This is another of those episodes I enjoy, even after many times through. It has very good pacing throughout, even if it gets a little drawn out toward the end, and it has good, juicy, full parts for all the characters. Things move along and the plot doesn't really stall out anywhere along the way. That can't be said for all shows. And did you notice there were no guest stars this week? Instead they let all the regular players step up and make nice strong contributions. Even the minor characters like Ortiz and O'Neill get more screen time than usual, and they take excellent advantage of that. As far as the plot itself, let's just say that it's pretty inevitable that they'd try to tackle the Bermuda Triangle at some point. It is, after all, one of the more storied places in the oceans. But what I like about their treatment of the triangle is that they nicely mix the superstition and lore with science and just plain bad luck. Yes, sailors are a superstitious bunch (why do you think the Bermuda Triangle has become so popular?), so they're naturally going to feel a little spooked being in the area, but between the sinkholes and the iron locomotive, the writers provide enough fodder to explain much of the charm of the area. Finally, I think the lightning strike is an excellent plot device. It throws a nice monkey wrench into things on the ship, causes them to rely on old-fashioned methods rather than technology, and it gives some emotional grist and tension to the story.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY:
Karstification - Levin's explanation on karstification is a very nice background into the topic without going into too much detail. It's also a nice background for the events of the episode and sets up some future events at the same time. It's also a pretty interesting topic, if you ask me. I had no idea about sinkholes (past their existence, maybe) before this show. And I learned a new word to add to my vocabulary to boot. What can be better than that, I ask you?
Animation - OK, this has to be said: the animation toward the end is terrible! The pictures of seaQuest 'falling' into the sinkhole are so stupid it's laughable. I can maybe understand using it for illustration purposes to explain what you expect to happen, but real time you'd never get animation like that. And it's not even good.
CHARACTERS:
OK, let's start with the obvious lifeboat. The writers tried to put a varied group of characters in the lifeboat, hoping to get some good bonding scenes. They only sort of succeeded. When you get down to it, we do learn a bit about Krieg and maybe Ford, and even Kristin to a degree. But by far, we learn the least about Lucas. We already know he's struggling with fitting in among adults, and what a surprise -- he gets scared in a situation that would make most people panic. About all we do learn about him is that he really is an idiot sometimes. So what do we learn about the others then? Well, we discover that Ben really is quite a creative thinker. He comes up with at least two good ideas in a pretty short time. We find that Ford is a little obsessive about being an officer, and can even go a little overboard with that role sometimes. And we know now that not only does Kristin not get along well with Ben (though that's an easily remedied situation), but she knows a thing or two about sailing. A pure scientist wouldn't know about knot-tying.
Bridger really impressed me in this episode with his creative problem solving. From using the WSKR as a power source, to the rotating stations, to the scene with the carpenter's level (which I still do not fully understand), he shows the whole spectrum, from his grasp of old-fashioned sailing to his technological prowess.
And on a similar note, I enjoy the Bridger/Crocker dynamic here. Obviously, the two men have known each other for a number of years and served together before. Two (or even arguably three) of Bridger's main confidants on the ship are stuck in the middle of a hurricane at the moment, so it's Crocker's turn to step up. I don't think most chiefs would have a problem giving advice, though they would certainly couch it more as an opinion than advice. Chiefs are very smart people, with a lot of knowledge, but they also have respect for authority, especially when it comes to a captain they've sailed with before. So I think it natural that Bridger would turn to Crocker for a little straightening out of his priorities. And in this case, I also think Crocker is the best person to do so.
There is excellent coordination among the folks on the bridge, especially after they lose power. I liken it to a football team. Early on, you're breaking in new players and still getting the plays down. By mid-season, your chemistry starts to kick in (if it even exists) and the team begins to gel into one solid group, so that by the time you hit post-season (or a bowl game in the case of college), you're no longer individuals, but rather one team. The crew of a ship is similar, and by this point in the cruise they should be starting to work together as a team and begin to anticipate each other's thoughts and actions. And I see that here, which is good. It means Bridger is doing his job as leader of the team.
Tim O'Neill:
O'Neill is another of those characters who is lucky just to get screen time, let alone character development. Rarely do most people familiar with seaQuest mention him without attaching 'and Ortiz' to the end of his name. I can count on one hand the number of times he gets to do much more than sit on the bridge and translate communications into other languages. That's too bad, because I think he has the potential to be so much more interesting. He's always struck me as a bit of a wallflower, maybe it's just the nerd impression he gives off. But you can tell that he's a fairly competent officer, and a compassionate one as well. The scene where he and Ortiz are talking amongst themselves on the bridge and he says he keeps getting distracted by the thought of the lost kids...paired with one or two scenes from "Such Great Patience," these make up the bulk of what I see as the essence of O'Neill. What I mean by that is that when you say O'Neill, I think of him in terms of those scenes. It's just a small scene, but it tells you volumes about the character. I just wish we had been treated to more scenes like that for both O'Neill and Ortiz. (See what I mean?)
QUICK QUESTIONS, QUERIES, QUANDRIES AND COMMENTS:
It's quite interesting that a surface storm like a hurricane can impact a sub. Yet another example of this show turning conventional wisdom on its ear.
OK, real quick -- the Sargasso Sea. Based on my research, it indeed doesn't have fish, but it does have small crabs, shrimp and octopi, mostly close to the surface where they can stay attached to the floating seaweed. For a map to locate it, go here.
Where did Krieg's Florida State t-shirt come from? Those guys already wear a turtleneck under their jumpsuits. You're going to tell me he had a t-shirt on under that as well? I'd think that would get a little warm.
I absolutely love Crocker's sea shanty. Yet again, he goes on to show us a link between the old days of sailing ships and the modern Navy.
That knot-tying scene is just great. I guess these guys weren't Boy Scouts. Both a Fisherman's Bend and a Bowline are not uncommon knots.
The iron locomotive on the bottom of the sea is a nice, creative way to explain the navigational errors on the ship. Somebody had their thinking cap on with that one.
I'm impressed Ford didn't lose the camera when he was washed over the side by the wave. It would have been very easy to drop it.
Only Ben could fall asleep in a raft lost in a hurricane.
BOB BALLARD MOMENT:
Sinkholes are common off of Florida, in fact a (more or less) recent one formed near Tampa Bay. One of Woods Hole's submersibles, Alvin (of Titanic fame), explored on in 1500 feet of water near the Florida keys and even went in several hundred feet before returning to the surface.
