Death’s Head Review: Issue #4 – Plaguedog!

We get a new artist for issue 4: Lee Sullivan, sometime artist for Transformers UK. The other creatives remain the same: writer Simon Furman, letterer Annie H, colourist Nick Abadzis and editor Richard Starkings.

The cover is by Bryan Hitch and Mark Farmer, the art team from Issue 1. A green-skinned, apelike creature with sharp claws, big teeth and cybernetic implants is snarling in the foreground. Behind, Death’s Head is holding his chain like a leash, “Heel, yes?”.

The caption tells us, “And now… Plaguedog!” with some nice creepy lettering. It’s a powerful, somewhat comical, image and the two characters are depicted really well. The background is nonspecific, but the smoke and dust add nice depth. A great cover that, unfortunately, promises more than it can deliver.

The story begins at a Los Angeles racetrack: a shadowy employer named Dead Cert it contracting Death’s Head to flush out and kill ‘The Mutt’ (not too hard to guess what this is). Meanwhile Spratt is being shown into their new office by the sinister undertaker (conveniently named ‘The Undertaker’) from the previous issue’s epilogue. Hearing that Spratt’s partner will arrive later, The Undertaker gloats that, “He’ll do for dessert!”

Not hearing this, Spratt steps into the darkened office. We’re given a title splash of him saying what fun the new office will be (he’s easily pleased – it looks pretty bare and dismal), while a slimy Plaguedog lurks above him.

In an uptown skyscraper, a birthday party is underway for Jules ‘Kneecap’ Venici. We learn he is a lieutenant of The Undertaker (a criminal boss, and rival to Dead Cert). A huge cake is delivered and, assuming it contains an assassin, Venici orders his gunmen to open fire. A shower of icing proves him wrong and, wiping his face, he sits down to be served a fresh slice of cake by a waiter.

The cake explodes, killing Venici, and the waiter is revealed to be Death’s Head in disguise. Chased by henchmen, the mechanoid retrieves a pistol hidden under a serving platter (having first grabbed a platter of roast duck) and opens fire.

Back in the darkened office, Spratt falls over a table and accidently avoids Plaguedog’s first swipe. The creature drops to the floor with a ‘slutch!’ and Spratt turns to face the full horror bearing down on him. He manages to fend off Plaguedog with a desk lamp, before them both tumble out of the office and crash through the floorboards.

At the uptown shoot-out, Death’s Head’s thought bubbles provide the necessary exposition: his mission is to kill Plaguedog. His plan to bring the creature out of hiding is by threatening The Undertaker’s lieutenants. Having killed one, he expects Plaguedog to be unleashed to protect the next in succession. Running out of ammunition, he flings plates, desserts and kebabs at his opponents, before using a table to sweep the remaining goons off the balcony (engaging his boot jets to save himself).

Emerging from the debris, Spratt boosts a hovercar to escape Plaguedog. The creature grabs onto the rear and Spratt reverses, slamming him into a wall. He then throws a match onto the leaking fuel, destroying Plaguedog in a huge explosion.

Upstairs, the telephone rings as The Undertaker tries to activate his now-deceased attack animal. The reason for doing so becomes clear in the next panel: Death’s Head has wiped out another lieutenant, and is disappointed that this has not brought out his quarry. He pokes his latest victim with his boot, “Guess he didn’t think you were worth it, eh?”

Returning to the offices, he finds a wrecked hovercar, an incinerated Plaguedog and an injured Spratt, who is too beat to explain matters. In three panels Death’s Head’s thoughts quickly spool through various punctuation: exclamation point, question mark, and finally dollar sign as he greedily rubs his hands together.

As an epilogue, The Undertaker is ranting about the loss of face he has suffered, and employing a new bounty hunter to wreak vengeance. An imposing character with a cannon for a right arm accepts, “They don’t call me Big Shot for nothing!”

As I mentioned with the cover, this issue doesn’t really deliver for me. I’m that afraid Sullivan’s art, while fine for the most part, really falls down with his depiction of Plaguedog. Hitch’s portrayal shows a ferocious artificially-engineered attack beast, Sullivan’s Plaguedog is little more than a big naked orc with a few wires attached.

It’s not even clear what Plaguedog is: in the title splash page he is mainly composed of slime (which may be a stylized version, or some amorphous hibernation mode) and seems to dwell on the ceiling like a spider. But when we actually see him, he is solid and brutish. Also, for an ‘ultimate killing machine’, he really struggles to get the better of an unarmed Spratt.

