It’s the final two episodes of the Invisible Man.

First Dan must battle an escaped mental patient that’s holding the Klae Resource hostage – he just doesn’t know what he’s got. Then Dan needs to thwart some cold war shenanigans to allow world peace through plastic surgery.

John and Eugene close out their coverage of the Invisible Man.

Powerplay Synopsis

A man named Pike bypasses the security of the Klae Corporation and gets to Walter’s office. He seems to know everything there is about the security precautions Walter has in place. He even knows about the Klae Resource – everything except what it actually is.

At gunpoint he forces Walter to reveal that it is the secret of invisibility and that he is the Invisible Man. Pike has to not see it to believe it though and Walter explains that he can only remove his dermaplast fake skin with the help of the boffins, Dan and Kate Westin. Walter tries to come to an understanding with Pike, to learn how he knows about the security and the Klae Resource. He gets his answer: Pike is clinically insane and an escapee from an asylum for the criminally insane. His cellmate was none other than Morgan Klae, former board member of the Klae Corporation.

They go to the lab and, still at gunpoint, Walter is forced to become invisible. He attempts a ruse that, while invisible, you can still see him and interact with him because the dermaplast shell remains behind in the machine. In the control room, Dan slips off his clothes and tries, unsuccessfully, the wrestle the gun from Pike. He fails and is shot in the process.

Carlson still tries to sell his story. Yes, that was him trying to wrestle the gun away. Pike now believes that invisibility is a reality, but he’s not sold on the story Carlson is spinning. You see, because he is clinically insane, Pike is a human lie detector. And he can tell when they’re lying. He knows they are both telling the truth and lying, probably in an attempt to escape or overpower him.

He demands another demonstration, this time strictly under his control. Dan; however, collapses from his bullet wound, which he’s been concealing. The truth comes out. Pike sees that parts of Dan are invisible. Dan still maintains the ruse that he needs the equipment to “release” the dermaplast mask and gloves.

Kate has her, “I am woman, hear me roar,” moment and then goes to operate the equipment to Dan’s specifications. Dan pretends that the equipment has released his dermaplast, and goes invisible. He performs a few tricks on Pike’s commands and then the equipment blows up because Kate overloaded it. Using the distraction, Dan clubs Pike over the head with a chair.

All’s is well that ends well, Pike is sent back to the mental institution and Dan and Kate are indentured to the Klae Corporation even longer so they can pay off the equipment they broke. The happy face of American compassionate capitalism smiles down on them from their corporate overlord.

An Attempt to Save Face Synopsis

Dr. Nick Maggio, inventor of Dermaplast and creator of the lifelike mask Dan Westin, the Invisible Man, wears is called to a hospital in Chicago for a bit of cloak and dagger surgery.

He has been summoned by Chairman Rojin of the Union of Surrogate Soviets. All the dictators around the world are kind of old and there’s always some young guy trying to knock him off his perch. Although it is illegal in his country, and counter to revolutionary principles, Rojin has decided that he needs a face lift, and he has come to American, in the strictest secrecy to have it done by the very best, Dr. Maggio.

Maggio drives a hard bargain, but Rojin agrees: His country will contribute more to the UN, stop selling weapons to the Middle East, release political prisoners being held and allow Maggio to get his two special surgical assistants, Dr. Dan Westin and his wife, Nurse Kate Westin. Success in this operation could be a major step towards world peace.

When Rojin’s personal doctor, and perhaps something more, Dr. Storoff, arrives having been left out of the secret, she cancels the surgery, sedates Rojin so she can spirit him back to their country, locks up Maggio.

Comedy ensues as Dan must foil Dr. Storoff’s plans to return Rojin to Union of Surrogate Soviets, by pretending to be Rojin, while Dr. Maggio performs the surgery on the real Rojin, AND he must foil an assassination plot by Major Kolchak, his personal aid and also one of those young guys trying to knock him off his perch.

Dark and Stormy Night!

The production team’s Bulwer-Lytton aspirations are finally laid bare for all to see!  Dante meet Darius, can he help him find his son?  Will he live to do so?

Kenneth and Eugene discuss Dark and Stormy Night.

