Author: Dave

A barely-recovered Aeryn insists on leading a mission to rescue Crichton, while Moya’s labor shuts down all her propulsion systems. At the Gammak base, Crichton gradually befriends his cellmate Stark, while Gilina patches into the intercom long enough to tell Crichton that the next time Scorpius puts him in the chair, he should recall their kiss aboard the Zelbinion. Crichton is a bit confused by this, as that’s exactly the memory he’s been trying to hide, but Gilina insists that she trust him. When Crichton recalls the kiss, he triggers a flood of false memories that Gilina programmed into the chair – “memories” that implicate Crais in a conspiracy to use wormhole technology against the Peacekeepers. When Crais denies this, Scorpius orders him into the chair to prove his innocence. With help from Aeryn and company, Stark, Crichton and Gilina make their break. As they try to escape, Chiana and Rygel must try to survive the birth of Moya’s child – a Leviathan/Peacekeeper hybrid complete with weaponry that blocks the offspring’s exit from the birth canal. But the baby wants out, and if he has to fire on his mother to do it, so be it.

written by Justin Monjo
directed by Ian Watson
music by Subvision

Guest Cast: Gigi Edgley (Chiana), Lani John Tupu (Captain Bialar Crais), Alyssa-Jane Cook (Gilina), Wayne Pygram (Scorpius), Paul Goddard (Stark), Imogen Annesley (Niem), Anthony Kierann (Lt. Heskon), Pete Walters (Crais’ Guard), Nicole Roma (Blonde Technician)

LogBook entry by Dave Thomer

Scorpius accompanies Crais back to his Command Carrier to continue the hunt for Crichton, who along with the rest of Moya’s crew is hiding in an asteroid field. With their power shut down to escape detection, the crew faces two problems: they can’t navigate the asteroid field, and they have no idea if Moya’s offspring will ally with them or with the Peacekeepers. Aeryn boards the new ship to help Moya bond with her child, while Crichton, D’Argo and Zhaan follow a distress signal to one of the asteroids, hoping they can find someone with a map. They find M’Lee, the sender of the distress call, apparently on the run from a creature that she claims massacred the rest of her family. Crichton soon discovers that M’Lee is the actual predator, and the creature is in reality a botanist named Br’Nee. That does not necessarily mean that he’s the most trustworthy resident of the asteroid, however, as the botanist has an agenda of his own – one that centers on Zhaan, who, like all Delvians, is a sentient plant. The three quickly find themselves trapped between M’Lee’s hunger and Br’Nee’s curiosity…and all the while, Crais and Scorpius are closing in.

written by David Kemper and Rockne S. O’Bannon
directed by Andrew Prowse
music by Subvision

Guest Cast: Lani John Tupu (Captain Bialar Crais), Wayne Pygram (Scorpius), Francesca Buller (M’Lee), Marton Csokas (Br’Nee), David Franklin (Lt. Braca)

LogBook entry by Dave Thomer

Rygel decides that it’s time to save his own skin, and takes a transport pod to Crais’ Command Carrier to trade his life for the rest of Moya’s crew. Rygel quickly realizes he is dealing from a position of weakness – but so is Crais, who soon loses command of his crew to Scorpius. Crais and Rygel escape back to Moya, where Crichton and the others are decidedly less than thrilled to see them. Crichton decides to buy time for Moya to escape by piloting a transport pod full of explosives directly into the Gammak base, knowing that Scorpius won’t kill him before he has the chance to access the wormhole equations in Crichton’s mind. D’Argo chooses to assist Crichton, and while the crew hatches a plan to try and bring everyone back alive, they know it’s a long shot at best. When Crais takes Moya’s offspring – newly christened Talyn by Aeryn, in honor of her father – the odds get even longer.

written by Rockne S. O’Bannon and David Kemper
directed by Tony Tilse
music by Subvision

Guest Cast: Lani John Tupu (Captain Bialar Crais), Wayne Pygram (Scorpius), David Franklin (Lt. Braca)