Aside from the main antagonist, Sullivan’s artwork is perfectly acceptable (that may sound like faint praise, but Bryan Hitch and Geoff Senior are tough acts to follow). Death’s Head’s action scenes have plenty of punch and the rendering of The Undertaker and Big Shot are both very good. It’s a shame that the two full-page spreads are so similar: Spratt in a darkened office with Plaguedog bearing down on him – the second one should have the impact, but it’s weakened by the first.

Spratt’s battle with Plaguedog takes up most space – probably too much, especially since we’ve had our ‘get to know the sidekick’ tale last issue. This relegates Death’s Head to a supporting role, and while it is fun watching him casually plough through the mobsters, the issue feels padded. For the first time in a usually plot-thick series, it seems Furman had too many pages and not enough story.

Another point about his opponents it that Venici and his crew are fairly cardboard cut-out mobsters (sharp-suited henchmen, spats footwear and “atsa matta for you!” accent). Considering we’ve already visited the genre in Issue 1, it feels repetitive. There’s also no trace of the exotic people and places from last issue – maybe ‘uptown’ is more homogenous (and has a retro fashion for the 1920s), but it doesn’t feel like the 8162 we were introduced to.

The pay-off is more enticing (though we don’t get resolution for a few issues): a showdown with Death’s Head is set in motion and Big Shot is a solid character design (and becomes a really fun antagonist). The idea of Death’s Head getting caught between two rival crimelords is a good one – both Dead Cert and The Undertaker seem promising and their feud over the next few issues is the closest thing the series gets to a story arc.

A final point on the storytelling: though it’s played for a joke, it’s still a big coincidence to swallow that Spratt should be randomly hunted by the very creature Death’s Head has been hired to kill. It’s not even clear why The Undertaker would go to the trouble of setting up victims – unless he has some serial killer compulsion – when he can just activate Plaguedog to feed on one of his enemies.

And of course the biggest plot hole of the story: that Death’s Head in a tuxedo and big blond wig could pass for an average waiter (I do love his disguises!).

Next week: Double-cross reigns as Death’s Head tries his hand at marriage guidance in “Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling!”

Death’s Head #4 was republished in ‘Death’s Head Volume 1’

The Ark Addendum - Suiken Transform

Howdy, loyal readers!  Another week, another Ark Addendum.  I'm almost done with the Trainbots - only one more after this one.  (Alas, I've only got 5 of the 6, and no Raiden.)  Still, pretty neat stuff I think.

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In other news, here are a few more SDCC pictures.  I think this finishes up my stash.

First up, me getting choked.

Here's some fun graffiti.

 Awesome Two-Face.

Bill and some terrific Young Justice cosplayers.

Me and both Silk Specters.

Belated Birthday Dinner and Old Timey Soda Pop!

Yesterday was my birthday!  Well, no, not really, my birthday is 7/15, but yesterday we CELEBRATED my birthday.  Actually, three of us had July birthdays, so about a third of the group was celebrating.  How nice.  We hit the Melting Pot restaurant in Pasadena, California, for a leisurely fondue dinner, after some high-end drinks at The Lucky Baldwin pub nearby.  I love me some fondue, yes I do, especially when shared with witty and charming friends.

Along the way, though, I discovered an AWESOME little candy and soda store, Rocket Fizz.  I asked if I could take some photos, and they said sure, so, here goes:

Adorable store front, no?

Me standing next to their chilled gourmet root beer display.  They have a special offer where you get 10 randomly selected root beers... more on that later.

If you wish to view paradise, simply look around and view it...

When we asked the parent of the very young child with the lollypop if we could take a photo, her older sister practically ran into frame.  Who were we to argue?

Didn't I fight him in Fallout?

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So, a fun little store.  I can't wait to take my wife here the next time we do fondue.  But remember that root beer deal?  Well, I couldn't resist.  I love me some root beer.  It's my favorite kind of soda, so the chance to sample ten different kinds seemed too good to pass up.  And, since I love an audience, I figured that every time I have one I'll blog it up.  Look for a ten-part root beer series in the not-too-distant future!

