In a nutshell: seaQuest goes to the rescue of an undersea horticultural station that has bio-engineered a bizarre man-eating plant, which then attacks seaQuest.

Now this is a weird one. Best to just ignore the really stupid story, and concentrate on Ortiz. Because despite the lame plot, it's actually a pretty good episode for showcasing him.

Okay, so we start off with a Random Extra in some underwater botanical colony running in obvious terror from an unknown something. Not knowing what it is chasing him really works here, it only breaks down later in the show when we actually see the demon plants. He runs for his life, stomping through several odd piles of dust, until he reaches a building. He has enough time to begin a distress call before being cut off. Why did no one else from the colony get a distress call out before now?
Switch to seaQuest. The call for help has been heard, and seaQuest is going to the rescue. Nobody seems that concerned, wondering what a horticultural colony could possibly have to fear. Erm, it is underwater – offhand I'd say there were all kinds of disasters that could have befallen them. Lucas has an expositional moment, as he is set to research, and digs up all kinds of information about the colony, which he spouts at the rest of the bridge. We learn that the scientists at the colony were experimenting with new strains of plant that could exist very deep under water.

Meanwhile, Plot B is that Darwin is sick. Bridger is very worried about him; he's not eating or talking. Piccolo is also extremely concerned, doing all in his power to persuade his water-bound buddy to eat something (since when have Piccolo and Darwin been this close?). But nothing seems to work. Bridger seems to have forgotten that his dolphin-expert buddy Malcolm Lansdowne, first encountered in The Devil's Window, exists. Eventually, Dagwood (wandering aimlessly into the room behind them – presumably to mop something) suggests asking Dr Smith, but Bridger points out that Dr Smith isn't a veterinarian and isn't qualified to care for an animal. Now, to my way of thinking, Dr Smith is a tremendously useless member of the crew, especially compared to last season's wonderful Dr Westphalen – physician, vetinarian when called upon, scientist and researcher. When Darwin was sick in The Devil's Window, she had at least some idea of what to do about it. In comparison, Dr Smith is a poor substitute. Still, Bridger decides to ask her anyway.

There is a very funny scene where Bridger and Lucas go to Smith's quarters to ask her to 'do a reading' – they are caught on the back foot on finding her talking to her plants, and seem generally nervous of her, especially with regard to her 'psychic power', a far cry from the closeness that Bridger and Smith had in the previous episode, Vapors. The reset button has been pressed, and continuity goes out the window: Smith is back to square one, with her psychic abilities making the rest nervous but apparently quite enjoying milking this effect. She agrees to give it a go and 'do a reading' on Darwin.
Arriving at the colony, rather large away team is sent to investigate. Ford, Brody, Ortiz, Henderson and two RESMs (Random Extra Security Men) who are later given names that I forget now (giving Extras names is always a Bad Sign for their continuing health). And here we actually get a tiny snippet of Ortiz personal info, as he quips to Brody that his Uncle Manny kept a funeral home, and he used to play there as a child: freeze tag, the customers always won. This is a guy with a great sense of humour. And the delivery is great, very understated and off-the-cuff.

The away team splits up. Oddly enough, the three officers (Ford, Brody and Henderson) stick together, while the non-com Ortiz is put in charge of the other two – surely just in terms of naval hierarchy and protocol, the two senior officers present (Ford and Brody) should have headed one team each?

The three officers wander around rather aimlessly. They find some piles of the odd dust, and Ford tells Brody that they must remember to get a sample before they leave. They then walk off and leave it, clearly relying on their memories to do it later. Didn't their mothers tell them never to put things off?

Meanwhile, Ortiz and his Random Extra colleagues (who have speaking parts and are thus clearly Doomed) are continuing their search. We learn from Ortiz that there should be over 180 people in the colony, but they can't find anyone. Surely in the time it took 180 people to vanish someone should have got a better distress call out?
It seems the entire colony has been wiped out: 180 people. Although they are anxious to get to the bottom of the mystery, at no point in the episode does anyone seem terribly worried about this tragic and enormous loss of life.

Brody wanders away from the Ford and Henderson for no apparent reason, and we start to get a sense of impending doom, with dramatic backing music, and Brody looking nervous. It's a nice bit of misdirection (twice over) as the tension builds up … and ends with his communicator going off. It is O'Neill: the Captain wants an update. Brody tells them he's feeling a little outnumbered by the plants (!) and instead of asking for a proper report, they let him get away with just saying that. In silence once again, Brody gets more and more nervous, and the camera angles make it seem that something is creeping up on him … and in misdirection #2, it turns out to be Henderson. He rejoins the others.

As they continue the search, Henderson picks a flower and puts it in her jacket to take back to the ship. I know that the colonists have vanished and it is only one flower among many, but should she be allowed to do that? After all, we've been told that this was a research colony, so many of the plants are experimental and therefore presumably secret. Theft is theft, even if it is only a flower.