LogBook entry by Dave Thomer

D’Argo, Crichton, and Zhaan discover a dying Luxan elder, a holy woman known as an Orican. The Oricans enter death through a ritual that can only be performed with the aid of another Luxan, but at first Nilaam refuses D’Argo’s aid. When she eventually reconsiders, she is surprised by the apparent strength of D’Argo’s life force, and performs a renewal ritual that leaves her young and healthy. The two quickly become lovers and plan their return to Luxan space. Those plans are quickly compromised when Moya and Pilot begin aging rapidly, and it soon becomes clear that D’Argo’s was not the only life force being tapped.

written by Grant McAloon
directed by Tony Tilse
music by Subvision

Guest Cast: Melissa Jaffa (old Nilaam), Anna Lise Philips (young Nilaam)

LogBook entry by Dave Thomer

A distressed Chiana is looking for some reassurance from her otherwise-occupied crewmates; their apparent disinterest motivates her to take a shuttle and head off of Moya. The others soon discover the source of her troubles – a life-disc that had kept her aware of her brother has blinked out, indicating his death. When Crichton, Rygel and Aeryn track her down to a nearby cemetery planet, they find her in no rush to return. Indeed, she’s found comfort with the group of young daredevils that live beneath the surface, and announces her intent to join in one of their rituals, a chasm dive called “taking the stone” that is sometimes but not always fatal, thanks to an intermittently functioning forcefield generator. For the natives, even death by the stone is an attractive option, since radiation poisoning means everyone will soon die a slow painful death anyway. Crichton refuses to accept any of this, searching for a way to prevent the radiation sickness and talk Chiana out of jumping. But it doesn’t seem like anyone’s interested in what solutions he might offer.

written by Justin Monjo
directed by Rowan Woods
music by Subvision

Guest Cast: Anthony Hayes (Molnon), Peter Scarf (Das), Michela Noonan (Vyna), Natasha Beaumont (Janixx)

LogBook entry by Dave Thomer

While buying food on a commerce planet, the crew meets Traltixx, an alien who claims he can make Moya undetectable. A demonstration on Crichton’s module convinces the crew to bring the ship through a set of pulsar lights to his transformation yard, even when Traltixx warns them that the intense light can have a strange effect on many species. Zhaan certainly has no complaints, as the light brings her such intense pleasure that she soon shuts out everything else around her. Everyone else, however, gets more paranoid than ever, and unusually attached to the dry, flat wafers they’ve added to their food supply. Traltixx is no help, either. Indeed, he encourages Pilot to turn against the rest. Crichton must overcome his paranoia and the delusions that go with it – including visions of Scorpius – to rally the crew together and save the ship.

written by Justin Monjo
directed by Ian Watson
music by Subvision

Guest Cast: Wayne Pygram (Scorpius), Danny Adcock (Traltixx)

LogBook entry by Dave Thomer

Chiana and Rygel return to Moya from a trading expedition with an added gift, a picture that appears to depict Chiana. The picture unnerves Zhaan, especially when it changes to depict Chiana with a broken leg and Chiana breaks hers soon after. When the next change shows Chiana burst into flames, everyone shares Zhaan’s concerns – but they’re too late to stop Chiana’s combustion. As the portrait begins to depict the rest of the crew’s demise, Zhaan manages to deduce the picture’s true purpose. Instead of killing them, it’s drawing them into another dimension, where the sorcerer Maldis waits for his chance to avenge his previous defeat and, just as importantly, regain corporeal form.

written by Peter Neale
directed by Andrew Prowse
music by Subvision

Guest Cast: Chris Haywood (Maldis/Kyvan)

Notes: Zhaan defeated Maldis in order to save Crichton in season 1’s That Old Black Magic.

