Earth: Final Conflict - 1st time watch thread

[swaaye]

Yeah, Doors is in hiding running the resistance in S1.

I've been thinking about how Zo'or and Jonathan Doors seem to be the same personality in reversed positions. I sense that the writers have some other clever personality flips around too. But the series changes things up so much that it's confusing.

 

[DeepSpaceWine]

What are people's favorite episode for each season?

 

[Broccoli]

Ah, Gauntlet. An interesting change of pace for the show, being essentially a space opera, and the first hint of the interstellar community that exists in the EFC universe.

This was hinted at in the first season, indirectly, with the probe, and the "sleeper", and, directly, with the Kimera. The Jaridians were first referenced in "First of its Kind" and first seen (though they were augmented visions) in "Moonscape". However, "Gauntlet" was the first time there was any interaction with a Jaridian.

 

[swaaye]

I would have liked to see the series go more interstellar. Inject some Stargate / Atlantis into it.

It's hard to discuss when we have people on their first watch through though. I don't want to spoil.

 

[The Wormhole]

What are people's favorite episode for each season?

Season 1 Sandoval's Run
Season 2 First of its Kind
Season 3 Time Bomb
Season 4 Trapped by Time
Season 5

Spoiler: This is one episode title that really is a spoiler. A HUGE SPOILER

Boone's Assassin

 

[Broccoli]

I would have liked to see the series go more interstellar. Inject some Stargate / Atlantis into it.

Wouldn't that have been against the core premise of the show in that the aliens came here instead of us going there?

What are people's favorite episode for each season?

Season 1 Sandoval's Run
Season 2 First of its Kind
Season 3 Time Bomb
Season 4 Trapped by Time
Season 5

Spoiler: This is one episode title that really is a spoiler. A HUGE SPOILER

Boone's Assassin

Funny thing about that spoiler title is that the title has suggests the exact opposite of what happens in the episode.

 

[The Wormhole]

I would have liked to see the series go more interstellar. Inject some Stargate / Atlantis into it.

Wouldn't that have been against the core premise of the show in that the aliens came here instead of us going there?

What are people's favorite episode for each season?

Season 1 Sandoval's Run
Season 2 First of its Kind
Season 3 Time Bomb
Season 4 Trapped by Time
Season 5

Spoiler: This is one episode title that really is a spoiler. A HUGE SPOILER

Boone's Assassin

Funny thing about that spoiler title is that the title has suggests the exact opposite of what happens in the episode.

But it does reveal a plot point about season 5 which I'm sure those who haven't got there yet don't want ruined.

 

[Broccoli]

True.

 

[swaaye]

Wouldn't that have been against the core premise of the show in that the aliens came here instead of us going there?

Yeah I suppose so.

 

[The Habs Fan]

I would have liked to see the series go more interstellar. Inject some Stargate / Atlantis into it.

It's hard to discuss when we have people on their first watch through though. I don't want to spoil.

Feel free to discuss stuff that I haven't seen yet but plase spoiler code it.


One Man's Castle

Sparrow, a disabled scientist, completes his life's work by creating what he calls bio-surrogates, genetically grown people capable of holding a human consciousness. But before the project can be used for medical advancement, Zo'or takes over the program, and begins installing Jaridian weapons in the bio-surrogates.

This season is starting to get pretty good. I like the ongoing story lines of Doors' run for presidency and the Taelons' super soldier experiments and both get continued in this episode.

The main plot dealt with the bio-surrogates. Da'an is in charge of this project but Zo'or has taken it over to turn the bio-surrogates into Jaridian killing machines. I like how President Thompson is questioning the Taelons yet he has to support them to win re-election. Doors on the other hand, has already rejected Zo'or's offer and is now leaking information about the Taelons. In this episode the leaked info is about the escaped bio-surrogate who has murdered 3 people, which of course gets him more popular with the voters.

The subplot dealing with Sparrow was interesting and unique. He obviously has a personal vested interest in the bio-surrogates as he wants to transfer his consciousness to one (he's paralyzed). His chemistry with Maiya felt believable to me and I thought both actors played it well.

At the end when Sparrow dissolves from his stasis tank it looked like what happened to Boone at the end of Season 1. This could be a reference to a previous episode this season where a character seemed to be Boone in a different body, but not sure. Maybe I'm reading too much into it again.

RATING: 3.5/5

 

[The Wormhole]

Yeah, this is one thing you are reading too much into. Sparrow is never revisited again. I think they just reused an existing effect because it was cheap and easy.

 

[The Habs Fan]

Well then why dissolve? That's strange.

I didn't know that once a body doesn't have a consciousness anymore it conveniently dissolves

 

[The Wormhole]

Like I said, they wanted to convey he's dead quickly enough, so they showed him dissolving. Maybe at the time the intention was to leave the door open for the story to be picked up and continued, but I don't think I'm giving anything away by saying it isn't.

