“Oh, yeah. Like Flotsam, Mopsam and, uh, Cotton-tail.”
- Release Date: 2nd November 2002
- Season 1
- Episode 8
- Director: Will Meugniot
- Writers: Matt Edens
The team are driving through yet another canyon (they seem to like them, even though you can’t see anything) when one of the buggies starts acting up. There’s a storm approaching and Harrison says that they’ve got plenty of time. Seattle talks about her home (she’s a native american on TV, so everything she knows has to relate to that) and how in desert areas, the dry land can cause floods to cause storms from miles away.
On cue, the canyon starts flooding and they make it out just in time. There’s a strange meow and Seattle finds a small, kitten-like creature. Bonner tells her to be careful, but she wants to look after it. They name it Flotsam and Harrison makes a Peter Rabbit joke, and everyone is amazed when Bonner seems to understand it. A winged creature takes Flotsam and Harrison has to give chase to get it back (I thought that it was going to be the creature’s mother trying to save her baby, but that story would be too interesting).
They set up camp (again, in a canyon, on a planet where they flood) and rest for the night, with absolutely nobody on watch. Flotsam keeps howling, so Seattle lets him outside, and they all wake in the morning to find their food supplies completely gone. Flotsam has eaten them and has also grown to be taller than all of them – a giant husk of a creature. It’s hinted that he grew so fast so can’t be fully grown, but he doesn’t grow any more in the episode.
Seattle tries to train Flotsam, with Harrison showing how it can be done by setting an example for the creature first. She helps Ec’co repair the buggy while everyone hunts for food, but the repairs take longer due to Flotsam buying the parts. Harrison gets back and teaches Flotsam some more and the two seem to be getting along great (although he gets teased for it). Seattle wants to keep it, even taking it when they go.
A Tlak’kahn probe finds the camp, dialing the gate for them to come through (must be two-way travel in this reality) and they launch their ambush (again, nobody is on watch) by throwing a bomb towards the camp. Thankfully, Harrison taught Flotsam how to fetch, so he takes the bomb back to the Tlak’kahn, which alerts everyone.
As the ambush happens, they all escape to higher ground, but reach a cliff they can’t get up. The Tlak’kahn decide to wait them out, but a storm starts. Da’kyll is confident that they have plenty of time, but they get washed away. The vehicles they were repairing seem to be absolutely fine, along with the camp stuff.
It’s time to leave the planet and Seattle finally realises that Flotsam should stay on his own planet to find his people. Draga sends him a telepathic message so he understands why Seattle is leaving and they head off, and we see Flotsam find another one of its kind. The episodes so far have been fine, but this one is pretty terrible, which is a shame for Seattle as it’s the first one she’s really been involved with.
