Episode Guide 201

Skin and Bones

In Brief:

It has been three months since the events of last season. Liz had gone to live with her aunt in Florida, Max and Maria had bonded over the summer with their mutual unrequited loves and there is tension between Max and Michael over Max's passive leadership, as they wait for their 'enemies' to detect them. Just when it looks like Nasedo, posing as Agent Pierce, has solved their problems by disbanding the FBI alien hunter unit, a geologist unearths Pierce's remains. Sheriff Valenti finds himself in an awkward position of keeping the truth hidden whilst his overeager deputy and new Congresswoman begin to take an interest in the case.

Review   Read the review about the episode written by me....thoughts and rating

<<rewind<<

• Maria's impersonation of Max's eagerness to hear about Liz 
• Nasedo comes back to the Crashdown to find the pod squad

Pop Culture:

• Ward Cleaver; the quintessential 1950's father in Leave it to Beaver. A black and white family drama programme
• C-Span non-profit Cable TV channel that shows Congressional things of interest i.e. debates, enquiries, budget proposals. Congress is most similar to our upper house of parliament (senate)
• One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest; Classic movie based on the book of the same name starring Jack Nicholson as the crazy guy

Continuity:

• The "beeping" noise made by the metal detector in the opening scene is the same sound effect used for the alien hexagon trackers featured in last season's Destiny. An effective and subtle tie-in to the previous season.
• In the recaps of the previous season, Max explains he is a hybrid; mix of alien and human DNA (the White Room)
• Isabel alludes to the enemies still threatening them (destiny)
• Whitaker talks of a murder that the FBI investigated in 1972 with a silver handprint marking
• Nasedo has been posing as Pierce for 3 months (destiny), eventually disbanding the FBI elite alien hunting group
• When Nasedo asks Max about Tess, he reminds him that he heard their destiny with his own ears (Destiny)
• Liz gets a flash when Max touches her (Sexual Healing)
• Tess reminds Michael the key to controlling the power is to focus (White Room)
• "Beats working at the Cheese Factory.." a main source of employment in Roswell, mentioned in Monsters & TLV
• Mr Seligman (Science teacher) has a mention in this ep. He was seen in person in Sexual Healing

Bloopers:

Quotable Quotes:

Maria: (to Max) "Girlfriend. Like, I know that we bonded over the summer, but I'm not quite ready to show you the bod just yet."

Max: "No rock stands a chance against Michael Guerin"

Isabel: "We think somebody found Pierce's bones."
Michael: "You're kidding"
Max: "A geologist"
Michael: "What the hell was he doing digging around in the middle of nowhere?"
Max: "That's what geologists do...."

Nasedo: "Sheriff Valenti. Welcome to the ever-burgeoning "I know an alien" club. You called me here. I assume it's important"

Nasedo: "To borrow a rather crude human colloquialism, I've been diddling her all summer."
Maria: "I hope he's using birth control"

Max: "I haven't performed any mating rituals if that's what you're asking"

It's An Alien Thing

• Michael learns to focus his power; by exploding rocks in his apartment
• Tess has limitations to her mindwarp; increased people that she has to mind manipulate means she can only maintain the warp for a few minutes
• Max can age materials by increasing the breakdown of C-14
• After the use of the alien powers, there's a substance called Cadmium-X which is left behind (not found on earth)
• Michael's blast of energy that killed Pierce, "melted & fused" the bones together. It was a short and intense burst of radiation
• Nasedo's purpose is to protect the Royal 4. Their survival is critical to the survival of their race

Production Notes:

• Carbon dating is a technique used to date artifacts, the isotope of C-14 having a half-life in the tens of years span. But I thought it wasn't a commonly used forensic method, considering they thought these bones were recent.
• Been some renovations at the Crashdown...there is a new large window in the backroom near the stairs that wasn't there last season.