Dr. Strangechild

"Dr. Strangechild" is the second episode of VR.5 that aired on March 17, 1995. This episode guide is from the VR.5 FAQ and was originally written by the authors of the FAQ.

Synopsis
"The Committee" gives Sydney her first assignment: discover the whereabouts of a teenage genius who has run away from a top secret installation after having made a momentous discovery. In doing so, Sydney has to come to terms with her own sense of solitude.

Main Cast

 * Lori Singer (Sydney Bloom)
 * Michael Easton (Duncan)
 * Will Patton (Dr. Frank Morgan)

Guest Stars

 * Louise Fletcher (Nora Bloom)
 * David McCallum (Dr. Joseph Bloom)
 * Dan Riley (Orderly)
 * Elya Baskin (Dr. Zoloft)
 * Tom Towles (Shepard)
 * Nicholas Cascone (Unknown)
 * Erick Avari (Boise)
 * Aaron Michael Metchik (Stuart Fischer)
 * Kate Zentall (Mrs. Fischer)
 * Cully Fredrickson (Unknown)
 * Danny Goldring (Traxell)
 * Jason Azikiwe (Unknown)

Crew
Written by: Eric Blakeney

Directed by: Michael Katleman

VR.5 was created by: Adam Cherry, Geoffrey Hemwall, Michael Katleman, Jeannine Renshaw, and Thania St. John

Executive Producer: John Sacret Young

Co-executive Producer: Thania St. John

Co-executive Producer: Eric Blakeney (2,3,5,6,8)

Supervising Producer: Michael Katleman

Producer: Naomi Janzen (2-10)

Producer: Jack Clements (2-10)

Producer: Mel Efros (1)

Co-producer: Geoffrey Hemwall

Observations

 * Sydney moves into a bigger, more "TV-ish" apartment--Duncan is now "next-door".
 * Duncan knows a lot about new-age spiritualism.
 * Sydney seems to have consciously or unconsciously forgotten some parts of her past, particularly the events surrounding the crash.
 * "Jimmy Lewis" was the mutual contact between Dr. Morgan and Parkens-Hart security.

Spoilers

 * VR.5 can be "conference-called"; although Sydney picks the locale, the Other seems to control the events that take place in that landscape--this may, however, be a question of the Other's will and/or intelligence (if one contrasts the VR.5 experiences of Stuart Fisher and Kravitz, for example).
 * The Committee would like to appear at least partially benevolent (tough but tender), as seen in the character of "Mr. Bland" at the end of the episode.

Questions/Answers/Speculation

 * 1) What happened to Penelope (Sydney's bird)?
 * 2) * (Speculation by William A. Wood): She probably died in the fire that forced Sydney to change apartments.