Episode Report Card Keckler: C- | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Mallomar
By Keckler | Season 2 | Episode 17 | Aired on 02.26.2003
The rescue ship catches up to the prison transport ship.
Prisoners' Suite. Terence Trent D'Alien watches as Trip -- once more in restraints -- groans awake. "You should thank me!" Terence quips. Trip doesn't know what he's talking about, and asks after Quantum. Terence natters, "He's with them, repairing the docking hatch! They said there's a shuttle coming for us! I'm sorry I had to intervene but you didn't give me much choice! You're lucky they didn't kill you -- [Frick] was furious! But everything's fine now! They're going to set us free!" Beat. "You're welcome!" Trip gives Terence a baleful look. Terence doesn't notice. The transport ship rocks. Quantum announces that the rescue ship has docked, and goes to open the air-lock door. He stares at Trip as he walks by. The door slides open to reveal Dance Of The Reed Flutes's security detail! With guns! Guns that are firing! Frack is hit right away, and falls to the deck. A firefight between the four security officers and Frick ensues. Frick uses the prisoners as alien shields, but is finally hit. May-scarpone comes from nowhere to check on a downed crewmember. Since when does he get to go on rescue missions? "I see my message got through," Quantum states. "Loud and clear, sir," Dance Of The Reed Flutes responds. Trip asks to be released from his restraints, and Terence Trent D'Alien wants to know who the hell all these people are. Quantum tosses the remote control for the restraints to Dance Of The Reed Flutes and tells him to use it. The set shakes as the ship's orbit starts to rot, and Quantum orders his crew to get everyone on the shuttle while he runs off to the cockpit. There's mild anarchy with May-rinate urging, "Let's go! Let's go!" as people get released and fall into the shuttle. No one bothers to pick up Frick, and I wonder who dragged Frack off.
Cockpit. Quantum attempts to save the transport ship's orbit, and tells an inquisitive Trip that he's almost ready to evacuate. Trip leaves. A few things spark, and Quantum leaves. There's this hysterical shot of Dance Of The Reed Flutes running back into the transport ship where he ricochets back and forth off the walls four times. I rewind it quite a few times. He yells at Quantum to shake a tail feather, and Trip appears to drag Frack off. Maybe now Frack will forgive him after all. Quantum struggles to save Frick, who suddenly wakes up and decides he's not ready to leave yet. Quantum and Frick fight. Frick closes the door between the transport ship and the shuttle and orders Quantum to break orbit. Quantum tells him it's a bit late to have regrets, but Frick doesn't believe him. Quantum tries to open the airlock, but Frick throws him against the wall. I guess he doesn't want to share him with anyone else. They fight. The docked ships careen toward a blue and white planet. They fight some more. Why the hell hasn't Dance Of The Reed Flutes or May-shed-potatoes come back for him yet? They fight some more. Frick takes a couple of swings at Quantum with a wrist restraint until Quantum finally grabs the wrist remote and zaps Frick. Quantum opens the airlock just as Dance Of The Reed Flutes comes cantering back. Frick staggers off to the cockpit. Quantum tries to plead with him to consider the preciousness of life. "I won't go back!" Frick yells. Quantum makes like he's going to go after Frick, but Dance Of The Reed Flutes saves us from any more of Quantum's selfless acts and tugs on his shoulder, saying, "It's now or never, sir!" Frick locks himself in the cockpit, and Quantum looks anguished as Dance Of The Reed Flutes drags him off the transport ship. The shuttle undocks from the transport ship and takes off to a higher orbit.