Venus News

Session #7 Heavy Metal Queen (2 out of 5 stars)

Highlights:

You knew he was going to guess the right name

There are two things about this episode that stand out for me and I really liked. The first being when Spike is out in space in the asteroid and has to direct himself into the ship. Love that scene, one of my favorites of the entire show. I personally pass it off as not being instant death for Spike by thinking the asteroid has it's own atmosphere in a very lose sense. Anyway that's what I tell myself just because the episode is so cool and well done. The tension of will he be able to make it back it, cutting the sound, and seeing him use his gun to propel himself into the ship is just such a stand out moment of the series for me, not just episode. The other being my absolute favorite concept / notion of the entire show, space truckers. I just can't get over that and I love it. In a universe that has phase gates, people living on different planets and moons, high end technology we still need truckers and in this case space truckers. The retro yet also modern feel about truckers driving their space ships between planets that adds a nice feel to the overall universe of Bebop. One of those little touches that fleshes things out and adds character to the show. Also it's just comforting knowing some things that no matter how much they change still won't change.

Other thoughts:

I found the cat more likable

When I first saw this episode I thought that VT was a dude, perhaps the voice actor had something to do with it. I was never a big VT fan. I like the opening set up. It seems like it's the most popular part of the episode for fans with Faye in the kids restaurant going after that Woody Allen look alike and the whole Spike prairie oyster scene, good stuff. The fight is fun to watch and afterwards the results of Spike and Faye bother having their ships trashed is amusing.

Session #8 Waltz for Venus (2 out of 5 stars)

Top 3: Ending and art

Highlights:

This episode gets two honors for me background art and ending. I LOVE the end of this episode, my personal favorite ending of the entire series. Seeing Spike walking down the merchant street, then showing Stella in her hospital bed. As Spike walks down the street he notices the spores, the camera pans up and you have the yellow sky of Venus filled with the spores and it looks beautiful, but those spores are also the catalyst of the tragic events and drama of the entire episode and it's all accompanied by the music from Stella's music box. Simply amazing and best ending of any Bebop episode in my opinion. Also this might be the most beautiful episode for scenery and art. Venus is a beautiful planet. The way the cities look, the yellow sky, the floating plants. Despite the sad circumstances of this episode you're surrounded by amazing beauty.

Other thoughts:

Didn't notice a Waltz for Venus pic so here's one more from Heavy Metal Queen

It seems like that for people who are big fans of the show tend to enjoy this episode a lot and maybe even appreciate it more so. Perhaps because these episodes with a different feel that stand out more also tend to add some more depth to the characters and rounds them out in ways we hadn't seen before. The episode has some other good moments besides the ending. The opening with the plane scene is nicely done and it's always good to see the group actually catch a bounty, Spike giving the show another Bruce Lee reference I personally enjoy and a dramatic, exciting final confrontation. It was a good drama episode that mixed things up nicely for the show. Roco wasn't one of my personal favorite secondary characters the show had, but he was alright. The bumbling bad guy with a heart of gold just never fit for me here, but he wasn't a bad character. Throughout the series one of my favorite things is the way Bebop will have action, comedy and drama focused episodes just thrown together. You'll go from a super series drama and a wacky comedy to an intense action episode. It always helps to keep the episodes fresh.