Back at the central plaza, Ortiz is sneezing, telling his Random Extra Colleagues that the place is giving him allergies (in the UK, we would say hay fever). Okay, it's not much, but still: all information is good information, and its always nice to see the crew as mere mortals like the rest of us. The other team rejoins them, and they all agree that there is no sign of the colonists, and it is all very odd. Ford then tells the two Random Extras (Hanson and Trigg) that they are going to be staying at the colony to keep a lookout while the rest return to the boat. Poor chaps, they really are Doomed.

Brody reminds Ford that they need to get a sample of that powder, but Ortiz is ahead of them – he's already done it. This is the difference between an officer and non-officer. Officers think, but don't act. Non-officers (this one at least) both think and act – here, he not only notices the important things but takes action, instead of putting it off. I get the feeling he wouldn't want the responsibility of being an officer, he's happy where he is. And just to be shallow, he looks great, too.

As they leave, Brody teases Hanson and Trigg (who I presume are his direct underlings in security?) about being stuck with the flowers: no doubt this will be the last conversation he has with them. Neither looks happy about being left behind, but that's probably because of being stuck alone with the flowers rather than any sense of impending doom.

On the boat and back in her quarters, Henderson puts her purloined flower in a vase, with her stuffed dog Addison beside it. As soon as she leaves the room, the flower starts to grow enormously, breaking the vase …

Over at the colony, Trigg and Hanson are getting spooked (oh, and Trigg has a first name: Cliff) but try to laugh it off, teasing each other: wow, Speaking Extras with fairly large parts. We often don't see this much of the regulars. Their fears prove well founded, as first Trigg disappears (silently, mid-conversation), and then Hanson is hooked by a vine, and disappears with a scream.

Dr Smith, Lucas and Piccolo are getting nowhere with Darwin, and after many hours work are getting tired and hungry. Bridger has still not remembered that if he needs an expert, he just has to call Lansdowne. Unless he doesn't think the problem that serious, and knows he can't leave the situation at the station as it is. Funny how O'Neill is not so concerned about Darwin this time around. With the others flagging, Piccolo gets a great bit of dialogue telling Lucas not to give up, arguing that for a close friend "you give whatever it takes even if it takes more than you've got."

Well said, and not necessarily what you'd expect coming from Tony; this guy has hidden depths – there's more to him than meets the eye. Bridger joins them, and they make a breakthrough. Smith gets something from Darwin: rather unexpectedly it is a temperature used for light (very scientific for a dolphin). They realise that Darwin needs a brighter light than is usually used on the boat, and surfacing won't help because it is night. Bridger turns up the light on the sea deck, and Darwin instantly starts making noises again – clearly this is the right answer.

Satisfied, they all head off to have lunch (and since it is already dark on the surface, one has to wonder what kind of shift patterns they are using).

Ah, what wonderful continuity. In the next scene, Bridger arrives in the mess hall (it is unclear which one – officers or general) and joins Ford and Brody, asking if they've seen Ortiz, although exactly why he wants to see Ortiz is never made clear. Ford says that Ortiz wanted to check some readings, dedicated guy that he is, working hard while everyone else is taking a lunch break, and right on cue, Ortiz arrives. As he makes his way to join them at the table, we see Piccolo and Lucas in the background making their way to a separate table – great continuity.

Anyway, Ortiz, looking worried, asks if he can have a word with Bridger – who is obviously in a good mood, quipping that he is reputed to be able to listen and eat at the same time. It really isn't good form for a captain to make fun of his underlings while they are trying to tell him something, but normally Ortiz would probably appreciate the joke as he has a sense of humour. At the moment, however, he barely seems to notice it, being focused on the problem he has detected. He is worried about the O2 readings on the sub – they are using far more oxygen than normal and he can't find any reason for it. He looks great, chewing over the anomaly and explaining it to the others. Bridger acknowledges the problem and sends him off to work on it some more: no rest (or lunch) for Ortiz today, it seems, he is in full Mr Professional mode. Ortiz leaves the room, swiping some food from the buffet table on his way out: working through lunch, he has to take what he can get! Ford then gets himself a big slice of chocolate fudge cake … but before he can take the first bite, O'Neill (who also isn't getting any lunch today) calls him to the bridge. Bridger promptly nicks the cake for himself, much to Ford's chagrin.

I just love these mess-hall scenes: they are always good for informal character interaction. Having the characters moving around while they talk – whether it be eating or working – always works well for me, it looks so much more natural than static dialogue.