Episode Synopsis

In the aftermath of the previous escapade, Dante and Lucretia have a long-overdue conversation – but not before Lucretia has a few nightmares.  She tells Dante the truth – or at least a filtered version of it through her own guilt.

No, she was never put on the ship to help with security, she was put there by the Orchard and her father Darius to gather information about the Divinity Cluster and occasionally, the Orchard would run a job through Rudolfo to them that dovetailed with an Orchard interest.

She was never there to spy on Dante and Percy and never did, it was all about gathering info about the Divinity Cluster.  She realizes that she’s been used by her father.

A shuttle from the Orchard arrives with one person aboard: Darius.

He gives an explanation and an impassioned pitch to Dante.  The Divinity Cluster is the most significant potential step forward for humanity.  Some in the Orchard want to understand and control it, others to destroy it.  Eccleston was their foremost researcher on the Divinity Cluster, and he escaped into another dimension, but may be coming back.  Every weird thing you’ve encountered is likely the Divinity Cluster manifesting itself in different ways.  Help me find Eccleston, Dante.

The Raiders – they want the Divinity Cluster, too. And Darius will turn over all information the Orchard has on the Raiders to Dante to help him find his son, Travis.

There’s one other thing:  Eccleston was the foremost scientist working on the Divinity Cluster, but he was building upon the earlier works of a brilliant scientist named Penny Montana, Dante’s late wife.

Dante and Lucretia seem to agree.  Afterwards, she shows Dante that she trusts him by revealing a hidden tool of Eccleston’s that she kept back from her father.  She admits she can never fully trust her dad every again.

On his way back, Darius seems satisfied that they will lead him right to “the boy,” just before his ship explodes, presumably killing him.

Big Finish fills in the blanks about what happened when Moonbase Alpha encountered the planet Meta in their Space: 1999 episode, the Siren Call.  John and Eugene discuss

Episode Synopsis

Moonbase Alpha is still struggling in the aftermath of the events of Breakaway. A section decompression kills Alphan Mary Page. And it is in this moment we learn two things simultaneously – (1) that regular character Kano is married, and (2) Mary Page is her wife.  Actually, make that three things.  We also learn Kano is now widowed.  Oh, Mary Page, we hardly knew you.

Koenig is trying to hold a staff meeting, but Space Commissioner Simmonds, who is technically Koenig’s boss on the Org Chart is insisting on being “in charge.”  Koenig humors him by letting him lead the meeting, but it is Koenig who is clearly in command.  Simmonds wants them to find a way to travel 5 light years back to Earth.  Koenig and the others favor exploring their realistic options.  One of those options is the planet Meta, which the moon is approaching.  Meta was the source of the signal that resulted in the moon leaving Earth’s orbit via wormhole.

Before they can launch an exploration team, an emissary from the planet Pyrus arrives under the banner of peace.  Pyrus is the locals’ name for their own planet. Simmonds, talking on behalf of the Alphans greets Sazar, albeit with armed guards.  Simmonds favor the distrustful, show-of-force type of diplomacy.  

Sazar is the representative of Garadus, Pyrus’ leader.  Simmonds is so caught up in being the big man, he fails to find anything curious about the fact that Sazar speaks English, and he’s only a little curious when Koenig has Victor Bergman surreptitiously scan Sazar, only to discover that he is basically human, except that his heart isn’t beating.

While out of Simmonds earshot, Sazar meets with an Alphan who has been a spy for the Pyreans all along.  Between them, they engineer a scenario in which Sazar saves Simmonds’ life.  Sazar dies, but in his final selfless act, begins to earn Simmonds’ trust.

Garadus reaches out and invites them down to discuss the possibility of settling on the planet.  Koenig, Bergman, and Simmonds take an Eagle down.

On Alpha, Mary Page comes back to life and asks to be let out of the morgue.

On Pyrus, Koenig and Bergman remain suspicious, and when they get an inkling that the Meta Signal which drew them there may have been a lure, they sneak out to investigate. What they discover is macabre.  The basement is filled with cadavers on ice.