Death’s Head Review: Issue #3 – High Stakes

Issue three maintains the same creative line-up as before: writer Simon Furman, penciller Bryan Hitch, inker David Hine, letterer Annie H, colourist Abadzis and editor Richard Starkings.

Bryan Hitch does the cover – a close-up of Death’s Head holding a hand of playing cards and looking worried at five gun barrels pointed at him: “Bum deal, yes?”. It’s very well rendered and true to one of the danger points in the story, just not particularly exciting and shows Death’s Head a little too nervous for my taste. It’s also the first of many gambling–based puns that Furman crams into this issue.

We begin in the “Los Angeles Resettlement”: a futuristic cityscape of tall buildings, hovercars and street scum. One of the criminal inhabitants – a man named Collins with a pony tail and domino mask – is fleeing from Death’s Head. The mechanoid is chasing him for information and, after lobbing a few explosives from his grenade launcher attachment, gets him bloodied and knocked to the ground.

Spratt appears over Collins, playing the interrogation’s ‘good cop’ role, but instead gets taken hostage. Death’s Head claims not to care about Spratt’s life and Collins soon realises that he’s not bluffing. He releases Spratt and gives up the whereabouts of a target named Ogrus, adding that Spratt will prove a liability. Death’s Head agrees, as we flash back to three days earlier…

Death’s Head is crossing the Atlantic in a passenger aircraft. Guzzling hot dogs next to him is Spratt, who has been tagging along since Chaney Prison and persists in claiming to be his business partner. He leaves for the washroom and Death’s Head contemplates how to get rid of him.

His thoughts are interrupted by a gun at his head: six hijackers have appeared. Their leader is alarmed at Death’s Head’s presence, but he blithely admires their “youthful free enterprise”. He even offers some ransoming advice, only to be disappointed to learn they are fighting for idealistic goals, not profit. “Tsk. Kids these days – no business sense!”

Things escalate when Spratt bursts from the washrooms to ambush and overwhelm the hijackers (Death’s Head ‘accidentally’ lends a helping foot to trip the last one). The mechanoid is impressed enough to give Spratt a chance which – jumping back to the present time – he almost blew.

Their destination is the ‘Stake Your Life’ casino. Leaving Spratt outside, Death’s Head gains admittance by showing an unflappable doorman his retractable wrist-blade. The casino is in the style of a futuristic space bar: exotic-costumes and mutant/alien denizens. Sitting alone at a poker table Death’s Head finds Ogrus, a powerfully-built man (who appears to be modelling his fashion on Miami Vice).

As Death’s Head sits down to join him, Ogrus explains that he turned from his successful business to crime in order to face the highest stakes of breaking the law. Declining his offer of cards with the best gambling pun of the issue (“best if I just throw in my hand”), Death’s Head attaches his shottblaster, only to find Ogrus’ henchmen have guns pointed at him (the cover image).

Death’s Head randomly throws a punch (which, as is traditional, ignites a massive barroom brawl) and uses the diversion to close in on Ogrus. Here we get one of his finest “I am not a bounty hunter!” lines – petulantly slamming down his fist on a round table that flips up and smacks Ogrus in the face.

Peeping from outside, Spratt sees the danger and resolves to save Death’s Head. He crashes his hovercar through the wall, but his tough-guy stance is met with universal laughter. Meanwhile Orgus gets the upper hand on Death’s Head, betting that Spratt won’t risk shooting him until it is too late.

Pondering the dilemma from a balcony above, and not wanting to alienate Death’s Head with another bad judgement, Spratt flips a coin to decide. The coin falls through his hands and lands on Ogrus’ head, causing enough of a distraction for Death’s Head to knock him unconscious. Grudgingly admitting they make a good team, Death’s Head escapes with their captive as Spratt confesses that he’s already spent the reward money on a new office.

The final page is a teaser for the next issue (something which becomes a semi-regular feature). A thin and pallid undertaker is marking an empty office as ‘sold’. From the darkness comes the demand, “Hungry!” and we see a slimy green talon. The undertaker promises, “… supper’s on it’s way!”

After the standalone #1 and crossover #2, this could be viewed as the issue where the Death’s Head series really gets started. He spends about five or six issues based in Los Angeles – not much, but quite a commitment for a dimension-hopping mercenary.

