At this late stage in the season the show was showing signs of being budgetarily and creatively bankrupt. This dragged-out and dismal outing testifies to that.
A misfire right out of the gate was the bad casting. Acting commander Winters looked like a sleepy extra instead of a man separated from the boys. I understand that Prentis Hancock missed this episode due to a health concern, but let Kano, Carter, or Sandra take the con, not somebody with no established credibility or rapport with the audience.
That casting misstep was righted, however, by the brilliant casting of Leo McKern as Gwent. So many McKern associations rushed to mind as the show unfolded. "Rumpole in Space," as another reviewer quipped. Companion's pleading with Koenig and company to comply with the commands of Gwent, who could have been dubbed "he who must be obeyed." Then that maniacal laughter stirred memories of McKern as Number 2 on THE PRISONER. In fact, as Companion, McKern was playing Number Two all over again!
The story was talky, which wouldn't be a liability if it were with words worth speaking. So much came across as padding. Each performer got his or her moment in the spotlight. Koenig screaming, Helena being shrill, Victor his affable self, grinning and expressing how he's obliged to Gwent for recharging his heart.
Characterization was unsettling too. As a fan of Alan, I resented his kneejerk assumption that "it's hostile" as Gwent initially rolled towards Alpha. Then, after witnessing Gwent demonstrate its tremendous power and proving he cannot be fooled, Alan tries sneaking a laser rifle onto Gwent and then lying about it. C'mon, Carter knew better than to make rookie mistakes like these. And what did he really expect to accomplish with that rifle, anyhow?
Wasn't it too convenient that Gwent had a coffin prepared for Companion and a means to eject it into space? And how convenient that the energy core from Alpha would have fit perfectly into Gwent? And that Alpha had a carrying case tailor made for that core, as if toting them around was standard operating procedure? I know accommodations have to be made to forward the story, but these serendipitous coincidences stretched credulity.
Unintentionally funny moment when Gwent balks at Koenig's off-the-cuff funeral eulogy for Companion. "Is that it?" Everybody's a critic. Why didn't Gwent wax nostalgic about Companion instead of outsourcing the job?
That funeral was surprisingly Judeo-Christian in format, with Victor supplying the closing "amen." I would have expected an outer space culture to have unique traditions surrounding death. But Gwent was apparently familiar with the Bible, as he later megalomaniacally misquotes the Book of Job when declaring, "Gwent giveth, and Gwent taketh away."
On the subject of "taketh away," how many Alphans and Eagles can the show take away without there being a skilled staff and strategic supply shortage? I assumed after "Breakaway" the number of people and supplies is finite and dwindling daily. Yet neither Koenig nor Carter appeared fazed by the loss of human life or of spacecraft.
Love is blind, and so is Gwent, but so are John and Helena! When Gwent says he would honor their own companionship and take them as a couple, thus calling out their unspoken love for each other, they appear abashed and exposed.
Someone has to say it: Gwent looked like a Tinker Toy a six-year-old cobbled together. The rotating wheels evoked a nineteenth-century Mississippi riverboat paddling through space. It was just amateurish and lame, as was its ignominious end. I mean, Eagles blasting away at it have no effect, but a slow-speed fender bender with a moon bluff and Gwent blows itself to sparkling smithereens?
Another unintentionally funny moment is when all the Alphan rubberneckers looking out the window duck when Gwent flies overhead. Yeah, like that foot of clearance would make all the difference if Gwent sheared the roof off Alpha.
Whither Winters? Well, I guess he didn't make the cut and was shipped back to the bush leagues with the boys. The character and the actor never appeared again.
Gwent came. Gwent went. Exeunt.
2 out of 2 found this helpful.
Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