On Alpha, Mary Page turns out to be Sazar.  The Pyreans are non-corporeal being that inhabit corpses.  They have brought the Earth’s moon to Pyrus for a new supply of bodies.  Mary, an authorized engineer, sets about killing everyone on Alpha.  Helena, Kano, and Alan must stop her.

Simmonds overhears Garadus talking with Sazar and is taken for processing.  He overcomes his guard and escapes.  

Koenig and Bergman are also captured.  With Simmonds’ assistance, they escape back to their Eagle, but the Eagle has been disabled.  

In the nick of time, Paul Morrow arrives to take them home, and the Pyreans’ existing supply of bodies is destroyed by Koenig and Bergman’s mischief.

Which is better for flying a plane?  A joystick or a mouse?  Ed gets the chance to find out in All Under Control.  Simon and Eugene discuss.

Episode synopsis:

Ms Langford, airline Big Wig is returning via corporate jet when he plane behaves irrationally, completely out of control of the pilot.  Control is restored just in time for the pilot to make a safe landing, but when a fax arrives saying “Next time we keep control” signed by Icarus.

She calls in the Bugs… which I’m still assuming is their business name… over the strenuous objections of Mr. Todd, head of security.  Todd thinks a plane taking control of itself and terrorizing the pilot and VIP passenger and then receiving a note that is clearly a prelude to a ransom demand must all be pilot error.  You know what I think?  This airline needs a new head of security.  Unless… maybe, he’s the bad guy!

They see a “plane spotter” being forcibly removed from the grounds and inquire about him.  

“Oh he’s a local crank, named Kirby.  He sometimes breaks into the airport to get close to the planes.”

That’s certainly suspicious, maybe he’s the bad guy? But how can he be the bad guy if the intransigent head of security is already the bad guy?

They go to investigate the plane, which is in security isolation, but when the get there, someone is tampering with the plane.  He runs away with Ed in hot pursuit.  Ed is nearly killed and the mystery man escapes.

Moments later, our gang meet Richard Wyman, Technical Director, who arrives panting and out of breath as if he’s just been running to escape someone.  Maybe…  he’s the bad guy!  But how can he be the bad guy if the intransigent head of security is already the bad guy?

They learn that the plane was equipped with NavCom, a sophisticated, state-of-the-air auto pilot system, developed by a local man named Elverson.  Maybe he knows something about what could go wrong with the plane?  

“I wouldn’t bother with him,” Wyman says suspiciously, “he’s an eccentric.”

Ros checks with Elverson and he explains that it is impossible for his software to be hacked or malfunction because he is a genius about these things.  He even gives her a floppy disk with the software on it so she can check it against the copy in the plane

Ros also visits Kirby in an effort to find out if his fax machine was the one that sent the notice from Icarus.  While there, he’s called away and murdered.  And yes, it was his fax machine.

Back at the airport, the Bugs attempt to install equipment to monitor signals, but the head of security is suspiciously opposed to them investigating.

About that time another plane, this time with commercial passengers on it goes for a wild ride.  Immediately thereafter, every computer in the airline is displaying the £5,000,000 ransom demand.  Security sure is lacking at this airline.  That’s mighty suspicious, isn’t it?

Immediately after the incident, the head of security demands that the Bugs be sent packing.  Who knows, they might have even done this themselves.  The CEO acquiesces to this suspicious demand, but then turns a blind eye and secretly lets the Bugs continue to work until midnight.  Secretly, that is, except for Wyman who was standing right there when she unofficially authorizes it.

That night, they break into the hanger and start investigating.  Ros verifies the software is indeed pristine while the boys looks for transmitters/receivers.  Just about then, the head of security comes in and hauls them off – all except Ros, who hid in the flight service compartment.

While Ed and Becket get the third degree back at security, Icarus strikes again.  Firing up the plane Ros is on and remotely closing the manually operated doors.  The plane begins to taxi with Ros onboard.

The plane takes off and enters a holding pattern, clearly as a threat.  

Ed and Ros try to rest the plane from remote control and, failing that, Ed tries to track down the transmitter and bring the plane in safely from there.

