didn't have the time, of course, with the episode being double the usual length. I'd actually admit that some moments drag a little when you know the solution, but we're soon taken to another outpouring of joy as Picard meets Tasha or sees the 'D' for the 'first' time (though they take mere seconds to watch in awe, compared to the more stately 'Motion Picture' flyby of the original Enterprise), or Picard irascibly (and bearded, like a mad McCoy - am I sensing some love for 'The Motion Picture' here or is it my imagination?) talking up Worf's great qualities to force him to allow them through to the Neutral Zone. Picard of the future was more like Picard of the first season: superbly irascible, tenacious and impatient, and what's more, his present self got to wander the ship in Gandalf's gown, so he did it all! There are so many moments, big and little that bring it all home to you about what the history of all this means.

Saying that, it might have been better not to have shown the credits for Q, Tasha Yar and O'Brien in the opening as they would have been incredible surprises seeing it for the first time with no prior knowledge. These days that's hard - impossible if people actively want to know, and keeping surprises on TV and in film is a thankless task, but at the same time I can see why, at the time, they wanted people to have their credit and prepare us for their appearance, with really only Guinan's presence missed (made up for in the first film). Tasha has a lot more to do than I remembered, as does O'Brien, fresh from Season 2 of 'DS9,' but still the moon-faced, simple, dependable man that went from a bit-part in the pilot to a full-fledged character on his own series. I recognised small links that probably had nothing to do with referring back to this episode, but they were there anyway: in 'DS9' Sisko walks into the same trap Worf does about saying the right thing to his girlfriend. When he and Deanna exit the Holodeck, he says it was stimulating, as if the beautiful beachfront walk was a bracing hike for a warrior, Deanna questioning his choice of words. So he adds that it was 'very' stimulating. A bit like Sisko when he says it's 'a big step' and his friends joke that at least he didn't say it was a 'very' big step. There's also Q talking about giving Picard the answer to his temporal crisis, A to B to C, just as later, Captain Braxton of the future says something very similar regarding time to Janeway on 'Voyager'.

Another thing Q says is that he judges Picard and his crew to have squandered the last seven years. If you were being harsh you could say that about 'Voyager,' and if you were being a lot less harsh you could say it about 'Enterprise,' but 'TNG'? No, it grew, and though greater things grew out of it, it was the testbed for the 24th Century, the golden flower which sparkled. Some petals dropped off here and there, but it was a new and unique organism that progressed and learned and made the mistakes so that 'DS9' didn't have to, and could take what they came up with and run with it. But this is 'TNG's time in the spotlight, and the more I see it, the more it grows on me. It has aged now, just as its stars have, and has even got as far as being re-released with updated effects as the Blu-Rays begin to come out. It is as 'TOS' was to this series when it began and so it can be taken with that perspective. What better praise can be given than to say that it ended well?

****

Similitude

DVD, Enterprise S3 (Similitude)

Even when you know the unfolding story ahead, you can't fail to be saddened by the sight of Trip lying dead in a photon tube, and if you don't know what lies in front (or behind, in time terms), it's a suitably mysterious, sci-fi way to begin, and having seen the series finale it brings to mind Trip's ultimate fate. I should say I don't think of this as one of the best episodes of the series like some do, but it does rank up there with the better entries in Season 3. Cloning and the ethics of such things have been dealt with many times before, but what makes this different is that this is 'Enterprise,' the series not known for subtlety and thought-provoking stories, and that it takes an unrelenting point of view from Captain Archer because it comes in the middle of the only serialised season of Trek. Had it been written in Season 2 or 4 it might have been less controversial because Archer might not have been so driven. But he is driven to murder if you watch the story, although it becomes voluntary euthanasia. Archer was not the first captain to face such a dilemma, but he had the same reasoning as Janeway did in 'Tuvix.' In that, she ended Tuvix' life to bring back her two crewmen, against his will. In this, Archer is about to do the same for different stakes: he needs to save Earth.

We've already seen Archer breaching his morals, or coming very close to it, stretching the boundaries to ensure success of the mission. Because he needs Trip to get out of the field of metallic particles. And he needs to get out not only to save the ship, but to carry out his uncompromising mission to destroy the Xindi weapon. It becomes easier for him because Sim, the duplicate of Trip, also has the engineer's memories and values and sees that it's better to do what he can for someone else than to live out his remaining time, no matter how short, selfishly for his own pleasure. This doesn't rob the episode of controversy, but it does give it a bittersweet ending and keeps Archer from stepping over the line… so far.

