A convention at the UFO Center brings visitors to town -- some comic, others deadly.
| |
| Convention-goer: I am Zenaplox from the Planet Zetagon. I come to destroy humanity and return to my home planet.Liz: Well then it's really great that you're starting out with a nice hearty breakfast. |
Max: Every time I see her, she starts going into slow motion.
Michael: Maxwell, you've got to be strong. You can't let yourself be led aroundby your energy source. |
Frakes: Well I'm going to need a suite, too.Max: I don't think there are any.Frakes: No, the right reply would be "I'll take care of it, Mr. Frakes."Max: Yeah, but I don't-- (Frakes shakes his head.)Max: I'll see what I can do-- (head shake)Max: I'll move you to another motel.Frakes (grinning): Thanks, Max. |
(Originally aired February 2, 2000)
Written by Emily Whitesell
Directed by Tucker Gates
GUEST STARS
Diane Farr - Amy De Luca
Wendle Josepher - Jennifer
Kevin Weisman - Larry Trillin
Tom Bower - Everett Hubble
John Cullum - James Valenti Sr.
Steve Hytner - Milton the UFOlogist
Jonathan Frakes - himself (uncredited)
WHAT HAPPENED
Crowds wander the streets outside the UFO Center. One costumed alien watches Liz as she works outside the Crashdown Cafe . . . (more
spoilers)
ANALYSIS
Guest star and series executive producer
Jonathan Frakes demonstrates that he is able to laugh at himself a bit in this episode, a trait shared throughout the series so far.
"Convention" shows off the lighter side of aliens with Frakes' well-timed pratfalls, the wild costuming and the mock-serious screen card introducing each day of the convention.
It's all the stuff of
fandom, and fandom can be funny. But it can also be very serious, sometimes dangerously obsessive.
Stalking aliens
Alien-hunter Everett Hubble is a deadly force, though his reticence cloaks his true menace. It is only when he confronts Max that we see just how loose Hubble's hold on reality is.
The brush with Hubble also reminds us that the Hand Killer is still out there, and the string of bodies is longer than we thought.
Max, Michael and Isabel now have good reason to wonder if the missing fourth alien is dangerous, despite all of Michael's assumptions to the contrary..
The return of witnesses
Larry and Jen serves two purposes: reminding viewers of the events in the premiere and foreshadowing more complications. Larry's ongoing place in town is yet to be seen, but one can only imagine dark things ahead.
In particular, Larry may replace the increasingly conscience-troubled
Sheriff Valenti as the investigative force breathing down the teens' necks.
Off in the subplots
Meanwhile, our aliens keep pushing away their romantic interests. Max learns Michael's secret to willpower, Michael struggles to keep his uncaring facade, and Isabel continues to discourage
Alex.
This episode may be a structural counterpoint to "
Heat Wave," in which everyone got bit by the love bug. Here, everyone keeps cool.
But it is Isabel's choice of phrase when pushing away Alex that resonates: "obsession." This episode is all about obsession, as characters lose themselves in what they most desire.
The obsessions remain largely comic in the subplots, but Everett Hubble shows how tragically obsession can end. How the various obsessions of Larry, Milton and the main characters will develop remains to be seen, but the preview to next week's episode already suggests that some of them will take a darker turn.
WHAT WE LEARN
James Valenti Sr. lost his job as sheriff over unanswered questions regarding the unsolved 1972 Silo murder.
Michael thinks of mud every time he wants to slow things down with
Maria.
Jonathan Frakes is the first celebrity to contribute handprints for the UFO Center's walk of stars.
Jennifer was reading Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus in the Crashdown Cafe.
DANGLING PLOT THREADS
Who the Hand Killer is has become increasingly important. Is the killer really an alien, and what's his motivation?
Just what did Sheriff Valenti Sr. see in 1959?
REALITY (OR ROSWELL) CHECK
Bitter Lake is a real lake in New Mexico, even if there is no town there.
TUNE IN NEXT WEEK WHEN . . .
"Max didn't expect to feel jealous like everyone else does. Or show it like no one else can." Join Max and presumably
Liz and the rest of the gang on a "Blind Date".
What do you think? Send comments to the
author or editor.
advertisement