Langford agrees to pay the ransom, and Wyman heroically (or perhaps suspiciously) offers to deliver the money.  Todd, heroically (or perhaps suspiciously) insists on going with him.  Beckett has bugged both the case and (secretly) the money and follows along.  When he overhears a gunshot, we know we have one fewer suspect.

It turns out that Todd the intransigent head of security wasn’t so much “intransigent” as he was “incompetent.”  Wyman is bad guy and Todd is dead.  Todd goes to his other accomplice, Elverson, who is the one controlling the plane.  Elverson wanted to bring the plane with Ros down safely now that the money was paid, but Todd wants a bigger share of the money.  That argument is also ended with a gunshot.

Beckett tracks down and pursues Wyman to his conveniently accidental demise, and Ed finds the transmitter, learns to use a computer mouse (that’s the thing with a tail) and Ros is delivered safely to the ground.

In addition to, presumably, being paid for their services, Langford also offers them free airline flights.  “No thanks,” says Ros.

Dan deals with the peccadilloes of the Klae family and nearly loses his job in the Klae Dynasty and then, he encounters someone who renders his super powers meaningless in Sight Unseen.  John and Eugene discuss these two episode of the Invisible Man.

The Klae Dynasty Synopsis

The Klae Family are coming to the Klae Corporation, and security is at its tightest, for a credible kidnapping threat has been leveled against Caroline Klae, one of the owners.  The Klae corporation is a privately-owned corporation with only three stockholders, siblings Caroline, Morgan, and Julian.  Caroline and Morgan have differing opinions on how to run the corporation.  Caroline favors peaceful research projects that can benefit mankind, Morgan favors lucrative military weapons contracts.  Julian is a spineless playboy who just wants to live his life of leisure, drinking.  Caroline’s ramrod personality dominates Julian, making her the controlling partner of the corporation.

Caroline is holding a Planetary Commission conference at the corporation’s headquarters.  She is bringing together the finest minds in the world to map out public policies on the economy, energy, and the environment.  Morgan, who is against the whole ridiculous idea of making the world a better place, has come along anyway to make sure security is tight.  He coordinates with Capt Scopes, long-time head of security for the Klae corporation and guest artist we’ve never seen previously on the series.

It turns out that, owing to the iron-clad security contracts, the Klae family do not know what the Klae Resource is; however, Morgan and Scopes demand control of it as a way to protect Caroline.  Walter and the Westins refuse to reveal what it is and come perilously close to being unemployed.

While demonstrating the nuclear reactor rods which are disguised as the floors in the corporate theatre, Caroline is kidnapped by the caterers.  Dan, invisible, has a white-knuckle ride clinging to the back of the kidnappers’ van, keeping with them until the transfer to a helicopter.  Dan realizes something is amiss, and believes the so-called kidnapped woman is a decoy and that Caroline Klae is being held at the Corporation headquarters.

When he returns, his absence is noted by Scopes and not adequately explained.  Scopes is suspicious, and when Dan’s fingerprints are found on the back of the kidnappers’ vehicle, he comes under suspicion.  Dan, having gone invisible to search the buildings, appears to have done a runner, further increasing suspicion.

With no kidnappers’ demands having been made, Morgan is convinced Caroline has been killed and pressures his spineless brother to relinquish control of the corporation to him.

Of course, Dan discovers that Morgan and Scopes are the actual organizers of the kidnapping and that Caroline is being held in the nuclear reactor under the theatre.  Without protecting, she will be fatally irradiated by morning.

Dan gets her out and Morgan is uncovered as the baddie. 

Sight Unseen Synopsis

Mr. Cappas, a former mobster, is going to turn state’s evidence.  If only someone hadn’t kidnapped his blind daughter and is holding her to ensure that Cappas will not testify.  The FBI turn to the Klae Resource for help.

Kate Westin is able to coax the labored sound of breathing from the kidnappers’ tape.  Cappas identifies that as the breathing of Mr. Hallman, the right-man of mobster James James (a character that proves that every writer, someday, will eventually run out of character names.)

