Jack Warden is a prisoner exiled to an asteroid. He's all alone and going nuts under the burden of his solitude. During a visit from the authorities, he's given a mechanical toy to play with, an erector set, so to speak. She turns out to be a beautiful, quiet, industrious, loving, and obedient woman, just like my ex wife. Warden names her Alicia an falls in love with her, as who wouldn't. It's never explained just how far his attachment to Alicia has been taken but the story is about emotions, after all, not anatomy. Finally, the space ship from Earth arrives again to take him home. He's been pardoned. BUT there is no room aboard for Alicia, the moon of his delight. The problem is solved, more or less, but medical discretion forbids further disclosure.
I kind of like it. It's one of those stories in which nothing much happens. Warden is alone most of the time, talking to himself, as so many characters in the series do. Make up has made the common mistake of spritzing a desert-dwelling character with oil to make it seem as if he's sweating. They tried water at first but it evaporated too quickly in the dry heat. That should have told them they don't need sweat because perspiration dries at once in high temperatures and low humidity.
If you want to sweat, go breathe the boiled air of Houma, Louisiana. Be sure to visit the nearby McIlhenny Tobasco Sauce plant. It's tiny and old fashioned and it sits atop a salt dome in the middle of a swamp. It's not at all shiny and sterile. The staff will happily open one of the ancient kegs in which the peppers, salt, and vinegar are aging. They held the lid off the barrel so long that I was afraid a mouse might drop in from the rafters. Three stars. Highly recommended.
I'm rather fond of this episode, despite my aversion to talky stories in which not much is happening. I'm not sure how well Jack Warden projects loneliness but he looks and sounds like the kind of guy who wouldn't put it on display even if he actually felt it.
As for his attachment to the mechanical woman, I can understand that. I often play a Civil War Game in which I re-fight the Second Battle of Manassas. In this game, you give orders to your men like "Attack" or "Defend" or "Take Cover." When the miniature figures shoot at each other they fall and die. I usually lose because I err on the side of caution. I don't want to see my men's lives put at risk or, worse, see them slaughtered wholesale, even though they're no more than pixels. But once I saw a tiny bluecoat turn and give me the finger and that rather quelled my chagrin. So, yes, I can see falling in love with a mechanical woman.
"The heart has its reasons which the mind will never know," as the philosopher said. The same one who invented calculus, come to think of it. Damn his eyes for that.
I kind of like it. It's one of those stories in which nothing much happens. Warden is alone most of the time, talking to himself, as so many characters in the series do. Make up has made the common mistake of spritzing a desert-dwelling character with oil to make it seem as if he's sweating. They tried water at first but it evaporated too quickly in the dry heat. That should have told them they don't need sweat because perspiration dries at once in high temperatures and low humidity.
If you want to sweat, go breathe the boiled air of Houma, Louisiana. Be sure to visit the nearby McIlhenny Tobasco Sauce plant. It's tiny and old fashioned and it sits atop a salt dome in the middle of a swamp. It's not at all shiny and sterile. The staff will happily open one of the ancient kegs in which the peppers, salt, and vinegar are aging. They held the lid off the barrel so long that I was afraid a mouse might drop in from the rafters. Three stars. Highly recommended.
I'm rather fond of this episode, despite my aversion to talky stories in which not much is happening. I'm not sure how well Jack Warden projects loneliness but he looks and sounds like the kind of guy who wouldn't put it on display even if he actually felt it.
As for his attachment to the mechanical woman, I can understand that. I often play a Civil War Game in which I re-fight the Second Battle of Manassas. In this game, you give orders to your men like "Attack" or "Defend" or "Take Cover." When the miniature figures shoot at each other they fall and die. I usually lose because I err on the side of caution. I don't want to see my men's lives put at risk or, worse, see them slaughtered wholesale, even though they're no more than pixels. But once I saw a tiny bluecoat turn and give me the finger and that rather quelled my chagrin. So, yes, I can see falling in love with a mechanical woman.
"The heart has its reasons which the mind will never know," as the philosopher said. The same one who invented calculus, come to think of it. Damn his eyes for that.