#545948
M.I.A.
Original Air date: May 9, 1990
Written by: Donald P. Bellisario
Directed by: Micheael Zinberg
Leap Date: April 1, 1969
This time: Sam leaps into a person wearing women’s clothing and wig. As he laments his fate, some hooligans run out and the radio in Sam’s purse shows that he is an undercover cop named Jake Rawlins while the hooligans make their way to him. Sam is saved in the nick of time by his partner, Skaggs. Like any good partner, Skaggs covers for Sam and later reveals that he himself froze in Vietnam. Sam can see that Skaggs is still troubled by the memory.
Al arrives and tells Sam he is there to help a woman named Beth. Her husband is captured in Vietnam and while he does get repatriated, by the time that happens, she has remarried and moved on. We see Beth Cavalicci running into Dirk Simon. Dirk changes her tire and melts her heart. Skaggs and Sam arrive on the scene and Sam changes the tire while Skaggs investigates Dirk. Things get less heated and Dirk leaves, but not before giving his card to Beth.
At a counterculture event to catch a drug dealer, Al tells Sam that Beth and Dirk still get together. Al has a strong motivation for Sam to prevent Beth from remarrying since he was captured and when he came back found that his wife had declared him dead and moved on. Sam in convinced that Beth just needs some hope that her husband is alive.
Meanwhile, the hooligans from the teaser find some weapons intent on getting revenge.
At the marina, Beth chats up a woman who turns out to be Dirk’s mother. Beth turns down a lunch date with the two as Sam arrives with flowers in hand. She is confused (and a little freaked out) but agrees to dine with him. Things are a bit awkward at first but work out well enough that they wind up at her place where she reflects on someone that she could not save earlier that day.
On the other side of town, the hooligans get a woman to call the police and ask for Skaggs.
The next day, Beth runs into Dirk and the two have lunch. Sam interrupts the two at Beth’s place and Dirk leaves. Sam wants to take Beth south of the border for a real Mexican meal. She goes to change, and Sam sees the picture of her husband; it is Al!
After giving Susan a quick kiss goodbye, Sam confronts Al. Sam reminds Al of the noninterference rules, but Al is still fixated at getting back together with Beth. Skaggs goes to a bar only to be confronted by the armed hooligans. Sam shows up with a shotgun to save the day. Sam does not leap but figures that Al gets to have a moment with Beth. Though she cannot hear him, Al talks to his beloved.
Sam leaps ….
Only Sam can see and hear: Al knows an awful lot about women’s undergarments.
Mirror images that were not his own: It is not until nearly the half hour mark that Sam sees Jake in his locker’s mirror.
It’s a science project: We get a bit of gun knowledge with Skaggs thinking Sam’s gun jammed when it has the safety on.
Let’s up the rating: Dressed in drag in the police locker room, Sam gets his share of hoots and hollers. They also pranked him by putting various bits of lingerie in his locker.
One more time: “Was he successful?” “I met your mother yesterday.”
Dirk asking if Beth digs Jake and Beth not saying yes.
The Rainbow Treknection: Norman Large who played Dirk has as many characters on Trek as I have fingers but his is most prominently known as Maques and the first Proconsul Neral. Sierra Parker played Dirk’s mother but also played another famed Romulan in Ambassador T’Pel.
The biggest actor in both series is Susan Doil who played Beth, a love interest for Al, here and Denara Pel, a love interest for The Doctor on Voyager.
Trivial Matters: Episodes tend to conclude with a teaser for the next. This episode pretty much ends with Al and Beth looking at each other while the leaping effect happens behind them and no teaser. Pretty good way to not lock yourself in for a long summer haitus.
Put right what once went wrong: “You didn’t give me a parking ticket, did you?” “Thought about it.” One problem with doing a rewatch is that the big surprises in an episode are not going to be that impactful. To use a Trek example, many of my contemporaries who first saw City on the Edge of Forever knew ahead of time that Edith Keeler would die. That did not take anything away from an excellent episode, one of the best in the franchise which is still very worthwhile to watch even if you know the outcome.