James owns a semi-legit trucking company in Florida, so Dan and Kate travel there to find out of that’s where the girl is being held.  With a few blisters on his feet, Dan gets in and finds the girl.  Being blind, she knows he’s there, and cannot understand how the bad guys keep missing him.  His excursions have triggered a few alarms and now James is nervous and decides to move the girl out in the next hour.

Dan’s original mission was simply to find out of the girl is there, but now he must find a way to get her out before it is too late.

Cappas, having also learned that James is behind the kidnapping travels to Florida and takes Kate prisoner, and then storms the James James Trucking Company.  The FBI and the police, realizing that Kate has been taken also raid the place.

In a final confrontation in James’ office, Dan flicks the gun from James’ hand and Kate takes them all prisoner.  With the girl rescued, Cappas agrees once again to turn state’s evidence.

One wonders if he’ll be granted immunity from prosecution for kidnapping Kate?

Sometimes there’s a moment when the writer gives the audience a conspiratorial knowing wink.  That moment came when they named this episode “Half Dense Players.”  Kenneth and Eugene discuss.

Episode Synopsis

Darius arrives at Clarke Station, in Jupiter space.  An event of interest to the Orchard has happened.  That event is a death.

As Darius says, “This incident suggests a catastrophic intersection of multi-dimensional space and time.  The subject might have crossed the intersection by accident. A dimensional event hitting a multiple-hyper-dimensional left field.”  An explanation so unconvincing that even the actor appeared not to believe what he was trying to sell.

Another individual is implicated, Andrea Arquette – not just any Andrea Arquette, THE Andrea Arquette, “Bitch Goddess of Pretentious Wankers Everywhere,” and former squeeze of Billy Tsunami, a woman so incredibly beautiful, it could turn a hardened bounty hunter’s head, or so Rudolfo warns Dante.

Things are tense aboard the Trans-Utopian, in the last episode, for some reason I’ve completely forgotten, Dante threw a fit and fired Lucretia.  In this episode, Rudolfo is reminding Dante that he’s just the hired help, too, and Lucretia IS NOT fired, so deal with it.  Dante doesn’t like this but, he knows where the cards fall.  Percy likes it even less, but who cares what Percy thinks?

They’ve got a new assignment and they’d best be getting on with it.  They are to pick up a murder suspect, the aforementioned Andrea Arquette, and escort her to Ganymede, “for questioning.”  Darius contacts Lucretia (reminder: Lucretia is Darius’ daughter) and lets her know that he arranged for he un-firing, and also that this is an Orchard mission.  After escorting Arquette to Ganymede, an Orchard-controlled ship will take possession of her.

She warns her father that Dante will be suspicious, although it’s completely unclear why a man paid to transport prisoners from one place to another would be suspicious of delivering his prisoner to the place he was paid to take her.

While Dante and Lucretia collect the prisoner, Percy discovers a mysterious ion trail orbiting the Clarke Station.  It doesn’t show up on any of the instruments except the diagnostic scanners.  She has a feeling about this and forces Caravaggio to investigate far beyond his threshold for patience.  

It’s incredibly fascinating to her, but she abandons it instantly when Arquette comes onboard, and, through no plausible way I can discern, takes the murder suspect off Dante and Lucretia’s hands and sets her up in the guest quarters instead of the cells… and they let that happen.

It’s just possible the beauty of this woman has turned a hardened bounty hunter’s head.

Now that Percy is done disobeying orders and setting up Arquette in the guest quarters she returns to the bridge, which was left unattended, and disobeys orders some more by telling Dante she’ll get around to leaving the station later after she’s done studying this fascinating ion trail some more.

Faced with insurrection, Dante’s course of action is clear:  He leaves the bridge and takes food to the prisoner.

Percy apparently gets around to heading towards Ganymede, because once they leave, the ion trail is following them.  Dante returns to the bridge and Percy tells him about it.  “No military stealth technology is that good,” he says and so he decides to ignore it and leaves the bridge and heads back to pick up the prisoner’s food and have a little chat.

In Dante’s absence, Percy launches a probe to investigate the ion trail.

