"Fear and Loathing in the Milky Way" Episode #117 (slight spoilers below) (Click here for synopsis)

Written By: Ashley Edward Miller and Zack Stentz     Directed By: David Warry-Smith

This was apparently meant as a "comedy episode and as such was quite a "different" episode for Andromeda. The episode did have funny points, but often I found it hard to buy in to what was happening on screen. On the plus side the search for the diary and its secret way to Tarn-Vedra made for a believable premise and could help fill in the background about the Commonwealth.

The return of Gerentex was no surprise given his sendoff in the series pilot, however this was handled quite differently than I expected. His character, very irritating in the pilot, was actually given some interesting depth, with understandable motivations involving his idea of raising a family.

Also, there were some genuinely funny moments in the episode, but most of these focused on Trance, especially the scene in which she confronts both of them with loaded guns. Harper and Gerentex on the other hand often had dialogue that was hard to swallow.

Unless you do a totally slapstick comedy show, the humor imbedded in a show should arise from somewhat believable circumstances and dialogue. I am not sure if the lines are at fault, or the delivery by the actors, but the dialogue between Harper and Gerentex was so ridiculous that it often distracted rather than entertained.

Harper is presented as far more hostile and dangerous than previously seen. I found his spoken comments rather 'forced' and not very convincing. On the other hand, the callous way he killed all of their pursuers at one point spoke volumes. Concerning that scene my only question was the apparently instant access his socket gave to an old computer system of another race, hard to swallow given the technology we had previously seen.

The biggest problem with the 'B-story' about the Perseids (besides being fairly uninteresting) was the whole issue it raises about Dylan's attempt to restore the Commonwealth. We never see any convincing reason why the Perseids, or any other race, expect success for this attempt. With only one ship, no political infrastructure, and virtually no crew it is hard to see why the Andromeda really would change the political status quo.

Apart from the Commonwealth's restoration you end up with a show similar to ST-TNG (a good show mind you), where our intrepid crew travels the galaxies encountering various alien races. This could have interesting potential since everything is so chaotic. On the other hand, if Dylan's mission is the focus of their travels, then it's success (or failure) has to have some apparent basis to make for a believable and enjoyable show.

The ratings for the episode are given below. For information on how my rating system works, click on this link.

Review 04/18/01 by Larry Kramer

© 2001 Larry Kramer (See Copyright Disclaimer)