Journey to Where

(Below, I get the years mixed up... was Texas City 2021 or 2120 AD? Sorry.)

This one's sort of watchable, and has the feel of an "event" to it, real contact with Earth, no tricks or illusions, or reset afterward. If only the Middle Ages hadn't come along...

I recently noticed that the s2 theme has the same beat as "It's Not Unusual" by Tom Jones. So a medley of the two has been going through my head involuntarily.

Should I consider this story set in 2120 AD a contradiction of DoD, or somehow try to process that both could mysteriously be right in their own way somehow? Or consider s2 a reboot?

"... a return to your own planet Earth is possible." Red herring. Only an alien tricking them would say that.

Wrong use of "constellation" by Maya.

They say that in 2026, sports were banned. But they said it's 2021 on Earth, right? ... I wonder how the Earth and Moon can communicate in real time when time's moving at different rates for each...

Freddie Jones is struggling to take a bland, functional role and turn it into a quirky character role. He looks very uncomfortable without anyplace to put his hands. Does he normally keep his hands in his pockets in other roles?

"Who needs nature?!!" You eee-diots!!

Tony's hilarious beer. Endless comedy potential there. Your beer tastes bad Tony. Ha ha ha ha ha.

They've got a Red Dwarf s6 teleporter... it accidentally time travels! No real point to the time travel, but barely watchable, not too embarrassing. Still, it's not SF time travel but "boy's adventure" time travel.

Alan thinks that since there are trees, there must be intelligent life. Thanks for the masterful exobiology input, Alan! He sings Vegas tunes (Fly Me To The Moon) too... is there anything the man can't do?

Possibly the worst acting I've ever seen, from (I think) the Japanese woman in CC -- "I'd rather stay on Alpha than end up somewhere... (puzzled look) ... in space!!" This beats out "No, not the mind PROBE!" from Dr Who's "The Five Doctors", I think.

No music at all would have been SO much better. Every note is irritating. They don't even sound in tune.

The actor they beat up to get out of the cell may be the head Thal from DWs "Planet of the Daleks", without any spoken lines here.

They could at least have had the dome be in Scotland; this would've made it slightly less far-fetched. Also the 2021 people could have been picking up their life signs rather than Alpha.

The locals think Helena's wearing men's clothes? She's got a skirt on! Oh yeah, this is Scotland...

I like Landau's fatalistic, resigned reading of the line, "Thanks anyway" at the end.

I get a certain feeling with s2 of Sp99 that I don't get with any other show: the feeling that life is short, and that I'm wasting it tragically.

If they had treated Zienia Merton and the other 'secondary' actors well, they would have had that competent actress instead of the lamentable performance byYasuko Nagazumi.

You didn't mention the ludicrous plot point of scraping a fungus (or whatever) off the wall and amazingly finding it to be an antidote for whatever illness Russell had. Even I, with little to no medical knowledge, realize that is preposterous.

Even so, I find this is one of the more watchable and even enjoyable series two episodes. I find Landau, Bain, and Tate's performances to be in character. This could have been rewritten to work as a series one episode, I do believe, with more care taken with a few story 'facts' and the better performances of Morse, Merton and Anton Phillips.

Magnus Greel wrote: Possibly the worst acting I've ever seen, from (I think) the Japanese woman in CC -- "I'd rather stay on Alpha than end up somewhere... (puzzled look) ... in space!!"

Steady on there Magnus - no brain lines - yes - but phew - Yasko certainly has the looks

s99fan wrote:lamentable performance byYasuko Nagazumi.

Well, I think Yasko was a welcome addition to Year 2 - just where had she been hiding all that time ?

Probably in the same alternate reality with Verdeschi, Dr. Vincent, Fraser and the rest.

Magnus Greel wrote:I recently noticed that the s2 theme has the same beat as "It's Not Unusual" by Tom Jones. So a medley of the two has been going through my head involuntarily.

Very witty - now it's stuck in my head too

Magnus Greel wrote:Tony's hilarious beer. Endless comedy potential there. Your beer tastes bad Tony. Ha ha ha ha ha.

Yep - classic comedy. Just how many times did they use that beer sketch and in which episodes was that sketch used - anyone out there know ?

Reminds me of Star Trek (original series) when they used to have a little bit of witty banter round Captain Kirk's chair on the bridge at the end of an episode (often at the expense of Spock who just didn't get the joke !)

SPACE 1899 wrote:

Magnus Greel wrote:Tony's hilarious beer. Endless comedy potential there. Your beer tastes bad Tony. Ha ha ha ha ha.

Yep - classic comedy. Just how many times did they use that beer sketch and in which episodes was that sketch used - anyone out there know ?

Perhaps I am mistaken, but I believe Magnus Greel's comment may have been meant in sarcasm. Correct me if I am wrong. There is no 'classic comedy' to be found in the beer-joke.

Reminds me of Star Trek (original series) when they used to have a little bit of witty banter round Captain Kirk's chair on the bridge at the end of an episode (often at the expense of Spock who just didn't get the joke !)

That 'witty banter' worked because of the excellent characterizations portrayed in STTOS, the Tony beer-joke was just lame and about as un-funny as such things come.

Yes, I was being sarcastic. And there's too much bad beer in the world for me to think it's funny! I need good beer right this second. The landlord should always keep my apartment stocked with Sam Adams, at least, if not microbrews.

Even some of those original Trek endings didn't work, and even the ones that do can get cloying sometimes. In season one they were generally handled well.

Earth is in the year of 2120AD due to comments made by Logan and the generations of time that the moon has been in space! 2020Ad makes it only 20 years since they left where as look at the technology Texas City has! Also maybe Captain Zantor's ship had already landed and Carla, could have been one of his descendants with an earth woman?