After the season's low point last week, we get the season's high point this week. This is without a doubt the best hour of TV this show ever produced. It has a strong plot that keeps moving forward with good pacing and several good twists and plot complications; it has good strong parts for every character involved; and perhaps most importantly, it has an excellent blending of space and sea, without compromising the science behind either one. I've watched this episode I don't know how many times, and even memorized half of it, and yet I still enjoy it every time -- that's the mark of a good story. It's a fabulously interesting and thoughtful plot twist that the alien is trying to communicate with Darwin. "This is very humbling," indeed. And the very first and very last scenes are such nice bookends to the episode. Both have the entire crew gathered together, giving each of them a chance to 'get in on the action,' so to speak; and even more so, both scenes kind of mirror each other -- first we find the ship, then what do we do with this knowledge. That's not to say that this episode was entirely without its faults. But compared to how much TPTB get right, the errors and missteps are minor.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY:
Earthquake Epicenter - How fascinating it must be from a purely scientific point of view to be able to be at the epicenter so soon after an earthquake. I myself have yet to experience one since moving to California, but I can see the scientific allure there. And especially underwater, too.
Exotic Viruses - It's logical to take precautions against exposing mankind to any alien viruses. As Westphalen comments, "we've got enough of our own, I think." Just look at what the early explorers and settlers did to the Native American population with European diseases.
Self-Defense Mechanism - This is a very nice plot device, not to mention a very likely complication that might be encountered in such a situation. Whether these aliens were peaceful explorers of the galaxy or not, I can't believe they'd be naive enough not to put some sort of protection into their ship. Think of it as their version of a car alarm.
Silicon Magnetics - I tried looking this up on the internet to see if it's based at all on fact. No dice. Half the links google came up with were to pages about this episode. Go figure. It sounds like a pretty cool idea. I don't see, on the face of it, anything majorly wrong with the premise. But I doubt it's something we'll be seeing anytime soon.
The Alien and its Ship - Over the years I've vacillated a lot on the topic of aliens and whether they're potentially out there somewhere. I think in the end I keep coming back to the conclusion that the universe is just too dang big that it would be naive of us to think that we're the most advanced things out there. I know the odds are, well, astronomically against finding life, but the universe is pretty far reaching. So let's for a minute assume that there are aliens out there somewhere. The alien we're introduced to here is just different enough to be plausible. Who knows what aliens will look like. The one thing I don't like, however, is the inherently human shape to the alien. Remember a couple weeks ago I warned you to keep in mind the definition Lucas gives of anthropomorphism? Well this is why. I think it's a mistake to assume that aliens will necessarily walk upright on two legs, have two arms, eyes, one head, etc. Just because life developed like that on this planet doesn't mean it will under the different circumstances of another planet. Take for example our eyes. We see in the 'visible' realm of the electromagnetic spectrum because the Earth's atmosphere only lets light through at these wavelengths. But that's mostly an aesthetic argument. Truth is, at one point or another in this episode, they discuss and/or answer many of the same questions I'd ask. How did the ship travel so far so fast? What was the reason they came to Earth? Are there more of them out there? Where in the universe are they from? All in all, they did an excellent job both with the design of the ship and alien, and their treatment of both during the episode.
CHARACTERS:
Usually I'm harping about characters developing and growing throughout an episode. But this week is different. They don't really grow so much as the characters are used as examples of the different reactions to the discovery of an alien ship. It's kind of like the myriad reactions represented in Signs, or Independence Day or Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Some people are very excited and exuberant about the fact that alien life exists. This is Krieg's role; he's the enthusiasm of everyone who has ever looked up at the stars and dreamed of finding life out there. For some people, the existence of aliens calls their religious beliefs into question, or conversely leads them to find religion. This is O'Neill, who questions how aliens fit into his whole belief system, a discussion I'm glad they took the time to bring into the picture. Even Bridger becomes very thoughtful about his place in the whole scheme of things; it's quite a revealing scene. Some people are just scared out of their mind by something so new and strange. Bring in Crocker, who despite all his military training is scared witless just looking at the alien ship. To still others, aliens are a threat and must be dealt with as such. This is where the discussion/argument that Ford and Keller have comes in. Both of them make excellent points. Any alien on that ship could be hostile and put both the seaQuest and the world in danger; but at the same time, any race advanced enough to move great distances through space is more than likely going to have just as advanced weapons, and we'd likely have no way to counter them, leading to diplomacy as the only recourse. It's really a fascinating quandary if you think about it. At any rate, the writers do a terrific job of looking at the different ways people might react to the same situation.
