"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.
| Episode Information | |
|---|---|
| Title | Dr. Strangechild |
| Season | 1 |
| Episode | 2 |
| Airdate | March 17, 1995 |
| Written by | Eric Blakeney |
| Directed by | Michael Katleman |
| Episode Navigation | |
| Previous | Pilot |
| Next | Sisters |
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.
Cast and Crew[]
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[]
- What happened to Penelope (Sydney's bird)?
- (Speculation by William A. Wood): She probably died in the fire that forced Sydney to change apartments.