Similarly, I knew going into M.I.A. that Beth was Al’s wife. That did not take away from the excellent work in this episode. We see Dirk and Susan having a connection, a really good one in fact. The two have great chemistry together and you believe that they will be great for one another. Dirk is even catty with Sam when it becomes clear that there is a love triangle. This is not some jerk trying to woo her, though Al tries to sell that as best he can.
Beth is a strong independent woman trying to move on. She does not know Al is alive and is very sympathetic. As much as Al tries to tell us she should not move on, she tells us that she should. Doil is a fantastic actress, happy with both paramours going after her. She does not take things too far but opens up to them a little.
Season one ended with Al and Sam getting into an argument and it felt artificial. Here it is done much better. Al keeps on trying to fit the square peg into a round hole and you can tell there is something off. At one point, Al does not even refer to his handlink when telling Sam what will, happen and Sam does not pick up on it. Being ever the great friend Sam lets Al get things off his chest but does not entirely let him off the hook. In a rarity for a television show, we have talk of the guy upstairs and the guy downstairs with is a great callback to the top of the season.
The writing supports something off as well. The scenes with Beth and Dirk as well as Beth and Dirk’s mother feel very natural. Al getting Sam to seduce Beth seems uncomfortable and it very well should. Writer Bellisario wrote a great script and Director Zinberg let the actors play off the material.
It is not entirely perfect, though. The hooligans are a bit of a distraction. While they are there to make the episode work since there really is no way around them, their later scenes fall short compared to the other things that are happening. Also, Al says that he never fed any scenarios other than reuniting with Beth into Ziggy, but Ziggy seems pretty good at figuring things out anyway. We know that Gooshie is listening to everything going on, at least everything that Al is saying, and he should know that the odds are low, or at least that Sam should save Skaggs.
Speaking of Skaggs, he is at best a minor character in the grand scheme of the episode, but he has a great portrayal of trauma, particularly with a male. This is rarely discussed today let alone seen and to have it so prominent on screen is breathtaking.
Original Air date: May 9, 1990
Written by: Donald P. Bellisario
Directed by: Micheael Zinberg
Leap Date: April 1, 1969
This time: Sam leaps into a person wearing women’s clothing and wig. As he laments his fate, some hooligans run out and the radio in Sam’s purse shows that he is an undercover cop named Jake Rawlins while the hooligans make their way to him. Sam is saved in the nick of time by his partner, Skaggs. Like any good partner, Skaggs covers for Sam and later reveals that he himself froze in Vietnam. Sam can see that Skaggs is still troubled by the memory.
Al arrives and tells Sam he is there to help a woman named Beth. Her husband is captured in Vietnam and while he does get repatriated, by the time that happens, she has remarried and moved on. We see Beth Cavalicci running into Dirk Simon. Dirk changes her tire and melts her heart. Skaggs and Sam arrive on the scene and Sam changes the tire while Skaggs investigates Dirk. Things get less heated and Dirk leaves, but not before giving his card to Beth.
At a counterculture event to catch a drug dealer, Al tells Sam that Beth and Dirk still get together. Al has a strong motivation for Sam to prevent Beth from remarrying since he was captured and when he came back found that his wife had declared him dead and moved on. Sam in convinced that Beth just needs some hope that her husband is alive.
Meanwhile, the hooligans from the teaser find some weapons intent on getting revenge.
At the marina, Beth chats up a woman who turns out to be Dirk’s mother. Beth turns down a lunch date with the two as Sam arrives with flowers in hand. She is confused (and a little freaked out) but agrees to dine with him. Things are a bit awkward at first but work out well enough that they wind up at her place where she reflects on someone that she could not save earlier that day.
On the other side of town, the hooligans get a woman to call the police and ask for Skaggs.
The next day, Beth runs into Dirk and the two have lunch. Sam interrupts the two at Beth’s place and Dirk leaves. Sam wants to take Beth south of the border for a real Mexican meal. She goes to change, and Sam sees the picture of her husband; it is Al!
