Classic Coverage looks back on the episodes of past shows from a modern perspective.
No, not that “Nemesis”… “Nemesis”Star Trek: Voyager (Season 4, Episode 4) War is hell, y’know? It’s a fundamental message that’s been a part of Trek since The Original Series, and explored in a number of episodes throughout each subsequent series … Continue reading You Talking Trek to Me? (Best of Voyager) – “Nemesis”
An alien spaceship filled with criminals lands on Earth. It arrives with a simple message: if we destroy the ship, the aliens will destroy all of us. The military agrees to protect the ship, but a chance encounter with a … Continue reading The Outer Limits: S1E14 “The Zanti Misfits”
“And holy women never go bad?” Unusually for Farscape, the cold open of “Vitas Mortis” fails to set up any obvious compelling conflict. D’Argo, Zhaan, and John visit a Luxan priestess (or, I suppose, “orican”), but they don’t need anything … Continue reading The Wonders I’ve Seen: 2×02, “Vitas Mortis”
Written by: J Stewart BurnsDirected By: Bret HaalandDN’s Ranking: Bad / NONESSENTIAL / Essential This is actually one of my favourite episodes and one that I’ve revisited a lot, and it’s useful as a further refining of the ‘bad/nonessential/essential’ scale … Continue reading Futurama, Season Two, Episode Twelve, “The Deep South”
***Content Warning: Discussion and imagery of Nazis*** “The Killing Game”Star Trek: Voyager – Season 4, Episodes 18 & 19 Ah, the holodeck. Introduced in the very first episode of The Next Generation, it quickly became one of the most famous … Continue reading You Talking Trek to Me? (Best of Voyager) – “The Killing Game”
A millionaire goes on an expedition to capture a mythological monster from a lake in South America. Once he discovers it, he winds up in a battle with the local government over who gets to control the creature for profit. … Continue reading The Outer Limits: S1E13 “Tourist Attraction”
Written by: Bill OdenkirkDirected by: Mark ErvinDN’s Ranking: Bad / Nonessential / ESSENTIAL This is one of the most famous Futurama episodes, and I would argue a perfect example of how many of its best episodes come not from an … Continue reading Futurama, Season Two, Episode Eleven, “How Hermes Requisitioned His Groove Back”
“Message in a Bottle”Star Trek: Voyager – Season 4, Episode 14 As I wrote about in my Late to the Party entry of Die Hard, good action movies require investment in the characters to create stakes. None of the explosions … Continue reading You Talking Trek to Me? (Best of Voyager) – “Message in a Bottle”
An accident happens at a magnetic research lab, leading to an incredible discovery. The scientists visit an investor who is holding a séance at a dinner party. They debunk the medium’s tricks, then convince the investor that their research is … Continue reading The Outer Limits: S1E12 “The Borderland”
“You want to have a midlife crisis? Fine. Ditch the firm, head off to Maui, shack up with a supermodel. But you do not get to keep the Porsche!” The set-up for “Mind the Baby” is pretty similar to the … Continue reading The Wonders I’ve Seen: 2×01, “Mind the Baby”
Written by: Patric M VerroneDirected by: Rich MooreDN’s Ranking: Bad / NONESSENTIAL / Essential This is one that has a kind of dodgy reputation but I like a lot. One of the fundamental issues people have with it is that … Continue reading Futurama, Season Two, Episode Ten, “A Clone Of My Own”
***CONTENT WARNING: Discussion of depression and suicide*** “Mortal Coil”Star Trek: Voyager – Season 4, Episode 12 Spiritual crises of characters have been the topics of a handful of Star Trek episodes, but they’re usually of the more philosophical, esoteric kind. … Continue reading You Talking Trek to Me? (Best of Voyager) – “Mortal Coil”
A maid vacuums up the wrong pile of dirt at the NORCO lab. The vacuum whines, then explodes into a living cloud of dust, debris, and energy. A new hire is determined to make his NORCO career work for him, … Continue reading The Outer Limits: S1E11 “It Crawled Out of the Woodwork”
Written by: Eric KaplanDirected By: Susie DietterDN’s Ranking: Bad / Nonessential / ESSENTIAL I am so excited to get to this episode. Arguably, it’s the first real attempt at serialisation and character development the show has gone in for; obviously, … Continue reading Futurama, Season Two, Episode Nine, “A Bicyclops Built For Two”
“Scorpion”Star Trek: Voyager (Season 3, Episode 26 & Season 4, Episode 1) The Borg were a creation of The Next Generation and one of its most enduring legacies, as well as one of the most notable villains of all sci-fi. … Continue reading You Talking Trek to Me? (Best of Voyager) – “Scorpion”
Written by: Lewis MortonDirected by: Ron HughartDN’s Ranking: Bad / NONESSENTIAL / Essential This one was better than I remembered on several different levels. I’ve probably said this before, but this really feels like the point where the writers have … Continue reading Futurama, Season Two, Episode Eight, “Raging Bender”
“Remember”Star Trek: Voyager (Season 3, Episode 6) Forced relocation. Ethnic and cultural genocide. Historical cover-ups. There’s a lot of super dark and horrific ideas lurking around the edges of “Remember.” What initially starts as a tale of steamy, young passion … Continue reading You Talking Trek to Me? (Best of Voyager) – “Remember”
The planet Ebon has attacked Earth. A united force of soldiers from all around the world is trying to fight back, but troop after troop are captured by the alien species. They must pass an interview with an interrogator to … Continue reading The Outer Limits: S1E10 “The Nightmare”
Written by: Ken KeelerDirected by: Chris LoudenDN’s Ranking: Bad / NONESSENTIAL / Essential Absolutely the worst thing about this episode is the fact that it successfully sells me on a Fry/Amy relationship and then pulls it away for no good … Continue reading Futurama, Season Two, Episode Seven, “Put Your Head On My Shoulders”
***Content Warning: Discussion of suicide*** “Death Wish”Star Trek: Voyager – Season 2 , Episode 18 Star Trek was founded on the idea of bold exploration of strange new places – even non fans can recite the franchise’s famous motto. But … Continue reading You Talking Trek to Me? (Best of Voyager) – “Death Wish”
Just a quick head’s up. This episode deals with death by suicide as a major plot point. I will address it in this writing. A doctor with a metal plate in his skull gains the ability to hear the conversations … Continue reading The Outer Limits: S1E09 “Corpus Earthling”
