Fox Hunts, Quatloos, And Techno

This weekend I mostly watched TV and DVDs. Below are some of my edited highlights. Lately I've been addicted the the Law & Order and CSI marathons on all weekend. I won't be talking about those but I have thought CSI might be considered a geek show. Especial "CSI: Miami." This one practically borders on Science Fiction. Their computer systems and forensic collection equipment borders on Gattaca and The Island.

Kitsunegari: This episode is now ten (10) years old and as I saw this when it was first on, this fact begins to show my age. This episode is from the fifth season of the X-Files and is actually a sequel to a third season episode called "Pusher." The first episode dealt with a serial killer, named Modell, who had a "Jedi Mindtrick" ability to make other people kill themselves. He put his sights on Mulder, and Mulder shot him in the face with his Glock. Nice. Unfortunately Modell was in a coma and after two (2) years he wakes up, power intact, and escapes. More murders start popping up but Mulder thinks Modell isn't behind them, but the new wife of a recently killed judge. The name means "Fox Hunt" in Japanese, but there is little to do with Japan in either of these episodes. Modell thinks of himself as a Ronin and refers to himself as Osu, or Pusher. He can push his will on others, due to enhancement from a brain tumor. I don't usually like repeat performances in sequels, as I thought Mulder would have to jail Modell again, but this plot surprised me and in fact Modell was trying to warn Mulder. As it turns out Modell has a sister who wants revenge on her brother's capture. She has the same brain tumor so she has the same power. Luckily Skully comes packing heat and blows her away in the end. This second Modell story isn't as good as the first one, but there is some mystery in all this worth watching. But, some moments had me wondering if the script writers were paying attention. Mulder calls a real estate agent to find out her itinerary and the secretary gives all the information without once asking who Mulder is. She needs to be fired. Also, to add drama, Mulder faces Modell early on and Modell let's him go, only giving Mulder a warning message. When he reports this to Skully and AD Skinner they think he's been co-opted by Modell and refuse to listen to his theories. So Mulder strikes out on his own and is almost killed. Modell has never shown the ability to alter minds for this long so I don't get why Skully, at least, doesn't support Mulder. This is still before Skully is fully swayed to Mulder's way of thinking, but to believe in Modell's power may be all she was capable of. I still think the mid-episode drama between Skully, Skinner, and Mulder was forced. However, while Modell is in the hospital, after being shot by Skinner, his sister pays a visit (pulling a mass Jedi Mindtrick to look like an anonymous nurse) and kills him by talking his brain into shutting his body down; the creepiest scene in the episode.

The Gamesters Of Triskelion: Saturday continues the 40th anniversary of Star Trek with The Gamesters Of Triskelion. This is a classic episode from the second season most people, even non-Trek fans, have probably seen. Kirk, Uhura, and Chekov are abducted off the Enterprise to the planet Triskelion to play in gladiator games. Spock is left in command of the ship trying to figure out what happened while McCoy annoys him to death. This first thing that comes to most people's minds when you think Kirk is his love of alien, and sometimes human, women. I wish to point out he never slept with a green alien woman (Orion Slave Girl, yum) but the female, Shahna, at least had green in her hair. This is one of those episodes Kirk woos a woman just to get something out of her. I especially love the part where he kisses her, twice, then punches her in the face to knock her out. This isn't really a favorite of mine, but Kirk gets some fighting in. We are also introduced to a Quatloo, a money(?) system used by the disembodied brains that rule over Triskelion. The three brains watch (somehow) their Thralls (slaves/gladiators) fight. Kirk, who is used to out-thinking computers, meets the brains and gambles his crews freedom against a fight with three Thralls. Kirk wins and Shahna has final, really corny, soliloquy, and everything ends happy. This is a great campy episode, but I have always hated the episodes where the crew is kidnapped for one reason or another. Another moment to add drama is McCoy who thinks Spock is doing everything wrong and second guesses him, on the bridge no less, in front of everyone. Spock eventually puts a stop to this bu quietly asking Bones if he intends mutiny. This is so unnecessary in the episode and was added for drama instead of plot. However, I can't not recommend seeing the episode at least once. When most non-Trek fans think of Star Trek, this is the episode they think of. And everyone knows what a Quatloo is, just not how brains in a tank can spend them.

Tekkaman Blade #47: Tekkaman Blade is 49 episode TV series from 1992-93, intended as a remake of the '75 Tekkaman series (that aired in America in eighties), it is animated in the classic non-CG, fully hand drawn style. This new series also ran in America under the name Teknoman, which is how I first saw it (on UPN if I remember). And you can't have Teknoman with Tekno in the background, so all the music was stripped out and replaced with club music, which in some ways worked. The dub wasn't too bad, and the story was pretty good, reminding me of the glory years of the eighties with Voltron, Robotech, and SilverHawks. Basically Earth is invaded by bugs Venomoids/Radam from space and some Tekka/Tekno enhanced humans. One of these enhanced humans joins Earth's side in the invasion and can become Tekkaman/Teknoman to save the day. Lots of things blow up and justice is dealt to the bad guys. The mechanic designs and Earth's tech level are outstanding. Humans have a Space Ring around the Earth attached to the ground by several Orbital Elevators. In the episode I watched alien tree pod things planted by the bugs (operating off the Moon) begin to blossom and grab the nearest human to absorb them. Earth is ordered to evacuate and everyone on the planet has to get to the Elevators. Neat stuff. The Japanese version is much better than our edited/butchered version, but I do miss the Techno. This series is 15 years old and if you're a fan 80's anime this is a definite hit. If you're used to the newer styles of anime this may be a bit of a shock as to how dated it looks. And it comes in two (2) flavors, American dub (43 episodes) or Japanese sub. The subtitles one comes in three (3) box sets for about $30 each. I hope I can find a soundtrack to the American version someday. See you next Broadcast.