Taking Death’s Head away from Dragon’s Claws territory makes sense from a narrative perspective, although by crossing the Atlantic he seems to have moved into another world. The 8162 of Dragon’s Claws was grim, relentless and moribund. It had an established government (the ‘World Development Council’) and culture (the mass-appeal bloodsport of ‘The Game’). The 8162 that now exists for Death’s Head is more free-wheeling. While there is still plenty of violence and corruption, there are also eccentric characters, knockabout humour and not a lot tying it together.

You could say that the Death’s Head series bridges the gap between the relentless, quasi-realistic world of Dragon’s Claws and the zany, joke-led universe occupied by The Sleeze Brothers (a six-issue series that was also part of the Marvel/Epic stable at the time). Each of them have their merits, but my point is Death’s Head could easily have jumped through a dimensional portal at the start of this issue, as the world bears no resemblance to anything that went before.

Matching the style of issue #1, the story is neatly divided into three parts: the interrogation of Collins, the flashback to the hijacking, and the showdown with Ogrus. The interrogation makes for a solid (and surprisingly bloody) beginning, showing Death’s Head in his common role as a brutal private investigator. The foiled hijacking is also fun, not least because the mechanoid does little else but look exasperated (one of the few times that show him struggling in an alien world).

The final third of the story didn’t work so well for me. By walking straight up to his quarry, Death’s Head shows uncharacteristic, almost lazy, carelessness and almost pays the price in the subsequent fistfight with Ogrus. Spratt’s intervention saves the day – which is really the point of the story – but it does come across as contrived. It’s a shame, as the other two-thirds work well, but the tepid conclusion makes the whole issue feel like something less than the sum of its parts.

After a couple of episodes in the sidelines, this issue puts the spotlight on Spratt, introducing him as Death’s Head’s new partner. The two have quite a good chemistry: the sardonic tough-guy contrasting against the upbeat ‘boy wonder’. I prefer Death’s Head as the lone hunter (and for most of the run, Spratt serves more as a comic foil than useful sidekick) and it’s notable that, now he has someone to talk to, we lose his inner monologue.

It’s odd that, of the qualities to endear Spratt to Death’s Head, Furman went with fighting ability. As the one who repaired him, Spratt must possess some mechanical genius; and Death’s Head could certainly use a tour guide to this strange world. But combat is the one area where he really doesn’t need much assistance – at least not until Ogrus.

Which makes the story’s antagonist a strange one: for a guy with merely above-average build and no apparent powers, Ogrus was able to deliver quite a beating. The mechanoid’s strength is never really established, but if he can take down all of Dragon’s Claws, he should be able beat one unarmed man. I can appreciate putting Death’s Head in jeopardy to have Spratt rescue him, but he could at least have been swamped by a pack of thugs. Or else upgraded Ogrus’ character design with some cybernetics or hidden weapons; the scariest thing about Ogrus is his haircut.

The artwork is a step up from the previous issue. There are fast, pacey action panels, like when Spratt takes down the hijackers. Hitch also produces some nice subtle touches, such as the laconic doorman and the generally frustrated expressions on Death’s Head. And depicting the Los Angeles underworld gives plenty of scope for imagination (although one of the brawling casino denizens appears to be wearing love-heart boxer shorts – which veers to close to Sleeze Brothers territory for me).

(I also spotted a mismatch in Death’s Head’s back weapons – when he stands over Orgus, his shadow casts his mace on his right shoulder; in the next panel, the axe is on his right shoulder and the mace on the left. I mention it because such slips are a lot rarer than I thought they would be.)

It seems like Hitch is starting to make the character design his own: with Senior, the teeth-like grill was always set high, like a robotic skull; Hitch seems to place the grill low, in more of a Clint Eastwood-style grimace.

Next week: Death’s Head takes on Los Angeles’ organised hoodlums as Spratt is hunted by “Plaguedog!”

Death’s Head #3 was republished in ‘Death’s Head Volume 1’

Bish's Review: Marvel UK #130 "Worlds Apart!" Part 1

(Real world note: Apologies to regular readers for my sporadic updates in the last couple of weeks. I recently attended Auto Assembly, which was terrific, but both tiring and time-consuming and have been attempting to find a new job, which is also quite the drain on my free time. Excuses aside, on with the show, and I will attempt to maintain a more regular schedule from now on.)

World's Apart! Part 1 was written by Simon Furman, drawn by Will Simpson, inked by Tim Perkins, lettered by Anne Halfacree and coloured by Steve White.

