Depending on where you stand, the third season of Star Trek: Voyager is either where this show started coming together…or started coming apart at the seams.

There’s actually much to like here, with The Swarm introducing a most promising new enemy (which we never hear from again), False Profits following up on the Next Generation episode The Price (which stranded two Ferengi on a wormhole-exploring mission in the Delta Quadrant as a throwaway gag), and some outstanding standalone shows like Distant Origin and the engrossing Worst Case Scenario, two of my favorites in the entire series. (more…)

The universe may have decided to let J. Michael Straczynski have a fifth season of Babylon 5, but it sure wasn’t about to make it easy. The negotiations with TNT weren’t finished by the time the cast’s options were set to expire; most agreed to a short extension, but Claudia Christian chose to let herself become a free agent. When she and Warner Brothers failed to come to terms, Straczynski suddenly found himself without a station commander. To add insult to injury, Straczynski found out about Christian’s departure while at a convention – at which the cleaning staff at his hotel dumped his notes and outlines for the beginning of the season. Given all these disruptions, it’s not really a surprise that season 5 often has a disjointed feel which disappointed many fans, myself included. Even if things had flowed smoothly, however, I think the basic structure of the season had significant flaws. (more…)

Somehow, over the years, I’d forgotten how new and different Xena: Warrior Princess really was at the time it premiered. I think part of the reason my memory was hazy was because, by that point, I’d already grown tired of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, the first Raimi/Tapert mythology-inspired series which was eventually eclipsed and outlasted by its spin-off. I’ve actually softened a bit on Hercules since then, but even so, Xena was – at least for part of its time on the air – a far superior series. (more…)

featuring the episodes Lafftrak, Stan’s Trial, Love Grows and White Trash

Consistently hailed by fans as an all-time classic installment of the series, Lafftrak opens this disc with a uniquely Lexxian look at reality TV. Not the most original concept ever committed to film, the crew goes looking for entertainment, only to find that they have become the main attraction for an unknown audience. The innuendo’s off the scale with this one, though things get good and wacky when Kai enters the picture. Keep an eye out for writer/producer Lex Giggeroff in a number of bizarre guest roles here. (more…)