Lucretia comes to the bridge, Percy tells her about the ion trail and the findings from her probe.  There’s a spaceship out there and it’s 3 million years old.  Lucretia, as head of security, takes this information a lot more seriously than Dante.  Well, we can only assume she takes it more seriously than Dante because they can’t tell Dante.  He’s engaged Maximum Privacy Mode while chatting with the prisoner.

Faced with an absent captain and a potentially serious problem, Lucretia’s course of action is clear:  She leaves the bridge to call daddy.  

Dante meanwhile is hearing Arquette’s story.  She’s been obsessed with Jupiter’s red spot and then she started loosing time and other mysterious things, culminating with her friend being chopped to pieces when he intersected with “…a multiple-hyper-dimensional left field.”

Meanwhile, the probe is destroyed, and space bolas are launched towards the Trans-Utopian.  

OK, time to override Dante’s DND sign and let him know of the imminent peril.  The bolas cause the ships systems to fail, and plummet blindly, probably towards a collision with a planet or something.  Looks like they may have to abandon ship!  I’ll go save the prisoner! Says Dante, once again leaving the bridge.  Lucretia also leaves to go call daddy again.  He says get off the ship – just you and the prisoner.  The others can die.  To her credit, Lucretia says, “no,” to this, and proceeds to try to find a way off for everyone.

The Bolas have found Arquette, and she has found them, as they go for a multi-dimensional stroll around the ship.  Dante finds her and sees the lights, and something he cannot explain.  He takes her back to the bridge.

Percy is once again disobeying her orders to prepare to abandon ship and is, to her credit, working out a way to save the ship.  With everyone back on the bridge, a voice of possession comes from Arquette.  “We see all of time from beginning to end, blah blah blah.  You simple creatures are too primitive to understand.  We bring you the gift of becoming gods like us, yada yada yada.”

Dante knows what to do:  He tries to hug the divinity out of Arquette.  It doesn’t work and this time Arquette leaves the bridge, by disappearing.

Now they are met with one of those mysterious ships that saved their butts previously, and the cat’s out of the bag.  Yes, that’s the Orchard, yes Lucretia works for them, yes, she’s “fired” again, but before she goes, she knows that they know too much and the Orchard will kill them.

And for some reason, she doesn’t want that to happen, so she blackmails her father by threatening to broadcast everything about the incident to everyone if they don’t stand down.  Which they do.

All this leaves Dante singing the song, “How do you solve a problem like Maria, er… um… Lucretia?”  For once, instead of shouting, pouting, screaming or playing a petulant silent child, he tries a new technique.  He goes to talk to her.

Also, the director of the episode fulfills a life-long desire to film a scene with a camera mounted on a lazy-suzan.  That’s art that is.

The name Murder, Inc was already taken, so this time, the Bugs take on Assassins, Inc. – purveyors of overly-complicated, hi-tech death.  Simon and Eugene discuss

Episode Synopsis

Ros is attending a formal do on a ship with a friend.  At this event, a ruler in exile of Somewhereistan is murdered by a mosquito-like assassination drone.  Ros catches a glimpse of it, but it is stepped on before she can retrieve it, so she doesn’t even bother with the pieces.

Meanwhile, Nick and Ed are on a job.  They are breaking into a corporation to steal intellectual property.  Of course, they don’t use the word, “steal,” because that’s an ugly words.  They are the side of justice and niceness because this intellectual property was bought out by another corporation.  The check bounced.  The corporation filed for bankruptcy.  Now, the original developer was neither paid, nor do they have their software.  It will take months if not years for it to be sorted out by the courts.  They successfully break into the system, steal the code, and wipe all traces of it from the computer.  

So this isn’t breaking and entering, illegal hacking and theft, it’s justice!  And soon, they’ve turned it all over to the client, Irene.  Another job successfully accomplished!

Meanwhile, Ros’ friend, who happens to be a British official working for an organization that tasked with preventing illegal export and use of UK-developed killing technologies, tells here about a group of people, the eponymous Assassins, Inc of the title, who have developed deadly technology, including these mosquito assassins that can be programmed to kill a specific person by their pheromones.  In fact, that’s their speciality: highly-selective killing devices.

