Andromeda
"The Banks of the Lethe"

Airdate: November 27, 2000

We find the crew of the Andromeda engaged in an experiment for some really annoying grey aliens called the Perseids, which has Rommie linked with the very black hole that Dylan spent 300 years of his life orbiting. During this mapping of the Cosmic Wave somehow a link with the past is created and they find themselves in contact with Dylan's long dead lady love, Sara.

This lady, a scientist by trade, has come to the singularity during the height of the war in order to rescue her man. (And doesn't that make a nice change?) She has heard tales that he is trapped inside his ship and has plans to use anti-gravity generators to pull the Andromeda Ascendant free. (Not only ballsy but she has brains too. Why do I get the feeling she isn't going to be around very long?).

Sara: brainy, ballsy, and Dylan's one true love.

Meanwhile, back in the future, Harper has invented a wonderful teleportation device that reads molecules, destroys them, and then recreates them elsewhere -- unfortunately those molecules promptly self-destruct on arrival. Mind you, that little problem is soon overcome. He can even make it work across time. ("Really?" I hear you cry. Well, you'd never have guessed if I hadn't told you, would you?)

Right in the midst of the all this, those nasty Nitzscheans come along and upset things again in BOTH time frames. So, Dylan must decide whether to risk his life for his love or stay put and work on re-forming the Commonwealth. Tricky eh?

Despite what it might look like from my comments above, I actually quite enjoyed this out and out love story. (I must have been in the mood for romance) It was nice to see another female character with brains and the courage to use them when faced with a difficult situation. This is beginning to look like something that Andromeda seems to actually be good at. (Unlike so many other SF shows we could all name).

Even though, yet again, it was pretty obvious where the story was headed, there were some nice moments both funny and poignant in nature and on the whole the show was quite touching without being too cloying.

Unfortunately, the stories so far in the series have been a little to predictable. They seem to be re-treads of shows we've seen in other universes and on other worlds. The producers really need to be looking to give us something a little bit different if they expect to keep us engaged with Dylan's quest for much longer.

That said, if you like strong women characters, men with muscles and expandable-type weapons (double entendre intended), and you don't mind bubble-gum TV, Andromeda could well prove to be the show for you.

Andromeda airs at 8pm GMT Mondays on Sky One in the UK and is syndicated in North America so check your local listings for show times.

We welcome your comments on The 11th Hour and this review. Please send letters to: letters@the11thhour.com

< Previous Review | Next Review >