This one picks up right where last week’s episode left off, with Blake doing a ship’s log entry to remind us what happened. They are now headed toward Aristo to try to deliver the energy cells to Ensor Sr., find out what Orac is, and obtain some anti-radiation medicine as Avon and the others who visited the Cephlon last week are showing signs of radiation sickness. Meanwhile, Travis and Servalan are trying to beat them to the punch on that second item.
Blake and Cally beam down, as they’re the only ones not sick. They have to jump through hoops with Ensor’s drone making them ditch their weapons before being allowed through the barrier to visit Ensor. The inventor is glad to see them, thinking they’re ready to replace his waning energy cell. But alas, they’re not doctors. He agrees to go with them to their ship which has excellent medical facilities. He has plenty of radiation sickness medicine on hand as well. And of course, he must bring Orac with him - a super artificial intelligence that can take over any other machinery. So they head back out as they can’t communicate through the barrier to be teleported out.
And Travis and Servalan? Ensor saw them coming and put up a barrier. Orac reminded him that there is an underground set of tunnels, but Ensor assures him that the Phibians control those and will take care of anyone who ventures there. Orac even suggests it would be an act of mercy to warn the people to spare them from dealing with the Phibians. That sets up a chilling scenario that turns out to be the biggest letdown of the show. As they venture through the tunnels, Travis and the Supreme Commander hear a series of growls and are aware of some unearthly presence. Then when Travis goes forward to check out a tunnel a reptile hand like the one on the Creature from the Black Lagoon clamps on Servalan. She screams and Travis comes back and shoots it. A full shot looks like someone on his hands and knees with a sheet over him wearing a fake head and hands. It collapses immediately. That was the big scare, and there’s not another one in sight. The two villains then get through the tunnels with minimum effort and have to blow one wall to burst into Ensor’s "impregnable" headquarters. Blake, Cally and Ensor then have to go back through the tunnels to escape. They too encounter exactly one Phibian. Cally screams and Blake takes it out without even a weapon – hitting it with something. Maybe Ensor was remembering the Phibians from some prior heyday because here they were about the most unthreatening threat anyone’s faced so far this season.
Ensor’s luck runs out and he dies before he can even get out of his own headquarters. Blake and Cally emerge with Orac, and Blake puts a big rock over the entrance to keep Travis from following. (In typical fashion, he only puts one big rock. He wants to slow Travis down, but would not leave him to be trapped underground permanently.) However, Travis and Servalan took a short cut and beat them out. Luckily, Avon got tired of waiting around and beamed down to check on Blake and Cally, so he shoots Travis’s robotic hand and they leave the two of them behind, assuring them they’ll let the Federation know that they helped Blake and company get Orac. Servalan tells Travis that “he’s” going to be in trouble. But the best line came from Avon after shooting Travis in the hand. “I was aiming for his head,” he admits, with disappointment.
On the ship, it turns out Orac is a supercomputer but also a super pain in the neck – talking like Ensor and in circles. He tells them he sees the future and sees for certain that the Liberator will blow up soon. When asked to be more specific, he says “Now it will happen in less time.” And when the subject of dishonesty comes up and they ask Orac if he’s being honest with them, he replies, “If I were being dishonest, how would any of you even know it?” Clearly, he’s not going to be one of those computers who would hear someone say. “I’m a liar. I never tell the truth. In fact, I’m lying now,” and then short circuit while trying to understand the paradoxical statement.
The episode concludes with the Liberator blowing up – well, just the image of the predicted future on the main screen. Can they prevent it? To be continued next season.
This episode has a lot of action and some surprises, but the Phibians were a dud. I’ll give it a 7.
