Date of airing: November 13, 1994 (NBC)
Nielsen ratings information: 17.2 million viewers, 10.5/16 in Households
O’Neill was a crappy character in the pilot episode because he didn’t know what was at stake for his colony on New Pacifica, the alien planet. So I was celebrating his death, because, in a way, the tiny little creature in True’s bag of goodies was defending itself against the display of violence of humanity (even though the creature unintentionally started this “gunfight” that led to O’Neill’s days-long coma). That the character happened to come back from the dead at the beginning of this episode seemed like a major surprise and twist for the narrative, which begs the question of why the writers chickened out of it at the end of the hour by having the commander die again. Here you have a premise that would bring people back from the dead and it was out into the narrative of an episode that didn’t have a better resolution. People get killed, but apparently, they can also revive themselves a day later. And all of a sudden the creature’s “kill blow” was not a killing blow any longer and it’s just a thing that happens on this planet that you can disregard (except of course you don’t like it being in a coma for a day or two, then maybe you should fear those creatures). It was a mystery that seemed interesting, except it has been made worthless with this episode.
This hour wasn’t just all about O’Neill returning from the dead and rejoining the colony, just to be murdered (for real this time) again. The colony finds a survivor in Gaal, who may have been living on this planet for decades. As he joined the colony on their way East to establish their new home, the situation grows tenser as Gaal’s true intentions and back story are revealed and he becomes a danger to the colony. Meanwhile, Morgan makes acquaintance with True’s creature friend, experiences the day-long coma himself, and probably has not learned a single thing about what just happened, while Bess starts understanding the children of the colony a little more. But at the end of the day, Uly’s new and improved immune system (is this planet like the island in LOST?) and True’s creature friend didn’t seem to have a greater outcome for the characters in this episode, as things went on quite normally, even with the dangers lurking in close distance.
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| Mysteriously staring into the middle distance is what villains do. |
Gaal’s existence ruined some of the other stories of the episode, pushing them into the back of the narrative order and turning them into useless screentime. One might have thought that True would be in a little bit more trouble because of the secret she was keeping, but the writers were focused on positioning Gaal as this recurring villain character who was about to threaten the colony. One could have figured that Bess was going through the motions with Morgan in a coma, with True around to maybe apologize for what has happened, yet as soon as Morgan was out of danger, all Bess could think of was to go on a run with Uly. There was no time left for that story, because Gaal needed to murder O’Neill in a storyline that had every twist and turns be expected to come around the corner for minutes. The writers knew that Tim Curry would bring a certain presence to this episode, which is probably why they upped his character’s screentime, but it also meant that the other characters came short in return.
It was still a solid episode, but the contrast between the pilot and this episode was stark, even though both episodes still looked the same and had a similar tone and style. The writers made use of the ensemble cast by having the voiceover change from Devon to Danziger, which was a nice move, and if it continues with the next episodes, each of the main characters would get an opportunity to shine in the light, even if Danziger wasn’t even a central character during this hour, making his voiceover thoughts quite random. The hour also attempted to make Morgan and Bess likable characters by giving them a story with depth. This I liked as well, because it would make it easier for me to get to know the characters, although, after two episodes, I’m still not sure what each of the characters is about and who they are. Bess was especially confusing because I never got if she is madly in love with her idiotic and egotistical husband, or if she needed distance from his antiques and their marriage was essentially troubled. Maybe there is an issue with EARTH 2 being an ensemble show at this moment, but I can only assume the show had these problems because of Tim Curry’s casting, necessitating the cutting of screentime for some of the central characters while giving the biggest name of the cast as much action as possible.
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| The kid has seen something. The babysitter has not. |
And that doesn’t bode well for the next episode, or for however many Curry was hired to be the villain of this science-fiction drama. On the other hand, seeing the colony go through some danger from within could be exciting. There are creatures out there who steal cargo, kidnap children, and send you into a coma, which means the characters always keep an eye out for danger from behind the mountain in the distance. But what is going to happen when the danger has already been positioned in their mobile camp? What will happen to the characters when they can’t even trust each other? Questions that may be answered soon, and require answering before the viewers grow bored with the show.