It's so unlike the usual style of episodes the series did, and feels much more like the 24th Century series' and the difficult minefield of social issues that were sometimes addressed, so it must have been written by an old hand like Braga or Berman, right? Well, there's an old hand at the tiller in Levar Burton as Director, but it's new hand Manny Coto that claims credit for writing this one in a move that shows us the ability and vision he had for the series. He was the safe pair of hands to inherit the last Trek series before it died and it's so sad that he wasn't permitted to carry out his vision to absolute fulfilment. Nevertheless, it's episodes like this that foreshadowed his importance in improving the series and for that we should be grateful. If only they could get him to do the next 'Star Trek' series!

Technically, as well as narratively, the episode succeeds, with some very different visuals for Enterprise as magnetic space particles are attracted to the ship when, let's be honest, Trip shoots them into this region of space after tinkering with the engines. He has a spectacular injury scene in which he flies from the top of the engine (I love it whenever Trip actually climbs around the engine as it's so much more hands-on than the other series'), smacks into a side rail and slams to the floor amid explosions and debris, but it is his fault. He does save the ship in that moment so we can forgive him. Seeing all those particles sweep through the air, attracted to the hull is a beautiful effect, and we even have the two shuttlepods towing Enterprise. It was a close-run thing, but Travis almost had his big scene stolen, and even though Sim isn't allowed to go, Reed bizarrely appears to be the one in control of the mission when it clearly should have been coordinated by their best pilot, Travis. It was a no-brainer that Travis would be one of the pilots, but even then it seems like he's just been tossed a bone rather than it being his right! It's good that through all the lonely scenes Travis usually has on the bridge or at the cockpit in various episodes, at least he doesn't try to overact and draw attention from the camera.

The music is both beautiful and deathly sad throughout the episode and is a score I would love to hear in full without effects or dialogue as it's one of the best on the series. Generally the themes have been much more militaristic this season, in keeping with the new mood and mission, so this gentle, but stirring score excelled itself. Again, the idea of a fast-ageing baby had been done before - Odo has to deal with a Jem'Hadar infant in 'The Abandoned.' This time it's much more about the ethics and the necessity for speed, than dealing with the youth. Even so there are some nice moments with the child growing up to be Trip and they did a good job of finding young actors that you believed as Trip at different ages. The best was the young boy whom Archer has some serious talks with, the third iteration (after the baby and the very young boy), who looked, sounded and felt like Trip, and dealt with some heavy stuff in dialogue. I loved the thing with the remote-controlled ship from Archer's childhood and all that goes on in those scenes.

There were some things that didn't work quite so well, but they never detracted or distracted from the meat of the story. One of the main things I found myself wondering was why they needed Trip so desperately. I know he was the key person who'd come up with the engine modifications, and of course he's a friend and a great asset to the mission, but surely he has engineering staff that he confides in and uses. O'Brien always had underlings he was teaching what to do, and B'Elanna too, so it's something missing from this series that we don't get a feeling of camaraderie from the engineering crew. It seemed to come out of the blue that Phlox suddenly needed to grow another Trip to save the original. At least it keeps you guessing as to which one will die by the end, and although I'd seen it before I couldn't remember if they replaced him with the slightly alternate guy (like Harry Kim or O'Brien), or not.

There was also the business with T'Pol: I know she's working on the engines, and that's her priority, but it niggled a bit that it should be Reed that told Archer what's going on with the particles. T'Pol's the Science Officer, that's her job! As ever, I was also less than happy with T'Pol's comfort with physical contact. It's happened a lot this season with the neuropressure sessions, but now she even kisses Sim on the lips. I get that it was the nice thing to do to a condemned man and that she was so affected… but, wait! She shouldn't be showing she's affected… Grrr, the Vulcans undermined as a race once again! It's only my preference for and annoyance about the subversion of the true Vulcan ways, but fortunately it didn't take me out of the episode.

In all it's a touching episode. It may not be that original, but for the series it was one of its most affecting episodes, something that was usually passed over in exchange for fights and forehead aliens, action and angst. It's good that they could slow down a little (the crew were forced to!), and explore. Not space, but issues, and issues that could one day come up for real if technology and science continues at its current pace. I still believe it's wrong to take a life under any circumstances, even when it's given willingly, but for the sake of this situation it played out with enough nuances that is was a satisfying ending. Though even then I would have liked to see the argument rage more instead of Sim giving himself up. Archer's hands are clean, but for how long can he keep them that way when Earth is at stake, and the very future of the Federation yet to be?