Luckily, the government seized all their intellectual assets.  Unluckily, they have been unable to get past the security system, and they’d like Ros’ help.  She brings in the boys, how are surprised to learn this is the very building and computer that they broke into.

Irene shows up with her lawyer, and the boys know they’ve been had.  And Irene knows they know they’ve been had.

The boys confess to Ros and her friend, and they are arrested, thrown in jail for 30 years, and the series ends abruptly. Oh, but wait, this 1995 and there are no laws on the books yet about cybercrime. And since the breaking and entering was in aid of hacking, which isn’t a crime, that’s all OK, too.

Ros’ team, which I’m now going to call the Bugs because… I think that’s the name of their business, go on the offensive, starting with what they do best: surveillance.  They spot the chief political rival of the slain ruler-in-exile talking with a British admiral.  He happens the be the UK’s unofficial liaison to the government-in-exile.

The rival is the man who hired Assassins, Inc to kill the leader.  Now, he’s used this meeting to grab a tape recording on the admiral’s voice, which the assassins use in another clever device, and bomb that explodes only when it hears a confirmed voice-print of the intended victim.  Nick tries to talk to the admiral, but he has no time for gimmicky amateurs, and brushes him off.  Moments later, he is dead, the victim of a targeted bomb.

Ros plants a bug on Irene by getting her to eat it in her breakfast.  Irene discovers it before there’s any information compromised, but she’s impressed with their tech and lets them know, before she has it jammed.  It’s game on, though, and Irene has smart bombs planted in Ros and Nick’s apartments.  Ros escapes because she has an extension phone and Nick escapes because he has a fax machine.

Ed; however, is targeted with something new and even more sinister.  Irene’s people have developed a virus that can be programmed to at any specific level of DNA matching.  It can target individual people, families or even entire ethic groups.  Ed is targeted with this new virus, and starts to die from it.  The paying client plans to use it to wipe out the entire royal family so that there are no legitimate political rivals to his government.

Ros brings the bomb they retrieved from Nick’s to Irene’s office, and tell her that she’s reprogrammed it for her voice, and that if she speaks, she dies.  Locking everyone in, they convince Irene’s lawyer to reveal the cure, and then they leave them behind locked in with the bomb.  Nick rushes to stop the virus from being released, which he does, and Ros rushes to save Ed, which she does.

Irene tells the lawyer he’s an idiot because the whole reprogrammed bomb thing was a bluff, just before she dies in the fiery explosion.  And Ros is arrested, thrown in jail for 30 years, and the series ends abruptly.  Oh, wait, this is 1995 and there are no laws on the books yet about murder.

It’s time for two more episodes of the Invisible Man.  This time the invisible man gets in trouble for passing a school bus stopped for children and he has to help a little old lady who’s got a gambling problem, an embezzlement problem, she’s being blackmailed, and the there two bank robberies on the same day at her bank.  John and Eugene discuss Stop When Red Lights Flash & Pin Money.

Stop When Red Lights Flash Synopsis

Dan and Kate, on their way to an important meeting drive through the aptly named Docker Junction, because they’ll soon be in the dock for passing a school bus with its flashing light on. But it’s all just a small town traffic trap scam run by the local sheriff, justice of the peace, town counsellor/town treasurer and court recording.

Dan sense of justice is offended and her refuses to pay the outrageous fine and is sentenced to jail. He calls his only lawyer friend, Walter Carlson for help. IN the meantime he uses his powers as The Invisible Man to investigate and learns that the judge has $2,000,000 in ill-gotten gains which is splitting 50/50 with his accomplices…. They just don’t know they’re all his accomplices and they’ll being setup for a fall by the judge should things go south.

Walter arrives and is caught in the same traffic trap, and, when he gets indignant, is also sentences to jail pending trial. At their trial the next day, Dan has managed to collect enough evidence and Walter has been able to bring in two friends from the Justice Department and the IRS and things hit the fan when he produces their books of illegal takings.

Pin Money Synopsis

Walter Carlson’s aunt Maggie has got a problem. She’s a down-trodden cog in an unthinking and unfeeling capitalistic system that values profits over people. Having given her life working for the First Bank of Harperville, she has no pension, and no hope for the future. To try to survive her golden years with dignity, she turned to gambling.

