Shapeshifter

[Serena Lewis]

I can't really think of much to say about this episode. I seem to recall that I liked this one quite a lot when I first saw it, but now I understand that it's a bit...crumbly. This review may be short anyway, as I'm not that well at the moment. Will probably be lengthened when I feel better.

Pros

1. Alligator. It was done so well!
2. Hicks - Zackery and Eli. Hilarious. I'm particularly partial to 'Zombie, zombie...ZOMBIE!!'
3. Oh! An appearance of Magenta! He looks like he's giving Blue his concerned/evil look when Ochre goes over to talk to him on the bridge.
4. Green knocked out. I adored this scene, there's just something about it. Although Green's getting hurt, it's still great...

Cons

1. All of Scarlet's stupid one liners, or two-liners. More similarity to Horatio Caine...
'I'm from the power company. I've come to cut you off.'
'It's time to split a few atoms.'
Shut up, Paul. Please.
2. It seems easy to get onboard. I know that...erm...Weegly (Or whatever he was called) told Scarlet to do the DNA test (Incidentally, how do you get DNA from a hand print? You have to extract DNA, or brush off some skin flakes for testing...), but it still seemed...easy.

Bloopers

1. White appears to have massive arms in the gym scene. When he's on the tread mill. Is this a blooper, or is it simply just a...weird thing?
2. When Destiny goes into Green's room, her shadow has a hole in the middle of its head, round about where the ponytail would be.

Little Things

1. Why does the Rhino have 'No Step' on the front near the missiles? What does this mean? And if it means, literally, 'do not step here', who'd be stupid enough to do so anyway?
2. Green is reading when she's in her room. Sounds like nothing special, except that the magazine is called 'Milk Float Weekly', and even has a picture of a milk float on the front. Someone having a little joke there...
3. How can everyone have billions of atoms that belonged to Bill Shakespeare? He wouldn't have enough to go around...or maybe I just heard it wrong or something...

Rating: Tricky one this...how about...7/10?

xx

[James. C]

All of Scarlet's stupid one liners, or two-liners. 'I'm from the power company. I've come to cut you off.'
Shut up, Paul. Please.

Though many of the one liners I dislike in the series, I loved this one!

When Destiny goes into Green's room, her shadow has a hole in the middle of its head, round about where the ponytail would be.

I'm sure that's where her "brain" should be.

Why does the Rhino have 'No Step' on the front near the missiles? What does this mean? And if it means, literally, 'do not step here', who'd be stupid enough to do so anyway?

Funniest thing I've heard all day! Though I only woke up an hour ago

[luvmylops]

I know it has been awhile since I replied to these reviews! Bit wrapped up with the Halloween Challenge!

I haven't had time to 'rewatch' the episode, so I will be pulling from my memory (vague as it is!)

Even thu this episode had 'holes' in the storyline, it still is one of my favorites!

I agree with James about the line "I'm here to cut you off!" I thought it was quite amusing, and please remember these programs were aimed towards the 'younger' generation. They might be cliche to you and me, but to a 10 or 12 year old?

I thought the CGI effects were particularly stunning - Skybase at night sinking thru the clouds toward Houston was beautifully done!
As was the work on the swamp and sewer shots. (Loved the night vision feature installed on the caps!)

One thing did puzzle me WAS it the 'real' Destiny who was attempting to have Scarlet 'killed' in the Angel flight or was it the doppelganger?

[Skybase Girl]

Um, not quite sure about this. Luvmylops. I thought the only doppelganger was Scarlet, althought it was the original that the Angels pursued.

I have a problem with this episode, which makes me wonder if it was not meant to be broadcast earlier in the series. I cannot understand why Colonel White is so ready to believe the worst, after all Scarlet has proved to them. I also find it hard to believe that Destiny can so readily assume that he has been re-Mysteronised, so to speak. Ok, she seems a bit upset, but no one is asking any questions at all, until eventually, Blue remembers he still has some grey matter left.....

There are holes in this episode the size of canyons. Not the best, I'm afraid.

[luvmylops]

I thought the only doppelganger was Scarlet, althought it was the original that the Angels pursued .