On the bridge, O'Neill informs Ford that Trigg and Hanson have failed to report when they were last due to. All efforts to raise them fail, and Ford calls Brody (who presumably was still in the mess hall) to take a security detail over to the colony. I wonder if anyone on this boat ever gets an uninterrupted meal. Ford goes down to the launch bay to see them off, and tells Brody to be careful, looking very worried. Brody reacts to the tension by joking, trying to laugh it off. This is another nice character scene, reinforcing the way these two characters react to stress: Ford gets very serious and business-like; Brody retreats into humour and macho wisecracking. It is also a nice character moment showing the friendship that these two have developed, for all their professional rivalry.
The away team leaves, and Ford hears a scream. He rushes down a corridor – which seems to lead straight to the crew quarters. I wouldn't have expected them to be so close to the launch bay. Odd. (Although I've found a seaQuest schematic on a website which supports the crew quarters being there). Anyway, he finds a REC (Random Extra Crewmember) at Henderson's door, unable to get it open. Ford shoots the lock, and somehow this enables them to lift the entire door off its hinges.

Inside, the entire room has been taken over by the Killer Plant, and this is where it all starts to break down. The basic plot works up to here, on the whole – but the Killer Plant and its Associated Sounds just look and sound too ridiculous to take seriously. It worked much better when we couldn't see or hear it. The actual sci-fi concept of a fast growing man-eating plant is not new and could possibly have worked, if the special effects people had been able to pull it off.

Anyway, Henderson has very foolishly rushed into the room to rescue her stuffed dog, and is now trapped. On this occasion Ford is far too sensible to risk himself, and tells the REC to go get her. Must be an enlisted man: officers delegate, they don't actually do anything themselves. The REC rescues Henderson, thrusting her out of the room into Ford's arms … but as reward for his heroism, the Killer Plant snares him and he turns to dust, much to the horror of the other two. This man's death is a direct result of Henderson's foolish actions, not just in bringing an unknown (and stolen) plant back to the ship (after all, she couldn't have known it was a Man Eater), but more especially because she risked her own life for a stuffed dog, leading this poor guy to give his own life to save her. I hope she gets into trouble.

Also, does Henderson know how to not flirt? Seems that's all she does, with whatever male crewmember she is alone with. Here she is only too happy to cling to Ford and whimper.

Ford gets the door he shot off back in position, somehow, and then seals off the entire section. The alarm is raised. Back on the bridge, Ford contacts Brody and tells him to get back to the boat, but the away team find the airlock blocked off by the Killer Plant. This I don't understand – why now? Brody has about a dozen men with him, all heavily armed. Why did this plant (which seems to have some degree of intelligence, somehow) decide to trap them and not the much smaller team that was here earlier? Don't tell me – it's a Convenient Plot Device to place two groups of people in separate yet related danger. And it works pretty well, for all its lack of sophistication. At that moment, back on seaQuest, all hell is breaking loose as the plant bursts through all the sea doors, flooding the ballast tubes and sinking the boat. SeaQuest is left crippled on the sea floor. Unable to re-establish contact, Brody takes his team off in search of a less exposed area.

Various ways to try to get rid of the Killer Plant are suggested and dismissed in another expositional scene on the bridge, and contact is re-established with Brody and his team. Over at the colony, Brody gets his security men into the central building: they nervously bypass the plant nursery and find a kitchen to hole up in, complete with something to drink – I can understand them not being able to keep up the red alert indefinitely, but surely as head of security Brody shouldn't let them unwind quite that much. Then, when the plant starts to break through, they have to evacuate their safe haven, and end up in the nursery anyway.

Back on seaQuest, although they had agreed that they don't have enough herbicide on board to destroy it, they come to the conclusion that they have no other choice. Piccolo is sent through the swim tubes to the affected area with a canister of spray herbicide: he gives the Killer Plant a good blast but it has absolutely no effect and he legs it again.

Ortiz then traces the path of the Killer Plant, which is headed for the moon pool – Bridger and Lucas panic and rush off to find Darwin.

On sea deck, the recuperated Darwin is delighted to see Bridger, happily proclaiming himself better. Just then the Killer Plant breaks through an air duct overhead … only to wither and die. A delayed reaction to the herbicide is my first thought, but the notion is quickly dismissed and then they realise that it was the brighter light that killed it. It was designed to exist deep underwater and has never encountered daylight. How lucky for them that Darwin had exactly this problem today of all days, thus enabling them to find the solution.

When they attempt to bring all the lights up full the power supply blows and Bridger grimly comments that "it knows", clearly implying that it was the Killer Plant that did it, which surely implies that the Plant is sentient, somehow.

In the absence of a Chief Engineer (bring back Hitchcock!) it is Ortiz who gets the emergency generators up and running, telling Bridger that they have only about six hours of power. What a useful member of crew, and he looks so good, too. Mr Professional, right the way through the episode: he gets a lot of action in this story; it makes good use of him as a valuable member of the bridge (and away) team, and not a gratuitous tank top in sight.

