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The second season of Andromeda unveils a change in approach. A new traditionally heroic title theme, accompanied by rousing voice-over, is one noticeable difference. Another is Kevin Sorbo's even shorter haircut! But it's back to the gore and violence that marked the cliffhanging finale of the first year with "The Widening Gyre," in which many perils are resolved while others are revealed. An all-too-short deadline is also imposed on Dylan's Commonwealth dream (confirming the show's additional two-season renewal), when it's confirmed how long it will be before the traveling Magog arrive. "Exit Strategies" is all about inner demons. Poor Harper is left with a very real internal problem that leads him to contemplate the unthinkable. Rommie is wrestling with an alternate physical self. Rev is battling his religious conscience against his very survival. With so much B-plot, you could almost overlook the main story that sees the Maru crash land on an ice world--if the dazzling FX would let you, that is. Beka gets an overdue share of romantic attention in "A Heart for Falsehood Framed." A sacred gem is the nub of a diplomatic dispute. In typically unpredictable fashion, the plot contrives to see all interested parties caught up in a multi-layered game of switching fakes. Some new angles appear in "Pitiless as the Sun". In case anyone's forgotten, Trance is given opportunity to thicken the mystery surrounding exactly what she is. This occurs as we meet a brand-new adversary, the unsavory Pyrians. Xenophobia, drug addiction, and slavery are all scrutinized in this episode--enough plot for an X-File. Which is funny since Cigarette-Smoking Man William B. Davis guest stars. Hunting for a once-glorious leader who would benefit Dylan's cause, the Maru and crew make a "Last Call at the Broken Hammer," a run-down bar in the middle of a wasteland. There are lots of twists in a mystery of hidden identities and agendas amongst the bar's patrons. Watch out for Gordon Woolvett's real-life wife among them. Another welcome sight in this episode is a change of wardrobe for the regulars, who have been sweating it out in the same gear for far too long. --Paul Tonks
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