Shadow
Welcome to a review almost a year in the making. I'm sorry it's taken me so long to finish it. Life has been busy and is just now slowing down a little. Little being the key word. It didn't help that this episode was not my favorite. It's also highly likely that I'll be moving this series of reviews to my website and completing it there. Ok, without further ado, I present Shadow.
Synopsis:
Shadow is the first episode in my opinion that shows Blake's growing obsession with the destruction of the Federation. In this particular episode we see him attempting to strike a deal with a criminal outfit known as the Terra Nostra, a play on Cosa Nostra. The Terra Nostra is a large syndicate with their slimy little fingers in many a rancid pie. Their primary act of evil however is the drug Shadow. Thus the title. Shadow is essentially space meth.
You got any more of that space meth?
Everyone is more or less on board with Blake's plane except for Gan. Imagine that. The slow one is the only person who can see that this isn't going to end well.
Vila is onboard with negotiating with the Terra Nostra as long as he gets to visit Space City, or as he refers to it as The Satelite of Sin. As you can guess the crew thinks that's the worst plan since Bugs Bunny's Crazy Castle 2. Just wait though, hijinks will ensue.
The episode actually opens with two addicts robbing Largo, a Terra Nostra operative, of his supply of shadow. What's interesting in a sci fi show of this time is the bleak outlook on the future. We see people still selling and taking drugs. People ruined and even dying from it's use. In Star Trek addiction has long since been stamped out. Not here in the Blake verse.
And there is the crux of the episode. Blake is willing to make a deal with essentially the space mob to overthrow the federation. A case of the cure possibly being worse than the disease. Blake, Avon, Gan and Jenna teleport down to meet with Largo. Meanwhile Villa is unsuccessful in convincing Callie to help him sneak down himself. Until he remembers that he can use Orac to operate the teleport. An Orac who makes some sinister remarks that Villa is oblivious to.
We learn that Jenna was arrested shortly after refusing to carry Shadow for Largo. The implication being that they can even influence officials if you cross them. Of course Largo quickly betrays our crew and captures them.
If only someone had remained on board to possibly rescue them. Too bad Villa has teleported down to the planet and hidden Orac somewhere in the Liberator. An Orac who is starting to interfere with Zen and the ship.
Through some telepathic shenanigans Blake let's Cally know that trouble is afoot. Luckily Callie is smarter than Villa. She regains control of Liberator just as Blake and his crew escape. After some consideration they decide to save a pair of junkies when they escape. Blake, however still isn't convinced that the Terra Nostra is bad news. He's just prepared to force them to help. Sure. That'll work well.
About now Callie, who is searching for Orac, gets "a bad feeling" and winds up in a bit of a pickle herself. Orac traps Callie mentally inside his boxy, glowing mind. No. Seriously.
Blake decides that the quickest path to get his way is to attack the Terra Nostra's chief product Shadow. Hurray for space cartel wars! They track the drugs origin back to a desert planet where moon discs are grown and processed. You read that right. Moon discs. Not just moon discs though. Telepathic moon discs.
No, seriously.
Blake, Jenna and Avon teleport down to yet another quarry to scope it out and make snarky comments to each other. Villa wakes up from an alcohol induced coma and proceeds to lumber around like a zombie. And Callie sleep runs, at Orac's bidding, through the ship to teleport down to the planet where she collapses from the heat.
It's about this time that Villa and Gan finally realize something is going on with Orac. Orac takes over the Liberator and sends it spiraling towards the planet. Unfortunately trying to unplug him kills the female junkie whose name isn't important enough to remember. We knew she was going to die. Extras very rarely survive the episode.
It seems an Interdimensional alien is using Orac to invade our universe. What's the answer to all of this? Moon discs of course! Telepathic moon rocks. Between Callie and the Moon Discs, great band name by the way, combined power they are able to defeat the Dark Lord. Er, Interdimensional alien. Whatever.
Telepathic moon rocks. It's the new it thing in California.
Hurray! All is well! Sorta. Avon rigs Orac to blow if another attempt to take over happens. Oh, and we learn that Avon took an ID card off of a guard on the planet that identifies him as Federation security. What?? Twist! Mind blown.
Final Thoughts:
While the episode had some good points, the aforementioned new obsessive Blake, overall it was a little confused. Blake shows in this episode that he is willing to make deals with the devil and is showing less concern for the safety of his crew. The twist that the federation has control of the major criminal organization was nice although it could have been explored more deeply. That's a clever way to deal with a possible source of trouble though. Control it. And it's showing to me that both the villains and the heroes are willing to go to the same lengths to win. The subplot just doesn't work well however. Neither does Orac's apparent superpowers that never show up again. And come on, moon rocks ?
Rating: 2.5
Memorable Quote:
Coffee of the Day:
Starbucks Cafe Verona. From their website.
The Story of Caffè Verona®
This is a coffee of one true love, and three names. We created it just for a Seattle restaurant in 1975, naming it Jake’s Blend. And people loved it. So many, in fact, that we began hand scooping and blending it to order in our stores, where it was known as 80/20 Blend, for the recipe. The love was so strong we finally made it official, calling it Caffè Verona® after the city that inspires so many. By any name, this is a thing of pure romance.
Body: Full
Acidity: Low
Processing: Washed & Semi-Washed
By any name this blend is dark with a hint of cocoa. Just the way I like it. With a splash of almond milk and a level scoop of coconut sugar it's freaking delicious.
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