Episode Guide > Season Two > Mind The Baby

OAD: March 17, 2000

Written by: Richard Manning

Directed By:Andrew Prowse

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Summary:

John and D'Argo are hold up in an abandoned structure built into an asteroid with Aeryn their only supply of food and water. They can't leave for risk of being discovered by Scorpius, who is nearby searching for them. Meanwhile, Zhaan, Chiana, and Rygel are free from the clutches of the Peacekeepers. However, Moya is intent on finding her child, Talyn, and decides to return to the asteroid field to search for him. Crais is having difficulties of his own. Scorpius is bombarding the asteroid field with messages aimed at disorienting the Leviathan child and they are confusing Talyn. The child Leviathan gunboat wants to fight - not hide, but is comforted by Aeryn when she arrives. It turns out she and Crais made a deal. In order to save John and D'Argo, Aeryn promised Crais her assistance in calming Talyn. It is an arrangement John and D'Argo, when they finally find out about it, don't like.

Subduing Aeryn, John takes her Prowler and boards Talyn with the intent of removing Crais from its control. John succeeds and returns, with the captured Crais, to Moya. Thinking John, Aeryn, and D'Argo dead, Moya's crew are shocked to learn that all are alive and well. With Crais in custody, the crew are reunited and all seems well. But Moya's brat has a temper and decides it wants Peacekeeper guidance or it will fire upon its defenseless mother. Crais and Aeryn return to Talyn with the hopes of calming it enough to tuck in with Moya for an emergency starburst. However, plans go awry when Talyn decides it has a better idea and all are placed in danger when Scorpius discovers their presence and attacks.

Analysis:

This episode has a very strange feel to it. For starters, it was not intended as the season premiere. That honor was to have gone to an episode named Re-Union. Re-Union was sacked, for unknown reasons, and Mind the Baby was placed in the spot of being first up. Because there is a continuity gap--we are missing something from Re-union--this episode has a disjointed feel to it.

Also, like Family Ties, this episode is a collection of thoroughly enjoyable scenes. Unlike Family Ties, this episode doesn't have a story tying them together. It just moves from scene to scene tying up a few loose ends along the way and throwing in a few surprises to keep us guessing. At the time of first broadcast, I was quite disappointed in this episode. Perhaps it was a case of high expectations; the missing parts from Re-Union; or just problematic writing, I don't know. I have a feeling it may be a combination of all three.

However, since I've had a chance to view the episode a number of times recently, MTB does get better with age. Away from the shadow of FT and compared to some of season two's later offerings, this episode does stand on its own as a decent and entertaining show. Flawed, but fun, Mind the Baby is a pretty good romp in the uncharted territories.