Category: Alien Nation

As George gets closer to giving birth, he and Sikes are assigned to investigate a report of Tenctonese hormones being used as steroids by a bodybuilder. While the hormones can vastly increase human strenngth, they also have such side-effects as impotence, irrational behavior, and murderous psychosis. And those aren’t the only Tenctonese hormones impeding the investigation, as George undergoes a seemingly endless progression of mood swings. It soon becomes apparent that more than one person is involved, but in the end, it comes down to a violent confrontation with the man who started using the hormones – and the fight brings about the premature birth of George’s child.

written by Diane Frolov & Andrew Schneider
directed by John McPherson
music by David Kurtz

Guest Cast: Arthur Seidel (Desk Sgt. Rankin), William Shockley (Nick Coletta), A.D. Muyich (Viktor Wendkos), Hank Garrett (Marty Penn), Robert Neary (Don Zimmer), Debbie Barker (Karina Bowman), M.E. Loree (Doctor), Martin Garner (Sol Birnbaum), Jeff Skier (Guest), Neil Nash (Andrey), Patty Toy (Nurse), Oscar Dillon (Carl), Joe Hoke (Cop)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Sikes is preparing to take a well-earned vacation to Hawaii when a murder case sparks a memory of his early days in uniform. A young woman has been murdered after being injected with sodium pentathol – more commonly known as a “truth drug” – reminding Sikes of a serial killer who he failed to stop several years ago; trying to save the life of a hostage, Sikes laid his gun down, only to watch the helpless woman shot before his very eyes. What drives Sikes insane with anger is that sleazeball reporter Burns is playing into the killer’s hands: anonymous tips are leading Burns to grisly murder scenes and messages from the killer, all of which make it into the next morning’s paper without Burns providing any useful information to the police. Captain Grazer, worried about Sikes’ obsession with the case, has to order Sikes to take his vacation; instead, Sikes goes rogue, making good on his insistence that a case like this demands a bit of vigilante justice. But in the process of trying to exorcise the ghosts of his past, Sikes may be putting Burns in line to be the next victim.

written by Steven Long Mitchell & Craig W. Van Sickle
directed by Gwen Arner
music by Steve Dorff & Larry Herbstritt

Guest Cast: Jenny Gago (Beatrice Zepeda), Tobin Bell (Brian Knox), Robert Alan Browne (Foreman), Ivory Ocean (Dutchman), Jeff Doucette (Burns), Michele Lamar Richards (Lois Allen), Robert Balderson (Wounded Officer), Heather McComb (Cyndy), Eva Von Widman (Nurse Adele)

Notes: Jeff Doucette is demoted to a guest star in this episode, having appeared in the opening credits – but very few episodes of the show itself – for virtually the entire season.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

During a routine call, Sikes is attacked by a Newcomer criminal and is fatally wounded. Inexplicably, after he is pronounced dead, George discovers that he is still alive. Sikes later reveals that he had a vision of his attacker visiting him, dropping Tenctonese crystals on him, apologizing for killing him, and then bringing him back to life. The only evidence of this vision is the presence of a single crystal left with Sikes. The crystal is one of a variety used by a human/Newcomer religious sect where Sikes and George made an earlier routine stop. Sikes pays a visit to the order, and they lead him through a ceremony which causes him to remember with perfect clarity the vicious attack that crippled his father. Suddenly, Sikes isn’t just looking for a criminal on the loose – if his vision was any indication, he may be looking for a Newcomer who can perform miracles.

written by Tom Chehak
directed by Tom Chehak
music by David Kurtz

Guest Cast: Brian Thompson (Peter Rabbit), Ellen Wheeler (Okno), Milt Kogan (Doctor), Raffi Diblasio (Billy), Rif Hutton (Officer), John Sudol (Sikes’ father), Terri Semper (Nurse), Ryan Cashas (young Sikes)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

A uniquely Tenctonese cross between a lightweight fabric and an incredibly resilient metal, Nu-Knit is rolled out as a prime investment opportunity for Newcomers and humans alike. Its inventor, newcomer Edgar Allan Poe, has forged an uneasy alliance with a shifty human business partner, but when Poe is murdered – after someone replaces the water in his swimming pool with deadly salt water – that partner becomes a prime suspect. Sikes and George are on the case, but after hearing George sing the praises of Nu-Knit, Captain Grazer has also invested heavily in the company, and insists on pursuing the case from the standpoint of protecting his money. A visit to Nu-Knit’s factory leaves Sikes nauseous, almost to the point of fainting, prompting concerns about the company’s compliance with environmental laws. When Poe’s former business partner produces an alibi that, while not commendable, at least turns out to be true, the hunt is on for the real killer…someone who also has a reason to cover up the deadly secret behind Nu-Knit.

written by Andrew Schneider & Diane Frolov
directed by David Carson
music by David Kurtz

Guest Cast: Alan Fudge (Phil), Kim Braden (Marilyn Houston), Joseph Cali (Lee Smith), Armin Shimerman (Cyril Roman), David Selburg (Edgar Allen Poe), Beverly Leech (Rita Poe), Michele Lamar Richards (Lois Allen), Michael Zano (Mr. Elias), Bob Minor (Cop), Lance E. Nichols (Delivery Man), Stephen Hart (Thug)

Notes: There’s something refreshingly un-ironic about Armin Shimerman in the role of an unscrupulous, profit-mongering alien, even if it predates his regular role as Star Trek: Deep Space Nine’s Quark by three years.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Cathy learns that Andron, a child who she protected about the Tenctonese slave ship, is receiving some sort of special treatment, and she suspects it’s the same “treatment” he’s been receiving for years: he was taken from her to be indoctrinated into the ranks of the Overseers, beginning with the violent sacrifice of one of his own people. At first, Cathy’s warnings fall on deaf ears among both human and Newcomer child protection officials, and with no proof to back up her claims, even Sikes and George can’t act on her warnings. Desperate to help Andron and expose the Overseers who are working to once again enslave the Newcomers on Earth, Cathy takes matters into her own hands and spirits the boy away, but all she accomplishes in so doing is drawing potential kidnapping charges. The Overseers soon track Andron down, and decide that Cathy would make a fitting sacrifice to complete the boy’s training…

written by Steven Long Mitchell & Craig W. Van Sickle
directed by Harry S. Longstreet
music by Steve Dorff & Larry Herbstritt

Guest Cast: Jenny Gago (Beatrice Zepeda), Mike Preston (Rigac), Barbara Bush (Lorraine Clark), Jonathan Brandis (Andron), Dorothy Fielding (Ella Day), Doug Ballard (Mr. Eugene), Martin LaPlatney (Troy), Margaret Howell (Andron’s Mother), Yvette Freeman (Helen), Mitchell Allen (Andron at 7), Vlado Benden (Desk Clerk), Dustin Berkovitz (Newcomer Boy), Eli Guralnick (Female Overseer), Marin May (Newcomer Girl), Tom Pabst (Newcomer Sacrifice), Van Quatro (Male Overseer)

Notes: Cathy’s Tenctonese name is revealed to be Gelana. Guest star Jonathan Brandis would soon find fame in another genre series, seaQuest DSV, in which he starred as whiz kid Lucas Wolenczak. He does not say a single syllable of dialogue in this episode. Brandis later took his own life, at the age of 27, in 2003.

LogBook entry by Earl Green