Brody is contacted and told to find his way to the colony's environmental controls and push them to the limit to get the lights as bright as possible. This is easier said than done. A Random Member of the Security Squad finds a layout of the building (ooh, another Speaking Extra!), and they learn that the environmental controls are directly above – but someone still has to get there. Brody states that they have ten shots at it – marvellous, that saves me having to actually count them all: there are ten members of the squad including Brody.

Brody decides that he will go first, and when the rest of the team (rather half-heartedly) protest, he insists that it is his choice. Now, heroic and all-American though this is, it is also very un-Navy. Surely the leader of the group is the last one who should be risked in this way. They need him the most, therefore he is least expendable. In season one, Nothing But The Truth, Krieg made just this point to Ford: "The senior officer in charge should not put his life at risk when there is a capable substitute." Here, though, Brody does the brave but stupid thing and risks himself.
Brody heads off upstairs, and finds his route to the control room blocked by the Killer Plant.

He takes a leaf out of Smith's book by talking to it – then blasts the ceiling above with his gun. The plant being squashed by falling masonry and thus temporarily stunned, he rushes through the corridor, hurls himself through a window and rushes to the controls. These acrobatics have the effect of leaving the window gaping open and therefore his back highly unprotected – if he'd taken the time to use the door he could have locked it behind him and slowed the plant a little as it tries to follow him in. It is clear that Brody is not technically minded, as he makes heavy weather of the control panel, but he eventually manages to get the lights turned up full blast all over the colony, and the Killer Plant is destroyed before it can snare him or his men.

Back on seaQuest, it is a different matter. They don't have the power to get the lights up that bright: surfacing and finding daylight is their best bet. When Bridger asks Ford how long till sunrise, Ford instead tells him the time, 6:28am – the sun has already been up for half an hour. The bridge crew have had one helluva long shift. The only way to get seaQuest to the surface is to blow the ballast, and they don't have the power to do that. Bridger tells them that it is possible to do it manually, he designed it that way – it's difficult, but possible. Ford is sceptical, telling him it would take six guys with all their strength to pull the levers, and Ortiz pours more water on the idea – with the surrounding section sealed off, there is only one way into the appropriate shaft, and it is such a confined space they will be lucky to get even one guy down there.

But, of course, this is what Dagwood is for. I've never really seen the point of this character: he always seems so pointless and ridiculously childlike, not to mention mentally incompetent. The only point in his favour is his super-strength, which comes into play here. He goes down the shaft to the lever, under close instruction from Bridger, who really does talk to him as if he were only five years old. Unable to get the pins out to release the levers, Dagwood pulls them anyway, snapping the pins – the ballast is blown and the boat shoots up to the surface. On the bridge, no one seems to have much to do except Ortiz who has to work frantically to keep the boat stable as it rises: Mr Professional, here again doing the job an engineer would normally do. I'm pretty sure this kind of thing is not in his job remit.

Once they are on the surface, every view port is opened wide, and the Killer Plant dies a fiery death. And it looks to me like seaQuest is due a lengthy spell in dry-dock getting all the stuff cleared off and out – after all, it was right through the ventilation shafts, where it would be difficult to get enough light to kill it. Someone still has a dangerous job making sure it is completely gone and that there aren't any live tendrils lurking in the dark somewhere.

Brody and his team are finally able to return to the boat, all of them wearing a buttonhole of flowers pinched from the now deserted colony (hopefully not the Killer Flowers). Ford welcomes them back aboard. He and Brody have an interesting relationship. Brody is the closest in rank to Ford on the ship since Hitchcock's departure, which makes for a professional rivalry: both are ambitious and career minded, and therefore competitive. That in turn leads to a friendship with an edge, the kind of understated conflict that is always interesting for viewers. And I've got to say, I can't help feeling a bit sorry for Ford at times – got a rogue of a captain like Bridger who likes to run around playing hero, leaving Ford to run the ship. At least in this episode it was Ford who got in on the away team action, the first one at least.

Brody gives his flower buttonhole to Dagwood, since he was the one who saved everyone by getting seaQuest off the seabed. Dagwood is childishly pleased with the praise, but confused by the other man's easy ways, struggling to copy basic human interaction.

Postscript: Piccolo decides to hold a victory celebration. For some reason, the people invited to this shindig are Lucas, Brody, Ford and Dr Smith. Why these four? It seems a rather eclectic group, to me. I can only assume that Ortiz and O'Neill are still on duty – someone please give them a break! Also, in strict naval protocol, would an ex-con seaman like Piccolo really mingle with the brass as often and as familiarly as he does? SeaQuest seems to be a home for many exceptions to many rules. Piccolo has prepared asparagus for this celebration, much to the bemusement of the others, although they all laughingly agree with him that 'turnaround is fair play'. A bit too corny for my taste.

The end.

p.s. There were actually a lot of speaking extras in this one, although three of them did get killed. But it's nice to see that there are more than a bare half dozen people on the boat.