Starring:
Patrick Cassidy as Todd Sorenson
Maxine Bahns as Betty Sorenson
Barry Williams as Neighbor
Richard Riehle as Gorn
Debbie Lee Carrington as Alien #1
Gary Friedkin as Alien #2
Katherine Gaskin as Glenda 6
Olivia Hack as Jenna Sorenson
Roger W. Morrissey as Liberty 1
Betty Murphy as Nana
Gary Friedkin as Alien #2
Katherine Gaskin as Glenda 6
Olivia Hack as Jenna Sorenson
Roger W. Morrissey as Liberty 1
Betty Murphy as Nana
Maureen Teefy as Chrome
Written by: Scott Nimerfro, based on the "Weird Science" comic books, by William M. Gaines
Directed by: Russell Mulcahy
Well here it is at last: the final episode of “Perversions of Science”, and the most surprising thing about it is, even in the face of a surefire cancellation, just how much of a whimper it goes out with. I have mentioned before how it never really pushed any boundaries, despite being on a channel known for doing it; when I mentioned it the first time, it was more of a stray observation. Suddenly, it has become a point of contempt: this was a chance for the show to pull out all the stops and deliver one final “fuck you” to its audience, and instead it delivers us its typical droll, restrained sci-fi “goods”. This is a textbook example of how to go out with your tail between your legs.
Not surprisingly, it is the future in “The People's Choice”, and this vision is made up of long-haired women robots, called “domestics”, that perform chores for well-off families in suburbia. Todd Sorenson is the “leader” of one such family, the ultimate douchebag who respects no one and, in return, is respected by no one. In the beginning of the episode, he is verbally harassing “Nana”, the family's long-serving domestic, exploding on her for having “medical” issues that are costing him a lot of money. But his wife and child seem to love “Nana” more than they love him, and as much as he apparently dislikes the robot, he's such a penny-pinching miser that he refuses to upgrade to another model.
The deep depths he will go to keep his family “intact” are made obvious when “Nana” sneaks out of the house one night, and by morning ends up swimming in oil after an unspecified accident amputates her arm. Rather than pony up the cash to buy a new one, he has the local robot sales/repairman Gorn (Richard Riehle, who is probably the king of “I know I've seen that guy somewhere before!”) fix her up to be as good as new. Wondering what lead Nana to receive such a horrible injury, he feigns sleep the following evening, catching her slipping outside in the middle of the night, where all the robots gather in the middle of the street to fight to the death. (No one else has ever noticed this before?) This means Nana is going up against much more current models, which explains why she is always in failing health. Facing a “Glenda 6”, one of the top consumer-grade robots available, she is about to be dealt a death blow when Todd comes to her rescue, allowing her to turn the tables and “win”.
All it does it postpone the inevitable: the very next day, a group of robots come by and attack her, cutting her into unrepairable pieces. Todd demands answers from Gorn, who reveals that the fighting is all a tactic from manufacturer Ultrabot to eventually force people to upgrade their domestics to a more current model. The stress of losing “Nana”, along with a rivalry with his neighbor, leads him to purchase the “Liberty 1”, a new patriotic model that everyone has to have. But in typical “Perversions” overkill, it turns out each robot in the “Liberty” line is controlled by a miniature alien, and all of them are combining to take over the world! And that's not only the end of the episode, but the entire series. Ho-hum.
The acting is pretty good, but it's clear that everyone was told to “ham it up” in this one; it seems to be striving for more of a lighthearted approach than some earlier eps, and also frequently aims for comedy (often failing miserably). The special effects are mainly kept “physical”, but the final shot is yet another example of piss-poor '90s CGI, the type of which this show has sadly excelled at. I hope I haven't made this sound like a horrible episode, because parts of it were enjoyable, but given this was its last chance to make an impression on its dwindling viewer base, it's sad to see “Perversions” stick to its code of restraint all the way through to the bitter end; a code that is what helped to send it to an early grave in the first place.
EPISODE RATING: 5/10
Well here it is at last: the final episode of “Perversions of Science”, and the most surprising thing about it is, even in the face of a surefire cancellation, just how much of a whimper it goes out with. I have mentioned before how it never really pushed any boundaries, despite being on a channel known for doing it; when I mentioned it the first time, it was more of a stray observation. Suddenly, it has become a point of contempt: this was a chance for the show to pull out all the stops and deliver one final “fuck you” to its audience, and instead it delivers us its typical droll, restrained sci-fi “goods”. This is a textbook example of how to go out with your tail between your legs.
Not surprisingly, it is the future in “The People's Choice”, and this vision is made up of long-haired women robots, called “domestics”, that perform chores for well-off families in suburbia. Todd Sorenson is the “leader” of one such family, the ultimate douchebag who respects no one and, in return, is respected by no one. In the beginning of the episode, he is verbally harassing “Nana”, the family's long-serving domestic, exploding on her for having “medical” issues that are costing him a lot of money. But his wife and child seem to love “Nana” more than they love him, and as much as he apparently dislikes the robot, he's such a penny-pinching miser that he refuses to upgrade to another model.
The deep depths he will go to keep his family “intact” are made obvious when “Nana” sneaks out of the house one night, and by morning ends up swimming in oil after an unspecified accident amputates her arm. Rather than pony up the cash to buy a new one, he has the local robot sales/repairman Gorn (Richard Riehle, who is probably the king of “I know I've seen that guy somewhere before!”) fix her up to be as good as new. Wondering what lead Nana to receive such a horrible injury, he feigns sleep the following evening, catching her slipping outside in the middle of the night, where all the robots gather in the middle of the street to fight to the death. (No one else has ever noticed this before?) This means Nana is going up against much more current models, which explains why she is always in failing health. Facing a “Glenda 6”, one of the top consumer-grade robots available, she is about to be dealt a death blow when Todd comes to her rescue, allowing her to turn the tables and “win”.
All it does it postpone the inevitable: the very next day, a group of robots come by and attack her, cutting her into unrepairable pieces. Todd demands answers from Gorn, who reveals that the fighting is all a tactic from manufacturer Ultrabot to eventually force people to upgrade their domestics to a more current model. The stress of losing “Nana”, along with a rivalry with his neighbor, leads him to purchase the “Liberty 1”, a new patriotic model that everyone has to have. But in typical “Perversions” overkill, it turns out each robot in the “Liberty” line is controlled by a miniature alien, and all of them are combining to take over the world! And that's not only the end of the episode, but the entire series. Ho-hum.
The acting is pretty good, but it's clear that everyone was told to “ham it up” in this one; it seems to be striving for more of a lighthearted approach than some earlier eps, and also frequently aims for comedy (often failing miserably). The special effects are mainly kept “physical”, but the final shot is yet another example of piss-poor '90s CGI, the type of which this show has sadly excelled at. I hope I haven't made this sound like a horrible episode, because parts of it were enjoyable, but given this was its last chance to make an impression on its dwindling viewer base, it's sad to see “Perversions” stick to its code of restraint all the way through to the bitter end; a code that is what helped to send it to an early grave in the first place.
EPISODE RATING: 5/10
FULL EPISODE
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