Hi everyone!
Wow.
Now that was an eppy and a half, wasn’t it? Damnit Craig, you are just determined to take up every spot on my Top Ten Favorite Episodes of All Time List aren’t you?
And if you can’t guess that I loved this episode from THAT statement, well then read my review! As always this contains HUGE HONKIN’ spoilers for Flowers For Hobbes, and if we said the same thing well genius thinks alike, right?
Overall:
This was actually two episodes in one hour...first we get a hilariously funny mission, lots of great interaction between Darien and Hobbes, some interesting science, a mad scientist, and a lot of fun!
Then we get an emotional gut-wrencher, where Hobbes is basically loosing his mind after being infected, watching Hobbes turn into someone else, and then Darien’s attempts to bring his partner back. Before changing Hobbes states several times that he would take the bullet for his partner, put his life on the line for Darien. He hides it behind it being his job, his duty, what partners are supposed to do...of course Darien is right at the end, when he says it’s because Hobbes is his friend and would die for him. "Bobby Hobbes doesn’t bail on his partner." Darien, on the other hand, has never really stated the same thing. We know he cares about Hobbes...but it’s always been implied. And in the end of this eppy Darien finally shows, in action, that he’d also risk his life for his partner. Before injecting himself with the retro-virus he says to Hobbes, "I’m pretty sure there’s one thing about me you don’t know." Well now Hobbes knows...Darien Fawkes doesn’t bail on his partner either.
The Good: (strap in, this could take a while)
-I gotta start out with Paul and Vince’s performances here. For Paul we get two sides of the same character, both Hobbes and yet both drastically different. Watching Hobbes and Darien interact normally, and then slowly Darien looses his partner, his friend...and if that last scene in the padded room doesn’t grab you and glue you to the tube, then get you crying, then I don’t know what can! Bravo!
-Perhaps it was the whole running theme of intelligence, but we get a plethora of quotes this week: John Oliver Hobbes (and then some Bobby Hobbes "To Hell with this"), a bit about honor amongst thieves, "Better to reign in Hell then serve in Heaven", Thomas Edison, Chopenhauer, and "every man’s a genius till he opens his mouth."
-Phallic Symbol of the Week: The Washington monument-like statue outside of the Sperm clinic, framed in the window behind the small piece of art that looked like a warped donut. *groan*
-"If you want we have a wide variety of video’s and literature."
"That won’t be necessary."
Hey, guess if you win the Nobel prize you have to have some kind of
imagination! :-)
-Gotta love how the Nobel Doc tries to open the door the wrong way! Reminds me a Far Side comic, where a student is trying to enter the "School for Gifted Youngsters"...he’s pushing hard against a door that reads PULL.
-The guy who played the Nobel Doc did a great job, showing how uncomfortable and strange the situation is, as well as being resigned to doing his part for science and his country.
-The FX on the melting metal were VERY cool!
-Gotta love how the Sperm Cops were eating and drinking instead of patrolling...bet they never expected a break in!
-"Hobbes, try not to damage Eberts."
-So Darien finally gets to ask something we’ve all wondered about the Official and Eberts, "Do you guys practice that when we’re not here? ‘Cause the timing is...excellent."
-Poor Eberts...all flustered trying to get that tall projection screen up while Hobbes snickers.
-I swear to God the video Eberts starts to show I saw in Middle School Health Class...the Journey of Life, or something like that. It was one of those videos where we all would sit and snicker whenever the narrator would say "sperm", "vagina", "testies"...
-"The ol’ Cryo-vault!"
-"That’s where the penetration took place." *groan*
-Interesting little fact, apparently one of Darien’s convictions was false...
-Darien and Hobbes interrogate Manny by playing Bad Cop...uh...Bad Cop.
-We find out that Darien did go to college for a few years, but dropped out because after Kevin’s 3rd Ph.D. "...above average lost it’s luster." I wonder if Darien did get good grades through high school and into college, but finally got fed up and left when he was more interested in being a thief then competing with his brother.
-And Hobbes probably did ROTC in High School and went straight into the service.
-"Thomas Edison said genius is 1% inspiration and 99%
perspiration."
"And you’ve got the BO to prove it."
"Jealousy is a very ugly emotion my average friend."
"Above average, thank you very much."
-So the Agency has only one holding/interrogation room that also doubles as the padded cell? *snicker*
-"I gotta tell you, sometimes I really wish I spoke Mad Scientist. (evil) And then, genius is born...Buhahahaha!"
-I loved the synchronized response Hobbes and Darien had when Claire says "Better you then Darien."
-Little kinky things you never wanted to know about your partner: "Get
in the Chair."
"Oh I love it when you take charge."
-You would figure Darien wouldn’t be so excited over Hobbes new mental abilities, considering Darien probably had to grow up with Kevin practicing out of the Mensa book. But it was fun to see him rooting Hobbes on!
-Melanie was just really...really freaky. She says "Knowledge is power."...well power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. So what about absolute knowledge?
-"A lot of effort went into those canisters." *groan*
-There’s an absolutely amazing moment when Darien goes to get Hobbes, who is sitting watching 5 things at once. Darien says "Come on Hobbes your scaring your partner." and Hobbes laughs...there’s this really long pause where you can clearly see Hobbes is off in his own world. Plus watching Darien’s face fall as he realizes Hobbes has jumped off the high board into the deep end...great moment!
-This whole episode was excellent, but two scenes stuck out in my mind above all others. #1: Hobbes argues with the Official, resigns, and then argues with Darien. The calm, cold, impassive way Hobbes acts just sent chills down my spine...the freaked out look on Eberts face as everything falls apart...Darien’s desperate attempt to calm everyone down, then reason with his partner...man what a great scene!
