This is such a light-hearted diversion that I can't help but love it. Especially since it has one of my favorite scenes in it, namely the bridge toward the end where Westphalen just takes charge of the situation. Loved it the first time through, still love it the thousandth time through. And even better is that they don't make things too overly cheesy and too trivial. There are still some serious undertones and thoughtful scenes in there. And let's face it, anytime a show demonstrates a concerted effort at continuity and tries to follow-through with themes introduced in earlier shows, it's a good thing. I just wish they'd been a little more contientious about that continuity. If you'll recall the end of the "The Devil's Window," Kristin turns down the opportunity to watch the Magma Buoy being launched. Yet she shows up in the recreation at the beginning of this episode. An A for effort, but a C for the actual output there.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY:
Forming a Volcano - I know we're supposed to suspend our disbelief when watching TV shows like this, but that volcano formation just bugs me. I know when volcanoes erupt underwater, they can form new islands. But I have a hard time believing that formation takes place so quickly. That's not exactly a shallow pond they're in. Or maybe it is, but it doesn't look like it. I'm also not sure the poor slobs on Monito are quite out of danger just yet. You're gonna tell me all the lava comes out of the vent Kristin's torpedoes create and none of it comes out on Monito? Even seaQuest must be in some danger. That much lava and that water has got to be pretty darn hot.
CHARACTERS:
We're back to good guest character development, and it all happens in only a couple scenes. I do have to say, though, that Mack is one unstable guy. I'm not sure he could survive in society anymore. He's been on that island way too long.
Seems like a quick turnaround, but Ford seems to have mellowed quite a bit on the subject of Krieg. He doesn't even blink at letting Krieg man the base camp with his shirt off.
I can tell Crocker is an MP. When Ford asks for advice, Crocker immediately starts talking about shooting them rather than the moral and Infosec issues involved. I don't care if that's the sort of advice Ford wanted from Crocker, that's still a very telling reaction.
There's an interesting contrast in how Crocker and Ortiz react to Westphalen taking charge of the situation as opposed to Phillips' reaction. Both Crocker and Ortiz are enlisted sailors, trained to blindly follow the orders of superior officers (and civilians are generally considered superiors); Phillips, on the other hand, is an officer, and while following orders is the general rule, there is a little more emphasis put on thinking for yourself, especially in morally or ethically grey areas. Phillips questions Westphalen at the start, and only after she explains what she's trying to do does he follow her orders. Crocker and Ortiz, conversely, more or less just do what she says without pause, though Crocker is a little bit hesitant.
Some excellent B/W fodder this week, and I don't mean just the hug (even though that is a great scene and his hands are all over her throughout it). I'm especially intrigued by the way Kristin is ignoring and shutting out Noyce, but as soon as Bridger comes into the picture, she starts responding to him. Granted, she probably realizes he'll understand and even agree with her while Noyce never will, but I'd like to think there's some underlying things going on there as well.
Dr. Raleigh Young:
There are moments when Raleigh Young drives me nuts, and times when I enjoy him. All in all, I'd have to say Dr. Young is a fun character. Even though he makes two separate appearances, he's not overly fleshed-out, but rather remains kind of a caricature. He's exemplifies the workaholic and the overly dedicated scientist, and is usually used as a foil to other characters in the story. In "The Devil's Window," his insistence on his work counters Bridger's ignorance of his duties in favor of Darwin. He also allows a chance to bring in the discussion of whether Darwin could be called a crewmember, or even maybe sentient. Flash forward to today's episode. Here, his excitement over his success acts to temper the concern Westphalen shows for the treasure hunters on the island. And more importantly, he's able to be a parallel for Grant, the leader of those treasure hunters. It's an interesting confluence of two men's lifelong work. They're both fulfilling a long held dream, and both show a similar excitement over their successes. Yet at the same time, they are able to become serious about the situation when they need to. I'm not sure Ford would have been able to convince the quartet to leave the island had Raleigh not been there. He was able to get through to Grant and connect with him in a way no one else would have, simply because the two men are so similar.
QUICK QUESTIONS, QUERIES, QUANDRIES AND COMMENTS:
It took some searching, but I finally found Monito Island on a map. It's part of Puerto Rico, located 5 KM northwest of Mona Island (much easier to find on maps) between PR and the Dominican Republic. It's all of 500 meters by 300 meters, and was used by the US as a bombing target after WWII. It's pretty flat on top, but surrounded by 100-150 foot cliffs, and while access by boat is tough, it is possible at one point if the seas are calm. As for vegetation, it's mostly cacti, shrubs and stunted trees. While I hate (yeah, right) to debunk things on this show, it doesn't look much like the tropical locale they tried to portray. And as for being annexed by the Dominican Republic, I don't think that's likely since Puerto Rico (and hence the US) already claims possession.
And as for Stede Bonnet, I didn't do too much research, but he was a pretty well known pirate, though I didn't find any reference to treasure associated with him.
Yet another example of using Bridger's hologram as a sounding board, though it's also for information here.
I thought the scene with Crocker playing with Darwin was cute.
Back to the bridge toward the end -- who is the officer of the deck? There is always someone in charge of the bridge of a Navy ship. Always. It doesn't have to be (and usually isn't, I don't think) the commanding officer or XO, but there is always someone there. That's who would have proper authority to be firing those missiles.
Excuse me for being petty again, but not all the 'treasure' from a ship is going to be in one box. That's just ridiculous.
Crocker -- or at the very least Phillips -- should know that they don't need to fire all the missiles. Bridger should be complaining to Phillips, the Weapons Officer, about not doing his job right, not Kristin for ordering too many missiles.
And of course, my favorite line in the whole series: "Damn the torpedoes and full speed ahead." For trivia hounds, yes, that's Admiral Farragut's famous line.
BOB BALLARD MOMENT:
It was something having to do with predicting volcanoes erupting, but it got cut off at that point. Sorry.