Scott Keller:
This show deals so much with space (especially next season -- pfft), that it makes sense to have a recurring character who is an expert of sorts in that area. We get such a nice background to Keller in "Better Than Martians," that they can bring him in here without having to do much. We already know of his passion for space, his intelligence, we have a loose idea of his family, and both his respect and his friendly rivalry with Bridger. And it's because he is an old friend of Bridger (like seemingly everyone on this show) that it makes sense that they would call him in as a consultant of sorts this time around. He's also familiar with the ship and her crew. His passion and knowledge are key assets that come into play in this episode. They need someone to lead the away team who has command experience and who is familiar enough with space technology to decipher anything they come across while exploring the ship. Bridger tells Krieg that his main function on the away team is to provide enthusiasm, but I think Keller is just as excited about getting to explore the ship. Perhaps he doesn't show it quite as much until they find the cockpit, but the awe is still there. I keep saying that the day I become jaded and no longer get excited watching a fighter take off is the day I quit my job; too many of the old fogeys I work with have lost this feeling. I don't think Keller has reached this point yet, which is part of the reason he's still out there flying to Mars and exploring ancient alien ships. And it's why Keller is the perfect choice for the role he plays in the events of this episode.
QUICK QUESTIONS, QUERIES, QUANDRIES AND COMMENTS:
Why does it not surprise me that the government has spent millions on developing an alien encounter program? It's probably a leftover from the '60s.
I love the scene where several of them are gathered around brainstorming about the alien ship. It's nice how they play off each other's comments to eventually come to a consensus about the ship's function.
I can't help but notice the parallels to the moon landing in 1969. Only Crocker, Westphalen, Keller and Bridger were alive before that, and those first two were probably too young to remember it. Anyone born after July of '69 has never known a world in which man has not set foot on the moon; similarly, anyone born after this date would never know a world in which man questions if he's alone in the universe. It's a strange thing to realize you're participating in history.
Four words -- "Roll with it dude."
They keep referring to the alien as a 'he,' but it's got the hips of a 'she.'
When trying to get the location of the alien's home, Keller keeps using Earth terms for things. Like Orion and Milky Way, etc. I highly doubt someone from another planet is going to refer to our galaxy as the 'Milky Way.'
And speaking of that scene, the alien's finger is so big, how on Earth does Keller know exactly which speck the alien is pointing at?
Fair warning: I'm gong to rant here for a moment. Lucas claims that an astronomical unit is the distance from the sun to the center of the galaxy. Pardon me a moment while I scream. The actual definition of an AU is the average distance from the Earth to the sun. Now, I did consult my Astronomy book and their number of 1.9 billion is close enough not to raise eyebrows (though one billion nine hundred thousand should really be one billion nine hundred million). But please, if you're going to use a term, use it correctly.
I don't know about that alien cockpit. That seems like a lot of wasted space, especially since the rest of the ship is one big gas tank.
My only complaint about the last scene has to do with the presence of Ortiz and Shan. They're NCO's and that discussion is more something that only officers should be in on. I'll grant you, they're technically department heads, but they're still not officers.
BOB BALLARD MOMENT:
This episode is purely fantasy (no, really?) but humans continue to wonder about the existence of life on other planets. Scientists have been using radio telescopes for the past 33 years (well, 43 by now) to listen to the universe in hopes of detecting radio signals from intelligent life. One of the most famous is in (Arecibo) Puerto Rico and is pointed at nearby stars waiting (and hoping and wishing) to hear a distant 'hello.' Or even just a 'hi.'