The cover was by Geoff Senior and John Burns and is a little bit dull, really. The Headmasters remove their heads, which is pertinent, at least, but as the heads are not transforming into Nebulans, it doesn't really explain anything, especially given that decapitation has been shown to be non-fatal to Transformers several times in the past. According to tfwiki Geoff Senior also isn't too fond of this cover and says it wasn't his idea, although I will say that at least the characters themselves are very well depicted, if in rather a boring layout.

Leaving Earth behind for the moment we are on the lush ringed planet of Nebulos. It's idyllic locales are shattered by the thunderous clash of Autobot and Decepticon. But which Autobots and Decepticons? Well, if you were a UK reader at this point they'd all be new, but luckily they make a point of saying all their names while fighting the enemy. We first meet Chromedome, a Cybertronian car, Hardhead, a Cybertronian tank, and Highbrow, a Cybertronian helicopter.

Highbrow is being chased by the Horrorcons, two triple-changing Decepticons, currently in plane mode. Chromedome has problems on his own, facing off against Weirdwolf (the clue is in his name) and Skullcruncher, an enormous mechanical crocodile. Brainstorm, an Autobot jet, flies overhead, but has his own problems dealing with Mindwipe, a Decepticon bat-creature.

Mindwipe uses his signature ability, a kind of hypnosis, to confuse Brainstorm and send him hurtling into the ground, smashing into Hardhead.

Meanwhile, Chromedome has escaped the main battle zone but is still being pursued by the Horrorcons. Ape-Face (he's an ape AND a jet) goes down to a well-aimed blaster shot but Snapdragon keeps coming. Luckily Highbrow has Chromedome's back and his well-timed shot sends the Decepticon running.

Hardhead is still surrounded by foes when Highbrow's timely reappearance causes them to scatter. Mindwipe retreats, but his thought bubble reveals that this might all just be staged...

Highbrow's analysis of the battle leads him to conclude the same thing and Chromedome concurs but points out that they have to press on regardless, as their Targetmaster (that term is about to become super important) comrades (Sureshot, Pointblank and Crosshairs) have been captured by the Decepticons and need rescuing. Interesting sidenote: in a fairly terrible error, in the panel that introduces these characters, Sureshot and Crosshairs are given each other's colours. The Decepticons are trying to perfect the process of turning a Nebulan into a Targetmaster weapon and the Autobots need to prevent this from happening. This wouldn't have meant much to any of the readers who weren't keeping up with the toys, but the issue does go some way to explaining this.

While Highbrow tries to reply to Chromedome he breaks off and the secret of the Headmasters is revealed! Thesse Autobots have partnered up with Nebulans (human-like natives of the planet Nebulos) in order to share brain activity and improve combat efficiency. Highbrow removes his head, which transforms into the Nebulan, Gort. Chromedome does the same and soon another Nebulan, Stylor, is standing before us.

They both want to press the attack and, when rebonded with the Autobots, this is the course of action that is pursued. Highbrow is concerned though, that the Headmaster process has gone wrong, because although he and Gort share one mind, in their thinking they are - title drop - "World's Apart!"

When the Autobots arrive at "The Decepticons' notorious fortress of despair" they find the place deserted and the power off. Highbrow immediately expects a trap "come into my parlour" he says, although he has never been to Earth to pick up that particular idiom.

Sure enough, the trap is confirmed when the Autobots stumble upon Crosshairs bound and dangling from the ceiling. He shouts a warning but it is too late. The wall explodes to reveal a whole team of Decepticon headmasters, led by the terrifying beast form of Scorponok!

Okay kids. This is where it gets complicated: We've hit the part of the Marvel continuity where the Headmasters miniseries was supposed to come in to explain why there are suddenly about thirty more Transformers, each with their own organic partner. Unfortunately while Hasbro UK were getting serious about advertising the new Headmaster toys the US miniseries wasn't quite ready for publication in Britain so Furman and company had no option but to whip up a new Headmasters story to feed the demand for advertising. As circumstances conspired, by the time Worlds Apart! came out, the first part of the mini could actually be published, and as such, it ran as a backup story in this very issue. Indeed, the subsequent parts would continue to do so in the next seven UK issues to come. That meant that you had the very odd experience of reading a story containing characters and concepts you knew nothing about, turning the page, and discovering the very start of their origin.

