An unsual episode, but unusual in a positive way. The moment I read the synopsis I started thinking how the other
Sages of the Single Season would react, especially the American ones.
I think it's fair enough to assume that space stations might be named after former presidents. Unless things get a bit less partisan I can't imagine that they would use any modern presidents but it's a good way of firming up the future world building.
I was thinking exactly the same. And for me
Ronald Reagan wouldn't be the first president name that would come to mind when thinking of naming a space station. Let's contextualize this with references to other TV shows. This is a 1980s show, so the show was produced in roughly the same time period shows like
The Americans,
Deutschland 83 are set in, which I strongly recommend. In both shows there's a reference to Reagan's "Star Wars" project and the impact it had in Soviet and East German espionage services. So, if the Americans named a station I'd think of a possible weaponization of space. If that was intentional on the part of the writers, that was an interesting criticism, though not a very realistic one.
Partisanship was another thing I thought about. A Ronald Reagan space station? And how would Americans react to the first American starship being named the USS Bill Clinton? Or perhaps the President Donald Trump Moon Colony? (Well, in that case I'd assume it was built by Trump's company, so I wouldn't be surprised if the moon had a Trump Tower of some sort.)
Which reminds me of another TV show, short-lived and uneven, but at times very funny,
BrainDead. In this show, alien bugs develop a plan to invade earth and the way they do it is by taking control of the brains of American politicians. The story is quite convoluted, but all I need to say is that the bugs know that by fostering division and unreasonable radicalism, people will be too busy to figureout what their real plan is. In one part of the story, Congress is discussing the opening of a concession stand in the White House or in the Capitol (one of those government buildings) but can't reach an agreement about the name the stand should bear.
the idea is to name the concession stand after a hero fireman whose last name is Sheree, I think. Tony Shalhoub plays Republican Senator Red Whetus and he has no problem with Sheree, and even thinks the fireman is a real hero, but he is not happy that Sheree sounds too much like "Sharia" and he doesn't want to give the impression that Republicans favor sharia law in any way. His solution: name it The Ronald Reagan concession stand. Except that... he doesn't want the snack kiosk called a "concession stand" because, in his own words, "Ronald. Reagan. Never. Conceded!"
So, yeah, I'm imagining how the Democrats "conceded" to having an entire space station named after the iconic actor turned president.
I’m conflicted about this episode. On the one hand, it’s a redemption story, with Pal trying to prove herself to Nathan. And I like redemption stories. On the other hand, it features an American villain – a stereotypical, sexist, paranoid, crooked Texan who calls people “boy.” Obviously, that didn’t win me over.
Yep, I was thinking exactly of your reaction. The way I see things, it's funny how when Americans make their own shows they name their ships and bases with impressive names such as Intrepid or Enterprise. But this show is made by the British, so that wualifies as an outside look, and in their view, the Americans would pick a name like Ronald Reagan. And the commander, of course, is a cowboy. Or a Dallas Cowboys fan, the closest thing. Add to the mix the fact the actor is actually Brazilian, and... I don't know what to make of that. I remember Daniel Benzali from
Murder One in the 1990s, and he had great screen presence back then.
I'd say this episode was interesting because of these aspects. If you choose to see it as the English writers' funny banter at the expense of the Americans the choices made for this episode make sense, even though they can be criticized for not being realistic. After all, the British, as they portray themselves, as the "normal guys," and the Americans are more like stereotypical joke characters. But Benzali's acting was impeccable as expected.
Specifically about the show, I liked how it ended. The fact the sister was not a sister at all was a nice twist. I still don't like the Box, though. Its AI does much more than it should and the way it could interface with a partly analog pool table was not believable at all. If only it had been a computer simulation of a pool game, then I might consider it sort of plausible.
Oh, and I definitely don't like how the characters throw the term "Star Cops" around even in official situations. It's OK if they do it informally among themselves as a joke or pride thing, but it is quite another if it's in a serious conversation in official police business with other people and institutions.
This episode gets
8 overelaborate Star Cops badges that look more like ancient Mayan calendars.
