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Episode Studies by Clayton Barr

enik1138
-at-popapostle-dot-com
"Flower Child"
TV episode
Written by Carl Cramer
Directed by Jim Charleston

 

After inhaling the pollen of a mysterious flower, Bess has an unrelenting urge to head north.

 

Read the full summary at the Making of Timelines Yahoo Group

 

Didja Know?

 

The title of this episode is borrowed from the term which, in the 1960s, came to be associated with the hippie movement, for the members' penchant for wearing flowers or flower-themed clothing as a symbol of love, peace, and universal brotherhood.

 

Didja Notice?

 

Notice that Morgan almost gets run over by the ATV at 0:37 on the DVD.

 

This episode is narrated by Morgan, who states that the group has been on the planet for 130 days and stuck in the bio-dome for 81. But, Morgan's math is off. They discovered the dome on the 61st day in "Moon Cross", making it just 69 days they've been there.

 

Excited at the prospect of leaving the bio-dome and getting back in touch with civilization (though Bess reminds him the colony ship is still two years away), Morgan exclaims on the luxuries of "static loft mattresses and auto-tropic temp control and 5,000 channels of omnistimulation."

 

Just as in "A Memory Play", we see a moon in the sky at 6:14, and again, at 34:52, on the DVD that is clearly a time-lapse of Earth's moon, looking nothing like the dual moons of G889.

 

Suspecting that Bess may be pregnant, Julia states that she would like to do an abscan on her. Presumably, "abscan" is an abbreviation for "abdominal scan". Julia's suspicion that Bess is pregnant comes from the analysis of her gonadotropin levels; this would be a reference to hCG (human chorionic gonadotropin), which is produced by the placenta during pregnancy.

 

"Suppressors" seems to be a term on Earth 2 used to describe a male fertility inhibitor. 

 

At 17:40 on the DVD, Baines reveals the name of one of the "extras" of the group, Gail. She is a black woman seen in the background in numerous episodes but never previously named or given any dialog.

 

Baines is suspicious of the flower spores that have infected Bess and compares it to the time the essence of a dead Terrian possessed Danziger. This is a reference to the events of "After the Thaw".

 

At 26:16 on the DVD, Morgan yanks off the eye patch covering his wounded eye. Apparently he was wearing the patch over the comm gear on his head, because he yanks off the patch without removing the gear!

 

After having lost the fleeing Bess' tracks, Morgan finds them again, alongside another set. Morgan reports back to Julia on his gear that "there's something else out here. Bess isn't alone." It's seems pretty obvious from the size and shape of the track in the ground that the creature is a Grendler, so why doesn't he say so? Either that, or Bigfoot is following her! (We soon see that it is, indeed, a Grendler.)

 

The gear display at 34:36 of Morgan Martin designates him as "Liason". This is a misspelling of "liaison", which was Morgan's job description in "First Contact" Part 1, i.e. government liaison to the Eden Project.

 

Notice at 39:16 on the DVD that Morgan leaves behind on the ground the jumpers he got from Alonzo earlier. Alonzo finds it and picks it up not long after.

 

The skeleton seen on the mesa top at 40:32 on the DVD may be that of a Grendler, judging by the large jawbone.

 

There appear to be two jet contrails in the sky (and possibly a third along the horizon) at 41:44 on the DVD.

 

Morgan says the climate warmed up for days and days. Its hard to know how many days he means by the phrase. In the following episode, "All About Eve", it's stated it's been only 6 days since they left he winter camp (which occurs in this episode). At least a day passes in this episode, so, apparently, Morgan's idea of "days and days" is 5 (or fewer!). 

 

Unanswered Questions

 

How did the Grendler get caught in the trap of the flower's pollen, which makes the infected host travel north to complete pollination at the geographic vent? Native species, especially intelligent ones, should know to avoid the flower.

 

Memorable Dialog

 

not edible.wav

laser defense engaged.wav

since when are you making the rules.wav

once again we decided to just wing it.wav

you look like Hell.wav

this better not be for nothing.wav

 

Back to Earth 2 Episode Studies