Andromeda

SF elements:

growing band of spacefarers travelling around having adventures, engaged in restoring the 300-year dead Commonwealth of Planets



2003 / DVD

22 x 50 min episodes

season 4 review

So, in the fourth season, we have an arc, and a bonkers conclusion.

The arc is about the dark Abyss, the Route of Ages, the arrival of a mega Magog mother ship, and the Commonwealth devolving into Civil War. At least, I think that's what it is about: the whole season is very ragged and confusing. The Commonwealth appears to be self-destructing, with mysterious Collectors trying to take over everything, and Dylan accused of treason. When he escapes (after having nobly given himself up to stand trial), he and the crew spend the rest of the season hunting smugglers and gathering unimportant Plot Coupons, while commenting on the fact that there are 3 million Magog about a month away. For example, in "Time Out of Mind", the episode before the two-part finale, there's a lot of fuss about getting a Plot Coupon from Beka's past that is needed to fight the Abyss -- which is then not used !

In the finale, Dylan discovers he is God, and everyone else dies. (It will be interesting to see how they reboot for season 5. Maybe.)

It's as if a bunch of independent script writers were given a glimpse of a high-level outline, then sent off to write their episodes without ever being allowed to talk to each other (sometimes working on the same episode).

Rating: 4.5
[ unmissable | great stuff | worth watching | mind candy | waste of time | unfinishable ]

reviewed 2 July 2012