Given more time and clearer direction, perhaps Furman could have tied this together more elegantly, but, really, he was under the gun, and at least the schedules were close enough together that he realised he didn't need to tell a new origin story, unlike the Goldbug situation, so the Headmasters miniseries is canon for the UK at least, albeit unfairly stuffed into the back of the UK issues.

Given these circumstances it seems only fair to review this issue as a story of the Headmasters, rather than an introduction to them, which is pretty lucky, because it's not a bad story but a terrible introduction! Most of the characters get nowhere near the time they need to become memorable. By the end of the issue the reader has a fairly good idea of what Highbrow, Chromedome and Hardhead are about but that's pretty much it.

However, it is certainly good to have a change of pace and the seemingly all-out war on Nebulos is an intriguing place to visit. Assuming familiarity with the characters, the story is serviceable but not particularly well thought out. It is never really clear why the Decepticons feel the need to trap the Headmasters. After all, they have the Targetmasters alive if they want to reverse engineer that particular technology so, if they could have destroyed the Headmasters in the field, as Highbrow suspected, why did they not simply do so? Luring them into the fortress (of despair) might work very well, but ultimately it puts them within rescuing distance of the Targetmasters, which seems unnecessarily risky...

Logical issues aside, World's Apart! is a decent enough story with some fun, varied action. I am particularly fond of seeing the more bestial Decepticons in their quite terrifying alternate modes and dropping us straight into the battle really works in the issue's favour, giving us enough pace and incident that the flaws only really appear once you've finished reading. However, it is tricky to place it satisfactorily within the Headmasters miniseries. Nominally, that is where it fits, but there is not really enough downtime in the four issues to fit this entire plotline. We're talking about actually adding a story between panels here which is a little excessive given that this story is hardly essential.

Either way, I've always had a soft spot for the Headmaster and Targetmaster characters. Although an argument could be made that they were the first in a long line of unnecessary gimmicks that plagued the G1 toyline after 1987. Personally, however, I feel that overall they expand the universe in many potentially interesting ways. It would have been easy to make the smaller figures simply more Autobots and Decepticons and adding organics to the war is a much braver step. Admittedly the process is inherently strange and not really explained very satisfactorily in any of the Marvel comics, but it does at least have a great deal of potential - something Furman would return to in his run on the modern IDW book.

Will Simpson's pencils were getting better and better by this point and he's no longer a source of irritation for me. The work on Worlds Apart! is hardly up to Geoff Senior standards but Simpson delivers a decent, easy to follow book, with characters who actually look like Transformers. The colouring on the other hand is a little simplistic, with more mono-coloured blocks than UK readers were used to - the last panel with the Decepticons all in red behind Scorponok was particularly egregious, but White's not quite at Yomtov levels of laziness yet.

Overall, Worlds Apart! Part 1 is really more interesting for the bizarre story of its genesis than the actual plot or characters. If you are a fan of the original Headmasters miniseries then it's worth checking out (if you don't mind playing some imaginative continuity games) but if continuity drives you insane, it can be safely discarded.

Next review will be Part 2, somewhat inevitably, hopefully later this week to make up for my extra-curricular activities.

The Ark Addendum - Seizan's Transform

Another week, another Ark Addendum!  Continuing the theme that I've been exploring, I bring you another transformation of one of the Trainbots.  This is Seizan, the Blue Mountain.  Why Blue Mountain?  Ummm... not sure.  I was happy to find out that Suiken, 'Water Fist', was the Drunken Boxing style of Martial Arts.  Anyone know what significance Blue Mountain might have?

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More SDCC photos!  I feel like I fit right in with the Imperials.

Doesn't Daphne look adorable?

Bill gets his Slave Leia on!

Jim Sorenson - TIME LORD!

OK, more SDCC photos next week!

Bish's Review Space Above and Beyond Episode 12: Who Monitors The Birds?

"Who monitors the birds?" - Hawkes

The twelth episode of Space: Above and Beyond was written by series creators Glen Morgan and James Wong and directed by Winrich Kolbe.

Promised a discharge from his sentence to the marines,Hawkes is recruited for an assasination mission deep behind enemy lines. After his partner is killed he goes on the run. Alone in enemy territory he has to stay alive and evade capture, while having hallucinations and flashbacks to the In Vitro education program. When finally an extraction arrives, Hawkes destroys his discharge papers and prepares to rejoin his comrades.

