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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Spells &amp; Karma" data-source="post: 62960" data-attributes="member: 23">DEATH IN DISGUISE / IRAC IS MISSING / FLIGHT TO OBLIVION / SÉANCE OF TERROROh boy. Two consecutive episodes heavily featuring the flashing, talking computer IRAC. Could it get any worse? Yes, apparently. Because the second episode signals the death clang for the entire series by introducing what is possibly the single most irritating aspect of the entire series: Rover the robot dog. <img src="http://danefield.com/alpha/forums/uploads/post-7-0-18674200-1301593920.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" />It roams the corridors making Road Runner sounds. Not just something similar, but actual, honest to goodness Road Runner "meep meep"s. But more on that particular creation later. The first of the episodes has that memorable cold opening of the woman with five o'clock shadow arriving at a hotel and removing makeup and wig to reveal... she's a man in disguise. Intentionally or not, it's amusingly silly. More so because the character is dubbed with a very delicate feminine voice while in disguise. The character gets much screen time by infiltrating the IADC in said disguise in order to damage IRAC. Can we talk about IRAC itself. It keeps changing from episode to episode. Not only the voice, but the actual computer used. Usually it has all these diodes, each bulb flashing in a random order as it speaks. In a couple of non-consecutive episodes it's appeared a bit more futuristic and less obviously individual bulbs by having some kind of screen over it. Nobody's commented on the reason for it, so I suppose we're not meant to notice. In addition to Rover, the IRAC Is Missing episode had a whole room full of stolen computers, including the master criminal's robot assistant:<img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XRWtWusgH3s/UbEhhCfy22I/AAAAAAAABTs/Ogkp2T9XWDo/s1600/irac_2.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" />Can you tell it's a lady robot?! <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite8" alt=":D" title="Big Grin    :D" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":D" />Naturally, said assistant turned on her master by helping out Wonder Woman and IRAC. I swear I could hear the criminal silently vowing to just get a blow-up doll next time. There's a dramatic-but-improbable moment where WW has to travel 40+ miles in something like 4 minutes in order to stop a device that will ruin the IADC. Now, anyone who's been paying attention would smile knowingly as the criminal gloated that she'd never make it, knowing that she can summon her invisible jet at will which has already proved to be quicker than conventional aircraft. But no... in the Lansbury era we're ignoring anything related to the comics. So Wonder Woman seems to forget she has the plane and instead decides to run, and boing her way to her destination. It seems like a scene to show how fast and powerful she is. But since, you know... plane, she just appears to be creating an unnecessary amount of work and, frankly, showboating. On the plus side, Death In Disguise did feature a Melrose-type moment where Diana removed the villain's wig:<img src="http://previously.tv/m/2015-06-24-wonder-woman3.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" />But what really made the episode for me was a scene between Joel Fabiani and Lee Bergere. It blew my mind a little to see the future King Galen and Joseph Anders plotting together. No doubt Alexis would have blanched had she seen them comparing notes. The latter two episodes, thankfully, were a step up. Flight To Oblivion was a little nostalgic, with Steve and Diana both in uniformed disguise on an Air Force base and drawing parallels with the WWII-set ABC episode in which... Steve and Diana were on an Air Force base. Diana was far less nostalgic than I was as the show is way beyond referring to those earlier episodes by this point. In fact it actively avoids it. It did, however, continue the trend last seen in the Mariposa episode where the villain of the piece was mentioned to have had a previous run-in with the IADC where he appeared to be killed. Said villain - a master hypnotist - was disguising himself as the manager of a band: The Hull City Howlers (way ahead of their time with Hull being 2017 City Of Culture). Now, I was hoping to hear some American actors attempting to sound like they're from East Riding. Sadly, it wasn't the case. There wasn't a bad British regional accent to be heard.  The Séance episode featured WW bonding with a kiddie with super powers. Not the last time it would be seen here. The bonding with kiddie thing goes back to the Von Gunther episode, of course, but here - if memory serves -  it is a harbinger of what's ahead for a large part of the run. It's fun for young viewers to have a young character they can attach themselves to as an outlet. Unfortunately, it's also quite tedious for older viewers.</blockquote>

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