LogBook entry by Dave Thomer

Chiana discovers an old recording that reveals the fate of Moya’s previous Pilot – he was killed by a squad of Peacekeepers under Crais’ command, a squad that included Aeryn. The discovery forces both Aeryn and Pilot to re-examine how they first came to Moya as part of Crais’ project to breed a Leviathan warship. Aeryn, stuck on guard duty while pursuing assignment as a fighter pilot, became involved with Velorek, the Peacekeeper Leviathan expert in charge of the project. Pilot, eager to be bonded with a ship, allowed the Peacekepers to mechanically bind him to Moya when she did not immediately accept him. In the present, overcome by guilt, Pilot demands that Aeryn leave the ship and detaches himself from Moya.

written by Naren Shankar
directed by Tony Tilse
music by Guy Gross

Guest Cast: Alex Dimitriades (Velorek), Lani John Tupu (Capt. Crais)

LogBook entry by Dave Thomer

Low on supplies, the crew follows Chiana to a mining colony harvesting the remains of a Budong. Their situation is becoming extreme; a starving Zhaan has started to sprout as a defense mechanism, and the resulting pollen threatens to overwhelm everyone, including Moya. Although Chiana knows the colonists, she left on good terms with only a few – and one of those is quickly killed by a predator called a Keedva. The colony’s leader, B’Sogg, is not inclined to offer Chiana any favors. As Zhaan worsens, the crew pursue their own methods to mine enough crystals to buy some food, but the Keedva and its owner have very different plans.

written by Gabrielle Stanton & Harry Werksman, Jr.
directed by Rowan Woods
music by Guy Gross

Guest Cast: John Brumpton (B’Sogg), Justine Saunders (Altana), Rob Carlton (Vija), Hunter Perske (Temmon), Gavin Robins (Keedva)

LogBook entry by Dave Thomer

Zhaan tells Crichton about the time she, Chiana, and Rygel spent searching for him, D’Argo and Aeryn after their destruction of the Gammak Base. Desperate to find her friends, Zhaan found herself increasingly giving in to despair. Matters became even more dire when they searched on the planet Litigara, a society in which only ten percent of the population – a derided minority called Utilities – were not lawyers. Moya was becoming increasingly hard to control, as she sought to find her missing offspring. Zhaan, however, soon found herself imprisoned on a trumped-up jaywalking charge, then lured into an alley by the promise of escape, and ultimately framed for murder. Unable to find any Litigaran willing to defend her, Zhaan could only turn to Rygel and Chiana for help. And since the Litigaran legal code forbids lying, it was no surprise that the case started badly. Soon, Zhaan had withdrawn far into her own mind, overcome by hallucinations of her missing friends.

written by Steven Rae
directed by Ian Watson
music by Guy Gross

Guest Cast: Steve Jacobs (Ja Rhumann), Sandy Gore (Judge), Simone Kessell (Finzzi), Marin Mimica (Dersch), Peter Kowitz (Tarr)

Notes: Originally titled Re: Union, this story was intended as the second season premiere. When the producers chose not to delay revealing Crichton, D’Argo and Aeryn’s fate, new framing footage was filmed and the episode was moved down the schedule.

LogBook entry by Dave Thomer

The crew’s usual sense of timing prevails when Moya’s defense screen goes down for repairs just as a Halosian ship attacks. The resulting energy surge bounces everyone but Zhaan’s consciousness out of their own bodies and into another. For Crichton, this presents an interesting opportunity to be much, much closer to Aeryn’s body than he could have expected, while Aeryn gets the shorter end of the stick inside Rygel’s body and Rygel takes up residence in Crichton’s. Less amusing is Pilot’s predicament; he’s not handling being inside Chiana’s body very well, and D’Argo’s mind struggles to keep up with the demands of Pilot’s body. Zhaan travels to the Halosian ship to try and settle the dispute, but Tak, the ship’s commander, is determined to destroy Moya, claiming that Talyn attacked his ship unprovoked. Zhaan arranges for the commander to inspect Moya to prove its peaceful status. The tour is less than successful, as Tak takes ill; worse, his vomit is corrosive, and begins to eat away at Moya. Perhaps worst of all, Tak’s second in command Yoz tells Zhaan that it was Tak who initiated hostilities with Talyn, and he’s determined to earn glory for himself by destroying Moya. Upon his return, Tak launches another attack, causing another round of body switching, leaving it up to Zhaan to find a way to vercome the Halosians and return her friends to their rightful bodies.

written by Michael Cassutt
directed by Ian Watson
music by Guy Gross

Guest Cast: Lani John Tupu (Capt. Crais), Dominique Sweeney (Tak), Thomas Holesgrove (Yoz)