So now, she’s got a gambling problem, too.

Actually, she’s got several other problems. She has a gullibility problem because the people she’s been playing power with have been systematically cheating her. She’s also going to be out of job soon because she’s being replaced as the bank’s bookkeeper by a newly-installed computer. Also, the less-than-scrupulous computer installer has discovered that she’s embezzled $30,000 from the bank before the system goes live and he’s blackmailing her for $15,000 to “fix” it before the system comes online Monday morning. That would be $15,000 which she doesn’t have because she’s got a gambling problem.

She turns to her only relative, Walter, for help, but he doesn’t have time for her as he’s on his way to make money for Klae Corporation. The harsh injustices of capitalism again kicking in the face in her moment of desperate need.

Dan and Kate get involved and discover her secret and Dan surreptitiously uses his powers as The Invisible Man to cheat the cheaters at the poker game allowing Maggie to win enough money to pay back what she took.

Instead of paying the blackmailer, Dan concocts a plan to return all $30,000, by robbing the bank first thing on Monday morning and, instead of taking money, sneak the money back in and replace it, then removing his disguise and disappearing, making his escape.

It all goes to plan except Maggie has two more problems: Walter returns and decides he needs to see her, and is in the bank when the robbery occurs and, it must be bank season because two more bank robbers show up in identical costumes to Dan to rob the same bank and the same time.

Comedy ensues, but in the end, the money is returned, the Westins escape, the blackmailer is framed by Dan as the bank robber and Maggie is the hero of the day for capturing the bank robbers.

Out of gratitude, the bank promises to work her until the day she dies because she still doesn’t have a pension plan but at least she’s got a job

What turns an ordinary criminal into The Most Wanted Man? Find out as Kenneth and Eugene discuss the next episode of Starhunter Redux.

Synopsis:

A meeting happens between a man named Harman and the agents of Orchard.  He has what they want – himself – and he’ll turn it over to Darius.  When that’s not an option, he instantly renders the Orchard operatives unconscious and leaves at high speed.

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On the Ship, Dante and team have been hunting for Harman, too.  The bounty on him is astronomical, but they have come up empty.  This is a problem for Rudolfo, who, like an idiot, told people they already had Harman in their custody in an effort to stave off his debt collectors.

It fails to do that, and it attracts unwanted attention for the Trans-Utopian, and now everybody wants to take her and relieve  her of her prisoner.  There are some tense moments as Dante struggles valiantly to deal with a crew that keeps abandoning him, but, despite Percy’s sabotage (AGAIN!) and Lucretia doing back deals on her secret com line in her quarters, they get away, Track down Harman and take him.  Although, he seems to be willing.

All he wants is a meeting on neutral territory with Darius.  Lucretia promises him this.  Dante vetos that idea.  So, he instantly renders Dante unconscious.  He cuts a deal with Lucretia because she’s Darius’ daughter and therefore he trusts her.  She takes him to the waiting Orchard ship and turns him over with their promises of a meeting with Darius.

On the way, Harman gives a little info about the Divinity Cluster.  He first met Darius at the Evening Star site in Africa, where faint evidence of aliens was discovered, mostly corroded alien metals.  He obtained and became obsessed with a small disc with alien writing on it.  One day, it cracked open and had a liquid inside.  He dipped his finger in it and became what he is.  The destroyer of worlds.  Only he knows what the Divinity Cluster is about, and it’s going to happen to everyone and everything we know ends.  Spend the time you have left with what’s near and dear to you.

She leaves him on the ship, and soon it blows up.

Back on the Trans-Utopian, she’s received a coded Orchard secret message from the ship.  First the disposable villain of the episode, Charles, starts to report, then Harman shows up and says they’re all deaf to what he has to say and this way he’ll buy some more time for humanity.  He destroyed the ship, and presumably himself.

Dante, pissed off at Lucretia’s obvious secret agenda in this episode, has listened in on the conversation.  When she returns to the bridge, he tells her he wants her off his ship.  OOOOOO, harsh words from the ineffectual loser of a captain.

It’ll never happen.

The end.

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