A gigolo is kidnapping women and sucking fluid out of their brains. Cade’s on to him, but this Gua isn’t just a gigolo.
(U.S. premiere on August 6, 2000)
Written by Andrea Stevens
Directed by Randolph Cheveldave
| Nostradamus Says |
On the fields of revolution
Where England's traitor king runneth
Passion's due is stolen from opulence.
The undercroft keeps the salve of enemy wounds.-- Quatrain 21, Century 8 |
EDDIE: She writes about romance, passion and sex - it's like she tore a page right out of my life. |
EDDIE: Distrustful and R-Rated, definitely my type. |
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GUEST STARS
Lisa Howard – Renee Ashford
Ben Bass – Russ
Alan C. Peterson – Detective Walker
Robin Avery – Jennifer Ashford
Elizabeth Carol Savenkoff – Yvonne
Lisa Howard is better known as the talented
Lili Marquette on Earth: Final Conflict.
WHAT HAPPENED
Jennifer Ashford sits by the fire in a hotel room, reading and sipping a martini. A handsome man named Russ walks down the hall to her room, taking an orchid from a vase as he approaches.
Jennifer meets him at the door, and he introduces himself. She’s going by the name of "Christina."
She’s nervous, but he tells her, "You deserve to be loved." He begins to undress her.
He ties her up. As they make love he reaches over to his coat and gets out a large syringe.
He stabs her head with the syringe and sucks out cerebral fluid. (spoilers)
ANALYSIS
Despite its cheesy premise, "The Harvest" is an exciting adventure. The credit for this goes to Russ, one of the few really engaging villains First Wave has introduced.
Never mind his regenerative powers. What makes Russ special is that he’s smart enough to use his natural advantages and avoid a direct confrontation with Cade.
Writer Andrea Stevens takes an unusual approach in revealing Russ to Cade very early on, in the middle of Act I. It pays off – we get to watch Russ and Cade try to outmaneuver each other instead of twiddling our thumbs waiting for Our Hero to figure out what’s going on.
The confrontation over drinks in the Whitmore Hotel is particularly nice. For once, the secret nature of the Gua invasion and Cade’s war against them is in the foreground – neither Russ nor Cade can afford to take public action against each other.
Like any good villain, Russ also has a flaw. His addiction to oxytocin makes him a little bit desperate as the episode goes on, which gives Cade just enough of an edge to win.
Too many of the Gua’s plots have foundered on the stupidity of their agents. There’s nothing particularly deep about "The Harvest", but it’s nice to see a well-executed thriller.
UNANSWERED QUESTIONS
It’s possible she was given different instructions than Yvonne, but why did Jennifer Ashford have Russ’s phone number?
OOPS!
There’s a slight continuity error in the climax: Cade shoots Russ five times – he could hardly miss at that range – but there are only four bullet wounds on Russ’ chest. You can also see the outlines of the blood packs for the wound effect underneath Russ’ tight undershirt.
TUNE IN NEXT WEEK
Cade captures a suitcase full of Gua orbs in "Rubicon". What will he do now that he finally has the evidence he’s been searching for?
What do you think? Send your comments to the editor.
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