After giving Susan a quick kiss goodbye, Sam confronts Al. Sam reminds Al of the noninterference rules, but Al is still fixated at getting back together with Beth. Skaggs goes to a bar only to be confronted by the armed hooligans. Sam shows up with a shotgun to save the day. Sam does not leap but figures that Al gets to have a moment with Beth. Though she cannot hear him, Al talks to his beloved.
Sam leaps ….
Only Sam can see and hear: Al knows an awful lot about women’s undergarments.
Mirror images that were not his own: It is not until nearly the half hour mark that Sam sees Jake in his locker’s mirror.
It’s a science project: We get a bit of gun knowledge with Skaggs thinking Sam’s gun jammed when it has the safety on.
Let’s up the rating: Dressed in drag in the police locker room, Sam gets his share of hoots and hollers. They also pranked him by putting various bits of lingerie in his locker.
One more time: “Was he successful?” “I met your mother yesterday.”
Dirk asking if Beth digs Jake and Beth not saying yes.
The Rainbow Treknection: Norman Large who played Dirk has as many characters on Trek as I have fingers but his is most prominently known as Maques and the first Proconsul Neral. Sierra Parker played Dirk’s mother but also played another famed Romulan in Ambassador T’Pel.
The biggest actor in both series is Susan Doil who played Beth, a love interest for Al, here and Denara Pel, a love interest for The Doctor on Voyager.
Trivial Matters: Episodes tend to conclude with a teaser for the next. This episode pretty much ends with Al and Beth looking at each other while the leaping effect happens behind them and no teaser. Pretty good way to not lock yourself in for a long summer haitus.
Put right what once went wrong: “You didn’t give me a parking ticket, did you?” “Thought about it.” One problem with doing a rewatch is that the big surprises in an episode are not going to be that impactful. To use a Trek example, many of my contemporaries who first saw City on the Edge of Forever knew ahead of time that Edith Keeler would die. That did not take anything away from an excellent episode, one of the best in the franchise which is still very worthwhile to watch even if you know the outcome.
Similarly, I knew going into M.I.A. that Beth was Al’s wife. That did not take away from the excellent work in this episode. We see Dirk and Susan having a connection, a really good one in fact. The two have great chemistry together and you believe that they will be great for one another. Dirk is even catty with Sam when it becomes clear that there is a love triangle. This is not some jerk trying to woo her, though Al tries to sell that as best he can.
Beth is a strong independent woman trying to move on. She does not know Al is alive and is very sympathetic. As much as Al tries to tell us she should not move on, she tells us that she should. Doil is a fantastic actress, happy with both paramours going after her. She does not take things too far but opens up to them a little.
Season one ended with Al and Sam getting into an argument and it felt artificial. Here it is done much better. Al keeps on trying to fit the square peg into a round hole and you can tell there is something off. At one point, Al does not even refer to his handlink when telling Sam what will, happen and Sam does not pick up on it. Being ever the great friend Sam lets Al get things off his chest but does not entirely let him off the hook. In a rarity for a television show, we have talk of the guy upstairs and the guy downstairs with is a great callback to the top of the season.
The writing supports something off as well. The scenes with Beth and Dirk as well as Beth and Dirk’s mother feel very natural. Al getting Sam to seduce Beth seems uncomfortable and it very well should. Writer Bellisario wrote a great script and Director Zinberg let the actors play off the material.
It is not entirely perfect, though. The hooligans are a bit of a distraction. While they are there to make the episode work since there really is no way around them, their later scenes fall short compared to the other things that are happening. Also, Al says that he never fed any scenarios other than reuniting with Beth into Ziggy, but Ziggy seems pretty good at figuring things out anyway. We know that Gooshie is listening to everything going on, at least everything that Al is saying, and he should know that the odds are low, or at least that Sam should save Skaggs.
Speaking of Skaggs, he is at best a minor character in the grand scheme of the episode, but he has a great portrayal of trauma, particularly with a male. This is rarely discussed today let alone seen and to have it so prominent on screen is breathtaking.
New places for old(er) keywords: Continuing Mission
Cardassians and Federation posturing it out: Showdown: Four Lights
Cardassians and Federation posturing it out: Showdown: Four Lights