-In that scene, Hobbes calls the QS gland a "beautiful gift"...well that gift comes with a high price. And so does Hobbes’ gift.
-I think the seeds for the idea of how to save Hobbes were planted in Darien’s mind when Hobbes stated, "No one ever really respected me here. No one ever really cared. No one."
-Well it wasn’t a pen, but it was still a lot of fun to see Darien do the ol’ cliché opening a lock with a hairpin!
-The fight scene between InvisibleDarien and Hobbes was amazing to watch! Especially when all you can see of Darien is the flour on him...
-You know Claire never gets a chance to ask Hobbes to help her, or come down with her to the lab. And I think Hobbes was telling the truth after being darted when he said "All you had to do was ask." Perhaps if Claire really had just asked...
-Great Scene #2: the whole ending padded room sequence. Watching Darien slowly break through to Hobbes by putting his own life on the line...the Official and Claire watching in horror behind the mirror...at first Hobbes being so distant and cold, and then slowly breaking down as he fears Darien will die...the whole scene is just amazing!
-Gotta love the look on Darien’s face when he first enters the padded cell and the door closes. I’m sure he’s not just worried about what’s going to happen, but having some rather unpleasant memories of his own 49 hours in Hobbes position.
-And now for Tidbits You Never Want To Learn First Hand: "You know I found, with the straitjacket, if you just roll your shoulders a bit you get a little slack."
-"You are a man, I am a super man."
"You’re Superman? I’m the Invisible Man. Wow, we just get Wonder
Woman and we can really party."
-Looking back on this scene, it’s clear that the stuff in the needle really WAS the retro-virus, but at the time I thought Darien was bluffing. But if Hobbes is that smart, and can tell from Darien’s voice the kids were dead, he would be able to tell if Darien was bluffing...and Darien must’ve known that. IM always has to take that extra step...
-That last look of amazement and despair and fear on Hobbes face as he says "I can’t believe you did that, partner." just tore my heart out.
-Gotta love the close-up of Hobbes in the chair, with the pillow, making him look like he’s still in the padded cell till he "wakes up" and the camera pulls back.
-MORE Little kinky things you never wanted to know about your partner: "I’ll play a nice game of doctor with you anytime, Keepy."
-You know neither Darien or Hobbes really had to put into words their friendship for each other...but damn if it isn’t nice to hear it anyway!
Mensa Moment: Since my Dad is a psychologist, I know a lot about Mensa. I’ll save my informative rant for another post, but just for fun:
If Tom has three times as many apples as Susan,
and Susan has 1/4 as many as Joe, who has 4,
how many does Mary have is she has 2 more then Tom?
Answer: Joe has 4.
Susan has 1/4 as many = 1
Tom has 3 times as many as Susan = 3
Mary has 2 more then Tom = 5
The Bad:
-I hate to say it, but the sound dubbing of the voices whenever we were watching someone in the padded cell from the observation room was quite bad...like a Godzilla movie...
-Where did Darien get a whole syringe of the retro-virus?
-So why didn’t the Official or Claire run for the padded room BEFORE Darien injected himself with the virus? They had a good minute between the time Darien pulled the needle out till he actually pushed down the plunger.
The Crap Count:
-"Aw crap, that looks bad." Darien, about Hobbes’ injury.
-"Why don’t you do me a favor and cut the crap, Doc." Darien, to Dr. Galasyn.
-"Aw crap." Darien, on seeing the dead college students.
-"Claire!! Get this crap out of me!" Darien, on the retro-virus about to kill him.
The Nitpicky:
-So Hobbes smashes the hypodermic in Dr. Galasyn’s hand...Hobbes is infected. Is Galasyn? He doesn’t indicate he is...although he dies before the retro-virus could really go nuts.
-No no no no...damnit it’s the return of that awful Gas Attendant "Jerry" Jacket! Aw crap...although I will admit that the rest of Darien’s wardrobe was very nice. If we can just burn that one jacket...
-OK let’s take a vote. Who else thinks Eberts and the Official continued to watch that cheesy informative video after Darien and Hobbes left?
-Was it just me, or did Galasyn look a bit like Steven King?
-"Amen brother, be all that you can be!" Uh, Darien? Hobbes was in the Marines, no the army!
-I came dangerously close to quoting Monty Python and the Holy Grail when Hobbes said his injury was "only a flesh wound."
-So Darien pulls up outside Hobbes apartment, tires squealing he’s going so fast...and yet that was still a very nice parking job!
-The 5 programs Hobbes was watching at the same time were: something about JFK, a nature documentary, something about the Vietnam war, a special on microscopic life forms, and a program on Jupiter.
-Hobbes turned off all five TV’s with one click. Talk about a universal remote!
-"Those were the student lab rats?" You’d think Darien would be a bit better about using "lab rat" as a term for someone.
-Added Dialogue: Hobbes, "You know what your problem is, Fawkes?" Darien, "Yea, I got a gland in my head that doesn’t belong there." Oh wait...that’s from Reunion...
-Man, even the dorm room is bigger then my studio apartment!
-It’s a good thing for Hobbes that he had that bag of flour sitting out, open, and ready to throw on any invisible men that could come by. Too bad he didn’t have powdered sugar...
-Stargate SG-1 Moment: Anyone else have Torment on Tantalus flashbacks when Darien was telling Hobbes that what’s the point of knowing the answer if you can’t tell anyone?
"’Nuff said." -Darien