I'm not sure if you are understanding my point Skybase Girl. I was at odds if the Destiny leading the Angel flight was in fact Destiny or the Shapeshifter. I remember the shapeshifter taking on Destiny's form after touching her on the way to Scarlet's quarters. Maybe that would explain why 'Destiny' was so angry that the mission was a failure.

[Serena Lewis]

You are making sense, Luvmylops. Hmm...I will think about this more...

xx

[Skybase Girl]

Yes, you're absolutely right, Luvmylops, I did indeed miss the point. Never even thought about it. Maybe it makes this episode more sophisticated than some. It is entirely possible that it was the doppelganger" Destiny leading the Angel flight to kill Scarlet.

That would certainly be one explanation for the "looks" that Harmony and Rhapsody give her on leaving the aircraft after they have failed to stop Scarlet. It makes a lot of sense on different levels, and in some ways. I want to believe that hypothesis, because it would kind of explain her behaviour.

However,...... I feel inclined to go with the original thought that she is shell-shocked and simply following orders. She called him "Paul", rather than Scarlet. Plus, when he went off the bridge, she simply ordered the Angels to destroy the missiles. She must have known what he'd done. She could have bombarded him with missiles, but she didn't. She simply reported that he'd vanished from the radar. Both she and Scarlet knew the Angels couldn't track him when he was in the water. I think she was giving him a chance, and yet in a way, she was mad at herself because she'd done it.
Definitely very intriguing, whichever way you look at it !

Still doesn't explain Colonel White's attitude, though !

[luvmylops]

I guess I will have to rewatch the episode instead of pulling from my memory (which is patchy at best)!

Just need to 'find' some time to do so! Since I am the only CS Fan in the household, it makes it difficult to watch in peace and quiet without accompanient groans of "But we already saw this one about a million times"

[MMK]

Just need to 'find' some time to do so! Since I am the only CS Fan in the household, it makes it difficult to watch in peace and quiet without accompanient groans of "But we already saw this one about a million times"

My family would probably turn the tv on/change the channel while i'm watching and episode of CS (depends on whether i'm using the DVD player or a PC or the PS2)... EARTHMEN FOOLS, THEY DO NOT APPRECIATE THE ART OF CAPTAIN SCARLET!

[Father Unwin]

I didn’t particularly enjoy the storyline for this one but there were many great locations and lighting effects which more than compensated for this. The sewers were so realistic, even without the night vision, and the brickwork and water effects were superb.

I was a little disconcerted by the blueness of the eyes of the replicants – they seemed too perfect to be true, like in those Japanese cartoons. I also wondered about flushing the replicant down the drain – you would think that Spectrum would want to examine the body. The moment when the evil Scarlet emerges from the yellow vapour and shoots the real Scarlet was pretty shocking.

When the real Scarlet contacts Skybase the Colonel doesn’t exactly give him the benefit of the doubt – a ‘hanging judge’ for sure! I think that the NCS Colonel White character is more true to OCS than any of the other main characters. Visually, he looks just right and Mike Hayley has given him not only authority but also a greater warmth than in the original.

There were some nice location shots featuring Louisiana. The morning sun coming through the woods in the burial scene was beautifully recreated. The countryside for the sequence when Scarlet activates the Rhino concealed in the water tower looked terrific.

Towards the end, another fine scene was when Scarlet was stomping with his heavy magnetic boots on the top of Skybase and you could see down to the engines and the clouds below. It was quite moving to see Skybase sinking into the clouds, lighting them up as it went. It would have been nice to see some building damage as this would have emphasised the major disaster that was averted.

[shadokp]

The Story - I think I originally had trouble with the concept of a doppleganger. Where did it come from? Etc but I think what is more far fetched is the quickness of thinking Scarlet had turned. Its almost as if White lost at poker the night before.

Scarlet - "I am going on a mission tomorrow Colonel but you still owe me 25 pounds."

White - "Yes, Scarlet.... I remember."

Later that morning

Blue -"Hey, Scarlet just tried to kill you Colonel, what's that about?"

White "Um..Scarlet has to by working for the Mysterons.... yeah, thats it, kill him now!!"

The Animation - Great stuff with the night time Skybase coming down toward Houston being a highlight.

Other - Love the humor with the hicks - good to see a little of that once in a while.

On screen deaths - Both 'terrorists' - was it determined that these guys were Mysterons or not?

KP