LogBook entry by Dave Thomer

An energy penetrates Moya and envelops Crichton. When Aeryn fires on it, the sphere embeds itself into the ship and spits Crichton out. Then it spits out another Crichton, or at least a primitive Neanderthalesque version thereof . . . and then yet another, this time a cranially enhanced, “highly evolved” edition. While Chiana attends to the past Crichton, the present and future versions figure out the sphere’s purpose – it collects and tests specimens of life forms from this dimension, and it wants to collect data on humans. The only problem is that the trip back to the sphere’s home dimension is likely fatal – and if one of the Crichtons doesn’t volunteer, the sphere will just bring Moya and all its crew. To save everyone, one Crichton must sacrifice himself . . . but who’s willing to volunteer, and will the rest of the crew agree with his decision?

story by Gabrielle Stanton & Harry Werksman, Jr.
teleplay by Grant McAloon
directed by Catherine Millar
music by Guy Gross

Guest Cast: none

LogBook entry by Dave Thomer

Aeryn and Crichton find themselves getting closer while working in cramped surroundings, but Aeryn quickly derails the romantic encounter before it can get started. Soon after, the crew encounters one of the Breakaway Colonies, worlds settled by Sebaceans that are independent of the Peacekeepers and neutral in their conflict with the Scarrans. Relaxing in a nightclub, they observe one of the planet’s courtship rituals – a man and woman place a drop of liquid on their tongues and then kiss; the resultant taste reveals the two’s genetic compatibility or lack thereof. One of the club’s patrons, Katralla, is particularly urgent in her search. She is heir to the planet’s throne, but unless she can find a mate in the next two days, she will lose her status and the throne will pass to her younger brother Clavor. What Katralla doesn’t know is that Clavor has sabotaged her DNA, mutating it to be incompatible with any Sebacean. But what Clavor doesn’t know is that the mutations make her compatible with humans. So when Katralla performs the ritual with Crichton, there is much rejoicing – on everyone’s part but Crichton, who’s less than eager to enter an arranged marriage. The planet’s matriarch has one more ace up her sleeve – Scorpius has arrived, and Crichton has just two options: marry the princess, or be turned over to the Peacekeeper.

written by David Kemper
directed by Andrew Prowse and Tony Tilse
music by Guy Gross

Guest Cast: Wayne Pygram (Scorpius), Felicity Price (Princess Katralla), Bianca Chiminello (Jenavian Charto), Matt Day (Counsellor Elka Tyno), Tina Bursill (Empress Novia), Felix Williamson (Prince Clavor), Aaron Cash (Dregon), Gavin Robins (Cargn), Francesca Buller (ro-NA), Jonathan Hardy (Kahaynu)

LogBook entry by Dave Thomer

Having Starbursted away from the Royal Planet in a futile effort to draw Scorpius away, Moya has encountered one of the Builders, the Leviathans’ creators and gods. The meeting is bittersweet; upon learning of Moya’s parenting of Talyn, the Builder determines that she must be decommissioned. Over Zhaan’s pleas, Moya begins to shut herself down. Crichton doesn’t fare much better, as he’s now a target not only of Scorpius, but of Clavor and the Scarran agents who want to ensure that Clavor takes the throne. Attempts to ensure his safety only lead to betrayals and desperate escapes, until the time of the wedding finally arrives. To avoid being at the ceremony, Aeryn accepts a would-be suitor’s invitation to go rock-climbing, an expedition that leaves both of them injured. The rest of the crew watches as Crichton and Katralla are wed – and then, as is the planet’s custom, transformed into living statues, to spend the next eighty cycles learning the ways of the court.

written by David Kemper
directed by Andrew Prowse
music by Guy Gross

Guest Cast: Wayne Pygram (Scorpius), Felicity Price (Princess Katralla), Bianca Chiminello (Jenavian Charto), Matt Day (Counsellor Elka Tyno), Tina Bursill (Empress Novia), Felix Williamson (Prince Clavor), Aaron Cash (Dregon), Gavin Robins (Cargn), Francesca Buller (ro-NA), Jonathan Hardy (Kahaynu)

LogBook entry by Dave Thomer