Let me preface this review by reminding you that this episode originally aired between a reunion movie and a special about the cast of Bonanza, or some such popular old western. And being November sweeps, let's just say they wanted to keep up the theme of the evening, hence all the parallels to a western in this episode. But it does illustrate how this show uses a lot of juxtaposition, putting seemingly unrelated themes and places under the sea. It's really kind of fun to see them do that, if you think about it. Beyond all that superficial fluff, however, what this episode really boils down to is a territorial fight. They're just like little boys fighting on the playground. But it does bring in a couple interesting side themes to the series, the mining being the big one. However, what I think is one of the most intriguing, albeit lightly explored, parts of the story is the animosity toward the UEO we encounter with the miners. This is really the first we've seen of anti-UEO sentiments, even though I'm sure there's plenty around the world. So often the view of the future we are presented with (and not only with seaQuest) is so rosy, that's it's nice to see a glimmer of reality sneaking in. There will always be someone somewhere who disagrees with the government.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY:
Undersea Mining - This is, to me, a quite intriguing topic. They've mentioned it before, but never in much depth. We already do oil drilling from the ocean floor, so I don't see mineral mining as being too far off. But as Lucas points out, it may take some time before it makes sense from an economic standpoint to become feasible. It's nice that they give us a little background into the situation, however brief.
This comment is somewhere between being technology and character, but I'll put it here anyway. I like how they use the Professor's hologram as a moral sounding board for Bridger here. That's one of the functions the hologram was originally supposed to have, and it's well utilized here. It's also a feature I think perhaps should be standard on ships like seaQuest.
CHARACTERS:
Call me crazy, but I like the inter-species interactions here. I'm referring, of course, to Darwin and Banjo (the dog). They get along like long lost buddies.
"I can't be a part of asking someone to do something I'm not willing to do." This simple statement says volumes about the character of Katie Hitchcock.
Both Ford and Krieg make the mistake of getting emotionally involved with the situation at Broken Ridge. Ford gets attached to the Sutters' situation, and Krieg lets his lingering feelings for Katie get in the way. That's a dangerous thing to do in this sort of situation. But at the same time, it's near impossible to just turn your feelings completely off, so the fact that they do get emotionally involved is probably healthy.
Where to start with Frank Cobb? He's such a two-dimensional, cardboard cutout bad guy. He has no motivation for his actions outside of greed. There is absolutely no development of his character at all though the episode. At the end you're rooting for Lenny to beat him up just to get the darn thing over with.
Ben Krieg:
My mother has this theory that every male has this little boy inside of him, just waiting to bust loose. It's just a matter of how deep below the surface they keep this little boy. Well, Krieg's little boy is right near the surface. In fact, in Krieg's case, he's more like a little boy with the serious man kept just below the surface. Every so often, you get a glimpse of the grown-up inside. This is one of the cases you see that. The apology to Katie in "Brothers and Sisters" and in a couple weeks with "Nothing But the Truth" are the other major examples. It leads back to an early assessment I made of Krieg called the 'hooker with a heart of gold syndrome.' See, the majority of the prostitutes that appear in TV shows and movies are really good-hearted people if you scratch the surface. They're going to school part time, or they're only doing it to support their kids until they can find something better, etc. Hookers with a heart of gold. Well Krieg is kind of similar, but instead he's a goofball with a serious core. Strangely enough, it's those serious moments of his that we get the most character development. I think deep down he enjoys his job, despite the need to step up and be dependable and a role model from time to time. And despite any protests to the contrary, I think he still has some strong feelings for Katie buried down deep. Unfortunately, Krieg's character doesn't do much changing and growing throughout the year. TPTB see him as the comic relief and nothing more. And I do admit he has his moments in that role, but I think he could have been so much more if they'd taken the time to expand a little on the character.
QUICK QUESTIONS, QUERIES, QUANDRIES AND COMMENTS:
Why are both Bridger and Ford off the ship at the same time? I would think that there's gotta be a rule somewhere that states the two top officers should not be absent at the same time. What if something happened to their shuttle and both were killed?
I'm amazed sometimes at the caliber of guest stars they got for this show. And that amazement just grows with the next couple episodes as well. Frequently, there are at least one or two names per episode that are fairly well known. That takes some clout, not to mention some pretty decent money.
Crocker is about as subtle as a sledgehammer when he's asking around about the distress signal.
Nice utilization of Darwin here, having him go out scouting the area.
Hitchcock's not a half-bad singer. It's nice how she starts out slow and halting, then as the song goes on she warms up and gets a little more comfortable.
BOB BALLARD MOMENT:
In the future we'll rely more on the ocean for minerals, but first we need to protect the creatures living down there. The deep sea has only recently been touched by human hands, but that means it's now at risk (imagine that). (Here comes the social message part...) Our generation must overcome self-interest and work together in a spirit of cooperation to resolve our differences by using reason and not force so we can pass on an ocean habitat we can all enjoy. (The next generation [and I don't mean Picard and crew] will thank us, I'm sure.)
