The Lone and Level Sands

Andromeda Episode Review

In which there is Tony Todd.

What Happened

Dylan, Tyr, Rommie and Harper take the Eureka Maru to a secret negotiation with the Calderans, but are attacked by Ogami raiders. As they fight, a ship called the Bellaraphon appears and drives the raiders away. The Bellaraphon is an explorer ship sent out from Earth, traveling using an acceleration system instead of the slipstream; only a little over 20 years have past for the crew, while 3000 have gone by in the rest of the universe.

Captain Medas offers to take them to an inhabited system, but 3 months travel for them will be 57 years for everyone else. Medas' second-in-command and several others want to end their mission and return to Earth, but Medas is committed to going forward. Natalia tells Dylan that Medas has a slip-fighter in the hold, which would allow them to repair the Maru's engine, forcing Dylan to mediate a possible mutiny if he is going to get home anytime soon.

The Good

• Tony Todd. Fun, a real screen presence, and a physical match for Kevin Sorbo, making their conflicts even more believable.
• Sea metaphors generally indicate the mentally unbalanced. Remember the Pax Magenllanic's whole Flying Dutchman issue?
• Harper bonding with the engineer dude about Earth history.
• Captain Medas is totally hitting on Rommie. And she's totally loving it.
• Harper's "Help File" telling Beka and Trance how to rewire the ship. Oh, that's priceless.
• Rommie and Medas' goodbye. I'm glad they skipped the "He's crazy!" characterization in favor of something more complex.
• Dylan describing how he's a little envious of Medas, who gets to be an explorer instead of a soldier. I like his deal with Rommie to someday "point ourselves at the farthest star" and see what's out there.

The Bad

• Kind of slow in places and I was a little fuzzy about the science.

The Cliche

• Dylan: "Why is the slipstream always breaking down?" Blame the writers, Dylan.

Best Lines

Medas: "It's amazing you're still sane."
Dylan: "That's what the voices in my head keep telling me."

Rommie (sarcastic): "Thanks for your help."
Tyr (honestly confused): "You're welcome."

What Did I Think?

Another solid episode, with a nice performance from Tony Todd.