 

[The Habs Fan]

Second Chances

It's a race against time for the Resistance to stop a project known as Second Chances, which claims to allow a person to regain their youth using Taelon technology. But Liam discovers that the project has been implanting false memories into those who undergo the procedure as a way of ensuring devotion to the Taelons.

This is an example of an episode that I wasn't really feeling until the end. Once again, it's the subplot that has helped this episode to be better than average.

The main plot deals with a company called Second Chances that uses Taelon technology to take 40 years off of people's lives. Of course, Zo'or has once again manipulated this technology to suit his goals and has implanted false memories into the people who undergo the procedure. The false memories make a person devoted to the Taelons.

I'm kind of getting tired of all the "Taelons develop technology for good, but Zo'or changes it for evil" storylines. This plot was interesting but it felt like I've seen it many times before this season. The break-in at the Second Chances headquarters was very well done, but overall the main plot was nothing special.

Once again, the subplot makes up for the main plot's deficiencies. It was very believable to me that the Resistance would be getting nervous about Doors' run for presidency and would want a new leader. Their choice of Lili was an interesting one and seemed to create a bit of conflict between her and Doors. However, the twist at the end with Liam actually becoming the leader of the Resistance was even better. About 2 months ago he was a baby and now he's the leader of the Resistance. Will this cause more friction between him and Doors? Is Lili disappointed that she didn't become the head of the Resistance? It opens up some interesting storylines.

RATING: 3/5

 

[Lindley]

I'm kind of getting tired of all the "Taelons develop technology for good, but Zo'or changes it for evil" storylines.

Unfortunately there are a fair few technology-of-the-week episodes from here until the end of season 3. Not so many in season 4 that I recall, though.

 

[DeepSpaceWine]

Must take an expanded Taelon consciousness to keep track of all those secret schemes Zo'or had going over the series.

 

[The Wormhole]

Must take an expanded Taelon consciousness to keep track of all those secret schemes Zo'or had going over the series.

That acutally reminds me of a thought I had last time I watched the series through. All the times we see Zo'or plotting his evil plots on the bridge, he's always sitting in front of those Taelons sitting in those domes. Are those domes soundproof and therefore they don't hear his evil schemes? Or do they just ignore him because of fear or apathy? Even funnier is an episode (in season 3 I believe) where a person meeting with Zo'or notes the bridge is empty and he says it's because he's excused the bridge crew, even though you still see those Taelons in their domes.

For that matter, just what do those Taelons do? Presumably they perform bridge related tasks, comunications, helm control, tactical, engineering, all those thing Star Trek has taught us go on on a starship bridge. But thing is, whenever we see a situation developing, it's always Liam or Sandoval, or one of the Mothership's human crew or even Zo'or himself who take care of the problem fiddling with controls to fire weapons, fly the ship or whatever needs to be done.

 

[swaaye]

Decorative. Like aquariums in an executive's office . There's also that neat "bubbly" tank. But seriously yea they appeared to be Taelons in energy form performing some bridgly function. They were never mentioned in dialog or shown to be useful at all that I'm aware of. Unfortunate.

Which reminds me of an audio interview with Anita La Selva that I found. She talks about that set a bit. It also sounds like she enjoyed her role a lot and may even be some level of scifi fan which makes watching her play maniacally evil Zo'or that much more fun.

http://captphilonline.com/Destinies_2007.html
(Scroll down a bit)

 

[The Habs Fan]

Payback

A terrorist begins using experimental teleportation technology to kill Taelons and the humans that serve them, seeking revenge for shutting down his research. During the manhunt however, Sandoval is videotaped abusing his authority, and the Taelons must re-define the privileges they have while on Earth.

This episode is mostly standalone with a few arc things happening in the background, but I liked it a lot.

Sure, the tele-portation technology was pretty similar to Star Trek, but it was still interesting. I did like the ending where the inventor who was causing all the problems accidentally killed himself when he transported himself into a shelf. I also liked the race to find him between the Resistance and Sandoval.

This is also one example of Zo'or not manipulating the technology to suit his own ends. Of course, upon learning of it he wants it to use it for his own plans, but I liked how a human discovered something without any Taelon help. It was a nice twist on the recent episodes of season 2.

RATING: 4/5

 

[The Wormhole]

Seeing the guy beam himsef into the shelf left quite an impression. Sure in Star Trek we always hear people like Dr. McCoy express concerns over the dangers on transporters, but aside from those two in TMP who "didn't live very long, fortunately" we've never seen these dangers. But seeing the guy in this episode lodged within a shelf is an image that has always stuck with me and is that I think of now whenever I need reminding of how dangerous transporters can be.