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Summary and analysis by Dallascaper D'Argo, suffering the effects of "hyper-rage," is on a mission to kill the only other competing male on Moya, John. Apparently good at hiding, John finally emerges from the bowels of the ship and learns that D'Argo had left Moya 3 solar days earlier. The crew goes down to a nearby planet, named Skykar, in search of their Luxan shipmate. What they find is a planet populated by people who spend their days working the fields and their nights partying. Among the happy campers is D'Argo, seemingly cured of his rage and content to stay on the planet. One of the strange aspects of Skykar, in the minds of the local population, it is the end of the work cycle. The next day is a rest day, which explains the party atmosphere. However, when they wake up in the morning it's the last day of another work cycle and off to the fields they go. The people never have a day off - they always think it's Friday, hence the title of the episode. The entire economy of Skykar revolves around the harvest of Tannot roots. Offered as food, the crew is suspicious of the Tannot root and the strange leader of the local population, Volmae. However, never one to refuse an offer of free food, Rygel gorges himself on the roots. Shortly after eating the root, and just as the crew is about to give up on D'Argo, Rygel is nearly killed by explosions. Aeryn takes Rygel back to Moya while John and Zhaan stay on the planet. Little does John know that he is about to be drawn into the strange world of Skylar. He is abducted by a small group of unusually lucid Skylkarins and they insert a worm-like creature into John's abdomen. The pain is excruciating and John is told the only way to make it go away is to eat the Tannot root. John resists at first, but eventually gives in to the pain and eats the plant. John realizes that eating the plant is what makes nearly everyone on the planet a zombie, including D'Argo and Zhaan. However, the worm inside John keeps him from being affected. The lucid Skykarians have a rare natural immunity to the root. They tell John that their culture has been devastated by the root and want him to bring help. However, the population's leader, Volome has other plans for John. Thinking he is now just another mindless zombie, Volome tells John she wants to use Moya as cargo ship to transport Tannot root. John soon learns the true use of Tannot root and its connection to Peacekeepers. With Zhaan and D'Argo mindless zombies, John must work with Aeryn and a suddenly explosive Rygel to save the day. Analysis: This is one of those episodes that I have trouble writing anything about. Boring, hypnotic, and uneventful are all terms that come to mind when thinking of TGIFA. I don't need explosions every 5 minutes to keep my attention, but the pace of this episode is so slow it almost put me to sleep the first time I watched it. However, this episode does have its moments. The "woody" scene with John and Aeryn is, in my opinion, the funniest scene of season one. John and Zhaan's bed scenes are priceless moments and demonstrate John's sexual immaturity compared to Zhaan. I could write a whole thesis that John, in those scenes, is a metaphor for America's "uptight" attitude toward sex and Zhaan is a metaphor for the rest of the world's more "realistic" attitude. If only this episode was more interesting, my mind wouldn't wonder and I wouldn't spend all my time thinking such nonsense. You can download both scenes from the Download Theater. There is some serious character development with Aeryn. She is placed in the uncomfortable position of resolving a problem, not with a pulse riffle, but with her brain. Watching the satisfaction on Aeryn's face as she solves the mystery of Rygel's explosion issue is quite gratifying.
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Originally aired in the US April 23, 1999 Written by David Wilks Directed By Rowan Woods
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