***

The Omaha Tiger

 DVD, Starsky & Hutch S1 (The Omaha Tiger)

Another of those that begins well, ends well, even has some good bits in between, but never quite satisfies as the sum of its parts. They showed how to do a good wrestling episode in the fourth season with 'The Golden Angel' which played to the theatricality of it all rather than the behind the scenes business side. People crawling around under chairs (I pity the actors in that scene as it must have been a real wrestling auditorium with the real mess of a thousand fights under the spectator's seats), or talking in the offices rather than a full house of screaming fanatics cheering and booing. We never really got to see the Omaha Tiger fight in the ring, the best we get is his bout with Hutch, so I wonder if he was a real wrestler or an actor? I think it was new information that Hutch had been a college champion and had wrestled for three years, but it's fun seeing the age-old argument between those that think wrestling's a phoney, over-the-top spectacle, and those that consider it imaginative, impressive art, played out between S&H. That could have been turned into a proper running joke, but it only runs until Hutch matches up with the Tiger.

There's little familiar territory to latch onto with an episode that takes place mainly indoors and mainly on foot. That's probably the reason for the car chase that opens the episode, as it otherwise had no bearing on the story. Like last episode there's good shooting of the scene with in-car views of the pursuit, and a feeling of the over-the-top screeching of brakes and desperation of a criminal. Was he on something? His eyes were so wide and staring, but it could have been fear rather than anything drug-related. But there aren't the pop culture references usually scattered around, nor much of the Torino, and as for Dobey all he warrants is a couple of mentions (his former police department buddy Mac asks S&H if he's still putting on weight, which is a continuing theme in the overall season; and later he's said to be in a meeting and thus too busy to talk to his men), but at least Huggy gets his due.

Actually he gets more than his due as the joke about the racing mice runs it course and then they start talking about it again! There's also the scene right after where S&H are trapped in an apparently airtight room which is padded out beyond belief, but these scenes don't really drag because you sense they're leading up to a gag, even if it takes its time getting there! The long-windedness of much of the story is what prevents it from being an evenly good episode to watch, but it still has enough good bits scattered about to keep it watchable. The odd characters this week are limited to Terrible Tessie the wrestler latching onto Starsky (he always attracts the weird ones), but I enjoyed how it plays out, with Richard Kiel (of Jaws in James Bond fame) making it more fun, especially the end scene which is another genuinely funny moment: Starsky lifted off the ground in a bear hug by the great man as a sign of friendship for 'helping' him and Tess decide to marry, and the only way down is to fulfil an old Russian tradition of kissing both cheeks!

The incarceration of S&H by the bad guys working for Boyce (I think… there are a lot of names and not a great deal of exposure to many of the characters so you're fighting a little to keep in mind who's who), is one of those scenes that sums up the series and the partners and would be used in future seasons in the credits: Starsky charges the door, smashing right through it with a trolley-load of ballast, then an explosion throws him at Hutch, who promptly shrugs him off leading Starsky to look mildly hurt at the brush off! The claustrophobic filming of that scene in De Pew's Meat Plant, with the camera hovering behind pipes like the latter day shaky-cam action films we get, looked as if we were watching them from the bad guys' point of view, but there was no suspense as we knew the baddies were outside. It also seemed like they could have simply banged on the door they'd just come through where Hug was staging his mice racing, but they don't think of that. It was unclear where the explosion came from - it could have been something to do with Starsky's violent door rush, but it's not explained.

One of the bad guys, the chunky, fair-haired man, I'm sure was in another episode, though I couldn't remember which. The shootout at the end worked fine, though the baddies are awful shots and seem unable to see, even with the floodlights shining on S&H! I also appreciated the Tiger rushing out to help S&H by grabbing Carl Boyce, and S&H dealing with the men in the ring (and another previously seen trope is one of them having trouble with their opponent while the other watches). But there was a lot of missing drama in the writing: Boyce is this commanding guy that's in control of Ellen Forbes, though she owns the wrestling company. There's a definite tension when S&H first question them, and he shows who's boss by shouting at the cleaners in front of them. It's also mentioned that Eddie, The Tiger has great love and respect for Miss Forbes (as Boyce calls her, or Mrs. Forbes as Hutch calls her during the later questioning and Starsky calls her in the initial meeting!) and knows Boyce is a bad sort, but doesn't wish to upset the applecart when he's on the way to big money, so there's a measure of revenge for him when he gets his hands on Boyce. But none of it's played up and if you think back, Eddie is only there to be a suspect and the story really wasn't centred around him.

The other point to look out for is Mac Johnson and the nostalgic feelings emanating from him, but again, aside from talking about how he used to be on the beat and is a friend of Dobey's that broke him on his beat, we don't learn enough about him to care that he's dead. If we'd had Dobey reminiscing that could have been a good scene, so was Bernie Hamilton ill or otherwise unavailable at this time in the season? I suppose the only other theme that's come up before is people saying how S&H don't look like cops. This time Hutch has a reply: "we believe in understatement." If only the same couldn't have been said about the drama of the story - even with the bit of wrestling glamour that comes across, this doesn't have the strength to make it to a three-count. And you're out!

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