The GoodWho Monitors The Birds? is structurally the most ambitious episode of Space: Above and Beyond to date. The dialogue is limited to only a few lines in only about three key flashback scenes, with the rest of the action following Hawkes as he struggles to stay one step ahead of the Chig patrols.

Rodney Rowland steps up to the challenge admirably. Just because he doesn't have much dialogue doesn't mean he doesn't have to carry the show and his physical performance is excellent. Hawkes' exhaustion, both physical and mental, is draining to watch and seeing a flashback to a younger version of Hawkes, stiff, emotionally stunted and naive, being brainwashed to fight for America, is deeply sinister.

Obviously, with dialogue scarcely a concern, it is the direction that must come to the fore, and Who Monitors The Birds? is a fascinating watch. My favourite bit of directorial craft is a moment where Hawkes, in desperation, leaps into a river to escape and the scene immediately cuts to a flashback of his birth, sliding out of the tube in a splash of fluid. It's an easy connection to make, maybe, but it's still a stylish choice.

Similar is a scene where Hawkes is distracted by a pteradactyl like creature in flight and flashes back to his similar amazement at seeing a bird in flight from the window of the education facility. The title is reflective of this, as he is amazed that the bird seems so free while his life is controlled by the sinister "monitors", so he, quite innocently, asks that question, and gets into trouble for it. A Chig walks close by and Hawkes is about to fire before he sees that the alien, too, is fascinated by the creature, and lets it go on its way. I always appreciate the way Space tries to add layers of ambiguity to Chig behaviour and show common ground between the two sides. By this point in the series it is very clear that the Chigs are not by any means pure evil.

On this theme, there is a lovely scene where Hawkes has the better of a Chig and it surrenders, throwing up its four-fingered hands in a very human gesture. It offers Hawkes its dog-tag thing that it keeps on its chest-plate and he gives it a ring in exchange. In the next scene he is jumped by Chigs, kills them, and discovers this individual among them. Heartbroken he takes his ring back, returns the chest-panel and sinks to the ground.

Brave and effective are the moments where Hawkes, exhausted and dehydrated, starts hallucinating a sort of personification of death. This is represented by Vansen, but in a skimpy dress, with pale skin, yellow eyes, and bloody lips.

Almost no dialogue is exchanged in these scenes either, but the chemistry between the two is very well done, and Hawkes' obvious attraction to Vansen is perverted effectively by his dire circumstances and mental state. She really does look nightmarish, and her appearances are heralded by eerie guitar licks that jar brilliantly with the rest of the orchestral soundtrack.

She saves Hawkes by pointing out Chig patrols a couple of times but ultimately he rejects her, casts her aside, and goes to the extraction point. "Until we meet again." she says, mockingly. This is a great illustration of the way death is a constant part of a soldier's life, either aiding him, by taking his enemies, or finally coming for him at the end. Hawkes kills a lot of Chigs, sometimes with Death by his side, but despite the near hopelessness of his situation he is able to ultimately reject her embrace and survive, for now.

The action is decent and we probably see more pyrotechnics here than in any other episode of Space thus far. There are extended sequences of Hawkes running from small arms fire, mortar fire, and fighting Chigs in hand to hand combat and all are tense and exciting.

The BadNot a lot to worry about here. The Chig costumes are a little stiff and clunky, and perhaps do not move as smoothly in hand to hand combat as might be desirable. In addition, the episode opens with a narration by Hawkes explaining what an In Vitro is and why he does what he does. It's written very clunkily and feels like a very late addition to the script, possibly in response to an executive, nervous about putting out a nearly wordless hour of television.

Other than that, with so little dialogue there are no cheesy lines to criticise, and no bad acting. The story is straightforward but well told and we get a good glimpse into the horror that is the In Vitro program.

Future HistoryA nice continuity nod: the Chig officer that Hawkes is tasked with assasinating was responsible for the attack on the Vesta colony.

Past HistoryThere wasn't enough dialogue for any historical or literary references this week.
Overall Who Monitors The Birds? was an excellent and daring piece of work. It is certainly in the top tier of the episodes I have reviewed so far and from what I recall is among the very best the series has to offer, not that it is entirely representative, breaking the usual ensemble format, as it does.
 Space Above and Beyond - The Complete Series is available in a very affordable boxset. And on the strength of my last two reviews you really should think about checking it out.