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This week, Nick & Todd review the 5th "Alien Nation" episode, "The Takeover," a story about a police station siege during a city riot, with the themes of control and...smells(???). Along the way, we get to see a remnant of the controlling ship gas, from the Tenctonese slave ship, in action.
- Why does one co-host think command and...smells...are the two main themes of the episode?
- How many ways does Albert save the day in the episode?
- How many ways are George's frustrations & harsh words in this episode interesting or add variety to his demeanor?
- What do we learn about Tenctonese language, gestures, and culture, in this episode?
- How well can Nick imitate the clicking noise that Tenctonese use in their language?
- In what way does one guest character actually say the title of the show out loud?
- Which moment of slow motion did Nick & Todd both note as being awkward?
- Just how annoying was the Matt Sikes character in the first half of the episode?
- Did this episode include more instances of bad police work, or just Humans being bad people in general?
- Were Todd or Nick impressed at all by the subplot where Captain Bryon Grazer suggests an end to the riots using a thesis he wrote in school about ancient city strategies?
- What did Nick & Todd find strange and/or silly about a subplot in which Matt is helping to catch an old girlfriend's stalker?
- Does the episode do enough...or nothing at all...to explain where the canister of ship gas came from?
- Which guest star played a female Klingon in several installments of the "Star Trek" franchise, including episodes in two series and one of the movies?
- What other connections did Nick make between guest stars in this episode and other TV series & movies?
- Which guest star did Todd recognize from the movie "Erin Brockovich" just because of how the character put his hand over his mouth. And, which character did Nick say that actor played in a "Batman" movie?
- How much is Dobbs given to do in this episode, and how many main & support characters are missing from this episode?
- In what way does a Tenctonese character win this week's Albert Einstein Award...on a technicality?
- When Todd listed things he would do if he had a gas that could control people, like the one in the episode, what eight TV-related things did he choose, what one totally random thing did he choose, and was a reboot of "Firefly" one of the choices? Improvising some ideas of his own, what did Nick come up with, related to Star Wars & movie theaters?
- And, what were Nick & Todd's final grades and feelings about whether this could be skipped or not?
Listen now for the answers to these and other...commanding...questions, as Nick & Todd try to survive..."The Takeover."
Note: The next two weeks will be a two-parter about Nick & Todd's loves, likes, dislikes, and gaps in viewing, of the "Star Trek" franchise. Reviews of "Alien Nation" will resume after the two-week Star Trek "primer."
Please rate or review us wherever you listen to podcasts. You can post comments directly on episodes in Spotify & GoodPods apps. Our e-mail is [email protected].
Royalty-free music used in this episode comes from Pixabay.com.
By Alienating Ourselves PodcastThis week, Nick & Todd review the 5th "Alien Nation" episode, "The Takeover," a story about a police station siege during a city riot, with the themes of control and...smells(???). Along the way, we get to see a remnant of the controlling ship gas, from the Tenctonese slave ship, in action.
- Why does one co-host think command and...smells...are the two main themes of the episode?
- How many ways does Albert save the day in the episode?
- How many ways are George's frustrations & harsh words in this episode interesting or add variety to his demeanor?
- What do we learn about Tenctonese language, gestures, and culture, in this episode?
- How well can Nick imitate the clicking noise that Tenctonese use in their language?
- In what way does one guest character actually say the title of the show out loud?
- Which moment of slow motion did Nick & Todd both note as being awkward?
- Just how annoying was the Matt Sikes character in the first half of the episode?
- Did this episode include more instances of bad police work, or just Humans being bad people in general?
- Were Todd or Nick impressed at all by the subplot where Captain Bryon Grazer suggests an end to the riots using a thesis he wrote in school about ancient city strategies?
- What did Nick & Todd find strange and/or silly about a subplot in which Matt is helping to catch an old girlfriend's stalker?
- Does the episode do enough...or nothing at all...to explain where the canister of ship gas came from?
- Which guest star played a female Klingon in several installments of the "Star Trek" franchise, including episodes in two series and one of the movies?
- What other connections did Nick make between guest stars in this episode and other TV series & movies?
- Which guest star did Todd recognize from the movie "Erin Brockovich" just because of how the character put his hand over his mouth. And, which character did Nick say that actor played in a "Batman" movie?
- How much is Dobbs given to do in this episode, and how many main & support characters are missing from this episode?
- In what way does a Tenctonese character win this week's Albert Einstein Award...on a technicality?
- When Todd listed things he would do if he had a gas that could control people, like the one in the episode, what eight TV-related things did he choose, what one totally random thing did he choose, and was a reboot of "Firefly" one of the choices? Improvising some ideas of his own, what did Nick come up with, related to Star Wars & movie theaters?
- And, what were Nick & Todd's final grades and feelings about whether this could be skipped or not?
Listen now for the answers to these and other...commanding...questions, as Nick & Todd try to survive..."The Takeover."
Note: The next two weeks will be a two-parter about Nick & Todd's loves, likes, dislikes, and gaps in viewing, of the "Star Trek" franchise. Reviews of "Alien Nation" will resume after the two-week Star Trek "primer."
Please rate or review us wherever you listen to podcasts. You can post comments directly on episodes in Spotify & GoodPods apps. Our e-mail is [email protected].
Royalty-free music used in this episode comes from Pixabay.com.